Warning: sensitive issues are discussed in the paragraph starting with ****.  It's short but you can skip if you're not comfortable with it.

14th january 2021

They were still waiting for news from the administration about Chaewol's registration to Jungkook's family book, for her new birth certificate and the official validation of the custody agreement. Legally, Chaewol was only for now Jieun's child and still not yet Jungkook's daughter, though  Yea Ji was working hard to accelerate the process. There were also the preparation for the trial that same week. Needless to say, it was a stressing period, though they maintained a smiling face in front of Chaewol who was thankfully clueless about the serious issues her family was facing.

" Do you think if we get married the legal process of child care issue will be easier? " Jungkook asked her out of blue. It was 1 am and Chaewol was sleeping soundly between them. 

" What ?" She looked at him with wide eyes. They hadn't talked about the marriage subject since the birthday party two days ago.  But she thought about it a lot, apparently Jungkook too. 

" If we get married, Chaewol also won't suffer the stigma of being a child raised out of wedlock." He added

Jieun's wasn't exactly a very romantic person but she still daydreamed once or twice about her ideal marriage proposal. This wasn't obviously how she imagined it but it didn't bother her that much.

" Are you sure it's a good idea? We just got back together, it feels rushed."

She knew Jungkook's personnality revolved about being spontaneous and pragmatic even if he was an artist by heart. He was the kind of person who solved problems based on practical judgments instead of dwelling on theories and ideals.

He took her hands in his and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. 

" Don't get me wrong, marriage is a big deal for me as much as I know it is for you. We love each other, we want to be together for the rest of our life, we want to raise our child in the same household, all there is left is to sign a paper that will bound us and make procedures easier."

Her heart started to beat erratically upon hearing his words and looking at his sincere expression.

" I understand what you're saying, it's been on my mind too lately but I still need time to think about this clearly. " she for sure needed time to calm down and to think

" Of course" he agreed

That night Jieun couldn't close her eyes, her mind too preoccupied. She looked at Jungkook and Chaewol's sleeping faces once again. She knew deep down she wanted to witness this sight for the rest of her life.

She thought about it all night: what was stopping her for getting married to Jungkook? She listed in her head all the pros and cons.

People will definitely be surprised by their decision. Their family already approved but her friends might scold her for going too fast in their relationship. But she had known Jungkook for almost 8 years now and she would never love a man like this again. She knew they were each other's soulmate. It was also a good thing that it will make things easier for their daughter.

She often listened to her instinct in front of a new challenge and when she made life-changing choices. 

'This is it' she thought, it was absolutely crazy to get married this fast but she knew it felt right and wanted to move forward on that path without any lingering regrets. It broke every romantic fantasies she had on getting married but right now she couldn't care less. Her priority was to finally accept to let herself be happy and build the family she had always dreamt with Jungkook and their daughter.

Jeon Jungkook really had the talent to make her do crazy things.

🌜💜🐰🐰🐰💙🌛

16th january 2021

Jungkook and Jieun attented the formal hearing of the trial with their families' presence to support them. Chaewol stayed at home with Bangtan members who didn't come to avoid attracting unwanted attention. 

Seo Jang Hoon, the doctor and the midwife were brought from prison to the Seoul Central District Court in handcuffs, accompanied by 4 guards. Kang Ho Dong was brought in a wheelchair from the hospital.

Jungkook squeezed Jieun's hand tighter as the prosecutor read out the criminal charges. The defendants did not petition for jury trial, which meant it was tried by a judge. Jungkook could understand why they prefered a judge : a jury composed of random citizens might feel more sympathic to Jieun and Jungkook and would have a higher chance to give a guilty verdict. It was a strategic decision from the defendants to ask for a judge-led trial.  

As the main defendant Kang Ho Dong already confessed to the crimes, the Seoul Central District Court decided to exceptionally schedule all the sessions in the same day instead of doing several hearings and dragging the trial process for months. 

They started with Jieun, her parents and Inna's testimonies about what happened 7 years ago. Jieun looked nervous but she answered all the questions with as much details as she could. It hurt him to see her go through all the painful memories again.

******

Her parents recalled how they were informed of the situation only two days after Jieun gave birth. Ho Dong and the doctor insisted they needed to make a quick burial of the child for medical reasons and apologized to them for the haste decision.

Jieun's mother cried when she told their worries upon seeing Jieun's physical and mental distress at that moment. The midwife conviced them Jieun's difficult pregnancy due to her pre eclampsia and the baby's prematurity lead to mortal consequences for the child. The doctor even had the audacity to cry and say they tried everything at the hospital to save the little girl.

Her father recalled the huge shock he and his wife had, the managers took care of the burial while Jieun's parents watched, believing the body was their granddaughter. Her parents insisted Jieun should be admitted to an hospital but the doctor said it wasn't necessary as her body was slowly recovering and the medical equipment at home were sufficient. Jieun only needed her parents' moral support to go through this tragedy.

Now he was regreting to not have questioned further the manager and doctor's words. 

