Paper Clips and Other Office Supplies 02
TITLE: Paper Clips and Other Office Supplies 01
AUTHOR: giveitupjessica
PAIRINGS: 2min, Jazzhyun, Onkey
RATING: G-NC-17
GENRE: AU, Romance, Comedy
SUMMARY: A collection of side stories to go with The Paper Series. A little insight to what the six friends were like before and after the series. (I seriously suck at summaries)
A/N: So this side story is definitely a little on the heavy side. The idea has been on my mind since annyeonghase_yo and I were talking about the mandatory two years in the military all males must serve in Korea. I decided to write about it and being an army brat, I know what it's like to have family and friends in the military. It's definitely hard. My dad missed my birth because he was stationed away from us. So, this is just a fair warning, this side story is a heavy one, but I promise that the next one will be light and fluffy.
PAPER DEDICATION-MINHO AND JJONG IN THE ARMY
“It won’t connect noona,” I say as I click the button again.
“Maybe they just don’t have a good connection right now,” she answers, joining me beside the computer.
“Umma! UMMA!” Kyujong yells as he runs up to me.
“Yes Kyu?” I ask, my eyes never leaving the computer screen. Jazzy is still trying to get our Skype connection to work.
“Can I have a snack please?”
“We just ate dinner less than an hour ago and you’re already hungry again?” I look at my son and he’s nodding his head, “Okay, but only fruits. I don’t want you to get a sugar rush this late at night. You’re not going to be staying up past your bedtime anymore arraseo?”
“Ne. Can I have a banana milk then?”
“Sure,” I get up from the chair, taking a second to check on Taeyeon before walking to the kitchen. Kyujong was right on my heels and holding onto the bottom of my shirt. I open up the fridge and grab a small carton of the drink and hand it to him, “Stay by umma while you drink it and don’t make a mess.”
“Ne,” he follows me back to the computer, my shirt in one hand and his milk in the other.
“It’s connecting!” Jazzy exclaims and I rush the rest of the way there, Kyujong almost falls as he tries to keep up with me.
“Hey baby!” Minho’s face is on the screen and I feel tears welling up in my eyes. Kyujong climbs up on my lap and starts to wave when he sees his appa.
“APPA!”
“Hi Kyu! How’s my big boy doing hm? Are you behaving for umma?”
“Ne!”
“Are you helping with your sister as well?”
“Ne!”
“Good boy. Appa will be sure to bring you a nice present when he comes home since you’re being so good.”
“YAY!”
Jonghyun walks into the frame all of a sudden, taking a seat next to Minho. A big smile is on his face, “Hi baby!”
“Hi Jjongie.”
“Hey Taemin, Kyujong!”
“Hey Jonghyun hyung,” I look down at my son who is already done with his banana milk and seems to just be chewing on the straw now, “Go throw away your banana milk if you’re done.”
“Ne,” he jumps off my lap and run to the kitchen.
“Kyu, can you go get Junghee and Buggy? Tell them their appa is calling,” Jazzy says to the small boy just as he’s returning.
“Okay! Be right back! Don’t hang up yet appa!” he yells and runs in the direction of the bedrooms.
“I won’t son,” Minho responds, “How have you been honey?”
“I’ve been missing you like crazy,” I tell him.
“I miss you all too. Where’s my baby girl?”
“She’s over in the carrier sleeping. Want me to go get her?”
“No need. Let her sleep.”
“She’s getting so big.”
“I know. I got your package a few days ago and I can tell from the pictures that she’s definitely growing fast.”
“APPA!” we hear Junghee screams in excitement.
“Hi princess! Appa misses you!” Jonghyun waves and Junghee is waving back like crazy. Yoogeun strolls in a few seconds later, hands stuffed in his pocket, “Hi Yoogeunnie.”
“Hi appa. When are you going to come home for good?”
“We already talked about this. I won’t be back until the end of next year. I’m sorry Buggy.”
“I see.”
“But don’t worry, time will fly fast.”
“It’s not me that I’m worried about. It’s umma and Junghee. They miss you a lot. I miss you too, but not as much as them.”
We all talk for the next ten minutes, catching our husbands up on what they have been missing. The sporting events, the dance recitals, and school. I didn’t know that having your husband deployed would be this hard. I’m so glad that I was able to convince Jazzy to move in with me until both of them were home again. We were each other’s gusbands (girlfriend+husband) while our real husbands served their mandatory military time. Thankfully they were both called at the same time and were miraculously in the same platoon as well.
Key was lucky that when Onew was in the military, nothing serious was going on. But right now there was a major conflict going on between us and North Korea. It has only been a couple months since their deployment, but it’s been the longest months ever. What made it worst was that we couldn’t even talk to them every day because they didn’t know if they would be able to get to a phone at all. Jazzy told me she hated it more when they were just at basic training and would call us at a certain time each day. Her reasoning was that she would worry more if they didn’t call at the designated time, afraid that something might have happened to them. I guess she had a point. But I thought not talking to them at all was harder. I definitely have a higher respect for the couples who have a spouse in the military permanently. It definitely wasn’t an easy life. It was one that you had to learn to take one day at a time and a lot of the time your spouse wasn’t even there on those days.
I was worried about Jazzy though. She is currently 20 weeks pregnant with twins and by the looks of it, Jonghyun wasn’t going to be home for their birth. I can’t even begin to imagine the emotions she’s having with her hormones going all crazy. I’ve been through two pregnancies myself to know the effects of heightened hormones in your body. I would say this is like the time she was pregnant with Yoogeun, but it isn’t. Jonghyun was just a phone call away then, now he’s far from it. I do have to admit that she has been taking it quite well. But I’m still waiting for the day when she completely breaks down. I hope that day never comes.
