Jade

Summary:

After a crippling car accident that almost claims his life, Jimin has an awakening. Tired of his lonely, bachelor's lifestyle, he makes a bold decision to became a father.

OR

Famous pitcher Jeon Jeongguk is dealing with the end of his baseball career. He embarks on a mission to heal his broken heart. There is something he needs, something that he lost long ago and he's determined to find it. His quest takes him on colorful journey that leads him back to Busan. First sight of the handsome blonde with the precious baby and he knew that he hated him.

✅COMPLETE

Author's Note:

It's been a while since we've been together. I hope you are all happy and healthy. I pray for all of you everyday in the hopes that you are content. Some of you have shared the difficulties of your lives with me and your stories have left impressions on my heart. So I think about you often, especially those going through hards times. I love you - I should start by saying that. If you are here, reading again and giving me another chance, I thank you.

I promised you Vegas. I know. And it's coming. Just finished one of the hottest trailers that I have ever made in my life and it is for the Vegas story. But this little green tale was weighing on my heart and I had to get it out. I love the idea of Jimin as a father. I love the idea of all of the guys being fathers, but there's something about Jimin's gentle spirit that just feels like he'll be one of the best dads out there. Soooooo, I made him a dad. But not without challenges. Although this story has a very healthy dose of Jeongguk, it is mostly Jimin's POV because his experience is so unique. I hope that you can relate to it and really connect with these characters.

I know that many of my readers really like to read but don't have time to spend days/weeks on a single fic. So I wanted to write something a bit shorter. Something that could warm your heart like a bed time story. I must warn you though, the angst in this one is really tough at times. But it's brief and before you know it, something silly will happen to make you laugh. Please leave comments. I want to hear from you. I want to know how you're doing. I want to know that you're well.

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Chapter 1: Sour Apples

October 28, 2024 Busan, Korea

Silence. Everything was suddenly still. An eerie quiescence traveled down the dark block. The only thing he could hear was the ringing in his ears and the frenetic thumping of his heart. His brain jarred by the hard scraping of clashing steel and metal that he endured nanoseconds earlier. There was only darkness around him. The single light pole that held the responsibility of illuminating the block lay shattered in pieces with its live wires draped over the ground, sparking against the wet pavement. The front end of Jimin’s 2017 Honda Civic had sliced the wooden pole in half, causing it to splinter like a toothpick. There was no more light. 

A portion of the steel guardrail that bordered the curve was ripped from its foundation and hurled through the air like a javelin, impaling Jimin’s car as it traveled from hood to trunk.

Nothing could survive a collision that violent and catastrophic. No one could possibly live. Everyone was dead. Or…were they?

Jimin lay upside down, briefly unconscious. For what seemed like a lifetime, he dangled helplessly by the thick gray straps of his seatbelt. His brain had wisely shut down in order to preserve itself; to protect him from the shock of the horrific scene around him. 

It was the sound of voices and distant sirens that breached his malaise. His sentience gathered. Although he was still discombobulated, he was lucid enough to realize that he needed to get out. But where was he? He opened his eyes. The vision in his left eye was no good - there was an instant burn. The entire socket drowned in warm fluid. It had not yet registered for him that it was his own blood. He chose to close the left eye and proceed using only his right. He gasped for air, reclaiming the breath that had been forced from his chest upon impact.  The right eye was quickly swelling shut. If he was going to do anything, it had to be done immediately.

Behind the sum of the wreckage was a dark street littered with the metal remnants of what was once the left side of his 2017 Honda Civic. Somehow, Jimin’s body was tangled between a mass of wires, glass, and straps of metal. A spark from one of the downed wires popped just centimeters away from him. So much electricity pushed through the frayed wire that it lifted from the ground and briefly swayed in the pattern of a venomous serpent. The live wire hovered in the air, swaying back and forth in front of Jimin’s face. Short flames from the wire’s edge opened and snapped shut, threatening to singe him with thousands of volts of fiery bites.  It finally convulsed and came to rest on the dashboard of the obliterated vehicle. 

Jimin’s hazy reckoning once again warned him to flee, escape, get to safety, get out of the  fucking car. With very little space to maneuver, he wiggled his arms and legs to determine if any bones were broken. He could feel his legs, his back, his neck and his fingers. There was no pain. Once again the dangerous wire sparked to life, dancing through the air, sparking small fires throughout the mangled interior of the front seat.

None of the actions that followed were of his cognitive will. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, controlling his every move. Starting with the quick release of his seatbelt. The snap from the buckle clicked loudly causing his body to drop hard onto the mangled roof of his car. He hit his head on the steel portion of the guardrail that had skewered the cage of the car. With his bloody eye once again open and his swollen eye once again scanning the darkness, he could see a gathering of feet circling around him. Why were they all just standing there? Why wouldn’t anyone help him?

“H-h-help,” Jimin tried to scream, to coax them to move, to take action. But the restriction from the heavy debris that was pressed against his chest tempered his ability to project sound. He scooted left and then right, trying to free himself. He kicked upward towards the roof of the car over and over and over but it wouldn’t budge. Every direction he tried to go was blocked. He was pinned inside. 

And as if moving in slow motion, the dancing wire that had taunted him made a final deadly move. The frayed edges of the wire came to rest along a thin trail of gasoline that leaked from the fuel tank. Within a flash, the entire front of Jimin’s car was engulfed in flames. 

Jimin willed himself to scream louder, “HELP! HELP! HELP!” 

Still no one dared to take a step closer, even though he could see the blurry image of tens of people standing around his burning car. Every which way he was surrounded by metal. There was no way out. With each passing moment, the interior of his entrapment grew hotter and hotter until smoke began to fill his lungs. He was entombed, being burned alive.

The proverbial life that flashed before his eyes was one filled with regret and disappointment; the perfect balance of too much and not enough. He’d lived a life of incompetent dereliction that only he was capable of. Too many of his thirty years were wasted chasing pretty boys for raunchy sex. While too little of his time was spent helping his community and volunteering. Too much time spent being selfish and materialistic. Too little time spent nurturing his mom and grandparents. Too much time getting-by and doing the bare minimum to survive; too little time improving himself and being his best. Too much time running from commitment; too little time being in love. His life was ending and he had nothing to show for it. Would anyone even miss him? Would anyone even come to his funeral? 

Even through his stunted vision, he could see the flames grow. He could also feel the heat intensify as it raced up the hood of his car towards the cramped space where he was trapped. His last visage of hope faded when he saw the feet of the onlookers scatter in multiple directions. The situation had grown too dangerous. They had to save themselves. He didn’t blame them. The car was likely to explode at any given second. 

He stared at the menacing fire through the shards of cracked glass in his windshield. He could feel his skin start to burn even though the fire hadn’t yet touched him. What a horrific way to die. For all of his faults, he was a good person. He didn’t deserve this…not this. But he continued to fight, trying everything possible to free himself from the twisted mess of burning metal around him. The last thing he wanted was  for the authorities to tell his mother that he’d given up. 

He opened his mouth to scream but the flames and the hot smoke burned his throat. But then, all at once, with no warning, a rainstorm of cool white foam washed over him. He wasn’t sure where it had come from but it soothed his irritated skin just as it had begun to singe from the smoke. Within seconds, the thick black cloud transitioned to a cool dirty gray as the orange flames disappeared behind it. The fire was out. Jimin could barely see it, but the entire car was covered in thick white foam that suffocated the deadly blaze. 

“HELP!” He called again, desperate to get out. Everything within him told him that he was still in danger of the car blowing up. He wanted out. He just wanted out. 

“We’ve got you buddy,” a tall, bulky fireman was on his knees peering into the driver’s seat where Jimin was trapped. His face was covered in soot and his fireman’s hat sat slightly askew. “You’re stuck in there pretty good. Wrap this towel around your head and move as far away from the door as possible. We’ve got to cut you out.”

“Cu-cu-cu-cut me out?” That was the last thing Jimin expected. He suddenly understood why he had been unable to free himself. 

Jimin nodded. He wasn’t exactly sure where the fireman expected him to go in his mangled tomb. But he did manage to scoot to his right. That was the best he could do.

In less than five minutes, the team of firefighters had managed to cut the power grid and kill the live wires, extinguish the ball of fire that was burning Jimin alive, cut him free from the bowls of his mangled car and rush him to the hospital with only minor injuries. Jimin had never fully appreciated the heroism of first responders before, but that was before they fearlessly stepped in and saved his life. 

But isn’t that how life works? You never miss something until it’s gone? You never revere everyday heroes, until you need one. You never have regrets until you run out of time. And you never appreciate life until you almost lose yours.

November 28, 2024

“Are you just going to sit there and stare out of the window all day?”

“I like staring out of the window. There’s two cats over there who are about to rumble. They’ve been talking shit to each other all day. Its ‘must watch’ window drama,” Jimin quipped with a loving smile towards his mother. 

“I know you’re still reeling over the car accident. But you have to put it behind you,” Jimin’s mother, Aera, placed a tray of tea and cookies on the table closest to Jimin. 

“I’m too old for you to give me cookies when I’m feeling down,” Jimin smiled.

“You’re never too old to be doted on by your mother,” Aera argued.

“Thank you mom…for everything. Helping me get back on my feet and waking me from my shitty nightmares. Just…being the best mom ever.”

“Yes. I am. The absolute best. And because I am the best mom ever, I need to give you a bit of advice. Jiminie, it’s time to go back to the real world. You’ve been cowering in this apartment for a month now. The doctor said you could go back to work three weeks ago. Yet all you’ve done is sit at this window and bury yourself in what I can only assume are destructive thoughts. Sweetheart, it’s time to go back to your regularly scheduled program. Watching mangy cats fight a turf war can only last so long,” Aera joked.

Jimin turned towards his mother, eyes rounded and bright. “But that’s just it. I don’t want my old life back, mom. I haven’t talked to you…about what happened that night. But I think it’s time. Sit down, please?” Jimin requested.

Aera sat quickly and settled in. She poured herself a cup of tea and crossed her legs, giving her son her fullest attention. For weeks, she’d been curious about the details of Jimin’s near death experience. But her son was so traumatized that she resisted drilling him about the full story of what had happened. Other than a few notes from the police report, she didn’t even know how the accident occurred. She relished the chance to learn it all.

“Talk baby. I’m listening.”

Whatever trauma Jimin suffered as a result of the accident gave birth to a new era of enlightenment.  For a full month he had dissected every aspect of his life, even taking notes and making diagrams of the things he wanted to change. The sum of his pensive reflection was a decision to make a new start. He smiled sheepishly at his mother as he began to lay the framework for his new life.

“The man who crashed his car into me died at the scene. His passenger died too. He wasn’t drunk or anything. He lost control of his car, it was just that simple. An accident. And now he’s dead. I should have died too, but why didn’t I?”

“Oh Jiminie, is this what has you so bothered? Sweetheart, it wasn’t your time. Period. You have more to do on this earth.”

“Why him and not me? I’m sure he had more to do as well.” Jimin questioned.

“I-I don’t know the answer to that,” Aera said with angst, “but I will never apologize for being overjoyed that you lived.” Aera grabbed Jimin’s hand, “Please don’t question this. The universe chose you and that’s that.”

“EXACTLY!” Jimin raised his voice with exuberance. “I’m not drowning in guilt or survivor’s remorse. I mean…I felt those feelings for a while, but they passed eventually. But the fact remains - the universe chose me. So how do I make the most of the life that was spared?”

“Ahh, I see. So this is why you’ve been so deep in thought?”

“Yup. It’s time for a change mom. I’m thirty years old and I have absolutely nothing to show for it.”

“You have a successful career.”

“There’s more to life than just work. Mom, I thought I was going to die. I watched the car burn around me and I knew it was just a matter of time before I felt that first rush of pain. I was so scared. I vowed that if I ever made it out of there alive, I would change everything. Well - I made it out alive, so it’s time to keep my promise to myself. I want real friends. I want to do more to help my community and I want - a family. 

“A family? What exactly does that mean Jiminie?”

“I want a family. I want a…child. There are so many children out there who need good homes. I want to do my part. I want to be the kind of parent that you and dad were.”

“That is a very big responsibility,” Aera wasn’t surprised. Jimin had always expressed his desire to be a father. “Have you really thought about this?”

“Thinking about it is all that I’ve done. I’ve already filled out the paperwork. I plan to adopt. 

Aera held her son’s hand, “Jiminie, you’re going to be an incredible dad and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I’ll be here every step of the way. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.  

“Thanks, Grandma.”

October 7, 2025 - Approximately one year later

Jeon Jeongguk, closing pitcher for the LA Dodgers, sat alone in the Dodger’s dressing room as he listened to his agent practically beg for a trade. His time with the Dodgers started well, but as Jeongguk’s shoulder injuries became more persistent, he lost critical speed on his signature fastball. Three surgeries later and he still hadn’t fully recovered his zip. 

At the age of nineteen, he was heralded as the Korean Nolan Ryan. He was the “Phenom from Busan” with a pitching arm that hurled rockets at 102 miles-per-hour towards opposing batters. Picked fresh from the clay baseball field of Busan U, he was promised billions and billions of Won and a career that even Shohei Ohtani would envy. 

But for Jeongguk, sadly, his lucrative successful career never quite worked out as he planned. Now at the age of 30, he listened with his head bowed in shame as his Agent scraped the bottom of the barrel to get him the recognition he deserved.

Fresh off of another blown save, Jeongguk knew this was the end. He stared down at the blue carpeted logo that said Dodgers . The tips of his neck-length black hair tickled his sweat laden skin. A thick band of muscle wrapped around his slight waist as he sat with his shoulders hunched over. His abs crunched as he leaned forward, supporting his broad heavy torso. And as fucking usual, his shoulder ached. Despite two cortisone shots, ice therapy and a deep tissue massage, his entire right shoulder felt as if it was going to snap off if he dared ever throw a fast ball again. The pain was intense but something he’d learned to live with.

The hard wooden bench beneath him aggravated the swollen muscles in his thighs. Red dirt had collected along the outer thigh of his baseball pants. With his jersey still squeezed in his hand and his Dodger’s baseball cap on the wooden bench next to him, he tapped his cleated foot waiting anxiously for news. 

Finally after an hour, Chang returned to the locker room.

“Jk. I-I didn’t know you were here. I thought you showered and went home?”

“That bad, huh?” Jeongguk immediately addressed the conversation that he’d overheard where his Agent practically begged someone to give him a deal. “Did they at least agree not to send me back down to triple A,” Jeongguk asked sadly.

“Oh Jk, that guy…he’s an ass. He refused to negotiate. I’m not going to allow someone to take advantage of you and give you less than you deserve,” Chang said with a determined look.

“So he said no?” Jeongguk cut through Chang’s bullshit.

“He…said no.” Sixty year old Park Chang had been Jeongguk’s Agent since the beginning of his career. He was one of the few people that Jeongguk could trust. Chang’s chubby body was squeezed into a plaid sportcoat with navy trousers. Both his jacket and pants looked as if they were about to burst at the seams. The wooden bench shook and creaked under his body weight as he sat down next to Jeongguk. “But don’t you worry, kid. We aren’t desperate. We don’t have to take the first offer. Nope. We do not.”

“Call him back and tell him…we’ll take it.”

“I certainly will not! His offer was an insult. You’re still within the top twenty closing pitchers in this league. I will not allow you to be devalued,” Chang insisted.

“Chang, give me a break. You’re just thinking about your own pockets here and your three percent finder’s fee. Take what he offered. I don’t care about the money, I just want to go back to Busan and play for my home team again.”

“But you- you can’t accept that as a salary, it’s blatantly disrespectful,” Chang argued again.

“I can accept it and I will. Let’s face the truth here…I’m on the tail end of my career. My arm is fucked. I didn’t take care of my body like I could have and I partied too hard. I was too young to have so much money and fame thrown at me and I didn’t handle it well. Now I’m paying the price.” Jeongguk swept his eyes towards the ground and continued his conversation with the floor, “I’m rich. I’ve had big contracts and billion won signing bonuses. I have enough money saved to live lavishly for the rest of my life. I don’t need any more big contracts. I just want to play for Busan. It’s where it all started and it’s…where I want it to end,” Jeongguk nodded. He pulled his hair into a half ponytail and began packing his duffle bag. 

“Kid, are you sure about this?” Chang asked again.

“The deal they offered is fair. Take the deal, please,” Jeongguk finished packing up his duffle bag. He kicked off his cleats and then headed for the shower.

Jeongguk sat in the front seat of his black 718 Porsche Boxster, contemplating the end of his career. He didn’t regret forcing Chang to take the shitty deal for the trade to the Lotte Giants, but the low ball offer definitely bruised his ego. Painfully, he concluded that this would be his final season in baseball - if he could get through it without his arm falling off. The decision to retire was not an easy one, but it was the right one. Besides, he had much bigger plans for his future.

 After drowning in his own pity and humiliation for an hour, he placed his Porsche in gear and headed towards the expressway. With no place to go in particular, he found himself driving towards the home of Shun Mokyo.  It was a dark night, but her room was overly bright. He parked across the street and watched through the window as she walked around the luxury apartment that he’d purchased for her. He made a mental note to remind her to close the blinds at night. Any pervert with a Porsche could park on the street and stare at her for hours. 

Before exiting the car, he blew into his palm to check his breath. He popped a mint to cover the stale aroma of whiskey from the drink he’d had earlier. Taking a couple of shots before visiting this woman was always a good idea. The cellophane around the bouquet of roses crinkled as he grasped them with his large pitching hand. He could still see her through the window. He conspicuously tracked her lower abdomen with his large brown eyes. Was it bigger? He was certain that it was.

He held the large shopping bags under his arm and approached her front door. A closer look at the woman revealed rosy cheeks and flawless skin. That was definitely a change because she typically was quite pale with persistent acne on her chin. She was still beautiful to him however, which was why he picked her. 

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He could see a half eaten pizza on the table and a few cookies scattered about. He didn’t approve of that. She needed nutrition and vegetables, not pizza and cookies. 

Shun Mokyo opened the door. The immediate frown on her face could not have been more discouraging. But Jeongguk greeted her with a smile anyway.

“You didn’t call. I’ve asked you repeatedly not to just show up at my fucking doorstep,” Mokyo turned her back to Jeongguk, leaving him standing alone at the door.

Jeongguk realized that he was clearly not going to be invited in, so he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. 

“I know and I’m sorry. But I come bearing gifts.” He tried to smile again.  Jeongguk walked into the apartment with six different bags, all from designer stores. “Uh where should I put them?”

“Anywhere,” Shun Mokyo shrugged. 

“I got some bad news tonight and I honestly didn’t know where else to go…,” 

“We’re not friends and Im not your fucking therapist. I’m sure you could have found someplace else to go.”

“Must you always be so fuck…,” Jeongguk caught himself. It was not appropriate to use such language no matter how angry she made him. It was not about her. None of it was about her. “Flowers. Lilacs. I knew you would be angry about me stopping by unannounced so I brought these as a peace offering.” He tried to joke. Jeongguk’s right shoulder was completely bandaged. He could barely move it and lifting it was completely out of the question. So he used his left arm to gently offer her the flowers. 

“So if you knew I’d be angry, why did you come?” Mokyo accepted the flowers and threw them on the table.

“Can we just…talk?”

“No. I appreciate the gifts or whatever but this really isn’t a good time. I’m tired and I need my rest.” She sat on the couch and turned the television on. She made sure to increase the volume to avoid listening to anything else Jeongguk had to say. 

Jeongguk didn’t want to leave. He needed her even though she didn’t want him around. He tried one last time, “Aren’t you going to open the gifts I brought you?”

“No. Gifts aren’t part of the deal.” 

Mokyo twisted her long black hair around the palm of her hand and pulled it into a ponytail that she fastened on the top of her head. She secured it with a rubber band she had pulled over her wrist.  

The unobstructed view of her face caught Jeongguk’s attention. He admired her. Truly stunning, with her perfect eyebrows and beautiful jawline. Her skin was golden in hue, her features were more prominent than the average Korean. She came from Mongolian ancestry which added to her unique look. Jeongguk found her beauty irresistible. Which was why he chose her. She was also much taller than the average Korean woman. Standing 178 centimeters, with long shapely legs and substantial hips, she was a Goddess. Society thought so too. She supported herself through modeling jobs and occasional acting gigs. 

Jeongguk continued to admire her; his eyes occasionally falling towards her round stomach. She continued to eat cookies and drink soda as she watched the overly loud television. She acted as if Jeongguk weren’t even there. 

He walked around the couch, and seated himself. The couch was large enough for them to both share it without touching or breathing each other’s air. He kept his legs pulled firmly together with his hands in his lap. 

A brief stare at the ceiling gave his next words, “How was your doctor’s appointment?”

“You could have called to ask about my appointment,” she insisted.

“Well I’m here now so we may as well talk about it. How did it go? Was your blood pressure ok? How about your weight? You look so small. I thought you’d be bigger by now.”

“You expect me to blow up like a cow? I have to reclaim my life after this is over.”

“No that’s not what I’m saying…I just…,” Jeongguk knew that was a losing proposition. He moved on. “Are you under any stress? Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine.” Mokyo grabbed a manilla folder from her side table and threw it at Jeongguk.  

The folder was full of papers, all of the details from her latest doctor’s appointment. As was his right, Jeongguk took time to read through them. Not that he knew what he was looking for, but it gave him a sense of comfort to see her clean bill of health. He read all of her labs with a smile on his face. Once he was done, he stacked the papers and placed them back in order. It was at that moment that a small black and white, thin piece of paper slipped from the pile. It fell into Jeongguk’s lap, instantly grabbing his attention. He stared at it for a while, almost frightened to pick it up. He’d seen one before, on television and in movies. But this was his first time seeing one in person. 

Delicately, he lifted the photo and held it up towards the light. His eyes scanned back and forth as they fed his brain every detail of the tiny image. There were a few measurements in the corner giving him a sense of how big he was - or she.

“Is this…?” He said, on the verge of tears. 

Mokyo could hear the shakiness in Jeongguk’s voice. She looked over to see him holding the ultrasound photo high into the air so that it could absorb the light.

 Jeongguk wouldn’t even blink. His eyes were like round moons scanning the image from top to bottom over and over again. A few seconds later he pulled it into his chest and hugged it as if it was his most prized possession. 

“Yea. I guess. I think the doctor took it today, but I forgot that it was in there,” Mokyo explained.

“She’s beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. May I keep this?”

“It’s technically yours, so yea. I have no need for it,” Mokyo turned her attention back to the television.

There was silence as Jeongguk’s heart swam in the delicate details of his baby. “I can already sense her personality. She’s feisty, like my dad. She looks happy, focused, and balanced. She’s a genius already isn’t she?”

“I find it entertaining how you’ve already assumed it’s a she,” Mokyo commented.

“I don’t mean to make such an assertion. Forgive me little buddy. I’ll love you forever, no matter what,” Jeongguk spoke towards the photo in his hand. Tears lingered, adding glossiness to his already sparkling eyes. He knew he had no right to ask, but he did anyway, “May I…talk to her?”

Mokyo shot him a disapproving look. At only eight weeks, the thing was barely the size of an apple. She had no idea what the fuck he expected to achieve by talking to it. But behind his handsome, stoic face, there was an air of desperation. His eager innocence pierced the veil of her thick heart. He was already in love with the thing - that much was clear.

“Sure. I guess.”

Understanding how quickly her moods could change, Jeongguk wasted no time getting to his knees and gingerly crawling up to Mokyo’s belly. He nervously cleared his throat as if introducing himself for the first time. With a feather and a whisper he spoke gently into the rounded portion of Mokyo’s stomach.

“Hi…little one. It’s daddy,” he paused. That single tear, the one he had held onto so firmly, slipped from the corner of his eye. 

The sum of his emotions from his shitty day all attacked him at once. He was certain that he felt the baby kick, even though it was months too early for that. He turned his ear to Mokyo’s stomach and rested his head. 

The first three to five seconds were allowed. Afterall, he was paying her a shit load of money to grow the kid inside of her temple, so she humored him. But the longer he remained there, sobbing into her womb and blubbering, the more irritated she became. 

Mokyo slid to the side and stood up. “I think I’ve been pretty patient with tolerating this unannounced visit. Please leave.”

Jeongguk was startled by her sudden movement, but not surprised. She was the great mood shifter. And at times, she was brutally cold. Intimacy of any kind was shunned by her, even though it wasn’t directed at her. Jeongguk stepped away and wiped his tears. Once again he clutched the black and white photo of his baby. It had heard his voice and responded, he was sure of it. 

“I’ll be back on Friday. I think 3-4 days a week is fair, isn’t it?” Jeongguk said authoritatively.

“That’s not what we fucking agreed to. Once per week at the most. I have a life and you’re not a part of it. Don’t overstep. I know how to take care of myself and I don’t need you looking over my fucking shoulder. Our contract states nothing about you barging in here 3-4 days per week. I showed you the medical records, let you see for yourself that everything was fine and now we’re done here. Now get the fuck out.”

Jeongguk walked towards the door. He needed to get out of there before his temper got the best of him. Never had it been more clear that he had chosen the wrong one. She was a poor choice for a surrogate. He chose her based solely on looks and not on the merits of her character. He believed that as long as he adored her and spoiled her and treated her with respect, he could win her over and bring out the best in her. He was wrong. Mokyo was emotionally damaged goods. Regrettably, it was only after the contract was signed and the sperm was inseminated that he realized his mistake. The only thing he could do at that point was pray that his baby didn’t inherit her shitty attitude and aversion to kindness. 

He just wanted to bond with his baby, even while it was still in the womb. He’d read about it and he knew it was possible. He knew that if it heard his soft voice enough, it would recognize him as its father. He was already in love with the little bundle of cell mass with the tiny heartbeat. He had to protect her and nothing was going to stop him from doing it, not even Mokyo .

“You don’t have to be my best friend, but you do have to be civil. We’re contractually stuck together for seven more months. But as soon as you give birth, I’m taking my baby and we’ll be out of your life for good. You’ll never have to see us again. Until that time, I’ll continue checking on you. I will drive you to your doctor’s appointments, I will continue to treat you with the dignity and respect you deserve. But I won’t allow you to shut me out. I’m paying all of your bills, paying for this apartment, paying for all of your food, clothes and expenses. None of that was part of the agreement. I did it out of gratitude for your sacrifice. The least you could do is show a little appreciation and respect my bond with my child,” Jeongguk’s pupils darkened, the innocent light temporarily dampened. 

His change in demeanor was noticeable. He demanded attention. Mokyo nodded. “Yea.”

“I’m not trying to impose on your life. But you’re carrying my baby, so you should have thought about what that would mean before being so eager to sign up and take my money.” Jeongguk backed down. Once again he found a softer tone, “Maybe 3-4 times a week is aggressive. But at least twice a week, can I take you to lunch or dinner when I’m in town?”

“You should speak to someone…a therapist maybe. Your attachment to this kid isn’t normal.” Mokyo said cruelly.

“I love that baby. So my attachment is perfectly normal. Your bitterness isn’t. Many would kill to be in your position but I chose you. I don’t want to hear another fucking complaint from you. You volunteered to do this very important job, so do it. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yea. Leave now,” Mokyo pouted.

Jeongguk opened the door and headed out, “Open your gifts. You may actually like them. As your stomach grows, you’re going to need new clothes that are comfortable and stylish.” Jeongguk opened the door and stepped out, “The entire spring line from Chanel is in that big bag. The sales consultant helped me with sizes. Anything that you don’t like, I can return. But I do hope you like it.”

Mokyo was enticed by the promise of new clothes. She turned, and for the first time she acknowledged the large pile of shopping bags full of designer clothes and purses. 

“You’re welcome.” Jeongguk kissed her on the forehead and headed back to his car.

Jimin pulled on his lab coat and walked into his lab. He’d been so worried the night before about a missed calculation that he arrived three hours early to go over his work.  

The right side of the sterile room held a small placard on the wall that said Park Jimin. Seeing his name there always made him smile. With a flip of a switch, his lab came to life like a hibernating creature that had been awakened from its slumber. The walls to his lab were made of glass, allowing his coworkers to glance in his direction as he worked. There was a rotating 3-D rendering of Jimin’s robotic computer model that floated in the center of the room. 

He leaned back in his chair, watching it rotate. He focused his attention on the grid pattern around the first joint of the surgical robotics tool known as the EndoWrist. The EndoWrist system was a critical component to the mechanical arm that surgeons used for laparoscopic surgery. Every component of the EndoWrist’s operational efficiency was Jimin’s responsibility. He calculated everything from attack angles to pressure, to joint rotation. It was all his and he was the master. The EndoWrist was a smaller part of a larger surgical device known as Di Vinci, a fully functioning robotic arm that used AI to assist in intricate surgical procedures. It was all big-brain stuff and Jimin was thrilled to be a part of it.

But on this particular day, Jimin had a problem. The dexterity of the smallest joint wasn’t operating as expected. After taking it through several degrees of motion, he noticed a failure that occurred in contractions below 30 degrees. Something was off with the calculation. He loved the challenge of troubleshooting problems. But this problem had to be fixed fast. He was scheduled to do a software simulation for the Executive team in less than two days. He needed to focus.

After fiddling with the formula for hours on end, he finally discovered his error. It needed to be recalculated. Just as he started his calculation, his phone rang. It was not a good time. He ignored the buzzing phone in his pants pocket. Leaning forward into his desk, he scribbled notes all over his notepad, erasing and rewriting figures like a mad man. His brain was at its highest vibration as the answers poured into him. He had it; a fix for the fatal flaw that was ailing his range of motion simulation.

The caller was persistent, calling four times consecutively to get Jimin to answer. Jimin didn’t immediately recognize the number, so he continued to work. Whoever was calling settled down and left a voicemail. 

Jimin didn’t bother to check his voicemails until later that evening during his drive home. 

As he rode along in his new Volvo SUV XC90, he immediately pulled up his bluetooth to check his phone. There was only one message despite four missed phone calls. He queued up the voicemail and listened.

“This message is for…uh…Park Jimin. My name is Kim Hanjoo. I’m with the Holt International Adoption Agency in Busan. We received your application to be considered as one of our adoptive parents. We’re pleased to tell you that you have passed the first phase of the process. For the next phase, we’d like to set up an interview. You may contact me at 011-833-346-9044.”

 Jimin veered to the right to pull into a parking lot so that he could write down the number. 

“My application? An interview?” He muttered as he searched through his glove compartment for a pen and paper. He quickly jotted down the number and then rested back in his seat. “Could this really be happening? Am I about to be…a dad?” He whispered to himself.

Of all of the revelations that had come to Jimin after his accident, the one that was most ambitious yet meant the most to him was becoming a parent. Being a gay man with no wife, made it difficult to pull a baby out of thin air. But after volunteering at several orphanages the prior year, he realized how many children needed good, solid loving homes. The idea to adopt came to him after offering to be a foster parent for a child whose mother was going through drug rehabilitation. He enjoyed the experience of being a father figure so much that he felt the need to raise a child of his own.

After months and months of denials from some of the finest adoption agencies in the country, Holt was the first agency to accept Jimin’s bid for adoption. As soon as Jimin arrived home, he immediately began selecting color swatches for the new nursery. He took a brief moment to think back to just how close he had come to dying in a car accident a year prior. It was amazing just how quickly his life had changed. He was grateful.

Jimin lamented over his hair for far too long. How did one go about looking like a dad? He wanted to make a good impression yet he didn’t want to appear too stuffy and out of touch either. He stood naked in front of the mirror brushing his dark blond hair backwards away from his face. His hair was thick and wavy, but very stubborn. This was not the time for blond bushy bangs, yet that was exactly what his hair insisted on doing. A gallon of mousse, gel, and hairspray later, he finally got his locks to crest gently over his head. He decided against make-up. Adoption agencies were notoriously conservative and he didn’t want to do anything that appeared too edgy to be trusted with a newborn.

His dark blue slacks and cashmere sweater rested on the bed. He also pulled on a suit jacket to complete the look. With one final assessment in the mirror, he nodded with approval and headed towards the most important interview of his life. 

Jimin sat in the waiting room of Holt Agency. His leg bounced uncontrollably as he waited for the senior Director of the Agency to call him to her office. Aera spent weeks drilling him on difficult questions that could be asked during the interview. He felt prepared, yet his stomach was tied in knots all at the same time. He watched hoards of couples hussle in and out of the building. Most of them were mired in paperwork, others appeared to have visitations with potential adoptees. Still others wore the look of despair and frustration. It was definitely a mixed bag of emotions. Jimin wondered where he would eventually fall in the mix. 

“Park Jimin?” A receptionist stepped forward and called his name.

“Yes!” Jimin stood immediately. His palms began to sweat and his mouth went dry.

“Kim Hanjoo will see you now,” the receptionist advised.

“Yes, thank you.”

Jimin followed the receptionist back to a large bright office. As he stepped inside he noticed a wall of windows on the south side of the room. The view was exceptional. He could see all the way to Haeundae beach. The magical ferris wheel spun slowly beneath the show of white clouds. He wondered if he would one day take his new son or daughter there to visit Tayo the teddy bear and the Cotton Candy magician.

“Mr. Park. It’s such a pleasure to meet you. Please have a seat. The rest of the application committee will be here shortly.” Kim Hanjoon smiled supportively at Jimin.

“Committee?”

“Yes. We like to avoid making decisions of this magnitude without a firm consensus from the other board members. It’s standard practice. Don’t be nervous. I’m sure you’ll do well.”

“Yes. Uh…Mrs. Kim, if everything goes well, how soon will a baby be placed with me?”

“I know you’re anxious. But these things take time, especially considering your request for a newborn. I’m afraid babies are very in demand. It’s not easy to adopt one. But we’ll worry about that when the time comes. The first step is to get you approved. We’ll have a decision by the end of the day. I reviewed your file very carefully. You’re an excellent candidate. You’ve got this. Good luck.” Hanjoo looked over Jimin’s shoulder, “Ah, I see my colleagues have arrived. We can begin.”

Jimin was still reeling from Hanjoo’s endorsement. He suddenly felt very confident. 

Four additional people showed up for the party; two women, two men and Hanjoo. Jimin was seated at the head of the table with the board gathered around him. They all gathered at a long table just outside of Kim Hanjoo’s office. 

Hanjoo opened a folder. Jimin could see the contents: an 8 x 5 glossy picture of him, a copy of his resume, a copy of his pay stubs and tax forms, and a copy of his written statement. Each board member had a folder full of the same contents. It was intimidating and Jimin’s stomach turned once again.

The board members went around the table and introduced themselves but Jimin was too nervous to remember any of their names. Had he been more lucid, he would have thought to write them down. For the time being he identified them as fat man, ugly man, skinny lady, fashion lady and nice lady. It was the best he could do given his state of nervousness.

“Ok,” ugly man began. “You have no children currently, correct?”

“No, Sir. But I very much want to have a child. Which is why I’m here, I guess,” Jimin laughed loudly, covering his mouth. It was nervous laughter and not at all appropriate. He hoped that it wouldn’t be a strike against him.

Skinny lady chimed in, peering at Jimin over the top of her dark thick-rimmed glasses, “And you’re employed with Volga Partners? Prestigious company,” she smiled. “I had a procedure done with Di Vinci last year.”

“Yes. I love my work. Volga is a great company.”

“How long have you been with them?” Fashion lady questioned.

Jimin nodded, so far they were throwing him soft balls, “About five years now. I’ve been promoted twice and I run my own lab where we’re developing the EndoWrist which will be an addition to the core Di Vinci robotic arm.”

“Impressive,” the ugly man smiled. “It says here that you’re a mathematician?”

“Yes, I create predictive models that modulate the movements of the EndoWrist during surgical procedures.”

“Your work sounds very promising…but also very consuming. With such an ambitious career, when do you propose having time to raise a child?” Hanjoo asked sternly.

