Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Seokjin and Namjoon schooled their expressions into something more calm, but still with the appropriate amount of parental concern written into their features. In truth, they were horrified. Had they missed Jungkook so much that it felt like their family was incomplete without him, leaving a gaping hole in their hearts that nothing could fill? Of course. Despite that, they knew if the call from social services ever came to deposit Jungkook back into their care it only meant that bad things had happened to him or those designed to take care of him. Either way, he’d ended up hurt.

This was the third time they’d gotten such a call. The third time that Jungkook had to be removed from his living situation because of some incompetency on his biological relatives’ part. Three times they had to confirm to the social worker that, yes, they were still willing to take Jungkook back and no, there wasn’t a need to find another foster family.

Internally, Namjoon cursed. Why couldn’t social services give up on trying to ‘reunite’ Jungkook with biological relatives and just let them adopt him already? Jungkook had gone into ‘the system’ when he was just a baby, his first connections and relationships were with Namjoon, Jin, and his foster-siblings. It was ironic that out of all their children, they’d technically had Jungkook the longest but he was the only one they hadn’t been able to adopt. Every time Jungkook was pulled from a relative’s home, another would materialize out of the woodwork like clockwork, claiming they wanted custody. But they always failed to keep him safe. They weren’t his real family. They didn’t deserve him. Namjoon cycled through the short yet tumultuous events of Jungkook’s upbringing as Jin drove to their destination with a white-knuckled grip.

Age six. Despite living under his and Jin’s roof since infancy while his mom got her substance abuse under control, she managed to clean herself up enough to be granted custody. After barely six months of living with her, she relapsed and died of an overdose. Thankfully she’d been at her dealer’s place so Jungkook hadn’t found her body, instead he came home to an empty house after school where he waited and waited until he used the landline to call their house and Namjoon had picked up. “Daddy? Um, I mean Joonie?” Jungkook’s high-pitched voice had filtered through the phone, “Mom hasn’t come home yet. I’m hungry. I don’t know where she is.” Not even a couple hours later and Jungkook was back in their home, tucked safely into bed after a warm homemade meal. The next morning they sat him down to explain his mother had passed away as Jungkook sobbed into a teddy bear she’d given him.

Age nine. After roughly three more years of Jungkook back in their care and his aunt - his mother’s sister - had come calling. Jin and Namjoon never really figured out what was wrong with her. As far as they knew she didn’t have any substance dependencies but something about her was…off. But not off enough for her to be refused custody. From what social services could piece together, mental illness ran rampant and unchecked through both sides of Jungkook’s family leading to many sad stories. Formally she had an anxiety disorder diagnosis but Namjoon always suspected it was more than that. Anyways, Jungkook lived with her for nine and a half months, the current record for longest stay, until she had some sort of nervous breakdown and relinquished her guardianship rights. Jungkook never really grew close to her and if asked about her he would just mumble something like, “she was nice but sometimes she would say strange things...”

Age twelve. His father was granted custody. Jungkook’s biological father had been nonexistent until Jungkook was almost eleven, not even half a year after Jungkook had been reunited with them from his aunt. He’d moved back to their city, apparently a new man. And in all honesty, Namjoon and Jin did like him. Actually, they’d also liked his aunt and his mother to some degree. They were just humans who were trying their best given the shitty hand they’d been dealt with. But sometimes someone’s best wasn’t enough, especially when it came to raising a child. Children needed stability. And his and Jin’s house was stable. Something that all the relatives and even his social workers just didn’t seem to understand.

Namjoon thought that being reunited with his biological father really would be the permanent end to Jungkook’s residence with them. His father was hardworking and although his job wasn’t the greatest – cook at a mid-tier restaurant - it was a stable income. He was married to a woman who worked as a receptionist. They had a house and his wife had two older sons who still lived with them. Namjoon had met his wife and the stepsons briefly. The house was a bit shabby and the family all seemed a little rough around the edges. No one held a degree higher than a high school diploma. Maybe it was condescending or pretentious to judge them so harshly but Jungkook was going down more than one tax bracket when he went to live with his father. In fact, Jungkook’s phone was one they had bought for him for his twelfth birthday. He was still on their phone plan. Namjoon doubted his father would be able to be afford it. Compared to the middle class and beyond demographic Namjoon normally associated with it was more than a small step backward. But once again, they were human and not everyone was lucky enough to be granted the chances that Namjoon had.

