Present Day
22-Years-Old

"So, what do you plan to talk about tonight?" Aera asked as she and Yoongi sat on the bus on their way to the park.

Yoongi shrugged. "I thought maybe I'd let her take the lead on that, since she kept saying how much she wanted to get to know me."

Aera sighed. "You have to have some things planned to say and ask. It's rude to just talk about yourself. You need to get to know her, too."

Now Yoongi sighed. "Well, then I have no idea."

"We'll figure some stuff out. Maybe we can get some ideas at the park."

Yoongi nodded. They then sat for a few minutes in silence, waiting for their stop.

Suddenly, Aera looked over and noticed a small boy sitting by himself near them. She cocked her head as she watched him. He looked terrified, looking around at the other passengers with wide, scared eyes. Aera began looking around to find his parents or an adult he might have been with, but there didn't seem to be anyone there for him. She elbowed Yoongi.

"Look at that little boy," she whispered. "Is he all alone?"

Yoongi looked over at the boy just as he looked back at him. Yoongi wasn't sure what to do or say, so he just shrugged at Aera. As soon as he did, the boys eyes shifted from Yoongi to Aera. Aera smiled kindly and the little boy's eyes filled with tears.

"Hey," Aera said quickly, jumping up from her seat and moving cautiously toward the boy. "Is your mom here with you?"

The boy didn't reply. Thick tears began to run down his cheeks, however, and Aera's heart broke. "It's okay," she said quietly. "Don't cry. If you're lost, I'll help you, okay?"

The boy nodded very slowly.

"Okay, can you tell me your name?"

Again, there was no response. Aera sighed internally.

"Do you know your name?"

Another small nod.

Aera looked around again, and her eyes met Yoongi's. Yoongi, reading Aera's mind, got up and approached the bus driver.

"Can you talk?" Aera asked carefully. The boy shrugged.

"But you understand what I'm saying?"

Another nod.

"He said he doesn't know anything about him," Yoongi said quietly, returning to Aera and the boy. "Said he never even noticed him get on."

Aera frowned. "Let's get off at the stop near the police station. We need to take him to someone who can help."

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Yoongi asked. "I mean, I don't want to leave him alone either, but are we sure he is? What if someone's waiting for him at another stop or something?"

"Then they shouldn't have let someone leave him all alone on a city bus. He can't be more than... How old are you? Are you five?"

The boy shook his head slightly.

"Are you four?"

The boy nodded. Aera sighed. "A four-year-old. I mean, really?!"

"Is someone waiting for you?" Yoongi asked, crouching down in front of the boy. The boy shrugged.

"Did someone put you on the bus?" Aera asked. He shook his head.

"Did you get on the bus by yourself?" Yoongi continued. The boy nodded.

"So, he obviously got on by mistake. My god, his parents are probably worried sick."

Yoongi nodded. "Okay, yeah, let's take him to the police."

-

Yoongi and Aera held the boy's hands between them as they walked into the busy police station. They walked up to the front desk and before either of them could speak, the officer sitting behind it stood and looked at the little boy.

"You again?"

Yoongi and Aera glanced at each other. "Do you know him?" Aera asked.

"Oh yes, he's in here every few days usually. He's always getting lost."

"Do his parents not watch him?" Aera asked incredulously.

The officer shook his head. "Mother left him with an aunt and uncle. The aunt works all day, and he always just seems to be running off from the uncle."

"I – " Aera didn't know what else to say. Yoongi could tell she was horrified.

Suddenly, a female officer who had overheard the conversation came around the desk. She held out her hand. "C'mon, Jungkook. Let's go call your uncle."

But the little boy just squeezed Aera's and Yoongi's hands tighter. The female officer looked surprised. "You know me, Jungkook. C'mon, we'll get you home."

Jungkook shrunk back, eventually letting go of Yoongi's hand and wrapping his now free one around Aera's leg as he hid behind it.

"Hey," Aera said kindly as she tried to turn and crouch down to his level. "It's okay. This nice lady is going to help you get home. You do want to go home, right?"

The boys eyes widened as he looked directly into Aera's. He suddenly whimpered, and again, squeezed Aera's hand tighter.

Yoongi could see the tears beginning to form in Aera's eyes. She looked up at him and he frowned. He knew she didn't want to leave the boy. Truth be told, based on the way he was acting, Yoongi didn't want to leave him either.

