Desire ◆ | Yungi ✓

Episode 1: Wake Up ◆ Part 1

Jeong Yunho didn't remember coming into the world. One day, he just opened his eyes, and he was sitting inside a dull orphanage. He didn't remember his parents' faces. He wasn't sure if he had any to begin with. He was just there. He only knew his name because the warden had told him.

Beyond that, life was a mystery that he didn't have any care to discover. The other kids hardly had any interest in him. Interactions were sparse. Yunho seemed to be an easy target, so the older ones would bully him if they bothered to waste time that day. However, he would only sigh whenever they picked on him.

There wasn't much to do in the orphanage. Bookshelves sat in the spacious common room, but the stories didn't intrigue the children. If anything, they were just for decoration. The warden didn't read them either. Perhaps that's because they were books provided by government officials, so the contents focused on how to please the Queen and other boring topics.

Art day was once a week. If anyone drew something deemed "inappropriate," they would be punished. Yunho drew a sword; he saw it on the hip of a soldier who came by to extort money and snag a free meal. He couldn't fathom why when the orphanage food tasted as dull as the ambiance. On that day, he and the rest of the kids watched the soldier sexually harass the warden.

He had no remorse for doing it in front of the children. Yunho learned at the age of seven what sex was. Apparently, the soldier liked the warden enough to reappear several times. Yunho and the others didn't entirely understand it, but they knew that something wasn't right—why would their guardian scream and cry otherwise?

When the warden saw Yunho's drawing of the sword, she slapped him. Yunho was confused about it, but he figured out why she did it; he was exceptionally smart for his age. Later on, he went to her bedroom and apologized for triggering her trauma. The warden was shocked to the point of tears.

"Where did you learn that word from?"

Yunho pointed at the mattress. "From those books you're not allowed to have."

The warden frowned. "It's wrong to go through my things. If you want to read, read the books provided in the common room."

He shook his head. "Nobody else reads them."

"Then, you can be the first."

So, Yunho started reading the books on the shelves. He didn't understand most of the words, but he used context clues. Nothing entertained him, but he read them anyway. He read the whole collection. It gave him something to do.

A few days in the month, the toy chest would be unlocked. It had a padlock to keep the children out. The selection was minor, and it was first come first served. There weren't enough toys for everyone. Somehow, Yunho could almost never make it in time. He got to play five times a year at most.

He ran as fast as he could. Someone tripped him. They pushed him. It was war whenever the toy chest was opened. So, he pushed them, too. A toy would be left for him whenever he did. That's how Yunho learned that he needed to fight to get what he wanted. Violence was necessary.

If he failed to get a toy, he would sit and stare blankly. The only toys that were available year-round were geometry toys and education tools. He had already solved all of those.

The warden peeked into his room and found him sitting on one of the many beds. "Yunho, you've been staring at that wall for three hours. It's dinner time. Come eat."

"Yes ma'am."

Yunho hopped from the bed and followed her out like it was nothing. She finally noticed that he had never smiled once. For as long as he had been here, Jeong Yunho didn't smile at all. Not that there was anything to smile about, but still... Maybe he didn't even know how.