Chapter Text
To say he needed a drink was an understatement.
The day had comprised committing detailed audits of various partner accounts. This task was left on Yeosang’s desk after he left for the night the day prior. He came in this morning to the files, and the instant headache it brought on was a tall tale sign of how his day was going to turn out. Granted, he was an accountant, he got his degree because he enjoyed dealing with numbers. However, there were moments like this where he debated on why he chose this career path.
One account was giving him a hard time, too many discrepancies that were going to make his eyes bulge out of their sockets if he stared at the screen any longer. He messaged Mingi to come up and help him sort it all out; he needed a fresh pair of eyes to go through the files with him. The pair worked through lunch as they painstakingly went through the files. By the time five o’clock rolled around, Yeosang was ready to call it a day. He and Mingi had successfully completed two of the most difficult files. He was saving the other two for tomorrow; his head hurt way too much to start them now.
“Thanks again for your help,” Yeosang thanked Mingi as they stepped into the elevator.
Mingi huffed out a laugh and pressed the button for the garage; “Yeah, yeah, no problem. It felt like your office was about to explode with how tense you were.”
Yeosang rested his head against the elevator wall, the humming of the machinery a background noise to his anticipation, as he watched the number display count down. “Hongjoong texted me saying he had a surprise waiting on my desk.” He finished by rolling his eyes.
That made Mingi laugh. “Some surprise, huh?”
“Surprise my ass,” Yeosang grumbled, earning him an amused laugh from his friend. “Remind me to tell Hongjoong he owes me a drink.” As a matter of fact, Yeosang pulled his phone out and sent that exact text to him. While many would advise against sending that to your supervisor, Yeosang’s history with Hongjoong stretches back years, predating Hongjoong’s founding of NO1. He liked to think he had some leeway in how he interacted with the man. And Hongjoong confirmed that thought by sending a laughing crying emoji to Yeosang’s text. That made the man roll his eyes again, and stash his cell phone back into his pocket, not bothering with responding to his reaction.
Mingi said, “You owe me dinner for helping you,” and his tone didn’t have any real seriousness or venom. “I’m always here to help you anyways,” he finished with a casual wave.
“I’ll buy you dinner, just name a day and time. You can even bring Yunho along if you’d like. I’ll ask San and Wooyoung if they’d like to join.”
“Hell,” Mingi added, “ask Hongjoong and Seonghwa while you’re at it. The more the merrier, right?”
“Yeah, sure, we’ll see.”
The elevator came to a stop with a satisfying ding! The pair stepped out into the company garage; there were still a decent amount of cars in the garage, most of the workers stayed late to finish reports and projects. Yeosang was a usual culprit with staying after hours. A few times he ended up sleeping in his office when it got too late, and he didn’t like pushing his luck with being exhausted and attempting to drive home. Hongjoong had a couch placed in Yeosang’s office for such occasions.
“You better not have used the company card for that.” Yeosang chided the young CEO.
Hongjoong merely smirked and gave a shrug, “It’s for the company building, it’s considered a work expense.”
Yeosang never told Hongjoong how grateful he was for that couch; he didn’t want to give the man that kind of satisfaction.
“Get home safe, Sangie,” Mingi called out to him, giving a small wave as he got into his care.
Yeosang waved back and quickly got into his vehicle. Once the door shut, he took a minute to gather himself, eyes closing as he rubbed his temples to alleviate the ever persistent headache. He still needed to decide what he was going to do for dinner. Deciding to figure that out on the way home, Yeosang switched on the ignition and started the journey back home.
Home was a nice, cozy two bedroom residence that was nestled in a quiet neighborhood just outside the city. Yeosang was able to snag it for a good price, and the location was a convenient distance from the office. His neighbors were nice enough, everyone pretty much kept to themselves which Yeosang did prefer. It also helped that most of the guys lived within twenty minutes from him. When he initially purchased the property the entire home was painted in a boring white and grayscale. It made the residence feel cold and uninviting. He spent months repainting the walls, buying cozy furniture, hung up art and photos on the walls and plants. Lots of plants, courtesy of Seonghwa. Yeosang was not a plant person at first, granted he sort of still isn’t, but he has grown rather attached to the plants that Seonghwa gifted him. It was a home that Yeosang felt proud of, a home that brought him comfort and peace after long days at the office.
