Chapter Text
“If I ever saw you again, it’ll only be to see you put in jail.”
Those were the last words that Kim Taehyung had ever said to his father. He hadn’t even said anything to his mother, not that he wanted to. After that, he’d packed his two bags and left the Kim household for the last time in his life on the night of his eighteenth birthday. Taehyung had never looked back even once on his way to the bus stop down the street. He hadn’t looked back as the bus turned down their block and he made his way from Daegu to Seoul.
Taehyung never looked back, and for that he was happier.
He’d kept his promise, nearly five years later. Taehyung had been back to Daegu, but he’d never went back to his parent’s house or even the street where he used to live. And while he could never forget about his father or mother, he was beginning to think less and less of them as his life moved forward.
His nightmares didn’t occur as often either.
That was an added bonus.
Life wasn’t perfect, but Taehyung was content. Of course, being an assistant at the local art museum in Seoul was a step in the right direction where he wanted to be, but it wasn’t exactly where he was hoping to end up. At least, not with all of the paintings cluttering his apartment. No, Taehyung had bigger dreams – better dreams and he was working his ass off in order to achieve them. Especially after coming from nothing.
Still, Taehyung had learned patience from some of the best people in his life. He might not have a mother or father any longer, but Taehyung had five friends that he wouldn’t trade all the money in the world for. In fact, he wouldn’t even trade them for the opportunity to achieve his dreams, because without them Taehyung wouldn’t have a dream to have.
They were the ones who had found him on the streets five years ago. They had given him a home and roof over his head. They had been shoulders to cry on; help to rely on. They had been the family that Taehyung hadn’t had in nearly nineteen years. They were often inspirations towards some of Taehyung’s paintings, though he never shared them with them. Too embarrassed about it.
Still, Taehyung was grateful for every one of them.
Especially Jungkook.
“Make sure you get something for dinner or cook those leftovers I made yesterday.” Speaking of which, Jungkook was making his way out of their bedroom as he buttoned the last button to his uniform, causing Taehyung to pause in painting.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have ever let you become a police officer.” Taehyung muttered, looking Jungkook up and down. He wasn’t even trying to be subtle about it and Jungkook was used to this by now, but Taehyung was secretly satisfied that the tips of Jungkook’s ears still got red when Taehyung looked at him. “You’re seriously living out all my old teenage fantasies right now in that uniform.”
“Tae,” Jungkook practically whined, before snatching a banana. Taehyung snickered and returned to his painting, but not before glancing another peak at Taehyung. Specifically looking at his rear because goddamn, those were tight pants. “Please make sure you eat. I know you don’t have work today, so you’ll be painting all day and last time you went ten hours without eating.”
“I got caught up in that painting!” Taehyung had the audacity to whine. He then pouted when Jungkook gave him a look of disappointment and sulked behind his canvas. Jungkook laughed as he made his way over to where Taehyung was. Gently, he wiped a bit of paint off Taehyung’s cheek, smiling when Taehyung crossed his eyes before pecking his lips gently.
Taehyung didn’t even flinch anymore.
Those first few months of dating had been rough for Taehyung.
But after three years, he was proud that Jungkook could even sneak up on him to hug him as long as he did it slowly. It frustrated him sometimes, but as Yoongi would say, “Progress is still progress.” Taehyung took that motto to heart and it was one of the many things that had helped him over the years.
“Fine, I’ll set a reminder on my phone and I promise I’ll stop for dinner.” Taehyung sighed when Jungkook pulled away. However, Jungkook held the other by the waist and one of his eyebrows rose.
“And…I’ll set a timer for lunch too.” Taehyung said, earning one of Jungkook’s infamous bunny smiles that still made Taehyung’s heart skip a beat after all this time. “Seriously though, is Jimin actually your precinct’s stylist and he’s secretly changing the uniforms?”
“Maybe. Although, I think he doesn’t have as much free time anymore since his promotion, so he must be working overtime.” Jungkook teased, which made Taehyung snicker.
“Right, we still have to celebrate. Detective at his age is impressive.” Taehyung returned to the canvas in front of him as Jungkook made his way to look for his keys.
“Yoongi would disagree.” Jungkook said.
Taehyung rolled his eyes. “He becomes the youngest police chief in Seoul and suddenly he’s hot shit.”
“Well he is.” Jungkook nodded.
“You know, if it wasn’t true, then as your boyfriend I would be very jealous right now.” Taehyung shrugged, causing Jungkook to laugh loudly. “Have a fabulous day and make sure to snatch every homophobe off the streets.”
“You know it!” Jungkook said, then blew a kiss to Taehyung before leaving. Taehyung shook his head fondly, staring at his mostly empty canvas for a few minutes longer.
He’d really lucked out after leaving his parents.
Lucked out indeed.
