Yoongi and Seokjin spent the next couple of months preparing for pups. From their training course, to CPR classes, renovating their spare bedroom and home office into bedrooms, and pup proofing their house, they felt as ready as they could possibly be to finally welcome a pup or two into their home.
At their final course before becoming certified foster parents, Seokjin found himself sitting in the middle of the room with a piece of paper taped to him that said 'displaced pup', holding a multitude of strings that connected him to the rest of the course, everyone with their own labels like 'father', 'teacher', 'case worker', and so on. "Imagine you just got yourself a cushy new job with great benefits. You can tell that it's the perfect job...but you also know that it's only temporary. That you'll eventually be fired just like with your last three jobs." The beta trainer then pulled out a pair of scissors. "That's how a displaced pup feels when they feel unwanted." She began walking around, snipping all of the strings. "Except instead of mourning the loss of a job, they're losing their connections with everyone in their lives." She stopped cutting when she got to the future parents wearing the labels of 'brother' and 'sister'. "But the one connection that stays strong is a sibling connection."
The other trainer picked up the lesson. "Siblings in foster care tend to adjust quicker because they aren't going through it alone, so it might be ideal to considering taking in siblings as opposed to just one single pup." Seokjin and Yoongi's eyes found each other as a silent agreement washed over them.
Not long after receiving their certification, Yoongi and Seokjin found themselves at an adoption fair, walking up to a table that their trainers were sitting behind. "Hi, guys! So glad you could make it!" She handed them a sheet of paper and pencil. "Just sign in and take this form with you. Write down the name of any pup you meet that you might be interested in."
Yoongi raised an eyebrow as Seokjin signed them in on the sign-up sheet. "Seriously? That's how it works?"
"I know, it does seem a little like shopping for pups." The beta sighed. "It's messed up, but the city still holds them because they do match parents and pups at a faster rate."
Seokjin suddenly pouted as something in the distance caught his attention. "Look at all of the big pups over there." He pointed to the edge of the fair where all of the older, most likely already presented pups had congregated.
The beta hummed. "Yeah, it breaks my heart. Most people want nothing to do with teenagers." She turned back to the couple. "Of course, if you two think you could make room for an older pup..."
Seokjin and Yoongi shared a look. "I'm sorry, we're terrible people." Seokjin said, guilt filling his features.
"You're not terrible." The beta assured him. "You can't blame people for having preferences. Now get in there and find you a family."
The couple headed into the center of the fair. "This is weird." Yoongi commented. "Normally if you chat up a random pup in a park, you're gonna end up in jail. And now they're telling us that's what we're supposed to do?"
Seokjin shrugged before pointing out a young pup playing by himself in the grass. "Hey, he's all alone. You wanna go say hi?" Yoongi nodded and followed his mate over to the pup.
Before they could say hi, they were intercepted by Minseo and Seojoon. "Occupied!" Seojoon snapped out, causing Seokjin to jump away. "We just left to get treats! So, back up!" Seokjin and Yoongi stared in shock as the desperate couple led the pup away.
The spent the afternoon attempting to talk and play with the many pups running around, but after a couple of hours had yet to feel any kind of click. When they had sat down for a quick meal and to determine if they wanted to continue or just leave, Yoongi found himself looking back at the group of teenagers. "Fuck this, I'm going over there."
Seokjin's eyes widened as he jumped up to follow his mate. "Yoongi, what are you doing?"
Yoongi pointed towards the teenagers. "Look at them! Everyone's avoiding them like they're covered in shit! I'm not gonna treat them like that, I'm going over to say hi."
"Honey, I know it's awful," Seokjin grabbed Yoongi's arm to get him to stop, unknowingly catching the attention of an omega near the edge of the group, "but they're teenagers! They do drugs and they masturbate, and they watch people playing video games on YouTube! We're not equipped for any of that!"
As they start bickering, the teenage omega approached them. "Excuse me?" They froze and turned to him. "Hi! You know we can hear you, right?" Seokjin's eyes widened in embarrassment. "'Covered in shit', 'masturbate', all that good stuff." Yoongi shot his mate a glance. "We appreciate the concern, but there's no need for all the pitying. We know how this works. So just head on your way." The omega made a shooing motion with his hand. "Go mingle with the puppies and don't even spare us another thought. Sound good? Have a good day!" Yoongi and Seokjin watched in surprise as the omega turned back around to head to the rest of the teenagers.
The thing that surprised them the most wasn't the fact that he heard everything they said or how calmly he shared his thoughts to them, but it was the small spark they felt from the interaction. And when they shared a look, they both knew that they had to bring that pup home. Seokjin looked back at the teenager, eyes searching for the name tag until he finally found it on the omega's shirt, identifying him as 'Jimin, age 15'.
"So, you found a teenager after all?"
Yoongi shrugged a bit. "We only met him for a second, but he made a huge impression."
The beta nodded in agreement. "Jimin's a great pup. He does really well in school too. He came into care four years ago when he was 11. It took a lot to convince him to accept placement in an adoptive home."
The male beta then jumped in. "His mother set the house one fire after passing out with a crack pipe in her hand."
With a glare, the female beta continued. "His mother's been making a lot of promises over the years, but never follows through."
"Where's his mom now?" Yoongi inquired.
"Probably in an orange jumpsuit selling cigarettes in the yard." The female beta rolled her eyes at her coworker.
She pulled out Jimin's file to look over with the couple. "She hasn't pursued reunification or had any contact with Jimin in over two years, so there shouldn't be any issues at all."
Seokjin couldn't help but feel for the pup he barely knew. "What about his father?"
"No IDs on any birth fathers. Jimin's mom was a product of the system. She never learned to properly care for herself, much less three pups."
The couple leaned closer with wide eyes. "Three?!" They asked simultaneously.
The male beta nodded. "Jimin comes with two younger siblings. Taehyung and Jungkook."
"So, we would have three pups?" Seokjin asked for clarification.
Yoongi immediately shook his head. "Maybe two, but there's no way we can do three." The betas then slid pictures of the siblings across the table for the couple to see.
"Oh my god, they're adorable!" Seokjin gushed.
"Why would you show us that?!" Yoongi exclaimed. "That's a dick move! It's just wrong!"
The male beta rested his arms on the desk. "We're not gonna sugarcoat it. Jungkook is a wild pup, and Taehyung can be fragile and a little emotional, and Jimin is strong willed and doesn't trust easily."
"Can you blame him?" Seokjin cut in.
"The point is," the beta looked at each of them, "we would not recommend this match if we didn't believe that you could handle it."
The female beta nodded in agreement. "And we're hoping to get them out of their current foster placement."
The male beta growled. "The Moons might lose their government check."
"Most of our foster parents are amazing, terrific, caring people. And there are some who just do it for the paycheck, but the Moons are not abusive or evil, just not the best, especially when it comes to these pups." The female beta clapped her hands. "So, we'd love to set up a visitation unless you have any other concerns."
Seokjin looked over at Yoongi and shrugged. "It's just a visitation."
Yoongi sighed and gave a nod. "Let's meet these pups."