Raising the Lost Boys, Ch. 2
Title: Raising the Lost Boys
Rating: G
Length: 4611 words
Summary: Due to a tragic accident which took the lives of his parents, Siwon (the eldest of five) has decided to take on the role of father figure to his four younger brothers, Donghae, Kyuhyun, Henry, and Yesung. This is the story about their lives, the ups and downs and in-betweens.
A/N: I don't claim to be an expert on autism at all, however as I said before this will have things based loosely on a few things that happened in my own life. When I was in grade school there was an autistic boy in my class, but that was long before people really knew what autism was. I knew him and was friends with him for a long time. It was a bit of an awkward friendship at times, and I think it was something like three years before he'd speak around me (though he'd never speak directly TO anyone), but he was still a very awesome friend to have and was amazingly intelligent, once you got around his quirks. Yesung's character is based loosely (very loosely) on him.
Siwon sighed softly as he sat hunched over the kitchen table, text book in front of him. He was once again looking over a brochure he’d picked up over a month ago, one he’d forgotten about until he opened his text book up to look over the previous chapters they’d studied. Part of him felt guilty for even having the brochure in his possession, but curiosity (and hope) had gotten the best of him.
You see, Yesung was a special little boy. Of course Siwon thought all of his brothers were special and he loved them all dearly, but he couldn’t help but to feel a little more love when it came to Yesung. Perhaps it was because he was the youngest; he’d only been two when their parents had died, and now that he was five that meant that technically Siwon had raised him longer than his parents had. But Yesung was also special in that he was different from most children. He was shy, quiet, and withdrawn. Most people thought he wasn’t all that bright when they met him; some even ventured to say he was retarded, but Siwon disagreed whole heartedly. He knew Yesung was bright, he knew he was amazingly intelligent… Yesung just chose not to let anyone else see. He was used to his family, used to being near his brothers, but around other people Yesung’s walls went up and he seemed to completely shut himself off. Siwon didn’t even remember the last time Yesung spoke, though he knew it was possible. He’d heard him speak years ago, before their parents died. And even now, in the times when Yesung was overly stressed or stimulated, he could scream (quite loudly too), so Siwon knew it wasn’t a problem with his vocal chords. Siwon had taken him to a few doctors and they all seemed to have differing opinions on just what exactly was wrong, but doctor’s visits were pricey, and taking him to a specialist to get an official diagnosis would probably cost more money than Siwon made in a year. Most of what he’d learned he’d learned on his own, looking through sites on the internet and reading books at the library. Yesung was autistic, he knew he was. But even if Siwon could get a proper diagnosis, that didn’t mean he’d be able to afford the treatment.
Three years ago when Siwon first took over as caretaker and things had been incredibly hard, he’d hit a particularly rough patch and had looked into sending the kids to live with the family they had far away in the countryside. He hadn’t wanted to, but at the time he didn’t have a job, and didn’t have a way to put food on the table. He’d felt bad but told himself he would be doing what was best. But then he found out that auntie really only agreed because she wanted extra farm hands, and she’d already been making plans to send Yesung off to be raised in an institution because she couldn’t be bothered with a ‘retarded’ baby. Needless to say Siwon had changed his mind rather quickly after that. Raising the four boys himself hadn’t been easy, but he’d never regretted one moment. There were times when Yesung’s behaviors had him wanting to pull his hair out, but knowing Yesung was still in a place where he was loved and cared for brought him comfort. Eventually the family adjusted, they learned how to cope. Life still wasn’t the greatest, but it could always be worse.
Yesung went to school, just like everyone else did, though rather than even trying him in a normal class he’d been placed in a room with all the other special needs students. He saw the same people day in and day out, sat at the same table, staring at the same four walls. They didn’t get to go out and play, they ate their lunches separate from everyone else… but Siwon couldn’t help but to think Yesung deserved something more.
Siwon couldn’t even remember where he’d picked up the brochure for the Seoul Academy for Special Needs. It might have been a doctors office, or perhaps at a store some where, or maybe even at the community college. He’d glanced over it briefly before tucking it away, because though it looked nice there was absolutely no way he could afford it, no matter how hard he tried. Even now that he was looking over it again he felt guilty. He’d been so angry with their aunt for wanting to send him off to an institution… now wasn’t he considering doing the same thing? But then again, if it was possible for them to help him… He was interrupted from his train of thought when a hand clamped down onto his shoulder. Siwon looked up as Donghae slid into the seat he usually occupied at the table, offering a soft smile.
“You still looking at that?”
“Yeah, I found it in my book. I’d forgotten about it until now.” Siwon sighed once more, closing the brochure before he set it aside. “Not that I’d ever be able to afford it. Even if I took on a third job, it’d probably take me two years to save up enough for one month’s tuition.” Donghae leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table top.
“You never know. You should call them and see how much it is, just to get an idea. Maybe they have scholarships or grants or something. Yesung’s a smart kid.”
“I just wish everyone else knew that. Even when I’d try to get him to show one of the doctors something Yesung would just… sit and stare, and they’d act like he was stupid and treat me like I was losing my mind for thinking he could actually do stuff. I’d videotape him to prove it to them, but I can’t afford a video camera either.” Siwon hunched forward, resting his elbows on the table as well. “Maybe one of these days we’ll magically win the lottery or something… I can hope, right?”
