2. IMO AND UNCLE’S DEBT

Seeing me cry, Minki stopped crying immediately and began wiping my tears away. It made me want to cry even harder, but I controlled myself. I could not allow myself to cry anymore. I had to be strong for my daughter. I had to dry her tears not vice versa.

I spoke to her in English, “Do you want to have some ice cream?”

She nodded her head. I took her to Baskin Robbins. She happily tasted all their orange colored ice creams before selecting orange sorbet. Then she began pointing at pink ice cream and screaming Tee umma again. I couldn’t afford to buy a family pack of Baskin Robbins ice cream so we went to another nearby store and purchased a family pack of cotton candy flavor which I knew was Kibum’s favorite. Minki insisted on holding the precious bag of ice cream for her Key umma.

She skipped as we walked back to the car. I played music as we drove back to umma’s place. “Do you want me to sing?” She nodded. I began singing for her.

When we reached umma’s house, she was anxiously waiting outside for us. The guard had narrated to her about Minki’s crying episode. Minki climbed into her arms immediately and shared her ice cream. When umma saw more ice cream in my hand, she gave me a royal scolding.

“Why did you have to get them anything Jinki? If they can be heartless enough to make a small child cry, they do not deserve your love or caring.”

“Umma they can do what they want. I cannot become like them. I am sorry.”

She just glared at me and dropped her next bomb on me.

“Minho is in the family room with your father.”

Ah! I was glad for the warning. It gave me a few seconds to steel myself to face Minho and appa. Minki immediately ran to Minho and beamed at him. I knew she missed him. She was more attached to her father than me and I had taken her away from her beloved father. Appa opened the conversation.

“Jinki, I have been talking to Minho during the day.”

I just nodded.

“Minho says his friends have never commented anything negative or bad about Minki.”

I looked at appa. It was clear to me that like everyone else he too chose to believe Minho. Umma looked sad at appa’s decision to disbelieve me. I tried not to show any emotions on my face. Minho appeared uncaring by playing with Minki, but I knew his sharp ears and eyes were noting everything.

“You can believe whomever you want to appa.”

“Minho also says he has never hit you.”

I looked down and just shrugged. I did not want to look at anyone.

“He has agreed to give you a monthly allowance for household expenses.”

“First let him pay for his own expenses. Why is he still running up the credit account in my name at the local grocery store? Why do I have to still pay the maid and his expense bills, even though I am living here with you now?”

“Jinki, don’t become petty now. Go and pack. He has come to take you home.”

I looked up in shock at that. I looked at umma with a plea in my eyes. But she remained silent. What could she do? She hardly had a choice in my staying or leaving.

“I am not going back to him appa.”

“Jinki stop being stubborn. Think of Minki. See how much she misses her father. Go back for her sake.”

I shook my head. It was useless to say anything more. Nobody was listening. I tried to control but I went into a bad coughing fit.

Appa told umma to go pack my bags.

“No. I am not going back to him. You cannot make me. I will never go back to him.”

Minho spoke up then, “Jinki at least tell me what I have done wrong. I have lived three months without you and my daughter. Why are you punishing me like this? I love you both so much. Please come back.”

“No I am not coming back. I don’t want to live with you anymore.”

Appa raised his voice then, “Jinki I don’t want to hear another word. Go back with Minho.”

“NO. I WILL NOT. YOU CANNOT MAKE ME GO BACK TO HIM. I WILL NOT GO BACK TO HIM. I WILL NEVER TAKE MINKI BACK TO HIM. I’D RATHER BOTH OF US DIE THAN LIVE WITH HIM.” I screamed as I began pulling Minki from her father’s arms.

I had to leave. I had to go away. I couldn’t stay there anymore. I had to keep my Minki safe.

Minho held on fast to Minki. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began screaming “appa” repeatedly. Somehow I managed to pull a screaming and kicking Minki away from Minho and ran outside.

Umma ran after me yelling, “Jinki don’t do anything stupid. We can talk it out. Jinki please listen to me.”

As I opened the car and put in a screaming Minki, umma opened the passenger door and sat too. I drove away, locking the doors and windows so Minki wouldn’t open them.

“Jinki calm down. You will have an accident.” Umma was pleading with me.

I just needed to put as much distance as possible between me and Minho. Umma pulled Minki into her lap and tried to calm her down. Minki settled into soft sobs instead of screaming.

Umma began her pleas again, “Jinki let’s go back home. I will not let you do anything stupid. Stop thinking about taking your life. We will find a solution. I will talk to your father.”

“Umma I am not going to do anything stupid like suicide. I just want to get away from Minho. I will not go back to him umma. Never.”

“Where are you going then Jinki? Let’s go back home. I know your father will be worried too.”

“What home umma? I have been rendered homeless today. I will drop you back.”

“As long as I am alive, you will never be homeless Jinki. Wherever I am, you will always have a home there. Let’s go back.”

“I will drop you back umma. I am going to stay with imo Dae Hei.”

“But you do not have any clothes for you or Minki.”

“We will manage umma. Don’t worry. Will you please call imo and tell her I’m on my way to her house?”

“Of course.”

I dropped umma some distance away from her house. She’d have to walk for a minute. But I did not want to go any nearer. I put on music to entertain Minki while I concentrated on driving. She had fallen asleep by the time I reached imo’s house.

