“Go on, Junhyung,” the middle-aged woman encouraged. “I know it’s scary at first, but these boys will be your friends sooner if you go on and say hello.” She tightened her grasp on the five-year-old’s wrist and tried to pull him forward, but the boy stood his ground, cowering behind her.

                Junhyung shook his head, his eyes gathering tears again. He didn’t want to go inside the room filled with other little boys. He didn’t want to make friends with any of them. He didn’t want to be in this place. The only thing the young brunette wanted was to go home, to return to his mother’s loving arms. “Take me home, please,” he whispered.

                The woman sighed and knelt beside him. She looked him straight in the eye with both her hands on his frail shoulders. “I’m sorry, Junhyung, but this is your home. For now, at least—until we meet a family who will bring you to another home. Now, go on and meet a few of the other boys; they’ll be like your brothers here. No one will do you any harm, I promise.” She brushed her lips on the boy’s forehead then got up and left him standing there.

                So this is what it felt to be orphaned. Junhyung looked at the playroom beyond the open double doors ahead of him. The boys playing inside certainly seemed nice. Some looked older than him, just by a few years, maybe. He watched a few of them running around, playing tag; others, on the floor with toy trucks and planes. Slowly his feet brought him forward, until he entered the room. A smile rose to his face. Maybe it wasn’t bad here after all.

                “Hiya!” A face popped right in front of him and Junhyung was looking at a bright-eyed, golden-haired boy who gave him the biggest of grins.

                Junhyung gasped and ran away to the corner of the room. He sat facing the wall with his eyes tightly shut and his ears covered by his hands.

                “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you.”

                He felt a poke on his shoulder, and the brunette inched closer to the wall, feeling tears spill down his cheeks. A loud buzzing sounded in his ears, and he could hear the other boys screaming and laughing in the background, but he could no longer hear that voice he associated with the blondie. After what felt like hours, Junhyung opened his eyes and uncovered his ears. He brushed off the tearstains from his cheeks and stood up.

                When he turned, he found the blonde boy seated five paces away, looking back at him with a curious, but harmless, expression. “Oh, finally, you’ve turned around!” The boy got up from the floor.

                “You were waiting this whole time?”

                The boy dusted the back of his pants and nodded.

                “But why?”

                “Because I said hello, and I waited for you to say hello back!” He smiled. “I’m Yoseob. Who are you?”

                “J-Junhyung,” his voice drifted off.

                “Hello, Junhyung!”

                “H-hello, Yoseob.”

                “Great!” Yoseob spun around and began walking.

                “Wait!” Junhyung cried, stepping forward. “Just like that? You’re going to leave already?”

                Yoseob turned back to him and shrugged. “Do you want me to stay?”

                Junhyung lowered his head meekly, then his eyes flickered up to look at the blonde again. He gave a small nod.

                “Great!” Yoseob grabbed his new playmate by the arm and pulled him forward. Then he hugged his arm and they began to walk. “So, what do you want to do?”

                A few hours into their playmate-ship, the brunette and golden-haired one declared themselves best friends. The days and weeks passed, and Junhyung learned that there was nothing to fear in this new home. Not as long as he had Yoseob and the boy’s perpetual happiness by his side. He became less shy toward the other boys, but most often he only played with his best friend.

                Junhyung learned that Yoseob had been in the orphanage for as long as he could remember—the head caretaker then explained that Yoseob was brought to them when he was less than two years old. Junhyung also learned that Yoseob was a month younger than he was. Or at least, that was the birthday given to him by the caretakers. Junhyung learned many more things about the ever-smiling boy, enough to justify that they were best friends; enough for Junhyung to say that he knew Yoseob the most.

                It was two years later, when Junhyung was seven and Yoseob was one day to turning seven, that Junhyung learned one thing he’d never forget.

                All the boys climbed into their beds, since it was curfew and the caretakers were about to begin their nightly inspection. The only empty bed was Junhyung’s—he had crawled beside Yoseob on his bed, at the birthday boy’s request.

                “Aren’t you going to greet me happy birthday?” the blondie whispered, facing Junhyung.

                “It’s not your birthday yet. Be patient!” He wrinkled his noise in irritation but pinched his best friend’s cheek. “I’ll greet you first thing in the morning.” Junhyung faced the other side and closed his eyes.

                The seven-year-old’s eyes shot open as he awoke, surprised by a sudden grasp on his hand. He cringed upon hearing the noise of the rumbling trucks on the road outside. The digital clock near him read 11:55PM. Junhyung pulled his hand away from Yoseob’s grasp and shut his eyes tight. “You’re five minutes too early. Sleep again, Yoseob.” But again, he felt his hand taken hold of by the boy, and this time, Yoseob held it tight.

                “Junhyung!” Yoseob gasped. “Junhyung, I can’t breathe!”

                Junhyung sat up and once and saw Yoseob in tears, clutching his neck with his other hand. “Help!” he screamed. “Help! Help me!” He pulled Yoseob up and hugged him close. “Please, help!”

                The lights were switched on and the other boys rose from their beds. One of the older ones ran out of the bedroom.

                “Junhyung, Junhyung!” Yoseob cried weakly, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

                Junhyung only held him close, too shocked to cry or speak or think. Their roommates gathered around the bed, all speaking at the same time.

                The bedroom door burst open and in came five of the caretakers. All the boys parted as they walked past, and the adults rushed to Yoseob’s bed.

                “Junhyung!” the boy shrieked in fear. “Junhyung!”

                The brunette could only watch, speechless, as two men pried the wheezing child from his arms. Yoseob continued to scream, even when he was told that screaming would only further limit his breath, and he was carried away from the room.

                The head caretaker told the boys to return to their beds, and she flicked the lights off and closed the door behind her as she left.

                Junhyung snuggled in Yoseob’s bed and he looked at the digital clock. It had just turned midnight.

                “Is he back?” Junhyung asked the head caretaker as soon as he woke again in the morning, but the woman shook her head sadly. He waited a week, two weeks, two months, four months, and so on, asking that same question every morning, receiving the same answer every morning. Junhyung returned to his original shy state, unable to be his happy, outgoing self without Yoseob next to him. He didn’t go back to the playroom anymore; he didn’t go out to the playground at back of the building. Every day he stayed at a table near the front door of the complex, waiting for the familiar golden head to come bouncing in and greet him with that trademark glowing smile.

                Junhyung rubbed his sleepy eyes and dragged his feet out of the bedroom. “Is he back?” he asked as he reached the main hall.

                The woman smiled at him and pointed a finger to the door.

                “Junhyung!”

                He spun around just as Yoseob came running and jumped on him to give him a big embrace. Junhyung couldn’t utter a single word and he hugged his best friend tight, raising him off the ground.

                “Junhyung, Junhyung! I can’t breathe!” Yoseob laughed.

                Junhyung put him down, still sensitive to those words. “I’m sorry.”

                “It’s okay.” He grinned. “You just leave me breathless, you know?”

                Junhyung smiled. “Happy birthday, Yoseob! I know it’s eight months late.”

                “Oh, that’s okay. Come, let’s go play!” And like the first day they met, they walked off, arms locked together.

--------

a/n: So this is the AU two-chap I was talking about in my blog, if anyone read it :P It put me on hiatus on the oneshot collection for a bit, but I'll get back to that soon enough.

I'd love to hear what readers think about this story! Please please don't be a silent reader :)