Friday.

Kwang Soo : I love Ji Hyo noona and Gary hyung! If it wasn't for their help that Firday, I would have died! (cries hysterically)

Me : Oh Kwang Soo.. I understand that this is a traumatizing experience for you to talk about.. So as a thank you present for doing this story quote, how about I buy you lunch?

Kwang Soo : Can I have a giraffe instead?

Me : Err.. Why don't we just move on to the story, hmm?

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

I repeated the process, hoping to calm my frustration as I watched Ji Hyo do the same. We were going to torture Kwang Soo once he returned home for the situation he had unknowingly placed me and my girlfriend in. 

I try to think back to why I had even accepted his plea without realizing how desperate he sounded. I should have known that there was something he wasn't telling me, that being that his niece was the most obnoxious little brat I had ever seen.

You see, Kwang Soo had phoned us in the morning as we were in bed, expecting a lazy afternoon, and begged us to do him a favor. Of course, I said we didn't have time at first, until he resorted to blackmailing me, claiming that he'd tell Ji Hyo about my drunken confession in front of the cast members about how great she was with oral and in bed. 

That had me trapped and with no other choice, I agreed to do him the favor.

It took me a good hour to convince Ji Hyo to get out of bed before I dragged her into the shower. After we had changed and gotten ready, we dashed out into the kitchen and grabbed an armful of snacks. She started eating a granola bar as I locked up our apartment, handing over my belongings to her to ensure that the lock and pin code were sealed properly.

I held her hand as we made our way to her car. Mine was a little low on gas as we had gone to visit my parents the night before and have dinner and she offered to drive as I took her bag and dumped it in the backseat before climbing into the passenger's side.

We didn't talk much in the car, choosing instead to sing along to Ji Hyo's dongsaengs new album, JYJ's Junsu's In Heaven and gaze at the scenery along Namyangju. I smile unknowingly as I notice how the sun shined against her hair, making certain strands glow in a tone of light brown. 

We pulled into the carpark of Kwang Soo's apartment and I quickly alighted from the car and ran over to open her door. She jumped out and placed a cap over her head, tucking the free stands into the sides as we carried our stuff.

Soon reaching the lobby, we pressed the intercom and dialed up Kwang Soo's room, informing him that we were going to be taking the elevator up soon. Punching in the button to the Giraffe's floor we wait as the lift rises up, playing some weird, chirpy tune. 

The elevator door opens and the minute I step out, I'm tackled with a hug and Kwang Soo yells, "HYUNG! I KNEW YOU WOULD COME FOR ME!" and Ji Hyo chuckles before moving forward on her tip toes to give him a light kiss on the forehead. He beams before grabbing her hand and running forward, shouting out for me to follow him. We reach his door and he knocks, a little tune that sounded like something kids would use as secret codes.

Until..

A young girl, probably 7 or 8, opened the door and let out an exasperated, "What took you so long?"

She glared at Kwang Soo before sending a menacing look to me and Ji Hyo, before Kwang Soo escorted us in, asking us to make ourselves feel at home. Just in the process of sitting down, I notice Kwang Soo shift his eyes downwards before mumbling out something incomprehensible.

"Speak louder giraffe," says Mong Ji and I nod in agreement. Once again, I noticed as Kwang Soo took in a deep breath. Standing in a stable stance he put his hands in a pleading form before looking Ji Hyo and me in the eyes, and said, "I need hyung and nuna to.. babysit for me."

Hahaha.. Nice try Kwang Soo-yah. Now tell us what the real favor is.

I chuckle, looking at him and realize that he didn't seem to be joking.

Wait...

WHAT?

I immediately turn and look at Ji Hyo, noticing her shocked expression. She was confused as well, not knowing how to comprehend the situation.

"Kwang Soo.. Look, I've never really.. babysat before, y'know?" I say, trying to change his mind and make him let us go. It's not that I hated kids, in general fact, I adored them but I didn't want to mess things up. There was nothing worse than a hurt child and an angry parent. My girlfriend on the other hand, was known for being great with kids, having them clinging to her wherever she went. I looked towards her again and notice her giving me an odd look, before proceeding to say something I never would have expected.

