82. DAY 12 TRIUMPHS

In the morning there was a distinct hum in the air at breakfast time. Though Korea’s entertainment industry was finally coming to its own in 2009, I wondered if anything could ever replace the buzz that the word ‘Hollywood’ gave to people. Personally, I thought it was the best holiday anyone could have in US. From the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas and Hollywood to camping in Science Center, Sea World, Disney World and tomorrow we had a day at the beach.

But for now, despite sleeping late everyone was up in time to spend a day at the Universal Studios in Hollywood. Enroute we saw the iconic Hollywood sign on the Lee mountains. Tae created his own joke in the bus that the Lees were so ubiquitous it was the best kept secret in the world that the first thing Neil Armstrong found on moon was a signboard “Welcome to Lee’s”. It tickled the funny bones of the kids so much that they kept giggling and laughing for a long time.  

When we reached the largest studio in the world we found another surprise waiting for us. We literally got the ‘red carpet’ treatment as the organizers had booked VIP Experience passes for us. As VIP guests of the studio we had our own tour guide.

Our tour began with snacks and refreshments in the VIP lounge and then we visited the semi-permanent sets of TV shows. We learnt how the sets were designed and how fake even the most realistic looking things were. We went behind the scenes and watched actual filming take place. We saw audio-visual programs, set designing and special effects productions. After a special lunch at the VIP lounge there were many guided 3D, 4D and live shows. Children loved meeting the movie-star dogs that were part of the live shows.

Kai and Minx began whining to get pets at home. Puppy finally took pity on Kibum and me and lightly warned that any child who whined will not participate in the next activity. That silenced all whines immediately. We thanked our guide and herded the group into the bus for the next stop a few minutes away.

From the Universal Studios we went to Universal CityWalk to enjoy our bookings for indoor skydiving. When the kids read the signboards and posters they began screaming in joy. Duckie started crying and on a lot of coddling and coaxing blurted out that she was sad because being the youngest she would miss the fun rest of the kids would enjoy. Siwon tickled her and informed it was for all of us and she could do it twice if she liked it.

We attended our training session and got suited up, convincing umma and Kibum to join us at least for a group experience as both of them refused to do it alone. Our instructor guided us one by one into our personal skydiving experience on a column of air inside a wind tunnel. I doubt there was a single one who did not squeal when floating in air. Tae took the sessions for umma and Kibum as well. Uncle rapped him for being greedy and he just grinned at him.

After individual sessions, we had family and group sessions. I called out to Soo and Doc to have a sky diving wedding. Imo whacked me for my efforts. The couple looked interested and Soo whined at imo and uncle till they permitted an impromptu engagement. There were loud whoops and yells and even our instructor was grinning at our crazy group. Search for suitable engagement rings began.

Puppy looked at me and quietly dug into his wallet to come up with two new destiny rings. I looked at him in surprise. And he whispered for my ears alone, “Yeobo, I brought these rings as I was planning to renew our vows during a special couple skydiving flight for just the two of us.”

Uncaring of who saw us, I hugged him tight and pecked him on the lips. “I love you so much jagi. You are the best man in the world.” He wiped my teary eyes and hugged me back. We smiled and turned to our watching family.

Puppy gave the rings to the new couple, “Soo and hyung, we hope you will be joined forever with these destiny rings. And may they bring you as much love and joy as they’ve brought to Tokki and me.”

Soo hugged him and kissed his cheeks. As their turn was awaited, Jiyeon explained to the sisters and Doc the significance of the rings. On understanding what Puppy and I were giving up, Leeteuk hugged and thanked both of us. We showed him our pinky fingers letting him know we were not giving up anything. I teared up again.

“Oppa don’t start crying or you will set umma off.” Soo turned me away from imo’s sight.

“I can’t help it Soo. I remember how you’d teased me when I first brought Jjong home. Now we’re together for life. And you are beginning a new journey of your life. You were so tiny Soo.”

“Oppa!” Soo hugged me.

I felt more arms hugging me and saw imo and uncle hugging both of us. Uncle also had tears in his eyes and imo was openly weeping. Our family gathered around us and kept comforting us. Finally Doc threatened to call off the wedding. That stopped our waterworks. I turned and punched him for trying to break my baby sister’s heart.  Puppy had them try on the rings to see which finger they’d wear it on. They went in the pinky finger for Doc and ring finger for Soo.

Jiyeon hugged Soo and Doc before they went for their flight as two separate individuals. We all cheered as they exchanged rings while floating in mid-air. They came out of the enclosure as a couple. Duckie and Byong began dancing around them. Everyone congratulated them. The management asked if they could use the video in their promotions. The happy couple nodded and signed the waiver.

Amber asked Puppy, “Do you have more rings? I want appa and oppa to exchange their vows here. It was so romantic to see unni’s engagement.”

