Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The entire facility smelled like piss, shit and bleach. The same smell that had inhabited the place since the late seventies when the shithole was first built. Junghyun held the expensive cuff of his custom suit against his nose as he made his way down the hall. The forty-six year old attorney stopped in front of the rusted bars and peered through them. There he watched quietly, with irritation and disgust, as his younger brother sat on the metal bench with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands covering his face. He could smell the Vodka and Bourbon all the way from the hallway outside of the musty cell.            

The gash on the side of his brother’s head had to be pretty serious because the police had taken him to the medics before booking him into a cell. Junghyun could see the stitches spanning from his upper cheek up to his eyebrow. If he had to guess, he would conclude that at some point during the altercation, his little brother had a beer bottle broken over the side of his face. It wasn’t a good look. The more Junghyun stared at him through the cold steel bars, the angrier he became. His brother’s behavior was growing increasingly sporadic and this latest episode was the exclamation point at the end of a very turbulent year for his young sibling. The careless behavior needed to stop. Junghyun hoped that ending up in jail would be the wake up call that his brother needed to pull his life together. It was time to move on and stop allowing one man, one failed relationship to fuck up his life.   

The prisoner, Jeon Jeongguk, was placed in a general holding cell. Because of who he was, who his brother was, he was given special treatment. With the exception of a druggie who was passed out in the corner and a couple of rats scurrying over his feet, he had the cell to himself. 

He stared down at his fists which had been pulverized during the fight. They were bloody, bruised and swollen, like raw hamburger meat. More important than his blood stained hands, was the black onyx ring that was missing from his finger. He wasn’t sure if he had lost it in the fight or if it had been stolen but he wanted it back. That ring was special and despite everything happening in his life, he never went a single day without wearing it. In fact, in the seven years since he’d received it as a gift, he had never once taken it off. Other jewelry was missing as well, but he didn’t care about any of it. Only the ring mattered. He needed to file a police report immediately so the search to find it could begin. It didn’t matter that it no longer had any meaning - he wanted it back.

Jeongguk lightly tapped the butterfly bandage that covered his wound. It throbbed something fierce, like a fucking heartbeat of pain. He didn’t trust that the jail doctors had treated the wound properly, so he made a mental note to make an appointment with his own physician later in the week. Using the dull reflection of an aluminum dinner tray, he examined the bruises on his face. His face was fucked up. One of his greatest money making assets was destroyed. He had a photo shoot in three days. Showing up looking like a prized fighter who lost his championship bout was not going to go over well with the agency who hired him. He continued to analyze all of the bruises on his face. Most of them would heal fine in a few days. 

It was not until he shifted the tray to his left that he saw the reflection of his brother standing behind him in the hallway. Jeongguk clenched his aching fists and took a deep breath before turning around. As happy as he was that someone was there to bail him out, he really wished it could have been someone else - anybody else. He didn’t want to hear it; another lecture about the folly of his ways. He knew he was drunk again. He knew he had fucked up again. He knew that his brother was called to bail him out, again. He knew it all, but he didn’t want to have to listen to his brother bury him in shame because of it.

“Can we go now? Or do you plan to stand there another hour looking at your busted up face?”

“The other guy looked worse,” Jeongguk joked inappropriately.

 Junghyun was not in the mood. “Need I remind you that we have a fucking court date at 8:00am tomorrow morning? You’re going to lose your shirt if we don’t make a strong stand tomorrow and impress the judge. You’ve already been accused of drinking too much, abandonment and alienation. Now…,”  Junghyun took a deep breath. It was not the right time for the conversation. “Just get your shit and let’s go.” He started down the hall towards the exit as the guard unlocked the cell and slid the bars open to allow Jeongguk to leave.

They rode in silence back towards Jeongguk’s penthouse. It was cold out.  Junghyun blasted the heater as Jeongguk placed his achy hands in front of the vents to cup the warmth. The lights of the city seemed muted, no longer capable of its brilliant display. Or maybe that was just Jeongguk’s bleak outlook on life that made the world seem that way.

As angry as Junghyun was with his little brother, he more than understood his pain. He even understood why he was lashing out at the world. But that didn’t make it right.

“Look. I’m sorry for coming down so hard on you. But you can’t keep doing this Jeongguk. This is the third time in as many months that I have had to bail you out of jail. It’s killing your public image, not to mention my reputation.”

“Sorry for all of this. This time it wasn’t my fault though,” Jeongguk defended himself.

“Does it really matter? You’re rich and famous. The moment you put your hands on anyone in an act of violence, it’s going to end up with you being sued. I was able to settle all of the lawsuits so far, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep these incidents quiet. As your attorney, I am strongly, strongly advising you to get some help for your drinking. As your brother, I’m begging you to save your own life. You can’t continue this way. This isn’t like you. I remember a few years ago, you wouldn’t touch alcohol. Now you drown yourself in it like it’s water. It’s not healthy. Get help Jeongguk. If the judge finds out that…,”  Junghyun stifled himself. He pivoted to treat Jeongguk more like a little brother than a client. “I love you. You know that?”

“I know.”

“This year has been as fucked up as they come. You’ve been in a battle that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. But tomorrow - well tomorrow it all ends. You’ll be free to reclaim your life and put these last months behind you. I’ll never leave your side, Jeongguk. I’ll do whatever it takes to support you through this. But you have to help yourself first. I can’t keep bailing you out of jail and covering up these lawsuits and assault charges. Help me, help you. Say you’ll talk to someone about your drinking.”

Jeongguk began to cry. Maybe it was the liquor or maybe it was the realization of what was happening at 8:00am the following morning. It was all too terrible, too heartbreaking to even acknowledge. He just wanted the pain to go away so he self medicated with fine bourbon and expensive whiskeys. He wanted to be numb because numbness erased the painful reminders of how his life had spiraled. If he could just erase the last twelve months and go back to the moment he saw the strange video pop up on his screen, he would have just deleted it and never watched it.

Park Nari walked through the dark boutique. There was a single light coming from the storage room in the back of the building. She was comforted by knowing that after a night of looking everywhere from clubs to bars to hotels, she had finally found him. 

As she stepped inside of the storage room, she could see the silhouette of her blonde little brother hovering over the small desk behind the stocked shelves. He mumbled angrily as he scribbled through calculations in the sales tracker. 

“This isn’t right. None of these numbers are fucking right. I fucking hate this!” He yelled into the ledger.

The holidays were coming up and it was the busiest time of the year so the storage room was much fuller than normal. The boutique was much busier than normal but nothing justified Park Jimin working such late hours. She pulled off her coat, revealing a pair of flannel pajamas with Grinch faces all over them. Her mother had called her out of bed to search for her brother and she was none too pleased to have been mired with the responsibility. She folded her arms and tapped her foot with irritation.

“Well at least I can tell mom that you’re still alive.”

“What do you want?”Jimin snapped.

“You. I want you, preferably home in bed or at least returning phone calls.”

“Ok, let me rephrase. What are you doing here Nari? It’s 3:00am.”

“No Jimin, I think the question is - what are you doing here? It’s 3:00am. How much longer are you going to drown yourself in imaginary work?”

“I’m a grown man who does not need his mother and his big sister stalking him. I have work to do and I don’t owe you or mother any explanations.”

“That’s right. You don’t owe us any explanations. But you do owe us respect. We’ve been calling for two days trying to reach you, talk to you, console you, be there for you. Yet you refuse to answer any of our calls or give us the courtesy of a call back. Maybe if you would stop being an asshole, we wouldn’t have to go out searching for you at all times of the night.”

“Sales are down and profits are down. The shipments from Thailand are running late. The shipments from China never arrived at all. We need to readjust the budget to compensate for the inventory shortages. Everything is falling apart and somebody has to keep things running around here.”

“Jimin, that’s a bunch of bullshit and you know it. Mom and I do our part. I know the financial books better than anyone and there is nothing going on with the business that requires you to work these kinds of hours. You’re hiding. You’re avoiding us because you don’t want to talk about it.”

“No Nari. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m sick to death of talking about it. I’m tired of you and my mother always probing into my affairs. I don’t need you, I don’t need mom, I don’t need anybody. I just want to be fuckign left alone!” Jimin threw a stapler against the large row of steel shelves. He pushed several boxes off of the shelf as well, causing them to spill to the floor, dropping the contents all over the ground.

Nari had never seen her brother behave like this. But being the patient big sister that she was, she decided to ignore his tantrum. Casually she strolled over to the boxes of spilled merchandise and began restacking it on the shelf. 

“I know you’re scared. I know you’re hurting. I know you’re upset,” she said as she calmly cleaned up Jimin’s mess. 

“You don’t know anything about how I feel,” Jimin said with vitriol towards his sister. She didn’t deserve his disdain and he knew it, but she was the only one available for him to unleash his anger upon.

She completed her clean up and sat at the small desk as she watched her brother pace back and forth. “Ok, maybe I don’t know everything that you’re feeling. But I love you enough and know you well enough to understand how hurt you are. For the last year since this entire situation started, I’ve been by your side, watching you fight to try to fix it. Now you’re at the end and you have nothing to show for it. I get it, Jimin. I understand how painful this must be. But making an enemy out of me and mom just isn’t the right answer.”

Jimin sat on the hard cement floor and began to cry. This was exactly why he didn’t want to talk because he knew that inevitably Nari would say something that would break him and push him to tears. “I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t know what to do. What is my life going to look like from now on?”

Nari sat on the ground next to Jimin. “I don’t know. But there is one thing that I do know. You’re strong. You’re intelligent, young, and successful. You will survive this.” She placed her arm around her sobbing brother. “As much as this hurts right now, time heals all. You just need time. I’m begging you to focus more on tomorrow than you did on yesterday. Because yesterday is gone forever but your future is as bright as the stars.”

Jimin wiped his skin aggressively as if he wanted to rip the tears from his face. Because even his tears were a reminder of the pain that ached in his bones. He just wanted it to be over. He wanted to move on…

“Please go home Jiminie. You have an early court date tomorrow and you need to be sharp and focused.”

“I know what tomorrow is.”

“Yes, I’m sure you do. I’m also sure that is the reason you’re acting so distant. I almost don’t recognize you, baby brother.”

“I’m not the same man I was. I’ll never be that man again.”

“Please go home. Otherwise, I’m going to have to fetch one of those new Gucci blankets that we just got in from Italy and build a pallet on the desk to sleep until you finally agree to go home.” 

Without saying anything further, Jimin packed up his brief case and grabbed his coat. Nari was right, he had to be in court in less than five hours and he needed to get some sleep.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” he said as he headed back towards the front to leave.

“See you tomorrow? That’s it? That’s all I get? How about - hey thanks for coming to fish me out of my hiding place big sis. Or hey thanks for loving me enough to get out of bed and come looking for me. Or hey, love ya, thanks for being a shoulder to cry on. Or…anything polite and caring would do the trick,” Nari fussed as she put her large overcoat back on. Jimin was already gone. He didn’t even bother to see her back to her car. It was unlike him to be so callous. The pending court date was heavy on his mind and it was affecting his entire personality. Jimin was right when he said that he was no longer the same man that he used to be.