When Taehyung’s phone rang, he didn’t answer it. Nor did he answer it the two times it rang after that. Actually, Taehyung wasn’t even going to answer the phone until the music from his speakers stopped playing and then Jin’s voice filled the room.
“Kim Taehyung, why do you even have a phone if you’re just going to ignore it?!” Jin yelled and Taehyung sighed heavily. He did stop painting and put down all of his brushes, when a sudden nervousness filled his stomach.
“Obviously, I shouldn’t have gotten that home device connected to our phones.” Taehyung said, trying to ignore the tightness in his chest. He slowly, made his way over to where his phone was lying in his bedroom. His hands were already beginning to shake.
“Yah, such disrespect.” Jin scoffed through the speakers while Taehyung searched for his phone. “And to think I raised you and Jungkook and you both grew to have no manners.”
“So really, you went wrong somewhere and not us.” Taehyung said into the phone once he had finally found it. It was a bit embarrassing how many times his fingers missed the button to switch from the speaker to his phone, due to his hands shaking.
Jin called often and that wasn’t concerning. What was concerning was that Jin was calling Taehyung from his work phone, at work.
Jin was a surgeon and well known doctor at the hospital not too far from the art museum that Taehyung had worked at. Jin was the busiest out of any of them in their group of them, with long days or surgeries and late shifts to cover and while he called often to check on his “kids” he didn’t have time to call from work.
The last time Jin called from work was to tell everyone that Jimin had been hit by a car after perusing a criminal a couple of years ago. Jimin had been fine after two months of therapy, managing to only have a broken leg, but Taehyung had cried for weeks. He’d been terrified, even more so than Jin and Jin was Jimin’s fiancé. Although, no one could blame Taehyung for his severe attachment to his friends who felt more like brothers to them.
Immediately, Taehyung thought of Jimin and Jungkook, and his stomach dropped.
“Jin, is everything okay?” Taehyung hated how his voice got too quiet and even shook.
“Taehyung, I need you to breathe okay?” Jin said, all humor gone. In its place, was a professional doctor that was well equipped with dealing with panic attacks. “No one is hurt. Jungkook and Jimin are both fine and I’m not calling about them.” Taehyung breathed shakily but he could breathe.
He’d be so scared.
God, he was still so scared.
“Yoongi?” Taehyung couldn’t help but ask, sliding down the wall and sitting with his knees to his chest like a child. He hated feeling like this. Feeling so weak and helpless – as if he couldn’t do anything when he needed to do something. It was a feeling that Taehyung hated with a passion and strived to be rid of one.
One day.
“Yoongi isn’t hurt either. No one is hurt, I promise you.” Jin said softly, already knowing where Taehyung’s mind was headed. After five years, he knew the younger man like the back of his hand, and like the other younger boys, he often treated Taehyung like the younger brother he didn’t have. Yoongi was the same way even if he always denied it.
“Oh, okay,” Taehyung couldn’t find any other words to say other than that. What a relief.
“Yeah, I’m sorry to have worried you.” Jin apologized and Taehyung finally chuckled. Albeit it was weak, but it was better than being silent.
“Wow, are you actually apologizing? I didn’t know that was something in your vocabulary.” Taehyung said weakly. Jin yelled loud enough into the received that Taehyung pulled the phone away from his ear, in order to stop them from ringing. He almost forgot that next to Hoseok, Jin was the loudest. He could be deadly when he wanted to be. That was for sure.
“Such disrespect. You’re all ungrateful. Well then you’re officially uninvited to the annual Kim Christmas dinner.” Jin scoffed loudly. At this, Taehyung gasped. He wouldn’t dare.
“You wouldn’t! You know Jungkook can only cook so much! Your dinners last us for weeks.” Taehyung cried. He knew that he was playing right into Jin’s hand and that the elder had him where he wanted him. However, he was not above begging, because Seokjin’s dinners were that good.
“And you can forget about anything for your birthday.” Jin continued.
Oh, he would dare.
Taehyung glared darkly. “That’s dirty, hyung. Very dirty.”
“If you and that ignorant boyfriend of yours learn some manners, then perhaps I can be persuaded to re-invite you.” Jin simply said. Taehyung knew that the man was shrugging his gigantic shoulders right now, in a pleased manner and he was probably five seconds from laughing that god awful laugh he had. Though, Taehyung found himself relieved whenever he heard that laugh, because laughter meant happiness. And happiness meant no pain.
“If I tell you Jungkook’s passcode to his phone, so you can delete those embarrassing photos from your birthday last year, am I re-invited?” Taehyung offered. The line was silent for a second.
“Deal.” Jin eventually said, causing Taehyung to giggle. “Ah, but you’ve sidetracked me. I did call you for an actual reason.”