"Maybe we should do this oppa.. It could be like.. practice, for when it's our turn someday," as she blushes up a storm. 

Kwang Soo immediately takes the opportunity, grabbing his backpack before rushing out the door, yelling "I'll be back by 7, as soon as the CF shoot is over! Everything else you need is on a note in the kitchen!" 

…..

Yup, he had left.

We tried at first, to talk to the little girl, asking what her name was and such but all we got was a glare or get yelled at. Ji Hyo ran over to the kitchen to look for that list as I continued trying to make conversation. 

"So what do you do for… fun?"

The young girl answered with a distasteful reply, "I'm not telling you anything. Where's Kwang Soo ahjussi?"

Gone, I felt like saying. He's probably run off to the other corner of the earth after seeing how you behave.

Mong Ji finally rushed back into the room, a yellow sticky-note in hand before letting out an exasperated remark about how the giraffe had left the note IN the fridge. I sigh and she sits beside me, starting to read out the instructions on the note.

Looking after Bong Cha

1. Make sure she eats the special food her mom prepared for her. It's a green packet, right in the cupboard above the sink.
2. When she asks for her doll, give her the PINK Teddy Bear, not the Blue.
3. No nap time, as she won't be able to go to bed at night.
4. She hasn't done her homework, it's in her schoolbag. That's Math and Art.
5. If her Mom arrives before I do, she will say the family password, 'Cookie' and tell her I had to go for a CF filming.

THANK YOU!

"He didn't even leave an emergency contact," she said and I sigh in agreement.

All of a sudden, the young girl, Bong Cha, grabs the note from our hands and runs off into the bedroom. Ji Hyo gives me a glance and we both know that we NEED that note. I couldn't even remember where the food had been placed. We jump off the couch, sprinting into the direction Bong Cha had went and search the room for her. 

The room was average in size and it was packed with cupboards, dressers, a way too long bed and some unnecessary objects. Typical Kwang Soo. I glanced at the beige walls and nudged Ji Hyo, giving her 'the go' to start looking around. I pulled open cupboard doors and Ji Hyo searched under the bed.

"Nothing here oppa," she says and just as I'm about to reply her, Bong Cha runs out from the bathroom, giggling in a mad frenzy and dashes out into the living room. Ji Hyo runs after her while I, a little confused, headed into the bathroom to see what she was doing in there.

Oh No.

No, no, no, no.

I gasp and my knees gave away as I buckled to the floor. Pieces of yellow paper flew around the room as the breeze from the open bathroom window blew. The floor was covered in a purple slime, obviously from the Bottle of Shampoo that was oozing it out at the corner of the the tiled floor.

We were going to have to clean this up.. All while taking care of that little brat.

Yeah.

That was totally how we had gotten ourselves in this situation. 

I had spent about an hour cleaning the bathroom and there were still traces of shampoo, mostly over the ceiling as I was too short to reach up. Cursing my height, I walk out, taking off the rubber pink gloves and apron that I had scavenged out of Kwang Soo's closet and threw them in the trashcan. While I was playing maid, Ji Hyo was feeding, well, attempting to feed Bong Cha.

She was trying her best not to lose her temper, that was what I could see. She patiently brought the plastic spoon to Bong Cha's lips a countless number of times even though the child squirmed and whined. She glanced at me and tilted her head towards the the child's toy box, asking me to get her doll.

As I walked towards the bag and pick it up, I notice that it's filled to the brim with play things, remembering that the note said Teddy Bear, dig around, carefully carrying the unwanted toys out of the box to dig deeper.

T-Rex, Cars, Barbies.

Nope, no teddy bear.

Dumping everything back in, I slide the box into the space between the TV and the sofa set and set off to Ji Hyo.

"Babe, there's no Teddy Bear in there."

"There isn't?" she asks back, shock slowly making it's way onto her face. 

I nod and turn towards the child, suddenly realizing that she had almost finished the entire bowl of food that was in Ji Hyo's hands. The girl seems to be listening into our conversation with curiosity.

