Seungri was always waiting.

He had been waiting for about seven years, now, possibly more. He had first been sent to the orphanage when he was three after his father had run away after committing a crime and his mother … well, his mother had died when he was 2.

So Seungri was still waiting.

He wanted to be loved again. When people came to adopt children, they always looked at him with pity but did nothing. At times like that, Seungri felt bitter. What was the point of pitying if they were not going to give any help to him?

He was lying on the bed, staring out the window. It was a cloudy day - maybe it would rain soon. It would certainly soothe the hotness. His room was the hottest and the smallest. He supposed it was because he had never said anything about it. He was too scared to complain, just in case he got kicked out. Then he would really have to live as a beggar. His name meant victory, after all. Perhaps it meant that he would actually succeed in being loved one day.

A knock on the door made him sit up. The door opened and Mrs. Lee entered. “Seungri-ah, there’s man coming to see everyone at twelve.”

Seungri glanced at the clock. It was ten in the morning. Two more hours. He didn’t really forward to it. He didn’t expect anything new. The man visiting would probably glance at him with sympathy or pity before heading along and picking up some adorable, younger child or a well-behaved teenager. “Okay, Mrs. Lee,” he answered quietly.

“Be on your best behaviour and make sure you change into fresh clothes. You don’t want to look like a beggar.” Mrs. Lee turned and exited, shutting the door firmly.

No, I don’t, Seungri thought bitterly.

He felt no hope as he had before when he was younger. He knew now. He would probably never get adopted.

**********

Seunghyun smiled as he walked past the children. Jiyong did not know about this. Jiyong was at school. He visited room and room, yet he did not feel satisfaction. He remembered the cool washing feeling when he had first met Jiyong. Jiyong’s big doe eyes had stared up at him and they had met eyes - then Seunghyun had known that this was the child he was looking for. He was hoping for a similar feeling this time as well.

He paused at another room after saying goodbye to a young boy with freckles, feeling a little pity. The poor children - some abandoned, some given away, others orphans … Jiyong had been an orphan. Seunghyun glanced at the room number. 

Room 209.

Scrawled with black sharpie under the room number was ‘Seungri’. Huh. Victory. Curious, Seunghyun knocked twice, gently, before entering when he heard a small, “Come in.”

A young boy with soft, ruffled black hair and light brown eyes was sitting on the bed. He wore a faded red sweater and ripped jeans. Seunghyun frowned. When was the last time he had gotten clothes? “Hello,” he said with a warm smile.

The boy just stared back.

“Can I sit beside you?” Seunghyun asked, trying to be as kind as he could.

The boy nodded.

“What’s your name?” Seunghyun asked. The boy was quiet, but his eyes said something else. He seemed to be … deflated and hopeless on the outside, but when Seunghyun gazed into his brown eyes, he saw something that made him almost raise an eyebrow in half amusement and half interest.

“Seungri.”

“That’s a cool name,” Seunghyun commented, just as he had done with Jiyong. He held out a hand. “I’m Seunghyun.”

Seungri took it gently and Seunghyun frowned when he felt the child’s bony fingers grasped in his hands. “How old are you?”

“I’m ten,” Seungri said, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. “Your hand is very big.”

Seunghyun chuckled. “Yours will be too when you become an adult.” Seunghyun saw a flicker of a smile before Seungri seemed to chase it away. “So, Seungri. How long have you been here?”

“Seven years,” Seungri said in a flat tone.

“Really?” Seunghyun said, surprised. He glanced at the boy, feeling pity. How stuffy it must feel in here. He was surprised when Seungri pulled his hand back and something in the boy’s eyes flared. Perhaps it was pride.

“You don’t need to feel pity for me, you know,” Seungri said bitterly. “That’s how everyone else looked at me before leaving me to pick up a better kid here.”

