≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

75. ONE HOUR - (BYONG’S WEDDING – 12)

We stood wordlessly for a long time, watching the sun slowly climb up the horizon. When we couldn’t look directly at the sun anymore, Puppy pulled me into our room to privately celebrate the beginning of another new chapter in our lives. After an hour of loving, we began to discuss the events of the night. Puppy started to cry, unable to contain his happiness.

I smiled and pulled him tighter into my arms, “Don’t cry my love. Everyone in our family will think I am pregnant again.”

Puppy laughed in between weeping, “Our new business was born last night, yeobo. It must be world’s longest pregnancy. We carried the idea for 25 years.” I found it so amusing that I laughed while comforting my still-sobbing Puppy.

He was loudly hiccupping his tears when there was a knock at our door. I tucked him inside bed covers and pulled on a bathrobe to open the door. Minho’s small face grinned at me and I scowled in response. He was disturbing my time with Puppy. When Minho heard loud sniffles, he pushed me aside and entered our room. One look at Puppy and Minho rushed to our bed to pull up my husband into a hug.

“What the heck Minho, get away from my Puppy,” I wasn’t sure what I felt seeing Minho’s hands move over Puppy’s back.

“Shhhh Puppy, don’t cry. What happened? Was Jinki mean to you?” Minho ignored my protest and focused on my weeping husband.

“Stupid idiot. He is shedding tears of joy,” I whacked the ignorant older man and sat behind Puppy to rub soothing circles on his shoulders. I forcibly removed Minho’s hands from Puppy’s back so I could mold my chest over it and ordered Minho, “Make yourself useful and get him a glass of water to drink.”

Minho pouted but followed my instruction. He put a glass of water to Puppy’s lips and held it as Puppy sipped through his crying. “How did you both manage to live together? Now I see you are as much of a crybaby as Jinki. What is there to cry about? If you are happy, why not jump and shout? Why cry and snivel? If you don’t stop crying Puppy, I am going to make love to Jinki right now. I know he is under his robe.”

Once again Puppy laughed and wept at the same time. He lightly punched Minho’s abdomen which was at eye level with him and hiccupped, “Don’t you dare even think about it. Only I can make love to my Tokki.”

Minho rubbed his abdomen and laughed, “You know I think about it. Lately I even dream about it. And right now, I want to drag him to a honeymoon suite. What can you do Puppy? You are helpless with tears.”

I snorted at the useless beanpole and hugged Puppy closer to me, “You didn’t take me on a honeymoon when we were married, Minho. You are not taking me to any suite now. Get your mind out of the gutter it has always been in. Don’t let the youngsters hear you say you dream about me. We won’t find even one tiny bit of your body to take back home, once they are through with you. Both Junsu and Jaejoong have acquired boyfriends here. I don’t even want to think about what Beagle will do with the help of all of Puppy’s new partners.”

Puppy began chuckling through his tears and Minho raised his hands in surrender. It was comical to see the old man pouting, “I just wanted to make Puppy stop shedding tears. You are still the sour puss you always were, Jinki, even when young. So hungry for violence.”

“My Tokki is the sweetest man on earth. And so strong,” Puppy defended me and smiled at the memory of our recent loving.

“Argh! Stop it you two. When will you put an end to my torture? Remember, it’s been years for me. I don’t need to see you exchange looks all the time,” Minho whined as he sat down on the bed and covered his face with his hands.

I grabbed the opportunity to pair my ex-husband with my ex-assistant, “Umm Minho, you know that everyone is in a celebratory mood this week? Do you know there are females of all ages interested in you? You can choose to have a good time over here or find a good life partner. What is your opinion of Eunha? We think she will be perfect for you as a wife.”

“Jinki, I don’t want you to fix me with anyone,” Minho looked at me with hopeful eyes. “Why can’t you believe that I want only you?”

I laughed at his n^th confession in the past four years, “Did I say I don’t believe you? Why can’t you understand that you cannot have me? I belong only to Jonghyun. Why can’t you just be happy to be part of our lives again?”

Puppy poked Minho’s cheek, “Stop being greedy. You had your chance with him. Be a sweetheart and accept that Jinki is mine and mine alone. But you have my permission to dream about him. So, what did you dream recently?” Puppy waggled his brows when Minho blushed at the question, “Was it hot?”

Minho attempted to leave, but Puppy caught his lower arm and held on to it firmly. I hid my smile in Puppy’s nape. I couldn’t help but remember our sort-of honeymoon in Australia and Lee Hyori. I bit Puppy’s nape and walked my fingers up his spine, out of Minho’s sight. Puppy snuggled deeper into my chest and repeated, “Don’t run away Minho. Tell me who topped.”

Minho turned his red face away in embarrassment and somehow managed to choke out, “Stop teasing me. I value my life too much to tell you anything.”

