Junho

It was the morning of the temporary custody hearing. Jay still had not told anyone who'd hit him. Junho had tried every devious trick he could think of to get Jay to open up, but each time, the little boy climbed into his lap and started asking him if his Daddy was safe.

After the fourth time he got that reaction from Jay, he'd stopped. He couldn't bear to see the pain in his eyes. What he was left with, instead, was an icy fist squeezing his heart. Nothing meant more to Chansung than his son and it could very well be Jay's closed lips that tore them apart forever.

Jay was sitting on the bed in what had been his father's room when he was growing up in this house. He was dressed in black pants and a white button down shirt that Narsha had gone out to get him yesterday.

It had been a battle to keep Jay from wearing his Rex Rules t-shirt, but Junho had saved the day when he suggested Jay could wear the Rex shirt under the white shirt. Jay had agreed and getting him dressed from there had been a snap.

Junho knew that the only reason Jay was adamant about wearing that shirt was because it was his comfort item. Some kids had a baby blanket or a stuffed animal they kept with them all the time. For Jay, that was his beloved shirt. Once all this madness calmed down, Junho was going to buy him more in different sizes so that when he outgrew one shirt, he'd have an identical one to take its place.

"When can I see my Daddy?" Jay was kicking his foot back against the side rail of the bed.

Junho stopped tying his tie and turned around to look at the little boy. It was the first time in three days he'd asked to see Chansung rather than asking if his father was safe.

"Knock, knock!" a cheery voice called from the bedroom door.

"Doctor Khunnie!" Jay hopped off the bed and ran to the doctor who scooped the little boy up in his arms.

Thankfully, time at home to rest and the children's Tylenol seemed to have Jay almost back to normal, physically. It did Junho's heart good to see Jay moving so effortlessly. Lately, Jay had more mobility and energy early on in the day. He started to flag after lunch and had gotten in the habit of taking afternoon naps. Junho knew that was his little body's way of healing.

Finishing his tie in the mirror, Junho turned around to greet the doctor "It's good to see you, Doctor Horvejkul."

"Please call me Nichkhun." the doctor gave Jay a tight squeeze "How's my favorite patient doing this morning? Are you still sore?"

Jay shook his head and hopped off Nichkhun's lap. He ran to Junho and clung to his legs. Junho picked up the little boy and carried him over to what had been Chansung's bed and set the little boy down. Instead of sitting next to him, Junho sat cross-legged on the floor. He wanted to be on the same level as Jay for what he had to say next.

He'd stayed up half the night trying to figure out what to say to Jay that could possibly make the little boy open up and trust him with the secret of who hurt him. The answer finally came to him around 5:00am when the sky was turning pink "Jay, do you know why we're getting all dressed up today?"

"Grams said we had to go somewhere special, but I didn't have to dress in a monkey suit to go visit Cliff the Triceratops." his face scrunched into a grumpy frown. 

Junho burst out laughing. Kwanghee had been complaining last night about having to wear a damn monkey suit. Junho was just glad Jay had left "damn" out.

"Who's Cliff the Triceratops?" Nichkhun asked, moving to take a seat on the floor next to Junho.

"We saw his bones at the museum. He was huge, Doctor Khunnie! Bigger than you!"

Nichkhun reached out to shake Jay's bare foot "Well, thank goodness for that or my clothes would be too small."

Junho grinned at the pediatrician. He was glad the doctor had come over this morning before they headed to court. If his plan to get Jay to talk went off the rails, maybe Nichkhun could help him out "I need you to put on your listening ears. Can you do that for me?"

Jay nodded and made a motion like he was putting on a pair of headphones. Junho almost burst out laughing when Nichkhun mimicked the motion.

"Adults aren't allowed to hit kids. Do you know that, Jay?" Junho had figured this was the best way to start the conversation. Jay was very mature for his age and the only thing Junho hadn't tried so far to get him to talk was to be honest with the little boy.

Jay shook his head no. 

"It's true." Nichkhun chimed in "It's a very naughty thing to do."

Junho nodded "And what happens when someone is naughty in my class?"

"They get a time out." Jay answered proudly.

"That's right. Whoever breaks one of our rules has to sit in the naughty seat, right?" Junho was thrilled that Jay was answering his questions.

