Taehyung

Me:
I miss you, Maya.

Maya:
I miss you too, Taehyung

Maya:
Drop by any time you're free, okay?

Me:
I will, for sure.

The theater falls silent, but my heart doesn't calm down. Before my thoughts could wander off elsewhere, a teacher walks up on to the stage with the spotlight falling on her figure, and she announces the commencement of the program.

Me:
I'll talk to you later

Maya:
Sure, take care 🥰

Me:
You too

Powering off the display, I slip my phone inside the trouser pocket and divert my gaze to the stage where the curtains slowly move aside revealing a group of dainty little dancers standing in a formation that resembles a butterfly.

The first two performances end quickly after which Areum's group tiptoes on to the stage in a straight line, each little dancer holding on to the shoulders of the dancer in front of them. It takes me about a minute to identify my daughter since almost all the girls are of the same height and weight, and they're all dressed identically in powder pink tutus.

However, once I spot her, I move to the edge of my seat and watch how she dances so gracefully. Her pirouettes that she keeps talking about all the time are on point, and the way she leaps and balances are all so picture-perfect, and my heart really beams and brims with pride and happiness.

It takes everything in me not to clap, whistle and hoot once their performance ends.

Once the girls leave the stage, I keep my eyes fixed on the exit door to try and spot Jang-Mi, and soon enough I see her heading towards the door.

Rising from my seat, I quickly jog down the long gallery steps and reach the exit door too and follow her down the backstage hallway where she's walking towards Areum's dressing room.

"Jang-Mi," I call out while running up to her, making her halt and whip her head around.

When I reach her, panting and trying to catch my breath, she turns around to look at me with her hands crossed under her chest and her head tilted to one side, her face sporting a look of total annoyance.

"So, you remembered? I'm surprised," she comments sarcastically, and my eyes lift to look at her.

Barely remembered.

"Of course, I did. Look, let's talk about everything later. Areum wants us to stay till Keira's dance ends. So let's go bac-" she waves her hand in front of my face, indicating that I should stop talking.

"She's been telling that to me as well. But I have lots of other things to take care of. I hope you know that lunch doesn't get prepared on its own," she scoffs in an annoyed manner.

"We'll have lunch outside. I promised her that we would stay till the show ends. So let's not break that," I try to convince her.

"You promised? So then you live up to it. I'm leaving now, and you will pick her up and drop her home. She just recovered from a stomach bug, and she can't eat outside. I don't care if you come back home or not, but I'm leaving right now," she pushes me out of her way and storms down the hallway and disappears from my sight.

I sigh in defeat as I run a hand through my hair and turn around to both sides to make sure that no one witnessed the scene that just happened here—luckily no one did.

Heading back to the theater, I occupy the seat where I was seated earlier and wait patiently till all the performances end.

I don't even know who Keira is and how she looks, but I still sit along for my daughter and watch all the shows.

After the last show ends, the entire group of dancers come up and curtsy together on the stage while standing in neat columns in the order of their height, which earns a loud round of standing ovation from the audience.

Had we left, Areum would have missed this wonderful moment.

The girls are all ushered to the wings after which a teacher calls out each one's name for their parents to pick them up from the side stage.

Areum's name is called out, and I rush to the side stage where she is waiting for me to pick her up. She turns around and waves to another little girl dressed in a white tutu, who I assume is Keira. I wave goodbye to Keira as well, and then we leave the theater.

Once outside, Areum asks me,
"Where's eomma? Is she waiting outside?" She lifts her head to look at me while holding my hand and walking beside me towards the road.

"Eomma wasn't feeling well, so she had to leave after your dance, bubba," I smile at her, but she doesn't smile back. Her face fades with disappointment, probably realizing that it was a lie.

"Oh-kay," she says, kicking an imaginary pebble as we keep walking. "Eomma already saw our rehearsals and said Keira also danced really well," Areum smiles a little.

"Yeah, you were brilliant on stage. And so was Keira. You girls really did amazing today," I squeeze her little hand in appreciation, and her face lights up once again.

"Really? We practiced for so many days, appa," she speaks excitedly.

"Yeah, I know, and I could see that. It was a wonderful show," I get down on my knees to meet her eyes once we reach the road and stop walking. "How about we treat you to your favorite egg tarts?" I tap a finger on the tip of her little nose and wiggle my eyebrows, and she nods vigorously, flashing a bright smile.

Taking a taxi to her favorite bakery, we get an egg tart each and sit down to enjoy the little treat.