So, it was with great sadness that they drove Jungkook with his possessions packed into their trunk to his biological father’s residence. That was over eight months ago. It’s not like they hadn’t had any contact since then, for a while Jungkook had been coming to their house once a month or so to see them and his siblings. He still went on their weeklong camping trip they did at the beginning of every summer. He sometimes would stay the weekend, or other times he’d just drop by for dinner when he was in the neighborhood visiting another friend - Jungkook had to change schools because his dad’s address was zoned for a different one. A slightly poorer school. A school with lower test scores. And that was just the middle school, the high school he would be zoned for next year was even worse. One with a pitifully low graduation rate and alarmingly high rate of teen pregnancy.

Namjoon didn’t know how their relationship would change once Jungkook was living with his bio-father. And that scared him. In the beginning when Jungkook visited, Namjoon was still very much in the role of ‘parent’. He would ask him about his grades and made sure he was getting along at his new school. Jungkook used to even text him when he received a good test score. They would still attend Jungkook’s soccer games. It was a difficult balancing act, Namjoon didn’t want to offend Jungkook’s father by overstepping any boundaries. The man was clearly was trying his best. But his father was often busy working to pay the bills and Jungkook’s face would light up when he would see his or another one of his surrogate family member’s faces in the crowd. Around the fourth month of Jungkook living with his father, things started to change. He started texting them less. They would plan to go to a restaurant or have Jungkook over for the weekend and Jungkook would cancel at the last minute.

The last time he had seen Jungkook in-person was almost three months ago and he’d been sporting a black eye that he had clumsily tried to cover with an off-color foundation, presumably his stepmom’s. Immediately Jin and Namjoon assumed the worst.

“Is someone hurting you? We can help you. You just need to tell us and we can help,” Jin said in a hushed, urgent tone as they pulled to the side of the road before reaching their house.

“It was just someone at school. It doesn’t matter.” Jungkook had mumbled, not meeting their eyes.

“Is someone bullying you?” Namjoon pressed, not completely buying it but not ruling it out either. Jungkook was physical, he liked contact sports but, regardless, he had never considered Jungkook aggressive. There had to be some sort of foul play involved.

“No. Ugh, I knew you’d make a big deal out of it. Just leave it alone. You’re not my parents!” Jungkook had practically spat.

They were worried. After the visit, as they dropped him back off at his father’s they asked him once again if he was safe.

“All you need to do is say the word and we’ll get you out of there,” Namjoon said. If it was up to him they wouldn’t let Jungkook return at all to his father’s until they got to the bottom of it but he was acutely aware it would be considered kidnapping despite the fact they raised him since he was an infant.

Jungkook slammed the car door shut and didn’t look back.

Immediately, they called Jungkook’s case worker to let her know that Jungkook had a bruise of skeptical origin. She promised she’d look into it and a few days later she called them to let them know that she had called his school and that he had indeed been in a fight with another student.

“Who was he in a fight with? Why? Did he get suspended?” Jin had questioned.

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. You’re not his legal guardians anymore. Honestly, I probably shouldn’t have told you more than confirming it wasn’t anyone in his household but I know your guys’ history and how much you care for him,” the social worker replied.

“He never got into fights before. There must be something that's upsetting him,”Jin pressed, not caring if he was coming across as over-protective.

The social worker repeated her statement that it wasn’t in his jurisdiction anymore before hanging up.

Jin planned to keep a closer eye on Jungkook but the kid started refusing all their offers of visits after that. He would leave them on read for any message they sent him, no matter how innocuous. Jin’s heart clenched as he thought about their family group chat. Several weeks ago Jungkook had turned thirteen. Come midnight, the group chat immediately lit up with six messages wishing Jungkook a happy birthday. Jungkook responded by leaving the group chat and blocking their numbers.