"Yup! But I never have to sit in the naughty seat!" Jay beamed at Nichkhun "I'm a good boy."

"You are a good boy, Jay, the best boy, which is why I want to tell you all about today. We're going to a court today to see a judge. Do you know what a judge is?"

Jay nodded, sending his black hair flying around his head "I watch Judge Judy with Grams and she bangs her gravel and tells people to shut up."

Nichkhun and Junho burst out laughing "At least he's familiar with how court works, sort of." Nichkhun leaned over to whisper to Junho.

"Only this judge won't be telling anyone to shut up. At least I hope not." Junho shrugged and focused his attention back on Jay "What this judge has to decide is who you should live with, Mommy or Daddy. The problem is, he doesn't have all the information he needs to decide." 

"What information does he need?" Jay looked down at the floor, breaking eye contact with Junho.

Junho exchanged an uneasy look with Nichkhun, who simply nodded "He needs to know who hurt you, Jay." Junho paused for a few seconds waiting for his words to sink in "If the judge doesn't know who hurt you, he could send you to live with that bad person."

Jay's chin dropped open and his eyeballs threatened to bug out of his head. He looked like he was starting to panic.

Junho resisted the urge to pull Jay into his arms "Do you see now why knowing who hurt you is so important?"

Jay nodded as tears started forming in his eyes "I want to tell you, Junho, but I can't."

Now they were getting somewhere. What Junho had to do now was earn Jay's trust.

"Did the person who hurt you tell you they would hurt your Daddy if you told?" Nichkhun asked gently.

Jay nodded, tears spilling from his eyes to splatter on his white shirt.

"You're very brave for keeping that secret to keep your Daddy safe." Christ, Junho had thought someone threatened him, but hearing it from Jay's own lips was devastating. 

"You think I'm brave?" Jay's eyes lit up with pride "You're not mad at me?"

Junho stood up and pulled Jay into his arms "I could never be mad at you. I love you too much to ever be mad." he gave Jay a big squeeze.

"I love you too, Junho."

"Junho and your Daddy need you to be even braver today." Nichkhun took up the conversation while Junho cuddled Jay.

"How can I be more brave?" Jay looked up at Junho.

"By telling the judge who hurt you." Junho hated putting it in those terms, but they were almost out of time. The court hearing started in an hour.

Jay gasped and burrowed into Junho's chest.

Junho held him tighter, wishing this could be easier on Jay "Is there a bailiff on Judge Judy?"

"Yup! Byrd! He's funny." Jay smiled through his tears.

"Do you know what the bailiff's job is?" Nichkhun asked.

"He hands Judge Judy papers and stuff." 

"That's a very important job, but the bailiff's other job is to keep people safe." Nichkhun shot Junho a calm look.

"Just like police officers." Junho chimed in.

"So it's safe to tell the judge who did this to you since there are so many people who will be in the court to protect your Daddy." Nichkhun offered Jay a bright smile.

"Can you be a brave boy for your Daddy today, Jay?" Junho held his breath. This was the last shot they had at getting Jay to fess up.

Jay nodded "I can be brave."

Chansung

Chansung was a complete wreck. He was sitting in the courtroom at a table next to Jongup, while Jea and her glam squad of high-priced attorneys sat across the aisle.

He'd slept for about ten minutes last night, managing to doze off during a riveting episode of Cupcake Wars on netflix. He'd woken up when the winners of the war were announced and started screaming in victory.

After that, he'd sat through episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and one annoying episode of Beat Bobby Flay. That man could cook, but his New York accent was annoying as hell. 

The hearing was scheduled to start in a few minutes. Jongup wore a calm look like he was about to order pancakes instead of argue reasons why Chansung should be allowed to keep custody of his son. Meanwhile, his heart was hammering so hard he felt like it was about to beat out of his chest.

"Relax, it's going to be okay." Jongup leaned over to whisper.

Chansung wanted to believe his lawyer but how could he when his entire life could change today?

"All rise." the bailiff shouted out as Judge Kwon walked into the courtroom and took his seat at the bench. Jongup had told him this judge was a huge advocate for kids and was big on fathers' rights.

Standing up, Chansung couldn't help sizing up the judge. This was the man who was going to make or break his family.

"We're here today for a temporary custody hearing for the minor child, Hwang Jaebeom. I see that both of his parents are here. Where is Lee Junho?"

