Present Day
22-Years-Old

He'd had lunch at Aera's apartment, going over what had happened with Sunhee. He was telling Aera all about how he found he wasn't sad, just simply relieved to be rid of Sunhee now.

Then, he'd gone back to his studio and added his boss and several coworkers back into his phone contacts. He began working on a new song, which helped his shot nerves. He'd always found such comfort in music.

And then he'd been heading home, walking again just because he wanted to, when he received a call from Aera.

"Hey!" he said happily. "How was the rest of your d – "

"YOONGI!"

Yoongi stopped in his tracks. Aera was crying. No, sobbing. And she'd just yelled out his name like it was torturous to say anything at all.

"Where are you?" Yoongi asked, more and more worry beginning to consume him.

"I-I'm at the daycare!"

"Okay. What happened?"

She answered, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Aera," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I can't understand you. Can you try to calm down a bit?"

"They took him!"

Yoongi's heart dropped. If she was at the daycare, there was only one 'him' Aera could be referring to.

"A, it'll be okay. I'm on my way there right now," he said, taking off toward a nearby bus stop. "We'll figure something out, I promise."

But all Aera could do was continue to sob. "I'll be there as soon as possible," Yoongi said as he boarded a bus. "Stay on the phone with me, A."

He said that for her benefit, to try to keep her calm. It was certainly not for his own, as listening to her absolutely break down was excruciating. The bus could not possibly move any slower in his opinion. He kept willing it to speed up.

By the time the bus had made it and Yoongi had jumped off of it, Aera was sitting on the bus bench, phone to her ear, quietly hiccupping sobs. Yoongi rushed to her, sitting down beside her and pulling her into a hug.

"What happened?" he asked. "Why did this happen?"

Aera shook her head. "I brought him here this morning, like normal," she said so quietly, he almost couldn't hear her. "No one said anything. No one acted like anything was amiss. They said his caseworker and a police officer came by around lunchtime and took him away." Aera pressed her face into the crook of Yoongi's neck. "No one called. No one said anything until I got here to pick him up." She started shaking as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Let it out, A. It's okay."

"How could this happen?! How could they do this without informing me?! If I knew they were going to have to take him, I would've prepared a bag for him. His toys, his clothes...his damn toothbrush! He has nothing again now!"

"Do you have the caseworker's number? Can you call her and ask about what happened?"

"I tried. She's not answering. I don't know if she's just busy or if she's avoiding me." Aera let out another tortured cry. "Yoongs, what if I never see him again?!"

"Shh," Yoongi said, holding her close. "You'll see him again. I know you will. We just need to figure out what happened. C'mon, let's go home. You can try the caseworker again when we get there."

Aera did not object and allowed herself to be steered onto a bus. Yoongi wondered if she was even paying attention to or noticing where they were headed.

He was taking her to his apartment. He could not let her go back to hers and have to be surrounded by all of Jungkook's things in that moment. It wasn't until they were inside the apartment that she finally seemed to realize where they were. But she didn't object.

In fact, she didn't say anything. She simply curled up into a ball on the couch. Yoongi's heart broke. She looked so small and frail, and the tear stains on her cheeks made her look gaunt. This was not the vibrant Aera he'd had lunch with. He'd never seen her like this.

"A," Yoongi said as he sat down beside her. "Let's call the caseworker." He began to run his hand through her hair. "Let's try one more time."

Aera just laid there. Yoongi almost wondered if she'd fallen asleep, but then he was able to see her eyes. They were glassy, but they were open. Then she blinked as she slowly sat up.

She pulled her phone from her bag and maneuvered through it before clicking on a contact and putting it on speaker as it rang. Neither knew the other was, but both were holding their breath. Yoongi was praying someone would pick up.

Suddenly, the ringing stopped and a monotone voice spoke.

"Ms. Seong."

"Yes, hello," Aera said. Yoongi could tell she was about to become frantic again. "I'm calling because – "

"I know why you're calling."

"What happened?" Aera begged. "No one told me it was going to be today. How – "

"We received an anonymous tip regarding the boy today. That's why the court decided to take him."

"A tip? A tip about what? Why couldn't someone have let me know they were going to take him? Shouldn't I have been informed?"

"The judge decided you didn't need to be since the tip was about you."

"Me?"

"The person who called said you've been subjecting the boy to all kinds of abuse."

Yoongi's eyes widened as Aera's mouth fell open.

"What?!"

"They were, um, very detailed in their descriptions of what had happened. It sounded very real. The judge took it very seriously."

"B-But... But I haven't done anything to Jungkook other than treat him like my own son!"

Mrs. Kang sighed. "I believe you, Ms. Seong. I'm the one who's watched you with him. I'm the one who's seen all the progress he's made. And I was the one who begged the court to consult with you before making any decisions. But remember how I once told you that my opinion doesn't ever seem to matter as much as I wish it did?"

Tears began rolling down Aera's cheeks. "Is he alright?" she asked, barely above a whisper. "Is he safe?"

"He's safe. And he's alright, other than he's shut down and won't talk to anyone."

Aera closed her eyes, trying to hold back more tears. "What can I do from here?" she asked.

Mrs. Kang sighed again. "I'm sorry, Ms. Seong, but not much. The only advice I can give you is to show up at a hearing regarding his case and make your case. But that's going to be difficult. The judge is not on your side right now."

"When's the next hearing?"

"I don't know how you found out that it's on Friday at 1 PM, Ms. Seong. Someone must have told you, but I can't imagine who."

Yoongi grinned and even Aera allowed a small smile to appear for a short second.

"Thank you. So much."

"Like I said, give 'em hell."

Aera hung up the phone, not feeling much better. She quietly laid back down on the couch. "Who would do this?" she asked, not expecting a response. Yoongi gently placed her head in his lap and resumed running his fingers through her hair. He hesitated, but did have an idea of what might possibly be happening.

"A," he said. "There's something you should know..."

"Okay."

"When Sunhee left last night, she told me I'd regret everything that happened between us last night. She hated you, and now she hates me. I could definitely see her doing something like this."

Aera stayed quiet, thinking.

"But there's no way she could've known about Jungkook. She knew you were babysitting a boy, but she didn't know who he was or that you would be fostering him." Yoongi sighed. "Nevermind. I think I'm just being paranoid."

There was silence between them until Aera sniffled and it caught Yoongi's attention that she was crying again.

"A?"

"Sunhee did do this," she whispered.

"What?"

"Yoongs... There's something you should know."