Teddy • 2jae

07

6 months later

I sighed as I slipped my shoes off after a long day of teaching. I slumped into the couch of my cozy apartment and closed my eyes.

I moved to my own place about a month and a half after. Although Wonho and I still see each other almost every day. The boys visited when I moved in but of course not at the same time. We couldn't risk letting Jaebum know.

I felt terrible every time they mentioned him. I would interrupt and remind them of the deal we made that they wouldn't let me know anything about him. That would shut them right up.

I've kept myself completely isolated from Jaebum. I changed my number, my email address, and anything and everything that would act as a passage. I didn't want anything that had to do with him.

My phone buzzed and my attention was drawn to it.

Wonho, it read. I smiled and I accepted the call.

"Hey, Ms. Hong sent me an email in regards to the available days.", he said.

I sighed in relief.
"Oh, I'm glad to hear that. When can we go?"

"The earliest is two weeks from now. Apparently a lot of people are interested in visiting, too. I'll keep you updated, though."

"Sounds like a plan. I can't wait."

~
Youngjae's flashback (2 months before)
My breath hitched as my heart thumped against my chest. I felt my head spin and just for a quick second, everything turned white.

"Are you joking?", I asked the kind doctor in front of me.

He chuckled and smiled warmly.
"Of course not, Youngjae. The surgery was a success and your recovery was quite impressive. I bet Doctor Heo is proud that she sent you here to us."

I chuckled and tears of joy almost slipped from my eyes. I happily shook his hand and thanked him over and over again. The first thing I did after leaving the room was call Wonho. His voice overfilled with excitement and he insisted on taking me out to celebrate.

Then, I called the boys. They sent me letters because we knew it wouldn't be safe to secretly meet up. However, Jackson and Yugyeom visited a week later. Bambam was out of town but he was kind enough to send me a present from Australia.

I'm free.

~
Present day
The sound of the apartment doorbell slightly startled me, but then I remembered that it was Wonho. I quickly got up from the sofa and made my way to the door. He smiled brightly when he saw me.

"You ready to go?", he asked.

I nodded. We hopped into his car and made our way to the orphan home. Yes, I'm adopting. Not us. Just I. Wonho and I aren't on that level. Well, at least I don't think we are.

It took a while for us to get there, because Wonho wasn't exactly the best at directions. When we finally reached the said destination, the front porch was filled with young children running around and playing with little dolls and action figures.

I chuckled when I saw them smile at us. We went inside and asked for Ms. Hong, who was to show us around.

"Oh you're here!", a voice called out.

Ms. Hong led us to one of the first rooms we would visit. It was an art room. There were plain canvases and jars of paint, along with round tables that had tools in the centre like crayons, scissors, and markers. The walls were decorated with paintings that the children had made, themselves.

We got a chance to introduce ourselves to different kids from different parts of the house. However, one out of all stood out to me.

We were led into a room with beige walls and black chairs. It was solemn but a soft melody was heard from the piano in the centre of the room. I take it was the music room. A little boy sat by the instrument and his small fingers danced on the keys. His other hand held a small stuffed bear.

I grinned when I recognized the familiar tune. He stopped when he realized he wasn't alone. His round eyes widened just when I thought they couldn't be any bigger.

"Hello.", he said softly.

I smiled and waved at him. "Hello."

"May I sit next to you?", I asked him.

He nodded and scooted over, making some room. He continued to play as if the events that took place before, never happened. When he was finished, he looked at me and asked if I liked music.

"Yea, very much. The piano's my favourite."

He smiled. "It's mine, too."

"Can you show me how to play that little song of yours?", I asked, as if I didn't already know how to play Mary Had a Little Lamb.
I saw Wonho smile in my peripheral vision.

"What's your name?", I asked the boy after he finished playing the song.

"Teo. But sometimes people call me Teddy."

~

"It seems like you guys get along quite well.", Ms. Hong said once we were back in her office.

We chuckled and I nodded, thinking about Teo once again.

"Then, I guess it's settled. We'll have everything arranged in about 3 weeks and by then, he'll be ready to go home. You can visit of course, just so he's more familiar with you."