19. ENTERTAINMENT

Next day morning, first thing we did was call the children and talk to them. They were on road the day before which was why we did not disturb their sleep at night. I confirmed with Sehun if he had viewed Russell Crowe’s house in Sydney and he almost yelled the phone off my hand. We grinned at his excitement.

They told us about the amazing sea side road they’d travelled through the day before to reach Gold Coast where they were staying at a beachside hotel. They were looking forward to a day of boat ride into the open sea for humpback whale watching and then lazing around on the beach all day. Everyone had vetoed visiting amusement parks and seaworlds, having seen enough of them during their previous holidays.

On Friday they were taking a one-day trip to Lady Elliott Island for a view of Great Barrier Reef from air, above water through glass bottom boat and below water. We’d booked the private plane tickets for everyone. Great Barrier Reef was one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Coming to Australia and not seeing it was blasphemy.

We knew our family would enjoy snorkeling in the warm waters around the reef and July was the best season for it because the water would be clear and provide them a great show of colorful fishes, maybe even allow them to swim with turtles and manta rays. In the evening they would watch the sunset from Coral Gardens and then return back to their hotel in Gold Coast. The trip would make them enjoy not only the reefs but the aerial view which we understood to be a sight to behold.

We warned Sehun and Minx to take care of each other and behave and mind Byong also. Minx whined at the reminder but Sehun shushed her. The phone call ended with a flurry of ‘I love yous’.

Puppy pulled me to sit in his lap and share our morning coffee from a single cup. That’s how Ji found us fifteen minutes later. I wanted to jump off his lap but Puppy just tightened his arms around me and grinned as he responded to Ji’s cheery greeting. She immediately began teasing me about my pink cheeks.

“I think Ji has been infected by the yapping bug from Beagle. May be we should keep them away from each other for a few days.” I said with a straight face.

Ji squawked loudly, “No way oppa, you can’t do that to me. I gave up a grand tour with the family to be with him.”

“And we gave up two weeks of alone time for you and Beagle to be together. So don’t tease my Tokki anymore.” Puppy winked at her.

Ji plonked herself next to Puppy and hugged both of us. “Don’t worry, we will send you both on dates daily.”

Puppy kissed her cheek in thanks and handed her his credit card to use with a reminder, “Do add my yeobo’s new boyfriends and your new chaperones in all the bookings.”

“Oppa at least confirm with them that they want to tag along with all of us.” Ji was uncertain.

Puppy laughed at that, “Baby sis, they will not want to be left behind. They are too much in love with yeobo.”

I forgot my embarrassment and began laughing at their silly exchange. “Do you want to invite lovely Hyori?” I asked Puppy in amusement.

“She found another man who is much safer than me,” Puppy’s announcement made Ji dance in happiness.

We left to drop Puppy and have breakfast with him at the hotel. Ji spent it planning with her Beagle, Luhan and Kris preferring to keep us in dark. She did tell Puppy to invite dinner guests but dinner would be over by ten.

On the way back, I purchased a temporary phone for Ji to use. Our day at home passed routinely, with me writing in the afternoon while Ji texted Beagle. I thought about the days when Minx had e and my relationship with Kibum was still good and how much he helped me then without even knowing it. I was happy to note that my skin did not crawl even once as I wrote.

I stopped before I began writing about my college days. I had no idea where to begin my recollection. Anyway it was time to prepare dinner. I shut down my laptop with a smile. Puppy was right. As I cooked various dishes with Ji, I wondered how Puppy would react to the day’s writing.

When Puppy arrived with our dinner guests, he kissed me on my cheeks in greeting. I smiled happily at him and squeezed his hands in return. He smiled back, worry leaving his face.

We were entertaining our friends and the Korean team. It turned into a singing evening. As the group drank, there were individual and group songs. We sang a few Korean songs but then moved on to English ones so everyone could understand. There were a few not-so-good singers and the results of their attempts were hilarious.

Jjong draped his arm over my shoulder and whispered, “Remember our duets in the park?”

“How can I ever forget?” I grinned at him. I laced my fingers with his and we began whispering to each other as others sang around us.

“I am relieved to see you happy tonight yeobo.”

“It’s your magic.”

“Do you know where we are going for our date tonight?”

“No idea. It should be them dating not us. We are already in love.”

“I am looking forward to it yeobo. I like being alone with you in public.”

“Silly Puppy. Love you. Hmmm, where do you want to go on our dates?”

“Love you too. I want to take you out on bike again. You enjoyed our weekend trips.”

“It felt good to hold you, reminded me of our late night outings during our courtship.”