Donghae nodded and smiled once more, reaching out to pat his brother’s arm lightly. “You’re studying pharmacy, right? Maybe once you finish you’ll be able to get a better job at a pharmacy, and get discounted medicine! You never know how life is going to work out. You just have to keep your head up and keep going.” Siwon nodded, smiling a bit at Donghae’s encouragement. He reached out, looping an arm around Donghae’s shoulders to hug him tightly.
“I’m glad I have you, Donghae. I really am.”
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Siwon leaned back in his seat in class as he waited for class to begin, thinking he should have taken Adele’s advice and gone for a walk before class. The professor seemed to be running exceptionally late today though, because Adele was already seated next to him and though Siwon new little about her, he knew she rarely showed up more than five minutes before class began, and he was pretty sure she’d been sitting there for a good ten minutes. When staring at the ceiling tiles did nothing to amuse Siwon, he looked back down to his notepad, though he was soon looking away with a glint of silver caught his eye. His eyes focused on Adele’s wrist, and the silver chain wrapped around it with charms hanging off. One in particular caught his eye.
“You like turtles?”
“Hmm?” Adele paused her writing and looked up, arching a brow as she focused on Siwon.
“Turtles. You have one on your bracelet.”
“Oh! That!” She chuckled, smiling now that she knew what Siwon was talking about. She set her pen down, holding her hand up so he could get a better look. “I like all kinds of animals. There’s a turtle, a cat, a dog, a bird, a fish. I even have a cow and a sheep. I think I’ll get a chicken next.”
“My youngest brother likes turtles. A lot. I’d like to get him one as a pet… but that’s kinds’ expensive.”
“They get kinda stinky too, if you’re not careful. But then again a lot of reptiles do.” Adele lowered her hand back down to her desk once her bracelet had been fully inspected.
“Oh? You have turtles?” Siwon’s brows lifted a bit as the wheels in his head turned. Maybe he could ask to borrow them for a bit to show Yesung, he was sure it’d make the boy’s day.
“Not of my own no, but I take care of some at work, though.” Siwon deflated at that. It wasn’t as though he could just ask her to swipe the turtles from work.
“Oh… I was going to ask-” The classroom door opened just then and the professor hurried in, dumping his bag on the desk before he turned to face the class.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. If you turn in your textbooks to chapter twelve, we’ll get started right away!” Siwon wasn’t the type to ignore the teacher either, so he didn’t bother trying to finish his statement as he opened his book and began flipping through to the right chapter. The lecture was boring, as it always was, but Siwon still did his very best to follow along and take notes. The class was important to his degree, and he couldn’t afford to get a bad grade and have to retake it again. He managed to stay awake this time though, which was quite a relief. His cell phone rang just after class ended which caused his brows to furrow. The kids knew not to call unless it was an emergency, so he knew no one was calling just to chat. He flipped the phone open and put it to his ear, using his free hand to close his book.
“Hel-”
“Hyung! Donghae’s hurt! You gotta come home!”
“What? Henry? What happened?!” He stopped trying to put his things away, focusing instead on what the youngest twin was trying to tell him.
“He took us to the park so we could play for a while because the weather is nice… but… but that fat kid that lives a few doors down? He was there too, and he was makin’ fun of Yesung. Yesung was crying and Donghae told the kid to stop, but he wouldn’t shut up about Yesung being retarded and Donghae started yelling at him and they got into a fight! Donghae hit him good but they were all tangled up and fell down and Donghae hurt his arm! What do I do!? Am I supposed to call an ambulance? I don’t know what to do!” Henry whimpered on the other end of the phone, and in the background he could hear Donghae trying to soothe a crying Yesung, though Siwon could hear the pain in Donghae’s voice.
“No… No… we can’t afford an ambulance. Just… Oh my god. Class is over, I’ll be right there.” Siwon flipped his phone shut then, standing from the desk to quickly stuff his things into his bag. Adele had overheard the conversation as she was packing her own things. She stood from the desk as well, looking to Siwon.
“Is everything okay?”
“No… Donghae got into a fight and hurt his arm; I have to take him to the hospital… I…” Siwon stopped though when a thought dawned on him, bringing one hand up to rub his forehead. “I’m going to have to take all of them with me… Oh god I can’t just leave them. It’s going to be such a mess and there’s no way I could get a sitter. Maybe I could-”
“I could watch them…” Adele zipped up her book bag, tugging it upwards to loop the strap over her shoulder. Siwon tilted his head to the side as his brows arched high on his forehead, looking at her as though she’d grown an extra head.
“But you’ve never… they can be such a handful. I really don’t think-”
“I’m certified in CPR and first aid, if that’s what you’re thinking. But if you think you’re brave enough to take them all with you…”
“I don’t have any money to pay you, I really don’t-”
“I’m not asking for money. You need help; I have nothing better to do. Even if they’re absolute hellions, I’m sure I’ll get some good stories out of it!” She chuckled softly, smiling as she looked to Siwon. “I’m brave, I can handle it.”
Siwon still didn’t feel confident about it, but he really didn’t have any other options. Yesung was already stressed, he was sure the boy would start screaming again with a stranger coming into the house, but how could that be any worse than dragging him out of the house and to the hospital to wait? Siwon gave in and nodded, leading the way out of the class and to the parking lot where his car was.