*~*
I’m sitting on the couch feeding Taeyeon when I hear the door to the garage open. I’m a little confused when I don’t hear the normal influx of noise fill my quiet house. I lean over just enough to see why and see Jazzy walk in by herself, no kids in tow.
“Hey noona, where are the kids?” I ask her just as she’s placing her bag on the counter.
“Across the street at Onew and Key oppa’s,” she answers, taking a seat beside me. She holds out a finger and Taeyeon immediately grabs hold of it with her tiny hand.
“Oh I see. How did the meeting with Yoogeun’s teacher go?” I pull the now empty bottle out of my baby’s mouth and then position her on my shoulder to burp her.
“It was fine. He’s doing well in school, a little on the talkative side but that’s not surprising considering who his appa is.”
“True,” Taeyeon let’s out a rather loud burp and we both crack up laughing, “Such a big burp from such a tiny baby.”
“I missed his call,” Jazzy says out of the blue, resting her head on my shoulder, “Neither one of us have heard from them in a day and I miss his call. So please tell me that Minho called you.”
“No,” I pull my phone out of my pocket to double check, “Nope, he hasn’t.”
“They must not have had the time. Jjongie called in the middle of the meeting. And the only reason I knew was because I felt my phone vibrating and just as I got it out to check the display it stopped. I was hoping he’d call right back like he normally does, but he didn’t. I would’ve left right in the middle if he did.”
“And Minho didn’t even try to call me at all. So yeah, they must not have had the time to make more than one call.”
“Yeah.”
I get up and place Taeyeon in her carrier before taking a seat next to Jazzy again. She changes her position so that her head is in my lap and the rest of her body is stretched out on the couch. She looked exhausted. I start to run my fingers through her hair and she’s rubbing her belly.
“I hope one of them calls tonight.”
“Me too noona, me too.”
*~*
“Noona,” I say as we’re driving home from the market. All our kids were asleep in the back seat, except for Yoogeun who was at soccer practice.
“Yeah?”
“It’s been four days since we’ve heard from either of them. This is the longest we’ve ever gone without talking to them.”
“I know Taeminnie and it worries me,” she starts to rub her belly, a habit that I’ve realized she does when she’s nervous.
“Me too. We haven’t even gotten any e-mails either. I just want to know that they’re okay. That’s all and I’ll be happy. What makes it worst is that, Kyujong and Junghee’s birthdays are next week and it’ll be their first birthday without their appas.”
“Yeah and hopefully it’ll be their last as well. Jjongie isn’t even going to be here for the birth of our twins. It sucks,” she let’s out a deep sigh.
I reach over and grab her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, “I can’t imagine how hard it is for you noona. I mean it’s hard for me because of Taeyeon. She’s growing so fast and I know that Minho wants to be here to witness it. It sucks that she’s barely spent very much time with him. I’m afraid she’s not going to remember him when he gets back.”
“Oh I’m sure she will. Babies know who their parents are regardless of whether or not they see them on a daily basis. Look at Yoogeun, he knew that Jjongie was his appa when he was still a baby. I think they just get a special feeling when they’re in their parents’ arms.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I know I’m right.”
We get back to the house and I pull into the garage. Jazzy and I simultaneously open both of the back doors and start to unbuckle our children. Junghee gives a soft whine when her mom starts to lift her out of her seat, but quickly rests her head on her mom’s shoulder once she’s safely in the arms of the other. I look at Jazzy between the seats and then down at my own children.
“Here, I’ll come over and get Kyujong and then you can get Taeyeon,” she says to me.
“You sure you should be carrying both of them?” I ask, “How about you go set down Junghee and then come back to get Kyujong?”
“That works too. I’ll be right back,” she disappears in the house and then quickly comes back about two minutes later. I move aside and she leans into the car and lifts Kyujong out of his carseat. He’s dead asleep, not even realizing that he’s being carried. He can sleep like a rock, just like his appa. I then climb in and undo Taeyeon’s carseat before lifting it out of the car and following Jazzy inside. She has the futon set up on the floor and Junghee sleeping peacefully on top of it. She places Kyujong on the pillow beside her and I place Taeyeon and her carrier beside them.
“Okay, now to get the groceries. Hopefully none of them wake up,” I say and we spend the next ten minutes going back and forth between the car and kitchen, grocery bags loaded in our hands, “What should we cook for dinner?”
“I don’t know. Is Gwiboon still on her vegetarian kick?” Jazzy asks. Onew, Key, and their kids were coming over for dinner tonight and we wanted to make sure we made something that everyone would eat. Our kids as well as Eli weren’t hard to cook for, they pretty much ate whatever we put in front of them. However, Gwiboon recently decided that she was a vegetarian after watching some video about animal slaughter houses.
“Maybe I should text Key umma and ask,” I pull out my phone and send him a quick text to which he responds a minute later telling me that she gave up on it. She missed eating chicken apparently. Who knew Onew’s chicken mania could be inherited, “Nope, not a vegetarian anymore. She missed chicken.”
“Of course. Like father like daughter. I’m sure Eli will become a chicken maniac soon as well,” Jazzy laughs as she starts to load up the fridge with groceries, “So perhaps Chicken Parmesan?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“UMMAAAAAA!” Junghee cries from the living room.
“Oh and there’s the first kid,” Jazzy sighs and leaves the kitchen to get her daughter. She comes back with Junghee snuggled into her chest, fresh tears falling from her eyes, and her thumb in her mouth.