"Ergh, Ji Hyo-yah! What do we do now?" I say, lifting my hands up to cover my stressed out face. Ji Hyo was just about to reply when a tiny young voice said, "I don't want the doll."

Eh? She doesn't want the doll?

Ji Hyo looks at Bong Cha and in the kindest voice I've ever heard her use, she asks "What do you mean, darling?"

The little girl looks up at me and with a soft whisper, she tells us that she was angry. That was why she didn't listen to us and tore the note, also making a mess of the entire bathroom. I grab a chair and haul it up next to Ji Hyo, sitting on it as I placed my arms on the backrest.

The little girl continued on how strict her mom was and that she had been following the schedule, every single day, with no breaks in between, except for playtime and even then, it was her mom who chose the teddy bear, not her. She casted her eyes down and said "I just wanted to have some fun.."

Ji Hyo passes the emptied out bowl to me and as I walk to the sink, I see Ji Hyo give the girl a warm hug, whispering something into her ear as they both giggled, looking at me.

Sigh..

I don't know what they're up to, but I don't like it.

"Oh, c'mon oppa! Do it for me!" Ji Hyo whined as I tried to pull away from her grasp. 

"No! Absolutely not!" I yell back, trying to sprint forward before falling onto my face as Bong Cha had grabbed my leg in a classic Ace Ji Hyo lock. 

Damnit, I wasn't getting away from this one.

I push myself back up and support myself with my arms as Ji Hyo says "Just this once oppa. Everytime Bong Cha get's a question right, on the first try of course, I get to ttakbam you!" and the little girl laughs with glee.

Grumbling under my breath, I sit crossed-legged and watched as Ji Hyo prepped the thin yellow Maths book onto the floor with a few pencils, rulers and erasers to boot. Bong Cha sat right across me as Ji Hyo nestled down to my side.

I thought her for the first 3 questions, as she didn't know much about division and multiplication, so she didn't get it right on the first try.

The fourth came soon after and Ji Hyo gave a gleeful chuckle as she flicked her finger against my forehead. It hurt, that was for sure, but I AM Calm and Peaceful Gary, Ji Hyo's flick was nothing compared to that chopstick they used against me in one of the episodes.

I didn't escape the next questions either, as Bong Cha seemed to have gotten a hang of the equations, and as much pain as I could endure, I couldn't stop my forehead from turning a bright red.

"Oww," I mumbled as the last flick came and went, watching Ji Hyo give Bong Cha a high five as they yelled out "HOMEWORK DONE!"

I smiled, watching the two girls bumble around and wonder how Ji Hyo would be with a child.. of our own. 

Clang, came the sound of the Grandfather clock in the living room as it signaled 7 and we brought Bong Cha to the living room. Ji Hyo left her to my care as she went to pack our belongings and as much of a talker that I was, I felt so awkward sitting next to the Bong Cha.

Shuffling my feet, I glanced all around the room, trying to distract myself until she spoke up. "I really like the Monday Couple, Gary-ahjussi." she says and I chuckle, calmly telling her that she can call me oppa instead. The girl beams before going on a long rant about her frustrations on the Monday Couple when she was watching Running Man.

Just as Ji Hyo walked out of the bedroom door, the main door opened up and Kwang Soo stepped in, grocery bags in hand. He walked forward and nearly fell on his feet from the shock when he Bong Cha ran forward and gave him a hug. 

Hah, guess this was new for him too, I laugh.

He invites us to stay for dinner but as much as we want to stay, (it's free food!) we couldn't as Ji Hyo needed to rush for a late night CF shoot soon.

We said our goodbyes and Ji Hyo chuckled at Kwang Soo's shocked face when he saw Bong Cha asking for us to come visit her again soon. 

Sitting in the car, I drove while Ji Hyo glanced at the night's scenery.

"As much fun as we had today oppa, I don't think we're ready yet.." she mumbles and I nod in agreement. Suddenly noticing her solemn face as she says this, I think hard to find something to cheer her up.

"Maybe," I say, "Maybe we're not ready NOW Ji Hyo yah… but, we will be. Soon. Okay?"

At that she smiles, and leans over to give me a soft peck on the cheek.

I could tell.

We would be great parents.. Well, her mostly.