Chapter 16 #2
“Well, LJ still isn’t very verbal, and Luna went to bed without eating. She refused to eat her Jajangmyeon because she wanted Stew Chicken for dinner,” he explains as his wife sighs, shaking her head. Raising her grandchildren was a tough task. She never expected to be doing it at her age.
“It’s all she’s wanted to eat since you made it Sunday.” Ji-ji shakes his head.
“She had it two days in a row; she can’t eat it every day,” Gran sighs, putting her foot down.
“I know, but the important thing is getting both to eat, which is why, Yeobo, I was wondering if you could write the recipe down for me? I could grab the ingredients tomorrow, on my way home from the laundromat, and make it before I get them from school.” Ji-ji suggests, offering his wife his best puppy dog eyes.
“Now? Nam Gil, I’m tired, and you have to stop spoiling those two so much,” she groans with disapproving eyes.
“This is the last time, I promise!” Ji-ji pleads, with a sweet smile. One that makes it seem like he’s telling the truth, but in reality, Han Nam Gil never stops spoiling the ones he loves.
****
It never occurred to me that my dream was real until I got older. I didn’t even question how we were able to give stew chicken for dinner the next day. I was just over the moon to have my favourite for the third time that week.
I haven’t thought about that in a while; my eyes grow teary, suddenly thinking of Ji-ji. The very same way he always tried to give LJ, Gran, and me everything, he would have done the same for the child Macy is about to have, the children I may or may not have in the future and even to Theo.
Oh god, he would have loved Theo to bits.
Now with teary eyes, I step away, letting the dish cook and look in on Gran and Theo.
“Like this?” Gran asks as she tries to copy the move Theo is trying to teach her.
“Yeah, you got it, Granny,” Theo praises with the biggest smile. The two of them seem to be taking part in the latest TikTok trend. Theo presses the record, and I watch them dance with the same grin on their faces. The whole display just makes my heart swell.
I want to keep watching, but if I do, we’ll end up with burnt chicken for dinner, so I focus back in the kitchen, but I can still hear and see them from afar.
“That was fun! Let’s find another one to do.” Gran says with her glasses sitting at the tip of her nose as she tries to catch her breath.
I look over my shoulder to see Theo half-hitched against her thigh as they scroll through Gran’s TikTok feed, when a voice I hear far too often fills the living room.
“I know her, that’s JJ,” Theo screams.
At first, I question how, but then I realise the famous Joan Walters is a name even young children would know; there’s no doubt Theo must have seen her on a billboard or a bus poster, if not, then he saw her on TV or social media.
Why would it be weird that he knows who she is?
“I know her too,” Gran says proudly, smiling at her idol on the screen, talking about her latest travel adventure. I can feel how excited Theo is to hear Gran say that.
“Really?? You do?” He squeals, as the two of them gush over the brown haired celebrity, I feel tears starting to form again and I don’t understand why at first but then I realise it’s because I’m not sure having Theo meet my family was a good idea, it’s made me grow even more attached to him and much like earlier on the bus, I’m already starting to consider Theo my family.
One of my biggest flaws is my tendency to form close attachments to others too quickly. I did it in my past two relationships and with all my friends, whom I can only call acquaintances now.
My unstable attachment issues have always been the root of my problems, and I can already feel myself doing it all over again. I take a moment to remind myself that looking after Theo is a job; I’m not his mother, and although I’m loving my job, this isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life.
All the things I tell myself while I focus on finishing dinner.
****
Soon enough, it approaches five, Gran is helping Theo wash his hands, and I finish setting the table when the front door knocks. As I head towards the door, the rapid padding of Theo’s feet meets me there, bouncing on his heels.
I pull the door open to reveal Macy, with a hand firmly pressed on her back, and LJ standing straight just like he always does.
Although he only remains that way for a second before Theo crashes into his legs, LJ bends slightly, looking at me for context as to who this random child was, latching onto him.
“Theo, sweetie, you have to greet people first,” I point out, but it’s hard to explain to a six-year-old that not everyone likes hugs. My statement was enough information for LJ to bend to Theo’s level and show him how to shake hands.
“Well, you must be the little boy I’ve heard so much about! I’m LJ, Luna’s brother. It’s nice to meet you,” he smiles.
“Nice to meet you, too.” Theo beams, copying the way LJ shakes hands, flopping his arm up and down.
