Where Futures Begin (Saeran x Reader x Saeyoung) COMPLETED

I: Neutral Route (Y/N)

Home is a funny concept.

It's one of those words with a definition that changes every time something happens in life. Sixteen years ago, you were nothing more than an innocent baby drinking milk from your mother's breast. It didn't matter that she and your father wound up being abusive fucks, that they screwed your life over and permanently scarred both your mind and body.

That tiny apartment was home sweet home.

Six years later, way afterwards when your parents had died and left you alone in the world, you found yourself calling your orphanage home, even if you never made any friends. Because at that time, what else did you have?

A few years ago, the orphanage kicked you out. They said that since you were sixteen, they no longer had any legal obligation to feed and shelter you. You spent a week hungry on the streets before you learned to steal and fight. Over time, you had found a new home among the homeless peoples of downtown Seoul.

You thought that would be your final home. That you would either die of pneumonia on the streets or that someone would stab you in your sleep under the open night sky, and that you'd live a short life. But when he waltzed into your life, he brought you to what he said would be your true final home.

He changed everything.

"Saeran," You whispered out softly, saying the name of the man who had the spotlight on the stage your thoughts.

As if he had been waiting for that precise moment, you heard him knock at your door. It was more of a courtesy than an actual request for entry; at the Mint Eye, he was still ranked above you, but the boy always treated you with respect, as he had even when he first discovered you on the streets.

"You can come in, Saeran," You called out, and he poked his head through the doorway.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Only you knock, silly," You responded with a smile, patting the empty space next to you on your bed, "Come sit down. I was just thinking about you, actually."

Saeran closed the door behind him and sat down on your bed, his expression blank, "Thinking about me?"

You nodded your head. "Yeah, about the day we met."

For the first time today, you see his face break out in a soft smile as he recalls the memory with you.

You weren't used to the cold.

Miserable as your life was in the orphanage, they had provided blankets for everyone, and the heating was broken in certain rooms, but it was mostly functional. In mid-February on an open street, though...

You burrowed your arms further in your pockets and curled up into a ball with your back pressed against a wall, desperately trying to retain some of your natural body heat.

"Hey."

You didn't glance up. Being homeless was more uneventful than you had initially thought, and even though it had only been a week, you'd long lost interest in what you thought were the conversations of other people.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. (H/ c) hair, yeah, you."

You shot a wary glance up at the figure that was now standing directly in front of you. It was a man with white hair, staring down at you with an unreadable expression. He looked about your age.

"Y-yes? How can I help you?" You cringed internally at your stutter. Whatever this guy wanted, it couldn't be good, right? Should you run away? Should you scream for help? But who would help a hobo? Maybe it was best if-