I Was Falsely Confessed to and Exposed in Front of Everyone, so I Jumped off the Roof - Chapter 9

I was staring at a model of the Code of Hammurabi in a museum in Ikebukuro.

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

I muttered the words I’d learned in textbooks. I hadn’t been punished yet. My crime hadn’t been cleared.

“That’s pretty harsh.”

Manwa-san was suddenly standing beside me.

“Modern law forbids revenge. Otherwise, it never ends. The Code of Hammurabi was created to limit the revenge that communities naturally carried out. It set standards so people could atone for their sins.”

She sounded really smart. Running a big talent agency probably meant she had to be.

“Manwa-san, can an idol atone for sins?”

“Oh, philosophical, aren’t we? Actually, idol worship itself is considered sinful in Abrahamic religions.”

“Will everyone worship me?”

“Yes. Everyone will be obsessed with you.”

“Everyone will watch me…”

I felt drawn to those words. If everyone watched me… maybe…

“Will you make me an idol?”

Manwa-san smiled.

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

I decided then. I would become an idol.

“I just want to check. Are you a virgin?”

“Does that matter?”

“I don’t want to sell a fake. I want you to be real.”

“Then it’s fine.”

I didn’t understand why it mattered so much, but I met the condition. Still, there was one more thing I needed to clear.

♢

“Are you seriously trying to make a fool out of everyone?”

The lawyer glared sharply at me. My parents looked panicked, and even Manwa-san seemed confused. I had brought both her and my parents to see the lawyer. Since I was still a minor, I needed my guardians’ consent to start working in show business.

“I told you. I’ve been doing everything I can to protect you. And now you’re trying to ruin it all?”

“I understand. That’s why I came to ask for your permission.”

I was protected because I wasn’t an adult. But because I wasn’t an adult, there were things I couldn’t do.

“Ruika-chan. Even for us, handling a scandal like this would be too much.”

It sounded like she wanted to give up. But if hiding it would only make things worse later, then I had to expose everything now.

“Even your manager seems unsure. Maybe it’s best if you just give up.”

He smiled and was relieved, like the problem was finally over. But that wouldn’t work for me. I needed him to say yes here. I pulled a kitchen knife out of my bag. Everyone froze.

“What are you thinking? Are you planning to threaten us with that?”

“Threaten? No. I just want you to understand.”

I cut my left wrist. Blood came out faster than I expected, spilling onto the table and the floor. Then I pointed the knife toward my chest and stabbed myself.

“Do you understand now?”

“Wait! Stop!”

The lawyer jumped up.

“Calm down! We can talk this through!”

“I don’t want to talk. I just want you to agree.”

My parents were looking at me with fear. On the other hand, Manwa-san had a wild and hungry smile on her face.

“Lawyer. We’ll take her. This girl. She’s beautiful.”

“What are you talking about?! She’s not in her right mind!”

The lawyer stepped toward me. So I slowly pushed the knife deeper into my chest. My clothes tore, and the blade touched my skin. It stung a little. The lawyer froze.

“This is insane. Are you serious?”

“If I can’t do what I want… an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A life for a life.”

“Don’t joke about that in front of a lawyer!?”

Everyone was watching me. Really watching me. Even the lawyer, who’d only seen me as a case before, was finally looking at me.

“Look at me. Look at me.”

“I’m looking! I’m looking, so stop!”

“Then agree.”

“Aaaggh!”

Manwa-san placed the contract papers on the table. She signed them, took some of my blood with her thumb, and pressed it onto the page like a seal.

“Perfect. This kind of contract is beautiful, don’t you think?”

My signature and blood mark were already on it.

“Papa, Mama. Sign it too.”

My mom and dad signed the papers, just like I told them to.

“Lawyer. This meets all the requirements, right?”

“…This way of doing things… this is insane…”

“Do you need more proof?”

When I moved my hand slightly, he panicked.

“I accept it! I’ll sign too! I’ll be your legal advisor! Just stop!”

He signed the papers. I threw the knife into the corner of the room. Manwa-san gently touched the cut on my wrist.

“I’ll take you to a good hospital right away. They can make it disappear completely,  so don’t worry.”

“Leave it.”

“That’s what you want?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. We’ll cover it with makeup when you’re working.”

And just like that, I became an idol. Some people could worship like a god.

“You’re insane.”

The lawyer’s head hung low.

“You can’t take justice into your own hands. That’s why laws exist.”

“Laws can’t wash away sin.”

“You’re wrong. Saying that insults all of human history.”

“That’s fine. My sins are probably heavier than the Earth itself.”

Everyone is bound by something. But I only want to be bound by the sin I chose myself. That’s my prayer.

☆ ☆ ☆

Author’s Retort

The lawyer in the story was right. Taking justice into your own hands is something that modern nations based on law forbid.

These days, revenge romantic-comedy are pretty popular. But if you think about it, most of those stories are actually about people taking justice into their own hands.

It’s a kind of raw and uncivilized instinct. It may be even the opposite of what the rule of law stands for.

I’ve been studying law lately, and I’ve come to think of it as an art. It was something humanity created to hold back our own wildness and bring about civilization.

But now, we see more and more personal justice with SNS, people punishing others on their own. I can’t agree with that.

As someone who hopes to work in law, I believe true justice should always follow proper legal procedures.

Ruika chose to wash away her sins not through law, but in her own way. A barbaric way.

If you’ve stayed with her story to the end, I’m grateful.