25. OPEN DOOR

We woke up early next morning and shared a few hot cups of tea in the balcony. Puppy wrapped his arms around me as we looked into the horizon and watched the sun rise dispersing the light morning mist. Wordlessly we absorbed the serenity of the new day.

Waking up Ji and Beagle, we showered together and then called Luhan to find out if they wanted to have coffee before leaving for the hotel. They answered in negative. The four were in our living room five minutes prior to our scheduled departure time.

Gina smiled at Ji, “Thank you for such a thoughtful welcome and creating a comfortable room for us.” Xing nodded in agreement.

“You are most welcome. We hope you had a relaxing sleep.” Jiyeon smiled mischievously at them.

Xing immediately turned pink and looked at Gina for a response who was also blushing very prettily.

“Oh yes Ji, it was the best sleep since I came here.” Kris answered wrapping an arm around Gina’s waist.

“You slept?” Luhan asked in surprise.

Kris got red in the face and began mumbling something that none of us understood. We laughed and ushered them to move to the van. I didn’t feel like embarrassing their wives any further. Afterall, I’d have all day with them.

At the hotel we separated for some time to tend to the respective teams. As the teams settled down for breakfast with JiYeol joining the Korean team, we were called to join the table where other team leaders gathered. Gina and Xing were introduced to everyone and we sat down for our regular breakfast routine.

Stories were exchanged about the weekend activities and there were loud exclamations across the table when we told about our balloon trip and Turkish dinner. A few made plans to eat at the same restaurant next weekend. With the ladies present at the table, the jokes were kept tame.

Harold wanted to know only one thing, “Jinki are you going to host a Chinese dinner tonight now that Luhan’s wife is here?”

“Give her some rest Harold, she is here on vacation. Is my cooking not good enough?” I didn’t want our guests bothered.

“But how else will I ever get to eat authentic Chinese food? Restaurant quality is different.” Harold argued.

“I don’t mind cooking.” Xing said to me.

“I can cook with Xing, my mother was Chinese and she taught me well.” Gina added.

“Alright guys the ladies have agreed to cook for you hungry beasts. Now who all are coming for dinner?” Kris put his hand up to settle further discussion on it.

We counted seven hands go up, including those of Harold and Marc. I elbowed Jjong to clear the air with them. He looked at me and then spoke directly to Marc and Harold, “Hey guys, just to make it clear, Jiyeon has accepted the marriage proposal from my team member Chan Yeol.”

“What? He is just a boy. She needs a man.” Marc protested.

“It’s her choice Marc. They are in love. Respect it.” Jjong let him down softly.

“I knew I had no chance. Why would a gentle girl like her be interested in a thrice divorced man like me?” Harold spoke dejectedly.

Everyone looked at Jiyeon sitting with the Korean team on the nearby table. She was smiling at Beagle and her love was quite visible. As we watched, some of the team members began ribbing both of them about it. We saw the blush blossom on their faces.

Hyori, who was sitting next to Ji, picked up Ji’s hand and checked her finger and asked about an engagement ring. Beagle turned red and mumbled something which made everyone laugh loudly. Some members began loudly humming the wedding march.

“Hey Chan Yeol are you even old enough to marry?” One member asked.

“I know the perfect wedding gift for them, feeding bottle for Chan Yeol.” Another member laughed.

“You should go out with us in the evenings to make you a man Chan Yeol.” Still another offered to gain him experience.

Jjong had had enough. He got up and approached his team. “Quit teasing him. And stop making improper suggestions. Remember your good reports are in his hands.”

“Aww come on we were just having fun with him.” The team protested.

Jjong smiled and sweetened his threat, “We are planning a weekend trip away from the hotel from Saturday afternoon to Sunday. There will be four to six people in one cabin. Book your partners and register the names with Chan Yeol. He’ll make the bookings this evening. This is not an option, the whole team will go. We will split the cost between all of us.”

Cheers erupted from the team and there were high fives around the table.

“Canadian and Chinese teams may also join us. There will be bush walks, basketball and tennis facilities available. We will have a barbecue dinner. It will be like camping except we will stay in comfortable cabins. I will confirm with the other two teams and then if you want, you can even book your cabin with other team members. Choose wisely. Cabins will be separated by gender. Chan Yeol, note all the names and check for the cabins during lunch.” Jjong successfully diverted the team’s attention away from JiYeol.

