𝒐𝒐𝒐. "I didn't write this to forget who I am as a person nor did I write it for money out of desperation. I wrote this because I know, one day, someone will find this story in the corner of a library, squeezed between forgotten stories with a dus...
Choi Jongho. January 18th, 1981. | Sunday, 3:21 PM.
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MiMi reaches over the playhouse, grabbing the toys seated in front of Jongho with a little smile, deflated by the look on her elder brother's face as his fingers combs through Minjun's hair. MiMi rests the toy dog into bed, tucking the ripped tissue that was made into a makeshift blanket underneath the toy before shutting the house close. "Are you sad?" MiMi asks, her tone soft as she pushes the house to the side and sits on her knees. Jongho nods, responding with no words, Minjun mimicking him. "Is it because Min is leaving?"
"A little," Jongho mutters, resting his hand on the boy's black hair, tucking a piece behind his ear. "Happier that he found a family to stay with. Aren't you excited?" His tone was flat, words filled with less enthusiasm than he anticipated it to be. It was only those three left at the orphanage, and once Minjun leaves this evening, it'll just be Jongho and MiMi. The past week was hard, having to say goodbye to his siblings with their packed suitcases by the door and a car waiting for them outside to drive them to their cozy homes — Jongho was envious, to say the least. Of course, he would never admit to it but his facial expressions gave it away.
"I am," Minjun replies with a nod, wiping his eye with his fist before sitting up. "I'm a little sad 'cuz I have to leave you guys behind."
"Don't be!" MiMi exclaims, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and bringing him into a tight hug. "You're gonna make new friends at your new school. One day, we will all meet again, so you better not forget about us." The tears flown down Minjun's eyes freely, wailing with his head tipped back as the black-haired girl tried to shush him. "Why are you crying? I thought you were excited."
"I don't want— I don't want to leave!" He hiccuped, burying his face into the crook of Jongho's neck. His words were slurred through his tears and sobs, wetting Jongho's shirt as the elder boy pet his hair.
"It's okay, Min," Jongho whispers, pulling the boy away from his neck and wiping away his tears with the tissue scattered on the floor. Minjun cried earlier in the afternoon, leaving a big mess of tissues messy with his tears and boogers. "We'll always be right 'ere. Jus' like MiMi says we'll meet again. Stop ya' cryin', big boys don't cry."
Minjun sniffles with a short nod, blowing his nose into the tissue held by the brunette before blinking away the tears stuck in his dark lashes. "Okay... We'll meet again."
Night falls upon the orphanage, quiet voices saying their final goodbyes and tight hugs towards the little boy fleeing to his new home. Jongho fixes the hat on Minjun's head — knitted by Yuna weeks prior as she makes them as a gift for all the children's new adventures. MiMi wraps her arms around Jongho's shoulders from behind, half-smiling with teary eyes as Minjun gives them a final wave before walking out the front door with Yuna, towards the black car waiting for the young boy.
"Do you think they'll remember us?" MiMi whispers, tilting her head to get a decent look at her brother's face. There was no trace of tears or an underlying of him wanting to cry. His eyes fixated towards the front door where his sibling had left from, a frown permanently masked upon his lips and a subtle twitch to his nose.
