64. TOKKI PLANS

Five days before we were to leave, Hyukkie called me. When he came to know we were going to US with everyone, he asked to be added as well. I wasn’t sure if we could arrange for tickets and hotel room, so told him I will get back to him that night. I called up puppy at work.

“Jagi I just got a call from Hyukkie and he wants to come along as well. Is it possible to arrange for his tickets at this late date?”

“Let me check. Do you want to check with aunt Hee Young first? Or wait for the tickets to be confirmed?”

“I don’t think she will have any problem. She will definitely ask us to talk to him to shift back to Daegu again during the trip. Maybe this trip with us is what he needs to see what he is missing in Seoul. A family.”

“You’re right. He really has awful taste in girls. Remember the last girlfriend he told you about?”

“Ugh! Don’t even remind me about it. All the girls he dates are clones of each other. Where does he find them? And he is supposed to be intelligent. Maybe we should ask aunt Hee Young to select a nice girl here for him and then drug him and get him married to her.”

“Evil tokki. Why has your brain started hatching such evil plans so frequently?”

“Maybe you’re realizing it only now. Remind me to tell you about the time I made plans to kill Minho.”

“Seriously?”

“Hmmm.”

“I’ll remember to never cross you. I plan to live to a ripe old age with you.”

“There’ll be another problem in planning your murder. I will have to plan double murder.”

“Why two?”

“Elementary Watson. If I kill you, I will have to kill myself at the same time. I simply refuse to live without you.”

“I bow to you great Sherlock Holmes. Do you know I love you?”

“Really? That’s news to me. And I won’t believe till you show it to me tonight.”

“Let me tell you another way.

I know your eyes in the morning sun

I feel you touch me in the pouring rain

And the moment that you wander far from me

I wanna feel you in my arms again

And you come to me on a summer breeze

Keep me warm in your love and then softly leave

And it's me you need to show

How Deep Is Your Love  –”

‘Hey Jjong stop singing syrupy love songs on the phone. We need that crime graph in five minutes for the press meeting.’ I heard DongHae in the background loudly teasing puppy followed by gales of laughter from his work colleagues.

‘Just wait till it’s your turn and we’ll see who sings on the phone then.’ Puppy answered him back.

“Gotta go now yeobo. Bye. Will check and book the tickets and rooms. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I sat and thought and another idea presented itself to me as a possible solution to my Kai-Sehun dilemma. I really had an evil brain. But my baby’s happiness was at stake, not to mention puppy and my sanity.

I called Soo to my office asking her to mooch some treats from the mothers club cooking class. She came with a tray full of food and two coffee mugs. She was going to join MBA and her part-time administrative job in our hagwons during her graduation was really helping her with the credits.

We sat down and talked and soon I brought the conversation to the topic I had called her for.

“Soo I noticed something the other night. Tell me honestly who are you interested in, Leeteuk or DongHae?”

“Oppa. What makes you think I am interested in either of them?” She blushed.

“Your pink cheeks for one. And your glaring at DongHae the other night for another. So out with it. You know puppy and I are the only ones who can help you convince your parents. Both of them are too old for you.”

“Age is just a number oppa. You are same age as them.”

“Who?”

“Leeteuk oppa.”

“Thank god. DongHae would have been difficult to convince about. Doc is still single and has his own research hospital. But what if he is not interested in you?”

“That is why I’ve been silent all this time oppa. I don’t want to have a boyfriend. I don’t think I have anything to offer any guy. I am just an ordinary girl.”

“Hush Soo. Don’t let one bad experience bring down your confidence. You are a pretty girl. Dating is overrated anyway. Puppy and I never went on any dates you know.”

“You are different. Puppy oppa knew he loved you from the time he saw you. But I don’t think Leeteuk oppa has ever seen me that way. I am just a little girl to him. That’s how he’s seen me since he met me in the hospital. That’s how he’ll always see me.” Soo said in a sad voice.

“Aww come on sis. Now that I know, have some faith in me. We’ll make Doc see you as the intelligent and pretty young woman that you are. During the trip, do what I or puppy say without question. And make the best of the opportunities we give you to talk with Doc. You’ll get two weeks to make Doc see you as a potential wife.”

“Oppa you are the best.” Soo hugged me and kissed my cheeks in joy.

“Now come on, we have some shopping to do.” I called Heechul and Kibum to help me get Soo a new wardrobe for the trip. She needed a makeover. We had to make her look her age without freaking out imo and uncle.

It was tiring to shop, at least for me. The others had fun. We selected lots of elegant dresses for Soo, along with makeup. I purchased an alluring perfume for her, something that suited her personality yet would appeal to Doc, making him think of her even when she was not present.

I instructed Kibum to teach her to apply subtle makeup, enhancing her features. And to do it quietly without anyone’s knowledge. I didn’t want imo and uncle freaking out on us. He nodded. He was dying of curiosity and I confided in him the reason knowing well that he wouldn’t tell anyone else. Like me, Kibum approved of the match. We grinned mischievously at each other. Puppy would be the only other person to know.

