Chapter 1: The Meeting

yoongi walked along the parramatta river and stopped to sit on a bench where he could view the harbour bridge. he knew it was one of the icons of the city, and since he was little he had always wanted to see it for himself. now that it was right there in front of his eyes, it didn't feel as majestic as it should have been.

then again, it was just another bridge, after all.

he sighed and leaned down slightly to think. there were many people walking about, as it was a tourist attraction, but they were all too focused on themselves to wonder about him.

just like many people from rural areas, he had gone to sydney in hopes of finding a job in the big city. well, a better-paying job than anything he could get in the rural area, hopefully. but considering everyone in his small town knew him, he doubted any of them would hire him so he knew he had to leave.

when he arrived, he didn't have much money so he stayed in a hostel's shared room, the cheapest accomodation he could find. he had found a job at a fast food chain, but it had been a while since he had last worked as he wasn't getting rostered on any shift, and he could only watch as his money in his bank account kept dwindling.

last week he had already had to survive on just a loaf of bread and cheap peanut butter, and he didn't want to do it again.

but what other choice did he have?

he sighed deeply. maybe it was a mistake to leave. it would have been better to be taken advantage of than to be homeless or dead. maybe he could find a soup kitchen to feed himself. but what if he couldn't pay for accommodation anymore? he wasn't exactly prepared to be homeless either.

"hi."

yoongi lifted his head to see who was talking to him and came face to face with a toddler. the boy couldn't have been older than three, maybe not even two. he had soft, fluffy hair, big, doe eyes, and chubby cheeks. he also had a pout on his lips as he studied yoongi.

"hi," yoongi said, almost caught off-guard. "where's your parents?"

the boy pointed to his right and yoongi turned to find a tall man standing nearby, watching them with interest. he was far enough that he wasn't imposing, but near enough that he would be able to save his son if yoongi tried anything funny.

yoongi noted how good-looking the man was, but also how similar the boy was to him. even without a dna test, no one would doubt they were related.

"sad?" the boy asked and yoongi turned his attention back to the boy. the boy toddled closer and rested his hands on yoongi's knees, looking up at him curiously.

"a little," yoongi said. he didn't even know why he was telling a baby his life story, but the boy looked genuinely worried and it warmed his heart slightly. "it's just... ah, money problems. i haven't been given any work for a while now."

the boy nodded. yoongi wasn't sure how much the boy understood.

"wan hug?" the boy asked with his arms lifted.

"can i?" yoongi asked, more to the father than the boy.

"sure," the man replied.

yoongi picked the boy up and held him close, sighing as the boy wrapped his arms around his neck and began patting his back.

"what do you do, if i may ask?" the man asked as he sat next to yoongi.

"i work, well, worked fast food," yoongi said. "i guess the store manager prefers younger staff because they're not paid as much."

the man hummed. "do you live nearby?"

"i, uh, sort of?"

the man looked at him and yoongi looked down, focusing on the little boy's shoes. he was wearing a pair of slip on shoes with a picture of a bunny on the side. how cute.

"do you have experience caring for children?" the man asked again.

"i guess. i used to take care of the younger kids," yoongi answered.

"the younger kids?"

yoongi sighed and looked down again. he didn't want to tell his entire life story to a stranger. he might be in need of counseling, but this wasn't what he had in mind.

"okay," the man said. "my name is kim seokjin, and this little one is jeongguk. what's your name?"

"min yoongi."

"okay, yoongi. do you want to work as an au pair for me?"

yoongi turned to look at seokjin so fast that even jeongguk was startled, looking up at the two curiously.

"you don't have a job at the moment, right?" seokjin asked. "i was thinking of hiring an au pair for jeongguk, so if you want to, i can give you a chance. provided that your police check and working with children check are cleared, of course."

"i--are you sure?" yoongi asked in surprise. "i mean, i'm really grateful for the opportunity, but i don't want you to feel obliged to help me."

"i'm not," seokjin said. "i really do need an au pair to help me. i work from home mostly, but while i work i still can't attend to him, so having an extra pair of hands is always a good thing."

"plus, it also depends on whether your checks come back clean and if we're not a good fit, any of us can terminate the arrangement with notice," seokjin added. "do you have a phone?"

the two exchanged phone numbers and seokjin helped yoongi got his police check and working with children check submitted. he also paid for it even though yoongi complained.

"consider it a short loan," seokjin said. "if the checks come back clear, i'll deduct the cost from your first paycheck. if they don't, then we can arrange for a way for you to repay me, if you want."

"okay, thank you," yoongi conceded. he didn't like feeling like he owed people, but knowing that he would pay it back made him feel a bit better.

"oh, we better head home now. it's almost time for his nap," seokjin said. "let me know once you get the checks back."

"sure."

yoongi wasn't worried about his checks. he knew they would come back clean because he never committed any crime. so he wasn't at all surprised when he got the checks back the next morning, and forwarded it to seokjin.

"that's great," seokjin had texted him. "here's my address. let me know when you're on the way."

yoongi checked how to get to the address on google maps, then started packing his bag. after his first week of stay at the hostel, the receptionist was kind enough to let him stay and pay per day while giving him the long-term stay rate.

"hi, yoongi," the receptionist greeted when she saw yoongi walking towards the reception desk. "heading out?"

"yeah," yoongi said. he handed the key to the receptionist. "i'm leaving, and hopefully for good."

the woman looked surprised but then smiled at him. "that's good. and yes, hopefully for good," she said. "but if it doesn't work out, you're always welcome to come back here. i'll give you the long-term stay rate again."

"thanks, susan," yoongi said. "you've been really helpful to me."

"not a problem at all," susan said. "now go out there and be good to others too."

"i will. thank you."