KyungMi's office at the orphanage was like seeing a reflection of the woman herself. Painted in warm tones of brown with comfy chairs and shelves full of books, it was neat and inviting. Under any other circumstances, I would've been wholly comfortable sitting in the snug room with a good coffee. But in this moment, I couldn't help but fidget nervously in my seat, my foot shaking impatiently as we waited for confirmation of the identity of the woman we'd spoken to on the phone.

And even though neither Imani nor I were exactly willing, it was inevitable that we meet with Jae's mother, if that's who she was. She had, in obedience to Imani's rushed words, called again the next day and the day after that. While my wife was and had always been strong since I'd known her, talking to the woman who may have birthed her son seemed like more than she could bear. I did the only thing I knew to do and talked to the woman myself.

Her name was Kang SooRi and like she had asked the day before, she wanted to meet JaeHyun. I hadn't agreed immediately; no matter what she said she was still only a voice over the phone. But she had agreed to speak with law enforcement to verify herself and KyungMi had volunteered her own time to investigate Kang's claims.

It was a trial in patience, waiting for the background check to clear, and for KyungMi's own conclusions. Imani sat next to me, lost in her own world as she watched her mentor with wide eyes, her nerves palpable. I reached out my hand to take hers and she sent me a tight smile, squeezing it hard when KyungMi finally finished her phone call.

"Well, Unnie?" Imani asked hopefully, her voice clearly stating she wanted this all to just be a bad dream. I was hoping just as hard.

KyungMi looked at both of us with exhausted eyes that shimmered with unshed tears. I felt my heart drop suddenly and held Imani's hand even tighter.

"I'm so sorry dear one, but she checks out. I know this seems bad, but it's your decision whether you let her see JaeHyun though, you're his legal guardian now."

Shock and dismay showed plainly on Imani's face, her lip trembling at the words KyungMi spoke. There was now no evidence doubting that Kang was who she claimed to be; we had no choice but believe that she was in fact Jae's biological mother. Imani turned to me with tears sliding down her cheeks and I took her into my arms, holding her tight as she shook in my grasp. My heart ached at the thought of what she must be feeling, over what I felt too. I had never imagined that after so long, a biological parent would just show up. I was shaken and fearful; I could only imagine that Imani must feel ten times worse.

When Kang called Imani back a few days after we'd had her checked out, I had taken over the talks about her meeting JaeHyun. I hated to think it, but Imani hadn't been handling the news well at all. I'd never imagined something could shake her so completely but each time I had spoken to Kang, she had waited anxiously by my side as I'd discussed possible meeting times and places, her hands clasped tightly together against her chest, her eyes wide as she barely breathed.

There was nothing I could do to ease the transition of another person coming into claim a part of Jae's life and if Imani was suffering, JaeHyun was living in his own heightened state of confusion and fury. After our last call, when we had finally agreed to have JaeHyun meet her, Imani and I had worked up the nerve to tell him exactly what was going on. To say that he hadn't taken it well was an understatement.

Our son had clearly been shaken, not by the fact that he had a biological mother, (because he was too smart and had already understood that that was the case) but because she now wanted to meet him. There was anger in his voice when he talked about how she had left him, about what reasons she could've possibly had to do it.

And even though we had tried our best to explain that people make mistakes, and how much of a difference knowing her could possibly make in his life, he had remained stubborn and stated multiple times that he didn't want to go. It had taken days of persuasion to get him to relent to just going, and even then, he'd declared passionately that he wouldn't say a word. Imani and I were both worried about how Jae would react as we left Seoul and went into the outskirts of the city near Gapyeong, were Kang resided.

The shop Kang SooRi had set up as our meeting place is one known for its Maeun Sundae, a spicy soup dish that Jae and I were both a fan of, but this early in the day, the restaurant is empty except for two older gentlemen watching dramas on the small TV hanging on the wall. The outside of the building is somewhat shabby with old weather-stained windows and fraying posters plastered on its brick sides that talk about things that took place decades ago.