“Oh?” Taehyung said as he focused on his breathing. He kept focus on breathing in and out. In and out. In and out. As long as he kept focus, he would always be able to breathe.
“No one is hurt, but this does have to do with Jungkook…and your parents.” Jin said softly.
Taehyung was confused to see that the world was tilting and it was mildly concerning. Taehyung felt that he should ask Jin why – but oh, the world wasn’t titling. Taehyung was.
And those black spots weren’t galaxies, but rather dark spots behind his eyes. Weird.
“Taehyung? Taehyung?!”
Taehyung slowly blinked, realizing he was on the floor and that somehow the phone had slipped out of his fingers. Luckily, he had practically already been on the floor, so he wasn’t hurt. He blinked a few more times, struggling to grasp the phone in his hand, while trying to keep his breathing under control.
“Sorry Jin, I don’t know if I heard you right.” Taehyung swallowed thickly before taking a deep breath. “Did you said Jungkook, and my parents in the same sentence?”
Of course, the others knew about Taehyung’s parents. Of course. After all, they’d found him, in the rain on the streets, half delirious with sickness. He’d mumbled all kinds of things about what his parents had done to him, why he was on the streets, why he hated them. Then there was the fact that Taehyung had been afraid of Jin and Hoseok for a few months after meeting them. He was afraid of Jin, who made terrible dad jokes and hardly ever raised his voice, and Hoseok who was a literal ball of sunshine wrapped up in a smile.
Yes, they knew about Taehyung’s past, but they never pried.
I was never going to look back.
I can’t.
I can’t.
I can’t.
“Taehyung, are you alright? Are you safe? Should someone come be with you?” Jin asked, worry laced through his voice. Taehyung swallowed heavily, wanting nothing more than that, but he couldn’t ask Jin to do that. Or anyone.
“I’m alright, hyung.” Taehyung replied quietly. “I can breathe and I’m sitting on the ground right now. I don’t need that.”
“Taehyung…”
“I promise I’m okay. I just – I need you to explain things.” Taehyung said hastily and Jin sighed. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy.
“Early this afternoon, apparently, there was a disturbance call from an older couple. It came from the street that you used to live on, and Jungkook and his partner were the closest to arrive at the scene. It was urgent, according to the couple so Jungkook and his partner went to check it out.” Jin explained. All the while Taehyung’s heart was beating painfully in his chest and it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest at any moment. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?
“Jungkook and his partner were led to your old house,” Jin said quietly. “Where he apprehended your…father. He had to use force due to the situation.”
“Is Jungkook safe?!” Taehyung immediately asked.
“Yes, yes.” Jin said quickly. “I personally checked him over – screw protocol.” Taehyung snickered at his friend’s inability to follow any of the proper rules. “He’s not hurt in the slightest. Not even a scratch on him.”
Taehyung let out the breath that he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Thank god.”
“Yeah, we both know he can be a bit reckless, but thankfully he’s a smart rookie.” Jin said with a laugh. “He followed protocol though, so he won’t be in trouble for using force.”
Taehyung snorted. “Is he dead?”
“No. Unfortunately, he will make a full recovery.” Jin mumbled, knowing who Taehyung was asking about without question. “Though he will be going to jail for a long time. You are way better looking than him, just to let you know. You didn’t describe his ugliness enough and I was thoroughly unprepared to look at that.”
“Sorry, I guess I tried to block my memory of that fucker.”
“I’ll let your language slide just this once.”
“And his wife?”
“…She’s been dead for a year now.” Jin replied quietly. Taehyung wasn’t surprised that he didn’t care. He was completely unbothered by that news. She had never been as physical as him but she also had never cared. She never stopped him.
“Hm, okay.” Taehyung said and that was it. There was nothing else needed for the conversation.
“Yes, however, Taehyung I need you to come down to the hospital.” Jin said, much to Taehyung’s surprise. “And let me remind you again – no one is hurt but I need you to come down.”
“Hyung, “
“Tae, you have a brother.”
Jeon Jungkook was blessed to be good with many talents throughout his life. Singing, dancing, boxing, getting good grades in school, becoming one of the youngest rookie officers to date. The list could go on and on, but then Jin would simply tell Jungkook that he had too much pride and would get a big head. Then Jungkook would probably sulk for a few days.
Anyhow, Jungkook was gifted with many talents. He was not gifted, however, with the ability to be patient. Sure, he was patient in certain situation, especially if there was no other way, but more often than not, his patience ran thin and it was something that would get him into trouble. He was lucky that Taehyung, while sometimes annoyed, mostly didn’t care for his lack of patience. After all they all had flaws.
Yet, right now in this moment, Jungkook practiced his patience a hundred times more than ever before.
Because a child was now involved.