Puppy told me that night that he had arranged for Hyukkie’s tickets. They were on the same flights as DongHae and group. I told puppy about Soo and Doc and he smiled as it confirmed his theory as well. He approved of my efforts at matchmaking. I also told him my solution to Sehun-Kai rooming dilemma.

“We can have Doc room with Sehun and Kai sleep with umma. Hyukkie can share room with DongHae. What do you think?”

“That’s brilliant planning yeobo. Kill two birds with one stone. Seat Teukkie hyung with umma in the flights and with Soo on the road.”

“I’ll tell umma to ask Kai to sleep with her saying she thought about it and would feel safer in strange hotel rooms and places if Kai slept with her as he had experience. Sort of his ego.”

“Yes. And I’ll cancel the hotel rooms I booked for Hyukkie. No sense wasting money on a separate room.”

We set about putting our plan in motion. We got the update from umma next day that Kai had agreed to guide her on the trip, swelling up in importance. She had pretended all frailty and ignorance and he’d gobbled up her lied. I understood where I got my evil brain from.

We informed aunt Hee Young about Hyukkie holidaying with us and uncle sent over money for Hyukkie’s expenses the same evening. Arguing with them would be useless, so I accepted it silently. Soo began her makeover classes with Kibum in the general hagwon.

I called DongHae and Leeteuk about the change in their rooming. I also requested DongHae to look after Hyukkie during the trip by sitting with him when possible. I gave him a little of Hyukkie’s recent background and appealed for help in talking to him as a friend and getting him to see some sense. DongHae readily agreed, glad to be of help.  

Oh yes, things were moving as per plans.

We checked the itinerary planned by uncle, puppy and Siwon. It was going to be jam-packed days and nights. I was glad to see it was very children oriented. There was hardly any shopping time. What could be expected when three shopping-hating men planned a trip? Imo, umma, Soo and Heechul were disappointed. Kibum had already shopped all over the world and claimed Daegu to have good enough shops. He pacified everyone by pointing out the presence of duty-free shops at the Los Angeles Airport.

Heechul and I drew up a list of people to buy souvenirs and gifts for. We had to think of all our families, friends, hagwon staff and mothers, Siwon and puppy’s work colleagues and children’s friends in school and hagwon. We decided on setting a price limit to the gifts so no-one felt neglected or slighted as all would receive same-priced gifts. The only exceptions to our rule were our fathers, Hyukkie’s parents and the Ohs.

I spent my nights before the trip studying about the different places we’d be visiting. Heechul and I packed baby strollers for Byong and Duckie. Our days before departure passed in hectic activity and preparations. Children kept packing a lot of their toys in the bags and we kept taking them out. Finally, we allowed one plushie each.

We packed medicine for children and everyone. I worried because except for Kai none of the kids had travelled by air. Tummy ache, fever, cold, allergy, headache, indigestion medicines were packed into overnight bags and puppy insisted on packing my anti-anxiety pills as well for emergencies. Doc packed some common antibiotics. We packed in sweets to to prevent ear ache from changes in air pressures, games to play in flight, when not sleeping and packet upon packet of food.

On Byong’s birthday, our bags were lined up in the living room, including Sehun’s. Imo looked at my in-flight bag and said it looked like a woman’s big purse. I didn’t care. I needed a large bag to carry all the stuff that I thought we might need with so many kids and I disliked backpacks. All the children had their own backpacks with sizes varying according to their ages.

Oh boy! I sat back and looked at our luggage and counted the heads again on my fingers. There were 20 of us travelling in two groups of 12 and 8 people. The holiday planners had re-arranged for 20-seater mini-coaches from the time we began our journey in USA to make sure we all travelled together as much as possible.

Children were jumping around in joy and I was contemplating the level of organization it would take in USA to keep our full group under control.

Puppy kept rubbing my back constantly. At night we celebrated Byong’s fifth birthday. We had it at the hagwon because imo’s living room was full of luggage. More than the birthday, the discussions were on the upcoming trip.

Tae handed us a roll of blue ribbon with instructions to tie it to the handles of all our bags, check in and in flight. This way our stuff would be easily identifiable at all times. We cut long pieces of it and shared with Siwon, DongHae, Doc and Hyukkie. We were glad to see DongHae and Hyukkie getting along well. Otherwise, rooming together would be difficult for the next two weeks.

DongHae’s group had their flight scheduled for two hours before our flight, but they would reach US only half hour earlier. We wound up the celebrations early so everyone would be rested.

It took us a while to put a bouncing Byong to sleep. Puppy and I talked late into the night. Even his loving did not calm me down. I kept kissing thanks to him. Finally, he began singing to put me to sleep.

It worked like a charm.