One summer morning in Seoul, South Korea, Leetuek awoke and stretched as he sat up and looked down at his partner sleeping next to him. Leeteuk had gotten married to his boyfriend Kangin three years ago, and the two of them had recently discussed starting a family together. Smiling, Leeteuk got up out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen to begin to cook breakfast for his spouse. Kangin woke a few minutes later and met Leeteuk in the kitchen. “Good morning love,” he said as he kissed Leeteuk’s cheek and hugged his waist.

          “Morning,” Leeteuk responded with a smile as he kissed Kangin back.

          “Are you nervous?” Kangin asked as the two of them sat down and started eating.

          “Yeah I am, what if they don’t like us though,” Leeteuk wondered.

          Kangin took his hand and promised “Don’t worry, they’ll love you, cuz you’ll be the best mother they’ve ever had.” Leeteuk smiled at his partner as they finished their breakfast.

          Later that morning, Leeteuk and Kangin drove over to the Seoul Boys Home, where they met with the caregiver of the boys, Zhou Mi. “Hello, you must be Leeteuk and Kangin,” he stated as he shook their hands.

          “Yes, you must be Zhou Mi. We’re here to learn more about the boys we’ve chosen,” Kangin explained.

          “Yes, let’s go into my office and talk more,” Zhou Mi offered. The three walked in and sat down at Zhou Mi’s desk. The man took out four files from his cabinet and laid them in front of Leeteuk and Kangin.

          Leeteuk flipped through one file and asked “So tell me a little more about Yesung. It says here that he witnessed a death?”

          “Yes, when he was five years old, Yesung witnessed the death of his younger sister and parents when their car crashed. He’s been here with us for eleven years,” Zhou Mi explained. “He’s been bonding closest with Sungmin and Donghae; they’ve been through similar trauma. Donghae was abandoned when he was born, and has been here for seventeen years, and Sungmin was emotionally abused by his parents before being placed here when he was eleven. He’s been left so emotionally scarred that he hasn’t said more than a handful of words in the five years he’s been here.”

          Kangin took the last file and asked “What about this one?”

          Zhou Mi looked at it and sighed. “Kim Heechul, he’s been a handful ever since he arrived here.”

          “Why, what happened?” Leeteuk wondered.

          “Like Sungmin, he came from an abusive home, only his was far worse. Heechul was not only abused emotionally, but physically, ually, mentally, and he’s lashed out at anyone who tries to get near him. Heechul has an extremely hard time trusting people, and prefers to be in solitude most of his time.”

          “Oh my God,” Leeteuk muttered as he covered his mouth. Kangin took Leeteuk’s hand and smiled at his partner.

          “It’ll be okay, he’ll be with us, and we’ll take care of him. We’ll take care of all of them,” Kangin promised.

          Zhou Mi grinned at the couple before they stood up. “I’ll take you to meet the boys,” he stated.

          After leading them down a hallway, Zhou Mi opened the shades to look into the boys’ dormitory. Looking inside, they found Yesung and Sungmin playing videogames, Donghae reading on his bed, but Heechul was nowhere to be found. “That’s strange, the boys are supposed to be in their rooms after lunch, but Heechul’s gone,” Zhou Mi said before opening the door. “Boys, where’s Heechul gone to?”

          “I don’t know, haven’t seen him since lunch,” Donghae replied.

          Sungmin pointed to the window, and Zhou Mi looked out to find Heechul sitting in the tree in the center of the courtyard. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” Zhou Mi said as he exited the room.

          Leeteuk walked up to Yesung and Sungmin and Kangin sat down on the bed next to Donghae. “You must be Yesung and Sungmin,” Leeteuk said quietly as he saw down next to the two sixteen year olds.

          “Yeah,” Yesung replied as Sungmin nodded along with him.

          “And you must be Donghae,” Kangin guessed as he looked down at the brunette.

          “Yes,” Donghae agreed before sitting up and shaking Kangin’s hand.

          “I’m Kangin, this is my partner Leeteuk, and we’re the couple who’s adopting you,” the man stated as he stood up. 

          “No ing way,” Heechul groaned as Zhou Mi brought him in.

          “Heechul, watch your tone,” Zhou Mi scolded before smacking the back of his head.

          “Why would they even want me? I’m older and people usually want little kids,” Heechul stated. He walked up to Kangin and muttered sarcastically “Or do you just have a thing for teenage boys?”

          “Heechul, back away from Mr. Kangin, and go pack your suitcase,” Zhou Mi instructed firmly as he slowly pulled the teenager away from Kangin.

          Heechul yanked his arm away from Zhou Mi before muttering “Whatever.”

          Zhou Mi turned to Donghae, Yesung, and Sungmin. “You three go pack too. Be ready to go in five minutes,” he said. The boys followed Heechul over to where they kept the suitcases. “I apologize for Heechul’s outburst, like I said; he’s never really been in a loving environment.”

          “It’s alright, we understand,” Leeteuk replied.

          Within the hour, Leeteuk and Kangin were driving home their four new sons. “Okay boys, you each get your own room, go pick out which one you want,” Kangin said as he opened the front door.

          Donghae, Yesung, and Sungmin ran upstairs with their stuff. Heechul causally walked upstairs and took the last bedroom at the end of the hall. “I really hope they’re happy with their new life,” Leeteuk worriedly said.

          “Relax dear, everything will be fine,” Kangin promised as he hugged his partner.

          Later that night, the two were saying goodnight to their sons. “Hope you guys are happy here with us,” Leeteuk stated as he turned to each boy.

          “We’ll see you guys in the morning,” Kangin said before he and Leeteuk retired to their bedroom.

          “I hope I gave them enough pillows and blankets,” Leeteuk muttered to himself as he slipped his shirt off and climbed into bed next to Kangin.

          “Don’t worry, everything will be okay. Just give them a couple of days to adjust to it all,” Kangin suggested.

          “I just want us be the best parents they’ve ever had,” Leetuek replied.

          Kangin rubbed Leeteuk’s back and said “Just relax and be patient.”

          The men were startled by the sound of a loud thud as something hit the ground. They got up and rushed down the hall and saw Sungmin curled up on his mattress that he’d pushed into Yesung’s room. “What’s going on?” Kangin asked.

          “Sungmin can’t sleep unless I rub his stomach and brush his hair,” Yesung stated as he looked up at the couple.

          Leeteuk looked down and watched Yesung rub his hand gently over Sungmin’s stomach as the blonde gripped one of Yesung’s hands tightly. Kangin walked across the hall the Donghae’s room, and found the brunette reading in his bed. “You okay in here Donghae?” he checked.

          “Yes sir, I’m used to Sungmin and Yesung’s noise,” Donghae responded.

          Kangin closed the door as Leeteuk closed the door of Yesung’s room. “Wait, shouldn’t we check on Heechul?” Leeteuk asked as Kangin walked back towards their room.

          “He didn’t make any noise, I’m sure he’s fine,” Kangin assured.

          “Well I’m gonna check on him just in case,” Leeteuk said. “I’ll be back to bed in a minute.”

          Leeteuk quietly opened up Heechul’s bedroom door and slipped inside. He found the dark haired boy in bed underneath his blanket. Sighing, Leeteuk closed the door, and didn’t notice that Heechul was still awake, facing his wall, and letting tears roll down his face.