“Yeobo, I want to go on a road trip with you, biking and camping, holding you in my arms under the stars. Make wild love to you, your sweet cries mixing with sounds of the night.”

“Against a tree?”

“Against a tree, on the grass, on the rocks, in the cold lake, by the campfire, and on the bike. Yeobo I want to make love to you right now. Let’s leave our guests to entertain themselves for a few minutes.”

I got up and served another round of drinks before going into our bedroom. I moved into the bathroom and ed my shirt. Just as I was removing my briefs, I heard Puppy lock our bedroom door. He ped himself as he walked towards me. He pulled me out of the bathroom and pushed me against the bedroom wall. He made quick hot love to me, kissing me to drink in my cries.

As we cleaned up and corrected our appearance, and wore clothes in my case, there was a soft knock on the door. Chan Yeol whispered, “Appa hurry up. Your absence is being noticed now.”

Puppy grinned at me and pecked my lips before opening the door to a blushing Beagle and moving away with him. I combed my hair back into place and studied my appearance for the last time before following them to mingle with our guests again.

Luhan and Kris pulled me to sit between them. “Sit with us. Jjong had his time with you. I can’t believe you did it with a houseful of dinner guests.” Luhan hissed at me.

“Don’t tell me you never did.” I raised my brows at him, unrepentant.

“Are you crazy? My wife would skin me alive if I even suggest it.” His voice held a hint of regret.

“What about you Yifan?” I turned to Kris.

“I thought about it often. But the last time we disappeared behind locked doors was at our wedding reception.” Kris smiled at the memory.

“Seriously guys? No wonder Jjong and I surprise and shock you so much.” I shook my head in dismay. “Your marriages are so boring.”

“Maybe I can try to kiss her first. Sort of ease her into more.” Luhan began his plans.

“Where do you get the stamina for so much ?” Kris has his own doubts.

“I can’t help it if Jjong is so y and turns me on with just a look. Hmmm, sometimes just the thought of him makes me hot.” I grinned at them and looked across the room at Jjong. He smiled at me and I winked at him.

“Stop it. Disappearing was enough. I think I will need to take a leave from work for a week and send our kids to their grandparents on my return home. That is if my little Xing permits it.” Luhan grumbled.

“A week won’t be enough for me. I don’t think I will let Gina out of our bed for a month.” Kris worried on my other side.

I laughed on hearing them. They were so funny. Planning but not sure if their wives would be willing.

“Stop laughing you shameless man.” Luhan pinched my arm.

“Help us.” Kris turned pleading eyes at me.

“Begin wooing them again. Call them daily and court them over the phone. Make them as impatient to be with you as you are to be with them.” I suggested as I wondered how they’d reached their senior positions when they couldn’t find such a simple solution. Maybe they put all their creativity into work.

“I can’t afford daily phone calls. We are saving for our kids’ college.” Kris mumbled.

“Same here.” Luhan was crestfallen.

“Think. I know the solution but you need to work it out yourself. You can do it for free.” I smiled in encouragement.

Both thought hard for a few minutes before they exclaimed together.

“Internet!” Krish punched the air.

“Instant messenger!” Luhan jumped up.

“Bravo! See how simple it is. Just use your brains for something other than work.” I laughed with them.

They pulled me up and hugged me. Jjong called out loudly, “Remember you two are just his boyfriends. I am the husband.”

Luhan poked his tongue at Jjong at the reminder and called everyone to have dinner. We noticed that Ji and Beagle kept whispering excitedly throughout dinner. Jjong tried to get Beagle to spill the beans but had no luck.

Once we had dropped everyone to the hotel, and home in case of William and Sam, Beagle took over driving. Ji helped him navigate with the GPS on his phone. When we stopped, Ji asked us to get down so they could park the van. I looked out and read the name “Cube”. A discreet signboard said, “ Friday”.

My eyes bugged out. I looked worriedly at Jjong not sure if we were at the right place. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and told me not to worry. Kris and Luhan were discussing between them as to the kind of place it was. They both agreed that it was a stripper joint. I got even more worried.

Soon we were joined by grinning JiYeol. Kris and Luhan immediately bombarded them with questions. Prominent one was if we were watching strip shows. JiYeol laughed and said it was better than that. Beagle flashed passes at the entry and we were stamped with VIP at the back of our hands.

The moment we entered, we were met with loud music and louder chatter. MC was announcing the beginning of the main show in ten minutes. Beagle spoke to a waitress and we were lead to premium seats. JiYeol pushed us down on a plush loveseat saying they had it specially arranged for us. The four of them sat on the round sofa.

