"You must find your own path now."

The old wooden ceiling was leaking…Despite the cold, the dormitory was warm with laughter… And there was one grown-up Jungkook.

The boy carefully placed a few pieces of neatly folded clothing into his bag. On top of them, he laid the socks decorated with bunnies and teddy bears — a gift from Sunmi, one of the orphanage’s caretakers. He took a deep breath.

He was leaving this place.

He had lived in this orphanage for as long as he could remember, and he had no one else.

According to the headmistress, he had been left at the orphanage’s doorstep on a rainy day, wrapped in a blue baby blanket, with a name tag pinned to him.

He cast one last glance at his bed — the one that, while not soft, held many memories from his childhood.

Someone else would be sleeping there now.

He smiled softly and prayed silently.

He hoped that no one would have to sleep in uncomfortable beds like he did, that no child would have to grow up in the cold orphanage rooms. He wished every child could live in a warm family home, surrounded by a mother, a father, maybe even siblings.

Instead of crying alone in the dark after a nightmare, he wished they would nestle between their parents and fall back into a safe, peaceful sleep.

He imagined a mother waking him every morning with a warm breakfast ready on the table, a family gathering together for breakfast.

He didn't want anyone else to taste the awful, cold food of the orphanage or wake up to shouts and curses.

He had suffered enough in this place.

And he couldn’t bear the thought of others going through the same.

His childhood had been nothing but a nightmare.

Older kids would bully and beat him up.

If anything bad happened, even if he had no part in it, the blame was often thrown at him.

And because he looked sweeter and more delicate than most boys, he always drew the wrong kind of attention.

One night, an older boy who also lived at the orphanage assaulted him, and after that terrifying incident, Jungkook had wet the bed almost every night out of fear until he managed to overcome his fear of the dark.

He couldn’t sleep at night; he cried endlessly.

Every time he closed his eyes, he feared that boy would come again and touch him.

Because he stayed awake at night, he often dozed off during the day.

Whenever the headmistress caught him, she would scold and punish him, locking him alone in the dark, terrifying punishment room until he "learned his lesson."

That room was just as frightening.

He used to believe that if he fell asleep there, monsters or spiders would come and eat him.

“Jungkook! It’s time to go, come on!”

-

At the entrance of the orphanage, with a black suitcase — neither too big nor too small — he was saying goodbye to the younger kids who saw him as their older brother.

Most of them were around eleven years old.

Jungkook knelt on the ground, lowering himself even more to hug them one by one.

His eyes were brimming with tears.

He wanted to cry, but he felt he had to stay strong for them.

He knew that if he cried, they would too. And he couldn’t stand seeing them cry.

He didn’t want any child to cry.

After leaving here, he wanted to find a good job, earn lots of money, save up, and help as many children as he could.

It felt like his entire existence was tied to this purpose.

“Jungkook hyung, don’t forget to come visit us, okay?”

One of the kids, around nine years old — a boy who, like him, had been here since infancy — spoke with watery eyes.

Jungkook felt something break inside him.

He knew this boy. His name was Sungwoon.

He didn’t have an official surname, so he used "Kim," the one the headmistress had assigned to him, just like they did for a few other kids.

Jungkook himself had been given his surname later, too.

But that wasn’t why he remembered Sungwoon.

He had once saved him from an assault — much like the one Jungkook himself had endured — at the hands of someone nearly six or seven years older.

Someone Sungwoon had trusted like a brother.

You couldn’t trust anyone anymore.

Since then, Jungkook hadn’t been able to spend much time with Sungwoon because of his exams.

And Sungwoon had always been a shy, introverted kid who didn’t mix much with the others.

If no one had mentioned him, Jungkook might have even forgotten him.

“Of course! I’ll come visit, sweetheart — and I’ll bring you guys lots of snacks, too!” he promised.

The children's faces immediately lit up, some even jumping in excitement.

A bittersweet smile tugged at Jungkook’s lips.

Finding good snacks here was expensive and tightly restricted by the orphanage’s rules.

They were only given a 200ml banana milk and a small plastic cup of chocolate pudding once a week.

Sometimes, due to "certain excuses," even that was delayed for weeks or wasn’t enough for everyone.

But Jungkook knew the truth.

He had once overheard the headmistress on the phone, talking about using the children’s food money to buy a fancy computer for her own child.

He had tried to expose her, reported it to the authorities and the orphanage's trustees — but it hadn't helped.

No one had believed him.

Instead, he was punished even more harshly.

After hugging each child tightly, Jungkook stood up and brushed the dust off his knees.

He grabbed the handle of his suitcase.

Just as he was about to step away, he heard a familiar voice calling him from behind.

“Jungkook! Are you leaving without saying goodbye to me...?”

“Oh, Sunmi ajumma! How could I ever leave without saying goodbye to you?!” he said as he rushed into the arms of the woman who had long since passed her fifties.

Sunmi had practically raised Jungkook.

She had stayed up with him through fevers, snuck him out early from the dark punishment room, given him two banana milks instead of one, and done countless other acts of kindness.

How could he ever forget her?

Sunmi had no family of her own — not before she came to work at the orphanage.

Years ago, she had lost her beloved son in a kidnapping, and ever since, she had devoted her life to caring for children here.

Jungkook stayed in her embrace for a long moment.

As her aged but still warm hands moved gently over his back, he closed his eyes.

He realized that despite all the horrors he had endured, her existence had made life at least a little bearable.

“You’re very special to me, my son,” Sunmi said with a thick voice.

“I am your mother, just like I’m a mother to all the other children here.

If you ever need anything, you come back here and ask for me, understand, my son?”

Choking back the lump in his throat, Jungkook nodded.

“Okay, Sunmi ajumma. I promise.”

She brushed his hair gently before pulling back to look into his eyes.

“Go on, now. Before Miss Sungha comes and scolds you for being late," she joked, chuckling softly.

"And never, ever forget us — me, your brothers and sisters here. You have your own path now.”

“I won’t forget,” Jungkook said, hugging her tightly one last time before reaching for his suitcase.

His steps were heavy, as if invisible chains were wrapped around his ankles.

As he approached the orphanage door, his heart pounded faster — a bittersweet mix of excitement and sorrow.

When he opened the door, the cool air struck his face.

The sky was blanketed in gray clouds; rain was imminent.

He tightened his grip on his suitcase and cast one final glance back at the orphanage.

Behind those cold walls, he was leaving behind so much pain — and so many memories.

“Goodbye,” he whispered.

His eyes blurred with unshed tears, but he had promised himself he wouldn’t cry.

He thought of the children's smiling faces, of Sunmi’s tearful farewell.

It was enough to keep him strong.

He started walking slowly.

The farther he got from the orphanage, the lighter — yet heavier — he felt.

He didn’t know what awaited him in this new journey, but one thing he knew for sure:

He would no longer be a victim of his past.

He would build his own future.

Gripping his suitcase tightly, he continued walking away from the orphanage.

His feet, as if moving on their own, carried him toward the silent streets of the city.

The streets were empty, as if everyone had retreated indoors to escape the gloom.

As he walked past shuttered shops and deserted alleys, the rain began to fall.

At first a few drops, but quickly it turned into a heavy downpour.

Jungkook pulled up the collar of his jacket, trying to shield himself, but it was no use.

Raindrops slid from his hair down his face and chin.

His eyes caught sight of a bench by the road.

Ignoring the weight of his soaked clothes, he sat down.

He placed his suitcase beside him and shoved his hands into his pockets.

The cold seeped into his bones — but he didn’t mind.

If anything, the cold reminded him that he was alive.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***