Somebody Take Me Home

II

Yeosang had spent the rest of the afternoon on his bed, staring out of the window and checking from time to time San's side of the room. His single bed was messy, his plushies scattered amongst the blankets and on the floor. In Yeosang's corner, nothing was unpacked yet, everything untouched.

He let out a silent sigh as the moon slowly rose. He could hear his foster family's loud chat from up there. They were having dinner together. Yeosang had rejected Seonghwa's offer to join them. He liked that the man had let him stay on his own for a bit. He could tell that Seonghwa wanted him to get familiar with the space and the people before engaging with anything or anyone.

Some knocking on the door had Yeosang look behind his shoulder. San got inside their bedroom with a sulky face. He had already made it perfectly clear that he did not like Yeosang's presence in what he considered as his private sphere.

San remained static for a second and eventually approached Yeosang's bed. He put a small plastic bag on the teenager's bedside table and headed for his own bed. "Seonghwa-ssi said I had to bring this to you. Enjoy your meal."

Yeosang waited for a minute before opening the bag. It smelled very good. His mouth started to water as he saw the selection of dumplings and gimbaps, the rice and vegetables inside the bag. He took the chopsticks and began to eat ravenously. He had not had such a delicious meal in ages, maybe in all his life. He smiled a little to himself and kept on eating, while looking out the window.

"They didn't feed you at the orphanage or what?" he heard San say.

Yeosang turned towards his young roommate. He was lying on his bed, both arms under his head. The other teenager must have been glaring at him murderously for San continued defensively, "Okay, okay, you weren't in an orphanage. Sorry. Then what's your story?"

He seemed deeply interested. Yeosang could not figure whether his interest was pure or whether he only wanted to check that Yeosang's situation was worse than his own. He simply shrugged and resumed eating his vegetables.

"Yeah, Seonghwa-ssi warned us you wouldn't talk much." He sighed and looked through his shelves for another manwha. He glanced at Yeosang and said, "You'd better hurry and unpack. We have thirty more minutes before Seonghwa-ssi comes and switches the lights off."

Yeosang nodded. He threw the plastic bag away and slowly opened his backpack, getting his few possessions out. San watched him from the corner of his eye but Yeosang did not pay attention to him. He prepared for bed in silence and did not turn towards San again.

Seonghwa eventually knocked gently on the door to wish them good night. "Yeosang-ah, do you have everything you need? Do you need a glass of water?"

"Can I have one?" San whined from under his covers.

"Yes, you can." Seonghwa turned towards Yeosang once more. "If you need anything, you can knock on my door, it's right opposite yours. Oh, and don't get scared if you hear cries during the night. Mingi's sleeping in my room and he's teething, so he may wake up and cry."

"Yeah, it sounds as though he's being murdered," San added with a giggle. But he received a cold glare from Seonghwa, who then discreetly checked on Yeosang. But he did not seem perplexed.

He eventually brought San a glass of water and smiled to them both. "Have some good rest, you two." San smiled, too, and Yeosang nodded politely.

That night, Yeosang slept more soundly than any other night he could remember. He was not scared that he might wake up to the sound of booming voices and of glass shattering, that anyone might enter the bedroom to come after him. He could simply hear San's breathing and, from time to time, Mingi's tenuous whimpers and Seonghwa's soothing humming.