Destiny's Journey

Chapter 1

The sound of morning nursery rhyme followed subsequently by voices of cheerfulness shouting and chanting "It's time to wake up, everyone.", alarming every hustle, whining, and growling noise maker in the room. As the morning callers hurry into the room to help the small children gain consciousness, one, in particular, lay dead silent, not moving the slightest or caring for the volume of the masses. Instead, he pulled the warm woolly blanket roughly over his head, slightly covering the tip of his toes. The youngster was quickly caught by one of the house mothers, who came over and gently tickled him, reminding him to wake up, for the sun has already risen, and the birds are already at work chipping away. "Come on, Yeonjun, it is time to wake up.".

"Ugh. Why must the sun rose too early, I barely felt the existence of the night, and now the sun has overtaken its time. It's like the sun is speeding to overlap the moon so that everyone doesn't get to enjoy the longevity of sleep." So grumbles the half awaken blabber-mouth, slowly pushing himself to sit up. This caused the house mother to slightly laugh in amusement of hearing the youngster's complaint about the so-called 'short' hours of sleep he rested on when he had actually slept for 11 hours straight.

"Come on, today is Saturday, and you know what that means. Right?" The teasing short sentence brought Yeonjun to his feet, rushing into the bathroom behind the twenty zombies like children trying to sleepwalk into the bathroom with half-opened-half-closed eyes.

Saturday was Yeonjun favourite day of the 168 hours of the week. Because, unlike any other day where Yeonjun would play in the playground sharing the small patch of land with the other high energetic kids running around tripping over thin air at the orphanage, the only thing different was an amiable and vibrant young celebrity couple that regularly visited the orphanage with an abundance of gifts, and toys. But the thing that made Yeonjun most excited was Arin, their doll-like daughter that redefined the meaning of brightness and bubbly. Her smile, her laugh brought instant happiness and made Yeonjun ignore the pain that caused desolation deep within his heart - the pain of emptiness; that always cause him to wonder why was he at such a place, what happened to his biological parents and their family, was there truly no one that wanted him? At the age of eight, he was already questioning the purpose of walking the earth and breathing its air. However, whenever he sees Arin, he can overlook any dark spot in his life and just focus on the vibrant memories filled with Arin and the lovely bright weather that only shows itself whenever Arin visited him.

With Arin taking up all areas in Yeonjun's thought bubble, he could finish everything, including breakfast, at an inhuman speed, which caught the house mothers off guard but was well aware of the reasoning. He quickly ran over the playground like the child he is, waiting patiently and prudently on a swing staring fiercely at the steel gates. As minutes turned into hours, Yeonjun started to become more and more impatient, almost despair. That soon vanished upon hearing the sound of an expensive SUV wheel screeching abruptly, and the steel gates widely sprung open, revealing two beautiful adults smiling vigorously carrying big, red sacks that resemble Saint Nicholas, otherwise known as Santa Clause. The other children hurriedly ran over to the couple, jumping with joy, excitement, and eyes filled with desperate desires. Meanwhile, Yeonjun remained still on the swing trying to peer over the tall couple figure looking for any sign of a smaller, dwarf-like being. Then, as if waiting for her cue, a hand reach up high beyond the group of jumping kids, moving in waving motion and yelling out "Hello Yeonjun Oppa! Yeonjun Oppa!" showing desperation for help, Yeonjun swiftly ran over carefully pushing through the vivid crowd and grab Arin's tiny hand and gently pull her over to him. Then, walking together hand in hand towards the swing further away from the intense crowd. Yeonjun helped Arin sit on the swing and carefully push her lightly; in unity with the cooling breeze, Arin reached closer and closer to the sky, causing a wide smile to spread across her face, bringing voluminous joy and peace to Yeonjun.

"Oppa, I have a gift for you." Shyly said Arin, causing Yeonjun to stop pushing abruptly and help the small figure hop-off carefully from the play equipment. She reaches out for Yeonjun hand, lengthening out his fingers with one hand while the other rustle around in her pocket before taking out a purple toy ring and placing it on Yeonjun's fourth finger. "My daddy said he loves my mum so much that he wanted to marry her. So like my parents, I'm going to marry you.", the unexpected proposal moved Yeonjun, who move closer to cuddle the shorter figure while whispering, "I should be the one proposing, silly girl."...

17 years later

"Young master, it is time to wake up and have morning tea. Master Edward and Ellenor are already awake and waiting at the dining room for you." Gentle voice looming beyond the enormous door was the butler, calling out for Yeonjun, who was snuck tightly in a double king-sized bed.

"Damn you, Donald, I had a good dream!"

"My apologies sir, was it the lovely miss Arin again, sir?"

"None of your business, old man." Although Yeonjun was quite rude to the elderly that was triple his age, Donald understood Yeonjun quite well to know it was not Yeonjun's intention to be rude - he is just not a morning person, especially when someone disrupts his unconscious adventures.

Walking sluggishly downstairs toward the two polished, chit-chatting figures sitting. "Morning, mama, father." giving a slight peck on his Italian mother and a grin to his father.

"Morning, Daniel, got lost in time, did we?" Said Edward, placing his cup of tea down onto the plate and look towards Yeonjun.

"Sorry, sir, I had a long day in the office yesterday." So replied the young man grabbing a piece of bread and knifing a thin layer of strawberry jam.

"Very well, any crucial business I need to be aware of?"

"None, sir, everything is going as planned. We should be opening a branch in Seoul, Korea, by the following year."

"Splendid, good work, my boy." Shouted the elderly man while clapping like an excited seal.

At the age of nine, Yeonjun was legally adopted by an Italian couple that visited the orphanage during a vacation to Seoul. They were immediately attracted to Yeonjun, who was seen in solitude while reading a thick novel in the corner of the orphanage home. Slowly the Italian couple walked toward Yeonjun and asked him a question. Being caught off guard by the close proximity was one thing. And, the language barrier was the other, causing Yeonjun to become confused and scared, running away desperately finding one of the caretakers at the orphanage that could translate and communicate with Yeonjun to understand the situation better. Nonetheless, he rejected the idea at first - he understood clearly that by going with the couple, he would have a better life, better care. But, his thoughts, it was filled with Arin knowing they will have to be separated and be placed on different continents, oceans away from one another. The housing mother understood Yeonjun's then emotions. She walked the little fella away from the small crowd. To have a nice, heartfelt conversation with Yeonjun, thoroughly discussing the advantages and benefits of living in a proper home with proper parents - just like what he always wanted. And finally, she promised him that he and Arin would be able to meet again once they grow taller and older 'because they were each others' destiny'. And like that, he ended a chapter of Yeonjun life with anticipation of their next meeting flew to Italy with the genuine couple now called his mother and father. Thus, ended the book of Yeonjun and has now started the book of Daniel, THE Daniel Maserati - son of Edward and Ellenor Maserati.