“Ready?”, I asked with an encouraging smile when we stood in front of the big building. After I had changed from my school uniform into more comfortable clothes, we had gone to the orphanage right away. I didn't know why yet, but Zelo seemed kind of rueful and shy all of a sudden. Was he trembling? No way....

He took a deep breath. I didn't think he could be this indecisive since he was always confident, no matter what topic we talked about. But here he was: Zelo as desultory kid and nothing else. “Sure”, he mumbled, glancing at me for a second and he tried to relax, knowing that I was watching his every move.

We then took a few more steps and I opened the door to step in and save myself from the cold wind on the outside. It was going to be winter soon, the temperatures were sinking, but the big house that smelled of old books and dust embraced us with a warm puff of air when we went inside. I could hear the kids right away. “I heard the door!”

“No way it's him, he's never this early!”

“Then could it be someone who wants to adopt us?”

“I still think it's JunJun.”

“I hope he comes here even if it's cold...”

“He's always coming. Remember the storm from last year? As if anything could stop him!”

I glanced at Zelo with an amused smirk and I could see the same emotions on his face. It was heartwarming how much the kids loved him and it made me feel as if he was completely different from what he was like with me when he was here. The voice of an old lady could be heard then: “Kids, I'll be going then, be nice, please!”

“Sure!”, a choir of angelic voices replied and shuffling steps came closer until I could see the lady: She looked like all the nice grandmas in dramas or movies, it's crazy to see they really exist.

Her eyes widened when she spotted Zelo and he shrugged with a small grin. “Hi, ahjumma”, he whispered, making sure the arguing kids wouldn't hear him, and waved at her while she walked up to him and hugged him tightly. It looked so cute, because she was even shorter than me, making it more obvious how tall he was. She must have missed him and it was clear that she knew a lot about him, because she hesitated when she let go of him.

“I haven't seen you in a while, Junh-”

“Zelo. Call me Zelo or JunJun, please. I told you it's better for me”, Zelo interrupted her in a hurry, glancing at me again. He really didn't want me to know his name, right?

“Ah...yeah... However: You're here for the kids, right? They have been bouncing around the house waiting for your return the whole week, you know? I'll go get the food for next week then, bye, little one”, she said with a glimmer of hurt mixed with pride in her eyes. “And come by more often. We miss you, not only the kids.” Maybe she was the one who raised him? She didn't even noticed me, she was too concentrated on Zelo and turned around without looking twice, leaving in a hurry – probably so that she would be able to come back faster.

“I'm not the 'little one'”, Zelo mumbled, staring after her and I took off my jacket.

“She looks really kind”, I replied and paced towards the big room I had found him in the other day.

Zelo's POV

She's not only kind. “She's an angel”, I mumbled as I turned around to catch up so that the girl wouldn't do anything unnecessary, like asking the kids about my name and stuff. I wanted to keep it a secret until I was convinced. Convinced of what? I wanted to make sure that she trusts me and that I could trust her. The fact that I had promised to tell her my story was a huge step and I hoped she would understand.

Why did I even hope for that? I could have left her house on the day she had saved me, but in some way, she reminded me of the kids over here, at the orphanage: Her parents didn't care, had abandoned or left her, and she had no one but that grape-head and her overprotective 'Dae-oppa'. I should start memorizing their names properly, I guess. However, that's why I was still with her. I pitied that girl and I didn't want her to end like me. Well, she couldn't really end that deep, but...you get the point.

I signalized the girl to stay behind me until I said something and she nodded, stepping back a little. “JunJun!”, the kids shouted out loud and Namjoo ran towards me with a wide smile that could even melt a heart of ice. She didn't deserve to be here, but neither did any of the other kids. Namjoo hugged me tightly, she was only reaching up to my waist, and I chuckled.

“Hi Namjoo, how are you guys?”, I asked with a smile; one that wasn't fake for once.

“We're fine, we're fine”, the girl nodded excitedly as all the others gathered around me. “But say: where is the unnie from last time?” I glanced around, unsure what to say.

“Right”, Jisun, another boy, stated. “Where's your girlfriend?”

I could feel a little bit of anger and embarrassment as I heard these words. “Yah, I told you the last time, didn't I? She's not my girlfriend. 100% and definitely not!”, I replied, holding up my still bandaged hand. “She is just helping me out as long as I'm injured, okay?” Why did I always have to injure myself anyway?

“Okay, fine”, Namjoo sighed in disappointment, lowering her gaze.

“What's with that reaction? I brought her with me, just as you wished, okay? Come out, girl!”, I ordered to spare me any other questions and Namjoo's eyes widened while the girl appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Hi everyone”, she mumbled with a smile, causing Namjoo and a few other kids to run to her and almost make her lose her balance, but she just laughed out loud while the little ones started climbing on her back.

“Don't break her, who will bring me back to her house if she's injured?”, I mumbled while taking the book I was reading to the kids every week and sitting down on a mountain of pillows to start reading. “Ehem...Ready?”, I asked as loud as possible, because I was kind of angry again. Why did they trust her so much? She didn't even know their names and had been there once only. Why were the kids' reactions like that? She didn't know how to care... But then again: why was I here with her if she wasn't kind enough? Because she was worth my trust? She had helped me in the past weeks...Aish, all this was so confusing.

One of the kids ran up to me. “JunJun, what would you say if she read the female characters?”, he asked, but the girl looked up and met my stunned eyes.