As he sat down, Kris and Luhan remembered to give him their teams’ affirmative answer. This piqued the interest of other team leaders. Viktor, the German leader had had a similar idea and had already booked his team for overnight trip to Montague island. Italian team was going to Snowy Mountains. Marc wanted to add his team to ours and took the details from Kris. The rest just wanted to shop or laze around.

Kris and Marc went to explain the trip to the French team and soon there was loud chatter across different tables as cabin partners were decided by the four teams. A few people came to discuss things with me and wrangle a dinner invite during the week.

At Gina and Xing’s confusion, I explained about the dinner arrangements for the past three weeks. They tried to absorb all the activity around us. I let them know they were free to invite members of their teams for daily dinners. Both shook their heads. They were clearly not very involved in their husbands’ work.

At the end of breakfast, I took Gina and Xing with me and went to invite members of the organizing team for our special Chinese dinner. The ladies had already been introduced to them earlier. Four orgaziners accepted our invitation for that night and two wanted to come on Wednesday. I invited all seven of them with their spouses for Thursday’s multi-cuisine dinner.

By the time we left the hotel, Gina and Xing were still trying to come to terms with our dinner concept.

“Jinki how come you are hosting dinner for so many people every day?” Gina was first to speak up.

“It must be a lot of work to cook so much food daily?” Xing had her own worries.

“This is an international event. Dinners are our way of introducing Korean food to others. And also to meet new people and make new friends. It actually was meant for Korean team so they don’t miss home. But others joined in from the first day.” I grinned.

“But why do you have to know Jjong’s team? It’s his work to manage them.” Gina was still doubtful.

“Jjong is his team’s leader. It’s his responsibility to look after their well being. And as his spouse, I feel equally responsible. The team is like a family to us. Ji and I cooked the first dinner ourselves and the next day we hired a housekeeper to help out.” I explained.

“Are you this involved at home also? It doesn’t look like your first time.” Gina was curious for details.

“Yes. I am. Initially I was hesitant, not wanting Jjong’s work to get affected due to our relationship. But somehow, I was welcomed with an open heart by everyone.”

“Don’t be so modest oppa.” Ji wagged her finger at me. She then turned to Xing and Gina to explain more, “Oppa is co-owner of the largest chain of private academies in South Korea. And all of them, except one, are for children and relatives of Police Agency personnel. He is now starting similar chain for Public Admin Department. His academies provide private education at highly subsidized rates.”

Both ladies tried to absorb this new information and sat silent for a few minutes. I tried to control my blush during that time. Finally Xing asked, “How many are we talking about Ji?”

“There are more than 50 for Police Agency and we hope to open an equal or higher number for Pub Admin by next year end. By this year end it’ll be between 80-90 in total.” Ji responded.

“What?” Both ladies exclaimed in unison and looked at me in shock. I again turned pink in embarrassment.

“And I consider it a big deal if I host a party for his colleagues once in a while or attend a work-related function.” Gina muttered to herself.

“No wonder you are hosting so many dinners Jinki.” Xing said in admiration. “You have two children and are involved full time in the police community. Do our husbands know about this?”

I shrugged not knowing how to answer them. I decided to change the topic, “What do you plan to cook for tonight’s dinner?”

They looked at my still pink face and decided to go with the change in the topic. By the time we stopped at the grocery store, Ji had prepared a list of necessary ingredients on my phone. We were warmly greeted by all the staff of the store. We were such regular shoppers that there was a tone of familiarity on entering the store.

Gina and Xing gasped and stopped walking holding on to my jacket and halting me in my walk down the aisle. I looked at them in question and they pointed to many posters littering the store. Ji and I laughed softly at their reaction. They were pointing at the big posters that were on display proclaiming how much we loved shopping at that store. These were the blowups of the pictures that we had posed for on our first day of shopping in that store.

“Aren’t these your children and Sehun, Jinki?” Gina managed to speak. “And that is you with Ji.”

“You must see the one at the entrance of Minx and Sehun’s PDA.” Ji pulled them to show off, leaving me to shop alone.