“Junghee-yah,” I say as I wipe her tears with the back of my hand, “Do you want a snack?”
“Shiro!” she yells and jerks away from me, burying her face in her mom’s neck. She was definitely a brat when she woke up from her naps.
“Little, you don’t speak like that to adults,” Jazzy says to the little girl, “Now you say sorry.”
“Mianhe,” she mumbles.
“It’s okay Little,” I say and I pat her head. I turn back to the remaining bags and finish putting them away. Jazzy tries to help, but is hindered by the little girl in her arms. Right when I’m putting away the last box of cereal, a sleepy Kyujong wanders into the room rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. I crotch down and he walks into my arms, taking up a position much like the one Junghee is in with her mom, “Good morning Kyu. Did you have a nice nap?”
He nods his head.
“Do you want a snack?”
He nods his head.
“Okay, let’s sit you down at the table and umma will get you a snack. What about you Little? Are you ready for a snack now?”
She looks at me and nods. Jazzy walks over to the table and sets her daughter down in the chair beside my son, “You get their snacks ready and I’ll start dinner.”
“Okay,” I grab a banana and apple from the basket on the counter and start to cut them up. I distribute the pieces equally between a green and purple plate, “Do you guys want juice or milk?”
“Juice!” they both scream. I grab a couple juices from the pantry before taking their snack to them.
“What do you say?” Jazzy asks as she sets up the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs for the chicken.
“Thank you!” they both exclaim and then start to eat their fruit. I walk back to the living room and grab Taeyeon’s carrier, I’m surprised she’s still asleep. I wasn’t going to complain though, she hasn’t been sleeping through the night lately, so this long nap would do her good. I place the carrier on top of the table so that all our children were now in the same room and we could keep an eye on them. I can’t help but think about how much easier everything was when our husbands were home. They were able to take care of the kids while we cooked and we didn’t have to worry about anything but dinner.
*~*
After dinner, we’re all in the living room. The kids are busy watching a movie as the adults talk.
“Still no word?” Onew asks.
“No, not even an e-mail,” I reply.
“I’m sure they’re okay,” he says, but I pick up the hint of worry in his voice.
“I’m so glad that we’ve already been through that yeobo,” Key rubs his husband’s leg, “It’s definitely hard.”
“Yeah,” Jazzy agrees, “It’s hard alright.”
“Anyways, how was the doctor visit yesterday?”
“Good. Both babies are doing great, growing just like they’re supposed to. I should have no problem carrying them to full term. I just wish Jjongie would be here for their birth.”
“I know sweetie, I know,” Key gives her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Actually at this point I just want to hear his voice telling me that him and Minho are okay,” and as if on cue, her cell phone starts to ring. I know that it’s Jonghyun by the smile that lights up her face.
“Baby!” she exclaims, phone up to her ear, “I’m so glad that you called. It’s been four days, Taemin and I were starting to worry. Well no, we were worrying… I know… What?... No, why?... What do you mean?...”
We’re all studying her face. I’m a little worried with how serious it got all of a sudden. It isn’t helping that her side of the conversation seems to be pretty serious as well.
“Do you mean there’s three of you there or three of you left?” my heart instantly drops, “Is Minho there?... Oh thank god… We’re all fine, don’t worry about us. Are you two okay?... Well it’s getting late here, are you going to call tonight? Should I sleep with my phone?... Okay… I love you too… Talk to you in a little bit.”
And their phone call is over just as soon as it begins. I’m clutching her hand as she stares at her phone. This couldn’t be good.
“Umma, was that appa on the phone?” Yoogeun is walking towards us, a serious look on his face.
“Yes Buggy.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Why don’t you take Junghee and Kyujong and get ready for bed. It’s late. Once Onew appa, Key umma, Gwiboonie, and Eli go home it’ll be bedtime.”
“Umma…”
“Go Buggy,” Junghee takes that moment to run to Jazzy, “Little, go with your brother and get ready for bed hm?”
“You to Kyu,” I say and he walks over to me, rubbing at his eyes. I know he’s tired and I’m sure he’ll fall asleep once his head hits the pillow.
“Gwiboonie,” Key says and his daughter turns to face him, “Take your brother home and get ready for bed too. Appa and I will be home to tuck you both in shortly.”
“Ne umma. Come on Eli,” she grabs the little boy’s hand and they come to us to say good-bye. We get a hug and kiss from both before they walk out of the door and walk across the street. Onew is standing at the window, watching them to make sure they get there safely. He joins us again once they’re safely inside.
“Buggy,” Jazzy says and her son is giving her a concerned look, “Go. It’s bedtime. We’ll be up shortly.”
“Okay,” he says reluctantly, he takes a kid in each hand and heads for the bedrooms. He looks over his shoulder once, worried look still on his face.
“Yoogeun hyung,” Kyujong says up to the older, “Can I sleep with you tonight? PLEASE!”
“Oh me too oppa! Junghee too!” his little sister shouts.
“Sure.”
We all watch them walk further down the hall, I turn to the carrier beside me and place Taeyeon down in it. She must have fallen asleep not too long ago. I hope she sleeps through the night, but with the amount she slept during the day, I doubt she would.
“Jazzy?” Key says, holding onto her hand, “What did Jonghyun hyung say?”
“He says that him and Minho are okay. And normally when he opens with that, something happened. He’s keeping something from me.”
“At least their okay though,” I say, “But what was that thing about three people?”
“He told me there’s only three of them.”
