The Orphanage

Jinhyun woke up, feeling groggy. He had been seeing these strange dreams ever since he arrived back in Korea.

What is going on? He wondered. It was the second dream he had. In it, he saw the red lady but her face was contorted with hatred. And he… he was wearing the garb of an Emperor. Even though Jinhyun was not much into history, he had once acted in a historical period drama. He knew what they used to wear. Was it his mind playing tricks on him?

Hr was quite unsettled after what he witnessed last night. It was still hard for him to believe that a man had turned into a chameleon in front of his own eyes. Was the red lady an enchantress?

Dismissing his thoughts, he rolled over the bed to check his phone. He had a few messages from Sekjong about more agencies. Sighing, he scrolled through his social media accounts.

Millions of messages flooded his inbox. Most of them were asking the same thing: which agency will he join?

"People sure are persistent," he muttered. His mail option lit up with a notification. He opened it to see that the old man from the apartment had sent the contract.

Jinhyun got up and grabbed his laptop. He went through the contract. It was reasonable since he was not really bothered about the rent. Even if he was not active for the past two years, he still earned a lot of money from the different companies he had invested in.

Moreover, he also held over a hundred copyrights for the songs he composed for both EXOTIC and other artists, from which he received millions of dollars in royalties. He had enough money to last him ten lifetimes.

He quickly signed the contract electronically and sent it to the old man along with the advance rent. He then continued to browse his Instagram when, he came across a picture.

It was from an NGO which featured Happy Life Orphanage. They were holding a mini concert for the children there.

Happy Life Orphanage…

He quickly got up to get dressed. Fixing himself a toast and juice, he headed for the hotel lobby. He instructed the receptionist that he will check out in the evening and to arrange for a moving company to take his luggage to his apartment. He then went outside towards the hotel's car. Once inside, he gave the driver an address.

An hour later, he reached an orphanage in Incheon. Jinhyun got out of the car and looked at the building. Happy Life Orphanage.

It was a three storeyed building but inside, there were several other quarters. The place was huge with a large field at the back for the children to play in. The children were running around, wildly as they played different games. As soon as Jinhyun entered, a few children stopped and squealed.

"It's EXOTIC!" one child exclaimed pointing at him. Soon, numerous children surrounded him. Jinhyun smiled at them. Seeing their happy faces brought in many memories.

"Kids, wanna take a group selfie?" he asked out loud.

"Yes!" they echoed.

Jinhyun took out his phone and the children gathered to fit in the frame.

"One… two… three… Smile!"

The children kept on insisting for more pictures and Jinhyun was busy with their requests. He felt like a child himself as the children insisted on piggy back rides.

"Kids, what are you doing?"

An elderly matron came running out of one of the buildings. "Stop bothering the guests!"

She chased after the children who scurried off to avoid getting punishment.

But once the matron saw Jinhyun, her strict demeanour softened. "Jin…"

Her lips broke into a smile.

"Teacher Song," Jinhyun greeted, bowing low. "It's been a long time."

Song Siyoung was one of the oldest staff members at the Orphanage. She had been taking care of hundreds of children all her life. Despite her strict methods, she was a warm hearted person who only wanted the best for the children.

"Come into my office," she ushered him. "It's been such a long time since I've seen you!"

Jinhyun followed her inside. Upon entering, he noticed that there was a notice board on the wall where news articles of Ms. Song's old students were pinned. His picture was also pasted on it.

"I keep tabs on my old students whenever I see any news about them," she said.

"Are you in touch with them?" he asked as he took a seat opposite her.

"I am with some of them," Siyoung sighed. "But not with everyone. They probably don't want to be associated with their old life."

There was a hint of sadness in her tone.

"Not everyone likes to be branded as an orphan for life," Jinhyun sighed.

"You still came," Siyoung said gratefully. "Even before you left, you visited us regularly. You didn't have to and yet…"

"It was my home for fourteen years," Jinhyun smiled. "What's wrong with coming back home?"

