Index:

(WH) - Woohyun speaking
(YJ) - Young Jae speaking
(DH) - Daehyun speaking
(BY) - Yongguk speaking
(SH) - Seohyun speaking
(TY) - Taeyeon speaking
(JU) - Jongup speaking
(J) - Jessica speaking
(Z) - Zelo speaking

(MsK) - Mrs. Kim speaking
(MK) - Mr. Kim speaking

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Days seemed to pass far too quickly for the children as the final day approached. It didn’t necessarily help either that there had only been two days left before departure. Despite their attempts to spend as much time together as possible, it just didn’t seem to ever be enough. When was there ever enough time?

Within one of the rooms, crying could clearly be heard as the sad child wailed without holding back. The poor boy was busy walking here and there, gathering his things as he got them to fit into either his backpack or the suitcase that his adoptive mother had provided for him. The majority of his things fit into the suitcase, so the only things he had in his backpack were things that he had a strong attachment towards.

From the top bunk, Daehyun sat on the edge of his bed as he watched Young Jae. He was already sad that they were going to be separated, but because of Young Jae’s crying, it was taking everything Daehyun had to keep himself from crying as well. He probably would be trying to console Young Jae, but what was he supposed to say? Even if he got Young Jae to stop crying now, he would only cry even more once they were separated. His dad always did let him cry until he felt better or fell asleep. Maybe it would work for Young Jae as well?

Still, doing nothing for Young Jae pained his heart. If he was the hero that he claimed to be, then he was supposed to do everything in his power to make Young Jae happy. Just as he was about to start climbing down the ladder, his ears pricked up as he heard the suitcase close. Leaning forward, he looked underneath him as he watched Young Jae zipping up the suitcase. Pulling away a bit, Young Jae wiped his face with his already slightly wet shirt before dragging his feet over to the ladder. Slowly, he climbed up the ladder before plopping down next to Daehyun. Before a word could be said, Young Jae began wailing once more before burying his face onto Daehyun’s shoulder and wrapping his arms around Daehyun’s waist. “I-I m-miss you..!” (YJ)

Daehyun frowned as he wrapped his arms around Young Jae’s shoulders. Neither one of them wanted Young Jae to go, but it’s not like they could do anything about it now. It wasn’t fair that they were being separated, but at least they still had their promises to keep them together, right? “It’s okay... Um... As long as you remember the promises we made, then you’ll still see me again when we’re older!” (DH)

He waited for a moment, hoping that his words would be enough to console Young Jae. Slowly, the crying died down a bit as he pulled away a little. Young Jae wiped his face again with his shirt, attempting to calm down again, but failing. He sniffed a little, his tear-filled eyes looking into Daehyun’s as he nodded a little. “M-Mhm... I-I’ll keep all of m-my promises..!” (YJ)

Just as Young Jae was about to bury his face onto Daehyun's shoulder once more, another wailing voice from outside the door decided to create a chorus with Young Jae’s vocals. The second the door opened, a small boy quickly came running in with his hands held out. The poor boy paused for a brief moment as he looked around, his wailing coming to an abrupt stop as confusion kicked in. Once he caught sight of Daehyun and Young Jae, his crying commenced as he quickly climbed up the ladder and clung onto Young Jae as if his life depended on it. Thanks to Jongup’s crying, Young Jae ended up crying just as loud as he wrapped one of his arms around Jongup.

What was he supposed to do now? It was one thing trying to calm Young Jae down, but it was another trying to calm down both Young Jae and Jongup. He scratched the side of his head, completely uncertain as to what to do. Just as he was about to give up, a voice soon attempted to interrupt the choir. “Hey! Why is there so much crying?!” (WH)

The two boys forced themselves to quiet down as they stared at Woohyun, feeling as if they had just gotten into trouble. Besides the constant sniffling, muffled cries, and hiccuping, they were doing fairly well. Okay, so they weren’t really doing that well, but they had at least managed to cut off their chorus. Woohyun raised a single brow as he stared back at the two before rubbing the back of his head. He let out a small sigh as he instantly felt bad for yelling. “Sorry.. I’m just sad too, but.. we should be happy that they got adopted. So, stop crying, yeah?” (WH)

“But... t-they’re leaving...!” (JU) Once again, Jongup began crying as he buried his face into Young Jae’s chest. Young Jae had managed to keep himself from crying again, even to the point of only sniffling, as he rubbed Jongup’s back a bit. Woohyun let out yet another small sigh as he looked specifically at Young Jae.