“Three of them what?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I asked him if he means there are three of them there or three of them left. He wouldn’t tell me. Instead he asked if someone from their company called us.”
“How many people are there in their platoon?” Onew asks.
“Twelve,” I answer, my hand is laced with Jazzy’s now, holding it tight. Now I understood why there was that worried look on her face and why she sent our kids out of the room. She obviously didn’t want them to hear this, especially Yoogeun. Although, I’m sure he knows something is wrong, “Are they going to call back?”
“He wouldn’t say. He just said he had to go and that’s it,” Key wraps his arms around the both of us and hugs us tightly.
“I’m sure everything is fine. They’re fine. Don’t worry,” he chants. Onew walks over to my other side and wraps his arms around us as well. We stay in the position for a few minutes. Even though I was surrounded by people I love deeply, I still felt alone and scared. I had a gut feeling after the second day with no word from either Jonghyun or Minho. That feeling was just confirmed. How could I not worry at this point.
“Umma?” Yoogeun says from behind us. We all pull away and wipe away the tears that we didn’t know were falling from our eyes.
“Yes Buggy?” he’s standing in front of us now, worry all over his face.
“What going on with appa and Minho appa?”
“They’re fine Buggy. Appa and Minho appa are both fine. They’re just busy so they couldn’t talk for long,” she says and pulls her son into a hug, “Now go to bed.”
“Umma, are you keeping something from? Everything isn’t fine over there huh?”
“Appa and Minho appa are okay and that’s all that matters right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Okay, now it’s bedtime. You have school in the morning.”
“Okay,” he takes his time saying good night to all of us before reluctantly heading to his room.
*~*
We found out that their barracks got attacked that night. Jonghyun, Minho, and Leeteuk were the only ones in their platoon who were able to escape. Minho wasn’t able to talk because he was busy treating the wound on Leeteuk’s leg and Jonghyun had to hang up suddenly because they thought they were spotted in their hiding place. Someone from their company did call us that night. He told us that there was a chance that our husbands were injured and currently MIA, but would keep us updated with any information that they found out.
Jazzy and I were both nervous wrecks for the few days after that night since we hadn’t heard from anyone. Onew and Key kept the kids at their house once they were home from school sending them home only when it was finally time for bed. We were thankful for that. We didn’t want our children to see the state we were in. Yoogeun was just as worried as us though. He knew that things weren’t okay with Jonghyun and Minho by the way Jazzy or I would dodge his questions.
The whole thing was really starting to get to Jazzy, I had to rush her to the emergency room when she started to experience really bad abdominal pains one night. Thankfully, everything turned out to be fine. The babies were okay and she was okay. The doctor warned her that the stress wasn’t good for her and in turn wasn’t good for the babies. She said she’d try her best not to stress or worry, but it was going to be hard. I spent the night with her in the emergency room that night. They wanted to keep her for observations before releasing her.
The day that Minho finally called was the best day of our lives. They had finally reached a nearby barracks and was safe. We both cried tears of joy, a huge weight lifted from our shoulders. We never had to go through that experience again and soon they were coming home for good having served their two years.
I stood there with all the kids, Jazzy, Key, and Onew. We were waiting patiently with other family members of the military soldiers who were returning home today. I look at my watch, they were five minutes late, what was going on? Suddenly the doors open and sea of camouflage is coming towards us. We all immediately start to scan the crowd for the familiar faces.
Jazzy takes off running, tears falling from her face and I follow her eyes. I can barely make out Minho’s head in the crowd and surely that’s Jonghyun walking, well now running, beside him. I start to run as well, leaving Onew and Key to watch over the kids. I see Jonghyun drop all his bags as Jazzy leaps into his arms, legs wrapping around his waist as they hold each other close. And before I know it, familiar arms are wrapping around my waist and lifting me up. I wrap my own arms and legs around him and start to places kisses all over his face.
“I missed you so much!” I say between kisses.
“I missed you too,” he says and captures my lips in a passionate kiss. Tears are falling from both of our eyes and I pull him closer to me. I never wanted him to leave ever again. These past two years were hell for me. I don’t want to go experience it ever again. I don’t think I could go through it again.
“Welcome home soldiers!” Onew says and I break away to see that they have joined us. I turn to look at Jonghyun and Jazzy and they’re still making out like crazy. I guess I couldn’t blame them because all I wanted to do was make out with my own husband.
“Gross umma, appa!” Yoogeun exclaims and covers both Kyujong and Junghee’s eyes, “There are kids present here!”
They pull away from each other and look over at us, a bright red coloring their cheeks. Jonghyun sets Jazzy down and they take the few steps to join our small group. Junghee jumps into his arms and Yoogeun hugs his waist.
“Appa!” Junghee screams, “I missed you! Don’t leave again okay?”
“Never again. Appa can’t stand being away from you all,” he places a kiss on her cheek and ruffles his son’s hair.
Minho sets me down and goes to the stroller Onew is standing behind and picks up our daughter before picking up our son as well. He goes back and forth between giving kisses to them. I smile and take out my camera to take a picture of the sight. This was how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be here with me and our children. And I wasn’t going to let him leave ever again.
“Get over here baby,” he calls out to me and I go over to them. He places a kiss on my forehead before placing one on my lips.
“Welcome home yeobo,” I say to him.
“It’s great to be home,” he turns to the stroller in front of Key that holds two young babies. One boy and one girl. Both of them fast asleep. Jonghyun is kneeling front of them, tears falling from his eyes.
“Minjung, Eunhyuk,” he says to them, “Appa is home.”
