Camera S.H.Y - The first Meeting
For some People, BigBang and StrayKids are successful idol boy bands…for four small Toddlers, they are just strangers, who suddenly want to take care of them. The first meeting between the broken young souls and the boys ….well it happens.....
TW: Fear, Tears, One Sided Reactions , mention of premature Birth
There are surprises in all situations in life.
Good....Bad....Neutral....Wonderful and surprising Surprises.
And then there are surprises...that are so incredible that you need more than a day to fully understand them. In this special situation, a crisis meeting will be held with the respective management of the idol groups, a conversation with the responsible authorities and a preliminary inspection after various social media and videos have caused a lot of waves. Waves whose origins some idols can't fully understand... waves that should turn life in the spotlight, the routine, the theories surrounding the popular boy group members and everything that goes with it... completely upside down.
It was known that the 'victims' of the social media scandals were taken from their previous families and...now given to better care. But who this new family will be has not yet been made public. For now. StrayKids and BigBang - two successful K-Pop idol boy groups - are faced with similar challenges - a jump into the unknown cold water for...a new beginning. Not just for the groups themselves and the family, certainly brotherly relationships with each other...no also for the poor broken young souls who have already had to go through so much.
The very first meeting with the toddlers and their future family members was to take place on neutral ground.
Not the cold and inaccessible premises of the child protection authorities. It was to be stress-free and positive for everyone… both for the children and for the idols.
Which is why they chose the apartment of the emergency foster parents in this case.
Good, loving people who tried to give the children some stability and trust… just one of the things that had been completely destroyed by this scandal.
And now, in the presence of the biological fathers, who had not known anything about their happiness as parents until the scandal and the associated drama were made public, as well as the presence of the youth welfare office and a few other important people in this case, BigBang and StrayKids met the toddlers for the first time, who would not only soon move into their lives, but also turn their Life upside down.
The living room of the nice foster family in the district - Jung-gu - was in every respect completely filled with love, affection and the positive charisma of the foster parents couple in their 40s. You come into the apartment and immediately notice that there is a lot of love to be given here.
It was really comfortably furnished and yet Han felt nervous despite the presence of his band colleague Bang Chan. The necessary DNA tests to verify that it was not just an open claim have been completed and there is no doubt about the family connection… the same goes for Bang Chan… and now they would get to know the children who they had only seen on social media and international coverage on TV etc. A first meeting.
Silent eye contact with Bang Chang signaled to Han that the unofficial "dad" of Stray Kids seemed to feel the same way, but the friendly glow in his team colleague's eyes had not been interrupted, not even when the foster father briefly described to the people in the room how difficult it was for the small children to get used to this change. Han was already doubting whether he was made for it…to be a father…but he wanted to try.
StrayKids was standing behind him, the rest of the guys in the band had congratulated him and given him their encouragement before leaving for this part of town…they would meet the two children in a few days…today was just about making the first primary contact. Introducing the children to the adults who would soon take them with them to their new home…to their new life. Was Han afraid? He would lie if it weren't so…but the confident, brief smile that appeared on Bang Chan's lips only made him nod slowly…they would manage it? Right?
And then a few minutes later the foster mother came into the living room with two small children. A boy and a girl.
The boy clung uncertainly to the woman's hand and the girl tried to hide behind her right leg , when she saw the strangers in the living room.
"Well, you two, they're friends of ours, really nice people who want to get to know you… wouldn't you like to say hello?"- the foster mother said encouragingly and while the girl made a quiet whining noise and tried to make herself even smaller than she already was, the boy looked uncertainly at the people present. There were so many… many strange faces. New faces.
"Hello…" - came quietly from the boy's lips and Bang Chan stood up to crouch a few steps away from Duri. Han did the same and crouched down next to Bang Chan.
"Hi - Duri, nice to meet you, this is my friend Han" - Bang Chan first introduced himself and then Han.
"Hi Duri. You don't need to be afraid of us - we're friends," Han said, now with some caution in his voice.
"Duri? Bang Chan and Han would like to get to know you and Yun… they would like to be your new family," said the foster father and at the word family Duri tilted his head skeptically for a moment and clung a little tighter to his foster mother's hand.
"Yun not my real sister…but…stay together?"- Duri said seriously and let go of the adult's hand to go to Yun and pull her into a protective hug, which the younger toddler commented on with a grumbling sound but did not resist.
"You must know... like the other two cases, Duri and Yun come from different families and found each other during the…police operation and it was immediately clear, that Duri wanted to be the protective big brother for Yun…Yun is a little shyer…she needs time to…come out of her quaint house," the foster father said quietly.
Bang Chan, Duri's biological father, noticed something else… Duri was wearing a woolen hat that covered his hair. Which was strange… because it wasn't really cold in the apartment and the time of year was so pleasant that winter clothes weren't needed.
"You have a cool hat, Duri. I wish I had one like that too," Han said with an envious tone.
Bang Chan gave him a quick, grateful smile.
And with these words, Han coaxed the boy out a little.
"Don't laugh! Adults always laugh," - Duri said and slowly reached for his hat with his hands.