With all the anxiety of the morning, Chansung hadn't given his lover a single thought. He turned around to see Junho sitting with the principal of Little Wonder Clovers, Kim Minjun, sitting on his left, while Doctor Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul sat to his right. Junho was so handsome in his suit.

"I'm here, your honor." Junho stood, buttoning his suit jacket. 

"I understand you are the child's Guardian ad Litem."

"Yes, I am."

"Good, we'll get to you in a moment." the judge leveled his gaze at Chansung before moving over to Jea who was sitting at the table and Jongkook, who was sitting in the row behind her "What troubles me about this hearing is that we have a five year old boy with severe bruises and neither of his parents can tell me how the boy was injured."

Chansung ducked his head. He'd been beating himself up over not having checked Jay out when he got back from the weekend with Jea and now here was the judge calling him out as a father. He had never felt lower in his life.

Judge Kwon picked some documents and was looking at them "Here are the facts as they've been presented to me. Jaeb..." he furrowed his brows "...Jay was at school on Friday, under the supervision of Lee-ssi until 3:00pm when he was picked up by his grandparents, the Hwangs. Hwang Chansung picked him up from his parents' house at 5:00pm and was taken home where Lee-ssi joined them for pizza and a movie at 6:00pm. Around 6:30pm, Hwang Jea-ssi arrived to pick Jay up for her scheduled custody at which time a verbal disagreement broke out and she took the child with her, where he remained until Sunday evening when he was returned to the custody of Hwang Chansung-ssi. The bruises were discovered by Lee-ssi and Principal Kim-ssi around 1:00pm on Monday. Does anyone have anything to contribute to the timeline of events?"

"No, your honor." the attorneys answered in unison. 

"Good, so the only thing left to settle is who hurt Hwang Jaebeom." the judge eyed Chansung and Jea again.

Jongup stood up "Your honor, we may be able to answer that question for you. As of an hour ago, Hwang Jaebeom revealed to Lee-ssi and Doctor Horvejkul who caused these injuries."

Chansung's mood brightened instantly. Now everyone would know that he wasn't the one who hurt his son.

"Objection!" Jea's attorney fairly flew out of her chair "The age of reason in Seoul is seven and Jaebeom is only five years old."

"Surely Hwang-ssi would want to hear her son clear her of these child abuse charges?" the judge smirked at Jea before turning his attention back to her attorney.

"Your honor, we want the truth to come out as badly as you do, but the child is too young to testify in open court. We wouldn't want to be responsible for traumatizing an already hurting child."

"Lee-ssi, what can you add about Jay's ability to testify in open court?"

Junho stood up and cleared his throat "Jay has been my student since September. He is well-spoken, with a large vocabulary for a child his age. The reason that Jay had been unwilling to tell anyone who hurt him is because the person threatened to hurt his father if he spoke about what happened."

Chansung couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only had someone hurt his son, but told Jay he would be hurt if the little boy told anyone who hurt him. It was beyond belief.

Judge Kwon nodded "Do you think Jay would be able to handle speaking with a stranger in front of everyone present?"

"Doctor Horvejkul and I explained to Jay this morning that he would need to be brave and tell the truth. We also told him that the bailiff and police officers would be here to protect Hwang Chansung-sii when Jay tells you what happened."

The judge nodded "Does he have any idea how a courtroom works?"

Junho snorted "Yes, your honor. It seems his grandmother is a fan of Judge Judy. Jay enjoys watching the show with her. He's expecting you to bang your 'gravel' to bring the court to order."

The judge burst out laughing "Is there anything else I can do to make this situation more comfortable for him?"

"No, sir. If you don't mind me saying, being able to tell the truth and going home in the arms of his family is all Jay needs." 

"Is there anything else you care to add as the child's Guardian ad Litem?"

"I've been a kindergarten teacher at Little Wonder Clovers Montessori School for five years now. In that time I've met a lot of parents, but none with more dedication and love for his child than Hwang Chansung-ssi. He's an amazing father and role model for his young son." Junho smiled when Chansung made eye contact with him.

"That ringing testimonial would mean so much more if Lee-ssi weren't sleeping with Hwang Chansung-ssi." Jea's attorney drawled.

