Hope
Identity
Jaeyoung's P.O.V.
“Jaeyoung-ah! Do me a favor and call all the kids in for dinner, will you?” Mrs. Lee hollered from the kitchen.
I finished up putting all the laundry in the single washing machine we owned and ran outside to gather up all the kids. Mrs. Lee was serving up a fresh batch of her famous Spicy Kimchi Stew, and all the kids’ mouths started to water at the delicious aroma.
To any spectators, the scene would’ve looked like an ordinary family sitting down to have a nice, hearty dinner. Now that statement isn’t entirely false, but not entirely true either.
I, as well as all the kids here, live in an orphanage. Mrs. Lee is the owner and head mistress, who is kind enough to make us food and put a roof over our heads. I will always be grateful to her because of that.
But while I feel at home here at the orphanage, I also feel a strange sense of uneasiness. I do not have the same fate as some other kids, who are fortunate enough to have the caring and warmth of a parent’s love. So while I am surrounded by a family of no blood relation, I am also in a sense all alone.
Sometimes I cry myself to sleep. Why did things turn out this way? Who were my parents? Will things get better? The questions are endless. But life continues.
Adoption. It’s something like a light at the end of a long dark tunnel…new parents, the opportunity to experience what you’ve lived without for so many years, who wouldn’t hope? After all, it’s the only thing an orphan can actually hope for. The only downside is that your chances get scarcer as the years go by.
That’s bad news for me, who just happens to be the oldest orphan among all at age sixteen. Think about it, who wants to adopt a sixteen year old? So many responsibilities come with adopting a near-grown adult; most people would rather adopt a cute and adorable six year old. I guess it’s safe to say that all hope is lost for me….
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Opal's P.O.V.
Today is the worst day ever.
Okay, maybe not the worst, but you get the point. I was supposed to go to the mall with Mom to get the new Chachimomma pants that were on sale, but suddenly there was "no time for such a pointless trip.” Excuse me if I sound bratty or whiny, but I was saving up to buy them and they were on sale for only a single day. And that day was today.
I asked Mom what we were doing instead of going to the one-day sale (did I mention that the sale was only for a day?) and she told me, “It’s a surprise honey! It wouldn’t be fun if I just told you, right?”
So now here I am, in the car, driving to god-knows-where. After a while, we pull up next to a run-down building. There was a sign on the front that seemed to have some sort of text imprinted in paint written on it. The paint was chipping off so all I could make of it was this:
M . Lee’ Or an ge Fo K s
I didn’t really know what to make of it, so I tried guessing what the sign could have possibly meant. I don’t know what Mom got from it, but I got “M.Lee’s Orange Folks”. The first thought that crossed my mind was, “We ditched a trip to the mall to watch some sort of Oompa Loompa freak show? Kill me now.”
Mom told me to follow her in, and I was expecting something to pop up in front of me. Instead, I was greeted by an elderly woman around the age of sixty and about ten children and a teen seated at a dinner table.
“Mrs. Lee! Oh, how are you?” Mom said, reaching out to hug who I assumed was Mrs. Lee.
“Oh, everything’s just fine! What have you visited us for?” Mrs. Lee replied.
“I was thinking…you know…to adopt a kid...”
WHUT. I pulled Mom back and whispered into her ear. “Are you crazy?! What are you doing, asking her to let you adopt a kid?!”
Mom gave me a confused look. “What else do you do when you come to an orphanage, honey?”
I paused and almost kicked myself when I realized. Apparently, the sign had not said “M.Lee’s Orange Folks” but “Mrs. Lee’s Orphanage For Kids”.
Guess I’ll be getting a brother or sister today….Oh well, at least we weren’t adopting an Oompa Loompa!
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Jaeyoung's P.O.V.
Don’t let your hopes get too high, Jaeyoung. After all they’re probably going to get a younger orphan, I tell myself. I try to keep myself under composure. I don’t want to get crushed when they don’t choose me. So instead, I try to distract myself by observing the two people that just walked in.
One woman, about thirty to forty years old I think, and one teenage girl. Must be her daughter. I can’t help but notice that the daughter is around my age. She had a long cascade of black hair and seemed like a more quiet kind of person. I wonder if I can get to know her better…
“Mrs. Lee! Oh, how are you?” The woman said, reaching out to hug Mrs. Lee.
“Oh, everything’s just fine! What have you visited us for?” Mrs. Lee replied.
“I was thinking…you know…to adopt a kid...”
The kid that’s chosen is sure going to be lucky, huh? The chances of me getting chosen are 1 out of 11. As in about 9%. As in close to NO CHANCE.
“Oh! What’s your name?” the woman asked me. Wait. Was she really talking to me?!
“Jaeyoung.” I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest; I was so nervous.
“I hope you’re happy, because we’re going to be your new family!”
I cried. Not out of fright or sadness, but pure joy. The moment that I had only envisioned in my dreams was actually happening right here, right now.
Maybe things were looking up.
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