KWONs

February 14

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place – Zora Neale Hurston.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Oh gosh. It’s LOVE day or shall I say “hearts day”. Call it whatever you want, in the end, it’ll come down to one thing and that is, this day will be filled with love and steamy bodies once again.

I’ve been celebrating this special day for YEARS with only one man and for some unexplainable reason, I don’t get sick and tired of his surprises. Truth is, I will not even take it badly if he happens to not have any surprise for me (I actually want him to forget even just for once to know how I’ll react to it). Well, he doesn’t forget and never misses out. NEVER! I swear. We treat this day as if it’s our birthday where we shower each other with gifts, appreciation and of course, LOVE.

To some, celebrating this day means splurging money and wasting time just for a romantic date. But for Jiyong and I, it’s important, for the sole reason why there’s Valentine’s Day is for us, people, to celebrate LOVE.

“I need my shoes NOW!” DK’s voice reaches our room even when the door’s closed.

It woke me up from deep slumber. “What is going on?” I turn to my husband who is sleeping soundly and in prone position, shirtless without a duvet covering half his body, showing his girl-like, flawless legs in his tight boxers (Y).

Still sleepy and hoping to get at least one or two hours more in bed, I drag my heavy body out and slip in my robe. Just by the sound of my daughter’s voice, I can tell that her day is not going right once again and as usual, one of her siblings is causing it.

“MUM!” the little twins run to me the moment I walk out of the room.

Smiling widely, I welcome them both in my arms and they hug me tightly. “Good Morning babies” I kiss their foreheads.

“Morning Mum!” Miracle greets cheerfully, her voice as sweet as candy.

“Morning Mum” Darielle does the same. His smile can really brighten my day in just a snap.

Chaos. The whole house is in chaos with the big twins watching television, volumes up, while eating sandwiches on the couch. Danny is so absorbed in listening to music with his headphones on (and in full blast), playing invisible drums. The carpet has sheets of papers on it (Isabella’s), and DK, raging, shouting and scolding Karielle upstairs.

“My head suddenly hurts” I tell the little twins who looked at me worriedly.

I look at them as well and sigh heavily. “What will Mum do?”

They giggle. “Stop DK Noona from being so loud” Darielle suggests and Miracle agrees by nodding her head. “Yes Mum…stop Unnie…please” she says with her hands in a praying position “She’s too loud”

With another heavy sigh, I go to the girls’ room and found DK rummaging their shared closet (giving every child their own closet costs a lot, so we didn’t push through with it).

“Babies” I call, sounding like a pissed Mother. “What is it this time?”

DK walks to me, ready to whine. “Mum…K…” but before she starts, I raise my index finger up in front of her face. “Calm yourself down first before talking to me…because baby girl…I don’t want to hear rants early in the morning”

Annoyed and totally angry, she doesn’t have a choice but to do what I told her. DK takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Mum…K used my shoes…AGAIN” she emphasizes and looks at her sister with narrow eyes. “I don’t really mind her using everything in my closet but not that…and she’s really careless Mum…did you know that she lost it?”

“What shoes are we talking about here?” I ask curiously.

The kids have a lot of clothes, shoes and accessories (They grew up partly in the Fashion world. A lot of designers and brands give them the latest trends as gifts). Actually, I cannot understand why they even have to borrow clothes and shoes from one another when they have their own.

“It’s the Isabel Marant that Dad bought for me when we went to Paris Mum” DK answers and my eyes nearly pop out of its sockets in shock.

“Those are new…right?” I ask and she nods. My head. It’s hurting doubly now.

The sneakers Karielle lost is newly bought by Jiyong for DK during their recent trip to Paris. He took the girls with him there for the Paris Fashion Week and bought them things that will serve as their souvenirs. No wonder DK is going ballistic.

“Where did you lose it baby?” I crouch down in front of Karielle who is crying her eyes out, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Hiccup. “I brought it to school yesterday Mum…it was safely secured in its bag that I left for a while in the  cafeteria to get some food…when I got back…the bag’s not there anymore” she looks at DK who is standing behind me. “I’m really sorry Unnie…don’t worry…I’ll find them for you”

One of the things I’m proud of is my children know how to apologize, sometimes even when it’s really not their fault.

“FIND IT” DK is still in rage. “CAUSE IF NOT…I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU” and walks out of the room.

Girl fights are really the most intense of all fights (don’t deny). Unlike the boys who gives out one or two punches or just push each other as if they’re going to rip each other’s heads, Girls are too full of emotions to the point that even if you’re not part of it, you will feel what they’re feeling in full swing. I’m telling you, Jiyong and our sons are so used to being in a rollercoaster ride of emotions whenever they see the girls fight.

“Aren’t you guys forgetting something?” I ask after reaching the first floor from the second floor.

Isabella who is working on the floor (even on a weekend), surrounded with papers, looks at me with an eyebrow raised. “What is it Mum?” she asks.

Seriously.

“Guys!” I call, getting their attention once again. “It’s Valentine’s Day!”

Sadly, nobody reacted hugely. They just nod their heads and continue what they’re doing. These kids should learn how to appreciate Valentine’s Day too!

“Hyung” Russelle elbows Danny who stops playing his invisible drums to look at him. “Give me your chocolates…OK? I know you’ll get a lot again this year” he tells him and just earns a nod.

Truth is, all of them get chocolates every year, but Isabella, DK and Danny are the ones who bring home bags full of sweets. There was even a time when Danny is only ten, high school girls would visit him at his school just to personally give him their homemade chocolates, while the girls, Isabella to be exact, gets flowers, especially delivered to our house.

“Dad’s still sleeping?” Isabella asks while watching me prepare breakfast.

I nod. “Yes…he stayed late writing songs for Yedam”

“What are your plans for today?” she sips her coffee while looking at me with sticky-teasing eyes. She knows that her Father and