He made it home in record time and headed up after giving Adele one last chance to back out. He opened the door to find Donghae sitting on the sofa, though he was hunched over and obviously in pain, a big bag of ice sitting on top of his arm. Siwon could already see how swollen his hand was though, and how the tips of his fingers were starting to look a little purple. He groaned, knowing Donghae’s arm was broken and not just sprained. He could only hope that a cast would do and they could go without surgery, emergency room visits were expensive enough. Henry hovered nervously over his brother, and Kyuhyun sat on the opposite corner of the sofa trying to look unconcerned as he watched television, but Siwon could see the way his eyes kept darting back to Donghae. Despite Kyuhyun’s horrible attitude, Siwon knew he still had a good heart. But poor Yesung, the little boy stood by himself in the corner, back pressed tightly against the wall as he watched the others with wide eyes. It almost looked as though he thought he was being punished, as if he thought he was the one that had done something wrong.
“So… Uh… Quick introductions. That’s Kyuhyun on the sofa there, and Henry and Donghae. And the little guy is Yesung. He’s okay… he’s just…” Siwon hesitated, trying to find the proper words to describe him.
“Autistic?”
Siwon blinked at Adele’s response, doing a double take as he looked at her. If it was that obvious to her, why couldn’t the doctors get it? Or had Siwon told her about his self-diagnosis and just forgot?
“How did you-”
“Hyung…” Donghae’s pained whimper drew Siwon’s attention away though and he nodded to Donghae, heading for the door.
“Okay… this is my friend Adele and she’s going to hang out with you guys while I take Donghae to the doctor. You guys play nice.” He held the door open for Donghae and then closed it behind him, hurrying with the younger boy to the car all while silently praying that Adele wouldn’t lose any of her sanity. Maybe if he picked up a few hours of overtime he’d be able to buy her lunch some time to thank her.
“So… uh… You guys have homework or anything?” Adele smiled as she looked to Kyuhyun and Henry, purposefully ignoring Yesung for the time being. Henry shook his head, still hovering near the sofa.
“No, Donghae-hyung made us finish it before we went to the park. But we just got back and we haven’t eaten and Donghae-hyung is always the one who gets dinner ready. We can’t cook.”
“We could if he’d let us…” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes after having stared at the odd white girl in their living room for a few moments, turning his attention back to the television.
“We’re not supposed to cook anything when Siwon isn’t here to supervise. Remember when Donghae caught the stove on fire?” Henry glanced to his twin a moment before looking back at Adele expectantly.
“Well… I guess I’m cooking then, unless you want to order something and have it delivered.” Kyuhyun’s head snapped away from the television at that, focusing once again on Adele.
“We can order something?”
“Kyuhyun you know we’re not supposed to order food. We can’t pay for it.” Henry frowned, glancing to his brother once again. “Don’t try to cause trouble just because Siwon and Donghae aren’t here.”
“It’s okay, really. If you guys want to order something it’ll be my treat! And we’ll order enough for Siwon and Donghae to eat when they get home, too.” Both Kyuhyun and Henry were left staring at the girl in awe then, as if some sort of heavenly creature descended down into their tiny living room… and Yesung… he was still in the corner, unwilling to move, though at least he hadn’t decided to have a screaming fit.
An hour and a half later both of the twins were stuffed so full of Chinese food they swore they were going to burst, and there was still so much left they’d have dinner for days to come. Kyuhyun had wanted to sit and eat in front of the television, but Adele had insisted everyone eat at the kitchen table. His rebellious side wanted to protest… but Adele had bought all that food with her own money, and they always said the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Kyuhyun had come to eat at the table without an issue, though of course as soon as he was finished he was right back in front of the television. Henry had been kind enough to clear both his and Kyuhyun’s plates away, though the small plate of food that had been placed at the same spot Yesung always sat in remained.
It was a good half hour after the twins had finished eating before Yesung dared to creep out of his corner to go towards the kitchen. The strange lady was still in there, sitting at the table… but she hadn’t bothered him or tried to get him to talk, she hadn’t nagged him with lots of questions… maybe she was okay. After lingering in the doorway for another ten minutes he crept on to the table, oh so carefully climbing up into his seat (which was right next to where Adele was sitting), but still he was ignored. Adele was still eating, she’d deliberately taken her time for this very reason. She could see the little boy watching her out of the corner of her eyes, but she waited until he’d started to eat before she looked over at him and smiled. Yesung froze when the lady looked at him, he grew still as a statue even though he had a piece of shrimp half in his mouth, holding the end of it with his fingers, holding some sauce covered noodles with his other. He expected her to lecture him then, just like all the other strange adults did. He expected her to try and force him to eat with chopsticks, or at least a fork, and tell him it was a dirty thing to eat with his hands… but she didn’t.
“You like shrimp? I think there’s some more in one of these boxes…” She smiled again, picking up the containers one by one until she found the one with the shrimp in it. She used her own fingers to pick them out then, setting five more onto Yesung’s plate. Seeing the lady use her fingers too, well that just blew Yesung’s little mind. Even Siwon used chopsticks when placing things on his plate, though Siwon had given up long ago when it came to trying to get Yesung to use utensils. It just wasn’t going to work, and Siwon figured so long as he was eating, how he got the food to his mouth didn’t matter. Yesung continued to stare at the lady after she set the box down and looked back to her own plate, though he began eating again.
