When Jaehyun woke up the next morning, he's still sitting on the bed with Jeno's safe within his arms. The boys had curled himself in his lap, sleeping safe and soundly.

Jaehyun tried his best to lift the thin body and rest it on the bed and move himself without making loud noises. The boy seemed to be in deep sleep and Jaehyun sighed in relief.

He excused himself to the circulating nurse before taking out his phone to give someone a call.

"Hello? Wong? Can you come to the hospital near your house? It's urgent."
 

Fifteen minutes later, a tall guy entered the ER with a cup of coffee in his hand before finding Jaehyun who was sitting alone in a chair near the reception desk.

"Jaehyun hyung? What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No, Yukhei. I'm not. But I might need your help for this. Can you sit down first?"

The younger guy sat down immediately.

"Well, last night I went back to your house, I arrived pretty late and the house is empty, so I took it that you already leave for your parents' house."

"Ah, yeah. Ten ge came from Beijing and Ma wanted all of us to have dinner together."

"Well, it was almost midnight when someone knocked on the door. I knew it wasn't you since you're at your home. So, when I opened it, I was shocked to see a kid. Like a little kid. He's five years old. He had a small baby with him. He was just…. Soaked with rain, and dirty, and he looked like he's about to faint."

"Oh no…"

"I brought them to the hospital because the baby wasn't moving. The baby had hypothermia and is incubated right now. The older kid is better. But he's malnourished and bruised. And then we call the police and you know what? They were victims of human trafficking that managed to run away from the police raid last night!"

Yukhei's eyes were wide open in shock.

"The raid last night? They were part of the victims?!"

"Yes, Lucas. Oh my, you should see them. The older kid looks traumatized I had to hug him all night long to make him sleep. He said something about being sold and he was taken from a shady orphanage or something."

"Poor boy… So how can we help them?"

"The Qingdao police said that they were going to deport these kids back to the Korean mainland. And they are going to be distributed in orphanages, and hopefully got adopted at one point."

Yukhei nodded, "Oh, okay."

"What do you mean okay? You know, the boy, his name is Jeno. When I told him that he was going to go back to Korea, he was just freaking out. He must've been raised in a ed-up orphanage or something. I might have to ask him more later. But I have another solution and I knew everyone's gonna hate me for this."

"And…. What is that?"

"I think I'm going to adopt them myself."

"What? Hyung! You're insane! Your parents will kill you!"

"I know, I know! But they managed to find me? If it's not destiny then I don't know anymore. The kid trusted me so much. I can't just… leave him and let him.be deported and put on a waiting list. he's five. What if he's never going to be adopted?"

Yukhei groaned. They were both enveloped in silence until a nurse came out.

"Mr. Jung? Your kid is looking for you."

Jaehyun stood up immediately and Yukhei brushed his hair in disbelief as he followed the older guy.

He saw a small boy that looked too small to be five years old. He wasn't wailing but he's silently sniffling as Jaehyun scooped the poor boy into his embrace.

"Sorry, samchon had to meet someone. Are you okay? Thirsty?"

The boy shook his head. Jaehyun nodded before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Jeno, this is samchon's friend, Yukhei."

"Hi Jeno, I'm Yukhei," the younger guy smiled before approaching the bed.

"Hi, Yu-yuk..?"

Yukhei sighed.

"Lucas. I’m Lucas... samchon, I guess?"

Jeno nodded.

"Hi Lucas samchon."

Yukhei understood why Jaehyun seemed to favor this kid a lot. The kid is very thin and definitely malnourished, he had bruises all over this body, and seemed very dependent on Jaehyun. The kid looked so pitiful that Yukhei almost want to adopt him himself.

"Yukhei, can you help me? Please? I'll show you the baby. Come," Jaehyun stood up.

"Samchon wants to see your dongsaeng first, okay?" He said to Jeno softly.

"Me too…"

Jaehyun sighed, "Fine."

