a/n: not edited! i'm sorry :')

please vote and comment. i hope you enjoy the chapter (ignore the mistakes pls😭) and ik its been a long time, you guys must've been waiting. i'm sorry for that. a lot of things are going on as some of you know. anyway, without further ado, go ahead and read. have fun! ilysm thank you for being so patient with me 💜✨

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taehyung enters his office with a clenched jaw, leaving the door harshly, making his manager flinch behind him before catching it and saving himself from the unintentional attack. he heaves out a slow breath, not wanting taehyung to notice the look of concern he's sending his way.

taehyung hates it when people give him those looks of sympathy as if he was helpless and in urgent need of support from someone. hoseok, however can be an exception at times for he can read taehyung better than most people; and that sometimes takes an annoying turn for what taehyung would describe it as. sparing a glace at the man, taehyung sighs deeply, massaging his temples irritated since morning because hoseok has been telling to calm down continuosly and look past his ego when taking an action regarding his current situation with jiah.

he cannot afford being impulsive and he knows that even without hoseok being up his ass about it. he also knows that hoseok is a friend of jiah, which explains why he must be worried about the girl a little more than how a stranger would react on hearing such tragedy breaking over a single mother. taehyung takes off his coat, sitting on his swivel chair, eyes fixed on his manager, who stands in front of him with the same expression since morning.

"get me a lawyer." taehyung declares, "the best one in seoul."

"but—"

"i know what have to say, hyung. i'm sorry i might look like a jerk right now, but i can't just give up on my son after meeting him after two whole years. i'm not letting go of my son." he says, staring up straight and heaves out a breath, "i gave jiah the choice to stay with me, so that our son can have both of his parents. guess she wants to play hard. okay then, now it's either her or me."

"she's jihun's mother, taehyung. she gave birth yo him and raised him all by herself. she took the pregnancy alone. do you understand that? you're just being egoistic right now."

"yeah, i am." taehyung nods, "so what? i care about my son and if that makes me an 'egoistic man' then sure i might be. i wanna take care of jiah too, but she doesn't want me. it's good. she just has to leave jihun and live her life the way she wants."

"she won't be able to live without her son—"

"he's my son too!"

hoseok closes his eyes and forces himself to nod, "i'll arrange a lawyer." he mutters before exiting the office, leaving taehyung all alone to think and wonder what he's doing.

the silence doesn't last long as taehyung standa up from the chair and makes his way out of the office, towards the escalators to geton the floor above this one. he just needs to get his thoughts sorted out and look for ways to get the control back in his hands. the power which he can't feel at the moment, as if he lost it to none other than that new friend of jiah. jeon jungkook.

he jogs up to the hallway in the left, ignoring everyone except for the girl sitting by the desk before the ceo's office. "is mr park in a meeting?" he asks.

"no, sir." the girl replies, walking up to the door and knocks before letting taehyung in. jimin orders her to come inside, and she gestures taehyung to wait for a moment. in exactly a minute, she returns back, holding the door open for him.

"thank you," taehyung mutters, entering the office, holding the eye contact that jimin has maintained. with no hesitation, taehyung sits down on the chair across him, motioning his hand for jimin to take his seat as well.

"what do you want?" jimin asks.

"nothing much. just thought of checking on you. you just joined back and you look stressed."

"stop with that, taehyung. we both know we're not that close. so, get to the point and tell me what's your deal?"

"my deal?" taehyung chuckles deeply, "cool, mr businessman. you know my deal, i'm about to heir a lawyer and appeal for my son's custody."

"what?" jimin frowns.

"yeah. why so surprised? jiah doesn't want me, and i don't wanna let go of my son." he frowns.

"why are you here?" jimin asks calmly, his eyes watching taehyung with uncertainty, for he knows too that jiah will break for the worse if someone takes her child away from her.

"you still love her, don't you?"

"why?" jimin glares at him.

"okay fine. here's the thing. i want my son and you want jiah." taehyung insinuates, holding jimin's gaze with a look of anticipation, hoping for jimin to just break and let him lead the game. "if i take jihun, jiah can do whatever she wants, be with whoever she wants like any normal girl her age."