Yeosang toed off his shoes, then placed his bag and coat on the bench near the front door. He immediately went into the kitchen to browse through the refrigerator. There was leftover doenjang jigae from the night before, as well as some rice that he had put away. Guess that will be his dinner. Yeosang pulled out chicken and started pulling together the ingredients for a quick marinate. He was in the middle of cooking dinner when his phone lit up with a call.
Strange.
It was almost seven, phone calls weren’t necessarily rare at this time, but he also wasn’t used to getting any. Especially, if it wasn’t from one of the guys. And when he looked at the caller I.D. it was definitely not one of the guys. Yeosang’s brow pinched together as he stared down at the unknown number. Against his better judgement, he answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Kang Yeosang?”
The formal tone in the voice is what caught Yeosang’s attention. For a moment he thought it was some kind of telemarketer and had the urge to hang up. However, a voice in his head told him this was not that. “Yes, this is he.”
“Hello, my name is Kim Namjoon, I am a caseworker with CPS. I am calling because you were listed as a potential support for one of my cases.”
Yeosang froze. CPS? What the hell? “I-I’m sorry, what—can you repeat that?”
“Are you familiar with Park Jiyeon? She had you listed down as a cousin, is that correct?”
“I-," Yeosang stuttered as he quickly turned off the stove and walked into the living room, needing to move his body somehow. “I’m sorry, Jiyeon gave you my number… wait, I mean, yeah we are cousins…distant cousins, I guess. Why are you calling me? And why did she give you my number?”
“I know this is very sudden and confusing. Jiyeon-ssi currently has an open case with CPS regarding her daughter, Daeun. As part of our intake process, we gather information on family members and fictive kins that could be utilized as support and potential permanency options for the child, or children, in care. She listed you down with a phone number, but no address.”
“Okay,” Yeosang paused, waiting to see if Namjoon was going to say anything, but continued. “Why are you calling me?”
“We are needing a new placement for her child, Daeun.”
Wait, that means…
“I can’t give you too many details. Only that her previous placement is no longer able to care for her.”
Yeosang’s mind was drawing blank. He was desperately trying to pull his clouded mind together to piece some kind of statement. “So…so you need someone to take her in?”
“Yes, we need a new placement. I’ve already contacted the other individuals on the list, unfortunately, they aren’t able to take her in.” There was a hint of frustration that ticked Namjoon’s voice at the end of that statement. “You’re the last person on the list for me to contact.”
“O-okay, uhm,” Yeosang was at a loss for words. This was not what he was expecting on a Wednesday night. Also, Jiyeon has an open case with CPS? What the hell happened? “I’m sorry, I just don’t—”
“No, please don’t apologize. I understand all of this is very overwhelming. Let me try and make this phone call as focused as possible. I need you to clarify for me, how do you know Park Jiyeon?”
“Yes, she’s a cousin…distant cousin more like.”
A small hum from the other end. “When was the last time you had contact with her? Whether it was in person, or through a phone call?”
Yeosang took a seat on his couch, frantically running through his memories in order to answer Namjoon. It has been a minute since he’s seen her. “I would say the last time I saw her was at least two years ago. Definitely before she had her kid. Last time she texted me was probably almost a year ago. It wasn’t anything big or noteworthy.”
“I know these next questions may be a bit personal, but I need to ask them. Do you have any children, Yeosang-ssi?”
“Uh,” Yeosang blanked for a second. “No, I don’t.”
“How many bedrooms do you have?”
“Two, technically.”
“Do you live alone?”
“Yes.”
“I know all of this is sudden and I do apologize for springing this onto so suddenly, but would you be willing to be Daeun’s new placement? She’s 18 months old, turned one back in April. She does receive early intervention services with developmental therapy and speech therapy. But, she’s a healthy child and has been progressing very well.”
A new placement. A new placement for a young child that he has never met. And wait, she was receiving services? Developmental and speech therapy? What on earth happened to this kid? “I’ve never met the kid before, I don’t know if that makes any difference. To be honest, I didn't even know that Jiyeon had a child.”
“No, that doesn’t effect any of this. Of course, our first choice would be to place the child with someone that she has met before or has some form of bond with, but extended family and fictive kin are our next best choice.”