We shook our heads and wracked our brains. We spied DongHae and Hyukkie wearing rings of their own. They could exchange them for now and buy more back home. Of course it was not as romantic as the destiny rings.

Amber skipped off to the pair and we could see them in discussion. As umma and Kibum shrieked and protested about going for a group flight with Tae, imo and uncle, we watched the HyukHae pair shake their heads. Once umma and Kibum were screaming inside the tunnel which we hoped was getting recorded for posterity’s sake, we went to the trio to find out the matter.

“Hyung, we are not exchanging any vows here. Please explain to Amber.” Hyukkie turned to me.

“It is a big moment for Soo and Leeteuk. It should remain their special day. Our doing the same thing will take away the uniqueness of their experience, Amber.” DongHae gave his reasons which going by Hyukkie’s nods he was in complete agreement with.

I took over, “Amber they are not saying they will not exchange vows. But every couple wants it to be a memorable experience. If they don’t want to share it with Soo, understand their feelings and respect their wish. Also remember that we still need to inform Hyukkie’s parents. They will be very sad if these two took such a momentous step without even their knowledge.”

Heechul and Siwon joined us and heard my words. Siwon had his two bits to offer, “You both are not planning to live in sin are you? I will be very unhappy if you two live together without exchanging some sort of vows. You need to set a good example for Amber.”

The couple in question fidgeted uncomfortably. Ah ha, so that’s exactly what they were planning. Puppy and I looked at each other and he spoke up, “Have you ever actually said “I love you” to each other?”

They blushed and looked down. Hyukkie shook his head. Amber looked at them in shock. She put her hand on her waist and scolded them, “Better correct this tonight appa. It is our last night in US. And oppa you better accept. Don’t disappoint me both of you.” She huffed away to stand with the kids.

Heechul laughed. He just adored Amber’s bossy ways. We went off as our names were called for our family’s flight. We took Duckie with us, deciding to gift her parents with a couple’s flight. Kai was joining Amber and Jiyeon.

When everyone had completed, we collected our flying certificates and DVDs. Walking out we wondered where to have dinner. Puppy suggested Saddle Ranch so they could ride the mechanical bulls there. I spied the Samba Brazilian sign. Finally, we reached a consensus. We’d dine the Brazilian way in honor of our guests, the sisters, and then go for mechanical bull riding and desserts at Saddle Ranch.

We trooped into Samba Lounge and ordered steaks and other Brazilian dishes. We soaked in the colorful Brazilian atmosphere. Sisters got us to try the special sugarcane rum and lime drink which was the national cocktail of Brazil. After a few drinks, Jessica, Nicole and Krystal decided to do Conga line dance with us. We joined them with enthusiasm forming a line and dancing to the Latin music beats, kids bringing up the rear.

As we danced, Puppy’s hands moved from my waist to my hips. We were still laughing as we sat down for dinner. Puppy excused himself and went off to talk to the DJ. He returned a few minutes later with a grin. He winked at me as he sat down. Sisters shushed everyone as the Samba show began.

After watching for a while, Tae and Hyukkie jumped and joined the dancers shaking their hips and bodies. We pushed Kibum to join the two. Soon, he was shaking his booty better than the two. Sehun and Kai rushed to join the dancers and quickly grasped the rhythm.

I saw the beginning of a pout on Heechul’s face and laughed. Our oldest Diva was feeling neglected. I poked puppy and he loudly called out to Heechul to show the others that he was the best dancer. Hee put his cutlery down and rushed to show off his Samba moves while Siwon, Byong and Duckie cheered for him.

When they’d danced their fill, all of them returned to the table amidst loud cheering from us. Uncle warned the sisters to slow down their drinking to avoid a hangover next morning. We finished our dinner with more laughter and fun.

Tae began jumping to go for mechanical bull riding. On our way there, challenges were thrown and bets placed. Each participant put 10 dollars in the kitty. Tae, DongHae, Hyukkie, Siwon, Doc, Puppy placed the bets. Jiyeon and Soo joined them with Sehun and Kai begging us to let them join the challenge. The prize money swelled to 100 dollars.

We sat down and ordered desserts as the challengers poked fun at each other. Jiyeon was thrown off in ten seconds flat. Hyukkie lasted a little longer. So on it went till the last rider, Doc, took his place. To our surprise he went on and on, lasting a long time. As the prize money was placed in his hands, he revealed his secret. He had plenty of experience during his residency days in Houston, Texas.

Tae wanted to invalidate his victory calling Doc a professional hustler. Kibum poked him to silence. He went off to enquire how much a mechanical bull cost. When Tae returned none the wiser and Puppy offered to research it online for him.

