The nun sighed as she peered down the window to find yet another innocent kid standing outside the orphanage. She made her way down slowly, hoping the kid’s parents would have a change of mind in time. Little Jaerin shivered as another gust of cold wind blew past her. The sky had darkened and her mother who had promised to return long ago was still not back.

“Umma, where did you go?” she mumbled to herself.

Little Jaerin looked about frantically as the surroundings got even darker and the street became emptier.

“Little girl.” Someone called.

She spun around to find a meek-looking woman smiling at her gently.

“What’s your name?” she asked as she bent over to meet her eye level.

“P-Park Jaerin.” The girl replied warily.

Although the woman looked as if she had no ill intentions, she was a stranger after all. Her father had taught her not to trust anyone so easily. However, she didn’t expect that it applied to her closest family members too.

“You can call me Sister Kim. Umm, Jaerin-ah, are you cold?” she asked with another smile.

The little girl nodded in response and sneezed the very next moment.

“Let’s go in.” She said as she held onto her small hand.

“But my umma is still not here.” She refused to follow her and looked up innocently.  

There came the hard part- to break their fragile hearts and tell them their parents were not coming back for them.

“Jaerin-ah, we will go in first and talk later, okay? Maybe your umma was caught up with something so she is late?” the nun said.

She knew that she was saying a white lie which would last just for a short moment. She knew she wasn’t supposed to lie but she couldn’t bear to break the little girl’s heart especially when she was looking at her in such a manner. The girl nodded in understanding and followed her in. She hid behind the lady who brought her in when she saw many kids stopped eating and stared at her.

“New kid.” Sister Kim said to the other nuns with a slight smile which hid a hint of sadness.

“Jaerin-ah, you have not eaten, right?” she pulled the girl lightly from behind and asked.

“Ne.” The girl answered.

“You will join the other kids at that table and I will bring you some food, okay?” she asked.

“Thank you.” She muttered.

In return, Sister Kim patted her head affectionately.

“Why would someone abandon such a smart and well-mannered girl?” she thought sympathetically.

Walking over carefully, Jaerin made sure not to meet eyes with any of the kids. She settled herself in one of those empty seats and played with her fingers. Then, the kid sitting opposite her spoke.

“Hello. My name is Jay. What’s yours, new kid?” he asked with an outstretched hand.

Jaerin looked up at the unfamiliar face but took his hand nonetheless.

“Park Jaerin.” She replied.

The food was served soon enough by Sister Kim and Jaerin started digging in almost immediately. She had not eaten anything since the afternoon and was practically starving.

“Eat slowly.” She heard Sister Kim tell her as she placed a cup of water before her.

Jaerin slowed down when she was halfway through her dinner. Then, the boy called Jay spoke again.

“Where did your umma go?” he asked.

“My umma said she left something at the ice-cream store so she went back to take it. She told me to wait for her outside here but she is still not back yet…” She explained.

“My mum said the same thing to me 2 years back and she had never returned since then. You mother is just like mine, as heartless.” Jay said with a sadistic laugh.

“My umma will return! She is not like your umma!” Jaerin yelled defensively.

“She had abandoned you, idiot!” Jay stood up and shouted at her.

“You are lying!” She screamed at him too.

“Everyone here has the same fate so stop acting like a spoilt brat, new kid!” He retorted with clenched fists.

Jaerin was already crying as she looked around to see everyone else staring at her. Sister Kim ran out of the kitchen upon hearing the commotion. She quickly led the little girl out of the crowd. Squatting before the whimpering kid, she brought little Jaerin’s face to her chest and hugged her tightly. She trembled and cried harder in her embrace. She recalled her mother used to hug like this too. Then, Jay’s words repeated in her mind. She didn’t know why but she had a feeling that he was right. She had an ominous feeling that her mother was not going to return too.  

“Sister Kim, di-did umma lie to me too?” she mumbled between tears.

Sister Kim teared up but kept quiet as she did not know what else to say anymore. She hugged the little girl gently as if afraid she would shatter her fragile heart further. She hated this stage the most. The stage whereby kids finally known that they had been thrown away by their very own parents like used toys in a whole foreign environment. Jaerin came across this stage and accepted the fact faster than the other kids and that feared Sister Kim. She couldn’t imagine the amount of damage done to her little soul at this very moment.  

─

“Jaerin-ah, why don’t you play with the other children?” Sister Kim asked.

