Happy Papers
On the way home.
Luca woke with a long, lazy stretch, while Reni poured out everything that had happened in a breathless stream and demanded answers from his little brother.
“So the star slime and the heart slime went to kindergarten.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But then a monster showed up and we had to go eat dinner!”
“Uh-huh.”
I watched the one-sided conversation with quiet fondness before sitting up properly and gazing out at the scenery rushing past.
I had completely forgotten because of the fight between Tony and the other kids, but suddenly worry about tomorrow crashed over me like a wave.
An investigator.
I had always known a day like this would come. It was necessary, too. And the Sister had told me not to worry—!
The moment we got home I threw myself into a deep clean, scrubbed the boys until they squeaked, put them to bed, and then paced the apartment again and again hunting for anything an investigator might seize on.
After that I checked my bank balance one more time, researched every scrap of information I could find about guardianship appointments, and finally fell asleep still reading.
The next morning.
I dressed myself with care and put the children in their very best clothes as well.
After what felt like forever, the doorbell rang.
I shot up from my seat and raced to the door.
Outside stood a middle-aged woman in a suit with a stern, professional face.
“Hello, Mr. Jun. I’m Penelope Wright. I’m here to conduct the guardianship investigation for the Angelus brothers.”
I took the hand she offered and shook it, thinking.
Wright. Gabriel Wright and Penelope Wright.
So the Sister’s “just trust me” really had been rooted in blood and old ties after all.
I guided Penelope into the living room as calmly as I could manage.
Reni glued himself to my leg and stared at the sudden visitor.
Penelope looked down at him with warm eyes.
“Hello, Reni.”
Reni gave a shy little smile, glanced up at me once, then ducked behind my leg.
I stroked his hair to let him know it was all right and asked,
“You’ll need to interview the children separately, right? Should I step out?”
“Normally, yes—but I think it’s fine for now. I’d rather the little one just play comfortably.”
In other words, she wanted to talk with the adults alone. I sent Reni into the playroom with a brand-new sketchbook and closed the door.
Luca, of course, still had to stay in my arms.
Once we were seated with Luca, Penelope shifted her gaze from the apartment to the baby.
“So this is Luca. Almost a year old?”
“Yes. He’s nine months now, so still three months until his first birthday.”
Luca stared at Penelope for a long moment, then whipped his head around and buried his face against my shoulder.
“He clearly sees you as his father already.”
“We’ve been together steadily since he was a month old. Um… I’m not sure if Gabriel mentioned it, but…”
I trailed off. Penelope nodded.
“I heard it from Gabriel, and from Mother Eloise as well. For the record, I grew up under her care too.”
“Ah…”
“Even with her personal request, I intended to hold off on any decision until I saw the children’s condition with my own eyes. But it doesn’t look like that will be necessary.”
Penelope smiled faintly. The hard edges of her expression had softened, tinged now with something sad.
“When I left the orphanage, Kyle and Alicia were only about ten years old. I never imagined I’d be hearing those children’s names again this way after all this time.”
I sat there blankly for a moment before snapping back to myself and offering her tea and snacks.
To lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere, we talked about the orphanage and the Sister.
“…So back then there were kids who genuinely believed the Sister kept a shotgun hidden in the director’s office.”
“It was the same in our day. Honestly, I still half-believe it.”
“Of course, once I got out into the world I realized Mother’s real influence puts anyone with a shotgun to shame.”
“Ah… yes…”
My awkward reply made Penelope laugh, and she began pulling various papers from her briefcase and filling them out.
“The basic requirements to become a guardian look simple enough on paper. You need to be a citizen over eighteen, of sound mind and body, with no criminal record. You prepared the relevant documents?”
“Yes.”
I hurriedly handed over the certificates I had been gathering in bits and pieces.
“Good. The investigator also confirms the candidate’s living environment, financial situation, and relationship with the child. I’ll handle that part myself…”
Penelope explained that once she submitted her report, everything would be reviewed together, and that I would need to attend a hearing with the children.
I already knew the broad outline of the process and simply nodded, until a sudden thought made me ask,
“By the way… how are all the costs for this process being covered?”
The Sister and the Father had said they would take care of it, but was Penelope working for free right now?
I had just read online that lawyer fees for guardianship cases ran into the thousands of dollars at least. Even if they knew each other and felt sorry for the boys, free work seemed unlikely…
“Kyle and Alicia had some savings set aside. I understand their house and furniture were sold as well.”
“Ah…”
Right. Of course.
Relieved that Reni wasn’t listening, I gently stroked the back of Luca, who had already fallen asleep with his face buried in my shoulder.
Penelope continued.
“Mr. Jun, a guardian carries exactly the same legal duties, authority, rights, and responsibilities regarding a child’s upbringing as a parent. And the guardianship ends when the children turn eighteen.”
She looked up from the papers and met my eyes.
“So I’ll ask one last time. For the next fourteen years with Reni, and at least seventeen with Luca, you will have to pour your whole heart and effort into raising them. Are you truly all right with that?”
I answered without a second’s hesitation.
“Yes. Of course.”
At my ready nod, Penelope smiled small and soft.
“Then all that’s left is pure formality. Once I contact you, please just attend the guardianship hearing.”
“What do I have to do there?”
“Nothing at all. Simply show up with the children and be present.”
She went on to explain that in court the judge would review the paperwork to make sure everything required had been submitted, verify a few facts, and ask a couple of confirmations.
But the lawyer would handle all of it, so I needn’t worry much.