Siwon and Donghae had been lucky in that there’d hardly been anyone in the emergency room when they came in. They’d gotten right in for x-rays, and the results came not too long after. It was just a simple break, thank goodness. They sent Donghae home with his hand and arm in a brace and wrapped with a bandage with orders to come back in a few days after the swelling went down so they could put a cast on. They’d given him some good pain medication and sent him on his way. By the time Siwon stepped in the door he was mentally worn out though, and wasn’t prepared for the shock of walking in to a quiet apartment when he’d expected all hell to break loose while he and Donghae were gone. Instead Henry and Kyuhyun were both sitting quietly on the sofa watching television; their bellies were far too full for them to feel like arguing. But the biggest shock came from seeing Yesung sitting at the table with Adele without having a fit. Even more shocking was how the boy sat quietly as Adele wiped his face and hands with a damp cloth now that he’d finished eating. Siwon knew how Yesung could be around strangers, so this… this just didn’t make sense. Adele looked up when she heard the door close though, smiling when she saw Siwon.
“How did everything go? Is he okay?”
“Donghae is medicated and going to bed…” Donghae smiled almost drunkenly, laughing softly as he slipped past Siwon to head to the bathroom.
“I just stayed up to see if they were going to amputate his arm…” Kyuhyun quipped as he pushed himself up from the sofa, following on Donghae’s heels, no doubt to mess with his older brother while he was all loopy from the medication. As could be expected, Henry was up not long after Kyuhyun, following him as he scolded Kyuhyun to leave Donghae alone.
“Well I’m glad he seems to be alright…” She smiled, turning her attention back to Yesung. “Oh, you even got sauce on your forehead, look at that! You must be a good noodle slurper…” She chuckled, lifting the cloth up to wipe at Yesung’s forehead as well.
“You… how do you do that?” Siwon was so horribly confused, lifting his hand up to point at the two of them. “He doesn’t let anyone… ever…” Adele just shrugged, wiping at Yesung’s forehead gently until all of the sauce was wiped away. Her task was made much easier because the young boy seemed to be quite fascinated by the silver bracelet around her wrist. It sparkled in the light and the charms on it made a soft little tinkling noise each time her hand moved. Even when she lowered her arm back down to the table, he kept his eyes on her bracelet.
“I’m not going to push him to do anything he doesn’t want to do. I’m used to this.” She turned her attention away from Siwon when she felt a tiny little hand touch her arm, smiling when she saw Yesung’s fingers toying with the little turtle charm. “Ahh… you must be the one who likes turtles, hmm? Siwon told me about you, and said you like turtles very much. I think turtles are very cool too.” Though the tone of her voice became much softer when she spoke to Yesung, Siwon was rather surprised to find she spoke to him as though he was a normal person… that was something he didn’t see very often. People tended to speak either very loud, or very slow, even though Yesung was neither hard of hearing nor mentally slow. Most people just seemed to be ignorant like that though.
“I have turtles at work. I’ll see if I can remember to take pictures of them for you so Siwon can show you, alright?” She smiled once again, reaching up to lightly ruffle Yesung’s hair. “It was so nice to get to meet you! Don’t tell your brothers, but I think you’re my favorite!” She stood from the table then, picking up the plates she and Yesung used, heading over to place them in the sink. “I ordered Chinese food, there’s plenty left over for you in the fridge, but I think Yesung ate all the shrimp…”
“Adele I don’t have the money to pay-”
“I told you I don’t want payment, Siwon, and I mean it. This was my treat. I was hungry too, and I’m not going to come in here and eat up all your food.” She slipped out of the little kitchen area, stooping to pick up her bag from where she’d left it on the floor. “This is what friends do, you know, and I’d like to think you can think of me as a friend. I wrote my number on a piece of paper and stuck it to the fridge, incase you need anything else, alright? Just call. I respect you a lot for what you’re doing, you know. But you don’t always have to do it on your own.”
“Well at least let me drive you back…”
“Oh no. You want to leave a medicated sixteen year old in charge? You do that and you’ll be making another trip to the hospital. They told me all about him setting the stove on fire, and he was sober then!” She chuckled, pausing in front of the door to slip her shoes on. “I’ll catch the bus. It’s a nice night for a bit of a walk anyways. You take care of yourself and your boys, alright? And don’t forget to eat! If I find out you didn’t eat and let the food go bad I’ll be pissed.” She smiled again as she chuckled softly, reaching out to pat his shoulder lightly. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow!”
She slipped out the door then, closing it quietly behind her. Siwon stood there in his living room, absolutely baffled. He’d expected to come home to a completely trashed apartment… Kyuhyun could be a little wild if left to his own devices. He’d expected to come home to find Kyuhyun and Henry at war with each other; he’d expected to find Yesung screaming in the corner… But the apartment was tidy, peaceful, and quiet. He brought a hand up to his head, idly scratching the back of it. He turned and went to the door then, opening it up to look at the front of it, just checking to make sure he had the right apartment number, which of course he did. He shook his head, still horribly confused as he picked up his own book bag and headed to the kitchen, leaving the bag on the table before he headed to the fridge to peek inside, figuring he’d grab some dinner and do his best to study since things seemed to be rather calm, for once.
Yesung was still in his chair, eyes silently following Siwon’s every movement, watching him even as he checked each container of Chinese food that had been put in the fridge.
“…….she had a turtle on her arm.”
That little voice startled Siwon so much he nearly dropped the container of food he’d just picked up, but he managed to catch it before it hit the floor and broke open. His eyes widened, eyebrows moving so far up on his forehead they almost blended in to his hairline. Siwon had no idea what Adele had done… but he was certainly going to be sure to ask her about it when he saw her next.
