"are you ready?"

jiah shakes her head, hands clutching her bag tightly, staring at jungkook at a distance, holding jihun in his arms, showing him random objects that he could find around to distract the crying toddler. jiah heaves out a shaky breath, turning around to avoid jungkook's gaze if he looks this way and immediately wipes her tears.

"i understand it's hard, jiah. but what you've done is wrong." jimin speaks in a soft voice, patting her side. "all of us have told you numerous times to tell jungkook the truth. he'll be more hurt if he finds out from anyone else except you."

"i know, jimin. i know that." she looks away, nibbling on her lip, "i tried talking to him, but every time i did, something or the other interrupted me... i've been trying for the whole week, but nothing worked... in the beginning i couldn't gather enough courage to tell him, and when i finally did my work, his own life kept getting in between. i know it's my fault and i should've tried harder... but i'm sorry i couldn't..."

jimin nods slowly, blinking his own eyes, for no matter how much he tried to smile around jiah, it's no secret that it shakes him from inside seeing her hurting so bad. "will you stay with him, jimin?" she faces him with hopeful eyes, stepping forward to hold his hands, "please? if any of the lawyers bring it up today, it's over. i don't qanna lose jungkook, please... just stay with him and- and try calming him down if it's talked in the court. if not, i swear i'll sit him down tonight and tell him everything."

jimin glances back at jungkook, who's smiling, still busy with jihun, although his gaze falls in their direction, making jimin smile a little, sighing as he lowers his head and nods. "please talk to him. he deserves to know the truth." he says and steps back, pulling out his handkerchief and gives it to jiah, "now you better stop crying. he is coming."

jiah hums, wiping off her tears and takes a few deep breaths, mumbling softly to jimin, "thank you." he smiles in return, and glances at jungkook and the baby in his arms.

"mamma, go'ome..." jihun mumbles, leaning towards jiah, who doesn't try to carry him for her hands tremble even though she forces a smile.

"just a little while. we'll go back after that."

"everything will be okay. don't worry." jungkook assures, wrapping his right arm around jiah and leans down to kiss her lips. "i can take jihun for a ride on my bike if he cries again. you just focus on the case and don't worry about this little guy, i'll take care of him."

"thanks..." jiah hushes out, hugging jungkook tightly as she looks up at him, "i love you, jungkook. more than i can tell you in words."

"i know." he chuckles, "and i always love you more. now let's go inside, yoongi hyung said it's about time."

jiah nods, glancing at jimin, who gives her an assuring smile. the two males follow her inside the courtroom, finding themselves a seat near yoongi and namjoon, while jiah sits next to the lawyer. soon enough taehyung enters with his manager and to jiah's surprise, his parents as well. she stares at them with unsure eyes, gulping at the sight of his mother looking her way with a saddened gaze.

"why are they here?" she whispers to her lawyer, eyes already holding tears because three years ago when she had taehyung as her boyfriend, she also found a family in his. when her own parents fought with her for dating a man instead of only getting a degree, taehyung's parents treated her like she was already a part of their family.

"they're his family, jiah. they have the right to be here to support their son."

"i know, but..." jiah sighs, massaging her temples.

"all rise!"

jiah stands up at her place, clutching the hem of her top tightly. thoughts of how the court session is going to proceed and its possible outcome in future. she takes a deep breath, lifting her head up to sneak a glance towards the left side, where taehyung sits with his supporters and lawyers. she finds taehyung staring as well, looking just as troubled as her, as if something was hurting him just as bad as this whole situation did to jiah.

"jiah, you good?" she breaks out of her trailing thoughts, looking over her shoulder where she catches her boyfriend staring at her worriedly. he probably noticed her hands clenching and unclenching, now the tears in her eyes concern him even more. he shifts forward in his seat, draping his arm loosely over jiah's shoulder from behind and kisses the side of her lips. "it'll be alright, hm? don't worry. i love you, baby. you're the strongest." he whispers.

