Chapter 12

Kai POV

            Due to the fact that EunMi was moving in, the mates stayed for a few extra days to help out.

            The ring that EunMi wore was so huge, I had no idea how Chanyeol could afford to buy it for her.

            Sehun and I had just finished moving EunMi’s make-up table into hers and Chanyeol’s room when my phone rang.

            It was ChoHee’s dad, “Minah,” I called into the hallway, “grandpa’s on the phone!”

            She ran through the door, “gimme, gimme!”

            I handed her the phone and she answered it, “Hi Grandpa…I’m good how are you…That’s good!  Chanyeol asked EunMi to marry him and now everybody is moving her stuff in…Yeah, Sehun and Baekhyun found her in the woods and now her and daddy love each other!  Her name is Jaemi….yes I do like her a lot…you want to talk to daddy?  Okay…I love you too, bye Grandpa!”

            “Here daddy,” said Minah handing me the phone.

            “Hey,” I said, “so you heard?”

            “Yes Kai, everybody knows.  I’m a little hurt that I didn’t here it from you,” he joked.

            I laughed, “yeah, sorry about that.  It just happened to fast.”

            “That’s perfectly okay; I’d really like to meet Jaemi, if that’s okay with you.”

            “Of course you can meet her.  You’d like her.”

            “I’m sure I will.  I miss my adorable little grand-daughter, I can’t wait to see her, and I kind of miss my son-in-law as well but my grandbaby is much more important,” he joked again.

            “I’m hurt,” I laughed.

            “You know I love ya Kai, I’ll see you soon.”

            “Bye.”

            I hung up, “grandpa’s coming to visit soon!”

            “Hooray!” said Minah, “I wonder what he’ll bring me this time!?”

            “Minah…it doesn’t matter if he brings you something or not.”

            “I know daddy.  Last time he gave me one of mommy’s notebooks from high school and I love when you read it to me!”

            “Maybe he’ll bring you another one; Mommy had a lot of those.”

            “Will you read it to me again please?” she asked with puppy-dog eyes.

            “Yeah, let’s go get it from your room.”

            I followed Minah down the hall to her room and took ChoHee’s old journal off the bookshelf.  I sat down in the rocking chair and sat Minah on my lap.

            “Which one do you want me to read?” I asked.

            “Start from the beginning.”

            “Alright Peanut.”

March 17, 2008

            Today at school, SHINee and Exo had another fight.  We were all in the cafeteria at lunch and like always it was Key and Jonghyun that started it.  Though it started off as them just bad mouthing each other, it soon escalated to a full blown fist fight.  Let’s just say it ended with Jongin, Chanyeol, Tao, Taemin, Key and Jonghyun in the principal’s office.  Each of them walked away with a split lip, and a 3 day out of school suspension. Jongin and Taemin broke each others noses as well.  Kris gave the three of them an earful when he was called out of work to come pick them up from school.  He wasn’t happy.

            After school I had gone to the Exo house to check on Jongin.  When I got there, they were in the middle of being punished Jongin was on time out while Tao and Chanyeol were forced to clean the whole house.

            “What are you doing?” I asked my boyfriend.

            “I’m being punished…” he pouted from the corner of the room.

            “Are you on time out?” I laughed

            “Yes…”

            It really was quite amusing to see an eighteen year old forced into taking a time out.

            “Kai, you’re on time out!” Kris called from the other room, “stop talking to your girlfriend!”

            His frown deepened.

            “You look so cute right now,” I teased.

            “Shut up,” he motioned for me to sit with him.

            I took a seat on his lap and asked, “How’s your nose?”

            “Hurts, but It was worth it,” he grinned.

            “Stop getting into fights with them.  It’s getting a little ridiculous.”

            “I can’t help that we’re enemies.”

            “Well it up because you go to the same school and you live in the same town.”

            Of course he didn’t listen to me.  He hardly ever listens to me.  Oh well, I guess that’s what happens when your in a relationship in an impulsive teenage boy.

            “What does impulsive mean?” Minah asked.

            “It’s someone that makes decisions without thinking,” I said.

            “You aren’t like that anymore daddy.”

            I smiled, “Well that was a long time ago.  A lot can change in a few years.”

            “Read another one!” she demanded, “the one where you asked Mommy to marry you!”

            “Okay,” I flipped the last page of the journal.

May 12, 2009

            I’M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!  JONGIN JUST ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!!!  He took me to the place in the woods where we first met and he got down on one knee and then he asked me!  I always thought that being asked that way was the stupidest way you could ever ask a girl, but now that it’s actually happened to me, I’ve changed my mind!  It was the cutest, most sweetest thing in the world!  I said yes of course!  Oh my goodness…it just hit me that we’re finally going to be living together and having babies and waking up every morning next to each other and I’ll officially be part of Exo! 

            This is almost unreal!  And who cares if we’re the only couple in our class that’s going to get married right away!  Silly humans don’t understand what having a mate is like.  It’s the greatest thing in the world!

            I can’t wait for my parents to get home from work so I can tell them the news! 