“No, I don't want to read them”, she shouted and came to me with the kids dangling at her back and arms. “I want to listen to the story myself and Ze- euh, JunJun reads so well.” She winked at me and sat down on another pillow, closing her eyes as if she was waiting for me to start.

It was like magic. All the other children did the same, lying down as comfortable as possible – resulting in a pile – and closing their eyes. I blinked a few times before clearing my throat and started looking for the scene where I had ended the last time. Then, I began to read.

And it was quiet except for a few shrieks when the bad guys were attacking, but then the hero saved the day and everybody calmed down. I glanced at the girl from time to time, noticing how much she resembled the children: Her reactions and expressions changed with the book's situation. One moment she was smiling and then she was frowning, because the situation was so tense. I don't know, I had to smirk after some time.

The last sentence faded away, the last words filled the air and the girl slowly opened her eyes, searching until our gazes met. I raised an eyebrow as if to ask her: And? What do you think? She mouthed a silent “Beautiful” and smiled at me before letting her gaze wander. Most of the kids had fallen asleep and those who hadn't were sleepy, barely able to keep their eyes open any longer. They had been so excited for the ending of the book, all their energy was used by now and I had to smile too. “Come”, I whispered seriously, signalizing her to follow me upstairs and she nodded without another word until we sat down on the bed we had been sitting on a week ago already.

My old bed. My memories. My childhood. My happiness and despair at the same time. It was the time to tell her now, I knew that, but it was hard to find the beginning. “Let's start with my family structure, I guess”, I managed to utter with a cracking voice, caused by my hoarse throat. The girl lay down on the bed and closed her eyes again as if she wanted to actually imagine all that I was going to tell her. “Leave the eyes open. It's not very nice to imagine these things”, I mumbled with a last glance at her before collecting my thoughts and creating a storyline.

Another deep breath...and go. “It had already started when I hadn't even been born.” My hands were cold and shaking, because I wasn't used to telling this. Now was the time to decide whether she was okay or not. The moment of truth.

My mother has always been very caring. At least that's what I was told later. I don't remember...or don't want to remember, I don't know. My family consisted of father, mother and an older brother. A normal family, you could have thought. But we weren't normal. Some people say you don't need anything but love, even if you're poor, right?

My Dad thought otherwise. Maybe it was because he never really loved my mother, because he was treating her badly. He hit her, punched her. I'm an orphan and you know that. Why was I, when I had both of my parents? One day, the man, I have to call my father, hit her too hard. She didn't stand up anymore, my brother told me and I was only four years old at that time. Who was I to understand that Mom would never be coming back?

I snorted at my way of thinking from when I was a kid. It was the dark side of being young: Even though you were pure and always told the truth, you were also naive. The girl stared at me, but I kept looking at the wall, not wanting to meet her eyes.

I was scared. Scared of her reaction when I was finished. “Why was your father like that?”, she asked into the silent, gray room and I sighed.

“My current situation is connected to that. I'm sure you're curious about the men who are following me? You won't have heard of them, but they call themselves the Untouchables, they are famous in the suburbs.

My...father...was addicted to drugs. And he loved gaming and drinking. A deadly combination when you're poor on top. We were indebted, because he never had enough. He hit Mom during his jags, but she never dared to run away, because she didn't know where to run.

That man got his drugs from the organization those strange guys belong to; they are famous dealers and since the drugs were the most expensive things, the debts increased so much, said man would never be able to repay them.

Thus, after having killed Mom, he fled. Nobody knows where he is, but I guess he's dead.

After that day, my brother, who was ten at that time, took me out of that dark house and we wandered around the city. I was hungry, I was a little boy and cried until someone stopped by. A woman with long and curly hair. It was the woman that we saw right after coming here, you remember? That ahjumma took us here and gave us food, a bed and warmth. During the time we stayed at the orphanage, my brother did his best to convince me of the fact that we'd be fine and I started to believe him.

Until he was taken from me. He was adopted by a pretty wealthy family and we were separated. And only a few days later, another couple came by and they wanted to take me with them. I had no idea where to go or what to do without my brother, which is why I gladly accepted. It gave me some sort of direction. But...

I stopped talking and took a rattling breath. I understood why the girl that lay on my old bed had been trembling and crying while telling me her story. Would I cry too? Would she laugh at me? What would the kids say if they saw me like that? Wait, don't worry about other people. The focus is on you right now.

The girl sat up and my bandaged hand, which is why I finally managed to look at her. Her eyes were lowered to the hand and her question was barely audible. “What happened then?”

I shrugged with a sad smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Too bad I didn't know how desperately the Untouchables were to get the money they were missing. After half a year of happiness – I was 6 and had just started school – some strange men took me with them on my way back home, saying they'd take me there much faster.” I sniffled and swallowed once to keep calm.

“It was a trap. And I fell for it like an idiot.”

Cliff-hanger for now (/o.o)/ Don't hurt me, I'm trying to write faster, but there would be too many feels if I had to keep writing this chapter xD

The second half will be uploaded as soon as possible, I promise °^°

Say: Do you know the japanese band "One Ok Rock"? They are so unbelievably awesome! I love their music SO much, you should take a look at them, I'll write a fic about them soon xD

(I listen to Deeper Deeper, Ending Story?? and Nothing Helps the most, just listen to them please! °^°)

Have some happy Zelo in return <3