Puppy forgot all about his tears and laughed uncontrollably. With Minho looking away from us, I continued to and Puppy’s nape and shoulders. A part of my brain wondered at my boldness and the sense of security that Puppy gave me. Maybe I had always been this evil and sadist where Minho was concerned. But, this was my time with my Puppy and Minho was interrupting us.

Puppy lifted his free hand to my hair and pulled my face up to give me a soft kiss. Minho had still to look back at us. Puppy leaned his head into my shoulder and his voice was husky with desire as he announced, “Minho, the day you dream of Jinki topping you, I will let you touch him.”

I just couldn’t help laughing loudly at his promise. Minho’s shocked face didn’t help my control any. Puppy and I watched as Minho’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly and his eyes widened to dominate his face again. He speechlessly shook his head and looked from me to Puppy, unable to decide whether Puppy was serious or teasing him yet again. He gulped and looked away for a few minutes to gather his composure. Oh my god, teasing Minho was so much fun.

Minho’s expression shifted from chagrin to determination when he next faced us. He looked straight into our eyes and whispered, “I dreamed three of us together.”

Puppy laughed as I muttered, “Still the same old ert. And he says he is reformed.” I bit Puppy’s shoulder hard, “Why do you encourage him, jagi? Now his dreams have begun to include you also.”

Puppy turned his head to kiss my cheek and ask cryptically, “Are you alright yeobo? Any crawling?”

I shook my head and smiled, whispering in his shoulder, “You know you cured me of that years ago. But, I want to throw him out of our room so I can remind you that I belong only to you.” My smile widened when Minho squirmed at my declaration. “Jagi, we hardly got any time together here in Jeju. Now that the wedding guests have settled into some routine in the past two days, I want to make up for the lost time.”

Puppy grinned at me and moved his hand from Minho’s arm to hold his hand. He brought Minho’s slim hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, “When you dream of enjoying Jinki topping you, I will let you turn that dream to reality. Promise. Till then, only I can touch my yeobo.”

I began laughing again. The three of us knew, that was one reality we would never live. Minho had changed, but not to such extent. And he never would. Since our wedding, Puppy and I had gradually changed to begin living up to the epithet Uncle loved to use for us, ‘shameless creatures’. With Minho’s presence in our lives, it was as if we got a license to show our love openly. Whenever Minho was around, everyone instigated us to be like Taemin and Kibum.

“Puppy you are promising to torture me for the rest of my life. Your large-heartedness is just a disguise for your meanness,” Minho pouted and complained. When Puppy grinned at him, he tried pleading his case. “Come on. You have had him for nearly three decades. You will have him for another three more. All I am asking for is one hour. Show some compassion for my misery.”

Puppy winked at Minho and said, “Let me ask his two boyfriends. If they agree, you can have two hours. I don’t think one hour will be sufficient.”

I continued to laugh as we watched Minho’s eyes bug out at the mention of Yifan and Luhan. It took many minutes for Minho to regain his composure. Our laughter had died down and I was back to nuzzling Puppy’s neck again when Minho managed to speak, “Jinki has boyfriends? And they have the right to decide whether I can touch him?” Puppy nodded. Minho weighed his every word before speaking slowly, “And you say only you can touch him? You are such a con artist, Jonghyun. This is your definition of faithfulness?”

Puppy didn’t stop grinning. I resisted the urge to kick Minho out of our room, but Puppy was still holding the idiot’s hand. Minho stared at the wall for some time, waiting for either of us to respond. When we remained silent, he faced us again and whispered sarcastically, “A tiger cannot change its stripes, and neither can Jinki.”

“Tsk, tsk Minho,” Puppy chuckled at the older man. “Ye of little faith. You still don’t know Jinki.”

I stopped kissing Puppy’s neck to put my chin on his shoulder and glared at Minho, “Let go of his hand, jagi. I want to kick him out of our room and lives. Why are you so stubborn and continue to include the in our family?” I couldn’t help but call Minho with the nickname I used for him mentally, before falling in love with my Puppy.

Puppy kissed my cheek and pressed another kiss on Minho’s hand, “My ferocious Tokki. I love to see this side of you. Unfortunately, it is rare and only Minho manages to bring it out regularly.”

I left Puppy’s side to take a pajama set from the wardrobe. It took me only a few minutes to dress in the bathroom. On my return, I sat on the bed with my back to the headboard and pulled Puppy to sit between my bent legs, molding his back once more to my chest and keeping his lower half well covered. Puppy had to let go of Minho’s hand. Finally.

Minho watched us silently, his lips compressed in displeasure. After a long time he snickered and said derisively, “There is no need to call me names, Jinki. You have two husbands and two boyfriends. What does that make you?”

Puppy pressed my knee to silence my retort. He winked at Minho, “Hot. It makes him very, very hot.”

Minho snorted in disdain, “All of you talk such bull. You’ve tortured me continuously for the past years, for my supposed youthful mistakes. For whom? This man, who does not even know the spelling of commitment?”

