"It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor-"

Nari groaned, "Ugh, why does it have to take this long?" She yawned and hung upside down on her bed, "Couldn't the editor have cut just a little more out?"

"That's the whole point," Suga exasperatedly sighed, tired of having the same conversation every week, "Lovely, it's supposed to be confusing. If Catch-22 makes sense to you, then you're not reading it right."

"If you insist, Shu-ger." The girl replied defeatededly, "Go ahead then."

He continued to read, "Blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice-"

Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open to reveal a messy Namjoon in sweatpants. Nari grinned and waved, "Hey! I thought you went to bed?"

"Namjoon, do you mind?" Suga exclaimed, not even trying to hide the annoyance in his voice, "I'm trying to read here."

However, the words rolled off the younger boy's ears as he chuckled and sat at the foot of the bed, "Nari, darling, don't stay like that for too long. You'll get dizzy." Namjoon warned her with a smile.

"Dude! Don't ignore me!" Suga threw a stuffed animal at him, more frustrated than ever, "I said I was trying to read!"

Nari sat up and shook her head, "Shh, don't fight! Please."

"Fine," He pouted, "Namjoon, what do you want? Make it quick. I want to finish this chapter tonight."

"I know, I know, it won't take long," Namjoon sighed as he turned to the girl. Suga hated being interrupted, especially when he was with Nari, "So, darling, the charity that Hyo works for is having a benefit dinner. They asked me if I wanted to maybe preform and give a speech."

"That's so cool!" Nari exclaimed as her eyes lit up, "What did you say? Did you say yes? Can I come?"

The boy smiled and spoke softly, "Of course I said yes. But the thing is, they want you to speak too."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"I don't know," Nari answered hesitantly, "I'm not very good at talking in front of a lot of people."

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to. But just think about it for a little, okay?" Namjoon glared at Suga on the other side of the bed, "Alright, Yoongi, I'm done. I'll go to bed now." He gently kissed the top of the girl's head, "Sweet dreams, my darling. I love you."

"I love you too." The girl called as he exited the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Nari leaned against Suga's shoulder, "What do you think, Shu-ger? Should I do it?"

He wrapped his arm around her supportively, "That's up to you, lovely. Do you want to?"

"Well, it's complicated," She admitted, "I don't like the idea of talking in front of a bunch of strangers, and I don't even think if I can, you know? It's hard enough talking to you guys sometimes."

"It's okay, don't worry. You don't have to tell them everything. They only have to know what you're comfortable telling them. And besides, you don't even have to write your own speech if you don't want to. We have people that write our speeches all the time." Suga offered.

Nari shook her head, "No. I can't do that. If I'm gonna make a speech, it has to be using my own words." Her voice softened, "You know, I think about Hyo and how much she inspires me. She's so strong and she never gave up on me even when it all seemed hopeless. Maybe if there's other people out there like me and her, sharing my story will help them."

"I know it will," The boy smiled, "I think you should do it, Nari. You have such a beautiful way with words. Using your gift to help others might help you find yourself too."

"Thanks, Shu-ger," She let out a deep breath, "You always know what to say." Nari reached across her bed and pulled a worn spiral bound notebook from underneath the mattress, "Would you mind maybe looking at a couple of my poems?"

"Are you sure?"

The girl nodded, "Uh huh. Sometimes you're the only person who really gets it, you know? I trust you." She opened the notebook and flipped through a few pages before handing it to him, "Read this and tell me what I should do."

"Thank you, lovely," Suga gently took the journal, as if he was afraid that his touch would break it, "I know how important this is. I'll help you as much as I can."

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As always, it was difficult for Nari to shake the nervous butterflies in her stomach while she waited backstage. She anxiously shuffled through her notecards and leaned against Jimin, who came along with them for the night for morale support. He could always give her a burst of courage when she needed it.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Jimin assured the nervous girl and gently patted her head, "I know you'll do great. I believe in you."

"Thank you." Nari let out a shaky breath, "You're sure that my speech is good?"

Jimin quickly but lovingly pecked her cheek, "Your speech is beautiful, Nari. I know you'll have everyone here in tears when you finish."

Before the girl could respond back, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Namjoon with Hyo right behind him.

"It's time to go, darling," He gently reminded her.

"You are going to do amazing!" Jimin said one last time as she rose from her seat, "I'll be right here waiting for you when you're finished, sweetheart."

Feeling a little encouraged by his kind words, Nari said her goodbyes and shyly followed after the two adults. Namjoon's silver blazer looked perfect with his newly dyed purple hair. She had even touched up her own violet colored locks a few days earlier...although her roots were starting to grow in. Nari supposed she'd have to get them bleached again.

This is no time to be thinking about hair! The girl shook those images from her head, I need to focus on my speech! Namjoon said that there's over two thousand people here tonight. I need to be perfect. I can't mess this up.

Hyo spoke up, noticing her nervousness, "Take a deep breath, baby. I know this isn't easy for you, but thank you for being here. It really means a lot to me."

"We believe in you, Nari," Namjoon added, echoing Jimin's words from just a few minutes before, "We're all so proud of you." He gave her hand a supportive squeeze, "It's time to go now. You'll be okay, darling. All you have to do is speak from your heart."

As always, the bright lights blinded Nari for a second when she stepped onstage. This crowd was much less rowdy then the ocean of fangirls that she was used to, but that didn't ease her nerves at all. These people would be harder to impress. She stood shyly with Namjoon at the side of the stage while Hyo spoke at the podium in front of them.