And now he and Namjoon were called at ten at night, asking if they would take Jungkook in again. They could? Great. Come pick him up at the hospital.

If Jin’s hands hadn’t been clenched so tightly around the steering wheel as they drove to the hospital, they would’ve been shaking. The social worker said they’d get more details once they arrived. They practically sprinted to the pediatrics department where they gave their information to the nurses at the nurse station. As the two nurses realized who they were here for they gave them a sad smile. Jin’s heart started to beat even faster.

“I’ll call Audrey,” said the nurse sympathetically. Audrey was Jungkook’s assigned social worker.

Jin just wanted to see Jungkook. He tapped his foot impatiently as they waited. Soon, Audrey appeared from around a corner further into the ward.

“Hi, long time no see. As always, I wish it was under better circumstances. Let’s have a quick chat with the doctor first,” she said as she lead them back down the hallway.

They were ushered into a small office where a kindly looking man stood up to shake their hands. “Audrey tells me you’ve taken care of Jungkook most of his life. That’s good you’re still willing, I’m sure he could use a familiar face at the moment.” He cleared his throat. “Anyways, Jungkook was brought in today around 5 p.m. I don’t know the details but apparently the place he was living at was raided by police as part of a drug bust.”

The hair on the back of Jin’s neck and arms stood up, the skin prickling with horrified goosebumps. Jungkook’s father had really fucked up that badly? As far as he knew Jungkook’s father didn’t have a history of drug abuse like meth or cocaine, rather his demons were with alcoholism but he’d been sober for several years. A relapse would be surprising but not overly so. But selling narcotics?

“One of the officers informed the paramedics that he was already injured when they got there. They didn’t even know of Jungkook’s existence, they just found him while searching the house so they sent him to us.”

“Injured how?” Namjoon spoke up, a hint of worried impatience coloring his tone.

“His left wrist is broken, as well as a hairline fracture at the elbow joint. On both of his arms we found what seem to be self-harm scars. Has he displayed any self-harming behavior when he was living with you?” The doctor asked.

“N-no,” Seokjin said with a heavy heart. Jungkook wouldn’t be their first kid to resort to such a coping mechanism. “I mean, he could’ve hid it but I don’t think so.”

The doctor nodded. “Based on the healed scar tissue they do seem quite recent, definitely less than a year. There were some fresh cuts as well which we disinfected and cleaned up but they weren’t deep so they should heal quickly and without any trouble.”

The man paused, thunderclouds rolling across his kind blue eyes. “He has a myriad of bruising on his body, typical of child abuse victims. There were a couple of burn marks on his leg from what we presume to be cigarettes but they're already healed over. He was also…displaying some behavior and injuries often seen in victims of sexual abuse.”

Time seemed to freeze. Had Jin heard that correctly? He had to blink a few times as he tried to orient himself. Burns? Sexual abuse? Despite all of the previous disastrous attempts to reunite Jungkook with biological relatives, he’d escaped abuse, psychological or otherwise. And now the doctor was telling him that he’d been both physically and sexually abused? Jin felt clammy and a cold sheen of sweat now coated his brow. He could sense Namjoon beside him, just as stiff as horror as he was. Jin had been running possible scenarios through his head on the way here and abuse was in the forefront of his mind – Jungkook was in the hospital, of course it was the most obvious reason. But sexual abuse?

“He…is he..who…?” Namjoon stuttered.

“He refused to let us examine him as much as we’d like to so we can’t confirm anything, it’s just something to be aware of. The police will have questions for him too, but Audrey will coordinate that with you.” The doctor said.

From the corner of his eye Jin noticed the tense expression on Audrey’s face. While not unempathetic, she had a very difficult job and was used to seeing and interacting with children who had been hurt in unimaginable ways. He was aware they weren’t going to get the full story right away, but her expression made him wonder the situation’s true severity and how much she wasn’t telling them.

“Can we see him now?” Jin asked, unable to bear the thought of leaving Jungkook alone any longer and wondering what else he had missed in the three months since he had seen him.

As they were lead to Jungkook’s room, Seokjin and Namjoon schooled their expressions into something more calm, but with still the proper amount of parental concern written into their features. In truth, they were horrified.

