Raising the Lost Boys, Ch. 3
Title: Raising the Lost Boys
Rating: G
Length: 2720 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: Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I've been busy and worn out with work and stress and all that. This isn't a very eventful chapter, but it's still something. I promise there will be more with Kyuhyun, Henry, and Donghae in the next chapter, but I just wanted to get this little bit out of the way. I also realize I'm not following every single 'autistic rule', I'm taking a bit of creative license. I know it usually takes years to form a bond, but for the sake of having the story move along I'm going to kind've skip over that a lil'. Anyways I hope you all enjoy again. There'll be a bit more drama it the next chapter, as well as a bit of a peek into some of the characters backgrounds. Stay tuned!
Siwon hardly slept that night, far too many thoughts racing through his mind. How had Adele known about Yesung? Sure, he’d spoken often of his family, but really he didn’t often go into specifics, mostly because people didn’t tend to believe him. Some times it was better to just let them believe it was some sort of reaction to their parents’ traumatic death. But Adele… she was different. And to see the way Yesung tolerated her… Siwon was baffled. Did she have some sort of psychic powers? Even during work the next day, that was all that was on Siwon’s mind. He knew he had to ask her, he’d prayed so many nights for some sort of help… something… anything. And if this was his chance he wasn’t about to let it go. He even thought of inviting her over for dinner, even though he had nothing impressive to offer. But just to see if Yesung would speak again, he’d give anything.
He waited anxiously in the class room for her to arrive, fidgeting nervously in his seat. He usually tried to be a diligent student, but today there were just too many other things on his mind. He sat up straight in his chair when she stepped in though, his heart thumping with a nervous sort of excitement. He barely gave her a chance to sit down before he spoke.
“Adele I really need to talk-”
“Okay class! Everyone here? I figured we’d start a little early since I was late yesterday.” Siwon groaned, slumping down into his chair. It would figure, the one day he really needed to discuss something, the teacher showed up early. Adele just smiled though, reaching out to pat Siwon’s hand lightly as if she understood.
The lecture dragged on forever it seemed. Siwon did his very best to pay attention and copy down all the notes written on the board as well as making notes of his own, but for the most part his mind was off in lala land. Once the class was dismissed though, Adele remained in her seat, turning to look to Siwon.
“You want to know how I know, don’t you? Because no one else believes you…” Siwon blinked, both of his brows arching higher on his forehead.
“You are psychic, aren’t you?” Adele snorted with laughter, ignoring the other students that passed them by.
“No, not by a long shot.” She leaned to the side then, grabbing something she’d stuffed in her bag. Once she straightened back up she handed Siwon a brochure, the very same brochure for the Seoul Academy for Special Needs that he’d been looking at the day before. “You should take him to have him evaluated.” Siwon couldn’t help but to feel his heart sink. He took the brochure though, letting his eyes scan over the front, he’d already read the inside so many times he almost had it memorized.
“Adele I can’t afford it.”
“The evaluation is free. It wouldn’t hurt to know what you’re dealing with, right? It might get you pointed in the right direction. And it’s really not that expensive. You pay for him to go to a regular school, right? This isn’t much different.”
“But how do you know? To be honest I already have a copy of the brochure, there are no prices there. Donghae tried to get me to call… but to be honest I don’t even want to know. If it’s expensive I’ll just feel guilty I can’t do it.”
“How do I know? I work there.” She chuckled softly at the way Siwon’s head snapped up to look at her, eyes wide with confusion. “What, you think I just sat around all day and twiddled my thumbs waiting for class to start? Please. I work there all day, leave around 5:30 and then rush to get here. If it wasn’t for the professor being late all the time I’d be screwed.” She laughed softly, finally closing her text book. “And no, I don’t get commission for referrals, either, so don’t think that. Just bring him for an evaluation alright? If nothing else I’m sure they can give you lots of good advice. It’s a good program, ran by good people. They won’t look down on you; they won’t think you’re making things up. Yesung isn’t the only one, Siwon. He’s a sweet, intelligent boy. He’s just a little different, yeah? But that doesn’t make him any less important than the rest of us.”
“I… just… I don’t know what to say… I…” Adele chuckled, pulling out her cell phone from her pocket.