Jungkook had never personally met Taehyung’s parents – actually no one in their group had. But they had all heard the stories from Taehyung, especially Jungkook. Jungkook was fully aware of what Taehyung’s father and mother had done to him for eighteen years. He’d been the one for Taehyung to cry on his shoulder after a particular nasty story from his childhood. He’d been the one to hold Taehyung through moths of nightmares.
Jungkook had never considered hurting another human being. Until he learned about Taehyung’s father.
Still, Taehyung made an effort every year to continue moving past his childhood and to not let his parent’s become a constant reminder in his life. So the group of friends usually stayed away from those topics, and it had been good. For a few years it had been good. So, imagine Jungkook’s surprise when he had been called to investigate a household belonging to the Kims, whose names matched those exactly of Taehyung’s father.
And when Jungkook had broken down the front door and walked into the scene of a large, clearly drunk, man beating down on something, he knew exactly who this man was. He could see the similarities in Taehyung’s facial structure and body to this man, meaning he was definitely Taehyung’s father.
Thankfully, Taehyung’s eyes were warmer, brighter and more beautiful than this man’s.
After yelling at the man to stop and proceeding with protocol, Jungkook had heard his supervisor and partner gasp before pulling out a gun, and that was when Jungkook saw what the man had been beating.
A child.
He had been beating a child.
And he probably would have continued had Jungkook not fired a shot into the man’s shoulder. He wasn’t stopping when they yelled at him and only continued to beat the child when Jungkook threatened to arrest him.
Once he had smacked a broken bottle against the child’s head, Jungkook had only heard silence. He breathed deeply, and pulled the trigger. He didn’t even hear his gun go off. He only heard the saw the man fall backwards and the child drop to the floor. Jungkook’s partner sprung into action, immediately grabbing Taehyung’s father and restraining the man. Jungkook had enough sense to rush over to the child on the floor, after putting his gun away and his heart sunk.
The boy was covered from head to toe in bruises. Jungkook couldn’t see an inch of his skin that wasn’t black or blue, or stained red with blood. He looked skinny, too skinny, and Jungkook could only see a frail wrist when the boy curled in on himself.
For a moment, Jungkook picture Taehyung on the floor.
Small, scared, innocent Taehyung. Had Taehyung been in this situation before? Had his father done this to Taehyung?
Jungkook’s heart sunk at the thought but he forced himself to shake away those thoughts and call for an ambulance. He didn’t know how they had gotten the child out of the room, because he had practically squeezed himself behind the couch, cowering in obvious fear. Somehow they had gotten to him and when Jungkook blinked he was sitting in a hospital room, with Jin coming towards him.
The usual grin was gone from Jin’s face, and he looked far too serious for someone had happy as Jin was.
“He’ll make a full recovery. It’ll take a long time, but physically I don’t see anything that could be an issue with him.” Jin said quietly. Jungkook glanced out the room, seeing several officers and doctors talking in the bustling waiting room. He swallowed and looked back at Jin. “Mentally though, I am unsure.”
“What?” Jungkook whispered.
“Kook,” Jin said softly before his eyes looked back over towards the tiny figure lying motionless in the bed. Jungkook couldn’t help but also look over. “He’s obviously traumatized. He hasn’t spoken a word to anyone and he had to be sedated earlier because he was panicking so bad.”
“He – he’s Tae’s brother. T-Tae has no idea.” Jungkook couldn’t help but say. Jin grimaced, as if Jungkook had just confirmed his thoughts.
“I know. We ran blood tests and his is a match to Taehyung’s father.” Jin replied quietly. He rubbed a hand up and down Jungkook’s arm when Jungkook shuddered. “According to his hospital records he just turn 4 on September 12. Which means he was born after Taehyung left his parents’ house. His mother is Taehyung’s mother, but she…died a while back.”
“Tae has no idea.” Jungkook repeated.
“I know. I – I don’t know what to do about this.” Jin said. It was odd to see Jungkook’s oldest friend and brother so unsure. The hesitant look in Jin’s eyes was unfamiliar to Jungkook, who was so used to seeing Jin sassy, confident and happy.
“He deserves to know. They both do.” Jungkook mumbled. “We – we can’t send him back to that – that animal.”
“He won’t.” Jin said firmly with a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. “That I can promise you. You know how these things go. He will have a trial, but with your statement and the amount of evidence, that man is going to be locked away for a long, long time. He won’t ever touch them again. Both of them.”
Jungkook felt tears prick his eyes.
“I’m going to call Tae. He should come up and decide himself what to do.” Jin said gently before ushering out of the room. There was a moment when Jungkook heard lots of noise and conversation filling the air, before there was nothing but silence.
Quiet.
Silent.
Disturbing.
