C h a p t e r 1 2

- Ten and a Half Years Ago -

Donghae and the twins were outside, playing a game of soccer against several of the other children in the orphanage. The ball rapidly passed from one player to the other as they headed towards one of the makeshift goals created by pairs of chairs, thrilled grins on their faces. Chanyeol came into possession of the ball and he managed to kick it through the goal, just as he narrowly dodged a tackle.

“Yeahhhhhhhhh! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!” Chanyeol cheered as he ran around the pitch. “The Soccer King is in Da House! Did you guys see that! Huh? Huh?”

A hand suddenly connected with the back of his head as Baekhyun ran past. “Shut up, you idiot! The ball’s almost reached our end of the field!”

Chanyeol pulled himself together and was about to run over to where the action was when he spotted Henry emerging from the back of the orphanage. A huge smile erupted on his face as he ran over waving.

“Henry Hyung! When did you get back?” he shouted as he came up next to Henry. “How was Gangnam do?”

“Good.” Henry continued to glance around, as if searching for something. “Hey, Chanyeol; have you seen Josephine around?” he asked absently, still staring off into the distance.

“Josephine?” repeated Chanyeol with surprise. He rolled his eyes as he turned away, putting his hands on his hips. “You’re always looking for Josephine. You’ve been gone for over a month and the first thing you ask about is ‘Josephine’.”

Henry glared at Chanyeol from the corner of his eye. Donghae and Baekhyun finally made their way over, having just noticed that Chanyeol had disappeared. They arrived, breathing heavily from their exercise.

“Hey, Henry ! Long time no see!” greeted Donghae as he held a hand up to high five Henry. Henry ignored the hand.

“Have you guys seen Josephine around?” he asked again. He was beginning to grow slightly agitated. “She’s not in her usual spot.”

The three exchanged a glance with one another before turning back to look at Henry. “You’ve become weird ever since you started talking with that girl. You hardly hang around us anymore,” complained Baekhyun with a frown.

Henry now turned to look at each of his friend’s face one at a time, realising how much he was ignoring them. His mind had been so preoccupied with Josephine that he had completely forgotten about his close friends. He looked away guiltily, ashamed of his actions. “Sorry guys… I guess I kind of forgot myself.”

Donghae nodded his head in acceptance, coming in to pat Henry on the shoulder. “That’s alright,.” He then smiled brightly as he turned to look at the twins. “After all, you’ve just come back from a trip to Gangnam do with the Seohyun, right?”

The twins glanced at one another, their arms crossed over their chests. They were still annoyed that the first person Henry had asked about was Josephine rather than them. What was so special about that freaky girl anyway?

As the twins continued to brood in silence, Donghae was the first one to break it. “Hey, why don’t we go find somewhere to sit? I’m exhausted from the game just now. Come on, come on!”

He ushered them towards a spot nearby under a large tree and the four of them sat on the grass, Henry leaning against the trunk. Henry glanced at the twins who still had their arms crossed over their chests and sighed inwardly. It was just like those two to get jealous so easily. A small mischievous smile suddenly crept on his face as an idea came into his head. As the twins weren’t looking at him, Henry was able to easily move into position where he gave the pair a little shove with his foot.

Chanyeol glared up at him, rubbing the spot Henry had kicked. “What was that for, Henry Hyung?” he snapped.

“To knock some sense into you two,” snapped Henry as he returned to his spot on one of the large roots. “Jeez, you two are acting like jealous girls.”

Baekhyun stood up, pointing a finger at Henry indignantly. “Aishh! We’re not jealous! Just… annoyed.” He turned away, pouting. “You’ve been practically ignoring us for the past couple of months. It’s always ‘Josephine this’ or ‘Josephine that’. What’s so special about that freak? She still doesn’t talk with anyone but you!”

Henry turned away, his brow creased as he thought about what Baekhyun was saying. “I said I was sorry. And I don’t know why, but… I don’t know. She just interests me, I guess.”

Chanyeol now crawled towards him on all fours, peering up into his face curiously. Henry leaned back from his looming face. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her, Henry Hyung.”

Henry’s eyes widened in shock as he turned away, flustered. “That’s just plain stupid, Chanyeol. I’m only 15 for crying out loud. And she’s 13. We’re still kids. There’s no way I could be… whatever it is you’re trying to say.”

Baekhyun , upon seeing Henry’s reaction, ran in to crouch on his other side, an evil grin plastered on his face. “Oh my god…! You really have fallen for her! This is just too good to be true! Ha! Our Hyung has fallen in love! L-O-V-E, love!” The twins rolled over in a fit of giggles as they continued to tease Henry.

He stared at them, beet red. How dare they humiliate him like that! Henry jumped on the both of them, locking them into a headlock each. “Shut up, you guys! If you say another word then I swear I won’t give you two the souvenirs I bought for you!”

After a couple of minutes, Henry finally released them, their giggles somewhat subdued. He continued to glare at them as they stared back at him, their eyes still dancing with laughter.