TODAY I DEDICATE TO YOU.
AUTHOR: giveitupjessica
PAIRINGS: 2min, Jazzhyun, Onkey
RATING: G-NC-17
GENRE: AU, Romance, Comedy
SUMMARY: A collection of side stories to go with The Paper Series. A little insight to what the six friends were like before and after the series. (I seriously suck at summaries)
A/N: So this side story is definitely a little on the heavy side. The idea has been on my mind since annyeonghase_yo and I were talking about the mandatory two years in the military all males must serve in Korea. I decided to write about it and being an army brat, I know what it's like to have family and friends in the military. It's definitely hard. My dad missed my birth because he was stationed away from us. So, this is just a fair warning, this side story is a heavy one, but I promise that the next one will be light and fluffy.
PAPER DEDICATION-MINHO AND JJONG IN THE ARMY
“It won’t connect noona,” I say as I click the button again.
“Maybe they just don’t have a good connection right now,” she answers, joining me beside the computer.
“Umma! UMMA!” Kyujong yells as he runs up to me.
“Yes Kyu?” I ask, my eyes never leaving the computer screen. Jazzy is still trying to get our Skype connection to work.
“Can I have a snack please?”
“We just ate dinner less than an hour ago and you’re already hungry again?” I look at my son and he’s nodding his head, “Okay, but only fruits. I don’t want you to get a sugar rush this late at night. You’re not going to be staying up past your bedtime anymore arraseo?”
“Ne. Can I have a banana milk then?”
“Sure,” I get up from the chair, taking a second to check on Taeyeon before walking to the kitchen. Kyujong was right on my heels and holding onto the bottom of my shirt. I open up the fridge and grab a small carton of the drink and hand it to him, “Stay by umma while you drink it and don’t make a mess.”
“Ne,” he follows me back to the computer, my shirt in one hand and his milk in the other.
“It’s connecting!” Jazzy exclaims and I rush the rest of the way there, Kyujong almost falls as he tries to keep up with me.
“Hey baby!” Minho’s face is on the screen and I feel tears welling up in my eyes. Kyujong climbs up on my lap and starts to wave when he sees his appa.
“APPA!”
“Hi Kyu! How’s my big boy doing hm? Are you behaving for umma?”
“Ne!”
“Are you helping with your sister as well?”
“Ne!”
“Good boy. Appa will be sure to bring you a nice present when he comes home since you’re being so good.”
“YAY!”
Jonghyun walks into the frame all of a sudden, taking a seat next to Minho. A big smile is on his face, “Hi baby!”
“Hi Jjongie.”
“Hey Taemin, Kyujong!”
“Hey Jonghyun hyung,” I look down at my son who is already done with his banana milk and seems to just be chewing on the straw now, “Go throw away your banana milk if you’re done.”
“Ne,” he jumps off my lap and run to the kitchen.
“Kyu, can you go get Junghee and Buggy? Tell them their appa is calling,” Jazzy says to the small boy just as he’s returning.
“Okay! Be right back! Don’t hang up yet appa!” he yells and runs in the direction of the bedrooms.
“I won’t son,” Minho responds, “How have you been honey?”
“I’ve been missing you like crazy,” I tell him.
“I miss you all too. Where’s my baby girl?”
“She’s over in the carrier sleeping. Want me to go get her?”
“No need. Let her sleep.”
“She’s getting so big.”
“I know. I got your package a few days ago and I can tell from the pictures that she’s definitely growing fast.”
“APPA!” we hear Junghee screams in excitement.
“Hi princess! Appa misses you!” Jonghyun waves and Junghee is waving back like crazy. Yoogeun strolls in a few seconds later, hands stuffed in his pocket, “Hi Yoogeunnie.”
“Hi appa. When are you going to come home for good?”
“We already talked about this. I won’t be back until the end of next year. I’m sorry Buggy.”
“I see.”
“But don’t worry, time will fly fast.”
“It’s not me that I’m worried about. It’s umma and Junghee. They miss you a lot. I miss you too, but not as much as them.”
We all talk for the next ten minutes, catching our husbands up on what they have been missing. The sporting events, the dance recitals, and school. I didn’t know that having your husband deployed would be this hard. I’m so glad that I was able to convince Jazzy to move in with me until both of them were home again. We were each other’s gusbands (girlfriend+husband) while our real husbands served their mandatory military time. Thankfully they were both called at the same time and were miraculously in the same platoon as well.
Key was lucky that when Onew was in the military, nothing serious was going on. But right now there was a major conflict going on between us and North Korea. It has only been a couple months since their deployment, but it’s been the longest months ever. What made it worst was that we couldn’t even talk to them every day because they didn’t know if they would be able to get to a phone at all. Jazzy told me she hated it more when they were just at basic training and would call us at a certain time each day. Her reasoning was that she would worry more if they didn’t call at the designated time, afraid that something might have happened to them. I guess she had a point. But I thought not talking to them at all was harder. I definitely have a higher respect for the couples who have a spouse in the military permanently. It definitely wasn’t an easy life. It was one that you had to learn to take one day at a time and a lot of the time your spouse wasn’t even there on those days.
I was worried about Jazzy though. She is currently 20 weeks pregnant with twins and by the looks of it, Jonghyun wasn’t going to be home for their birth. I can’t even begin to imagine the emotions she’s having with her hormones going all crazy. I’ve been through two pregnancies myself to know the effects of heightened hormones in your body. I would say this is like the time she was pregnant with Yoogeun, but it isn’t. Jonghyun was just a phone call away then, now he’s far from it. I do have to admit that she has been taking it quite well. But I’m still waiting for the day when she completely breaks down. I hope that day never comes.
