My dad’s hearing was scheduled for Monday, so I skipped a few more days of school. I really shouldn’t have considering I was a scholarship student and my studies were the most important thing to me, but I couldn’t bring myself to even look at my Seol Chong uniform when I knew there was a very real possibility I wouldn’t be a student there in a few days.

Even though I wasn’t technically required to be present at my dad’s trial, I wanted to go anyway. I needed to see him with my own eyes, to hear his half-assed reasoning for doing this to himself, to me. So I put on the only nice clothes I owned – my Seol Chong friends would probably cringe if they heard me calling my clothes nice – and I went to the courthouse.

I didn’t have to go alone, of course. Yongguk was there, and Himchan, Zelo, Youngjae, and Daehyun. Jonghyun wanted to come too but I thought it prudent that he wasn’t present, so I ‘forgot’ to tell him the time and place of the trial.

My friends and I took seats near the front, close enough that I wouldn’t miss anything my father said. There weren’t many other people present, as this wasn’t a very prominent case to anyone other than me. There was a reporter, looking horribly bored, and a handful of other people besides the jury. I guess no one expected this to take long.

The judge came out and explained the case to the jury, and then my father came out. He was wearing a prison jumpsuit and he was handcuffed. His expression was anything but remorseful; it was downright defiant. I had to look away. Even though he was my father, I hated his guts at that moment.

The trial was something of a joke, as I had known it would be. My father plead guilty to the charges without any hesitation, and the judge sentenced him to three years in jail. And that was that. With the banging of the judge’s gavel, my world was forever changed.

I sat there for a long moment after my father had been escorted from the courtroom, practically numb. My father hadn’t once spared a glance in my direction. It was like he’d all but forgotten he even had a daughter. I decided right then and there that I would never be there for him again. He had finally crossed the line and the door between us was closed forever.

But even with my new resolve to cut my father out of my life forever, it didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t stay in my apartment and I couldn’t continue going to my school. Where my future had looked so bright a week ago, now it was dark and dismal, and I saw nothing in my future but a meaningless office job with mediocre pay and constant depression.

Yongguk was holding one of my hands and Zelo the other when a woman approached us, carrying a heavy case file. “Miss Song?” she asked politely. “I’m Ms. Kim. I’m the social worker who has been assigned to your case. Do you have time to talk now?”

I wanted to tell her no, to tell her that I never wanted to has this inevitable conversation, but that was childish and I had learned to be an adult early on in my life. So I sighed and nodded. “I have time now.”

“We’ll wait for you here,” Yongguk promised, giving my hand a final squeeze before releasing me.

I followed the social worker out of the courtroom and we took seats on one of the hard benches lining the corridor. She fixed me with a sympathetic sort of smile. “How are you holding up, Narae? I know this must be hard on you.”

I let out my breath explosively. “You have no idea.”

That sympathetic smile remains plastered on her face, but I didn’t want it. I didn’t want anybody’s sympathy.

“I’ve been looking over your records,” Ms. Kim continued, flipping through some paperwork she had in her briefcase. “A full scholarship to Seol Chong Academy, huh? That’s pretty impressive.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I mumbled an awkward, “Thank you.”

She fixed me with another stare, this one more curious. “What made you want to apply for school there? I read that you’re the very first scholarship student they’ve ever accepted. You must have worked very hard to get where you are.”

“I did work hard,” I said, almost sullenly. “You think I want to end up like that?” I gestured vaguely to the courtroom we’d left behind, but I’m sure she knew I was referring to my deadbeat alcoholic father.

She leaned back in her chair, tapping her pen against her cheek. “So how do you want to end up, Narae?”

I hesitated. It felt weird voicing my aspirations out loud because I never wanted to give myself too much hope. But in the end I gave in and said, “I want to go to medical school. I want to be a doctor. A surgeon, actually. I want to help people.”

Ms. Kim smiled, a genuine smile. “Well, according to your grades, you’re well on your way to getting a college scholarship.” But then the smile fell. “I’m trying my best to keep you in Seol Chong Academy, Narae, but you have to understand that there’s a possibility I can’t. I’ve been going through potential foster families, but it’s been difficult to find one.”