Jimin looked directly into her eyes as he answered, “If you were to grant me the ability to adopt, that child would become my very reason for living. He or she would be my first priority. I’m at a point in my career where I can pace myself, work remotely when I desire, share my workload with other team members and vacation whenever I see fit. I have worked hard to get to a place in my life where I have full control. Adopting a child is not something that I take lightly. I’ve planned for this moment for over a year now.”

The panel of five nodded, seemingly impressed with Jimin’s answers.

“Tell us about your family life.”

“My father died when I was in grade school. But his memory lives with me every day. My mother owns a bakery. She’s the most selfless, loving person that I know. She’s my best friend and my biggest fan. And, I have a plethora of aunts, uncles and cousins,” Jimin said joyfully.

“That sounds very well rounded. If you were to adopt a child, who would be the primary caregiver while you are working?” Fashion lady probed.

“I’m a hardworking man with a decent salary. But I can’t afford nannies. My plan is to work from home several times per week with help from my mother and eventually day care.”

“Using daycare is quite common and can be very good for a child’s social development,” the nice lady added. “Moving on, tell us your philosophy on discipline?”

“My father was a gentle disciplinarian. His method was to gently course-correct undesired behavior. He never raised his voice or used violence. That is the kind of father I will be. I know that I can’t be my child’s best friend. But I can be their compassionate compass to teach them right from wrong. My baby will always get the very best of me,” Jimin said proudly. 

He had the entire panel wrapped around his finger and he knew it. For another two hours they continued to drill him on everything from religion to politics to bullying. They extracted as much information as they could from Park Jimin. They were determined to understand who he was and if he was fit to be a parent. 

The final round of questioning was started by the fat man. He hadn’t said much throughout the entire three hour interview. Jimin got bad vibes from him. He was the only one on the panel who refused to make eye contact. 

The moment he spoke, Jimin knew he was in trouble. “You’re thirty-one now. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Jimin smiled.

“Much older than our typical candidates for adoption. We prefer adults in their mid to late twenties. It’s better for the child, you understand,” the fat man explained.

“I would disagree. Older parents who are healthy are more stable financially, more mature and more willing to sacrifice for their children to give them the best.”

The fat man sneered, “That’s not what the research shows. But you’re entitled to your opinion.” the fat man shuffled through papers, “I don’t see information about your wife.”

Jimin gulped, “My wife? I’ve never been married.” He reached his finger to his nose and scratched the tip. 

“Hmm, interesting. Are you currently dating a nice young lady? Surely a handsome young man such as yourself isn’t single.”

“What does my dating life have to do with my qualifications as a parent?” Jimin balked.  

“We need to know the names and identities of anyone who may be in the child’s life before we grant you the privilege of adopting one,” the fat man explained.

Jimin lifted his head with pride, “I’m single. I’m not dating and there’s no lady in my life. I’m gay,” Jimin said casually, not realizing the ruckus it would cause in the boardroom.

“Gay?”

“Gay?”

“Gay?”

The word echoed across the room. Papers rattled and chairs squealed as everyone shifted from positions of comfort and ease to extreme anxiousness.

“There must be some mistake,” Kim Hanjoo stood to her feet. “There’s nothing listed here about you being gay. There’s a section that specifically addresses the sexuality of the candidate.”

“I didn’t answer the question because I didn’t feel it was relevant,” Jimin defended himself.”

In random order, each of the board members shut their folders closed. Two of them stood to leave. The interview was over. They all stared at Hanjoo who had the duty of explaining it to him.

“I’m afraid we’ve…wasted your time. Mr. Park, Holt is a very prestigious organization with a very conservative foundation. We do not allow homosexuals to adopt from our agency. We state it very clearly in our terms and guidelines. Did you bother to read them?”

“I read most of it. But surely, you can’t discriminate against me for being homosexual?” Jimin asked.

Hanjoo folded her arms in defiance, “Sadly, you don’t fit our demographic. I assure you, if our panel had known of your sexuality, we would have never approved your application and proceeded with this interview. I’m so, so sorry Mr. Park, but your bid for adoption is denied. Please see your way out.”

Jimin sat in the parking lot of Holt International Adoption Agency for another two hours. He cried for most of that time. All he wanted was a child, an opportunity to leave a legacy, an opportunity to provide love for a child who needed it. But because he was gay, he was denied. Jimin shook his head in disbelief. Hopelessness was all he could feel. Once the word of Holt’s rejection spread, he knew that all other agencies would label him as unqualified. There was nothing he could do to reverse their decision. His journey to become a dad was over; ended in the worst way by the worst people.

His phone buzzed. It was a text from his mother. She was texting because she hadn’t heard from him. She wanted to know how the interview went. He had no idea how he was going to explain everything that happened. He decided to let her call roll to voicemail. He was emotionally unable to talk - even to his mom. 

***

Chapter 2: Seedling

 

May 15, 2026

 

A very seven months pregnant Mokyo sat at the table, picking at her salad. She took two bites and then pushed the plate to the side. 

“Something wrong with your dinner?” Jeongguk asked.

“It’s fine,” she replied curtly.

“I can send it back and have them bring you something else,” he offered.

“I’m not hungry,” she insisted.

“Well, mind if I eat it?”

Mokyo scowled, “Take it.” She pushed her bowl over to Jeongguk’s side of the table. He began taking hearty bites from her plate as well as his own.

“Thank you for letting me tag along to your doctor’s appointment. I just wanted to see you and spend some time before I head out on the road.”

“See me? Stop playing fucking games. I could die tomorrow and as long as your precious seedling is alive and kicking, you’ll step over my dead body,” Mokyo spat.

“That is accurate,” Jeongguk said as he chewed loudly with his mouth open. He was teasing but Mokyo didn’t find it funny. He stabbed his fork between his steak and Mokyo’s salad. “This is a good restaurant. I had no idea it was this close to the doctor’s office.”

“Are you almost finished? I’d like to go home and take a nap. Your child is zapping all of my energy and fucking with my mood,” Mokyo complained.

“Fucking with your mood? I seriously doubt that. Your bitchiness seems to be pretty consistent.” Jeongguk smacked his lips. “You sure you don’t want this salad. My God the dressing is from heaven.”

“No, I don’t want it.” Mokyo folded her arms and looked towards the door.

Jeongguk had more to say, “If it means anything, you look beautiful. Your cheeks are adorable and your skin is flawless. My little girl is really bringing out the best in you.”

Mokyo was tired of talking. Every fucking word from Jeongguk’s mouth was about the damn baby. She rolled her eyes at Jeongguk as a reminder that she wanted to be taken home.

“It was exciting to hear her heartbeat, wasn’t it? She’s so pretty. She looks just like you, I think. And look, did you see this?” Jeongguk showed Mokyo a 3-D image of his baby girl in her womb. “She’s sucking her thumb. How adorable is that?” He giggled. “You can’t be so dead inside that it doesn’t excite you to see her growing. She’s lived inside of you for seven months. Surely you feel something for her?”

“I’m not dead inside. I’m just over this fucking pregnancy shit. I’ll never do this shit again, that’s for sure.”

“Oh I’m sure if the right amount of money comes along, you’ll gladly do it again. After all, you enjoy feeding off of wealthy men like me. That’s all my daughter represents to you - a paycheck.”

“You knew what this was about when we signed the contract. I won’t let you shame me for making a choice that we both agreed to. You’re getting what you want out of this deal, just as I am. So don’t take the righteous route with me.”

“We are not the same. I wanted a child. I went to a medical agency for help. They served me a platter full of you. You bled me dry for the highest fee that a surrogate has ever charged in the history of their practice. And now I have to beg you for even small glimpses of her every month,” Jeongguk quipped with a smile. After months of dealing with Mokyo, he’d grown immune to her nasty attitude.

“The deal included my egg. I’m not just a gestational surrogate, I’m also your egg donor. Since you can’t fuck a girl on your own, I had to lend you my eggs. Not to mention all of the fucking fertility drugs I had to take to make sure your fucking gay sperm stayed in place after they injected it into me. This entire process has been a nightmare. You paid a fair price and I earned every penny. Now can you please take me home?”

“Ouch. That was a low blow,” Jeongguk smacked on the last few bits of his steak. “Since I don’t fuck girls, your cute little eggs were my only hope,” he laughed. “Yes, I’ll take you home, but first I need to talk to you.” Jeongguk gestured for the check. “I’ll be on the road for the next three weeks straight. This is my first extended road trip in a year. Here’s my flight information and the addresses for all of the hotels where me and the team will be staying. If you need anything, anything at all, I want you to call me. Listen Mokyo, I know you don’t like me. I know that you hate that you agreed to be my surrogate. But I hope that you realize that you can count on me to be here for you. I’ll be right by your side until the very end. Who knows, we may become friends when this is over.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Alrighty then.” Jeongguk laughed. She was hopeless. “One last thing. This is for you,” Jeongguk passed more gifts over to Mokyo. “The small box is a diamond bracelet, I didn’t forget. Happy Birthday.”

Mokyo opened the bracelet first. She placed it on her arm and admired it under the bright restaurant lights. “Thanks for remembering,” she said dryly.

 

Jeongguk walked Mokyo to her door. He wanted to be invited inside but he knew that wasn’t happening. He had just started reading the Harry Potter series to his little girl and he wanted to continue the Sorcerer’s Stone. They were close to the end. His baby kicked and bounced whenever she heard his voice close to her. But, Mokyo was really not in the mood for a reading session. He didn’t want to be a source of stress for her so he said his goodbyes at the door.

“May I?” He asked.

“Whatever,” Mokyo shrugged.

Jeongguk knelt down on one knee and addressed her round stomach, “Hi Angel. Daddy has to go away for a little while. Daddy loves you so so so much. Don’t you ever forget that. Hold my hand.” Jeongguk pressed his large palm against Mokyo’s round belly. He waited briefly for his baby girl to respond. As she always did when she heard his voice, she kicked and shifted her body to lay flush against the inside of Mokyo’s abdomen. Jeongguk could see the contractions in Mokyo’s stomach as he felt his baby move closer to him. “You’re such a smart girl. Such a smart, smart girl. You always know it’s me, don’t you? I have a feeling that you already love me too,” Jeongguk laughed. 

“Are you almost done here?” Mokyo interrupted. 

Jeongguk heavy sighed, “Yea,” he kissed Mokyo’s stomach and held his warm lips there, hoping that his little one could feel all of his love.

***

 

May 28, 2026 - Two weeks later

 

For the first time since he was reassigned to the majors, Jeongguk blew a save. The team was up 3 to 1 against the Samurais. It was up to Jeongguk to close down the game and send his Lotte Giants home with a playoff victory. But his body had other plans. The morning of the game, he awoke barely able to lift his arm. Despite the trainers working on it for hours, he had nothing in the tank when it came time to pitch the eighth inning. He was pulled after walking three batters that scored the leading run. 

It was a terrible night. The first time he had let his team down. When he finally reached his hotel room, he was exhausted. He didn’t have another pitching rotation for three days which gave him time to rehabilitate his shoulder. When he sat on his bed, he noticed that he’d missed twenty different phone calls. His stomach sank. Everyone knew he was traveling, his friends and family all knew that he was out of the country. So why were so many people trying to call him. But it was one missed call in particular that made him fall to his knees with worry. It was from Mokyo.

There was a tremendous thumping in his ears. It was his own heartbeat. He quickly switched over to listen to her voicemail. 

Mokyo was screaming, “ JEONGGUK, I’M IN LABOR! I’M IN LABOR! I’m on my way to the hospital. There’s blood everywhere. I’m in so much pain. I’m on my way to the hospital now. The ambulance is here to take me. I’m so scared. I’m so scared…,” the call disconnected.

Jeongguk’s hands began to shake so uncontrollably that he dropped the phone. His mind stopped working. He couldn’t move, or think. All he could hear over and over was the sound of Mokyo’s voice screaming through fear and panic. His first thought was to get on the first plane back to Korea. He jumped to his feet and threw several items in his bag. He had to call the Coach to let him know that he was leaving. But he couldn’t find his number. It wasn’t in his phone or was it? Of course it was, but he was too frazzled to think clearly. It took him less than five minutes to pack all of his belongings. He had to get a flight back to Korea immediately. He needed to talk to Coach. Once again, he tried to think about where to find his phone number. But he just couldn’t find it, even though he knew he had it.

With his hands still trembling, he bolted from his hotel room and ran down the hallway. If he couldn’t call his coach, he could go straight to his room. He knew what room number he was in so he felt it was quicker to run to him.

He banged on the Coach’s door. “COACH OPEN UP, IT’S JEONGGUK. I HAVE AN EMERGENCY!”

The sixty year old Coach had been in bed for at least an hour. He was slow to open the door, but once he saw Jeongguk’s panicked face, he immediately knew something was wrong. “What is it son? What’s wrong?”

“My baby is being born. My surro…well my baby is being born. She’s in labor right now.”

“Baby? You have a baby coming?” Coach asked.

“Yes, right now. Two and a half months premature,” tears streamed down Jeongguk’s face as he tried to explain, “I need a Charter back to Korea right now. Can anyone arrange that for me?” Jeongguk’s words were fast and mumbled. He was truly breaking down under the fear of losing his child. 

“Calm down. Please son. Come in, come in. Of course we can get you a charter home, right away. Get your stuff packed. I’ll make a few phone calls and we’ll have you home in about three hours.” 

“Three hours? I’ll take it. I have to get back to her. My baby…my baby is in trouble.”

***

 

Jeongguk burst through the hospital doors of Seoul National University Hospital. He didn’t know where to go. 

“Help. Help me, please. My baby is here somewhere. Help me.” He ran up to the nurse closest to him and begged her for help, “Please, I don’t know where to go. My baby is coming but she’s too early. She’s months too early. Please help me get to her,” Jeongguk panicked. His hands shook and his eyes were glossed over. 

“You’re on the wrong side of the hospital. Follow me, we’ll get you over to the Pediatric unit right away.” A random nurse who was standing at the entrance offered to help Jeongguk get to the right place. “What’s your wife’s name?”

“Uh…she’s not my wife. She’s my surrogate. Her name is Shun Mokyo. She’s only seven months pregnant but I received multiple messages from her as well as the charge nurse that she was here and in labor. I’ve been in Japan…,”

“Yes, in the playoffs, against the Samurais. I know. You’re pretty famous around Seoul. I’ve been a fan since you were with the Dodgers. We were sad to see you go to the Giants. This way,” the nurse said as they made a left along a bright white corridor. “I’m not an obstetric nurse but I can tell you, being born a couple of months early is not a death sentence. We can do amazing things in our Neonatal Unit these days. Don’t think the worst, ok?”

“I’m trying,” Jeongguk said as he jogged alongside the nurse. 

“You see that nurse’s station straight ahead? Give them her name and tell them why you’re here. They’ll get you to her room. Good luck Mr. Jeon and congratulations,” she smiled kindly and disappeared down the hallway.

Jeongguk ran forward, “Please help. I’m looking for a patient. Her name is Shun Mokyo and she’s in labor. I received at least twenty calls from the hospital telling me she was here. I’ve been in Japan and I got here as soon as I could. Where is she, where is my baby? Where’s Mokyo?” Jeongguk blurted out too many words. It was a miracle that the nurse’s could even understand him.

“Mr. Jeon?” A single nurse stepped forward, “I’m nurse Oh Hee-young. We’ve been waiting for you. I’m calling the counselor to come and speak to you now.” Nurse Young advised. 

Jeongguk couldn’t read her face but she looked very serious. He didn’t like the way she was acting. She was cagey and uncomfortable. She wouldn’t make eye contact. He demanded answers, “Why can’t you just take me to see my baby girl? Take me to her, right now!” He could feel himself losing his patience. Something about the entire situation made him queasy. 

“Stay calm Mr. Jeon, the counselor is on her way. Come this way, please.” Nurse Young led him to another room. 

“Is Mokyo in surgery? Is that why I can’t see her? How’s the baby? What’s her condition? I’m her father, I have a right to know everything. Check her medical records and her delivery plan, you’ll see my name. Here’s my identification. This proves who I am. I’m the next of kin and I deserve to know. Please tell me right now WHERE IS MY BABY?” Jeongguk screamed. He looked up and down the hallway for any sign of Mokyo. He prayed that it was all just a mistake and that his baby was fine.

 

The counselor arrived five minutes later. She too wore the face of sobriety. She immediately shook Jeongguk’s hand and introduced herself, “Mr. Jeon. I’m Lu Cheong, the hospital counselor. I need to update you on…your family. Please sit…,”

“No, I’ll stand. What’s going on? Why won’t anyone let me see my baby?” Jeongguk said firmly.

Mrs. Cheong explained, “Your wife was brought in about six hours ago. By the time the paramedics got her here, she was in great distress. She had a weak pulse and she had lost a great amount of blood. She went into cardiac arrest. The nurses tried calling you repeatedly. The doctors had to perform surgery right away. Naturally they tried to save both her and the baby but…sadly…neither made it. Your baby passed away during surgery.”

Jeongguk couldn’t register what he was hearing. There was no way possible that his baby was dead. He’d just heard her heartbeat. He’d just seen her sucking her thumb. He’d just sang to her and watched her dance in her mother’s stomach. She wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be. He stood to his feet.

“Dead? That isn’t possible. I’m sure you’re mistaken. Where’s Mokyo? I need to talk to her. She’ll clear this up. My baby is fine. We just had a doctor’s appointment two weeks ago. She’s fine and healthy, so is Mokyo. Let’s just get this cleared up.” Jeongguk shook his head. He wasn’t able to cry because he wasn’t able to accept what was being said.

“Mr. Jeon, I’m so sorry. They did everything they could. A series of events happened very fast, leaving them to make some very difficult choices. They’re gone, Mr. Jeon.”

Jeongguk backed into a corner, still shaking his head. “They can’t be dead. They can’t be. She’s my perfect little Angel. She has my nose and my smile. She’s smart and loves Harry Potter. She can already suck her thumb. She can’t be gone. I won’t accept that.” His pitching arm throbbed, but he could barely register it over the pain in his heart. His fingers went numb and all color flushed from his face. 

“Can I call someone for you?” The counselor asked.

“My-my d-d-dad. He needs to…,” Jeongguk ran to the garbage bin and threw up. He crumpled to the white tile floor and heaved repeatedly until he was empty. Loud buzzing filled his ears as the stench of his vomit crawled up his nostrils. His breathing was uneven and his chest filled with large gulps of air. The tension was building. The sterility of the room around him began to suffocate him. Was this the place where they died? Was this the room where his precious baby girl had been taken from him? His shaking grew more extreme until his vision blurred. He sat on his knees with large crocodile tears falling in puddles to the floor.

He finally released the lump of pain that had been building in his chest, “GOD NOOOOOOOOOOO!” His scream was ungodly, horrific, bone chilling, heart-breaking.

 

Together with the grief counselor, the nurse lifted Jeongguk to his feet. They rested him in a chair and fetched him a glass of water. Jeongguk had no will to remain upright. He almost fell to the ground again, but the grief counselor grabbed him by the shoulder and held him in place. The room was still spinning, but much faster now. He would have thrown up again if there had been anything remaining to void.

“Mr. Jeon, I need you to stay with me. Deep breath. I know this is terrible news. I appreciate how difficult this must be, but we need to take care of you and make sure you don’t go into shock. 

“Mokyo, she has no family. She only has an uncle or something. His contact information is in her file. Have you called him?” Jeongguk spoke through a voice strained with sobs.

“Her uncle arrived about five hours ago and claimed the body. Her…her remains are being prepared,” the doctor advised.

Jeongguk looked up for the first time. His weary, red, swollen eyes made direct contact with the counselor’s face, “I want to see my baby. I need to see her…to…to to to say…goodbye.”

The grief counselor chimed in again, “Mr. Jeon, are you sure that you want to see her…like that? Once you see it, the vision could stay with you forever. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I DESERVE TO SAY GOODBYE!” Jeongguk screamed. The mere thought of losing his child and not being able to say a few last words was unimaginable. He demanded again that they take him to her.

“Of course. Sure thing,” the grief counselor made a few phone calls down to the morgue. 

Within a few minutes, Jeongguk was being escorted to the basement of the hospital. There was an immediate stench as soon as the elevator opened to the basement floor. It was a pungent odor with the slight undertone of alcohol. Even though Jeongguk had never experienced it before, he knew without knowing that the stench was that of embalming fluid and formaldehyde. His stomach churned. The odor threatened to send him running to the trash bin again. But he held steady, determined to see his baby girl. 

Once again he opened his mouth to breathe in heavy gasps as they approached the viewing room. Before they even got to the window, he could already see a tiny little body wrapped in a sheet, laying on a cold steel gray table. 

“Noooooo! Nooooo, my little baby!” He fell against the window and slid down the glass as tears flowed from his eyes. It was his first time seeing her and she was as beautiful as he always imagined. Her body was unscathed. Her skin was slightly blue, but otherwise normal. Her large eyes were closed. He couldn’t see her hair because it was covered by the blanket, but it looked to be full and thick. She was so tiny, much too small to survive without her mother’s warmth and protection. She was his princess, the most beautiful maiden in all the land - and she was gone. For reasons that no one could explain to him, she was gone.

His sobs were uncontrollable, but he still attempted to speak, “Can-can-can I touch her? Can I kiss her goodbye?”

“I’m sorry Mr. Jeon, but no. She’s been gone for a few hours. For everyone’s safety, this is as close as you can get to her. Uh…take all the time that you need. I’m going to leave you alone to…uh…to say goodbye. Just call me when you’re ready to…just call me,” Even the grief counselor seemed to have a hard time watching the morose scene play out. Her years of experience had taught her that there was no greater pain than losing a child. Her heart bled for the young pitcher and his dead baby girl. She gently patted Jeongguk on the shoulder and exited through the elevator. 

 

The staff who worked in the mortuary were unsung heroes. No one wanted their jobs, no one envied them, no one even wanted to think about their existence. But their work was important. They gave dignity to the dead and made sure they were presentable for their loved ones. They saw so much death, that being surrounded by it didn’t phase them. Death was as commonplace as breathing.

But when faced with the grief of the living, their jobs became much more complicated. So was the case for sixty-year old forensic toxicologist Mary Lew. It was her job to draw post-mortem blood samples from the deceased. She hummed as she pushed her cart down the hallway. She headed for the south viewing room to draw samples from an elderly man who had died of heart failure. She estimated it would take five minutes or less. 

But as she came around the corner, she came upon a young man grieving what appeared to be a baby. Startled, Mary ducked around a corner. She was curious as to where the baby had come from. The death must have been very recent. She was immediately heart-broken as she watched the father who appeared to be talking to the baby through the glass. Mary locked the wheels of her cart and stood out of view as she listened to what the grieving man was saying.

Jeongguk pressed his fingertips against the glass, “I know that we never got to meet properly, but I’m your dad. I failed you by not being here when you needed me. I’ll never forgive myself. I hope you know how much I love you.” Jeongguk paused. His cries could be heard throughout the entire basement floor. He did his best to gather his emotions as he pulled a book from the pocket inside of his jacket. It was his copy of the Sorcerer’s Stone that he had been reading to her. 

“We were almost at the end,” he cried. 

What he did next made no sense to the people who passed him in the hallway, but it made sense to him. He opened the book to a page that he’d marked with her last Ultrasound photo. He didn’t spend too much time glancing at the picture because he knew that it would tear him up inside. Instead, he chose to focus on the beautiful being that lay a few feet from him.

He began to read the final two paragraphs of the story that had bonded them so closely. He read and read and read until his voice could no longer produce sound. He fell with his back against the glass and began to cry aloud, again. His hand, with the book still clutched between his fingers, fell to his side.

Mary couldn’t stomach what she was witnessing. In all of her years dealing in death, she had never seen someone in such a manic state of grief. She watched the father attempt several times to finish the last few paragraphs of his story, but grief just wouldn’t allow it. Mary emerged from her hiding place and quietly approached him. Gently, she pulled the book from his hand and located the last few words that he’d managed to read. She read directly to him, not to the empty shell that lay dormant on the steel table. There was no soul there, nothing to absorb the words that the father wanted to convey. 

It was the father who needed to be comforted. It was he who was dying inside.

Mary picked up the story where he left off reading the text word for word, ‘Oh, I will Harry. And you and Ron and Hermione will be surprised…,’ she continued reading until she reached the words, ‘The End.’

Jeongguk stood to his feet again and stared at the older woman, “Thank you. That story was very important to her…to us.”

Before Mary could speak, they heard the chiming of the elevator. 

The grief counselor had returned with a message, “Mr. Jeon, your father is here,” she said gently to Jeongguk who seemed to be in even worse shape than when she left him. “He’d like to see you.”

“Yea. Yea, I need to see him too,” Jeongguk tried to smile at Mary, but his smilebox was empty.

She patted him on the shoulder and placed The Sorcerer’s Stone back into his hand. “Be well young man. I’m so sorry about this.”

Jeongguk nodded. He placed a single kiss on his fingertips and then pressed it against the glass as his final goodbye to his little Angel.  He turned and walked away with the grief counselor. His father was waiting for him at the end of the hallway.

***

 

Jimin rolled over in his sleep. The dream was a vivid one. He was fucking some hottie in the backseat of a sports car. His hips moved involuntarily in his sleep as he rolled through the motion of being railed by a long hard cock. 

His cell phone was in silent mode, but the loud buzzing against the dresser pierced his erotic fantasy, pulling him back to the world of the living. Never before had he been angry about waking from a dream, but this was a good one. In its own way, his mind was supplementing his lack of a sex life through erotic fantasies that seem to grow hotter each day. The man in his dreams was always faceless, voiceless. But his body…his body was what kept Jimin coming back, even through his subconscious.

 

Jimin sat up, one eye open, as the sun beams danced through his blinds. He used his closed fists to rub both of his eyes as he adjusted to the daylight. Without checking the caller ID, he answered his phone. It was very early for someone to be calling on a Saturday. 

“Hello…,” he laid back down onto his pillow with his phone pressed lightly against his ear, “Hello, who is this?”

“Park Jimin. My name is Kim Hanjoo, I’m sure you remember me,” she said authoritatively.

Jimin sat straight up. He bolted out of the bed and stared at his phone. Why was the Senior Director from Holt Adoption Agency calling him after she and her board had blatantly kicked him out of their building? He walked around his room completely befuddled and slightly pissed off. 

“Yes. What is it that you want? You and your organization made it very clear that I was no longer a candidate because of my sexuality. I don’t feel we have anything further to discuss unless your organization has suddenly decided to live in the twenty-first century and accept that homosexuals are regular people who can be good parents just like everyone else.” Jimin had been holding that in for months, since they rejected his application.

Hanjoo was not her typical self. Even though Jimin barely knew her, she had certain character traits that were unique. She was boastful, confident and professional at all times. But this Hanjoo, the one calling him at 8:00 am on a Saturday morning, spoke more like a fugitive on the run. She was secretive, whispering and trepidatious. Jimin became even more curious about the nature of her call.

Hanjoo explained, “I’m not calling on behalf of the adoption center. In fact, they have no idea that I’m reaching out to you and I trust that you can keep this between us?”

“Keep what between us?” Jimin scratched the tip of his nose and plopped back down onto the bed. He had no idea what the lady was referencing.

She explained, “My heart broke when we had to reject your application last year. But rules are rules and the conventional methodology for adoptive parents is very strict and regimented. Honestly, we have turned away some exceptional candidates because of our stupid rules.”

“Ok. So is this an apology?” Jimin asked.

“No. I have no reason to apologize. You should have read the guidelines. We would have avoided wasting each other’s time if you knew that homosexuals were not qualified.”

“We are qualified and I resent your insinuation that we aren’t. Maybe the system of conventional methods needs to be changed. Have you ever thought about that?”

“Yes. I have thought about that. In fact, that’s exactly why I’m calling you.”

“Yea, ok. I’m tired of playing games, Mrs. Kim. Either tell me what you want from me or we’ll end this call. It’s Saturday morning and I’m very tired.”

“I don’t blame you for being annoyed. I would be too. Jimin, this is my opinion, not the opinion of Holt. But in my opinion, you would be an excellent father. You deserve to have a child. You deserve to be a parent. The world needs honest, hard-working, dedicated men like you. The children need you. I know we can’t change the rules right now, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t go…around them.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that there are…other ways to obtain a child. Even a newborn,” Hanjoo hinted at something that was difficult for Jimin to grasp.

“What exactly do you mean by other ways?”

“If you have the right resources and the right connections, miracles can happen.”

“If I can’t adopt through an agency, then would the adoption be legal?”

“Of course. As long as we can prove the child is an orphan, the courts will allow you to legally adopt. Agencies are in the business of matching parents with children who need them. But in the case where a parent and child find each other, then the agency is not needed. I’m proposing that I can produce a scenario where the agency is not needed,” Hanjoo said cryptically.

“Yea, so I’m going to need you to spell that out for me. What exactly do you mean by matching parents with children who need them? Are you saying that you found a match for me - a child?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I just had a devastating case come across my desk. The child is an orphan. If we can’t find her a home soon, she’ll have to go to an orphanage and wait for adoption. But before we place her in the system, I’d like for you to meet her. If you feel she’s a match, we may be able to uh…work something out.”

“Work something out?” Jimin stared at his phone again. “Like a legal adoption outside of the agency service?”

“Exactly. Now I think we’re on the same page.”

“You’re saying that I can adopt a baby, and you have one available?”

“Yes. We can seal this deal as quickly as today if you’re willing to meet her.”

“And is this all legal?”

“Yes, of course. I have a reputation to uphold. This is called private adoption and it’s perfectly above board. You’ll be the child’s official and legal parent. No strings attached. I will warn you however, the fees are much higher than they would typically be with going through an agency.”

“Fees?” Jimin stiffened his back. The fees for regular adoption were already pricey and likely to stretch his budget, but going through a private adoption with no agency was likely cost prohibitive. He was afraid to ask, but he did, “How much?”

“You should be prepared to pay upwards of 200,000,000 Won. That is a very good price because it includes all of your legal fees, paperwork, court exams, life insurance…everything that you need to get off to a good start as the girl’s new father.”

“Girl?” Jimin stood to his feet again. “It’s a girl?”

“Yes. Two weeks old. A newborn, just as you requested. Tragically her parents are unable to raise her. The mother died during childbirth and the father is nowhere to be found, presumed dead.”

“200,000,000 Won, that’s really expensive. I don’t have the money right now, but I can get it. Please give me a chance to get the money.”

“I don’t have to tell you that there are tens of thousands of parents who have the money and will be more than willing to take your place. Time is of the essence. This little girl needs a home. If not you, then I’ll have to find someone else. I gave you the courtesy of being the first in line. If I don’t hear from you by noon tomorrow, I’ll have to move on.”

“NO! Please, please don’t give her to anyone else. Please. I’ll get the money,” Jimin promised.

“I know you will. She’s meant to be yours. That’s why I called you first,” Hanjoo was sensitive to Jimin’s plight. She could feel his desperation. Her heart went out to him.

Jimin had so many questions. He didn’t know where to start. He wanted to know everything possible about how the private adoption worked. “And if you don’t mind me asking, how did she get to you?”

“Seoul National. Immediately after the mother died, they began trying to place her. Since they couldn’t find a home, they called me.” 

“I can’t believe this is really happening. How old?”

“Two weeks. One of the nurses has been caring for her. I promise, it’s for real. Check your phone. I just texted you a few pictures. So should I arrange a meeting for the two of you?”

“YES! Absolutely. YES!” Tears flowed down Jimin’s face as the pictures of a chubby little face flashed across his phone. She was beautiful; so tiny, so sweet. He was staring into the face of his new baby.

***

 

As they drove down the interstate, Jimin was quiet. He’d learned the hard way not to get too excited over the possibility of becoming a father. He’d been let down before. 

“Still seems too good to be true, you know?” Jimin said to his mother.

“That’s why mama is coming with you this time. No more games from this bitch. Either this is real or I’m kicking her ass.”

“MOM! You’re choosing violence?” Jimin laughed. He kissed her hand and held it for a few seconds. “I’m so lucky that you’re on my side.”

“Jiminie, I’ve watched you travel this journey with heartbreak after heartbreak. You deserve this. I feel good about it this time. This time is your time,” Aera said.

“I hope you’re right.”

 

They parked the car near the lake. Jimin could see Hanjoo sitting on a bench near the playground. She had a baby in her arms. 

“Is that…is that a baby?” Jimin asked as he stepped out of the car.

“Yes, sweetheart. It is. Well at least she was telling the truth about that part.”

“This is really happening. This is really happening,” Jimin repeated over and over. He stalled for a moment to catch his breath. He leaned over and placed his hands on his knees. He couldn’t believe it.

“Come on sweetie. Don’t freak out on me now,” Aera joked.

“Mom, she’s holding my baby,” Jimin began to tear again as the scene of Hanjoo holding the little girl registered for him.

“My granddaughter. I’m going to spoil the shit out of her.”

“Mom, you can’t use that language around the baby.”

“Says who?”

“Says me. We’re not going to expose her to potty words.”

“Potty words? I’ve been saying shit and fuck in front of you since you were 13 minutes old.”

“Well it ends here. You cannot speak like that in front of my little angel.”

“There’s nothing wrong with her hearing a few swear words. It’ll toughen her up and put some hair on her chest.”

“HAIR ON HER CHEST? I don’t want my baby to have hair on her chest!” Jimin was appalled.

Aera and Jimin bickered in the parking lot. They didn’t even notice that Hanjoo had walked up to greet them.

“Hello. You two seemed a bit…preoccupied, so Jade and I thought we would come over here to meet you,” Hanjoo lifted the baby so Jimin could see her. She was sleeping.

“Is this her?” Jimin asked. “And what did you call her?”

“Jade. That was the name that her mother had given her prior to her death. It was in her medical records. Jade-hyun. We try to keep the names consistent in order to establish a sense of identity for the child. She was probably very accustomed to hearing her mother call her that in the womb.

“It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl,” Jimin marveled at her precious face.

“Would you like to hold her? After all, she’s your daughter now,” Hanjoo said softly to avoid waking little Jade.

“My-my daughter?” Jimin stared at Hanjoo. He was almost afraid to touch Jade out of fear of waking from a dream. He held his arms steady and Hanjoo placed Jade across his forearms and over his palms. He could feel the warmth of her tiny body. Her miniature heartbeat was so strong that he could feel it in his bones. Jimin squeezed her into his chest and kissed her on the forehead. “Is she really mine?”

“Almost. The adoption will be finalized tomorrow after the attorney’s complete the paperwork and you pay all of your fees. Once you sign everything, she will be yours forever.”

Jimin gasped, “Tomorrow? That’s so soon. I didn’t realize I needed an attorney.” 

“You don’t need an attorney. Let me handle it. My guys will prepare all of the paperwork for both sides. I told you things move quickly in private adoptions. Are you prepared to take her home tonight?” Hanjoo asked.

“Tonight? NO!” Jimin panicked again. I’m not ready. I don’t have a crib or a car seat or diapers or strollers or anything! I HAVE NOTHING!” Jimin began to panic.

Aera chimed in, “I can help. By tomorrow, I’ll have her nursery fully set up. You showed me all of your ideas and I’ll make them come to life. Just focus on finalizing the adoption.”

Hanjoo added, “I’ll give you the car seat. It’s in my car. Easy to install, easy to use. Don’t overthink this. Babies this age don’t require much, just love, formula and a few diapers. I’ll have a temporary crib delivered and set up tonight.” Hanjoo strapped the baby Bjorn around Jimin’s chest and placed Jade inside of it. “I’ll show you how to use the car seat. And then you can be on your way.”

“On my way? What do you mean on my way? Is there a parent manual? A workbook with formulas? A paint by number dictionary? I don’t know how to do this! I need help here lady. You can’t just give me a baby and send me into the wild. I’ve never been alone with a tiny human before. Oh God. I didn’t expect this to happen so soon. Oh God, what have I done? What if I drop her or make her sick or don’t feed her on time. Oh GOD!” Jimin had a nervous breakdown right there in the parking lot. 