Imo was waiting for us and made her elder daughter immediately call umma to let her know we had reached. Imo’s face told me she had been informed of everything by my mother. But she welcomed me with open arms and stood at the door hugging me for a long time. My older cousin Soo-jin who was 15 years old, took Minki from my arms and tucked her in bed while shushing her 9-year-old younger sister, Jiyeon.

When imo let go of me and took me to her living room, Jiyeon immediately climbed into my arms to hug me and kiss my cheeks. Soo brought water for me to drink and hugged me afterwards. I was overwhelmed by their love and acceptance of me and Minki. Jiyeon kept up a steady prattle of words which gave me time to control myself. I did not want to alarm the girls by breaking down in front of them.

I asked whether umma had been called and informed. Soo confirmed for me. Imo put on water to make tea while the girls kept talking to me. Jiyeon kept looking around for my bags. She became sad on finding none. She wanted me to stay with them for some time. The girls wanted to play with Minki. I told them I did not bring any clothes, but I would be staying for a few days. Imo guided me and we took out some older clothes of Jiyeon from when she was two years old.

Imo must have told the girls to not bring up Minho in their conversation because neither of them asked about their favorite hyeongbu.

Not much later, uncle Ho-jin arrived and he welcomed me with a hug too. The girls had gone to put Minki’s clothes in their dresser. Imo came to welcome her husband back from work. Uncle put his hand on my head and ruffled my hair as if I was still the kid he had first known.

“Jinki, we have a small house. We live simply and have less money when compared to your father. But you and Minki are welcome to share it with us for your life. You’re a son to me, older brother to Soo-jin and Jiyeon. Now that you have come here, your imo and I won’t let you go easily.”

“But uncle –”

“No buts. I don’t know why you left Minho. But I know you. I have known you since you were in diapers Jinki. You must have solid reason to break your marriage. If you ever want to share the reasons, I will listen and understand. And if you don’t want to, even that’s alright with me. We will support you any way.”

He turned to imo then. “Dae Hei, Jinki and Minki will live with us from now on. And make appointment with your doctor for his treatment. I don’t like the sound of his cough.”

I was rendered speechless.

The girls began jumping around in joy. Their screams of happiness woke up Minki who opened to cry at the strange surroundings but on seeing Soo-jin and Jiyeon she forgot everything else. She soon got busy playing and laughing with them. Imo went to prepare dinner, I followed her to help her but she shooed me out to sit and talk with uncle.

“Uncle are you really sure about my staying? I came to spend only the night. I will leave tomorrow. I don’t want appa to get upset with you and imo.”

“Jinki you are not going anywhere. Dae Hei told me what your mother said. And if I cared a fig about what your father thought, your mother wouldn’t have stayed with us for years after leaving him. I think your father is the biggest fool on this earth for not believing you. The only person who can give him competition in stupidity is Minho for not appreciating a gem like you.”

I looked at him in surprise. I couldn’t believe I had received a compliment. I suddenly remembered my work that I had left at umma’s place. I called up the offices to let them know I would be a little late in my work submission and to my great shock I was fired from both the offices. They had yet to pay me for the work I had done in the past weeks.

Without my saying a word, uncle understood the situation. He told me he had a vacancy in his office. He was running his own advertising company. Some of his workers were on leave and he needed someone to man the front desk and then work in marketing with him. I was uncertain. I did not wish to burden him. He said to go to his office with him the next day and see for myself. If I felt myself to be a burden, I could stop working immediately. I agreed tentatively.

After dinner imo put Minki to sleep between herself and Soo-jin. Jiyeon cuddled next to me to sleep, in the other bedroom, and asked me to tell her a story. I told her a fairy tale with kings and queens, black magicians and tiny fairies. She soon fell asleep. Uncle was sleeping on a yo in the family room. He wouldn’t listen to my pleas to sleep on the bed with Jiyeon. It turned out that’s where he usually slept while the girls slept with imo.

I took the phone and went to the balcony to speak with umma. Umma told me that everybody was very upset with me for not returning with Minho, especially when he had come himself to take me back. Appa was abusing me and umma after drinking.

Kibum had told umma, “It is the unnecessary support given by you and abeoji that has turned Jinki hyung into a spoilt brat. If you send him back to Minho maehyung, he will have no other option but to sort out his differences with him. Stop supporting him umma. Make him go back and work on his marriage.”

Taemin too had made his opinion clear, “Do not expect me to financially support hyung or Minki. Listen to Kibum and send him back to maehyung. He is the one who had wanted to marry maehyung and he has to accept the result of it, be it good or bad.”

Umma was worried about Minki and me. I assured her about our well being.

“Umma I lost my accounting work but uncle has offered me a place in his office.”

“Join his office Jinki. Ho-jin is a good man. He treats his office workers like family and you are family to begin with.”

“I’m thinking it over umma. I don’t want to be any more of a burden on him. Anyway you go to sleep now.”

“I am missing Minki. I cannot sleep without her by my side. You take care, Jinki.”

“We will umma. You too take care. Ignore what appa says after drinking. It is nothing unusual.”

“Good night son. I love you.”

“I love you too umma. Sleep well.”

I slept that night, realizing how long it had been since I had slept at night. I thanked god for imo and uncle and my cousins and prayed that in next birth I be given a chance to repay their debt of this life. My cough eased a lot and I slept without dreams.