“What day is good for you? We’re open on the weekends, too.” Siwon brought a hand up, rubbing at the back of his neck. Part of him was still hesitant. He knew if they got there and they gave him a price that was too much, he’d feel guilty forever for not being able to give Yesung that opportunity, because even if he took on a third job, there probably wasn’t enough time in the day for him to earn the money and take care of the family too. But then again, he’d be equally foolish for not taking a chance when it presented itself. If he went and couldn’t afford it, he would be no worse off than he already was, but if he could… Then just maybe Yesung had a chance.
“I guess… Saturday? At two? I finish at the coffee shop at noon… so…” He watched as Adele taped the screen on her phone a few times, smiling once more.
“Saturday at two then. I’ll let them know. I’m working Saturday too, so I’ll say hi if I see you. Take care of yourself until then, Siwon. Keep your chin up, okay? My number better still be on the fridge incase need something. I mean it…” She smiled once more, waving at him as she stepped away after packing her bag, slipping out of the class quietly, leaving Siwon even more baffled than he’d been before.
Saturday couldn’t come quick enough for Siwon. He was looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. By the time he got home from work that day he was so nervous and frazzled his hands were trembling, because for some reason it felt as though he was on the verge of something amazing, though he wasn’t quite sure why. He’d gotten Yesung dressed in the best outfit the kid had, which was little more than a polo shirt and the only pair of jeans he had that didn’t have a hole in them. He’d fussed with him to try and get his hair and teeth brushed, and was already five minutes late by the time they made it out the door. Yesung was fine with car rides; he was used to Siwon’s car. Sometimes when Yesung was having a moment and couldn’t calm down Siwon would buckle him into the car and they’d drive around the city and look at all there was to see until Yesung had calmed down, and usually by the time they got back the boy was sound asleep. He did well on this particular car ride too, at least until they pulled up in front of the unfamiliar building. By the time Siwon parked and then moved around to unbuckle Yesung from the backseat, he could already feel the tenseness in the boy’s muscles. He could only hope they’d get the evaluation done without a screaming fit. He lifted Yesung up into his arms and carried him into the building, chattering about this and that the entire time in hopes of keeping Yesung distracted.
It looked like a wonderful place, laid out not all that differently than a typical school, though it did seem a bit more open and airy. Artwork was hanging all over the hall walls, murals had been painted here and there. It looked like quite a friendly, cheery place. He stopped at the reception desk to give his name and sign in, and soon he was being ushered into a small little conference room off to the side. He was rather glad it was like this, as Yesung had developed a rather intense dislike for doctors, as well as anything remotely medical looking. Usually carrying Yesung into a doctor’s office was the quickest way to get him to scream. While Yesung was still horribly tense, he was quiet… for now. It wasn’t long after that a reasonably young looking man stepped into the room, smiling softly.
“You must be Mr. Choi, I’m Dr. Kim, but you can call me Kibum if you like.” Siwon winced internally as he felt Yesung’s muscles tighten even further… unfortunately Yesung had heard the ‘magic’ word. He took in a deep breath as his eyes widened, opened his mouth, and let out the shrillest scream he could muster, and it didn’t stop, either. Yesung twisted himself about then, desperately trying to get away from Siwon, or at the least hide behind him. Siwon’s cheeks flushed red a bit as he flailed a little, trying to hold Yesung still.
“Yesung… please… just-”
“Let him go, its okay.”
“But he’ll…” When Siwon looked up at the doctor to see that he seemed rather unphased though, he let go of Yesung, watching as the boy quickly scrambled away to hide under the table. Not much after that Siwon saw Adele briefly peek into the room, though by the time he realized it was actually her, her head was gone. The doctor gestured for Siwon to take a seat in the nearest chair, and then he sat down himself, taking out a notepad.
“So, tell me about your… brother is it?”
Siwon found it rather difficult to concentrate enough to explain Yesung to the doctor while the kid was still screaming under the table, but if the doctor was going to ignore it he supposed he’d give it his best shot too. He did his best to fit in every detail that he remembered, though he had to admit before he took over Yesung’s care, his memory was a little spotty. He felt bad that he hadn’t paid THAT much attention to his brother before, he’d always just assumed it was his mother’s job to notice all the little details.