            Kim Jongin + Lee ChoHee = Forever <3

            “Mommy seems like she was very loud,” said Minah.

            “No, she was just really excited.”

            “I want my mate to ask me the same way you asked mommy to marry you.”

            “Well, you’re a long ways away from finding your mate.  And you never know, maybe the way your mate asks you will be even better then how I asked mom.”

            There was a knock at the door.

            “Come in!” called Minah.

            “Hey Kai,” said Kris, “Jaemi’s dad is here…”

            “What?!” I said, “Jaemi said that she’d call him when it was okay to come over!”

            “I know…that’s what she said when she answered the door…he’s not going to leave.”

            I picked up Minah and we followed Kris down the stairs into the living room.

            “Hey,” I said, “it’s good to see you again Mr. Choi.”

            I put Minah down and she walked with me over to the couch where Jaemi was seated across from her father.

            “Sorry for dropping in unexpectedly,” he said, “I just wanted to see for myself how big this house really was.  And of course I wanted to get to know my daughter’s boyfriend.”

            “Dad, stop worrying so much.  I told you, you have nothing to worry about,” said Jaemi.

            “I have every right to worry about you Jaemi,” he looked to me, “So Jongin, tell me about yourself.”

            “Call me Kai,” I said curtly.

            “And why would I do that if the name your parents gave you is Jongin.”

            “I prefer to be called Kai by those who I’m not blood related to.”

            “Fine then Kai, tell me about yourself.”

            “What would you like to know sir?” I asked.

            “What do you do for a living?” 

            “I own a dance studio,” I answered, “but I don’t go there often, I work when I feel like it.”

            He laughed, “I wish we all had that luxury.  Is this your daughter?”

            “Yes, this is Minah, she’s four.”

            “Hello Minah,” he said, “I’m Hyo.”

            “Hi,” responded Minah quietly.

            He looked to me, “How old were you when Minah was born?”

            “Fifteen,” I lied, then said under my breath, “give or take.”

            “What was that?”

            “Oh, nothing,” I replied.

            “Jaemi tells me you were married to Minah’s mother, for how long?”

            “Not even a year…but we were together for years before we got married.”

            “Are you still close with her mother?”

            “Dad!” said Jaemi, “I told you about this already!”

            “Yes, you’re right.  I’m sorry.”

            Jaemi’s dad interrogated me for a while longer then asked to speak to his daughter outside, alone.  I watched as Jaemi walk her father to the front porch.

            “I don’t like him,” whispered Minah.

            “Don’t say that.  You just met him.  And one day he’ll be your grandfather, so you better learn to like him.”

            “I already have two grandpas; I don’t want another one…”

            “Maybe he’ll be like mommy’s dad and bring you presents every time he comes to visit.”

            She shrugged, “you said it doesn’t matter if they bring me a present or not.”

            “You’re right it doesn’t matter.  But I want you to try to like him, okay?  It will make Jaemi happy.”

            “Okay, I’ll try.”

Jaemi POV

            I closed the front door and sat on the porch swing next to my father.  “Why did you come unannounced?” I asked.

            “I have every right to see my daughter.”

            “I know…but you could have called first.”

            “I’m sorry honey.  I just missed you a lot.”

            “I missed you too.”

            We sat quietly for a few minutes until my dad spoke, “Are you sure you’re serious about him.”

            “Yes dad, I love him so much.  I honestly can say that I don’t see myself ever being with anybody else.”

            “He seems like a good guy.  But I just wonder if you’re moving a little fast.  I’m worried that because he has a child and because he’s been married, that he’ll want to do things quicker than what your ready for.”

            “Dad, Its okay…we communicate really well.  And it shouldn’t matter whether he has a child or not, or if he’s been married already.  Jongin and I are the same age and he may be more experienced than me, but isn’t that a good thing?”

            “It can be…I just don’t want my little girl to get hurt.”

            “He won’t hurt me.  I love him and he loves me just as much.”

            He ran a hand through it hair and sighed, “He must’ve been fourteen when they got pregnant.  That’s freshman year Jaemi.  I can’t even imagine what that would have been like…I don’t know what I would’ve done as a parent if that was you.”

            “Why does he having a kid bother you so much?”

            “Just don’t get pregnant anytime soon Jaemi.  Please wait to have children until you’re happily married.”

            “I don’t plan on getting pregnant anytime soon dad, no need to worry.”

            He smiled, “thank god...I must be on my way now honey.  Promise to call, I love you.”

            He kissed me gently on the forehead, “I promise, I love you too dad.”

            I watched him climb into his car and drive off towards the highway.

            Closing my eyes, I sat quietly with my head tilted back, taking in the rays of the winter sun.

            I felt the bench swing backwards with the wait of another pressed against it.  I opened my eyes to see Jongin lean his head back as well and watch the sky.

            “It’s going to snow soon,” he said, “Minah will be so happy.”

            “What about you?  Do you like the snow?”

            “Yeah, I do…until I have to shovel, then I hate it.”

            I laughed, “I don’t think anybody likes shoveling.”

            He took my hand and raised it to his lips.  “You’re so amazing, I love you so much.”