I could have picked something else to eat, but Areum's stomach is allergic to chocolates and deep-fried foods. So, whether it is me or Jang-Mi with her, we always end up buying the same food as her so that she wouldn't feel sad or bad that we're eating stuff that she cannot enjoy.

Treats could always be enjoyed when she's not around.

We spend our time together discussing the day's events; the topic keeping her completely engrossed. She effortlessly downs two egg tarts, and then we head back home. Areum falls asleep midway, and I check my phone for any activity as I cradle her head on my lap, but there's none, and I sigh before putting it away.

What was I expecting anyway?

The taxi ride ends, and Areum is still sleeping. So I pay off the taxi and carry her in my arms, with her clinging on to me like a baby koala. She might be seven, but she's always a baby in my eyes, and even though she's a bit heavy, I would still never complain about having to carry her around when she's sleeping.

I knock on the front door while balancing my sleeping daughter who exerts her entire weight on my one arm, and I'm also holding on to her bag of things in my other hand. The door opens after a few more times of ringing the doorbell, by when my arm literally goes numb, and I walk inside to lay my daughter down on the couch.

"You're walking in with your slippers, and why did you let her take a nap? If she sleeps now, she's going to stay up late at night, and then it'll be such a big hassle to wake her up for school tomorrow," Jang-Mi shuts the front door and questions me, her anger reflecting in the tone of her voice.

"Shhh! Can you be a little less loud? She was so exhausted and fell asleep uncontrollably. She's only a small kid, and she still feels the need to take a nap. Why would we stop her? I'll take her to the park in the evening, and if she plays there, she's definitely going to get tired and fall asleep at night," I speak in a hushed tone as I take off my slippers and place them inside the shoe rack before untucking my shirt.

"And she hasn't yet had her lunch. Do you know how crank-" Jang-Mi rants on, and I put a finger on my lips and make a soft shush-ing sound to tell her to stop talking, and she does, but the noises that we're making causes Areum to frown and flinch a bit in her sleep.

"I bought her egg tarts. She had two of them"

"I told you she can't eat outside, and you still bought her junk for lunch? Great!" She flails her arms in the air and plants them on her hips.

SHIT!

"I swear, if she falls sick again, you're going to take care of her. And why couldn't you call and tell me not to cook anything? Do I look like a joke to you? I've cooked rice and the stew is ready as well. Who do you think is going to eat all of that?" She raises her volume, and this time Areum wakes up due to the complete absence of peace and quiet.

My angry frown instantly dissipates into a more stoic expression.

"We will have all of that for dinner. You can rest, Jang-Mi," I send her the fakest smile that I could muster up and turn to Areum who is sitting up on the couch and rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Bubba, do you want to change and wipe off the makeup? Appa will take you to the park at 4" I put forth a plan, and she nods sleepily and gets up from the couch.

I follow her to the bedroom where I sit by and watch as Jang-Mi speaks to her in a sweet tone, as opposed to the cold and angry manner in which she always speaks to me.

"Bubba, I'm sorry that I couldn't stay till Keira's dance ended. Eomma had to cook, and so I left right after your performance. But you were so brilliant on stage," Jang-Mi apologizes and kisses Areum's cheek before she helps her remove the makeup with some wipes and a makeup cleansing oil.

"That's okay, eomma," Areum instantly accepts her apology with a big smile.

"So did Keira's tooth fall yet?" Jang-Mi asks Areum, and I sit by wondering how I haven't even known who Keira is until today.

"Yes, it fell last night when we were playing with her baby sister. She hit her mouth on her sister's head while trying to kiss her," Areum giggles, and Jang-Mi too laughs along as she finishes wiping off all the makeup, whereas I have just now learned that Areum had gone to Keira's house for a sleepover last night.

Jang-Mi then sends Areum into the bathroom before picking out a change of clothes for her and leaving them on the bed, and then I follow her out of the room softly closing the bedroom door behind me.

She places the food on the dining table and proceeds to do the dishes while I wait on the couch for Areum to come out.

It is my fault that I didn't inform her earlier not to cook lunch for us, and given that we never give re-heated food to Areum, it is understandable that Jang-Mi is upset. And despite her telling me not to buy our daughter any outside food, I shouldn't have done it just to make it up for my absence this morning.

So, I decide to apologize to her.

Even though our marriage is now an almost toppled house of cards, I still have to try and hold together whatever is remaining in it because isn't that what a responsible family man is expected to do?

Note the sarcasm.

Tell me how you're liking it so far.
If it's moving a little slow, don't worry, the story will soon pick up some pace.
😍

Can never ever get over Pied Piper Taehyung.
🥵🤤🤤

Published on : 05/02/2022