Byong climbed into my lap and I fed him his dessert. As usual, he fell asleep before finishing it. Sisters loudly wondered how the children treated me, Heechul and Kibum as their mothers instead of fathers. We looked at each other and wondered what to say. After a few moments of silent communication we nodded. What the heck, there was even a documentary about Byong’s birth.

I explained that Doc was not an ordinary doctor but a research scientist specializing in male pregnancies and running a flourishing research hospital back home with a global clientele. Their eyes opened wide and mouths fell open on grasping the meaning of our announcement. Kibum proudly exclaimed that Byong’s pregnancy and birth were shown on National Geographic channel as part of a documentary series on path breaking science.

I blushed and Puppy put his arm around my shoulders. Minx chimed up with her own bit of news, “Do you know my appa is a national hero? He took bullets in his chest to save people. He is a very well known police officer in Korea.”

It was Puppy’s turn to blush and I rubbed his thigh to comfort him. The rest of them laughed at our discomfort. Amber looked at Puppy with amazement, clearly it was news to her. The sisters were squealing in delight. They took out paper and pen from their purse and made the five of us sign for them. Their star-struck look was explanation enough. They then turned to the children and made them also sign. Duckie drew a picture instead. Byong didn’t wake up. Minx signed like a star, she must have been practicing god knows for what. May be the super Mom title with her 10 imaginary kids.

Someone tapped my shoulder and I turned out to see a tall man with the name tag proclaiming him as manager.

“I am sorry to interrupt. I am Stephen Wilson, the manager of this diner. One of our servers just informed me that we have celebrities of a different type in our diner tonight. He told me some garbled story and I have come to request for correct information from you.”

I looked around at our suddenly silent table and finally at Siwon. He stood up. Puppy and I nodded. Kibum shook his head. Tae nodded. Kibum looked at nodding Tae and stopped shaking his head. Siwon asked the manager to pull up a chair. Taking a deep breath he began explaining.

“I am Choi Siwon or Siwon Choi as you would say in America, Senior Superintendent of Police in Daegu city South Korea. This is Jonghyun Kim, Senior Inspector in Cyber Investigation Squad and this is DongHae Lee Superintendent of Cyber Investigation Squad. A few years ago, then rookie Police Officer Kim took five bullets in his chest from close range shooting to save people in a diner much like yours in Daegu. He almost died that night. He was hailed a national hero and received a double promotion for his heroic efforts.”

The manager shook hands with Puppy who blushed in embarrassment.

“Next to him is his life partner Jinki Lee who owns the largest chain of private academies in South Korea in partnership with Heechul Kim, my life partner and son of 1^st Vice Minister of Security and Public Administration.” We shook hands with the manager.

Siwon continued, “This is Taemin Lee, Jinki’s younger brother, and owner of the largest real estate development company in South Korea and his partner, Kibum Lee.” Tae and Kibum shook hands with the manager. I could see the sisters’ eyes widening with each introduction.

“This is Dr Jeong-su Park, owner of the largest research hospital in South Korea and the only one researching male pregnancy commercially worldwide. The only reason he has not yet received a Nobel Prize is because his research patients refuse to go public. The only one who went public not once but twice is Jinki here. Jinki and his son JinJong Kim were part of National Geographic channel documentary series on path breaking science with one whole documentary focused on them.”

As the manager looked in shock at me and sleeping Byong in my lap hugging me like a koala baby, Siwon looked at Taemin and Kibum again to confirm. Tae nodded again and held Kibum’s hand.

“Doc, would you like to take up this part of the explanation?” Siwon looked at him.

Leeteuk nodded and picked up the thread of explanation, “My first commercial patient who agreed for the then little-known experimental procedure was Kibum Lee. This young man had the courage to try something that no one else wanted to even think about. His family wanted to keep him away from media so his name is not mentioned in any of my research papers. This is his and Taemin’s son Jongin Lee who is 12 years now. He does not know this but he is the first child to be born of a man.”

Kai’s eyes popped out on hearing this but he soon recovered and jumped off his chair to do a victory jig. The tension at our table was broken and we all laughed at his antics. The manager waited to shake his hand.

Doc continued, “Jinki was my second patient and the only one to agree to have his name mentioned in my research papers. Well for that matter he is also the first man in Korea to announce his gayness publicly and to have the first public gay wedding.”

The manager looked at Puppy and me curiously. I blushed knowing what he was thinking. Doc caught on.

“Jinki was at that time married to Dr Minho Choi but it didn’t work out. They have a daughter, Hyunjin Kim, who is now 11 years old and mentioned in science journals as the first child born of a man. She is the first girl child to be borne by a man. Hyunjin was legally adopted by Jonghyun when she was four years old.”

Minx shook hands with the manager and climbed into Puppy’s lap to hide her face in his chest.

