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Yunjin is sitting down on the edge of her bed, letting her legs dangle on the side just beside the ladder. She absentmindedly stares at the bed below hers ㅡ the bed that was once owned by Yoona before she had to leave the orphanage.
It's weird seeing the bed empty. By this time around, Yoona would still be asleep there even if Yunjin had already called her name multiple times. What can she say? She sleeps late. Not the 11 pm kind of late, but the 6 am one. And although Yunjin admits that it was difficult to wake her up, she can't deny how much she enjoyed mornings like that.
Yunjin climbs down when she sees her Jihyo-unnie stop by their door. Jihyo is one of the orphanage staff whose job is to, well, remind the children of the time. Similar to today, she would call the children to go to the dining hall when their meal is served. She would also get the children ready for bed when it was nearing their bedtime. And of course, she's also assigned to call the children when there are adults interested in adopting.
"Good morning, Jinni!" Yunjin smiles when she heard her nickname. Only Yoona would call her that. Yoona and Yunjin gave each other nicknames because they think it was cute. It was. Now that Yoona isn't here with them, Jihyo started calling her by her nickname (with Yoona's permission, of course). Yunjin thinks it's thoughtful.
"Good morning, unnie." She greeted back. She let the younger children run out of the room, as always, before following them to make sure nobody gets left behind. It just feels right, you know? Even if it's not her responsibility, being the oldest child in the orphanage makes her want to look out for the little ones.
Once they reached the dining hall, the children were quick to sit in their usual spots. Yunjin quietly sits on the corner beside Jihyo.
"How are you doing these past few days?" The woman asks, her eyes filled with concern.
"I've been doing better." Yunjin looks down, "I still miss having Sullyoon around here though."
Jihyo gives her a sympathetic look. It's already been around three weeks since Yoona left; she can't deny that she misses the girl, too. The teen was an absolute angel to them all. She was kind, polite, and caring. Even though she was shy, she never failed to comfort the younger children especially when they didn't get adopted yet.
"Her birthday's tomorrow," Yunjin mentions, blankly staring at the food in front of her. "I'm usually excited to celebrate her birthday with her, but she's not here anymore. It won't be the same."
"I understand how you feel, Jinni. Do you want to give her a call instead? Let's give her a birthday call tomorrow, yes? I'm sure her parents wouldn't mind."
The bright smile that Jihyo received from Jinni made her heart melt. She swears she'll do everything to get the pair back with each other.
ㅡ
"Good morning, sunshine!"
Yoona groans and covers her ears with her hands. She turns around her bed to shield her face from the unwelcomed sunlight coming from the wide glass windows in her bedroom.
Yunjin never woke her up like this. She'd usually wake her up calmly until now that is.
"Let's get up and start our day! It's almost 9."
"Jinni, you're too noisy. Stop."
Yoona hears a small laugh. "Last time I checked my name it was Sana, silly girl. Come on, Tzuyu made us breakfast."
Sana? As in the kind unnie who would always play with her and Yunjin in the orphanage? What's she doing in-
Oh. Right. She's not in the orphanage anymore.
She'll never get used to having a 'real' family and a 'real' home, she guesses. Because, it's already been a few weeks since the couple adopted her, and yet, she can't help but wish to go back to the orphanage. Not that she wasn't thankful. Of course, she'll always be grateful; she has a home now.
("What do you think of coming home with us?"
Yoona tilts her head in confusion when she heard what Sana said.
"What do you mean, Sana-unnie?"
"Well, your Tzuyu-unnie and I would love to be your parents-"
"-that is if you'll have us, of course." Tzuyu finishes.)
But deep inside, she knows she left her real home back in the orphanage.
("Is.." Yoona looks at the other side of the room where Yunjin is playing with the younger children. "Is Jinni coming, too?"
Does Yunjin even know that Sana and Tzuyu are talking to her about adoption?
"Well, uh.." Sana and Tzuyu stared at each other. The brief silence that followed was enough for Yoona to know.)
Her real home. Yunjin.
"Oh, sorry m-mom. I'm just, you know, not used to this yet."
Sana holds Yoona's hands, and in the most caring tone, she speaks, "you don't have to call me nor Tzuyu mom if you're not yet comfortable. You can always call us unnie. And it's okay if you take your time, alright? Your Tzuyu-unnie and I will always do our best to care for you, to protect you, to love you ㅡ to be your home."
"Thank you, Sana-unnie."
"Let's go? Tzuyu's probably waiting for us already."
"Alright."
The breakfast of the Chou-Minatozaki family is not silent as usual. Although the mothers wouldn't open up about topics about their work in the house (they've got enough stress already), they'd always find a way to talk about other things. Today, Tzuyu decides to start a conversation about Yoona's birthday.
"So, what is it gonna be, princess?" Tzuyu smiles at Yoona. The girl only hums in confusion, the hotdog on her fork halfway from completely sliding down. "What gift do you want to get for your birthday?"
Yoona must've forgotten about her birthday. Just kidding. She hasn't. She just purposefully didn't do her usual birthday countdown because Yunjin isn't with her. What's the point, right? Without the younger teen on her birthday ㅡ in her life, even ㅡ things won't be the same.