Jin knocked softly before opening the door. “Jungkook?” he called as he poked his head into the room trying to be mindful of Jungkook’s privacy.

Jungkook’s head shot up at his voice. He was sitting on the edge of the bed fully-dressed in ugly, ill-fitting clothes provided by the hospital. The clothes he’d come with had been taken for ‘evidence’.

Jungkook’s mouth opened and he looked like he was about to say something before abruptly clamping it shut and looking back down at his feet, letting his too-long bangs fall over his face, ears flushing red.

Jin forced himself to relax despite the fresh worry that surged through him at the glimpse of Jungkook’s bruised cheek and split lip. Jin fully entered the room with Namjoon behind him. “Kookie, we’re here to take you home if you’re ready? Audrey will meet us at the nurse’s station and we can sign the discharge papers. Does that sound okay to you?”

“Okay,” Jungkook said in a small voice, standing up on shaky legs.

There was an uncomfortable silence until suddenly Jungkook was rushing over, burying his face into Jin’s chest and starting to sob.

“Hi, Jungkook,” Audrey said.

“Hi,” Jungkook whispered.

“I don’t know how exactly you ended up here, but you’re not going back to your father’s house. We’ll find you somewhere safe to stay tonight. Alright?”

“Okay,” he said just as quietly as before. The same panic was bubbling up in his chest. He knew social workers always called their previous foster family first when trying to find a temporary home but what if this time Jin and Namjoon didn’t want him back? He’d only been pushing them away in the last few months. They could have other plans. For all he knew they could’ve accepted another foster kid since they’d last spoken so there’d be no more room at their house even if for some reason they wanted him back. Most likely they’d be done with him and his situation and be content to live as they were with their four adopted children, rather than the random variable that was Jungkook who kept disrupting their lives. He missed them so much. He missed Yoongi and Hoseok and Jimin and Taehyung. He missed their cat Jemma and dog Binky. He even missed Taehyung’s stupid goldfishes, Steven and Bok Choy.

“Oh, Jungkook, don’t cry,” Audrey said, passing him a tissue. “I’m going to go make some calls, but I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

He nodded even as he cried and wiped at his face with the already sodden tissue.

He was still sniffling when the doctor came back.

“Well young man, I think you’re about ready for discharge, unless there is something else bothering you…?” the doctor hedged in an obvious attempt to get Jungkook to open up more. Jungkook would never confirm their suspicions.

“I’m fine.”

“I can see you’re very strong, but you know it’s fine to ask for help. Once your caseworker gets back with some news we can decide what to do.”

Jungkook didn’t reply.

Audrey soon returned. “Jungkook, I called your previous placement and they said they want to come get you. Would that be all right?”

Jungkook sighed in relief. They hadn’t given up on him yet. “That’s fine,” he said, knowing full well his opinion didn’t matter at all. If it did he would’ve chosen to never leave Jin and Namjoon’s house in the first place.

“Great, they’ll be here soon. I’m sure they’ll be very happy to see you," she said confirming that they were, in fact, already on their way. There was a shortage of foster families and an abundance of kids who needed placements. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

He wondered if they would be angry at him for ignoring their messages even though they were the ones that paid for his phone. Which he didn’t even have anymore because he’d left it at his father’s house in the chaos when the police had come and-

Jungkook cut off that train of thought. He didn't want to think about it. With confirmation that Jin and Namjoon were coming to get him, Jungkook stiffly changed out of the papery hospital gown and into some oversized sweats with bleach stains that one of the nurses had given him. He twisted his fingers together anxiously, ignoring the twinge of discomfort it caused his casted left wrist. His legs dangled over the edge of the bed.

There was a knock on the door.

“Jungkook?” a familiar voice asked.

Jungkook glanced up, greeted with Jin’s face and Namjoon hovering behind him. All of the deep humiliation Jungkook had felt earlier when the medical staff was asking him questions he didn’t want to answer returned. He felt his face heat up and he stared back at his shoes as his bottom lip began to tremble. He didn’t know what to say.