Seoul Family Court on Gangnam-daero in Seocho-gu began to fill with litigants as soon as the doors opened. The building was the staple location for all family litigations both private and public. Everything from child custody to paternity, child support to family inheritances, child abuse to domestic violence, anulment to divorce were all mitigated and evaluated within the glass walls of the twenty-four story building.

Thirty five different court rooms sat on the bottom level floors. At any given moment all thirty five of those rooms could be occupied with heartbreaking, devastating tales of family woes and broken homes. The beautiful building stood in direct contrast to the nasty matters that were often litigated inside.

But for more mundane matters such as divorce settlements and court ordered mediations, there were smaller, less intimidating spaces for lawyers, clients and opponents to huddle. Although both Jimin and Jeongguk had seen their share of drama in the large public courtrooms of the main floor, that portion of their long fought battle was mostly over.

Throughout the entire messy process, the judge had been stern but fair. Still the most delicate and financially substantive decisions had yet to be made. A final ruling was set to be delivered by the judge during their 8:00am hearing - the last of its kind. No more courtroom drama for them, it was all coming to an end.

Forty-year old Nari stepped into the building wearing a slim, exquisitely tailored charcoal grey suit. Her heels clicked against the shiny linoleum floor with the pace of a quickened metronome. She was a fast walker, a fast thinker, a fast talker and a fast negotiator. Even though she specialized in tax law and accounting, she agreed to take on this case purely because of the financial implications to her client. 

She carried a slim leather padfolio, with all of the details of the case divided into thirteen meticulously organized tabs. Her iPad held any other details that she may need at a moment’s notice. She checked her watch several times, nervous about her client arriving on time. It was 7:38am and she hadn’t heard a word from him despite her many calls and texts to his phone. 

At the far end of the corridor stood her formidable, yet extremely attractive opponent, Junghyun. The two had once been good friends, even going on a couple of dates years ago. But the viciousness of their current case tore all of that apart. At this point in their lives, they were passing ships in a very turbulent sea, headed in diverging directions. Nari watched him as he spoke to several attorneys from his law firm. They laughed casually, while they stood there with their hands deep in the pockets of their very expensive suits. Junghyun caught Nari’s silhouette out of the corner of his eye and then turned fully to face her. He gave her a casual nod as a polite hello and then turned back to his group of colleagues. 

Nari did not return the gesture. They were out for blood, each trying to take down the other. There was no room for cordiality in such warfare. Hence, she would be the one considered weak if she allowed even one modicum of civility to breach their negotiations. Blood, she wanted blood - and his client’s money.

She continued to walk down the hall, looking for room 2242 which was the room that had been assigned for their hearing. After several more minutes, she finally found the correct room. The numbering system in the building was all fucked and confusing, which was why she always arrived early. She opened the door and stepped inside. The room was much smaller than she expected, with the fluorescent lights humming overhead. 

She was startled when she saw Jeongguk already seated on the opposing side. He was wearing dark sunglasses and he had his hair brushed down over his face, with thick unkempt bangs much better suited for a teenager. Several blotches of bruised dark grey skin peppered his face, with the largest wound expanding just beyond the rim of his dark sunglasses. 

Nari had her suspicions. She had no knowledge of how Jeongguk’s face had gotten that way but she was willing to bet all of the gold at the Fed that it was because of another drunken bar fight; the same pattern of fighting that was going to feed very well into her accusation of him being a violent threat to her client. Whatever fracas Jeongguk had gotten himself into, the timing couldn’t have been better. The judge was going to see him with yet another bevy of bruises that supported her case. 

Still, a part of her sympathized with him. Before everything went to shit, everything was really good. At one time, Jeongguk really loved her client. And she suspected that he still deeply loved him which was at the very core of his attention seeking behavior.

“Good morning counselor,” Jeongguk’s voice was deep, broken and barely recognizable. He removed his sunglasses and sought her eyes.

“Your attorney is in the hallway. You may want to get him,” she responded coldly.

He had lost a lot of weight. His face was sunken and his dimples were garishly shallow. But she wasn’t surprised. She had seen similar physical changes in her own client. They were suffering the exact same fate, ironically. The bloody battle between them had taken a toll on both of their souls, leaving them emaciated and spent. 

She grieved for both of them, but especially Jeongguk. He was no longer the happy man who had waltzed with her at his wedding. Or the man who carried her over his shoulder and threw her in the pool at her thirty-eighth birthday party. Nor was he the man who sent her on a one month vacation all expenses paid just because she had won a big case. He was no longer the man that she used to adore; the man that she proudly called brother-in-law. There was no fun, no light that remained in his eyes. Once again, it was all too familiar.

“You’re so wound up in this case that you can’t even speak to me like a human being? Until these papers are signed, we’re still family. You’re still my sis…,” Jeongguk shook his head in disgust. 

Nari didn’t want to argue. She felt it was best to allow Jeongguk to vent while she unpacked her files quietly. And there was still the pesky inconvenience of her missing client. As the clock ticked on, she worried more and more about his arrival. She had no idea what was going on in his head. Was it possible that he was so emotionally fucked up that he would miss the most important trial date of the entire process? In her mind, anything was possible. She stepped into the hallway to text him again. It was 7:50am. 

“Excuse me,” Junghyun said as he stepped past her to enter the room.

She shuffled two feet to the right as she stared down at her text screen. Junghyun whisked past her without another word. He settled next to Jeongguk as they began to whisper.

Nari’s stomach twisted. With only ten minutes remaining until the start of the proceeding, she feared that her client wasn’t going to make it. It was the final mediation settlement hearing and the judge was due to arrive at any moment. 

“Come on…answer,” she muttered into the phone as she attempted one last desperate phone call.

He still didn’t answer. No matter, Nari always came prepared. She had a Plan-B. It wasn’t ideal and it was really going to sour the court towards her client, but she was ready to ask for a continuance. If granted, it would allow them to postpone the day’s proceedings, in essence stalling until she could get her client mentally prepared to show up. It was considered a nuclear option and she hated to do it, but failure of her client to appear would have eradicated the entire settlement they had agreed to. After another couple of minutes with still no response to her text, she concluded that Plan-B was her only option.

She turned to go back into the mediation room and that was when she heard a flurry of accelerating footsteps behind her. She sighed with relief when she turned around. It was Jimin.

“Cutting it a bit close, little brother,” she rolled her eyes with anger.

Jimin slid to a stop before adjusting his collar and straightening his tie. He danced awkwardly into his suit jacket and buttoned it all up before entering the room.

“Sorry,” he said as he squinted from the glow of the overhead lights. 

Jimin found a seat on the side of the table opposite Jeongguk. He refused to look up, instead staring down at a stack of papers that required his signature. He could feel Jeongguk staring at him with angry daggers. Under no circumstances was he going to give him the satisfaction of eye contact. It was what he wanted, to force Jimin to look into his sad, pitiful, soulful, doe eyes. He wanted to force Jimin to swim in his pain. Jeongguk could speak volumes with a simple glare and Jimin knew it. Jimin continued to look down at the table. If it was eye contact that Jeongguk wanted, then he could share it with Jimin’s attorney.

Immediately Jimin placed his finger to his nose because he could smell Jeongguk’s cologne. The same cologne that he used to savor while burying his lips into his neck. How a smell could elicit such an emotional pain filled response was beyond his understanding. He tried not to breathe because each whiff of the scent was like a dagger to his heart. Though they were only a few inches apart, the space between them felt like expansive, woeful miles. 

Jeongguk fully understood Jimin’s refusal to look at him but it only enraged him more. It would have been easy to cry, to make a scene, to show weakness with the hope of drawing sympathy. But his tears were all dried up. Left in their place was something corrosive, a feeling as close to hate as he had ever felt for anybody. The face that he once never tired of gazing into suddenly sickened him. All of the nasty memories came storming back. The lies, the betrayals, the fucking deception. Yet Jimin had the nerve to play the victim, to deny the truth that was right in front of him. Yes, Jeongguk hated him yet he wanted to kick himself in the nuts for still being in love with them.

There was a thin line of separation between being counsel and being a sibling. Both parties, both Junghyun and Nari, played their roles well, ever cautious like two nervous chaperones. Tensions were running so high that anything could happen. They were so close to closing this chapter and walking away with all parties satisfied, but the tension in the room was at its height. They both glanced at each other, thinking the same thoughts and fearing the same fears. Neither trusted their little brothers. 

Jeongguk continued to stare daggers into his soon-to-be ex-husband. Junghyun leaned over and whispered into his ear, “You good?”

“Yea, yea I’m fine,” Jeongguk whispered back.

“Then maybe stare down at the paper and not at Jimin. You’re making him uncomfortable and we don’t need this, not today.”

Jeongguk pursed his lips and looked away. 

Jimin tugged at his collar and sat back in his chair. He continued to pretend to read through the papers. The moment Jeongguk pulled his eyes away Jimin dared to glance up at him. It was then that he noticed his bruised face. He was so alarmed that he instinctively muttered, “What the fuck happened to your face?”

Before Jeongguk could speak, the judge entered the room. He brushed through the door so swiftly that the wind followed him, rustling the papers on the large glass table. After a year of dealing with this couple, he was ready for them to be cleared from his docket. 

Judge Soon immediately dropped his reading glasses over his face and stared over the top of them at Jimin, Jeongguk and their attorneys, “Good Morning. The case of Park vs. Jeon…looks like we have everything in order. Your attorneys should have given you copies of the agreements. Let’s do a quick walk through of the terms. Just a few more minutes gentlemen and this will all be over.  Judge Soon shuffled through his copies of the settlement and began to read…

Jimin was too struck by Jeongguk’s appearance to turn his attention towards the judge. He continued to glare at Jeongguk. His hair was flat and listless, his hands were bloody and bruised as if he had been pounding pavement. And the most shocking of all, his black wedding ring was gone. No matter how ugly and contentious the divorce had become, the one steadfast constant in Jeongguk’s life was that he always wore his wedding ring. He refused to remove it and bristled angrily at the sheer mention of it from his friends and attorneys. But suddenly it was gone, leaving only the pale tan lines of where it had sat for seven long years.

For Jimin, seeing that ring gone was like being doused with ice water. It made everything too real. This was happening, it was really happening and just like the day he was first served with the divorce papers, he felt sick, unwilling and unable to move on. He didn’t want this. All he wanted was to drop to his knees and beg for Jeongguk’s forgiveness and make it all go away. His hands began to shake, a precursor to the scream that he wanted to let out. 

Perpetually unimpressed, Judge Soon didn’t read the room. He might otherwise have noticed that Jimin needed a break. “Let’s see here, both parties have agreed to nullify the prenuptial agreement that was signed seven years ago. Mr. Jeon has agreed to relinquish 50% of his assets from the premarital brokerage account that is currently valued at $13million with $7.5million going to Mr. Park. Is that correct?” Hearing nothing but silence, the judge broke his reading cadence and stared out over the table. “Is this correct?”

“Yes. Yes, your honor, that’s correct,” Jeongguk answered after being nudged hard in the ribs by Junghyun.

