He Can't See You

멀다

멀다- to be far

Exonerate(verb)

To relieve (someone or something ) of a load; to (a load)

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I was shocked. What did she mean New family? "Come on, come on!" Mrs. Kanakubo said, pulling me out of bed. This would be a dream come true for most people but now for me. I wanted to stay here. I wasn't ready for a family yet. Sang-hoon was enough. I didn't even get to change out of my pajamas. Heck, I didn't even get a chance to grab my walking stick.

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I sat down in front of a man, a woman, and their two sons. Even under the worst circumstances, I had to put on a show. "Good morning. My name is Taehyung. It's nice to meet you. " I said with a smile. "Hello, my name is Mr. Jeon. " He shifted in his seat as if he was trying to stick out his hand.

"Actually sir, I'm--"

"Honey, he's blind. " A woman's voice cut in, which sounded oddly familiar. When he didn't seem to hear her the first time, she repeated it but this time more aggressively. "Honey, he's blind. " She whisper-yelled. I blinked a couple of times before regaining my posture. "Mrs. Jeon--I believe-- may I ask how you know about my disability?" I was starting to become highly of her. "Hey, kid. Watch it. Just because you're blind doesn't mean I won't pummel you. " A kid who looked a bit shorter compared to the other threatened. "Jungkook, it's fine. Taehyung. It's been a while. Do you recognize me?" She asked. I gave her a skeptical look. "I'm sorry. Have we met before?" I squinted. I had to admit, she sounded awfully familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. She chuckled a bit. "Taehyung, I thought you would at least try and remember me. " she chuckled. I had to admit, she sounded awfully forward, meaning I had to know her from somewhere. It couldn't be anyone during the time I was in the orphanage because the only adult I've met during that time period was Mrs. Kanakubo (she's the owner of the place and she's so kind.) I thought long in hard. It had to be someone I met before coming to the orphanage. I continued to scrunch my eyebrows in deep thought until it finally came to me.

But it couldn't be.

My heart was beating so fast, I had to take a few breaths before a I broke into a smile.

"Dr. Seong! I missed you!" I yelled.

I ran to her side, which may have been quite alarming for the others since, well I'm blind and I didn't trip. "I missed you too, Taehyung. " Her voice was soft and her arms were still warm after all those years. I knew it was her. A voice suddenly interrupted the moment. "Who's Dr. Seong?" The same rude boy from before asked.

A new voice came in, along with a smack behind the head.

"Ow!"

"Stupid! That's mom's maiden name! She was a doctor before she was married, you idiot!" The new boy hissed. He then averted his attention to me. "Hey, sorry about that. I just realized that we never introduced ourselves. My name is Jung-hyun. My rude little brother's name is Jungkook. Again, I apologize for his behavior. "

I let go of Dr. Seong and shook my head with a smile. "It's alright. It's nice to meet you guys. "

Dr. Seong patted my head. "Well, the reason we came here was actually to adopt you. " I felt as if my eyes were bulging out of my head. "R-Really?" I stuttered. I know I was told this piece of information before but honestly, it still found a way to alarm me.

Now seeing who was adopting me, I was starting to have mixed emotions. I felt excited to be reunited with them once again by then there was someone that seemed to bother me. "Sang-hoon. " I muttered. "Excuse me?" Jung-hyun asked. I blinked a few times and nervously chuckled. "Oh, nothing. If you could excuse me for a moment, " I got up and started heading back to my room. Everyone was still asleep except for Sang-hoon, who was putting his clothes in a large suitcase. My throat started to tighten. Was it guilt? Sadness? Loneliness? Maybe all three. I felt guilty that I would be leaving him and he still hadn't found a family yet. I was upset because I just realized that he was going off to college today anyways and no matter how hard we try, I'll be in Korea and he'd be in America. It's too far of a distance.

Confusion. Wasn't I supposed to be cheering my hyung on? I'm leaving anyways so what am I upset? "Sang-hoon?"  I said quietly. He glanced at me but then went back to packing. "There's my best friend in the world. Congrats on finding a family man. I'm happy for you. " Though he was smiling, his eyes told a different story. "Sang-hoon. I'm sorry. " My voice was almost a whisper. "What are you sorry for? The fact that you found a family before I did and I probably won't even have a chance to?!" He slammed his suitcase shut and that's when I saw tears fall out of his eyes. He slowly sat on the bed. "Why are you so fucking lucky? I've been beaten and bruised but I still kept on moving! Shouldn't I be rewarded?! What have you ever done?! Probably just returned 1000 won (~89¢) to someone cause they dropped it on the floor. You lost your family in a car crash! I lost mine one by one! Starting with my sister!" He was heaving and by this time, the others had woken up and heard him yelling.

"Hyung, I'm sor--" He punched me in the face mid-sentence.

"Stop. Saying. You're. So. Goddamn. Sorry!" he said in between punches. I didn't bother fighting back. Sang-hoon was holding in his frustration for so long. I didn't care if I was his punching bag anyway. If he felt better doing this then I'd be happy if I was used this way. I couldn't cry anyway. I've lost such a humane ability years ago. I reached my hand up to his cheek and wiped his tears. He suddenly stopped on fell on top of me, sobbing and all. Mrs. Kanakubo was already alerted along with the Jeon family and she was about to pull him off but I stopped her with a hand. I patted his head in a comforting manner. "Shh. It's gonna be OK."

I think after all this time, he never got a reassuring hug in his life. Mine was his first.

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I was patched up with some bandages and I was given a pack of frozen peas to ease the pain on my left eye. Mrs. Kanakubo said that I had a black eye but what does that mean? Is my eye actually black? I shuttered. We were sitting in the kitchen, Sang-hoon and I. He stared at the floor, his eyes still a puffy red mess from crying so much. My heartfelt as if it were being squeezed. I pulled my chair next to him and squeezed his cheek. He pushed my hand away but smiled a bit. Sang-hoon sighed. "Sorry," he said quietly. I plucked him. "Ow!" he yelled. "What the hell was that for?" I shrugged. "You told me not to apologize, you hypocrite." I looked at the clock hanging from the wall. "It's 10 o'clock. You have 30 minutes to prepare before you leave. Come on." I took his hand and together, we ran back to the room and prepared ourselves.

I quickly took a shower and packed my belongings while helping Sang-hoon find his last-minute items. It was fun playing scavenger hunt. We both came out of the room together.m and headed to Mrs. Kanakubo and the Jeon family. With my walking stick, I tapped the floor three times. "We're ready. " We said in unison.

We all went outside and said our final goodbyes. "Sang-hoon. I'm gonna miss you. " I gave him a hug and after a few seconds of hesitation, he returned it. I pulled his forehead to my level and gave it a kiss. "From your grateful little brother. " I smiled. He ruffled my hair but then he got serious. He lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Taehyung. I'm gonna need you to do me a favor while I'm gone. "

"Shoot. "

"I'm gonna need you to look for my sister. I haven't been able to find her after all these years. "

I pursed her lips. "What's her name?"

"It's been so long. Her name was Ara. But now, I think they changed her name. She was taken when she was eight so that means she will most likely remember her nickname. It's Bong Bong. Keep that in mind. " He pecked my cheek.

"Adios amigos!" He waved to everyone. He got into a cab and sped off. A hand fell on my shoulder. "Come on, I'll lead you to the car. " Jung-hyun said. I nodded my head. I waved goodbye to everyone at the orphanage and went into the car.

Today was the start of something new.

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