Jungkook sighed shakily and ran a hand through his hair. Slowly, he looked over towards the bed, only for his heart to leap into his throat. The child – Taehyung’s brother – was awake and staring right at Jungkook.
His eyes widened when Jungkook looked at him, growing in size and reminded Jungkook of himself when he was younger. The boy’s eyes were so wide and so full of fear. They looked much too big on his skinny, pale face. The whole hospital room seemed to dwarf the boy, and make him look even smaller.
For a second, Jungkook froze.
Then the boy’s breathing picked up, a sign that he was close to panicking again.
“Hey there, you’re alright now. You’re safe.” Jungkook whispered, careful not to raise his voice too high. It did nothing to soothe the boy and his breathing only picked up when Jungkook began walking to him. He started to tremble, but was frozen in the bed. Almost as if he felt that he couldn’t run away.
Running away was probably worse than a beating.
“Hey there, my name’s Jungkook and I’m a police officer.” Jungkook continued just as softly as before. He slowly knelt beside the boy’s bed, monitoring his breathing and the vitals that were on the machines attached to him. He needed to be careful about how he approached this, but Jungkook wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.
“I don’t know if you remember me, but I helped you get out of your home.” Jungkook said when the boy blinked rapidly. “I promise that you’re safe and no one here is going to hurt you. You don’t have to be afraid. It’s okay.” Jungkook soothed, using a voice he had heard his older brother and sister-in-law use on his nieces. It would hopefully calm the boy down.
The boy shuddered, eyes filled with terror.
Jungkook’s eyes glance over at the files on the counter beside the boy’s bed and his eyes widened.
“Hi there Namjoon,” He said, and it had the desired effect on the boy. Suddenly, the boy’s entire back straightened and his eyes snapped to Jungkook. “Hey there, I promise you’re going to be okay, alright Joonie? Do you mind if I call you Joonie? That’s a cute name and you’re a cute boy.”
The boy blinked but he was no longer hyper-ventilating so Jungkook took that as a good sign.
“Do you wanna see something cool, Joonie?” Jungkook smiled, hoping it was soothing to the boy. Slowly, the trembling began to die down and Jungkook felt his heart squeeze. He reached into his pocket, trying to ignore Namjoon’s obvious flinch before he pulled out his badge. He held it in the light, letting the light reflect off it and then smiled. “This is my badge. So that means that I’m a police officer and I can help you. Do you want to touch it?”
Namjoon swallowed, eyes darting down from Jungkook to the badge. Ever so gently, Jungkook placed the badge into Namjoon’s lap, and refrained from putting it in Namjoon’s hands. It was obvious that he was afraid Jungkook was going to hit him and he didn’t want to freak the boy out even more by grabbing his hand.
When Jungkook backed away, Namjoon stared at the badge. Then he looked up at Jungkook with such a pure, hesitant look that Jungkook wanted to cry. He was asking for permission.
Jungkook nodded, but didn’t say anything. He was too afraid that he would start crying which would make the boy cry, and then Jin would kick him out. Namjoon did nothing for a few, long, minutes. However, when Jungkook thought he couldn’t hold his breath any longer, the boy removed on of his hands from where it was clutching his bed sheets. His hand was shaking violently and Jungkook could clearly see just how skinny the boy was now.
Still he kept quiet when Namjoon grasped the large badge into his tiny hands and stared. Then Namjoon had to free his other hand in order to pick up the large badge. His eyes widened even more as he stared at the badge and for the first time, Jungkook could see a completely different expression on Namjoon’s face.
It wasn’t a look of terror or fear. It was a look of pure awe.
It was a look that should be on a child’s face after seeing a shiny new badge for the first time.
Still Jungkook kept quiet as Namjoon fiddled with the badge in his hand. He carefully took his police hat from under his arm and watched Namjoon interact with the badge for a few more moments.
During this time, he took the time to really look at Namjoon. The similarities between him and Taehyung were much more obvious than in their father. The had the same eyes – color, shape and all. Their noses were both small and round, easily boopable. Namjoon’s cheeks were bigger than Taehyung’s, most likely due to him being a child, but the two were without a doubt, brothers. What would Taehyung think? Or say?
“That’s pretty cool, ain’t it Joonie?” Jungkook whispered fondly. Namjoon jumped a bit and looked up at Jungkook. The look of awe was momentarily replaced with a face of reluctant fear and Jungkook’s heart squeezed yet again. How could someone so young be so afraid?
Namjoon kept a tight grip on the badge and Jungkook didn’t try to take it back. He did, however, slowly place his hat over Namjoon’s head. The little boy squeaked loudly in surprise, the first real noise Jungkook had ever heard him make. Jungkook was relieved when Namjoon didn’t flinch away and he pulled his hand away before Namjoon could get any more afraid.
