“This station is HONGDAE! HONGDAE! The doors are on your right!”

The train began to slow down and people started to gather around the exit door to get off as fast as possible. Riding a train to HongDae in the evening was simply put hell. The trains are always bursting full and the air in it smelled funny because of the many people riding it. However, the subway is still one of the coolest ways to travel from A to B in the summer. The cold air of the air con made the discomfort of the hot days in summer bearable. Well… at least a little bit.

JaeBum, a handsome 24-year-old, was one of the people who tried to get off as quickly as possible. Not an easy task considering the guitar case on his back. Nevertheless he needed to hurry. He was already arriving a few minutes later than he originally wanted.

Skilfully he pushed himself through the wall of people in front of him and ran out of the car once the automatic doors opened. Hurriedly he took the escalator and surpassed the other passengers who stood still while the machine transported them to another level. Swiftly he went through the ticket barriers and ran all the way to the staircase that lead to the main street of HongDae. However, as it was a Friday evening, the staircase was completely blocked with people going up and down which forced him to wait his turn. Nervously JaeBum glanced at his wrist watch. Only a few minutes left till 6 o’clock. He really hoped that he would be able to make it. It would be a shame if they’d lose their spot to play tonight.

“Hyung!”, a familiar cheerful voice behind him yelled. Only a few seconds later he felt someone grab his right arm. A small smile appeared on his lips when he saw the bright smile of Kim YuGyeom.

“Aren’t you a bit late today?”, JaeBum asked to which YuGyeom rose his left eyebrow in a judging manner.

“We’re both late! We’re not going to be the only ones though. I bet 20,000 Won with you that Jackson hyung will be the last one to arrive in your team once again. I have a feeling this will be the case today, too”

JaeBum sighed. It was true that Jackson usually was a few minutes late even though he was living in HongDae itself. However, the young man from Hong Kong was one of the most talented drummers he knew. Plus, his always cheerful personality lit up the mood of their entire team when things turned out… slightly different than expected. A valuable member of his team.

“Any new songs this week? It’s been ages since I heard a new original song.”

“I wrote one but it’s not ready yet”, JaeBum said which made the younger pout. Soon after he smiled again and announced that he will come to their new studio to listen to it in the following week. JaeBum smiled softly and moved forward until they finally reached the very top of the staircase. Once they reached the street level they ran into the main area of HongDae. The place where all artists gather to showcase their talent in dancing and singing from the early evening till late at night.

The first ones were already preparing to start their upcoming show while other spots were still vacant. YuGyeom hurriedly went to his dance crew, which had a spot at the very front of the dancer mile. With a bright smile on his face he waved JaeBum goodbye and wished him good luck for tonight before he turned around to talk to his crew members. JaeBum hastily passed by and finally reached their usual spot. A sigh of relief escaped his throat when he saw that the place was still vacant.

Their spot marked the beginning of the area where bands and singers showcase their talents. The whole area was loud, especially in the part where the dance crews showed their skills but here it was a bit calmer. Calm enough to play their music. Music for everyone to hear. Especially one person.

While JaeBum started to prepare for their showcase he began to dwell in memories of the past. A soft but sad smile graced his face while tuning his guitar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darkness surrounded JaeBum. Only the soft rays of moonlight that found their way through the thin glass of the small window spent a bit of light to recognize the surrounding objects. The sun has set only a few hours ago. It wasn’t that late yet, however, most of the kids he shared this room with fell asleep rather fast today. He on the other hand hasn’t been able to find sleep yet.

The ten boys in the room barely made any noise in their sleep, either. From time to time JaeBum heard one of them cough or sigh in their sleep. However, more than that didn’t reach his ears. A deep sigh left his mouth while he turned himself to the other side in hopes that a change of sleeping position would help him fall asleep but that wasn’t the case. Nevertheless, did he close his eyes and focused on his breathing.

Breath in.

And out.

Breath in.

And… a sudden noise of someone whimpering and crying reached his ears. The noise was soft and barely hearable but it seemed to be close by. JaeBum rolled himself on his back. There was it again. The sad sound of tears. The 5-year-old knew that it couldn’t be the boy to his left as he was hearing a barely hearable snoring coming from his side. That boy was always one of the first ones to fall asleep too. The yo-mat on his right, however, has been vacant until that day. JaeBum had noticed that a new boy was lying on the mat next to him. As the new kid arrived only a few minutes before bedtime he hasn’t been able to speak with him yet. He didn’t even know his name.

