Hopefulness for Tomorrow
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The man sitting down bounced his leg repeatedly as he looked at his watch. He glanced back and forth from his passport to the flight ticket to confirm everything was perfect. Just perfect. He looked at the time and then at the entrance to the plane. It was getting ready to open. Just a few more steps, and he would be gone very soon.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath as he started getting more nervous. The valium made him even more anxious this time. Sweat rushed down his forehead as he immediately tried to wipe it off. His leg continued to bounce up and down, giving it away that he was waiting for an escape. His head was spinning. The only thing he heard was Eunha yelling at him repeatedly—telling him he wasn't doing enough, demanding that he do better, that he take action. He had to do better.

He lowered his head, trying to shake her voice out of his mind, but it didn't work. That was when he heard footsteps approaching him. A man kneeled to get his attention as Sunggyu lifted his head. He saw the officer in front of him, but he couldn't process if what he saw was real or not. He was completely dazed at that point.

"You're under arrest, Kim Sunggyu."

Those were the last words he heard. Everything spun around him, and he could barely hear what he was told as the officers took him outside the airport. All he could see was a face here and a face there. Around him, people gasped in shock as he was taken away. Others glared at his wasted figure with pure disgust. Yoongi and his officers had observed him for more than thirty minutes to document his actions. They wanted to know if he was dangerous, if he was capable of attacking, if he would actually try to escape. However, when they noticed he wasn't mentally present, they moved in and arrested him.

On the way to the police station, Yoongi made a call while Sunggyu slept in the backseat.

"Jimin, do you mind if we meet at your house tonight?" he asked. Jimin had just returned home tired from work when Yoongi called. All he wanted to do was throw himself in bed and rot, but if Yoongi called, it was always important—even more if he wanted to meet up in person.

"I mean, sure. But why so suddenly?"

Before Jimin could answer, Yoongi hung up when he saw the police station nearby. Sunggyu was taken away for interrogation, and Yoongi followed right behind. It wasn't his job to interrogate Sunggyu, but he needed to be the one to do so. He knew involving himself in a case that included people close to him was unethical, but he had to walk inside that interrogation room. Yes or yes. After all, he had been the one to interrogate Eunha, who was his friend's fiancée.

Sunggyu was instructed to sit on the chair as Yoongi walked inside. He signaled to the other officers that he would lead the interrogation, so they left him the clipboard with information and closed the door. Nobody questioned Yoongi's instructions, as he was the head of the department for a reason. He placed the clipboard on the table and sat down as he looked through the papers. Kim Sunggyu.

"Kang Eunha," Yoongi said as Sunggyu looked up at him. Yoongi placed the clipboard to the side as he leaned back and crossed his arms. At that moment, Sunggyu knew Eunha had been in his position and that she probably had it worse than him since she knew Yoongi personally. No matter what, he still felt something for her. Whether it was love, care, or empathy, he didn't know what it was anymore. His feelings were as confused as his mind was.

"Before I say anything, I need to be tested," he said, placing his cuffed hands on the table. "If you want me to say something—whatever you want—I can't tell you. I wish I could, but I'm on drugs right now. My testimony won't be trustworthy."

Yoongi scoffed as he leaned forward. Is he willing to talk? He looked at Sunggyu and noticed how he was shaking underneath the table. His leg bounced up and down repeatedly, just like at the airport. He leaned in closer and looked at Yoongi with pleading eyes this time.

"I'm an addict, Sir. I need help."

Yoongi remained quiet. He knew that if Sunggyu were high on drugs, his testimony wouldn't be of any use. He had to get tested. That same day, Yoongi registered him to take a drug test. The results would come out in twenty-four hours, and after that, Sunggyu would be stable enough to take another test and for it to come out as negative. He could testify in court, of course, once the judge approved him. For almost a week, Sunggyu was detained in a jail cell as a waiting room.

Once again, Jiyong's death trial would be postponed, but this time, with a promising witness.

