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Epilogue - Through Hoon's Eyes

(Reposted)

What is love?

Hoon's first memory was playing on the grounds of the orphanage. He remembered being happy but did not quite understanding why he played with kids one day and the next day they were no longer there. Some of his playmates stayed a long time with him, but from what he gathered from the adults, this was not a good thing.

Hoon's first word was "Please". He only knew this because the kind people at the orphanage noted it in his records. He did not know "Eomma" and "Appa" until much later because he did not have a chance to use it in his first four years of life.

Eventually, he understood adoption and, as the years passed when he wasn't chosen, he came to have some resentment in his heart for this word. Adoption simply meant Hoon was left in the orphanage while his friends went on with their new families and Hoon would never see them again.

The orphanage director once told him not to be selfish and be happy for his friends, but it was difficult. Since then, Hoon did not like goodbyes.

He liked people he met. He loved people he met. But, he was finding out, that some people only liked him for a little while.

Until he was adopted by Dr. Cha Mi-jo.

Hoon met Dr. Cha because she was a regular visitor at the orphanage. She was always kind to them and played with them and brought different treats for them, but she never stayed long. The great thing was that she came back every time.

They developed a friendship until, one day, Dr. Cha asked him if Hoon would like to be her son.

"Son" - he read this and studied this word but almost forgot what it meant. When Dr. Cha asked, Hoon knew that his heart felt warm.

Yes, he wanted to be Dr. Cha Mi-jo's son.

Hoon still remembered that first night in Dr. Cha's home. He stared at the ceiling. "That's not the orphanage's ceiling," he mused. "Dr. Cha... I mean, Eomma, says this is my bed. MY bed. This is my house now. I have an Eomma and a house. Wow."

There were nights when he tossed and turned, wondering if he would wake up to find out this was all a dream. But as more days passed and he woke up in this home, he felt... settled. He now had a loving mother and he also got grandparents and an Auntie. That was more family than he had ever known.

Hoon felt scared when Dr. Cha, his Eomma, told him he would be joining a school. "Will they like me? What if they don't like me?"

"They'll like you," Cha Mi-jo assured.

"Will you pick me up after class, Eomma?" Hoon asked, hanging onto her hand as they stood at the school gates.

"Yes, I'll be right here as soon as you're done. Tell me all about your day, okay?" Mi-jo asked. Giving him a gentle nudge, she said, "Time for class. See you later, Hoonie."

Hoon sat at the back, keeping his head low. Luckily, another boy approached him. "Hi! I'm Uju."

They had been best friends ever since.

It was through his friendship with Uju that Hoon recognized another thing: Uju had a father.

For a time, Hoon thought Teacher Kim Seon-woo would be his Appa. Hoon knew that Teacher Kim was also a doctor like his Eomma and they saw each other a lot. But, the more that Hoon saw them and other people around them, Hoon knew that Teacher Kim was just Eomma's friend.

It was long after that Teacher Kim didn't visit them so often anymore.

Then, along came Agent Park Dae-sik. A superhero and the World's Greatest Father.