Finest Jin

Dog Walking

Thursday was a hectic day. We were up and at it bright and early and still felt as though we were running behind. There was a school concert in the works and every student had been pulled in to assist. My oldest was a stage director, the next 2 were in a choir and the youngest needed a costume made for her role as "fairy" in a class skit. I was drilling my classes on their recitations and poems that they would share to show off their burgeoning english skills. My senior class had a whimsical piece in which a narrator spoke and the class replied. Selecting the main speaker was proving to be quite a task. It required a lot of memorization, and some verbal emphasis as well. I was suitably shocked when JinYoung approached to ask for the part. 

"Are you sure you can handle it? Some of the words are pretty tough. " He grinned. 

"I am always up for a challenge. I told my girl that I was doing the part and she didn't believe me." He shook his head as though it was a tragedy to be doubted. 

"That could be because you don't yet have the part." I looked the handsome lad straight into his dark eyes. 

"I don't technically have the girl yet, either," he admitted, " But I can do it, Miss Ay. Give me a chance. I will prove it to you. Please." He set his hand on mine, affixing me with his most intense puppy dog stare. I couldn't help but scoff. 

"Next Friday, if you can recite the whole bit with me, the part is yours. I will help you with intonation and emotion after. In the meantime..." I removed my hand from under his. "Mind your manners, and behave yourself!" He lit up.

"I will! I promise! I will make you proud of me, you will see!" He stared off into the space over my shoulder. "Imagine her face when she sees me centre-stage!" I snapped my fingers.

"JinYoung; class is about to start."

"Oh! Right, sorry." He raced to his seat, ever the eager student now. Through the entire class, he was silent. This was unusual and even his classmates were shooting him confused glances. When I walked between the rows, I noticed that the recitation was tucked under his textbook (which was on the wrong page) and he was muttering silently to himself, eyes closed. As I passed, I flipped the textbook to the correct assignment. JinYoung flushed red. The class sniggered. "Sorry." He gave me a sheepish smile.

"Just glad to see you paying attention for once."

When the bell rang, I went to my youngest daughters' class to remind her to walk home with Cher, then I went to remind Cher of the same. I found her in the gym, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. 

"The spotlight is too far back!" She shouted to the stage crew. "It needs to be forward more so the speakers are visible....How many scene changes are there?" I walked over to her, rubbing her back as I approached. 

"How is it going, stage boss?" I asked. Her pretty blue eyes were glittering with frustration.

"Oh Mom, they were going to put those tall bleachers up front here for the performers to stand on. Can you imagine? It is bad enough that our skirts are this short, do we really need to invite everyone to peek up them?" She ran her fingers through her red hair. "I made them switch to the wooden bleachers instead. Less...transparent." She glanced at her clipboard. "This is going to take forever."

"Sounds like you have it under control. Don't be too late, okay. Remember that we have a dinner guest." Her bad mood lifted and she grinned.

"Oh yeah. This is so cool. I will be home before 8. And I will bring all the others with me." 

"Thanks, Bear." I left the gymnasium to her authoritative voice directing the curtain puller.

"Smoothly! Bring the curtain across sliding, not jumping!"

I laughed and stopped outside the music room door. The choir was in full practice mode so I could not interrupt but I caught the eye of both Éowynn and Atticus and tapped my watch, reminding them to be mindful of the hour. They nodded. 

Once home, I snapped a leash on Thistle and we headed out for his walk. I was heading to the market to grab a few things. He was very amiable and proudly marked more trees that I would have given his tiny bladder credit for. The nearest market didn't carry any english ingredients, so I was headed to the bigger one a few blocks further away. It was 4:15. I was making good time. I was peering at my watch, not paying attention to the figure who passed me, then called out.

"Telly-ah!" I spun to face Jin, pulling Thistle up short. 

"Hello! How are you?" He greeted me with a hug. Thistle greeted him with a growl. 

"Hey! Do I get a hug too?" Now I noticed the second man walking with him, a brown jacket zipped up, earmuffs on, and a black and brown pomeranian on a leash.

"Ay, Telly, this is my friend, Kim Taehyung. Tae, this is Telly."

"Best friend!" Taehyung looked affronted. "At last we meet, Telly-Nim. I was serious about that hug." He held his arms out and I gladly stepped into them. He was tall, not quite as tall as Jin, but gave me a bone-crushing squeeze. "Oh!" He exclaimed after releasing me. "She does smell good!" Tae winked at me, enjoying the opportunity to watch Jin be embarrassed. He was looking off to the side as though he hadn't heard the comment. 

"It is wonderful to meet you, Kim Taehyung-Nim. Any friend of Jin-Nim is a friend of mine." 

Taes' face split into a wide, devilish grin. He looked exactly like an ethereal anime character. "You may regret saying that." He bumped Jin playfully.

Thistle was still growling, and Taes' little beast approached him, tail wagging. Jin looked carefully at my little dog, then accusingly at me. I started to laugh.

"Hey! He wasn't my dog...but now he is. Honest. And who is this little sweetheart?" I knew perfectly well who it was, but played the part for Jins' ego, hoping my conversation diversion would work.

"This is Yeontan." Taehyung scooped up the furry little puffball, nuzzling his neck with his nose. "He is my boy, aren't you, Tannie?" Yeontan looked utterly relaxed around the guys, while Thistle was hidden behind my legs, a growl the only indication of his presence. 

"Are we still on for tonight?" I asked Jin. He nodded. "Taehyung-Nim, you are welcome to come too. Bring Yeontan if you would like. Thistle could use a friend." Taehyung was instantly glowing. 

"Oh! Thanks, but I should warn you; Jin-ah eats a lot." I laughed, seeing Jin silent, embarrassed but not refuting it. 

"I hope so. If you can stomach my cooking, I would be greatly offended to have left-overs. I should get to the market. I will see you boys at 8." 

"Oh! We will be there!" I turned the corner just as Tae dodged a kick from his Hyung.