Crossing my fingers for the door to open, I try as hard as I can to not collapse, and to my greatest relief, it only takes a few minutes for Mister Jeon to appear.

We both make eye contact, and I feel my emotions overcome me. "Y/n..." he cannot believe what he is seeing, but I do not wait anymore. "Can I come in, please?" I beg, in a weakened voice, and he nods but grabs the bag that I left on the floor and steps back to let me in.

"What happened? How did you get here? And who is that...?" his first reaction gets him to question me, but I cannot speak yet, I lay my son on the sofa so that he can continue to sleep, and I walk back to him. "Mister Jeon...I'm sorry. I..." a beating of my heart takes my breath away as I am feeling lightheaded. "I need to talk to you..."

"Sit down," he pulls a chair of the dining table, which is next to her, back, and he places his hand on my back to help me to get on it. "You don't have to talk yet, just take a break—" he gets surprised by the way my body reacted to him lifting his hand up. "I'm sorry," he tenderly touches the side of my face to stroke my cheek. "Do you want something to drink?" he asks, his voice never rising, he only speaks softly. "Yes, please."

"I'm coming back," he stands up and moves up to the kitchen, his house looking pretty similar to Sookyung's one. I glance down to the ground and think of him. What if he never wakes up? What if two sleeping pills were too much? No matter what he did to me, I still care about him.

"Here you are," he hands me an opened bottle of juice, and I drink a heavy amount of it, feeling thirsty and dehydrated. Once I bring the bottle down on the table, his fingers clasp my hand, and I fix my eyes on him. "You weren't in Hawaii. I was right, hm?"

I confirm. "I was there. I heard you..." I reveal, his eyes reflecting a lot of his surroundings as if they were more glistening than they should. "I didn't want to come up here in the middle of the night, so I'm sorry—"

"Do not apologize," he intertwines our fingers and holds my hand with both of his warm ones that I missed feeling. "I'm happy to see you here, I missed you so much, and I was so worried about you...I knew something bad was going on. I came to your house multiple times, but no one ever opened the door until yesterday."

"Was it you all those times I heard someone at the door?" I realize that the reason why Sookyung ignored the knocking on the door was that he was the one behind it. "Yes...I knew you were there, and I couldn't call the cops because I knew that they wouldn't help and that their presence could only worsen it."

I sniffle and glance down. "Mister Jeon...I've done something wrong, so don't feel any pity for me, please, but I need you to take care of my son...he is not safe at home anymore, Sookyung never loved or cared about him, but I don't want to put him to adoption because I love him more than anyone..." I reveal who this boy is but read some shock upon his face. "I'm sorry for hiding this from you...but Sookyung forbade me to talk about him because he didn't want anyone to know."

"Your son...? How old is he?" his eyes stare into mine, the disbelief darkening them. "He's three," I tell him, not giving the details and months left until his upcoming birthday to not go any further. "And Sookyung is the father?"

I nod.  "Oh my god..." he lowers his head down to the ground. "You were only seventeen and..." he does not end his sentence but sighs, and he brings one hand up to his mouth. "Where is he now?"

"I...I've done something bad...but I wouldn't have been allowed to leave the house again if I didn't...so I gave him two sleeping pills to make sure he'd be in a deep sleep and not hear me if I go," I tell him the truth, even though I know that he is a cop, I will not lie. "But I made sure he was still breathing when I left..."

"It's okay," he reassures me, even though I do not deserve it. "You had to. This is not your fault. If he treated you well, none of this would have happened."

"But I'm worried...I didn't want to do this...I'm scared he might hate me again..." I fear this from happening when I have already caused him pain. "Y/n, listen," he brushes his thumbs over the back of my hands, holding both of them in his large and warmer ones. "I know why you are feeling like that, so you must be thinking that you have done something wrong, always been in the wrong, and deserve what he's done to you, but you don't. You have never done anything wrong, you were with a manipulative man who used you, abused you, and mistreated you. You should never feel any pity for him," he looks into my eyes without ever glancing away, his tender touch and gestures soothing me. "If he loved you, if he did have genuine feelings for you, you wouldn't have been pregnant at seventeen. He was twenty-seven, and you were still a child...he should never have approached you."

I take my hands away from his and bring them up to my face to cover it, lean forward, and dissolve into tears. I do not like to hear those words at all. I hate them. They hurt me and make me feel so disgusting.

"It's over now," he places one hand over my forearm and caresses it, his delicate voice never startling or scaring me, but instead, reassuring me. "I'm going to protect you. He won't ever hurt you or your son."

I do not speak but attempt to calm down and clear my head from all the thoughts that are killing me.