"Thank you, Lee-ssi." the judge ignored Jea's attorney and instead turned to Nichkhun "Doctor Horvejkul, I am in possession of the pictures taken of Jay's injuries at the time he was admitted to the hospital. Is there anything you can tell me about them that would be relevant to this case?"

Nichkhun nodded standing up "Picture fourteen is a full-sized image of the contusion on Jay's back. You'll see a partial handprint visible among the broken blood vessels and still-blooming bruises."

Flipping through the pictures, the judge pulled one out to show Nichkhun before turning the image around "I see the mark, Doctor."

"While I was in the exam room with Lee-ssi, he put his hand up to the picture and the handprint was considerably smaller than his hand. I am certain this picture will show you that Hwang Chansung-ssi's hand is also much larger than the handprint in the photograph. Without Jay's testimony, it's the best piece of evidence we have in determining who caused these horrific injuries to my patient."

"Objection, your honor." Jea's attorney stood up again "The handprint, as the doctor pointed out." the attorney turned to Nichkhun, sneering at him "...is only a partial. There is no way to identify who the perpetrator is based on this evidence."

"I will hear from Hwang Jaebeom before making a ruling on that objection. Bailiff, would you please bring Hwang Jaebeom into the courtroom?"

"Ah, your honor?" Junho raised his hand.

Chansung found his first smile of the day. Instead of standing up, Junho was raising his hand like he'd taught his students.

"Yes, Lee-ssi?"

"With your permission, may I be the one who escorts Jay to the courtroom? Your bailiff is a stranger and looks nothing like Byrd on Judge Judy."

Smirking, the judge nodded his head "Granted, Lee-ssi.”

Chansung watched in fascination as Junho left the courtroom through the side door. He doubted if he would have thought to see to Jay's comfort like that. 

Jongup leaned closer to Chansung "I'll tell you one thing for sure, Junho loves your son."

In this entire mess, Chansung knowing how much Junho loved Jay was the one thing he could count on "I know he does. I accused him of some pretty awful things and in return, he's taken care of Jay better than I ever could."

"I disagree. He took care of Jay just like you would have done." Jongup pointed at the door "Here they come."

Chansung looked up to see the side door open and the bailiff escorting Junho who was holding Jay's hand.

Jay's face brightened the minute he saw Chansung. The little boy tugged against Junho's hand like he wanted to take off running toward him. Junho stopped him, bending down to speak to Jay. Chansung could see his son nodding. 

Junho led him to the witness chair and lifted him up to sit in it before lowering the microphone to Jay's height. Instead of sitting back down in the gallery, Junho stayed by Jay's side. 

"Hello Jay, I'm Judge Kwon."

Jay turned to look up at the judge "Hello." Jay waved and tugged at the collar of his shirt. 

"I hear you're a big Judge Judy fan." the judge smiled at the boy.

Jay nodded "I watch her show with Grams on netflix." Jay turned toward Narsha "Hi, Grams!"

Narsha waved at her grandson. 

"We're going to talk about some serious things today, Jay." 

"I know. Junho and Doctor Khunnie told me today is a very important day."

"That's right. Today is a very important day. Can you tell me how old you are?"

"I'm five now, but I’ll be six in April."

The judge smiled at him "I hear you're in kindergarten."

"Yup! Lee-sunsengnim is the bestest teacher in the whole world. He reads us stories and lets us take care of the classroom lizards."

"Classroom lizards?"

Chansung watched while a blush stained Junho's face.

"Lee-sunsengnim loves dragons and he says lizards are dragon's cousins. We have a leopard gecko named Spot. He's my favorite, especially when he eats crickets out of my hand." Jay out his tongue to demonstrate.

"Can you tell me about your Daddy?"

Jay waved to Bronson "His name is Hwang Chansung. He works at the Seoul Public Li-berry and he's the bestest Daddy in the whole world."

"What about your Mommy?"

Jay looked over to where Jea was sitting "My Mommy is Hwang Jea, but her name's gonna change when she marries Jongkook."

"Is she the bestest Mommy in the whole world?"

Jay shook his head no and turned to look at Nash.

"You're doing great, buddy." 

"Can you tell me why, Jay?"

"She yells a lot and Jongkook's mean to me."

Chansung turned to look at Jea and Jongkook who were staring straight ahead.

"How is he mean to you?"

"Jongkook yells a lot and he doesn't like to play dinosaurs with me and..."