He picked the kid up as he was too light for being five years old. He settled him on his hip as he pushed the IV pole.

Yukhei followed him into the incubator where a small baby is asleep peacefully.

"Is he okay?" Jaehyun asked to a nurse.

"The vital sign has stabilized significantly. He may get out of the incubator but he might have to be moved to the children's ward."

Jaehyun nodded before turning to Yukhei.

"Please? Lucas?"

The younger guy could only groan.
 

The next day, Jeno and Sungchan were able to be moved to the normal ward. After a day of hospital care, they are finally discharged.

"Samchon, where are we going?" Jeno asked carefully as he watched Jaehyun packed up the limited number of things they have. Jaehyun reminded himself to buy the two kids some clothes later on.

"We will go home. Don't worry, you will go to samchon's home. Are you excited?" Jaehyun smiled.

Jeno nodded.

"Alright. Let me get you down then."

Jaehyun helped the boy get down before slinging the backpack over his shoulder. He then picked Sungchan up into his embrace before offering his hand for Jeno to take.

"Let's go?"

Jaehyun drove them to Lucas' house that he occupied for the time being. He saw the two kids are all knocked out and asleep which is perfect. He'll wake them up later after he prepared lunch.

He opened the door first before carefully picking up the baby, Sungchan, and he set him down on his bed. He went back and this time he carried Jeno. The boy was so deep in his sleep he hadn't realized he was being moved.

After the kids are settled down, Jaehyun moved to the kitchen to start whipping out something for lunch. The baby only drink milk for the time being so it's fine. But he had to cook something for him and Jeno. The boy was malnourished and the doctor had advised him to make sure the boy eats a lot of nutritious food because the boy was clearly stunted for his age.

He opened the fridge and decided he'll cook some chicken with soy sauce. It has a mild taste that kids will probably love. And eggs. Kids love eggs. Should he cook vegetables? Maybe he's pushing it too hard. Okay maybe some stir fried carrots.

He was calmly cooking when he heard feet shuffling behind him. He turned back to see a panicked looking Jeno who ran to hug his legs immediately.

"What's wrong little man?" Jaehyun turned off the stove before bending down to return the hug.

"I thought you left me and Sungchan."

Jaehyun smiled softly, "Oh no, I definitely won't do that, sweety. Samchon is just cooking lunch."

"Lunch?"

"Yes. Lunch. You eat 3 times in the hospital yesterday, right?"

The kid nodded.

"How many times have you eaten today?"

Jeno put up 1 finger, "In the morning."

"That's right. The second meal is during the afternoon which is right now. You have to eat so much so you can grow big like Lucas samchon, alright?"

Jeno nodded.

"Do you want to see what I'm cooking?"

Jeno immediately brightened and Jaehyun chuckled before lifting the boy so he could sit on the counter.

"Wow, it's a lot of food," he remarked as he saw the food Jaehyun had cooked.

"Eh? It's not that much. You have to eat a lot. Doctor said you will be sick because you're thin. Look at these arms! They're smaller than these carrots!" Jaehyun playfully picked up a carrot and held it beside Jeno's thin arm, causing the boy to giggle.

"Samchon?"

"Yes?"

"Why is Lucas samchon so big?"

Jaehyun laughed at the innocent yet silly question, "That's because he eats sooo much! He can finish all of this by himself!"

"Really?!"

"Yes. That's why you should eat a lot so you can grow up like Lucas samchon, okay?" Jaehyun pinched Jeno's nose playfully and the boy nodded gleefully.

Jaehyun hummed softly as he finished his cooking.

"Everything's done. Come," he helped Jeno down.

"Alright, go sit down on the dining table. I'll bring the food to the table."

"I want to help," the kid insisted as he put up his hands, asking for something. Jaehyun laughed and gave him the cutleries. Jeno beamed as he brought the chopsticks and spoons to the table. Jaehyun followed suit with a tray filled with the dishes.

Jeno sat down with wide eyes as Jaehyun set down a small bowl of rice in front of him.