“Kookie,” Jin stepped into the room, “We’re here to take you home if you’re ready? Audrey will meet us at the nurses station and we can sign the discharge papers. Does that sound okay to you?”

“Okay,” Jungkook managed to choke out.

All the hurt of the last few months came rushing back like a tidal wave, hitting him full-force and threatening to drown him. Admist the pain, shame, and humiliation, Jungkook thought of all the times Jin and Namjoon had been there for him. From when he would scrape his knees when he and his brothers played too rough, to one of his friends moving away, to his mom dying. They were always there just like they were now, like lighthouses in the storm. Jungkook rushed over, flinging himself into Jin, letting the sobs wrack his body.

They comforted him until his crying died back down to sniffles. They didn’t ask him intrusive questions like the doctors or Audrey.

“Are you ready to go?” Namjoon finally asked.

Jungkook gave a weak nod. It was nearing eleven at night and Jungkook was exhausted, physically and mentally. The journey back to their home was a blur. Jungkook was shivering and felt like he would collapse at any second as he tottered up the driveway after Jin with Namjoon behind him.

“Are you hungry?” one of them asked, Jungkook couldn’t even distinguish whose voice it was in his haze of fatigue. He shook his head numbly.

“Kookie, how about you go lay down on our bed for a second? I’ll find you some pajamas and make sure your bed is ready.”

Before he could make his way to their bedroom on unsteady legs, a heavy hand rested on his head. He looked up at Jin. “I’ll bring you a glass of milk, okay?”

Jungkook nodded, too tired to reply. He wobbled into Jin and Namjoon’s master bedroom, collapsing onto the king-size bed gratefully. If he was less tired he would’ve been resentful. No doubt they wanted to tuck him away in their room while they had a whispered meeting about the state he was in and the events that led up to it. He also knew what they actually meant about checking if his bed was ‘ready'. Since he’d been gone his brothers would have monopolized what used to be his bedroom. Jungkook was aware the room never really was his in the first place but it was the closest thing he ever had to a space that made him feel safe and in control. So now they were going to cover up the evidence and try to make it seem like he had never been gone in the first place. The fact that it would always be rearranged with furniture his brothers swapped and fought over was another reminder that Jungkook wasn’t actually a member of their family but merely a stray who they were kind enough to take in. Like they hadn’t moved on with their lives and were perfectly happy without him. Despite his turmoil, his eyelids drooped shut.

Jungkook was already asleep when Jin made it back to the room, where he set the glass of milk on the nightstand with a heavy sigh. He was soon joined by Namjoon who regarded him sadly.

Jungkook hadn’t even had the energy to lay down properly. He’d just collapsed on the bed, sprawled on his stomach his mouth slightly parted and face pressed into the comforter. Namjoon’s heart ached for him. The sleeve on his un-casted wrist had ridden up a little and Namjoon tried to discreetly get a glimpse of the apparent self-harm scars. He didn’t see anything and assumed they must be higher up on his arm. Those were easier to hide. At least that's what Yoongi had said to them once.

“Jungkook?” Namjoon said softly, crouching down and shaking him gently, unsure of where his bruises were underneath the clothing. Jungkook peeled his eyes open after a few seconds. “Let’s get you up to your room, okay?”

Jungkook wordlessly stumbled after Namjoon as he followed him up the stairs and to the designated bedroom. His bedroom. For now, at least. There was a folded set of sweats on his bed that Jungkook vaguely recognized as Hoseok’s. Jungkook hadn’t seen or heard any signs of life in the house and wondered if his brothers – no, Jin and Joon’s children - were all already asleep.

“There’s a new toothbrush in the bathroom for you,” Namjoon said as he lingered in the doorway.

Jungkook blinked in acknowledgement, almost failing to open them again. His eyelids felt like they weighed two tons each.

“I’m going to head back downstairs but if you need anything don’t hesitate to come wake us. Otherwise I’ll see you in the morning.”

Jungkook nodded, too weary to think of a response. He just wanted to sleep. He missed the worry that flashed in Namjoon’s eyes.

“Okay, goodnight Jungkook, I love you.”