"are you for real?" jimin frowns at him, "you can't do that to her! she loves jihun! how can you—"

"do you wanna play like a wise old man or think about yourself? look, i know jiah doesn't love me anymore and i'm not gonna waste my time like this anymore. i did everything in my hands, even gave a her a choice, but she's not interested. so, be it. now i'm just gonna take my son and leave. i just came here to ask if you're still in love with her or not. if you aren't, then no issues, jungkook's already half way through being her boyfriend."

jimin averts his eyes, knowing that what taehyung said is the truth and he probably will end up the loser in this. jungkook has secured his place in her life with what all is going on, taehyung gets his son, while jimin on the other hand has got nothing. he left his business for this girl, faced losses, is going to lie to his father for her, most importantly watch some other guy take the girl he fell in love with. he sighs deeply, addressing the thoughts he has been trying to get rid off the first day he saw her looking at jungkook like that outside that ice cream parlour.

taehyung has had his share of love and even hatred in jiah's life, jungkook's making it right now and jimin is the only one who never even got the chance properly. he knows by heart that he still loves jiah and would want her near him, start all over again just to have a different ending this time. he would treat her better, be a gentleman, love her different; and for all this what he needs the most is a second chance. making mistakes is human nature and he accepts that he hasn't been the best man to jiah, but he'd like to change that show her the new and better version of himself.

"think about it and let me know. i can help you get to her, and you can help me in return. we both get what we want. isn't that a nice deal?" taehyung says, standing up. his hands in his pockets as he stares at jimin with a confident gaze as though he was proud of his pitch and was almost certain that jimin will give in, because at the end of the day, he knows jimin is weak when it comes to jiah.

"you're seriously making a deal about your son and her mother?" jimin lets out.

"no. i'm making a deal to benefit both of us. you're a man too, and i know that you love her. she already did like you and honestly, i wouldn't want her to end up with that jungkook guy."

"i'm seeing only selfish motives, taehyung."

"i'm being a father. didn't your father do something similar for you?" taehyung asks, getting a sharp look from jimin, making him smile, "all fathers would risk the world for their child, jimin. you'll know when you become one. i've been away from my son for two years, i missed on the pregnancy even. but not anymore."

"why should i believe that you'll actually leave once you're done with the case? jihun is still young, and he's gonna need his mother."

"he will need her. we can set a few dates in the month when jiah can see jihun. and in a few months he'll grow used to her not being around all the time. then i'll move out of the country with him."

"and you think jiah will let you do that?"

"i'm going to take his custody, jimin. she might be a mother, but she still needs to abide by the law."

jimin sighs deep breath, massaging his temples, "it's wrong..." he mutters, "she'll break, taehyung. don't do this."

"she had an option." taehyung shrugs. "look, it's okay that you're worried. it only shows that you care for her."

"i do." jimin hums, turning to taehyung, "if i agree for this, taehyung, it will be because i want to look after her. you're still an asshole for wanting her son away from her."

"he's my son too." taehyung states. "about the other thing, i'm not judging, jimin. i brought this up, so it's on me, okay? feel free to blame me."

jimin sighs, taking a sip of water from the glass on his desk and stands against the edge, partially sitting on it, but his one leg remains planted on the floor. "so, what do you want me to do?"

"do whatever you think is gonna help you get closer to her again. i'm sure you're not a fan of jungkook, either?"

"not really." jimin shrugs, "but i find him genuine."

taehyung suppresses the urge to roll his eyes at that, and just hums weakly, stepping to the side to approach closer to jimin until he's standing beside him, "try to gain her trust again. it won't be that easy, but i hope you can do it."

jimin knows all that, he faces taehyung, tilting his, arching up his brows at him, "when are you appealing in the court?"

"i'm looking for a good lawyer. so, probably soon."

jimin massages his forehead at the information, his heart screaming that he shouldn't side taehyung in this, yet his mind sees all the possibilities of him getting jiah like he wants. she can still see her son, so it shouldn't be that bad, and on second thoughts a lot of kids go through their parents' separation. divorces and splitting like taehyung and jiah isn't new in the world, and jihun is pretty young to understand the ill effects. by the time he will grow up and realise what happened, he would to be used to the life with only his dad in it.

"okay," jimin sighs, "i'm going to see my parents today, by the way."

"oh, great. good luck." taehyung pats his shoulder. "that also reminds me of," he pauses, getting a curious look from jimin, "i'm planning on telling my family about jihun."

"you haven't told them yet?"

"no. i thought i'd take jiah and jihun with me. but i guess not." he shrugs, "and once the case begins, it's gonna be all over the media. so, everyone will know eventually."