Rating: G
Length: 4611 words
Summary: Due to a tragic accident which took the lives of his parents, Siwon (the eldest of five) has decided to take on the role of father figure to his four younger brothers, Donghae, Kyuhyun, Henry, and Yesung. This is the story about their lives, the ups and downs and in-betweens.
A/N: I don't claim to be an expert on autism at all, however as I said before this will have things based loosely on a few things that happened in my own life. When I was in grade school there was an autistic boy in my class, but that was long before people really knew what autism was. I knew him and was friends with him for a long time. It was a bit of an awkward friendship at times, and I think it was something like three years before he'd speak around me (though he'd never speak directly TO anyone), but he was still a very awesome friend to have and was amazingly intelligent, once you got around his quirks. Yesung's character is based loosely (very loosely) on him.
Siwon sighed softly as he sat hunched over the kitchen table, text book in front of him. He was once again looking over a brochure he’d picked up over a month ago, one he’d forgotten about until he opened his text book up to look over the previous chapters they’d studied. Part of him felt guilty for even having the brochure in his possession, but curiosity (and hope) had gotten the best of him.
You see, Yesung was a special little boy. Of course Siwon thought all of his brothers were special and he loved them all dearly, but he couldn’t help but to feel a little more love when it came to Yesung. Perhaps it was because he was the youngest; he’d only been two when their parents had died, and now that he was five that meant that technically Siwon had raised him longer than his parents had. But Yesung was also special in that he was different from most children. He was shy, quiet, and withdrawn. Most people thought he wasn’t all that bright when they met him; some even ventured to say he was retarded, but Siwon disagreed whole heartedly. He knew Yesung was bright, he knew he was amazingly intelligent… Yesung just chose not to let anyone else see. He was used to his family, used to being near his brothers, but around other people Yesung’s walls went up and he seemed to completely shut himself off. Siwon didn’t even remember the last time Yesung spoke, though he knew it was possible. He’d heard him speak years ago, before their parents died. And even now, in the times when Yesung was overly stressed or stimulated, he could scream (quite loudly too), so Siwon knew it wasn’t a problem with his vocal chords. Siwon had taken him to a few doctors and they all seemed to have differing opinions on just what exactly was wrong, but doctor’s visits were pricey, and taking him to a specialist to get an official diagnosis would probably cost more money than Siwon made in a year. Most of what he’d learned he’d learned on his own, looking through sites on the internet and reading books at the library. Yesung was autistic, he knew he was. But even if Siwon could get a proper diagnosis, that didn’t mean he’d be able to afford the treatment.
Three years ago when Siwon first took over as caretaker and things had been incredibly hard, he’d hit a particularly rough patch and had looked into sending the kids to live with the family they had far away in the countryside. He hadn’t wanted to, but at the time he didn’t have a job, and didn’t have a way to put food on the table. He’d felt bad but told himself he would be doing what was best. But then he found out that auntie really only agreed because she wanted extra farm hands, and she’d already been making plans to send Yesung off to be raised in an institution because she couldn’t be bothered with a ‘retarded’ baby. Needless to say Siwon had changed his mind rather quickly after that. Raising the four boys himself hadn’t been easy, but he’d never regretted one moment. There were times when Yesung’s behaviors had him wanting to pull his hair out, but knowing Yesung was still in a place where he was loved and cared for brought him comfort. Eventually the family adjusted, they learned how to cope. Life still wasn’t the greatest, but it could always be worse.
Yesung went to school, just like everyone else did, though rather than even trying him in a normal class he’d been placed in a room with all the other special needs students. He saw the same people day in and day out, sat at the same table, staring at the same four walls. They didn’t get to go out and play, they ate their lunches separate from everyone else… but Siwon couldn’t help but to think Yesung deserved something more.
Siwon couldn’t even remember where he’d picked up the brochure for the Seoul Academy for Special Needs. It might have been a doctors office, or perhaps at a store some where, or maybe even at the community college. He’d glanced over it briefly before tucking it away, because though it looked nice there was absolutely no way he could afford it, no matter how hard he tried. Even now that he was looking over it again he felt guilty. He’d been so angry with their aunt for wanting to send him off to an institution… now wasn’t he considering doing the same thing? But then again, if it was possible for them to help him… He was interrupted from his train of thought when a hand clamped down onto his shoulder. Siwon looked up as Donghae slid into the seat he usually occupied at the table, offering a soft smile.
“You still looking at that?”
“Yeah, I found it in my book. I’d forgotten about it until now.” Siwon sighed once more, closing the brochure before he set it aside. “Not that I’d ever be able to afford it. Even if I took on a third job, it’d probably take me two years to save up enough for one month’s tuition.” Donghae leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table top.
“You never know. You should call them and see how much it is, just to get an idea. Maybe they have scholarships or grants or something. Yesung’s a smart kid.”
“I just wish everyone else knew that. Even when I’d try to get him to show one of the doctors something Yesung would just… sit and stare, and they’d act like he was stupid and treat me like I was losing my mind for thinking he could actually do stuff. I’d videotape him to prove it to them, but I can’t afford a video camera either.” Siwon hunched forward, resting his elbows on the table as well. “Maybe one of these days we’ll magically win the lottery or something… I can hope, right?”
