Blog

Jin groaned internally.  He could hear the mess his basement was becoming from here.  For some reason, he’d agreed to watching Xander and both of his siblings today.  If it had just been him and Luke, it would’ve been fine.  But no, they also had their one-and-a-half-year-old sister with them.  And that meant there were currently six little kids in Jin’s house.

Times like this made Jin so glad that Hobi and Joon were eight years older than Tae and Jimin.  It would’ve been a living nightmare to raise four kids that had been close together.  Really though, six kids made four seem like nothing.

The worst part about it all was that Chaeha had woken up feeling sick that morning, so he was watching everyone by himself.  At the moment he was attempting to make pancakes with Ella attached to his hip.  Jin could tell Ella would be like Xander when she was older.  She’d been talking his ear off since he’d first picked her up.  Not that he could understand a single thing she said, but she was talkative nonetheless.

Now she was making grabby hands towards the plate of pancakes.  Jin sighed and handed one to her.  He was ready for summer to be over with already.  He’d had at least two extra kids at his house every day, and that wasn’t even taking into account Hobi and Joon’s friends.  Thankfully, teenagers didn’t seem to need much at all.  Sometimes they’d even order their own dinner.

Seven and eight-year-olds were different.  They constantly needed attention, and if the rest of the kids were ignoring them, Jin was the one they went to for said attention.

Xander and JoJo had both had a birthday over the summer, which meant even more chaos because of how excited all the kids got when birthdays were coming up.  It did mean Jin occasionally got a break because the kids were at someone else’s house, but those breaks didn’t last for long at all.

It was now nearing the end of July, and thankfully that meant school started in just a few weeks.  Which meant no more coming home from work to find five kids that weren’t his in the house.  Chaeha had to be a saint to watch all these kids every day.  Jin knew if he were the one watching them, they’d all have gone home for good after the second week of summer.  This was why she was the preschool teacher and not him.

Chaeha walked into the kitchen as Jin was finishing up lunch.

“How’s it going?” she asked.

“I’m not sure how you do it.  watching six kids is hard.”

“It’s not that hard.  You’re probably struggling because you have to keep an eye on a baby as well.  When it’s just the boys, it’s no problem though.”

“Really?  I’ve had at least three kids come upstairs whining or crying in the past hour.”

Chaeha shrugged. “Keeps you occupied,” she laughed.  She waved at Ella. “Hi there, how you doing?”

Ella grinned and tossed her pancake at Chaeha, who laughed. “I guess you’re feeling well, then.”

“How about you?” Jin asked. “Are you feeling better?” he reached up and placed his hand on her forehead. “You still don’t have a fever, that’s good.”

“I don’t think it’s a bug, Jin.”

“What do you mean?  Food poisoning, then?”

Chaeha shook her head. “I think I’m pregnant.”

Jin gawked at her. “What?”

She shrugged. “I mean, my period is late, and I’ve been feeling bad on and off all week…it makes sense.” She laughed at the look on his face. “Not so ready for another baby, huh?”

“I mean…it’s not that.  I just thought we could wait a bit longer, so the boys are a bit older when we add another kid to the mix…”

Chaeha smiled and took Ella from him. “Don’t worry.  It’ll be eight months until the baby is born.  If I am pregnant, that is.  Besides, Kookie’s been asking for another sibling, hasn’t he?”

Jin nodded. “He has.”

“And if it makes you feel better, I’ll be staying home with the baby.  I’ll want to be here to see everything.  I don’t want someone else to raise them, and I especially don’t want you to feel like you have to work from home all the time.”

Jin sighed. “You really read my mind, didn’t you?  But what about your preschool class?”

Chaeha shrugged. “I’ll quit. I’ve worked there for seven years now.  And besides, raising a kid is a full-time job by itself.”

“And you’re ready for that?”

Chaeha smiled up at him. “Jin, I’ve been ready since I was three years old.”

——————–

Thankfully, Xander’s parents showed up for him and his siblings at three.  Jin had never been so happy to send those kids home.  He was exhausted.  Ella had been making a beeline for the stairs every chance she got, and Luke had gotten hit in the face more than once with something.

Now all three of the younger boys were gathered around the switch in the living room.

“I wanna play Mario Cart, though!” Kookie whined.

“But Animal Crossing is more fun!” Tae exclaimed.

“No!  Animal Crossing is boring!”

“Is not!”

“Ok, ok, calm down, you two.  You guys need to agree on a game, or else you’re not playing.” Jin announced.

Both of them pouted, while Jimin sat on the couch minding his own business.  It was clear he had no opinion on what they played.

“But we’re always playing Animal Crossing.  It’s not fair!” Kookie was whining again.

“Tae, I think you need to let Kookie choose today.  He’s right, the three of you are usually playing Animal Crossing nowadays.”

“Ok…” Tae mumbled.

——————–

“Jin…it’s positive.”

Jin looked down at the pregnancy test in Chaeha’s hand.  Here we go again.

“Guess it’s a good thing Kookie doesn’t like sleeping in his bed,” Jin laughed.

“Oh yeah.  We’ll have to remodel that room again.”

“It’s worth it.  I’m hoping for a girl, what about you?”

Chaeha smiled. “A girl sounds wonderful.” She paused. “Are you ok?”

Jin sighed and nodded. “Just scared, I guess.  I know…I know you won’t leave.” He paused.

“Just part of you is afraid I will.  It’s ok.” She wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “Your fears are valid.  It must’ve been scary being left alone with five little kids.  And depressing.  But you’re a fighter, Jin!  You got through it!”

He looked down at her, a soft smile developing on his face. “I hope I did an ok job with them.”

“Aw, Jin, those boys love you.  You did a great job raising them.  You’re still doing a great job raising them.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”

She kissed his cheek. “You want to tell the boys were expecting a baby?”

Jin laughed. “I’m sure the younger boys will be thrilled.”

——————–

“So, boys, how would you feel about having another sibling?” Jin asked once all the boys were seated in the living room.

“Are we having a baby?” Kookie asked, jumping up and down.

Chaeha laughed. “That’s right, Kookie, we’re gonna have a baby in the house next year.”

“Really?” Jimin asked, his mouth falling open.

Jin nodded.

“I’ll be able to tell people I have five siblings now,” Hobi laughed.

“I wanna go shop for baby clothes!” Tae exclaimed.

Chaeha laughed and looked at Jin. “Looks like we’re gonna be busier now.”

Jin was smiling.  For the first time today, he thought maybe that would be ok.