Aera addressed her panicked son with a little tough love, “Listen boy. You wanted this. You’ve been begging and screaming for a daughter for two years. Well now you’ve got her. And she’s the most precious baby on the face of this earth. It’s time to put your big boy panties on and take care of this damn baby. For months you’ve been obsessed with child rearing YouTube videos, baby fashion magazines, nursery trends, hip baby slang and all kinds of baby bullshit. Now it’s time to put it all into practice. You’re a mathematician. Look at this as just one big ass formula. You gotta’ figure it out as you go. Now get that damn baby in the car. We have too much work to do and no time to do it. We’ve got to organize her sleep schedule, her feeding schedule, her bath schedule, her reading schedule and her poop schedule. Let’s go soldier,” Aera ordered her son and demanded that he calm the fuck down. She turned to Hanjoo while still in mama bear mode, “Mrs. Kim, we’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yes, the law offices of Kim, Jeung and Lu - 9:00 am. Looking forward to closing the book on this one.” She laughed heartily as a very pale and nervous Jimin marched back to his car.

***

 

There were times when Jimin wished he could give her back. Not because he didn’t love her, but because he thought he wasn’t good enough. As much as he had prepared for the day that a child would crawl into his life, he was still grossly unprepared. He very much underestimated how difficult being a single father could be.

Everything he did seemed to be a misstep. She wouldn’t stop crying. The formula he chose gave her terrible gas. Her wild bushy hair could never be tamed and every single ponytail that he attempted ended up crooked. At least four times a week he put her diaper on backwards. At least three times a week he forgot to put a diaper on at all. Her clothes never matched. Somehow she always managed to poop during bathtime. She always found a way to spit up on his lab coat. He was at least two weeks behind in laundry. Eventually he had to resort to using paper towels as crib sheets. She deserved someone better. For the first time in his life, he was failing. The first few weeks of his life with Jade was a rinse and repeat. Nothing was right. 

 

If it weren’t for his mother coming to visit on the weekends and help care for his newborn, he probably would have ended up in a mental ward. His troubles were only compounded by his desperate need for sleep. Jade was not a sound sleeper. In fact, she woke consistently every two hours either because she was hungry or wet. At 31 years old, Jimin was not accustomed to having his sleep interrupted. It affected all aspects of his life, especially his focus.  

His sixteen weeks of paternity leave was just beginning. He hoped that being home with her full time would improve his parenting skills as he learned more and more about her needs. His daughter was not very affable. She was moody and had a bit of a temper. She would even pull his hair if he didn’t hold the bottle right. Jimin started to wonder if she even liked him. 

He walked back and forth through his tiny apartment, holding Jade cradled in his arms. He used light feathery bounces to simulate the rhythm of her mother’s womb. It was a calming technique he read in some book somewhere. The shit didn’t work. With each lap around the apartment, he became more desperate for her to stop crying. She wouldn’t stop crying. Nothing worked; not formula, not singing, not reading a story, not bathing - NOTHING. 

He stared down into her little face, as he prayed for answers on how to soothe her. She’d been crying for hours. Her chubby little cheeks were crimson red with deep wells of dimples. Her bright pink gums jetted forward with each tiny, helpless yelp. Her short wrinkled fingers contracted and balled into fists. 

“What’s wrong, my little seedling? Why are you so angry tonight?” 

The more upset Jade became, the more stressed Jimin became. It couldn’t have been healthy for her to cry so hard and for so long. 

“You’re dry. You’re not hungry. Are you in pain?” Jimin wondered if she was possibly sick. 

A lump formed in his throat. Maybe it was the fatigue. Maybe it was the fear of her not feeling well. Or, maybe it was the realization that he was the worst father in the world - but soon Jimin began to cry too.  

“What’s wrong daddy’s little girl? What’s wrong?” He asked repeatedly through watery eyes. He rocked Jade in his arms even harder, desperate to make her stop crying. 

Finally he had an idea. He retrieved his phone from the nightstand and dialed immediately.  “Shhh, don’t cry. Don’t cry. Daddy is going to fix this.” He tapped his foot nervously, “Come on, come on, please answer.”

“112, what’s your emergency?”

“My baby won’t stop crying. I think there’s something wrong with her,” Jimin screamed over Jade’s balling. 

“Tell me what’s happening? Is she injured?”

“No.”

“Does she have a fever?”

“No, I took her temperature and it’s normal.”

“How old is she?”

“Four weeks.”

“Did she eat something that may have hurt her stomach?”

“No. She’s on a doctor’s prescribed soy based vegan formula. Is that all that she’s eaten today?”

“Is she possibly hungry?”

“No. She eats every four hours. She ate two hours ago.”

“Sir, where’s your wife?”

Jimin burst into tears and wailed into the phone, “I don’t have one! It’s just me. My mom usually helps out but she’s traveling and I can’t get her on the phone.”

“Did you try giving her a bath?”

“Yes, she kicked me!”

“What about rubbing her back?”

“Yes I tried that. Look, I’ve been pacing the floor for hours trying to make her stop. I’m about to lose my mind. Please tell me what’s wrong with her.”

“What’s your name, Sir?”

“Jimin.”

“Well Jimin this line is for emergencies and this technically isn’t an emergency. I believe she’s just colicky.”

“Colicky,” Jimin paused, “what the fuck is that?”

“It’s when a baby has intermittent pain, typically due to trouble digesting her milk.”

“But it’s special milk, a special formula from the doctor.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s the right milk. It can often take a few attempts before you find a formula that works for a colicky baby. Talk to your doctor tomorrow. In the meantime try a few tricks. Place her carrier on top of the dryer, or take her for a long drive or turn on some music,” the operator advised.

“Ok, ok I’ll try those things.” Jimin was hopeful that one of the tricks would work. 

“I have to go now. This line is for emergencies only.”

“Ok. Thanks operator.” Jimin immediately placed his screaming baby into her carrier. 

Taking her for a drive sounded like the perfect plan. He placed her on the ground in front of the television while he looked for his car keys. Jade writhed and arched her back and wiggled uncomfortably. Jimin moved fast. He realized that his keys were in the bedroom so he left Jade on the floor. He paid no attention to what was on the television.

“Shit where did I put my damn ke…,” he froze. There was suddenly silence. Why had Jade stopped crying? Jimin rushed back to the front to pick up her carrier. To his surprise, Jade’s large tear- filled doe eyes were transfixed upon the television. She had her thumb in her mouth and she seemed to be smiling involuntarily. 

Jimin turned to see what she was watching, “Baseball?”

Jade’s eyes bounced around the television screen as she followed the little white ball around. 

“Are you watching baseball?” Jimin questioned.. 

He fully expected an answer. He was stunned. He figured that maybe she just enjoyed the white noise. Baseball didn’t seem very educational for a baby’s young developing mind. So he found a children’s program for her to watch instead. He flipped the channel.

It took Jade a few moments to register that her daddy had changed the channel. Her eyes filled with tears and her cheeks began to redden again. Within seconds, she exploded, crying at the top of her lungs. She cried so hard he could see her uvula in the back of her throat. She was pissed off.  

Jimin’s eyes bulged. He quickly switched the channel back to baseball to see if that would calm her back down. It did. 

“No fucking way,” Jimin whispered under his breath. “Baseball?”

Yes, indeed baseball. Jade sat in her carrier sucking her fingers. Every time the ball was pitched, she cooed almost as if she was talking to her daddy about the game. Jimin wondered just how long she would sit there and watch a fucking baseball game. Turns out, two hours was the answer. They were just about to enter the seventh inning when Jade finally dozed off to sleep. 

***

 

Jade was on her third formula in two weeks. Jimin followed the 112 operator’s advice and insisted that the doctor keep adjusting her milk until they found something that she could digest. Still, nothing calmed her colic. Night after night he was pulled from his sleep by his irritable baby. She cried and cried and cried - and cried. At times, it got so bad that Jimin had to wake his mother out of her sleep to come over and sit with Jade for a while just so that he could take a walk and get fresh air. He loved his baby like she was his flesh and blood, with all of his heart, but she wore him out. The sacrifices it took to care for her were more than he expected. He knew it would be tough - but not this tough.

But as the days ticked on, Jimin once again stumbled upon a secret weapon - baseball. Jade’s love for baseball was not just a fluke. Something magical happened whenever Jimin found a game that she could watch on television. He did research to try to understand why something so random lured her into such a peaceful state when nothing else could. The only explanation he found alluded to an attraction of the white noise created by the slow frictionless flow of the game. One book even suggested that the mild hum of the crowd and the pop of the bat could be stimulating for her growing brain. And, other than limiting her television time, the doctor saw no harm in it. 

Jimin took full advantage. More often than not, he found himself placing her on the floor in her carrier. Even though it was bad parenting, he was desperate. He would park her right there in front of the television and lie on the floor beside her to catch a few winks of rest. Most baseball games were upwards of two hours and lucky for Jimin, it was baseball season. Barely a day went by when a team wasn’t playing. 

For some reason, Jade took a particular interest in Busan’s Lotte Giants. She loved the bright red uniforms and colorful mascots. She would sit there for hours watching the white ball and cooing as the runners rounded the bases. Any baseball game would do, but the Giants offered her a special kind of peace. When Jimin wasn’t using the time to catch up on laundry, cook dinner, prepare bottles, clean up her playroom and restock her books, he would hold her in his lap and they would watch the game together. Admittedly, he liked baseball too. Stemming from his childhood days when his father would take him to triple A games on Saturday nights. Finally Jimin had found something that he and his new daughter could share. After a few weeks, it became a bonding ritual for them. For the first time since bringing her home, he didn’t feel as if she hated him.

***

 

June 17, 2026  

 

“112 What’s your emergency?”

“Something’s wrong with my baby! OH GOD!”

“Ok, Sir. Calm down. Tell me what’s happening?”

“It’s everywhere. EVERYWHERE!” Jimin screamed.

“What? Is the baby breathing?”

“Yes, she’s breathing pretty well. Watching the Braves versus the Marlins.”

“How old is the child?”

“Exactly six weeks. Please help, send someone.”

“Is she bleeding, is she conscious?”

“No, yes, she’s actually singing…I believe. OH HOLY HELL WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? IT’S ON MY FACE!”

“Sir, please help me understand the nature of the emergency. What is wrong with your child?”

“There’s shit everywhere!” Jimin screamed. He ran back and forth with a towel trying to clean up the trail of poop that dropped from Jade’s bum. “Should it be green?”

“Sir, is she vomiting?”

“NO! She’s shitting. Everywhere! The doctor gave her a new formula. No grains, gluten free, vitamin enriched…she loves it…but HOLY HELL THE POOP!”

“Sir, this number is for emergencies only. What exactly is the emergency?”

“I need her to stop shitting on my carpet. I think she needs an ambulance?”

“Is she in pain?”

“NO. I’ve never seen her this happy. I told you, she’s watching baseball. I tried to put a diaper on her but she won’t stop. She pooped right through it! It’s everywhere. The bathtub, the sink, my hair, her crib. SEND SOMEONE!”

“Sir, calm down. I’m afraid I can’t do that. She just has a little diarrhea. Call your doctor’s after hours line. A little Pedialite and Infant Imodium will probably stop it right away. Just call your doctor. You’ll be fine. This line is for emergencies only.” The operator disconnected.

Jimin looked around at the mess in his apartment. In his mind this was a fucking emergency.

 

July 17, 2026  

 

At two months old, Jade was growing fast. She was thriving on her new formula although the doctor had to adjust it just a bit to keep it from upsetting her stomach. The last thing he wanted was another poop-fest all over his fancy apartment. She was beginning to sleep a few more hours each night. Although still colicky at times, it was much more manageable as long as Jimin had a baseball game and a bottle full of her new formula. 

 

It was a beautiful day outside, warm and balmy with clear skies. Jimin had a special surprise for his little girl. Instead of watching a baseball game on television, he decided to take her for a walk in the baseball park. If she was in a good enough mood, they would sit on the grass and watch the little leaguers play.  It was a great chance for her to have some tummy time while Jimin read her story called Casey At the Bat. Finally getting Jade on the right formula had been an uphill battle, but once he found the right one, her personality completely changed.  She went from a cranky, tumultuous, little she-demon, to the happiest, most carefree baby on earth. Jimin adored her and he began to think maybe, just maybe she adored him too.

***

Chapter Three - Cucumber and Avocado

August 17, 2026 - Three months after the death of baby Jeon and Mokyo 

Jeongguk still had no solid understanding of what had triggered Mokyo’s early labor and eventual cardiac arrest. He did what he could to reach out to Mokyo’s family but her uncle refused his phone calls and sent his flowers back to the florist. Her uncle made no secret of the fact that he blamed Jeongguk for her death. Mokyo’s body was cremated per her uncle’s wishes. The funeral was held just days after her death.

Jeongguk requested that his baby be cremated as well. Her ashes were ready to be picked up, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. They sat in the hospital morgue for three long  months.

 

The lights were dim. The crib mobile made of safari animals rotated above his head as he laid listlessly on the floor. His baby’s nursery was fit for a princess. She had designer curtains, a closet full of clothes, stuffed animals and a custom made crib from Tanzania. The Madagascar theme was done in all neutral tones. He’d flown in a French interior designer to customize the room. She had nothing but the finest linens, and diapers. She had a private school fund, a college fund and a trust fund all held at Kookmin Bank and Investment Partners. He was well prepared for her arrival. Her life was fit for a Princess, but it was a life she never got to live. 

He could hear his father mulling around the kitchen cooking dinner. Jeongguk appreciated him for dropping everything to be with him as he mourned. Without him, his situation would have seemed hopeless.

Jeon Jeong-hyun, Jeongguk’s quiet unassuming father, entered the room. He sighed when he saw Jeongguk laying in the middle of the floor. “You need to eat to keep up your strength. You have a baseball career to think about,” he said sternly. Jeong-hyun pulled Jeongguk from the floor and placed a bowl of stew in his hand. “It’s your mother’s recipe. You used to love this when you were in college. I thought it might warm you on the inside,” he smiled.

“I love this recipe. Thank you,” Jeongguk sat in the rocking chair closest to the window. His father sat at the diaper changing station. They stared wordlessly at each other with Jeong-hyun trying to gauge the level of his son’s pain and Jeongguk trying to gauge the level of his father’s patience.

“This room is absolutely adorable. She would have loved it.”

“I think she would have. Look at her bookshelf. I had the entire Harry Potter series leather bound and customized. We were going to read them everyday. Everyday.”

“Forgive me for asking the question. But…do you think it’s a good idea to keep this nursery up? Isn’t it just a painful reminder?” Jeong-hyun asked softly as he nudged Jeongguk to eat.

“Don’t ask me to do that dad. It’s too soon. Let me just…let me do this my way,” Jeongguk said as he sipped his stew.

“Son, you know that you can always try again.”

Jeongguk laughed a deeply sarcastic laugh, “Try again? Dad, do you have any idea how much this little project cost me? Between surrogate fees, expenses, gifts, food, apartments, and trust funds, I spent over 1.5trillion Won. I had a big contract with the Dodgers at the time. Money was not a problem. But now I’m an aging pitcher with no arm left. I don’t have the money to pay for this all over again. The contracts for this kind of thing, especially since I need an egg donor, could bankrupt me. Not to mention the emotional toll this took on me. I can’t do this shit again dad. Never again.”

“But being a father means so much to you. You can’t adopt. You can’t nut up a pretty lady and have a baby the old fashioned way. And nutting up a pretty dude will not give you the desired result. So what are you going to do? Just give up?”

“Yes. I give up.”

“Oh son. You’re still grieving. Of course you feel that way right now. Give it some time. I’m sure you’ll feel differently.”

“I won’t. Before any of this happened, I had already decided to let fate decide my future. I didn’t know if it was going to work out with Mokyo for many different reasons. But I never expected this. I’m not meant to be a dad.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course you are. We shouldn’t be talking about this right now. I’m sorry for bringing it up.” Jeong-hyun watched the color come back to his son’s cheeks as he ate his stew. Jeongguk still had a long road of healing ahead of him but at least there was light at the end of the tunnel. 

***

 

Jeongguk still hadn’t converted the nursery back into an office. He left every stuffed animal, every diaper and every crib in place. Anyone who dared suggest that he tear down the nursery risked getting punched in the face. The death of his daughter had spawned a nasty irascibility within his personality. Losing baseball only fed into his bitter disposition. He rarely smiled. He rarely saw his friends anymore. He rarely left his house. 

Jeongguk’s father convinced him to consult a new doctor for his shoulder rehab. The new doctor was exactly what Jeongguk needed and together they were able to get him back into pitching shape. After a grieving period, Jeongguk decided to go back to the Giants and reclaim his closing position for the playoffs. He summoned his agent who scheduled a meeting with the Lotte Giants. 

“Let me do the talking,” Chang warned.

“I never talk. I just sit there and look hot,” Jeongguk shrugged.

“Well…don’t you start talking. I’ve got this. I’ll negotiate.”

“I’m still under contract. There’s no negotiation. You’re always looking for more money, you little weasel,” Jeongguk rolled his eyes.

“Just shut up.”

“Don’t fuck this up,” Jeongguk bit back. 

 

The entire management team gathered to negotiate Jeongguk’s return to the majors. The coaches and managers of the Busan Lotte Giants couldn’t get over how much Jeongguk had bulked up after being away for just three months. He certainly looked the part of a power pitcher and they were anxious to get him back into camp to clock his pitching speeds. Just as they sat down to begin the discussion, Jeongguk’s phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number but it was from Seoul. It was the worst time ever to receive a phone call, but something deep within Jeongguk’s gut told him to answer it.

“Uh…excuse me. I have to take this. It’s urgent. Chang, you can handle it from here.” Jeongguk had no idea if the call was urgent or not, but after missing all the phone calls from the hospital the day that his daughter died, he vowed to never ignore calls again. He quickly dipped out of the conference room and into the hallway. “Hello?”

A quiet weak voice answered on the other line, “Mr. Jeon?” She appeared to be whispering.

“Yes. This is Jeon Jeongguk. Who is this?”

“My name is Mary. You don’t know me…well you do but not really…,”she whispered.

“What? How do I know you? Or not know you?” He said ridiculously, trying to follow her logic.

“We can’t talk on the phone. I need to see you, right away. I’m texting you an address. Meet me there tomorrow at 11:00 am. Tell no one about this.”

“Why would I meet you? I don’t even know who you are?” Jeongguk asked angrily.

“If you don’t meet me, it’ll be the biggest mistake of your life. You have to come, you must. I have information that…,” the caller seemed startled. Her voice muffled and she turned away from the phone. There was random noise in the background.

“What information? What is this about?” Jeongguk questioned harshly.

There was a long pause before Mary answered, “It’s about…your daughter.” She disconnected.

***

 

Jeongguk pulled up to an old warehouse. The neighborhood was sketchy and he worried about parking his prized Porsche in such a seedy part of town. He sat in the front seat, scanning the street, watching for anything suspicious. Despite the lull in his career, he was still a very famous baseball player and there were many groupies that wanted a piece of him. He wondered if this was a set up. 

He thought back to the call that he’d received the day prior. The voice was that of an older woman. She sounded warm and kind, but also scared. There was something familiar about her voice which was why he let his guard down and accepted her invite. Was she someone he knew? A face from the past? And what did she know about baby Jeon? How did she know that his precious baby even existed? He had so many questions. If it was a trap, he was walking into it with both eyes open. The death of his child was mired in so much mystery and confusion. He was willing to take the risk if it meant possibly learning more about what happened. Maybe this was one of the paramedics or doctors who was there on the scene when Mokyo died. He wondered if there would be a price for the information. Jeongguk had no idea what to expect.

 

Reluctantly, he left his car parked in front and approached the warehouse. He twisted the rusty handle and the door creaked open. It was very dark but he stepped inside anyway. 

“Hello? Anyone here?” He stayed close to the door in case he needed to make a quick get-away.

“Mr. Jeon?” 

A timid voice called out from behind the cobweb covered rafters.

“Yes, who are you? What do you know about my daughter?”

“It’s me. Mary.” A woman with white hair stepped into the stream of light that shone through the filthy window. “Thank you for coming.”

“You…you?” Jeongguk immediately recognized her face. How could he ever forget someone who had shown him such kindness and grace during one of the most difficult moments in his life? He immediately ran to hug her. “Your name is Mary? You may have told me but I was not in my right mind…,” his voice trailed off.

“Yes. I’m Mary. You remember me. I’m relieved. I didn’t want you to think I was some weirdo.”

“Please Mary, tell me what you know. Why did you call me here? What do you know about my daughter?”

“The hospital says you still haven’t picked up her ashes. Why?”

Jeongguk searched for the answer. He was embarrassed to say it but he said it, “Because if I have her ashes, her death becomes real. I know it’s real, I know she’s gone, but I’m not ready to face that finality yet. Does that make any sense?”

“Oh Mr. Jeon, it makes perfect sense.” Mary nodded. She wanted to give the young man a hug, but given what she had to tell him, she felt it inappropriate. “Pick up the ashes and then immediately take them to have them analyzed. They aren’t what you think they are.”

“I don’t understand,” Jeongguk asked. “Are you saying they don’t belong to my Angel?”

“What I’m about to tell you is going to be very hard to believe. Your daughter is not dead. You’ve been conned.”

“I’ve been…what? What do you mean she’s not dead? I saw her body. I said goodbye. I saw her tiny little face,” Jeongguk argued.

“That night…the night when it happened, I saw you outside of the viewing room. I grew suspicious. Why didn’t they allow you inside? Most parents get to hold their son or daughter’s hand but they kept you at a distance. I’m the forensic toxicologist for the hospital. My job is to take the blood samples from the deceased. I have a list of everyone who dies everyday. Your daughter was there in the viewing room, yet she wasn’t on my list. I was confused, so when no one was looking, I snuck into the room to examine her.” Mary’s face lost all color. Jeongguk could see that she was visibly shaken. Her breath quickened. He worried that she may faint. She gripped a long beam that extended to the ceiling, “Mr. Jeon. That thing you saw wasn’t real.”

“Thing? Why are you using that word?” Jeongguk felt a flash of anger when the stranger referred to his baby as a “thing”.

“Because she wasn’t real,” Mary said more persistently.

That’s…that’s impossible. She was real. Her skin was a bit bluish in tone but she was real, I’m sure of it?”

“Are you? You didn’t even get to touch it. Are you sure it was real? How many dead bodies have you seen in your lifetime?” Mary quipped.

“None. That was the first one.”

“Well I’ve seen thousands Mr. Jeon. What you saw in the hospital that day was not a real person. It was…a doll. A very elaborate doll. Someone wanted you to think that your child was dead.”

“A DOLL! You’re insane. That’s morbid and disgusting. Why would someone want me to think that my child was dead if she really wasn’t? Who could be so cruel?”

“I’m not lying to you Mr. Jeon. I have proof that it wasn’t your daughter that you saw on that metal slab.” Mary did the unthinkable. She reached into a bag and pulled out something that appeared to be a baby. She showed it to Jeongguk, “This is what you saw. Isn’t it?”

“FUCK!” Jeongguk screamed and stumbled backwards. “Yes, oh GOD. That’s exactly what I saw. Same eyes, same skin. FUCK! What’s going on here?” He refused to touch the doll. It looked creepily human. Memories from the worst day of his life came rushing back to him. He wondered if he was going to vomit again. “If my baby isn’t dead, then where is she?”

“I don’t know where she is. I’m hoping by telling you this information, you’ll find out where she’s been taken and who has her. One thing is for sure, she’s been stolen from you.”

“Wait, wait, wait, this makes no sense! No sense at all. Why would a reputable hospital like Seoul National be so careless to be involved in something like stealing babies?”

“I don’t think they know. I think it’s a baby selling ring that’s being run by a few individuals within the hospital. If my suspicions are correct, the hospital is about to have quite a scandal on their hands.”

“Stealing babies?”

Mary looked at him approvingly, “Babies are very valuable Mr. Jeon. Everyone wants one, but not everyone can have one.”

“Does this mean that Mokyo is alive too? Was she involved?”

“No. Sadly, she’s dead. I took her blood samples myself. There was nothing suspicious about her death. It was unfortunate, but not uncommon. My final results were added to her autopsy report. But it’s because she died that I believe this fraud was able to take place. You see, Mr. Jeon, I looked through all of your records. This was a crime of opportunity. I don’t think any of it was planned, but I do think the perpetrators have done it before. You were traveling at the time that the mother went into labor. Well, when she died, the baby was temporarily an orphan until you arrived to claim her. That left the perfect opportunity for someone to swoop in and take her.”

“How do you know all of this? Why do you think my daughter is being held someplace?”

“Because there’s no official record of her death. Trust me, I know. Not a single death certificate gets posted without my signature. There’s no record of her dying. Someone gave this information to the doctor and to the social worker and they just followed protocol which was to alert you. “How were all of these people fooled? Someone had to be there when they were pronounced dead. If it wasn’t the doctor, then who was it?” Jeongguk tried to make sense of what Mary was saying.

“There has to be a nurse involved, one who had the authority to take the baby away and then claim it as deceased without triggering too many questions. Mr. Jeon, your baby was born two months premature. She had to have special care for at least a couple of weeks. Whoever took her, knew how to care for her. Notice that you never actually spoke to a doctor. Only nurses and the social worker,” Mary explained. “I don’t think the social worker was involved, but there is something really suspicious about that nurse.”

“Who would do this to me? Who would hurt me like this?” Jeongguk squealed.

“It’s not about you. It’s about money. After I discovered what happened to you, I did my research. There were twenty cases over the last four years of viable babies who suddenly died at the same time as their mothers. I signed off on fourteen of them which means they were really dead. The other six are a mystery. I never signed off on them and I can’t find any trace of their autopsy reports. I believe they were taken as well. Something horrific is going on here and I can’t sit by and let you be another victim.”

Jeongguk began to pace. The information was too much. He was drowning in his own thoughts. He was terrified, confused, relieved, yet worried all over again. If his baby girl was really still out there, then who had her? Were they taking care of her? Was she in danger? 

“I don’t know what to do with this information. Where do I even begin?” 

Mary was clear with her explanation, “I don’t think the people who did this had any idea that you were her father. If they had known she was attached to someone as high profile and famous as you, they would have never chosen you as a victim. They’re probably accustomed to dealing with people who don’t have the resources to question the death of their children. Ah, but not you Mr. Jeon. You have the world at your fingertips. Go after these people. Find out who they are and make them pay. And maybe you can stop this from happening to anyone else. Find your daughter, find her,” Mary said with conviction.

 

The very next day Jeongguk picked up the urn that was supposed to hold his daughter’s ashes. Before he went any further down the path of looking for his daughter, he had to make sure that Mary’s story checked out. He found a forensic pathologist who could be discreet with his evaluation of the baby’s remains. Jeongguk had no idea what the pathologist was going to tell him, so he braced for anything. It only took a few hours before he received a phone call with the doctor’s results.

“Hello, Dr. Tan?” Jeongguk answered the phone immediately upon seeing the doctor’s number pop up. 

“Mr. Jeon!” The doctor seemed out of breath. He was definitely rattled. Jeongguk took that to mean that he had bad news. “Wh-wh-wh-where did you say you received these remains?”

“From the hospital. My newborn daughter passed away about three months ago and she was cremated. Those are the remains they gave me.”

“These are supposed to be…,” the doctor paused for an abnormally long time.

“...supposed to be…?” Jeongguk picked up his sentence.

“...supposed to be…human?”

“Of course. I was told they were the remains of my baby. What did you find, doctor?” Jeongguk questioned. 

“Are you sure this is the urn the hospital gave you?”

“My name is on it. Look for yourself. What’s happening? Are you saying these remains don’t belong to my baby girl?”

“NO! They do not. They aren’t even human. Seoul National is a very reputable hospital. Never in their history have they ever done anything like this.” The pathologist seemed to ramble in his shocked state. Jeongguk could sense that the man was struggling to find the right words, “I don’t know how to even say this to you. But…I ran a DNA sequence on the remaining bone fragments and they’re feline in origin and definitely not human. Mr. Jeon, these remains that the hospital gave you…belong to a…cat.”

***

 

September 10, 2026

 

 Jimin laid on his back with four-month old Jade sleeping on his chest. She was smiling and laughing in her sleep. He wondered what she was dreaming about. Unicorns? Probably not. Angels? Ridiculous. Teddy bears and puffy white clouds? No chance. Baseball? Definitely.

She was particularly tired after spending all afternoon in the park. They’d barely made it home in time for the start of the playoff game between the Busan Giants and the Seoul Dodgers. The game was hyped as the best match up of the year and rightfully so. It marked the return of Ace closer, Jeon Jeongguk, who’d been away from the team for undisclosed personal reasons. Jimin had never really followed his career, but he was there for the media circus and excitement of it all.

Jade loved good pitching. She and Jimin had looked forward to the game since Jeon’s return was announced. She even dressed for the occasion in a customized Busan Giants onesie that he found online. Her tiny little raspberry socks and baseball themed bib made her the cutest Giants fan in Korea. He really had hoped they could watch the game together. But instead, his little seedling laid burrowed into his chest like a tiny bunny, snoring softly and smiling at the bats and baseballs in her dreams. She was sound asleep, more peaceful than she’d ever been. With his eyes closed, he kissed the top of her head and gave a humble thank you to her for choosing him.  

“Daddy loves you,” he whispered. 

Her long hair had grown even longer, at least six centimeters. The ponytail on the top of her head was perfectly even; not too tight, not too loose. The result of weeks and weeks of practice while his sweet little girl sat patiently, allowing him to fail as many times as needed to finally get it right.

 

Jimin watched the game alone. He didn’t dare wake her but he missed her company. He felt lonely. The Ace closer Jeon Jeongguk had an incredible game. He was definitely in top form. Jimin wondered fleetingly why he had been away for so long. Thanks to Jeongguk’s save, the Giants won and progressed to the next round. Mid-celebration, the press bombarded Jeongguk in the locker room. 

Bare chested and sweaty, the pitcher smiled graciously at the cameras as twenty different microphones were shoved into his face. 

“Jk, Jk,” An interviewer from KBB Seoul scrambled to ask the first question, “So how does it feel to be back after so many months away?”

“It feels good. Like I never left. Next question.” Jeongguk pointed to another reporter in the back.

“Jk, I’m the online columnist for ESPN Korea, how’s the arm feeling and how are you staying healthy?”

“Arm’s good. Trainers and medical staff are the best. Taking it day by day,” Jeongguk laughed.

Jimin was so busy ogling the man’s perfect chest and dreamy eyes that he barely noticed that Jade was awake. Not only was she awake, she managed to lift her head fully off of Jimin’s chest. She twisted around to face the television and glared at the man on the screen. With every word he uttered, her concentration intensified. She didn’t move, didn’t breathe. She was hypnotized by the voice of the young pitcher as he talked to the sea of reporters. 

“Hello sleepyhead. You missed the entire game,” Jimin kissed her once again. “Oh you like his voice?”

Typically Jade would glance up into Jimin’s face whenever he spoke to her, but not this time. She only had eyes for the man on the television screen. 

“Get in line, I saw him first,” Jimin teased. 

Jade’s lips curled as she began to coo. Her binky fell from her mouth and landed on Jimin’s chest. He laughed at her reaction to watching the man’s interview. For ten minutes, she sat perfectly still as she watched Jeon Jeongguk graciously answer questions. He seemed like a nice guy, different from most professional athletes. There was a humility to him that bordered on sadness. His smile was there, but not a genuine reflection of his emotions. The story was in his eyes. Jimin wondered if something had happened in his life that left a stain on his heart.

The interview concluded rather abruptly when the cameraman cut to a different story.  Jade waited patiently, not immediately reacting to the new scene. However, seconds later she began to boil over. Her tantrum started small at first, just a pouting of the lips and the balling of her fist. It took a moment for her anger to combust, but when it did, she opened the gates of hell. She began to wail, crying so animatedly that Jimin immediately jumped to his feet.

“What is it? What’s wrong, my little seedling? Why are you so upset?” Jimin paced up and down the apartment, as he always did when trying to soothe her. 

He held the back of her head and placed her on his shoulder. Jade’s outburst was out of the ordinary. She hadn’t acted this way since her days of colic. Jimin began his soothing ritual of pacing through his apartment with Jade in his arms. The path between the couch and the bedroom was worn thin from all of the months he’d spent walking her back and forth.

 

Whatever was bothering her, it was serious. The firestorm of anger came out of nowhere. She was not willing to be soothed and she kept staring back towards the television. It didn’t take Jimin long to realize that she was pissed off because the Jeon guy was no longer on screen.

“Oh, him. You’re so transparent,” Jimin laughed. “Yea, he’s cute, but a little old for you, don’t you think?” Jimin’s good natured humor helped calm her down. She loved the sound of her daddy’s laughter. 

As the seasoned parent he had become, he quickly fixed her a bottle and settled down in front of the computer. He fed her the bottle while simultaneously pulling up old YouTube videos of Jeongguk’s interviews. Jade kicked her feet and settled in Jimin’s lap as she listened to the man’s voice once again.

“Aw sweetie, you’ve got quite a little crush don’t you?” Jimin smiled, “Yea, I don’t blame you.”

***

 

Finding a daycare for Jade was one of the hardest tasks that Jimin had undertaken in his entire life. Even getting his Master’s degree didn’t require as much research as this did. For weeks, he and his mother scoured the daycare centers in his area looking for the best one. His paternity leave was coming to an end and he needed someone to care for his little seedling while he worked. 

Aera couldn’t care for her full time because she owned a busy bakery and worked long hours. Jimin made an above average salary but he couldn’t afford a private nanny. Daycare was his only option. He and Jade traveled from center to center, interviewing the teachers, observing the students, and studying the curriculum. None of them met his very high standards. Jade wasn’t impressed either as she sat perched like a Queen on his lap. Her large doe eyes scanned each facility critically with her moist lips fixed disapprovingly in a stale purse. Aera told Jimin that he was being too critical, but in Jimin’s mind, his little girl deserved the best and it was his duty to find it for her. If the place didn’t meet four month old Jade’s vibe, then it was a hard pass.

As they made their way to the fifth daycare center on their list, Jimin noticed a black SUV pass him on the street. Normally, he wouldn’t have noticed something so insignificant. Except - this was the third time that the same SUV passed them. The car was very distinctive; Range Rover with dark tinted windows, driving too slow for the flow of traffic, turning behind him at every corner and speeding off whenever he looked it’s way. It was strange stuff. Out of pure instinct, he committed the license plate number to memory - an easy feat for a mathematical mind. If it wasn’t such a crazy idea, he would have sworn the car was following them.

***

 

September 28, 2026

 

The first day taking Jade to Serendipity Seedlings Preschool and Daycare was just as miserable as Jimin expected it to be. Jade burst into a tantrum the moment she was taken from his arms. She clawed towards him, trying to convince him to take her back. Her eyes were filled with so much betrayal and fear. 

The teacher was unphased, “Give her a kiss and walk away. She’ll be fine. This is the oldest trick in the book. They try to guilt you into staying,” she explained.

Jimin sniffled, “Her special formula and diapers are in the bag. She likes baseball so if she gets too cranky you can…,”

“Baseball? We don’t allow children in our infant’s room to watch television. But I’m sure we can find a few good books to read,” she insisted.

“Oh-uh, yea. Right. Call me if you need anything,” Jimin spoke over Jade’s screams. His stomach churned. Once again he felt like the worst parent in the world - a feeling he hadn’t experienced in months.

It broke his heart to leave her there even though he knew that he had to. Jade loved the place during their initial visits. She smiled at the teachers and giggled through tummy time. It was by far the best daycare of the twenty they had visited. Still, when it came time to leave her there, Jade protested mightily which made it all the more difficult for Jimin. He promised himself that he wouldn’t cry. The daycare workers all cheered him on and promised him that Jade would be fine. They encouraged him to leave so that Jade could settle in her new surroundings without him being a distraction.

