《stray together》

Smoking Gun

Changbin clutched onto the straps of his small child's backpack which contained everything he owned- three shirts, three pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, seven pairs of underwear, and a comic book. As he silently waited for his case worker to finish filling out the paperwork, he stood straight like a soldier, and had impeccable manners. To be placed in a foster home instead of the tightly packed, uncomfortable orphanage was usually an exciting day, but already having been placed with a foster family once before and removed due to abuse, the small boy was apprehensive. Most kids hoped it would be the perfect match, that the family would love them and end up adopting them; Changbin just wanted a safe placement. So, despite being only six years old, he decided he had to be on his best behavior, give the best first impression, be the child that any parent would dream of having, for the placement to be nice to him.

At first, they seemed like good people- Changbin's foster parents. They took him to the store and bought him things he would need, like a toothbrush and other toiletries, as well as a few more clothing items. He didn't ask for anything, and politely nodded when they asked if he liked a particular scent of soap, or if the boots fit his feet.

On the fourth day with his new placement though, he 'messed up'. It was the weekend so his foster mother, Garam, had prepared lunch, instead of that which he would have gotten at school. When his meal was brought to the table, he noticed it was Gyeran Bap, which included eggs.

He was certain that his paperwork clearly stated his allergies, but thought maybe it was just a mistake and that his foster mother forgot since it was a new dietary restriction in the household. So, he just ate around the eggs, and scooted them off to the side where they would be all that was left. In South Korea it was typically considered rude to not eat everything that was served, but there was an exception for allergies, so he thought nothing of leaving them untouched. Until his foster father yelled at him.

"Changbin-ah, your eggs are going to get cold." Jang Woo Sung, Changbin's foster father, stated.

The small boy had his hands politely in his lap, and his chopsticks placed on the table, instead of in the bowl, indicating he was finished with his meal. "Oh, thank you, but I can't have them."

"Eh?" The sound not yet revealing how displeased Woo Sung was, "excuse me?"

Changbin gulped, realizing that he rocked the boat. "I.. I have an allergy.."

"So you're just going to waste food that we spend our hard earned money on? Be ungrateful for the meal my wife made for you?"  Woo Sung sat his chopsticks down, quickly pointing behind Changbin, "Go sweep the kitchen to make up for the amount you wasted!"

Immediately nodding, Changbin jumped from his chair. "Yes sir."  He replied before scurrying off to complete the command.

It wasn't a horrible job, but for a six year old, it wasn't easy, trying to hold the dust pan still while also coordinating the broom to push the debris into it. It was a big kid chore. But, Changbin thought a lot about it afterward. He wasn't hurt, and maybe it did make sense, that he should do chores to earn for the wasted money. Maybe it was just a lesson. Yeah, it wasn't so bad. Not like his last foster placement that would pull his hair really hard and scream at him, or when they would slap him until his nose bled. But what didn't make sense was how angry Woo Sung was over the money. From the moment Changbin arrived at the house, he realized his foster family was rich, so to be so bothered by him not eating something he was allergic to, in regard to cost, seemed silly.