"Thank you so much for coming tonight!" The woman greeted the audience warmly. Nari desperatley wished that she'd inherited her mother's knack for public speaking, "I'm sure you all know me, but my name is Choi Hyo and I am one of the official spokespeople for the Korean Women's Human Rights Agency. But I'm not here to tell my story, I'm here to present our guest speakers for the night: My daughter Kim Nari and her guardian Kim Namjoon from BTS."

Just like at the rehearsal, the girl cautiously stepped forward to take her place at the podium. Hyo gave her a reassuring smile.

"I know you'll do great," She whispered before stepping back beside Namjoon, "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

Nari placed her notecards on the podium and took a shaky breath. Hyo and Namjoon are proud of me for just being here, She thought, But I want to make them prouder. I'm going to deliver a good speech.

"Thank you very much for coming," The girl started, slightly taken back by how loudly her voice echoed throughout the room, "My name is Kim Nari, formerly just Nari, and formerly formerly Choi Yon. I was a victim of a child trafficking ring for the first five years of my life," She paused, "and it feels so odd saying that out loud because until a year ago I didn't even know that part of myself."

Nari exhaled deeply, "I used to think of myself as two separate people: The Nari before I found out and the Nari after. I was torn away from the comfortable identity I spent so long building and trapped inside this strange body that I barely knew. They say that ignorance is bliss, and to be honest, I'd have to agree with that. I envied the old me. She didn't carry the weight of a past she couldn't even remember, her fingers weren't raw from trying to scrub away the dirt that stained her skin, and she went to sleep at night safe from the demons of her subconscious. I would cry for hours because I knew that I would never get her back. She was gone and I was left to rot with the worst parts of myself."

"But I was lucky." She flipped to a new notecard, grateful that the hardest part was over, "My family understood me. They told me not only that I was loved, but that I deserved love. It was then that I finally felt like I was okay. I didn't miss the old me anymore and I wasn't resentful or disgusted by the person I've become. Slowly but surely, I'm healing. I'm learning to accept the bad things that make me who I am."

The girl stopped to let out a deep breath and looked up from her notes to the sea of people in front of her. Now that it was almost all over, the final paragraph she had written didn't seem quite right. The words stuck in her mind seemed to release all at once, as well as her pent up emotions. "When Namjoon asked me if I wanted to make a speech I wasn't sure at first," Nari spoke with quiet tears streaming down her cheeks, "but now I feel like I was meant to be here. Someone very important to me once told me that all I needed to do in life was turn the bad things into something beautiful, to make a garden out of the dirt that covers me, and I think that tonight the flowers in that garden have bloomed brighter than ever before because of all of you. Thank you for being here to listen to me. I hope you have a wonderful night."

Nari quickly bowed and turned around as thunderous applause roared throughout the venue. She instantly buried her face in Namjoon's chest, not caring who was watching. "I did it," The girl whispered, "Namjoon, did I do good?"

"You did great, baby girl," His husky voice assured her, barely audible above all of the clapping, Nari looked up to see that Namjoon had tears in his eyes as well, "Go wait with Jimin, okay? You're done for the night." He quickly kissed the top of her head, "I'm so proud of you, Nari."

Although she was pretty sure that she was supposed to stay on the stage until he was done talking too, the girl wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to get out of the spotlight. Nari managed another shy bow to the audience before hurrying backstage where Jimin greeted her with a big hug.

"See? I told you that you'd have everyone in tears!" He picked her up, allowing Nari to cling to him like a small child, "I'm so fucking proud of you."

"Don't let Namjoon hear you swear," The girl teased and comfortably rested her head in the crook of his shoulder, "Wait, are you crying too?"

"Maybe just a little," Jimin admitted and sat the both of them on a small couch nearby, making sure to position himself so Nari was still sitting in his lap, "But it was just so beautiful and I'm so proud of you. I love you very much, sweetheart."

She cuddled into his frame, "I love you too, Jimin." The boy smiled and kissed her head as they both turned their attention to the small TV in front of them that showed Namjoon at the podium.

"Well, I think it's going to be a little difficult to follow up a speech like that," He managed a laugh as he wiped a tear from his cheek, "Sorry, I'm just so proud of my daughter. She's so brave and I love her more than anything." Namjoon cleared his throat, "Anyway, I feel like if I don't start reading from the script this will turn into an hour long ramble about how much I love my kid, so I wanted to thank you all again for coming tonight."

Nari couldn't help but smile. She could feel the warmth of his love through the screen and it made her so happy.

"I always thought that I knew how horrible things like sexual abuse and child neglect were, but it wasn't until I adopted Nari that I understood how much they truly affect a person's life," He continued, "and my heart goes out to all of you who share similar pain. Please know that you always have a safe place with me and my music. I hope that one day we can all live in a world where no woman, man, or child will ever have to go through such awful things. To help create this world, I am donating 3 million won to the Korean Women's Human Rights Agency. I will never stop fighting for all of you."

"And I won't either!" Jimin announced as he hugged the girl tighter in his arms, "I know I already said this, but I am just so proud of you, sweetheart. You inspire me so much."

"I...inspire you?" Nari said slowly, "Do you really mean it?"

The boy nodded eagerly, "Of course I do. You've gone through so much but all you want to do is help others. I've never known anyone as selfless as you. You inspire me to be kinder, even when the world isn't fair to me and the people I love. You're sweet, Nari."

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here's another bonus chapter :)