"Is your home bad?" she asked quietly, but unfortunately, the female officer heard her.

"Okay, that's enough," she said shortly. She wrenched Jungkook's hand from Aera's and the boy cried out in pain.

"Hey!" Aera shouted. "Be careful with him!"

"Come on, Jungkook."

There was nothing more Aera could do than watch the two walk away. Jungkook kept turning around to look at her, tears streaming down his cheeks.

The officer behind the desk shook his head. "The answer to the question you asked him is yes," he said quietly. "But his mother has never relinquished her rights, and so the courts can't intervene."

"They can't take him into custody of the state? Can he not be fostered?"

"It's not that simple, miss."

"Seems like it should be, if he ends up here multiple times a week."

The officer simply shrugged his shoulders, though he did look a bit regretful about the situation. Aera shook her head as she snatched a piece of paper and a pen from the desk.

"Here," she said, handing it over. "Please call me if you ever need a witness or anything. Or, give my information to the aunt and uncle and tell them I can watch him if need be. Something."

"That's kind of you, miss, and I'll do that. But I wouldn't expect to hear anything else about him if I were you."

Yoongi grabbed Aera's hand. "C'mon, A, we should go." Defeated, Aera allowed him to lead her out of the station.

"I know," Yoongi said once they were outside, before she could even open her mouth. He turned to her, lifting up his hand that already had his sleeve pulled over his thumb to wipe her eyes.

"How – "

"I don't know. It's awful."

"I – "

"I know," Yoongi said softly, wiping another tear. He pulled her into a hug. "He'll be okay. At least the police know about him and his situation."

"But they're not doing anything about it!"

"Maybe if it keeps happening, they will."

"But what if he gets kidnapped o-or killed before they do?!"

Yoongi sighed. "I wish I had the answers, A. I really do."

Yoongi hooked her hand around his arm and led her toward the park. Once there, they bought and ate their lunch, then people-watched from a bench.

People watching was one of their favorite pastimes. They would settle themselves on a bench and make up silly stories about people as they walked by, making each other laugh with particularly outrageous and ridiculous ideas. There was never a day spent at the park that wasn't full of good-natured ribbing and raucous laughter that caused everyone walking by to eventually begin looking at Yoongi and Aera. This, of course, only ever made them laugh more.

But today, it was done in near silence. While both Yoongi and Aera were thinking about the little boy, Aera seemed much more troubled by it. Yoongi eventually became increasingly nervous about his date, but didn't want to interrupt Aera's thoughts to ask her advice.

By the time the evening was about to roll around, Yoongi felt awful for many different reasons, but knew there was nothing he could do to solve any of the situations at hand. "You ready to head home?" he eventually asked. Aera simply nodded.

Yoongi sighed as he stood and took her hands to pull her up with him. They then silently walked toward the bus, both lost in their own thoughts.

Once they were home, Yoongi made sure Aera was as okay as she could be, then disappeared to his room to start getting ready for his date with Sunhee.

He'd just finished spraying on some cologne when his bedroom door flew open.

"Oh my god!"

"A!" Yoongi gasped as the door slammed into the wall. "I could have been naked in here!"

"Ew. Anyway, I forgot all about your date! How could I have forgotten?!"

"It's okay," Yoongi assured her. "You were preoccupied – "

"But I shouldn't have been! This is such a huge deal! I'm so sorry, Yoongs."

"It's okay," Yoongi repeated. Then he turned to her. "How do I look?"

A smile spread across Aera's face. "Awesome," she replied. "Just as great as I knew you would!"

Yoongi returned her smile, then looked at his phone. "I gotta go here in about five minutes."

Aera nodded. "You doing okay?"

"Still nervous," Yoongi admitted. "But I'm trying to stay calm."

"You seem like you're doing a pretty good job," Aera said. "Just remember to ask her about herself, and not be the only one answering questions the whole time, okay?"

Yoongi nodded. "I promise I'll think of stuff."

Aera smiled. "Good. It'll be okay, Yoongs. You're gonna do great!"

Yoongi moved toward her and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for always being there for me, A. You always know what to say."

"You're welcome," Aera replied as she squeezed him back. "Now go! You don't want to be late!"

She disentangled herself from the hug and pushed him toward the door. Yoongi laughed as he gathered his things and headed out the door.

"Oh, and I expect a full play by play when you get back! I'll be waiting!"

Yoongi shook his head with another chuckle. "I have no doubt you will be."