Present Day
22-Years-Old

Aera was still grinning for the next 20 minutes as Yoongi texted her while he waited for Sunhee. She was just about to text him again when he beat her to it.

Yoongi She's here! Gotta go.

"Eek!" Aera exclaimed. "Oh, I hope this goes well. I believe in you, Yoongs!"

She was just about to turn on the TV when her phone rang. She picked it up and furrowed her brow at the number. She didn't recognize it.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, are you Seong Aera?"

"Yes," Aera said cautiously. "Who are you?"

"I got your name from the police station. They said you want to babysit my nephew."

Aera's eyes widened. "Jungkook?"

"Yeah. So, can you?"

"Can I what?"

There was an exasperated sigh. "Babysit."

"Oh, uh, yeah, of course! When do you need me?"

"Right now."

Aera blinked. "I – "

"My wife is working tonight, and my buddies wanna go out. So, can you come over?"

"Sure," Aera said quickly, not believing her luck that she would get to see the sweet, shy little boy again. "Can you text me your location to this number?"

There was a grunt and the call was cut. Aera stared at her phone. Had she said something wrong?

But then a message came through with an address. Aera quickly checked the bus schedule and figured out where she needed to go. Before she grabbed her things, she opened her phone again to text Yoongi where she'd be. But then she paused. She couldn't interrupt his date.

So she grabbed a piece of paper and pen and wrote him a note. She'd either beat him home, or he'd find the note when he returned before her. She was sure to include the address of where she'd be at the bottom of the note.

And then she collected her things and left the apartment. Luckily, she didn't have to travel far. She made it there in just about 15 minutes.

It was not the best area of town, however, and that made Aera a bit nervous. Now that she was here, she wasn't entirely sure this was such a good idea after all.

But the thought of Jungkook compelled her to knock on the door anyway. The door quickly opened, and a large, unkempt man stood before her.

"Um, hello," Aera said with a small bow. "I'm Seong Aera and – "

"Took you long enough to get here," the man spat as he turned around and gestured for her to enter the dingy, dirty apartment. "The kid's in there." He pointed to a doorway down the hall. Aera nodded.

"I don't know when I'll be back," he grunted. "Have fun."

And then he was gone. Aera stood in the kitchen, nervously looking around, when she heard a small noise in the hallway. To her surprise, Jungkook was quickly moving toward the front door. He had just about opened it when Aera called out to him.

"Jungkook?"

The boy jumped before spinning around. There was terror in his eyes, and Aera knew she'd caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to do.

"Hey," she said quietly, carefully moving toward him. He moved back and cowered into a corner. "Do you remember me? From earlier today? I found you on the bus and my friend and I took you to the police station."

Jungkook eyed her wearily before recognition flashed in his eyes. Then, he looked astonished. He stared at her for a moment before throwing himself at her and hugging her legs.

"Hi!" she said, chuckling. "I'm so glad I get to see you again!"

After she was able to get him disentangled from her legs, Aera knelt down in front of him, gently holding his shoulders. "What were you trying to do a moment ago? Were you trying to leave?"

Jungkook looked away from her.

"Do you always go out when your uncle leaves?"

Jungkook shrugged.

"Jungkook, honey, you can't do that. I know you've only ever gotten lost, but worse things can happen. It's not safe out there."

Jungkook met Aera's eyes again. She could tell they were regretful. "I'm not mad at you, Jungkook. Okay? I just want you to be safe."

Suddenly, Jungkook threw his arms around Aera's neck and pulled her into a hug. Aera was surprised, but quickly wrapped her arms around Jungkook as well. She lifted him up and then stood and carried him to the couch. She sat down and held him on her lap.

"Jungkookie, can you tell me what's happening here? Why do you want to leave so bad?"

But Jungkook only squeezed her harder. Aera wasn't sure what to do, so she just held the boy tightly and rocked him slowly.

The longer she held him, the more she could tell he was in desperate need of a bath. His hair was greasy, and there was an odor about him. "Hey, Jungkookie, would you like to take a bath?"

Jungkook pulled back and looked at her with scared eyes. He began to shake his head, but Aera smoothed a hand over his hair to calm him down.

"It'll be okay. I'll help you and we'll be really gentle. Okay? And let's take some of your toys in there with us! It'll be lots of fun!"

Jungkook just cocked his head at the word "toys" and stared at her.

"C'mon, let's go see what you've got."

Aera stood and carried Jungkook to the room his uncle had pointed out when she'd gotten there. She stopped short at the door.

It was practically empty. There was a dirty toddler mattress on the floor in the corner with a couple of dirty blankets on it. Other than that, there was a small dresser along one wall that had a small amount of clothes falling out of it.

And there was nothing else. No toys, no pillow, no decorations. Aera stood, horrified, and felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes. When she'd first heard about Jungkook's situation from the police officer, she'd never expected that it was this bad.

