Chapter Text
Soobin looks out of the window as the car drive surrounded by fields.
His Concillor is driving, she seems quite young, maybe in her 30s. Blond hair, blue eyes, pretty face. Soobin thought multiple times how she could be anywhere but here. Doing a better job than trying to foster kids in families that will probably one day or another put them back in the system.
Soobin had first hand experience in the foster care system. He's been in it for nearly 10years and he was gonna meet his 6th foster family today. Children were treated as replaceable things and he absolutely hated it. He was nearly done with the system, just a couple more years. Still too much in his opinion.
Mrs. Johnson turned down the radio, who was playing some dull pop music Soobin had no interest in. "Are you excited to meet the Huenings? You'll see they are the sweetest!"
Her chirpy attitude was not contagious enough to relax Soobin. "I guess so.."
"Don't worry, this time it'll be permanent I promise you." He didn't believe her, how could he?
They soon approached a cute farm surrounded by fields and various animals, from common ones like pigs and cows to less common one like a donkey. Well, Soobin assumed donkeys were less common in farms than cows but he had no knowledge on farm animals. He wondered if he would even fit in such an environment, he was used to noise and pollution of the city, not the smell of fresh cut grass and the sky being completely blue, not grey, no clouds at all.
When Mrs. Johnson parked the car in front of the house, the first though Soobin had was that he probably will at least have is own room in such a big place.
A man came out on the porch, followed by 4 kids. One had a Parrot on the shoulder and Soobin was sure that this one was an unusual animal in a farm.
They both got out of the car and Mrs. Johnson took his suitcase in the truck. Soobin was traveling light, mainly because he never really had much to begin with but also because it was easier to go from family to family if you just had to put some clothes and a couple of books in a suitcase.
"Hello, you must be Soobin! I'm David but you can call me dad if you prefer, i don't mind." The man said as soon as they got closer to the little group next to the porch. Soobin thought it was a weird way of introducing yourself to a complete stranger. He never called any of his foster parents mom and dad. It was way to intimate for the kind of relationship he had with them.
"Hello Mr. Huening, I'm Coraline Johnson, we talked on the phone about our Soobin here." She pointed at him and he felt awkward just standing there, being watched by all the kids and the parrot, so he waved his hand shortly. "He is a bit shy but I'm sure you will make him feel like at home in no time! I need you to sign a couple documents before I go, I believe someone from the agency already controlled the house?"
"Yes of course, let's go inside a second. Kids, play nice with Soobin alright?" And then Soobin was left to the pack of wolves that were the Huening kids as the two adults left to go in the house.
"You're way too tall for a 15years old. I call bullshit." The guy with longue dark hair said slowly. He was the kid with the green parrot on his shoulder like some kind of pirate in an old fashioned movie. He also was dressed like an emo kid despite having the face of a doll.
"Shut up Gyu. Sorry about him, he is in the middle of his teenage rebellion. I'm Lea and I'm 16." The emo kid pouted at the remark but did shut up. Lea seemed nice, she was clearly the oldest of the bunch and she was dressed with a flowy pastel yellow dress. Soobin thought he could have had a crush on her if it wasn't for him being gay. She started talking again after an awkward silence. "And this is Kai and Bahiyyih, they are 13 and 11 respectively. And of course you already met Beomgyu." She sounded exasperated even just by saying his name but Beomgyu didn't look like he cared as he grinned at Soobin and extended his hand for him to shake.
Mr. Huening didn't take long to come back followed by Mrs. Johnson. He looked way too happy to foster a new kid in Soobin's opinion.
"Well everything is in order, welcome officially to your new home Soobin!" Everyone cheered and Soobin felt out of place with all the attention on him.
"I will go now, you can call me if there's any problem, alright?" Soobin nodded at Mrs. Johnson's words. "Take care and enjoy your new home!" She went to the car and in no time the vehicle disappeared in the middle of the fields.
"Okay Soobin, I'm gonna give you a tour of the house and then I'll show you your room. Meanwhile everyone can go back to their business." Mr. Huening placed a hand on Soobin's shoulder and guided him in the house while the other kids all went in different directions.
The house looked even bigger from the inside and Soobin though that he could probably get lost in it. The first floor had this big living room with an old chimney decorated with pictures of the kids. One was of Lea, a school picture. The other was the girls and Kai at the Grand Canyon. One with the four of them sitting on the porch's stairs and finally a couples of baby pictures that looked like Kai and Bahiyyih.
It seems pretty obvious that Lea, Kai and Bahiyyih were Mr. Huening's biological kids. They all looked so similar they probably could swap places and no one will notice if not for Kai having short hair. Beomgyu on the other hand didn't appear in any pictures other than the one on the porch. Soobin could deduce Beomgyu was a foster kid like him, and he looked maybe a couple years younger on the picture so it gave him a clue of how much time he had been in the family.
The kitchen was spacious, with a big island counter in the middle. It looked way more modern than the rest of the farm.
On the first floor were all the bedrooms, Mr. Huening explained that his room even had a bathroom he would share with Beomgyu while the girls and Kai used the other on the same floor.
His new room was spacious, with a double bed, a desk and a wardrobe big enough to put 3 times more clothes than he owned. Mr. Huening put his suitcase next to the bed and opened the door next to the wardrobe. It was the bathroom, with an identical door on the other side of the room he assumed was leading to Beomgyu's bedroom.
"Well the visit finish here. Of course you can ask the others to show you their rooms but in the meantime you can get comfy here. There's more sheets in the wardrobe and if you need clothes we can go buy some later this week. I'll leave you alone now, but one last thing. If you ever need anything, please tell me, or if you need to talk I'm here. My door is always open for my kids."
Mr. Huening gave an accolade to Soobin before disappearing behind the door. Soobin didn't move for at least 10 minutes after that. The family seemed nice enough, but he couldn't fathom the idea of a foster home this perfect. He decided to keep his guard up, just in case.
After putting his stuff out of his suitcase, he sat on his bed, taking the last item from his bag. It was a framed picture of him and his parents at the beach. He remembered little to nothing of the day but he cherished it nonetheless.
The day soon finished by a dinner all together in the dining room next to the kitchen. Mr. Huening explained all the tasks the kids took care of around the farm, mostly taking care of the animals, and said Beomgyu will show Soobin tomorrow.
Before bed Soobin saw for the first time since he arrived a cute golden retriever laying on a cover next to the stairs.
"His name's Meeko!" Soobin jumped when he heard Kai's voice way closer than he thought the kid was.
"Like in Pocahontas?" Soobin asked as he started petting the dog who happily shook his tail.
"Yeah, it was Hiyyih's favorite when she was younger." Soobin thought it was a cute name. A cute name for a cute dog.
When he slipped under the covers of his new bed, Soobin decided he would give a chance to this family. Maybe it would be the best foster home he'll get before being of age.
He fell asleep and dreamed of the waves crashing on the sand, the smell of salted water and the feeling of warm as the sun touched his skin.