“It usually takes longer only when you’re appointing guardians for elderly people without caregivers and property is involved… In a case like this, that won’t be an issue.”
“I see.”
Well, in this situation I wasn’t receiving money—I was the one spending it.
And since Penelope herself would testify to my fitness as a guardian, there really didn’t seem to be anything left for me to fret over.
Still, worry was worry.
As if she understood exactly what was going through my head, Penelope rose with a smile.
“I’ll try to get a date set as soon as possible. Please try not to worry too much in the meantime.”
And sure enough, only a few days later I received the notice to appear in court.
Hearing day, early morning.
The boys, usually so quiet, were bursting with energy today.
Reni, who had never been downtown before, begged to get out of the stroller and started walking on his own.
Among all the people in suits hurrying to work, our little family stood out like a sore thumb.
“Daddy, Daddyyy! Look at that! That house is so big!”
“Yes, Reni—wait a second, you can’t go off alone!”
The child who had been squeak-squeak-squeaking away in his shoes came squeak-squeak-squeaking right back.
“There are too many people here—it’s dangerous. You have to hold onto Daddy tightly.”
“Okaaay!”
The instant he answered, Reni wrapped his entire body around my leg.
I dragged the suddenly fifteen-kilo-heavier leg along while checking the map on my phone—only for Luca to stretch out his arms from the stroller, demanding to be held.
“Aung-ah! Appang-ah!”
“Yes, Luca, just a moment…”
“Aaaah!”
“Aigoo.”
The second I picked up the fussing baby, Luca grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked for all he was worth.
“Aba, Daddy, Daddyyyyaaah! Kyaaaah!”
“Aigoo, Luca, just a second…!”
Right there in the middle of downtown, with a child hanging off my hair, Penelope came out to meet us.
“Oh dear. Are you all right, Mr. Jun?”
“Yes—just a normal day. Hello.”
Smiling, she led us into the large building.
In that echoing space unique to big public buildings, Luca and Reni both clamped their mouths shut as if on cue.
Even I felt a little intimidated by the place.
“You’re early, so you’ll have to wait a bit.”
“That’s fine. Thank you.”
We sat on sofas that were soft yet somehow still felt stiff, waiting. Reni whispered in my ear,
“Daddy, where are we?”
“Well, this is… Reni, Daddy’s a little distracted right now—can I explain when we get home later?”
“Okaaay.”
After a short wait we were called into the courtroom. I settled the boys and we waited a little longer before a young judge in robes entered and took her seat.
Brief pleasantries passed between the lawyers and the judge. Then she began flipping through the documents she had received and asking various questions to confirm the facts.
The atmosphere was neither light nor heavy. It felt exactly like a cashier ringing up groceries—just another day of official business.
Still, it was my first time, so of course I was tense.
Even right before we entered the courtroom Penelope had insisted I had nothing to be nervous about…
I hid the pounding of my heart as best I could, sat up straight, and listened carefully to every word exchanged between the judge and the lawyers.
What shattered both my concentration and the dry, procedural air of the courtroom was the sudden explosion of Luca’s babbling storm.
“Audangda jaangjaja!”
Clear, ringing nonsense syllables. In an instant every eye in the room locked onto the child, who then grinned proudly—hee!
Flustered, I tried to soothe him.
“Luca, shh. It’s okay, shh.”
“Hee… Kyaaaah!”
What on earth had gotten into him?
From my panicking arms the boy let out pure dolphin squeals of joy. A wave of laughter rolled through the courtroom.
The shy, clingy baby of only a few months ago was nowhere to be found; after that, Luca’s babbling never stopped.
Whenever a lawyer said something, he echoed it. Whenever the judge nodded and replied, he echoed that too.
Thanks to him I no longer heard a single word of what anyone was actually saying.
Between managing Luca’s commentary, Reni who had started adding his own little sound effects, and simply following Penelope’s quiet directions in a daze, I suddenly found myself outside the building again, being seen off by her.
“Congratulations, Mr. Jun. You’ve officially taken on the next dozen-plus years of parenting.”
“Excuse me?”
“Here—take good care of these. How about dinner with the Sister sometime soon? Take care!”
Penelope said she would have loved coffee but had other urgent work, and hurried off.
I called a thank-you after her retreating back. She turned with a smile, waved once, and disappeared into the building.
I sat on a nearby bench to collect myself.
“…”
Was it really over? Had I truly just become the boys’ guardian?
The lawyer had said so, so it must be true.
Only now did everything start to feel real.
I looked down at the thick sheaf of papers in my hands and let out a long breath of relief. Reni tilted his head and asked,
“Daddyyy, why are you smiling at the paper? Is it a happy paper?”
I laughed out loud and ruffled his hair.
“Yeah. It’s a happy paper.”
Then I stroked Luca’s hair too, because he was already stretching out his hands, demanding his turn. Reni smiled and asked again,
“What kind of paper is it?”
How should I put it? I tried to explain in the simplest way a child could understand.
“Hmm… It’s the paper that confirms Daddy is your daddy—both of you.”
Reni tilted his head again.
“Huh? We don’t need a paper for that, though?”
At the pure, simple words, I couldn’t help but smile with pure joy.
“You’re right. Our Reni is so smart.”
“Heehee.”
I pressed a kiss to the smiling boy’s hair, then kissed Luca’s hair too as he waited for his turn.
Finally I tucked the documents carefully into the envelope and said with quiet pride,
“All right—shall we go home now?”
“Yes!”
“Uh-huh!”
I settled the boys securely, then pushed the stroller forward with strong, steady steps.