Present Day
22-Years-Old

"What?!"

"Yeah."

"T-That's not possible."

"I was in the courtroom when she came to relinquish her parental rights."

Yoongi sat back against the couch, dumbfounded. After a few moments, he turned to Aera.

"You're sure?"

"Well, if I wasn't before, I certainly was after she told me that if I left you alone for good, I could 'have the brat.'"

Yoongi's mouth fell open. "She said that?"

Aera nodded.

"That's why you stopped texting..." Yoongi said with realization.

"I'm sorry, Yoongs. I'm so sorry. It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. But I didn't know where I stood with you, and – "

"It's okay," he said quietly. "I would've done the same thing in your shoes."

"Really?"

Yoongi nodded. "The way I treated you... I don't blame you for not knowing what to do."

"Yoongs, please stop punishing yourself."

He shook his head. "Anyway, you didn't uphold your end of the bargain when you started talking to me again, so – "

"She made sure I paid for it."

They both sat there in silence, stunned this was actually happening.

"What do I do?" Aera whispered. "How do I show them that I'm not that person? That I would never do that?"

"I'm not sure," Yoongi admitted. "I... I don't really know what else to say right now."

Aera laid her head in Yoongi's lap again, wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face against his stomach. She then began sobbing again. If Yoongi didn't know how to comfort her, how was she supposed to get through this?

"I'm sorry, A," Yoongi said softly. "I'm so sorry. I wish I knew what to do."

They sat there like that for a very long time, until Yoongi could tell that Aera had fallen asleep. Her arms had gone limp, and he could hear her heavy breathing. He was able to disentangle himself from her and stand up. He then carefully lifted her up and carried her to his bed. He laid her down, tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

"I love you," he said quietly before heading to the bedroom door. He turned off the light, and returned to the living room. He sat on the couch and pondered for a long time how they could remedy this situation.

Yoongi thought through lots of harebrained scenarios, but he couldn't seem to make any of them work out in the end. He even wondered if he should call Sunhee and try to reason with her, but then he worried that might just exacerbate her anger. Calling her on behalf of Aera didn't seem like something she'd react well to.

Yoongi was stumped. He knew he needed to get some sleep soon, as he had work the next day. But he felt really uneasy about leaving Aera alone. She was in such a bad state, and he didn't want her to have no one. He considered calling out from work, as he had no doubt Aera would. But then he remembered the hearing was in just two days' time, and he would definitely be calling out that day in order to be with Aera in court. So, he decided it would be best not to skip work the next day.

He sighed as he laid down on the couch. There was so much that needed to be done, but he didn't even know where to start.

-

The next day, Yoongi went home during lunch in order to spend some time with Aera. She was still down, and so once he had to go back to work, he was eager for the day to end so he could be with her again. When he was finally headed home, he decided to take the bus to get there faster.

But when he got home, Aera wasn't there. Perplexed, Yoongi pulled out his phone and called her.

"Hey!"

Yoongi blinked. She seemed far too enthusiastic. "Uh, hey. What's going on?" She giggled and Yoongi's eyebrows rose. "Where are you?" Another giggle turned into a hiccup and Yoongi sighed.

"A, are you at at a bar?"

"No! ... Yes."

"A, the last thing you need to be doing right now is getting drunk. Which bar are you at? I'll come get you."

"I dunno."

"Can you give your phone to the bartender?"

"No! It's mine!"

"A, please? I need to figure out where you are."

"Fine, dad."

The next voice he heard was that of another woman. "Hey," she said. "Are you coming to get her?"

"Yes," Yoongi replied. "Where are you located?"

The bartender gave him the address, and Yoongi immediately left his apartment. He assumed Aera had forgotten that he was on the phone after the bartender gave it back, because she didn't acknowledge him again and all he could hear was her voice from far away, giggling and making no sense whatsoever. He wondered just how long she'd been there.

By the time he made it, karaoke had started and Aera was up on stage, singing a song from her favorite K-Pop band. Yoongi pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd hoped to get in and out quickly, but now he'd have to wait until her song was over.

He sat down at the bar and the bartender came over to ask him what he wanted to drink. He shook his head and pointed at Aera.

"Ohh, are you the guy I talked to?"

"Yeah," Yoongi said. "Can I get her tab, please?"

"Sure," the bartender said. She brought over the ticket and Yoongi sighed. She'd had a lot to drink.

Yoongi handed over his card, and as the bartender took it, she said, "Something's wrong, huh?"

Yoongi nodded. "She has a lot going on right now. She's not handling it well."

"Something about a kid? She mentioned adoption. If she wasn't drinking, she was crying, so I couldn't follow most of what she was saying either way."

Yoongi nodded again. "She's been trying to adopt a little boy, but it's looking like it's not going to happen."

The bartender hummed. "That's rough." She then turned and went to run Yoongi's card.

Aera's song finished and she left the stage. The minute she turned to head back to the bar, her eyes fell on Yoongi and she squealed.

"Yoongs! You made it!"

"Hey." Yoongi quickly stood. "Here, sit down."

"Nah, I wanna dance!"

Yoongi shook his head. "We need to get home, A."

"Why?" Aera pouted. "I'm having fun."

"I'm glad you are, but considering everything that's going on, it's not a good idea to have fun like this."

"You're just a party pooper!"

Yoongi rolled his eyes. "Yep, you're right. I'm sorry to ruin your good time."

Suddenly, Aera's eyes flashed and her smile faded. "Did Jungkook come home?"

Yoongi sighed internally. "No, A."

Tears began to gather in the corners of Aera's eyes. "Why won't he come back?"

"He doesn't have a choice. But, we'll get him back, okay? We'll figure something out. But we need to do that at home."

"I miss him."

Yoongi put his arm around her shoulder and steered her toward the door. "I know. He misses you, too."

She cried silently the whole way home, and Yoongi held her hand, squeezing it periodically. When they reached the staircase leading up to Yoongi's floor, Aera stopped in her tracks. She looked up at it and swayed on her feet.

"Are you okay?" Yoongi asked. "Can you climb the stairs?"

Aera shook her head, which only caused her to sway more. Yoongi, who was still holding her hand, placed his other hand on her other arm. "It's okay," he said as she wrenched her eyes closed. "C'mon."

He then placed one arm around her back and the other underneath her knees and lifted her up. He carefully carried her up the stairs and then once they were inside, he again took her to his bedroom and laid her down. This time, however, she was still awake.

"Yoongs."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For going to the bar. It was a stupid thing to do."

"It's okay, A. I understand why you did."

"Do you really think he misses me?"

Yoongi knew exactly who she was talking about. "Yes," he said immediately. "I'd be willing to bet he's in about the same state as you've been since they took him."

Aera nodded. "But I don't want him to be sad."

"I know. I'll bet he wouldn't want you to be sad either."

Aera sniffled. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Will you cuddle with me?"

Yoongi smiled. "Of course I will. Just let me get you some things first. I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Yoongi quickly got a glass of water, some painkillers, and a packet of crackers and placed them on the bedside table. He then climbed into bed and pulled her against him.

She laid her head against his chest, and he held her there, smoothing her hair every once in awhile.

"I'm so glad you're with me," she said quietly. "You're my safe place."

Yoongi looked down at her, but her eyes were closed. It wasn't long before she fell asleep. He continued to hold her and stared at her face for a long time.

And suddenly, somewhere deep down, Yoongi felt something change.