“Yes, my client has supported Mr. Jeon’s career, relocating twice to manage the household and other matters. That is active appreciation that entitles him to half,” Nari reiterated the basis for Jimin’s request.

“Fine. The next matter is the separation of property. Mr. Jeon has agreed to transfer the property in Narita, Japan to Mr. Park. A value of $4.1million. He has also agreed to maintain insurance coverage for all of the properties in Mr. Park’s name. Mr. Jeon, you have also agreed to give up all brokerage accounts and stock investments. Is that correct?”

“Correct,” Jeongguk said again, eyes fixed sadly upon his lap.

“Alright. This leaves but one matter to be litigated and then we can wrap this up. Mr. Park you have stated as grounds for the divorce that Mr. Jeon is violent and has an erratic temper. You have accused him of verbal abuse, and public humiliation. As a result you are also requesting ownership of the couple’s three cars and two motorcycles. You have submitted a claim to the court that would allow you 30% of all future earnings of Jeon Jeongguk for the next twenty years, terminable by cohabitation or marriage. Do I have all of that correct?”

Once again there was silence in the room. Jimin refused to answer. His knees were bouncing so hard that they shook the entire table. His face was frozen in a horrified expression as he listened to all of the vile things he had accused Jeongguk of doing. Having a bulldog for a lawyer was great if he hated his opponent, but more and more he realized that he didn’t hate his husband. He desperately still loved him. Pressure swelled in his chest. His heart felt heavy, his limbs felt heavy. He wanted to jump from his own skin just to flee the psychologically repressed feelings of guilt and regret. 

Suddenly the dam broke, “NO!” Jimin jumped to his feet, “No, your honor. NO! Jeongguk please. Please listen to me. It’s not too late…,”

Jimin’s sudden outburst startled everyone in the room, even the judge. They all winced and looked up as Jimin leaned over the glass table, eyes dead focused on Jeongguk’s bruised face.  

Jeongguk stared back at Jimin, eyes full of tears, pain and horror. He inadvertently used his thumb to touch his black onyx wedding ring for soothing, and that’s when he remembered it wasn’t there. He shook his head before responding coldly to Jimin’s outburst, “You started this, not me.”

“YOU STARTED THIS! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO GAVE UP ON ME! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO STOPPED BELIEVING IN ME!” Jimin yelled back, pounding his fists upon the table. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control.

The judge was irritated once again, “Counselor, please get your client under control,” he snapped at Nari.

“Yes, your honor.” Nari pulled Jimin back down into his chair and held his hand under the table. She rested her loving hand over his to snap him out of his tantrum. This was exactly what she had feared; some last minute antics by her brother that would threaten to reverse all of the hard work they had accomplished over the last year. 

The judge gave Jimin time to settle down. He took a few sips of water and shuffled through the papers again. Rarely had he ever seen one party or the other try to rescind at the last possible moment, especially when they were winning. 

After several minutes, he continued, “As I was saying, the last matter to be decided is alimony and possession of the vehicles, and the official grounds for the divorce. Is that correct?” The judge reiterated.

Nari answered immediately, “Yes, your honor. My client has submitted proof of the allegations as well as the documentation required to support our claims and why we are asking for such a substantial settlement. As attested to earlier this year, my client has been subjected to spurious claims and accusations both publicly and privately. As a small business owner and the spouse of a famous celebrity, these claims have directly affected the operations of his boutique. None of the accusations are true and we are asking for this settlement as fair compensation for the suffering my client has endured at the hands of the partitioner. As for the abuse, you can see by the partitioner’s current condition that he has a propensity for violence and aggression. My client has not suffered any physical abuse at the hands of the partitioner, but it is critical that we settle this matter quickly so the volatile situation can be remediated before it escalates into physical violence. The marks on Mr. Jeon’s face were not caused by an unfortunate fall in the shower. I would like to bring the court’s attention to this police report filed last evening, summarizing the reason for Mr. Jeon’s arrest and ragged condition. He was in a bar fight, your honor.”

“Nice try Mrs. Park. I’m aware of the supplemental evidence that you submitted early this morning while I was still sleeping. I’ve reviewed it all and it has no relevance to this case. Thank you for your speech but we are not here to litigate this issue again. We’ll talk more about that when I’m ready to make my ruling. But before I read my decision, I would like to finalize the partitioner’s claim for the final record because I do believe it is an important part of my ruling. So let’s move now to Mr. Jeon’s countersuit and why he is refusing to accept the terms that Mr. Park has requested in his bid for alimony.” The judge turned to Jeongguk and peered once again over the rims of his reading glasses, “Mr. Jeon, you are claiming adultery on the side of Mr. Park. Your claim is that Mr. Park has been keeping a mistress. You submitted your evidence of the affair along with your filing. It is for that reason that you feel the responder has relinquished all claims to alimony and future support. Is that a true statement?”

“Yes, your honor. My client has been more than generous with dividing the marital assets, property and investments. But to expect him to pay alimony when he is the real victim here of the respondent’s lies, betrayal and infidelity is beyond reproach.”  Junghyun answered on behalf of Jeongguk who was once again staring at Jimin with the most pain filled expression any of them had ever seen. The sadness in his doe eyes was almost unbearable to witness even for Nari and Jimin.

“Very well,” Judge Soon nodded. “Now that both sides have been read into the record, I’m ready to make my final ruling.”

Jimin was still shaking, unable to release the emotional remnants of his outburst.

After more shuffling of papers, the judge finally spoke, “Let’s start with the easy one first; regarding the family vehicles, Mr. Park you get one car and one motorcycle. The Porsche Macan as well as the BMW Motorcycle. Mr. Jeon you get two cars and one motorcycle. That’s as evenly as I can split it without taking a chainsaw to the last vehicle.” He laughed. “And that is not an invitation to either of you to do it either.”  He looked at both of them sternly. “Now on to my final judgement. The court has reviewed the respondent’s claims and your requests for additional spousal support on the grounds of verbal abuse, cruelty and abandonment. I have reviewed all of your claims and the evidence submitted to this court and I find that your claims, Mr. Park, are unfounded. You, yourself admit that there was no abuse. And what you’re claiming as verbal abuse has been interpreted by the court as impulsive reactions from a hurt man who feels you have been unfaithful. Although the court does not condone Mr. Jeon’s behavior either publicly or privately, I don’t feel it rises to a level that would entitle you to alimony or ongoing spousal support. That claim is denied. However, as a condition of the divorce, I do hereby restrict Mr. Jeon from speaking publicly regarding this matter or the circumstances that he perceives led up to the divorce. Mr. Jeon, you are hereby gagged and restricted from mentioning Mr. Park explicitly by name or in vague reference during interviews, discussions or speaking engagements, effective immediately. Failure to comply with my court order will automatically override this ruling and grant Mr. Park the alimony he seeks. So tread lightly Mr. Jeon.”  

Jimin accepted the ruling without reaction. It was never about the money anyway. He just wanted Jeongguk to pay for the false claims he had leveled against him. He wanted Jeongguk to pay for ruining his life and destroying their marriage. He just wanted Jeongguk to feel his pain.

“Thank you, your honor,” Jimin said softly.

“Now moving on to Mr. Jeon’s claims of adultery on the part of Mr. Park. Based on the evidence provided, I am satisfied that Mr. Park is guilty of adultery. With that said, I will be granting this divorce on the terms of adultery and marriage abandonment. As previously mentioned, all claims to alimony and ongoing spousal support are dismissed. Mr. Park, the petitioner has been very generous with his settlement, take it and be happy that it wasn’t worse. Ok, I think that settles all of the matters that are before this court. Those are my rulings. Sign the papers, file them with my clerk and you two will be free to move on with your lives. I wish you both the best of…,”

“Your honor!” A disheveled court assistant rushed into the mediation room. He was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. “Your honor, please wait. Please don’t dismiss yet. We have…we have another issue,” he said out of breath.

“Juhoon, why are you here interrupting these proceedings? And why are you all sweaty?” Judge Soon grimaced.

“I was trying to get here in time, sir. I ran all the way from building six. I need to advise the court of something. Please excuse my interruption but it’s important and directly affects this divorce hearing,” Juhoon said.

Jimin and Jeongguk both stared at their attorneys. Neither of them had any idea of what this could have been regarding. All issues had been settled and as far as they were concerned, there was nothing else to be considered. They waited patiently for Juhoon to enlighten them.

“What is it? Make it quick. This case is all wrapped up, they’re just waiting for me to do my gavel banging thing,” Judge Soon joked.

“You asked me to do additional searches to make sure that all assets and contracts signed by both parties had been entered into the record. You told me to make sure there was no stone unturned and nothing outstanding that you didn’t know about. Well I did as you requested. I searched every legally binding agreement, and every contract and I stumbled upon something that is big. Very big.”

“What?” Jeongguk said, out of turn.

Junghyun shooshed him and repeated, “Whatever you found, it’s not relevant. There is nothing. I’ve scoured all public records as well. There is nothing outstanding that would affect these proceedings,” Junghyun assured them.

Juhoon slid the two pieces of paper across the table and placed them in front of the judge. The judge immediately began to read. It took him about three minutes to read through both pages and process it all. Juhoon was right, this was big. Very big.

“Is there something you two forgot to mention?” he said as he peered at Jimin and Jeongguk over the rims of his glasses. 

“No. Nothing,” Jeongguk said.

The judge decided to let him in on his little discovery, “About six years ago, you signed a contract with the Korea Welfare Services for adoption of a child. And not just any adoption, a contracted one where both of you agreed to co-parent if a child of your requested age became available. Apparently, a child recently became available which is probably why this contract was triggered in the system for Juhoon to find. It’s a boy. His name is Keonho and he is six years old. And he is indeed waiting for you. Has no one from the agency contacted you about this?”

Jimin and Jeongguk stared at each other with eerie recollection. At one time, long ago they had decided to become parents. But it was long, long before Jimin’s adultery and Jeongguk’s alcoholism. 

Jimin came to both of their defenses, “Your honor. Surely you can’t hold us to this contract given everything that has transpired. We never would have imagined that six years ago we would be in divorce court. Just void the contract and discharge us from the process. Surely you can do that?” Jimin asked.

“Surely I cannot. Did either of you bother to read the terms of the agreement before you signed it?”

“It was six years ago. I’m sure we read it back then, but…it was six years ago. We just wanted a son, so very badly. You have to understand, we were in love and we never thought our marriage would end - ever. We just wanted a child to complete our family. But all of that has changed now. We can’t bring a child into this mess,” Jeongguk said honestly.

“Mr. Park. Mr Jeon. This is not as simple as division of assets. I have no jurisdiction over the Korea Welfare Services. This is a contract that each of you signed freely. You’re on the hook for the adoption of this child as a married couple. The terms clearly state that you will take guardianship of this child. There does appear to be some rare situations in which you can appeal for the dissolution of the contract, but that will be up to you two to resolve. My hands are tied here. However, as a responsible officer of the court, I cannot grant the finalization of this divorce until you two figure this out. You’ve created quite a mess here and inadvertently involved an innocent child. That needs to be dealt with immediately. I have no choice but to grant a continuance based on your ability to resolve the terms of the contract with the Korea Welfare Services. Good luck gentlemen. See you again soon,” the judge banged his gavel and left the mediation room. 