Namjoon squirmed on the bed and pushed the brim of the hat up on his face so that he could see. Immediately, Jungkook cooed and wished he had a camera. The hat was huge on Namjoon and the little boy was staring at Jungkook with a look of confusion and shock.
Jungkook saw the sparkle in Namjoon’s eyes though.
“That’s an official police hat right there, and I want you to have it.” Jungkook said with a grin. Namjoon blinked several times and then his mouth opened. Scabbed lips moved, as if to speak and Jungkook waited anxiously.
“I have?” Namjoon finally whispered. And Jungkook’s heart basically melted yet again. Namjoon looked adorable despite the bruises and wounds on his body, but hearing his voice only made him ten times more adorable in Jungkook’s eyes. Jungkook couldn’t think of anyone more adorable.
“Yeah, you can have that.” Jungkook nodded, still smiling. Namjoon fiddled with the brim of the hat and squirmed.
“No take back?” Namjoon said softly. Jungkook swallowed but he refused to let his smile falter.
“Nope, that’s all yours Joonie. No one can take it away from you, alright?” Jungkook said. He hesitantly leaned over and adjusted the hat on Namjoon’s head so the boy could properly breathe. His breath caught in his throat when his thumb brushed against Namjoon’s cheek and the boy instantly flinched. With a second of confidence, Jungkook stroked his thumb up and down Namjoon’s cheek and was surprised when Namjoon leaned into the touch.
The two were silent once again, but Namjoon didn’t pull away.
“Make bad daddy go ‘way?” Namjoon asked, finally breaking the silence. Jungkook wanted to cry at the injustice of this world. At the injustice of a four-year-old asking Jungkook that question. But he knew that would do neither of them any good. He needed to be strong and patient right now.
He needed to help Namjoon.
“I swear to you; your bad daddy will go away. Forever.” Jungkook said, hand still on Namjoon’s cheek. Namjoon’s lower lip trembled while he stared at Jungkook and Jungkook wanted to sweep him up into a hug and hide him away from the world.
“P’mise?”
Jungkook held up his pinky in front of Namjoon. “Pinky promise.”
Namjoon then smiled and suddenly he was lost. He hoped that Taehyung would feel the same way as he did.
Namjoon would need them.
Taehyung’s mind was reeling and he didn’t exactly know what he was supposed to be feeling right now. He wasn’t sure and apparently that was normal. At least, that’s what Jin had said when he met Taehyung at the entrance of the hospital. He had told Taehyung that it was a common sign of shock.
Taehyung had a brother.
He had a brother.
A brother than Taehyung had never known about because five years ago he had abandoned his parents and his old life behind, and he had never looked back. There was a small part of him that felt guilty for not knowing about his brother, but the larger part of him rationed that cutting his parents from his life had actually saved Taehyung.
He couldn’t feel guilty, and that was a bit worrying.
“Taehyung are you sure you want to do this? You don’t have to.” Jin said softly when the two of them finally stopped outside of a hospital room in the pediatric ward. If Taehyung was being honest, he didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to confront his past. He didn’t want to deal with this mess. He wanted to grab Jungkook, go home and curl up under the covers with soft music playing in the background and Jungkook singing to him. He wanted to be selfish and pretend that this never happened.
He knew Jungkook wouldn’t, though.
“Kook’s already been with him. If I don’t see this for myself, it’s all he is going to talk about.” Taehyung sighed. Jin nodded, but at least he looked sympathetic to Taehyung’s dilemma. “I just – I should see this for myself. Nothing else needs to happen…” Taehyung didn’t know if he was trying to explain this to Jin or reassure himself.
“Alright. Jungkook’s with him right now. His fourth birthday was almost three months ago.” Jin explained quietly. “His name is Namjoon and he’s been doing okay since being in the hospital.”
Taehyung didn’t know why he snorted then but Jin didn’t comment on it and he appreciated it. He moved to open the room, only for the door to open itself. Jin and Taehyung were surprised to see Yoongi walking out of the room. Yoongi barely looked surprised.
“Ah, good, you got him to come.” Yoongi murmured.
“I came on my own terms.” Taehyung resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“I didn’t know you were here.” Jin said. He and Yoongi ignored Taehyung’s pout.
“As chief, it’s my job to know what is happening.” Yoongi simply shrugged. He was still in uniform, but Taehyung could see right through Yoongi’s words and it touched his heart. “And when I heard JK was involved…” Yoongi trailed off and Taehyung didn’t need him to finish the sentence. He was sure that he had sounded the same when Jin called.
“Is Jungkook still with him?” Jin asked. Yoongi nodded.
“Yeah, I doubt he is going to leave any time soon.” Yoongi explained with a soft expression on his face. “I’m going to call Hobi and update him on anything. He’s probably fucking up his classes with worry right now. I’m sure Jimin will swing by soon? For statements?”