"you should tell them." jimin nods.

"yeah. i'll go now. got a few things to take care of." taehyung smiles, shaking hands with jimin before walking out more confident than he walked in. he cracks his neck, pulling out his phone and chuckles lightly at jiah's name in her contacts, "i'm gonna leave you alone, just how you wanted me too."

he doesn't click on the name, rather searches another name and brings the phone closer to his ear. after a few rings the call is answered with a scolding right away, telling him that he needs to call more frequently. "ah sorry, mom." he says.

"you're sorry now? no calls or messages for four months! are you even my son or not?!"

"i am. i am. relax. i actually called you to tell you to clear all your work for the weekend. i'm coming home with a really special surprise."

"wha— really? you better not be messing around, tae. and what is it? are you bringing your girlfriend with you?"

"better than that." he smiles.

•••

"hey," jiah looks up at the source of the whisper, tearing her eyes off the scene outside the window of her living room and finds yoongi walking up to her from the doorway. he sits down beside her, smiling softly and nodd towards the plastic bag that he just placed on the table. "i got you some pork and kimchi fried rice. min yoongi special." he ruffles her hair.

"thanks," jiah returns a brief smile, picking up the bag for she can't ignore her growling stomach anymore. yoongi helps her take the food out and opens the lids, handing her the chopsticks and a spoon for the rice after pouring different kinds of sauces in it. pork is grilled and hot, smelling appetizing and so is the rice, making jiah's mouth water. she sighs softly, picking up the plastic box and takes the first bite, closing her eyes at the delicious taste.

"mm 's good," she hums, gulping down the content of her mouth, taking another large bite quickly followed by a piece of pork that yoongi cuts into small edible pieces for her. "have some." jiah says, holding a spoonful of the heavenly fried rice in front of the elder's mouth, not giving him the option to refuse.

"i'm sorry for arguing with you earlier." she says, "i don't know what's wrong with me..."

"nothing is wrong with you." yoongi looks at her assuringly, "taehyung was the leech in your life, and now that he's gone you're fine."

"he's not gone, oppa. you know it too." jiah sighs, takung a sip of water and continues eating, occasionally giving yoongi a bite or two of his amazing creation.

"you don't have to worry about anything, okay? we'll deal with him."

"we can't. he's so powerful and everyone will listen to him. he was right, oppa, he has the upper hand... i don't think we should anything against him. he's already pissed and if i do anything else, it might just get worse. he'll take jihun away and probably wouldn't even let me see him again."

"he can't do that. just try to tust me, jiah. he won't be able to take your son from you. you are the mothe—"

"that doesn't matter. no matter how much i cry and beg him, i won't win against him. i don't have that much money, i don't even have a job."

"it's alright. you can start again." yoongi pats her head, "just try to relax for now and focus on getting yourself together. you can't face taehyung like this. you need to get up strong and let him know that he doesn't stand a chance against you."

jiah sighs at that, hesitating to even believe it but for yoongi, she ends up nodding slowly. the thought of facing taehyung again makes her shiver with the possibilities of what might happen. taehyung is probably mad right now, trying to think of ways to get his son back and leave jiah aching for the rest of her life. maybe she shouldn't have gone against him? maybe.

she shakes her head, closing her eyes and pushes the bad thoughts away, wanting to ignore them until she can figure out how to deal with them. glancing at yoongi again, she's suddenly reminded of what he went home for, making her gasp and sit facing him, "how did your family thing go? was it a date again?"

"ah it's nothing that huge." he shakes his head.

"no, tell me. i'm sorry i just got so caught up in my mess that i forgot you have your own life too. and i know you had to rush here because of me, so... please, oppa i feel bad for being such a burden to you."

"burden, huh?" yoongi chuckles, ruffling her hair, "didn't you say that you were the bag of potatoes i'll have to carry for the rest of my life?"

jiah scrunches face at that, the day coming evident in her head when she gave yoongi a handmade greeting card on his twenty-first birthday with the same words scribbled inside a big balloon. yoongi had said he didn't like the card at all and it would've been better if she just got him a basketball but the eleven-year-old jiah believed that nothing could beat her pretty handmade card. it would be a lie if yoongi said he didn't keep all her cards for him safe as if they were some gems.

