Choi Dongwook came to them with an enigmatic smile in one snowy day.

He looked at them with mild curiosity, a look Jiyong learned to hate from his years spent in the institute hoping that someone would take notice of him and Youngbae because he just couldn’t stand the thought of being picked alone. Adoption was a dirty business in the current world and more often than not, those who adopt would put them into a new environment so harsh they’d lose themselves in the process of adapting. Jiyong always always hoped that he’d be adopted together with Youngbae, and if not he’d willingly choose to age out from the system. It’d be harsh and cruel and a process everyone in the institution are desperately trying to avoid, but at least he’d still have Youngbae by his side.

Jiyong is selfish, he knew—Youngbae knew. But still, they had been through hell and back with Youngbae and just a little more, just one more year until they would be kicked out of the institution and expected to make a living on their own in this cruel cruel world, Jiyong already braced himself for the worst.

It was then that Choi Dongwook came with an unreadable smile on his face.

They were playing in the snow; dancing and singing and rapping just next to the fence that sheltered them from the rest of world. Youngbae always loved playing near the fence because it reminded him that the world outside of the institute actually existed and Jiyong was happy to accompany Youngbae wherever he went.

Youngbae’s voice was so utterly polished, beautiful and powerful but lacking the rough edge that would make him a great opera singer and Jiyong had always loved Youngbae’s voice. On the days they are allowed time outside, Jiyong would compose a tune with his hums and Youngbae would sing them aloud. They’d write lyrics on the ground, mostly of things that crossed their minds at the time. Those lyrics are private and sacred only to the two of them, until Choi Dongwook stared at the snow where Jiyong had trailed the lyrics Youngbae had been singing for the day.

It scared the hell out of the two of them, because it was so utterly obvious that the man did not belong here. His face far too smooth and his teeth far too white while his clothes just screamed of luxury that the institute could never ever afford. Choi Dongwook had a curious look on his face as he approached both Jiyong and Youngbae, his gestures placating and yet still it managed to strike fear to both of them.

The institute’s training kicked from the subconscious, willing them to look to the man’s feet and never his eyes. This man was important, this man was to be respected. Jiyong hated how it made him anxious and he wanted to bite his nails. But he could feel an old scar from his back throbbing, as if warning him to not do that. He didn’t have Youngbae’s grip on his wrist and it made him even more anxious. Jiyong bit his lower lip as he tried his best to steal a glance to where Youngbae was, making sure that the other was fine.

When he caught a glimpse of Youngbae’s form standing in attention a few meters away from him, Jiyong willed himself to relax. They weren’t far from one another. They will make it. This man was just curious, just like any other person who even bothered to come to the institute were and he’d leave after deciding that they cannot take one without the other. Just one more year… one more year until Jiyong and Youngbae are considered adults and—

“Why do you stop?” His voice was calm, it sings of lilting tenor that was so so different from Youngbae’s own that Jiyong felt his ears tingle. He wanted this man to sing one of his melodies; he was sure that it would bring out a new type of sound Jiyong hadn’t manage to procure before.

“Excuse us,” Youngbae was the one who answered for the both of them. “We didn’t realize that you are here, sir. We’ll be on our way.” Youngbae’s answer was simple and brief and polite, something that was always highly sought-after by people outside of the institute according to their instructors. But Choi Dongwook didn’t let them leave like everyone else did because he had laughed.

Soft tenor rumbled in a laughter so pure Jiyong felt his fists trembling. He didn’t remember the last time he heard someone laugh like that within the confines of the institute and judging from Youngbae’s widened eyes, the other was just as startled as Jiyong was. Choi Dongwook then stopped his laughter but held his smile, eyes calm yet intrigued as he watched both Jiyong and Youngbae stand in front of him.

“I didn’t want you two to be excused. I merely ask why you two stopped. Your voice sounds amazing,” his eyes are on Youngbae and Jiyong could see the sheer admiration coming from his voice and it stunned him. But Choi Dongwook isn’t done yet. “And you are the one behind those melodies. You crafted the tunes to bring out the best qualities of his voice and ah, those lyrics too. They are promises, ones you two weaved with one another. I can honestly sit here and listen to it forever.” And Choi Dongwook sat down on the snow, startling both Jiyong and Youngbae because they had never seen such display from a person of higher authority than them. His casualness was something so utterly new for Jiyong and Youngbae who couldn’t even remember their time before the institute and it threw them off-balance.

Choi Dongwook stared, at Jiyong then at Youngbae then back at Jiyong. He took a deep breath and smiled as he clapped his hands together. “I decided that you two will do.” Both Jiyong and Youngbae couldn’t help but stare at one another, eyes wide and mouths even wider. Is he…?