He carefully pulled it off and underneath he revealed almost blond-white hair that reached down to his shoulders and was tied back in a braid. A strong contrast to his dark eyes and pale skin.
"The previous foster parents started bleaching his hair at a young age…dyeing it…against his will. They often laughed at him and the procedure seemed to be painful…there are social media videos where there is a before and after entry…he has been hiding his hair under his hat so far," said the foster mother and of course none of the adults present laughed, least of all Bang Chang or Han.
"Wow, how cool! Our brother Felix also has blonde hair! You could be twins," Bang Chang said at the same time and this positive reaction seemed to confuse Duri, but the 4-year-old looked at the strange adults a little more carefully and with less aversion.
Duri took a few cautious steps towards Bang Chang and nervously played with the hat in his hands.
"How many brothers do Bang Chang and Han have?" asked Duri.
"Ufff… actually 6 brothers, but Bang Chan is the unofficial Appa of the group," joked Han. Now, without the boys noticing, Yun also seemed to want to approach them, or to be more interested in the hat that Duri was holding in his hands.
"That's lot of siblings and…….hey Yuna no!" said Duri as Yuna tried to take the hat and steal it from Duri's hands.
"Yun hat too!" said Yun tearfully.
Han instinctively loosened the bracelet he was wearing and those tearful eyes looked so similar to his own. The girl seemed to have inherited a lot of his DNA, only the facial features and the color of her hair were different…..would she be interested in wearing a leather bracelet, which was much better than a hat that gave Duri protection and security?
"Yun? How about the bracelet? It's much better than Duri's hat, hm? Look," Han said to the girl who, according to the DNA results, was his daughter. (Actually, he wanted to avoid tears…for the moment).
"Bracelet?", Yun repeated and looked at Han, taking a step closer to Duri to let go of the hat and look uncertainly at Han.
"Nice bracelet…..for Yun?", the girl asked quietly and hesitantly reached for the bracelet to look at it from all sides.
"You can keep it if you want… the group Appa - Bang Chan here - gave it to me once… it could bring you luck," said Han and when the girl gave him a brief smile and then showed Duri the new gift, the 3-year-old was very proud of the beautiful bracelet.
"Duri play kitchen with Yun?" asked Yun after her big brother had given the new bracelet plenty of time to admire it.
"Yun chef cook and Duri guest!"
"But you're always a chef cook"
Just as Yun grabbed Duri's hand to pull him along, the foster mother threw the following suggestion into the room.
"Duri, Yun? What do you think about showing Han and Bang Chang your room? They could also play guests?"
The two toddlers looked at each other for a moment and nodded hesitantly before looking at Bang Chang and Han, almost as if they wanted to say - what are you waiting for, come with us, follow us!
And that's exactly what the two K-Pop idols did. And to lay their cards on the table, they told the children, who became a little friendlier and more talkative while playing the 'restaurant'… that they were their fathers. Chang Bang is Duri's father and Han is Yun's father.
And as toddlers are, the two nodded, said okay and went back to playing. After all, there were still pieces of plastic cake that had to be carried to the small table with the utmost care.
The foster family with the other two children was also in the middle of the first meeting phase…but it wasn't quite as easy as it was with our colleagues at StrayKids.
And for organizational reasons, the location was a small room in an office building that is normally used for weekly meetings of children of divorce with their mothers or fathers under the supervision of government officials (such as when a child is returned to a parent or when the child lives with a foster family but the parents don't have a stable environment and/or have received supervision documents from the court) - in any case, there was a small, very basic play area in this room with a few building blocks, a few books and a soft carpet with colorful cartoon characters on it.
The foster family with the other two children was also in the middle of the first meeting phase…but it wasn't quite as easy as it was with the colleagues from StrayKids.
And for organizational reasons, the location was a small room in an office building that is normally used for weekly meetings of children of divorce with their mothers or fathers under the supervision of government employees (such as when a child is returned to a parent or when the child lives with a foster family but the parents don't have a stable environment and/or have received supervision documents from the court) - in any case, there was a small, very basic play area in this room with a few building blocks, a few books and a soft carpet with colorful cartoon characters on it.
Daesung and T.O.P from the band BigBang were present. The band colleagues - like many other public figures - had noticed what a scandal had taken place and that the burden and all the drama had been carried on the backs of the children.
The overwhelming feeling of being brought to this office building by the emergency foster parents and meeting completely unfamiliar faces was clearly noticeable in the children's reaction. The boy looked up in alarm at every move the foster mother made away from him… as if he wanted to say, you're not going away, are you? The 4-year-old boy with eyes that were an exact copy of Daesung's eyes seemed to be watching his surroundings closely, but his focus was on the person who had been an acne scare for him for a few days.
"It's OK, Tae. I'm not going away. Would you like to show Daesung the toy excavator? You have a similar one in your room, don't you?" - the foster mother said reassuringly, before she sat down at the adult table and cast another encouraging look at the two K-Pop idols.
The boys had sat down on the floor to give the small children space and not to frighten them even more…that happened automatically because of the other people in the room…everything about the body language of these small children said…we are extremely scared and insecure.
