It was still the small hours when the two of them were left right in front of the orphanage’s doorstep. They were standing in front of the orphanage looking helpless and cold as the cool wind brushed against their skins. The minute they heard the thunder, they knew that it was going to rain soon.

They had nothing with them, except each other with a small bag containing their old clothes. DaeHyun and JiHyun only watched as their aunt’s car quickly sped away after leaving them there. And they knew that very instant that they won’t be seeing or hear anything from her again. DaeHyun sighed as he turned towards the door, his eyes were staring at the doorbell.

He didn’t know what it was like inside the orphanage, rather than the obvious that the kids who lived in there were the ones who no longer had their parents. It was either their parents are dead or they were left there. In their case, pretty much both of it actually. They had lost their parents and their aunt, their only guardian, left them there and it showed as much that she didn’t want them.

No need to talk about their stepfather, as it was way to obvious that the man also wanted nothing to do with the pair of them as he had vanished right into thin air on the day their mother died.

DaeHyun was about to press the doorbell when a hand held him back. DaeHyun recognized immediately that it was JiHyun’s, who was looking at him in worry. “Is it really okay ?” JiHyun asked him. She was shivering as the heavens opened and they were wearing only thin shirts and shorts.

“We don’t have a choice, JiHyun. This is the only place that we can ask for shelter at the moment. Don’t worry, it’ll be alright.” DaeHyun answered firmly in order to convince his sister, even though it sounded more like he was convincing himself.

Since JiHyun had said nothing more, DaeHyun reached out his hand and pressed the door bell. They stood there patiently waiting for the door to be opened while holding onto each other’s hands. They were both cold and they hoped that whoever it was in charge of the orphanage would be kind enough to let them shelter.

Not a moment too soon then, the door was opened and revealed a figure of an elderly woman who was wearing a robe. Once her eyes landed on the two of them, she let out a gasp and her eyes widened. She really did not expect to see the two poor mites at such an early hour. But still, she kept telling herself that anything can happen in this world nowadays.

DaeHyun quickly stepped forward and said, “Sorry that we’re disturbing but we really don’t have anywhere else to go.” The elderly woman then asked, “Where are your parents ?” she glanced between DaeHyun and JiHyun and took in the poor sight of the both of them. Old clothes, thin, and barely had anything with them as possession. Especially JiHyun’s face that was pale as white as snow.

“Both our parents had died. Our stepfather ran away and our aunt left us here. We don’t have anyone else or anywhere to go.” DaeHyun explained as he held onto his sister tighter. He could feel that she was freezing and that her body had grown cold.

The elderly woman quickly opened the door wider for the both of them to enter. Still gripping his sister’s hand, DaeHyun took the lead and brought her inside. They both heaved a sigh of relief that they didn’t have to stand in the rain. Well, at least for now.

The woman then motioned them to follow her while putting a finger on her lips, indicating to tell them to keep quiet as the rest of the household were already asleep. DaeHyun and JiHyun nodded and obediently followed the old woman while trying to be quiet the best they could.

They soon stopped in front of a room which the elderly woman then unlocked. She pushed the door open and let both DaeHyun and JiHyun inside as she towed behind them. DaeHyun and JiHyun then took in the sight of the room they just entered. There was a double-decker bed in the room, a table, and a cupboard.

The elderly woman then reached for the cupboard and took out some outfits for the children to change into. She had always kept some stock for cases like this and she was glad that everything was ready when DaeHyun and JiHyun suddenly appeared in front of her doorstep.

“I’ll be of to the kitchen to get you something to drink. In the meantime, both of you get changed and wait here until I come back.” The elderly woman said before making her way towards the kitchen.

The children did as they were told and once they were done, the elderly woman came back with a tray of two mugs of hot chocolate and some biscuits. She set the tray on the table and sat on the chair facing them while the children both sat side by side on the lower bed.

“It’s raining and cold. The hot chocolate will keep you warm.” The elderly woman said as she handed both of them the mugs since they made no attempt to reach for it. JiHyun shyly took a sip after watching her brother took the first sip.