The four of them sat there stunned. Neither Jimin nor Jeongguk had ever mentioned to their siblings/counsel that they had a pending adoption in progress. 

Junghyun was the first to blow his top, “What the fuck? What the fuck? I cannot with you two. You signed up for an adoption and didn’t think that tiny little tidbit of information was important to tell your attorneys or your siblings during a divorce hearing?” He screamed.

Nari was already two steps ahead. “I’m getting on the phone with KWS right now. Let me see what kind of damage control I can do to get us out of this. Damnit! This is not the publicity we need right now. Two very public figures reneging on a contractual agreement to adopt a poor innocent child in need. Great job boys. Great fucking job….HELLO!” Nari paused mid tantrum to speak with someone at KWS who had answered the phone.

“You can’t snap at us for wanting a child. We were a very happy and stable couple. We didn’t know things would end like this,” Jeongguk tried to explain again.

As the soon-to-be exes continued arguing with Junghyun, Nari chatted in lawyer-speak in the background. Her heels once again clicked against the floor as she paced up and down the hallway directly outside of the mediation room.

Junghyun was not finished yelling, “Fine. Fine. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a child. But this is not just wanting a child and waiting for your name to be called. This is a contractual agreement for fucks sake.”

“It was the only way to guarantee placement of a child who met our qualifications. We were too busy for an infant, but didn’t want a teenager either. We wanted someone young but not too young. The only way to guarantee that we would be given a child who was a match was to sign this contract. And it worked. They found a match,” Jeongguk spoke again.

Jimin was at a loss for words. As he sat there listening to the banter around him, his mind flashed back to the moment they first visited the orphanage six years prior. They were so happy back then. They were young, ambitious, wealthy, even tempered, loving - the absolute most perfect parents that a prospective child could have. He remembered specifically in granular detail the warmth radiating from Jeongguk’s palm as they held hands while visiting the children’s rooms. He remembered the beauty in Jeongguk’s face as he held an infant for the first time and crinkled his nose with joy each time it cooed. He could still hear Jeongguk’s laughter as he watched Jimin crawl along the floor with a three year old, playing hide and seek. The smells of fresh baked bread, the singing of Gom Se Mari coming from the room where all of the preschoolers were gathered around the table, the sullen expressions of the volunteers; all of it came rushing back to him. There were so many sweet faces to love. Of course Jeongguk wanted to take all of them home and it made sense back then to adopt. But in present-day, the entire concept seemed ridiculous.

“Shit. This is not good. Not good.” Nari cursed as she disconnected the call with KWS and threw her phone onto the table.

“What? What did they say?” Junghyun questioned.

“The process has already begun. There are certain steps that we must complete. In thirty days, this adoption will be final if we don’t get KWS to agree to let us out of the contract. We have to move fast. I’ll submit the formal appeal for dissolution of the contract and then we’ll have to cover the fees for all of the paperwork, housing, and work done by the team. And lastly we may have to appear in court for a quick briefing to explain why the situation has changed and these two can no longer fulfill the terms of the contract.”

“Ok…that all sounds great. There’s a way out. So, why so upset?” Junghyun asked with concern.

“Like I said. The process has already begun which means until we get this resolved and thrown out, these two have to follow the guidelines as outlined by KWS to avoid being sued for breach; starting with meeting the child.”

“Meeting the child? But we don’t want the child. Why would we meet him? That’s just going to make the process even harder on the poor kid. Does anybody in that place have a fucking brain? Why should we be forced to meet him, only to tell him that we don’t want him? Fuck that. No. I won’t,” Jimin folded his arms and turned his back to all of them. 

“Yes, maybe you little assholes should have thought about that before you signed a fucking contract!” Nari was still upset.

Junghyun was still trying to process the requirements, “Meet the kid, then what?”

“KWS will complete their background checks. There are a couple of required outings. The KWS committee will have subsequent meetings with the kid to discuss how things are going. And after 30 days, the adoption will be final. Apparently these two paid all of the adoption costs up front to show how serious they were about the placement.”

“What if we don’t get the contract dissolved before then? Surely they won’t place a kid in a broken home?” Jeongguk asked.

Nari tried to explain without revealing her innermost thoughts. “It’s worse than that. You and Jimin could end up in a custody battle with both of you battling over a kid neither of you want but are contractually obligated to. Like I said - this is a mess.” 

Nari fell down into her chair. She was almost in tears. For one full year, she had worked her ass off to get Jimin a good divorce settlement. Afterall, in the eyes of the law, Jimin had committed adultery and he was entitled to absolutely nothing. And if not for the fact that Jeongguk decided to be generous, he would have walked away with absolutely nothing. This was supposed to be over. Adding a custody battle into the mix would negate all of the previous settlements Jeongguk had agreed to. This can of worms did not bode well for Jimin.

Jeongguk’s voice broke the silence, “Jimin?” Everyone held their breath as they waited to hear what Jeongguk had to say. “The adoption was all my idea. I never thought…,” he shook his head, tears falling in large droplets from his eyes, “I never thought we would end up here. This is all my fault. I’m the one who insisted on signing the contract because that’s how much I wanted a son. If you want to walk away, you can. I’ll show up and face the kid. I’ll break the news to him. We’ll get the contract voided and move on with finalizing the divorce. In the meantime, you’re free to go. I got us into this. I’ll get us out,” Jeongguk said kindly.

After an eternity of having his back turned to the entire situation, Jimin finally turned around to face the group. “I’m coming too. If there is any decency left between us, we’ll handle this like adults who were once madly in love. Let’s do what’s right for this kid,” Jimin said softly. 

For the first time that day, the two looked at each other with soft eyes as they silently agreed.

Keonho bounded out of bed around 4:00am. He was too excited to sleep. Too happy to slumber. Too thrilled to keep his eyes closed. He ran to the closet and pulled it open, revealing the new suit he had requested for the meeting with his new dads. The suit wasn’t technically brand new, it had been purchased from a thrift store. But it was new for him and that was all that mattered.

In only seven more hours, he would come face to face with his new family. He imagined in his head over and over again how it would be. He would run and jump into their arms. They would cover his face with kisses, give him cool toys and then they would all travel to his new home on a pony. The day was going to be perfect, he just knew it.

His time living with his abusive uncle had come to a tragic end when Keonho found his uncle hanging from the balcony one day after school. He had committed suicide very publicly for all of the world to see. With no other family to care for him, Keonho was sent to the orphanage.

There was only one thing he wanted for Christmas - parents. Parents who wouldn’t beat him, or call him names or blame him for everything that went wrong in the world. He wanted parents who would love him, teach him things, take him places and tell him bedtime stories. Parents were all that he wanted. And after eleven months of living in the sad, lonely orphanage, a match had finally been found for him, just in time for Christmas.

The Director of the orphanage had promised him that the suit would fit, but Keonho didn’t trust it. He had to try it on for himself. The moonlight slipped through the bedroom as Keonho dropped from his bed. His bare feet found the cold floor one step at a time, toes curling against the laminate. The black velvet of the night pressed against his eyeballs. He held his breath as he found his way through the darkness, passing by each bed that was occupied by his sleeping roommates. He didn’t want to wake them but every wooden board seemed to have its own loud creek. He tried to avoid the noisiest planks by balancing his weight over his small toes and carefully placing them on the slits between the planks. As he moved stealthily, he floated over them like a tiny ghost.  

The closet was at the far corner of the large bedroom. After several minutes of tiny tot acrobatics, he finally reached it. He could barely see the crooked brass knob by the light of the moon but it was just enough to determine that the door was already open a small crack, just enough for him to see his suit hanging there. As he grew closer his nose was tickled by the faint hint of mothballs. He smiled. Keonho climbed up onto a chair that sat next to the window. He peeled his pajamas off and danced around the room in his Spiderman underwear as he pulled the tweed gray suit from the closet.

Suddenly a hushed voice spilled from behind him, “Hey…jerk what are you doing awake? Why are you making so much noise?” Jae, a fellow orphan dweller, age fifteen, was awakened by Keonho’s stirring in the darkness. He sat up and glared at his roommate. “Go back to sleep before you wake up the others.”

There were five other boys sharing the room: Jae, Taemin, Taeyang, James and Eunwoo. Jae’s voice woke two of the others. 

“Hey what’s going on?” Taeyang yawned.

“Keonho, why are you awake so early?” Taemin asked.

“Go back to sleep dragon breath, I swear to God you little kids are annoying,” Jae scolded.

“What’s going on? Why are you in your underwear?” Taemin asked again.

Keonho tried to settle them down, “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep. I’m just trying to take care of something. It’s no big deal. Please go back to bed.”

“No, you go back to bed,” Jae said. “You’re going to get all of us in trouble.” 

At fifteen years old, Jae was the oldest boy in the group, with Taeyang being thirteen, Taemin being fourteen, Eunwoo being twelve and James being eleven. Keonho remained the youngest, just having turned six in November.

“Hey, is that a new suit?” Taemin asked. “Why do you get special treatment, you freak?”

“It’s for my interview with my new parents. I asked Director Lee to buy it for me,” Keonho said proudly.

“It’s not even new, moron. She got it from the thrift store. Nobody around here gets anything new, especially you, you loser,” Taeyang laughed.

Keonho had wasted enough time. His only focus was trying on his suit for proper fit. Despite the other boys teasing and cat-calling, he slid into the slacks and then the suit jacket. He ran to the mirror to get a good look at himself. The suit was a little bit too long in the sleeves, but still a good fit. He liked the way he looked, proper, mature, ready for a new life with his new parents. He spun around several times in the mirror until he felt a heavy shoe strike him square in the center of his back. A thick, treacherous heat built between his shoulder blades. The pain stung like a billion bees. He blinked hard, once, twice, staring at the scuffed floor as he tried to hold his scream. He couldn’t cry because crying would only make it worse. He hated his roommates. He hated being the youngest. He hated being their punching bag.

“GO TO BED and stop making all of that damn noise,” Jae called out again. He held another shoe in his hand and threatened to throw it.

“Go to bed, please Keonho, you’re going to get us in trouble,” James pleaded.

“Ok, ok,” Keonho hugged himself to try to disperse the pain in his back. 

Just then a light switched on in the hallway.

“It’s Director Lee, quick, everybody back to your beds,” Jae whispered.

The boys rustled and scampered to return to their beds before Lee Sunyoung, the Director of the orphanage, caught them awake.

Keonho had no time to put his pajamas back on, so he bounded towards his bed still wearing his suit. He covered himself from head to toe in his large blanket and began to feign a rather odd whistling snore. 

Thirty-five year old Lee Sunyoung stepped into the boys’ bedroom and switched on the light. She assessed the scene of the crime quickly. The closet door was open and there was a tiny pair of discarded pajamas on the floor and Keonho’s suit was missing. 

