They held each other's hands tightly as they walked up the flowered pathway. The dark wooden door was their destination. It could be considered symbolic. This door, this simple wooden door was the passageway to their new life. The next step. They decided on this after a long conversation many months ago. During that time they were happier than they ever had been, yet something seemed to be missing. That's when they made the decision. They knew this was the right thing to do, the thing that they both wanted the most even though it was terrifying. But they wanted and needed this for so long. It was finally time.

Onew looked anywhere but at Minho as they walked the path. He noticed the yellow, pink, red, and orange flowers that lined the grey cobblestoned path to the large house before them. They did their research. They searched for months for the right place. They sometimes wondered if there could ever actually be the perfect place. But when they saw the pictures on the website,  they knew this was where they'd find what they needed.

As they reached the door, Minho rang the doorbell, his finger shaking slightly. "New Hope Orphanage" was elegantly printed on a placard hanging on the door. The door opened and an elderly Korean woman smiled warmly at them. She beckoned them inside. The two men walked through the door after hesitating.  The woman, who introduced herself as Mrs. Jung, chuckled at the nervous couple grasping hands.

                "Welcome. We have many well behaved children here, including babies. What kind of child are you interested in?" She asked sweetly.

                "I..." Minho spoke, trying to be supportive to Onew, who was silent.

The old woman smiled again. She seems to do that a lot.

                "How about visiting the children and playing with them? That's the best way." She said and showed them to a room down the long hallway.

They both nodded their heads and followed the old woman down the hallway lined with beautiful professional portraits of what Minho thought were the children who have been living here. There were some children who were newborns and some who looked like teenagers, all smiling happily. While Minho was lost in thought, he felt his partner squeeze his hand, hard. When he looked up to see the reason, he did not expect to feel what he had felt.

He couldn't even describe the feeling in its entirety, even if he took years trying to explain it. He knew Onew felt it too, because of the shocked look in his eyes. For now, there was no time to ponder on feelings, for before they even got into the room where they saw all the other children playing, a little girl with the biggest brown eyes they had ever seen was waddling towards them, excitement written all over her face. She stopped when she reached them, her tiny baby hand grasping at Onew's pant leg. The nervous man looked down at her as she tilted her head to one side, her lips pouting out into the most adorable shape. She kept tugging at his leg until Minho rested his hand on his lover's lower back, nudging him ever so gently.

With all his courage, Onew slowly knelt down beside the little girl. He looked at her as she grabbed his hand immediately and placed a small piece of paper in his hand. When he looked at the tiny pink colored heart in his palm, he smiled warmly at the little girl, and she beamed a toothy smile, those large beautiful eyes forming nearly closed crescent moons, making her cheeks look even chubbier if it was possible. She grabbed the hem of her white flowered dress and lifted it up into the air, earning a laugh from the elderly woman.

                "Pretty girl" She said in a sweet baby talk voice, while looking up at the tall man next to Onew.

                "She's a very energetic little girl." Mrs. Jung spoke, but the couple barely even noticed her there anymore, so she quietly took her leave into the playroom, but still kept an eye on the couple and their new little friend.

It was now Minho's turn to kneel down beside the little girl. Onew was just watching her, with the most glossy eyes.

                "You are a very pretty girl. What's your name?" Minho asked. He figured the girl could be no more than 3 or 4 years old. She was the most beautiful little girl he'd ever seen.

                Her eyes opened wide and gaped. "I Mika! Mika is pretty!" She giggled and hopped up and down a few times. She grabbed Onew's hand again and tugged it. "Play." She demanded and Onew gave Minho a nervous look. He nodded, smiling at the blush across his lover's slightly chunky cheeks and gave him a look that assured him he would be right there with him.

When they entered the playroom, she dragged them into a corner and showed them all of her toys. Minho noticed that she seemed very smart for a young child. She already knew some numbers and letters, and made them show her how to spell words with her letter blocks. After playing for what seemed like forever, the elderly woman walked to them and rested her hand on Minho's shoulder.

                "I'm afraid visiting hours are over. If you would like to discuss anything, we'll have to go into my office." She said, and Onew looked at Minho, heartbreak flashing in each other's eyes. 