Donghae nodded and smiled once more, reaching out to pat his brother’s arm lightly. “You’re studying pharmacy, right? Maybe once you finish you’ll be able to get a better job at a pharmacy, and get discounted medicine! You never know how life is going to work out. You just have to keep your head up and keep going.” Siwon nodded, smiling a bit at Donghae’s encouragement. He reached out, looping an arm around Donghae’s shoulders to hug him tightly.
“I’m glad I have you, Donghae. I really am.”
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Siwon leaned back in his seat in class as he waited for class to begin, thinking he should have taken Adele’s advice and gone for a walk before class. The professor seemed to be running exceptionally late today though, because Adele was already seated next to him and though Siwon new little about her, he knew she rarely showed up more than five minutes before class began, and he was pretty sure she’d been sitting there for a good ten minutes. When staring at the ceiling tiles did nothing to amuse Siwon, he looked back down to his notepad, though he was soon looking away with a glint of silver caught his eye. His eyes focused on Adele’s wrist, and the silver chain wrapped around it with charms hanging off. One in particular caught his eye.
“You like turtles?”
“Hmm?” Adele paused her writing and looked up, arching a brow as she focused on Siwon.
“Turtles. You have one on your bracelet.”
“Oh! That!” She chuckled, smiling now that she knew what Siwon was talking about. She set her pen down, holding her hand up so he could get a better look. “I like all kinds of animals. There’s a turtle, a cat, a dog, a bird, a fish. I even have a cow and a sheep. I think I’ll get a chicken next.”
“My youngest brother likes turtles. A lot. I’d like to get him one as a pet… but that’s kinds’ expensive.”
“They get kinda stinky too, if you’re not careful. But then again a lot of reptiles do.” Adele lowered her hand back down to her desk once her bracelet had been fully inspected.
“Oh? You have turtles?” Siwon’s brows lifted a bit as the wheels in his head turned. Maybe he could ask to borrow them for a bit to show Yesung, he was sure it’d make the boy’s day.
“Not of my own no, but I take care of some at work, though.” Siwon deflated at that. It wasn’t as though he could just ask her to swipe the turtles from work.
“Oh… I was going to ask-” The classroom door opened just then and the professor hurried in, dumping his bag on the desk before he turned to face the class.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. If you turn in your textbooks to chapter twelve, we’ll get started right away!” Siwon wasn’t the type to ignore the teacher either, so he didn’t bother trying to finish his statement as he opened his book and began flipping through to the right chapter. The lecture was boring, as it always was, but Siwon still did his very best to follow along and take notes. The class was important to his degree, and he couldn’t afford to get a bad grade and have to retake it again. He managed to stay awake this time though, which was quite a relief. His cell phone rang just after class ended which caused his brows to furrow. The kids knew not to call unless it was an emergency, so he knew no one was calling just to chat. He flipped the phone open and put it to his ear, using his free hand to close his book.
“Hel-”
“Hyung! Donghae’s hurt! You gotta come home!”
“What? Henry? What happened?!” He stopped trying to put his things away, focusing instead on what the youngest twin was trying to tell him.
“He took us to the park so we could play for a while because the weather is nice… but… but that fat kid that lives a few doors down? He was there too, and he was makin’ fun of Yesung. Yesung was crying and Donghae told the kid to stop, but he wouldn’t shut up about Yesung being retarded and Donghae started yelling at him and they got into a fight! Donghae hit him good but they were all tangled up and fell down and Donghae hurt his arm! What do I do!? Am I supposed to call an ambulance? I don’t know what to do!” Henry whimpered on the other end of the phone, and in the background he could hear Donghae trying to soothe a crying Yesung, though Siwon could hear the pain in Donghae’s voice.
“No… No… we can’t afford an ambulance. Just… Oh my god. Class is over, I’ll be right there.” Siwon flipped his phone shut then, standing from the desk to quickly stuff his things into his bag. Adele had overheard the conversation as she was packing her own things. She stood from the desk as well, looking to Siwon.
“Is everything okay?”
“No… Donghae got into a fight and hurt his arm; I have to take him to the hospital… I…” Siwon stopped though when a thought dawned on him, bringing one hand up to rub his forehead. “I’m going to have to take all of them with me… Oh god I can’t just leave them. It’s going to be such a mess and there’s no way I could get a sitter. Maybe I could-”
“I could watch them…” Adele zipped up her book bag, tugging it upwards to loop the strap over her shoulder. Siwon tilted his head to the side as his brows arched high on his forehead, looking at her as though she’d grown an extra head.
“But you’ve never… they can be such a handful. I really don’t think-”
“I’m certified in CPR and first aid, if that’s what you’re thinking. But if you think you’re brave enough to take them all with you…”
“I don’t have any money to pay you, I really don’t-”
“I’m not asking for money. You need help; I have nothing better to do. Even if they’re absolute hellions, I’m sure I’ll get some good stories out of it!” She chuckled softly, smiling as she looked to Siwon. “I’m brave, I can handle it.”
Siwon still didn’t feel confident about it, but he really didn’t have any other options. Yesung was already stressed, he was sure the boy would start screaming again with a stranger coming into the house, but how could that be any worse than dragging him out of the house and to the hospital to wait? Siwon gave in and nodded, leading the way out of the class and to the parking lot where his car was.