What the fuck was he supposed to do? He was in no way prepared to take care of a kid. The spare bedroom was currently set up as his home office and extra storage. The home is not baby proofed at all (though that could be fixed within a day). He works long hours at the office, his schedule can sometimes be inconsistent which meant he would have to find adequate daycare and a potential babysitter for when he’s working late hours (he could probably talk with Hongjoong about working from home most days, when needed). Also, the kid has no idea who he is and there were concerns regarding her developmental growth that requires therapy. Would it be too much for him to handle? “I’m sorry, I don’t know if you can tell me but why does she receive therapy? Have there been issues with her health?
“I can’t give you the full details now. Daeun had some health issues at birth and there has been some delays in her developmental progress, as well as her speech skills. She’s been receiving her services for about a year now. It’ll be revisited once she turns three to see if there are any other recommendations in terms of additional services. But, as I said before, she has made great progress. If this is something that you can do, I can get you a copy of her entire medical file for you to keep.”
Holy shit. This was actually real. Was he actually going to agree to this? “If I were to say no,” Yeosang paused, he could feel how tense the air felt between them even through the phone. “What would happen to her? Where would she go?”
There was a sharp inhale, a sign of Namjoon trying to keep himself focused. “We contact our licensed foster homes to see if any of them can take her. And keep trying until we find someone.”
There was finality in Namjoon’s voice that made Yeosang’s stomach twist. He had just heard from the man that some of Daeun’s only family members —his family members— refused to take her in. For reasons he doesn’t know. But they essentially turned their back on this poor kid. And he can’t imagine trying to convince other total strangers to take in an almost two year old who requires therapeutic services was an easy task. But, it really can’t be that bad right? It wasn’t like she was an infant, she just turned one back in April. She is already in the toddler stage, which was its own chaotic mess.
But the kid needed someone to step up. So, how could he say no?
This was probably a bad idea, but what other choice did he have? He could say no, he had every right to not accept this. But then he would be living with that guilt for the rest of his life. Yesoang’s eyes pinched closed, his head hanging low as he finally gave Namjoon his answer. “Okay, I’ll take her in.”
There was a brief pause on the other end, then a quick huff, “Thank you, Yeosang-ssi.” The relief in Namjoon’s tone was too apparent, Yeosang couldn’t help the way his eyebrows raised when he heard it. “I know this is very much not how you thought your night was going to turn out.”
He huffed out a quiet laugh, “You have no idea.”
“Do you have time tomorrow for me to visit your home? It is standard for me to conduct a home safety check before Daeun can be placed with you.”
Holy shit. This was actually happening. “Y-yes, yes, that’s fine. I’m usually home by 6.”
“That works for me. I’ll bring you her medical files tomorrow. I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I can answer them all tomorrow. I don’t want to keep you on the phone too long. Do you also consent for me to run a background check?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“I’ll also need you to get fingerprinted at our office tomorrow, will you be able to do that?”
Yeosang felt like he just got a bad case of whiplash. “Y-yes, I can go during my lunch if that works.”
“That’s perfect. It shouldn’t take too long, I’ll leave your information with our office and they’ll get it done for you tomorrow.”
Namjoon then asked for Yeosang’s address which he gave in a rather robotic voice, his body still too shocked that he actually agreed to this. The two men confirmed their meeting for 6 and, after exchanging goodbyes, the line finally went quiet. And Yeosang was left to simmer in that familiar peaceful silence of his home. That silence would probably be gone within a few days. He glanced around the space, imagining a little one year old running around. It was going to be very different now. He was about to be a foster parent. He was going to have a kid in his care for who knows how long.
Oh god, he’s gonna be a dad essentially.
Yeosang pulled his phone out and opened up the group chat with the others, then typed out, ‘Guys, I think I have a kid now.’
—
To say that randomly texting a group chat of seven other guys that he had a kid now was probably not the best thing to do in hindsight. The entire chat blew up with understandable confusion. Wooyoung managed to call Yeosang five times in less than a minute before he was able to answer the call.
“I’m sorry! You have a WHAT now?!”
Needless to say, Yeosang found himself on a facetime with all seven of them, and he reiterated what he could remember from that conversation with Namjoon. After hearing the explanation, alot of the panic and confusion immediately disipated. No, it wasn’t the case of Yeosang being confronted with the fact that he had fathered a child that he didn’t know about. No, it was just a foster case. That was very different.