Donghae decided to wave his hands in the air, calling an end to the teasing as he grinned widely. “Alright, that’s enough you two; leave Henry in peace.” He now turned to look at Henry, who continued to avert his gaze angrily. “Hey, ; you wanted to know where Josephine was, right?”

Henry promptly swung his head around, all ears. “Where is she?” He decided to ignore the jeers the twins were giving him.

“We don’t know,” replied Donghae.

“What do you mean, ‘we don’t know’?” snapped Henry as his eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

Baekhyun decided to sit up straight as he answered Henry. “What Donghae means is, that Josephine likes to disappear to who knows where.”

Chanyeol also sat up straight, sidling over to his brother’s side. “Both day and night. She seems to have developed this habit of sneaking out of the orphanage. The Sisters have caught her several times and disciplined her over the Chanyeoler but she still runs off anyway. They’ve given up all hope on her.”

“What? Why is she doing that?” Henry stared them but they all shrugged. He turned away, pondering over the situation. Why would Josephine sneak away? Over the past few months he had not sensed anything that indicated Josephine wanted to leave. Sure, their conversations had been pretty one-sided with him doing all the talking most of the time but he had thought her content and rather too withdrawn to do anything like this.

Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. She’s a little loony, I’d say. I don’t know what you see in her, Hyung.”

Henry shoved his foot at Chanyeol again. “Shut up, Chanyeol! It’s not like that at all!”

Josephine Liu wandered through the streets aimlessly, peering around her with a mild curiosity at the crowd surrounding her. No one seemed to notice the girl in their midst, all hurrying along with their own business. A man bumped into Amber, not even noticing that he had as he continued to converse on his mobile without a care, shouting something about stocks. She continued to stare after the man, her gaze expressionless. To her left she spotted a mother and daughter seated on a bench together, sharing an ice-cream. A bitter feeling rose in Amber’s heart as she watched the scene before her, feeling angry at her own fate. She turned away from the torturous sight, storming off. Tears burned at the corner of her eyes, threatening to fall.

‘No… no… I will not cry. I will cry no more,’ thought Amber defiantly as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her arm.

Suddenly, Amber collided into a person, falling to the ground. She peered up at the large woman wearing a pink suit who glared back at her, scoffing at the sight of Amber. “Filthy rodent,” sneered the lady. “Watch where you’re walking next time.”

The lady strolled off, a man who appeared to be her servant hurrying along behind her with his arms full of shopping bags from designer boutiques. Amber watched her walk off, feeling contempt at the lady for insulting her. As she was about to pull herself up off the ground, her hand suddenly connected with a white purse. Curious, Amber picked up the wallet, opening it to find a bunch of credit cards, a professional photo of the lady pouting at the camera (which Amber almost burst out laughing at) and roughly KRW$25,000. Amber’s eyes grew wide as she saw the large sum and she through it once more to make sure that she had counted right.

Rushing to her feet, Amber was about to run after the woman when a thought occurred to her. Why should she return the purse? The woman obviously had more than enough money if she was carrying that much around on its own. And besides, the pompous lady had called her a ‘filthy rodent’. Gripping the wallet tightly, Amber ran in the opposite direction, smiling snidely as she made her way as far away as possible from the place.

After ten minutes of running away, Amber came to a stop outside a large department store, trying to catch her breath as she searched behind her for any sign that she might have been followed. She made her way over to a bench where she promptly fell onto it, closing her eyes as her breath finally slowed. She peered down at the wallet, her earlier exhilaration at having stolen it now gone. Amber looked at the wallet with an empty feeling, opening it up to see the rich lady’s face stare back out at her. Glaring at the photo, Amber removed it from the wallet and tore it up, trying to ease the feeling of guilt. She removed all the credit cards from the wallet, dumping them into the trash can beside her. Amber didn’t know how to use those things so she had no use for them. Now she opened the wallet to stare at the cash, wondering what to do with it. There had never been anything Amber had wanted, apart from freedom from her stepfather’s abuse and to live with her mother in peace. She may have received her first wish but the second one would never be.

Amber closed the wallet and stood up, feeling depressed. What would her mother think of her now? How would she react if she knew that Amber had stolen? Amber’s hands went to her head as she tried to shake the guilty thoughts from her mind. ‘She would look down on you with pity. She would feel ashamed that you are her daughter, that she sacrificed herself for your future. She wanted you to continue living a normal life. A happy one.’

“No!” shouted Amber suddenly and several people glanced at her with a worried expression. “No… How can my life be happy without you, Mother?” she said more quietly and those tears she had chased away earlier now returned, treacherously burning their trails on her cheeks. She wiped them away, a hard look now entering her eyes. “I said I won’t cry anymore and I mean it.”

Amber peered around her and spotted the doors to the department store. She headed towards them. “Money… money is meant to be spent. I’ll spend all this money, right now.”

