Lost & Found

Chapter Twelve

Present Day
22-Years-Old

A month and a half turned into four, then five, then a whole half a year that the two friends had been apart. Both had discovered that if they just didn't dwell on that fact for too long, they were able to make it through the day.

Jungkook was now a chatterbox, and Aera couldn't have been happier. He had turned five a couple of months before, and he was now about to start kindergarten. She was so excited to see how confident he'd become, and was hoping he'd make friends easily at school.

There was one catch to her seemingly perfect world. The court, while they had told her they were impressed with how far Jungkook had come, had let her know that they were considering placing him in a household with a female adult and a male adult. They believed he needed a mother and father figure to become as well-rounded as possible.

This had almost made Aera curse Yoongi's name. If he wouldn't have kicked her out, Jungkook would be in a household with a male and female. But then, the court took it one step further, and decided it would be preferable if said male and female were married. To say Aera was disheartened was an understatement.

She now lived every day being terrified that that day would be the one where they took Jungkook away from her. So, she lived every day to its fullest, and did and said everything she could to make Jungkook understand how much she loved him.

-

Yoongi allowed himself to believe his life was damn near perfect. But, he knew deep down that it wasn't. The isolation Sunhee had first subjected him to months ago had only gotten worse. And Yoongi now found himself feeling depressed even when Sunhee was around. He missed his parents. He missed the freedom of being outside of his apartment. And, in a small corner of his heart, he felt he was missing something else, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. It was as though his abuse-rattled brain wouldn't allow him to.

And yes, he had learned that he was being abused. He'd begun seeing a therapist during lunch breaks at work. Of course he didn't tell Sunhee this. He knew she wouldn't approve. But Yoongi had to do something. His depression was bad, and he didn't know what else to do.

The therapist explained to him carefully that Sunhee was mentally and emotionally abusing him. But Yoongi didn't fully believe it quite yet. He'd come to realize that Sunhee was brainwashing and manipulating him, but to him, abuse was physical. Sunhee had never hit him or resorted to anything physically inappropriate. So, he was having a hard time believing he was actually being abused. And, as long as he wasn't being abused, he told himself, there was no true reason to end the relationship. It just seemed like a very drastic move.

But he did know he was unhappy more often than happy, and because of that, he knew something had to be done. He'd tried talking to Sunhee about it on multiple occasions, but she always seemed to turn it around on him. He was arguing with her, he was treating her like she wasn't important enough in his life, he was telling her he didn't trust her, he was putting others before her. None of these things were true. And Yoongi, being a very rational person, knew that. But it was hard to explain it to Sunhee, when she didn't even believe in things like depression and therapy.

-

"So, what are the chances?"

Jungkook's caseworker, Mrs. Kang, looked up at Aera with a sympathetic look on her face. "Not great."

Aera took a deep breath, then released it in a sigh. "But what do you think about it? You're his caseworker. Doesn't your opinion matter?"

"It does," Mrs. Kang said. "But not quite to the extent that I wish it did."

"I love that little boy."

"I know you do. And it's obvious he loves you, too."

"Do you think... Do you think the court might take that into consideration? How he feels about me? And his opinion as to whether or not he'd want to stay with me?"

"He's only five," Mrs. Kang said. "They'll say something like he's too young to understand the situation."

"B-But how can they act like the person whose done the most for him his entire life isn't the right person to adopt him?"

"You've done what a good foster parent is supposed to do. You've treated him with kindness and love, and you've done wonders for him, bringing him out of his shell. You've prepared him for adoption."

"Then why can't he just stay with me?" Aera asked, tears in her eyes. "I truly believe that moving him out and away from me will just make him clam up again. More than half a year's worth of progress just up and gone, as if it had never even happened!"

"Ms. Seong, I agree with you. And I will do all I can to let the court know I believe you should be the one to adopt him. But as I said, my opinion doesn't matter as much as I wish it did."

"Tell me the truth... Is the fact that I live where I do and make the income that I do the main reasons they're considering taking him away from me?"

Mrs. Kang sighed. "Those are two very big reasons, yes. But the main one is still the fact that you're single and living alone. The courts favor complete families."

"But Jungkook and I are a family! We've made everything work and have had leaps and bounds of progress. He's even done as much for me as I've done for him. He's taught me how to be a better person in general. Please... Please tell me there's something more you can do!"

"Again, I will give my recommendation, but that's as far as what I have to say goes. There's nothing I can do beyond that."

Aera finally let her tears fall. "Is this completely hopeless?"

Mrs. Kang again sighed. "Not entirely. And I'll champion you, Ms. Seong, I promise. But you need to prepare yourself for having him taken away."

Aera let out a strangled sob. She didn't know what she'd do if Jungkook was taken away from her. She loved him, and had already recently lost someone else she loved. She would be a hopeless mess of depression and terrible thoughts left to her own devices by herself.

She wished Yoongi were there, standing by her side. He'd reassure her, squeeze her hand, hug her. She'd find comfort in him. But there she was, sitting in a cold, hard chair all alone. No comfort. No help.

"I'm still going to try," Aera told Mrs. Kang fiercely. "I have to. I have to see this through. I have to show them I'll fight tooth and nail for my boy."

Mrs. Kang finally smiled a small smile.

"Give 'em hell, Ms. Seong."