Daesung gave the boy…his child…a friendly smile.
"Is the toy excavator that belongs to you the same color?" Daesung asked interestedly and even though Tae didn't get up to go closer to the idol, he pressed the toy excavator a little closer to him and then shook his head.
"Tae's excavator is green!" said Tae and then let the toy excavator roll across the carpet once.
"You know Tae, I wanted a green excavator when I was a child too"
"Yes - you're lucky that your foster mom gave you such a nice toy"
Tae nodded almost imperceptibly and the boy let the toy excavator roll across the carpet once more, this time with a little more momentum, it rolled over the edge of the carpet and towards Daesung.
"Give it back?", Tae made no attempt to give in to the toy and asked Daesung this uncertain request more like a question.
"Sure, buddy, are there any other cool toys other than cars, huh?", Daesung carefully stood up and handed the toy back to the 4-year-old before letting Tae show him a red ambulance…but when Daesung carefully wanted to take it, because he didn't interpret Tae's outstretched hand correctly, Tae started to curse loudly before he started to cry.
The angry voice and the sudden crying of the other Kid, caused little Jeong to look over at Tae in shock. What was the reason for this outburst? Was there danger? Her gaze went to Daesung and how Tae held the toy closer to himself…well, both toy cars to be precise.
"That's mean of Daesung, huh? But he didn't want to steal the other toy, I'm sure of that," T.O.P had also crouched down in front of Tae at a safe distance and tried to…play mediator. With moderate success…because Tae was very upset about the toy that didn't even belong to him…he was overwhelmed by the situation, the strangers and perhaps also the kindness with which Daesung had started this conversation.
"No, no! Liar," Tae cried, upset and very loudly.
The foster mother came over to calm things down a bit and took Tae in her arms for a moment - he sought a protective hug from her and she explained to him again that Daesung was only interested in the other toy and did not want to steal it…he thought that Tae was giving him the fire engine…a misunderstanding. But Tae's tears took a while to stop flowing.
Something that Jeong did not miss either. She had stopped playing with the stuffed bear (which was already missing a button eye) and rocking it back and forth in her arms like a doll. Her gaze went over to Tae, who was in the foster mother's arms and being comforted.
She patted the soft fabric of the carpet with her little hands and whimpered softly.
And when the foster mother couldn't react ,because she was busy with the angry Tae in her arms, Jeong's lower lip also started to tremble and her eyes filled with tears.
"Uuuuup uuuuuup!" she said shyly and when the foster mother couldn't react because she was busy with the angry Tae in her arms, Jeong's lower lip also started to tremble and her eyes filled with tears.
She slapped her little hands on the carpet again.
"Why are you crying, little lady?" - T.O.P had grabbed a rabbit from the small box of stuffed animals and was now trying to distract the younger toddler… pretending to let the rabbit "speak".
Jeong only looked away from Tae and the foster mother for a short time at the stranger's distorted tone of voice.
T.O.P could almost see his own insecurity in the eyes of the almost 3-year-old. It was clearly his eyes in terms of the shape and facial features… she seemed to have inherited the light hair from her mother.
But the little girl didn't seem to be distracted by the rabbit - or by T.O.P.'s sensitive attempts to distract her… because now her tears were flowing too and a depressing atmosphere hung over the small room.
"Jeong? There's still a free spot on my lap, come here Jeong," the foster mother called once with a sad undertone.
T.O.P was confused by this, it almost sounded like someone was calling a cat or a dog… and any other toddler would probably have run straight away to be comforted… but Jeong paused for a moment, gasped loudly and looked at the foster mother , before she raised her hands a little and made grabby hands - another request to be picked up.
"J…J…Jeong can't walk alone…", Tae sniffed and only slowly calmed down.
Eventually the foster mother was able to put him back on the floor - but he didn't go back to the play area, staying close to the person , who had given him a roof over his head in the last few days, all without making any direct demands.
"The parents started treating the girl like a baby because, she was born prematurely… with the wave of social media content and family vlogging… we don't know , at what age it started… Jeong can't walk or climb stairs on her own… she expects to be carried and shows some younger behavioral traits… but…", - the foster mother was interrupted by Tae with a loud interjection.
"BUT Jeong can speak more … not to stupid strangers! Nuh-Nuh! Even if she's no baby," - said Tae and followed the foster mother who picked Jeong up and thus silenced her quiet crying.
T.O.P swallowed once and his heart ached at the rough information….the child had already had such a difficult start in life and then these…so-called parents also forced a behavioral pattern into her that she has internalized? How…terrible. His poor young child….no wonder she reacted that way.
There were no particularly great bonding moments that afternoon, Tae and Jeong stayed close to their foster mother, who explained to them despite the stressful situation that T.O.P (Jeongs Father) and Daesung(Taes Father) are their Fathers and they went them to have a good life from now on and that they will take good care of them.
Surprisingly, Tae and Jeong reacted to these sweet words , with even more uncertainty and avoided further eye contact with the idols.
Even though T.O.P and Daesung, in their very best narrator voices, read from a fairy tale book as they said goodbye…it would take time until trust could be established.