He gave his daughter one last kiss on the cheek and then backed away. 

“I’ll be back. I promise, I’ll be back. Please don’t cry. Daddy - loves you.”

***

 

Jeongguk sat in the back seat of the Range Rover alongside his private investigator. They chattered back and forth as they sat outside of Serendipity Seedlings Preschool and Daycare.  

 Jeongguk’s eyes narrowed, “You sure?”

Jae’s response did not give Jeongguk much confidence, “As sure as I can be. The question now becomes, did we find the right kid?” Ryu Jae-yeop was the private investigator that Jeongguk had hired to help him find out the truth about what had happened to his daughter. He was the best in the business and the most expensive.

Jeongguk watched the blonde man walk back to his car. He had a very unique gait, a confident stride. Some might even call it sexy. Jeongguk was intrigued with him - the man who had stolen his daughter. 

“What makes you think this is the guy?” Jeongguk asked. 

“The age of his baby. It fits very nicely into our timeline. Here’s a file I put together on the kid. It’s not much, but it’s enough to make me think we’re on the right track. I was able to find a source to pull the surveillance videos from the hospital the night that your daughter disappeared. The camera covers every single exit in the hospital. After weeks of combing through the film, I finally found video of a nurse coming out of the entrance near the Pediatric unit. She caught my attention because she had on a coat in the middle of June. It was buttoned all the way up to her chest. It was clear to me that she had something underneath her coat, possibly a baby carrier strapped to her. I pulled in a friend who enhances video. We blew up the image and I could clearly see the head of a sleeping baby peeping from beneath her jacket. She was sneaking a baby out,” Jae said soundly.

“Ok, that’s damn suspicious behavior,” Jeongguk leaned forward to get a better view of the blonde man in the white Volvo SUV. He was very attractive and the more Jeongguk stared, the more captivating he found him. He was doubtful however, that a man who carried himself with such grace could be a baby thief. “But that still doesn’t explain how this guy is involved and why you think he had my baby,” Jeongguk probed.

The nurse who was caught on surveillance video is named Oh Hee-young. She’s been with the hospital for twelve months. Interestingly enough, she rented a special incubation crib for premature babies on the same day that your daughter went missing. I called in another favor and got a copy of her phone records. Guess who she called the night of the incident?”

“Don’t keep me waiting or I’ll punch you in the face,” Jeongguk said with irritation.

“Kim Hanjoo, the Director of Holt Adoption Agency.”

Jeongguk pulled his eyes away from the blonde and stared at Jae, “Wait, I’ve heard of them. They’re a first rate organization. The Giants do charity events with them all of the time. There’s no way they would be involved in a baby stealing ring,” Jeongguk remarked. 

“I pulled the phone records from Hanjoo’s office…don’t ask me how.”

“Please tell me it was legal,” Jeongguk complained and rubbed his temples.

“I said don’t ask questions,” Jae laughed. “Anyway…for about two weeks, calls went back and forth between Hee-young and Hanjoo. And then out of the blue she called that guy. His name is Park Jimin,” Jae gestured towards the blonde who was sitting in his car. 

“What’s he doing in there?” Jeongguk asked curiously. The blonde was slumped over the steering wheel. His shoulders shook as he sat alone in his car. Is he…?”

“...crying?” Jae suggested.

“Crying,” Jeongguk repeated with a hint of sympathy. He instinctively guessed what was troubling the handsome blonde man, “Is this the first time he’s ever taken her to daycare?”

“Based on my surveillance over the last month, yea. From everything I’ve seen, he’s been her only care giver. His mother comes around every few days, but it’s mostly him.”

“This doesn’t make sense. This man wouldn’t steal a baby,” Jeongguk insisted again.

“And that brings us back to my original point. We need a DNA sample to prove that little seedling is from your seed,” Jae joked.

“Leave that part to me. I’ll get your sample. Is the lab ready?”

“They’re on standby, but how do you propose getting a sample from the baby?”

“I said leave that to me. It’ll take a few months to pull it all together, but I have a plan. You just continue to follow the cute little blonde and don’t let him out of your sight.” Jeongguk snapped up when he saw the white Volvo exiting the parking lot. He’s on the move. Follow him. We need to know where he’s going.”

“He works at a company called Volga Partners. We can trail him back there. He builds surgical robots or some shit like that. I have a file on him if you’d like to see it.”

“Of course I’d like to see it. Fuck Jae, you’re worth every fucking penny I paid you.”

***

 

Jimin’s first day back in the lab was miserable. He missed being a stay at home dad. He missed spending his days carrying his Princess around in the baby Bjorn while they watched the little league games and walked in the park. He was supposed to be validating the new formulas left behind by the coworker who had covered his assignments while he was out. But instead, he focused on his phone as he watched the live daycare feed from the infant room. Jade was on the floor mat having tummy time. She wasn’t crying. In fact, she had a few other babies around her. She was civil, even though Jimin could tell she resented being there. He laughed. His Princess was such a diva.

He walked towards the lab window with his phone still in his hand. It was then that he noticed a black SUV sitting on the street just outside of his building. It looked very similar to the SUV that had been following them. Coincidence? He wasn’t sure. But since he couldn’t see a clear view of the license plate, he decided to ignore it. Busan was full of black SUV’s and it was stupid to get freaked out every time he saw one.

***

 

December 22, 2026 - Three months later

 

“I can’t fucking see. Why do I have to be the one in the fucking mascot costume?”

“Because I’m the star. No one gives a damn about you unless I’m beside you. Now stop complaining. A few pictures and then we’ll be out of here in no time,” Jeongguk warned.

Chang, Jeongguk’s agent, waddled beside him dressed like a 186 centimeter giant seagull with a yellow bill and white feathers. He wore a snug t-shirt with the Lotte Giants logo on the front. His wingspan and belly were so large that he got jammed in the door frame as he tried to enter. Jeongguk stood behind him and gave him a mighty shove to help him through the front door of the Serendipity Seedlings Preschool and Daycare.

Jeongguk stepped in behind him, dressed in a Giants baseball hat and his team jersey. He smiled as he entered the lobby. There was an audible gasp when he stepped inside. All of the school’s children were lined up in the hallway, waiting for Jeon Jeongguk, the famous pitcher for the Lotte Giants, to show up for picture day. The professional photographer that Jeongguk had hired already had a photo booth set up with a replica of the stadium set as the backdrop. 

Chang continued to curse under his breath, “I can’t fucking breathe. My dick is hot and I think there’s a feather stuck up my ass.”

“That sounds like a good day to me. I love hot dicks and feathers up my ass,” Jeongguk showed a flash of his naughty side. “Stop complaining, I’d kill to have a hot dic…,”

“Mr. Jeon!” The pre-school’s Principal ran up to him to shake his hand. “Thank you so much for this. The kids are beyond excited. If you’ll have a seat, we can get started. Most of them wore your jersey.”

Jeongguk smiled. The kids, most of them dressed in red jerseys that said Jeon 13 on the back, jumped and wiggled as they waited to take their picture with the Giants mascot and star pitcher. 

“I’m on a tight schedule so…let’s get going. I want a picture with each of them,” Jeongguk said.

The clever ruse that Jeongguk had devised was pretty simple. In the name of charity, Jeongguk made a large donation to the school and offered to take pictures with each of the students on picture day. Each toddler got a free Giants t-shirt and each baby got a free Giants bib. To keep the operation as discreet as possible, he made his Agent play the part of the team’s mascot while he handled the kids.

It took about an hour to rotate through the long line of wiggly, squirmy toddlers. Jeongguk had to offer Chang an additional 100k Won to stay. He’d been kicked in the nuts at least six times and two of the kids jabbed him in the butt with the baseball bat they were using as a prop. It was a rough day for Chang but his effort paid off. 

Jeongguk scanned the crowd of babies that were being carried out to greet him. Many of them were sleeping but not seven month old Jade. She was wide awake. Jeongguk couldn’t believe his eyes. She was beautiful; the spitting image of Mokyo. But she also looked - just like him - especially the eyes. He thought to himself, could this possibly be his daughter? Her resemblance to pictures he’d seen of himself as a baby was uncanny.

 

The teacher’s placed each of the infants into Jeongguk’s arms for their picture. As a parting gift, each of the babies received a red Giant’s bib with his autograph. For every baby, he placed the new bib over their existing one. 

The teacher stepped forward with the last child. “Mr. Jeon, this little one is the leader of our playroom. Her name is Jade and she’s seven months old. She’s a very big baseball fan.”

Jade was teething. She had a chilled rubber pretzel in her mouth that she was using to massage her itchy gums. Spit dripped all over her bib which was exactly what Jeongguk needed.

As she placed Jade on Jeongguk’s lap, his heart began to pound. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and his knee bounced. It was her. It.was.her. There was no doubt in his mind. Every bone in his body recognized his flesh and blood. Jeongguk’s eyes flitted across the floor. He focused on the colorful blocks on the carpet in an effort to gather his composure. This was her. This was his daughter. 

Taking a deep breath for a quick recovery, he spoke to her, “You’re so beautiful. Nice to meet you, Jade.”

The second that Jade heard his voice, she turned completely around, dropping her teething pretzel to the floor. Her chubby legs shook as she stood to her feet and bounced up and down in his lap. 

“Hi, hi baby girl. Hi.” Jeongguk clenched his eyes closed. He gulped down a lump of sobs that had gathered in his throat. Crying was not allowed.

“Mr. Jeon…are you…ok?” Jade’s teacher stepped closer and handed him a tissue.

“I’m fine. She - she just reminds me of my baby sister.” Jeongguk didn’t have a baby sister. But it was the only lie he could think of under pressure. “I know you’re excited, little one. I am too. But please turn around and let’s take a picture,” he whispered to her.

Jade absolutely refused. She had not yet started walking, but standing and jumping were her specialty. She continued to jump as she savored Jeongguk’s voice. She glared at him with her large doe eyes that were so much like his. She refused to sit down, she refused to stop staring, she refused to do anything that the adults asked her to do.

Jeongguk was able to get her to turn just enough for the photographer to snap a picture. As the teachers all gathered the children to head back to their classrooms, Jeongguk quickly removed Jade’s spit covered bib and slid it into a plastic bag that he had in his pocket. By the time the teacher turned to take her away, she was wearing her bright red Giant’s bib, just like all of the other babies. It was a slight of the hand so discreet that even Chang missed it.  

Reluctantly, Jeongguk handed Jade back to her teacher. Well - at least he tried. Jade grabbed two locks of his long hair and refused to let it go. She held on so tightly that his baseball hat tilted and fell to the floor.  

Her teacher laughed, “He’s a cutie, but I’m afraid he doesn’t belong to you. You have to let him go sweetheart.”

Jade cooed and double-downed on her grip. She began to sing a random baby song with no clear words. Her chubby fingers balled into fists full of Jeongguk’s hair. She placed some of the strands in her mouth. Jeongguk didn’t want to let her go either - but he had to. He whispered to her so that only she could hear, “Harry makes another trip into Diagon alley. I promise to tell you all about it. I’ll be back. Daddy loves you.”

Jeongguk didn’t even say goodbye to the other children. He handed Jade back to her teacher and surged towards the door. “It was wonderful seeing all of you. I have to go now. Pictures can be picked up at the photobooth,” he said as he watched Jade begin to cry. He rushed through the door as quickly as possible so that no one could see his tears.

 

The black Range Rover sped through the streets, headed towards Geyongnam. The lab was ready. As  Jeongguk’s black Range Rover pulled up to the building, a lab tech rushed the car. Jeongguk pulled the preserved DNA sample from his pocket and handed it to the tech. 

“We need your sample too, sir.”

“Yea, yea whatever you need,” Jeongguk nodded. 

His heart was still pounding. His sedulous, heartbreaking journey to find his lost daughter had finally ended. He was sure of it. Jeongguk sat in the chair inside of the testing facility and stared up at the tech as he carefully removed the bib and swabbed it for Jade’s DNA.

“Her name is Jade. She’s seven months old and she’s the most incredible child I’ve ever seen. She’s my daughter. I have no doubt in my mind. I found her. I FOUND HER! I can’t believe how big she is. She’s standing and almost walking. She knew who I was. She recognized me,” Jeongguk’s lip began to quiver, he was overjoyed. So much heartache, so much pain, it was all over. “I have to get her back.”

“I know Mr. Jeon. I understand. But we need evidence that will hold up in court. You can’t just waltz in there and take a child that legally belongs to someone else. Open your mouth please,” the tech waited for Jeongguk to stop rambling about his daughter so that he could swab the inside of his cheek to collect his DNA.

Jeongguk closed his eyes as the white cotton tip of the swab gently scraped his cheek. “Is that good?”

“Perfect. I have everything I need to run the tests.”

“How long before I learn the results?”

“Five days.”

“Five days? That seems like such a long time,” Jeongguk lamented.

“It’s no time at all. You pitch tonight and tomorrow, right?” The lab tech gently tried to distract Jeongguk from thinking about the results.

“Yea. Tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. Long weekend of work ahead of me,” Jeongguk said as he watched the lab tech drop each of the swabs into test tubes and label them.

“I’ll call you as soon as the results are in. In the meantime, go pitch a no-hitter for me will ya?”

“I’ll do my best,” Jeongguk called over his shoulder and headed back to his car.

***

 

Jimin hung the picture of Jade and the Giant’s pitcher, Jeongguk, on the wall over Jade’s crib. 

“You didn’t tell me that you got to meet him. I mean I knew that a member of the team was coming for picture day, but I didn’t know it would be him.” Jimin was a tad bit jealous. He hadn’t been touched by another man in almost a year and he desperately wanted to be touched by that one. “You got to sit in his lap and everything,” he laughed. “Wish I could sit in his lap,” he whispered under his breath but his desire had a completely different meaning.

“Bluuuuurrrr, dat, dat mi,” Jade crawled around the floor of her nursery. 

“Mm-hm, I bet,” Jimin answered. 

He sat Jade on the ottoman and sat on the carpet next to her. It was spa day. She had a large terry cloth headband holding her hair back. Jimin used a towel to hold back his damp tresses. They wore matching white terry cloth robes and a pair of terry cloth slippers. Jade had already misplaced one of her slippers. 

She had also eaten most of her green avocado detoxifying mask. Remnants of the green only remained around her eyes and forehead and cheeks. The rest of it was squished between her fingers as she fed it to herself. Avocados were her favorite food, so Jimin fully expected that she would use the mask as a snack.

 Jimin’s mask was still curating. His bright eyes sparkled as he talked to his daughter. The beautiful white teeth that appeared every time he smiled, only shone more so when contrasted against the green slime all over his skin.

“Which color?” He flashed three different bottles of nail polish in front of Jade to allow her to pick a color. She grabbed the light green - as expected. “You’re so predictable,” he laughed. “So…how was your day?”

“Rrrrrrrrrrr, pllllllllsh,” Six month old Jade  rolled her tongue and attempted to answer her father’s question.

 I loved your artwork, you’re truly a baby Picasso. I’ve never seen a handprint turkey as eloquent as yours,” Jimin chatted casually as he painted Jade’s toe nails. She giggled every time he touched her foot. “Careful. It’s wet.”

“Mi, dat dat,” Jade said in response. 

 Jimin nodded. He interpreted her tone, even though he couldn’t understand her words. “Yes. Me too. My day was long and tiring. Sean from accounting keeps asking me out. I’ve told him no thirteen times. If he keeps it up, I’m going to HR,” Jimin gossiped. He batted his eyes to make Jade laugh.

Jade shoved her entire fist into her mouth and chewed on it to soothe her gums. She had two teeth ready to burst through the gumline and they caused her to chew on everything. Whenever Jimin needed to shave, she would chew on his chin just to use the stubble to scratch her itchy gums. Everything was a chew toy, even her daddy’s face.

“Ok, while your nails dry, I’ll go get our snack. I sliced some fresh bananas and cucumbers. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

 Jimin retrieved a fancy silver tray from the kitchen. But as he walked back to Jade’s room, he glanced through the window and saw a black Range Rover sitting on the corner, just a meter or so from his building. It was the same SUV that he’d suspected of following him for the last month. Jimin prayed it was just his imagination, but when he checked the license plate, his heart sank. It was a match to the plate that he’d memorized outside of the day care. Something was wrong. It was not just his imagination. He was being followed and - they knew where he lived. 

 

Jimin ran back to the bedroom and scooped Jade up into his arms. Jade was startled. She knew something had to be wrong because daddy never smeared a fresh pedicure. She laid in the safety of his arms as she waited to see what all of the commotion was about.

He picked up his cell phone and immediately dialed.

“112 - What’s your emergency?”

“There’s a strange car outside of my apartment. It’s black with tinted windows so dark that I can’t even see inside,” Jimin explained as he peered through the blinds at the SUV.

“Car? You’re calling about a car?”

“YES! Not just any car, a very suspicious one.”

“Jimin? Is this you?”

Jimin stared at his phone, “Wha-wha do you mean, is this me? How do you know it’s me?”

“How many times have I told you that this line is for emergencies only?” The operator asked.

“But Kai, this is an emergency.” Jimin continued to watch the SUV.

“Jimin, I know your first name and you know mine. Don’t you see how problematic that is? Over the last six months, you’ve called this number 31 times. And all due respect Jimin, it’s never been a damn emergency.”

Jimin frowned, “Well this time it is. Kai, listen please. Jade and I need some help.”

Kai, the 112 operator, rolled her eyes, “Ok, I’m listening.”

“There’s a black SUV parked outside of my apartment. I can’t see who’s inside. But the scary part is that it’s been following me for maybe two or three months. Whoever it is, they know where I work, where I shop, where my daughter goes to daycare and today I realized that they also know where I live. I’m worried for our safety. I don’t know these people and I don’t know what they want,” Jimin explained.

“And are you sure they’ve been following you and it’s not just a coincidence? They’ve been following me. I memorized the plates. PBX2384. It’s the same plate, same car, every damn day, everywhere I go,” Jimin said fearfully.

“This sounds - serious. I’m sending an officer over immediately. If nothing else, they can talk to the driver and maybe scare him off. Sit tight, Jimin. Someone will be there shortly.”

***





January 3, 2027

 

Aera sat holding Jade in her arms. Jimin walked back and forth to the window to make sure that the black SUV had not returned. Five days had passed since the police had spoken to the driver and forced him to move on. Jimin still had no idea who the people were or what they wanted. And he feared they could return at any moment.

“So what do you think they want?” Aera asked.

“I don’t know. But I have a bad feeling about it. I mean who would want to follow me?” Jimin questioned.

“You’re coming home with me. You and Jade will be safe with me until we can work this out.” Aera bounced Jade in her lap as Jade tried to stand on Aera’s thighs. 

“Um-ma,” Jade smiled.

“Yes, Grandma is taking you home with me. We get to spend more time together,” Aera cooed back at Jade. “Jimin, sweetie, what else did the police say?”

“Nothing useful. They said the man showed proper ID. He denied following me and since he hadn’t threatened me in any way, they let him go. They got his driver’s license and plate number and told me to call if he came back,” Jimin said quietly. “I’m worried about Jade mama. Somehow I feel…this involves her.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re letting your imagination get to you. Pack a few things and let’s go. I have everything Jade needs at my house so no need to pack for her,” Aera said warmly as she gave raspberries to both of Jade’s chins.

 

Just as Jimin, Jade and Aera were set to leave, there was a knock at the door.

“Who could that be?” Jimin wondered.

They knocked again, “Police, open up.”

Jimin breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness. They’re back. They must have figured out who’s behind this.” Jimin quickly opened the door.

“Park Jimin?”

“Yes?” Both of Jimin’s arms were grabbed and placed behind his back. “Hey, what’s going on here?”

“Park Jimin, you’re under arrest for kidnapping, false imprisonment, forgery, filing false affidavits, fraud and child endangerment,” the officer placed handcuffs around Jimin’s wrists and pulled him out of the apartment.  

“Let go of my son!” Aera jumped to her feet and walked towards the two police officers. Jade used her fist to swat one of the policemen in the chin.

Jimin’s eyes gaped as the officer tugged on his arms. He spoke frantically to them, “Jail? What’s going on here? I’ve never kidnapped anyone. Jade is my daughter. I adopted her legally. I can’t go to jail. I’m her father, the only parent she has. Please, you can’t do this.” Jimin tried to bargain with the officer, but his pleas were in vain. He was led down the hall to the police car. He yelled back to his mother, “Mom, take care of her please. Don’t let anyone take her from me, please mom, please. Daddy loves you, daddy loves you,” he shouted towards Jade as she began to cry.

 

Jeongguk stepped out of his Porsche. He watched from a distance as the man who had kidnapped his daughter was led out in handcuffs. Getting Park Jimin thrown in jail for his crimes was a good first step. However, he had a long road ahead if he planned to fight for custody. 

Jimin was placed in the patrol car and driven away. Jeongguk took the opportunity to speak to one of the officers who was still on the scene, “Excuse me. I’m the one who filed the charges. It’s my daughter he kidnapped. May I get her and take her home?”

“Sir, I’m afraid it’s not that easy. He claims it was a legitimate adoption. This is too complicated for cops to figure out. I’m afraid your daughter is going to have to go into a foster home until this is all worked out.”

“A foster home! No! No fucking way!” Jeongguk marched towards Jimin’s apartment, intent on reclaiming his daughter.

“Sir, if you take another step, I’ll have to arrest you. This is a matter to be settled by the courts, not a vigilante,” the police officer stated.

Jeongguk screamed. He rushed toward the building but was held back by police. He was so loud that neighbors emerged from their apartments to see what all of the commotion was about. Imagine their surprise when they saw Korea’s most famous athlete in a scuffle with the police.

“She’s my child! That man stole her from me and told me she was dead! I had my heart ripped out only to find out that she had been stolen. I’m tired of this bullshit and I’m taking my daughter home!” He continued to wrestle with the cops.

Aera appeared, holding a frightened Jade in her arms. She scolded Jeongguk with the fury of a disappointed mother. “Stop this right now. This child has been through enough tonight. If you love her as you claim, you’ll go home and allow the courts to sort this out. I’m Jade’s grandmother. Since you had my son arrested, I’m the only family this child knows. The police are going to allow her to stay with me tonight and then she’ll be turned over to Child Protective Systems tomorrow. She’ll stay there until we can work out an agreement of some kind. Now please, Jeongguk or whatever your name is, leave us in peace. Don’t put her through any more trauma tonight.” 

Calm instantly fell over the situation. Aera’s voice of reason brought lucidity to the moment. Jeongguk stopped struggling. He took one last needy, heartbreaking glance at Jade as she cried in her grandmother’s arms. The grandmother was right, she needed to remain with people she knew for the time being. He didn’t want to cause her any more pain. He turned and headed back to his Porsche. He was more determined than ever to get his daughter back.

***

 

Aera waited nervously for Jimin to be released from his jail cell. It took six hours for her to gather his bail. As soon as Jimin entered the booking room, he saw her. He hugged her tightly.

“Thank you mom. Thank you for getting me out of this hell hole. Where’s Jade? I’m sure the police saw her adoption papers and figured all of this out right?” Jimin asked.

Aera forced Jimin to sit down so that she could explain all of it to him, “Jade is fine. She’s with the Child Protective System.”

“WHAT?” Jimin flew to his feet.

“Calm down before they throw your ass right back in jail. She’s fine. It’s just for one night. We had an emergency hearing this morning and the judge gave me permission to keep her until all of this legal shit is worked out,” Aera explained.

“What legal shit? She’s my child. I adopted her. I have the paperwork signed by a judge and the city of Busan. What is there to figure out?”

“Oh Jiminie, it’s so much to explain. The adoption is being contested by the natural father,” Aera said. “He claims you stole her. She was kidnapped from the hospital after her mom died during childbirth. The father was told that she was dead. Naturally, he wants her back. He wants to exercise his rights,” Aera said.

Jimin condescendingly dismissed Aera’s claims, “How do we even know he’s her real father? It’s probably a scam to try to bleed me for money. I don’t fucking believe it. Hanjoo was positive that the father was out of the picture for good.”

“Jiminie, listen to me. He’s her dad. Baby…there’s proof. He has a DNA test to prove that Jade is his daughter.”

“No…no…it can’t be…,”

“Listen, there’s more. You won’t believe who her daddy is.”

“Who?” Jimin stared into his mother’s eyes, barely holding it together. He couldn’t stand hearing any more bad news, but he had a feeling that he was about to get more of it.

“The pitcher from the Lotte Giants. Jeon Jeongguk,” Aera bowed her head. She couldn’t stand to look into her son’s crestfallen face and pitifully sad eyes.

“The pitcher?”

“The rich pitcher,” Aera emphasized. “Baby, we’re in trouble. He has a team of lawyers, private investigators, forensic specialists, you name it, he’s got it. He wants his baby back in the worst way and he’s willing to move heaven and earth to get her.”

“But I’m her father,” Jimin’s lips quivered as the information washed over him. 

“You are. You are. You are the only father she knows,” Aera began to cry. The thought of losing her granddaughter was hard enough. But the thought of her son’s pain was unbearable. “We’re going to fight though baby. We’re not giving up. You have rights too and we’re going to fight.”

“HOW?” Jimin screamed in the middle of the police station. He unraveled, “HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGHT HIM? HE HAS ALL Of THE RESOURCES IN THE WORLD AND I’M FUCKING BROKE! PAYING FOR JADE’S ADOPTION ALMOST BANKRUPTED ME. I HAVE NOTHING, NO SAVINGS, NO RETIREMENT. I’M IN DEBT UP TO MY EYEBALLS, I OWE YOU, I OWE THE BANK, I OWE STUDENT LOANS, I EVEN OWE FUCKING AMAZON.COM. THAT’S HOW FUCKING BROKE I AM. I SPENT MY ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS TO GET HER. I HAVE NOTHING. I CAN’T AFFORD A FUCKING LAWYER!” Jimin fell to the floor in tears. “I’m going to lose my baby aren’t I? Aren’t I? AREN’T I?” He screamed and then cried into his hands. 

Aera ran to Jimin’s side. “No. You’re not going to lose her. We’re going to fight. I’ll sell the house. I’ll sell my car and your car. We’ll get help. It won’t be the fancy lawyers that he’s got, but we’ve got the truth on our side. We can win. We will win,” Aera said sternly.

Jimin wiped his tears and stood to his feet. He bowed to the police officers as an apology for making a scene. Aera followed him as he exited the station. He stopped briefly on the steps and asked his mother one final question, “And what if we lose? How do I say goodbye - to my daughter?”

***

Chapter Four - Ferns

 

January 25, 2027

 

It was the first of many custody hearings. Jeon Jeongguk, the famous closing pitcher for the Lotte Giants, sued Park Jimin for full custody of his daughter, Jade. It was the news heard around the world, topping the sports highlights and sending both families into a media circus. And the fact that both men were devilishly attractive, only fed the soap opera atmosphere surrounding the custody battle. 

Jimin and Aera sat at the Defendant’s table. Jimin wore his best navy blue suit in hopes of making a good impression with the judge. His hair was combed back to make him look older and more distinguished. Beside Jimin sat his new attorney, courtesy of Aera. His name was Lee Seongjin and Aera had sold her soul to retain him. Not only had she taken multiple loans to pay for his fees, she had also used her bakery business as collateral. But Lee Seongjin was a good choice because he was experienced, respected and above all, affordable. He stood to represent Jimin against the millionaire who threatened to take Jade away from him. 

At the Plaintiff’s table sat Jeon Jeongguk and his father,  Jeong-hyun. Jeongguk had five lawyers. He was ready to throw everything he had at Jimin in order to win his daughter back. Jeongguk sat straight up, with perfect posture and his legs crossed as he watched the Judge’s bench.

 Jeong-hyun repeatedly glanced over at the Defendant’s table. Each time he looked, he smiled.

“Will you stop looking over there,” Jeongguk asked angrily.

“I’m trying, but holy hell that’s a good looking family. Did you see the mother? She’s freaking hot. Hard to believe she’s a grandma. You think I could get her number?” Jeong-hyun asked innocently.

“DAD!” Jeongguk raised his voice. “She’s the enemy. No you cannot have her number. You lunatic.” Jeongguk watched the Judge’s bench again. He had a mountain of evidence to present and he couldn’t wait to get started. The sooner they got the case over, the sooner Jade could come home.

Aera held Jimin’s hand, “You ok?”

“No. Would you be ok?”

“No, I guess not,” Aera said gently.

“Jade loves him.”

“What? What are you talking about? Jade doesn’t know him. Jade loves you,” Aera retorted.

“She does know him and she still remembers him. She knows his voice.”

“His voice? What are you…,” Aera was interrupted when the court was called to order.

The judge sat down and immediately stated his dilemma, “This is a mess. Mr. Jeon, Mr. Park, according to the law, each of you have rights. The question becomes whose rights supersede the other. Mr. Park, I’m going to need you to prove your claim as the child’s legal guardian. You’ll need to call witnesses to prove that your adoption process was legal. I’ll have to look at case law to make a decision once all of the evidence is heard.” The judge then turned to Jeongguk, “Mr. Jeon, your case is more straightforward, but I cannot in good conscience take away the only father this child has ever known. You’ve made some serious claims against the Defendant and you’ll have to prove them. All of this is going to take time. And that brings me back to the beginning, this is a mess. While you two are battling it out in my courtroom, I have to decide what’s best for the child. I won’t send her back to CPS when she has two loving father’s and grandparents fighting for her. Plus I don’t think it would be in her best interest. You two leave me no choice but to grant temporary, joint custody of Park Jade-hyun.”

“WHAT?” Jimin jumped to his feet. “You can’t! She doesn’t even know this man! He could be a pervert for all I know. You can’t let him have her. His blood tests are fake bullshit. I won’t let him take her. I won’t!”

“Shut your fucking mouth before I shut it for you,” Jeongguk yelled across the courtroom. His temper flared. He didn’t appreciate being called a pervert. “YOU’RE THE ONE WHO STOLE A BABY FROM HER FATHER! I SHOULD HAVE YOUR ASS THROWN BACK IN JAIL! YOU SICK PATHETIC BASTARD!” Jeongguk slid across the table and charged Jimin. 

Jimin ran towards him, ready to fight. Jeong-hyun, Aera and the bailiffs stepped between them just before punches were thrown. Jimin had to be physically carried back to his table.

The judge rolled his eyes and banged his gavel. He already knew the entire custody battle was going to be a shit show. “Gentlemen, this is a court of law. Sit down - both of you. Counsel, calm your clients. Keep this up and I’ll hold both of them in contempt with jail time.”

Both attorneys grabbed their clients and pushed them back to their sides of the room. 

The judge continued once tempers settled, “You two will share custody, rotating every week until this case is resolved. This is the most equitable agreement that I could come up with. I have to do what is best for the child. If you two can’t be civil for the sake of the daughter you both claim to love, then I will seat her with the Child Protective System. Do I make myself clear?”

Both men seethed. Nostrils flaring, cheeks crimson, both of them wanted to destroy the other. There was no way that the two of them could get along. But for the sake of Jade, they promised to try.

***

 

The judge granted the first week of shared custody to Jeongguk. Jimin couldn’t believe that he had to hand his little princess over to some thick-headed, moronic, baseball player who probably only wanted her as a trophy to show his fans. But Jimin had to agree to the judge’s orders or risk losing his baby girl for good.

With Jade sleeping soundly in her car seat, Jimin sat behind the steering wheel of his Volvo waiting for the guy to show up. The drop off location was a French bakery called La Feuille in the Busanjin district. Jimin was perturbed because Jeongguk was running late. In Jimin’s mind, it was proof that he was a wayward, irresponsible, piece of shit father. He made sure to document it to show to the judge.

But Jeongguk wasn’t running late at all. He was inside of the bakery where he had been for an hour, watching to make sure that Jimin arrived on time. He was prepped and ready to call the police if Jimin  disobeyed the order. He walked towards Jimin’s car.

“You’re late,” Jimin quipped.

“I’m early,” Jeongguk retorted. “I’ve been inside, watching you.”

“Watching me? Watching me for what you asshole?”

“Is this the kind of language you use in front of my daughter?”

“She’s my daughter you selfish bitch and don’t you forget it,” Jimin spat.

“She won’t be for long.” Jeongguk walked around to the backseat and pulled Jade from the car seat. He carried her in his arms. He didn’t bother to take the car seat with him.

“You have to put her in a car seat, dumbass. You can’t just throw her in a seatbelt and go.”

Jeongguk walked towards his new car, a gray 2028 Porsche Macan SUV. He ignored Jimin and all of his silly chatter.

Jimin yelled after Jeongguk who stubbornly walked away, “Hey, you need a car seat. You have to take the car seat from my car. You can’t just…,” Jimin froze. 

Jeongguk opened the back door to his SUV to reveal a beautiful sage green car seat with a satin headrest. The word “Jade” was engraved in the back rest. There were several televisions in the rear, all playing her favorite cartoons. Jimin was silenced, but not for long. 

“Well, just because you have a car seat doesn’t make you a good father. Here’s her diaper bag, her toys, her sleeping and eating schedule…,”

Jeongguk accepted none of it. “I don’t need it. I already know her sleep schedule based on my surveillance of you for the last three months. Here, pull up this link. This is her new bedroom. It was designed by Pierre Deniot. She has everything she could ever want. She doesn’t need your cheap little diapers and non-designer toys. We’ll be just fine.”

“Jeongguk,” Jimin closed his eyes and tried to be civil. His daughter’s safety was on the line, “You don’t know anything about babies. And even if you do, you don’t know her. She’s very unique and she has quirks that you have to pay attention to…,”

Jeongguk interrupted him, “If you figured it out, then I can figure it out. She’s older now and doesn't require as much. I’m well read and I’ve studied parenting. We’ll be fine. But,” Jeongguk also tried to be civil, “I’ll call if I need anything and I’ll make sure she facetimes you every night before she goes to bed.” That was the most empathy that Jeongguk was capable of.

 

Jade was awake. Jimin wondered how much she would protest when she saw the stranger taking her away. But to Jimin’s surprise, Jade was unusually calm. Jeongguk spoke to her in that soothing, bio-dad voice that she loved so much. Jimin felt a twinge of jealousy. Had Jade already chosen a side? Had Jimin already lost the battle before it had even begun? 

He leaned down to kiss her, “Daddy loves you,” Jimin said softly. She stared directly into his eyes and began chewing on his chin. She was still teething. She giggled when Jimin pulled away. He waved goodbye and she mimicked, waving goodbye as well.

Jeongguk made a sour face after hearing Jimin refer to himself as daddy. As far as Jeongguk was concerned, Jade was a Jeon and he was her only father. 

***

 

Jimin went straight to the lab after the drop off. His stomach was queasy and he felt unwell. Knowing that his daughter was in the hands of a stranger was overwhelming. He rushed to his desk without saying anything to any of his coworkers. He closed the door to his lab and locked it. For the remainder of the day, he wanted to be alone. 

Jimin tried to work, but it was in vain. Thirty minutes into his work day, he began pacing around his lab. His mind went crazy. What if he lost the court case? What if he lost Jade? What if Jeongguk was given full custody with no visitation for Jimin? Would his life ever be the same? Could he survive such an outcome? The answer was emphatically no. He rushed to his phone and dialed Aera.

Aera answered, “Hi Jiminie.”

“What if…we have him killed?” Jimin asked seriously.

“Have him…excuse me?” Aera dropped a pile of dough on her work counter. “Kill him?” She whispered. 

“Yes, kill him. I’m sure that creepy mime who works over at the Haeundae beach amusement park would do it for cheap,” Jimin said seriously.

“Sweetie, do I…need to send someone to see you? Are you having some kind of episode?”

