39. BI

It was a week since Ji returned home with baby Yixing. It was my and Kibum’s turn to look after the new mother and 10-day-old baby. Ji was sleeping and Kibum was hogging the baby. I was giving food to our kids. Duckie and Byong gulped down their food and went to spend time talking about school to the baby. Kai and Amber were having lunch at Sehun’s house.

 Seeing that we were alone, Minx turned to me and announced, “Ummappa what will you say if I tell you I am bi.”

“Hmmm babe? By? What by?” I was going through Byong’s classwork as I answered her.

“You are so old fashioned ummappa. Biual. What if I tell you I like girls?” Minx took away Byong’s books from me and turned me to face her.

“You mean to say you don’t like Sehun anymore?” I raised my brows at her questions.

“I love him. You know that. Don’t pretend. What if I also like girls?” Minx continued.

“Okay. So you love Sehun and also like girls. Alright. Fine. Does Sehun know?” I asked with a straight face.

“What do you mean, alright, fine? I said I like girls and I am a bi.” She repeated herself her eyes going wide in astonishment, making her look like a copy of Minho.

“And I said fine. Why are you shocked? You know your ual orientation makes no difference to me. I love you and will continue to love you no matter which gender you like.” I explained myself, kissing her cheek.

“Ummappa! You can’t mean that! You are not supposed to say that!” Minx refused to accept my answer.

“Do you want me to scold you?” I asked and she nodded. I smiled softly, “Sorry to disappoint you. You are only 15 years old. You are telling me the theory of your ual orientation. You like both boys and girls. That’s Sehun’s headache not mine. But I’d prefer for you wait till you do the practical before announcing your orientation to the world. So, who’s the lucky girl you are attracted to?” I waggled my brows as I asked the last question.

“Humph, you are useless. Talking about anything to you is useless. I am going to tell Key umma. He will give me a better response.” Minx made to get up from the table but I caught her wrist and made her sit again.

“Don’t take this lightly Minx. Just because I am cool with it does not mean the society and our family will also accept it. Announce it to the world when you have confidence in yourself to face the backlash and still stand by your decision. But know this, whatever you decide, Puppy and I will always support you, no matter what.” I kissed her forehead. “We love you babygirl. Hetero, homo, bi makes no difference to our love for you.”

“I love you ummappa. Do you think I should tell Sehun now?” Minx hugged me and whispered into my neck.

“Wait. First we have to tell your appa.” I took my phone, pulled her into my lap and called Puppy. “Puppy, don’t shout in joy, I have something important to tell you. Rather hear it from the horse’s mouth.” I looked at Minx and she spoke into the phone.

“Appa, I am bi. Ummappa is okay with it. What do you have to say?” I poked her to explain and she continued quickly, “I mean, I am biual appa.”

“Phew! That’s good. I was wondering what Tokki and I were doing wrong. How could both our kids turn out to be totally straight? Way to go baby girl!” Puppy replied excitedly.

Minx looked in shock at me and the phone for a second before jumping off my lap. “Bye both of you. I am going to tell it to Sehun. For your information appa, both of you are useless parents.” And she ran out of the house.

I turned off the speaker mode of the phone and laughed with Puppy on the other side. “Thank you jagi for keeping your cool.”

“Yeobo, I have no idea what she is up to now. But I am no longer shocked at anything she says or does. She is so like you in testing people’s shock value.” Puppy laughed more.

“I hope Sehun takes it well. I don’t believe her for a second you know.” I tried to control my laughter.

“I pity Hyemi noona. We will have to turn her shock proof in the next two years. It’s good that they live next door.” Puppy tried to sober up.

“Love you jagi. What you doing at work?” I blew him a kiss.

“Just working some things out with Beagle. Now that I have him in the same office, I can finally look into some stuff I have meaning to do for a couple of years now. I love you too yeobo.” Puppy gave me a few kisses in return. “Want me to call and talk to Sehun?”

“Its okay, I will take care of it. I think I hear them coming. If you want to listen I will leave the phone on.” I the speaker phone mode again and got up from the table.

Sehun entered the dining room with an upset exclamation, “Ummappa? Did you hear Minx? She likes girls now. What am I going to do? I can’t live without her, ummappa.”