The young boy closed his eyes again and tried to fall asleep but the soft sobs of the other made that attempt impossible. He opened his eyes again and turned his head to the right to face the new boy.

“Are you crying?”, JaeBum asked in a very soft voice to not disturb the other boys around him in their sleep. Apart from the usual noises there was nothing heard from the others therefore he was sure he didn’t wake them up by talking to the new kid. However, the new boy didn’t answer him either. When the boy realized that JaeBum was talking with him, he gasped in surprise but no words left his mouth. JaeBum heard the rustling of fabric next to him and knew that the new boy turned himself around. The sobs were now muffled as if the boy next to him buried his face in the thin fabric of the blanket.

JaeBum sat up and looked at the mat next to him. Because of the moonlight, he was able to see that the new boy had covered himself completely with his blanket. Only the upper part of his head was visible. The 5-year-old pouted at the reaction of the new kid and slowly got up to sit down next to him. Hesitantly, he reached out to what he thought must be the shoulder of the boy and softly laid his hand on it. The new boy twitched slightly when he felt the sudden touch and began to sob even louder than before.

“It’s okay. We’ve all been through this. Everything will be alright. Believe me. I’ve been here my whole life. It’s not as bad as you might think,” JaeBum said in a soft voice while patting the shoulder of the other lightly.

“I want my Mommy! I want to go home!”, the sad voice of the boy suddenly said. With those words, he began to sob even louder.

JaeBum felt helpless. He wanted to comfort the other because he knew all too well that the first night at a place like this is always the worst. He has seen it so many times before. However, never had he tried to comfort any of the other kid’s before. Mostly because they never were placed right next to him in their dorm room in the first place. But, how can he comfort someone? How could he make him calm down a bit? There was only one thing that calmed him down all the time when he was sad. However, could he really offer that to someone he doesn’t know?

A deep sigh left his throat while continuously petting the shoulder of the new kid. He had to try. Maybe the new kid felt the same way about this as he does.

“Do you want a hug?” he shyly asked.

The other boy fell silent after hearing the question. Was it weird to ask that? He always went to one of the staff to be comforted. The grown-ups really tried their best to make their stay in this big house everyone calls an orphanage a good one. Hugs sure were the best way to dry up his tears. However, this kid might be thinking differently about it…

Sad that he was not able to think of something else to comfort him he took his arm back. With sad eyes, he looked at the small figure in front of him and wanted to go back to his mat, when he noticed that the new kid was nodding slowly. A soft smile appeared on JaeBum’s face and he quickly got up to lift the blanket the other was hiding himself under. Once the blanket was lifted he noticed that the boy was facing him. His big eyes glistened softly in the moonlight as they were looking up at him.

Hastily JaeBum laid next to the boy and put his small arms around the fragile figure of the other. Once he had placed his arms around him he began to sob again. Big wet tears fell on JaeBum’s new PJ’s soon after. The sobs became even louder.
JaeBum tried to copy what the staff always did when he was crying and needed a hug. Softly he drew circles on the other’s back with one hand and over his soft hair with the other. However, instead of calming down the boy began to cry even more.

“Shhhh! Everything will be fine. I’ll be here with you. Please don’t cry anymore,” JaeBum said while holding the boy even tighter. It didn’t help. Even more tears followed the previous ones which made JaeBum feel helpless. There has to be a way to calm the young boy down. But how?

JaeBum held the fragile boy even tighter to let him know that he was there for him but it was no use. Then he finally got an idea. Maybe it will help to talk with him. Tell him something. But what should he tell him? The story about the sticker he got today would probably not interest the other. Maybe he could give that butterfly sticker to him. He sure was happy when he received it this morning. But he didn’t want to get up, either. Then he thought of a story he recently heard and really really liked. He’ll try that one.

“Do you know the story about the boy who never grew up?” he asked, to which the young boy shortly dried his eyes to look at JaeBum.

“Never grew up?”, the young boy asked to which JaeBum began to smile.

“He flies too.”

The eyes of the fragile boy grew big.

“Fly? I want to fly too,” he said and looked at JaeBum with curious eyes as he wanted to hear more. One last sob escaped the younger before he moved closer to JaeBum and laid his head on his chest while the other was still holding him tightly.

