Jaemi’s POV

Name: Kim Jaemi
Age: 17
Blood Type: AB Positive
Parent or Guardian: Sae Somang Ae Jib Orphanage
Siblings: N/A
School: Jungwon High School

Parent/Guardian Information:
Korean Name/Address: 새소망의집: 경기도 부천시 소사구 괴안동 185-35
Name: Sae Somang Ae Jib
Address: Gyeonggido, Bucheon-si, Sosa-gu, Gwye An-dong 185-35
Phone: 031-2612-6463

[A/N: this is a literal orphanage in Buncheon… I got the facts ;). Also, it’s not only Korea, but there are many orphanages that accept high schoolers. Countries think it’s unfair for the teenagers who are in the same position as the children to not attend orphanages. Bad wording, I know. I’m tired *sighs* Here you go~]

“This is the information you’ll have to hold onto.” Byeol explains to me. “You’re new around here, if you get lost, just give this to the townsfolk. They’re really friendly.”

She looks at me with a smile before redirecting her focus on the road.

“Thank you.” I bow slightly.

“Not at all.” She chuckles. “Here.”

She pulls over at a rest stop.

“We’re about fifteen minutes away from the orphanage. If you’d like to change out of your clothing here-”

I look down at the hanbok (traditional funeral dress) I wear. “I think that’s a good idea.” I nod and open my car door. She pops the trunk before following after me.

Once I’m dressed in comfortable, casual clothing, we get back on the road.

“Byeol… how is it at the orphanage?” I ask, fiddling with my fingers.

“Oh, it’s better than you could imagine. Like I said before, you aren’t the only high schooler here. You’ll get used to their craziness after a few days.” Byeol mentions, laughing to herself as she recalls a funny memory. “I think they’ll brighten your mood. It’s one thing they’re best at.”

I nod in response. I highly doubt that… but… just how many of them are there?

“We’re here!” She says, happily.

My eyes widen. I originally pictured this place to be old, rusty, dirt roads, unsanitary buildings and what not. But… it’s more advanced than I imagined.

A modernized orphanage for the countryside. At least four acres of land for the children to play in. Bicycles for almost everyone staying here. A large playground, a huge pond with beautiful lilypads. Lastly, tall, green, bushy trees, creating shade so the children won’t get sunburned.

It's amazing.

“C’mon, let me show you to your room.” Byeol smiles as she grabs some of my bags from the trunk.

I take out my duffel bag and a roller from the trunk as Byeol walks to the entrance.

“Hoseok, can you help me?” Byeol calls for someone. I shoot my head up and watch a tall figure approach us swiftly. But I drop my duffel bag before I can get a good glimpse of his face.

“Hey, you’re back! How was Seoul?” He smiles at Byeol as he takes my bags from her hands. “You have this many bags? How come? Did you bring any presents for me!”

Byeol laughs and shakes her head. “Actually, I brought a new friend.”

I close the trunk top, putting me into view. I bend down to get a good grip on the bags and shoot back up to quickly catch up to Byeol.

“Byeol, I think that’s all of it, including your belongings.” I heave a sigh of relief and gaze at Byeol.

“Oh, that’s perfect, Jaemi-ah. You didn’t have to do that. I’ll take my belongings off of your shoulders.” Byeol smiles brightly at me.

As she claims her belongings from my grasp, I make my first eye contact with this stranger. His dark brown hair is wind blown. His eyes are wide and his cheekbones are hidden. He smiles widely at me, making his eyes look like down facing crescent moons.

I raise my eyebrow at him, a bit flustered and redirect my attention to Byeol, who’s already making her way down, past the entrance. I scurry to catch up to her with this stranger right on my tale. He carries some of my bags.

“Here’s your room, Jaemi-ah. I specifically placed you right next to Taehyung’s room.” She says, briefly placing her bags on the floor. “Oh, I forgot. Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to everyone. I guess you need time to cool down and get settled. J-hope, help her bring her things in. I’m going to unpack my own. Bye you two!”

She disappears from sight.

I blink. She didn’t introduce me to this boy. But his name is… J-hope? Hoseok? What type of name is that. Should I address him like that? Even though we didn’t officially introduce ourselves?

He clears his throat, grabbing my attention.

“Do you want help putting your things away?” He offers. “I have time.”

“It’s fine.” I take my things from him and force a smile. “I can do it myself. Like Byeol said, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nods and jogs down the hallway. Once he’s out of sight, I loosen up. Remember what Byeol told you. This isn’t the end.

I open my room with the key Byeol gave me in the car. The room’s cozy. Not too big, not too small. You’re going to be living here from now on, Jae. Might as well make the most of it.

It takes me a few hours until I’m satisfied with my rooms appearance. I check the time. 8:02 pm.

I guess I should just crash. It’s been a long day anyways. I’ll find that stranger… what was his name... H-hope? J-hope? Whatever, I’ll just find him tomorrow.

After taking a shower and reading a few pages of a novel, I finally fall asleep.

I miss you, Jeon Jungkook.

------

5:30 am

I wake up to the noise of the early birds chirping. Peeking through my window, I find the sun slowly rising. Yawning, I get up and stretch. I guess this is what I get for going to sleep so early.