"I'm going to look for some Arnica, run a bath for you, and after you relaxed in it, I'll apply the ointment cream over your bruises, okay?" the tip of his fingers run up and down my skin, and I wipe my tears away but nod.

"Come on, I'm taking care of your baby, so no need to be worried about him," he stands up and takes my hand in his, so I follow him and trust him.

•••

01:50 am.

I lie down on the sofa to be next to my son, who has not woken up since I lied him down on the cushions. Mister Jeon comes near us to join, no sound other than the ones that our movements cause, echoing through the house. I run my fingers through Jun's hair but direct my attention towards Mister Jeon.

He opens a bag of cookies in the shape of animals, then takes hold of a tube of Arnica, and he sets his eyes on me. He does not speak but stares, showing pity for me. He smiles at me, but with some sort of pain, and I return it.

"Do you want to rest? I can do this tomorrow," he fiddles with the tube, and I shake my head, feeling better here than if I leave for my dreams, which is the total opposite of when I was home.

"Do you want to apply it yourself?" he continues to speak in a soft voice, which means a lot to me since he is caring about my baby. "No," I heave my body up from the cushions to get closer to him, but he stops me and shrinks the space between us for me.

"Don't move. Aren't you cold in this nightie?" he notices my clothing, and I tell a lie to not worry him. "I'm fine. I just have nothing else."

"You couldn't grab other clothes?" he puts some gel over my bruises. "No...and I only own this type of clothing..."

My answer causes him to raise his eyes up to me when he only started spreading the gel over the painful spots on my legs, and he goes even more gently. As if he was thinking twice before speaking, he lowers his eyes and remains silent, so I do not say anything more. I am exhausted.

"What's his name?" he glances at my son, and I smile, naturally. "Jun."

"That's a pretty name," his lips curve up, and he stops the rubbing. He completely closes the gap between our bodies and sits right next to us. He looks down at my arms, so I stretch one out to him, and I let him heal me.

"Do you keep your makeup on because of some marks?" he understands when I never said anything about it, and I nod. "I don't want him to see more of my bruises. He's already seen enough."

"Hm. That must be difficult," he does not tell more, probably not knowing what are the right words to talk about this. "Is there a reason why you don't have any children?"

For some reason, he does not answer right away or express positive emotions. "This is hard to answer you."

"You don't have to, I'm sorry if this made you uncomfortable or hurt you," I apologize for being nosy and engendering some tension, but he shakes his head and relaxes me. "No, don't worry about it."

I prevent another mistake from happening by keeping quiet, and I try to not let my eyes close, feeling the heaviness of my eyelids, the tiredness of my entire body, and this odd sensation of safety with him that soothes me a lot.

"Could you write me a list of the food that he eats so that I can go shopping and get what he needs?" he thinks about this without me even asking for it, and my heart melts. "I will."

"And add your favorites too, just so that I know what to come back with to make your day," he slows the gentle rubbing that now feels like caresses, and we both make eye contact. "Having you near is enough to make my day."

He does not move his hand anymore but maintains this strong connection between us, and he exudes some delight, some heartfelt fondness. "I'm glad to see that we both feel the same way around each other."

"I'm glad too," I breathe out, with contentment.

— Next day —

Wednesday, August 18th, 2021.

5 am.

"Y/n?" someone wakes me up from what feels like a long sleep, and I gaze up at him, with difficulty. "Jun is crying a lot, and I'm unable to calm him down," he explains, and the sound of my baby sobbing brings me back to consciousness. I sit up on a bed, wondering how I ended here when I can clearly remember falling asleep on the sofa. "He is in the living room because I wanted to let you sleep while calming him down, but it didn't work."

"Thank you so much, Mister Jeon," I stand up, feeling blessed.

I cannot believe he took care of him and did his best.

I smile at him and walk out of this bedroom to head to my son, and as soon as I open the door, I see him on the sofa, crying his eyes out.

"Mommy is here, baby," I move towards him and take him in my arms. "What is happening?" I sit down and hold him on my lap, his small hands not letting go of his teddy bear, he wraps his arms around my neck and tightly hugs me. "Why are you crying?" I rub his back, trying to get an answer.

"I'm scared..." he hides his face in the crook of my neck. "Scared of what?"

He snivels, wiping his tears away. "Mister..." his breathing hitches, and I feel some pain in my chest. "Baby, he is not like daddy," I reassure him the best way I can and pat his head. "He will not be mad at you. Mommy feels good with him, so you can trust him," I comb his hair back and press a kiss on his ear, his state becoming better. "Where is daddy?"