She kept quiet and merely looked at the other kids playing soccer merrily together. Years have passed and she was still waiting. She did not know why she was still waiting when she knew better that she was never going to come back. She lied, just like how her father did. Standing up from the bench, Jaerin walked away without saying anything. Sister Kim stood up and called out for her but she ignored her calls.

“She has been acting like this since that day. God bless this kid, please. ” Sister Kim mumbled to herself and said a little prayer.  

Entering her room, Jaerin slammed the door behind her and cowered at a corner. Tears began to fall as she buried her face in her knees. She hugged her legs closer to her body as she cried harder. Then, she heard the door creak. Looking up, she saw a little boy around her age enter.  

“Park Jaerin, right?” he asked and walked over.

“Leave.” She demanded.

“What if I don’t want to?” he asked with a smirk.

She looked away and wiped off those tears furiously, upset at the intruder’s rudeness.

“Leave.” She repeated herself.

“You are asking yourself ‘Why do they not want me? Why do they have to lie to me? Why is this world so unfair?’ right?” he predicted spot-on.

She turned back at him with an angry look. Getting up on her feet, Jaerin came face to face with the boy.

“Don’t act like you know me well!” She yelled at him.

“I just know. The angrier you are, the more it proves that I am right.” He said with a satisfied grin.

“What do you want from me?” she shouted.

“I want to be friends with you.” He said with a genuine smile.

Silence fell between the two.

“Why?” she finally inquired.

Jaerin had no friends since the day she stepped into the orphanage. She had left an extremely bad impression on the other children after her confrontation with one of the friendlier kids, Jay. Many of the kids avoided her and those who approached her were turned away by Jaerin, herself. She chose not to have any friends. She had learnt not to trust anyone because she hated betrayal which might follow. She thought that if she kept everyone out of her circle, she would be safe and protected.  The idea of this boy standing before her wanting to be friends with an anti-social, like her was new.

“Because I want to.” He answered simply.

“What if I don’t want to?” she challenged.

“You would want to because you’re lonely.” He pointed out.

She remained silent because deep down inside, she knew that he was right. She was tired of confiding to her little teddy bear which couldn’t respond. She dreaded looking out of the window day by day, waiting for them to return and keep her accompanied like before.

“I guess, I will take silence as ‘okay’.” He said and took her hand.

With a simple handshake, their friendship bond formed.

“You know my name, right?” he asked.

“Who doesn’t? Kris Wu, the most popular boy here.” She said simply and he smirked again in response.

─

The two hit off well after becoming friends because they were alike. They had a mature mind at a young age, unlike the other kids. They could talk about anything under the sun. They would tease some of the sisters and run away hand in hand. Jaerin felt that her world was changing, for the better. Slowly, she started to smile beside him. On one of those days, Jaerin asked Kris something.

“Kris, why are you so popular?”

“Because I know a certain trick. Want to know?  I am willing to teach my best friend, you know.” he asked with a wink.

She nodded her head repeatedly and he came closer to her.

“Lies. You just got to learn how to lie.” He whispered into her ears.

She looked at him in confusion. She had never expected him to tell her to lie, something which he knew she hated the most. She hated to lie because that was the very thing both her parents did to her.

“If you want to protect yourself from being lied to and hurt, you just have to be the one to start lying. Lies make people happy. Telling the nuns that they looked prettier or younger today, make them compliment you naturally. Telling the kids that one day, their parents would return can make them smile and be happy for the whole day. The whole world is just about lying and being lied to. Lies is the best form of defense, ironically.” He said.

The girl looked at him in amazement and shock. She knew he had a mind of an adult but she didn’t expect to hear all that from him.

“I read it somewhere.” He admitted with a shy smile afterwards. 

“But it makes sense, doesn’t it?” he added.

“Yes, it makes a lot of sense. I will try because…I am sick of being lied to already.” She said and that made him smile.

“Then will our friendship be a fraud too?” she asked without looking at him.

“Never. Park Jaerin and Kris Wu would be best friends who would never lie to one another even if they lie to the whole world.” He pretended to make an oath.

“Hehe, that’s your promise to me. I didn’t say anything!” Jaerin said and stuck out her tongue before running off.

“Yah! How could you do this to your best friend?!” Kris shouted as he chased after her. 

Author's Note:
Hello guys! (: 
This is a longer update than usual so hope you enjoyed reading. 
It would be nice if you could comment below before closing the tab. 
Thank you for reading ~ ^^