His Guardian(s)

Chapter 4 - Birthday

It has been years. 

Years ever since he had such a goodnight sleep.

It wasn't necessarily a goodnight sleep, but rather a peaceful slumber.

A night where memories chose to stay behind the blinds, giving him the rest he always wanted to have.

As much as he should be grateful for his wish to be finally granted even only for once, he still couldn't deny the alarming speed of the deepening bond within his newfound friends.

After all, no one would want to bear through the same reason that crushed their hope twice, right?

---

Shinyu had just came out of the pet daycare he has recently been visiting to have his pet on care whenever he'd be absent from home. It may only have been a few days since he first met the owner of the place, yet the elderly in charge had this warm nature that did not fail to let Shinyu feel welcomed. Not to mention, Yu-bong also seemed to love the daycare as much; always seen playing with the kids around the block that loved to spend their evening in the place as well.

There had been a day when Shinyu was on his way to pick up his pet, yet met a lost-looking girl in the streets nearby, crying loudly. It wasn't an occurrence that he often met, nor is he the type to get himself into such things, but something inside him ached when he could see all the bystanders only passing by, giving the weird looks he had already been familiarized with.

His approach came with a candy he always keep with him to control his low blood sugar, crouching the same level as the child as he offered the sweets with the warmest smile he could manage. The supposedly kind gesture was however ignored after a second of silence, before continuing the cry. Shinyu immediately tried his best to think of an idea, and remembered having a small plush of hamster inside his bag. 

It was a gift that he received long time ago from his classmate that according to rumors, had a crush on him. Though he has yet to be confessed by any of them, perhaps from the drama the school had been going on throughout his presence there. Between the students that held a hatred against him and those who chose to 'support' him and fend off anyone who'd physically or emotionally hurt him. Or maybe his sudden disappearance is the reason why no one got to the stage of telling their feelings to Shinyu.

As expected, the hamster plushie calmed the girl down and soon got her to talk. Turns out the little girl had lost her parents when they were walking together on the sidewalk. The second she caught a glance of a cute stuffed animal on the displays along the blocks of building, her parents had already disappeared from her sight.

The address provided by the girl led to the pet daycare near her home, a spot cherished for its playful environment among her friends and their pets. From his initial visit, the enclosed grassy area drew considerable attention, resulting in a growing interest and frequent visits by him to leave his pet in their care.

His visit will always be greeted with the warmest welcome he find euphoric, a sense he longed to keep, and his gratitude for everyone inside with variety of cuisines he passed by on the road.

Shinyu sighed as he let the cool breeze blow his hair, reminiscing the short but precious little memories he built within those walls.

Today marks as his 3rd morning in the campus when he came back to the building, already on his way to his first class. After a long contemplation, Shinyu decided to pull out his phone and send a proper apology to Seungcheol for his strange behavior in the afternoon yesterday. It must've been awkward for the latter to act normal last night, especially after the antics he had done.

As he pressed the send button, the sound of his name, Shinyu, being called made him turn away from the phone, just in time to see Soonyoung hurrying towards him.