SECRET LIFE

“You cannot tell me what to study. I am going to Seoul to study music and that’s it. I don’t want to do anything else,” Sulli announced without looking at Jinki.

“Come on Sulli, be a sweetheart and listen to your mom,” Minho cajoled their 18 years old daughter.

“Yah, I am not a woman. I am her father as much as you are. No wonder she does not listen to me at all. She learnt it from you,” Jinki huffed and left the living room to get cold water for himself from the kitchen.

“Darling, I was completely supporting you. Come on baby give me a smile,” Minho followed his husband into the kitchen, giving him a back hug.

“Give me a moment to let go of my anger,” Jinki softly asked Minho to give him time to regain his good humor. “I don’t want to say anything I will regret later.”

“You know how much I hate to see you upset with me,” Minho kissed Jinki’s cheek to help him along.

“Dad, I was only kidding around. Why are you taking me so seriously? It was just a joke,” Sulli yelled to Jinki, her eyes glued to the tv.

“But she is right Minho. It is not for me to tell her what to do and what not to do. She is old enough to make her own decisions. I shouldn’t force my will and wishes on our daughter,” Jinki said in his too soft a whisper. Minho heard the world of pain in that low voice.

“Come on love. You know that’s not true. I know why you are reacting like this. But you cannot wrap her in cotton wool for her life,” Minho rubbed Jinki’s shoulder to calm him down.

“Do you even know the number of enquiries we get in the embassy every day asking about women’s safety in India in general and Delhi in specific? Just today I had to compile another statistical report for the last three month’s city-wise for all of India and send to Seoul. I felt overwhelmed Minho. And now Sulli tells us she wants to go to Korea and live on her own there. I need time to recover from today’s work,” Jinki sighed dejectedly and leaned his weight on Minho, letting his husband support his body.

“My poor baby, come and relax on the couch. I will cook dinner tonight,” Minho guided Jinki back to the living room. Jinki looked sadly at Sulli as Minho sat down in a chair and pulled him in his lap. Minho observed their daughter lazily watching tv and told her expressionlessly, “If you want to live alone anywhere in the world, show us that you can live responsibly. Go make dinner for tonight. Your father is not feeling well.”

“If dad is not feeling well, why don’t you try your hand at feeding us tonight pop?” Sulli raised her brows at Minho.

“Don’t argue with her Minho. We are just money making machines for her. Let it be. I will be okay in a few minutes,” Jinki leaned back in Minho’s arms deciding not to say another word till he had cooled down completely. He was just making matters worse with his runaway tongue. He buried his face in the warm neck of his husband, letting Minho’s musky scent be his anti-depressant.

“I’m highly disappointed in you,” Minho did not look at Sulli even though his words were directed at her. He was busy calming down Jinki.

“Dad, pop, that’s very unfair. You know how much I love both of you. And how much your opinion matters to me. Come on I just suggested something about my career. You don’t have to react like this. And then you wonder why I don’t talk to you,” Sulli got up and climbed atop Jinki’s lap. “Come on cheer up old man.”

“Umm Sulli, just give me a few minutes to calm down. I had a rough day at work,” Jinki gently made Sulli get up and sit next to them.

“Was it about the case in today’s newspaper?” Sulli asked shrewdly. When Jinki nodded, she hugged her father silently. She understood why Jinki who was normally full of jokes and gags was in a lousy mood that evening.

Jinki worked as the head of the department for citizen’s safety in the Korean Embassy in Delhi. Minho was a senior executive in LG Electronics. They had met 25 years ago in Amsterdam and were together since then. When Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-gender marriages, Lee Jinki had become Choi Jinki, husband and life partner of Choi Minho. Their adopted daughter Choi Jinri, whom everyone called Sulli, was four years old then. Now in 2015, she was going to be eighteen in a few months.

Five years ago, Jinki had taken a transfer to the embassy in Delhi when Minho was appointed the country manager of LG Electronics for India. With a teenage daughter, Minho was aware how much Jinki hated living in India. He knew the depth of fear that Jinki had for Sulli’s safety and didn’t allow her to go anywhere alone. Now the thought of letting her to go to live alone in Seoul had come as a shock to both Jinki and Minho, even though they knew that Seoul was much safer for females than any city in India.

Silence reigned in the living room of the Choi family. After ten minutes, when Jinki still looked depressed, Minho told Sulli to order for food delivery. Sulli hopped around and immediately took out the menu of the nearest Indian restaurant and decided on a typical Indian food which she made Minho order for all of them. They set the table and grinned watching each other eat Indian style. After dinner Sulli bade her parents good night and went to her room to talk to her boyfriend

Once their bedroom door was closed, Jinki hugged Minho tightly and whined, “Just look at her Minho. She refuses to take on any responsibility without being told and even then she mostly refuses. How will she manage to live alone in Seoul?”

“She will learn,” Minho rubbed Jinki’s back.

“I know she will. A few hard knocks of life and she will learn. I think I am more upset about her not trusting us about her boyfriend. She’s had one for nearly a year and she didn’t tell us. Are we that bad in parenting that our daughter has to have a secret life? What if she has a problem in Seoul and remains silent? What if we don’t come to know about her problems till it’s too late?” Jinki’s voice hitched in the end.

“She is very responsible when she wants to be. Other times she is a kid, because she can be.” Minho kissed Jinki’s hair and smiled. “And about her boyfriend, try to remember when we told our families about each other? Your parents didn’t even know we had adopted Sulli. As far as our families were concerned we were sharing an apartment and I had adopted a girl. First time our family knew about our relationship was when we decided to get married.”

“So you are saying, this is god’s way of punishing us for hurting our parents with our secret life for over a decade,” Jinki looked up from Minho’s chest.

Minho grinned at the adorable pout on his love’s face, “Darling, what goes round comes round. Be happy she told us in a year’s time. Else she could’ve gone to Seoul, gotten married, had kids and then told us.”

“Are you comforting me or scaring me?” Jinki was horrified at Minho’s suggestion.

Minho pecked Jinki’s soft full lips, “Just telling you the alternatives, baby.”

“Since she is more comfortable talking to you, tell her to invite her boyfriend for dinner this Saturday. I want to meet our future son-in-law before she goes to Seoul and moves in with him. Tell him to cancel his flight back to Korea. He is not leaving India without meeting us,” Jinki began mentally planning the dinner menu.

Minho grinned and briefly kissed Jinki before asking, “Should we tell her now? You know how she hates seeing you sad because of her.”

“Let her suffer for a few more hours. She will think twice before hiding things from us again. Now that I feel so much better, I want a warm shower,” Jinki walked his fingers up Minho’s back.

“Your wish is my command,” Minho locked the door and pulled a smiling Jinki towards the bathroom.