one week [taekook] ✓

fifty-one: the orphanage

"appa, are you awake?" jeongguk called out quietly, as he kneeled down beside his father.

mr. jeon shifted his position so that he faced jeongguk. without opening his eyes, he said, "yes, gukkie?"

"i'm going to go out for a while, so i might come late, okay? i connected our desk telephone here, call me if you need anything." jeongguk motioned to the phone he had moved so it was right beside his father on the little table. his father's cellphone seemed to have broken not to long ago, it was better for him not to have a distraction, and staring at the screen could irritate his eyes. he continued, "i also left some sushi on the table."

"okay, gguk-ah."

jeongguk smiled and got back up. he bid goodbye before leaving. he locked the front door, which had "closed for today" taped on. jeongguk had also quickly delivered any paintings customers had ordered, and he didn't seem to have any to be done for tomorrow. the boy walked as quickly as he can to taehyung's apartment, not wanting to leave him alone for too long. he didn't quite understand why he was doing this, but jeongguk knew he would've done it for anyone, it's just how kind he is.

as he reached the apartment building, he saw the older at the entrance. they began walking to each other.

"thanks for coming again," taehyung said scratching the back of his neck.

"it's fine. let's go."

they began walking together to the bus stop. jeongguk couldn't handle the awkward silence between them, so he fished out his phone with his earbuds wrapped around them. the boy quickly untangled them and went to his music app, hitting shuffle, and smile at the song that came on first.

fools - troye sivan

he plugged one earbud into his ear, and gave the other to taehyung, who accepted it with a smile. the bus took a few minutes to come, but they were able to get on one and find a two-seater at the back. the two continued listening to music, not making eye contact. taehyung had searched up the directions earlier, and it should take them a little over an hour to get there. once they finally reached the stop, taehyung ringed the bell and they both got out after thanking the driver. now, to wait for the next bus.

"so, uh, how long is it from here?" jeongguk asked, breaking the silence.

"well once we get on the next bus, it shouldn't take us more than forty minutes," he replied.

the younger nodded, and neither of them knew what to say next. thank god for both of them, the second bus came. they tried looking for seats together, but they couldn't, so they had to sit a little farther from each other. taehyung sat at the back and jeongguk near the front.

once their stop had come, taehyung tapped the other's shoulder, signalling it's their stop. they thanked the driver once again and got off.

taehyung instantly recognized the area they stepped onto. his elementary school shouldn't be too far from here. he used to walk with all the other kids at the orphanage. school was okay, not the best, but it was okay. he also knew almost immediately which way to start walking. jeongguk followed taehyung, looking around the empty fields and rusty looking building.

the older saw a little convenience store he used to go to often when he felt sick of staying in the orphanage. he's gotten in trouble many times for leaving without permission, but the store was a place he quite enjoyed. maybe that's why taehyung enjoys his job so much.

they walked for a bit until taehyung stopped in front of a building. he couldn't quite recognize it. was this really the orphanage? it was painted white, and looked quite new. no vines or bushes covered the walls, and no rusty stains. the grass was cut nicely. it looked quite alive. taehyung knew for sure this is where the orphanage rested, and if it wasn't for the large board printed sunny smile orphanage, he wouldn't have believed it was the right place. the place looked more friendly and welcoming, the opposite of what taehyung had lived in.

"sunny smile orphanage," jeongguk read. "is this it?"

taehyung gave a weak nod, still staring at the unfamiliar building. jeongguk noticed the other's hand was shaking. the younger's hand slowly reached out to the trembling hand, wanting to control its movements, but quickly moved it to taehyung's shoulder. the older looked at the boy when he felt the sudden contact.

"let's go in," jeongguk said with hope in his eyes.

the older nodded once more, and they began walking towards the entrance. now what taehyung dreaded more than seeing the actual orphanage itself, was seeing the director, or also known as the head caretaker. whoever gave him that title is insane. he'd hurt the children there so much, mentally and physically. all he wanted was money, and whenever someone was sent in to check the orphanage, he threatened to cut off their toes at night if anyone peeped a word about it. the caretakers were quite nice, but they had to follow the directors instructions and rules, being forced to act harsh. taehyung remembers being close to one of the younger male caretakers. he would always cover for the boy whenever he ran away to the convenience store. even gave him a spare change to spend on the games at the front or buy a treat, as long as he shared with the other kids. bang shihyuk was his name if he last recalled. when taehyung was young, he wasn't able to pronounce his name correctly, so he'd tail him all day calling out "shuk-sshi". taehyung smiles at that memory.

the walk to the entrance seemed like it took forever. taehyung's hand couldn't co-operate, so jeongguk opened the door for both of them. if the outside was different, the inside had completely changed. it's painted vibrant red, replacing the once cracked beige. the place was furnished nicely, a kid's paradise if you'd call it. there was even a receptionist, which the two walked to.

"hello," the lady said with a smile, "how can i help you two?"

"my name is kim taehyung," the boy started, but didn't have the chance to continue.

"oh yes! the director told me about you. he's in his office right now, i think. just head straight down, and the first door to the left," the lady pointed.

taehyung thanked the kind receptionist, and both began walking with her directions. once the arrived to door with the word "director's office" engraved, taehyung pauses and took a deep breath. his hand reached to the door, and gave a light knock.

this is it, i'm going to meet him again.

—•
sorry my last few chapters were short, so i tried to make this one a little longer.
i going to be quite busy this week, but i'll try to update!
bye<3