+

"Breaking news: Kang Eunha was removed as CEO of her own company, Kang & Co. This announcement came after her mother, Kang Sarah, revealed during court that Kang Eunha is not the daughter of the former CEO, Kang Eunhyuk, hence she cannot claim ownership of the company. In other news, Kang Eunha's former fiancé and CEO of the Park Corporation, Park Jimin, was seen picking up his 'maid' amidst Kang Eunha's ongoing murder trials. Ms. Kang had previously stated that Mr. Park had been having an affair with their maid, Byun Ara—daughter of the former CEO of the Byun Corporation, Byun Haneul. However, Mr. Park refuted these allegations, claiming that Byun Ara was simply a maid and that they never engaged in any relations during his engagement with Kang Eunha. When reporters approached him outside of his work building and asked if he was dating Byun Ara now that his relationship with Kang Eunha had ended, he made no comment."

"Are you guys leaving it like that?" Taehyung asked, pointing at the news on the television. "I'm referring to the rumors."

Ara turned to the news and saw her picture there alongside Jimin's. It had been years since the last time her face was on the news, which she thought would stay that way forever. Once again, when she was mentioned on the news, it had to be because of a man. A man that she had to be involved with in some way. She turned to face Jimin, but he was already looking at her instead of the screen. For a moment, they shared their thoughts. They each knew how they would deal with their relationship.

"We already discussed it," Ara said. "We won't hide it, but we won't give them a response, either. At least until—"

"At least until we know we've settled down," Jimin continued as he interrupted her words. Ara turned to Jimin, confused as she thought they were on the same page. Originally, Jimin had agreed to keep their relationship to themselves and for no one to be a part of it. The world didn't need to know, even if they suspected it. Ara didn't mind his decision since Jimin wanted to keep his company safe. However, he had changed his mind.

Under the table, he held Ara's hand and said, "I want to make it official with the world. It won't be something that the world will take lightly. I mean—with the case and all. I know it will be a mess, but I want to be with Ara for a long time, forever, if possible. We can't keep it private for so long. I want to announce our marriage and possibly the birth of our children. I don't want it to be a casual thing. The company needs to know. The world needs to know."

Ara smiled and blushed at his words. She felt such a strong connection with Jimin in so many ways. They were betrayed by their lovers, had their names slandered, and craved to find someone who would actually love them and only them. They found that in each other.

She desperately wanted to be with him. She never thought about the future, but she desperately wanted to be with him in the moment. A life with no worries. She wanted him in her life and no one else. He made her believe in the good things in life. She made him believe in the beautiful things in life. She was one of those things to him. The most important and the most beautiful. She opened his eyes, and she opened his heart to love with a proper mind.

Marriage? Kids? All were things he wanted to cherish with her. All were things she wanted to share with him. She knew Jimin loved her, but she didn't know to what extent his love for her went. That was, until now. He was willing to put his company and future on the line for someone the world would know as his former maid. A maid with a powerful businessman. The world wouldn't consider Ara anything more than a maid if her long-lost money remained far away from her hands. It had to return.

"Honestly, just get married already," Seokjin said. Jimin chuckled, but his smile slightly faded when he remembered Namjoon was present. When he turned to face him, Namjoon gave him a reassuring smile, letting him know everything was fine.

"Guys, we didn't wait for Yoongi," Taehyung said as he looked around the table. "I think he's still at work. He's going to be mad when he shows up."

At that moment, a knock was heard on the front door. Jimin stood up and went to open it, just to find Yoongi outside glaring at him. He pointed at the other cars parked in the driveway as Jimin shrugged in response. At the table, they sat down as Jungkook passed some portions of food to Yoongi.

"I'm sorry for the delay—not that it bothered anyone," Yoongi hissed as he saw that most of the surrounding plates were already empty. "We found Sunggyu earlier today. He was trying to flee the country under another name. I tried to interrogate him, but he said he was under the influence of drugs and that he couldn't say anything under oath. He said he wanted help to get the drugs to stop driving him crazy. He might be willing to help."

Ara looked at him as Jimin looked at her once again. He saw her tense up when the name Sunggyu was mentioned, just like when Eunha mentioned it in court. He finally understood what had her so distraught. Yoongi turned to Ara this time as he felt her looking at him and asked, "Ara, is something wrong? Your face is pale."

