CHANGE versus US (ON-HIATUS)

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

At the kitchen~

Hansol and the kids arrived at the kitchen, and a variety of snacks were being prepared for the picnic later that afternoon for both the guests and the kids.

The older children scattered in various directions, while the younger children remained close to Hansol, like the sweet little angels that they are.

When a female member of staff cutting carrots saw Hansol, she offered to help with the kids. She gave them cookies and juice boxes. The small children thanked her, and with Hansol's consent, the female worker led the children to the patio, which was already set up with small plastic chairs and tables.

Hansol sat on a bar stool, wincing as the nerves in his uninjured leg tingled. All the walking he'd been doing since they arrived had eventually caught up with him. He would have preferred to remain at home, but coming to the orphanage had eased the nagging feeling he was experiencing.

Still, he looked restless, glancing around occasionally. It's obvious that he was expecting to see someone but cannot find them anywhere. Someone who he desperately needed to see again.

As the older kids rushed past him and out onto the patio, it startled Hansol on alert. One older child stole a juice box from the younger children, and his friends followed suit, but the same female worker intervened and scolded them before shooing them away.

They dashed away, and the female worker softened her face as she softly hushed the weeping little child, as the same boy who had bullied Erin, had robbed her juice box.

The child nodded and brushed her tears away as the female staff comforted her. The female staff then rose to their feet and returned to the kitchen.

Hansol watched as the female staff took another juice box from the fridge. "Will she be alright?"

"She is going to be. Don't worry about it—Oh, here, give it to Annie." She spoke, handing the juice box to another employee on her way to the patio to deliver snacks.

Kayla, after reading her name tag, took a seat across from Hansol on a bar stool. She handed Hansol a spare knife and cutting board before placing a plate of carrots in front of them.

"Would you mind if I ask you something?" Hansol adjusted on his seat, a carrot from the plate, and sliced away.

"Sure, ask away," Kayla said as showed the correct shapes of the carrots to Hansol. Hansol chuckled as he realized he had been cutting it the wrong way and followed Kayla's example.

"How old is Erin?" Hansol wondered, placing the knife down for a second, feeling numbness in his hand.

"Why do you ask? He'll be six in a few months." Kayla gave him a raised brow.

Hansol shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, just a pique of interest. I suppose."

After a brief pause, he continued, "What about his parents' situation? What happened to them? Why did they abandon him? When they left, how old was he? Is he aware of their existence?"

Kayla took a breath and gave Hansol a cautious look. "Why do you want to know so much about Erin? What exactly do you want to know? And why is that?"

Hansol remained silent for a while. He hesitated for a moment before telling Kayla what had happened at the Gazebo. The remark Erin made about the story, the hurtful words said by the bully to Erin, and how Erin cried his little heart out before Hansol and the others left for the kitchen.

When Hansol finished speaking, Kayla looked at the Caucasian man in exasperation.

"How come you left Erin alone?" Kayla was about to stand up to leave when Hansol grabbed her hand and pulled her back.