I put my arms around him and patted his back. I looked at a smiling Minx and told her to get a glass of water for Sehun. I took my phone, water and Sehun into my bedroom and told Minx to help Kibum with the baby. Sitting on the bed, I hugged the distraught boy.

“Sehun, even after all of these years, haven’t you understood Minx? She is just testing you. She tried to get a reaction out of me and Puppy first and when we didn’t react the way she wanted, she is trying it on you now. And you are playing right into her hands.” I patted his back and forced him to sip the water.

“What will I do if she really loves a girl?” Sehun whispered, afraid that his words might make it come true.

“Do you really think that’s possible?” I raised my brows with a smile. Sehun shook his head. “See even you know the answer. Do you want to know a fact of life?” Sehun nodded. I kept my arms around him as I chose my words carefully. “Though you both have been in love for many years and feel that you know your mind and heart completely, life is very long. The world is full of attractive people and neither of you is blind. Either or both of you are bound to meet someone who attracts you. It may or may not be momentary.”

I stopped when Sehun looked at me in shock. I smiled at him and tucked his long hair behind his ears and continued to explain softly, “The test of your love is just not in continuing to love each other, but also in resisting giving in to such temptations. You have to help each other through such temptations. Don’t judge each other badly for it. Have faith and continue to love, the temptation would soon pass.”

Sehun sat quietly in my arms for a while before looking at me again, “Has it happened to you and Puppy appa?”

I smiled at the predictable question and shook my head, “No. We have never been tempted till now. My whole being is too absorbed in Puppy’s love to even look at another person. I guess, it’s the same for him also.” Sehun smiled knowingly at me. I pinched his cheek before continuing, “But it happened with Minx’s biological father, my first husband, Minho.”

I went silent, not sure what to say next. Sehun waited patiently. It was some time before I picked up the thread of our discussion, “He was constantly attracted to other people. I learned to ignore it and never spoke about it with him. I loved him too much to let such things make a difference to me. It happened once to me but thankfully I came to my senses within two days and talked myself out of it. I knew that no one was worth my marriage.”

“Ummappa, do you think Minx will be like her first father? Do you think she will cheat on me?” Sehun asked in a very low voice, not realizing he was putting his darkest fears in words.

“Who has brought her up Sehun? Minho or Puppy and I?” I knew the answer so I continued, “She has seen the strength of love with her Puppy appa and me. We have set a good example for her. She knows what a happy relationship and marriage is all about. We see the same strength in your love for each other. Don’t doubt her for even a moment Sehun. Doubt is the biggest enemy of love. You saw how Hyori was all over Puppy appa in Australia?”

I waited till Sehun nodded. He had witnessed the strength of Puppy’s love for me first hand. “Even though Hyori tried her best and was literally all over Puppy physically, I never doubted him for a second. I knew that he loved only me and he was not even remotely interested in her.”

“How did you know?” Sehun posed another difficult-to-answer question.

“His love for me is in his eyes. It’s in his every look that he gives me. It’s difficult to put it into words Sehun. Long time ago he made me a promise that I will be the only one for him always. I accepted his promise and that’s it. I will never believe that he will ever break his promise to me.” I smiled to myself remembering that long ago night in the park.

“Yeobo I will always love you. You are the only one for me forever.” Puppy’s emotional words rang through the phone. I had forgotten he was hearing every word Sehun and I exchanged. Sehun jumped and looked around to locate Puppy.

“Silly Puppy. I love you too.” I picked up the phone and brushed my fingers lovingly over it.

“Always, for you.” I could hear him smile through his words. “Now get that daughter of ours under control. I will not have her hurting my cardiac fungus even in a joke. I think not only Hyemi noona, we will need to train Sehun also in the methods of dealing with her.”

“Puppy appa, I will die if she falls for anyone else. How can you be sure she is joking?” Sehun took the phone from me.

“I am one hundred percent sure. She is in her ‘shock phase’ right now. It will pass over soon enough. She tested your ummappa first and then me. We didn’t give her a satisfying reaction so she told you. By getting shocked at her announcement, you have played right into her scheme. Go and tell her you are happy she has lesbian tendencies and ask her to introduce you to the lucky girl. It will cure her attraction in a second. Rest of the tricks ummappa can teach you.” Puppy grinned as he advised our future son-in-law. “And Tokki don’t end the call. It’s turning out to be good fun. I want to hear her reaction.” He softly laughed imagining Minx’s face.