As we settled, Beagle went to the bar and within a few minutes champagne was placed in front of Jjong and me. As another bottle was placed in front of the four, JiYeol looked at us and we nodded in permission. Kris and Luhan smiled and waited to be served. They raised a silent toast to us then turned to face the stage.

Puppy asked for only one glass to be poured for us. We whispered our love in toast and shared the glass. I was glad that Puppy had begun drinking on special occasions since our US trip. He again draped an arm over my shoulder and pulled me into his side. I kissed his cheek in return.

We felt very comfortable with our public touching as we had quickly gauged the club to be predominantly gay in nature. We faced the stage as the curtain began rising. The dancers made us grin.

JiYeol had booked a table at a drag show club. We’d heard that Australia had some of the best drag shows in the world. We enjoyed the show and saluted JiYeol when they looked at us to check our reaction. They smiled happily.

We became more comfortable as time passed and kissed each other’s cheeks in happiness. Sharing glass after glass of champagne had its effect too. Soon we were loudly hooting and cheering the drag queens on stage.

Puppy began wondering how I’d look dressed as a female. I pinched his thigh to get his mind off such thoughts. There was no way I’d ever wear a dress. His look had a “we’ll see” about it. If I ended up in a dress I knew I’d kill JiYeol.

It was 3 am when we left the club and headed back home. Kris and Luhan were drunk and Beagle was unable to walk straight. Ji couldn’t stop giggling. Beagle kept singing “Noona you are so pretty” all the way home. Even the threats to gag him from the other two drunks failed to silence him.

At home, we sent Beagle to sleep with Kris while Luhan crashed on the couch ignoring the night clothes Jjong handed him. We left them on a nearby chair incase he needed them at night.

Beagle came out in my too-short-for-him tracks and knocked on Ji’s door. When she poked her head out, he pulled her into the dining room and got a pair of chopsticks. He pushed her into a chair and sat down opposite her and began beating the chopsticks on the table like a drum. Within a few seconds he began his own version of a classic love song by Beatles. We stared at him in shock as he converted “All My Loving” into a rap song.

As soon as he stopped after the first verse, there was a loud snore from Luhan’s corner. Kris also came to stand beside us but not before he’d whacked Chan Yeol to stop yapping and sing properly.

Beagle took it well and sang out the next verses to a giggling Ji. At the end of the song, he weaved his way to her chair and kneeled down.

“Noona I love you. I will always love you. Home is where you are. Please accept my love and make a nice loving home with me. Please have lots of little beagles with me.” He put his head in her lap as he said the last words.

Ji giggled once again and pulled his head up by lacing her fingers in his hair and yanking on them. “Silly Beagle. Of course I will have lots of little Beagles with you. Don’t you already know that I love you too? Should we have five or six?”

Kris doubled up in laughter holding the table for support while Puppy and I looked at each other in alarm. We rushed to the mushy couple and pulled them apart.

“Beagle I am sure this is not the way you wanted to propose. Go and sleep before you say or do anything else you’ll regret tomorrow.” Puppy pushed Chan Yeol towards his bedroom.

I pulled up Ji and led her to her room, “Ji there is no way you can discuss babies till imo and Uncle approve your marriage. Don’t get us killed before our kids grow up.”

Luhan gave another loud snore and Kris laughed harder on hearing it. “He is going to hate himself tomorrow for missing all the fun. Jinki your family is the best.” Kris called after me.

I got the extra pillow from Ji’s room and put it under Luhan’s head and turned him on his side to make him stop snoring. The remedy worked. I looked at Puppy emerging from Beagle’s room. He had Sehun’s tie in his hand.

“Hyung, please tie Chan Yeol to yourself before sleeping. I don’t want him wandering around at night. It was a huge mistake to allow them both to drink.” Puppy handed the tie to Kris.

“Don’t worry I will keep an eye on him.” Kris tied one end of the tie to his wrist as he walked to his shared room.

Puppy and I looked at each other and began looking around for the key to Ji’s room. We located two bunches and checked them on her door till we found the right one. We heaved a sigh of relief as we looked at her locked door and the keys in our hand. We carefully arranged it on our bedside table so that the correct key wouldn’t mix with others.

Jjong peeked into Kris and Chan Yeol’s room and found them tied together and sleeping. We left our door partially open as we changed and got into bed. At last, we burst into soft laughter.

Kissing and snuggling, we fell asleep smiling in anticipation of everyone’s reactions in the morning when they related to each other what the other had done when drunk.

Our second date was full of entertainment and major portion of it happened at home.