“Are you done packing?” (WH) Young Jae stared at Woohyun as he hesitated for some reason. He didn’t really know why he did, but he somehow managed to get himself to slowly nod. “Come on then. Mister Kim said to meet in the playroom when everyone’s done packing.” (WH)

They had to wait a bit since Jongup wouldn’t budge nor let go of Young Jae. It was like he was trying to stall, hoping that he could prevent them from going by doing this. Sadly, it didn’t seem to work once Woohyun pulled him off of the bed and began carrying the crying boy. Jongup wrapped both his arms and legs around Woohyun and buried his face into Woohyun’s shoulder as he quickly mumbled. Woohyun rubbed Jongup’s back as he began walking towards the door. “I know, Jongup.. but he has to go.” (WH)

As Woohyun and Jongup left the room, the remaining two sat on top of the bunk bed for a moment longer. Young Jae stared at the floor, sadness remaining within him as he held his tummy. Daehyun looked over at Young Jae as he leaned in a little bit before wrapping an arm around Young Jae’s shoulders. Young Jae looked up at Daehyun, whom smiled a little. “It’s okay. At least your new mommy is really nice, right?” (DH)

“Mhm...” (YJ) Young Jae sniffed a little before looking at Daehyun. Even though Daehyun was smiling, Young Jae couldn’t bring himself to smile just yet. As Young Jae began pulling away, Daehyun frowned a bit. Although he hadn’t necessarily cheered Young Jae up just yet, at least he wasn’t crying anymore. With a small huff, Daehyun followed Young Jae down the ladder before they both stood by Young Jae’s suitcase.

Just as Young Jae was about to reach for his suitcase, Daehyun was quick to grab both the suitcase and Young Jae’s backpack before pulling it off the bed. Young Jae took a step back, watching as Daehyun pulled the handle up out of the suitcase before slinging the backpack over one of his shoulders. Adjusting the strap a bit, Daehyun made certain that the backpack was securely over his shoulder before taking hold of the suitcase handle. Turning, he was about to take a step forward when he saw Young Jae staring at him. “What’s wrong?” (DH)

“Y-You... You don’t have to help me..” (YJ) Daehyun smiled a bit as he shook his head.

“It’s okay! I.. I wanna help you as much as I can before you leave! Even if I have to get something for you to eat, I’ll go get it!” (DH) Young Jae sheepishly smiled as he walked up to Daehyun. Reaching forward, Young Jae took a hold of Daehyun’s free hand before moving as close to Daehyun’s side as possible. With a smile, Daehyun began to swing their hands back and forth as the two began walking.

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Eyes glanced every now and then over at Seohyun as the three of them walked down the hallway. Adjusting his hold on Jongup, Woohyun cleared his throat a bit, drawing Seohyun’s attention. Now that he was feeling her gaze on him, Woohyun felt a bit awkward. Seohyun was considered one of his closest friends, probably his best friend alongside Daehyun, so he was fairly sad that Seohyun was leaving. However, he was still glad that she was able to find a family willing to adopt her. “.. Do you know what your new family will be like..?” (WH)

“Mhm! My new mommy is a nurse and my new dad is a psychiatrist. They’re both really nice people and I heard from Mister Kim that in the neighborhood that they live in, the neighbors all really like them!” (SH) Seohyun was smiling happily, already daydreaming about how her life would be with her new family. Woohyun, although sad, smiled as he briefly glanced over at Seohyun.

“That’s great.” (WH) What else was he supposed to say? He couldn’t really come up with anything, but maybe it was best this way. He heard a sniffle escape from Jongup before the small boy finally lifted his head. He was a complete mess, from what he could see anyway, and Woohyun wanted to clean the poor boy up. Just as he was about to stop to do so, Seohyun had moved around Woohyun before pulling out a handkerchief from her pocket. With a small smile, Seohyun reached up and did her best to clean up Jongup’s face.

“There.. No more crying, okay? We won’t be able to see your handsome face if you keep crying!” (SH) Jongup sniffled a little more before nodding. Reaching up, Seohyun pinched his cheek, then pat his head as she smiled. She really was going to miss everyone, but if she looked sad, then everyone else was going to be even sadder. It was best to always try and look on the positive side of things. After all, this was supposed to be a happy occasion.