******

"I thought doctors swore to save lives and all had a moral conduct to respect. Even now I'm still confused at how they could have accepted to destroy lives like that and continued to live as if nothing happened. I shouldn't have believed them, I failed to protect my family by being too naive and trusting. My daughter and grandchild suffered so much from this. " he lamented

Jungkook's rage rose with every new information he heard. Ho Dong was evil, he knew that. But Jieun's father was right about one thing: how can a doctor who had sworn to heal and take care of people could have lied so easily and decided it was okay to ruin lives? Money really had the power to turn people into monsters. He badly wanted to punch them all for their lies. 

His turn was approaching and Jungkook felt very nervous. It was good thing  Yea Ji explained them beforehand the trial process and adviced them on how to deliver the testimony. His turn finally came and he explained he was not aware of anything because he was living in the United States when it all happened. But he pointed out the controlling and threatning behaviour of Ho Dong and Jang Hoon according to what Jieun told him back then and what he witnessed. 

Ho Dong sobbed as he answered the questions and admitted his involvement in Chaewol's abduction, the forgery of adoption paper, the lies he told Jieun and her family about the baby's death, the bribery to the medical staff and the endangering of Jieun's life by not taking her to an hospital when she had a complication in her pregnancy? He admitted to have paid the doctor to sedate Jieun multiple times after she gave birth to buy time to prepare his plan.

The hospital was able to show the CCTV recordings in 2014 and it clearly showed Ho Dong and Jang Hoon going in and out at the hospital with a baby at two days' interval then come back later with a bag (probably full of the bribe money). 

The doctor and the midwife had initially denied any wrongdoings in the pre-trial proceeding but changed their mind in the trial as there were too many evidences against them. Their lawyer must have convinced them to plead guilty and look regretful to have a lesser sentence. At this point it was ridiculous to deny their involvement. 

Jang Hoon's lawyer rejected the charges against him, claiming he acted under Ho Dong's threat and felt pressured to follow his boss's orders. Jungkook's blood boiled as he looked at the gigantic man. He was fighting the urge to punch the jerk's smug face. What a fucking liar, Jang Hoon knew what he was doing back then and nobody was fooled by his innocent act right now. 

All of them went through direct and cross examination by the prosecutor and the defendants lawyers during the trial.

The prosecution and the defandants gave their closing arguments, then they waited in the room nearby for the verdict. They all came back to the courtroom one hour after the adjournment. Sweat started to form on Jungkook's forehead and he clutched hard Jieun's hand as they waited for the judge's decision. 

Kang Ho Dong was found guilty of all charges and was sentenced to 15 years of prison. However due to his terminal cancer and need of treatment, he could apply for a compassionate release but he refused it. He was going to be transfered to a medical prison in Jeonju.

Seo Jang Hoon got 10 years of prison for his complicity in the crimes. The doctor and the midwife got their medical licences removed and will spend 12 years in jail. 

At the end of the trial, Ho Dong asked the guard to bring his wheelchair in front of Jungkook and Jieun. He apologized again, and while he looked regretful of his actions, Jungkook felt no sympathy nor pity towards him. Forgiveness was still not a thing he was ready to give to this man. 

" I accept your apology but don't expect me to forgive what you've done. I know you don't have much time left, I wished you would have spent more time in jail but I'll let you deal with your guilty conscience in your remaining days and in the afterlife. I want to move on in my life and make up for the lost time with my child. I guess this is goodbye forever Ho Dong "
Jieun said to her former manager with a calmness that impressed Jungkook. 

⭐🏵🌜🌛🏵⭐

They all quietly went home, still overwhelmed and exhausted by the trial. A little body crashed in his legs as soon as they entered the apartment: Chaewol hugged him and looked at them with a pout. 

" Mommy, Daddy where were you? You were gone all day. I...I was starting to get worried." 

" I'm sorry we couldn't be with you today. We were doing something important to make sure the bad people who separated us would never hurt anyone again and got punished for what they did to all of us. It's over now, we can only move forward, starting today. " 

Chaewol didn't seem to really understand Jieun's words but she still nodded and hugged her mother who needed comfort now more than ever. 

" It's alright Mommy, don't cry " 

" You're right darling, everything's gonna be okay. Did you spend a good day with your uncles? " Jieun dried her own tears and smiled. 

" Oh yeah, we played a lot of games and I won many many times. Uncles Jimin and Taehyung are crybabies when they lose. Uncles Jin and Yoongi made my favorite dishes. And I painted something with Uncles Namjoon and Hoseok. Wait I'm going to show it to you! " Chaewol ran to the bedroom and came back with a small orange and purple painting.

" That's the sunset and the sea! " she proudly showed her painting to everyone

" The artistic vibe and the talent must really run in the Jeon's blood " his brother Jung Hyun chuckled. It was indeed impressive for a 7 years old.

Chaewol wanted to show the clothes she received from her BTS uncles to Jieun and dragged her to the bedroom. 

" JK are you alright?" Taehyung asked him 

" I'm fine " he replied with a small smile. It was the truth, he felt like a heavy burden was lifted from his shoulder today. 

Now Jungkook could focus on taking care of his girls and showering them with love, attention and gifts. He will start by planning a romantic marriage proposal to Jieun. 

🌕💜🐰🐰🐰💙🌕

Author's note :
Hello dear readers, I'm sorry for the wait, this is the busiest and most stressful period of the year at work so I don't have much time to write and even edit chapters. 
Are you excited for IU's next songs release on 29.12? We got so much content from her this year. I'm thankful.

Thank you always for the support! Take care 🥰