"This is soy sauce chicken. And this is egg roll. This is stir-fried carrot. They are very good for your body," Jaehyun explained as he picked a few pieces and put it on Jeno's plate.

"All for me?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Eat up. Can you use chopstick?"

Jeno softly shook his head and Jaehyun smiled before giving him a spoon.

"Use this then.

Jeno waited until Jaehyun started eating before he took a hesitant spoonful of rice and chicken. His eyes light up at the sweet and savory taste

"Is it good?" Jaehyun asked warily, a bit scared his food didn't suit a five years old's palate.

"Very good, samchon. Thank you."

Jaehyun smiled before putting another piece of chicken, "Eat a lot then."

They were eating silently when Jeno spoke up softly.

"In the orphanage, we share this bowl of rice. I eat this bowl with one hyung. We only eat in the morning."

Jaehyun's eyes widened immediately. It's an awfully small portion of rice for a growing kid!

"No egg? Chicken? Vegetable?"

Jeno shook his head as he munched on the egg silently.

"Sometimes we have egg. But this much we have to share too. So, I'm happy I can eat this much today!" He beamed at Jaehyun, and Jaehyun swore he'd provide so much food for this boy from now on.

"Have more then," Jaehyun smiled. He finished his meal first and watched the boy in front of him eat slowly as if savoring each bite.

"How long have you lived in the orphanage?" Jaehyun asked carefully.

"Since very, very small. Like… Sungchan small," Jeno answered truthfully.

"How many children live there?"

"Um… many? I have many hyung. But I don't have any noona."

"No dongsaeng?”

"No, I am the smallest!" He beamed again and Jaehyun smiled at the kid’s cute smile.

Jaehyun was about to clean the table when a loud cry resonates in the room.

"Let me get your brother so he can drink his milk okay?"

Jeno nodded as Jaehyun stood up to fetch the baby. He picked up the baby and rocked him on his arms as he went back to the kitchen to warm up the milk he had made beforehand.

After making sure the temperature is not too hot, he fed the milk and Sungchan's cries subsided immediately.

"Baby only drink milk?" Jeno peered over Jaehyun's arm curiously.

"Yes. In a few months he can start eating porridge. When he has teeth, he can eat food like you too."

Jeno nodded as he watched his brother drink his milk.

Jaehyun smiled at the two brothers. He definitely should adopt them.

The kids were all asleep and Jaehyun silently left his room.

He sat on the couch and he saw Lucas entering the house.

"The kids are asleep?" Lucas asked.

Jaehyun nodded.

"I had to pull some strings but I got it covered. I mean, the combined power of my father's name and Ten ge's name... You can be assured that things will go on without a hitch. For now, I had you listed as their foster parents. Next week you'd have to go to court. After that, we have to work on the adoption process in Seoul. It'll take some time but they're guaranteed to be your sons."

Jaehyun let out a sigh of relief and Lucas smiled.

"You seem pretty serious on adopting them, hyung."

"I am. This afternoon during lunch, Jeno told me about his…. eating habit back when he was still in that shady orphanage. He only ate once a day, and only like… a quarter of our usual bowl of rice. Without anything. Just plain rice. He said if he's lucky, sometimes he shared half an eggroll. Half an eggroll! Can you imagine it?"

Lucas gulped. That was too much.

"Poor kid. No wonder he's very small."

"Yeah. The doctor said he's stunted and malnourished. I might have to buy some vitamins too for him."

"But hyung… I know you only meant good things, but have you thought about your parents and brother? I know your parents had been pushing you to get married soon and have kids but having kids immediately like this… I don't know."

"Well, I'll tell them at one point but I won't take no as their answer."

"Look, hyung, you're already single the way you are. After adopting them officially and becoming a single dad, your chance of marrying someone will lessen considerably! Are you planning to live your life as a single-father?!"

Jaehyun shrugged, "I'm fine the way I am, Yukhei. Thanks for worrying."