He was just a few moments away from developing a splitting headache when Adele stepped into the room, carrying something very large and scaly in her arms. It looked heavy too, judging by the way she had to lean back a bit while she held it. She stepped about halfway into the room without saying a word and made sure she was in Yesung’s line of sight before she stooped down, placing the large box turtle down on the floor with a grunt. She patted the turtles back then before she took a few steps backwards, leaning back against the wall. To Siwon’s surprise, Yesung’s screaming stopped the very instant the turtle touched the floor. Though Yesung made no move to come out from under the table, when Siwon peeked underneath the table he saw how intently his brother was focused on the turtle. The doctor peeked under the table at Yesung, smiling softly as he looked back to Siwon. “Your friend Adele told me he liked turtles. Most children like him have one or two things they get fixated on, that’s why we tried to provide a variety of things for them to do. Even if they only like one thing and they do it for hours on end every single day, if it keeps them happy it’s not hurting anything. We always try to introduce new things, but if they don’t take a liking to it, we don’t force them to continue. We want learning to be a positive experience for them, not a negative one. To be quite honest I think your Yesung would fit in well here, given what you’ve told me. Siwon couldn’t help but to smile a bit, though it quickly became an awkward one, because now he knew this was where the money would come in.
“I really appreciate hearing that sir, but…” He blinked, looking down as he felt something move between his legs as Yesung crawled out from beneath the table. He didn’t dare venture far from his brother, he actually sat on his feet as he wrapped one arm around one of Siwon’s legs, but he was that much closer to the turtle. “-But I don’t have the money to pay for a fancy school, I really don’t have that much money at all.”
Dr. Kim smiled, shaking his head a bit. “I’m not asking for your money. We receive some grants from the government throughout the year to continue the work we do here. While it’s not enough to cover every student’s tuition, we keep it set aside for those that really need it. Yesung would be one of those students. His tuition would be covered by the government.” Siwon blinked, his mouth dropping open slightly.
“Wait.. What? It would be… free?”
“Free for you, yes. Every child is required by law to receive and education, and for special needs students, if they receive the correct kind of education that fits their needs, they can still go on to lead productive lives. There will always be limitations for them, but the important thing is to learn how to work around those limitations so they can move forward. Yesung is still young; he still has a lot of potential.”
“I just… I don’t know what to say… I didn’t expect this!” Siwon stared at the doctor, his mouth still hanging open. The doctor laughed as he moved to stand from his chair, patting Siwon’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll give it a while to sink in, and then I’m sure Adele here can get you started on the paperwork. If you get everything filled out today, he can start on Monday. Thank you for coming in, it was nice meeting you both and I hope to see you again soon. He slipped out then, waving briefly to Adele as he passed. Adele chuckled, grinning as she looked over to Siwon.
“You can breathe now.” Siwon let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding; turning to gawk at Adele the same way he had the doctor.
“I can’t believe… I’m dreaming, I’m sure of it.”
“Hard work always pays off in the end, Siwon. If it doesn’t pay off in money, it pays off in karma and good luck.” She stepped forward then, though rather than going to Siwon she knelt down next to the turtle, putting herself more at Yesung’s level.
“This is Ddangkoma. He wanted to come say hello to you, because I told him you like turtles, so he says you must be a very cool person if you like turtles. He also says he’s sorry he was a little late, but he was just finishing his lunch when you came. He’s a really slow eater, but that helps his food digest better.” Siwon still admired the way Adele spoke to his brother. Though her voice was a bit more light and melodic than usual, it was still nice to hear someone else speak to him in an adult fashion.
“Do you want to pet him, Yesung? Ddangkoma likes a good back rub after he eats… he’s a very spoiled turtle, you know.” Adele didn’t reach for Yesung’s hand, she didn’t try to force him, but after a few moments hesitation that little hand crept out, reaching to touch the turtles back oh so lightly.
“Oooohhh he says that feels very nice! You’re a very good turtle petter, Yesung!” Siwon could have sworn he saw the corners of Yesung’s usually expressionless mouth twist upwards in what might have been the start of a smile, but that was as far as it got. Still, for some reason Siwon was absolutely elated to see his brother pet a turtle, and a big one at that! It was at that moment he let his eyes close as he tilted his head towards the ceiling a bit, saying a silent prayer of thanks for what an amazing blessing this was. Perhaps, for once in his life, things were starting to look up.