                "It's time to go already?" Onew said, his eyes b with tears. He looked back towards Mika, who was happily coloring a picture of what looked like 3 lines and an attempt at a building of some sort. Minho touched the little girl's arm to get her attention, and when she saw the couple looking at her, she yanked the paper away and put her hands on her hips.

                "Not done! Wait!" She scolded them and they smiled. Onew stared at her long hair and wished he had a pretty barrette to place in it. His mind wandered off thinking about all the different ways he could style the little girl's beautiful hair. He always wanted to try braiding hair, or experimenting with head bands, hair ties, and clips. He bit his lower lip to prevent the tears from falling. He had only known this baby girl for a few hours, and yet the thought of going home to an empty home without having her there was tearing his heart apart.

Meanwhile, after Minho shared a few words with Mrs. Jung, he looked to his partner, and then to his sad eyes filling with tears, and wished he could do something. Maybe he could if he didn't feel his own tears threatening to spill. He chuckled at the little girl, trying to finish her drawing without them seeing anything. He watched as Onew gently touched the ends of the girl's hair, and reached over and wrapped his arm around his waist, rubbing his lover's side soothingly. Minho loved Onew more than anything else in this entire world. Onew was Minho's world, but he couldn't help but set all his attention on this little girl in front of him right now. He pictured stealing her away from Onew, twirling her around in his arms while she laughed at his silly face. He wanted to take her shopping, and buy her anything she wanted. Because he was already wrapped around her finger. She was already his princess.

After a few more minutes, Mika turned around jumping in the air and shoved the picture into Onew's hands. He looked at it and smiled, of course not really knowing exactly what the little girl just colored. She pointed at the three oblong figures messily scribbled onto the paper, then pointed to Onew, then Minho, then herself.

                "Family! Appa, appa, and me!" Then pointing to the large block next to the figures, she said. "Home."

She beamed, and ran directly into Onew's chest, her tiny arms squeezing him tight. Onew jumped in shock, but soon found himself with his hands on her back, hugging her gently. She ripped away from Onew and now it was Minho's turn. She hugged him the same, and Onew noticed how Minho looked at her. The tears began to fall from his eyes, but he didn't care.

                Mika pulled away and frowned at the couple. "Appa?" She said, patting the two boys on the head, her short body barely able to reach their hair.

                "Mika, these two nice men need to leave now. They'll come play again another day." The elderly woman smiled, and started to lead the couple out to the door. They wanted to say goodbye, but they knew they would break down if they did. As they scheduled a meeting with Mrs. Jung, Minho opened the front door for his lover, but heard a frightening scream from back inside the house. As they looked, they saw the little girl bounding down the hallway after them, her hair flying all around, her face streaked with tears was red and puffy.

                "Appas no go!" She screamed, ramming herself into their legs and grabbing on like her life depended on it. Minho grabbed the girl and picked her up in his arms as she wrapped her little arms around his neck as much as she could and sobbed hard. With every shudder of her breath, their hearts broke over and over.
               
                "I'm so sorry. She's never behaved like this before." Mrs. Jung bowed to apologize. "Normally she absolutely hates the potential parents who come to see her, which is why she hasn't been adopted yet." She grabbed the girl away, who was now sobbing into her shoulder.

                "W...We'll be back Mika." Onew spoke, new tears streaming down his face. Minho protectively held onto his lover trying to comfort him.

                "P...promise?" Mika asked, and they all nodded. "Won't forget me?" She pleaded and Minho reached down so his face was level with hers.       
                 
                 "We promise we'll be back for you." He smiled, and Mika reached her chubby hand out and wiped away Minho's tears.      

                "Appa no more cry." She whined and stuffed her face into the elderly lady's shoulder. She chuckled at the now sleepy little girl and looked at the couple, who looked emotionally destroyed.        
               
                "She'll be here when you come back." She assured them, and the two men finally left the home, closing the door behind them. The entire drive home was silent, aside from the noise from the street. They silently ate dinner, and silently lain in bed. But no sleep came.

                "Minho? Are you awake?" Onew said, his voice sounded strained.
               
                "Yeah, yeobo." He said, reaching his arms around his lover from behind, pressing his body up against his back, and kissed the top of his head.

                "We found our daughter." He choked, and Minho knew Onew was crying, because he was too.

                "Yeah, we did."