Unexpected | pjm

Chapter 5

"Pick up, pick up." Jimin muttered under his breath, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for Mila to answer the phone. He looked in the rearview mirror to check on Jiho, who was still flipping through the pages in his new book Jimin had bought him, pretending that he was reading it.

"What?" Mila's voice finally rang through the phone.

"Where are you? The conference was supposed to start 5 minutes ago."

"Calm down, I'm about to pull into the parking lot now. I had things to do."

"Whatever, just hurry up." Jimin hung up the phone and got out of the car. "Let's go Jiho!"

"Daddy, I have a question."

"And what's that?" Jimin began to unbuckled Jiho from his seat.

"Can Biwoo sleep over on pizza night?"

Jimin chuckled. "Well, I would have to meet Biwoo's mommy or daddy first, then we can see."

"But you've already met his mommy!" Jiho argued, confusing Jimin. He got Jiho out of the car just as Mila pulled into the spot next to him.

"Who schedules meetings on a Saturday?" Mila complained as soon as she got out of her car.

"Childcare centers, since they're kind of busy caring for children during the week." Jimin retorted, holding Jiho's hand as he led them to the center.

As soon as they entered the classroom, they were greeted by Eunsook. "Hello, Jiho!"

"Hi Miss Eunsook!" Jiho called out before running over to the dress up area.

"Nice to see you again, Jimin." Eunsook said before holding her hand out to Mila. "You must be Jiho's mother. I'm his teacher." Mila nodded, blatantly ignoring Eunsook's stretched out hand. Eunsook cleared her throat. "I believe this is the longest I've gone without meeting a child's parent."

"Well, I've been busy over the last few weeks. If you were a mother, you'd understand." Jimin inwardly groaned at Mila's rudeness.

"Oh, I completely understand, as I do have a child of my own."

Jimin looked up at Eunsook. "You do?"

"She's Biwoo's mommy!" Jiho called out, now dressed as a fireman. Jimin nodded, realizing what Jiho meant earlier.

"Would you like to sit down?" She led them over to one of the tables, and they all sat in the small chairs around it.

Mila looked around the room, observing it. "All I see is toys."

"Uh...well, yes. It is a preschool room." Eunsook responded. "Now, Jiho-"

"Do they just play all day?"

Jimin looked over at Mila, silently wishing she wouldn't start anything. "Well, we do have other activities they do, but yes, the majority of the curriculum involves playing."

"So they don't learn anything? Isn't this a school?"

"Mila-" Jimin started before Eunsook spoke again.

"Well, what is it that you hope for Jiho to learn while here?" Jimin is amazed at how calm Eunsook has remained.

"You know, stuff kids learn in school. Reading, writing, math, stuff like that."

"Well, we do have reading or writing activities everyday. And we do have a science center," Eunsook pointed to a table in the corner of the room that was filled with different types of leaves and flowers, "that we change every few weeks depending on what the children are learning. As for math, we do have math activities twice a week, so you don't have to worry about your son learning these things. Just because they aren't doing worksheets, it doesn't mean that they aren't learning."

"How's Jiho been doing with the new school?" Jimin jumped in, sensing that Mila was about to start a fight.

"He's adapted very well. He's still a little shy around some of the other kids, and doesn't approach them, but Biwoo has been helping out with that by always inviting Jiho to play with him."Jimin smiled at the fact that his son had a friend.

They spent the next 30 minutes discussing the best plans to promote Jiho's learning. "Well, I hate to cut this short, but I have to leave. Jiho, I'll see you Tuesday." Mila left, not bothering to say goodbye to the other adults in the room.

"Well, she's....something." Eunsook said as she and Jimin watched Jiho feed a baby doll.

"Yeah, she is." Jimin agreed. "So, this may seem strange to you..." Eunsook looked at him. "But, Jiho is really fond of Biwoo, and asked if he could have him come over, maybe spend the night."

Eunsook smiled at him. "And what did you tell him?"

"Well, I told him I would have to meet Biwoo's mother first before anything else could happen and....here you are."

Eunsook giggled. "Well, I can't promise a sleepover, but I can agree to a playdate, and we can see from there."

"That's great!" Jimin said, maybe a little too enthusiastically. "Every Friday, Jiho and I have pizza and movie night, and he specifically asked Biwoo to come over then, if that works for you."

"That sounds good. Let me know what time when you come to pick Jiho up Friday."

"Will do." Jimin smiled at her before telling Jiho it was time to go home.