Manager came to greet me and we chatted as I shopped. It had become our routine whenever we came shopping. I laughed and asked if he needed more photographs as we were leaving that Sunday. He thought only for a moment and then asked for Kibum, Taemin and Kai’s photographs. I was surprised he remembered the names. He admitted to a deep research about us. According to him he had an inch-thick file printed on us.

I agreed to half hour photo op on Saturday. He hesitated before asking about Leeteuk, but there I was firm that it would be Doc’s decision, the other three I could confirm myself. He was very happy to get the newspaper headliners to pose in his store. He began planning a half hour photo event for his store patrons. As I listened to him, I knew that Kibum would be over the moon at the news and berate me for the short 30 minutes duration. We’d be hard put to drag him away even after two hours.

I was paying for our groceries by the time the three ladies returned to my side. We rejected manager’s offer to get a store assistant to load our purchases in the car. On the way home we picked up Sam also. At home, Xing and Gina put some vegetables and meats for marinating while Ji and I sat down to do our work. We sent the two to relax in the Jacuzzi for some time.

They returned smiling broadly an hour later and Ji entertained them while I worked for a couple of hours more. When I went to the living room, it was to see both Gina and Xing dozing sitting straight on the couch while Ji watched them in amusement.

We grinned at each other. It was obvious that they’d not gotten much rest the day before after their long flight. We got lunch served early and called them to eat. They ate in almost a daze. The Jacuzzi must have really relaxed their bodies. As soon as they finished eating, Ji pushed them into their apartment to sleep till evening. All their protests were brushed aside.

Ji took out her cellphone and sat down to message her Beagle. I opened my laptop and Yours Forever. I thought about when I was eighteen and finished school. After organizing my memories, I started typing. I grinned when writing about my Ice Prince days. I wondered if I missed them. Not at all. I was happy being a Tokki for my Puppy.

Sun was nearing the horizon as I wrote about my first kiss with Minho. I couldn’t help comparing it to my chaste pecks with Puppy. Where my beginning with Minho was passionate, my time with Puppy was sweetly innocent. I smiled remembering our late night meetings.

“Oppa what are you smiling so broadly about? From the look in your eyes, it must be Puppy oppa.” Ji brought me back to the present.

“I was remembering our first kiss Ji.” I replied honestly.

“Oooh. Tell me about it. Did he attack you or was it you attacking him?” Ji sat next to me and shook my arm.

“Neither Ji. It was a very gentle peck on the lips. He was so sweet and shy. It was his first kiss.” Even though we’d been living together for nearly ten years, I still blushed thinking about that night in the park.

“I don’t believe it. The way you two are all over each other, even though discreetly, it is not possible that he just pecked your lips the first time.” Ji shook her head.

“He did. Our first proper kiss was after he came to live with us. Do you know we went to sleep the first night with the door partially open?” My Puppy was really very considerate.

“You both are unbelievable. You still sleep many times with your door open. Don’t expect that from Yeollie and me.” Ji began laughing. “We will lock our door every night.”

“You should Ji. Otherwise you will be like TaeKey?” I grinned at her.

“Oh oppa you had to remind me about them. They are at the opposite end of spectrum from you and Puppy oppa. If given the opportunity, Tae oppa would have his way with Key oppa right on the dining table in the middle of family dinner.” Ji exclaimed.

That set us off on another round of loud laughter. We could hear Sam giggling in the kitchen. She had experienced TaeKey PDA first hand. We were still laughing when Gina and Xing joined us looking refreshed after their sleep.

“What’s so funny? We could hear you laughing all the way into our apartment.” Gina sat near us and asked. Sam came over to ask their preference for tea or coffee, then went to prepare our beverages.

“Unnie we were talking about TaeKey oppa and their PDA.” Ji explained.

“Uncontrolled PDA Ji. They go beyond simple PDA.” I corrected, not able to stop laughing.

Both ladies looked confused. I left Ji to explain while I closed and put away the laptop in my bedroom. I also took a few minutes to freshen up after a day spent in front of the laptop.

I had coffee with the ladies as I cut vegetables for decorating our dinner. Xing and Gina guided Sam into chopping the vegetables the way they wanted. Once our coffees were finished, the ladies began cooking seriously on the stove top. Ji, Sam and I helped in preparations and watched them cook. The countertop was soon covered with many dishes. I told Sam how to use my decorative vegetables after reheating and before serving them.