Jin nodded goofily and Taehyung wondered if he and Jungkook looked like that whenever they mentioned each other. “Yeah. He’s bringing my dinner, since we’re both probably going to be working late. I’ll tell him you stopped by.”
Yoongi grinned briefly at the two before turning towards Taehyung. “He’s a cute kid. Give him a chance.” With that, Yoongi was walking down the hall, with his phone already at his ear. Jin and Taehyung both blinked at each other, confused by Yoongi’s words. The two shrugged, knowing Yoongi could be strange sometimes. After all, this was the same guy who played the piano while he was sleeping and then denied it the next day whenever someone brought it up.
Slowly, Jin opened the door for Taehyung and Taehyung’s voice was caught in his throat.
Inside the room, Jungkook was standing by the window, swaying very slightly where he stood. He was speaking in a low voice, almost incoherent to Taehyung and Jin, however, Taehyung could recognize the soft melody of the lullaby that Jungkook sang to him after nightmares. It was breath taking and it was gentle, with soft wisps of light pooling into room. It made Taehyung fall in love with the younger man all over again.
Jungkook continued to sing softly, before slowly turning towards the open door. His eyes widened a bit upon seeing Jin and Taehyung. Taehyung could only wave dumbly at his boyfriend, still caught up by the peaceful scene in front of him.
He froze when Jungkook fully turned around, and it was then that Taehyung saw the small child in Jungkook’s arm.
The child – a boy – had his arms curled around Jungkook’s police hat, with his head resting against Jungkook’s chest. His legs were wrapped around Jungkook’s waist, while both of Jungkook’s arms held him up firmly. The boy’s eyes were drooping and in his hands was Jungkook’s police badge. The same badge that Taehyung often admired and held.
Taehyung almost choked when he saw the bruises.
So many bruises. Black and blue. Big and small. Covering the boy. He had a large bruise painted over one of his cheeks, and a split lip. There were bandages with dried blood wrapped around on of his arms and legs.
There were so many bruises.
And Taehyung could feel them. He could feel each bruise on his own skin, hurting so bad. With pain exploding under his skin and flashes before his eyes. There was so much pain, and he wouldn’t stop. He wasn’t stopping no matter how much he begged and pleaded. He kept going and going and there was nothing Taehyung could do to stop him. And it hurt so much, it always hurt, and she never did anything. She only watched him, and Taehyung hurt so much.
“Tae, baby?”
Taehyung blinked and just like that the pain was gone. There were no bruises on his skin, no more pain. He blinked again and saw Jungkook and Jin right next to him. The boy was beginning to stir in Jungkook’s arms, causing Jungkook to gently shush him. Despite this, he kept his focus on Taehyung and was clearly worried.
“Is that?”
“This is Namjoon,” Jungkook whispered. By now the boy – no, Taehyung’s brother - was waking up. He was no longer dozing and he was beginning to look more and more alert. With that, came the realization that he wasn’t alone anymore. Taehyung watched as the boy – Namjoon, awoke and quickly looked between Jungkook, Jin and himself. Taehyung’s eyes widened when Namjoon’s breathing picked up and he began squirming in Jungkook’s arms. Jungkook struggled to keep Namjoon in his arms and keep the boy from falling, but it was obviously a struggle.
Taehyung stepped forward, without a thought, to help hold Namjoon, only to jump back when Namjoon screamed.
“Shh, shh, Joonie, it’s okay! You’re safe! I promise you, remember?” Jungkook soothed gently before pulling away from Taehyung. Taehyung felt hurt at Jungkook’s actions, especially when he turned his back on Taehyung and Jin. “You’re safe, I told you I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you. It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Jungkook bounced Namjoon on his hip, face crumpling when Namjoon dissolved into tears. His sobs were very loud and they hurt Taehyung’s ear drums. He watched as Jungkook continued to try and soothe Namjoon’s sobs. The hat and badge slowly fell to the floor, during the commotion, unnoticed by everyone except Taehyung.
He winced at the loud sobs.
He was so scared. Just like you were.
As quietly as he could, with years and years of practice, Taehyung crept over towards Jungkook’s hat and badge on the floor while Jungkook was preoccupied with calming Namjoon down. After Taehyung had picked the items off the floor, he moved himself right next to Jungkook. Jungkook looked over at Taehyung with shock, but he continued to try and calm down Namjoon.
Taehyung stared at the boy in Jungkook’s arm, seeing a familiar face in Namjoon.
He’s so scared.
You were scared too.
Then Taehyung gently placed the hat upon Namjoon’s head and brushed his hair out of his eyes. Namjoon’s wailed suddenly stopped and his eyes snapped open. His face was red from crying, with snot and tears dripping down his whole face. It was gross and Taehyung was briefly reminded why he didn’t want kids for a while, but the desire to help Namjoon overwhelmed him. Namjoon blinked, eyes red from tears and wide with terror.