A soft smile appeared on JaeBum’s face, pleased with himself that he was able to make the young boy stop crying. Happily, he began to tell the other the story of Peter Pan until finally sleep crept up to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sorry, guys! Traffic”, Jackson yelled loudly once he spotted his friends in the distance. With a fancy decorated cajón in his arms he finally reached their performance location. Out of breath he set the box-shaped percussion instrument on the ground and began to smile widely.

“You live right around the corner, Gaga! There is no traffic. At least not for you,” Mark remarked while testing the sound of the speakers and the connection to them and his beloved keyboard. Bashfully Jackson lifted his right hand and laid it on his neck while widely smiling.

JaeBum went to him and patted his left arm lightly. Jackson immediately turned around and gave JaeBum a stunning bright smile.

“Well, you’re here now. Set up everything you need so we can start soon,” he said to Jackson in a warm tone of voice to which the younger nodded happily. With another wide smile on his face he gave JaeBum a thumbs up, picked up his cajón again and placed it right next to Mark’s keyboard. The American born Taiwanese man started to tease his friend once the cajón touched the ground again which soon erupted in a round of loud laughter from their direction.

Once again JaeBum a string on his guitar and checked the sound on his end. The microphone should be okay, too. He saw YoungJae test it just a few minutes ago. Therefore, he should be ready to play now. Looking at his fellow bandmates they seemed to be getting in position, too.

Jackson started to rapidly hit his instrument in excitement to create an uncoordinated set of noises. When he noticed JaeBum looking at him he smiled again and hit the box one more time which made the older smile and shake his head slightly.

Hesitantly, JaeBum stood behind his mic and got ready to introduce his band but just as he wanted to open his mouth his eyes fell on someone walking by. His heart started to thump harder in his chest by the mere sight of the back of that person’s head and a feeling of excitement started to spread in his stomach area. He can’t start, yet. He needed to make sure. He needed to see if it was him.

Without a warning, he dashed forward and ran after the person. It didn’t take long to spot that specific back of that person’s head that looked all too familiar to him. He hurried and finally caught up. With a certain move, he grabbed that person's arm and made him stop. However, when the man he has been following turned around it was a complete stranger.

JaeBum let go of the stranger’s arm, mumbled a set of apologetic words, bowed and returned to this band mates. That enthusiastic and excited feeling from before was gone. In their place, sadness and sorrow began to linger in his mind. With a deep sigh, he joined his friends and stood behind his mic again. He knew he should start the show, but the words didn’t want to leave his mouth just yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“JaeBum-ah!”

The 15-year-old boy groaned. School has been one hell of a roller-coaster ride today. All JaeBum wanted to do now was sleep. It was late too but apparently, he will not be able to sleep ‘early’ today either thanks to a certain black haired youngster (if one can consider past 1am early). However, that doesn’t mean he’ll not try to catch some sleep now. Without answering, he turned himself away from his friend and pretended to be sleeping.

JinYoung let out a soft giggle when he noticed the attempt of the slightly older boy to get some rest but he didn’t care. Hastily the younger lifted JaeBum’s blanket to comfortably lay down next to him. The chilly air that hit JaeBum’s skin when the dark-haired lifted the thin fabric made him growl softly in displeasure to let the other know that he didn’t approve of the sudden coldness. Once again JinYoung giggled, pleased with the reaction he got from his best friend.

“JaeBum-ah, can I hug you?” asked the slightly younger boy in a mischievous tone. He didn’t wait for an answer as he already moved closer to JaeBum’s body and laid his arms around him. Happily, he snuggled even closer and rubbed his head softly on the other’s shoulders.

A secret smile appeared on JaeBum’s face when he felt the soft touches of his friend. To be honest, this wasn’t the first time JinYoung was doing that. The slightly younger boy had found a liking in crawling into JaeBum’s bed to fall asleep right next to him. Preferably in his arms. JaeBum liked having JinYoung close as well and he actually missed the youngers presence at night when he wasn’t lying next to him. However, he would never openly admit that.

Ever since the day JinYoung got to the orphanage and JaeBum tried to comfort the younger on his first night here they’ve been inseparable. Everywhere JaeBum went JinYoung followed and vis versa. Nobody dared to separate them either.
Over the past ten years they build up a strong friendship. It sure helped that both loved to read books, to wander through all those special places the pages held within. They loved sharing their stories with each other and sometimes even read one of their books with each other to experience the wonders of the written words together. However, one story was and probably will always be their favourite. T