Ara struggled with her words as she turned to Jimin and said, "Sunggyu. Kim Sunggyu is my ex-husband."

Suddenly, the table went silent. A pin drop could be heard from a mile away. Namjoon looked at her, finally understanding everything. Everything that had happened after he left Ara for good. Everything from her marriage to her divorce. The conversation they had at Jimin's dinner table months before.

"He was the one who left with all my money," she continued. "Our marriage was fine. There was nothing bad with it—I mean, it didn't last long at all. Our dating phase was longer. I thought our marriage would be perfect until, one day, he asked for a divorce as soon as we got married. It was out of the blue. We had not even argued or anything. He just asked for it, and when I confronted him, he said to talk to his lawyers. A month later, he took my inheritance and disappeared. My parent's money from my inheritance was all gone."

The entire table was out of words. Mainly Jimin. His engagement with Eunha was nothing compared to Ara's tragic life. Two murders and a failed marriage with a scum who stole everything from her. His life was nothing compared to hers. Then again, he was the rich one in the relationship. He was born and lived with everything he ever wanted. He lived the most relaxed life a rich person could live. Ara lived through that, too, until she lost it all.

"Ara, you know that Sunggyu and Eunha conspired with each other to murder Jiyong, right?" Yoongi asked, and she nodded. "Well, he might've conspired with Eunha for even more things—like your father's murder or maybe the set-up marriage."

Ara nodded once again. She was well aware Sunggyu had to be Eunha's right-hand man. The one Dr. Choi had mentioned. He had to have been the one to do her dirty work when killing Haneul and Jiyong. Eunha could have been the one to instruct the set-up marriage from the start. She knew who I was. Ara thought. She saw me every single day and knew what she had done to me. She had the audacity to face me every single day after what she had done.

All that time, Eunha would feel her anger build up inside of her whenever she saw Ara. Ara had done nothing to her, but it made her anxious to have her so close after ruining her life. She was terrified whenever she saw Ara. She strongly believed Ara would figure out the truth and take action into her own hands. Before that happened, she knew she had to get rid of her once and for all. However, her firm beliefs made her lose track and slip up.

Ara's hands turned into fists this time. Without her knowing, Eunha had been part of her life for years. For years, she had tried to ruin everything for her, and she continued to do so with Jiyong.

"Eunha. She'll rot in prison, right?" Ara asked, which was more of a rhetorical question than anything else.

"Wait a minute—Eunha. She's pregnant," Jungkook said, gathering everyone's attention. "What if the father is Sunggyu?"

"What if it's not?" Jimin asked, which again seemed like a rhetorical question as the table remained silent. They all knew Jimin could be a possible father as well. They knew he was worried, but there was nothing they could say to make the situation better. The odds were stacked.

The baby could be Jimin's, which meant he would care for it no matter what, since it was his child and his responsibility. He would raise his child in a world of luxuries and happiness with his beloved girlfriend and future wife, Ara, with complete disregard for Eunha's existence. After all, she was certain to rot in prison. The baby could also be Sunggyu's, which meant living a terrible fate with both parents behind bars for the rest of their lives. A baby that would eventually have to be placed in a foster home or even left up for adoption.

Jimin knew about the possibilities, and it saddened him to know that the child had a fifty-fifty chance of living in two very distinct worlds. One with everything and one with nothing. However, he had to think of himself. He couldn't take care of a child at such a crucial moment in his life. He knew he wouldn't be able to give the baby his full attention. At least for one moment, he wanted to be selfish. He couldn't help but pray for the baby to not be his.

"Let's wait and see until the baby is born," Namjoon said. "We could do a paternity test now, but to make sure there aren't any risks for the baby or anything, we should wait. Also, to make sure the test is as accurate as possible."

That was all there was left to do: wait. Wait until Eunha gave birth, wait until Sunggyu's test results came out, wait until the Jang Jiyong murder trials resumed, and wait until the Byun Haneul murder trials began. The wait seemed eternal, and it was surely never-ending.

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