She pulled back a bit and looked at Jungkook's face, but once again, he would not meet her eyes. He looked ashamed this time, and Aera's heart broke.

"I'm so sorry, Jungkookie," she said quietly. "Let's go ahead and take a look at the bathroom."

She held her breath as she carried him to the small bathroom down the hall. She was pleased to see that it was not terribly dirty. But it wasn't exactly clean either. Aera set Jungkook down and began looking through the cabinets for a towel. She finally found one that smelled somewhat clean. She then set about running a bath and getting Jungkook ready for it. There, of course, was no shampoo or body wash for kids, so she used some that was there that was obviously for the adults.

It took some time, but eventually Jungkook relaxed enough to somewhat enjoy the bath. He splashed around in the water and, to Aera's great pleasure, giggled every once in a while. She let him soak and splash for awhile as she tried to find some clean clothes in his bedroom. By the time she found some, the water was getting cold. She quickly got him out of the tub and dressed.

"So," Aera said as she knelt down to Jungkook's height. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Do you want to see what's on TV?"

Jungkook's eyes lit up and he nodded furiously. Aera smiled, then led him to the living room. She turned on the TV and managed to find some cartoons. Jungkook grinned as he stared at the TV in wonder. Aera carefully sat down on the couch, and Jungkook immediately climbed into her lap.

It didn't take long for Jungkook to get sleepy and lay down in Aera's lap. Aera began running her fingers through Jungkook's now clean hair as she stroked his back with her other hand. Eventually, she heard soft snores, and smiled to herself.

She couldn't bear to lay Jungkook in the dirty bed in his bedroom, so she simply continued to hold him. She watched the TV idly, not really paying much attention to it. She was about to fall asleep herself, when her phone chimed with a message notification.

Yoongi Where the hell are you?

She chuckled.

Aera Where the hell are you?

Yoongi I'm at home, wondering why I'm not currently telling my best friend all about my date.

Aera grinned.

Aera I promise I'll hear all about it as soon as I get there.

Yoongi When will you get here?

Aera I'm not sure. The uncle said he didn't know when he'd be back. Jungkook is asleep, so for now, I'm just waiting.

Yoongi I looked up the address you left. That's not a very safe part of town. Do you want me to join you?

Aera No, that's okay. I'll be fine.

Yoongi Promise me you'll text me when you're leaving. If you don't, I'll show up there anyway.

Aera I promise.

Yoongi Keep me updated.

Aera I will, dad.

Yoongi Oh, ha ha.

Aera set her phone aside with a small giggle. She smiled fondly. She really was lucky in the friend department. Yoongi was simply the best.

It took another three hours for Jungkook's uncle to show back up. Aera had fallen asleep and startled awake to the sound of keys jingling in the lock. She sat up straight and dreaded the moment she'd have to lay Jungkook into his dirty bed.

"'M back," Jungkook's uncle slurred. Aera sighed internally. He was drunk. Definitely not in a state to take care of a four-year-old. She was grateful that Jungkook was still asleep.

"Hello," she said. "I'll just put Jungkook in his bed, and I'll get going."

The uncle grunted in recognition, then fell into the chair in the living room.

"What's this shit?" he asked, looking at the TV in disdain. Aera didn't reply, but simply handed him the remote after she'd stood with Jungkook.

The uncle swiped it out of her hand and grunted again. Aera suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as she turned and headed down the hallway to Jungkook's bedroom.

As she laid him down, Jungkook stirred awake. He was still half-asleep, but Aera was grateful for the opportunity to speak to him for just a moment.

"Jungkookie, I have to leave," she said, and Jungkook's eyes widened. "It's okay," she assured him. "I promise I'll be back." Jungkook began shaking his head and Aera felt her heart break for the hundredth time that night.

"Here," she said, wrapping her pinky finger around Jungkook's tiny one. She then kissed their entwined fingers and said, "This is called a pinky promise. No one can break a pinky promise, okay? And I pinky promise I'll be back."

Jungkook just stared at her. Tears filled his eyes, but he nodded. Aera then leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Try to get some more sleep, okay? And don't run off by yourself again," she pleaded.

Jungkook again nodded, then snuggled into his blankets. Aera saw one solitary tear run down his cheek, but other than that, he seemed satisfied with her answers and closed his eyes.

Aera numbly made her way back into the living room. She grabbed her things, then addressed Jungkook's uncle.

"Please call me anytime you need me. I would love to come back and watch him again."

"Why?"

Aera blinked. "W-What?"

"Why do you care? He's nothing but a nuisance."

Aera stared at him. "I think he's a sweet little boy, and I'd love to see him again. So again, please let me know if you need me."

The uncle rolled his eyes, but said nothing further. He simply waved his hand toward Aera, gesturing for her to leave. She quickly made her way out of the apartment.

The tears began to fall as she texted Yoongi in the hallway.

Aera I'm headed home. I'm going to need a hug.

Yoongi You got it.

Aera managed a small smile. She couldn't wait to get home.