Jihyo sat across the lanky young man. He was fidgeting with nervousness, making her feel nervous as well.

“Ah. I didn’t expect you to agree. I didn’t expect you to come, in fact. I am so sorry. This is my first time handling a case all by myself and I- ” he rambled again.

Jihyo was forced to cut him off.

“I didn’t agree to adopt the child,” she said quickly. Kwang Soo’s face fell and awkward silence fell between them.

“I mean, I will look at his details first,” she added quickly.

Kwang Soo shifted uncomfortably. Then you probably won’t adopt him after you look…

Jihyo watched him curiously, wondering why he looked so worried, but didn’t express her concerns.

Sighing, he handed her the documents.

Jihyo read the papers silently and carefully. The child- the boy- was 6 years old this year. He was in the orphanage for a year now.

He was wheel-chair bound.

And for the year that he had been in the orphanage, he hasn’t spoken.

She looked up, to see Kwang Soo watching her nervously.

“I… I know. I’m sorry. You probably won’t want to adopt him. Why would you adopt a disabled kid when you can adopt normal children? It’s just… when you filed for adoption you hadn’t expressed any special request. Most people would. They would write that they want a boy or a girl, a baby or a child… but you hadn’t. So I just thought… Anyway. I know. I’m sorry for even calling you-”

“Can I see him?” Jihyo asked, cutting into his sentence again. She hated to do that, but she couldn’t help it if he keeps rambling like that.

“Huh?”

“I want to see him. Could I?” she repeated.

Stunned, Kwang Soo nodded, making a call to a colleague to bring the boy over.

“You must be prepared,” Kwang Soo warned gently. “He is… special.”

Special…

Every child is special to their parents, weren’t they?

They sat in awkward silence while waiting for the boy.

“If you don’t mind, may I ask why did you consider adopting him, even with his condition? I mean, I’m not saying that you will adopt him, but given that you’re asking to see him… I am assuming that you are considering…?”

Jihyo looked past Kwang Soo, her eyes far away.

“Because when you’re a parent, you have to accept your child for who he is,” she said.

It brought her back to 5 years ago, when she and Gary were newly-wed.

They came to this place together then, filled with the hopes of adopting a child. Jihyo was told that she shouldn’t conceive because she had a weak heart. But she wanted a child still, so Gary suggested adoption.

She agreed.

They came and filled up some forms. There were some descriptions for the what kind of children they preferred- age, ethnicity, gender. But Gary didn’t want to put down any additional requirements.

He said, ‘because when you’re a parent, you have to accept your child for who he is’.

And so they hadn’t.

Her heart ached, thinking about Gary like that. It was a dull ache, after so long. But still, the longing for him was still there.

An older male pushed a wheel-chair out. A small boy was sitting on it, his gaze faraway.

Jihyo approached him cautiously. The child looked past her.

“Hello,” she greeted awkwardly. The child didn’t respond.

She gently put her hand