I leisurely change into a short, white, loose dress and head for the pond outside. Even though it’s early in the morning, the weather is so nice. Fresh.

I take a deep inhale of the air in front of the pond. The rising sun rays shimmer on the pond’s water. Something you’d only see in dreams. I slip my sandals off and slowly dip my feet into the cold water. I don’t think Byeol will mind.

The crickets and cicada bugs make beautiful noises. The frogs croak and the flies buzz. It’s sounds almost like a song. A way to communicate with each other. Without my remark, my feet start moving on its own. It glides across the water, making splashing noises adding onto the other sounds. My eyes close and a small smile creeps up my face. I find myself swaying and soon full on dancing, a few feet into the water.

My eyes open almost immediately as I bump into something… or someone rather. I plunge backwards and land into the water, creating a loud splash. I scare away all of the frogs, crickets, cicada bugs and flies. I sit in the freezing cold pond, almost soaking wet. My hair is half into the water and I catch myself with my hands, landing on my back.

Great. This is the last thing I need from everything I’ve dealt with. How atrocious.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” The unfamiliar voice says with full concern and helps me up. “I thought I was the only early bird around here.”

I place my hair on one side and squeeze water out of it. I find myself unable to respond to his apology due to how freezing I am. I shiver and goosebumps appear everywhere.

I look up at the stranger. His jeans are folded up halfway. The sun shines on his hair, making it glow. His eyes shine brightly without the assist from the sun rays. His cheeks are defined and his soft eyes soothe me.

“Here, you must be cold. It’s my fault. Let me help you.” He takes his jacket off and attempts to put it over my shoulders. However, I push his hand away.

“It’s fine. My room isn’t far from here, I can just get a change of clothes.” I counter, rejecting his offer.

“But…” He points to my chest.

I look down and and widen my eyes. My white loose dress is see-through and shows my white bra. I quickly take his jacket and cover myself, my cheeks color almost instantly.

“I don’t have a towel on me, but I can get one for you once we’re inside.” The stranger says, changing the subject.

“You don’t have to assist me to that extent. It’s my fault for going into the water in the first place.” I say, getting myself together.

I’m so embarrassing.

He ignores my comment and leads me out of the water. He sits me down a few meters away from the pond, disappearing for a few minutes. I pull my knees to my chest and keep them warm by zipping his big, puffy jacket up to contain the heat. He returns with towels, a blanket and two hot teas.

He places a white towel on my hair. I unzip his jacket as he wraps me in a beige, fluffy blanket. He hands me the tea and sits next to me.

“I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you new?” The stranger questions, taking a sip of the tea. “Ah! It’s hot.”

He sticks out his burned tongue and lets the cool air sooth it.

“I returned with Byeol from Seoul.” I say, trying to contain a chuckle from his cuteness. I drink my tea, feeling the burning hot liquid flow down into my stomach.

He sticks out a hand to me. “I’m V. However, at the orphanage, I’m mostly known as Taehyung.”

“Kim Jaemi.” I shake his hand and take another sip of the drink. “Thank you for the refreshment. I’m starting to warm up.”

“That’s a relief. It was my fault for bumping you into the pond. I’m usually the only one up at this time. On top of that, no one really goes to the pond except for me. I didn’t think anyone else was around at that time. Sorry.” Taehyung bites his lip and smiles at me.

“Not at all.” I assure him. “It was the perfect wake up call, I guess.”

“Hey, wait, you said you came with Byeol from Seoul?” Taehyung confirms. I nod my head in response. “Hoseok told me about you!”

“H-hoseok?” I raise my eyebrow. “You mean the one that helped me with my luggage?”

He blinks at me. “I guess? I don’t know, all he told me was that there was a new high schooler here. He didn’t tell me you were a girl!”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I squint my eyes at him.

He stays quiet and avoids my eye contact. Is he going to answer my question?
Instead, he moves onto changes topic.

“I’m sorry about earlier. You know… your dress and what not. And I pointed at-”

“It’s okay.” I cut him off, almost laughing. “You’re still on that? I told you already, it’s not your fault.”

“I suppose so.” He looks up at me and smiles once more. When he smiles, his lips are slightly, heart-shaped. Childish, in a good way.

“I should probably go shower and get ready.” I say, getting up first. “Thanks again for the drink.”

I hand him his blanket and leave first.

“I’ll see you at breakfast!” He says once I’m almost out of sight.

I turn around and find him waving at me. I show him a thumbs up.

“Don’t forget! I think you have school with us today.” Taehyung mentions.

Already?

Once I turn the corner, I head for my room. Hanging outside my door, I find my school uniform, ironed and new.

Byeol.

Notes

Chapter update!

Two new characters are introduced in this chapter, pretty short, I know. I was originally going to have it longer, but I split this chapter in half. Going to update part two on Friday as promised. Thank you for reading and showing interest in my story so far! I'm excited.

Lemme know what you think so far. VOTE///COMMENT///SUBSCRIBE

See you in the next chapter~!
~Alexis Thao

AH! And click on my name! I just updated my profile. Or, I mean, just click this.