But I found you

10

"Two years passed in the orphanage and my birthday came. I was so used to being silent in my room and receiving no gifts or wishes on my born day through those years. I almost forgot that it was my birthday. But that day suddenly Miss Choi, the owner's wife started to gather us in the living room. She practically dragged me out of our dorms and dressed me in a new dress that I never saw before." Yushin continued the story as if nothing happened after dropping the bomb, Jimin's wedding disaster.

"She is coming to celebrate your birthday you stinky little thing. Get dressed in these and behave!" is all that she said to me.

"I had no idea what she was talking about so I silently obeyed her. Then after one or two hours, the old lady came. But with a new visitor this time. A lady. The most gorgeous and stunning woman I have ever seen was standing in front of me dressed in a pastel blue dress. She had an alluring smile and aura that could make anyone respect her with one look. She came closer to me and caressed my hair with a smile. I felt like heaven. It was the most affection I felt in ages."

"Shin this is your new mom. Mrs. Park Mishil" Mrs.Choi introduced her to me, and it was something that I never imagined I would hear until I die. She was nervous just like me. But Madam Park, the old lady who used to visit us, quickly came and hugged me.

"We are going home, my good child"

"Home?" I asked.

"Yes. Home" She replied while looking at the younger woman who stood there looking at me with such tender eyes. But I had no idea why I was going home. I thought I did something wrong so,

"I'm Sorry Mrs.Choi I didn't do anything wrong" I tried to convince her even though my insides were flipping out at the thought of the dark room and the punishment. That was how much we were mentally manipulated to get a feeling of guilty naturally. The two women laughed loudly...

"No sweetheart. We are taking you to our home. You can stay there as much as you want" Mrs. Mishil told me reassuringly. That's how I realized that I was going to get adopted by two most gorgeous and kind women in this world. I was overwhelmed by knowing that I'll be finally going home. I cried. I cried a lot. Eomma, I mean Mrs. Mishil held me and wiped my tears. So finally I grabbed a few things that belonged to me, some clothes and toys and a photo. Mrs. Choi didn't even bother waving me goodbye. I didn't care about it either. I was going home and that was all that mattered to me at that time."

"Get in the car pretty eyes," Madam Park told me and tucked me into the back seat. I was sitting right beside my new mom. She held my little hands.

"So what is your name sweetheart?" She asked in her honey-like voice.

"Yushin.Song Yushin"

"You have a pretty name and a pretty face. Just like your mother" Suddenly Mrs.Mishil spoke.

"My mother? Do you know my mother??" I asked out of curiosity.

"Of course, I knew her. We were high school best friends"

"She died," I told her.

"I know baby... I'm so sorry I was too late...I wasn't here when she left all of us and when I got to know about you, you were already at the orphanage" Mrs.Mishil sounded really upset and when I look at her, she was crying. I had no idea what she was talking about. So I held her hand and remained silent. I was a silent child back then and as a grown-up person crying was a new thing to me as I'd never seen Mrs. Choi or her husband cry.

"Mishil-ah, why don't you calm yourself for a bit hmm? We can talk about all those things when we go back home. I think Jimin must be home by now so he'll be waiting for his new friend... Don't you think so dear?" My new granny told Mrs.Mishil.

"Yes, mom...I'm sorry I've got a bit emotional. Shin Hye was my best friend but I couldn't be there for her when she needed me the most. Now my son will be a good friend to her daughter. I'll take care of them both"

"Yes dear...she is a pretty flower who will grow up as a kind lady just like you, under your caring hands" Old Park smiled at me so tenderly. I was so happy to know that my mom was Mrs.Mishil's best friend. At that time I didn't understand why but I knew they were good people. My mom was a good woman. She was the most caring and kind person as my granny told me. So I assumed that her best friend would be the same. Within two hours we reached our destination, my new home. It was huge and white. A beautiful flower garden surrounded the elegant-looking house.

"Minnie...Eomma is home my baby" Mrs.Mishil called someone while helping me out of the car and stepping into the house. Then a boy, the prettiest boy I have ever seen was in front of me. Puffy cheeks and plump lips with chubby hands. His smile reminded me of happy things. He was barely four or five. So small and so younger than me. At that moment, I got a feeling to protect him at any cost. He was that adorable and cute. He directly ran into his mother's hands burying his face in her embrace. Then after his little head peaked out looking at me.

"Noooonaaaa?" He looked back and forth between me and his mother.

"Yes, Jiminie...She is your noona. Come and greet her" granny told him patting my shoulder to encourage me. Then Minnie...Or Jiminie... came to me and hugged me...

I grew up in an orphanage surrounded by a lot of kids who were younger than me. I helped them walk, talk and play through the whole two and half years. But that was that. I never felt anything special toward them. They were just orphans like me. But when Jimin hugged me, I felt like I'd met someone I'd missed for a long time. I felt at home. They all treated me like one of their own and I barely met Jimin's father. Mr.Park.He was a good man back then. He cared about his family. Loved his son and his beautiful and kind wife. Worked so hard to make them happy. Daesung wasn't as huge as now. So he worked so hard. We barely had a meal with him and it affected Jimin the most.
He slowly lost interest in asking mom "Mom, is papa coming?"
One day he completely stopped asking. I was 15 and he was 9.

With time I learned that before my mom's death while I was only a baby, she contacted Jimin's mom and asked her to take care of me if something happened to her. But around that time, Mrs.Mishil was getting ready to go to abroad for her studies. She promised my mom that as soon as she was back, she will visit us. While studying, she met Mr.Park and fell in love with him and in a year they got married in Japan, then Jimin was born and she couldn't do as she promised. But she tried to contact my mom only to know that both she and her husband died in an accident. So she told Mr.Park's mom...my new granny, to search for us. She finally found me in an orphanage and at that time she had no evidence that I was Kim Shin Hye's daughter. So while visiting us, she kept it a secret from Jimin's mom. Then soon after they found out that I am Song Yushin, Shin Hye's daughter. So that's how I got adopted by my mother's best friend. They gave me shelter. Good food and affection. A dongsaeng I adored a lot. Life was good and I was doing my best to help them and keep Jimin and his mom happy. Our granny loved us a lot. Her habit of telling bedtime stories to us never left her. Even when we were teenagers, she used to talk with us for hours at night. Especially because Jimin's mom started to distance herself from both of us. She still cared for us. Looked after us. But her bright aura was not there. She looked dull and sad. Whenever Mr.Park was home, he started fighting with her for silly reasons. Jimin and I used to hide in our rooms until midnight and cried ourselves to sleep while holding each other. We were all we had. He loved me as his own sibling. So I counted on him. One of those days, when we were still teenagers...she was gone. She was nowhere to be seen. Jimin was 14. I was barely 20. Our mom, our sunshine..our smile left us even without telling us. But we never hated her. We never blamed her for doing that. We were prepared for something worse and when it happened, we were not even shocked. Not even Old Park was shocked. We knew all along.

"Then what happened?" Jin asked. Yushin looked like she was in a trance and shakes herself out of it while releasing a deep sigh.