Jay reached out for Junho who looked up at the judge. When he nodded, Junho scooped the little boy up and sat in the witness chair with Jay in his lap.

"Finish telling the judge what happened. It's okay. You're safe." Junho dropped a kiss on the top of Jay's head.

"I'm always safe with you and Daddy, Junho." Jay turned back to the judge "Jongkook was the one who spanked me."

"Why you little lying bastard!" Jongkook bounded out of his seat, gripping the railing in front of him.

"Kim-ssi, sit down. There will be no further outbursts or I will have you removed from my courtroom. Do you understand me?"

Jongkook fairly snarled at the judge "Yes."

"Why did Jongkook spank you?"

"'Cause he hates me." tears started gathering in Jay's eyes "He calls me that bad word all the time. I missed my Daddy and Junho. We were gonna have pizza and garlic knots from 'Taliano's when Mommy came and took me away. I was crying 'cause I wanted my Daddy and my Junho and Jongkook told me to shut the duck up and then he pushed me down and started to hit me on my bottom. Then he told me that if I told anyone that he hit me then he'd hurt my Daddy." tears dripped down Jay's cheeks.

Chansung noticed Junho was crying too. He wanted to run to both of them and dry their tears.

Junho wrapped his arms tighter around Jay "No one is ever going to hurt you again. I promise."

"I promise too." Chansung couldn't keep quiet a moment longer.

"Judge, can I hug my Daddy? I miss him so much."

Judge Kwon nodded. 

Junho stood up with Jay in his arms and walked toward Chansung. He went to hand Jay over when Chansung wrapped his arms around both of them and held them tight. 

"I'm so sorry, buddy. So sorry.

"Do you see that, judge?" Jea shouted from her seat "Do you see the disgusting thing my ex-husband and that man are doing?"

"What? You mean comforting your son, who, for whatever reason you failed to protect."

"My ex-husband is a flaming , exposing my son to God knows what and you're concerned with me not protecting Jay?"

"I don't care if your ex-husband sprouts wings and flies. He's done nothing but protect and love your child who was beaten under your watch, Hwang Jea-ssi. Can you tell me how a five year old child gets those kinds of bruises and you know nothing about it?"

Jea sat back down.

Judge Kwon turns toward the hugging trio "Jay, where was your Mommy when Jongkook hurt you?"

"She was in the bathtub with two bottles of wine." Jay held up two fingers.

Judge Kwon took a deep breath "Here's what's going to happen. The officers in the courtroom are going to arrest Kim Jongkook on child abuse charges. They are also going to arrest Hwang Jea on child endangerment charges. I am awarding sole custody of Hwang Jaebeom to Hwang Chansung-ssi with no visitation rights allowed to his mother."

Chansung pulled back from Junho and Jay, making sure Junho had all of Jay's weight "If I may say something, your honor?"

"Yes, Hwang Chansung-ssi?"

"I know it's no excuse, but my ex-wife is dealing with an alcohol problem. Instead of arresting her, I'd like to suggest she be sent to a residential rehab, preferably some place with palm trees. Once she finishes treatment, I'd like her to consider going back to school and finishing her communications degree. I'd be willing to renegotiate custody of Jay at that time. My son needs his mother, sir, and I think Jea can be the mother he needs after she gets a little help."

The judge nodded and turned to Jea's dream team "Hwang Jea...ssi, what do you say to your ex-husband's suggestion?"

Jea was twisting her hands together and chewing on her bottom lip "I guess I could go to rehab."

"Yay, Mommy!" Jay stuck his fist in the air. "I know you can do it!"

Judge Kwon looked at Jay suspiciously "Jay, how do you know about rehab?" judge Kwon asked with a smile on his face. 

"Judge Judy send someone to rehab and Grams told me it's like a hos-a-pital where they make you feel better."

"How did I know Judge Judy was involved somewhere?" the judge smiled at Jay "I'll go along with Hwang-Chansung-ssi's recommendation and not charge you with child endangerment if you enter a rehab facility and stay for a full three months, longer if the counselors suggest it. As for you, Kim Jongkook, I hope you rot in prison for what you've done to this little boy. You may have hurt his body, but thank God you didn't break his spirit." the judge banged his gavel "Court dismissed!!!...Maybe I should start my own show."