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Once we approach the Bighit double doors, I stop and turn around to grab the kid by his shoulders.

"Now you listen and listen good. I've got one rehearsal to get through and then we're coming straight back out, okay? Don't say anything, don't touch anything, don't do anything. Just stay behind me so that staff doesn't notice you."

Looking both ways, I grab his wrist and enter the building with the kid tugged behind me. Staff members deliver brief nods of politeness, but I don't respond, too focused on the elevator I'm trying to catch.

A pack of Bighit executives enter the elevator before the doors can close and I curse under my breath, slowly hiding the child behind my back as we all stand silently.

"Floor two, doors opening."

We finally reach the pristine oak-corridor of the dance studio. I can already hear the members' annoying ass, echoey laughter...

"Alright, I'm gonna be two hours." I lead him into a random empty closet before drawing some gummies from my pocket. "This should keep you busy. Just sit here and wait for me. Don't touch anything, got it?"

He innocent chomps on the gummies with those big doe eyes trained on me. I groan and exit, closing the door behind me before meeting the members in our large white dance studio.

"Yoongles!" Hoseok spreads his arms.

"Hey hyung." Jungkook waves. Jimin's filming his own solo MV and Taehyung's doing fashion stuff, so it's just us five members today.

"Well look who finally decides to show up." Jin begins shoving my shoulder with purse lips. "Yah! Stop oversleeping and turn up on time for once! Why should we all have to wait for you?!"

"I didn't oversleep." I tiredly swat his hand away.

Hoseok bounces his eyebrows with a devious grin, "He was busy on his date with Suran."

"Ooo, Suran..." Namjoon teases.

"You were out on a date while the rest of us woke up early to get here?!" Jin starts hitting me again.

"I wasn't out! This idiot set me up at fucking 8 in the morning."

"You're welcome."

"Whatever, it doesn't even matter. Let's just rehearse."

"Yoongi... Why is there a kid behind you?" Namjoon points.

"Wh—" I turn around to throw my head back in frustration. I swear to God—

"Awww!" Jungkook's bunny smile comes into play. "So cute! Hi little man."

"Whoa, is this the kid you found yesterday??" Hoseok points, "He looks just like you!"

"No he doesn't."

"Yes he does." Jungkook happily takes him in his arms. I roll my eyes as the members all crowd around the infant in awe.

"Hyung, what's his name?"

"How should I know?"

All four men suddenly stop to stare at me silently. "...You don't know his name?" Namjoon arches his brow.

"So what have you been calling him?" Hoseok snickers.

"I've been calling it it."

"Yah, you can't call somebody else's child an it you Grinch! Where were you raised??" Jin nags at me.

Hoseok asks, "Did you think of asking for his name?"

"The kid doesn't talk! Ever since I helped him buy some stupid gumballs yesterday and he hasn't uttered a single word."

"Hmm..." Namjoon strokes his chin in thought before Jungkook proposes an idea—

"Why don't you name him Gumball?"

"...What?" I deadpan.

Jin smacks Jungkook upside the head at his ridiculous idea. "This is why youths like you will never get married and have kids! Does Gumball sound like a name for a child?!"

"Not as a serious name! Just like, something cute to call him until his mother returns."

"I actually like it." Namjoon nods. "Suga and Gumball. The candy family."

"Shut up, he's not family."

"You look similar."

"That's a coincidence."

"Hey little Gumball~ Sweet little Gumball~" Jungkook sings to the boy angelically while Hoseok tickles his belly. For the first time, the child flickers the tiniest little smile as he squirms ticklishly in Jungkook's arms.

"I think he likes Jungkook."

"Then take him, please. All he ever does is follow me around."

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Hyung."

"Oh yeah? Watch." I exit the dance room, making sure to stop behind the door. The kid instantly looks over Jungkook's shoulder, climbs down and runs to follow me.

"See! It's annoying!"

"It seems he's grown an attachment to you. Sort of like how ducklings imprint." Namjoon pinches his chin.

"Im-what?"

"Imprinting's a natural biological routine that occurs in birds and mammals. After hatching, baby birds identify the first visual being they encounter as their mother and form an attachment. Usually talking to them or sprinkling chick feed into your hand gets them comfortable, but in your case? Gumballs."

"There goes 148 IQ Namjoon with his words of wisdom." Jin playfully shakes his shoulder.

"Well is there any way to get rid of him because I can't take this shit anymore. He doesn't talk, he doesn't laugh, he doesn't do anything!"

"Sound like anyone you know?" Hoseok jokes until I show him a deathly glare. "Sorry."