Seunghyun chuckled. “Is that so?” He met Seungri’s fierce look and smiled apologetically. “Well, it’s been nice talking to you, Seungri.” He ruffled Seungri’s hair. He stood up, preparing to leave, and hesitated before turning back and pressing a cookie into Seungri’s hand. “Eat it,” he said. “It’s good.”

Seunghyun turned around. He knew he had found the one he was looking for.

**********

Seungri watched as the man left, and then looked down at the cookie in his hands. He felt a flash of disappointment.

Good job, Seungri, he thought to himself angrily. You had a chance to be adopted, and you messed it up. Now he’s gone and you’ll be here forever.

He tucked the cookie into his sweater pocket, saving it for later. He knew he wouldn’t get dinner. Dinner was handed out by Mr. Jung, and Seungri wasn’t really one of Mr. Jung’s favourites. Maybe he would get a slice of bread, if he was lucky.

Seungri was about to turn around to stare out the window again, when the door opened. He felt his eyes widen when Mrs. Lee and Seunghyun entered. What were they doing here? 

“Pack your stuff, Seungri-ah,” Mrs. Lee said with no expression. “Mr. Choi wants to take you to his home. He has signed the papers and he is ready to take you home.” Mrs. Lee was about to leave before she turned and gave Seungri a quick hug. “Make sure you behave,” she murmured. “Be happy, okay?”

Seungri was surprised. Mrs. Lee had never been so nice to him before. “O-Okay.” He looked up hesitantly and whispered, “Bye.” Mrs. Lee smiled before exiting.

Seungri, still in shock, slowly moved until he came to his senses and fumbled to pack his stuff. Seungri stiffened with Seunghyun knelt down beside him to help him. Seungri took out his drawings and pencils that he had used to draw.

“Did you draw these?” Seunghyun gasped. They were the drawings that Seungri drew. He ducked his head modestly and packed them in the small leather backpack that had been his mother’s. He always kept it with him.

“Ready?” Seunghyun was waiting for him, holding out his hand.

Seungri took a last look around his room before smiling and saying, “Yeah.” He hesitantly took Seunghyun’s hand, afraid of what was going to happen but all Seunghyun did was smile warmly and walk out the door with him.

Seungri glanced back once more and thought, Mom, Dad, I’m finally adopted. He felt no regrets leaving this place.

**********

Seungri sat in Seunghyun’s car and shoved his hands into his pockets nervously. As he did so, the cookie fell and Seunghyun glanced back at the sound. “S-Sorry,” Seungri whispered before fumbling to pick it up.

“Why didn’t you eat it?”

“In case I didn’t get any dinner,” Seungri whispered.

Seunghyun frowned before saying, “When you’re with me, you don’t need to worry about meals. You’ll get three full meals and all the food you want. Just tell me when you’re hungry, all right?”

“Okay,” Seungri mumbled. This was new. His stomach would be full for the first time in a while. He smiled.

They pulled up in front of a large house. Seungri looked at the house. It was nice and big, and looked cozy. “Let’s go in.”

Seungri entered and Seunghyun said, “You can look around all you want.” When Seungri hesitated, he smiled and said, “Go on.”

Seungri glanced at him nervously. “M-Mr. Choi?”

Seunghyun chuckled and said, “Just call me Hyung.”

Seungri bit his lip and nodded. “Hyung?” The word felt strange on his tongue, but at the same time it also felt nice.

“Yes, Seungri?”

“A-Are you sure I can look around?” 

Seunghyun laughed. “Go on. You’ll be living here, after all.” Seunghyun walked to the kitchen, leaving Seungri.

Seungri slowly began to take a look around the house, nibbling on the cookie Seunghyun had given him. It was sweet. He took a bigger bite as he climbed up the stairs. He entered a room. It had a large bed with yellow blankets, and cream colour walls. The curtains were yellow and the carpet that was laid on the ground was also yellow. The brown desk was in the corner and papers were on the desk. It looked like sketches of drawings. When he looked closer, he realized that someone had drawn forest animals like deers and rabbits on the walls and painted them. They were well drawn. He was impressed.