Entering the playroom, they noticed that Yuri, Taeyeon, and Jessica were currently waiting in the center. At the moment, Jessica was trying to console Yuri, whom was rather disappointed that Sungyeol wouldn’t come at least say bye to her. Taeyeon looked up at the three whom entered before getting to her feet and walking up to Seohyun. Taeyeon had a saddened look on her face as she wrapped her arms around Seohyun and gave her a tight hug. “Aw.. I’m going to miss you, Seohyun! You have to write a lot to everyone, okay?” (TY)

“Okay. I’ll try my best.” (SH) Seohyun smiled as she returned Taeyeon’s hug. As Woohyun set Jongup down on the nearest couch, Taeyeon went back to consoling Yuri as Seohyun followed after them to talk to the trio. Woohyun sat down next to Jongup, letting out a small sigh as he watched the four girls talking amongst one another.

“Big brother..? Why do they have to go away? Can’t everyone stay here and still be adopted?” (JU) Looking down at Jongup, he could see the tears welling up inside Jongup once more. He didn’t really know how best to answer Jongup without making him cry, so he merely shrugged as he looked forward once more. It would be rather nice if that could be a possibility, but Woohyun already knew that it couldn’t happen.

Over at the main entrance to the playroom, Daehyun and Young Jae finally entered the room along with Yongguk, Zelo, and Sungyeol. As Yongguk, Zelo and Sungyeol went over to Yuri, Young Jae and Daehyun went over to where Woohyun and Jongup were. Daehyun set Young Jae’s suitcase and backpack next to Seohyun’s before looking over at Jongup. “Are you okay now, Jongup?” (DH)

“No.. I don’t wanna be okay if everyone is leaving!” (JU) Jongup flopped onto the couch as he buried his face into the cushions. Daehyun frowned as he made his way over to the poor kid. Sitting down next to Jongup, he rubbed Jongup’s back as he looked up at Young Jae. It was evident that Young Jae was on the verge of tears once more, but Young Jae didn’t want to cry anymore.

As Daehyun continued attempting to console Jongup, Mister Kim and the rest of the adults finally came into the playroom. Mister Kim frowned a bit as he saw the sadness in the air, but he somehow managed to form a small smile on his face as he clapped his hands to get the children’s attention. “Okay everyone. Seohyun, Yuri, and Young Jae all have to leave now, but don’t worry! They will all be going to good homes and they’ll try their best to keep in contact with everyone.” (MK)

As everyone got to their feet, goodbyes were all being said as the kids hugged one another. They knew that the adults and the kids being adopted needed to head to the train station since the Orphanage was fairly far from the city where the adults were from. Using this piece of information, Jessica quickly formed a plan as she made her way up to Mister Kim. “Mister Kim? Can we come to the train station too?” (J)

Upon hearing this, all of the other kids all looked up at Mister Kim with hope in their eyes. Even if it was just a few more minutes of time together, then it would be worth the trip. Mister Kim chuckled a bit as he looked at the rest of the adults, whom all nodded in agreement. With a warm smile, Mister Kim looked back at Jessica before nodding. “Alright. Since everyone seems to be okay with it, then go ahead and get on the bus.” (MK)

Cheers erupted from the children as they all began making their way to the front entrance. As Daehyun gathered Young Jae’s things once more, Yongguk and Zelo made their way up to Daehyun, Young Jae, and Jongup. Yongguk looked at Young Jae, a sad smirk on his face as he placed his hand on Young Jae’s shoulder. “I’m gonna miss you.” (BY)

“Will you come visit..?” (Z) Even though Zelo hadn’t necessarily liked Young Jae for a while, he had grown quite fond of Young Jae. Though, it seemed that had gone to waste since Young Jae was leaving already. Still, Zelo wanted to continue playing with him.

“I-I wanna visit..” (YJ) Young Jae looked down at the ground as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Would his new parents let him visit his friends again? He really hoped that he could. His new mommy seemed to be nice enough to let him, so maybe he really could come back here really soon! "I'll try really hard..!" (YJ)

“Let’s go. I don’t think Mister Kim will be happy if we keep him waiting.” (DH) Although he wanted to stall for a little longer, he knew that Mister Kim would end up lecturing them if they took too long. With a nod, the five of them finally began walking.