The department store was large and spacious, spanning two stories. People hurried around her, admiring the goods the stores had on display. Amber made her way over to a clothing shop, scanning the dozens of clothes adorning the racks. She picked out several of the most expensive items, carrying them over to the counter with a stern look on her face. The clerk raised an eyebrow at her but nonetheless proceeded to scan the barcodes. Her eyebrows went up even further when Amber was able to pay the KRW$5300 in cash and she began to grow suspicious.

“You didn’t steal all that money, did you kid?” she asked as she took the money warily.

Amber glared at the woman. “No; I just happened to save up a lot of money.”

The clerk nodded her head as she accepted Amber’s answer. Seconds later, Amber exited the shop and proceeded towards an electronics shop when she passed a small pet shop. Amber retraced her steps and stood outside the window, peering in through the glass at the puppies frolicking on the newspaper. She gazed further into the shop and noted the various other animals that lined the cages along the walls. However, what caught her eye the most was a rather large cockatoo that sat perched in a cage next to the counter, its yellow crest popping up and down occasionally. She made her way into the shop, walking towards the cage with her eyes transfixed. The man at the counter noticed her gaze and smiled.

“I see Dino here has caught your eye, miss,” said the man, making Amber jump on the spot.

“Dino?” repeated Amber as she looked at the man before turning to look back at the bird.

The man nodded as he smiled sadly. “He’s an Australian Cockatoo but his last master kept abusing him so now he’s afraid of humans. However, that owner now has one nasty scar on his nose from where Dino pecked him.”

Amber nodded absently as she continued to stare at the bird. The bird and Amber seemed to have shared a similar fate of abuse and she felt a kind of connection for the creature. A sudden idea came to her mind. “How much is he?”

The man looked at Amber in surprise. “How much is he? He’s not for sale, miss. I can’t sell a bird that will harm people, especially to a little girl like you.”

“Then why keep him in the shop?” asked Amber, somewhat annoyed that she was refused.

“Because I feel sorry for the thing. No Chanyeoler how twisted it has become, it still deserves to live.” He then pointed to some of the other birds in the cages behind. “Perhaps you’d like a different bird, one that isn’t so damaged?”

Amber glanced at the other birds then returned her gaze to the cockatoo. “No. I want Dino. I’m willing to pay as much as you want.”

The man looked at Amber long and hard, noting the determined look in her eyes. He let out a sigh as he relented. “Fine, I’ll sell you the bird if you truly insist. But you can’t say I didn’t warn you.” He took the cage Dino was sitting in, carrying it over to the counter. He then went to grab two bags of bird seed and a spray to ward off lice. “I’ll throw these things in too for free, as well as the cage. Altogether that will be KRW$3795.”

Amber paid the man and continued to listen as he told her how to take care of the bird. After he was done, Amber thanked him promptly and left, carrying the cage next to her as carefully as possible. As she exited the department store she realised how hard it was to carry all the bags of clothes along with the cage and supplies. She decided to throw the clothes away, having no use for such flashy items.

With the cage and supplies in hand, Amber was now faced with another predicament – where to keep Dino. The orphanage would definitely not allow her to keep the bird. She wracked her brain furiously, trying to come up with a place to hide the bird. Then she remembered; the hut in the mountains behind the orphanage. The orphanage was situated at the base of the  Mountains in the Gyeonggi Province. A week ago, Amber had climbed the mountain in boredom, trekking through the dense foliage off the main path where she stumbled upon an empty hut in the middle of an overgrown clearing. She had searched the dwelling for any sign of life but the only living thing she happened across in there were spiders. It had taken her most of the week to make the place habitable and to bring some of her important possessions to hide up there. She was sure no one would ever find the building and as such, the tin she had brought along with her would be safe.

She made her way there now, carrying Dino along in his cage. The way was made difficult this time as she had the added burden of carrying the cage but Amber persevered, eventually making her way up there. The hut loomed before her, the pale glow of the setting sun bathing the clearing in warm tones. Amber climbed up the stairs to the porch, placing the bird down as she opened the door. She placed the supplies inside before returning to pick up the cage. Amber raised it up to eyelevel, peering at the bird which had remained silent throughout the entire journey.

“I’m just like you, Dino… someone who has nothing but bad luck in their life. Perhaps we could change that.” She poked her finger through the wires of the cage, trying to the bird’s silky white feathers only to pull it back as he pecked it. “Ouch! That really is one sharp beak,” commented Amber as she took the cage into the hut.

“But no matter how many times you try to peck me, I won’t get angry. I understand what it’s like.” She came to fill the seed dispenser and water bottle before heading towards the door. “I have to get back to the orphanage now. After all, it is a home of sorts. I’ll come over tomorrow.” With that, Amber closed the door behind her, leaving the bird alone in the darkness as it cocked its head from side to side. After some time, Dino sidled over on his bar towards the bird food dispenser, picking up a large seed to crush in his strong beak.

Tbc.

I've given Amber a little thing for birds, lol. They're actually quite an important part of her past and you'll see what I mean as the story continues. And Henry already has a thing for Amber/Josephine See this develop further in the next chapter.

Next Chapter: Still in the past, but two months from this chapter..