Puppy wrapped both his arms around my legs to keep me from kicking the older man. I buried my nose in his neck to calm myself. He kissed my cheek and faced Minho to state very softly, “I advise you to speak with caution, Minho. The man you are talking about is my husband whom I love more than my life. Jinki is what he has always been. You are the one who constantly talks about being reformed. You never trusted him before, you don’t even now. You have been around our family and friends long enough to see Jinki’s interaction with them. Haven’t you learnt anything in these years?”

At Puppy’s soft spoken rebuke, Minho regained his senses. He sat deep in thought while I controlled my urge to literally kick him out of our room. Puppy’s rubbing of my knees had a lot to do with my cooling down. Understanding that my emotions were no longer raging at Minho, Puppy straightened his legs and pulled Minho to lie down with his head on Puppy’s thigh. He combed his fingers through the older man’s hair to calm him. Minho closed his eyes and laced his fingers over his abdomen, letting my husband work his magic.

When the older man had visibly relaxed, Puppy whispered again, “Minho, I told you before. Teasing is what this family loves to do. It’s an expression of our faith in each other. Jinki has only one husband and that is me. I call Yifan and Luhan his boyfriends to tease them. Jinki has no interest in any other man, including you.” Minho opened his eyes to look up into Puppy’s. He listened attentively as Puppy continued with a sigh, “Minho, you have major trust issues. Never ever question Jinki’s fidelity again. This is the last time I am forgiving you. I will not be so generous next time. If I can bring you into the family, I can kick you out also.”

After his not-so-veiled warning, Puppy kissed my cheek. When I kissed his shoulder in unspoken cognizance of his feelings, he smiled broadly at me, “Thank you yeobo for accepting my whims, however questionable they have been to you. Like you, I let go of your past many years ago, thanks to Beagle.” I smiled and kissed his cheek. Who knew better than me about my Puppy’s vengeance? Puppy continued to beam at me, “You see yeobo, it is a simple logic. I love you. If Minho didn’t make the mistakes that he did, I wouldn’t have your love. I wouldn’t have our lovely children and beautiful grandchildren. Maybe, I have completely let go of my anger about your life with Minho. Now, all I feel towards Minho is gratitude for the way he is. I wouldn’t be your best man otherwise. Every time I see him, I am reminded how lucky I am to have your love.”

Minho pouted slightly at Puppy’s words but the calming fingers gently moving through his hair kept him silent. He began to worry his lower lip thoughtfully. I hugged my Puppy tighter to me and rubbed my nose in his neck. As always, his smell calmed me. Puppy rubbed his cheek on my hair and I knew he had a big goofy smile on his face.

We sat like that for a long time. Puppy and I nuzzling each other. His fingers moving in Minho’s hair, relaxing the older man. Suddenly there was a soft snore. We looked at Minho to find him asleep with his mouth open a tiny bit. Another snore from him had us muffling our laughter.

It was very difficult for us to control ourselves. Every time we managed to, Minho would give a low snore and we would break into another round of soundless laughter. I could finally understand Puppy’s inclusion of Minho into our family. The older man was a great source of entertainment.

“Eunha is out. She is only 36. There is no way I am sentencing her to a life with this idiot,” I whispered between my laughter.

Puppy nodded, “I agree, yeobo. She will be heartbroken if Minho questions her loyalty to him. And it would be unfair to her.”

“Yes, it would be,” I kissed Puppy’s lips softly.

“She deserves a man who can love her with the same devotion she will love him,” Puppy pecked my lips repeatedly. “And here we thought he has changed enough. What are we going to do with him, yeobo?”

“Don’t look at me for answers, demented Puppy. I still vote for kicking him out of our room and lives,” I Puppy’s lips. When the man in question snored again, we laughed into each other’s mouths.

“Mmmm I love my ferocious Tokki. I really enjoy goading him. He is so much fun to have around. I think we should keep him for some more time. He spices up our life, yeobo,” Puppy broke our kiss to continue. “May be we should let Jae Mizui loose on him. A wedding romp might cure him of his Jinki fixation,”

“No, jagi. For all her brazen words, Jae Mizui is a kid at 23 years old and Duckie’s good friend. It will make things awkward after the wedding.”

“You are right, yeobo. Minx has decided to fix her with Kiwoo. They are like oil and water. How does Minx imagine them to get together?”

“Did you see Minseok’s son ogling her? He is only 16.”

“Now that would be romping the cradle.”

When I began to laugh uncontrollably, Puppy deepened our kiss. Minho snored and we separated our lips to laugh again. Puppy whispered, “He will never forgive himself for snoring through our kisses. Oh man, I can totally believe he dreams of you. You are my very hot Tokki.”

After an hour, when Minho didn’t show any inclination to wake up, Puppy picked up his phone and recorded the snoring man. He explained with a chuckle, “Blackmail material, Tokki. How can he dream when he is so busy snoring? Liar.”

“Crazy Puppy.”

“Always yeobo. Always, for you.”