“I can’t beat him mom. I don’t have his money. I don’t have his prestige, I don’t have his power. I can’t stop him from taking my baby. The only option is to kill him,” Jimin said confidently.

“And that’s not an option. Jiminie, stop this talk right now. You can’t kill the man just because he wants his baby back. I read his case, it’s quite shocking. I can sort of understand his side.”

“Traitor!” Jimin accused.

“I’m not a traitor. Just trying to understand how we can play nice with him and continue to be a part of Jade’s life. Jiminie, he was told that his baby was dead. Hanjoo is behind this…her and her fake ass private adoption. She caused all of this. If there’s anyone we should be planning to kill, it’s her.”

“Two for one special? I’m sure the mime could use the money.”

“Jiminie, we have a chance. You were a victim just like he was. You had no idea that they had stolen that baby. We’re going to fight this in court,” Aera said methodically.

“And if he wins?”

“Then we…kill him,” Aera joked.

***

 

For the following week, Jimin was at his lowest. He moped around the house picking up Jade’s toys and washing her same little shirts over and over again. She missed spa night. That hurt the most. He had an array of new edible face masks for her to try. New nail polishes too.

He looked forward to their nightly facetime calls. She went to bed at 7pm and Jeongguk made sure that she called him by 6pm. His little girl was always happy to see him. She was a bit older and didn’t cling to him quite as much as she did in her younger days, but he could sense that she was confused about why he wasn’t there with her. 

But overall, Jade seemed genuinely happy and well cared for. Jimin was certain that Jeongguk was cheating. There was no way that he was taking care of Jade all by himself. He had to have a nanny or au pair or someone helping out...or possibly a girlfriend?  Jade looked too perfect. Her hair was always perfect, her clothes were perfect. She was on time for daycare every morning and picked up promptly at 2pm every day. Jimin was late at least twice a week. He couldn’t understand how Jeongguk was doing it all so well. 

After saying goodnight to Jade, he felt his loneliness start to creep in again. He decided to make a phone call.

“112 what’s your emergency?”

“Uh yea, my baby’s bio dad is suing me for custody. I hate him. Can you send the police to arrest him or shoot him or something?” Jimin asked.

“Hi Jimin,” Kai sighed. “I read about the custody battle online. That famous pitcher right?”

“Yea. Him,” Jimin gagged.

“Things will work out Jimin. Just fight. Fight as hard as you can.”

“I will. I have no alternative. My mom says I can’t kill him because that’s not an option,” Jimin laughed.

“No. That’s not an option. I need to remind you that this number is for emergency calls only. Good luck Jimin.” Kai disconnected.

***

 

March 30th, 2027

 

The courtroom was a vicious, unsavory, unrelenting drain on both families. Day after day, accusation after accusation, it never seemed to end. Jeongguk’s legal team was particularly cruel. 

While Jeongguk worried about how the baseball season would affect his ability to attend the hearings, Jimin worried about money. Never had he imagined that the case would go on for so long. Aera had a legal fund established for him, but with all of the motions and disputes and challenges, they had quickly burned through most of it. In addition, he still had criminal charges pending against him for accusations of kidnapping. Jimin was living a complete nightmare and he didn’t know how to wake up.

He sat in the courtroom, just meters away from the man who ruined his life. He wanted all of it to just - go away. He pondered on just how easy it would be to rush across the courtroom and snap his neck or possibly choke him with his necktie. Pretty easy, he imagined. An insanity plea would surely be justified. He pondered.

 Jimin felt sick as he watched Jeongguk huddle to take notes and banter with his high-priced lawyers. Him and his expensive suits and perfect hair and even more perfect body. Him and his money and his dogged determination to steal back his child. Him and his flirty dimples and super star aura. Jimin hated him, even though an odd attraction for him lingered just under his skin.

***

April 5th, 2027

Back and forth, Jade traveled every week. The schedule was brutal for her, leaving her in a constant state of disarray. As soon as she would settle in one apartment, it would be time for her to switch again. She had no peace.

As for Jimin and Jeongguk, they bordered on the edge of premeditated homicide every time they had to see each other. Twice they had to be separated by their parents for arguments that almost led to fist fights. Most of the aggression came from Jimin’s side. He was so angry. His life felt so unfair and he took it all out on Jeongguk. Several times he visited the amusement park to talk to the creepy mime about murder. But each time he decided against it. 

Not only had Jeongguk applied for full custody of Jade, but he had also submitted an order to request the judge declare Jimin as an unfit father. If granted, it meant that Jimin would be blocked from ever  seeing Jade again. And if Jimin refused to obey, he’d be put in jail. Jimin’s lawyer assured him that the order was bullshit and would never be approved. However, it was still one additional charge against him that Jimin had to pay to fight. 

The judge ordered them into mediation to try to work through their differences, but both refused to go. Instead they settled for a cup of coffee inside of La Feuille. They realized that they were only hurting Jade when they behaved like buffoons, so they vowed to stop it. They made a pact to end it right then and there with the intention of being fully supportive of each other. The first step was respecting each other as fathers. It was the first time that the two were able to be civil in the five months since they met. They even managed to laugh at themselves. It was the end of the battle - but certainly not the end of the war.

***

 

May 24th, 2027 

 

The last place that Jimin expected to find himself was at the hospital. Even though Jade’s condition wasn’t very serious, the doctors insisted that she stay a few hours for breathing treatments and hydration. It was a scary moment, but one that Jimin knew they would get through - together. The best trait she inherited from her bio dad was toughness and resilience.

 

Jimin sat on the edge of Jade’s hospital bed. Finally, she was sleeping. The oxygen mask over her face was disconcerting. It made her condition look even more fragile. He could see the little puffs of her warm breath gather around the inner rim of the plastic ventilator. She could breathe on her own just fine, but the doctor wanted to give her lungs a little rest while they finished running the test. Her fever had risen to 40 degrees Celsius despite the fever reducers. There was a bit of sweat on her forehead that Jimin used his sleeve to wipe away. She was so beautiful - even in her sleep. 

Once she was admitted, the nurse removed her little BTS onesie and replaced it with a pink hospital gown. Several tumultuous attempts at withdrawing blood samples left all of them frazzled, even the nurses. Blood tinged cotton swabs lay pressed over her tiny veins, held in place by clear pieces of medical tape. Jimin held her the entire time her samples were taken. He laughed, thinking about how hard she was going to kick his ass when she woke up because he allowed them to stick needles in her arm. Jade’s right hand lay flat on her chest but her left hand was balled in a fist by her side. Even in her sleep she was ready to fight. 

“She looks so much better already,” Aera said as she walked into Jade’s hospital room. 

“I think so too. The fever medicine is starting to work.”

“...I’m sure,” Aera said after a brief pause to kiss Jade’s forehead.

“Thanks for coming mom, but you don’t have to stay. I can handle things from here. I know you have to get up at 3am to get the bakery open.” 

“I’ll leave as soon as the doctors give us her diagnosis…,” Aera was startled by screaming coming from the hospital corridor. 

 

“Where is she? Where’s my daughter? Tell me where she is right now!” 

More commotion came from the hallway. The sound of steel bed pans crashing to the floor interrupted the calm of the night. 

“Oh no…that’s…that’s not who I think it is…is it?” Jimin rose to his feet and rushed to the door to look into the hallway. “Shit…it is. What’s he doing here? How did he even know? Someone must have called him,” Jimin said with irritation.

“I called him,” Aera said timidly. She knew that Jimin was going to unleash a fury of anger, but she was prepared to deal with it.

“What?” Jimin spun on his heels and shouted towards his mother, “Why would you call him here? Why would you tell him anything about my daughter?”

“Because she’s his daughter too. And don’t you dare raise your voice with me.”

“Who’s fucking side are you on?” Jimin snapped.

“I’m on your side which is why I called him,” Aera snapped back at her son. “Use your brain. If that man finds out that Jade was gravely ill and you never called him, he will unleash holy hell on you. He will throw every penny at you to make sure that you stay in jail for the rest of your life. You’re already facing kidnapping charges, fraud charges, and failure to pay for your Amazon packages full of that BTS shit that you keep buying for Jade’s room. You could go to jail for a really long time. Do you really want to push him? The judge ordered joint custody and this is what joint custody looks like. He has a right to know.”

Jeongguk continued to spar with the nurses at the front desk. “Where’s my baby? Her name is Jeon Jade-hyun. I know she’s here. I received a phone call telling me she was here,” Jeongguk was enraged.

Jimin’s blood was boiling. Speaking in an angry hushed voice he berated his mother, “Do you hear him? Do you hear the commotion he’s making?”

“He’s scared, Jimin.” Aera pushed past Jimin and went to the hallway to sort out Jeongguk. She found him at the desk, ready to tip over an empty hospital bed because no one would tell him where Jade was. Aera found him and grabbed his shoulder, “Jeongguk! Calm down. This is no place for that kind of behavior. Jade is right in here, but get control of yourself.” She bracketed his face and forced him to look at her. She was the only one who could calm him.

Jeongguk’s face fell into despair as soon as he saw Aera. “Take me to her, please.” He was shaking so severely that Aera thought he was going into shock. “Calm down. She’s ok. Come on.”

Jeongguk followed Aera into Jade’s hospital room. He ran to Jade’s side. She was in a tiny infant bed with rails around it. No one in the room could understand how traumatic it was for Jeongguk to see his daughter laying there lifeless. He immediately flashed back to the moment that he saw her laying on the slab in the mortuary. His trauma was reactivated. He had trouble breathing for a few minutes as he processed his baby laying in the hospital bed. The fear of losing her again was unbearable.  

 

Jimin had so much bitterness in his heart for the man. Yet, seeing him crippled and crying at Jade’s bedside lulled his anger. Aera was right to call him.

“What’s wrong with her?” Jeongguk said stoically, holding back his tears.

“I couldn’t get her fever to go down. I called the nurse’s after-hours line and they suggested that I bring her in as a precaution. The doctor saw her and admitted her immediately,” Jimin explained.

“How high was her temperature,” Jeongguk asked.

“40 degrees C,”

“Oh no, my sweet Jadie-poo. That’s not good. That’s not good,” Jeongguk held Jade’s hand as she slept. “What’s the diagnosis,” he asked again.

“The doctor’s aren’t sure but…,” Jimin was interrupted. 

Jeongguk jumped to his feet, “They don’t know? They don’t know what’s wrong with my baby? Your mom said she’s been here for hours. They still don’t have a diagnosis?”

“No, they’re still running tests,” Jimin tried to speak but Jeongguk yelled over him.

“I’m calling my doctor. She needs a specialist. In fact, I’m having her moved to Seoul. I’ll call a helicopter now. They have better medical facilities there.” Jeongguk removed his phone and began searching through his contacts for numbers. His watery eyes bounced across the room, “These people don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. And what kind of room is this? Why is she not being housed in the new wing? I donated money to that wing and I want my daughter over there.”

Just before Jeongguk fully exploded, Jimin pulled him into the hallway. He spoke gently but firmly, “Don’t you dare come in here throwing your money around like you’re better than us. She doesn’t need your money. These doctor’s have cared for her since she was two weeks old. They know her best. They have all of her medical records. We know how to care for this baby. I was the one raising her while you were running around having me investigated and stalked.”

“I was searching for my daughter you fucking prick! The daughter that you stole!” Jeongguk took a step towards Jimin.

Dr. Yin, Jade’s pediatrician, stepped between the two of them. “Gentlemen, I don’t know what this is about but now is not the time. I have Jade’s test results. Which of you is her legal guardian?”

“I am!” Both men said authoritatively.

“We both are,” Jimin stepped in front of Jeongguk, “What is it? What’s wrong with her?”

Dr. Yin smiled, “Nothing that we can’t handle. She’s got a very bad case of RSV, respiratory syncytial virus. It’s not uncommon for kids her age. Many infants contract it. The illness is completely treatable. She’ll be as good as new in about a week or so. The virus is at the root of her fever and her difficulty breathing. We have medication for it, plus breathing treatments. However, we do want to keep her overnight, just for observation. She can go home early tomorrow morning. Her fever has already broken and her breathing is much better. Both of you are welcome to stay with her tonight, as long as you can agree on who gets to sleep in the chair,” Dr. Yin smiled.

“So she’s going to be ok?” Jeongguk asked. 

“She’s going to be fine,” Dr. Yin replied.

“Do you mind if I get a second opinion?” Jeongguk asked.

“Be my guest,” she smiled.

Jimin rolled his eyes. The other dad was fully dedicated to being an asshole.

***

 

Jeongguk had been so anxious to get to the hospital that he didn’t have time to change out of his baseball uniform. He was fully suited in his red Lotte Giants jersey and his black and white striped pants. Even his dirt clogged cleats were still on his feet. His full baseball gear made him look at least ten centimeters taller as he paced up and down the hallway. The other patients and their families recognized him. He was a superstar - afterall. But no one dared approach him or ask for autographs. They all understood that this was his private time and he was greatly distressed.

Once the nurses were done checking Jade’s vitals, Jeongguk was allowed to go back in. He took the time to remove his muddy cleats to avoid tracking more dirt into Jade’s clean room. He also removed his jersey, unveiling a white, skin tight muscle shirt underneath. Both of his muscular, toned arms extended from his broad shoulders. He had several terry cloth wristbands around each wrist and his hair was sweaty from three innings of work in the summer night’s heat. He was literally fresh off of the mound. 

 

It was hard for him, watching her lay there, knowing that he couldn’t do anything to help. She was so still. Too still. Her chest moved up and down, but barely. Once again, he flashed back to the image of her laying on the slab. The smell of the morgue still burned his nose. He could smell it as if his clothes were soaked in it. He quaked and he began to sob. He slapped his palm against the side of his head, trying to erase the image. Even though it turned out to be a doll on that cold metal slab, the image wouldn’t leave him. The fear wouldn’t leave him. He fell to his knees at Jade’s bedside and held her little hand. He kissed it. Her warmth was reassuring. He told himself over and over that she was going to be ok. He suffered from a serious trauma and it affected his reality. 

Jade was going to be ok, she was not the image on the slab. She was not the image on the slab. She was not the image on the slab. That’s what he told himself repeatedly.

 

Jimin found a vending machine on the other side of the building. He raided it for all of its contents. He was starving. He and Jade had been in the ER for seven hours and he hadn’t eaten. With Jeongguk there to sit by her side, he was free to roam and gather sustenance. He bought several bags of chips, donuts, candy bars, cookies and whatever else he could hold in his arms. He also grabbed a cup of coffee. He waddled down the hallway like a pregnant woman with all of his snacks held against his chest and stomach. 

When he arrived at Jade’s room, he was surprised to see Jeongguk sitting there wearing nothing but a tight muscle shirt and his baseball pants. His long arm was thrown over Jade’s legs as he wept onto her blanket. 

 The doctor had assured them that Jade would be ok. Her illness was a common one, as common as chicken pox or the flu - yet Jeongguk was still upset.

“Hey - so she’s going to be ok. You heard that part, right?” Jimin unboxed his diamond smile. 

“How are you not freaking out right now? How can you handle this?”

“This? Oh this is nothing. I’ve seen worse,” Jimin dumped his arm full of snacks on the bed and then gave Jeongguk his cup of coffee. “Take this. You need it more than I do.” 

“Thanks,” Jeongguk sat up. “It can’t get any worse than an overnight hospital stay,” Jeongguk countered.

“Yea, it can,” Jimin didn’t elaborate. “Fevers happen. She just needed a little medical intervention to help her through it. Jeongguk, she’s going to be ok. You believe that, right?” Jimin said wisely like the seasoned father he’d become.

“I do. It’s just…what I went through, it was horrific and I just can’t get the memories out of my head.”

Jimin stopped him, “This is not that. Not the same thing at all.”

Jeongguk wiped his large swollen eyes. They looked just like Jade’s eyes after one of her tantrums. He was definitely her bio dad. 

Their resemblance made Jimin smile, “You look just like her. I can see it really clearly now.”

“I know,” Jeongguk sipped his coffee. “Jimin, I was out of line earlier. I’m sorry about the way I acted. I hope you know that I would never attack you or…anything. It was like deja-vu all over again, like the night when I thought she died. I was just…so fucking scared.”

“Scared. That’s exactly how my mom described it. The behavior of a terrified man,” Jimin said. “She was the only one who could settle you down.”

“Your mother is incredible. I like her much more than I like you,” Jeongguk teased. “She reminds me of my mother. She doesn’t take any shit. I like that. When she looked into my face and told me that Jade was ok, I believed her. Just like the night you were arrested. She told me to trust her because everything would be ok. And it was.”

“She’s a saint and I don’t blame you for liking her more than you like me,” Jimin teased back.

“Well thank you for calling me. I needed to be here…I can’t explain it…I just…,” Jeongguk sobbed again.

Jimin’s mouth wilted, “You have to stop that. You’re going to make me cry.” He was honest, “Besides, I didn’t call you. My mom did. I was pissed about it at first but now I understand how much…well how much you need to be here. You’ve suffered a great deal and I’m sorry for that.”

“Jade needs as much love around her as possible right now. It hurts to see her like this,” Jeongguk sniffled. 

Jimin handed him a tissue to wipe his tears, “Yea, it’s tough, but tomorrow we get to take her home. You heard that part right,” Jimin repeated, trying to make Jeongguk laugh.

“Yea, I heard that part. Hey, speaking of your mom, where is she? I want to thank her,” Jeongguk asked.

“My mom owns a bakery.  She has to be up at 3am to open and start kneading dough,” Jimin laughed. “She went home hours ago.”

“Bakery. I need to get to know her,” Jeongguk teased. 

 

The clock ticked on. Before they knew it, it was 2am. With only a dim light above Jade’s bed, they were mostly surrounded by darkness. They sat facing each other, Jeongguk on the left side of Jade’s bed and Jimin on the right. 

“This is all that I could scrape up for dinner. Dig in,” Jimin said as he sorted through his pile of snacks. They unwrapped each snack package, dropping the empty plastic wrappers at the foot of Jade’s bed.

Jimin tried to make small talk. He could see that Jeongguk was still distraught. 

“So…where you from?” Jimin frowned as he took a bite of his donut and realized it was stale. Puffs of white donut powder clung to the tip of his nose.

Jeongguk laughed, “Right here. Busan.”

“Really? Me too. Hey, is that why you accepted that lame trade from the Dodgers, so that you could come back here to your hometown?”

“Something like that.” Jeongguk shrugged. “I love this city.”

“Me too.” Jimin finished the last bit of his stale donut leaving even more powder along the bridge of his nose. 

Jeongguk opened a bag of chips while Jimin went for a bag of skittles. The pile of discarded wrappers accumulated on Jade’s bed.

“Does Jade get sick often?”

“Yep,” Jimin laughed, “especially since I put her in daycare. It’s a bioweaponry petri dish of designer man-eating cooties.”

“Gross,” Jeongguk laughed loudly. So much so that he caused Jade to stir in her sleep. “No wonder you’re handling this so well. You’re used to it.”

“Mostly. We’ve never experienced anything quite this serious though.”

“You’re very calm,” Jeongguk complimented.

“Who says I’m calm? Internally, I’m having a nervous breakdown. I’m high on sugar and that helps. Having someone to talk to also helps.” 

“Where’s your wife? Divorced? Dead? How did you end up alone with Jade?”

“I’m gay. Wives aren’t my thing.”

“Gay? I did not expect that to be your answer. Interesting.”

Jimin wasn’t sure what to make of Jeongguk’s comment. To avoid starting an argument, he changed the subject. “She looks so much better. Still coughing too much though.”

Jimin lifted his head only to see Jeongguk staring right at him. 

He blushed and immediately dropped his head again. He didn’t expect those eyes to bore through him so completely. He pretended to sort through the snacks again.

“You’ve taken good care of her. I’m not sure I could have asked for a better dude to have a custody battle against,”  Jeongguk tried to joke but Jimin didn’t find it funny. 

He did, however, find the courage to raise his head again and make eye contact with the lovely man who sat across from him. “Never in a million years, would I have guessed it was you.”

Jeongguk still stared at him. Jimin shifted his gaze again, this time looking at Jade. She was smiling in her sleep. Definitely thinking about baseball. Jimin suddenly felt a series of long delicate fingers tickle the underside of his chin. Jeongguk had reached over to force his chin up. 

“Excuse me?” Jimin questioned with a slight smile. 

He hadn’t given Jeongguk permission to touch him, especially with such a powerful authoritative grip. Jimin was suddenly transported to a fucking Harlequin romance, boy love, K-drama. That was always how the man grabbed his boyfriend before planting a filthy kiss and fucking him against a window. Jimin sucked his lips into his mouth to keep from accidentally puckering. 

But Jeongguk had no plans for window fucking in the pediatric unit of the hospital. He just wanted to dust the donut powder away from Jimin’s nose. “You’ve got donut residue all over your nose. It’s annoying me. Do you mind if I just…?” He used the underside of his terry cloth wristband to wipe it all away.   Jeongguk still held the bottom of Jimin’s chin between his fingers. 

Jimin felt a chill travel down his spine. It started at his nape and snapped along his skin all the way to his pelvis. He wasn’t sure, but he was pretty sure that his cock also jumped. “Oh, that, thanks. But uh..isn’t that the same wristband you used during the game to wipe up all of your sweat?”

“Indeed the same one,” Jeongguk nodded casually.

“Good to know.” Jimin wiped his nose again after Jeongguk’s sweaty, gross, germ infiltrated wristband was pulled away. 

They both laughed.

They talked civilly, for another three hours as Jade slept. Busan was a safe topic for both of them. It was an easy conversation; no stress and absolutely no mention of the custody battle. By no means did the evening of urgency make them friends, but it did teach them quite a lesson about coming together as a team - for Jade’s sake. 

It was 5am by the time they realized how long they’d been talking. At some point during the evening, Jimin managed to return Jeongguk’s glances without turning deep crimson. Without courts, without mediation, without lawyers, without even Aera, they had managed to make progress - for Jade’s sake. 

Jade sat up. No warning, she simply opened her eyes and sat up. It was likely the sound of her dads’ laughter that stirred her awake. The nurse had removed her oxygen mask and she was once again sucking on her binky. She coughed a nasty wet cough that caused mucus to squirt from her nose and land on her lip.

“Ew, Jadie-poo,” Jeongguk dabbed it with a tissue and restored her dignity.

Because of the darkness of the room, it took her eyes a moment to adjust. She immediately crawled to her feet and looped her arm around Jeongguk’s neck. She made a noise that sounded like the word daddy. She kissed him hard in the left eyeball. But just as she was about to climb into Jeongguk’s arms, she realized that Jimin was there too. She made the same noise again. She unraveled from Jeongguk and crawled across her bed to loop an arm around Jimin. As soon as Jimin held her in his arms, she reached for Jeongguk. As soon as Jeongguk held her in his arms, she reached for Jimin. Finally, in an attempt to satisfy their very demanding daughter, they reluctantly entered into a three-way hug with Jade in the middle. It was there, nestled evenly between the two of them, where she drifted off to sleep again. The two dad’s, not wanting to wake her, held on to that position - for Jade’s sake.  



June 1, 2027

 

The one bright spot from the time spent together with Jade in the hospital was that Jeongguk immediately withdrew his claim of Jimin being an unfit father. The fight for custody, however, raged on. From January through June, Jimin and Jeongguk fought each other in court. Their shared custody agreement continued without hiccups, but with each visit, they grew more and more resentful of the process. 

Even after months of going at it, the custody battle was still brutal. Almost every court session ended in shouting matches. The lawyers hated each other. The parents hated each other. The litigants hated each other. Even the bailiffs had issues with each other. It was a courtroom full of chaos. Both sides were desperate to win and they habitually crossed the line with no regard for the collateral damage.  

***

 

Jimin sat in his lab. With the exception of a small lamp on his desk, the room was dark. He was working late, but hardly working. His mind was on Jade. He wondered what she was doing, how she was doing. Once again, it was Jeongguk’s week for custody. Each time he had to hand her over to him, another fissure opened in his heart. Everything just hurt so much.

He stared down at the manilla envelope sitting on his desk; the one that he had avoided opening all day because he worried what it would say. It was a letter from his attorney. Jimin hadn’t paid him in weeks because he’d run out of money. He only had an attorney in the first place because of his mother’s sacrifice. But they never expected such a long court battle, nor did they expect Jeongguk’s side to draw out the proceedings for months on end. Ignoring the letter wouldn’t change the reality. It was time to stop avoiding the inevitable. Using the letter cutter on his desk, he slipped it between the seams of the envelope and ripped it open. It took him three seconds to scan it. It was exactly as he had feared; official notice from his attorney that unless he received payment by the end of the month, he would no longer be able to continue working Jimin’s custody case. It was the final dagger in Jimin’s heart.

“No, this can’t be. It can’t end like this.”

Jimin jumped from his chair. He stormed around the lab, holding back tears. He found the souvenir  bat that he’d won at the amusement park on Haeundae beach. Oddly enough, it said Lotte Giants. That only made him angrier. In a fit of helpless rage, he swung the bat with all of his might, aiming for the wooden models and robot replicas that were stationed on his shelf. Fragments of glass and wood shattered, flying through the air and littering the floor around him. Even more disgusted by his rage, he dropped to his knees amidst the debris and cried.

“Daddy! What a mess!” Jade called from the doorway.

Jeongguk walked into the lab, holding Jade’s hand. He noticed the debris all over the floor and Jimin’s vulnerable state. Immediately, he regretted the timing of their visit. “Uh, are we interrupting something?” 

Jimin sprang to his feet, wiping his eyes as he approached Jade to give her a much needed hug. “My little seedling. What are you doing here? Hi baby.” Jimin wrapped his arms around his baby who was now a proud and independent, fully mobile one year old. 

“Mess daddy,” Jade was so concerned about the state of Jimin’s lab that she couldn’t even concentrate on her hugs. 

“Look, I’m, I’m really sorry to come unannounced…,” Jeongguk apologized.

“Really isn’t a good time. What is it? Does Jade need something?” Jimin said curtly. You can’t just show up here without calling.

Jeongguk laughed, “Where have I heard that before.” He pulled Jade away from the glass, “A year ago, I lost her.”

“Lost who?”

“My surrogate. Jade’s bio mom. She used to get so mad when I would show up without calling. I always thought she was being unreasonable. Now I’m wondering if maybe I was the problem,” Jeongguk laughed. “What’s going on here, Jimin?”

Jimin took note of Jeongguk’s anecdote. It was the first time he’d openly spoken about Jade’s mother. He cleared his throat, feeling even more embarrassed about his emotional outburst. “Does Jade need something?” Jimin asked again.

“No. But I need something. I - I need a favor. I really hate to ask, believe me, you’re the last person that I want to ask for help. But…I have an emergency and I need you to stay with Jade. I have to go out of the country.”

Jade walked around the splintered wood. She was not pleased, “Issa mess.” 

Her indignation made Jimin smile. He was getting a taste of his own medicine. He was notorious for jokingly scolding her about her messy books all over her room. “I’ll clean it up baby, I promise.” He turned back to Jeongguk only to find him sneakily reading the letter from Jimin’s attorney about non-payment. “Mind your own business please,” Jimin pulled the letter away so Jeongguk couldn’t see it. He would have cursed him to the ends of the earth had Jade not been present.

“So can you do it or not? I know it’s my week. I also know that you fully intend on reporting this to the judge. But this can’t be helped. My dad’s older brother passed away unexpectedly and we need to travel to the States to lay him to rest. I wouldn’t be asking you this if…,”

“Of course I’ll watch her. She’s my child,” Jimin hesitated to say that because day by day it became more clear that she wasn’t his child at all. 

Jimin watched Jade crouch down to take a closer look at all of the wooden robot models that lay on the floor. She knew better than to touch them but she was very curious. 

“Clean up this mess,” she muttered again. 

She looked like a baby runway model. He had never seen her look so adorable. Jeongguk even knew how to tame her hair. She had two even ponytails on either side of her head. The clothes that Jeongguk supplied for her were the finest designer baby wear. Some of the stuff had to be custom made.  Jimin privately admitted to himself that Jeongguk was a good father. His little seedling had really hit the lottery when it came to dads.

Jeongguk was still reeling about what he had read in the letter from Jimin’s attorney, but he played it off as if he hadn’t really seen anything. “Thank you. Here’s her luggage. I have some new clothes for her. I think you’ll like them.”

“Yes, because the clothes that I buy for her aren’t good enough,” Jimin said, out of envy more than anything.

“I never said that,” Jeongguk was about to argue, but he thought better of it. “I - I think everything you do is from your heart. That’s what a child needs most. If you don’t want the new clothes, that’s fine. I’ll keep them at my place. She just grows so fast and I was hoping she could get some use out of them.”

“How long will you be gone?” Jimin was curious.

“I don’t know, possibly a couple of weeks. It depends on how long it takes to get my uncle’s estate in order.”

“This means that you’ll miss your next visitation too.”

“Possibly, yes.”

“Where’s your nanny? Why isn’t she helping you?” Jimin asked the question with malice.

“Is that what you think? That I farmed my baby off to some nanny and went on living my regular life? Let me explain something to you. I’m about done with your self-righteous, soap box humping, overly pious attitude. You act as if you have some sort of moral ground in this fight. Well you don’t. I’ve spent billions of Won of my own money fighting to find my daughter. I was prepared to be a single father from the day she was born. My father begged me to take down her nursery when I thought she had died, but I refused because I couldn’t let her go. And I was right. You had her - all this time. So hell yea, I spend every waking moment caring for her. I don’t have a nanny or even a babysitter. I’m just a good dad who loves his baby. So stop with all of the subtle shade you keep throwing at me,” Jeongguk said forcibly.

Jimin bowed his head. Jeongguk’s speech only made him feel worse, “For the record. What are your plans for her if you win full custody? You can’t be a famous baseball player, traveling all over the world with a toddler at home.”

“My dad. He raised me and did a damn good job, so he can help with Jade. Most of the time, she’ll travel with me and dad will help out. And if I need a nanny, then I’ll get one. Whatever it takes to give her the best. Jimin - I’m going to tell you something that I’ve only shared with close family. I plan to retire soon - next season.”

“Retire? At 31?”

“My arm is blown. Too many years of bad technique, too many surgeries, too many overuse injuries. I’m being held together by glue, cortisol shots and duct tape. Soon, I’ll be spending all of my time raising my daughter.”

“Our daughter,” Jimin quipped. He was shocked to hear the news. He knew Jeongguk had a history of injuries but he didn’t know it was serious enough to drive him out of the game. He felt a pang of sympathy for him. He could sense that it was a painful confession to make, especially in front of his worst enemy. 

Jade walked over and sat in Jimin’s lap, “Mess.”

“I know, I know! Geez, give daddy a break,” he kissed her tiny hand.

Jeongguk laughed. “She’s going to own us by the time she turns three.”

“I fully agree,” Jimin laughed too.

“Hmm, interesting,” Jeongguk wrinkled his brow with intrigue.

“What’s interesting?” 

“I’ve known you for six months and I’ve hardly ever seen you smile before. It’s um…,” Jeongguk cleared his throat, “...refreshing…I mean your smile is nice. All toothy and whatnot.”

“Thanks?” Jimin’s face contorted with confusion.

Jade laughed. Her daddy made a funny face. She grabbed his bottom lip and balled it into her fist and then kissed it.

“Babweee let my whips go,” Jimin pulled his lip free of Jade’s overly powerful grasp.

Jeongguk laughed again. He admired Jimin’s relationship with Jade. Jimin could relate to her in a way that he never could, having missed the first half of her life. He envied him.

Jeongguk turned his attention to Jimin’s fancy lab. Despite the mess of debris that cluttered the floor under his bookshelf, the place was swanky, state of the art. It was definitely the domicile of a big brain.

“So…math?”

“Math,” Jimin affirmed. Even though he was picking up a sentence in the middle, he understood Jeongguk’s point. 

“Explain to me exactly what you do with this thing.” Jeongguk asked as he pulled up a rolling stool and sat behind Jimin. He marveled at the rotating 3-D rendered skeletal frame of the robotic arm. 

Jimin shook his head, “I’ve explained this at least six times while testifying in court. Were you not paying attention?”

“Hell no. Why would I pay attention to that?” Jeongguk teased. “Explain again. Every picture I have ever seen of you, you’re in this place playing around with that same neon blue, Tron looking, computer model. What are you doing with it?” Jeongguk was deeply interested.

Jimin took a moment to swim in the pitcher’s attractiveness. His black hair was long, longer than it had been when they first stumbled into each other’s lives six months prior. It was a bit wet, from an early morning shower. He didn’t seem to fuss over it though. He let it lay naturally over his head and the result was modelesque. Despite coming to court in 4 million Won suits everyday, his casual dress code was much simpler; old school t-shirts, reasonable jeans and designer tennis shoes. He was an understated millionaire and somehow that made him much more attractive. His dimples flashed every now and again whenever he bit his lip or pronounced certain words, or smiled. He looked so much like Jade that it was creepy. 

In a different time, different place, with different circumstances, the old Jimin would have fucked him at least thirteen times by then. But the new mature Jimin was no longer interested in unemotional entanglements. Not to mention that Jeongguk was the enemy. Despite his kind, harmless demeanor, he was ruthless and cunning and he had every intention of taking Jimin’s daughter away from him. He was so charming that sometimes Jimin forgot his true motives. 

Jimin proceeded to answer Jeongguk’s question as simply as possible, “I work on the dexterity of artificial surgical arms. I’m part of the Di Vinci team. Angles, rotation, haptics - everything that needs to be mathematically calculated to make the robot move like a human. This guy you see here, is a surgical assistant, a very valuable one. But the device needs to constantly be calibrated and upgraded. We can’t very well put months of work into the actual device without knowing if it’s built correctly. Precision is the cornerstone of what we do. This machine operates on humans and any misstep in the calculation could kill someone. So that’s why we feed our data into computer models that can run simulations. That’s where I come in. I build the models and run the mathematical simulations. It’s fascinating work but very challenging at times. Using this ‘Tron-looking’ computer model, we can calculate real-life scenarios and know exactly how the robotic arm will perform before we use it on a real patient.”

“That’s really fucking cool!” Jeongguk was genuinely impressed. “I wonder if this one has a mathematical gene.” He gestured to Jade, “Her mother was gorgeous but not the brightest. And I’m exceptionally gorgeous, but not the brightest.”

“She’s actually brilliant. I see great potential. Nonetheless, I think she’s going to play baseball. She’s got all the genes she needs to be really good at that,” Jimin complimented Jeongguk. He peered down at his daughter who was now asleep in his arms. Her legs were sprawled across Jimin’s lap. Her arms lay extended on either side of her body. Her head was tilted backwards and she was snoring with drool dripping from the corners of her mouth.

“Nice,” Jeongguk broke into laughter as he stared at her. “Damnit, look at the time. I’ve got a plane to catch. It goes without saying but…thank you for bailing me out. You didn’t have to…,”

“Yes, I did. She’s my daughter too. Until the judge rules, we’re in this together,” Jimin stated clearly.

“I won’t be in court next week. My attorney will continue his work. If you need anything…money…or anything to help with Jade. Call me. You have my number,” Jeongguk walked over and watched Jade snore.

Jimin could smell him. It was a clean smell with a hint of a very expensive cologne. The scent was subtle, understated, but divine, just like everything else about Jeon Jeongguk. The silk of the man’s bangs brushed past Jimin’s nose and lip as he leaned down to kiss jade. His warmth radiated through Jimin’s body. He hadn’t been this close to anyone in years. As minimal as the encounter was, it fed a need that Jimin didn’t realize he had. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt fulfilled.

Jeongguk lifted his head after kissing Jade, but instead of pulling away he glared into Jimin’s face. With mere centimeters between them, he asked the most curious question. “You have a deep scar above your eye. I’ve never noticed that before.”

“Because you’ve never invaded my personal space before. Kiss your baby and go,” Jimin teased. He gently pushed Jeongguk away from them. 