The neighborhood itself is somewhat ramshackle as well but the inside of the eatery is scrubbed clean and well-loved. The ahjumma working there shows us to a table near the windows and we can see our car parked outside. Jae insists on sitting next to the outside of the booth we're in and I have to wonder again if this is a good idea. I'm nervous, Imani isn't any better and our son looks ready to run for his life at the first opportunity.

The shopkeeper brings us drinks but we decline any food, letting her know we're waiting on someone. Jae is playing with his straw, Imani is stealing quick glances out of the window every few seconds and I'm trying my best to keep it together for everyone's sake. It feels so big, this moment, bigger than I thought it would. I can only imagine what JaeHyun and Imani feel. I want to keep them close to me, I want to get up and leave and pretend this never happened. I'm only two seconds away from letting the words out past my lips when the doors to the restaurant open again.

A small woman enters into the shop, her large, dark eyes taking in the surroundings. She's looking around for someone and my heart clenches in my chest when she spots us and begins making her way to our table. Jae notices when I stiffen against him and his own eyes have gone big as he takes in the person inclining her head in a polite bow towards us.

"Anneyonghaesyo, Kang SooRi inmida" she states in a quiet tone, her words almost drowned out completely by the ahjusshi's loud laugh a few feet away, His chuckles drawn out by something on the screen. I manage to say our own introductions, giving Imani a chance to get herself together. She's looking at Kang as if she's going to kidnap Jae on the spot, her eyes narrowing and then opening again to make sure JaeHyun isn't noticing. But Jae can't look away from his biological mother and I feel my heart give another clench

Before I'd seen Kang in person, I'd imagined someone totally different from what I saw. The young woman in front of us is wispy thin, looking as if a stiff wind would blow her away. The pale-yellow dress she wears hangs somewhat loosely on her frame, as if she'd once been able to fit it well but had recently lost weight. Her skin is the ghostly white of someone who doesn't see the sun often and her hair is an inky black that's cut into a bob, the ends of it just brushing her shoulders. She's almost mousey looking and the most prominent feature are her eyes. Like an anime character's, they seemed too big for her face and give her the general appearance of naïveté.

She is the antithesis of Imani and the strength that she embodies on a daily basis. I tried to see her as the woman Imani feared but I was failing. All I could see was desperation, sadness and regret etched into the lines of her face. She'd told us she was twenty-one over the phone but she looked much older than either of us; life had taken its toll on her. She sat politely with her hands atop the table, but they shake as she looks at Jae. She's searching his face intently as if she's trying to reconcile the image of the baby he'd once been in her memories to the child he is now and she's finding it difficult. No one spoke and the tension thickened in the air until I couldn't take it any longer.

"Have you been well, Kang-ssi?" I ask her gently and she looks up in startled surprise, her eyes seemingly getting bigger as she takes me in and Imani next to me. I don't blame her, both of us are way taller than she is, and I know my own face is in its usual mask of indifference despite my courteous tone.

"I'm very well thank you. I-I suppose I should say why I'm here..." SooRi looks around desperately but I'm not feeling inclined to help her along any more than I have and the silence continues until she clears her throat nervously.

"I guess I should-should begin at the beginning." I nod for her to go ahead and she gives a hesitant grimace before launching into her story.

"I was only 15 when I found out I was pregnant," she begins and Imani lets out a slight noise of surprise. I do my best not to react at all and Jae is listening intently, his eyes boring into Kang's, his expression unreadable.

"Back then, I didn't know what to do or who could help me. My Eomma could barely afford to keep a roof over our heads, so I knew I couldn't keep a baby. I thought it was the best thing for you," she says speaking directly to JaeHyun, "to bring you to the orphanage and leave you there. I thought I could come back for you later when I was all grown up..." Kang's voice fades away and it takes her a minute before she's composed enough to continue.

