Minho pointed at the boy and gestured towards the ground where he found a stick and wrote his explanation as to why he was in his yard. The boy’s eyes lit up in understanding and he nodded his head vigorously before grabbing Minho’s hand and dragging him to the opposite end of the garden to where the orphan had entered.  

                The deaf boy rummaged through the short bushes at his feet before straightening up and presenting Minho his blue soccer ball with a large grin. It was a little muddy, but the ball was overall fine.

                Minho took the ball from the boy and nodded his head, bowing slightly, “Thank you,” he said, over enunciating in case the boy could read lips. The boy beamed and made a gesture that looked like he was blowing a kiss, but a little different.

Minho scratched his head and copied the boy’s actions. It must be a deaf thing, he thought. The boy giggled, but it was a deep, throaty sound because he couldn’t hear the sounds he was producing.

Minho pointed to himself and mouthed very clearly, “My name is Choi Minho,” he offered his hand, and the boy took it, shaking it excitedly.

The boy then pointed to himself and said the only words he probably knew how to say, “Ree Daemih,” the boy obviously had trouble with some sounds, so this was the best he could do.

“Lee Taemin,” Minho murmured, “That’s a nice name,” he said to the boy.

Taemin grinned and put his palm on Minho’s chest, “Doi Midoh,” he declared proudly.

“Midoh, doh!” Taemin exclaimed, grabbing Minho’s hands and maneuvering them in the correct manner.

It was now a few days later, and the boys had hit it off, surprisingly. And Minho had been scaling the wall every day to play with Taemin. Taemin had taken it upon himself to teach Minho how to sign. That way, they could talk to each other without language barriers.

Minho picked up the signs fairly well, as they started with simple nouns and vocabulary words. But the signs got more complicated as the days went by, and Minho was starting to have a hard time. He was currently stuck on the words “Hungry” and “Sorry”. He confused the two countless times, as they were essentially the same sign, rubbing one’s fist on either their chest or their stomach, just that Minho would rub his chest for “Hungry” and his stomach for “Sorry”.

Taemin was having none of that. One must be clear when signing, no room to be sloppy; otherwise, someone might misinterpret what you’re trying to say.

“Sorry,” Minho tried to sign again, this time doing it correctly.

Taemin clapped his hands, “Good job,” he signed.

“Thank you,” Minho flopped back on the grass and looked up at the vibrantly blue sky. It would start to get darker soon. He should think about going back within the next hour.

“Midoh,” Taemin called out softly, lying beside his friend. The only time Taemin would speak was when he called Minho’s name. He didn’t know how otherwise.

Minho looked at the boy expectantly, twirling a fallen leaf between his fingers.

“Why do you live at the orphanage?” Taemin asked, his hands trembling slightly as they signed, his eyes large and glistening.

Minho sat up abruptly. He wasn’t used to being reminded of his past. He held a fist up to his lips before turning to respond his friend’s question, “My… my parents died when our house caught fire…” he let his hands drop to his lap with a plop, his breathing quickened as flashbacks started to bombard him. 

clifffffhangerrrrrrr

/maniacal laugh/

flashback is next chapter

yeupp~

comment what you guys think!

seriously though, there are TWO comments on this story...

i'm not updating until i get a decent amount more... please?

~OTB Out~