“Oh, sorry,” Jeongguk stood to his feet again, “...and the scar?”

“Ok, you’re persistent.”

“When you’ve searched for your missing baby for seven months with everyone refusing to help you, you learn to not accept no as an answer.”

Jimin swallowed, “I was in a car accident. One that should have killed me. I asked God everyday why he allowed me to live. And then one day Jade came along. I guess she was my answer. Now, get out of here before you miss your flight.”

Jeongguk had to go. But there was a tug at his stomach with each foot step he took towards the door. He didn’t want to leave them. He felt as if he could spend forever looking at Jimin, never growing weary of his beauty. Every detail of Jimin’s face was seared into his brain. His gaze inadvertently softened when he watched Jimin kiss Jade again. Jimin was an incredible father with a pure love for his child. Jeongguk was enraptured by Jimin and Jade’s relationship.  

Jimin looked up to find Jeongguk’s eyes upon him again. They shared a moment, but there was so much more that lingered between the pregnant pauses. 

Jimin’s blonde hair swooped across his forehead as he forced himself to look away. “You should go…,” he smiled with a crimson blush.

“I should.”

They each evaluated the other. They were sworn enemies and that was the part they could never forget.

***

 

The testimony in court reached a fever pitch when Jeongguk’s team brought in Mary, the forensics expert, to testify about what she knew about the kidnapping of baby Jade. Coupled with the testimony from the private investigator that Jeongguk had hired, the facts pointed squarely at Jimin as being part of the larger scheme to steal the child. Suddenly Jimin not only faced the possibility of losing Jade, but also the possibility of going to prison. 

Jimin was furious that Jeongguk would allow him to be implicated in something so blatantly false. It was up to Jimin to serve up witnesses who could refute the claim. But there was only one problem. He had no witnesses. Everyone disappeared as soon as the scheme came to light. He couldn’t even locate the person who set up the adoption, Hanjoo. She fled the country out of fear of being indicted. The custody battle was a very high profile case because of Jeongguk’s involvement and no one wanted to be caught in the web. Jimin couldn’t afford a private investigator and soon, he would run out of money to pay his attorney. The end was finally near.  

 

Crowded court dockets and legal motions delayed the custody hearing for months. Jeongguk was in the middle of baseball season. The court was aware of Jeongguk’s travel schedule and tried to work with him for the good of the order, but his absence created even more delays and postponed sessions. 

The one bright spot was that Jimin spent more time with Jade. Anytime Jeongguk traveled, he insisted that Jade stay with Jimin. In their own way, they had adopted co-parenting quite easily. Outside of the courtroom, they were as civil as two people could be. To some, they even appeared to be friends. But inside the courtroom, they were two very different people, each out for blood. 

***

 

By the time they all gathered for the next hearing, Jimin no longer had legal counsel. His funds had run dry and his attorney had officially quit the case. Jimin was left to defend himself. He sat alone at the Defendant’s table, waiting for court to start.

 Jeongguk walked into the courtroom flanked by six members of his legal team. He noticed immediately that Jimin was all alone. He walked up to Jimin’s table and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his expensive suit. 

“Where’s…what’s his name?” Jeongguk knew perfectly well the name of Jimin’s missing attorney.

“I’m flying solo. We…uh…had differences of opinion,” Jimin lied.

“Is that so? And how do you propose to fight this case without your attorney?” Jeongguk probed.

“Mind your own business. You sat right here in this courtroom and allowed strangers to accuse me of horrific things regarding our daughter. Don’t you dare pretend like you give a fuck about me,” Jimin lashed out.

Jeongguk clenched his jaw and leaned over the table. He stared into Jimin’s eyes, “I really don’t give a fuck about you. That I can promise.” He smirked and walked back to his table. 

 

The end of May marked three weeks of Jimin trying to defend himself. Aera tried to help, but she was just as clueless about the law as Jimin. On days that she could find someone to cover her shift at the bakery, she was there by Jimin’s side. But they all knew it was a losing battle. Jimin had fought the good fight but he’d lost every single motion in the case and he still had no witnesses to testify for him. 

He sat at his desk with papers strewn about. For the first time in years, the rotating 3-D image of the EroWrist was dark. Instead of creating simulations, Jimin spent his time playing lawyer and looking for ways to defend his case. There was a knock on the lab door. Jimin was face down reading a legal case from 1980 that he thought he could use as precedent. He didn’t even notice his former attorney, Lee Seongjin, walk into the room.

“Jimin?”

Jimin jumped, “Oh you scared me!” He gasped, “Seongjin, what are you doing here?”

“Special delivery.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m back on the case…your case.” Seongjin walked around looking at the mess on Jimin’s desk.

“Uh, Seongjin, I’m not sure what’s going on here, but nothing has changed. I don’t have the money to pay you.”

“That’s not important. Just know that I’ll be back in court as soon as testimony starts up again,” Seongjin advised.

“It is important! I can’t pay you!” Jimin grew agitated.

“Been paid,” Seongjin said.

Jimin thought for a moment, “My mother? Did my mother promise to pay you?”

“Your mother is as broke as you are.”

“Then who?” Jimin persisted.

“I’m not at liberty to tell you. I’ll immediately be dismissed if I say anything. Just know that my fee has been paid in full. And that’s not all. The person who hired me also gave me a little extra to hire a private investigator. The guy that I hired uncovered some very interesting information.” Seongjin dropped a thick manilla envelope onto Jimin’s desk. “Read this when you have some leisure time. And as your attorney, I advise you to throw all of this case law away. You’re a terrible lawyer,” Seongjin teased. “Cheer up Jimin. This case isn’t over yet.” Lee Seongjin excused himself and left Jimin alone in the lab.

Jimin’s head was spinning. He was certain his mother was behind the generous gift of paying his attorney. But they had spoken less than two hours prior. If she was behind it, why hadn’t she mentioned it? It didn’t make sense - until he opened the envelope.

Jimin read through more than one-hundred pages of evidence and each page was more shocking than the previous one. There were pictures, still photographs, CCTV footage, signatures, names, dates, addresses, rental receipts, everything. The information may not have been enough to prove his case for keeping Jade, but it was definitely enough information to keep him out of jail. With each page he gasped. Slowly, the tale of how he had been conned, unraveled. 

“This is it. This is everything I could have hoped for,” he mumbled to himself. At the very end of the report was the name of the private investigator. “Ryu Jae-yeop,” Jimin read outloud. “Why do I know that name? Why does it sound familiar?” Jimin wracked his brain trying to remember where he had heard that name before. “HOLY SHIT!” It suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. 

Jimin grabbed his keys and the envelope full of evidence. He ran out of the lab so fast that he didn’t even turn out the lights. His mess of papers flew all over the floor. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He just couldn’t believe it.

***

 

Twenty games into the season, Jeongguk’s shoulder was already on fire with pain. The pain was excruciating. The cortisol shots barely worked any longer. He wanted to finish out two more seasons before retiring, but he wondered if his body would allow him to make it another five months. He held his right arm tight and close to his body, barely moving it. He didn’t want to irritate it any further. 

 

Jeongguk went about his evening using just one arm. It was late and he was tired. He fixed dinner and then took up residence on his leather couch.  Just as he dozed off, he was startled by a loud banging coming from his front door.

“Jeongguk, open the door. It’s me, Jimin.”

“Jimin?” Jeongguk looked at his phone. It was almost midnight. There was no reasonable explanation for Jimin to be there. He rushed to the door, worried that maybe something had happened to Jade. He flung the door open, “How did you get past security?” Jeongguk smiled, but Jimin did not.

Jimin barged in, “Ryu Jae-yeop. I recognize the name. He’s your private investigator. The one who helped you find me and Jade. Tell the truth, you’re behind this, aren’t you?”

Jeongguk’s eyes glossed over. Jimin was wild and harried. He talked fast, with passion and intensity. Jeongguk had never seen him this riled up before. He liked it.

“Behind what? I- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jeongguk shrugged. “Is everything ok with Jade?”

“She’s fine. With mom. What’s going on Jeongguk? My attorney showed up out of the blue with a proclamation that he was back on the case. He claimed that all of his fees had miraculously been paid but he wouldn’t tell me who paid them. And he gave me this. This envelope has everything I need to prove my innocence. Your detective even found the location of where Hanjoo has been hiding. Now we can call her to testify on my behalf. You’re behind this. I know you are. You said you didn’t give a fuck. So why help me? WHY? And don’t lie to me.” Jimin had tears in his eyes. Full of gratitude, confusion, lust, hate, anger and overwhelming relief, he glared at Jade’s father, projecting all of his emotions onto him at once. He threw the heavy envelope on Jeongguk’s fancy dinner table and folded his arms. 

Jeongguk stood toe to toe with Jimin. He knew that it was useless to keep up the charade, so he addressed him with the truth, “A victory is only sweet if your opponent is at their best. I like a fair fight.”

More tears fell. Jimin just didn’t know what to make of this man. He confused him so much. “How could you be so devoted to destroying my life in one moment and equally devoted to saving it in another?”

“I’m a complicated man,” Jeongguk laughed. 

The smile stopped Jimin’s heart. The dimples made it rapidly start beating again. All at once he realized something that had been secretly building for months, he wanted him. He watched him linger near the front door, robe partially covering a Godlike body that he could only imagine. He could see Jeongguk purposely restricting the movement on the right side of his body. Jimin was sympathetic to his pain which made him want him even more. 

The elder stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him in what was intended to be an innocent hug. He rested his head on his chest and breathed in the scent that he found so alluring. With only one arm available, Jeongguk hugged him back. The reciprocated embrace made Jimin emotional. Lucky for him, the majority of his embarrassing tears were absorbed by Jeongguk’s terry cloth robe before Jeongguk could see them.

“We needed to know the truth, Jimin. I needed to know the truth about how this happened. Now I know you weren’t part of the plan to kidnap her...I’m just...I’m relieved,” Jeongguk said shakily. Even he was emotionally swayed by the new information.

 “How do I ever repay you for this?” Jimin asked. His tone was quite different. It was the first time being alone with Jeongguk without Jade being with them. The mood felt different. 

Jeongguk took a step closer, “You can repay me by fighting back so we can get this shit settled once and for all.” 

They both noticed for the first time how much taller Jeongguk was. Jimin looked up towards his face. He swallowed hard, “Is that all you want?”

Jeongguk chuckled, “That is a very dangerous question.”

“The question is only dangerous, if you’re afraid of the answer. Goodnight Jeongguk. See you in court tomorrow.”

***

 

The next day in court, Jeongguk sat at the Plaintiff’s table with his team of lawyers while Jimin sat at the Defendant’s table with his single lawyer. The Plaintiff and Defendant never made eye contact and never spoke throughout the proceedings. The duality of their relationship was beginning to feel like an elaborate hoax.

With Seongjin back in the driver’s seat, Jimin felt hopeful once again. The irony of it all was that he owed it all to Jeongguk. It was their odd little secret. Even Jimin’s mother didn’t understand how Jimin had magically found the funds to rehire his attorney.

 

Jimin’s attorney, Seongjin, called only one witness - Kim Hanjoo. Thanks to the information from Jeongguk’s private investigator, they found her. She was extradited from Hong Kong where she had fled once she found out that Jeongguk was challenging the adoption and going after Jimin.

Hanjoo was hauled into court where she agreed to tell her story in exchange for a plea deal that would keep her out of jail. She also had to pay restitution for the adoption fees that she illegally charged him.

Seongjin approached her on the witness stand, “Mrs. Kim. You were the one who arranged Jimin’s adoption, is that correct?”

“That’s correct. But I swear, I knew nothing about the hospital scam. I had no part in kidnapping the babies or faking their deaths. As a licensed adoption specialist, I handle private adoptions all the time. They are 100% legal. Now, was I a little sloppy in my verification? Yes. Did I do a poor job running her prints and examining her medical records? Sure. But I called Mr. Park in good faith for him to adopt the child. He had come into our agency earlier and I couldn’t help him because of…reasons. So when I saw another chance, I moved on it,” Hanjoo explained.

“Who gave you the baby?” Seongjin asked.

“A nurse from the hospital. She kept her for a few days and then called me out of the blue. I guess she was going to try to sell her or something. I don’t know the woman,” Hanjoo claimed.

“You don’t know her? What would you say if I told you that I have pictures of the two of you shopping, going to lunch, even going jogging?”

“I would say you’re mistaken.”

Seongjin smirked. He stepped forward and approached the witness, “This is a picture of you Mrs. Kim, with the nurse you claim not to know. In fact there are hundreds of them.” Seongjin showed Hanjoo the photos. “How much did you charge Mr. Park for the adoption of Jeon Jade?”

“Regular rate.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t remember,” Hanjoo folded her arms.

“Mr. Park remembers. In fact, he has the receipts from all of the loans and withdrawals he had to take to pay your exorbitant fee. It was 200,000,000 Won, is that correct?”

“I guess.”

Seongjin contested angrily, “He paid THIRTY times what it costs to adopt through a regular agency. Your con job has bankrupted him, leaving him in debt that he never would have incurred had it not been for you. In fact, Mrs. Kim…you’re the one who sold a baby. Mr. Park trusted you because of your affiliation with Holt. He knew you had done a thorough review of him. But what he didn’t know was that you planned to set him up. You were just waiting for the right baby to come along. The toxicologist testified that six babies have randomly gone missing since that mystery nurse started working at the hospital. And our private investigator has linked each of those missing babies back to you. Not only do you know that nurse that was caught on CCTV footage, but she’s your sister. Isn’t that right?”

Hanjoo began to cry. She was busted, “Y-y-y-yes.”

“And we have video surveillance of you sneaking into the hospital on the night that Jeon Jade was taken. You entered the morgue with a doll that looked suspiciously like the fake dead baby that Mr. Jeon placed into evidence. You were the mastermind behind all of this, weren’t you? You sold Mr. Park the baby under the guise of a real adoption, didn’t you?”

“I was just trying to help him and make a little money in the process. I didn’t know the girl had living parents. I swear, I thought both of them were dead. The plan was already underway by the time I realized that she had a living father. We had already stolen her. I had to put the doll there to fool Mr. Jeon. I paid a few of the guys in the morgue to help me get everything in place. I’m sorry. But I won’t apologize for the adoption because it’s real. Every letter of that paperwork was filed accurately. She’s Mr. Park’s daughter,” she said stubbornly.

“Why did you rush this adoption?”

The color drained from her face. This was the one question she hoped not to have to answer. She paused and then spoke, “We didn’t know that baby Jeon had a dad. When we found out he was alive, we were concerned. But when we found out who he was and that he was famous - we panicked. We made some bad decisions. We had to cover our tracks which meant getting rid of the baby as quickly as possible before the bio dad figured out what was going on. Jimin was so eager for a baby that…well…he didn’t ask questions. He trusted me. We had the entire adoption closed within two days. I also paid the crematorium guy to place fake ashes in the urn that was turned over to Mr. Jeon.”

“So Mr. Park was a victim as well?”

“Yes, but he got a beautiful baby girl out of it.” Hanjoo broke into tears as she looked over at Jimin. “I’m sorry for all of this. I was only trying to help you. You deserve to be a father.”

“So are you testifying under oath that Mr. Park had nothing to do with the scheme to steal the baby?”

“Yes.”

“And did he have any inkling that the baby was stolen?” Seongjin pressed.

“No - he did not.”

***

 

Jeongguk was fresh out of the shower. He pulled on his terry cloth robe, but only the left side. The right side of his upper body was wrapped in yards of medical tape to isolate this movement. He draped his robe over his bound shoulder since he couldn’t put his arm through. He tied the robe using his left hand. It wasn’t taut, but at least his cock was covered. His state of dress didn’t really matter because he was home alone. It was Jimin’s week for custody but he knew that Jade was with Jimin’s mother. It was just as well because he needed to rest. Jeongguk was scheduled to pitch again in four days and he honestly wondered if he could do it.  It was late but he needed to watch some pitching footage before he went to bed. He turned on the film and nestled into the leather of his couch.

 

“JEONGGUK! Open the door, please. It’s Jimin. I have news.” Jimin banged on the door as hard as he could. He was overly excited and unable to contain himself.

Jeongguk smiled. He still wasn’t sure how Jimin was getting past security. “Just a minute. I’m coming.” His body ached so he moved slower than normal. He swung the door open and Jimin barged in.

“How do you keep getting past security?”

Jimin was smiling from ear to ear, “Sorry for coming over without calling first. But I just heard from my lawyer. All criminal charges against me have been dropped. Because of you! Because of you!”

“I didn’t do anything other than write a couple of checks,” Jeongguk shrugged. “I told you…all I want is a fair fight. Congratulations. But this doesn’t change my bid for custody. She’s mine, Jimin and I want it on the record.”

 

Jimin just stared at him. The man was so fucking infuriating, yet so thoughtful and kind. And above all, he was hot as fuck. Jimin hated him and adored him all at the same time. He noticed that Jeongguk was in his robe. He could see peeks of his wet flesh from gaps in the terry cloth. His desire for him was paramount. He tried to push the feelings away, but his insides burned whenever he looked at him. His stomach churned full of angry butterflies. All inhibitions were lost…

At some point Jimin’s mind went blank. “Does it…hurt?” He found himself gently unfurling the robe away from Jeongguk’s bandaged shoulder. His eyes scanned the bruised skin that was partially hidden beneath bundles of white medical tape. He found his lips boldly pressed against the clean exposed skin of Jeongguk’s chest. With a soft pucker, he breathed against his flesh, inhaling him, tasting him. And then everything happened at once. The moment erupted at a blurred pace that gave them little time to react. Jimin was greedy, aggressive because he had no idea when Jeongguk would come to his senses and push him away. He worked with a sinister plan to devour him as quickly as possible before he was forced to stop. 

And that’s when it happened. The thinly veiled line that separated enemies from lovers was lifted. Jeongguk suddenly sank his fingers into Jimin’s blonde windswept hair and tugged it backwards until the weight of Jimin’s head was cradled in his hand. His shapely neck was exposed causing Jeongguk to drag his lips along the rapid pulse under his skin. There was a moment, ever so brief, where they could see the fire in each other’s eyes. Jeongguk placed his thumb against Jimin’s bottom lip, gently pulling it down so that he could introduce his tongue and massage it towards the back of his throat. They tasted each other for the first time through hunger fueled, ravenous kisses. 

Jimin fiddled with Jeongguk’s robe until it fell to the floor. The athlete’s fully nude body surrounded him and engulfed him with a vice-like, inescapable embrace. Despite his bandaged and bruised shoulder Jeongguk was incredibly powerful, like an animal on the serengeti. It was a dominance that Jimin longed for; a man who wasn’t afraid to handle him roughly. Jimin could hear the rustling around his waist as Jeongguk unbuckled his slacks and pushed them down to his thighs. 

Their bodies mingled and danced down the hallway with lightning speed. Jimin’s clothes flew left and right, leaving no doubt in either man’s mind that they were about to fuck. Their exposed, hard cocks battled in the space between them. With his pants still gathered around his knees, Jimin walked backwards, pulling Jeongguk along with him. He couldn’t keep his balance and he fell, causing both of them to crash to the floor. Jimin fell first with Jeongguk landing on top of him.

“OH SHIT!” Jeongguk screamed as his injured shoulder hit the hardwood of the entryway. 

Jimin didn’t care. In fact, he loved hearing him call out in pain. It was what Jeongguk deserved for barging into his life uninvited. He plugged Jeongguk’s yelps of pain with his tongue, muting his voice with a raunchy, vengeful kiss. 

Despite the dim light in the hallway, his eyes ogled every pulsating muscle within Jeongguk’s naked body. Jimin could feel precum drip down his shaft. He immediately flipped Jeongguk on his back and mounted him. He crawled up his body, and positioned his hips over the tumidity of Jeongguk’s long serpent. The girth he could handle, but the length was going to hurt. None of it mattered. Everything was just a blur. Jimin had a mission and he couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop until he felt the dick inside of him. He had to conquer him, he had to win at any cost. Using the tip of Jeongguk’s cock, he rubbed his entrance up and down, lining up the spot where he would insert him. He rested there momentarily, breath hitched by the stunning beauty of his lover.

With his fingers splayed across Jeongguk’s chest, he curled his fingers, embedding them into the mounds of his skin. He clenched his eyes shut and released hard puffs of air to disguise the pain of pushing himself down over a cock that could have easily ripped him open. He worked his hips, slowly swallowing more and more of the athlete’s cock. But there was only so much that he could take. After a few painful centimeters, the burn became too much. He leaned forward, dropping his mouth over Jeongguk’s lips, whispering demands to him.

“Fuck into me, push hard,” Jimin begged.

The powerful lion from the serengeti returned; this time to take control. Using only his left arm, he bounded to his feet with Jimin in tow. His cock fell free and slapped against his upper thigh as he stormed down the hallway. He didn’t speak or grunt or give any indication of what he was doing. He just carried Jimin through the immaculately designed penthouse until they reached his bedroom.

Jimin was thrown to the bed like a rag doll. There was no tenderness in Jeongguk’s touch. He disappeared for a few seconds without Jimin knowing where he went. When he reappeared, his cock was even harder with a sheen of lube glistening over his erection. He crawled on the bed and propped himself between Jimin’s thighs. He grabbed Jimin’s waist to pull him closer. 

“Fuck,” Jimin screamed in pain as he felt two oily fingers impale him. 

Jeongguk’s bicep flexed smoothly as he held Jimin’s thighs open. His long shapely fingers were slippery with lube. He worked them knuckle deep into the elder with tender authority.

“I thought you didn’t give a fuck about me?” Jimin asked breathlessly, his body tingling with every touch.

Jeongguk smirked, his hooded eyes filled with contempt, “I really don’t.” And then - he entered him. He pushed past his resistance until the tip of his cock popped inside of him.

Jimin could feel electricity flow through his body. He grabbed Jeongguk by his hair to pull him closer and force him into another kiss. The younger acquiesced but only briefly. Without warning he rolled onto his back, repositioning Jimin on top of him. 

Jeongguk’s words were sterile, which made them ever so erotic,“Now - fuck your baby’s daddy any way you want.”

Jimin felt himself shiver. He lowered his ass over Jeongguk’s cock, completely swallowing it. Taking him deep on their first time together was stupid and overly ambitious. But he wanted with every fiber of his being to own him, to make him scream his name, to make him cum. He wanted to win.

The anger and vitriol, and putrid taint of their nasty court battle surged through Jimin, feeding an all new beast. He gritted his teeth and cursed him as he rode him to climax. He was intent on sucking the soul out of him. 

Jimin leaned forward and with a mixture of kisses and dirty words he demanded, “Cum for me you little shit.”

“Ahh, fuck, faster,” Jeongguk groveled.

“Say please,” Jimin demanded.

“Fuck, please. Faster,” the younger man groveled and begged.

It was exactly as Jimin wanted. He straightened his back and bounced faster, so fast that the sound of their bodies slapping against each other echoed through the large bedroom.

Jeongguk’s breath became erratic. He thrusted upward, pushing his cock into the pit of Jimin’s stomach. He could see his cock bulge as Jimin rode him. Stammering and stuttering, he managed to blurt out a few unintelligible words before climaxing. 

“Shit, fuuuuuuck, you’re so fucking sexy,” Jeongguk groaned unevenly as the pleasure surged through him. He fucked his cum into Jimin’s body, lining his walls with his velvety ropes of fluid. “Oh God,” were the last words he whimpered.

Jimin could feel Jeongguk pulsating inside of him. His legs trembled as his own pleasure peaked, “FUCK,” he cried out, almost as if calling for help. Sloppily Jimin grabbed his own cock and fisted it. He placed his veiny hand over himself as he tried to catch the streams of warm fluid that squirted from his tip. He used both hands to try to contain it, but there was so much that it oozed through his fingers and dripped onto Jeongguk’s stomach. His teeth chattered and his body convulsed as he emptied.

 

Jimin’s aggressive bouncing slowed and then eventually stopped. After a few quiet seconds, Jeongguk pulled out and pushed Jimin off of him. 

 

“We shouldn’t have done that.” Jeongguk rolled over to his side, mortified by his lack of control. “This situation is complicated enough without us fucking each other.”

Jimin laid there with a faint smile. For once, he was in control. “You knew perfectly well what you were doing. You chose not to stop. It’s pretty easy to grow morals after your balls are empty and your dick is satisfied,” Jimin said cruelly.

“It’s not about that and you know it…FUCK!” Jeongguk jumped out of the bed. “What have we done?” He grabbed his injured shoulder. Several of the bandages had torn, leaving him in intense pain. He paced around the bedroom butt naked, grabbing his shoulder and swearing under his breath. 

Jimin wasn’t sure if it was the shoulder pain or the sex that had him so upset. He imagined it was a little of both. Jimin climbed out of bed and walked out of the bedroom without saying a word. He found his clothes and redressed. By the time he returned, Jeongguk was sitting on the bed, red faced and in obvious pain.

“Your visitation starts Sunday. Meet at the usual place?”

Jeongguk didn’t answer. The pain was worse than he’d ever experienced. 

Jimin had never seen Jeongguk act this way over a little pain. He became concerned, “Ok, do I need to take you to the hospital or something?”

“Call the team doctor. I think it’s serious,” Jeongguk grimaced, teeth tightly clenched. “His number, fuck, fuck, fuck…his number is in my phone.”

The fact that Jeongguk handed his phone over to Jimin with no hesitation was a sign that he was really hurting. Jimin called the team doctor. The doctor was so concerned about Jeongguk’s condition that he insisted on coming over to examine him. 

“He’s in a great deal of pain. How quickly can you get here?” Jimin asked.

“I’ll be there in five minutes. We’re neighbors, I’m in the adjacent building. I’ll be right there. What did you say your name was again?”

“Park Jimin. We…share custody of our daughter,” the sentence sounded weird despite saying it for six months.

“Thanks for calling me, Jimin.” The doctor hung up. 

Jimin turned to Jeongguk in a bit of a panic, “Ok, he’s coming over. We can’t let him find you like this…in your freshly fucked afterglow.” Jimin smiled. “We’ve got to get you cleaned up.”

“Yea, thanks,” Jeongguk grimaced. He was in so much pain that he could barely move.

Jimin found a t-shirt and fitted it over Jeongguk’s left side. He gently stretched the shirt over his right side, careful not to aggravate his injury. Jeongguk was covered in cum and lube from the waist down. Jimin used a hot towel to clean him. It was empowering to know that he had made the famous athlete cum so hard. Jeongguk got another erection as he watched Jimin wipe away the exculpatory evidence. 

Typical athlete, Jimin thought to himself. As he cleaned him, he pretended not to be checking out Jeongguk’s beautiful cock, but he was totally checking out his beautiful cock. A part of him was angered over the fact that Jeongguk regretted the hook up. If it had been up to Jimin, he would have ridden his dick all night until both of them were a sweaty, disheveled, cum soaked mess. But the vibe was completely ruined by Jeongguk’s silly regrets.

Once Jeongguk was all cleaned up, Jimin helped him put on a pair of black sweats before moving him to the couch. He did a quick check of the penthouse to make sure that all signs of fucking had been erased.  The last thing that they wanted the world to know was that the plaintiff and the defendant had fucked each other.

Seconds after he sat Jeongguk on the couch, there was a knock at the door. Jimin invited the doctor in. He stepped back and allowed the doctor to work.

“Ok. Yea. You’re in good hands now, so I’m going to be on my way,” Jimin smiled and showed himself to the door.

“Jimin! Wait a minute,” Jeongguk called to him. 

Jimin could feel his heart pounding. His breath quickened. The butterflies were back again. Was Jeongguk about to ask him to stay? Was he about to beg him not to ever leave? “Yea, what is it?” 

“Thanks for the help. Please have Jade facetime me tomorrow.”

That was it, that was all he wanted. Jimin was reminded again that it was Jade that Jeongguk cared about - not him.

“I will.” Jimin left and slammed the door behind him.

*** 

Chapter Five - Evergreen

August 13th, 2027

 

The courtroom was jam packed with spectators. Every single bench was filled with reporters both local and International. They had all gathered for the last day of court in the high-profile custody case of Jeon v. Park. It was expected that the judge was going to render his verdict. Nine months of tears, arguments, physical fights, accusations and, recently added, fucking had all culminated to this day. There were no smiles or light banter. Everyone was on edge and everyone was deadly serious.

 

Jimin and his attorney were the first to enter. Aera sat on the front row with the girl of the hour, Jade. She sat on Aera’s lap like the Queen of Korea. Jimin’s little Angel was wearing a beautiful green sundress that her rich daddy had custom designed for her. Her hair was in a bun and her fingernails were a tinted green that matched her dress. Jimin stopped and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and boop her nose.

Jade laughed, “Hi daddy. I dressed up,” Sixteen month old Jade explained to her daddy.

Jimin nodded with enthusiastic approval, “And you look amazing. I’m so lucky to have you as a daughter. No matter what, I’ll always be a part of your life. Do you understand?”

“I dressed up,” Jade pointed to her new dress. She didn’t understand anything that Jimin was saying, and it was for the best.

Jeongguk entered the courtroom flanked, as usual, by too many attorneys and staff and managers and handlers. It was all a spectacle for show. Jimin knew him well enough to know that none of that mattered to him, but he had an image to maintain and having an entourage was part of the image. For his own reasons, winning over public opinion was important to Jeongguk. He too stopped to canoodle with Jade.

“Hi daddy. I dressed up.” Jade smiled at her bio-dad. 

Jeongguk leaned down to give Jade a kiss. “You’re wearing the dress I bought you. It looks gorgeous on you. You go girl,” Jeongguk gave Jade a high five. You should be on the runway in Paris,” Jeongguk boasted.

He greeted Aera respectfully as he always did. Truth was, Aera liked him very much. She never openly taunted Jimin with that fact, but he knew when his mother liked people and she very much liked Jeongguk. Jimin felt a tinge of jealousy when she smiled back at him. It was all in his head, but it felt like betrayal.

Jeongguk continued, “Listen Jadie-poo, today is a very important day. Some things could be different when we leave here. I just want you to know that daddy loves you. We only have three more books to go in our Harry Potter series and no matter what, I’m going to read them to you.”

“Daddy I dressed up for Ron,” Jade said.

“Bummer, I thought you dressed up for me and your dad,” Jeongguk teased.

Jimin could overhear their exchange. He found it ironic that both dads had identical conversations. It was proof that Jade really saw no difference between them. If anything, she loved them equally. And that made the day even more difficult because one of them was going to win custody and raise her and love her. While the other was going to be shut out. Nothing about the situation was fair, but it was their reality.

Jeongguk proceeded to walk to the table where his lawyers were gathered. He walked past Jimin as if he weren’t there. No eye contact or friendly hello. He acted as if he didn’t even know him, despite the fact that he’d been balls deep in his ass not 96 hours prior.

Every few seconds Jimin snuck a glance at Jeongguk. Watching him move about the courtroom was so satisfying. He was elegant and classy, charming and witty. His black suit and red tie were immaculate. All of his suits were custom fitted, highlighting the shapely perfection of his body. There was one thing that Jimin noticed that brought him comfort, Jeongguk’s arm was no longer heavily bandaged. He seemed to move it freely without much restriction. That was good news. Despite their weird and fucked up dynamic, Jimin had grown to care about his opponent. At times he wondered if he felt more than just friendship. Was a serious infatuation brewing? All signs pointed to yes.

 

Jeongguk could feel Jimin’s eyes upon him. He wanted to return his glances but he didn’t dare. He’d never seen Jimin look more beautiful than he did at that moment. His hair was lighter than usual, the blonde was ever vibrant in contrast to his chocolate roots. He smiled intermittently as he chatted with his mother and cooed with his daughter. They were seated directly behind him. It was always Jimin’s smile that made Jeongguk’s heart do funny things. The gray suit that Jimin was wearing was nothing special, but the man wearing it made it very special. He loved watching Jimin walk into a room. His gait was something like Jeongguk had never seen before. It was the first thing he noticed about him back in the days when he had him under surveillance. At times his sexiness was quite subtle, but most times it was right in his face. 

Jeongguk’s nuts shuddered when he thought back to the night that Jimin fucked him. He squeezed his eyes tight trying to get the thought out of his mind, but all he could see was Jimin’s pale graceful body riding him, bouncing on his dick like a pogo stick. “Fuck,” he whispered to himself. There was absolutely no way Jeongguk was going to risk glancing over at him. Because if he did, he may never be able to stop. Jimin was bewitching and Jeongguk couldn’t stop thinking about him. The man was becoming a problem.

“What’s going on?” Jeong-hyun leaned into his son and whispered.

“What do you mean?” Jeongguk asked.

“Between you and Jimin.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Weird energy. He can’t stop staring and you won’t dare even look in his hemisphere. Something happen between you two? You didn’t fight, did you?”

Jeongguk snickered. If the battle between a baseball bat sized dick and a cute little tight fleshy ass could be counted as fighting, then they had definitely rumbled.

“No…nothing like that,” Jeongguk smirked.

He didn’t exactly answer his father’s question but it didn’t matter because the judge entered the courtroom and called the court to order.

The judge addressed them, “This has been a very grueling nine months for everyone involved in this case. I can imagine that you’re ready for this to be over so that everyone can heal and go on with their lives. But I need both sides to know that this situation is virtually unprecedented. There is very little case law to support a ruling either way. But with that said, I’ve made a decision.” The judge paused.

There was complete silence in the courtroom. This was it, the moment of truth. Within a matter of seconds they would all know their fate.

The judge continued, “Based on the difficulty of this case and the fact that a little girl’s life is at stake, I’ve decided to hold my ruling until such time that more evidence can be evaluated. I need more time and I need more case law. For now, I’ll work directly with your attorneys to continue to gather the proof that I need. I ask that you wait patiently for my ruling. My plan is to make my final ruling in three months.”

“THREE MONTHS!” Both Jimin and Jeongguk stood to their feet and yelled at the judge.

“Sit down,” Seongjin pulled Jimin back down to his seat. 

Jeongguk continued to stand, “You don’t understand. We can’t take this anymore. One of us needs to be named that child’s father. You can’t do this. You can’t make us wait even longer. Haven’t we been punished enough?” Jeongguk began to tear, his voice shook with the pain of a man who’d been through hell. Jeongguk’s lawyers tried to wrangle him down into his seat, but he refused.

The judge addressed him with a heavy heart, “Mr. Jeon, I understand your frustration. But I need you to understand mine. I have to get this right. I have to cross every T and dot every I. I’m sure you expect nothing less than a solid judgment that won’t be appealed. You two have done a great job co-parenting. I’m asking you to continue for just a little bit longer. I’m sure you understand. With that, this court is in recess until such time that I call us back into session. I’ll alert your attorneys when it’s time.” The judge banged his gavel and left the bench.

***

 

Both parties gathered in the hallway of the courthouse. Where they had been sworn enemies who wouldn’t even stand near each other; they were now more like an extended family because of the year they had been stuck in court together. Even Chang, Jeongguk’s agent, was part of the mix. 

Jeongguk held Jade in his arms. It was his week for custody so he was taking her home right after court. He and Jade walked over to Jimin who was standing with Aera.

“Another three months,” Jeongguk shook his head.

“Another three months,” Jimin smiled. “It could be worse. At least we…get along.” If fucking could be considered getting along, then he and Jimin were best buddies.

Jeongguk turned to Aera and bowed, “Mrs. Park, do you mind if I speak to Jade and Jimin alone?”

“Of course, Aera walked over to chat with Jeong-hyun.”

Jeongguk looked tired and dejected. He turned to Jimin, “Look Jimin, I didn’t expect it to go down like this. I need to adjust my plans. We’re making a playoff run and my team needs me. But…I don’t want to spend any more time away from Jade. I have a proposition.”

“What is it?”

“I have a few really long road trips coming up. I’ll be on the road for about three months straight, longer if we make it to the Finals. Since there’s no court, I wonder if you can travel with me and Jade. It would be a compromise. That way you won’t miss any of your custody time and I won’t miss any of mine. 

