| Los Angeles, CA |

"Mr. Park-Kim, I understand you are pregnant, is that correct," Mrs. Byers asked. 

Jimin was called up to the stand and Mrs. Byers had begun examining him. "Yes, ma'am."

"And, how does that make you feel? Does it make you feel blessed or in other words grateful to be carrying another child?"

Jimin nodded his head. "Yes, of course. You don't know what it's like to be growing another person inside of you until it's happening to you."

Taehyung's lawyer, Mr. Park, stood up. "Speculation, your honor. There has no relevance to the case."

Mrs. Byers turned her attention to Mr. Park and then back at Judge Bane. "Your honor, I'm simply getting some background to my point."

Judge Bane nodded. "Proceed."

Mrs. Byers turned her attention back to Jimin. "I suppose you and Jungkook can both relate to the situation since both of you have been pregnant before, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, of course," Jimin said with a nod. 

"Would you say there is a more emotional connection between you, as the caregiver, and the child, then let's say your significant other?"

"Yes."

"Elaborate, please," she said, pacing around.

"Well, you're the only thing protecting your child from the outside world. Nothing else matters besides making sure they are okay." Jimin turned his attention to Jungkook. "Jungkook is such a strong and caring father. He's made sure to give his children the best out of a terrible situation. He's stuck with them through it all, despite his own personal hardships. He's always thought of his children first before anything else. He's the true definition of a parent."

Jungkook smiled at the kind words of his friend. 

"No further questions, your honor," Mrs. Byer's concluded. 

________

"Jay, could you please in a few words, describe your father, Taehyung?" Mr. Park waited for his response.

Jay laughed to himself. "Wow, only a few words, okay. Well if I had to describe my father it would have to be, and pardon my language, an unbelievable piece of shit, a conceited piece of shit, and a lying piece of shit." Jay though for a second, humoring himself. "Yeah, I would say that about covers it." He turned his attention to Taehyung, but he seemed to ignore it.

"Okay, well why would you say that," Mr. Park asked. 

"Well, to refresh your memory, he left me and my family years ago to live his dream. So after numerous birthday parties with no papa, and an album of 'Jay's saddest moments' later, I've learned to just hate his guts. He decided to come back and be a father again, only because he finds out about Taemin, but news flash, he just wanted us all for himself."

"Okay, and weren't you the one who told him that Taemin was his son? If there's a probable case to how everything led up to this moment, wouldn't you agree that you were the one that set the ball rolling?"

Jay was taken back for a moment. "I-I don't know."

"You're dad failed to tell your father that Taemin was his son and you took it upon yourself to tell him. What if it's your dad that wanted all of you for himself? Did you ever think about that when you would retaliate your father?"

"Okay, stop." Jay stared down at Mr. Kim with menacing eyes. "The reason we are here is not because of my dad, so don't get your facts twisted." He turned his attention at Taehyung and pointed his finger at him. "He's the one who's screwed everything up from the very beginning. He set the ball rolling."

"Well, what if you're the one who has gotten the facts twisted because your dad never told you the full story. I assume everyone close to Mr. Jeon believes that Taehyung came back to your dad and conceived your youngest sibling, yes?" Mr. Park looked around the room for responses. 

"What the hell are you talking about," Jay asked with narrow eyes.

"I'd like to bring in evidence 1B," Mr. Park announced. 

Two sheriffs brought in a screen projector and two pictures popped up on the screen.

"As you can see, these were taken from surveillance footage in Manhattan on the day Mr. Jeon initiated contact with Mr. Kim a few years after the divorce." Mr. Park looked and walked around the room. "Mr. Kim states that on that day Mr. Jeon was the one to initiate any form of intimacy."

Jay slammed his hand down. "None of that is true."

Mr. Park continued. "When Mr. Jeon found out about the pregnancy he made no effort to inform Mr. Kim, nor made any legal attempt to modify their standing agreement. Mr. Jeon has shown to be selfish, deceiving, and untrustworthy towards his friends, and even his own children."

"Be quiet," Jay lashed out.

"If there is any reason to believe that Mr. Kim has not had a fair agreement with Mr. Jeon in the matter of their children, that situation shows a violation to their divorced compromises and should not go without consequences." Mr. Park turned his attention to Judge Bane. "No further questions, your Honor."

_____

"Mr. Jung, I understand congratulations are in order for your engagement with Mr. Kim," Mrs. Byers began.

"Thank you, it truly makes me the luckiest man in the world," Hoseok replied with a big smile.

"I'm sure you feel like you and Taehyung know each other quite well. I'm sure you and Taehyung's son, Jihun, have gotten along pretty well too."

"Yes, we've grown close together. I'd like to think of him as a son."

Mrs. Byers nodded. "I see, so you enjoy the fact that Taehyung has children and would like to be apart of their lives, is that correct?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"I'm sure it's also exciting to becoming like a step-dad to them. Taking care of them and spending time with them. It's a beautiful thing."