“You don’t just text us that you have a kid like that, Sangie! What the hell, I almost had a heart attack!”, Yunho’s dramatics only made Yeosang roll his eyes.
“But it’s also pretty cool that you’re doing this,” Jongho had been quiet for much of the conversation, allowing Yeosang the time to explain everything without interrupting. “It seems like it would’ve been hell for the caseworker to find her a home to go to.”
“Yeah.” Yeosang had completely abandoned his cooking his dinner. He ended up putting away the cooked chicken in the refrigerator. He was now settled in his bed with his back resting against the headboard, phone still in his hand as he stared at the screen. “You guys think I made a stupid decision.”
There was a unanimous 'No' from every single individual on that call. That made his lips twitch at the sides.
“Obviously, its a sudden and big change,” Seonghwa comforted. He and Hongjoong were sitting next to each other with Hongjoong’s head resting against Seonghwa’s shoulder as they shared a screen. “It’s okay to feel nervous and like you made a mistake. But you have us and others who are willing to help you.”
“You guys will?”
Wooyoung exhaled a sharp scoff, “What kind of question is that?” He brought the phone closer to his face as he stared at Yeosang through the screen, appearing thoroughly offended that Yeosang would even consider such a question. Out of all of them, Yeosang knew that Wooyoung and San would be the first ones to jump up to help him. “Of course we are going to help you, are you kidding? I can’t wait to meet her, she sounds adorable!”
“You just love kids.” Jongho countered back lightly.
“Because they’re adorable.”
That made Yeosang realize that he doesn’t even know what the kid —Daeun— looked like. He didn’t know anything about the case, granted he was pretty sure Namjoon would give him the rundown during their visit tomorrow. Still, in just a matter of days he was going to have a kid living with him and he didn’t know what she looked like. Was she friendly or shy? Did she have a favorite animal, favorite snack? He was at a loss with everything. Should he text Namjoon all of these questions?
No.
It was almost ten o’clock at night, surely the caseworker was already stressed as it was, he probably was already asleep by now. He could just ask him tomorrow.
“--Sang?”
“Yeosang.”
He shook himself out of his thoughts, realizing that they had been trying to talk to him this entire time. “Sorry, must have spaced out.”
“You know we should let you go. Get some sleep.” Hongjoong commented.
“Don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep, but we’ll see.”
The group said their goodbyes and then the call was ended.
Sleep did not come for Yeosang. He laid there on his bed in the dark, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Despite the exhaustion that ate at his body, he picked up his phone and, against his better judgment, began stalking Jiyeon’s social media. Okay, was stalking the best word to use? He was simply curious. Yeosang had his own social media, though he rarely used it. On Jiyeon’s profile, he was able to skim through her posts going back almost a decade. He came across old photos of them in high school, late night runs to the convenience stores. Dumb photos of them fucking around in the streets. There were silly posts she made with Yeosang’s commenting just egging it all on. It all made him smile for a moment. He remembered how fun she was.
Yeosang saw some photos of her and Jeong-suk, whom he could only assume is the Daeun’s father. There wasn’t anything concerning in her posts, photos of the two of them on dates—smiling and laughing, having fun. There was a subtle shift in the tone of her posts, not that many photos just text posts that appear more like ramblings than anything else. That’s when it hit him. Yeosang remembered a few years back, he had heard something from one of their other cousins. Jiyeon had started using drugs, allegedly. It was a shock to him when he had first heard it, chalking it up to family gossip that wasn’t true. However, remembering that and Namjoon stating that Daeun had some health concerns early on. It would explain why Daeun was taken from her. Was Jiyeon using drugs around her kid? Did the kid somehow ingest anything?
Yeosnag could feel a icey chill run down his spine as he continued to scroll through Jiyeon’s post. He found Jiyeon’s pregnancy announcement that had a photo of the ultrasound attached to it. Something about that made his stomach turn. That feeling didn’t go away as he continued on, seeing the many updates that Jiyeon shared throughout her pregnancy. Then the update of her sharing the news that she had given birth. Then, a post talking about how her daughter was ‘taken away from her’, but surely there was more to the story, right? The comments on that post were not any better. Barely any form of empathy for the situation. Then, he saw one comment that made all the color drain from his face.
