Family

“What do you mean, you adopted a kid?!”

Ever since Sae-byeok told them about her best friend Ji-yeong, both In-ho and Gi-hun felt like they needed to find her.

In-ho had decided he would call his brother Jun-ho, who was a policeman, and would try finding some information about Ji-yeong.

They hadn’t spoken in a few months, and Jun-ho was unaware of the fact he had adopted a kid with his husband, and was clearly surprised.

“Yes, I did,” In-ho said. “I wouldn’t be bothering you if I didn’t feel like this was urgent but trust me, it is.”

“You called me after six months with no contact, and suddenly you adopted a kid without even telling me?! And you expect me to just be cool with it?!”

In-ho sighed. “Ok, Jun-ho, you’re right. I’m sorry. I promise I will call you more. You can even meet this kid, if you want, this afternoon, and we’ll talk about it calmly.”

“Fine. I’ll see you this afternoon at your house,” Jun-ho said before hanging up.

In-ho came out of his room and went to the living room with his husband, who was waiting for him impatiently.

“So? What did he say?” Gi-hun asked.

“He’ll come this afternoon to talk to us and meet Sae-byeok.”

Gi-hun nodded, already expecting that would be his answer.

“Should you tell Sae-byeok or should I?” In-ho asked.

“Tell her what?”

“About my brother coming. I’ve noticed she doesn’t like surprises; she prefers knowing what’s going on,” In-ho said, standing up to get a glass of water.

Gi-hun looked at him with a surprised, huge smile.

“What?” In-ho asked once he noticed the way Gi-hun was staring at him.

“I hadn’t noticed that,” Gi-hun said. “You are paying more attention to her than before. You’re getting attached, and I love that.”

In-ho, with a small smile, just said:

“Shut up.”

—

When Jun-ho came (after having told Sae-byeok a few hours ago), the first thing Gi-hun and In-ho saw was a very noticeable bad mood coming from the younger brother.

They sat down on the couch.

“Ok, let me get this straight. Your daughter had a friend in the orphanage who got adopted before her, and you want to find her,” Jun-ho said, noting things in his notebook.

“Yes, exactly. We think it would make Sae-byeok really happy,” Gi-hun said.

“Sae-byeok, hm? And what is the full name of the girl you want to find?”

“Ji-yeong.”

Jun-ho stared at him, already losing his nerves.

“I said full name.”

“Oh,” Gi-hun said and looked at In-ho. “We don’t know.”

Jun-ho got up.

“Are you kidding me?! You expect me to find a 10-year-old kid who got adopted years ago, and you only know that her name is Ji-yeong?!”

“Jun-ho, calm down,” In-ho said, getting up too.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! I’ve had a horrible day, and now I have to deal with your bullshit?”

He covered his face with his hands, and took a few seconds to breathe.

In-ho was worried. His brother must be really upset to be yelling like this. He already kind of assumed what was going on, and he felt like he should apologize.

“I’m really sorry, Jun-ho,” he said. “I should’ve kept in contact. After dad died, I just wasn’t expecting it. I should’ve called you more often. I should’ve been a good older brother. I’m sorry, Jun-ho,” he continued. “You have every right to be upset, but I promise you, this is important. This would make Sae-byeok really happy.”

Jun-ho sighed.

“Where is the kid?” Jun-ho asked.

As soon as he said that, they heard the sound of a door opening.

It was Sae-byeok coming out of her room.

Jun-ho looked at her for a few seconds, before smiling.

“Hi,” she said. “I heard everything.”

The three men stared at each other worriedly. Before Gi-hun could speak, she continued.

“I appreciate you wanting to make me happy,” she said. “But I understand and have already accepted that it’s impossible to find her. I’m never going to see her again.”

After she said that, she turned around and went back to her room.

—

Sae-byeok didn’t come out of her room for the rest of the afternoon.

When it was time to have dinner, In-ho knocked in her room and found her with three of their cats on her bed.

He chuckled. “You really like cats, don’t you?”

Sae-byeok shrugged her shoulders.

“Listen, Sae-byeok,” In-ho said. “We are going to have dinner now, but I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?”

“I understand how you feel, and I know you understand how we feel. That’s why we decided we’re going to send you to a real school. I know it’s your first time there, and you’re probably scared, but we think it’s for the best. You’ll meet kids and you’ll make friends. We know you will.”

Sae-byeok looked at him horrified. A real school? Did they not know how horrible she was at socializing in a place she had spent her entire life at? How was this going to be any different?

But instead of complaining, she just nodded.

“I understand,” she said, even though she didn’t.

In-ho smiled. “We’ll give you a month to get used to the idea, and you’ll start in January. Now, let’s have dinner.”