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Since Minghao was a toddler it had been very clear to his foster parents that something was off. The whole reason Minghao wasn’t with his own parents was the fact that his father left when he found Minghao’s mother was pregnant, and his mother had spent the first five months of the pregnancy smoking.
It came as no surprise that Minghao acted differently.
Since birth it had been expected that Minghao would be behind other children his age, or that he’d develop another condition. He had been born prematurely and very underweight, but despite that he hadn’t suffered too many issues. The doctors had considered him very lucky and they soon discharged him to go home with his foster parents.
The first issues came when he was a toddler, but they only developed as he grew older.
At first, it had been that he was a very distracted child. Whenever he started watching a TV show with the family, he would get bored really easily and start trying to play with someone or getting out toys when people ignored him. It was the same when he was asked to help with chores. He would start doing the chore, but would very quickly get distracted.
When Minghao entered school for the first time, the issues got more apparent. He was always making little, careless mistakes in his schoolwork and losing things at school.
All of this got much worse when Minghao entered Middle School at 12. His grades were often low because he was quick and careless. Teachers always made comments in his reports about how he could never sit still in lessons and was always getting distracted by the smallest things outside of the classroom.
Minghao’s foster parents were ready to get him a doctor’s appointment to try and get to the cause of the issue when Minghao was hospitalised. Within a few hours of coming home from school just a few days before his appointment he had fallen sick, struggling to breathe, coughing and wheezing. His head was aching and he just felt so, so tired. His parents called an ambulance and he was taken to hospital where they discovered he had pneumonia. He had always been a high risk for chest infections since birth, but since it had never happened he wasn’t too worried about it.
He was discharged a week later after taking antibiotics and being on breathing aid.
After he was discharged, his parents organised a new doctor’s appointment for the next day where he was told he may have ADHD. It took another few weeks to be diagnosed, but once he was, the school was alerted and they put a few measures in place to help him with school work.
For the rest of his years at Middle School, not much changed, but when he entered High School there were big differences.
Teachers very quickly made it obvious to other students that Minghao had ADHD through little comments on his work and calling him out on things.
It was always. “I know your score is below expected but I wouldn’t worry. You’ll grow out of it.” Or “I know of your condition but that is no excuse to talk and mess around in my lesson.”
Of course, the more popular people in the school kept making fun of him for ‘faking’ ADHD. They didn’t believe him since he had more inattentive symptoms than hyperactive and he was an introvert.
One thing Minghao couldn’t have been more thankful for was his friends. Seungcheol, Mingyu and Wonwoo would never be afraid to stand up for Minghao and defend him, while Jeonghan, Junhui and Seokmin were much better at simply comforting him when he got upset.
Sometimes, Minghao had especially hard days. Days when he simply couldn’t sit still for anything, days when he wouldn’t stop chatting in class, days when he made so many mistakes in his school work that he had to redo the entire thing.
Those were the days when Minghao would lock himself in the bathroom to cry, the days when his friends would really have to help him out. They were the days when he got yelled at by students and teachers alike, the days when his medication hadn’t done anything to help him.
One of these days, Minghao decided that he’d had enough, walking out on his maths teacher yelling at him and leaving the school, taking on the half hour walk back home. When he got home, he simply dumped his bag by his desk and curled up in bed. He knew his parents wouldn’t be home until they’d finished work, which would probably still be another few hours, so he wasn’t expecting anyone home.
Minghao was a little frightened when the doorbell rang, but when he looked out of the peephole he saw Junhui, Jeonghan and Wonwoo standing outside. He sighed and unlocked the door, letting his three friends into the house.
It was still a little before the end of school, so they must have left early to help.
Minghao smiled sadly. “Sorry I left. It was just a bit much.” He whispered, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I don’t even realise I’m messing around until I’m told off, but then I get bored again and it just keeps going on.”
Jeonghan cooed softly, pulling Minghao into a warm, tight hug. “No, HaoHao. We know you struggle, and the teachers should be much more forgiving. It’s not fair.”
Junhui shook his head. “No, it’s not, so we came to suggest a movie night. Something of your choice of course.”
Minghao smiled, guiding them through to the lounge and letting everyone get comfortable on the couch. Minghao cuddled up to Junhui, lying down tucked between Junhui’s legs with his head resting against Junhui’s chest. Junhui loosely looped his arms around Minghao’s waist, holding him close.
Jeonghan sat next to them and Wonwoo sat down on the floor, cushioned by plenty of blankets and pillows.
When Minghao’s parents came back from work an hour or two later, they were surprised but happy to see the four boys, Minghao and Jeonghan, fast asleep while Junhui and Wonwoo were still invested in the movie.
“He had a hard day.” Wonwoo whispered to Minghao’s mother, getting a sympathetic smile in return.
She nodded. “Thank you for looking after him. I don’t think he will tell you but he really appreciates it.”
Junhui and Wonwoo returned little nods and happy smiles before Minghao’s mother left them to continue the movie.
Later that evening the final two fell asleep, Minghao’s parents watching with little smiles as they saw their son getting some of the love he really deserved.