Everyone appeared to be sleeping soundly but the Director wasn’t falling for it, especially considering that she had just heard the loudly whispering voices a few seconds earlier. Even though she knew the boys had been awake, she didn’t feel they needed to be disciplined for it. All signs pointed to one single culprit who likely had started all of the trouble - Keonho.

The Korea Welfare Services building was on 21 Nonhyeon-ro in Gagnam-gu. It was regulated by South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare. There were several different orphanages located throughout the city but this by far was the smallest. With only thirty kids living on sight, it was one of the most efficiently run orphanages in the entire country. It was also where most of the younger children in the system were housed until they reached a certain age. 

It was operated by a young bleeding heart children’s advocate named Lee Sunyoung. Director Lee was raised in an orphanage herself, never having known the love of adopted parents. She entered the system at age eleven and remained there through the age of nineteen when she was finally released as an adult. Through Director Lee’s life, she had been physically abused, neglected and cast aside for younger children that were considered more desirable for adoption. Her life had not been easy, with most of the abuse falling at the hands of the Director of the old Social Welfare Services system; a system that had to be completely overhauled due to scandal and corruption in the early 2000’s. 

Director Lee was appointed as the Director of KWS when she was only thirty years old. After only five years on the job, she was highly regarded as one of the best in the industry. But that didn’t make her job any less difficult nor the complicated circumstances of discarded children any less heartbreaking.

Director Lee sat in her office looking through Keonho’s file. His case was a tragic one; years of physical abuse, an absent mother who was addicted to opioids, a father who was missing, presumed dead, and an uncle who maliciously hung himself right in front of the bus stop where Keonho was dropped after school. 

But sadly, this six year old’s case was not extraordinary and his story was not much different from all of the other children. But what was extraordinary was Keonho himself. With an elevated IQ that far exceeded the range for most kids his age, came a settled maturity that many of the others lacked.

Director Lee Sunyoung had a healthy heart full of love for all thirty children under her supervision. But there was something about Keonho that made him one of her favorites. It was not right to have favorites, but this precocious, clever, loving, intelligent, pure soul captured her from the first moment they met. Because of his age, she doubted that he would be quickly placed, but she was relieved to know that she was wrong. Eleven months into his stay at KWS, a routine query of the parental waiting list uncovered a loving gay couple who lived in Cheongdam-dong neighborhood within Gangnam. The adoption fees were already paid and they were waiting and willing to receive a son between the ages of three and seven and it seemed like Keonho was a perfect match.

Director Lee was ecstatic to see Keonho find a home. He was much smarter than the other boys and much younger, which often led to cruel treatment and harassment from his roommates who were intimidated by his ability to out-think them. The Director tried to keep an eye on him but with thirty other children in the facility, it was difficult to always keep the other boys in line. 

At last, there was hope because this was the day that Keonho would meet his new parents. All of the background checks had been completed, the mental health evaluations were passed, and the contracts were ready to execute. Everything was done. The only thing that remained was for the new parents to take their new son home. 

Initially, Director Lee didn’t receive any response to either her letters or phone calls alerting the parents to the fact that a match was made. That seemed odd, given that they had waited for six years to find their son. But her mind was eased when their attorney contacted her to schedule the pick up of Keonho. The parents wanted to meet as soon as possible and that was a very good sign.

Director Lee questioned whether or not it had been a good idea to tell Keonho about the pending adoption so far in advance. But with the process being so far along, she felt confident that it was safe to give him the news. Besides, he needed to know what was happening. He was so excited, so hopeful that it would be the beginning of a better life. She enjoyed seeing the newfound happiness on his face and the smile that never seemed to fade.

Even though the new parents were not scheduled to arrive for another two hours, Keonho was already dressed in his gray suit, powder blue bow tie and shiny shoes. Director Lee had managed to scrape together an entire corporate uniform based on the very detailed requirements provided by her favorite orphan. There was no budget for clothes or shoes within the confines of KWS, so she had to dip into her own pocket and shop modestly at a thrift store. This kind of favor shown towards a resident was strictly forbidden, but she was willing to bend the rules if it helped little Keonho with his adoption. And her deeds did not go unnoticed because Keonho was exceedingly grateful.

Jeongguk arrived first, his stomach full of dread and heartache. So much had changed since the time when they first pursued adoption. Under normal circumstances, this would have marked the best day of he and Jimin’s lives. But in their current situation, it was the worst. 

He stretched his long legs from his Porsche Macan as he exited the car. There was a chill in the air as Fall settled around him. Once upon a time, October, November, December were his favorite months of the year, but not anymore. Now they were just colorful, painful reminders of how far his life had fallen into the abyss.

Jeongguk double clicked on his key fob. Before walking away, he took a few moments to appreciate his car. It had been awarded to Jimin in the settlement and as soon as the divorce was finalized, it would no longer belong to him. That pissed him off. But he repressed those feelings and remained focused on the matter at hand. 

With a few lassos around his neck, he layered his long cashmere scarf to shield himself from the bite of the frosty breeze. A quick check of his email gave him the instructions he needed to know where to go. He was scheduled to have a conversation with the Director, Lee Sunyoung. His hope was that he would be able to convince her to bypass the actual meeting with the child since the adoption agreement was being challenged. The quicker he was able to explain his situation and flee, the better it would be for all parties involved. He decided that it was best to just be completely honest and make arrangements to pay everyone for their inconvenience. Until the adoption matter was settled, Judge Soon refused to finalize the divorce. Jeongguk had to convince KWS and Director Lee to void the contract. After a year of all out war against each other, the last thing Jimin and Jeongguk needed was to be forced to be tied together any longer.

Even though Jimin made a noble stance in front of their attorneys, with claims to stand by Jeongguk as they worked through the adoption mess, Jeongguk didn’t really expect him to be involved. It was Jeongguk who wanted a son. Jimin only went along with it because he loved Jeongguk and gave him everything he wanted. At least that was how Jeongguk felt about it.

So when his soon-to-be ex-husband pulled into the parking lot, Jeongguk was surprised to see him. Because of the sudden unscheduled nature of the meeting, both Junghyun and Nari were tied up in court, leaving the two exes to chaperone themselves. It was a risk because at that moment, Jeongguk felt nothing but hatred and anger towards the man he still called his husband.

 Jeongguk walked briskly towards the car door. As soon as Jimin exited, he was met with a vitriolic, “What are you doing here? I told you I would handle this.” Jeongguk folded his arms.

“And I told you, we were in this together. Look Jeongguk, you’re not the only one who wanted a son. Yea, I was a little reluctant at first, but by the time we signed the contract, I was all in. I wanted this just as badly as you did. Now that we have to…dismantle it…it’s not fair for you to have to do it alone. I know how painful this is going to be and it’s a pain that we will bear together. We need to be polite for the sake of this child. This needs to be handled delicately by both of us.”

“Fine. We’re a few minutes early but I’m sure she won’t mind. Let’s get this over with so we can get the fuck away from each other,” Jeongguk said bitterly. 

There was no need for Jeongguk to be so crude, but whenever he was around Jimin, he wore a filter of disdain with the purpose of hiding how vulnerable he still was to his presence. He still loved him, but he worked hard to bury it and keep it buried because he couldn’t risk giving Jimin the satisfaction of knowing that he wasn’t over him. 

“Your face looks much better,” Jimin said politely.

“I’m fine. Nothing to worry about,” Jeongguk replied. 

As they walked through the parking lot towards the front of the building, Jimin tried again, “You look good. A little thin perhaps.” 

“Stop it Jimin.”

“I’m trying to be fucking civil,” Jimin snapped.

“Don’t. We both know what this is. Can we please just get this over with, without making it more than it needs to be?”

“Hello, Mr. Park? Mr. Jeon?” Director Lee met them in the lobby as soon as they entered. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. I thought it would be easier if I met you down here and walked you back to my office. This building is a maze and can be difficult to navigate.” Director Lee immediately felt the tension between the two new dads. She was concerned but convinced herself that it was nothing. She reached out her hand to greet both of them. “I’m Lee Sunyoung, the Director here. I’m also a big fan of little Keonho and I cannot wait for him to meet you.”

Both Jimin and Jeongguk shook her hand, “Nice to meet you. I’m Jeon Jeongguk and this is uh…,”

“Park Jimin.”

“Nice to meet you both. Come with me and I’ll show you to my office. Then we’ll head out to meet Keonho. He’s so excited. This is a dream come true for him. If all goes well, you’ll be spending your first Christmas together as a family,” Director Lee smiled. 

The response that she received from the two new dads was not as expected. They glanced at each other nervously and had no comment regarding the ambitious timeline she laid out for them. They were not acting at all like two men who were excited to become dads. 

The group traveled through the building, taking the elevator up to the third floor. They passed several of the common areas where the kids were gathered, playing games, and singing, others doing school lessons. For Jimin, it brought back the memories once again from the last time they visited the facility. He felt a lump form in his throat as tears puddled in the corners of his eyes. This was supposed to be the final piece of their long meandering love story. This was supposed to be something so different than what it was. 

Once they reached Director Lee’s office, they took a seat at her desk, “Coffee? Tea? I think we may even have some sparkling apple juice to celebrate the occasion.” She laughed.

“No.” Jeongguk said bluntly. “I have some things that I need to discuss with you…,”

“We, have some things to discuss with you…,” Jimin interrupted. 

“Ok. Sure. What is it?” Sunyoung said openly.

“We no longer wish to proceed with this adoption. Our circumstances have changed. We’re willing to pay any out of pocket expenses you may have incurred.” Jeongguk was blunt and to the point. He wasted no time bullshitting around. His motive was clear - they wanted out.

Jimin interjected, “What my…what Mr. Jeon is trying to say is that we are no longer a couple. We’re divorced. Well…we will be divorced as soon as we void this adoption. We feel that a child needs a stable home and we cannot, given our current situation, provide that stability.”

“This…this is shocking news. Why didn’t you tell me this when I first reached out to you?”

“That’s just it, we never knew anything about this until a clerk at the courthouse found our names in the database. No one reached out to us.”

“That’s not true. I called several times and sent you multiple letters to notify you,” Director Lee argued.

“We didn’t get anything,” Jimin said simply.

“Wait,” Jeongguk added, “what address did you send it to?”

Director Lee pulled Keonho’s file, “781 Yangjae-daero, Gangnam-gu. Phone number 02-312-3456. There were no emails on file so we contacted you with the information you provided.”

“That explains it,” Jimin frowned.

“Because of the divorce, we no longer live at that location. We are still in Gangnam but in different homes. And that phone number is disconnected,” Jeongguk continued.

“If you no longer wanted to continue with the adoption, then why did you contact us and set up this appointment to meet the child?” Director Lee asked, fully irritated.

“Because our attorneys told us that this meeting was contractually required and we had no choice but to proceed with this step. We have already submitted the paperwork to have the contract voided. We thought that if we could meet with you first and explain the…,”

“Hello.” A small voice came from the doorway of Director Lee’s office. “Are you two my new dads?” It was Keonho.

