Family (KSJ)

Chapter 8

Jin was a donor match. That was the good news. He held the possibility for a cure for the little boy. If everything went well the child had the possibility for a normal life. Going to school, then to college. Maybe even growing up and falling in love and having his own family. The future was suddenly looking brighter.

Over the last few days the lawyers had also found out something else that Jin didn't expect. The woman with the boy in the hospital wasn't his mother, it was his sister. He'd heard the story of the tragic death of the siblings' parents and learned that the sister had become the boy's guardian. The lawyers assured him that if anything this should make the relinquishment of parental rights even easier. He'd learned the sister had to drop out of school to care for the boy. Taking the child back would offer the sister the opportunity to return to school while knowing the boy was well cared for. It seemed like everything was falling into place.

The lawyers were slated to meet with the sister later today to tell her the good news. Until then he would just have to wait impatiently to hear more. He'd agreed with PD Bang that he wouldn't tell the rest of the members anything until everything was sorted out. PD Bang had heard from Jin that his family wanted to see if they could get the boy back and even though he thought it was risky and advised against acting so rashly, Jin's family would not relent. Recognizing it was better to be involved where at least he could exert some influence on the situation, the HYBE lawyers had connected with the lawyer Jin's father had been meeting so they could present as a united front.

For Jin, each minute waiting to hear about the results of the meeting was agony. He desperately wanted to share with his members the incredible and unexpected news and meet Ben for real, let his son know that he now had a father. He could only hope that everything would go as smoothly as his father had predicted.

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Ben had stayed with the older lady who lived in the apartment next door while you went to meet the lawyers. In only a few weeks she'd started to dote on the boy and even though they didn't share a language, Ben seemed comfortable enough with her for you to run errands and attend meetings where Ben's presence could make things uncomfortable. You were still trying to shield him from the harsher parts of the reality of the situation at hand.

"Ms. Y/N, it's so good to see you again." Mr. Lee greeted you as he came into the conference room.

"Let me introduce you to some of my colleagues. This is Mr. Song, Ms. Kang, and Mr. Kim. Please, have a seat."

It was intimidating, you on one side of the glossy long table while the four lawyers sat on the other side, silently appraising you. It didn't feel like it could possibly be good news with so many people in the room.

"Before we can begin I'm afraid I need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. It will cover everything that is discussed here today. This prohibits you from sharing any part of this conversation or any subsequent conversations with anyone else outside of legal counsel that you may choose to retain on your behalf. If you engage a lawyer you must notify us before communicating any part of what was discussed today. Is that agreeable?"

You nod. It seemed like a lot but maybe it was just a cultural thing? I mean, what could they possibly tell you that was that private?

The agreement was relatively short, so after a quick skim you signed your name at the bottom and passed it back with a brief nod.

"Well, Y/N I have good news." Mr. Lee began with a warm smile. "The paternity test did determine that the individual that was identified as the father is in fact Ben's biological parent. Further, he has already conducted testing at the hospital and confirmed that he is a match as a donor."