Before He Cheats

Chapter 8

Suga's POV:

"Okay, we need...cereal."

"Papa, can we get mawshmallows and staws?" Daehyun asks. I smile at his cute look.

"Okay, we can get marshmallows and stars." I reply.

"I got the chicken." Hobi said as he came back over. "What else did we need?"

"Oh no..." I say quietly as I look up, my expression turned from happy to worried.

"What's wrong?" Hobi asks.

"What the fuck Suga?" Yu Kwan asks as he walks over. "You leave me, take the kid and then divorce me?"

"Because you cheated on me." I reply. "With a woman. That's something I cannot forgive."

"Papa, I'm scawed." Daehyun says nervously.

"Look, it's over, Yu Kwan. I left you and took Daehyun for a reason." I say as my ex husband tries to stare me down.

"He's my son, too, Yoongi." Yu Kwan replies angrily.

"Then why am I his father?" I say as Daehyun reaches out for someone to hold him, Hobi being the one to pick him up and keep him close.

"Who the fuck are you?" Yu Kwan asks as he turns to Hobi. "And what business do you have holding my son?" He half shouts as he tries to take Daehyun from Hobi. I quickly step between them.

"Keep your hands off of him." I say through gritted teeth.

"This isn't over, Yoongi." Yu Kwan says as he turns to walk away.

"I'm pretty sure it is." I say to myself as I turn to Hobi and Daehyun, the toddler crying into Hobi's shoulder.

"Papa, why is daddy so mean now?" Daehyun asked between sobs.

"I don't know, sweetie." I reply, having honestly no idea what to say.

"Come on, " Hobi begins. "We don't need this stuff that bad. Let's just get the hell out of here."

~

"Hold on, I'm coming!" Jin shouts as the doorbell rings several times in a row. "Who are you? And why do you think it's acceptable to ring someone's doorbell rapidly and twenty times in a row?"

"My name is Eunjoo. I'm from child protective services and I was told there was a little boy in danger here." A woman says as she tries to push her way past Jin. What the fuck did Yu Kwan say?

"I'm pretty sure you have the wrong house, then." Jin replies as he tries to close the door, Eunjoo stopping him. "Listen, sweetheart, you have no right to come into my home and take my cousin's child. Suga is a better father than any of those idiots you could put his son with in foster care."

"Those idiots can take better care of a child than a single parent." Eunjoo said with a bad attitude.

"I was raised by a single parent." Jin said angrily. "And I turned out just fucking fine. Now, leave. Before I call the cops." With that, Jin closed the door. "Where's Daehyun?"

"He's out back with Hobi." I reply.

"You might wanna go get him." I immediately do as suggested, rushing to go get Daehyun from outside.

"And you're not the boy's relative?" Eunjoo asked Hobi.

"No. Look, I don't see how any of this is even-"

"NO!" I shout as I rush towards Daehyun, hugging him tight as I knelt down. "Please, you can't take him!" I begged.

"Actually, I can." Eunjoo said in a sassy tone.

"I'm the one you should be questioning, then. Not Hobi." I say as tears start to fall down my cheeks. "This is all because of my jealous ex husband. Yu Kwan said something because I divorced him because he cheated on me. That's the only reason you're here."

"Suga, right?" Eunjoo asked. I nod. "Listen, I don't care who said what. When somebody calls my office and says a child is in danger, I have to investigate."

"I know I'm not the best dad, but I try." I say as I began to sob.

"He's really not lying." Hobi steps in. "I've seen him with Daehyun and he really is a good dad. He cares about his son. He wouldn't do anything that would put Daehyun in any danger." Eunjoo closed her eyes tight for a moment.

"Alright. I'm gonna let him stay here. But I'll be back in a week. And if I see anything that could potentially put Daehyun at risk, I'm going to have to remove him from the home." With that, Eunjoo turned around and headed back to her van.

"Are you okay, Suga?" Hobi asked as Eunjoo drove off. I shake my head.

"I could have lost my son." I reply. Hobi gently puts a hand on my shoulder.

"But you didn't." He fakes a smile, but that quickly fades. "It'll be okay, Suga."

"It had to be Yu Kwan. This is the kind of shit he's always done."

"I know, but you have to keep your head up. Stay strong for Daehyun." Hobi wiped away a few tears from my cheeks as I sniffled a bit.

"I guess you're right." I reply shortly before standing up. "Come on, I'll make us some lunch."

"Can we have gwilled cheese?" Daehyun asks excitedly.

"Of course, sweetie." I reply, taking hold of his little hand that he held up.

~

Hobi's POV:

That night, I did as much research as I could on Yu Kwan, gathering up as much as I could to prove he wasn't as fit to be a father as Suga.

"So he was involved in a prostitution ring back in 2019..." I say to myself. "Why am I not surprised?" I hit the print button on the computer screen, the printer soon working on it. I carefully take the newly printed paper off the tray, placing it in the already thick stack of papers I had previously printed.

~

"Here." I say as I walk into Eunjoo's office the next morning.

"What's all this?" She questions.

"Proof that Yu Kwan isn't fit to be a parent." I reply. Eunjoo opens the folder, taking out the stack of papers and reading through the first one.

"Oh my God..."

"Now do you know why Suga left him and took Daehyun?"

"I'm going to have to look through court records to fact check this stuff. You are aware of that, right?"

"I know." I reply with a bow. "I understand, too. When a kid's involved, every precaution has to be taken."

"Yes, exactly." Eunjoo looked up at me again "I'll look into this and call you. Write your phone number on this for me." She says as she hands me a notepad and pen.

"Thank you." I reply as I write down my number. "Have a good day." With that, I leave the office, heading back out to my car.

~

"Did you show her?" Suga asks anxiously as I walk back into the house.

"Yeah." I reply. "She said she'd have to double check court records, but she's gonna call me when she does."

"Thank you, Hobi."

"It's no problem, really." I smile out. "After what I saw last week at the store, I don't want Daehyun going back to him." Suga flashed a smile before looking down.

"I just hope this works."