"Where am I going this time?" Kris asked, leaning his head into his palm.

His caseworker sighed, feeling bad for the kid. He'd already been in three different countries, not to mention all the places he had been in within each of the individual countries. It was sad to see him so...unaffected by yet another move. He fluffed up Kris's hair a bit thoughtlessly, and Kris didn't react at all.

"Am I leaving the country again?" Kris asked after a long silence, and slowly the man before him nodded.

"You'll be going to South Korea this time." He said softly, and Kris nodded.

"At least I know the language." He commented.

This was about as close as he had ever gotten to showing that he cared about all the moves. It had been hard, harder than all the other times, for him to move to Canada. Most of the people spoke English, and a fair amount spoke French as well, and when he had arrived to the North American country he hadn't spoken a word of either language.

His adjustment to the sudden culture shock and language barrier had been painful for those around him to watch - especially when he couldn't seem to hold a residence for more than two months. Of course, he had been in the country since he was ten, which totaled up to five years by then, so he had had plenty of time to learn and adjust. Now they were shipping him off to another country, throwing him face first into the freezing waters of change yet again, and just hoping he could ride the waves once more.

"You'll be leaving in two weeks." He said, and Kris nodded.

"Is there a foster home set up?" He asked, and the caseworker looked uncomfortable.

"We haven't been able to find one." He said. "You'll be staying where you are, for now."

Kris let out a heavy sigh, but nodded nonetheless. For years, they had been waiting for him to get mad, get upset, cry, scream, throw something, but it never happened. He seemed eerily void of emotion, but after a few psychiatric evaluations, there had been only one explanation offered time and time again. It was a defense mechanism. If he broke down and let his emotions consume him, he would be horribly overwhelmed.

The scariest part of it all, though, was that he never seemed to smile, either. He just sat there, blank-faced, as people pushed him along from one to the other. He had been referred to as a hot potato more than once. Nobody seemed to want him, ridding themselves of him and washing their hands to remove any trace the second they were able to. He was completely unreactive, unresponsive, and his caseworkers had a tendency to quit on him, because the emotional weight of someone so damaged was hard to handle. More than one of them had admitted to crying after meeting with him.

"Are you ready to head back?" The caseworker finally asked, and Kris nodded.

"Might as well." He said.