“You dropped your hat kiddo,” Taehyung said gently. He kept his voice very low and he kept his expression as soft as he could with a smile. Namjoon blinked, hands clutched against Jungkook’s uniform. The look of fear was evident in his eyes, causing Taehyung’s heart to race. He’d seen that look before.
“And I think this belongs to you too.” Taehyung then held out Jungkook’s badge in his hand. His smile felt more real when Namjoon reached out with one shaking hand to touch the hat on his head, as if he were trying to make sure it was real. It almost made Taehyung laugh, almost.
“I’m sorry my friend and I scared you,” Taehyung apologized when Namjoon didn’t immediately grab the badge. He could feel Jungkook and Jin’s eyes on him, although one of them was staring at Taehyung like he was insane, and the other was staring with adoration. “Jin’s shoulders are super big, so I know that makes him really scary to look at. Between us, I heard they had to make all of the doorways bigger so he could fit those big shoulders through them.”
Taehyung grinned when Jin didn’t protest, probably because Jin was afraid of making too much noise. He was pleasantly surprised to hear the tiniest, most precious giggle in the world. He stared over at Namjoon and that’s when he realized that it was Namjoon who had giggled.
Because of Taehyung.
“That’s funny huh?” Taehyung said.
“Then you should hear his laugh. It’s ridiculous.” Jungkook said, voice warm with relief. There was another tiny giggle and this time Taehyung saw a smile on Namjoon’s lips. “Namjoon, I’d like you to meet someone very special to me. This is Taehyung-hyung. I promise he won’t hurt you either.”
Namjoon’s smile vanished but he didn’t start screaming or crying again, so Jungkook would count that as a win. Carefully Namjoon nodded against Jungkook’s chest.
“Hi there Namjoon, I hear Jungkook’s been calling you Joonie?” Taehyung whispered. After a second of hesitation, Namjoon nodded. “Is it okay if I call you Joonie too? You can call me Tae and Jungkook, Kook. And back there is a really good friend of ours, Jin-hyung.” Namjoon peeked over Taehyung to see Jin waving at them. He pulled back but eventually nodded at Taehyung.
“That’s really good, Joonie. Really good.” Jungkook said, rubbing a hand up and down Namjoon’s back. Taehyung had left his hand out, and ever so slowly, Namjoon reached over to grab the badge from Taehyung’s hand. Taehyung swallowed when he saw how badly Namjoon’s hands were shaking but he didn’t pull away until Namjoon had his hands and the badge back against his chest. Even then Taehyung didn’t pull away too fast and made sure Namjoon could see him the whole time.
“Thank you, Taehyung.” Jungkook said warmly, and he sent a smile at his boyfriend. Taehyung swallowed, unable to fight the blush on his cheeks when Jungkook leaned over to kiss his cheek. He couldn’t help but smile though.
“Thank Tae.” Namjoon said quickly, causing Taehyung to recoil in shock. Jungkook chuckled at Taehyung’s face and bounced Namjoon once again in his arms.
“Very good, Joonie!” He praised, causing Namjoon to shyly lean back into Jungkook’s chest. He was still holding onto the badge as tightly as he could, and Taehyung wondered if Namjoon ever had anything of his own. Probably not.
“Yes, very good.” Taehyung mumbled. He glanced up and frowned upon seeing the lovesick expression on Jungkook’s face. Though, it wasn’t directed at Taehyung, but rather at Namjoon who was oblivious to it all. Before Taehyung could say anything to Jungkook, he was frozen by a small hand touching his arm.
Jungkook and Taehyung both looked down to see that Namjoon had leaned over to grab Taehyung’s arm with one bandaged hand. His other hand was still holding onto Jungkook’s badge tightly, but he looked like he was trying to get Taehyung’s expression. Jungkook and Taehyung both frowned.
“Joonie?” Jungkook asked. Namjoon only looked up at Taehyung, before he was reaching into the socks that were still on his feet. They were dirty and with holes in one of them. Taehyung couldn’t help but wonder why none of the doctors or nurses had given him new socks. It was obvious these were Namjoon’s that he had worn from their house.
Then Namjoon pulled something out of his house, hesitated for a second, and then looked up at Taehyung. Slowly, he presented the object in question to Taehyung, who took it out of confusion. Jungkook leaned over to get a better look at the object, and both of them felt their hearts freeze.
Namjoon had handed over a picture of a young teenager. The teenager was a boy and smiling slightly away from the camera. It was faded, and years old, but it was obvious that Namjoon had kept it safe in his sock. Jungkook and Taehyung both stared at each other in concern.
For Namjoon had just given them a picture of Taehyung.