Seoul National Orphanage. August 7, 2022. 10 AM.

Taeyeon was nervous and excited all at once as her husband parked their car near the orphanage's entrance. She was worried that Ha-na wouldn't like them or that they wouldn't like her. But she was also excited to meet her. Ha-na seemed so sweet and endearing from her description hoped that she wouldn't disappoint.

"Are you ready?" Ji-yong asked, turning towards her. She could tell that he felt nervous and excited too.

"Let's do this," Taeyeon declared. She and Ji-yong hopped out of the car and headed towards the front door of the orphanage. Taeyeon noticed that the building wasn't in the best condition: the weeds in the garden were overgrown; the paint was weathered and peeling off; and some of the shutters on the windows had broken off. It didn't look like a welcoming place and it certainly didn't seem like a good place for children to grow up in. Taeyeon wondered why the people in charge of running the orphanage didn't keep it well-maintained.

They were greeted at the door by the their caseworker, Park Ji-su.

Taeyeon was eternally grateful to her because she was the one who gave Ji-yong a second chance and decided to let him pass his background check. If it wasn't for her, the adoption agency wouldn't have let Taeyeon and Ji-yong adopt.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Kwon," Ji-su gave a quick bow. She smiled at the couple warmly.

"Hi," Taeyeon and Ji-yong bowed back.

"When do we get to meet Ha-na?" Ji-yong asked. Taeyeon could sense the excitement in his voice.

"Right now. She's waiting for us in the living room." Ji-su motioned for them to follow her. As the trio made their way to the hallway, Taeyeon noticed that the interior of the orphanage wasn't in the best condition either. There were cracks on the wall; the wallpaper was peeling off; and there were leaks in the ceiling.

"So how come this orphanage looks like it's falling apart?" Taeyeon asked Ji-su.

"The government doesn't send enough funds," Ji-su said sadly. "So the employees don't have enough money to fix up this place. They try their best to clean up, but what they really need is the money to make repairs."

"That's terrible." Ji-yong shook his head.

"Tell me about it. And you know what's worse? Adoption rates are at an all time low. So even though this orphanage is only supposed to be a temporary home, most of these kids will have to keep living in this terrible place until they're eighteen."

"That's so sad," Taeyeon said sympathetically. She wondered how Ha-na could endure living in this place.

"I understand why domestic adoptions are low, but why are international adoptions also low?" Ji-yong inquired.

"International adoptions weren't always this low. After the Korean War ended in 1953, 200,000 orphans were adopted abroad. As recently as 2018, our country was the sixth biggest source of infants for adoption in the world. South Korea became known as the "Number One Baby Exporter." But our government didn't like that title. They thought that it signified that their country was incapable of taking care of their own children. So they started passing laws to restrict international adoptions, hoping to phase it out eventually. Their method worked-international adoption rates have been declining every year. But their plan of increasing domestic adoptions has failed. There's still a stigma in our society about adoption. And until that stigma goes away, we'll keep having more and more kids living in these underfunded, temporary homes."

They finally reached the entrance to the living room. But before they could enter, Ji-su stopped them.

"Before we go in, I have to tell you a few things about Ha-na," she said quietly. Ji-yong and Taeyeon leaned in closer to hear her properly. "She's a very inquisitive girl for someone her age. She asks questions that I wouldn't expect a 3 year old to even think about. She's also a lot more mature than kids her age-that's why when she asked where her parents were, we told her the truth that she was abandoned at the front door of this orphanage. She asks so many intelligent questions, sometimes I forget that she's only 3 year old."

"Wow," Taeyeon and Ji-yong marveled.

"Also-I know you've already read this in the profile-but I need to remind you that Ha-na is very shy when it comes to meeting new people. It'll be hard to get her to open up to you. It's actually one of the reasons why she hasn't been adopted yet. People find that she's too aloof and quiet for their tastes. But I can assure you that if you get her to be comfortable with you, she can be the sweetest girl you'll ever meet."

"We'll try our hardest to get her to open up to us," Taeyeon vowed. But on the inside, she was freaking out. What if they couldn't succeed?

Ji-su led the way as they entered the living room. There sitting on the couch was Ha-na. As soon as she saw them, she stood up and gave a quick bow. She eyed Ji-yong and Taeyeon apprehensively as she sat back down.

"Hi, Ha-na. Remember me? It's Ji-su. I'm back again with some people who want to adopt you," Ji-su said in a warm tone. Ha-na glanced at Ji-su, and recognition registere