He made it home in record time and headed up after giving Adele one last chance to back out. He opened the door to find Donghae sitting on the sofa, though he was hunched over and obviously in pain, a big bag of ice sitting on top of his arm. Siwon could already see how swollen his hand was though, and how the tips of his fingers were starting to look a little purple. He groaned, knowing Donghae’s arm was broken and not just sprained. He could only hope that a cast would do and they could go without surgery, emergency room visits were expensive enough. Henry hovered nervously over his brother, and Kyuhyun sat on the opposite corner of the sofa trying to look unconcerned as he watched television, but Siwon could see the way his eyes kept darting back to Donghae. Despite Kyuhyun’s horrible attitude, Siwon knew he still had a good heart. But poor Yesung, the little boy stood by himself in the corner, back pressed tightly against the wall as he watched the others with wide eyes. It almost looked as though he thought he was being punished, as if he thought he was the one that had done something wrong.
“So… Uh… Quick introductions. That’s Kyuhyun on the sofa there, and Henry and Donghae. And the little guy is Yesung. He’s okay… he’s just…” Siwon hesitated, trying to find the proper words to describe him.
“Autistic?”
Siwon blinked at Adele’s response, doing a double take as he looked at her. If it was that obvious to her, why couldn’t the doctors get it? Or had Siwon told her about his self-diagnosis and just forgot?
“How did you-”
“Hyung…” Donghae’s pained whimper drew Siwon’s attention away though and he nodded to Donghae, heading for the door.
“Okay… this is my friend Adele and she’s going to hang out with you guys while I take Donghae to the doctor. You guys play nice.” He held the door open for Donghae and then closed it behind him, hurrying with the younger boy to the car all while silently praying that Adele wouldn’t lose any of her sanity. Maybe if he picked up a few hours of overtime he’d be able to buy her lunch some time to thank her.
“So… uh… You guys have homework or anything?” Adele smiled as she looked to Kyuhyun and Henry, purposefully ignoring Yesung for the time being. Henry shook his head, still hovering near the sofa.
“No, Donghae-hyung made us finish it before we went to the park. But we just got back and we haven’t eaten and Donghae-hyung is always the one who gets dinner ready. We can’t cook.”
“We could if he’d let us…” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes after having stared at the odd white girl in their living room for a few moments, turning his attention back to the television.
“We’re not supposed to cook anything when Siwon isn’t here to supervise. Remember when Donghae caught the stove on fire?” Henry glanced to his twin a moment before looking back at Adele expectantly.
“Well… I guess I’m cooking then, unless you want to order something and have it delivered.” Kyuhyun’s head snapped away from the television at that, focusing once again on Adele.
“We can order something?”
“Kyuhyun you know we’re not supposed to order food. We can’t pay for it.” Henry frowned, glancing to his brother once again. “Don’t try to cause trouble just because Siwon and Donghae aren’t here.”
“It’s okay, really. If you guys want to order something it’ll be my treat! And we’ll order enough for Siwon and Donghae to eat when they get home, too.” Both Kyuhyun and Henry were left staring at the girl in awe then, as if some sort of heavenly creature descended down into their tiny living room… and Yesung… he was still in the corner, unwilling to move, though at least he hadn’t decided to have a screaming fit.
An hour and a half later both of the twins were stuffed so full of Chinese food they swore they were going to burst, and there was still so much left they’d have dinner for days to come. Kyuhyun had wanted to sit and eat in front of the television, but Adele had insisted everyone eat at the kitchen table. His rebellious side wanted to protest… but Adele had bought all that food with her own money, and they always said the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Kyuhyun had come to eat at the table without an issue, though of course as soon as he was finished he was right back in front of the television. Henry had been kind enough to clear both his and Kyuhyun’s plates away, though the small plate of food that had been placed at the same spot Yesung always sat in remained.
It was a good half hour after the twins had finished eating before Yesung dared to creep out of his corner to go towards the kitchen. The strange lady was still in there, sitting at the table… but she hadn’t bothered him or tried to get him to talk, she hadn’t nagged him with lots of questions… maybe she was okay. After lingering in the doorway for another ten minutes he crept on to the table, oh so carefully climbing up into his seat (which was right next to where Adele was sitting), but still he was ignored. Adele was still eating, she’d deliberately taken her time for this very reason. She could see the little boy watching her out of the corner of her eyes, but she waited until he’d started to eat before she looked over at him and smiled. Yesung froze when the lady looked at him, he grew still as a statue even though he had a piece of shrimp half in his mouth, holding the end of it with his fingers, holding some sauce covered noodles with his other. He expected her to lecture him then, just like all the other strange adults did. He expected her to try and force him to eat with chopsticks, or at least a fork, and tell him it was a dirty thing to eat with his hands… but she didn’t.
“You like shrimp? I think there’s some more in one of these boxes…” She smiled again, picking up the containers one by one until she found the one with the shrimp in it. She used her own fingers to pick them out then, setting five more onto Yesung’s plate. Seeing the lady use her fingers too, well that just blew Yesung’s little mind. Even Siwon used chopsticks when placing things on his plate, though Siwon had given up long ago when it came to trying to get Yesung to use utensils. It just wasn’t going to work, and Siwon figured so long as he was eating, how he got the food to his mouth didn’t matter. Yesung continued to stare at the lady after she set the box down and looked back to her own plate, though he began eating again.
