"Apparently, I was left in a dog kennel by my biological parents. If they hadn't put me in the clothes bin, I probably would've frozen to death. The name on the kennel said 'Max,' so that's how I got my name. They had a dog, apparently. They were willing to raise the dog, but not me, I guess. Still, my mom and dad gave me this name." Max said with a sad smile as he looked at everyone.
"At least you have a name. I was found on the back seat of an express bus," Derrick said with a mocking smile.
"You jealous?" Max teased him.
"My name's Derrick. He and I got to the orphanage on the same day. We're practically brothers. We've been together for fifteen years," Derrick said, pointing at Max.
"Hey! I told you to introduce yourselves, not share your whole life stories," Warren interrupted.
"Our boss came to the orphanage when we were ten," Max and Derrick said in unison.
Warren cleared his throat and tried to sound as mature as possible. "I'm Warren Chae. I'm fifteen. I've been protecting Derrick and Max for five years now. That will be all!"
"Ah! Sally Park! I'll protect you from now on too!" Warren said with a serious face.
"No, thank you. Just go away. Get lost," Sally said with a dismissive wave.
"You think you can just casually move in? You sure you can quit the orphanage just like that?" she suddenly asked.
"You're more important to me than some stupid orphanage," Warren said with a straight face.
Sally ignored him,"...I'm Sally Park. Fifteen years old. My grandma in the U.S. abandoned me, so I live alone. That's about it."
"Marry me," Warren said to Sally with a straight face.
"Give me a heads-up before you say something like that, you lunatic!" Sally scolded him.
"Tsk!" Warren clicked his tongue.
Vin Jin leaned back and spoke with nonchalance. "I'm Vin Jin. I'm here because my teacher moved here." He adjusted his sunglasses.
Warren asked, "Why the fuck do you wear sunglasses even in the dark?!"
Vin Jin removed his glasses and said, "Because, unlike you bastards, I have polycoria."
Before Warren could retort, Sujin beside Vin Jin gently placed a hand on his arm.
"Please don't mind him. He's a little sensitive about it," she said in a soft voice. "My name is Sujin Kim. It's nice to meet you all. I come from the same village as Vin Jin. Both of us are orphans. Thankfully, Teacher Seongji and Baki-hyung were there to take care of us. We came here with them."
Warren asked, confused, "Who are those people?"
Sally replied, "They're the tenants. Vin Jin and Sujin live with them."
Sujin continued, "I know how to cook and clean, so if any of you ever need help with that..."
"Hey! Don't go offering your services to these losers," Vin snapped, though his tone was protective.
Warren then turned to the tall boy who was staring at the stars through the window.
"Hey, last but not least. What about you?"
The tall boy looked back. "I'm Eli Jang. I killed... my father."
Everyone gasped hearing him.
"My father was a drunk," Eli began. "He beat my mother until she couldn't take it anymore, so she ran away. She left me there with him."
"Then he brought a new woman home. She brought new sisters along with her. She would beat me if I talked to my sisters, when dad wasn't around. She'd beat me if I acted hurt in front of dad. But I was okay, because I had my dad."
"When my father died, she blamed me for it. She said that because I always troubled him and gave him stress, he died," he continued. "Then she remarried her first husband. They had their own children. I was just... there. But they didn't accept me, because I wasn't part of them. They would lock me in a room. Sometimes they remembered to feed me. Sometimes they didn't."
He finally looked up, eyes filled with pain. "I ran away. I ran away because the street felt... more comfortable."
Warren asked, "Then, do you have any good memories, by any chance?"
Eli replied, "In fact, I do have one. Hide and seek."