“Jeongguk I have a job. I can’t just take off for three months,” Jimin explained.

“What if you took a short leave and I paid you for your time.” Jeongguk rocked gently as Jade fell asleep in his arms.

“Paid me?”

“That’s one way, yes. There are so many ways we could work this out. I could set up an office on the road so that you could work remotely. Or you could fly back once a week to go into the lab. Or you could just let me take care of you for a while in exchange for allowing me to have more time with Jade. Anything is possible. But Jimin, I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t feel it was best for our baby,” Jeongguk said passionately.

Jimin gave it some thought. His answer was yes, but that was mostly his dick and his heart chiming in. His brain knew it was a dangerous idea. He was teetering on the brink of inappropriate feelings for the man. They had already lost control and gotten physical once. In addition, he didn’t trust his heart to go three months cosplaying as a happy family. In the wizened opinion of Park Jimin’s brain, the answer was no.

“Sure, I’ll do it,” Jimin had an existential crisis. He did exactly what he told himself not to do.

“Great. We start in Japan in two weeks. Is that enough time to get your affairs in order?”

“Yea. I guess.”

“I’ll send you all of the travel arrangements. Here, kiss your daughter goodbye. She’s going to start snoring in a minute.” Jeongguk knew their daughter very well.

Jimin laughed. He leaned down to kiss Jade as she napped in Jeongguk’s arms. But when he lifted his head, Jeongguk was there. So close. So handsome. So scintillating. So beguiling. 

Time stopped. Everything moved around them like timepieces, yet the two of them remained still. The urge to kiss was natural, but the discipline to hold back - was not. It was Jade’s snoring that finally broke their gaze. 

“I better get going. I have much packing to do. Be in touch…uh…soon,” Jimin stared at the large clock above Jeongguk’s head. Anything was better than staring into his doe eyes. He took a few steps back. Walking away from Jeongguk felt like breaking the magnetic seal between two ferrite magnets. The attraction was overwhelmingly strong and overwhelmingly dangerous.

“Drive safely. I’m going to stick around here for a few more minutes to talk with my attorneys. There are some urgent things that I need them to handle while I’m traveling.”

Jimin didn’t like the sound of that, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

***

 

Seventeen month old Jade sat in the front row of Yokohama stadium, just behind home plate. She shifted her sunglasses and settled back in Jimin’s lap. Aera and Jeong-hyun were also visiting. They were seated next to Jimin. It was the first time that both sides had come together for an event that didn’t involve a courtroom.

It was the bottom of the seventh and Jeongguk was called in to close. The crowd went crazy as they watched him jog out to the mound. Jimin’s heart did a thing - a thing he hadn’t given it permission to do. He watched his baby’s daddy take the mound and tip his hat to the crowd. As Jeongguk wound up to throw his first pitch, something seemed off. Jeongguk was sweating even though it was a beautiful day and he’d just started the inning. He was also very pale, his typically golden skin had almost no color.

“Oh no,” Jimin said under his breath.

“Yea. Doesn’t look good,” Jeong-hyun picked up on Jimin’s angst.

“Is he sick? Why is he so pale?” Aera asked.

“It’s his arm,” Jimin said with worry. “He’s not feeling this shit today. He’s in pain.”

“STRIKE!” Jade screamed, even though Jeongguk had not yet thrown the ball.

The wind up, the release, the pitch, “STRIKE ONE!” The Umpire agreed with Jade. 

Both Jimin and Jeong-hyun knew that the call of strike was a very liberal one. Jeongguk’s pitch was high and everyone knew it.

The catcher threw the ball back to Jeongguk. He stepped away from the mound. He stared down at the ground with his eyes closed, trying to shake off the pain.

“Why are they making him do this? He’s clearly in pain,” Jimin asked rhetorically.

“It’s his job. Pain and all,” Jeong-hyun explained.

Jeongguk continued to walk around the plate. He only had so much time to deliver the pitch because of the pitching clock. He used every minute of it to try to shake off his pain.

“Daddy ok?” Jade asked.

Jimin kissed the top of her head, “He’s ok baby, just working really hard.”

Jeong-hyun found it curious that Jimin had so much genuine concern for Jeongguk’s injury. “He’ll be ok guys. He’ll be ok. He’s pitched through pain before.”

“Yea, but has it ever been this bad?” Jimin asked.

“Honestly, no.”

“STRIKE!” Jade yelled again.

Jeongguk finally stepped back on the mound. He and his catcher disagreed on the first two pitches but the third was a winner. The wind up, the release, the pitch, “STRIKE TWO!” The Umpire agreed with Jade. 

Jade applauded for her dad. With each pitch, Jimin grew more and more concerned. After a couple of balls, Jeongguk fell behind in the count. He could no longer hide his pain. He was openly grimacing and holding his shoulder. Out of nowhere, he received a visit from the Manager. They spoke briefly with Jeongguk doing alot of nodding. At the conclusion of a three minute conversation, the manager left the mound and Jeongguk prepared to throw his next pitch. 

“STRIIIIIIIKE!” Jade called it.

The wind up, the release, the pitch, “STRIKE THREE! YOU’RE OUT!” Jeongguk struck out the batter. 

As the crowd went wild, Jimin noticed Jeongguk fall to the ground. He was writhing in pain and holding his shoulder. “Oh my God! Mom, hold Jade.” He handed Jade off to his mother and rushed the field.

The athletic trainers were on the scene faster than Jimin could get down there. Several of Jeongguk’s teammates stood over him, saying words of encouragement. It looked bad. Really, really bad. Jeongguk was helped to his feet and walked back to the locker room. Jimin went with him for moral support - at least that’s the lie he told everyone. His real reason for going was because he was worried to death and wanted to be by his side every second.

***

 

After a brief hospital visit, the doctor’s were able to get Jeongguk back to his hotel room. Jimin was there as well, but he felt as if he were imposing. He sat in the back of the room as he listened to the doctor explain Jeongguk’s prognosis.

“You need surgery, I’m not sure how much longer we can postpone it.”

“I need to get through the end of the season first,” Jeongguk remarked. “I have another pitching rotation in three days. Can you have me ready by then?” Jeongguk asked.

“I don’t know,” The doctor said, “We’ll have to see how your body responds to treatment and the new medications they gave you at the hospital.”

“Just get me in good enough shape to pitch,” Jeongguk demanded.

Jimin almost spoke up, but it wasn’t his place. Jeongguk was stubborn and was placing his team’s playoff hopes above his own health.

“The hospital gave you more cortisol shots, plus some pretty strong pain injections to stave off this pain. You’ll need someone to stay overnight with you. Where’s your dad? Can he come over?”

Jimin stepped forward, “Uh, he’s with Jade and my mom. But I can go get him. I can get him…,”

“No. No, please Jimin. Will you stay?” Jeongguk asked.

“All night?” Jimin asked with a surprised expression. 

The doctor chimed in, “For about twelve hours. I don’t want to leave him alone in case the pain gets worse. Can you hang out here with him until tomorrow morning? I have a plane to catch in a few hours or else I would stay.” The doctor asked kindly.

Jimin shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. Staying with Jeongguk would most definitely be awkward. But reluctantly, he agreed, “Yea. I’ll stay.”

The doctor spoke seriously, “This round of medication is more potent than what you’ve dealt with before. I need to make sure you don’t have any side effects. Jimin, please watch him carefully. For the next few hours, I need you to keep him awake. He needs to be able to tell you if something feels strange. Can you do that?”

“Yes, yes of course,” Jimin agreed.

“Here are the instructions on what to look for. Don’t let him drink any alcohol or operate any vehicles. Monitor him closely. And don’t forget to keep him awake. Call my assistant if anything happens. She knows how to get in touch with me.”

Jimin walked the doctor to the door. He lingered in the entryway for a few minutes before returning to Jeongguk. He smiled at him, “Hungry?”

“No. Sit down.”

“Please works,” Jimin quipped.

“Alright, sit down - please.”

Jimin dropped onto the couch next to him. Jeongguk’s hotel suite was massive. He and Jade’s room was not quite as big, but just as luxurious. “Wow! Your room is nice.” He rubbed his hands along the buttery soft leather. “I don’t think I’ve ever sat on a leather couch before. I have one at home, but my mom calls it pleather. Half leather, half plastic,” Jimin released an obnoxious laugh that made Jeongguk giggle 

“Pleather. That’s pretty clever.” Jeongguk turned to face Jimin, “Where’s my dad?”

“I can call him…if you prefer that he be here.”

“No. I’m happy with you being here. I want you to stay. I am, however, curious about why you’re suddenly, dutifully by my side.”

“I got scared when I saw you go down. Before I knew it, I was on the fucking field. Don’t know what came over me. It was…scary seeing you like that. Our daughter needs you.”

“So you’re here because of Jade. That’s the only reason?”

“Yea.” Jimin lied.

“I need to apologize.”

“For…?” Jimin asked.

“What happened a few weeks ago. Trying to fuck and flee after we had sex.”

“FUCK AND FLEE?” Jimin laughed so hard that he fell off of the couch. He laid on his back and kicked his feet up. “Gotta’ say I have never heard that one before.”

“I tried to distance myself from the sex. But it had nothing to do with you. I was angry with myself. Not with you. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. I was just shocked that I allowed it to happen.”

“Your brain was on sabbatical. It was your dick doing all of the thinking,” Jimin said truthfully.

“And that’s not acceptable.”

“But it kinda’ is,” Jimin argued. “We’re two grown men who have a very complicated dynamic. There’s so much energy between us and not all of it is good. We’ve been constants in each other’s lives for almost a year. Those emotions had to go somewhere. We can’t always control how feelings manifest. Don’t be embarrassed or upset. I accepted it for what it was and I didn’t read anything into it. Besides, that shit felt great. I have zero regrets,” Jimin said honestly.

“So you enjoyed it?” Jeongguk’s cheeks briefly flashed pink. “I wasn’t just a conquest?”

“Ok, I’ll admit it. About fifty percent of that was a conquest. I wanted to own the great Jeon Jeongguk and bring you to your knees. But the other fifty percent was because I’m insanely attracted to you and I wanted to live the fantasy just once before this is all over. I was emotional and I just reacted.”

“I wasn’t on my best behavior. I pounded you pretty hard without giving you the care you deserved. How’s your ass? Did it survive?” Jeongguk laughed.

“Riding your baseball bat when I hadn’t fucked in two years was a very poor choice,” Jimin shrugged.

“Two years? Two fucking years? Someone as hot as you hadn’t been dicked down in two years? Well if I had known that I would have really stuck it to you. If there’s anything I’m better at than baseball, its fucking. Poor thing, you need dick care.”

Jimin laughed again. He punched Jeongguk in his good shoulder and fell into his lap. “I do need dick care. I have dick neglect, in fact.” Jimin laughed even harder. “I used to be pretty active in the dating game but after the car accident, everything changed. I wanted to be a dad, a scientist, a better man than I had been. I swore off men for a while and I committed to being a great dad for Jade.”

“How did you last two long years? I would have died,” Jeongguk teased.

“Do you date often?”  

“Not since I decided to have a baby. I’ve had a few serious boyfriends. And some legendary one night stands. The groupies that hang around baseball players are pretty wild. I’m strictly gay and that limits my choices. I used to be pretty out there, but that was mostly in my younger days. Honestly, I’ve been kind of boring since I hit my 30’s. I like to stay home and watch Netflix. And these days, I’m all about my daughter…and her dad.”

“And her dad?” Jimin blushed. He looked away and gently rubbed the back of his neck. He had another question to ask but he couldn’t face Jeongguk while he asked it. He stared towards the window, “Did you mean what you said about me being attractive?”

“Yes. I think you know how fucking good you look. Let’s not play games. But you’re not just hot. You’re interesting, and complex, and smart, and a really great dad,” Jeongguk confessed. 

“You’re high on pain meds so I’ll take everything you say with a grain of salt.”

“My meds have nothing to do with how I feel. So don’t try it. Take my compliments and put them in your pocket for safekeeping. Until this case is over you won’t hear me say it again,” Jeongguk warned. 

“I know you’re not hungry, but the doctor says you have to eat because of all of the medication. You have this incredible in-suite kitchen, we may as well use it. Jade is with my mom for the night, so I get to spoil you instead of her.” Jimin smiled and punched Jeongguk playfully in the chin.

***

 

Jimin emerged from the kitchen about twenty minutes later. He had a tray full of food to feed Jeongguk. “I remember you said you liked Udon. The kitchen is fully stocked so I was able to…oh shit…JEONGGUK!” Jimin dropped the tray and rushed over to him.

Jeongguk was slumped over on the couch. He wasn’t supposed to go to sleep. Jimin couldn’t believe he had made such a stupid mistake by leaving him alone. He had fallen asleep while he was in the kitchen. He shook Jeongguk’s left shoulder, desperately trying to wake him up.

“No, no, no baby you can’t go to sleep. You have to wake up. Please wake up, please wake up. Please be ok. Please, please, please.” He shook him harder and harder until Jeongguk’s eyes finally opened. “Oh thank God. I do not need involuntary manslaughter added to your list of allegations.” Jimin hugged him and rocked with him in his arms, “Thank God you’re ok. You can’t sleep buddy. The doctor said to keep you awake for the next few hours.”

“Jimin? How long have you been here?”

“Uh hi?”

“Where’s my little flower?” Jeongguk asked groggily.

“Jade? She’s with my mother. Remember? She’s fine, but how are you?” Jimin questioned. Jeongguk didn’t seem very lucid. Jimin wondered if the drugs were finally kicking in.

“I’m great. The pain meds are really working. Look. I don’t feel a thing.” Jeongguk raised his right arm and gave Jimin a wave.

“Nope. Put that back down. You’re not supposed to lift that. You scared the shit out of me. You aren’t supposed to be sleeping,” Jimin admonished him.

“But…I’m so tired. A little nap won’t hurt anybody…just…a little…,” Jeongguk’s head fell backwards. He was asleep again. 

“Nooooo, Jeonggukie, no. Wake up you stubborn asshole.” Jimin climbed into his lap and straddled him. He gently slapped his face to wake him up. “Wake up.” He whispered his words just centimeters from his lips. “Wake.up.” 

Jeongguk’s eyes fluttered open, “Did I fall asleep again?”

“Yep.”

It was then that Jeongguk realized Jimin was sitting in his lap. With seconds of feeling Jimin’s body pressed against him, his cock expanded. “You were born to sit on my lap,” he laughed impishly. He spread his large hands and rubbed them up and down Jimin’s back as he pulled him closer. “You always smell like sin. It makes my dick hard every time.”

“Oh yea? And what exactly does sin smell like?” Jimin asked.

“Like something I very much want, but can’t easily have,” Jeongguk explained.

Jimin realized that Jeongguk wasn’t himself. He was medicated and a little loose with his tongue. As seductive and flirtatious as Jeongguk was, Jimin warned himself not to take the bait. Anyone with morals and principles would have immediately pulled themselves out of Jeongguk’s lap. But Jimin wasn’t feeling very moral. 

He laid his head on Jeongguk’s shoulder and began grinding against his erection. He whispered into his ear, “Will this keep you awake?”

“Oh God yes,” Jeongguk released a small whimper. He pushed back against Jimin’s rotating hips as they fell into a physical trance with their bodies cradled against each other.

Jimin felt himself become aroused. He stopped moving. With a pure heart, he placed his forehead against Jeongguk’s forehead and said the difficult words. “We can’t do this. You’re high as a kite. If I let this continue, I’ll be taking advantage of you.”

The lion from the serengeti roared to life. With one arm, he picked Jimin up and walked him back to his bed. “Do I act like a man who isn’t in full control of his senses? You have to keep me awake. Doctor’s orders.” There was a slight slur in his speech. Jeongguk laid him down and climbed over him. He pressed his rugged jaw against the side of Jimin’s face as he whispered in his ear, “I want to bury myself inside of you until all of our bitter memories fade away. Is that so wrong?” 

Jimin shook his head. Words didn’t immediately come to mind but he understood on a visceral level what Jeongguk was saying. Somehow the physical interaction between them had become a healing place. The place where they shared Jade equally. The place where they were friends. The place where they trusted each other and cared for each other. The place where custody battles didn’t exist. But it was also the place that was most forbidden. 

The elder slid backwards away from him, “You said that sex confused things between us.”

“I’m already so fucking confused. It can’t get any worse,” Jeongguk grabbed Jimin by his ankles and pulled him close again.

Jimin lay flat on the bed. A chaste kiss touched his plump lips. He closed his eyes and tried not to feel. He didn’t want to be swept away by this man’s touch. But it was happening. He felt himself being undressed. He shook his head no. He tried to push him away. 

But Jeongguk couldn’t stop because he desperately wanted all of the bitter memories to fade, “Please let me have you.”

Jimin felt his legs being spread open and then felt the soft tip of a tongue against his hole. He allowed it, even though his conscience told him to get away. His back arched when warm saliva slid down his crease. He melted into the sheets.

Jeongguk’s breathy whisper cooled the wet streak left by his tongue, “Please keep me awake Jimin. Please?” He used his index finger to gently circle Jimin’s entrance before lapping his tongue against him again.  

“I’ll keep you awake Jeon Jeongguk, but first, you must eat your dinner.” Jimin lifted his legs in helpless supplication before grabbing Jeongguk’s head and pushing his face hard against his slit. 

***

 

Jeongguk liked to be ridden. He bucked like a mechanical bull in a country bar, slamming his cock into Jimin’s ass as the smaller man fucked him to tears. Jeongguk was wild, every bit the athlete, every bit the physical specimen, every bit Jimin’s lion. They rolled across the bed, changing positions every few seconds. Jimin had never fucked a man like him before. It was like taming a beast. Jeongguk’s energy was boundless and his dick was endless. 

“Don’t cum. Don’t fucking cum. Go deeper, go deeper,” Jimin warned him. He growled at him through gritted teeth as his legs began to seize from orgasm. He slapped Jeongguk’s ass several times just to leave his mark.

The expensive hotel sheets were teeming with lube and fluid; their bodies intertwined like oily sculptures. Jeongguk wrestled Jimin into the final position where he buried himself balls deep. In and out he pumped, forcing lube to drizzle from Jimin’s ass.

Jimin began nodding vehemently, breathlessly, wordlessly. He stared into Jeongguk’s eyes, hoping to convey what he was feeling. Kissing during sex should have been banned. Because when Jeongguk leaned down to kiss him in the midst of Jimin’s powerful orgasm, Jimin transcended. 

And he was not the only one. Jeongguk let go because he wanted to cum together. He released in the midst of their kiss, adding layers of emotional entanglement that never should have been. He fucked into him, pushing his seed deep like he wanted to breed him. The moment quickly transitioned from a meaningless fuck into very meaningful love making. They came in each other’s arms, with lips pressed together as they bared their souls.

Where did the feelings come from? Why were they so drawn to each other? Where was the line? What were they doing? And why did it feel so right?

***

 

September 25, 2027 New York, USA  

 

By the time Jimin arose, Jade and Jeongguk were already having breakfast. Jeongguk invited Jimin up to his room to eat with them.  Jimin always had a key to Jeongguk’s hotel room, no matter what city they traveled to. It was Jeongguk’s way of being transparent to assure Jimin that he wasn’t dating anyone.

 

Jeongguk had the day off which meant a full day of doting on Jade.  Jimin snuck into the room and peeped around the corner to see what the two of them were up to. He could hear Jade speaking to her daddy in long, vibrant sentences that only contained three to four real words. They were watching old videos of Jeongguk’s early games as a rookie. For every sentence that Jade offered her dad, he countered with a conversation to match hers. 

Jeongguk was on the floor with his legs folded. Jade was sitting in front of him. He was brushing her hair. Jimin always wondered how Jeongguk could tame her wild tresses. He was the hair whisperer of the family. Jimin watched Jeongguk pull a vacuum cleaner attachment towards Jade’s head. Jimin gasped, unsure of what was happening. Whatever Jeongguk was doing, Jade was perfectly fine with it; evidence that it happened often. Instead of interjecting, Jimin relaxed and just continued to watch. There was a conversation happening about Elmo and his new show. Both Jeongguk and 17-month old Jade were deeply engrossed in sharing their opinion.

Jeongguk placed a rubber band around the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner and literally vacuum Jade’s hair into a single ponytail. He dropped the rubberband over the gathered hair while the vacuum suctioned it up. The result was a perfectly gathered ponytail with not a single hair out of place. It was the most ingenious thing Jimin had ever seen. 

He jumped from his hiding place, startling Jeongguk, “That’s how you do that? I’ve been trying for months to get her ponytails perfect and you’ve been cheating all this time?”

“If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t trying,”  Jeongguk burst into laughter. His smile was bright and happy. He was a changed man, compared to the selfish, arrogant, curmudgeon that he was when he and Jimin first met.

“Hi Daddy!” Jade very carefully stood to her feet by first crawling on her knees, then pointing her butt in the air, then entering a semi-handstand, then pulling her feet level on the ground, and then finally straightening her back and standing upright. It was a process. She ran to hug Jimin’s leg. “Goo moon-ing.”

“Good Morning my little seedling,” Jimin grabbed her in his arms and swung her around. As to be expected whenever Jeongguk dressed her, Jade looked like a runway model. Her outfit was always couture something or other. Jimin smothered her with kisses before placing her back on the ground.

And then something happened - something that sent the trajectory of his and Jeongguk’s relationship into a completely different direction. 

“Good Morning.” Jeongguk planted a completely unexpected kiss directly on Jimin’s lips. 

And it wasn’t one of those quick pecks on the cheek. This kiss had a heartbeat. It was full of substance, longing, and a little dab of lust. Jimin felt a sudden spark of electricity that caused him to immediately touch his fingers to his mouth. It was quite a fucking kiss.

“I could get used to being greeted like that every morning,” Jimin smiled. 

“You deserve to be greeted like that every morning,” Jeongguk winked. He was definitely in a good mood.

Jimin had no idea what had prompted the sudden kiss. Kissing in front of Jade was not something they had ever done before. In fact, they had never been physical at all in front of her, not even hugs. The entire universe was on tilt. What was happening between them? Jimin didn’t know.

He sat down on the floor with them to help Jade put on her socks, “Jeongguk, please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m legitimately asking out of respect. But how did you learn to be so good with a baby?”

Jeongguk laughed as if he had just heard a very funny joke. “Good with a baby? I was terrible!” He continued laughing. “The only reason I know how to do anything is because I took a 6-month certification class. I learned CPR, hair styling, baby dressing, diaper changing, car seat installation. Bro, I literally got a certificate. It’s hanging on my wall like a diploma. I’m super proud of it too.”

“Yeah Bro,” Jade mimicked.

A lightbulb went off in Jimin’s head. It all finally made sense. “That’s why you’re so good at this? You took six months of classes?”

“As soon as I made the decision to be a father, I knew people would doubt me. I mean an athlete with a past of being a playboy, young, no spouse. No one had any faith in me. As soon as I began the search for a surrogate, I started classes. I wasn’t trying to prove anything to anyone - except me.”  

Jimin held Jade’s hand and stared at her as she played with her doll. He recounted his journey, “When I was rejected by the adoption agency, I gave up. I should have kept trying. I should have taken classes and honed my skills, but I was too heartbroken. At that point, I thought I would never be a father. Well by the time it actually happened, I wasn’t prepared. I was just supposed to meet her and see if we were a match. But the next thing I knew, I was driving home with a newborn and I didn’t even have a crib or diapers. I had to take emergency paternity leave. Who knew that was even a thing? It happened so fast.”

Jeongguk nodded, “That is fast. Now we know why Hanjoo was in such a rush to get rid of Jade. She knew she was about to get caught. I’m sorry that you couldn’t take the time to enjoy being a new dad.”

“I loved every moment of it in retrospect. It’s an experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I think it bonded us in a very special way. But it was definitely on-the-job-training. I can’t even tell you how many times I called 112 for help.”

“Dear God, please don’t tell me you called 112?” Jeongguk gasped.

“First time dealing with green explosive diarrhea, bro. It was traumatic. I needed reinforcements. Damn right I called 112,” Jimin defended himself.

Jeongguk fell over to his side with laughter. He kicked his feet and rolled on his back. He couldn’t believe what Jimin was saying. 

Jimin watched his jovial laugh. The man was beautiful from every angle. He continued, “I called so much, that me and the operator were on a first name basis.”

Jeongguk began to hiccup, he was laughing so hard. Tears streamed down his face. “No, I can’t. You didn’t…,”

“I did,” Jimin began to laugh too.

Jade very carefully stood to her feet by first crawling on her knees, then pointing her butt in the air, then entering a semi-handstand, then pulling her feet level on the ground, and then finally straightening her back and standing upright. She ran to check on Jeongguk who was still laughing hysterically. It took him another three minutes to settle down.

“You see, this is why she will always go to war with you because she knows that you’re her strongest soldier,” Jeongguk said encouragingly. This is why she bonded with you so quickly and why she loves you so much. Your sacrifice was very real and she knows it.”

This was definitely a breakthrough, it was the first time that Jeongguk fully acknowledged Jimin’s importance as Jade’s father. Jimin was humbled by his kind words. 

“What’s with the Harry Potter obsession?” Jimin asked, “When I was visiting you at your Penthouse, I noticed that she had three different versions of the series on her bookshelf.”

“During my parenting class, I learned good information about how to bond with your child while they were still in the womb. Reading was the number one way and it allowed her to get to know me, just by my voice. Harry Potter is one of my favorite series so it seemed like a natural place to start. She reacted so well to it that it became our thing. I read the entire first book before she…disappeared.” Jeongguk closed his eyes in a physical attempt to block out the memory.

“How did Jade’s mom’s death affect you?” Jimin asked lovingly.

“Me and Jade’s mother didn’t get along very well. I wanted to be there for my baby and for her but she resented my presence in her life.”

“Were you two dating or…,”

“I’m gay - not bi. You know that. Not into women and I think that was part of our problem. Maybe she expected more from me? After the first insemination failed, she suggested we do it the old fashioned way. Of course I said no. But we spent a lot of time together and experienced a lot of frustration. She began to have feelings for me that I didn’t reciprocate. She wanted a relationship and I didn’t. I couldn’t. I like men. But that was hard for her to accept and she took it as rejection. She thought her looks could “un-gay” me, I guess,” Jeongguk said with finger quotes, “But it doesn’t work like that. Anyway, that’s when her resentment towards me started to grow. Things were so tense with us at times.”

“That must have been terrible,” Jimin frowned. 

“It was beyond terrible. I even…,” Jeongguk paused before saying it, “...I even questioned if she was really dead. I thought that maybe she hated me so much that she had stolen Jade just to hurt me. But she really is dead, which means she gave her life to give me a child. I used her eggs as part of the deal. It took three attempts before the insemination was successful. She is Jade’s real mother, DNA and all. I chose her because she was absolutely stunning with good health. But as the pregnancy went on, I wondered if I had chosen the right one. She just seemed to hate me so much. Even though our friendship was strained, her death was a shock. I’ll never get over it,” Jeongguk explained.

“There’s going to be a time when you have to…tell Jade about this.”

“I already have. She has photo albums full of pictures, voice recordings, videos. She knows her and I will never let her forget her. As she gets older, I’ll tell her more.”

“Mommy is in the trees,” Jade said as she violently brushed a large tangle from her doll’s hair.

“In the - trees?” Jimin asked with confusion.

“Whenever the winds blow and the trees rustle, it’s Mokyo. She lives in the forest, in the trees, in the moss, in the algae, in the flowers and in the leaves. She is the earth. She’s always there to watch over her. Always. That’s our story.”

Jimin felt a tear fall down his cheek. He quickly swiped it away. “You’re an incredible man. I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”

Jimin held Jeongguk’s hand. Jeongguk stared down at their hands in Jimin’s lap but instead of pulling away, he curled his fingers around Jimin’s fingers, weaving them together.

Jimin felt another tear. He knew bits and pieces of Jade’s story, but hearing everything in context changed his perspective. For the first time he truly understood why Jeongguk was fighting so savagely to get his daughter back.

***

 

November 30th, 2027 Narita, Japan

 

Even though Jimin was traveling full time with Jeongguk, he was still working full time as well. Instead of taking leave, he chose to take his work on the road. He set up a remote lab which allowed him to run his simulations from anywhere in the world. 

It was a very important day. The final upgrades to the EndoWrist were complete and had gone live into production. The launch went well and the new surgical arm was scheduled to go into its first mock surgery at the end of the week. There was one small bug, however, that he needed to repair, but it was nothing major. With a little concentration, he could fix it from his phone in about ten focused minutes.

Jimin sat up fully in bed. He sat with his back against the headboard as he pulled up the simulation program on his phone. It was still dark outside even though sunrise was just a few minutes away. 

Jeongguk’s heavy, muscular arm was draped across Jimin’s waist, pinning him in place. Jimin softly caressed his hair as he read through the last of his urgent emails. Jeongguk had ventured into Jimin’s room late the previous evening while Jade was asleep. The rule was that he had to leave before Jade saw him. They didn’t want her to be as confused about their relationship as they were.

“Hey,” Jeongguk grumbled, “You already up?”  

“Work,” Jimin said, barely acknowledging him. “You have to go soon. Baby will be up in a couple of hours.”

“Noted, but I’m so horny. Can you fuck me now and work later?”

Jimin laughed. “No, I cannot. I just fucked you five hours ago. I still have lube up my ass,” Jimin said casually as he tapped around his phone screen.

“Why are you working so early anyway? Can’t it wait?” Jeongguk whined. 

“You’re acting like a spoiled athlete. My work is important. Do you have any idea how horny I get watching you on the pitcher’s mound? Yet you’ll never see me marching out to the mound to pull you away from your job so that I can fuck you at first base.”

“My God I would love that so much.”

Jimin laughed again, “Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you when I’m finished.”

Jeongguk’s eyes rounded. He suddenly remembered something. He crawled up Jimin’s chest to look at his phone, “Hey doesn’t Di Vinci arm go live today?”

“It does.” Jimin nodded.

“Are you nervous? I’m nervous and I had nothing to do with it. You should be nervous. But don’t be nervous. Ugh, I’m so nervous.” Jeongguk grimaced, “I’m stiff. You fucked the life out of me last night.” Jeongguk crawled out of bed. For once, he had on clothes, a pair of soccer shorts. He did a few pushups, some sit ups and some running in place. He then simulated a few pitches just to see how his arm was feeling.

Jimin barely noticed him. He was focused on rerunning the calculation to make sure he had fixed it. He looked up twice, only because of Jeongguk’s heavy grimaced breaths. 

“Jeonggukie, still not doing that right, huh?” He asked casually.

“Doing what right?” Jeongguk simulated another pitch, this one a curveball.

“Your whole pitching thing. That angle of attack may have been great when you were 21, but at the old ass age of 32, you should fix that,” Jimin was casual once again.

Jeongguk turned to him, “What are you talking about?”

“Your stride length. It should be about eighty-five percent of your height. But you’re only at about eighty percent, because you’ve grown. You used to be about four centimeters shorter when you started throwing the heat. That’s probably why your horizontal abduction is at twenty five percent instead of twenty percent. To get the ball out at a ninety percent angle, you’re really having to overcompensate. That stuff adds up,” Jimin shook his head and continued his calculation. He had no idea what he’d just done.

Jeongguk jumped up on the bed and marched over to Jimin, “What are you saying right now?”

“One sec.,” Jimin pulled up a 3-D image of his robot. It rotated on his phone exactly like the one in his lab. 

Jeongguk waited patiently. It was quite possible that his baby’s daddy had just discovered the root cause of his persistent rotator cuff issues. He stared at Jimin, unblinking. 

Jimin continued to play with his calculations. He did pause for a brief moment to blindly reach forward and kiss Jeongguk’s nose. But that was about it.

Jeongguk was pulling his hair out. The waiting was killing him. He respected Jimin’s work and understood the importance of the day, but he was very close to ripping Jimin’s phone away and throwing it off of the hotel balcony.

“Jiminie, please…,”

“Shhh. Almost there.”

Several more minutes passed.

“DONE! Now you can have my full attention. What is it you were trying to say?”

“No Jiminie, you were talking. YOU. What is this about my stride length?” Jeongguk asked.

“Ah, yes, it’s too low based on your height. I can show you the calculation if you’d like…,”

“FUCK THE CALCULATION! How do I fix it?”

“Duh! The calculation…,”

“Jimin, are you saying that’s why I have a recurring shoulder injury?”

“Yes. You’re much taller now than you were when you first perfected your fastball. The devil is in the details and your coaching staff is allergic to details.”

Jeongguk grabbed both of Jimin’s shoulders and stared into his face, “Jimin, how do you know this?”

“Angles are very important in the biomechanics of movement. Jade and I used to watch your games all the time. I noticed it right away. Your release was always hinky…you know? So one day, I actually measured your pitching angles while you were working. Please note, I did not interrupt your work,” Jimin teased. 

Jeongguk grabbed two large clumps of his own hair, “If you’ve known this all this time, why haven’t you said anything?”

“Because I’m not a coach. I love baseball…as a fan. I don’t know anything about how balls should be thrown or how coaches correct mechanics. I just assumed they were working with you and trying to fix it all this time. I thought you knew the problem. It wasn’t my place to speak about something that I knew very little about. I only said something today because I saw it right in front of me. Anyway, you should fix it,” Jimin kissed the tip of Jeongguk’s nose again. “You have such a cute nose.”

“JIMIN! What’s the solution? How do I fix it?”

“For the love of God…the formula!  How many times do I have to tell you that there’s a formula? Everything in life can be fixed with math,” Jimin shrugged again.

Jeongguk found it annoyingly adorable how Jimin could go from sex kitten to nerd in nanoseconds. “I seriously doubt everything can be fixed with math…but you do you. Carry on, please. Explain.”

“I calculated the proper stride length based on your height and your desired throwing speed. Then I factored in the optimal angle release for the external rotation which is where you’re having the majority of your problems. It’ll take some practice to retrain your body, but maybe if you try it, you could save your season and go out on top.” Jimin smiled.

“Save my season?”

“Mmhm. And possibly avoid another surgery too.”

Jeongguk crawled under the covers and pulled Jimin under with him. He forced him on his back and then crawled between his legs, pinning them open. “You won’t believe this angle of attack,” he growled into Jimin’s ear.

“I-I think I’m going to like it. Angles are v-v-very important,” Jimin stuttered.

 Jeongguk arched his back. He hitched his hand underneath Jimin’s knee and hoisted it into the air. He looked down at his prized hole and lined his leaky cock along the wrinkled center. His cock tilted upwards as he entered him raw. “You like that angle baby?”

“Holy sh-sh-shit.” Jimin urgently grabbed Jeongguk’s ass and encouraged him to fuck him at that exact angle. “That angle, p-p-p-please more of that angle. Right there, right there.” Jimin shuddered as Jeongguk began to pump him.

“Ooooh, I’m going to make you cum at this angle, and then at another angle and then another angle,” with each of Jeongguk’s words he rolled his hips to push deeper into him.  

“OH MY GOD!” Jimin screamed. Jeongguk was a good fuck, always had been. But this was some next level ‘eternally grateful for saving my career and being the father of my kid,’ kind of fuck. It was otherworldly. Within seconds, Jimin was about to cum. He grabbed onto the sheets and pulled them so tightly that they snapped away from the mattress.

“Tell me you like it.” Jeongguk’s ass cheeks tightened as he bucked like a pony. “Oh you can really take my fucking bat can’t you?”

“I can take it, I can take it…,” Jimin’s voice disappeared into a cloud of nothing. He threw his head back and fell into a convulsion as Jeongguk angled directly into his prostate. His mouth fell open. The orgasm tore through him in ever increasing waves until it had encompassed his entire body. 

He had never cum so hard in his life. Never. All he did was suggest a fucking pitching angle and this was his prize. He was definitely in this Jeon Jeongguk shit for life.