"You don't have to give me a gift, Tzuyu-unnie. The both of you adopting me is more than enough."
"Are you sure, sweetie?" Sana asks, genuinely curious. "You don't have any place you want to go to? Anyone you wanna be with...?"
"I..." want to go back to the orphanage to be with Jinni. "I'm good. Thank you, unnies."
Sana and Tzuyu shared a meaningful look. Just like that, they knew exactly what to give Yoona.
ㅡ
The rest of the day was quite uneventful for Yunjin. She did the same old routine which includes long hours of spending time with her friends. She didn't even realize that it was already nighttime.
Jihyo leads the children to their respective beds, and Yunjin just tagged along behind her.
Once the children were tucked in their beds, Jihyo turns around to look at Yunjin. "Are you sleepy yet?"
"Uhm," Yunjin stops walking, "no, not really. Why?"
Jihyo holds Yunjin's hands and she leads her out of the bedroom to the other room where multiple cabinets were placed. That's where the children's belongings are.
"Someone called earlier." Hearing it only confused Yunjin more. "Like, someone wants to adopt you, Jinni."
"W-What?"
"And they're supposed to fetch you first thing tomorrow since, you know, it's your bedtime already and the orphanage doesn't take in guests at this hour. But they said it was pretty urgent, and the head of the orphanage agreed to them, so we need to pack your things now. They're on their way, I think."
Adopt her? Someone's going to adopt her?
What if Sullyoon visits the orphanage? Will she still be able to call Sullyoon when she's already in her new home? Heck, she doesn't even know Tzuyu-unnie or Sana-unnie's phone number.
Can't they at least adopt her after Sullyoon's birthday?
"Shouldn't I be aware of the person, Jihyo-unnie?" Yunjin swallows thickly. "I mean- I- when the others were adopted they had this.. this meeting thing with their soon-to-be parents, right? Why didn't I meet mine?"
"Oh," Jihyo scratches her head, "right. We thought you wouldn't need to have this formal meeting with them since you've met them a couple of times already."
"I have?"
"Yeah," Jihyo picks up Yunjin's luggage bag. She glances at the hallway from across the cabinet, "looks like they're here already. That was quick. Seems like they're excited to take you home."
Yunjin turns to look at where Jihyo's looking.
"Sana-unnie? Tzuyu-unnie?"
They're the ones who are going to adopt me? I'll be with Yoona again?
"Hey, Yunjinnie!" Sana greets her, her bright smile showing. Yunjin, for whatever reason, stayed still on her spot. Luckily, the couple continued to walk to where she is. They both hugged her.
"Ready to go home?" Tzuyu asks.
"Home?"
"Yeah, with us," Tzuyu pats Yunjin's head, "with Yoona."
I'm going to be home.
Yunjin finally smiles at them. "Of course!"
Once everything was settled, the family bid their goodbyes. Yunjin gave Jihyo a tight hug and promised to visit the orphanage often, saying that she was going to miss the other kids, too.
"Nervous?" Tzuyu asks, eyeing Yunjin from the rear-view mirror. The drive back home is smooth with only a few cars on the road.
Yunjin breathes out a laugh, "more like excited, unnie. I can't believe this is happening. The night before her birthday, too!"
"That's the plan, sweetie," Sana spills. "When we had our breakfast, we asked Yoona what gift she'd want to have. What do you think she said?"
"Nothing," Yunjin answered.
Sana agreed. "Exactly. But we know that deep inside, she would want to be with you again. You're her best friend, after all; her sister."
"It was a mistake for not bringing you home with us when we took her in. We could've prevented both of you from being sad and homesick. We're sorry." Tzuyu genuinely said.
Yunjin, in return, gave them a genuine smile. "That's okay. I'm really grateful to be part of your family."
"We are, too."
ㅡ
"Home sweet home."
Sana and Yunjin got out of the car. Tzuyu told them to go ahead as she looks for a vacant parking spot.
"Let's go?" Yunjin nods at Sana, her backpack behind her.
"Yoona's room is on the right. I think she's asleep now. She's been practicing how to sleep early," Sana chuckles. "Her bed's pretty big for only one kid."
"We still get to share a room?"
"Yes, Yunjinnie. Go on, I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you. On the night before her birthday, too." Sana quotes.
Yunjin walks to the door. She contemplated whether she had to knock first or not, but knocking might disrupt Yoona's sleep, so she decided not to. She slowly opened the door and immediately spots Yoona curled on her bed.
"She sleeps the same," Yunjin thinks to herself, a fond smile appearing on her face.
She quietly drops her backpack on the floor and lies beside Yoona on the bed. The movement stirred Yoona awake.
"Jinni?" Yoona's still hazy considering that she just woke up from her ruined sleep. She could barely open her eyes.
"Just go to sleep," Yunjin whispers.
Yoona must've been really tired since the moment Yunjin said that, she immediately drifted back to slumber, pulling Yunjin closer to a hug they usually share when they have these random 'sleepovers' back in the orphanage. Yunjin subconsciously hugs her back, closing her eyes to let herself fall asleep.
"I might be dreaming." Yoona suddenly whispers. "I love this dream."
"Yeah?"
"Mhm. I'm finally home."