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On the bus, Daehyun sat by the aisle while Young Jae sat by the window. Young Jae looked out the window, his curiosity getting the best of him as he tried to take in as much as possible. It had been a long while since he’s gone near the town that the Orphanage was located in and it was his first time on a bus since he had lived with his birth parents. Everything was just interesting to him, though once he felt something take hold of his hand, Young Jae’s attention soon shifted as he looked at Daehyun. Both boys smiled as they gave each other’s hands a light squeeze. They leaned in closer to one another, resting their heads together as they waited to reach their destination. “I hope we can keep our promises when we’re older, Daehyun..” (YJ)

“I’ll make sure that our promises come true.” (DH) After all, promises meant the world to Daehyun. Even if he was fifty-years old, Daehyun would make certain to fulfill the promise he made. “I’m really hungry... I wish we ate before we left.” (DH)

“Me too...” (YJ) The duo both put their free hands up to their own stomachs as they frowned a bit. Food was instantly taking over their minds, images flashing before their eyes as they each heard their stomachs growl. As if to answer their poor tummies, Mrs. Kim soon crouched down by their seat as she held out a basket to them.

“I packed some sandwiches for everyone since there wasn’t enough time for everyone to eat. Would you two like a sandwich?” (MsK) The two instantly sat up as they both nodded eagerly. Mrs. Kim opened up the basket before pulling out two, neatly wrapped, sandwiches. Looking at the two, she thought for a moment. “Would you like ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly?” (MsK)

“Can I have both?” (DH) Mrs. Kim laughed a little bit as she thought for a moment. She did, technically, make enough sandwiches to give out two each. It just depended on what everyone decided on what to get. She nodded a bit as she handed the two sandwiches to Daehyun before looking at Young Jae.

“And you?” (MsK) Young Jae pursed his lips as he leaned in a little bit as he looked into the basket. He didn’t really know which one he wanted more since he liked both types of sandwiches. His indecision must have been evident as Mrs. Kim took both types of sandwiches out before handing it to Young Jae. “Just have them both, okay? If you don’t want one of them, you can give it to Daehyun.” (MsK)

Young Jae looked at the sandwiches before smiling and nodding happily. Once he had taken the two sandwiches into his hands, Mrs. Kim pat Young Jae’s head lightly before she moved on to the next seat. The two boys happily ate as the bus continued moving forward. Normally, they wouldn’t be allowed to eat on the bus since it was a safety hazard, but Mrs. Kim said it would be alright for now.

They had just gotten through their first sandwich when the bus slowly came to a stop. They all looked outside the window as curiosity kicked in. It didn’t necessarily take long before their eyes finally landed on the wooden structure that acted as the train station. There was a single booth there that stood as the primary place that people were supposed to get their tickets. Beside the railroad tracks was the forest that covered the majority of the area, but there was also a nearby beach where the forest gave way to add quite a lovely view. It was Young Jae’s second time here, but it was a lot prettier this time.

“Okay kids! We’re here!” (MK) All of the kids quickly got to their feet, though they remained at their seats as both Mr. and Mrs. Kim took down the suitcases from the top shelves. Once they were off of the bus with the three suitcases, the kids all got off the bus one by one. The rest of the adults had followed behind in another bus that the Orphanage owned. They had called in the one bus driver that they had to get them driven here.

All of the kids lined up like they normally did whenever they went out; a boys line and a girls line, though they didn’t remain as quiet as they usually would. Since this wasn’t an actual trip, the group of kids were all excited as they talked amongst one another, pointing out random things that had caught their interest. It felt like a new place, even if they have been here a couple of times over the years and it seemed to help glaze over the fact that three of them would be leaving fairly soon.

While the adults were all busy retrieving their tickets, Mrs. Kim took the kids onto the platform where they would wait for the train’s arrival. The platform wasn’t all too long since not a lot of people came out here anyway. There were two long benches, each being able to hold possibly up to seven adults if they didn’t allow space between one another. Some of the kids took up the spots on the benches while the others were off pretending to have an adventure. “Look! The sea whale is going to eat us!” (JU)

The children whom were playing had all let out small bursts of laughter or screams as they all ran across the platform, throwing imaginary spells at an invisible floating whale that seemed to be chasing after them. Mrs. Kim told the kids time and time again not to run, but their short attention spans and their game didn’t necessarily let them follow her instructions for very long. Somehow sneaking off away from the game, Daehyun pulled Young Jae off to the side where they had a nice enough view of the beach from their position. Daehyun smiled happily as he looked at Young Jae. “That’s the same beach that we go to!” (DH)

“R-Really..? But it took a really long time to get here..” (YJ) It didn’t necessarily make any sense to Young Jae, but Young Jae hadn’t really thought about the fact that the Orphanage and the train platform were on opposite ends of the area. Daehyun scratched the side of his head as he tried to think for a moment.

