this chapter refers to bullying, abuse and other forms of violence. once again please proceed with caution lovelies!
~ years ago ~
"hey hyung did you hear about the new kid?"
"new kid?"
"yeah! i heard that he doesn't even know his name. like blank slate, he has no clue where he came from; said he woke up and was at our front gates."
"that's weird."
"jun, don't say that. you have no clue what he might've been through. and mingyu! no gossiping. you remember how much it hurt your feelings when they made fun of you in the beginning."
mingyu slouched in his seat, eyebrows glued together. "that was different! i tripped and gave myself a concussion... so what?! it shouldn't have been such a big joke." he huffed, crossing his arms.
seokmin lips spread into a wide grin, "i remember that! that was the same day i came, and i was afraid he died right in front of me!"
mingyu pushed seokmin's shoulder, his face a deep red from embarrassment. "shut up! at least my parents didn't drop me off here saying that it was day camp..."
soonyoung sprung up from his seat, pointing at the tall boy. "look! i was five and i didn't think my parents would abandon me... it was probably for the best anyway..." he looked away and sat back down in his seat, his head cradled in his hands. he whispered through a small smirk, "... but at least i'm not a mafia child."
jun's eyes widened at that jab. "what my family did is no longer my responsibility. my folks are in prison, as they should be." he chuckled lightly, "but i would make one handsome mafia boss."
"jun you can't say that!" seungcheol gasped.
"yes i can, actually." he smiled at his friend, "because my story doesn't beat vernon's."
"my parents didn't want me because i looked too american. but helloooo when one of you is literally american don't you think your child would take some of your genes? at that point just don't have children! it's not even a hard solution!" vernon yelled, pulling his hood further down to cover the disgust in his eyes. "but hey, at least i knew my parents didn't love me," he said softly, glancing over at seungcheol, "i'm sorry hyung."
seungcheol threw him a small smile and shook his head softly, "it's fine."
though the boys liked to joke about their pasts, they knew it wasn't something to be taken lightly. each and every one of them had suffered and endured through more pain than they should have as young boys.
☁︎
seungcheol was the first of the group to have joined the orphanage. he came from a happy family: father, mother, seungcheol, and his younger brother. the four of them lived humbly, yet happily. they were not rich nor poor, but they had what they needed and a little extra.
it was when seungcheol turned ten that he found out about his father's gambling problem, and the large sum of dept he had with the man who ran the local casino. wanting to help, seungcheol would do chores for his neighbours and give the earnings he made to his father; to help him pay off the dept that his mother and younger brother were unaware of.
one night, seungcheol woke up to the sound of banging and screaming. he jumped out of bed peeked down the stairs, where he could see his mother on her knees in the living room. "where is he?!" he heard a man yell. he moved his head, but couldn't see the owner of the voice. "i don't know!" his mother screamed, the sound of her sobs ringing in seungcheol's ears. "he owes us money, mrs. choi. now tell us where he is or he gets it!"
"please don't hurt him, please! i don't know what money you're talking about! my husband has no dept!" she cried, her long black hair covering her face as her hands stretched out in front of her, as if she were grabbing for something.
'his dept...' seungcheol thought to himself, 'did i not make enough money to pay it off?'
"he said he had the money for us tonight, but he's not even here! so we're taking compensation for his tardiness." the man laughed loudly and seungcheol heard a small scream, "he would do greatly to make up for the dept... i've always wanted a son."
"mommy..." seungcheol cupped his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound of his gasp. that was the sound of his younger brother. were they going to take him? where was his father? everything was happening so fast he didn't know what to do.
"i'm begging you please don't take my son!"
"then what would you suppose-"
the sound of the front door slamming was heard.
"honey guess what i just bought a new- oh shit! mr. wong! it's nice to see you this fine evening."
"where's my money, choi?"
"ah you see i used it for..."
"so you don't have my money?"
"i'll have it to you next week, i promise!"
"you said that last week, too late."
*bang*
seungcheol watched as his mother hit the floor, her white nightgown slowly staining a deep red as the blood spurted out from her stomach. her already pale skin looking translucent as the life drained from her eyes.
"mommy!" he heard his little brother shout, his cries echoing through the house.
seungcheol's palms started to sweat thinking about what would happen next. he wanted nothing more than to go down there and kill the man that just shot his mother, but how could a small boy like himself beat a grown man with a gun?
meanwhile, the screams of seungcheol's younger brother grew louder. "i don't like annoying children," the man grumbled, "i've always wanted a son... but i don't want to take the son of a liar, he would end up just like you, mr. choi. too bad, he's cute."