“Keonho!” Director Lee jumped to her feet. The day that once seemed hopeful was turning into a complete disaster. Before she had a chance to alert the caregiver about the evolving situation with Keonho’s prospective parents, Keonho arrived to meet them. “Sweetheart, where is Eunji, he’s supposed to be keeping an eye on you?” She panicked. She rushed to block the door to keep Keonho from seeing the two losers who were suddenly trying to renege on his adoption. “We’re not ready for you quite yet. Run along and find Eunji. Tell him that I said to give you a popsicle." Director Lee spun him around and gently pushed him back into the hallway.

“But…but…but…it’s 11am sharp.” Keonho struggled with Sunyoung as she tried to push him away. He yelled around her, projecting his voice so that his two dads could hear him, “It’s time to meet my new parents. Is that them? They look like the faces that I saw on the internet. Park Jimin, age 33, owner and President of Serendipity Boutiques in Seoul. Jeon Jeongguk, Idol, singer, dancer, age 31. Park Jimin attended Global Cyber University where he graduated with a 4.0 and then went on to earn his MBA at Hanyang. Jeon Jeongguk, your MBA is in Advertising and Media. You also attended Global Cyber. You both have older siblings, your parents live in Busan. You met while working together on a video shoot where Mr. Park’s boutique provided the wardrobe and did the styling. Your favorite color is yellow Mr. Park. Your favorite color is black Mr. Jeon. I know all about you. I know all about you,” Keonho yelled.

Jimin and Jeongguk watched helplessly as Director Lee grabbed the struggling boy and pulled him away.  They thought the meeting would be simple, straightforward. They hoped to avoid seeing him at all. They hoped to settle things with the Director and flee like the cowards they were before ever coming into contact with the boy. They were so, so wrong. No one was expecting the boy to go rogue. 

Jeongguk walked slowly to the door as he listened to little Keonho call out all of the facts that he had learned about them. He struggled to remain upright because the pain of walking away from the child he always wanted was too great. They had known him for less than three minutes and he already seemed magical. The time and research that the young boy had committed to learning more about people he barely knew was incredibly sweet, and humbling. 

“Was he wearing a suit?” Jimin said softly with a delicate smile. 

“Yea.” Jeongguk nodded. For fear of bursting into tears, he chose not to speak much. The little one was indeed wearing a suit. An adorable, perfectly tailored little suit.

“He dressed up for us,” Jimin spoke again.

“Yea.” That was all that Jeongguk could take. After staring down the hallway to where the adorable little guy had disappeared, he excused himself. “Restroom. Be right back.” 

He stormed into the restroom and found an empty stall. In the most dramatic fashion possible, he huddled inside, closed the door and wept uncontrollably. As brief as it was, that simple glimpse of the child that should have been his, was enough to break his heart. Furthermore, knowing how much the boy wanted them and needed them amplified the pain of the entire situation.

Director Lee finally picked up the struggling Keonho and carried him back to the common area. Her assistant caregiver, Eunji, was there instructing the other kids. 

“Eunji. Change of plans. I need you to keep Keonho here while I handle…a situation.” She was careful not to say too much in front of the perceptive little boy. He clung to her every word and he knew that something was wrong.

“Eunji protested, “But I thought…,”

“I said change of plans,” Director Lee blinked her eyes several times to give him the hint that something was wrong.

Eunji read her expression and changed course quickly, “Oh, ok, I understand. Keonho, come sit with us kiddo. We’re working on our multiplication tables.”

“I already know all of my multiplication. I’m actually in Calculus…remember? Director Lee, why am I not being allowed to meet with my parents?” Keonho asked.

“Please. Just stay here. I’ll explain everything later. Please sweetheart. Trust me.” Director Lee whispered into Eunji’s ear, giving him a brief summary of what was happening, then she rushed back to her office. She found Jimin sitting alone. “I’m sorry about that. If I had known this sooner, I would have been more diligent with making sure that he didn’t see you. As you can see Keonho has a mind of his own. He was not supposed to come to my office. He was supposed to wait until I came to fetch him for the meeting.” She looked around her office. “Where is Mr. Jeon?”

“Probably in the bathroom getting drunk,” Jimin said under his breath.

“Drunk””

Director Lee shuffled through their file, “Did you say drunk? There’s no mention here of alcoholism or any other issues.”

“I don’t have a drinking problem,” Jeongguk suddenly appeared at the door after his return from the restroom. His face was red and swollen, stained with tears. “You see Mrs. Lee, this is why we can’t bring a child into our environment. We hate each other,” Jeongguk said as he reclaimed his seat.

Hearing the words ‘we hate each other’ only made Jimin more irritated. The hate was only one-sided in his opinion.

“I’m always sad to see a marriage end. This is going to affect Keonho very negatively. Forgive my frustration but why didn’t you make voiding the contract a priority when you first started your divorce proceedings? Maybe we could have avoided all of this if you had just been proactive and made this child’s welfare a priority.”

“We simply didn’t remember that we had signed the agreement. It was six years ago, a different time, a different space. The last year has been bitter and we’ve been fighting over everything from alimony to property. It’s been a chaotic time. We’re very sorry. Very, very sorry,” Jeongguk tried to explain.

“Sorry won’t heal that little boy’s broken heart. What you’ve done to him is reprehensible. I should have known that people like you couldn’t take these matters seriously.”

“People like us?” Jeongguk repeated.

“Rich, famous, public figures who have the world at your fingertips. You treat the world like your own personal playground. Well Mr. Park, Mr. Jeon, the rest of us live in the real world. We’re the ones left behind to clean up your messes. Were you ever truly serious about adopting him or were you planning to just use him as some type of accessory for your fancy parties?”

“We resent that,” Jimin said firmly. “We don’t owe you any explanations for why we wanted a child. We’re very sorry that things ended this way but don’t you dare question how dedicated and committed we were to this adoption. The only reason we’re breaking off this contract is because that is what’s best for this little boy. Now, are we done here?” Jimin stood to his feet and glared at Director Lee. 

“Yes. We are certainly done. Please see yourselves out,” Director Lee was steaming.

Over the last year, there was absolutely nothing that the two men could agree on. But this was the one exception. They both felt terrible about the situation they had created. And they both deeply regretted not resolving the situation sooner before the boy got involved. Shamefully they walked in unison, feeling the same feelings and thinking the same thoughts.  

“He was so cute,” Jimin said softly. “His little suit.”

“Yea.”

“And he researched us. How smart is that?”

“Yea. And did you see the little part in his hair and his cute little nose? Handsome kid.”

“Very handsome. Oh Jeongguk how did we fuck this up?”

“You fucked this up. You and your secrets and lies. Remember?” Jeongguk said bitterly.

“But…but…,” Jimin’s bottom lip trembled. His eyes inadvertently dropped to glare at Jeongguk’s empty ring finger. He didn’t want to cry. It was time to get away from Jeongguk. “Fuck it. See you around.”

Jimin felt his pockets for his car keys but they weren’t there. Not in his suit jacket, or his slacks or his Dior shoulder bag. He realized at that moment that he had left his keys in Director Lee’s office. He remembered laying them on the edge of her desk when he stood to shake her hand. Jeongguk kept walking, never stopping to look at Jimin or offer a goodbye. Jimin quietly circled back without Jeongguk even noticing that he was gone. He looked back over his shoulder and watched as Jeongguk continued to walk away. Even from behind, he was so beautiful. It sickened Jimin to know that Jeongguk no longer belonged to him. The love affair was over.

Jimin reached Director Lee’s office, but as he approached, he could hear her on the phone. Even though they had parted on nasty terms, he didn’t want to be rude and barge into her office while she was on the phone, so he floated around her door and waited for her to finish her phone call. He could clearly hear that she was upset, even though he wasn’t sure who she was speaking to.

Director Lee was close to tears, “This is my fault. I should have been more diligent with following up. Keonho is more sensitive than the others. Of all of the boys, he’s the one most likely to never recover from this disappointment. I screwed up. I didn’t protect him like I should have. I’m going to have to increase his therapy sessions right away so that a professional can help him adjust. I can’t believe this is happening. But because there was a contract in place, I just assumed it was a done deal. I should have been suspicious when the two candidates didn’t call after receiving the notification that their adoption had been approved. I didn’t hear anything from them until they scheduled this appointment and even then they didn’t mention anything about not wanting to go through with it until they were sitting in my office. And they were so flippant about it. As if they were returning a shirt that didn’t fit,” Director Lee vented.

Jimin’s ears perked up when he heard the kid’s name - Keonho. He stood outside of her cracked door and pressed his ear closer to the wall. He found himself eavesdropping on every word of the Director’s conversation. 

 “This is going to be a significant setback for Keonho. The bullying and teasing that he gets everyday is just unbearable. He’s a very sensitive child and now because he had a chance and it didn’t work out, he’ll be placed at the bottom of the list. He may never have a chance again at an adoption. Let’s just be honest, these kids get less and less desirable as they get older. I’m living proof of it. Once Keonho’s chance comes around again, he’ll be too old for any family to want him. I fear that this was his one and only chance. He was so excited about having his own family…,”

Jimin’s heart skipped a beat. Hearing first hand about the repercussions of their actions stymied him. “Oh no,” he whispered to himself. 

Director Lee continued her conversation, “The Ministry usually does a very good job with monitoring the candidates and making them sign attestations with each year that passes to verify they are still interested in adopting. But this time they completely dropped the ball. And of course it’s sweet Keonho who has to pay the price for a bunch of adults who can’t do their fucking job,” she began to cry on the phone. It was not like her to get upset, but she had a soft spot for Keonho. “Yes. Please email the forms and I’ll get the paperwork started. I don’t know how I’m going to break this to him. Yes. Yes. Thanks, Eun. I appreciate you letting me vent. Yea, goodbye.”

Jimin took a deep breath before knocking on her door.

“Come in,” she said sadly. “Mr. Park! What are you doing back here?”

“I-I,” Jimin wasn’t even sure what to say. “I left my keys and I…,”

“Your keys?” Director Lee looked around her desk. Jimin’s keys were sitting on the very outer edge of her desk. She picked them up and handed them to him. “I believe these are yours?” She said bitterly.

Jimin stood over her desk as he shared the sentiment that sat on his heart, “I need to apologize to you. My behavior earlier was out of line. Of course you have every right to be angry with us. You’re just looking out for the kids’ best interest and we understand that. But let me say just one thing. Having money or being famous is not a sin. You seem to think that just because we have modest wealth that we’re somehow bad people who don’t take life seriously. We aren’t. We wanted a child and obviously, with being a gay couple, it wasn’t simple to just have one of our own. We wanted someone to share our wealth, our hearts, our love. We wanted to leave a legacy of a son who was loved so much that he would be propelled to do great things, and become a gift to the world. We wanted to do our part to help a child who needed us. Don’t think for one second that this situation isn’t killing us too. I don’t even know that kid and I feel like he was meant to be ours.”

Director Lee grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears. She blew her nose loudly with a snort that sounded like a honking horn. She sniffled, “Sit down Mr. Park. Please?”