"i've something to tell you..." jiah hushes out, lowering her gaze, which when raised again, is directed towards taehyung, who's still looking at her, as though trying to communicate with her virtually. jiah sighs softly, turning a little on her seat and looks at jungkook, "that day i-"

"jiah." the lawyer nudges her, making her sit straight instantly, as he stands up and bows to the judge. "good morning, my lord. i'm seong yaejun, i'll be representing miss park jiah in this court session." the judge nods, and the lawyer continues. "your honour, my client is being bothered and forced to give up her son's custody to her ex-boyfriend, mr. kim taehyung, who claims to be the child's father."

"claims to be?" taehyung frowns, "i am the father!"

"we'll be taking your dna tests, mr kim." yaejun smiles, then faces the judge again, "mr kim has been emotionally harrassing my client for the child's custody, even though the man, himself, wasn't present in their lives for nearly three years, including the pregnancy period. i urge the court to take strict action against mr. kim taehyung and grant the complete custody of the child to his mother, park jiah, and a generous compensation amount."

the judge nods, now glancing at taehyung's advocate, "you may proceed."

the said lawyer stands up, bowing first, then glances at jiah and smiles, as he focuses back on the judge, "i'm lim gooyun, representing mr. kim taehyung in this court session." he says, "the case is pretty simple, my lord. it's nothing that should be dragged this way. the allegations being posed on my client are baseless. miss jiah has constantly tried to keep the child away from his father, which is absolutely wrong, my lord."

"mr, lim," yaejun chuckles, standing up and faces the man, "i think you're messing up your role a little. we have a great judge to decide what's right and wrong here, you don't need to jump into conclusions just yet now, do you?" he smiles, glancing at the judge, gaining a nod of approval. "thank you, your honor."

gooyun sighs, ignoring taehyung's glare and walks forward, clearing his throat, "my lord, i'd like to request miss jiah to come to witness stand."

"miss park, please come to witness stand." the judge asks.

jiah stands up slowly, taking a deep breath as she heads to the wooden box, where advocate lim is already waiting for her. he smiles at her, resting an arm over the wooden bar for support, making jiah shift to one side. "so, miss jiah, mr. kim says that you don't let him meet his son. is that true?"

"no." jiah frowns. "i told him he can see jihun whenever he wants."

"and? if i'm not wrong you had a condition for that, didn't you?"

jiah looks down, "not exac-"

"yes or no?"

jiah glares at the man, "i told him he can-"

"yes or no, miss jiah? i don't think i asked for any explanation."

"objection, your honor. he's trying to intimidate my client!"

"overruled." the judge says and looks at jiah, "you're supposed to answer exactly what is questioned."

"right," gooyun hums, "so, miss jiah, did you propose some conditions for taehyung to see his son?"

"no..." she hushes out.

"alright, can mr. kim please come to the witness stand." gooyun says, glaring at jiah and moves back, facing the witness stand opposite to jiah's where taehyung comes up. "mr. kim, can you please tell the court what jiah said when you went to meet the child?"

taehyung sighs, glancing between jiah and the judge, "she said i can't take him with me."

"and why do you think she said that?"

"doesn't trust me."

"have you done anything in the past that explains why she doesn't trust you with your child? for example, you might've accidentally hurt the toddler? or failed to take care of him?"

"no." taehyung shakes his head again, "i love my son more than anything in the world. i'm just a father who wants his child..." he says, turning to the judge, "sir, i don't even want this. if jiah agrees to marry me, i'll be the happiest man on earth. i don't want my family breaking."

"family?" yaejun approaches taehyung, before jiah speaks. "what makes you think jiah is a part of your family, mr. kim?"

"she was girlfriend. i always wanted to marry her, and now she's also my child's mother."

"well, mr. kim, what is your opinion on men who think they can overpower a woman with their strength, money or may perhaps... seduction?"

"what are you trying to imply, mr. seong? that my client did all those criminal things with miss jiah?" advocate lim scoffs, earning a knowing smile from yaejun.