*~*
I’m sitting on the couch feeding Taeyeon when I hear the door to the garage open. I’m a little confused when I don’t hear the normal influx of noise fill my quiet house. I lean over just enough to see why and see Jazzy walk in by herself, no kids in tow.
“Hey noona, where are the kids?” I ask her just as she’s placing her bag on the counter.
“Across the street at Onew and Key oppa’s,” she answers, taking a seat beside me. She holds out a finger and Taeyeon immediately grabs hold of it with her tiny hand.
“Oh I see. How did the meeting with Yoogeun’s teacher go?” I pull the now empty bottle out of my baby’s mouth and then position her on my shoulder to burp her.
“It was fine. He’s doing well in school, a little on the talkative side but that’s not surprising considering who his appa is.”
“True,” Taeyeon let’s out a rather loud burp and we both crack up laughing, “Such a big burp from such a tiny baby.”
“I missed his call,” Jazzy says out of the blue, resting her head on my shoulder, “Neither one of us have heard from them in a day and I miss his call. So please tell me that Minho called you.”
“No,” I pull my phone out of my pocket to double check, “Nope, he hasn’t.”
“They must not have had the time. Jjongie called in the middle of the meeting. And the only reason I knew was because I felt my phone vibrating and just as I got it out to check the display it stopped. I was hoping he’d call right back like he normally does, but he didn’t. I would’ve left right in the middle if he did.”
“And Minho didn’t even try to call me at all. So yeah, they must not have had the time to make more than one call.”
“Yeah.”
I get up and place Taeyeon in her carrier before taking a seat next to Jazzy again. She changes her position so that her head is in my lap and the rest of her body is stretched out on the couch. She looked exhausted. I start to run my fingers through her hair and she’s rubbing her belly.
“I hope one of them calls tonight.”
“Me too noona, me too.”
*~*
“Noona,” I say as we’re driving home from the market. All our kids were asleep in the back seat, except for Yoogeun who was at soccer practice.
“Yeah?”
“It’s been four days since we’ve heard from either of them. This is the longest we’ve ever gone without talking to them.”
“I know Taeminnie and it worries me,” she starts to rub her belly, a habit that I’ve realized she does when she’s nervous.
“Me too. We haven’t even gotten any e-mails either. I just want to know that they’re okay. That’s all and I’ll be happy. What makes it worst is that, Kyujong and Junghee’s birthdays are next week and it’ll be their first birthday without their appas.”
“Yeah and hopefully it’ll be their last as well. Jjongie isn’t even going to be here for the birth of our twins. It sucks,” she let’s out a deep sigh.
I reach over and grab her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, “I can’t imagine how hard it is for you noona. I mean it’s hard for me because of Taeyeon. She’s growing so fast and I know that Minho wants to be here to witness it. It sucks that she’s barely spent very much time with him. I’m afraid she’s not going to remember him when he gets back.”
“Oh I’m sure she will. Babies know who their parents are regardless of whether or not they see them on a daily basis. Look at Yoogeun, he knew that Jjongie was his appa when he was still a baby. I think they just get a special feeling when they’re in their parents’ arms.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I know I’m right.”
We get back to the house and I pull into the garage. Jazzy and I simultaneously open both of the back doors and start to unbuckle our children. Junghee gives a soft whine when her mom starts to lift her out of her seat, but quickly rests her head on her mom’s shoulder once she’s safely in the arms of the other. I look at Jazzy between the seats and then down at my own children.
“Here, I’ll come over and get Kyujong and then you can get Taeyeon,” she says to me.
“You sure you should be carrying both of them?” I ask, “How about you go set down Junghee and then come back to get Kyujong?”
“That works too. I’ll be right back,” she disappears in the house and then quickly comes back about two minutes later. I move aside and she leans into the car and lifts Kyujong out of his carseat. He’s dead asleep, not even realizing that he’s being carried. He can sleep like a rock, just like his appa. I then climb in and undo Taeyeon’s carseat before lifting it out of the car and following Jazzy inside. She has the futon set up on the floor and Junghee sleeping peacefully on top of it. She places Kyujong on the pillow beside her and I place Taeyeon and her carrier beside them.
“Okay, now to get the groceries. Hopefully none of them wake up,” I say and we spend the next ten minutes going back and forth between the car and kitchen, grocery bags loaded in our hands, “What should we cook for dinner?”
“I don’t know. Is Gwiboon still on her vegetarian kick?” Jazzy asks. Onew, Key, and their kids were coming over for dinner tonight and we wanted to make sure we made something that everyone would eat. Our kids as well as Eli weren’t hard to cook for, they pretty much ate whatever we put in front of them. However, Gwiboon recently decided that she was a vegetarian after watching some video about animal slaughter houses.
“Maybe I should text Key umma and ask,” I pull out my phone and send him a quick text to which he responds a minute later telling me that she gave up on it. She missed eating chicken apparently. Who knew Onew’s chicken mania could be inherited, “Nope, not a vegetarian anymore. She missed chicken.”
“Of course. Like father like daughter. I’m sure Eli will become a chicken maniac soon as well,” Jazzy laughs as she starts to load up the fridge with groceries, “So perhaps Chicken Parmesan?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“UMMAAAAAA!” Junghee cries from the living room.
“Oh and there’s the first kid,” Jazzy sighs and leaves the kitchen to get her daughter. She comes back with Junghee snuggled into her chest, fresh tears falling from her eyes, and her thumb in her mouth.
