I'd hardly learned that the three children were coming when they were knocking on the door. Truthfully I knew very little about kids. While I wasn't opposed to the idea of having children it wasn't something I thought about considering it seemed so unlikely to ever become any kind of reality.
As soon as the children arrived the middle boy drew my attention. He looked just like Yoona did when she arrived. Terrified. Confused. Overwhelmed. Like he wanted to be anywhere else, especially somewhere he wasn't surrounded by strangers.
As soon as his older brother began to cause sufficient distraction he bolted. I chased him down the hall and into Namjoon's room where he quickly slid under the bed, scurrying all the way against the back wall. On his way to his hiding place he'd knocked over a large stack of books causing a loud clatter.
I knelt down on the floor next to the bed so I could look under and see him curled tight in the farthest corner.
"Hey little guy. I promise we won't hurt you. Can you come back out?" I tried to be as gentle as possible, avoiding spooking the poor boy further.
In return he just shook his head no, eyes wide as saucers when he looked at me.
"Ok, when you are ready then. I know it has been a big change and it must be confusing, but we are going to take care of you now. Your mom will be here soon and I know she'll be glad to see you."
He just shook his head no again, still refusing to speak.
It seemed we might be here for a while so I grabbed one of the blankets off Namjoon's bed and laid it on the floor next to the bed. Now I could more comfortably lay down and keep the young boy in sight.
"My name is Jimin, can you tell me your name?"
He shook his head no.
"Would you like a snack? Or maybe something to eat?"
Again no.
I reached up and grabbed the stuffed Koya koala from Namjoon's bed showing it to the small boy. "Can my koala friend come to visit? You might feel less lonely if you have a friend."
He didn't shake his head no. After a long pause he reached his hand out just a bit. I slid the koala stuffy across the floor to him and he scooted over just enough to grab it, scurrying back to the farthest corner afterward.
After a few minutes Namjoon's bedroom door slid back open and Hobi Hyung slipped inside.
"Hey, how's it going?" He whispered to me.
"He's very nervous and shy." I whispered back. I pulled Hobi close to where I was laying so he could see under the bed too.
"Hey, this is my friend Hobi. He's really nice and he's a friend of Koya, the koala you're holding. Do you think it would be ok if he sat out here with me?"
The little boy didn't really respond but Hobi cut in. "I know some great stories about Koya, do you want to hear them?"
It was just the smallest of movements, but the little boy nodded yes.
"Do you want to come out? It might be more comfortable."
Once again he shook his head no.
"That's fine. You can hear just as well from there."
Hobi began to share stories of all of Koya's adventures. I knew My soulmate had a special gift when it came to sharing stories in his music, but I'd never heard him make up and tell stories like this. Even I was enraptured hearing about Koya's adventures, friendships, and family. Koya had an older brother and a younger sister, just like the boy hidden under the bed, and sometimes Koya got nervous or scared when he was around strangers. Hobi shared sweet stories about how Koya enjoyed exploring the park, learning at school, playing games, and coloring. He told the little boy about all of Koya's friends and the things they did together, adding silly voices throughout as he told the boy the gentle story.
I snuck out of the room at one point to get a small snack for the boy and when I returned Hobi quickly incorporated the food into the story. "I'm not sure if I told you this yet, but Koya's favorite snack is apples. His favorite way to eat then is with a friend. Jimin just brought Koya a plate of apple slices, do you think you can share them? I bet that would make him extra happy."
I slid the plate part way under the bed and watched the boy slowly scoot just a bit closer so he could grab the apples off the plate. But to my surprise he didn't scoot back to the corner right away. Instead he nibbled and stayed close to the plate.
For each slice of apple he'd 'give' a bite to Koya, and then he'd take a bite himself. Whenever he pretended to give a bite to Koya, Hobi would make a funny chewing sound, as if to confirm Koya was really eating the snack.
When the snack was finished and there was a small break in the story, we finally heard the little boy speak. "Potty?", he looked at us pleadingly.
I pointed to the door on the other side of the room with a big smile, then both Hobi and I stepped back, wanting to give him plenty of space to get past. After he ran past, slamming the door behind him I grasped Hobi tight.
"He's beautiful isn't he?" I sighed out. "And you are going to be such a good dad" I told him with wet eyes, "I just know it."