"if he hasn't, then why are you being so defensive? i'm just asking him questions like it's supposed to go in this court."

gooyun laughs, shaking his head, "as i said in the very beginning, this is just ridiculous. my client has already given miss jiah two options, to either come to him, or let the honorable court decide who gets the child's custody. now, your honor, she has opted the second one."

"and mr. lim, who exactly is your client to give miss jiah these two absurd options?" yaejun asks sarcastically, "my lord, my client is a simple woman, only twenty-three years old, with a normal job. it wasn't ideal for her, or literally anyone, to go back and forth between court and go through all the legal procedures emotionally as well as financially. but that doesn't mean she's bound to be with a man who doesn't even respect her nor love her. and to save herself from anymore abuse from mr kim taehyung, park jiah had to afford this case.

"let me tell everyone here, she left her family for this man, had his child all while he was gone and didn't even try to talk to her once. kim taehyung, your honor, didn't even bother replying to jiah's constant calls and messages. then one day suddenly after three years, he comes back and demands to be a part of jiah and her son's life?" yaejun chuckles in disbelief, turning to taehyung, "why the sudden interest, mr. kim? jiah was doing fine with her life, how come your so called 'love' only popped up now and not before this when she left her family forever? or when she gave birth? or maybe when she was carrying a child all alone while she was still in college?"

taehyung mutters something under his breath, and yaejun shakes his head, "please speak loud and clear, mr kim. we want everyone to hear the truth."

"i didn't know she was pregnant..." he says.

"of course. how would you even know when you busy ignoring your girlfriend's calls and messages?" yaejun smiles at him, nodding slowly. "isn't that so?"

"i was busy with my career! i had a contract with the agency that i couldn't tell anyone, even my family, about my training and auditioning until i debuted and secured a place in the industry."

"well, do you have the contract then?"

taehyung pauses for a second, looking at his lawyer, who is frowning and going through a file, standing up quickly with a frown, "i object, my lord! this is baseless. the contract was signed three years ago and was meant to be confidential. there's no reason to bring this up now."

"sustained." the judge nods, "please stick to the subject, mr. seong."

"this is related to the subject, my lord." yaejun emphasizes, "i would request the court to let me carry on with my questioning."

"well, if you can make it clear what you're arguing here for, then maybe the court will happily grant you the permission, mr seong." gooyun chuckles.

"all i want to state is that the contract kim taehyung keeps bringing up to justify his absence in jiah's and their son's life, must have some existence, right? he signed such an important contract, agreed to keep his life a secret from everyone in his life. i'm sure people keep these kind of documents safe with them, or no, mr kim?" yaejun arches up a brow at taehyung, who has no option than to nod.

"i have them." he hushes out, eyes flicking to jiah for a brief moment, before lowering to the floor again.

•••

"there's media outside." yoongi mumble in a low voice between jungkook and jiah, holding a sleeping jihun in his arms. jiah's eyes wander towards the front of the government building, letting out a deep breath as she can already hear the chaos from the direction.

soon she witnesses it first hand. the cameras flashing as soon as she appears in their sight, people screaming out her name, their favourite actor's name and their own questions and opinions about the case. one thing predominant among most voices is that they're not happy with jiah's decision of keeping the child away from taehyung, for his fans and followers know how much taehyung loves kids and has always been straight forward about his dream to be a father one day.

now when he is a father, there's jiah not letting him have the life he had always prayed for.

taking a deep breath, jiah steps forward, only to be stopped by a call of her name, a distinct one from the crowd of media houses and reporters. her breath hitches when she turns around, eyes watering all over again on seeing taehyung's mother approaching her with an equally worried look. she glances at jihun first, smiling at the baby and takes him in her arms without saying anything to anyone, kisses his cheek gently, not to wake him up and hugs him like he is a part of her family.

he is, in fact, her grandson.

"you named him?" she asks, tears spilling from her eyes, and jiah draws in a sharp breath, blinking her own glassy eyes, nodding her head. "it's a beautiful name... jihun. kim jihun." she repeats to her contend.

although hearing their surname instead of her own, makes jiah's heart clench, as she glances at jungkook and yoongi, before fixing her gaze back on the elder woman. "it's not— it's not kim. he's park—"

"you didn't give him our family name?" mrs kim voices with a frown.