“Junghee-yah,” I say as I wipe her tears with the back of my hand, “Do you want a snack?”
“Shiro!” she yells and jerks away from me, burying her face in her mom’s neck. She was definitely a brat when she woke up from her naps.
“Little, you don’t speak like that to adults,” Jazzy says to the little girl, “Now you say sorry.”
“Mianhe,” she mumbles.
“It’s okay Little,” I say and I pat her head. I turn back to the remaining bags and finish putting them away. Jazzy tries to help, but is hindered by the little girl in her arms. Right when I’m putting away the last box of cereal, a sleepy Kyujong wanders into the room rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. I crotch down and he walks into my arms, taking up a position much like the one Junghee is in with her mom, “Good morning Kyu. Did you have a nice nap?”
He nods his head.
“Do you want a snack?”
He nods his head.
“Okay, let’s sit you down at the table and umma will get you a snack. What about you Little? Are you ready for a snack now?”
She looks at me and nods. Jazzy walks over to the table and sets her daughter down in the chair beside my son, “You get their snacks ready and I’ll start dinner.”
“Okay,” I grab a banana and apple from the basket on the counter and start to cut them up. I distribute the pieces equally between a green and purple plate, “Do you guys want juice or milk?”
“Juice!” they both scream. I grab a couple juices from the pantry before taking their snack to them.
“What do you say?” Jazzy asks as she sets up the flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs for the chicken.
“Thank you!” they both exclaim and then start to eat their fruit. I walk back to the living room and grab Taeyeon’s carrier, I’m surprised she’s still asleep. I wasn’t going to complain though, she hasn’t been sleeping through the night lately, so this long nap would do her good. I place the carrier on top of the table so that all our children were now in the same room and we could keep an eye on them. I can’t help but think about how much easier everything was when our husbands were home. They were able to take care of the kids while we cooked and we didn’t have to worry about anything but dinner.
*~*
After dinner, we’re all in the living room. The kids are busy watching a movie as the adults talk.
“Still no word?” Onew asks.
“No, not even an e-mail,” I reply.
“I’m sure they’re okay,” he says, but I pick up the hint of worry in his voice.
“I’m so glad that we’ve already been through that yeobo,” Key rubs his husband’s leg, “It’s definitely hard.”
“Yeah,” Jazzy agrees, “It’s hard alright.”
“Anyways, how was the doctor visit yesterday?”
“Good. Both babies are doing great, growing just like they’re supposed to. I should have no problem carrying them to full term. I just wish Jjongie would be here for their birth.”
“I know sweetie, I know,” Key gives her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Actually at this point I just want to hear his voice telling me that him and Minho are okay,” and as if on cue, her cell phone starts to ring. I know that it’s Jonghyun by the smile that lights up her face.
“Baby!” she exclaims, phone up to her ear, “I’m so glad that you called. It’s been four days, Taemin and I were starting to worry. Well no, we were worrying… I know… What?... No, why?... What do you mean?...”
We’re all studying her face. I’m a little worried with how serious it got all of a sudden. It isn’t helping that her side of the conversation seems to be pretty serious as well.
“Do you mean there’s three of you there or three of you left?” my heart instantly drops, “Is Minho there?... Oh thank god… We’re all fine, don’t worry about us. Are you two okay?... Well it’s getting late here, are you going to call tonight? Should I sleep with my phone?... Okay… I love you too… Talk to you in a little bit.”
And their phone call is over just as soon as it begins. I’m clutching her hand as she stares at her phone. This couldn’t be good.
“Umma, was that appa on the phone?” Yoogeun is walking towards us, a serious look on his face.
“Yes Buggy.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Why don’t you take Junghee and Kyujong and get ready for bed. It’s late. Once Onew appa, Key umma, Gwiboonie, and Eli go home it’ll be bedtime.”
“Umma…”
“Go Buggy,” Junghee takes that moment to run to Jazzy, “Little, go with your brother and get ready for bed hm?”
“You to Kyu,” I say and he walks over to me, rubbing at his eyes. I know he’s tired and I’m sure he’ll fall asleep once his head hits the pillow.
“Gwiboonie,” Key says and his daughter turns to face him, “Take your brother home and get ready for bed too. Appa and I will be home to tuck you both in shortly.”
“Ne umma. Come on Eli,” she grabs the little boy’s hand and they come to us to say good-bye. We get a hug and kiss from both before they walk out of the door and walk across the street. Onew is standing at the window, watching them to make sure they get there safely. He joins us again once they’re safely inside.
“Buggy,” Jazzy says and her son is giving her a concerned look, “Go. It’s bedtime. We’ll be up shortly.”
“Okay,” he says reluctantly, he takes a kid in each hand and heads for the bedrooms. He looks over his shoulder once, worried look still on his face.
“Yoogeun hyung,” Kyujong says up to the older, “Can I sleep with you tonight? PLEASE!”
“Oh me too oppa! Junghee too!” his little sister shouts.
“Sure.”
We all watch them walk further down the hall, I turn to the carrier beside me and place Taeyeon down in it. She must have fallen asleep not too long ago. I hope she sleeps through the night, but with the amount she slept during the day, I doubt she would.
“Jazzy?” Key says, holding onto her hand, “What did Jonghyun hyung say?”
“He says that him and Minho are okay. And normally when he opens with that, something happened. He’s keeping something from me.”
“At least their okay though,” I say, “But what was that thing about three people?”
“He told me there’s only three of them.”