"Daddy is at home, he is fine," I answer, feeling pretty worried and not knowing how to handle this new situation. "Is he angry at me?" he does what I always feared that he would, he blames himself for what is happening. "No. No one will ever be angry at you, my baby," I give him another kiss and speak to him, softly. "You don't have to be scared of Mister Jeon. He is a good man, and he will protect you like mommy does."

He does not speak anymore but toys with my messy hair in the back of my head and puts one thumb in his mouth to suck on it.

I wish he would stop and not need his pacifier anymore, but I know he needs it when I am not enough to comfort him.

Not hearing his sobbing anymore but only his runny nose, I grab a tissue from the box on the coffee table and make him blow his nose, but I turn around to look for Mister Jeon and see him standing at the bedroom door as if he wanted to leave me alone with Jun.

I do not ask him to come closer but stand up, and I look for my stuff that I have not unpacked yet but cannot find it. "Did you move my bags?"

"Yes, I put them in the bedroom," he points his finger at the door, so I make my way up to him. "Thank you. Did you carry me to your bed?" I stop in front of him, and he slides his hands in his pockets. "I did. I put Jun with you, and I sat down on the sofa next to it to keep an eye on you both. I didn't look at anything or moved anything, I only put the bags on the floor."

"Thank you," I show gratitude and get inside the bedroom. I take hold of the bag that contains everything Jun has, and I get his bottle out. "Do you need help?" he offers to give me a hand, but I decline to not bother. "No, thank you. I'm okay," I open the bottle and look up at him. "Do you have some bottled water?" I ask, and he nods but stretches his hand out to take Jun's bottle, so I give it to him and follow him towards the kitchen.

I silently watch him do it without seeming annoyed by what I thought men did not want to even think about doing, and I bring my eyes down to my son to whisper some words. "Look what Mister Jeon is doing for you," I brush some strands of his bangs away from his face, and he attentively looks at him.

"Are you sure it doesn't bother you?" I get concerned, but he smiles and closes the bottle now that it is full of water. "It doesn't. I never had the opportunity to do this, so I like taking care of him and helping you," he hands me the bottle, but since I am hoping for Jun to get used to him, I whisper him to take the bottle, and he does it. "Thank you," he mumbles and puts the teat in his mouth to drink but averts his eyes from him.

Mister Jeon shows a sorrowful smile, and he looks into my eyes. "It's not against you," I make sure he knows it, and he nods. "I know. Don't worry," he clears his throat and licks his lips. "I should...uhm," he runs his fingers through his hair, seeming overwhelmed, he looks for something and walks away, so I keep my eyes on him but see that he grabbed his phone. "You can come here and sit down," he tells me, so I move and join him on the sofa.

"Can you write all the stuff you need for you both?" he hands me his phone, causing me to feel some odd astonishment. How can he give me his phone so casually?

"Sure," I do not refuse but take it and make a list of all the food and products I need for Jun. He leans back on the sofa without speaking, and I type what I am used to get for my son. I know that it will cost a lot, so I do not put anything for me. I do not need anything anymore now that I am here, by his side.

"Here," I give him back his phone, and he checks what I typed. "That's all? What about you?" he answers, and I wonder if he is joking. "Do you know how much this will be with those?" I believe that he is not used to paying for those items, which explains the reason why he does not realize this is a lot. He lays his eyes on mine and shakes his head. "No, but this doesn't matter. I don't want you to care about that. I only want you to tell me what you and your son need."

"It's enough with that, Mister Jeon," I do not ask him to get more. As long as Jun has what he needs, that is all that matters to me. "You can call me Jungkook now. You don't have to be so formal anymore."

I lean back to be right next to him. "Are you sure?" I smile and feel my attention get grasped by his lips. "I am, and even if you don't tell me what you want or need, I will get something for you. So you can tell me what are your favorites, or what you're craving."

I glance away, feeling like he is unreal and that I am just dreaming. "Why do you do that?" I barely let out and set my eyes back on him, not understanding what pushes him into showing so much care. "Do what?"

"Care," I stare into his eyes as he is not breaking this contact, and the gaze he gives me, the words he tells me without using his voice, emotionally impact me. "Because I care about you, and now that I know you're not alone, I care about you both."

I cannot find the right words to say, this always makes me speechless to hear him.

"Give me your hand," he stretches his tattooed one out to me, and I lay mine over it. He intertwines our fingers and lifts my hand up to his mouth to press a tender kiss on the back of it, and my lips curve up. "You should sleep a little more. I'll go to the grocery store once you're awake, and I'll get everything, but I need to know what type of food you love to eat for breakfast."

"I've been craving pancakes with whipped cream," I do not hide it, feeling like I need to be honest with him and that there is no reason to keep anything to myself anymore. "Alright, for dinner?"

"Are you trying to get me to tell you my favorites?" I do not fall for this trap, and he smiles. "Maybe."