Siwon and Donghae had been lucky in that there’d hardly been anyone in the emergency room when they came in. They’d gotten right in for x-rays, and the results came not too long after. It was just a simple break, thank goodness. They sent Donghae home with his hand and arm in a brace and wrapped with a bandage with orders to come back in a few days after the swelling went down so they could put a cast on. They’d given him some good pain medication and sent him on his way. By the time Siwon stepped in the door he was mentally worn out though, and wasn’t prepared for the shock of walking in to a quiet apartment when he’d expected all hell to break loose while he and Donghae were gone. Instead Henry and Kyuhyun were both sitting quietly on the sofa watching television; their bellies were far too full for them to feel like arguing. But the biggest shock came from seeing Yesung sitting at the table with Adele without having a fit. Even more shocking was how the boy sat quietly as Adele wiped his face and hands with a damp cloth now that he’d finished eating. Siwon knew how Yesung could be around strangers, so this… this just didn’t make sense. Adele looked up when she heard the door close though, smiling when she saw Siwon.
“How did everything go? Is he okay?”
“Donghae is medicated and going to bed…” Donghae smiled almost drunkenly, laughing softly as he slipped past Siwon to head to the bathroom.
“I just stayed up to see if they were going to amputate his arm…” Kyuhyun quipped as he pushed himself up from the sofa, following on Donghae’s heels, no doubt to mess with his older brother while he was all loopy from the medication. As could be expected, Henry was up not long after Kyuhyun, following him as he scolded Kyuhyun to leave Donghae alone.
“Well I’m glad he seems to be alright…” She smiled, turning her attention back to Yesung. “Oh, you even got sauce on your forehead, look at that! You must be a good noodle slurper…” She chuckled, lifting the cloth up to wipe at Yesung’s forehead as well.
“You… how do you do that?” Siwon was so horribly confused, lifting his hand up to point at the two of them. “He doesn’t let anyone… ever…” Adele just shrugged, wiping at Yesung’s forehead gently until all of the sauce was wiped away. Her task was made much easier because the young boy seemed to be quite fascinated by the silver bracelet around her wrist. It sparkled in the light and the charms on it made a soft little tinkling noise each time her hand moved. Even when she lowered her arm back down to the table, he kept his eyes on her bracelet.
“I’m not going to push him to do anything he doesn’t want to do. I’m used to this.” She turned her attention away from Siwon when she felt a tiny little hand touch her arm, smiling when she saw Yesung’s fingers toying with the little turtle charm. “Ahh… you must be the one who likes turtles, hmm? Siwon told me about you, and said you like turtles very much. I think turtles are very cool too.” Though the tone of her voice became much softer when she spoke to Yesung, Siwon was rather surprised to find she spoke to him as though he was a normal person… that was something he didn’t see very often. People tended to speak either very loud, or very slow, even though Yesung was neither hard of hearing nor mentally slow. Most people just seemed to be ignorant like that though.
“I have turtles at work. I’ll see if I can remember to take pictures of them for you so Siwon can show you, alright?” She smiled once again, reaching up to lightly ruffle Yesung’s hair. “It was so nice to get to meet you! Don’t tell your brothers, but I think you’re my favorite!” She stood from the table then, picking up the plates she and Yesung used, heading over to place them in the sink. “I ordered Chinese food, there’s plenty left over for you in the fridge, but I think Yesung ate all the shrimp…”
“Adele I don’t have the money to pay-”
“I told you I don’t want payment, Siwon, and I mean it. This was my treat. I was hungry too, and I’m not going to come in here and eat up all your food.” She slipped out of the little kitchen area, stooping to pick up her bag from where she’d left it on the floor. “This is what friends do, you know, and I’d like to think you can think of me as a friend. I wrote my number on a piece of paper and stuck it to the fridge, incase you need anything else, alright? Just call. I respect you a lot for what you’re doing, you know. But you don’t always have to do it on your own.”
“Well at least let me drive you back…”
“Oh no. You want to leave a medicated sixteen year old in charge? You do that and you’ll be making another trip to the hospital. They told me all about him setting the stove on fire, and he was sober then!” She chuckled, pausing in front of the door to slip her shoes on. “I’ll catch the bus. It’s a nice night for a bit of a walk anyways. You take care of yourself and your boys, alright? And don’t forget to eat! If I find out you didn’t eat and let the food go bad I’ll be pissed.” She smiled again as she chuckled softly, reaching out to pat his shoulder lightly. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow!”
She slipped out the door then, closing it quietly behind her. Siwon stood there in his living room, absolutely baffled. He’d expected to come home to a completely trashed apartment… Kyuhyun could be a little wild if left to his own devices. He’d expected to come home to find Kyuhyun and Henry at war with each other; he’d expected to find Yesung screaming in the corner… But the apartment was tidy, peaceful, and quiet. He brought a hand up to his head, idly scratching the back of it. He turned and went to the door then, opening it up to look at the front of it, just checking to make sure he had the right apartment number, which of course he did. He shook his head, still horribly confused as he picked up his own book bag and headed to the kitchen, leaving the bag on the table before he headed to the fridge to peek inside, figuring he’d grab some dinner and do his best to study since things seemed to be rather calm, for once.
Yesung was still in his chair, eyes silently following Siwon’s every movement, watching him even as he checked each container of Chinese food that had been put in the fridge.
“…….she had a turtle on her arm.”
That little voice startled Siwon so much he nearly dropped the container of food he’d just picked up, but he managed to catch it before it hit the floor and broke open. His eyes widened, eyebrows moving so far up on his forehead they almost blended in to his hairline. Siwon had no idea what Adele had done… but he was certainly going to be sure to ask her about it when he saw her next.