He turns to Macy next, his eyes inflating like a balloon as he gapes at Macy’s tummy.
“You have a baby in there!” Theo gasps.
“Yes, I do,” Macy replies, smiling down at him when I can see how much she wants to bend down and hug him, but if she did, she probably wouldn’t get back up, so instead she gives me that same look I had the first day I met Theo.
The kind that expresses the fact he’s so cute your heart wants to burst.
“Can I feel the baby?” Theo asks politely, unable to take his eyes off her stomach, just in case he misses it.
“I’m afraid they’re sleeping right now, but I will let you know the moment they wake up,” Macy says, offering Theo her pinkie finger.
“Yay! Okay!” Theo grins, jumping up and down, making a pinkie promise.
Moments later, we’re all sitting ready for dinner, Theo and I on one side, Macy and LJ on the other and as usual, Gran at the head of the table. I don’t need to show Theo what to do next, as he’s already used to doing it when we have dinner at his house.
We all clasp our hands together and give thanks for the food like Ji-ji taught us as children, then I work on dishing out Theo’s portion as he tells everyone about his new food chart hanging on our fridge.
He practically bursts when LJ tells him he had one when he was little, even though I already told him the same thing.
All of us tuck into dinner and continue the tradition of telling the table what we did this week.
Gran talks about her exciting trip to the Dalston Market, one of her favourite days out, which she hasn’t been able to take until she was fully healed.
She mentions the word presents, and Theo nearly takes off like a rocket around the room, trying to finish his dinner as soon as possible to receive his gift.
LJ is next, telling us his company has decided to create the game he pitched in a meeting.
He can’t give us details, but we all know that it’s big news, and we all don’t spare our excitement and express how proud we all are.
Macy then tells us that she had a pretty relaxing week compared to the past, but I have a feeling that had something to do with my new job.
Although he refuses to interact with me, Surly Bastard must be a lot more relaxed now that he hired me, therefore repairing the disturbance in the force and everyone he worked with probably felt like they could breathe again now that he wasn’t roaring at them.
Theo is excited to join in as he sees it as a game. He told us all about how well he did on the pop quiz Mr Steven gave him on Friday. My family members stiffen to the sound of that name; they all knew the other side of him, but no one brought it up with the child present.
Then of course, next it’s my turn, but it didn’t feel right talking about Surly Bastard when Theo was sitting right next to me, and he’s far too bright not to take in anything I said and accidentally recite it back to Surly Bastard.
Because what six-year-old do you know can keep a secret?
But luckily, LJ can sense how much we girls were itching to continue our Surly Bastard gossip train, so once he and Theo are done eating, he takes Theo to wash his hands.
“Can you play Mario Kart?” we hear Theo ask him.
“Of course, who do you think taught Luna how to play?” LJ replies, which is true; my older brother wasn’t the type to give me an unlinked controller or play a game with me without teaching me how to do it first. Well, he only did it once or twice.
We girls wait until they come back through the kitchen and into the living room. As soon as the humming of a revving engine echoes into the room, Macy slides herself into LJ’s seat, closer to Gran and me.
“So?? Did you find the sex dungeon?” she asks a little higher than a whisper.
I know she’s been dying to know. I’d barely spoken in the family group chat for the last few days because I’m embarrassed there’s nothing to report, so when I shake my head slowly, I hate the way she sulks back into her chair in disappointment.
“What? Didn’t you stake out as we suggested?” Gran asks, letting me know we’re in too deep by her disappointing tone.
“I did! I tried, but he’s in there for so long, and you try looking after a child full of beans day in, day out.
” I plead my case as the two of them take a moment and nod in agreement.
They know how tiring childcare can be, and we sit back trying to figure out where to go from this, when the realisation that came to be earlier resurfaces.
“What is that?” Macy blurts, pointing to me. I try to bury the thought, but it’s too late.
“What’s what?” Gran asks, looking between Macy and me, feeling left out.
“N-nothing!” I mumble, trying to squash the idea, but it does nothing.
“No, Granny Mags, she had that look. She does know something, and she won’t spill!” Macy exclaims, folding her arms.
“May I remind you, I signed an NDA, and I can’t say something that’ll get me in trouble.” I deflect.
“When has a piece of paper stopped us from gossiping at the dinner table?” Macy rolls her eyes.