Jimin made sure to stuff his keys into his pocket and then he sat in one of the three worn leather chairs that bordered her desk. “I owe you an apology as well. I behaved very unprofessionally today and for that, I apologize.” She very bluntly bared her soul, “I tried to adopt Keonho myself a year ago when he first came to the orphanage. But due to conflict of interest laws and strict oversight by the Ministry, I was not allowed to do so. So when I saw that another set of loving parents had come along, I jumped at the chance to get him placed as quickly as possible. I may not have followed all of the steps necessary to protect him because I just wanted so badly for you to adopt him and give him the loving home that I couldn’t. This is mostly your fault,” she laughed, “but I bear some of the blame as well,” she said honestly.

“Thank you for that. However, I couldn’t help overhear something you said on the phone. You said that Keonho has to go back to the bottom of the adoption list?” Jimin asked.

“Eavesdropping. Nice,” Director Lee teased. 

“No, nothing like that. I just…I was lingering outside, waiting for you to get off of the phone and…,”

“...kidding Mr. Park.”

“Oh,” Jimin winced.

“Yes. Rules state that once a child has had a chance at adoption and it doesn’t work out for whatever reason, their name has to be rotated to the end of the list and other children who have not had a chance are elevated to the top to be matched. The problem is, there are more kids than available parents so it takes a long time for the kids at the bottom to come back to the top again. Unless a miracle happens, by the time Keonho’s name comes back up again to be matched, he’ll probably be too old to find a match. That’s not always the case of course, but it’s more likely than not to happen. There are exceptions and work-arounds but again, those are very rare cases.”

Jimin rubbed his chin as his mind processed the information, “Work-arounds? Like…what…?”

Jeongguk didn’t notice that Jimin was no longer behind him until he heard someone calling his name. He turned around to see a small boy chasing after him. He was still wearing his grey suit.

“Mr. Jeon. Mr. Jeon, where are you going? You’re not leaving are you? You’re not leaving without - me?” Keonho’s little feet moved as quickly as possible to keep up with the long elegant glide of Jeongguk’s gait.

Jeongguk spun around, “Keonho? What…I mean where is your supervision? You shouldn’t be out here in the hallway alone.” Jeongguk looked around desperately hoping to find an adult lingering nearby. The last thing he wanted was to face the kid alone, especially given his overly emotional state.

Keonho unexpectedly grabbed Jeongguk’s hand. The froward child was determined. “I’m leaving too, right? Can we get my stuff before we go? I don’t have much. Just a few of my favorite books and a teddy bear. Oh and my copy of Mentour Pilot magazine. I’m going to be a Pilot when I grow up. Yea, my room is this way, come on,” Keonho smiled as if he had caught a priceless mermaid on his fishing rod.

Jeongguk was not sure what to do. His first thought was to run for his life. But his calmer, more mature side told him to just play along until he could speak with one of the caregivers to explain. He was not trained nor emotionally equipped to tell this child that the adoption was off. He needed a professional or at least someone who wasn’t a coward.

“Sure. I would love to see your room.” Jeongguk wasn’t sure of the rules for strangers roaming around an orphanage full of kids. 

Sunyoung had given them an official visitor’s sticker when they arrived so at least the staff would know that he had permission to be there. So many thoughts ran through his head. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this. 

They walked for at least five-ten minutes as they twisted through the maze of hallways that led back to the children’s quarters. Jeongguk seriously began to question the supervision of the place because there was no way that Keonho should have been allowed to wander so far from the adults. 

The entire time, Keonho refused to let go of Jeongguk’s hand. He spoke a mile a minute, his excitement too bombastic to contain, “Where is Mr. Park? Will he be meeting us at home? I hope you didn’t go through too much trouble for me. I don’t need much. I’m happy to sleep on the floor or in a warm chair. Like I said, I don’t have many clothes. Just a few t-shirts and some shorts. My spiderman underwear is my most prized possession.” 

Keonho laughed with an innocence that made Jeongguk’s heart flutter. Ten minutes together and he already knew that he was a very special kid. “Children as special as you should never sleep in chairs.” Jeongguk responded.

“I’m nothing special. I’m just…me. My uncle says that I caused a lot of trouble. I think he killed himself just to get away from me. But I promise, I’ll be better. I won’t be a burden. Just…just…give me a chance.”

“What? You’re no trouble at all and if your uncle said that, then he was just confused.” Jeongguk stopped and pulled gently on Keonho’s arm to turn him around. He dropped to his knees and looked eye to eye with the timid little boy, “Your uncle’s death had nothing to do with you. He was ill inside of his mind and that was something that he couldn’t control. But don’t you ever, ever think that he did that because of you. It’s simply not true. Look Keo, may I call you Keo?”

Keonho giggled and covered his mouth, “Sure. That’s kind of cool.”

“Look Keo. I don’t know you very well, but I like you… and I care what happens to you. Promise me right now that you will never blame yourself for stupid things that adults do. You deserve the world. The. Entire. World. Do you understand?” Jeongguk said firmly, like a father.

“Are you sure about that because that’s not what my uncle says.”

“I’m sure. I’m very sure. I’m 100% sure,” Jeongguk double-downed. “Now, mind telling me how you got this far away from your caregivers without them noticing? It’s not safe for you to wander away like this. You could get hurt or lost or something,” Jeongguk lectured.

“Ever heard of Alcatraz?”

“No. No idea what you’re talking about.”

“It’s an American prison. Surrounded by sharks and waves and ice cold water. It was supposed to be escape proof - until one day three men escaped. Know how they did it?”

“I don’t even understand the words you are saying. So no…I have no idea.”

“They built replicas of themselves so that whenever the guards came by to check them, it looked like they were lying in bed sleeping. I thought it was brilliant, so I built one too. Whenever I need to sneak away to go to the library after hours or sneak into the kitchen for more cookies, or…,”

“Or…,” Jeongguk urged him to continue.

“Or…get away from the older boys who are mean to me - I put my fake me in the bed and cover it with blankets. Everyone thinks I’m sleeping. That leaves me to roam the place. When you didn’t come back to get me, I used my fake ‘me’ to fool everyone while I left to find you.”

Jeongguk was both terrified and impressed at the same time. “That’s not safe. You shouldn’t be doing that, Keo. What if you get hurt? Think about how worried everyone would be if they realized that you were missing. Do not do that anymore. I’m afraid I’m going to have to tell your Director about this.” Jeongguk was again acting like an overly serious killjoy.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m leaving and going home with you. So tattle all you want,” Keonho laughed loudly, confident that he had bucked the system. Once again he grabbed onto Jeongguk’s hand. “Let’s go…dad,” he giggled again and started towards his room.

The kid was aggressive and not going to go down easily. Jeongguk instantly liked him very much. They finally made it to Keonho’s room. There, just as he explained, was a small replica of him lying in his bed. The resemblance was a bit creepy. Although, anyone who inspected the dummy a little closer would easily detect that it was an imposter. This too made Jeongguk laugh. 

Keonho was already packed. A small grocery bag held his entire life’s possessions; three pairs of socks, two pairs of jeans, two pairs of shorts, six shirts. And a large teddy bear. The bear’s head and one arm poked out the top of the bag like it was trying to escape, its worn fur glinting gold in the light and one button eye hanging by a thread. 

It was immediately apparent to Jeongguk that Keonho had not lived a privileged life. With barely any clothes or any possessions, he was a humble and modest child whose only desire was love. Jeongguk stood at the far corner of the room while Keonho gathered his things. He still had no idea how to get out of this. The kid was ready to go and had every intention of leaving the place. 

Just then, Keonho’s older roommates entered the room. Not realizing that Jeongguk was there, they immediately started throwing insults at Keonho. 

“Still here dragon face? Let me guess, your “new” parents took one look at your ugly face and ran screaming,” Taehyun said.

“Yea, I bet they never saw something so ugly and stupid in their lives,” the other kids joked.

Jae pushed Keonho hard in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground. 

“Nobody is going to adopt a weirdo. Loser. No wonder your uncle killed himself. I would kill myself to if I had to smell you everyday,” Eunwoo said.

“You look like an idiot in that stupid cheap suit from the thrift store!” 

All of the kids laughed. Keonho crawled to his feet again. He backed away from the gang of kids that surrounded him. He closed his eyes and braced as he saw Jae draw back his fist. He squeezed his jaws tight and tried to shield himself as he readied for the punch. 

Jae’s hand clinched tightly into a fist that was larger than Keonho’s entire face. The entire hand was aimed right at the center of Keonho’s stomach, the same spot he punched him almost every day. Jae tightened his shoulders, causing his arm to snap forward like a piston. But instead of the soft billowy stomach, his hand hit something hard, impenetrable, painful. He recoiled, and tried to pull his fist back as his eyes searched wildly to see what he had hit. He looked up to see a stranger standing there, shielding Keonho. 

Jeongguk had blocked Jae’s punch, using his large hand to catch the evil fist that dared to try to bruise the sweet innocent boy. He held Jae’s fist with his large powerful hand, angrily squeezing it until it turned beet red. And despite Taehyun’s wiggling and panicked screams, Jeongguk refused to let his fist go. At least, not until he said a few choice words.

“I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were just trying to help your young friend to his feet, since you accidentally pushed him to the ground. I’m also going to assume that you are not an absolute mind fucked little asshole who has been bullying a kid who is about ten years younger than you and half of your size. I am going to assume all of this because if I discover that you’ve been harassing this kid, I’ll have to kick your ass.”

“What’s going on here?” The caregiver Eunji appeared at the door after hearing all of the commotion. He was startled to see Jeongguk standing in the middle of the fray. “Who the hell are you?” He asked with concern.

“He’s my new dad!” Keonho jumped for joy. He had been so panicked and frightened by the ribbing from the other kids that he had completely forgotten that Jeongguk was even there. He hugged Jeongguk’s leg and beamed with happiness. Never had anyone defended him before. Never had anyone even cared enough to stand up to Jae. “Thank you dad. Thank you.” Keonho used the word quite liberally. “I told you that I had a new dad. I told you!” Keonho gloated in front of his asshole roommates.

“Shit,” Jeongguk mouthed to himself. Every second spent with this kid was getting him deeper and deeper in trouble.

“Keonho’s new dad? But I thought that was…I mean…,” Eunji stared blankly. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on because Director Lee had insisted that the adoption was off. “Sir, may I speak to you privately for a moment?”

“Uh, sure.” Jeongguk was relieved. 

Finally someone had arrived who could help him squirm out of this mess. As he left the room, he turned towards the boys who were gathered around Keonho. His angry glare spoke volumes. Without uttering a word, he warned all of them to stay away from Keonho or else face consequences. The boys disbanded, leaving Keonho alone to wonder why Eunji had asked to speak to Jeongguk privately.

Eunji pulled Jeongguk into an empty common area. “Mr. Jeon,” Eunji whispered. “Can you please explain what’s going on here? I thought the adoption was being voided or something? I don’t know any of the details, I only know that Director Lee told me that the adoption was off.”

“Do these boys assault him often?” Jeongguk’s eyes were focused on the bedroom down the hall.

“Assault? That’s a strong word. These are just kids being kids. They come from bad homes or no homes. The behavior is not ideal, but we do what we can to keep the kids safe.”

 “How old is that bigger kid? Thirteen? Fourteen? Beating up a kid half his age?”