"I did come back, just like I'd told the owner of the orphanage I would! But then I'd found out you'd been adopted; I never imagined that you wouldn't be there when I returned to get you. But it's my fault and I'm sorry that I was weak in the beginning, that I couldn't protect you back then." Kang let's out a small smile, her eyes fixated on Jae. "But I'm here now, I want to be your Eomma. You can come with me-"

"No," Jae says suddenly, cutting Kang off as he shakes his head slowly in denial. "I don't want to."

"JaeHyun please, -" SooRi pleaded, the smile slipping off her face as if it had never existed. She reached out to cover Jae's hand with her own, and a distant part of me recognizes that both their hands are small and almost dainty. I feel myself flinch at the similarity of it. "Please, I just want to be a mother to you-"

"No!" Jae yelled this time, banging both his hands so loudly against the wooden table that the heavy sound of it echoed in the empty space, and we all sat stock still, shocked by his display as he shook off Kang's hands.

"You're not my mom, I already have one! I don't want you, so leave me alone!" He growls out and pushes himself to his feet. Faster than I could reach out to grab him, JaeHyun was up and out of the booth, his sneakers squeaking against the linoleum floor as he ran for the door. Imani and I both rose up instantly, but Imani covered my hand with hers and with a muttered "I've got it", went after Jae with grim determination on her face.

I watched them both make it outside, Imani hot on Jae's heels. I half rise from my seat again, wanting to go after them, but Kang's quiet sniffles make me sit back down. Suddenly I'm more aware of the girl across from me, whose eyes are brimming with unshed tears.

"I guess I should've know it would be like that," she whispers, more to herself than to me. I stare at her, unsure of what one should say in a moment like this. I decide on silence and I guess it was the right answer because it doesn't take long for SooRi to speak again.

"I told you I was only 15 when I got pregnant, but Jae's biological father was 19. I thought that maybe we would get married once I told him about the baby, but that Oppa left me as soon as I told him and I never saw him again. I was scared, scared like I've never been in my entire life. I had no choice but to tell my mother, and Eomma told me to get an abortion right away; we were very poor and she said there was no way she could afford another mouth to feed." Kang's tears are more like heaving sobs now, more expression then noise because if anything her pain is quiet and more visible than vocal; seeing it consume her, I can't help but feel her helplessness.

"But I really wanted my baby Jung-ssi, I really wanted him!" SooRi's voice broke and her tears flowed down her cheeks, the tiny droplets hitting the wooden table and her hands that are clenched hard on the surface, the small fists turning white from the strain.

"I wanted him so badly that I endured the bullying of my classmates, the ridicule of my mother, and the disgust I saw on the faces of the people around me when they saw the belly I tried to hide with baggy clothes. I started working a part time job after school and I thought that I could do it, that I could be a mother and take care of my child." Her words are bitter and full of disbelief, as if she was amazed that she had thought such a thing at one time. Even though I already know how it ends, I'm dreading the conclusion of this story.

"And when my son was born, I knew it had all been worth it. He was perfect, even better than I'd imagined; I named him JaeHyun so that he would be everything I hadn't been. I was stupid back then, I'd thought after he was born everything would be Ok. But on the first day I brought him home, my mother kicked me out of the house. She was furious I hadn't given him up for adoption. She wanted me to just give him away; my baby, her grandson. I left and I had almost no money left after just a few days at a hotel. And JaeHyun...he got sick... I couldn't buy him any medicine and he just cried and cried all day.

I had no other choice. I knew then that I had been foolish; I wasn't able to provide for him, so I gave him away. My own flesh and blood, I handed him to a stranger." SooRi's tears have stopped falling and her eyes have narrowed into slits as she stares down at the table, her anger, regret and frustration at who she had been and what she had done, had clearly never gone away, hadn't even lessened in the years since.