“Ah, I see you found Jiyong’s room.”

Seungri turned around. Seunghyun was smiling as he came up from the stairs. “J-Jiyong? Who’s Jiyong?”

“He’s at school right now, but he’s three years older than you. I adopted him when he was eight.”

“Oh.” Seungri glanced at the room again. The closet was full of clothes and lots of other stuff. 

“Do you want to see your room?”

Seungri nodded eagerly. Seunghyun led him to a room that was beside Jiyong’s. He opened the door and gasped. The walls were painted a cream colour, just like Jiyong’s, but the blankets on the bed were a light red. The carpet was a colour between red and orange, and the curtains were a dark red. The closet was empty, and nothing was drawn on the walls.

“Later I’ll give you paint and you can draw anything you want on the walls and paint them, like Jiyong did. I hope you like the colour red.”

“Red’s my favourite,” Seungri breathed.

“Later today we’re going to go shopping for clothes and I’ll buy you clothes and any other stuff that you need or want.”

Seungri entered the room. His desk was white and clean - and he intended to keep it that way. The sound of the door opening made Seunghyun and Seungri both stop.

“HYUNG?”

A voice yelled into the house.

“Jiyong-ah, no yelling,” Seunghyun called back.

“But you’re yelling!”

“No, I’m answering you,” Seunghyun retorted, winking at Seungri, making his stifle a laugh. “Come upstairs into the room beside yours, Jiyong-ah! There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Seungri, suddenly nervously, gulped and wiped his sweaty hands on his sweater. Seunghyun, as if knowing his nervousness, patted his back soothingly.

A boy with ruffled hair and big brown doe eyes entered. His hair was windswept, and he was a few inches taller than Seungri. He was wearing a yellow sweater that read, ‘You Can't Be Any Cooler Than I Am’ and loose gray sweatpants. “Who’s that?” He pointed at Seungri.

Seunghyun gently swatted Jiyong’s finger down. “Don’t point, it’s rude,” he scolded and Jiyong huffed. “Come here, Seungri.” Seunghyun gestured for him to come closer.

Seungri nervously came closer and Seunghyun put an arm around his shoulder. “This is Seungri. He’ll be living with us now.”

Jiyong frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you might want a more exciting meeting,” Seunghyun shrugged. He patted Seungri’s shoulder in encouragement. “Say hello.” Seunghyun smiled at them both and said, “I’ll leave you two to get to know each other alone. I’ll be making sandwiches.”

He left, closing the door and Seungri bit his lip, cringing at the awkward atmosphere.

“Hi,” Seungri said awkwardly.

“It’s Hyung to you,” Jiyong said in an unfriendly tone.

“Sorry, Hyung,” Seungri corrected quickly.

“Hmph.” Jiyong frowned and looked him up and down. “You’re scrawny,” he commented.

Thanks, Seungri thought sourly, but outwardly, he just said, “I know.”

“I don’t know why Seunghyun Hyung adopted you,” Jiyong muttered. “You’re so thin and pitiful.”

Seungri felt his temper flare and he growled out, “At least I’m not as rude as you.”

Jiyong looked at him coldly with a raised eyebrow. “All right,” he said coolly. “That’s the way you want to go, huh? Fine.” Jiyong turned and stormed out, muttering, “Brat.”

Seungri stared at the ground. What had he just done? He hadn’t exactly made a good impression on Jiyong. Seungri sighed and set down his backpack. He supposed he just had to hope that their relationship would get better later.

Seungri began to unpack his stuff. He looked around. This was his home now. He smiled and thought, Mom, Dad, I think I’m finally happy for the first time in seven years.

**********

Author’s Note: So, that was chapter five. I’m sorry there was no naughtiness or any disciplining. Next is Jiyong, Seunghyun and Seungri’s shopping trip! Uh oh, I already sense naughtiness from two specific boys! Please comment, they would sure help me update faster. Thank you!