Family

To Gi-hun’s surprise, it took him way less time to convince In-ho to accept visiting that 10-year-old girl again. He wasn’t expecting he’d accept so easily, even though In-ho would do anything he could to make him happy. He should’ve known, to be honest.

When they arrived at the orphanage, In-ho surprised himself by feeling nervous. This might be his future daughter, and he would have to act as nice as possible.

The workers guided them to a room, where Sae-byeok was already waiting for them.

Gi-hun couldn’t help it, so he ran to hug her. He’d been waiting for this moment for the last few days, he had been so excited to see this kid again.

Sae-byeok wasn’t expecting it, so she didn’t return the hug. When In-ho’s eyes locked with hers, he tried giving her a small smile, which she also didn’t return.

“I’m In-ho, nice to meet you, Sae-byeok,” he said, noticing how Gi-hun’s smile hadn’t dropped.

The girl just nodded. For a moment, In-ho thought his future husband was crazy for wanting to adopt this kid. She wasn’t exactly nice, not even polite.

They all sat down, and Gi-hun started a conversation.

“So, Sae-byeok, what have you been up to this week?”

“I haven’t done much, as usual. I’ve been reading comics.”

She had a relaxing voice, In-ho thought. Not exactly girly, but feminine. She didn’t seem like a bad kid, but In-ho couldn’t help but think there was something off about her.

“That’s cool. Do you often read comics?” Gi-hun asked, a smile still on his face.

“I love reading comics. Any kind.”

As Gi-hun and Sae-byeok had a small conversation about comics, In-ho had time to analyze the girl. He had noticed she was tall for her age, and had some freckles that made her seem very innocent. She was calm, and seemed like a patient person.

“In-ho loves reading, not exactly comics, but he loves reading novels,” Gi-hun said, trying to add him to the conversation.

Sae-byeok looked at him. She didn’t look nervous at all, not even excited about the fact that she might get adopted soon.

In-ho nodded, and before he could speak, two people entered the room aggressively. There was a teenage boy walking towards Sae-byeok and a social worker trying to stop him, and before they could do anything about it, the boy slapped the 10-year-old.

“Hey, dude, what the fuck?!” Gi-hun said, standing up and stepping between Sae-byeok and the stranger.

“DEOK-SU! I’VE TOLD YOU SAE-BYEOK IS ON A VISIT!” the worker said, angrily. “I know you’re mad, but we never respond with violence. Understood?”

In-ho, who had also stood up, looked at Sae-byeok. She had her hand on her slapped cheek, and was looking at the ground, embarrassed. Gi-hun was on his knees, asking her if she was ok.

“But, miss!” the teenager said. “She ruined my notebook!”

“And she’ll be punished for that. But so will you, for the way you’ve reacted, now, come on!” the worker said, trying to pull Deok-su out of the room.

“Wait,” In-ho said. They both stopped, and looked at him confused. “Deok-su, isn’t it?” he said, and the boy just nodded. “Do you know who my husband and I are?”

“Well, two queers who want to adopt a freak!”

In-ho looked at him with hatred. What was he? 15? Who had allowed a teenage boy to be like this, going around hitting little girls?

“Listen to me, Deok-su,” In-ho said, approaching the younger boy. “If you continue bullying my future daughter, you and I will have a huge problem. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m capable of. So, let me give you this advice: stay the fuck away from her.”

Both Gi-hun and Sae-byeok looked surprised. Gi-hun was happy to see his husband standing up for the child. He was even more surprised about the fact she had called the girl his “future daughter.” During the whole visit, he thought In-ho wasn’t excited about adopting her; he hadn’t been interacting with her at all.

Sae-byeok wasn’t expecting someone to defend her, as she couldn’t remember the last time she had been defended.

Deok-su had never heard someone be so aggressive and calm at the same time. It scared him how this man, who was around 30 years older, was staring at him. He looked strong.

He just nodded, trying his best not to seem afraid.

“Good,” In-ho said. “Now, apologize.”

“I’m sorry,” Deok-su whispered.

“No. Not to me. Apologize to her.”

Deok-su stared at him. He definitely did not want to apologize to Sae-byeok. They both had a horrible relationship and had hated each other ever since they could tell. But, again, this man scared him.

“I’m sorry, Sae-byeok.”

In-ho grinned. “Good, you may leave now.”

—

When they were going back home, there was silence. In-ho was the one driving, and he looked lost in his thoughts. Gi-hun was scrolling through his phone when he heard his husband speak.

“We are getting that girl out of the orphanage as soon as possible.”