“I can just stay with my friends,” I suggested, knowing it was a long shot. “They’re legally of age, and we grew up together. We’re practically family. They’ve taken care of me better than my father ever did.”

Ms. Kim’s smile became a bit tight. “While I don’t doubt that for a second, that’s not a legal option, Narae. I wish it was, but I can’t just rewrite laws to suit my needs. We have to find a legal family to foster you, and, since you’re so close to being of age already, it’s been a struggle. People want to foster younger children, you see, not almost-adults.”

I didn’t say anything. What could I say?

She continued. “Additionally, there isn’t a single foster family registered in the area of your school.” She chuckled a bit ruefully. “I don’t think people like that ever even think about fostering kids.”

“Not surprising,” I muttered. Then I said, “What if you found a foster family in my current neighborhood, and I still went to Seol Chong. I mean, that’s what I do now, when I’m not staying at my boyfriend’s house.”

Ms. Kim’s eyebrow shot up into her hairline, and I immediately knew I’d said something I shouldn’t have. “You sleep over at your boyfriend’s house?” she repeated.

“I mean, it’s not like that,” I lied quickly. “His house is really big, so there’s a ton of rooms. It’s just easier because it’s way closer to school than my house.”

“Did your father know you were spending the night with your boyfriend?” the social worker wanted to know.

I sighed. “No, he didn’t know. Like he was ever even around to notice.”

Ms. Kim’s sympathetic look was back, but at least it wasn’t a smile anymore. She reached out and patted me on the hand. “I’ll keep trying, okay Narae? I’ll see what I can do. Don’t get your hopes up, but I’ll see. I think it would an awful shame if we were to rob the world of the amazing doctor I know you’ll be one day. For now, just keep going to school and keep those grades up. Hopefully a miracle will come along.”

I didn’t dare hope, but I did as Ms. Kim told me. I went back to school. I’d missed several days, but Jonghyun and Amber had brought me my homework and makeup assignments so I was barely behind when I returned to school on Tuesday. My teachers barely commented on my absence. Since becoming part of the popular group, I got a lot less crap from them. They were pleased that I’d done my makeup work and hadn’t fallen behind, and that was that.

Even keeping myself busy with my schoolwork wasn’t enough to distract me from the life-altering situation taking place behind the scenes. I didn’t tell anyone what was going on outright other than Jonghyun and Amber, but they weren’t stupid and they put two and two together. They were nice enough not to bring it up, even Jinri, but it was always at the forefront of my mind.

I was sitting at our usual table at lunch on Wednesday, pushing around my rice without actually eating any of it, when a teacher’s aid approached our table.

“Song Narae?” she asked, even though pretty much everyone knew who I was. I was notorious around Seol Chong. “You’re wanted in the office.”

I frowned, trying to think of anything I had done to get in trouble. Other than missing a few days of school, I had a clean slate. “What’s going on?”

The teacher’s aid didn’t even bother to try and hide her interest. “Your social worker is here to see you.”

I immediately turned crimson. I didn’t want the whole world knowing I had a social worker – knowing that my father was the saddest excuse for a human being that ever lived. I got to my feet quickly, trying to hide my flushed face. “See you guys later,” I mumbled.

Jonghyun got awkwardly to his feet. “Do you want me to come with you?”

I flashed him a short but genuine smile. “No thanks. I should probably talk to her alone. See you guys in class.” And I shouldered my bag and followed the teacher’s aid out of the cafeteria.

Ms. Kim was waiting for me in the office’s conference room, and she shut the door behind me so we would have some privacy.

“What’s all this about, Ms. Kim?” I demanded. “I didn’t know you would come to my school.”

But she was smiling broadly. “Narae, I’ve solved our problem! I’ve found the perfect solution so you can stay in Seol Chong.”

I blinked several times, not sure I was hearing her correctly. “You found somebody to foster me? Somebody who lives around here?”

“Yes, this particular family lives very close,” Ms. Kim assured me, her smile widening. “The woman’s name is Seo Minhee.”

She looked at me expectantly, as if I was supposed to know the name, but it was completely foreign to me.

Ms. Kim’s smile widened even more. “Narae, Seo Minhee is your biological mother!”