We were taking off our aprons when the doorbell rang and Ji went to open the door as usual. Beagle glared as Marc lifted Ji’s hand for a kiss. Marc just grinned and winked at him. Harol wanted to kiss her cheek but Jjong, Kris and Luhan pulled him back and moved him to the end of the group. It was nice to see Kris and Luhan behaving so protectively about Ji.

Dinner as usual was fun affair. After the initial awkwardness, Gina and Xing joined the conversation and began feeling comfortable around the group. Their cooking received compliments from everyone, including Jjong and me. Gina conversed in French with Marc. We were not surprised with her living in a bilingual country.

Ji did make me blush a number of times during the evening. First time she looked from me to Puppy, then puckered her lips and began giggling to herself. I knew the reason and it made me blush. When Beagle was curious, she whispered something in his ear and he joined her in giving us secret laughing looks and winks. Their laughter and my blush piqued Jjong’s curiosity and he began sending me inquisitive looks.

Throughout dinner I had this overwhelming urge to whack JiYeol’s heads. My scowls would make them laugh even more. By the time everyone bade us goodnight and eight of us were left alone, I was pouting in annoyance. Jjong, Kris and Luhan were extremely curious, and Gina and Xing had joined JiYeol in giggling.

I gave in and whacked the two mischief makers. That only made them laugh loudly. They plonked on the couch holding their stomachs and rolled around laughing uncontrollably.

I faced away from them in irritation only to see Xing and Gina whispering to Luhan and Kris. Their ever-widening smiles were proof of their knowledge. Jjong was the only one who had no idea. He sat between moronic JiYeol, whining and pinching Ji’s arm to tell him the secret too.

“Jjong I can’t believe you were like that. It is just not possible.” Kris guffawed crashing into the chair, pulling Gina to sit in his lap. She squirmed a little but he held on fast to her. So the overgrown wooden log had learned something, I thought sourly.

“What is not possible? Will someone tell me or just keep behaving like idiots?” Puppy whined at all.

Luhan sat on the other couch and made Xing sit next to him so he could wrap an arm around her shoulder. He explained, “Did you really simply peck Jinki on the lips for months?”

Puppy’s jaw dropped in surprise and he blushed red. “Tokkkiii?” He whined at me.

I pulled him up and sat down in his place and put him in my lap hiding my blushing face in his neck. I nodded in confirmation.

“Why Tokki? Now we’ll never hear the end of it.” Puppy pushed my face up and hid his face in my neck instead.

Kris and Luhan high fived and laughed at our embarrassment. Puppy again whined, “How could you Tokki?”

I whispered in his ear, “I was remembering our first kiss jagi and Ji asked. I told. I don’t know what’s so funny about it. It was so sweet. You confessed and proposed at the same time. It was one of our most unforgettable moments. Though I didn’t say it, that night I became yours, forever till the end of time.”

Upon hearing my words, Puppy began pecking my neck. “I meant every word I said yeobo.”

“I know. You’ve kept all your promises and more, jagi.” I whispered back. I forgot my embarrassment in the overwhelming wave of love that swept through me.

“Hey break it up you two. There are innocent kids in the room.” Luhan called out. Kris simply hooted after him.

We looked up to see everyone silently watching us. All laughter had stopped. “Innocent my foot! They are our grandparents.” I kicked the two on either side of me.

“Ummappa I am innocent. I have not kissed anyone in my life.” Beagle protested with pink cheeks.

“Neither have I. And going by the family history, we will have to wait months to share our first kiss. Why do you have to set bad examples oppa?” Ji immediately poked Puppy in the back.

“Stop poking me Ji or I will tickle you.” Puppy mock threatened Ji.

“Ignore her. She is just feeling jealous of us right now.” It was our turn to tease the two miscreants.

Ji got up and began pulling Puppy off my lap as I held on tight to him, “Jinki oppa let him go. You are such shameless creatures. How can you sit like this in front of Yeollie and me.”

“It is not the first time Ji and won’t be the last. Okay. Puppy can sit in your lap then.” I let go of Puppy.