"I told the woman at the orphanage I would be back for him, but I could tell she didn't believe me. And for a while I didn't believe myself either... But I could never forget. I graduated early, finished college, found a decent job." Kang wiped the tears from her eyes with rough hands, her choked voice becoming strong in an instant.

"You both may love him, but I'm his mother. And I want my son back. Even if I have to fight you for him."

"What are you saying?" Feeling shocked, I speak the words carefully, my feelings of pity from just seconds ago replaced with steel in an instant. She can't have just threatened me, threatened my family? I feel my own anger start to rise at the thought.

"I mean that I sent Im to get the false testimony from JaeHyun. I wanted to know how you were treating him and even if he was as pampered as a prince, I didn't care. I told him to make it so that JaeHyun would be brought back to the orphanage where I could get him back. But that idiot ruined everything," she mutters under her breath and I feel my grip over my emotions slipping.

"Are you insane? That guy hurt Jae trying to get him to lie!" I say, trying my best not to yell as loudly as I want to.

Kang flinched but didn't back down, her face set with determination.

"I want him back." she repeated, "and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it a reality. I won't lose my son again."

"You forget, you didn't lose him, you gave him up!" I watch as Kang flinches again but I don't care anymore, because now I'm beyond pissed. "He doesn't belong to you," I manage to hiss out, my anger making my words ice cold. "We won't let you take OUR son."

I stand to my feet, giving SooRi the coldest look I'm capable of and I watch with satisfaction as she shrinks back in her seat. I leave the restaurant quickly, now desperate to find Imani and Jae, feeling unsettled until they come into view, both having stopped in an alleyway.

Imani is still trying to reason with our son, but he's twisting away from her embrace, his no's heartrending in the extreme as Imani tries to convince him to go back to the soup place. I feel stuck as I watch them, like I've caused all of this to happen in some way. I don't know what to do and it scares me. Jae is still arguing and his voice reaches my ears clearly.

"But I don't want her to be my mom, you're the only Eomma I want!" Jae sobs as he stops fighting Imani and presses his face into her chest. Quicker than lighting, Imani has him in her arms, rocking him tightly as he cries out his frustration, patting his back as she murmurs her apologies. Minutes pass as I watch them, feeling a sense of helplessness come over me. I had been a large part in bringing these two together; what would I do if I couldn't keep our family from falling apart at the seams?

When his outright tears had been reduced to hiccups and slight gasps, Jae lifted his head and looked pleadingly into Imani's eyes.

"You won't give me back to her, will you?"

Imani's gasp shot through me like a bullet and I felt her surprise as acutely as I felt my own, more than concerned that Jae had ever thought such a thing was possible.

"No, Jae! Not ever, Ok? This was never about giving you back or anything like that...Your Appa and I only want what's best for you. We thought you might like to get to know her, to find out who she was. We wouldn't let you go, not in a million years!"

"Do you promise?" Jae whispered in a voice so vulnerable that it made my heart break in two. Sometimes I forgot how young he really was, that so much hurt could fit inside such a tiny body. But JaeHyun felt everything acutely, too aware for his own good. Maybe he had sensed Imani's and my own trepidation and expected the worst. I wanted to go to them both, hold them in this too important moment and offer any comfort I could. I finally made myself move in their direction, no longer able to let them have any more privacy.

"I promise,' Imani declared and finally raised her head, looking directly at me as I made my way to them.

Her eyes burned and even with the distance between us, I could see her old determination and fire seeping into her just as quickly as it had left when she'd first heard Kang SooRi's voice over the phone. JaeHyun had once again given her a purpose and something to strive for; to be his mother. I would tell Imani about Kang's own declaration later and then I knew the really tough part would begin. What Kang didn't know, what I knew I was about to see firsthand, was the strength of a tiger unleashed. And two weeks later, when we were served papers for a hearing about Kang potentially gaining parental rights over JaeHyun, it was Imani who made the call for a lawyer.