Chapter 36 - Ordinary evenings matter

The evening came like a soothing whisper. Rain tapped against the window sill, and the smell of pancakes and warm milk hung in the air. Jimin and Jungkook sat together on the couch, covered with a single blanket, while Yuna colored a dinosaur at the kitchen table.

“Do you think she knows what we mean to each other?” Jimin asked quietly.

Jungkook looked at him, paused for a moment, then sighed.

“I think kids know more than we think they do. They see what we can't put into words.”

“What do we see?”

“What we're afraid to admit,” Jungkook replied and looked away. ”That this is all real. That we've started to have something we could lose.”

Jimin put his hand on his knee.

“I don't want to hide anything anymore. Not from you, not from myself, not from her.”

Jungkook nodded.

“Then let's talk to her. Tomorrow.”

---

Chapter 37 - A Conversation About the Heart

The next day, Yuna sat on the living room floor, putting together a puzzle. Jungkook and Jimin sat down next to her, saying nothing. They waited for her to look up.

She did.

“Yuna,” Jungkook began gently. “Do you remember when you drew the three of us?”

The girl nodded.

“Do you know what it means to be a family?”

She thought about it. Then she took a block and placed it between them.

“It means that someone stays. Even when others disappear.”

Jimin felt something tighten in his throat.

“Exactly,” he whispered. ‘And I want to stay. For a long time. If you'll let me.”

Yuna looked at him. Her eyes were silent, but understanding.

“What about Mom?’ she asked suddenly, quietly.

Jungkook froze. It was the first time she had mentioned her so openly.

“Your mom was very brave,” he said. ‘And I think she would want you to be happy. To feel loved.”

Yuna nodded. Then she reached for a crayon and drew another figure in the old drawing—one holding all of their hands.

“That's her,’ she said. ”She's staying too. Inside.”

---

Chapter 38 - A whisper in the hallway

On Monday morning, Jungkook arrived at the clinic as usual: early, with his paperwork in order, wearing a white coat. But something was different. There was unease in the air.

The nurse gave him a nervous look.

“Is everything okay?“ he asked.

“I saw your sister-in-law today. She was waiting outside the office, but... she didn't come in.”

“Eunsook?” Jungkook's heart beat faster.

“Someone must have accosted her. She heard something about Jimin. About you. That... you live together.”

Jungkook felt a wave of heat wash over him.

“Who said that?”

“I don't know. But she looked like she already knew everything.”

Jungkook closed his eyes for a moment. In his mind's eye, he saw Eunsook's gaze—cold, stern. Always suspicious, always ready to judge.

He didn't feel fear. He felt only one thing: anger.

Because once again, someone wanted to tear apart something he had just managed to build.

---

Chapter 39 - Letter of Intent

In the afternoon, a package arrived. An official one. From a law firm.

Jungkook opened the envelope and read it.

“In connection with disturbing information regarding the upbringing of Yuna Jeon, I request that an investigation be initiated...”

At the bottom:

Eunsook Nam's name.

He dropped the envelope on the table.

Jimin entered the kitchen and immediately froze when he saw his face.

“What happened?”

“She wants to take Yuna away from me,” Jungkook said, his voice so empty it was frightening.

“What?

She claims that I'm unstable. That my relationship with you is threatening the ‘proper development’ of the child.

But... she doesn't even know you. She doesn't know you.

Jungkook shook his head.

“She only knows her version of the world. And she intends to defend it.”

There was a long silence. Then Jimin whispered,

“We won't let her win.”

---

Chapter 40 - Storm Under the Skin

They met face to face two days later. In the clinic lobby. Eunsook came uninvited, like a storm that doesn't ask for permission.

She was cold. Perfect. Unmoved by emotion.

“I saw Yuna drawing the three of you,” she said condescendingly. ”But that doesn't mean she understands what's going on.”

“She understands more than you do,” Jungkook replied calmly.

“You're using her. You're dragging a child into a situation she shouldn't be a part of.”

“I love her. I protect her. And I won't let you destroy what gives her stability.”

“The court will decide if you're fit.”

“The court may look into my daughter's eyes and see that the only thing she's afraid of... is that someone will leave her again.”

The silence between them was like glass—thin, fragile, ready to shatter at the slightest breath.