“I think it’s because the road is super long and has lots of turns.” (DH) Young Jae nodded, not even questioning Daehyun’s words once as he continued to look back out at the ocean. They stood there for a moment longer, continually staring at the beach and waters in awe before the familiar sound of something approaching soon pulled their attention.

Both excitement and sadness filled the kids as they all quickly lined up as close as Mrs. Kim would let them to the edge as the train slowly made its way to the platform. The little ones attempted to tip toe as they tried to see over the shoulders of the taller kids while the taller kids seemed to not have noticed this minor fact. Once the train finally came to a stop, it seemed to turn off for that moment as the doors opened. A few people came off of the train and the kids all greeted the people, seemingly brightening up the day for those people as they walked off of the platform.

As the adults boarded the train with their child’s suitcase, the kids all turned to one another as sadness took over once more. Here and there, tears slid down faces as hugs ensued. Soon enough, Seohyun was the first to board the train. Looking at everyone, she was now crying as she smiled, waving to one another before going to where her new parents were waiting for her. Yuri had been next, though she seemed to be looking around for someone. When it was evident that that person wasn't here, she put on a small smile for everyone before following after Seohyun.

All that was left was Young Jae.

Young Jae stood at the doorway, his hand firmly grasping the doorway before he turned to look at Daehyun. Daehyun smiled a bit, tears welling up within him once more as he motioned his head for Young Jae to go in. He turned slightly to look behind him before he looked back at Daehyun, tears sliding down his face as he shook his head. “I-I don’t wanna leave you..” (YJ)

“It’s okay Young Jae... You.. You can go. We’ll meet again when we’re older, remember?” (DH) Young Jae nodded as he wiped his face with his arm. Even if they did end up meeting again, that still meant that they had to leave each other. Young Jae didn’t want that. He just wanted to stay here with all of his friends forever. “It’s okay... Make sure to call, okay? I want to still talk to you!” (DH)

Young Jae nodded once more as he turned around. He had just taken two, maybe three steps inside, before he instantly changed his mind. Turning around, he had attempted to walk back off of the train when the train doors closed. Young Jae’s eyes widened, pressing his palms against the window as he looked at Daehyun through tear-filled eyes. Daehyun was crying now, but he still held his smile as he waved. He could see Daehyun’s lips mouthing the words ‘it’s okay’, letting Young Jae calm down a bit. With one last longing stare, Young Jae nodded before he went to go find his seat.

Finally finding his adoptive mother and her (and now his) servant, Young Jae got into the seat closest by the window before looking outside. His eyes widened as he saw Daehyun staring back at him, with that huge grin of his. Opening the window up, Young Jae set his knees on the seat as he leaned a little closer to the window. He felt a pair of hands on his waist, most likely to keep him from falling out, but he ignored it for the time being. Just as the wheels on the train began rolling, Daehyun sung as loudly as he could to be heard over the loud train sounds. “YES I’M HEROO~!” (DH)

Young Jae gasped a little as once more, tears slid down his face. He reached out, holding Daehyun’s out stretched hand as Daehyun followed after the train. Sadly, they couldn’t hold hands for too long as the train quickly became too fast for Daehyun to keep up. Young Jae cried out as their hold slipped from one another, holding his hand out in an attempt to keep contact with Daehyun. Once Daehyun reached the end of the platform, he came to a stop as he clenched his fists. He watched as the train continued rolling away, tears continually sliding down his cheeks as he smiled a little. Daehyun spoke just barely above a whisper, hoping that Young Jae would hear him no matter how far away they were.

“Yes... I’m hero..” (DH)

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[[ My Own Thoughts:

Okay.
This is the last chapter that they’ll be kids >3<..
If you all haven’t noticed yet,
I have already updated the characters on the front page.
I’m still trying to decide on who to keep and who to remove, so..
If any of ya’ll want a certain character to STAY, then please say so!
(As for characters to be added, uh.. that might come later. I’ve already added characters, so..
Kind of hard to throw in more. xD)
I will make sure, however, to separate the main cast to the side characters to the very minor characters.

Comments are loved!
I want to make certain that everyone is liking the fanfic. x3 ]]