Chapter Text
“Jeon Jungkook to the highschool office please, Jeon Jungkook.” A feminine voice spoke through the low quality loudspeakers.
Said teen jumped at the sudden sound, his pencil tip snapping. Why were they calling for him? Surely Sir hadn’t decided to pick him up early again? Jungkook’s mind raced as he gathered his books, anxious thoughts bombarding him as he shuffled to his locker and packed everything up.
Sliding the worn strap of his bag over his shoulder, Jungkook shuffled to the school office. A sick feeling of dread oozed into his stomach as he passed through the doorway. There were two officers standing before the secretary, and they had turned at the sound of his footsteps. The woman looked at him with hard eyes, slightly angry about something. Had Jungkook done something wrong? The man had a gentler expression, but his gaze still made the brunette boy uncomfortable.
“Jeon Jungkook?” He asked in a careful tone.
“Yessir?” he stammered out.
“Hello,” the officer greeted warmly, offering his hand out with a grin. “I’m officer Choi. My partner, Officer Lee, and I would like to have a few words with you. If that’s alright.”
“Uh, sure! Yes, of course sir! That’s-that’s alright,” Jungkook returned quickly, loosely shaking the officer’s warm hand.
“This way then,” Lee stated shortly, allowing herself into the counselor's room.
The clock’s tick was the only noise in the room. Jungkook kneaded his bottom lip between his teeth, his knee bouncing anxiously up and down, up and down, up and down. Officer Lee tapped the papers in her folder into place on the wooden tabletop. Her hard gaze bored into the top of his head as he avoided her dark eyes, glancing around the cheery room instead. Brightly colored postered were tacked to the walls, with inspirational quotes sprawled over them in cursive.
“Do you know why we’re here?” Officer Lee asked shortly.
“N-not really, miss, I’m sorry,” stammered Jungkook promptly. He kept his eyes away from hers insistently.
The officer resumed her previous silence, her partner now tapping his pen on the table. Not even four taps with the pen passed before Lee slammed her hand over her partner’s, effectively stopping the noise and making Jungkook flinch. And then it was as before, the only noise in the room being the clock’s calm tick. After a long time, Lee spoke once more.
“Would you like to know?”
“I suppose,” he returned quietly.
Choi stepped in before his partner’s bluntness could hurt the child before them. “Simply put, we’re here because of those bruises on your collarbones,” he murmured in a gentle tone.
“I-I fell,” the teenager dismissed immediately.
“Did you fall onto a blowtorch?” Lee asked retorically. “The makeup is doing nothing for the burns on your jawline.”
Jungkook shied away from the woman, crossing his arms across his stomach. He self-consciously touched the concealer on his face, trying to remember how he had looked that morning. Surely he hadn’t missed any spots, he thought that the raised scar tissue wouldn’t show either if he fixed the coloring.
“Jungkook, we need to bring you to a hospital for your malnutrition and all the injuries you’ve left untreated,” Choi said in his ever gentle manner.
“No, I’m fine. But as long as you’re here, you could ask Kim Yoonsil about her-”
“Quiet.”
Jungkook’s lips snapped together, his head bowing.
“Ah, Damn.” Lee groaned. The room was quiet for a second as she composed herself. Her partner waited patiently.
“You’re doing just fine,” The male assured her.
“I apologize, jungkook-ssi,” said Lee.
“It’s alright,” Jungkook assured softly.
“We’d like your consent to bring you to Seoul Memorial Hospital,” Choi sighed, taking his briefcase from beneath the circular table. Setting it down, he began explaining the process of the foster system, stating that Jungkook would need to spend time in the hospital before he was placed with his first foster family. Pulling out a few papers, Choi asked, “Are you going to come willingly?”
“Um… Let me, let me… talk for a while.”
“Of course,” Choi said, gesturing for Jungkook to take the floor.
“You know that… si- my, my uncle… I live with him, you know that right?”
Choi nodded.
“And, uh… he…”
“Gives you those bruises, burned your face…” Choi supplied softly.
“Yes… He, he scares me. I don’t… want to be anywhere near him ever again.” the 14-year-old’s voice dropped to a whisper, and he leaned across the table he had sat at so many times before. “I can’t sign these papers because sir might figure it out.”
Choi had to lean forward as well to hear the teen.
“You can’t let him know, he’ll kill me.” Jungkook’s eyes were wide as he begged the officer.
“If you let us bring you to the hospital, you’ll never have to see him again. We can get you to court, and we can get a restraining order.” Choi pushed the papers toward the 14-year-old, a pen following soon after.
Jungkook held the pen with trembling fingers, his signature shaky as he scribbled it down. “You can’t let him know. I can’t go back there. Not even one more time.”
“We can bring you to the hospital right now, if you’re alright with that.” Choi smiled at Jungkook as he returned the papers to their case.
Jungkook pushed his chair back, anxious to go before somebody figured out he was leaving. "Are we going? We go now , right?”
“Yes, we’ll go now.” Lee stood. “Do you have your bag?”
Jungkook nodded.
“Anything that you need from your house, we can get sometime this month. Does that sound alright?” Choi stood as well, taking his brown briefcase along with him.
The boy nodded again. He stood as well and donned his school bag. He was escaping. He was free.
The other children were watching as Jungkook was escorted from the school, their interest puiqed. He avoided their gazes- this was because they didn’t matter.
It went without him realizing, but on the walk to the squad car, jungkook began to slow his pace. He was so tired, always had been.
Black ate away at his vision. An intoxicating dizzy spell hit him. Lee was there suddenly, holding him up. She walked/carried the near-wasted boy the remaining distance to the car. Jungkook leaned heavily on her, nearly unconscious from the strength of the spell. His eyes were closed and he realized that she could have brought him anywhere. He didn’t mind. Any place was better than Sir’s.
The two officers slid into the car, Choi driving, and Lee sighed. She looked at the boy sleeping in the back seat. They had buckled him in, but he was lying on his side. His bag was on the floor in front of his feet.
“He looks like my son,” she offered.
Choi nodded. “He does.”