puzzle piece | jeong jaehyun

29

"Do you want pasta or rice for dinner?" Yunhui asked, leaning against the wall of the elevator while her hand patted Minhyuk's head lightly

"Pasta" he said quickly, looking up at her with a smile

"With the white sauce, not the red one" he asked cutely and she smiled nodding her head at his request when the elevator doors opened

"I'll check and see if we have enough cream left—" her words cut off immediately as her eyes trailed over the familiar woman who was wearing her work jacket with the state agency's name and talking to the new neighbours in 4.c.

Johnny and Haerin quickly turned their gaze towards her, a confused gaze on their face as the awkwardness of the situation caught up to them

"Ms. Oh...I was told to come here and do an emergency check in. We've received a complaint earlier today. Thank you, Mr and Mrs. Suh, you've been great help" the woman said, bowing to them politely as they slowly closed the door, taking one final sympathetic glance at Yunhui

"Why are you here? What complaint?" She asked, her hand protectively on Minhyuk's shoulder to keep him by her side

"We should discuss this inside, is that okay?" She asked and Yunhui sighed, knowing she house had no other option but to let the woman into her house.

"What complaint?" She asked again, more sternly, setting down a glass of water infront of her while Minhyuk innocently sat by the dining table, doing his homework and secretly eavesdropping on their conversation. The woman let out a sigh, taking out her notebook and pen.

"Ms. Oh, there's been a few concerns risen from teachers and parents at school regarding Minhyuk's wellbeing. I've met you a few times already so you know how this goes. Just over two weeks ago he had pushed one of peers, he has been falling asleep in his classes and having to be sent home and now he's turned up to school with a bruise on his lip" the woman concluded and Yunhui scoffed

"The new neighbours moved in a month ago so he hasn't been sleeping well with the noise, he pushed a kid that was picking on another kid and he got that bruise on his lip from playing football yesterday. Anything else you need me to clear up?" Yunhui asked, arms crossed over her chest as she felt her blood boil at the fact that a social worker was sent to her house

"I just need to ask a few questions regarding your current living situation. I know a few things changed since we last spoke" the woman replied

"Yeah, thanks for noticing. I left my abusive marriage and decided to start over again with my son. So nice of you to visit now" Yunhui said with a scoff, finding it unbelievable how she was being painted like the bad guy here

"Ms. Oh have you been in contact with your ex husband again? Has he been coming over or interacting with you and Minhyu—"

"No! Of course not! I wouldn't even let him come near him. I'm telling you, nothing is going on here—All I've done for the past three years is make sure Minhyuk is fine" Yunhui said, a defeated look on her face as her hands moved to prove her point

"I understand this might be hard for you to hear but I promise I'm only here to make sure your son is okay—"

"Really? Because right now it seems like you're trying to villainise me when all I fucking did was save ourselves from the situation!" Yunhui said, a desperate cry leaving her mouth

"Ms. Oh, you need to understa—"

"No! You need to understand that I'm the only one here who actually gives a fuck about my son, okay? Because where the hell were you for those 4 years?!" Yunhui asked, her voice raising loudly enough to the point where she knew the neighbours would probably have something to gossip about, but she didn't care anymore

"This whole fucking country turns a blind eye to domestic abuse but the second my child is falling asleep in school you show up here and act like you're doing something? Like you care? Why now?!" She asked with a cry, tears of frustration streaming down her cheeks at how much the system has failed her already

"Ms. Oh, I need you to calm down—"

"I need you to leave." She said, breathing heavily. Her chest heaved up and down in anger, a light shake to her head as if she couldn't believe what she heard today

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I need to speak to your son to rule out of a few things—"

"As if I would let y—"

"Ms. Oh, I need you to work with me here. I don't think you understand just how serious this situation is. The custody of your child is at stake here. Please co-operate" the social worker said, a strict look on her face, eyes communicating a bigger picture to her and Yunhui knew no matter how frustrated she was, she had no other option

"Yeah, right. Take him away from his sole caretaker. What a great fucking idea" she mumbled with a sigh, her hand reaching to run through her hair as she tried to relax

"Minhyuk, is it okay if I speak to you?" The social worker asked, walking towards the child who seemed like he was scared of his mother's sudden outburst. He gave her look, trying to search in her teary eyes if the woman infront of him was a bad person

"It's okay, Hyuk...she just needs to ask you a few questions." Yunhui said with a sniff, quickly wiping her tears and approaching the boy who slowly shook his head

"Why don't you show her that new dinosaur puzzle we got last week hmm? You guys can go talk for a bit in your room while I make dinner" she said, eventually convincing him.

Instead of making dinner like she promised she just spent the majority of those ten minutes waiting, pacing up and down the hallway to hear what the social worker had to say to her. She was worried that this situation was a lot bigger than her, that the flawed child protection system would let her down once more than protect her or Minhyuk.

Her eyes snapped towards the door of Hyuk's bedroom as the social worker stepped out, her eyes grazing over Yunhui as she walked towards the front door.

"What did he say?" She asked with worry and the woman sighed

"It's confidential. I'll reach out to you next week once we review all of our information and tell you what the best option is moving forward" the woman said and Yunhui sniffed, slowly nodding her head as the fight in her started to drain by the second

"Listen, for what it's worth. This is just a routine check in that we do for kids that have previously suffered from cases of abuse. I understand that you're doing your best to turn your life around and take care of him—"

"I appreciate you trying to help but...I know how this works. For the last three years ever you've been watching over us like hawks and waiting for me to slip up and make a mistake. So you label me as an unstable caregiver who can't be trusted with her own child. I'm not going to let you take him away from me, no matter what." Yunhui said, not in the mood for listening to sympathy when it came from someone who didn't know the nuances of her own situation. The woman nodded at her final words, leaving through the front door as Yunhui help it open for her.

"I'll be in touch." She said finally, bowing respectfully before heading towards the elevator.

And if the situation wasn't bad already, it definitely got worse as Yunhui's eyes met the piercing ones of Jaehyun who had just stepped out of the elevator.