"I'm getting a new friend today from Korea." Ji Yeon told Dil as they built sand castles at the park.
"You won't forget me will you?" Dil asked packing sand into his green bucket.
"Of course not. You're my bestest friend even if you do like weird stuff." Ji Yeon assured him just as she heard her name being called."My mommy is calling me. I gotta go."
After leaving the park Ji Yeon and her mother headed to the airport.
"How do you know this lady?" Ji Yeon asked as they waited for the plane to arrive.
" Her name is Ki MIn and we met in nurseing school and you and her daughter were born on the same day. She has the same kidney problem that you do." Mi Sun explained.
Hearing this made Ji Yeon excited. She had never met another kid with her condition. She was glad she wouldn't be the only small one in her friends.
"It's good to see you again." Mi Sun said once Ki Min and her daughter arrived.
"You too." Ki Min replied."You remember Mi Cha?"
Mi Sun nodded toward Mi Cha."This is Ji Yeon."
The two girls stared at each other. Mi Cha wasn't what Ji Yeon was expecting. She was taller then her and around the height she should be for a three year old, unlike Ji Yeon who looked more like a two year old.
"She's not having growth hormone injections?" KI MIn asked in disbelief as they put the kids in the car.
"No." Mi Sun answered."I asked her and she said no more needles so we'll talk about it again when she gets older."
"Want to see my playroom?" Ji Yeon asked when they arrived home.
"Ok." Mi Cha answered and Ji Yeon lead her down the stairs while the adults caught up.
"This is my side." Ji Yeon pointed to her toys that lined one side of the playroom.
"Why do you have boy toys in here?" Mi Cha asked making a face.
"Those are my brother's and cousin's toys, but they're in Korea with my grandparents for the summer." JI Yeon explained grabbing her yellow shark that she got for Christmas and pressing the fin making it sing.
"Baby shark is for babies." Mi Cha told her grabbing the shark and throwing it against the wall.
"Oh." Ji Yeon said sadly.
"But it's perfect for you since you still look like a baby." Mi Cha continued.
"I'm not a baby." Ji Yeon insisted.
"Whatever you say." Mi Cha commented picking up the tub of blocks and spilling them onto the floor.
Ji Yeon was relieved when her mother called the girls for lunch. Mi Cha had made a mess of the playroom and only wanted to play with Ji Yeon's Moana doll, which she wasn't to thrilled about.
"Agi." Mi Cha whispered as Mi Sun lifted Ji Yeon into her Minnie Mouse booster seat at the table.
"I'm not a baby." Ji Yeon whispered back.
"I can reach the table all by myself." Mi Cha said taking a bite of her food.
Ji Yeon ignored her and ate her lunch.
Later that day the kids were watching Moana. Ji Yeon was glad they had at least one thing in common.
There movie was interrupted when they heard the front door open to reveal Jin and an extremely excited Cleo.
"I didn't know you had a dog." Mi Cha said standing up and backing away from a very excited Cleo.
"Yep. She got stinky cuz of a skunk and had fleas. That's why she had to go away for a little while." Ji Yeon explained as Cleo ean around happy to be home.
"What do you want to do for dinner?" Mi Sun asked coming into the room.
"Pizza. Please?" Ji Yeon begged looking up at her parents.
"Ok." Jin agreed as Mi Sun placed the order.
"I want chocolate chip pizza too." Ji Yeon added. She smiled when she heard her mother add the dessert pizza to the order.
The pizza arrived and everyone sat down to dinner.
"I can do it." Ji Yeon said when her father tried to help her into her booster seat. Jin backed up and watched Ji Yeon climb the chair attempting to sit down in her booster seat, but she was facing the wrong way and didn't have enough room to turn around. Jin turned her around and placed her in the seat. Ji Yeon sighed. She would prove to Mi Cha that she wasn't a baby as she liked to call her.
"Can I have chocolate pizza now?" Ji Yeon asked once she had half of her pepperoni pizza slice and some spinach cucumber salad."I ate all my salad."
"No she didn't, but I did." Mi Cha cried happily as she dumped her untouched salad onto Ji Yeon's plate when noone was looking.
"But I did." Ji Yeon said looking down confused at the ranch covered salad on her plate.
"Take one more bite and then you can have some." Mi Sun told her.
"But I already ate all mine." Ji Yeon whined as she flung the plate to the floor upset that her parents didn't believe her.
"I think you need to go to bed early." Mi Sun said getting up and takeing Ji Yeon to her room.
"I want chocolate pizza." Ji Yeon complained begining to cry.
