Picked up a little boy on my first day as a caregiver. I don’t know if I can be a good caregiver at this orphanage. I hope kids love me. I decided to name this boy Suho; he looks like one. "Suho" in English means protector." "Protector" is my word for today’s learning vocabulary.
— Lost Diary of Young Han Eunji, Page no. 120
Headache is what Suho woke up to; his room was messy, things were here and there, and his bedsheet looked like there was a bit of a struggle there. He can guess Haein wasn’t willing to go but was later forced to.
Damn! I am eighteen and drank alcohol? What a country to live in, right? Can enlist in the army at eighteen, but to drink, you need to be nineteen.
I don’t remember much, huh! So this Soju is my weakness.
Suho, even with a headache, stood up; his feet felt wobbly, but this was actually not that bad. He has been through much worse. The stitch mark on his forehead was not for show. Bullies had to think thrice when they thought about oppressing him. It’s just Mina doesn’t like it when he gets injured, so he has become tamer.
Speaking of the little girl, where is she?
As he tidied up his room, he pulled out his phone. It was already seven in the night, so the little girl should be back by now and would’ve been in his room. Maybe he was too sleepy to wake up for her.
She must’ve pushed me so much, haha. Knowing her, she must be angry a little.
Taking the leftover two packs of meat and the BBQ grill in his hand, he stepped out of his room and directly went to the caregiver’s corner; it’s basically a big room where the caregiver changes and stores clothes.
"Thank you, Minjun Hyung!"
"No worries, did you hear about our old orphanage director? She is back with us after Manager Choi got arrested for corruption. She was asking around about you too for some reason."
"Well, that’s news to me; I didn’t know it. Thank you for telling me."
Suho’s eye lit up when he heard about the old director returning. Manager Choi was a temporary government official appointed by the government because under Director Han Eunji this orphanage faced the fire incident, but now that she’s back, it’s good news.
"I’ll see you around, Suho."
"Y...Yeah!"
It was Minjun’s way to say goodbye to Suho; everyone knew he was moving out and he’s been here all his life.
Suho walked to the director’s office, empty-handed. He was not certain if she would be here at this hour or if she had gone back home, but seeing the office door was open and the lights were up, he smiled.
Last time I had to use so many tricks just to get out of this office.
Manager Choi was using this exact room, so Suho just shook his head and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"You’re back, Director Eunji."
"Suho! I was waiting for you to wake up. I heard you brought a girl inside your room?"
Suho bowed with respect when he saw the middle-aged woman seated behind that familiar desk; she nodded her head with a smile when she saw Suho entering her office door.
" Y... Yeah, she’s a friend. I don’t know why I did that. I know it wasn’t allowed in the orphanage, so I can hand over the room back to you."
"Oh? Do you? Then you should give it back tomorrow, or you can stay a day more; I’ll give it to someone in need when you vacate it."
"I can’t stay in there a day more, unfortunately, so I’ll hand it over tomorrow in the morning."
Eunji stood up; there was a smile on her face when she saw Suho. She doesn’t know why her heart aches whenever she sees this boy. As a person who can’t give birth, she and her husband tried to adopt Suho secretly many times, but their income was never above the national average. In Korea, if your income is not above the national average, you can’t adopt a child.
"That’s really unfortunate; I was hoping you could, but oh well!"
"Can you give this room to Mina instead?"
"Don’t worry about Mina; there’s news for you. I don’t know if it’s good or bad for you."
"Tell me the news first."
Eunji walked up to Suho, and seeing him so tall, she smiled. He was just a tiny baby she could hold in her one hand, but now he has grown so much.
"Your uncle Gunwo and I have decided to adopt Mina, and the government finally agreed that we are capable..."
"Finally? You’ve tried to adopt Mina before?"
Suho’s eye glistened with gratefulness. If there’s an adult in his life who helped him the most, it was Eunji, hands down, and he can’t find another perfect guardian for Mina. Her husband, Gunwo, is so kind that Suho had to question his own morality, and this couple single-handedly gave all the positiveness he has.
"Y...Yeah, Mina, many times actually, sniff!"
Eunji looked out of the window; the night was dark, so there was nothing out there she could see, but it felt like it was better to see nothing at this moment than to look at Suho. Taking a tissue in her hand, she pretended she had a slight cold.
"Thank you so much."
"You’re welcome; go now. Come here tomorrow when you leave."
"I will."
...
Leaving the director’s room, Suho went to the children’s wing. Although big boys were not allowed here after five, he was an exception. Entering Mina’s room, which she shares with five other girls similar in age to her, he smiled as he saw her studying on the white desk. He got her.
"Oppa, how are you?"
Before he could go to her, another little girl stopped him by grabbing his pants affectionately; she looked a bit chubby, and her name was Park Bomi.
"Bomi, I am good. How are you?"
"I am fine; the chair you got me broke yesterday, so..."
"I’ll buy you another one tomorrow. Is that why you’re not studying?"
"Yes, also I don’t like math."
"Who likes math? No one, but we have to learn it."
"Yes, but I hate it."
"Let me teach you how to make it fun."
Suho took Bomi into his arms and sat on her bed; then, placing her on his lap, he helped her out with the math problem she was having, and then, as he was about to end the lesson, he felt something wet on his hand.
"You’re crying? Why?"
"Y...You’re leaving us, right? Oppa?"
"Who told you that?"
"M...Mina"