Chapter 65 - Silence before the verdict

The court was silent. And that silence followed them for days, like a weight that could not be lifted. Five days had passed since the last hearing, and no letter had appeared in the mailbox. No phone call with the final decision. The probation officer did not come. And time seemed to stand still.

Jimin was arranging the same books on the shelf in Yuna's room for the third time. The girl was drawing a cat on a piece of paper, which she then stuck to the wall, right next to a photo of the three of them: him, her dad, and her. Smiling. Happy. Still without casts and court summonses.

“Will the court call?” Yuna asked suddenly, breaking the silence as gently as if she were afraid that her words would shatter everything.

Jimin knelt down beside her. ‘They will call. But not yet.”

“I'm scared,’ she whispered. ”That you'll disappear.”

Those words pierced his heart harder than anything else. He hugged her. “I won't disappear. Even if the world wants it to happen. I won't leave, okay?”

In the living room, Jungkook was organizing papers. He couldn't sit idly by any longer. He checked everything several times: psychological reports, notes from conversations with the probation officer, Yuna's health certificates. He felt that if he wasn't ready, if he overlooked even one detail, the system would tear them apart.

In the evening, they ate dinner in silence. Even cartoons didn't make Yuna laugh as usual. Even the cookies didn't taste the same. Each of them waited—separately, even though they were sitting together at the table.

“Maybe tomorrow,“ Jungkook said finally, with a hope he expressed only to keep himself from despair.

“Or maybe the day after tomorrow,” Jimin added with a hint of a smile.

“But when they call,” said Yuna, serious as an adult, ”let it be a day when no one cries.”

That evening, they fell asleep earlier than usual. And although there was no verdict, there was no war either. There was only silence. And love - which needed no proof, no stamps, no consent. It smoldered under the skin, breathed between the lines of fairy tales, and hid in glances.

They didn't know what tomorrow would bring. But they knew they would go through it together.

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Chapter 66 - Letters that change everything

Day after day passed in limbo, until finally the morning came that was no different from any other - except that there was a white envelope with no stamp in the mailbox. It was addressed by hand. It didn't look official.

Jungkook held it for a moment, as if touching something sacred. His heart was pounding. He opened the envelope slowly, carefully. Inside was a single sheet of paper, folded in half. He recognized the handwriting immediately. It was Haneul's.

Jimin came closer. Yuna was playing in her room, unaware of what was happening. Jungkook unfolded the letter and began to read aloud:

“Jungkook,

I don't know if this letter will reach you before the decision is made. I'm no longer sure if my actions were right. For a long time, I was convinced that I was protecting Yuna. But maybe I was really trying to save a piece of my sister. Maybe I was trying to keep her with me through her child.

When I saw how Yuna held your hand, how she hugged Jimin, how calmly she talked about home, I understood. That it wasn't my place to decide where she belonged. And that home isn't a surname or a set of genes. It's a choice. Every day. Quiet. Permanent.

I don't know if I can be a part of all this. But I don't want to fight anymore. Not against you. And not against her.

- Haneul”

Jungkook's voice trembled as he finished reading. He sat down slowly on the couch. He stared at the piece of paper as if it were a bridge between the past and the future.

Jimin sat down next to him. “Do you think this changes anything?”

“I don't know. But even if it doesn't change anything legally, something has been released. Something that was keeping her in pain. Or maybe all of us.”

That same day, the probation officer called. The sentence was to be announced tomorrow morning. When Jimin heard those words, he leaned against the wall.

“It's really happening,” he said quietly.

In the evening, when Yuna asked if they were going to court again tomorrow, they said no. This time, they didn't have to say anything. This time, they were just waiting.

There was something strangely beautiful about waiting. Like the silence before a new chapter.

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Chapter 67 - The Verdict

The sky was pale that morning. Not blue, not gray - as if suspended between rain and light. The apartment was quiet, but not like the silence they had known in previous days. This one was heavier, fuller. It had the weight of finality.

Jungkook had hardly slept at all. He woke up just after five, made coffee, which he didn't drink, and sat down by the window with his phone in his hand. He stared at the screen as if his gaze would determine when it would ring. Jimin walked into the kitchen in a T-shirt and sweatpants and rubbed his eyes.

“Nothing yet?” he asked.

“Not yet.”

They sat down next to each other. They were silent. Sometimes silence is more intimate than words.

After seven, Yuna woke up on her own. She came to them with a stuffed rabbit in her arms. ”Is today the day?”

Jimin smiled gently. “Maybe. But whatever happens, we'll have breakfast together, okay?”

The girl nodded. They sat down at the table. The toaster beeped. Coffee steamed in a mug. For a moment—a very brief moment—it was like always.

And then the phone rang.

Jungkook got up first. He answered without a word. His face betrayed nothing—until he gently closed his eyes and exhaled. Jimin watched him tensely, his heart beating so loudly that he couldn't hear the words of the conversation.

After a moment, Jungkook put the phone down. He looked at them. At Jimin. At Yuna.

“The court ruled that there are no grounds to take away my custody rights. And what's more...” He looked at Jimin. ”They ruled that our relationship does not pose a threat to the child. And that Yuna has every right to grow up in a home where she is loved.”

Jimin couldn't breathe for a moment. Then Yuna threw herself into his arms.

“Does that mean you're staying?“ she asked hopefully.

“Yes, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Forever.”

Jungkook came over and hugged them both. And so they stood there, three people bound together by something stronger than genes or legal documents.

They didn't cry that day. They smiled. They laughed. They ate ice cream for breakfast and played board games until late. Because the day had come when no one cried. Just as Yuna had promised.

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