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Nia held her umbrella over her head as she walked down the road.  Little Yeontan was shaking in her arms.  Spring walks were never a good idea, especially not with a puppy.  It had just started pouring out of nowhere and now both of them were soaked.  Thankfully, Nia had had the good sense to bring an umbrella, but she hadn’t pulled it out soon enough to save them from getting drenched.

A few minutes later, she walked through the front door.  As she kicked her shoes off, she noticed a tiny pair next to Taehyung’s shoes.  She furrowed her brow.  She walked into the living room to find Taehyung kneeling in front of a little boy, drying the kid off with a towel.  Both of them were soaked, and Taehyung was shirtless.

“Tae?  Who’s this?”

He looked up at her, his hair falling down to stab him in the eye momentarily.  He pushed it behind his ear.

“This is Jisung.”

The kid turned around, and she immediately recognized him as the boy they’d met at the park about a month earlier.

“Why is he here?”

Taehyung sighed and stood up, a shiver rippling through him.  He crossed his arms over his bare torso.

“I decided to walk down to the market instead of driving, and he was there all alone.  He knew his mother’s number, so I tried calling her, but she wouldn’t pick up.  She even blocked the calls a few times.  He knows his address, so I was going to walk him home, but it started pouring while we were on our way there, and coming here was closer.”

Nia nodded, unsure what to say. “What are we going to do?”

“I have no clue.  I’d try calling again, but I doubt she’ll pick up.  Honestly, she might’ve blocked my number by now.  We probably should call the police, I’m not sure what else to do.”

Nia rubbed her forehead. “Ok.  I’m gonna go change and dry Tannie.”

Taehyung nodded.

——————–

“Noooo I want to stay,” Jisung cried as the officer tried to convince him to join her at the station.  She sighed and stood up.

“You found him at the market, you said?”

Taehyung nodded. “I recognized him because he ran up to us while we were on a walk a few weeks ago at Seokchon Lake Park.  He was with his mom last time, but not this time.”

“All right.  I’ll have to get ahold of his parents.  This could be serious if he was intentionally abandoned.” She turned back to the little boy. “Come on, we need to go find your parents.”

Jisung shook his head.

“Why not?”

“Don’t wanna see Eomma.  Eomma doesn’t like me.”

“Why do you think that?”

“She said she don’t want me.” Jisung cried in a tiny voice. “Wanna stay with Mr. Tae.”

“Will you come with me if he comes with us?”

“Yeah…”

——————–

Taehyung and Nia found themselves in the back of the police car, Jisung seated between them. The little boy was still crying.

“Ma’am, would it be possible for us to adopt him?” Nia asked.  She knew it was a big step, but the kid looked like he really needed a good home.

“That depends on if he has any official guardians.  If he was purposefully abandoned, the parent who did it can lose parental rights.  If neither of his parents have parental rights, it is possible for you to adopt him.”

Taehyung and Nia looked at each other.  Were they up for raising a child that wasn’t their own?