***

 

Jeongguk wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from spa day. It was some kind of tradition between Jimin and Jade.  Jimin had invited him to join them in his hotel room. He was told to shower first and come wearing his terry cloth robe and pajamas. He wondered if it was some type of toddler sleepover.  Jeongguk followed instructions but he was still confused.

He knocked on the door gently, not sure if Jade may have been napping. But there was loud music coming from inside so Jade definitely couldn’t have been sleeping. He knocked harder, anxious to see what was going on inside. The door swung open. Jeongguk screamed and sprinted three steps down the hallway before Jimin and Jade beckoned him back.

“Hey, calm down. Haven’t you ever seen people wear avocado skin detoxifying masks before?” Both Jade and Jimin stood there with green slime all over their faces. 

Jeongguk held his hand over his chest, “You scared the hell out of me. Don’t open the door dressed like that.” 

“Hi Daddy!” Jade said from behind her grotesque facial mask that seemed to be partially eaten.

“You’re just in time for nail duty, come in,” Jimin smiled. A bit of avocado mask dripped onto his teeth. He ate it.

“Yuck. Is this what you two do once a month?”

Jimin pulled Jeongguk inside and sat him on the couch. “Yes. And it’s very soothing. You’re going to love it, trust me. Jade was just about to choose a nail color. Sit down. I have a mask for you too.”

Jimin pulled Jeongguk’s long tresses into a ponytail and then wrapped them in a white terry cloth towel. He sat in Jeongguk’s lap as he carefully applied the mask to his face. He gave more instructions, “We’ll start with this and then move on to the silver moisturizing masks and then a toner. You’ve got great skin. I’m impressed.”

Jeongguk had to admit, the mask felt kind of nice. He’d never had a facial before…or a spa day. But it wasn’t really about a spa treatment. The day was about bonding with the two most important people in his life. He understood what Jimin was trying to do. He didn’t have to bring Jeongguk into their private time and allow him to be a part of it. But he did. It was a selfless act that brought all three of them closer together.

 

They sat in matching robes and matching masks, eating pizza and watching baseball. It was then that Jeongguk shared his news.

“Jimin, I took your advice and started on transitioning my pitching angles.”

“And…?” Jimin stared at him from behind the silver moisturizing mask.

“And…you may have just saved my career. I was able to deliver my fast ball with virtually no pain. I fired two of my trainers. Dumb bitches should have told me about this years ago,” Jeongguk said with disgust.

“Baseball purists aren’t always open to new ways of doing things.”

“I really can’t thank you enough.”

“You’re welcome.” Jimin leaned over to Jeongguk and whispered so Jade couldn’t hear them, “Let’s make sure to practice all of those new angles you’ve learned.”

“We definitely will,” Jeongguk smirked.

*** 

 

Within ten weeks of the two dads and the baby going on the road together, the relationship between them shifted dramatically. As a threesome they felt complete, more like family than opposing parties who had been at war for over a year. Amidst the rubble of misfortune, they had managed to find a peaceful way to coexist.

But as smooth as things may have seemed on the surface, the dynamic was much more complicated. What began as just a sexual spark between Jimin and Jeongguk, transitioned into a loving, caring partnership with co-parenting as its core. The two were stunned to learn how much they had in common and how well they could relate to each other. They shared their values, and embraced their differences, all in the name of loving Jade. She was their priority. She was the force behind everything that drove them. 

There was something special that Jimin and Jeongguk found in each other. But the lines were blurred. Were they possibly falling for each other or did their love for Jade blind them to everything else. Whatever was happening between them, neither of them called it love.  

The two dads were having sex regularly. Neither of them could explain how something so forbidden had become a ritual. In the wee hours before Jade awakened, they would sneak into each other’s hotel room and pound out a quick fuck before starting their day. They had too much untapped passion for each other. Once they opened the spigot, horniness and lust poured out in a bountiful harvest.

***

 

December 23, 2027 Beijing, China

 

Jimin’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. He clenched both of his fists and his chest heaved upward. He saw stars and bright flashes of light. Puffs of air rhythmically escaped his chest with each of Jeongguk’s perfectly angled thrusts. His lips quivered as his body experienced unimaginable rapture. In the faint distance he could hear his sexy lover soothing him. 

“You like fucking your baby’s daddy don’t you? You’re taking me so well. Cum for me baby…that’s it, cum for me. You’re doing great.”

Jimin whimpered; his voice sounded like a cold scared kitten. What the fuck was this man doing to him? And just when Jimin thought he could breathe again, his mouth was covered by the sweet bow and arrow lips that he craved. There was a hint of orange juice on the younger one’s tongue. Jimin could taste it. He wrapped his lips around it and suckled it, pushing the sweetness to the back of his throat. He loved the taste of him, the smell of him. He wanted to eat him.

When his body finally stopped convulsing, he could suddenly see again. A pair of broad shoulders hovered over him. He could see Jeongguk’s messy black bangs covering his face. His dimpled smile lay there waiting for Jimin to focus his eyes. Jimin realized that both of his legs were in the air. He could see his feet above his head. Jeongguk had him spread open and wide. 

“There you are, welcome back.” Jeongguk teased. He gently lowered Jimin’s legs to a resting position.

“You’re magic. Like from Hogwarts and shit. Fuck. You are just… really good in bed,” Jimin gushed. His cock pulsated between them. He was spent, yet cum still leaked from his swollen tip.

“I know. But it takes two to make sparks fly. It’s not just me. It’s both of us. We’re good together.” Jeongguk wiped the sweat from Jimin’s brow. He kissed him gently along the magnificent contours of his chest and shoulders. He moaned in pleasure at the feel of his naked skin. “You ok? Can I keep going?” Jeongguk’s cock was still rock hard and he refused to pull out. Even though Jimin had cum already, he still longed to give him more.

“Am I ok? Interesting question coming from someone who claims to not give a fuck about me,” Jimin hissed.

“I still don’t,” Jeongguk said as he kissed Jimin’s neck. He began rolling his hips forward to fuck him again. He kissed every centimeter of his moist skin, while playfully nipping at his pink lips. “I give…zero…fucks about you,” he strained to speak as his orgasm began to grow. He looked down briefly to watch his cock slide in and out of Jimin’s tight oily hole. “I don’t give a fuck about your brilliant brain or your fancy job.” He grunted barely containing himself, “I don’t give a fuck about your hard muscular body or your thick beautiful hair or those deep brown eyes. I don’t give any fucks about your warm smile and your cute little dimples. I especially don’t give a fuck about those pouty pink lips and perfect button nose.” His growling grew rougher, “Nobody gives a fuck about your fighting spirit and kind heart. I certainly don’t.” Jeongguk’s breathing intensified. He pumped hard, slapping against Jimin’s hole. “No fucks given Park Jimin. Zero fucks. Shit…you feel so good.” 

Jeongguk laid on top of Jimin, fucking him hard into the mattress. The bed began to rattle as the speed of his thrusts increased. The headboard shook, the walls shook, and even the windows shook. Cock pulsating and throbbing, Jeongguk released his streams of cum inside of Jimin’s body. He reached down and pressed his lips against Jimin’s cheek. He mouthed something.

 Jimin could feel the gentle movement of Jeongguk’s lips against his skin, but he couldn’t hear anything. There was no sound. He was left to wonder what bespoke words had been weaved for him at Jeongguk’s most vulnerable moment. 

***

 

January 3, 2028 Busan, Korea

 

The Lotte Giants’ playoff run ended in a crushing 15 - 14 defeat by the Samurai’s. But thanks to Jimin, Jeongguk’s arm was revitalized, resulting in stellar performances over his last six games. In the final series, he struck out six batters, ending the season with an ERA of 3.1. He was the league’s Most Valuable Player, an honor he richly deserved. However, all was not perfect. Despite switching up his ball delivery, he still had to address the damage that had already been done to his shoulder. He needed another surgery to repair his torn ligaments. But for the first time in his career - he didn’t care. Jimin and Jade were his life, not baseball.  

At the end of the season, he officially announced his retirement. 

 

Jade, Jeongguk and Jimin were back in Korea. After traveling together for three long months, they found it strange to come back to their separate lives; separate apartments, weekly visits, Jade being with only one dad and not both. It was all so unnatural. Even Jade had trouble adjusting. In her mind, her two dads were meant to always be together. 

Jimin’s attorney welcomed him back, but soberly reminded him that there was still a bitter custody battle raging in the background, despite them living in their happy make-believe world.

***

 

February 14th, 2028

 

Jeongguk strolled down the hallway of Volga partners. There were new plaques on the wall, plaques that he hadn’t seen before on his many previous visits to the building. And not surprisingly, each of the new plaques held Jimin’s name. As brilliant as Jeongguk knew Jimin was, it was still awe inspiring to see how well respected he was for his work. Volga partner’s lab was one of the most cutting edge, award-winning facilities in the country and it was all managed and operated by Jade’s dad.  Jeongguk smiled. He felt a sense of pride over the man he had grown to… “nope,” Jeongguk stopped himself before his brain continued the sentence. The box full of fresh Gamja was starting to burn his hand. He’d spent so much time lingering in the hallway that he forgot he had hot food.

Every light in the building was dim, except for one. Jeongguk made his way down the hall towards the brilliantly lit all glass cube that entombed the cute little blond that he’d fallen in…“nope,” he stopped his brain before it could finish the sentence. He found Jimin there, heads down, fully focused on his work. Despite the burning box of food, Jeongguk took his time announcing himself. He stood quietly at the door, enraptured by the brilliantly haunting glow caused by Jimin’s lab coat.

 

There was not one individual trait that made Jimin attractive, but rather a cornucopia of incredible features that made him the paragon of beauty. He was a natural blonde - at least that was his answer when asked. He was so meticulously dedicated to keeping his locks a golden hue that it really did look natural. But for Jeongguk, it wasn’t just his hair, or his smile, or his body…although he really loved his fucking body. 

For Jeongguk, it was who Jimin was as a person that made him stand out from the rest. Jeongguk had been with some seriously attractive men, but none of them had what Jimin had. He felt like a Yin to Jeongguk’s Yang. Add in his incredible skill and dedication as a father and Jeongguk was left with little question as to why he felt he…“nope!” He abandoned the thought again.

Jimin looked up. “Oh no! What are you doing here? Didn’t you get my message to drop Jade off at my mother’s? I have a problem, I have to fix it tonight. I have to work late…,”

“Shhh, calm down. I got your message. Jade is with your mom.” Jeongguk walked into the lab and placed the hot box of food down onto Jimin’s desk. “Whenever you have math emergencies, you have a tendency not to eat. I’m here because I brought you dinner. Gamja from the cart down the street.”

Jimin smiled at the box. He didn’t even pause to offer some to Jeongguk. He just grabbed two sticks, one in each hand and began shoveling it down his throat, “How did you know this was my favorite?” He said with a mouth full. 

“Jade told me.”

“Jade? Our Jade? She told you?” Jimin wasn’t buying the story, “...and she pronounced it right and everything?”

“Sorta,”  Jeongguk pulled up a rolling stool and sat next to Jimin. He grabbed a stick of Gamja as well. He stared down at the pages of notes that Jimin had all over his desk. “Gotta’ tell you, I never knew math could find itself in emergency situations. But this sure looks like one,” he flirted. 

“You’re silly,” Jimin laughed. It was a much needed laugh because Jimin was under extreme pressure. He’d been working all day to find a critical miscalculation made by one of his coworkers. The EndoWrist was due for another simulation and if he didn’t get the issue fixed, he would have to cancel it; delaying the entire upgrade. It was a tense situation. “You shouldn’t be here, I have work to do,” Jimin said as delicately as possible.

“I know. I won’t stay long. I’m just going to supervise to make sure you eat and then I’ll leave. I could have kept Jade by the way. We didn’t have to bother your mom.”

“I know, but mom wanted her. She’s going to be busy with the festival for the next few weeks so she wanted to spend some time with Jade while she still could.”

Jeongguk still examined the notes on Jimin’s desk. His eyes suddenly brightened, “Hey! I know the answer to this one. This math problem right here, I can answer it.”

“You can?” Jimin smiled lovingly. 

“Fourteen!” Jeongguk said proudly.

“Is that your final answer?”

“Yep, fourteen,” Jeongguk smiled smugly.

“Mmkay, sweetie, the answer to this problem is two paragraphs long. I just solved it about an hour ago. It’s written on the glass wall right behind you. Go study it and come back when you can do better.” Jimin held his laughter. 

Jeongguk turned to look at the wall behind him. “Well, was I close?”

“No.”

“Well, does the answer at least have 14 in it?”

“No.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have carried the one.”

Jimin couldn’t take it anymore. He fell forward holding his stomach, laughing so hard that he tumbled to the ground. He rolled around for untold minutes, laughing at Jeongguk’s mathematical prowess, or lack thereof. “You’re so incredibly cute.” He found his chair and climbed back into it as he wiped away his tears of laughter. “I’ve been so fucking stressed all day trying to solve this stupid error. And just like that, you come in here with Gamja and bad math and instantly make me feel better. Thank you.” Jimin took the liberty of placing a delicate kiss on Jeongguk’s thin lips. As usual, whenever they touched, longing, lust and desire seeped through causing the kiss to linger much longer than either planned. 

“I’m sorry this is happening. But it looks like you’re making good progress.”

“I am. Only one more module to check and I’ll be done. But, it’s the most difficult module so…,”

“...so…you’re still stressed?”

“Unfortunately, even more so. I only have a few hours before the deadline. And that’s why you have to go. I need to focus.”

Jeongguk slid down to his knees. He made his way over to Jimin’s chair and rested his large palms over both of Jimin’s thighs. He stared up at him, brown eyes heavy with concern, “You don’t work well under stress Jimin. We both know it.”

“You sound awfully caring for a man who doesn’t give a fuck about me,” Jimin smiled down at him.

“I still don’t. But we do need to get rid of some of this stress - for Jade’s sake. She doesn’t need a daddy who’s all tight and angry.”

“I haven’t been tight since I started fucking you every day.”

“Trust me, you’re still nice and tight,” Jeongguk’s eyes undressed him. He was already fucking him in his mind. 

“And how do you propose we get rid of this stress? I need to remind you that I have a deadline.” Jimin’s hand slithered through the shoulder length strands of Jeongguk’s dark hair. He knew exactly how the pitcher planned to help him relax. 

“Are we alone?”

“Very.”

With one single flex of his wrists, Jeongguk nudged Jimin’s thighs apart. He crawled forward and placed his face into Jimin’s crotch. Gently, he nibbled on his dormant knob through the fabric of Jimin’s trousers. Within nanoseconds Jimin’s sleeping cock recognized its master and snapped to attention. Jeongguk continued to slobber all over the fine linen of Jimin’s pants as he playfully pushed Jimin’s entire mound into his mouth. He continued teasing him until he could feel the full hardness of his dick. And that’s when he went in for the kill. 

He unfastened Jimin’s pants and wiggled them down over his feet, leaving him nude from the waist down. Jimin’s dick jetted from beneath his lab coat, leaning sideways as Jeongguk sucked his balls. 

Jimin’s breathing slowed. He took deep, long satisfying breaths as his legs were forced even further apart. Jeongguk pulled him forward in the chair, lifting his legs just enough for his tongue to reach Jimin’s hole. With countless velvety licks and hundreds of wet, naughty kisses, he attacked his entrance. He licked a wet stripe from Jimin’s ass to his balls, circling his tongue through his dark pubic hairs.

Dick flushed red with arousal, Jimin whimpered, making the familiar sounds of a lost scared kitten that he often made when he was about to cum.

“Shh,”  Jeongguk quieted him. He didn’t want him peaking too soon. Hearing his own screams would have definitely pushed him over the edge before they were ready. He pulled Jimin all the way to the front of the chair while he worked his mouth down over Jimin’s cock. 

For Jimin, there was something erotically fulfilling about watching the famous and rich Jeon Jeongguk waddle on his knees and suck his dick. Jimin spread his fingers and twirled Jeongguk’s wavy strands of hair around each one. Another high pitched moan escaped his throat as Jeongguk sucked him.

Spit gurgled in the back of Jeongguk’s mouth as he lapped up Jimin’s cock like a stick of Gamja. Eyes partially open, Jimin glared up at the ceiling as his head fell back over the chair. He grabbed the back of Jeongguk’s head, more forcefully this time. He suddenly stood to his feet, lab coat fluttering around him. His hips fell into a slow rhythmic rotation as he fucked his lover’s mouth. The rotations transitioned into deep greedy thrusts that scraped the back of Jeongguk’s throat, forcing Jimin’s cock into his esophagus. Spit dripped in long sticky strands from the place where his dick met Jeongguk’s mouth. Hearing the gagging only made Jimin fuck his mouth harder. With the pressure of a vice grip, Jimin grabbed either side of Jeongguk’s head and shoved his dick as far back into his throat as possible. Both of his balls lay pressed against Jeongguk’s chin as his tip exploded, sending volumes of warm cum down Jeongguk’s throat. 

“...oh f-f-ff-fuck,” Jimin said quietly as he bucked his hips like a mad bull.  

Even with a mouth full of cock, Jeongguk smiled. He loved this side of Jimin, the side that wasn’t afraid to take control. He tilted his head back gently to force Jimin to push his cock all the way down his throat. He loved the taste of his cum mingled with his spit. He swallowed, pulling every drop of Jimin’s seed from his loins. He could feel the pulsation of Jimin’s shaft as it voided all of its contents.  

After a few seconds rest,  Jimin pulled is cock free. He was still hard despite his orgasm. The tension and stress drained out of his body as he began to softly laugh. He fell to his knees, allowing him and Jeongguk to be face to face. He reached forward and immediately kissed him so that he could savor the taste of their combined fluids before it disappeared. The kisses that followed were gentle, sweet - nothing like the wild dick sucking from a few moments prior. 

“One day, I’m going to fuck you in this lab coat,”  Jeongguk whispered.

“One day? How about tomorrow? Is tomorrow good?” Jimin begged.

“Tomorrow is great. Now put your pants back on,” Jeongguk laughed. 

Neither moved from the spot. They held each other for a while, with Jimin resting his head upon Jeongguk’s injured shoulder. For two people who supposedly hated each other, they surely acted like two people in love. 

***

 

March 26th, 2028

 

 Jimin needed to speak with Jeongguk immediately. It was urgent. He dropped Jade at Aera’s place and then rushed to Jeongguk’s penthouse. A court date had been set for the judge’s final verdict and they needed to talk about it without Jade overhearing. 

Security around the main entrance to Jeongguk’s penthouse was tight, state of the art. However, security around the service elevator at Jeongguk’s penthouse was lackluster. Each time Jimin visited, he ducked into the service elevator to take him to Jeongguk’s floor. There were two alarms that he needed to bypass and both of them were controlled by lame algorithms that updated once per week. Jimin broke them in under one second and even learned to predict the new codes. Perks of being a math wizard.

Jimin was nervous. Quite intentionally he and Jeongguk never spoke about the court case. They lived foolishly in their fantasy world as if the mess they’d created would miraculously resolve itself. But with the judge’s decision looming, it was time for them to face the truth about how they were going to handle Jade.

As Jimin stepped off of the service elevator, he could see a crowd of men gathered in front of Jeongguk’s door. They were loud and boisterous, animated. Jimin immediately recognized them; the suits that cost more than his salary, the slicked back hair, the fancy watches. They were Jeongguk’s legal team, a nasty group of morally corrupt leeches.

Not wanting to face them, he ducked back into the elevator. But as he did, he overheard them talking. They were strategizing about the case. Jimin heard his name as they debated possible outcomes. They had a plan. If they didn’t like the verdict, they planned to take Jimin down through other means. One of them suggested paying him off to force him to leave the country. Another suggested drawing the case out longer in order to bleed Jimin dry and deplete his legal fund. Still another suggested they make false accusations against Jimin to get him thrown back in jail. It was the last suggestion that they all rallied around. Whatever it took for Jeongguk to win, they were willing to do. Regardless of the judge’s decision, they were going to assure that Jeongguk walked away with sole custody of Jade.

The newest member of the team asked a question that Jimin very much wanted to know the answer to, “Did the boss sign off on all of this? We’re getting paid to take down this Park guy, right?”

“Of course he signed off on it,” the lead attorney assured him.

Jimin heard their voices go faint as they entered the passenger elevator to head down to the lobby. 

For the first time Jimin understood just how ruthless Jeongguk’s attorneys could be. Jimin felt faint. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “Jeongguk approved this?” He said to himself.

It all began to make sense. The fact that Jeongguk still insisted on suing for custody was something that Jimin had privately questioned for months. Jeongguk was using him to get to Jade. Somehow Jimin had conveniently forgotten that enemies should never be lovers. 

He could feel himself shaking. As with all things, Jimin had a key to Jeongguk’s penthouse. He quietly let himself in. He found Jeongguk sitting at his dining room table, combing over legal documents. 

Jimin approached him, eyes glossy and wet, “The judge has a verdict. The final hearing is in two days. Were you going to tell me?”

“You have a lawyer for that,” Jeongguk said coldly as he stared down at the papers. He was visibly upset about something.

Jimin’s tears were already falling, “This suffocating dark cloud has been looming for a while now. But I ignored it. Like an idiot, I thought it would all just work itself out. Were you ever going to talk to me about this - be honest with me? Were you ever going to fucking admit that you were still PLOTTING AGAINST ME?”

Jeongguk’s head snapped up. He glared at Jimin, “Plotting against you? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Jeongguk’s response infuriated Jimin even more. He lashed out at him,“You know what I fucking mean. I overheard your attorneys talking about your plan to get me out of Jade’s life for good. You still plan on taking her from me. After all we’ve been through. It’s still only about her, isn’t it? You used me to get to her. Now I understand why your fucking surrogate hated you. It’s all about Jade, only about Jade. Fuck everybody else!” Tears streamed down Jimin’s face.

Jeongguk was reserved, composed. “My attorneys? They just left. They didn’t say anything about you. None of what you’re saying is true.” He was suddenly on his feet.

“You tried to warn me. You told me not to get involved with you. But like a fucking idiot, I did it anyway.” Jimin sobbed with every word, “I let my guard down and I-I-I fell in love with you.” It was the first time that Jimin said the words out loud. 

“You love me?” Jeongguk seemed to lose his breath. He stepped back and thought for a moment about Jimin’s words. “You’re not an idiot. Stop it. Stop saying that. What’s wrong with you? I didn’t use you. Of course I care about you,” Jeongguk tried to explain.

“You took me on dates. You flew me around the world. You gave me everything. You treated me like I mattered to you. But it was all fake - a charade. You’re still the enemy. You always were, I just didn’t see it.”

“Jimin, listen to me. It’s not what you think. You don’t understand. Of course I care about you. You mean everything to me…you and Jade. I can’t lose her, but I can’t lose you either…,” Jeongguk tried to plead his case. He grabbed Jimin by the arms and tried to pull him into a hug.

Jimin slapped him hard across the face and pushed him away, “Don’t touch me, don’t ever fucking touch me again. I’ll never forgive you for trying to take my baby. Never!”

Jeongguk gasped, “SHE’S MY BABY TOO. You just don’t understand. Please let me explain.”

“FUCK YOU! See you in court.” Jimin ran out and never looked back.

***

 

For the two days leading up to the court date, Jimin disappeared. He refused all of Jeongguk’s phone calls and texts. Jeongguk dropped by his apartment several times and begged him to open the door but Jimin wasn’t there. No one had seen him or heard from him. Jeongguk feared the worst. He didn’t understand Jimin’s mental state and he worried about him. Even Jimin’s attorney didn’t know where he was. Jade was staying with Jeongguk and it was very unusual for Jimin not to call or visit.

Aera assured him that Jimin was okay. But that didn’t bring Jeongguk any peace. He needed to see him, talk to him, and explain. Jade noticed his absence and began asking about him as well. Whatever had happened, whatever Jimin was running from, it was affecting his entire family. 

 

It wasn’t until their court date that they faced each other for the first time since Jimin’s explosion.

 

March 28th, 2028 - Final Verdict in the case of Jeon v. Park

 

 Jimin entered the courtroom. He didn’t speak to Jeongguk or even look at him. Instead he headed straight for his table and sat next to his lawyer. Jade was not in the courtroom, not this time. She was with Aera because Jimin felt it was best to protect her from the drama that would undoubtedly play out in court. He could see the Plaintiff’s table out of the corner of his eye.  Jeongguk sat there - alone. His head was down and his hands were folded in front of him. Not for one second did Jimin question where Jeongguk’s sleazy team of fucking attorneys were. He was so full of heartbreak that it blinded him. He looked around wondering if he could be arrested at any moment on some trumped up charges that Jeongguk’s legal team had conjured out of thin air.

 

As soon as Jimin entered the room, Jeongguk jumped to his feet. He tried to get to him in an effort to talk, but Seongjin, Jimin’s attorney, blocked him from speaking to Jimin. Jimin refused to turn in his direction, or smile or acknowledge him at all. There was nothing but pain on his face. He looked like a man who had already been defeated. 

 

The judge entered the courtroom. He moved quickly, determined to deliver his news. Immediately, he addressed the court, “Thank you for your patience with me over the last three months as I gathered more evidence for this case. Without any further delay, I have a verdict: A grave miscarriage of justice was rendered when that baby was illegally taken away from her biological father. Allowing Park Jimin’s adoption to stand would inadvertently encourage the illegal activities that made the adoption possible. We can’t make a mockery of our rule of law, therefore…,”

Jimin began wailing before the judge could even finish reading his ruling.

The judge looked mournfully at Jimin as he continued, “...therefore it is my ruling that Jeon Jeongguk be named the legal guardian of Jeon Jade-hyun with full custody. I order that the adoption be reversed and stricken from the legal record. The Jeon name and credentials will be re-established as the biological father sees fit. Baby Jeon is to be removed from the custody of Park Jimin immediately. I’m sorry Mr. Park, but I must follow the law. There are no real winners in this situation.”

Jimin fell back in his seat, screaming, “No. No. No, you can’t do this. You can’t take her from me.” He shook his head back and forth, body limp, hardly able to remain in the chair. His attorney held him and pulled him into his arms to keep him from falling to the ground. His cries carried throughout the courtroom, invoking tears from the reporters. It was the saddest scene possible.

Jeongguk jumped to his feet, he looked back and forth between the judge and Jimin. “Your honor. Your honor please, may I speak?”

“You won, Mr. Jeon. What could you possibly have to say?” The judge asked.

“I withdraw my plea to have the adoption reversed.”

“What? You can’t do that…and why would you…? Where’s your counsel?” The judge was bewildered.

“I fired them last night. All of them. I’m representing myself now. Withdraw my complaint, please.

This man loves his daughter. I made a mistake by trying to take her away from him,” Jeongguk spoke frantically. There was no one there to talk sense into him or settle him down. He yelled at the judge, “Don’t reverse the adoption!”

“I’m afraid it’s too late. I’ve already made my ruling,” the judge explained.

“Don’t break up my…family,” Jeongguk pleaded with the judge. “I’m…I’m…I’m in love with the Defendant your honor.” A sudden hush befell the courtroom.  Jeongguk left the table and walked towards the judge, breaking all courtroom decorum, “Jade can come home with me,” he turned to Jimin, “but Jimin, you have to come too.”

Jimin pressed his wrist over his mouth and used his sleeve to grab his fallen tears. He was too distraught to fully understand what Jeongguk was saying. 

Jeongguk said it again,“I’m in love with you. I knew months ago, but I was too scared to admit it. Hearing you say it finally gave me the courage to face the truth. I love you.”

Jimin stared towards the Plaintiff’s table, “You’re, you’re what?”

The judge banged his gavel, “What fresh hell is this? Mr. Jeon sit down. Get away from my bench. I’ve already made my ruling. This soap opera will not play out in my court…,”

Jeongguk ignored him, “Your honor, please listen. I demanded my attorneys dismiss this case months ago, before you went into recess. They were supposed to withdraw this entire complaint. I knew that I could work things out privately with the Defendant. We didn’t need the court…we didn’t need this case. But two days ago, I found out that my legal team never submitted my request for dismissal to the court. That’s when I fired all of them.” Jeongguk tried to walk towards Jimin but the bailiff held him in place, “Jimin, that’s what I was trying to tell you, but you refused to listen to me. I will never take her from you. But more than that, I want you. I want to spend my life with you - both of you,” Jeongguk yelled across the courtroom.

“Mr. Jeon, sit down or I’ll hold you in contempt,” the judge banged his gavel. “My ruling will stand.”

“YOU CAN’T TAKE HER FROM HIM!” Jeongguk screamed at the judge. 

The judge barked, “Bailiff, arrest him for contempt.” 

The bailiff moved to handcuff Jeongguk. Jeongguk continued to yell, he was determined to make sure that his side of the story was on the record. 

He fought as the bailiff pushed him against the table to cuff him, “Your honor, my attorney’s acted without my permission. On the very same day that you dismissed court, I signed all of the paperwork for the dismissal of this case. I can prove it. I have the copies. Please believe me. This is not what I want.”

Jimin’s mouth dropped open as he watched Jeongguk fight to tell his truth.

“Jimin, I didn’t tell you because I wanted everything to be official. I didn’t want you to be heartbroken if we hit a legal snag. I waited and waited thinking everything was being worked out. For three months, my attorneys lied to me and told me that they had filed my reversal. But they never did. I just found out two days ago. I went ballistic and I fired all of them. I filed complaints against them as well. They’ll be disbarred for this. I don’t know what you heard, but I never ordered them to do anything to hurt you. NEVER. You have to believe me!” Jeongguk screamed.

The judge yelled over Jeongguk’s chatter, “Take him to the holding cell.”

Jimin jumped to his feet. “Your honor. We accept your ruling. The adoption is reversed. I understand.” Jimin looked at Jeongguk with pleading eyes, begging him to stop resisting. “But please…don’t arrest him. Please let me talk to him. This is officially a private matter.”

After giving it some thought, the judge agreed, “Release him. I don’t know what’s going on here and I really don’t care. If you two want to enter a good faith agreement for shared custody or alternate living arrangements, that’s up to you. Mr. Park can always reapply for adoption of baby Jeon with the biological father’s permission. I’ve made my ruling. Good luck gentlemen. Court dismissed.” The judge banged his gavel again and then immediately exited.

There was an audible gasp in the courtroom. Reporters typed frantically on their devices as they broadcast the news to the world in real time.

Jimin stood dumbfounded, not sure what to make of Jeongguk’s desperate theatrics. He had just lost his daughter…or had he? His hands trembled from the roller coaster of emotions. He leaned over the desk, tears still streaming down his cheeks. His knees were weak.

Jeongguk ran over to him, pushing past his attorney. His large beautiful eyes were intensely focused. He bracketed Jimin’s face within his large hands, “I love you. I should have said it sooner. I can’t live without you in my life. It’s never been more clear than at this very moment. I can’t lose you. Please say yes. Please say you’ll share a life with me so we can raise Jade together. Please say you’ll move in with me. Please tell me you love me too,” the younger begged. 

“But…your attorneys…I heard them say they were going to unleash an all new attack on me. They never mentioned anything about this case being dropped. They said the boss approved of their new tactics. You’re their boss.”

“I’m not the boss they were referring to. Yes I pay the bills, but my Agent, Chang, has been in charge of maintaining their payroll. I hired him to keep an eye on them since he’s an attorney as well. The boss they’re referring to is him. He’s the one who stopped them from submitting my dismissal for the case. He was trying to help. He thought I was making a decision that I would regret by not legally protecting my rights, so he pushed the case forward without telling me. He was looking out for me. He meant well but he’s a little sleazy. I’m not at all surprised that he agreed to shady tactics to get you out of the picture. I would have fired him too if he hadn’t been with me since I was seventeen. I fired them all when I found out about this. I’ve been looking for you for days to try to tell you…to try to explain. But you ran away from me. This case should have been over months ago. I have all of my paperwork to prove what I’m saying. Chang will tell you himself that he’s a piece of shit. He owns it.” 

Jimin could see the truth in Jeongguk’s eyes. The man was in love. He could hear the fiery passion in his voice. He could feel the desperation of his touch. Jeongguk was telling the truth. 

Jimin shook his head, “I -I don’t know what to say.”

“Say yes. The old adoption is thrown out. Fine. We’ll start an all new adoption. We’ll raise that baby together as her two dads. We’ll protect your rights, I promise. We can go through a reputable private agency. Now say yes, please Jimin, say yes.”

Everything in Jimin’s body told him to say yes. His brain screamed for him to say yes. His heart screamed for him to say yes. Even his cock screamed for him to say yes. “Yes.”

Jeongguk grabbed him and planted a long passionate kiss in front of the entire courtroom. He held him tightly in his arms, fearful of ever letting him go.

Hundreds of cameras flashed around them. No one could believe what they were seeing. It was the storybook ending that no one saw coming. 

 

The following day, the headlines read, “Nasty Custody Battle Ends In Courtroom Confession of Love.”

***

 

At three years old, Jade was already pitching. Jeongguk signed her up for the toddler’s t-ball league but insisted that she was ready for a pitching team. Jimin disagreed. 

As they sat in the park, Jimin sat on a blanket in the shade, reading through the third chapter of The Sorcerer’s Stone. He had to admit, it was a pretty good book. He understood why Jeongguk and Jade loved it so much.

“Strike One,” Jeongguk yelled as Jade threw an errant pitch that hit a pigeon two meters away. “That’s my girl. You’re so good at this,” Jeongguk doted.

Jade’s little legs traveled quickly across the grass as she ran to retrieve her large plastic softball. She returned to the base to throw her second pitch.

“Strike TWO!” Jeongguk yelled. The pitch was so bad. Once again the same pigeon was beaned in the head. She really was terrible.

 Jimin wondered if maybe she should consider playing outfield. He grumbled to himself, “At least she’s good at math.”

But no one could tell her bio dad anything about his baby not being the best pitcher on the planet. Jade wound up to throw her third pitch.

“STRIKE THR…OH SHIT!” The pitch hit Jimin in the face.

Jeongguk ran over to him, full of laughter. “Oh my, baby are you ok? That one got away from her.”

“Got away from her!” Jimin complained as he held his nose. “Were any of those pitches ever actually with her?”

Jeongguk fell to his knees laughing. He grabbed Jimin’s face and kissed it all over, paying special attention to his nose. He wrestled him down to the blanket and climbed on top of him. With the most passion he could show in a public park, he kissed him deeply.  

“Sorry daddy,” Jade made her way to the pile of bodies and laid on top of them, trying to apologize for her bad pitch, “that one got away from me,” she explained.

“It’s ok baby. Daddy loves you. You’re getting better with each pitch though,” Jimin lied. No real father could ever dampen his child’s dreams. 

“Daddy, the adoption ceremony is tomorrow. I have a special dress. Daddy helped me pick it out. But you can’t see it until we walk down the aisle in the courthouse,” Jade explained.

“I bet it’s beautiful, just like you,” Jimin held back tears.

“I am beautiful, no doubt about that,” Jade said as she picked up her ball and headed back to the pitching mound. “Hi mommy,” they heard her say in the distance as the wind rustled through the trees.

“Thank you for agreeing to let me adopt her again,” Jimin sniffled.

“You have no idea how happy this makes me. We were meant to be a family. It just took us a little time to figure it out.”

Jimin gushed, he loved hearing those words, “I thought you didn’t give a fuck about me.”

“I give every fuck about you. All the fucks,” Jeongguk laughed. “You’re the most important person in my life. I love you, Jimin,” Jeongguk was hit in the back of the head with the baseball. “And Jade. Jade too,” he corrected.

Jade ran over and jumped on top of both of them again. They entered into a three -way hug.

“Love you Jadie-poo.”

“Love you my little seedling.”

“Love you daddy and daddy.”

“Love you…Jeongguk.”

“Love you…Jimin.”

***

 

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