Distant Daylight || Yunho (A Treasure Tale)

The Treasure Trove

Yunho's tenth birthday was the day things changed.

Sangwoo hadn't returned yet, despite the passage of winter, and while for Gunho he was only a distant thought, Yunho still spent afternoons looking out the window and wondering when he would turn up.

His absence didn't mean training stopped however, and Yunho would square up against bags of flour if he had to, he needed to be in shape. He needed to get out of here.

The orphanage didn't believe in birthdays, or at least they didn't celebrate them, which meant yet another secret pantry meeting to spend time with Gunho.

"I have to confess something," Gunho whispered, candlelight casting a strange shadow on his face. He was oddly withdrawn, only hesitantly partaking in the secret birthday feast with his brother.

"No you don't," Yunho chucked nervously. "Let's just relax and eat rice cakes."

"But..." Gunho bit his lip and looked away, and after that Yunho knew it was serious. "I was going to give you something for your birthday."

"What do you mean?" Yunho pressed quietly. "You don't need to get me anything. It would probably be confiscated anyway."

"It already was," Gunho whispered, rubbing his eyes. "Mother's music box. I was going to give it to you in case they move me to another room or someone adopts me—"

"What are you talking about?" Yunho asked slowly after gasping at the news. "You can't be adopted, not without me..."

"We don't know that," Gunho snapped back. "I just think Mother would want you to have it, so I was going to give it to you, but the caretakers saw it and they took it away."

Yunho sat back, astonished. "Well... where is it?"

Gunho finally met his eyes and winced at what he was about to say. "In the headmaster's office."

Yunho went quiet for a minute.

"Forget about it," Gunho eventually sighed when he received no response. "When personal objects go in there, they don't come back out. It's probably a lost cause."

"No, it isn't!" Yunho cut him off, a sly smile spreading on his face. "Let's sneak in and get it back!"

Gunho paled at the very idea. "But we could be caught..."

"What's the worst they can do? Put you in the delinquent room?"

As soon as it left his lips, Yunho regretted saying it.

It was true, he wanted company in his lonely wing of the orphanage. With Sangwoo gone, hardly anyone ever talked to him. But dooming Gunho to join him in his unfortunate fate...

Maybe it was better if he broke the rules alone.

"Never mind. You just keep watch and make some excuses with that baby face of yours if you have to," Yunho chuckled, getting to his feet. "I'll take care of this."

As he slipped out of the pantry and towards the headmaster's office, Gunho whined after him, "I don't have a baby face!"

Gunho wasn't joking when he said objects couldn't return from the study. The moment Yunho silently crept into the office, he understood why.

The stern headmaster's desk was frustratingly devoid of not only their mother's music box, but any stolen items at all. Yunho opened every drawer and even shook the massive thing to see if secret compartments would reveal themselves, but nothing worked.

All the trunks and bookcases yielded the same empty results, and soon Yunho was beginning to wonder if it was time to give up. He was tiring and becoming less alert to potential caretakers that might walk in on him.