Eunsook left without a word. But she left behind something that couldn't be ignored.

War.

Chapter 41 - Front Line

The lawyer welcomed them into a small, warm office that was nothing like the cold offices Jimin knew from the movies. An elderly man with gentle eyes and a quiet voice looked through the documents without comment.

“Ms. Nam has filed a petition for guardianship. She claims that the home where Yuna is being raised 'may not provide adequate emotional conditions and stability, given the current life situation of the guardian'.

Jungkook remained silent, his fingers clenched into fists. Jimin sat next to him, not taking his eyes off him.

“Current situation?“ he repeated quietly.

“To put it bluntly, it's about your relationship,” the lawyer explained. “And the fact that you are not formally partners or family. It's a classic move.”

“And Yuna? Doesn't her voice mean anything?”

“To the court... she means less than she should. But we can change that. If the girl clearly shows that she wants to be with you, if we build a solid picture of your care, we have a chance.”

“I have to be perfect?”

“You have to be yourself. But for the next few weeks... you also have to be stronger than ever.”

---

Chapter 42 - Something Has Changed

That evening, Yuna was silent. She wasn't angry, she wasn't sad—she was... quiet. As if she had disappeared piece by piece, leaving only her body behind.

Jimin sat down next to her on the floor.

“Do you want to draw something?”

The girl didn't answer.

“Maybe... a book? A puzzle? A fairy tale?”

Silence. Deep and heavy as fog.

Jungkook entered the room, anxiety in his eyes.

“She knows,” he whispered. ”She senses that something is wrong.”

Jimin nodded, not taking his eyes off Yuna.

“We can't leave her like this without saying anything.”

He knelt down beside her.

“Yuna. Remember how you said that family is someone who stays?”

The girl flinched slightly.

“We're staying. Me. Your dad. No one is taking you away.”

Yuna's eyes welled up. But she still didn't say a word.

---

Chapter 43 - Return to Silence

The next day, Yuna didn't say a word. Not to Jimin. Not to Jungkook. Not even to the stuffed fox that usually got a whole series of whispered stories from her.

Jungkook sat at the table with his head in his hands.

“She's shut herself off again.”

“It's not your fault,” Jimin said, but he felt the weight of guilt himself. ”It's fear. She senses that something might happen.”

“What if I can't get her back this time?”

“Jungkook...”

“I'm not good enough. I don't have a wife. I have a man. I have a daughter who doesn't speak.” I have a clinic and... and everything that could be used against me.

“But you also have love. And her. And me. And that's enough.”

Jungkook looked at him and cried for the first time in many days. Quietly, silently, like those who have had to be strong for too long.

---

Chapter 44 - The Crack

In the evening, when Jimin was trying to prepare dinner, Yuna entered the kitchen. Without a word, she approached him and hugged him from the side. Her small hand clenched his sweater.

“Hey,” he said quietly, surprised but touched. ”I missed you.”

Silence.

“Are you hungry?”

The girl shook her head.

“Do you want to cuddle?”

She nodded slightly.

He put his arm around her and they just stood there for a long, long moment.

When Jungkook entered the kitchen, he froze. His daughter, who had been like a shadow for the past few days, was cuddling up to Jimin, her cheek against his shoulder.

They didn't need to say anything. At that moment, they were a family.

But everyone knew that families could also be torn apart.

---

Chapter 45 - You don't go to court alone

Two weeks later, a summons for a preliminary hearing arrived. Jungkook was to appear in court. Formally, it was a meeting with a probation officer. Informally, it was the first step in the war for his own child.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Jimin asked.

Jungkook looked at him intently.

“I'm so scared they'll see you there and use it against me. But I'm also scared to go without you.”

“Then choose what's more important—what will protect you: fear or the truth?”

Jungkook took a deep breath.

“Will you come with me?”

“I'll go. Even if they chase me away. Even if they stare. I'll go because Yuna isn't just your daughter.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because Yuna is also my home.”

Chapter 46 - Day One

The meeting with the probation officer was to take place in a room that resembled something between a school common room and an interrogation room. Bright lights, soft chairs, a long table, and tea in paper cups, as if that would sweeten the atmosphere. Jimin and Jungkook entered together. Although the lawyer had suggested that Jungkook come alone, he couldn't do it. Not now. Not after everything.

