26. JOBLESS AGAIN

Next morning, as usual I was the first one awake in the house. I lay in my puppy's arms for a few minutes, silently relishing his warm loving embrace. Minki was softly snoring in our arms. Very slowly I turned in his arms to look at him. He really looked like a little puppy sleeping peacefully with his mouth and eyes opened a little bit. I kissed his eyes closed and softly pecked his lips. He stirred a little but didn't wake up.

After my morning routine ending with a quick shower, I made lunch and breakfast for all. Jonghyun would leave half an hour after us and uncle would be the last to leave. As I finished packing lunches for all if us, imo and Soo woke up. I made milkshake for all, poured for the school-going people in glasses and put the remainder in the refrigerator for uncle and puppy. It had been a long argument with imo to allow me this morning routine. It gave her extra time to sleep. She was not a morning person.

I woke up Minki and sent her to the bathroom. Jiyeon was last to wake up. I dressed Minki and myself silently, letting puppy sleep a little longer. I fed her breakfast which as usual she gave me trouble with. She still had no appetite till late afternoon. I braided Jiyeon's hair as she sat down and picked at her breakfast. I had learned a few girls’ hairstyles from imo as I thought I might need them in future.

Minki's hair was cut short. She insisted I make her four ponytails that morning. Two I could understand, but four? She refused to eat anymore till I agreed. Little blackmailer. With whatever little hair I could gather at each place, I made two on top of her head and two at the back. She looked like a little alien to me. She happily ran off to the bedroom and looked at herself from every possible angle. She even woke up puppy to make him admire her.

I told her to go show it to imo. Once alone I gave a quick good morning kiss to puppy.

"Oh yeobo, best way to wake up. Love you."

"Ditto. I have packed your lunch, it’s in the kitchen. Breakfast in the microwave. Milkshake in the fridge. Don’t leave without eating and drinking.” I gave him another peck on the lips.

“You should have woken me up. I would’ve helped you.” He pecked me back. “Hmmm yeobo you smell so good. I want to eat you up for breakfast.”

I put my nose in his neck and breathed in his sleepy fragrance and dropped a kiss there too. Minki entered the room at that moment.

“Ummappa why are you kissing ajeossi’s neck?”

Both of us blushed. I tried to think of some answer.

“He smells so good baby. I couldn’t help but kiss his neck. I was also hungry so I thought why not eat his neck.”

“I want to smell too.” She climbed onto the bed and leaned into puppy. “Ummappa his neck is red. Ajeossi are you okay?”

Jonghyun could only nod. He was speechless in embarrassment. Minki put her nose to the other side of his neck and took an audibly deep breath.  

“He smells the same as usual ummappa. Maybe he will taste better. Let me try.”

The little minx really bit his neck. I began laughing loudly at his small yelp. I took out the camera for a keepsake. Puppy had just received his first hickey. And it was not by me.

“Say cheese.” Both Minki and puppy smiled. Puppy looked tomato red and Minki was beaming proudly.

“I will get you for this toki.”

“Yes, yes I know. Revenge of the lapdog.”

“Don’t forget this lapdog had pretty sharp teeth.”

Minki insisted on inspecting his teeth and wisely declared that they looked the same as mine.

Puppy went to freshen up and I quickly had my breakfast. Uncle dropped us to school.

At the end of the school time, the Director called me for a meeting again. She told me that their regular day care incharge would return from her maternity leave next Monday. She again offered me to teach Kindergarten. I thanked her but rejected the offer. I knew I would be bored within a year.

At home I asked imo to get me more students for tuition. With her contacts in school, I knew I would soon have more tuitions than I’d have time for. This time I planned it properly. Imo and I discussed my fees according to class and subjects. I even was willing to take up more than one student at a time for help with homework where both parents were working.

Imo insisted on cooking special dinner that night to celebrate my upcoming joblessness.

Jonghyun returned from his shift. I could see from his face and body posture that it had been a tiring day for him. Before I could stop her, Minki climbed into his arm and kissed his cheek. “Welcome back ajeossi. Hope you had a good day at work?”

I remember that day I had taught the little ones how to properly greet their working father or mother in the evening.

He smiled and kissed her back. “I had a good day Minx. And it’s even better now that you have kissed me. Did you have a good time in school?”

She nodded. Before she could speak further, I told her to let him freshen up first. She smelled his neck again and nodded. “You need a bath ajeossi.”

He went for a shower. I helped Soo prepare coffee for him and imo and put some snacks on the table too. He sat took his coffee with a smile of thanks. We began our daily routine of evening conversation. He brought out chocolates for everyone, even imo’s favorite kind. Minki’s mouth was soon smeared with chocolate. She insisted on having coffee from his cup. In a nutshell, she refused to get down from his lap.

We discussed my jobless future from next week and the plan that imo and I had of helping weaker students with their studies.

“Does that mean toki that you will be working from late afternoon till evening or night?”

“I’ll try not to make it too far into the night.”

“Should I apply for the night shift then? I have been doing day shifts for too long and even today there was a strong pressure on me to change shifts.”

“What will be the timings puppy?”

“I’d need to leave straight after dinner and would return before nine in the morning. The advantage would be that I’d be free and fresh to take care of Minki while you are teaching.”

“We are there to help with Minki, Jjong. You don’t need to change your shift for that.” Imo said.

“But imo it will give me more time with everyone. Moreover, I cannot put off doing a night shift anymore. People will become upset in the station if I don’t take up a night shift soon.”

Both imo and I nodded.

When sleeping at night, we dared not kiss again. If Minki woke up and caught us kissing, it would be a disaster. She needed time to get used to us as a couple. We talked as we cuddled.

“Yeobo the main reason I am keen on night shift again is that it will give us more alone time during the day. I want all of you then. Would you let me?”

I blushed and nodded. He kissed my shoulder from the back. “A few more days. I love you.”

“Ditto. And I forgot. Congratulations!”

“What for?”

“You got your first hickey today. How did it feel?”

“Sweet, yeobo, it felt sweet. I died of embarrassment when Minx asked what you were doing.”

“I guess we will have more such moments till she grows up. We need to learn to stop blushing and develop a glib tongue.”

“I want to kiss you all over while you are blushing. You look so cute.”

“Soon puppy. Very soon.”

“Are you fine with not going to day care from next Monday? Will you miss it?”

“Hmm I will miss it to a certain extent. But it’s okay. In a way it’s good only. It was very difficult to look after the infants today. Each time I picked one in my arm, I wanted us to have a baby. I was almost crazy with my baby craving by the time their mothers came to pick them up.”

“We can have one if you want. I will carry it for you.”

“Two children puppy? We are still not settled enough for one. We will need to do our financial planning soon to make the most of our earnings and contribute to imo and uncle also.”

“When we are settled yeobo. Whenever you think we can have another.”

“If I can survive this week with the infants, we will think of one in the future. But don’t you think it will be a real problem for us?”

“Why a problem?”

“If I cannot pick up a baby or spend time with infants without wanting one of our own, how many children do you think we might end up with?”

He began laughing softly at the thought.

“I don’t mind yeobo. I want as many of ours as we can have.”

“Silly puppy.”

“Always, for you.”