Choi Dongwook had a small frown on his face, which quickly got replaced with a sad smile. “I’m having a problem with my son… I can’t seem to get him to feel like he is loved…” His eyes were on the cloudy grey sky, frowning at the slowly falling snow. “He is quite an artist, you see? But his mediums are never auditory and his mother has a feeling that a deep scar ran through him that he refused to listen. I would love to have people who expressed themselves through sounds and beats to be near him…” Brown eyes looked towards Jiyong, then Youngbae with a look of silent pleading. “And I think the two of you will be perfect for the job. Will you help me? I promise that you will fall for my son in one way or another. My children are all very adorable, you see?” He had a look of a proud father that Jiyong could almost recall his own father made all those years ago, before the institute and the current world. It made him feel…

“Could we…” Jiyong spoke for the first time since the man made his presence known, earning him the man’s (and Youngbae’s) undivided attention. “Could we… If we fall for your son, could we be… a part of your family too?” Choi Dongwook exuded calm and confidence and he was fatherly that a part of Jiyong that had been depraved of all familial feeling ever since he could remember things just… soared. He wished to be talked that way too, he wished he and Youngbae could be brothers in a real family, he wished that he and Youngbae wouldn’t have to age from the system and be nameless factory workers or worse, dead in a ditch somewhere.

“Oh, Jiyong,” How did the man knew his name? “If all else, I should be saying sorry for not getting to you and Youngbae sooner. I’m Choi Dongwook, will you give me an honor of being your father?” He had asked, so politely and so earnestly both Jiyong and Youngbae didn’t know what to feel. It goes against everything they’ve been taught in the institute and again, it threw them off-balance. But it felt good. Jiyong had forgotten what it’s like to have a family (other than Youngbae, obviously) and though he’d only known the man for a few minutes, Jiyong felt the utter need to give him a chance.

But he looked towards Youngbae, who was already staring at him. Jiyong moved, Youngbae moved, and they both took the hands that are outstretched to them.

“Welcome to the Choi family, kids.”

***

The past few hours went by like a hurried blur to the point that Jiyong still hadn't registered the fact that he was sitting on a leather-clad chair inside a car so luxurious he had never seen it even his dreams.

Youngbae looked out of his element, eyes crinkling with a smile but Jiyong knew that he was actually very confused at their current situation. But no matter how confused they both were, they still couldn't hide the sheer excitement that emanated from their bodies. They were leaving the institution, they as in the two of them together, in their final year of the institution. And Jiyong honestly couldn't wait to know more about Choi Dongwook because what happened back in the administration office was something so very out of his wildest dreams.

After their conversation, Choi Dongwook ushered them back into the institute's building and head straight to the administration office. The adults of the institute didn't look at Jiyong and Youngbae with the usual look of boredom and disdain, but they looked infinitely scared and intimidated by the fact that Choi Dongwook was talking to the both of them with a certain degree of respect. As if they mattered, as if they weren't just useless brats that were dumped into the institution because their parents couldn't pay the taxes. They were talking animatedly towards one another, Jiyong to Youngbae and Youngbae to Jiyong and Choi Dongwook to both of them. It was... a new experience for both Jiyong and Youngbae.

When they reached the 'principal's' office, Jiyong and Youngbae clenched each other's fists so hard that it almost drew blood from both their palms. They didn't have the best memories of this place and it was clear that Jiyong and Youngbae weren't strangers to this place also. They were troublemakers here, with their constant singing and dancing and playing near the fence so much that the discplinary committee had their names glued permanently on their clipboards, and yet Choi Dongwook brushed them aside with a smile on his face and the principal cowered before the smiling man.

"I would like the files of Kwon Jiyong and Dong Youngbae, please." He said with no hesitation and it made a thousand questions rise within Jiyong's mind, but the most prominent of all would be 'how did he know their names?' and judging from the skeptic look on Youngbae's face, Jiyong knew that he thought the same. 

But all thoughts were cleared off by the reaction the principal had. The old man bowed deep, a perfect 90 degrees angle like the ones they had been taught in class, before stuttering an "O-of course, Mr. Choi." and he scrambled all over his desks, no doubt trying to find Jiyong and Youngbae's files. It was surreal to see the same man who didn't hesitate to cane their hands when they spilled water on the cafeteria looking as if he was the lower human.

They both stared at the slim and fatherly Choi Dongwook with sheer curiosity reflected on their eyes, trying to find just what is it about the man that intimidated the principal to the point that he stuttered in front of him, but when the man smiled at them, Jiyong decided that the mystery must run deep. Choi Dongwook is something in the outside world—a place Jiyong knew nothing about—and he decided to find out more as soon as the resources are available to him.

After he had their files, Choi Dongwook ushered them to a long black car outside of the institute's building and Jiyong and Youngbae couldn't help but gape at the beautiful sleek car that must have cost more than the entire building combined. "I'm sorry that I can't be with you," Choi Dongwook was fiddling on his phone as the car's window lowered itself. "I have some business to attend to, but my daughter or my son would be there to receive you. You both can sleep first, it's a long way from here to home. I'll see you tomorrow!" Choi Dongwook looked calm and happy and it made them feel giddy. As the car rolled outside the institute's gates, Jiyong and Youngbae found each other's hands and didn't look back.