The man behind the desk looked young, but he spoke like someone who had long since stopped trusting people. His name was Kang. He looked cold, but not hostile. With professional distance.

“Please sit down. Let's start with a simple question: how long have you been raising your child alone?”

“Four years,” Jungkook replied. “Since my wife died.”

“And now... you're not alone anymore?”

Jungkook looked at Jimin.

“No. Not anymore.”

Kang wrote something down. The questions came one after another: about everyday life, routine, upbringing, social relationships, the girl's trauma. Then they moved on to what felt like a silent sentence.

“Your relationship. How long have you been together?”

Jimin replied calmly:

“Since I stopped being a patient. We started out as friends, and then... we realized it was something more.”

“And the child?”

“She has never witnessed anything inappropriate,” Jungkook replied tensely. ”Our relationship is primarily about tenderness. Presence. The peace she lacked.”

Kang looked at them. Carefully. For a long time.

“I know you didn't come here to explain yourselves.” But someone made an accusation. And it's my duty to check if the child is in a place that ensures her safety.”

“This isn't a place,” Jimin said quietly. ”It's people. And we... we're home.”

After that conversation, nothing was the same anymore. Because even if Kang wasn't their enemy, the world was no longer silent. It was starting to talk. And ask questions.

---

Chapter 47 - Words That Hurt

The rumors at the clinic didn't stop. On the contrary, they grew. Someone anonymously wrote a review on the clinic's website, accusing them of “unprofessional behavior” and “bringing their private lives into the workplace.”

Jungkook read it after hours. His fingers trembled on the screen of his phone.

“Again?” Jimin asked, seeing his expression.

“This time publicly. Officially. Someone really wants to destroy me.”

“Is it Eunsook?”

“Or someone through her. Or someone who just hates everything they don't understand.”

Jimin sat down across from him at the kitchen table.

“Do you want me to back out?”

Jungkook looked at him sharply.

“What?”

“Maybe it would be easier. If you were alone. If I wasn't part of this puzzle.”

“Jimin...” His voice broke. ”You're the only thing keeping me sane.” Don't even try to say things like that.

Jimin pulled him closer.

“Then let's fight. For her. For us. Until the end.”

---

Chapter 48 - Yuna's Silence

Yuna hadn't spoken a word in two weeks. She walked, drew, reacted. But she didn't talk. There was no hysteria, no anger. Just... emptiness.

Jungkook didn't sleep. He lay in the dark and listened to her breathing through the open door to the children's room. Until one night, when Jimin turned on his side and hugged his back, Jungkook whispered:

“What if I did this to her? What if I destroyed her?”

“You're not to blame for loving her,” Jimin replied. ”The ones to blame are those who take children away from their homes in the name of their beliefs.”

Silence. Only their breathing. And the echo of doubt that cannot be silenced with a single sentence.

---

Chapter 49 - The Hearing

It was raining that day. The courtroom was cold, too white, too soulless. They sat on a bench, waiting to be called. Jimin had his hand on Jungkook's knee. Jungkook was holding a stack of documents—Yuna's drawings, photos, kindergarten certificates, therapist reports.

They were called in separately. First Jungkook. Then Jimin.

The questions were technical, dry, emotionless. But beneath them lay judgment. “Are you really worthy of being a family?”

After it was over, they didn't say a word to each other until they reached the apartment. Yuna was waiting by the window.

When she saw them, she ran. And for the first time in weeks, she said:

“You're back.”

Just two words. But they were enough for Jungkook to sink to his knees and hug her like a talisman.

---

Chapter 50 - Heart Out Loud

That evening, they ate dinner together by candlelight. Not for romance. For peace. For light that didn't hurt their eyes.

Yuna ate two pancakes and drank some cocoa.

“Do I have to go somewhere... to other people?“ she asked quietly.

“No,” Jungkook replied. “We'll do everything we can to make you stay with us.”

“You promise?”

Jungkook looked at Jimin. He nodded.

“I promise,” they said together.

Then Yuna took a new sheet of paper out of the drawer. She drew the three of them. But this time, she wrote above them:

“I won't let you go.”

And no one had any doubt that she was the one holding them together — as tightly as she could.