I laugh, quietly, and he caresses the back of my hand with his thumb. "Alright. My favorite meal is Kimchi fried rice with cheese. And for dessert, mango bingsu is my favorite."

"Oh, I love mango bingsu so much," he shares the same opinion. "And what about for dinner and breakfast, what are your favorites?" I ask to know more too, and he glances to the left. "For breakfast, I love fried eggs with rice. And for dinner, my favorite is beef bulgogi. I'm happy when I get to eat that."

"I'll cook that for you today then. I'll make mango bingsu for dessert, cook beef—"

"No," he cuts me off in one of the most gentle manners. "I'm the one cooking. You have to take care of Jun and yourself, this is already enough."

He softens all that I feel inside, and I cannot take my eyes off of him. I cannot. I want to keep looking into his eyes and see what I missed perceiving in Sookyung's ones when he used to love me.

"Mommy..." Jun gives me his bottle, his back still turned towards Mister Jeon. I grab it and keep it in my hand, but Mister Jeon takes it, kindly, and he leaves it on the coffee table without ever letting go of my hand.

•••

10 am.

I walk out of Mister Jeon's bedroom after taking a shower and brushing my teeth with Jun, and I hold his hand while heading towards the kitchen after hearing Mister Jeon come back from the grocery store.

No matter what he told me, no matter what he tries to make me understand, I still feel like I am doing something wrong.

"Hey," I greet him and step closer to him, and he stops what he is doing to look at me. "Hey," he smiles, brightly, and comes towards me. He presses a caring kiss on my forehead and gazes down at my son, who is holding his teddy bear and sucking on his pacifier.

"I got him some things," he walks to the front door of the house, and I follow to check what he is talking about. "Here," he picks one small box up from the floor and puts it on the dining table next to him, but then, pulls a way bigger box back to show us. "This is an electric motorcycle for toddlers of his age, are you okay with this?" he asks for my opinion as I cannot even process what I am facing yet. "Jungkook...you didn't have to."

"I wanted to, I hope he'll be happy with this. Also, I got him a bed. I didn't know which one to pick, so I got the house frame one, it's even big enough for you to sleep in it if he ever needs you close to him," he smiles but moves behind the box to get other ones. "I got a bubble gun. A few decorations for his room, different plushies and toys with the same character as I saw on many of his clothes when I folded them this morning," he covers the table with boxes, getting Jun to put all his attention over them.

I cannot believe he paid all of that for him.

Not knowing what to say or do, feeling way too shocked to say a word, I move forward and wrap my arms around him. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

He holds me against his warm body and drops a kiss on my forehead. "I got you some stuff as well, but it's still in my car."

I cannot even say thank you, I cannot accept all this. I do not deserve any of those.

I truly hope he is doing this to make us happy and nothing else. "You can open them for him while I'm putting the food in the fridge," he rubs my back and drops another kiss on my head, before heading to the kitchen. So, I turn towards my son but see that he is staring at the boxes.

"Which one do you want to open first?" I crouch down to his level, and he points his finger at the small motorcycle. "This one? Okay," I pick that one and open it for him since he is too little to do it himself, and I pull the material out. "You can touch, my baby, it's for you," I reassure him so that he does not stay where he is and fears getting scolded by Jungkook, and I grab another box, the one with the bubble gun in it, and I start opening, unwrapping everything as if this was his best Christmas.

"He seems to like the motorcycle," Jungkook notices, so I peek at him and see that he is, indeed, very intrigued by it. "You got the right one—" the ringtone of a phone interrupts me, and he moves from his spot to take hold of his phone, which he left on the table.

Out of fear, I stop what I am doing and watch his reaction to the call. "I'm coming back," he walks out of the house and goes to his backyard. I hope this is not about Sookyung.

I nibble on my inner cheek but open everything for Jun, keeping my mind as busy as possible to not panic.

What if Sookyung realizes that I drugged him and reports it to the police? What if he finds Jungkook's house? I am so terrified by the thoughts in my head right now. 

I look in Jungkook's direction to see if I could discern any type of emotion, but his back is turned towards the glass door, which makes it impossible to make out what is going on.

"Mommy," the sweet voice of my child calms me down, and I set my eyes on him. "Can I?" he holds a Pikachu plushie in both of his hands, and I agree. "Yes, my baby. Everything here is for you."

"Thank you, mommy," he smiles, broadly, but I look for his pacifier that he took out of his mouth. Some relief fills me once I catch sight of it on the table, and I go back to what I was doing.

My thoughts not disappearing but multiplying, I hear Jungkook come back from the backyard, and as soon as I set my eyes on him, I feel that something is wrong.