Rating: G
Length: 2720 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: Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I've been busy and worn out with work and stress and all that. This isn't a very eventful chapter, but it's still something. I promise there will be more with Kyuhyun, Henry, and Donghae in the next chapter, but I just wanted to get this little bit out of the way. I also realize I'm not following every single 'autistic rule', I'm taking a bit of creative license. I know it usually takes years to form a bond, but for the sake of having the story move along I'm going to kind've skip over that a lil'. Anyways I hope you all enjoy again. There'll be a bit more drama it the next chapter, as well as a bit of a peek into some of the characters backgrounds. Stay tuned!
Siwon hardly slept that night, far too many thoughts racing through his mind. How had Adele known about Yesung? Sure, he’d spoken often of his family, but really he didn’t often go into specifics, mostly because people didn’t tend to believe him. Some times it was better to just let them believe it was some sort of reaction to their parents’ traumatic death. But Adele… she was different. And to see the way Yesung tolerated her… Siwon was baffled. Did she have some sort of psychic powers? Even during work the next day, that was all that was on Siwon’s mind. He knew he had to ask her, he’d prayed so many nights for some sort of help… something… anything. And if this was his chance he wasn’t about to let it go. He even thought of inviting her over for dinner, even though he had nothing impressive to offer. But just to see if Yesung would speak again, he’d give anything.
He waited anxiously in the class room for her to arrive, fidgeting nervously in his seat. He usually tried to be a diligent student, but today there were just too many other things on his mind. He sat up straight in his chair when she stepped in though, his heart thumping with a nervous sort of excitement. He barely gave her a chance to sit down before he spoke.
“Adele I really need to talk-”
“Okay class! Everyone here? I figured we’d start a little early since I was late yesterday.” Siwon groaned, slumping down into his chair. It would figure, the one day he really needed to discuss something, the teacher showed up early. Adele just smiled though, reaching out to pat Siwon’s hand lightly as if she understood.
The lecture dragged on forever it seemed. Siwon did his very best to pay attention and copy down all the notes written on the board as well as making notes of his own, but for the most part his mind was off in lala land. Once the class was dismissed though, Adele remained in her seat, turning to look to Siwon.
“You want to know how I know, don’t you? Because no one else believes you…” Siwon blinked, both of his brows arching higher on his forehead.
“You are psychic, aren’t you?” Adele snorted with laughter, ignoring the other students that passed them by.
“No, not by a long shot.” She leaned to the side then, grabbing something she’d stuffed in her bag. Once she straightened back up she handed Siwon a brochure, the very same brochure for the Seoul Academy for Special Needs that he’d been looking at the day before. “You should take him to have him evaluated.” Siwon couldn’t help but to feel his heart sink. He took the brochure though, letting his eyes scan over the front, he’d already read the inside so many times he almost had it memorized.
“Adele I can’t afford it.”
“The evaluation is free. It wouldn’t hurt to know what you’re dealing with, right? It might get you pointed in the right direction. And it’s really not that expensive. You pay for him to go to a regular school, right? This isn’t much different.”
“But how do you know? To be honest I already have a copy of the brochure, there are no prices there. Donghae tried to get me to call… but to be honest I don’t even want to know. If it’s expensive I’ll just feel guilty I can’t do it.”
“How do I know? I work there.” She chuckled softly at the way Siwon’s head snapped up to look at her, eyes wide with confusion. “What, you think I just sat around all day and twiddled my thumbs waiting for class to start? Please. I work there all day, leave around 5:30 and then rush to get here. If it wasn’t for the professor being late all the time I’d be screwed.” She laughed softly, finally closing her text book. “And no, I don’t get commission for referrals, either, so don’t think that. Just bring him for an evaluation alright? If nothing else I’m sure they can give you lots of good advice. It’s a good program, ran by good people. They won’t look down on you; they won’t think you’re making things up. Yesung isn’t the only one, Siwon. He’s a sweet, intelligent boy. He’s just a little different, yeah? But that doesn’t make him any less important than the rest of us.”
“I… just… I don’t know what to say… I…” Adele chuckled, pulling out her cell phone from her pocket.