"Hyung, why don't you file a report to the police station after rehearsal? They'll file a missing child case and work out where his mother is so you don't have to watch him."

"Good call." Namjoon clicks.

I sigh and shrug a nod. "Alright, let's get this rehearsal over with then. Could you take this— him into the lobby and keep an eye on him?" I pass Gumball to a random stylist. She blinks in surprise but quickly nods and leads the kid out.

"Oh good, you're all here. You guys ready to practice this hook?" Our instructor enters the room.

"Um, which song is this again?"

"DNA." He answers.

Ah... That shitty tween pop song. How did I go from Agust D to this?

A/N: Guys, this is a joke. I'm just playing into Yoongi's grumpy personality here 😂

Jin, Namjoon, Hoseok, Jungkook and I get into position as the paceful beats of the song begin to play through the speaker...

"A five, six, seven, eigh—!"

"Little boy, come back here!" The stylist runs in after Gumball with open arms.

"Ugh, stop the music." I point. "What did I tell you, kid?? I said STAY in the other room, quit being a pain in my ass!"

"Aww, I think he just wants to watch you dance Hyung." Jungkook chuckles.

"Yeah, let him stay There's no harm in him just watching." Hoseok adds.

"Fine," I huff. "From the top."

The whistles of the track start again and the five of us move in perfect sync. Our instructor clicks his fingers and nods as we start to roll into Taehyung's verse of the song—

*Crash!*

The coat rack Gumball had for some reason tried to climb tumbles down loudly to knock over some audio equipment. Everybody stops before I growl and storm over to him, grabbing his puny arm harshly.

"What is wrong with you?! Can't you just behave?!"

"Hyung, maybe—"

"No, no maybe. I'm taking him to the police station right now and ending this headache once and for all. Continue on without me." And with that, I lead him out.

"Hey! We waited hours for you just to show up to rehearsal for ten minutes?! Get back here!" Jin shouts.

∘₊✧ ° 🌼 ° ✧₊∘
— POLICE STATION —

"I told you to stay in the other room and what do you do? Interrupt my rehearsal time. Thanks to you, I'll have to listen to Jin's whining for the entire fricking weekend." I ramble on as the child and I climb the stairs of the police station.

"Whatever, at least we're here now. You know what this place is?"

Silence.

"It's a police station. It's where people come to report bad things or missing little nuisances like you. Once I pass you to them, you'll be in good hands. And far away from me." I murmur the end part.

Still holding Gumball's arm, I push open the door and approach the front desk that has an officer sitting behind it.

"Hello. What can I do for you, sir?"

"Hi, uh. I'd like to file a missing child report?"

"Hang on. I've seen your face... Aren't you one of the guys from that boy group, BTS? You're V, right?" For crying out loud...

I roll my eyes before nodding with a fake smile and blinking eyes. "Yeah yeah, I'm V now will you take this kid or not?"

"Uhh... Yeah sure." He types on his computer and hands me some paper. "Just fill out this form indicating when and where you found him with your contact details and we'll take it from there. I'll be right back."

"You hear that kid? They're gonna find your mom." I take the form and a pen. "Soon, you'll be back home and I can go back to writing music in my cave with no interruptions. Sounds perfect, right?"

Gumball just looks at me idly, making me nod with pressed back lips. "I'll take that as excitement."

As I begin filling out the form, my eyes glance up to notice a pinboard with various newspaper clippings and posters pinned to its display. I squint when taking a closer look at the faces...

"Missing child: Sumi Lee / Age: 10 / Sex: Female / Race: Korean / Missing since: Feb 2016–"

One clipping turns into many, the sudden collage forcing my eyes to bounce from page to page uncontrollably with a speeding heart.

"Missing child: Soobun Park / Age: 5 / Sex: Male / Race: Korean / Missing since: Nov 2014–"

"Still Missing: Chaemin Choi / Age: 11 / Sex: Male / Race: Chinese / Missing since: May 2015–"

My lips slowly part and hand stops writing as I take in the display. They're all kids missing from this district... None of them have been found...

The police won't help return him home. They'll just chuck him in some adoption ring or leave him on the streets. Like they did to these kids...

They don't care to find his mom.

"Hello? Sir?" The officer waves in front of my face. "Have you finished filling the form yet?"

I blink awake and look down at the paper in my hands before scrunching it up. "Fuck you."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not gonna turn in another innocent kid just for them to end up lost or dead on the street. I'll find his mother on my own."

"Sir, it's a punishable act to take home a child that doesn't belong to you—"

"Then sue me. Until I find his home, he does belong to me... Come on Gumball, let's go." I scowl at the room's interior whilst grabbing his wrist and leading the child out.