"i was alone when i had jihun. taehyung wasn't with me, and—"

"so, you didn't think he'd ever come back to you? to his son, jiah?" she leaves jiah helpless, staring back with hurtful eyes. "you loved tae so much, left everything for him and you couldn't give his name to his son, let alone waiting for him?"

"you expect me to have waited for him?" jiah frowns, wiping off her tears and ends up letting out a dry laugh. "i was pregnant through the last year of college, jihun will be three years old in a few months... if i sat and waited for your son, mrs kim, i would've never been able to raise jihun, nor ever move on."

"have you now, moved on, jiah?" it's taehyung who questions that, earning a look from jiah.

"i have." she puts it simply, taking jihun back and glances at jungkook, "let's go."

jungkook nods, his hand secured on the small of jiah's back, while eyes shoot a warning glare to taehyung, which probably ticks the latter. taehyung takes a long step forward, almost bumping chests with jungkook, already stressed from the court session from a few minutes ago and jungkook's presence itself is enough to rile him over the edge.

"stop it, dude. you're not getting the child's custody anyway, might as well ruin your name when your fans come to know what sort of pain in the ass you are." jungkook scoffs.

"you'll pay for it." taehyung growls. "mark my words, jeon. i'm not someone you mess with and get away without getting dirty, or hurt."

"threaten me all you want. we both know you're all bark and no bite." jungkook smirks, pushing taehyung back gently and wraps his arm around jiah, "let's go, baby. you and jihun must be tired."

they leave with that. jiah stays between jungkook and yoongi, namjoon walking after them, while advocate seong is in the front. jimin has left earlier, saying that it wouldn't be good if any of the reporters saw him here, being involved in the case and could cause more problems for jiah itself. passing through the mass of news reporters and paparazzi, the words that fill in jiah's ears peirce through her chest like bullets.

"you know taehyung loves children, yet you're taking his own son away from him! you never deserved to in his life!"

"how can a mother do this to her own child?"

"taehyung should get the custody of his child! it's his right!"

"do you think you can share with our viewers how you feel after the first court session?"

"this bitch should die! how can a woman bo so heartless and take a child away from his father?!"

she holds jihun close to her chest, lowering her head in his shoulder and presses a kiss softly. jungkook's arm around her and yoongi's on her back assure her in contrast to the words being thrown at her like stones, letting her know that no matter what anyone had to say, she wasn't bound to listen and react. however, the number of times she has heard someone calling her a bad mother, a heartless monster and an ungrateful women, is just countless at this rate.

"this way." yoongi guides her towards the exit gate, leaving the media behind as their attention now is on taehyung, who has the nerve to wait and address them. it doesn't bother jiah, until his words make it to her ears, freezing her feet on spot, feeling jungkook stiffening beside her.

"whatever's going on between me and jiah is meant to stay between us. i would request and appreciate you all respecting our privacy. the court will decide which one of us will get our son's custody, so nobody else needs to bother drawing conclusions. i hope you understand that and watch your words next time. even if she's my opponent in court, she's my child's mother, the woman i loved and still do. i don't wanna hear any rumours and rude comments circulating around about her."

jiah only looks back once meeting taehyung's eyes, which are the biggest trigger she has realized she'll ever experience, for holding his gaze itself is enough to have her sobbing on the floor. it's scary how a pair of eyes, a familiar voice and a (once) safe pair of hands are eveything it needs to ruin a person inside-out.

taehyung is the ruin as well as the remains in jiah's life.

it feels like he's the inevitable truth that she can only run from, but never avoid.

"he's just doing it to gain sympathy." jungkook states and takes jiah forward, having her attention back on him, as he enters his car, while yoongi and namjoon take the other one.

jiah looks down, gulping in horror as she sits hugging jihun and mumbles, "we need to talk, jungkook..."

________

a/n: please vote and comment <3