"i like my little bag of potatoes." yoongi teased her, and jiah whines, hitting his arm but leans in for a hug. yoongi takes a deep breath, kissing the top of her head and rubs her back, "eveything will be okay, hm?"

"yeah," she nods, "thank you, oppa."

"well, if you really wanna thank me, then let's have dinner in my restaurant tonight. i've called jin, namjoon and hobi as well."

"uh okay, sure." she nods, "i missed them. namjoon oppa especially. he's almost like you, a little less grumpy."

"i'll ignore that." yoongi hums, "and you can call jungkook as well, if you want."

jiah looks up at him, arching up a brow, "really?"

"yeah, i mean it's okay if you don't want to."

"no, it's not like that. just i didn't know you liked him that much?"

"he's a nice guy."

"he is." she agrees, "he did so much for me. i didn't expect that."

"i was surprised too when he called me to ask about you. but turns out he's genuine."

"yeah, he—" jiah's interrupted with her phone ringing, and to her surprise it's jungkook. she smiles to herself amused by his timing and gives yoongi an apologetic look, before answering the call. "hi—"

"hey, what are you doing?"

"hello to you too." jiah rolls her eyes.

"ah okay, hello." jungkook sighs, "now, what are you doing? i was thinking if we could go grab some coffee?"

"uhm okay if you want to." she hums, glancing at yoongi who gives her a knowing smile. "coffee" she mouths to him, earning a chuckle.

"great, and is your fever gone?"

"yeah, i took the meds, and i'll do it again right now."

"why? are you not feeling well?"

"i am. it's not really bad, but just to be completely fine, y'know?"

"ah, yeah. that's good. so when do i pick you up?"

jiah checks the time and thinks for a moment before giving him a word, "around five? i kinda wanna take a tiny nap...?"

"oh sure. you should rest well." jungkook hums, "how's jihun?"

"good. was sleeping then woke up and has been playing in the balcony ever since. i'll have to feed him now and then let's see what he wants to do."

"you should being him with you. he'll have fun."

"with us?"

"yeah, why not? we can take him to a park or something and do some baby stuff."

"baby stuff?" jiah laughs, getting a smile from yoongi, who finally stands up and waves at her, gesturing that he'll leave now. jiah nods, waving back and lays on the couch after putting the half eaten box of fried rice on the table.

"something like swings or i don't know, merry go rounds?"

"jihun likes aquariums. he has a thing for fishes ever since he saw finding nemo."

"can you blame him? that movie is awesome!"

"i'll agree with that." jiah chuckles, "anyway, what are you doing?"

"nothing really. just came up from the gym, yook a shower and now i'm laying in my bed, thinking of you."

"wow, you're so busy." jiah teases him.

"i know right? i've been this busy ever since that first kick."

"geez! you're hopeless."

"tell me about it." jungkook clicks his tongue, although it's clear that he's probably grinning ear to ear at the moment. "hey, uh remember you said you wanted to ride my motorcycle?"

"yes?"

"i'm thinking of being the bigger person today and let you do it."

"wait, really?!"

"yeah, but not all alone. i'll sit behind you."

"i don't mind." jiah grins, "thank you!"

"you're welcome, baby. are you—"

jihun cries outside from the balcony, making jiah frown and stand up quickly, heading out to see what happened. he couldn't possibly get hurt with only his toys and a few plants. "what's wrong, ji?" jiah asks, opening the door and ends up chuckling on seeing that it's actually a butterfly on his leg that he's scared of. jihun points at the beautiful yellow insect, mumbling for jiah to take it off and save him from the wild animal.

"what is that?" jiah crouches down beside him and holds the butterfly gently by its wings.

"what happened?" jungkook asks.

"ji's scared of a butterfly."

"mamma..." jihun mumbles, standing up and hugs jiah, feeling better now that the butterfly is not sitting on his leg.

"look, it's just a butterfly." she says, showing him the insect which moves its thin legs, making jihun screech and stick closer to jiah. "it doesn't bite, baby. you can touch it. see?" she says, taking his hand makes him touch the butterfly with one one gentle finger. jihun doesn't scream this time and stares cautiously at the butterfly, growing more interested in it.

being an unpredictable toddler, jihun withdraws his hnd and jiah almost thought that she could just let the butterfly go, but her son returns again, grabbing the butterfly in his one hand and turns around to place it in his toy car. "jihun!" jiah gasps, breaking into a laugh as jihun stares at the now dead butterfly, the yellow color of its wings in his hand the dead body on the car.