Siyoung sighed. Jinhyun was always the odd one out of all her students. Most orphans she knew grew up to hate their fates. They start to despise their luck and status as orphans. It was natural for them to be angry since they feel abandoned by the society.

But Jinhyun… He was never ashamed. He was young but very optimistic. His angelic voice soothed the hearts of the children and he used to sing them lullaby every night.

Siyoung still remembered the rainy night when she found Jinhyun abandoned at their doorstep. There was no note attached. All Siyoung knew was that whoever abandoned this boy was an unlucky parent. The boy sitting in front of her… No. The man sitting in front of her had worked hard and accomplished all his dreams without any support. He fought tooth and nail to reach his status as the Nation's Idol King. Yet, he remained humble and grounded.

"I saw the article on the net," Jinhyun said. "There will be a mini circus here?"

"Yes, during the afternoon," Siyoung replied. "An NGO helped us out in order to give the children some entertainment."

"Are the children happy?" he asked. "Do they need anything? Books? Stationary? Sports items?"

"We have plenty," Siyoung laughed. "Thanks to the generous checks you've sent every year! I don't think we could have survived without your help!"

Jinhyun smiled. There was a knock on the door. One of the older children barged in.

"Ms. Song!" he cried. "The cartoon mascot won't be able to come! Apparently the mascot man fell sick."

"Oh dear," Siyoung moaned. "The children were looking forward to the mascot! Is there anyone else who can fill in?"

"No miss," the student said. "There's no one else…"

Jinhyun spoke up. "I can do it," he volunteered.

"No Jin, you shouldn't," Siyoung said. "You must be busy with work! We can't make you-"

"I have plenty of free time," Jinhyun assured her. "I can do it. I'll be fine."

Siyoung was tense but buckled under Jinhyun's eagerness.

"Fine," she conceded. "But only this once."

Jinhyun smiled and turned to the student.

"Bring in the costume!" he exclaimed.

….

He stood in the middle of the field as the children surrounded him, gleefully playing with him. Jinhyun was dressed in a Yogi Bear costume. Even though the weather was not so hot, he was still sweating inside. But all thoughts of the heat disappeared as soon as he saw the children enjoying themselves.

"Who wants to hear a story?" he exclaimed.

"Me!" a few of the children shot their hands up. The circus was more like a fair the NGO had arranged on the field. From candy stalls to toy stores, the children were able to enjoy a full fledged fair. There were activities like goldfish catching, face painting, fortune telling etc. Jinhyun was impressed with the arrangement.

"Who arranged all this?" he asked the student from earlier, Kang Shindong.

"It's an NGO called Blossoming Flower," he replied. "It's fairly new but it is owned by Cherry Pie Group. It's a renowned cosmetic brand."

"Ahh…"

He looked around as the children played around in glee. Whoever arranged this for the children has a big heart, he thought.

He felt someone tugging his arm. He looked around to see a little girl around three years old.

"Yook Yook," she said, stretching her arms.

"She wants you to carry her," Shindong said.

Jinhyun scooped down and picked her up in his arms. The girl held his mask's snout and said, "Yook!"

"What's your name, pretty lady?" Jinhyun cooed.

"Joori," the girl squeaked. She patted his furry costume as Jinhyun carried her around the fair.

"Joori wants a toy?" Jinhyun asked as he held up a doll. Joori shook her head and pointed at the balloons.

"Joori wants that?"

She nodded. Jinhyun was about to hand her the balloons when something made him freeze.

It was that feeling again. He sensed someone was approaching him. A familiar presence which tugged at his heart. It was not in pain yet, he felt like it was being ripped off his chest.

"Ahjumma!"

Joori exclaimed. Ahjumma?

Jinhyun turned around to find a familiar face. The face which looked at him with sheer hatred in his dreams. The face he yearned to see for the past two years.

The red lady was walking towards him.