Days in Nights. /Yuta, Wonwoo/

Chapter 11

(10 years ago)

"Hyunwoo! Jung Hyunwoo!" A boy kept pressing the flat's doorbell, trying to call his friend.

The opened door showed a feisty-looking woman. "Hyunwoo can't go. Go home, you little shit."

"Wonwoo?" The kid inside the flat peeked from the kitchen. There were more than six kids inside that flat.

"Hyunwoo, let's go play at the park!" Wonwoo cheerily called his friend.

"I said, go home! He has works to do today. He can't play." The woman almost shut her door but Hyunwoo ran toward the front door and slipped through it.

Wonwoo then grabbed his hand as they ran together, laughing.

"You'll regret it when you come home later, you little fuck!" The woman angrily slammed the front door.

The two boys were still giggling as they reached the park in their neighbourhood.

"That was close. I thought you wouldn't come." Wonwoo said. "But will you be okay?" He noticed bruises on Hyunwoo's arms and legs.

Contrary to his worry, Hyunwoo smiled. "That's okay. I have to hold this until someone adopts me. Taeseong hyung said he saw a married couple looking for a 6-8 year-old son. I'm quite perfect for that, don't you think?"

"I wonder if someone will adopt Taeseong hyung, though. He's quite older than you."

"But he feels like a real hyung to me already." Hyunwoo replied flatly. "Can't he come too, when I get adopted later?"

"I don't think he can..."

"I wish I have an older sister. Just like you." Hyunwoo said. "Even though you haven't met her in a while."

The boys laughed together.

"Then my noona is your noona too. I'll tell you everything about her. How does that sound?"

"Nice!" Hyunwoo high-fived Wonwoo. "What's your sister looked like?"

"I don't know much, actually... Ah, I have memories of her drawing these characters on the cereal box. Was it Captain Yuyu?"

"Captain Yuyu? That sounds cool."

"She said all milks in the world will disappear if I don't finish my milk."

"But that's nonsense."

"Why?"

"I even had expired milk last week. They didn't disappear when I didn't finish it. I got hit instead."

Wonwoo felt bad about his friend. "Hyunwoo-ya."

"Hm?"

"Do you want to sleep at my house tonight? It's Sunday tomorrow, it should be fine, right?"

"I don't think I can..."

"I'll have my mum to yell at that crazy ahjumma, I promise."

"You do?"

Wonwoo nodded.

"Okay." Hyunwoo agreed. "I'm not quite a fighter but I can do a thing or two to protect you."

"Sure!"

At the house, Wonwoo wasn't surprised to find his mother fell asleep on the couch with a bottle of soju in her hand.

"Sorry. My mum loves to drink those smelly drinks." Wonwoo said to Hyunwoo.

"It's okay. I heard adults sometimes need to have those smelly drinks to forget things."