"buttuh-fly..." jihun crouches in front of his car, poking the insect, "wakie. le's go dwive."

"ah, you killed it, jihun." jiah says.

"buttuh-fly," jihun keeps trying, then turns to his mother and points at the car, "ji' buttuh-fly fwend, mamma."

"well, your friend is dead." jiah sighs

"what?" jungkook asks, "the butterfly? it's dead already?"

"yeah, my son killed it. and now he's taking the dead body for a drive." jiah sighs.

"must be traumatic for a baby." jungkook says.

"i don't think so." jiah shakes her head, as jihun continues playing with the car, having the dead butterfly sitting in the driver's seat.

jungkook chuckles on the line and jiah sits there, putting the call on speaker while stopping jihun's car and picks up the poor butterfly he just accidentally killed. "let's burry your friend, so it ca go to heaven and rest in peace." she says, hearing another amused chuckle from jungkook.

"so now we're doing a burial for the butterfly?" he asks.

"yep." jiah hums, shifting towards a big flower pot and digs in a small grave. "ji, c'mere." jihun watches everything curiously, even helps dig deeper in the pot. "that's okay. now pick up the butterfly and put it here." she hands the butterfly to her son and points at the grave. jihun places it inside, and jiah smiles, "now say sorry mr butterfly."

"sowwy buttuh-fly," jihun repeats.

"say rest in peace."

"we't in pweash."

"good job. let's cover it up now." she smiles, putting the mud back with jihun's help. the boy stares at the spot, picking a flower from the top and puts it there, waving at the tiny butterfly grave. "aw, my baby." jiah gasps, hugging jihun tightly and kisses her cheek.

"i'm guessing something cute happened?"

"ji placed a flower on the butterfly's grave all by himself." jiah says, "isn't he so thoughtful and cute?"

"he sure is. and someone deserves a treat for that?" jungkook chuckles.

jiah smiles, glancing at her son and pats his back, drawing his attention towards the phone, "jungkook is saying that ji deserves a treat."

"tweat?"

"yes, who's a good boy?" jungkook says.

"ji!" jihun jumps, "ji' goo'boy!"

"of course, so what do you want?"

"ji wan' caw!"

"how many cars do you want?"

"we'll get ji a car." jungkook declares.

"ji wan' caw! yayyy!" jihun jumps around, clapping his hands.

"this boy and his cars. my whole apartment is full of his cars." jiah sighs.

"another one doesn't hurt." jungkook says, "and does ji's mamma want?"

"nothing," jiah chuckles. "and don't say it like that."

"why? it's cute, mamma."

"hey! i told you not to—"

"mamma," jihun repeats, picking up the phone.

"are you talking to me, jihun?"

"yesh," jihun hums. "koo, hi."

"hi, buddy. do you know my voice that well?"

"koo wuv yoo,"

"ah, okay," jungkook laughs lightly, "i love you too, ji."

"wuv-yoo mamma?"

"yeah, she loves you too."

jiah on the other hand stares at her son with a slight blush painting her cheeks, for she understood what jihun wanted to say and how jungkook missed it. she pulls him closer and smacks his butt lightly, "you know a lot of stuff huh?" she whispers to the toddler, which makes him giggle for some reason.

"what? sorry i can't here you." jungkook a
says.

"uh no, nothing. it's jihun. he's becoming too smart these days."

"he's growing up well." jungkook hums. "alright, baby get some rest and i'll come at five. see you then."

"okay, bye."

"yeah, take care."

"hm, you too."

"me too?" jungkook teases, making jiah roll her eyes, hanging up before he said anything else. she heaves out a deep breath, staring at the sky with a smile that refuses to leave her lips. it's magical how she couldn't even think straight yesterday when jungkook and yoongi took her out of taehyung's mess, and today she's already smiling like nothing ever went wrong. 

"what are you doing to me jungkook?" she sighs, glancing down at her phone again, shaking her head.

"koo?" jihun stands in front of her, making her scrunch her face up.

"yes." she nibbles on her lip, "isn't he nice? to both of us."

"koo nish! ji an- mamma wuv koo!"

"i— alright, he's our friend." she clears her throat, nodding to agree with her son. "yeah, we definitely like him. he helped us a lot and we're good friends..."

"bes'fwend?"

"yeah, best friends."

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