“What day is good for you? We’re open on the weekends, too.” Siwon brought a hand up, rubbing at the back of his neck. Part of him was still hesitant. He knew if they got there and they gave him a price that was too much, he’d feel guilty forever for not being able to give Yesung that opportunity, because even if he took on a third job, there probably wasn’t enough time in the day for him to earn the money and take care of the family too. But then again, he’d be equally foolish for not taking a chance when it presented itself. If he went and couldn’t afford it, he would be no worse off than he already was, but if he could… Then just maybe Yesung had a chance.
“I guess… Saturday? At two? I finish at the coffee shop at noon… so…” He watched as Adele taped the screen on her phone a few times, smiling once more.
“Saturday at two then. I’ll let them know. I’m working Saturday too, so I’ll say hi if I see you. Take care of yourself until then, Siwon. Keep your chin up, okay? My number better still be on the fridge incase need something. I mean it…” She smiled once more, waving at him as she stepped away after packing her bag, slipping out of the class quietly, leaving Siwon even more baffled than he’d been before.
Saturday couldn’t come quick enough for Siwon. He was looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. By the time he got home from work that day he was so nervous and frazzled his hands were trembling, because for some reason it felt as though he was on the verge of something amazing, though he wasn’t quite sure why. He’d gotten Yesung dressed in the best outfit the kid had, which was little more than a polo shirt and the only pair of jeans he had that didn’t have a hole in them. He’d fussed with him to try and get his hair and teeth brushed, and was already five minutes late by the time they made it out the door. Yesung was fine with car rides; he was used to Siwon’s car. Sometimes when Yesung was having a moment and couldn’t calm down Siwon would buckle him into the car and they’d drive around the city and look at all there was to see until Yesung had calmed down, and usually by the time they got back the boy was sound asleep. He did well on this particular car ride too, at least until they pulled up in front of the unfamiliar building. By the time Siwon parked and then moved around to unbuckle Yesung from the backseat, he could already feel the tenseness in the boy’s muscles. He could only hope they’d get the evaluation done without a screaming fit. He lifted Yesung up into his arms and carried him into the building, chattering about this and that the entire time in hopes of keeping Yesung distracted.
It looked like a wonderful place, laid out not all that differently than a typical school, though it did seem a bit more open and airy. Artwork was hanging all over the hall walls, murals had been painted here and there. It looked like quite a friendly, cheery place. He stopped at the reception desk to give his name and sign in, and soon he was being ushered into a small little conference room off to the side. He was rather glad it was like this, as Yesung had developed a rather intense dislike for doctors, as well as anything remotely medical looking. Usually carrying Yesung into a doctor’s office was the quickest way to get him to scream. While Yesung was still horribly tense, he was quiet… for now. It wasn’t long after that a reasonably young looking man stepped into the room, smiling softly.
“You must be Mr. Choi, I’m Dr. Kim, but you can call me Kibum if you like.” Siwon winced internally as he felt Yesung’s muscles tighten even further… unfortunately Yesung had heard the ‘magic’ word. He took in a deep breath as his eyes widened, opened his mouth, and let out the shrillest scream he could muster, and it didn’t stop, either. Yesung twisted himself about then, desperately trying to get away from Siwon, or at the least hide behind him. Siwon’s cheeks flushed red a bit as he flailed a little, trying to hold Yesung still.
“Yesung… please… just-”
“Let him go, its okay.”
“But he’ll…” When Siwon looked up at the doctor to see that he seemed rather unphased though, he let go of Yesung, watching as the boy quickly scrambled away to hide under the table. Not much after that Siwon saw Adele briefly peek into the room, though by the time he realized it was actually her, her head was gone. The doctor gestured for Siwon to take a seat in the nearest chair, and then he sat down himself, taking out a notepad.
“So, tell me about your… brother is it?”
Siwon found it rather difficult to concentrate enough to explain Yesung to the doctor while the kid was still screaming under the table, but if the doctor was going to ignore it he supposed he’d give it his best shot too. He did his best to fit in every detail that he remembered, though he had to admit before he took over Yesung’s care, his memory was a little spotty. He felt bad that he hadn’t paid THAT much attention to his brother before, he’d always just assumed it was his mother’s job to notice all the little details.