‘Maybe you shouldn’t have done drugs while pregnant’.
Reading that comment, over and over and over again. It made him sick. He felt as if he could vomit at the idea that Jiyeon could have possibly done drugs while pregnant. Maybe he shouldn’t be looking through all of this. Wouldn’t that make him from some kind of bias? Honestly, he doesn’t even know what being Daeun’s foster parent is going to entail. Would he have to interact with Jiyeon at all? Would he be summoned to court for anything? Is there a possibility that Daeun could go back to Jiyeon? That thought alone made Yeosang’s entire body go numb. Was that a possibility?
He could feel himself starting to spiral. That all too familiar ache in his chest sent his senses on high alert. Sucking in a breath and feeling his chest constrict almost sent him into a blinding panic. Without thinking, Yeosang opened up his contacts and clicked on Wooyoung’s name, then hit the call button.
“Yeosang?”
“I think I know why her kid’s in care.”
There was some rustling on the other end, a sleepy voice in the background—he knew it was San. “Wait, what? I thought the caseworker didn’t tell you anything.”
“He didn’t.” Yeosang gripped onto the comforter until his knuckles turned white. “I don’t know-I don’t know if it’s true but…I think she might have done drugs during her pregnancy.”
Wooyoung was silent for a good minute. Yeosang had to check to make sure that the call was still connected. “Wait, are you serious? How do you know this?”
“I stalked her social media." He winced at how crazy that must have sounded. Wooyoung didn't say anything about it. "Found a post where she said that her daughter got taken from her and someone in the comments said that she shouldn’t have done drugs during her pregnancy.”
A short pause. “Holy shit.”
“Wooyoungie,” Yeosang’s voice trembled. He mentally cursed at himself for it. “What if that’s true? I mean that could explain why Daeun had some health issues at birth. That can really fuck up a kid.”
“Hey,” Wooyoung’s voice remained calm and comforting. “You don’t know for sure that’s what happened. This is all just based from social media, it could be bullshit for all you know. I would just wait until you see the caseworker tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll give you the rundown on what happened.”
Yeosang silently nodded, even though he knew Wooyoung couldn’t see him. The two remained on the phone, there was no talking for a good few minutes. Wooyoung was giving him a moment to gather his thoughts. “How am I supposed to care for her, Youngie? Namjoon-ssi said that she was really healthy, but who knows what kind of health issues she might have down the road. How am I going to care for-“
“Sangie, hey,” Wooyoung interrupted. Careful. Firm. “I know. I know it’s a lot to take in and digest. But you don’t know if that is what happened. Wait until tomorrow and talk with Namjoon-ssi. Don’t stress yourself out tonight. I can hear it in your voice that you’re starting to spiral.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you need us tonight? We can come over.”
Yeosang wanted to say yes. The idea of lying in bed with Wooyoung and San made his entire body go warm. To have their weight next to him with Wooyoung curled against his back, and Yeosang with his face buried into San’s chest. God, it sounded like heaven. “I…I don’t-," He didn’t want them to bother making the drive out here, it was already late as it is. He wanted to say no, that he was fine and he would be able to sleep fine tonight. But his body and mind screamed no, begging and yearning for their presence.
But, Wooyoung could read him even through the phone. “We’re on our way, Sangie.”
Yeosang could only nod. When the call ended, he remained in bed, back sunken into the mattress and his eyes staring up at the ceiling. It would only take Wooyoung and San about thirty minutes to get to his home. He wnated to wait up for them. Not even ten minutes after the call, Yeosang could feel the heaviness of sleep start to weigh down his eyes. His eye lids slowly dropping closed and he tried to fight it. But that exhaustion settled into the rest of his body. Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a moment.
When Woyooung and San finally arrived, Yeosang was deep in sleep, curled up on his side with the blanket tucked up under his chin. Wooyoung and San didn’t say a word, they merely slipped under the blanket with Wooyoung pressed against Yeosang’s back and an arm draped over his waist, and San snuggling up at Yeosang’s chest. Yeosang didn’t wake up. He stirred for a moment to nuzzle his face closer to San’s chest, his entire body finally relaxing as he fell deeper into his sleep.