dicey ↬ nomin

Ch.7

"When is your wedding?" Jeno asked Hyora and took her hand, swinging their arms as they walked.

"Umm, tomorrow! You have to be there."

Jeno shook his head and laughed. "I have to go to school tomorrow. But how about you tell me all about it when I get home?"

Donghyuck cooed at how cute she was and also at how soft Jeno was when it came to the orphaned children. He was like their real big brother. "Girls, why don't you go and chase the boys? You could still beat them home if you start now." He gave the five of them a push forward after pulling Gaho off his back and they went running as fast as they could down the path, keeping a safe distance from the road.

"So how's school?" Jeno asked, never really talking too much about Donghyuck's academic life since they didn't actually stay together at school. It's not that he didn't care, but he thought that Donghyuck may have considered it his own business and not Jeno's.

"School is school, bro. How good could it be? But I suppose ever since I became friends with Mark, I've looked forward to going to school more."

The black haired boy nodded in understanding, happy that his 'brother' was happy. "Oh, Mark is Jaemin's friend, right?"

"Yeah. Mark is closest with Jisung, Renjun and Jaemin, but he introduced them to me a few months ago. They're quirky but they're real, and that's more than I can say about some of the other kids at school."

As Jeno suspected, their friend groups seemed to web out but still found a way to intertwine; Jeno was close with Chenle, who was acquainted with Jisung, who was close to Jaemin, who was close to Mark, who was close to Donghyuck. It was a strange web, but a tightly knit one. Not to mention Chenle and Renjun were in the after school Chinese club together on Wednesdays, where they were free to speak their native tongue and socialise.

"I think I've finally found somewhere outside the orphanage where I can fit in," Donghyuck hummed. Jeno remembered when the boy first arrived at the home, back when he was antisocial and thought he didn't fit in. Once he opened up to everyone and discovered that the children there were the same as him, he struggled to fit in outside of the haven.

"That's good," Jeno murmured and looked over at his friend, putting an arm over his shoulder. It was silent until the stampede of kids came running at them.

"Ki won the race!" They cried, the ten year old boy nodding coolly and walking up behind them.

"Nice," Jeno high-fived him and they walked until the path ended. They had come back to the two boys because they knew they weren't supposed to cross the road without them. Taking their hands to stand in a long line, they stepped onto the road as a group and walked over to their home.

"In we go," Donghyuck said as they filed in, splitting to go to their rooms and put away their school bags.

When Chenle popped his head out from the living room where the loud tv could be heard, Jeno suddenly remembered his sore back. The stinging was faint but he knew he probably needed to disinfect it again later, just in case anything could cause an infection. "We're back."

"I can see that. Anyway, it's still early so do you want to go out with me?"

"Sure," he agreed and went up to their room to change. He brought his shirt into the bathroom and treated it to remove the blood stains and put into the washing pile. He slipped into casual clothes and went back downstairs, where Ms. Kim was on the phone with a huge smile on her face.

"Ready?" Chenle asked and turned off the tv. As they were about to head out, Ms. Kim put the phone down and called out to them happily.

"That was Kei on the phone. He's settling in well to his new home but he misses you guys. He said he'll call back tomorrow to talk to you older kids."

Chenle and Jeno smiled from ear to ear, glad to hear from their friend. "I miss him too," Chenle murmured and put his arm over Jeno's shoulder. "Lucky guy. Not many fourteen year olds get adopted."

"Indeed," Ms. Kim smiled. "Anyway, go and have fun. I just wanted to mention his contact. Jaewoo and Hyuck would probably like to hear from him too."

Jaewoo came out of his room, having heard his name from down the hall. "Ms. Kim? Did you call me?"

"Ah, no. I was just telling these two about something. Bye guys," she waved them off and beckoned Jaewoo into the kitchen to tell him about Kei.

***

"Jeno, Ms. Kim didn't want to tell you just yet, but one of the boy's might be going to a foster family."

He felt his heart skip a beat and constrict, but he knew that it was good news. "Oh, who?"

"It's Dongwoo. Frankly, I think Donghyuck will take the news harder because he has a strong sense of family, but it's a good opportunity. It would be ideal if it was adoption though."

Jeno frowned and nodded. "He has to agree too, though, so I hope he does. He deserves a family, you know?"

"Yeah," Chenle smiled as they walked. It was always a difficult time for them when a child found a home, albeit foster or adoption. Especially for the older kids who had been tasked with looking after the youngsters since some of them were still too young to walk. For Jeno, he struggled to separate the muddle of happiness for the children and the sadness that he was being left.

He couldn't tell which emotion outweighed the other, but he just hoped it was the positive one.