“Three of them what?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I asked him if he means there are three of them there or three of them left. He wouldn’t tell me. Instead he asked if someone from their company called us.”
“How many people are there in their platoon?” Onew asks.
“Twelve,” I answer, my hand is laced with Jazzy’s now, holding it tight. Now I understood why there was that worried look on her face and why she sent our kids out of the room. She obviously didn’t want them to hear this, especially Yoogeun. Although, I’m sure he knows something is wrong, “Are they going to call back?”
“He wouldn’t say. He just said he had to go and that’s it,” Key wraps his arms around the both of us and hugs us tightly.
“I’m sure everything is fine. They’re fine. Don’t worry,” he chants. Onew walks over to my other side and wraps his arms around us as well. We stay in the position for a few minutes. Even though I was surrounded by people I love deeply, I still felt alone and scared. I had a gut feeling after the second day with no word from either Jonghyun or Minho. That feeling was just confirmed. How could I not worry at this point.
“Umma?” Yoogeun says from behind us. We all pull away and wipe away the tears that we didn’t know were falling from our eyes.
“Yes Buggy?” he’s standing in front of us now, worry all over his face.
“What going on with appa and Minho appa?”
“They’re fine Buggy. Appa and Minho appa are both fine. They’re just busy so they couldn’t talk for long,” she says and pulls her son into a hug, “Now go to bed.”
“Umma, are you keeping something from? Everything isn’t fine over there huh?”
“Appa and Minho appa are okay and that’s all that matters right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Okay, now it’s bedtime. You have school in the morning.”
“Okay,” he takes his time saying good night to all of us before reluctantly heading to his room.
*~*
We found out that their barracks got attacked that night. Jonghyun, Minho, and Leeteuk were the only ones in their platoon who were able to escape. Minho wasn’t able to talk because he was busy treating the wound on Leeteuk’s leg and Jonghyun had to hang up suddenly because they thought they were spotted in their hiding place. Someone from their company did call us that night. He told us that there was a chance that our husbands were injured and currently MIA, but would keep us updated with any information that they found out.
Jazzy and I were both nervous wrecks for the few days after that night since we hadn’t heard from anyone. Onew and Key kept the kids at their house once they were home from school sending them home only when it was finally time for bed. We were thankful for that. We didn’t want our children to see the state we were in. Yoogeun was just as worried as us though. He knew that things weren’t okay with Jonghyun and Minho by the way Jazzy or I would dodge his questions.
The whole thing was really starting to get to Jazzy, I had to rush her to the emergency room when she started to experience really bad abdominal pains one night. Thankfully, everything turned out to be fine. The babies were okay and she was okay. The doctor warned her that the stress wasn’t good for her and in turn wasn’t good for the babies. She said she’d try her best not to stress or worry, but it was going to be hard. I spent the night with her in the emergency room that night. They wanted to keep her for observations before releasing her.
The day that Minho finally called was the best day of our lives. They had finally reached a nearby barracks and was safe. We both cried tears of joy, a huge weight lifted from our shoulders. We never had to go through that experience again and soon they were coming home for good having served their two years.
I stood there with all the kids, Jazzy, Key, and Onew. We were waiting patiently with other family members of the military soldiers who were returning home today. I look at my watch, they were five minutes late, what was going on? Suddenly the doors open and sea of camouflage is coming towards us. We all immediately start to scan the crowd for the familiar faces.
Jazzy takes off running, tears falling from her face and I follow her eyes. I can barely make out Minho’s head in the crowd and surely that’s Jonghyun walking, well now running, beside him. I start to run as well, leaving Onew and Key to watch over the kids. I see Jonghyun drop all his bags as Jazzy leaps into his arms, legs wrapping around his waist as they hold each other close. And before I know it, familiar arms are wrapping around my waist and lifting me up. I wrap my own arms and legs around him and start to places kisses all over his face.
“I missed you so much!” I say between kisses.
“I missed you too,” he says and captures my lips in a passionate kiss. Tears are falling from both of our eyes and I pull him closer to me. I never wanted him to leave ever again. These past two years were hell for me. I don’t want to go experience it ever again. I don’t think I could go through it again.
“Welcome home soldiers!” Onew says and I break away to see that they have joined us. I turn to look at Jonghyun and Jazzy and they’re still making out like crazy. I guess I couldn’t blame them because all I wanted to do was make out with my own husband.
“Gross umma, appa!” Yoogeun exclaims and covers both Kyujong and Junghee’s eyes, “There are kids present here!”
They pull away from each other and look over at us, a bright red coloring their cheeks. Jonghyun sets Jazzy down and they take the few steps to join our small group. Junghee jumps into his arms and Yoogeun hugs his waist.
“Appa!” Junghee screams, “I missed you! Don’t leave again okay?”
“Never again. Appa can’t stand being away from you all,” he places a kiss on her cheek and ruffles his son’s hair.
Minho sets me down and goes to the stroller Onew is standing behind and picks up our daughter before picking up our son as well. He goes back and forth between giving kisses to them. I smile and take out my camera to take a picture of the sight. This was how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be here with me and our children. And I wasn’t going to let him leave ever again.
“Get over here baby,” he calls out to me and I go over to them. He places a kiss on my forehead before placing one on my lips.
“Welcome home yeobo,” I say to him.
“It’s great to be home,” he turns to the stroller in front of Key that holds two young babies. One boy and one girl. Both of them fast asleep. Jonghyun is kneeling front of them, tears falling from his eyes.
“Minjung, Eunhyuk,” he says to them, “Appa is home.”
TODAY I DEDICATE TO YOU.