He was just a few moments away from developing a splitting headache when Adele stepped into the room, carrying something very large and scaly in her arms. It looked heavy too, judging by the way she had to lean back a bit while she held it. She stepped about halfway into the room without saying a word and made sure she was in Yesung’s line of sight before she stooped down, placing the large box turtle down on the floor with a grunt. She patted the turtles back then before she took a few steps backwards, leaning back against the wall. To Siwon’s surprise, Yesung’s screaming stopped the very instant the turtle touched the floor. Though Yesung made no move to come out from under the table, when Siwon peeked underneath the table he saw how intently his brother was focused on the turtle. The doctor peeked under the table at Yesung, smiling softly as he looked back to Siwon. “Your friend Adele told me he liked turtles. Most children like him have one or two things they get fixated on, that’s why we tried to provide a variety of things for them to do. Even if they only like one thing and they do it for hours on end every single day, if it keeps them happy it’s not hurting anything. We always try to introduce new things, but if they don’t take a liking to it, we don’t force them to continue. We want learning to be a positive experience for them, not a negative one. To be quite honest I think your Yesung would fit in well here, given what you’ve told me. Siwon couldn’t help but to smile a bit, though it quickly became an awkward one, because now he knew this was where the money would come in.
“I really appreciate hearing that sir, but…” He blinked, looking down as he felt something move between his legs as Yesung crawled out from beneath the table. He didn’t dare venture far from his brother, he actually sat on his feet as he wrapped one arm around one of Siwon’s legs, but he was that much closer to the turtle. “-But I don’t have the money to pay for a fancy school, I really don’t have that much money at all.”
Dr. Kim smiled, shaking his head a bit. “I’m not asking for your money. We receive some grants from the government throughout the year to continue the work we do here. While it’s not enough to cover every student’s tuition, we keep it set aside for those that really need it. Yesung would be one of those students. His tuition would be covered by the government.” Siwon blinked, his mouth dropping open slightly.
“Wait.. What? It would be… free?”
“Free for you, yes. Every child is required by law to receive and education, and for special needs students, if they receive the correct kind of education that fits their needs, they can still go on to lead productive lives. There will always be limitations for them, but the important thing is to learn how to work around those limitations so they can move forward. Yesung is still young; he still has a lot of potential.”
“I just… I don’t know what to say… I didn’t expect this!” Siwon stared at the doctor, his mouth still hanging open. The doctor laughed as he moved to stand from his chair, patting Siwon’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll give it a while to sink in, and then I’m sure Adele here can get you started on the paperwork. If you get everything filled out today, he can start on Monday. Thank you for coming in, it was nice meeting you both and I hope to see you again soon. He slipped out then, waving briefly to Adele as he passed. Adele chuckled, grinning as she looked over to Siwon.
“You can breathe now.” Siwon let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding; turning to gawk at Adele the same way he had the doctor.
“I can’t believe… I’m dreaming, I’m sure of it.”
“Hard work always pays off in the end, Siwon. If it doesn’t pay off in money, it pays off in karma and good luck.” She stepped forward then, though rather than going to Siwon she knelt down next to the turtle, putting herself more at Yesung’s level.
“This is Ddangkoma. He wanted to come say hello to you, because I told him you like turtles, so he says you must be a very cool person if you like turtles. He also says he’s sorry he was a little late, but he was just finishing his lunch when you came. He’s a really slow eater, but that helps his food digest better.” Siwon still admired the way Adele spoke to his brother. Though her voice was a bit more light and melodic than usual, it was still nice to hear someone else speak to him in an adult fashion.
“Do you want to pet him, Yesung? Ddangkoma likes a good back rub after he eats… he’s a very spoiled turtle, you know.” Adele didn’t reach for Yesung’s hand, she didn’t try to force him, but after a few moments hesitation that little hand crept out, reaching to touch the turtles back oh so lightly.
“Oooohhh he says that feels very nice! You’re a very good turtle petter, Yesung!” Siwon could have sworn he saw the corners of Yesung’s usually expressionless mouth twist upwards in what might have been the start of a smile, but that was as far as it got. Still, for some reason Siwon was absolutely elated to see his brother pet a turtle, and a big one at that! It was at that moment he let his eyes close as he tilted his head towards the ceiling a bit, saying a silent prayer of thanks for what an amazing blessing this was. Perhaps, for once in his life, things were starting to look up.