“Jae does pose problems, but he’s not bad. He just needs discipline.”

“Discipline my ass. If I hadn’t stepped in, he would have pulverized little Keo. Look, I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, but I’ve barely been here two hours and I’ve already been really troubled by some of the things that I’ve seen.” Jeongguk stopped just short of tattling about how Keonho was able to run freely throughout the orphanage by placing decoys in his bed.

“Sir, respectfully. Why are you still here? If the adoption has been cancelled, you’re free to leave. You’re so busy admonishing me for how I do my job, yet you’re here allowing this boy to call you dad when you have no intention of being his father. So who is really the one causing damage?”

“Listen to me. There’s been a mix up. We planned to take Keonho home today but due to unforeseen circumstances…,” Jeongguk didn’t know how to explain it all without sounding like a complete asshole. “This child needs better protection. He’s being bullied, hurt even. It’s affecting his behavior and it’s why he’s so desperate to get out of here. Is there anything I can do to help protect him?” Jeongguk knew that his question sounded ridiculous, but he was so rattled by what happened to Keonho that he felt the need to do something.”

Eunji could see the care in Jeongguk’s eyes. He did his best to explain, “We know that there are issues. But with limited funding and limited staff, we can only control so much of what happens here. Because of Keonho’s age, he’s too big to be with the toddler group, so KWS guidelines say he has to be here with the bigger kids. He’s a special little boy and I do everything that I can to look out for him. But we’re understaffed.” Eunji spoke defensively but with guilt dripping behind every word. “And now that his adoption has been cancelled, he’ll never leave this place. The system is designed to match the younger kids, but not the older ones. By the time his name comes up again, he’ll be too old to be a match. Unless he receives a foster parent who can house him until someone adopts him.”

Jeongguk looked directly into Eunji’s eyes, “A…what…?”

An hour into their conversation and Jimin was learning more than he anticipated about adoption. But there was something new that he learned, something called fostering. With his legs crossed, he settled in with his complimentary cup of hot coffee that Director Lee had kindly prepared for him. 

“We have a system where we place needy children with foster families. It’s a thirty day trial, just long enough to get the kids out of here and settle them in a normal home. Typically those parents are not interested in adoption, they just want to help out, especially during the holidays. But there aren’t many parents who are qualified to foster and even fewer who want to go through the pain of getting attached to a child only to have to return them after the thirty days are up. So fostering, although an option, is pretty rare.”

Jimin leaned forward, “What if…a single parent wanted to foster. Just for a while, until a new home was found?”

“And when you say single parent…would you by any chance be talking about yourself?”

Jimin didn’t want to answer that. He suddenly realized that what he was thinking was crazy. He had no plan, no vision, no practical theory about how this would all end. He was thinking with his heart and not his head. There was no way he could foster a child alone. He had the boutique to run. He had public appearances and a high profile holiday fashion show. He had no time for a kid…but damnit…he wanted to help that kid; especially considering how he’d fucked up Keonho’s chances to be adopted.

“I was speaking theoretically,” he covered.

Director Lee smiled. She could see it in Jimin’s eyes. He was very much considering fostering.

The loud pitter patter of expensive shoes sounded from the hallway. Someone was running towards her office. She looked up to find a sweaty, out of breath Jeongguk rushing through the door.

He ran up to her desk, “Tell me about the fostering program. One of your workers said that parents who are willing to foster can do it temporarily, just for the holidays.”

“Jeongguk? What are you still doing here?” Jimin asked, surprised.

“I thought you left. This doesn’t concern you. I just…need to discuss something with Director Lee.”

“Before you rudely interrupted, I was discussing something important with Director Lee. So could you please excuse us and allow us to continue our conversation? Wait outside.” Jimin said coarsely.

Jeongguk glared at Jimin with disgust. He turned his back to him and continued to speak directly to Director Lee, “As I was saying, tell me more about the fostering program. Can a single individual apply or…?”

“Wait a minute. Why are you asking about the foster program? Is this about Keonho?”

“Jimin, please leave. I’m asking you nicely to just give me a moment to speak with the Director.” 

“No. I was here first!” Jimin raised his voice.

“Stop it! You two are not going to do this in my office. Sit down, Jeongguk. Jimin and I were just discussing how it all works. Fostering is a temporary placement of kids in need. Rarely does anyone from my program ever enter the program however.”

“Is it something that I could qualify for?” Jeongguk asked.

“What? You want to foster Keonho? Alone?” Jimin was stunned. 

“I’m just asking what’s possible.” Jeongguk clarified.

Director Lee was intrigued. She suddenly went from neither of them wanting him to a budding bidding war over him. “Let me make something very clear. Although I’m sure you’re both lovely people, you were right when you said it wasn’t a good idea to place a child in your custody given the situation. Besides, you’re already in our system as a couple. The only way you would qualify without submitting a brand new application would be to foster him - as a couple. And I surely don’t suggest that because it’s pretty clear this relationship is over.” She was as blunt and honest as she could be. 

“A couple?” Jimin asked sadly. “That’s never going to happen.”

“Director Lee, could you give us a moment?” Jeongguk grabbed Jimin’s arm and pulled him out of his chair. They tussled until they ended up in the hallway. 

“Let me go! I swear to God I’m going to report this to the court. You and your assault.”

“Shut up. I’ve never laid a hand on you unless it was to fuck you against the wall and that was only because you begged for it,” Jeongguk fussed bitterly. “I can’t believe you accused me of being violent and abusive. I’ve never…,”

“...why did you bring me out here? Say what you need to say please,” Jimin cut him off. 

“Jimin we fucked up. I mean we really fucked up. We’ve got to get that kid out of this place. He’s being abused. Bullied. He’s unhappy and there…there aren’t enough resources to keep him safe.”

“I know. He intimidates the other kids. He’s unusually bright and…,”

“How do you know so much?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Why are you still here?”

“I was trying to leave and he found me. He started calling me dad and even grabbed his luggage - or uh his plastic bag.”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind. Listen, I know this sounds crazy, I know it. But we have an opportunity to help him. Just for a month, do you think we could…?”

“…could foster him? Together?”

“Yes. We’ve been very shitty to each other for the last year. But for once can we please think about something more important than ourselves? Can we maybe help him?”

Jimin began to walk back and forth along the hallway. “Your idea isn’t that crazy. Honestly I was thinking the same thing. Director Lee says that by backing out of the adoption, we will virtually ruin his chances of being adopted.”

“Right. Exactly. We have to fix this. Even if we can’t give him a forever home, we can at least give him a good  Christmas.”

“I can’t care for him alone because of work and honestly neither can you. But together…,”

“…together we could give him a home temporarily,” Jeongguk interjected.

“But how, Jeonggukie? How? We can hardly stand to be in the same room with each other.”

His head snapped up, “You called me Jeonggukie,” he said softly. 

“What? Oh yea sorry. Sometimes I…forget.”

“Forget that we aren’t a couple anymore?”

“Yea. That.” Jimin looked away. Jeongguk’s baby doe eyes were penetrating his soul and he wasn’t equipped to deal with it at that moment. 

“I’m in if you are.”

“But how? How do we push all of our baggage under the carpet for thirty days? We have to create a healthy environment for him. But we can’t do that if we’re always at each other’s throats. And where will we even live?” Jimin laughed. The more he thought through the idea, the more ridiculous it sounded. 

“We could always move back into our penthouse.”

“You told the judge that you sold it!” Jimin crossed his arms with anger.

“I lied to keep you from getting your hands on it in the settlement. It hasn’t exactly sold yet…it’s for sale but the market is slow. I still own it. We could move back in. I only moved because it was too painful to be there everyday without you…,” his voice trailed off. “You can have the main bedroom. I’ll take the guest bedroom and Keonho can have the room that was always meant to be his. It’s only thirty days Jimin. We could give him a great Christmas. Show him a little love and maybe even help find new parents for him.”

“But we’ll have to bring him back here when the thirty days are over.” Jimin said thoughtfully.

“Fostering is meant to be temporary. Our goal is to give that little boy a few very special weeks,” Jeongguk said passionately.

Jimin continued to pace. He shook his head while openly and blatantly trying to talk himself out of it. He finally blurted out, “Rules. We need rules.”

“Ok, rules are great,” Jeongguk nodded.

“No arguing in front of the kid. If we have issues with each other, we take it outside or leave the room to discuss it like adults.”

“Check.” Jeongguk nodded.

“No bringing up the past. Our marriage has been litigated by the courts and that shit is over. If you let it go, so will I,”

“Check.”

“No more drinking. No more bar fights. No more arrests. While this kid is with us, you must be at your very best.”

“Jimin, I’m not an alcoholic. I’ve been having a really shitty time since you moved out and since this whole divorce thing began. I’ve been using alcohol to cope, but that’s over. I have a sober coach, a therapist, all of it. I can get myself under control. ”

“Can I trust you?” Jemin looked deep into his eyes.

“You can trust me.” Jeongguk frowned as he surfaced another touchy topic, “What about…dating?”

“What about it?” Jimin scoffed. He already knew where this was going.

“I can’t stomach you bringing that bitch to our home. If I have to be on my best behavior, then so do you. Stay away from here while we have the kid.”

“You’re insufferable! Like a broken record. I never touched that woman. But you refuse to accept that. There is nothing between…,” Jimin knew that arguing his point, yet again, was fruitless. “Whatever Jeongguk. Yes. I promise not to violate our home by bringing anyone into our lives while we have Keonho. But you have to make the same promise.”

“I was never the problem, Jimin. I was the one in love, in this for life.”

“Jeongguk stop it! See this is exactly why this won’t work.”

“Ok, ok I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’re right. I guess I already broke a rule,” he smiled. “Promise not to do it again,” he raised his right hand and gave a dimple filled grin.

Jimin ran his fingers through his long lush blonde hair. He heavily sighed, “What are we even doing? I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.”

“But you are agreeing?”

Jimin paused, “Yes. I’m…agreeing. We’re going to be foster parents at least for a little while.” He smiled. He was just as happy as Jeongguk to come to an agreement.

“Check.”

The two barged into the Director’s office to share their plan. 

“We want to foster Keonho!” They said in tandem. 

“What? But I thought you just said you’re incapable of providing a stable home?”

“Long term, we can’t keep him. But for thirty days we can put aside our differences,” Jeongguk explained. 

“We can be civil. You can have the ministry come by tomorrow to do the home inspection. We’ll pay for private tutoring to keep up with his studies, we’ll handle all of his living expenses and clothes and food. We’ll do anything. Anything. We owe it to this kid to make this right. This is the least we could do,” Jimin pleaded.

Director Lee gave it some thought, “If you’re willing to do this, maybe we can make a deal. I really want that boy to have a break from this place, especially for Christmas. If you agree to foster him for thirty days, then at the end of the thirty days, I’ll notify the adoption attorneys to dissolve your adoption contract. KWS will release you of responsibility. But if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain and keep him in a safe and stable home for the full thirty days, I swear to God, I’ll pursue full breach of contract charges against both of you. Listen gentlemen, for the next month, you will make that little boy your priority. This experience can shape the rest of his life, so make it a good one.”