"I'm excited to be around them more. They're just the best already."

Mrs. Byers nodded in agreement. "So tell me Mr. Jung," she made eye contact with Hoseok. "What is Taemin's favorite color?"

Hoseok froze and looked around the room, as if the answered lied somewhere else. "I...I'm not sure. I never got to ask him," Hoseok stuttered.

"Okay," Mrs. Byers began. "How about Jay? What school does he go to?"

"I-I don't know."

"How about their birthdays? Their favorite food? Their passions? Do they have any allergies?"

Mr. Park stood up again. "Objection. She's harassing the witness."

"I'm simply asking if Mr. Jung knows his future step-sons enough. If they are going to be a family and possibly live with them, shouldn't he be more informed about them?"

"Sustained. Finish this up," Judge Bane said.

"No further questions, your Honor," Mrs. Byers concluded. 

______

"Mr. Kim, why did you decide to leave Mr. Jeon and your children," Mrs. Bayes asked.

It was Taehyung's turn on the stand. "I got an offer from a music label for a solo career."

"And what were you thinking in the moment?"

"I thought that this was it. This was what I had been working towards and I wanted to take it."

"What about your family, Mr. Kim? You chose to leave them to pursue your music career."

Taehyung shook his head and sighed. "Of course it was difficult. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I wanted to leave my mark on the world. My goal was to impact the most people I could and change their lives."

"So family wasn't enough for you? You chose passion over family, correct?"

"It's not a simple answer."

"It's a yes or no answer, Mr. Kim. Did you choose passion over family?"

Taehyung was silent for a second. He turned his attention to Jungkook then back at Mrs. Byers. "Yes, but–"

"So you decided that helping to raise two kids with Mr. Jeon was not as important as the fame and glory that you have now. It raises no doubt that you value yourself over others that depend on you."

"No, that's not—"

"I mean, if you really wanted to know how your family was doing over the years, you would've called. You could have visited. You could of found out that Jungkook was expecting another child," Mrs. Byers continued. 

"Alright, but listen," Taehyung demanded. "I know I have made mistakes, but we all have. I chose something that not everyone is willing to do. I have learned and grown since then and I've gained enough to understand now that there is more to life than just chasing after your dreams. I have made the effort, throughout all the obstacles everyone's thrown at me, to fix my mistakes. I'm the only one who's tried to give Taemin what I couldn't give to Jay or Jihun: another shoulder to cry on, another set of eyes to watch them grow, another set of lips to give them advice, and another person that loves them with all their heart."

Everyone grew quiet and Taehyung began to cry. 

"I want my children back. More than anything else. That's why I'm here fighting, not because I want to be selfish or prove that I'm the better parent, but because I want the chance to love my children. No more drama, no more running away...I just want my children back."

______

The case went to a short recess and Jungkook had gone to the bathroom to fix himself up. The minute he got to the bathroom he began to cry in the stall. He emptied out his emotions until he felt better. 

Jungkook stood at the mirror, wiping his tears blowing his tears. His eyes were red and he was trying to fix himself the best he could before he went back into the court room. 

"Jungkook." The door opened and in came Hoseok. 

Jungkook didn't acknowledge him. Hoseok walked towards one of the urinals. 

"You're a little piece of shit, you know that?"

Jungkook turned around. "Excuse me?"

Hoseok chuckled. "It was pretty smart of you to embarrass me like that in there. You probably felt so mighty just watching me blow it."

"I'm doing what I need to do," Jungkook said. 

Hoseok finished and turned his attention back to Jungkook. "We all are, but I wouldn't get your hopes up."

Jungkook shook his head and chuckled lightly. "You're not going to be a step-dad to my children. I won't let that happen." Jungkook started walking out of the bathroom and Hoseok followed him.

They were on the third floor and Jungkook started walking towards the stairs, but Hoseok stopped him. 

"I know you don't like me, and surprise, I don't like you either. After we're done here and you say goodbye to your kids, I'll be sure to take good care of them. And don't worry, we'll send you a Christmas card," Hoseok said with a fake smile. 

Jungkook shoved Hoseok. "Fat chance, Hoseok. You're nothing, but a joke."

Hoseok's face grew angry. "You shouldn't have done that, Jungkook." He shook his head and got closer to Jungkook. "You're going to regret it."

Hoseok gave a hard push on Jungkook's chest. Jungkook felt his legs leave the ground as he began to fall down the stairs. His body collided with the hard blow of the stairs. His body crashing lower and lower, his head receiving blows that rendered him paralyzed.

By the time Jungkook's body tumbled down to the ground, he was limp with no sign of breathing. Everything fell still and silent. Jungkook could barely grasp any sensation and blacked out. 

****

You're all going to hate me, so sorry in advanced. Btw guys, I just uploaded the intro to my new book, Rejects. So be sure to check it out! 

Share your thoughts and vote! Until next time! 

- A.