The elderly woman looked at the both of them and her heart went out to both the siblings, just like every other child she had taken care of. “So, the two of you are practically alone ? No other relatives or family relation, besides what you told me ?” She began to ask.

DaeHyun looked at his sister and shook his head before he said, “Not that we know off. We only lived with omma and Kim Ahjussi before this. But Kim Ahjussi ran away when omma died, so we lived with our aunt, who was the closest that we had. But she didn’t want our presence so she left us at the door. And I don’t think we’ll ever see her again, though. We don’t have any grandparents or cousins according to our late mother.”

The old lady only nodded and let out a sigh. Almost all children who were left at her doorstep had a similar story to that of DaeHyun and JiHyun’s. They were either unwanted and really had no one to look after them anymore.

“Can we stay here ? For a moment, at least. We’ll leave when we think we’ve found a place for both of us to live.” DaeHyun suddenly asked. The elderly woman then looked at him and gave him a sad smile. “Where else can you go, love ? This is your home now. There’s nowhere for you to go out there. It will be dangerous for the both of you to go wandering around the city. You will stay here until you get adopted by couples who want to adopt you. Just like other kids who live here.” The old woman explained.

JiHyun’s face brightened upon hearing that and happily tugged her brother’s hand. “Oppa ! We can stay here ! We can stay here until someone comes and adopts us ! But .. what does adopt mean ?”

DaeHyun exchanged knowing glances with the elderly woman at her question. The elderly woman then gave her a smile before she explained, “Adopt means a married couple or could be an individual who doesn’t have children, will take the kids from the orphanage to be a part of their family too. They will care for you, just like your real parents and be your forever family.”

JiHyun slowly nodded as she was trying to process the new information she just learned. This was a new concept to her. “So it means, there’s still a chance that people might come and take oppa and I to be their family members too ? We can still have omma and appa again ?” JiHyun asked again.

DaeHyun looked at the elderly woman again and the woman was contemplating whether or not to tell her that there might be a chance that they won’t both be taken by the same couple. DaeHyun knew what she was thinking about hence he quickly shook his head. It will be some time later to tell JiHyun that part. Getting the message from DaeHyun, the elderly woman only smiled and nodded her head, without saying anything more. Too much information will confuse JiHyun, so it was better to tell her slowly and prepare her for any possibilities.

The elderly woman then stood up and said, “It’s been a long night for you two, I believe. Why don’t you sleep here first tonight ? We’ll get you settled with the rest of the kids in the morning. You can come and see me if you need something. And call me Mrs Jeon.” She gave them both an assuring smile.

DaeHyun and JiHyun only nodded before they both settled in their own beds. DaeHyun taking the upper bunk as JiHyun preferred to be on the lower one. Once the children were settled in their beds, Mrs Jeon the night light before leaving the room and closing the door.

It was a bit difficult for the both of them to sleep in a new place so suddenly but they managed to adapt since they were tired. And since it was a cold night, they were both sleeping soundly while hoping that more good things were waiting for them when they woke up the next morning.

“So, this is the classroom, and this is the teachers’ room. While over there is the room where you’ll be having your meals with the other kids.” Mrs Jeon explained as she was showing DaeHyun and JiHyun around the orphanage. DaeHyun and JiHyun only nodded as they followed Mrs Jeon from behind.

They kept walking until they stopped in front of a door. “This is the girl’s dorm. This is where little JiHyun will be sleeping and staying. And DaeHyun will be staying in the boy’s room, which is just over there.” Mrs Jeon showed them with a smile.

DaeHyun nodded in understanding while JiHyun’s face fell. “Why can’t oppa and I stay in one room ?” She asked as a frown was formed on her forehead. She was used to sleeping inside the same room as DaeHyun and all of a sudden she had to sleep with some other girls she didn’t know.

Mrs Jeon lowered down her body to meet JiHyun’s eye level and said