Ji immediately pulled him off my lap and plonked herself down instead. “Now hold me oppa. You don’t love me anymore. It’s been so long since I sat in your lap.” She whined into my shoulder.

Puppy sat down beside us. I kissed her cheek and rubbed her back. “My baby, you don’t have to ask. You can sit any time you want. You’ll always be my lil girl.”

“And mine too. I should be the one to get upset. You don’t sit in my lap anymore. You don’t love me like you used to baby sis.” Puppy grumbled hugging her from the back, conveniently forgetting her behavior of a week ago when she had dinner sitting in his lap.

“Well, you don’t get me chocolates and candies anymore when you return home from work. I am upset with you. I have to buy my own.” Ji turned to pout at Puppy.

“Is that all? I stopped because you complained you are putting on weight. Should I also get you flowers like I do for imo?” Puppy shifted her to sit in his lap. She towered over him in that position but still managed to put her face in his neck.

“Yes. I will miss you both when I have to leave with Yeollie. I don’t want to. I want to be with you always like this.” She suddenly began sniffling.

We were shocked to hear her sniffles. Puppy and I looked at each other and everyone looked at the three of us. I wrapped my arms around her over Puppy’s. We rubbed her back to calm her down as she’d begun to sob earnestly.

“Ji, don’t cry baby. We’ll always be with you.” Puppy tried to placate her with words.

“You’re lying oppa.” Ji refused to listen.

“But you love Beagle. You want to marry him and spend your life loving him. It’s the cycle of life Ji. You’ll always be our baby and we will forever love you. No matter where you are, you will find us only a call away.” Puppy continued to whisper softly to her.

“Promise oppa? You will come every time I call you?” Ji lifted her head and looked Puppy in the eye.   

“I promise Ji. We will come even if you just text us.” He kissed her chin.

She looked at me and I nodded, kissing her on the cheek. “Promise Ji.”

Beagle found his voice then. He choked out, “I can always move to Daegu and we can live with your parents noona. You don’t have to move to Seoul.”

“No Beagle. That wouldn’t be right. You are the only son. You should be with your parents. Seoul is only two hours train ride away from Daegu. Come over every weekend till Ji settles down in Seoul.” I ruffled his hair. It was obvious he was quite rattled by Ji’s sudden breakdown.

“Noona?” Chan Yeol looked at Ji for confirmation.

Ji nodded and put her head back on Puppy’s shoulder. She had calmed down. Puppy wiped her cheek free of tear tracks.

Xing placed tea cups in our hands. “Here drink some tea. It will soothe you. I have put in special Chinese herbs that I brought with me.”

Gina was holding the tray with the prepared drink. Both looked concerned about us. Beagle was used to seeing Ji sit in Puppy’s lap but I guess it was quite a surprise for the two ladies to see our family interaction. Ji shared tea from Puppy’s cup. Gina poured more tea when the cup was quickly drained.

“Ginnie, will we be like this when our girl gets married?” Kris wondered.

Gina sat by his side and patted his hand. “Don’t worry, its still some time away. She will first move away to go to college and that will give us time to get used to her absence. If we ever can.”

Kris wrapped his arm around her and hugged her in silent consolation.

“I am glad we have only sons. Right Xing?” Luhan sounded relieved.

Xing nodded and smiled briefly at him, pouring more tea for him.

I tried to lighten the mood. “Kibum will be in seventh heaven on Saturday. I have promised the store manager a photo op.”

“That manager is in love with you for sure. What am I going to do Tokki? Someday someone will steal you away from me.” Puppy winked at me.

“Then make sure you don’t slack in your loving Puppy.” I kissed his cheek.

Our exchange brought giggles from the ladies who insisted their husbands visit the store at least once to meet their rival for my love.

With that Kris and Luhan impatiently pushed their wives out of the door wishing us a hurried goodnight. I called out in retaliation for earlier embarrassment, “Don’t get too naughty or loud. Remember you are sharing the apartment.”

Gina and Xing blushed but the men just laughed and waved a bye before shutting the door behind them. Ji left Puppy’s lap to clear up the cups. Beagle helped her.

We left them to talk and went to our bedroom leaving the door partially open again. Some things become a part of life, like our open door.