A loud crash woke Wooyoung with a start, instantly feeling anxious, after looking around he got his heart to calm down and remembered where he was. ‘We're okay, nothing's coming to harm us, at least I hope not.’ He got up throwing the blankets off his body and stood in the middle of the room. It was warm and spacious and the beds was so soft that he wanted to jump right back in and never leave.

He let the peaceful feeling ease into him and took a deep breathe, he needed to get ready for school but he doesn't have his uniform anymore so he was mentally getting ready to go and ask Jeongyeon or Nayeon if the closet of clothes on his room has anything that resembles his uniform. He opened the door and was hit with the smell of delicious food causing his stomach to growl. Clutching his tummy with one hand and fixing and cleaning his face with the other he made his way downstairs, there he saw Jeongyeon helping Sungjae into his coat, she was dressed as well.

“Wooyoung!! Good morning!! Me and mommy are going to school!” Sungjae smiled up at the older boy, who smiled back at him and told him to have a good day at school. Jeongyeon smiled at the boys interaction and was happy to see them getting along. She proceeded to say good morning to the boy and then asked him what he's doing up.

“Well, uh I have to go to school and I don't have a-”

“Oh nonsense, you've been allowed the week off! Stay and sleep in as much as you'd like” Jeongyeon said while patting his shoulder, Nayeon walked into the living room from the kitchen in her pajamas, pointing a wooden spoon at Wooyoung.

“You and I are going shopping young man, can't keep wearing Jackson's clothes forever”.  She then gave a kiss to Jeongyeon and Sungjae and walked them towards the door telling them to have a good day. Wooyoung was still standing in the middle of the living room, befuddled. No one's ever taken him shopping, he's never just been allowed to sleep in. He wonders if this is kindness or pity or for show when a social worker shows up to check on him.

“Uh, Nayeon you don't have to like buy me anything, I can just keep wearing Mr. Jackson's clothes” he said making his way to the kitchen where Nayeon was already serving him breakfast. She let out a laugh at his ‘Mr. Jackson' and told him to sit.

“Sweetheart, you're in this household so we can take care of you. Not because it's some obligation but because we want to. We're gonna take care of you from now on.”  Nayeon spoke to him as she set down her own plate of food and sat in front of him.

“But-”

“No buts, you don't have to fend for yourself while you're here Wooyoung. Let us take care of you” Nayeon said in a gentle voice, she hoped that the message got across because that's all her and Jeong wanted to do for the boy. They wanted to get him out of his shell, for him to finally drop the scowl that seems to be forever on his face. She wanted to get to know him and show him that from now on he has people that he can rely on. The boy nodded, smiling softly and said thank you, she could see the tip of his ears get red and she found it so cute that she wanted to ruffle his hair but didn't. With her own small smile she continued eating in the now more comfortable silence.

-

Wooyoung's never been shopping so he's not sure if this is how it's supposed to be. They got to the mall and Nayeon dragged him to the clothing store putting anything she found cute in the cart, Wooyoung laughed because it almost felt like Nayeon brought him here so she could play dress up with him. So far he was having a good time despite feeling a little uncomfortable with the whole ordeal. Nayeon hands him some clothes and tells him to try them and that she'll wait outside, this goes on for a while.

-

He walks out of the dressing room wearing the turtle and skinny black slacks the woman had handed him and eyes the cart filled with clothes. Nayeon practically coos, telling him that he looks amazing and laughs when he blushes with embarrassment.

They finish trying on the clothes and continue walking around the store, Nayeon is chatting animatedly and telling him that she thinks he'll look really good in red and she holds up a red hoodie in front of him. He asks her about how she met her wife and listens intently as she recounts the story, how Jeongyeon would help her with Sungjae despite just being her girlfriend and how easily they fell into being a family. The more he learned about them the more he realized they were kind people.

 Nayeon asked him about his favorite things, the boys favorite color is green, he really likes bulgogi though he's only eaten it twice so she makes a mental note to make it for him some time soon. She gently asks him about his foster life, she wanted to know more than what she's learned from his file. The boy froze for a second and finally started talking.

“My past foster homes weren't really nice to me. They never did what you guys have done in the span of two days.”

Nayeon rubbed his back in a comforting manner, she wanted to know more but could see that the boy was done talking about it for now. They walked in silence when the boy stopped in front of art section of the store, she could see his lips stretch into a wide smile, and she couldn't help but smile as well. Wooyoung shook his head, snapping out if his thoughts of raiding the color pens section thinking to himself that he should only ask for the necessities. Just as he was to walk away, he felt Nayeon bump her shoulder to his.

“So you like art huh?” She looked at him smiling, the wide smile he cracked out made her heart swell and she wanted nothing more than to continue seeing that smile. He nodded but remained in place not approaching any of the art supplies, Nayeon took his hand and led him toward the pens she saw him eyeing. His eyes got wide as he got closer and he looked at her and back at the pens and almost let out a squeal when she told him to take anything he likes from the art section. She watched the boy pick up a large sketchbook and a box of colored pens, and oil pastels.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank youuuuu!” the boy couldn't stop bouncing while clutching the sketchbook and pens. Seeing him like this reminded Nayeon how young the boy is and he often doesn't look his age because he's rarely smiling, this time she did ruffle his hair.

“Why do you like art love?” She asked as they got check out, taking out her credit card. Wooyoung's eyes were sparkling and his voice was full of excitement.

“See art, art captures the world, I can criticize it. But I can also build my own world, the same way books can take you to different worlds, art does that for me. I can get lost in my own world, and I can capture the beauty and the ugliness of this world.” Wooyoung stopped when he realized he was rambling and started helping Nayeon put bags into the cart so they can take them to the car in the parking lot. After putting everything in the trunk they got inside the car to go home.

“You're very wise and mature Wooyoung, I hope that we're all in the picture when you're capturing the beauty of the world”

Wooyoung smiled, hoped so too. He opened his new sketchbook, began to draw and hummed along with Nayeon to the song that was playing on the radio as they drove home.

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ITS BEEN 84 YEARS AND FOR THAT IM SO SORRYYY 
Writers block and life have gotten in the way but I'm gonna try to get back at it. Thank you for the patience if you're still into reading this story. I love y'all and  As always feedback is appreciated and I hope y'all enjoyed reading. (I'll be updating a bit more this month, once again sorryyy for the long hiatus)