The room in which they were in was dim and filled with the damp smell of deprivation. The stuffy, fetid air reeked of hopelessness, of broken dreams, of illness. The still night air was filled with constant sounds of pattering footsteps and doors slamming. Yet, the stealthy quiet in this room encased the children housed within it in its protective embrace, shielding them from the harsh realities of a pointless existence in an orphanage. A small window offered the young orphan boys the only glimpse of the world out there; glorious, exciting; but sadly, a world which they were apparently not a part of.

Not yet anyway.

Amidst this small room housing ten young orphan boys in total, two in particular stood out even despite the miserable surroundings. One was named Lee Jinki, aged 8, with full, plump lips, chubby cheeks, and a smile that could practically light up the threatening night sky. Another was named Kim Kibum, aged 6, with delicate, yet sharp piercing feline eyes, the perfect bow shaped mouth, and high cheekbones; so beautiful he could be mistaken for a girl. Both boys had been abandoned by their parents at a young age; perhaps they were the illegitimate children of a relationship gone wrong, or the victims of fate. Either way, despite their outstanding appearances, they both were castaways, the detritus, the unwanted.

Except to each other.

Having practically grown up in the orphanage, Jinki and Kibum instantly clicked, finding solace, comfort and love in each other; something that had been snatched away from them. They grew up knowing nobody else but each other; both holding on to the hope that one day; one day, they would grow up and run away together from this cheerless orphanage, find their own way in life, and live happily ever after, just like in those fairy tales that Jinki and Kibum would stay up late to read together, with their thin blanket over their heads and fingers intertwined, whispering to each other their own innocent versions of life together.

Of course, fairy tales were only just fairy tales, and never were they meant to mimic real life- why should they? When reality was all about suffering, abandonment, hatred and pain.

Kibum would sneak over to Jinki’s bed every night, although being caught out of your bed during the lights out period would mean having to spend an entire day being locked in the cellar. Still, Kibum was prepared to risk it all, just to feel the older boy’s warmth against him, the only thing that felt real to him in this cold, dark world which to him was a daily reality.

Jinki would then press himself closer to embrace the younger boy, completely enveloping him in his warm embrace. And just like that, they would fall asleep in each other’s arms, letting the still night air take their troubles away.

However, everything changed one day when Jinki was adopted by a childless, and yet loving, couple. Of course, this was only a matter of time; Jinki was nothing short of adorable and obedient; the perfect son which everyone would yearn to have. This should have been the day that Jinki was waiting for, but yet, young Jinki felt his world being torn apart at that very moment- they were going to rip him away from Kibum, his Kibum, the person who made everything real and bearable for him. What use will it be if he got to leave the orphanage while leaving his beloved Kibum behind in that hellhole?

“Hyung! NO! You can’t leave me! I’m not staying here! I’m going with you!” Kibum’s words got carried away by the howling wind outside as he felt himself being harshly pulled back by one of the orphanage workers, and thrown into the cellar.

Outside the orphanage, Jinki had been raging away in his foster parents’ arms, their whispers and embraces doing nothing to soothe him.

“I’m not leaving! I’m not leaving Kibum in there! I’m not leaving as long as he is here!” Exasperated, Jinki’s foster father scooped the thrashing young boy into his arms, putting him into the car and driving off, never to return again.

Just like that, a beautiful story came to an abrupt end, the full stop placed where it was never meant to be.

Little did young Jinki know, the end of his life in the orphanage did not mean the end of his relationship with the boy that he was destined to be together with. Just like two twisted strings, their fates were intertwined, both painfully and yet beautifully so.