'wait-'
"mr. wong plea-"
*bang*
seungcheol felt his heart drop into his stomach, tears streaming relentlessly down his face. he couldn't see his brother, but he didn't want to. the fact that he knew he wouldn't see him alive made him want to throw up.
"i told you, choi. give me my money or i'd make you pay extra~" he drew out his words, his cold tone sending shivers down young seungcheol's spine.
"you're a monster!" he heard his father yell, the rage in his voice trying to mask the guilt, sadness and panic he had boiling within him.
"you're next, choi. anything you wanna say before i blow ya brains out?" the man said through a smile, cocking his gun.
"i do actually...
seungcheol...
run and don't look back!"
seungcheol knew he had to go. this wasn't something he could fight. he either runs or he dies.
he shot up and ran to his bedroom window, jumping out from the second floor without hesitation. he winced as he landed on his arm, knowing he most likely had broken it. he ran barefoot in his pajamas down the streets of his neighbourhood, not looking back at his house.
*bang*
he heard in the distance, and he knew his father had died as well. he couldn't help but let the tears roll down his cheeks, running for his life from the people who took away everyone he loved.
seungcheol ran for what felt like hours, through bustling plazas and busy streets to avoid getting caught by the bounty hunters who were most likely looking for him. he bumped into many people who tried to ask him if he was alright, panicked by his appearance and obvious distress. he didn't try to answer anyone, too afraid of trusting someone who could potentially hurt him.
it wasn't until he finally reached a police station that he stopped running. after explaining what happened to the officers, he sat in the station by himself. cold, scared and alone. he wished that it wasn't real, that he would wake up and be back in his bed. but he knew this was reality. he was by himself.
eventually, the police caught the bounty hunters and put them behind bars, but not before the government placed seungcheol in the orphanage. everyone seemed to have shitty stories as to how they ended up there, which gave seungcheol an odd sense of comfort. it was then that he promised himself that no matter what, he would protect others. he decided that people deserve comfort, understanding and love. if no one else would provide that, he made sure that he did.
☁︎
"maybe this new kid just needs some friends. and we'll be just that, his friends."
the rest of them mumbled to themselves but all came to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt to try and be nice to the new kid.
"um, hello."
the boys' heads whipped around to see a young boy, with chocolate brown hair and eyes to match. he held up his little hand and waved it gently. "it's nice to meet you."
"well it's nice to meet you too." seungcheol smiled brightly at the child.
the boy tilted his head to the side and returned the smile, his eyes curling into small crescents as his toothy grin took over his face.
"w-what's wrong?" the boy asked, causing the other boys to look over at their eldest friend.
seungcheol's eyes were streaming tears, but the smile still remained on his face. "it's nothing, you just remind me of someone." he whispered, bringing his hands up to wipe the tears away.
"may i know who?" the boy asked, his rich brown eyes peering into seungcheol.
"you remind me of my little brother, he died a long time ago, but you smile just like him."
the boy's mouth formed a small 'o' shape, and he nodded slowly, "what was his name?"
seungcheol's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes closed shut, trying not to let anymore tears escape. he took a deep breath and said, "...his name was chan."
"chan... i like that!" the boy cheered, his bright smile once again lighting up the room. "i think you guys already know... but i don't think i have a name... or at least i can't remember it." he said softly, his shoulder slumping in shame. "so, if you wanna, call me chan! the people who work here told me to find a nickname until they can figure out what my real one is. i-is that okay?"
the six boys looked at each other and nodded.
"chan... welcome to the group!" seungcheol laughed, ruffling chan's hair.
"it's not much, but what's ours is yours!" soonyoung yelled, his bright smile making chan laugh.
"thank you so much~!" chan said, tears starting to brim his eyes.
this was the start of a beautiful family.
❀
hello everyone!
i could honestly go on and on with the imanity boys' pasts, so if that's something you're interested in (as like lil bonus chapters) just let me know because they all have an interesting story behind them.
or on the contrary if you don't like these little flashbacks lmk because i don't wanna write something you're not interested in haha
poor bby cheol, such a strong and caring guy T-T the brotherly bond between all of them is just too sweet to ignore. (and now we know how chan got the name chan!)
by the way we passed 100 votes on this story so thank you to everyone who takes the extra few seconds to vote! it's a small action but it really shows that you guys enjoy the story and it keeps my wanting to write.
thank you as always for reading, it means the world to me.
keep a good sleep schedule, lovelies ❤︎ (because i wish i had one but i don't so i'm always a mess)