The maknae

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Remember:

*indicates emphasis on word.

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Bang pd's attention shifted from the man before him and toward the door as Namjoon, Jin, and Yoongi, entered his office. 

"Ah, good, boys, you're here." 

The boys bowed to Mr. Bang before turning to the other man in the room, bowing respectfully as he was introduced. 

"Boys, this is Mr. Yoo Myung-Dae, he's the head of our legal team."  

The boys bowed once more as they all took a seat. Bang Pd looked steadily and solemnly at the boys as he spoke. "I spoke with detective Kim concerning the recent incident with Jaekuk.  I'm afraid the outcome is not what we hoped for." The boy's straightened in their seats at the news. "I'm afraid, they had to let Jaekuk go."

"What?!" The three younger exclaimed.

Bang pd went on to explain the situation briefly, Mr. Yoo elaborating and going into detail of the law that Jae's attorney was currently using to protect him from being charged with any wrongdoing, as well as answering any questions. 

"I know, proving you're alive, in theory, seems as simple as walking into the appropriate government office and letting the fact that you just walked through the front door speak for itself, but that's not the case. Jungkook would need proof that he is who he says he is, providing appropriate photo identification, such as a driver's license, passport, etc, but it's much more complicated than that. I won't bore with the long, detailed lecture, but I'll try to explain it as quickly and thoroughly as I can.

When a person has died, their name gets added to a file called, ' Master Death File', which is a dataset that is maintained by the government. The names of the dead are added via reports from various groups or people, such as funeral homes, hospitals, and other such institutions. This file includes the person's name, date of birth, date of death, social security number, whether the death is verified or a death certificate documented, and, until 2011, also included the last known zip code. With me so far?"

Everyone nodded.

Mr. Yoo nodded, glad they were able to understand and follow his explanation so far, before he continued. 

"This data is used by many companies, such as financial institutions and agencies doling out various benefits, such a retirement, SSI, etc. One the database is updated, the information is sent out to these companies automatically. As soon as you're declared dead, your social security number is retired, bank accounts, credit cards, etc, will be frozen. 

Unfortunately, one of the problems with the way this system works is that it, for lack of a better term, erases your existence, which is why Mr. Jeong can't be charged with a crime, and what will make proving Jungkook is, in fact alive, so difficult. On top of that, it is not uncommon for the person to be suspected of identity theft if they try to reclaim their own identity, especially if *actual identity thieves managed to get a hold of your information within the small window of a few days or weeks after you were declared dead, as stealing the identity of the dead is common. Usually to commit fraud."

The guys were shocked.

They had no idea how difficult or serious this situation was. What the hell were they supposed to do now? 

Mr. Bang saw the worry in their eyes at the seemingly hopelessness of the situation. "All of Jungkook's records show him as being legally deceased. I've resubmitted all of his paperwork to start the process of declaring Jungkook to be very much alive, discreetly, of course. The process, from what I'm told, can take a few months, considering how long he's been dead, but I'm hoping, with the help  of detectives Kim and Bahk, as well as Mr. Yoo here, the process can be sped along. I'm afraid there isn't much we can do until then, however though, it will be a big step in our legal fight later." Bang informed the boys.