Finding You

SPECIAL CHAPTER: A BLESSING AND A CURSE

The childish banters filled the empty corridor of the orphanage’s top floor and the sound did little to placate the qualms of the boy whom the adults called ‘new arrival’. He had a name, of course; then again, he did not mind that they failed to remember it. After all, he was just another face passing through another temporary home.

“You will be staying in the room at the end of the hall, Ji” – the bespectacled woman pulled out her notebook to do a cursory check on his information – “Ji Won.”

The child nodded sluggishly, then turned his attention back to the long passageway ahead of him. He squinted a bit until his gaze found the place the social worker was pertaining to.

“You will be sharing it with another boy,” she mentioned as they walked towards the room in question. “He’s kind of quiet and usually keeps to himself – like you – so I think you two will get along just fine.”

Ji Won’s response was to nod again, although the truth was that he did not really care about the type of person he would be sharing the room with. The only thing that mattered to him was that they provided him food three times a day, a bed to sleep in at night, and a roof above his head.

They reached the said room in no time and from the corner of his eye, Ji Won saw the woman jot something on a piece of document. He stole a hasty glance at the paper before it was stashed inside her bag.

Room: 410
Date of Arrival: September 25, 2013

“Hyun Sik, this is Ji Won,” the social worker told the boy who happened to be the room’s current tenant. “He will be staying here with you starting today.”

The boy the woman addressed as Hyun Sik did not bother to look up from where he sat at the edge of the bed. Instead, he simply gave a slight nod while he continued reading.

Something was telling Ji Won at that moment that Hyun Sik was different – he just couldn’t put his finger on it yet.

“A pleasure to meet you, Ji Won,” Hyun Sik said after an awkward pause. “Please feel free to occupy the other bed.”

The woman cleared her throat, obviously uneasy for some reason, then exclaimed a little too brightly, “Alright! I will leave you boys alone so you can get some rest or get acquainted with each other, yes?”

When the woman closed the door, Ji Won took tentative steps towards the bed across Hyun Sik’s. He sat on it and began to take out his few belongings from his knapsack, carefully folding the clothes before depositing them inside the small cabinet by the door.

As he pushed himself up on tiptoes to place the towels on the top shelf, his roommate spoke out of the blue, making him jump.

“How old are you, Ji Won?” Hyun Sik asked, still somewhat lazily browsing through the novel in his hands.

Ji Won tilted his head to the side in order to catch a glimpse of the boy.

“Six,” he answered.

Hyun Sik sighed before turning a page, then noted with subtle chagrin, “Miss Kang always gets the ages wrong. She previously informed me that a chingu was coming.”

“Oh, okay,” Ji Won mumbled. “Well… People always said that I was tall for my age.”

He closed the door of the dresser and traced his steps back to the bed, lifting both of his feet up on the mattress. He moved right away, pushing himself back with his skinny legs until he was sitting upright against the wall.

From his current vantage point, he could distinguish what his roommate looked like: chubby cheeks, two protruding front teeth, and a perfect bowl cut.