* Please note that this article is a fabrication based on a creative work. *
For me, the beginning of my childhood memories was simply the orphanage. I grew up in the orphanage, played in the orphanage, ate in the orphanage, and grew up in the orphanage.
I knew I'd been abandoned by my parents since I was a child. I'd sat alone in a corner, played alone, and done everything on my own. But even then, someone approached me, and it felt like I was finally able to speak for the first time.
"What's your name?"
"...Yoon Yo-ju."
"Wow! I'm Yoon Shin too. I'm Yoon Jeong Han."
" ... ... "
When I said my name in a slurred voice, he looked surprised and said his own, while I remained silent and continued to stack blocks. Despite my reaction, however, he continued to talk to me.
"How old are you? Nanu is 6 years old!"
"...5 years old."
I gradually opened up to him, and as time passed, we became closer. Even the orphanage teacher was amazed by me, and we became closer, becoming like real siblings.
"Brother! Do you want to go to the playground?"
"My brother is busy right now. I'll go if you go to Yeoju first."
"Okay! Got it."
I loved the playground near the orphanage so much that I used to play there with my older brother every day. That day, as always, I was there. There weren't many people there, so I was sitting alone on the ground playing in the sand. Then, some boys who looked about my age and what I assumed were their mothers came over.
The mothers sat on the bench, and the boys started running around the playground. I watched them, but since I didn't like running, I looked away and played in the sand again.
"Hello!"
" hi. "
" ... ... "
"Are you here alone?"
Then the boys approached me, who was sitting alone, and I stared blankly at them, bewildered. Then they sat down next to me, playing in the sand, and without me even opening my mouth, they began asking and answering questions among themselves.
As time went by and I learned their names, I didn't say a word, and since they seemed like good kids, I started to open up too.
"Naun Yeoju."
"Wow! Say it!"
"Then of course a person would speak, idiot."
"Mr. Lee, what did you say!"
"Hey, be quiet! How old are you, lady?"
"5 years old."
"We're five years old too!"
Their amusing reactions made the heroine laugh and they were getting closer as they talked to each other.
"I don't have a mom or dad. So I live with my brother."
"Really? What kind of person is Oppa?"
"Um... I take good care of you like a younger sibling."
"Like? Ah.. "
"Let's be friends!"
"Okay. You're a good girl."
"Yeah, good."
The kids smiled at me and reached out to me first, and I responded by grabbing their outstretched hands.
"Mom! We have a new friend."
"Oh really? What's your name?"
"My name is Yoon Yeo-ju. I'm 5 years old."
"That kid is so smart. Where are your parents?"
"..Mom and Dad are working."
They had already introduced me to their mothers, and while they seemed momentarily taken aback by my words, they smiled sheepishly and changed the subject. Their mothers seemed nicer than I'd expected, and I was delighted to have made some friends.
The sun was almost setting, so I returned to the orphanage and Jeonghan was busy doing something in his room.
"Brother, what are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh, no. I'm sorry I couldn't go, Yeoju."
"No! I have friends. They're all good kids."
"Really? That would be nice~ Go wash up quickly and come back."
"Okay! I understand."
I went into the bathroom at my brother's words, and a few days later something I didn't know about at the time exploded.
Since that day, I've played with the kids at the playground every day, and today, as always, I was getting ready to go. But today, the orphanage teachers were busy, and I was wondering, absentmindedly, when a man and a woman entered the orphanage.
"You're here~?"
"Yes haha. I've been waiting for today."
I didn't notice it then, but I was standing in front of the director's office and only then did I notice it.
They had come to adopt Jeonghan Oppa, and because of this, he had been a bit busy. That's why he hadn't been able to play with me much. I hurried into my room and ran to Jeonghan Oppa.
"Brother!"
"Uh, uh... Yeoju, why?"
"Oppa, are you really going..? Don't leave the heroine behind.. Come with me, oppa."
"My lady..."
"You promised to stay with the heroine..."
When I entered the room, Jeonghan Oppa was wearing clothes I hadn't seen him wear before and was carrying a large bag that didn't fit his body, as if he had already packed his things.
At my words, my brother's pupils shook quite violently, and I hugged him tightly, shedding tears.
"...Yoon Yeo-ju, you have to come to your senses here. You have to live on your own without me."
"No, don't go."
" ... ... "
"I won't leave you. We'll be together!"
I shed tears, pretending not to hear what my brother said.
So I left the room holding hands with Jeonghan Oppa, and outside were the man and woman I had seen earlier and the director.
"teacher.. "
"Hey Jeonghan~ From now on, these are the people who will be Jeonghan's parents."
"If you take me, please take the female lead with you."
" what..? "
"He's like my little brother. He can't live apart from me, and neither can I."
Everyone was flustered by my brother who spoke each letter with a fairly accurate pronunciation, and I didn't have the confidence to lower my head and look at them.
Those people said it would be difficult for two people to adopt, so my brother's adoption fell through, and I became even more attached to him. That's how we were called siblings at the orphanage, and we promised to live together even when we grew up.
"Why didn't you come yesterday..? We waited.. "
"Sorry, I brought my brother today instead!"
"Uh... hello. This is Yeoju's oppa, Yoon Jeong-han."
"He's not my real brother."
"Hey..! You didn't say that."
When I first introduced my older brother to the kids, they were all surprised, but they gradually got used to it and started playing together.
So we spent more time together and went to school together, becoming closer and closer.
But when we were in middle school, and just a few months from that, we were about to enter high school, the orphanage said they couldn't take us in anymore. Jeonghan, who was a year older than me, had to leave Gobi before me, and we continued to go to school together even after we left.
"Since my brother will go out and earn money first, you just have to come out. Got it?"
"But it must be hard for you, oppa..."
"As long as you have the female lead, it won't be hard for you, oppa. It's okay."
The orphanage provided a home for me and even offered to pay my electricity bill, so my brother went to the house first and started earning money. After school, he worked part-time, and I, still at the orphanage, kept in touch with him occasionally.
So I became a high school student and was now living with my older brother. The money I earned from my part-time job for a year was enough for the two of us, and my brother continued to work part-time.
When we had saved up some money and my brother was a senior in high school, I decided to quit my part-time job and focus on his studies. Things went smoothly with the kids, and when things got tough, their moms would help.