I rubbed my hands in anticipation. “Sehun follow my lead and nod to whatever I say. Now call her to come here.”

Sehun went out and returned with Minx. He closed the door behind them and waited till she was sitting in my lap, then put Puppy’s suggestion into play. “Minnie, I am glad that you have told me about your new love. When can I meet the lucky girl?” He asked with a straight face.

“I don’t love her Hunnie. I just like her. Why do you want to meet her?” Minx was puzzled at his difference in attitude from a few minutes ago.

“Anyway babygirl, Sehun was just telling me that it’s good you like a girl. It seems there is a boy senior to him for whom he thinks he might be developing deeper feelings. What do you say?” I looked at both of them as I lied.

“Hunnie, you like a boy?” Minx immediately wailed in distress. “I thought you loved only me? How can you fall for anyone else? You promised me Hunnie.” She jumped off my lap and put her arms around Sehun’s neck and cried her words into his chest.

Sehun wrapped his arms around her in comfort and looked at me for directions. I motioned to him to keep silent. He nodded in understanding and began rubbing her back to calm her.

“Babygirl what’s the problem if Sehun likes some one other than you? You also promised to love him only for the rest of your life and yet here you are telling us that you like a girl. When you can break your promise, why can’t he?” I tried not to smile at her predictable reaction.

“I don’t like anyone else. I was just playing a prank to see what you’d say ummappa. I love only my Hunnie. Always my Hunnie.” She began sobbing in earnest. “Hunnie how can you like some one else? I love you so much. I will die if you stop loving me.”

I nodded at Sehun. It was now upto him to console her and make her understand how such jokes hurt.

“Minnie, please stop crying. It hurts me to see tears in your eyes. Ummappa was only joking with you about another boy. I have eyes only for you. Only you are there on my mind all the time. I can never ever think of any one else, leave aside like. I love you so much Minnie.” Sehun kissed her cheeks as he explained.

“Please do not play such cruel pranks on me again. If ummappa’s words are hurting you so much, just think how much your words hurt me? I felt my heart shatter into pieces Minnie. If you want me to die, just hand me a knife and I will stab myself with it. But please never kill me with your words again. It hurts too damn much.” He took her hand and put it over his heart. “Only you Minnie. Only you in my heart. Don’t break it again.”

Minx placed many kisses over her hand, conveying them to his heart. I left the room, not wanting to intrude on their private moment. I went to the kitchen and drank some water and then spoke softly with my love. “Jagi, are you still there?”

“Yes yeobo.” He gave a deep sigh, which I mirrored. “What are we going to do with her yeobo? I don’t think she is mature enough for marriage. She will make a mess of it.”

“She is not marrying right now jagi. And, she is learning with each mistake. That’s what parents are for, to lend the voice of experience and maturity. We are there for them.” I tried to comfort him through the phone.

“Did it hurt you to talk about Minho?” Puppy whispered.

“No jagi, it did not. My time with Minho is part of my life. Writing about it in the past two years has taken the sting out of it. You have helped me come to terms with those years of my life. I can now think and talk about it without feeling sad or bad in any way. Thank you, jagi.” I gave my Puppy kisses through the phone.

“Can I come home and kiss you properly? You can thank me in person, preferably in a horizontal position.” Puppy kissed me back.

I smiled at Puppy’s eagerness, “Have patience for a few more hours. I hear Ji waking up from her nap, can’t you hear the baby softly crying for his feed?”

He sighed dramatically, “One day I really will tuck you under my arm and run away with you to a remote island. Go take care of baby sis and I will see you later.”

With a final kiss we ended the call. One hungry baby was making his demands known and I needed to rejoin Kibum and stop making him hog the baby. I knocked on the bedroom door on my way to the living room to let the lovebirds know they’d had ample time alone. By the time we settled the baby with Ji, Sehun and Minx emerged from the room, holding hands and smiling at each other.

All was well again in young love’s paradise.