“I had two more patients after Jinki who once more became my patient, fifth one, when he had JinJong Kim, his and Jonghyun’s son. This was my first and only procedure that was documented publically. Jonghyun, coincidentally is the first policeman to publically declare his preferences in South Korea. JinJong is now 5 years old.”

Manager carefully looked at the peacefully sleeping Byong before smiling at me and Puppy.

“Heechul was my sixth patient and he has a daughter with Siwon, Jinri Choi who is 4 years old. Unfortunately, apart from Jinki all my patients understandably shy away from media. Hopefully this will change in future. I have many patients from across the world after National Geographic aired Jinki’s pregnancy with JinJong but everyone is scared of social rejection and backlash.”

There was silence at our table as Doc finished his explanation. Manager waved over a server and asked him to bring his camera and plain sheets of paper from his office.

Taking our permission, manager took individual pictures of us and called over his staff for a group picture. He had us write and sign our names on single sheets of paper, explaining he was going to frame the pictures and signatures and put them on the walls of the diner in our honor.

Minx insisted on him taking another photograph of hers with Sehun who in future was going to have five children in Doc’s hospital. We laughed and cheered the posing couple Manager requested for their wedding invitation and we happily exchanged our business cards.

I whispered to Tae to be sure of what he was doing. Once Kibum’s pregnancy and Kai’s existence became public knowledge there’d be no stopping the future events. Tae nodded confidently. Kibum whispered, “Enough of hiding hyung. It’s little that we can do to thank Leeteuk hyung for the blessing he bestowed on us. If our going public can help him win a Nobel Prize, then we are all for it.”

Doc hugged him in thanks. Kai jumped around happy to become the official first child of male pregnancy. Minx was least bothered. Sisters were discussing and getting more details from umma and imo. Thankfully no one mentioned my feeding.

We were asked to pose for more photographs and signatures as some of the servers had called over their friends from adjoining places. Deciding to leave before the news spread wider, Puppy and Siwon went to clear the bill. The manager declared it on the house. We thanked all of them and took our leave.

In the bus, Krystal asked Puppy, “Did you really have morning sickness and cry a lot during the pregnancy?”

He blushed and nodded, “I couldn’t let my tokki suffer alone. He was carrying the baby so I had the morning sickness and cried in his place.”

Sisters laughed at that. “Ugh, they put honey in everything.” Jiyeon shuddered on remembering.

“That was nothing, Bummie and Cinder put on face masks all the time. Thankfully I did not do any such thing Ji.” I reminded her.

“Hyung we put on face masks even now. You are so ignorant of skin care. You will have wrinkles very soon you just wait and watch.” Kibum wagged his finger.

“I’d rather have wrinkles than put goo on my face. No thank you.” I grinned at him.

“Don’t worry tokki, even with wrinkles you will still be the most beautiful man in the world. Let them be jealous of your natural beauty.” Puppy put in his two bits.

“Puppy I am a man. I am handsome not beautiful.” I pointed out.

“Whatever.” Puppy shrugged happily.

Our bantering continued till we reached our hotel in half the time due to lack of traffic at that hour of the night. By the time they changed, all the kids were yawning their little heads off. They slept off one by one. Soo thanked us again for the rings and kissed both Puppy and me. Amber wagged her finger in a warning at DongHae before closing her room door.

I closed our room door with a sigh of relief. After a full day on our feet, I was looking forward to some sleep. But Puppy had other ideas. He brought out his phone and put on some Latin music.

“Yeobo I want to dance with you. Come on iness.” He pulled me off the bed and put his hands on my hips. I grinned at him and moved my hips. He pulled our tees off and pulled my hips closer to his.

There was a knock on the door. Puppy pouted and opened the door. I heard DongHae, “Jjong lend me the music. It’s our last night here and I want to see Hyukkie dance once more. I heard Samba music from your room just now.”

Puppy invited him inside. Taking in our half dressed state, DongHae blushed and apologized. We waved it away. Puppy did a Bluetooth transfer of the music to DongHae’s phone who was smiling happily. I was sure it was at the thought of his Hyukkie baby shaking his booty for him.

Once an excited DongHae left, Puppy locked the door and took me in his arms again. “Forget the music, let’s do some horizontal samba.”

He didn’t have to ask twice as our clothes sailed all over the room and we dived into bed for our private Samba dance. Puppy had indeed learned a lot in one night. He might have lost at bull riding earlier, but in bed he was always a rodeo star.

It was nearly morning by the time I whispered, “Jagi we need to stop and catch some sleep.”

“Yeobo we can always sleep off on the long flight home. It’s our last night here.”

“You mean our last morning.”

“Oh yes that too. Let’s create more memories.”

And that’s exactly what we did till the children knocked on our door.