"You didn't finish your dinner and you made a mess." Mi Sun explained changing Ji Yeon out of her clothes and into pajamas. After brushing her teeth Ji Yeon was put to bed for the night while Mi Cha enjoyed a slice of chocolate chip pizza.
Ji Yeon was awoken sometime later by Cleo yelping. She sat up rubbing her eyes."What happened?"
"I don't want a dog sleeping by me." Mi Cha snapped."Let's get up and play."
"We can't." Ji Yeon protested."The sun's not awake yet."
Ji Yeon was about to go back to sleep when she noticed Mi Cha walking out of the room. She didn't want any of her toys messed up so she reluctantly got up and followed her to the playroom. They played for awhile until Mi Cha stood up.
"I'm hungry. Let's go get breakfast." Ji Yeon sighed not noticing Mi Cha grab her baby shark. They walked quietly up the stairs and into the kitchen.
"We can't make breakfast. We need a growed up." Ji Yeon protested as Mi Cha began opening all of the cabinets pulling random things out. She grumbled and threw something on top of the fridge. Ji Yeon soon realized to her horror that it was her baby shark.
"Go get it if you're not a baby." Mi Cha dared her as she grabbed a box of cereal and went into the living room.
Ji Yeon pushed a chair over to the counter and climbed up. Cleo sat nearby watching the situation with concern. She barked when Ji Yeon stood on top of the microwave and wobbled as she tried to reach the top of the fridge.
"What are you doing up there?" MI Sun asked catching Ji Yeon before she fell.
"Mi Cha threw my baby shark on the fridge." She explained.
Mi Sun put her down and climbed up on the chair reaching up and retrieving the stuffed animal."Next time come get me or your dad."
"You wouldn't believe me." Ji Yeon whispered under her breath as she watched Mi Sun make some coffee.
Mi Sun and Ji Yeon began cleaning up the mess Mi Cha had made while they waited for the coffee to get done.
"Can I have some coffee?" Ji Yeon asked not bothering to hide her yawn hoping her mother would say yes. She knew her parents drank coffee in the morning to wake up.
"You might not like it." Mi Sun told her as she made herself a cup, putting in more coconut flavored creamer then was probably neccesary.
"Can I have chocolate pizza for breakfast?" Ji Yeon asked following her mother over to the table.
"Take your medicine first." Mi Sun told her. Ji Yeon ran and got her medicine that she had to take every morning before breakfast. She came back a few seconds later and Mi Sun measured out the dose and Ji Yeon took it with no problem.
Ji Yeon waited at the table for her pizza to heat up. When the pizza was cooled off enough Mi Sun brought it to her and went into the hallway to start a load of laundry. Ji Yeon was happily eating her pizza when she heard her parents yelling at each other. The next thing she knew her mother had walked into the garage slamming the door behind her. Ji Yeon was scared and curious. She had never heard her parents fight before. She watched as her father followed her mother outside and noticed her mother's friend hiding in the shadows with a smirk on her face.
Ji Yeon got up and went outside to the garage where her parents were still argueing. She climbed into the backseat through the open drivers side door and waited as her mother got into the car and began to drive away from the house.
"Where are we going mommy?" Ji Yeon asked quietly.
Mi Sun was surprised to see her daughter in the back seat and quickly wiped away her tears and answered."To see a friend."
Ji Yeon recognized the neighborhood as the one being where Min Jun spent his afternoons after school. Ji Yeon was confused as to why they would be going there until they turned into a driveway across the street. Ji Yeon recognized the house as the one she had stayed at for a short time when her parents went away.
They walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Lucy answered a minute later. Mi Sun had called her and told her what happened. The two had become friends soon after Mi Sun had started working at the hospital.
Lucy invited them inside and the two women sat on the sofa just talking. They didn't get to do this very often since both of them worked long hours.
"Can I have some coffee now?" Ji Yeon asked once the coffee had been poured into cups.
"Just one drink." Mi Sun told her holding the cup so Ji Yeon wouldn't make a mess.
"Can I have my own cup?" Ji Yeon asked once she swallowed her drink.
"No. Coffee is for grown ups." Mi Sun answered.
"Susie is in her room if you want to go and play." Lucy offered.
Ji Yeon left the grown ups to talk about what ever grown ups talked about and walked into Susie's room.
"Hi Susie." Ji Yeon greeted walking into the room.
"Hi. My mommy told me you were coming over. Want to play?" Susie asked.
"Sure." Ji Yeon said sitting beside Susie. The two girls played with dolls until they were called downstairs.
"Are we still going to the zoo?" Ji Yeon asked once she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"I forgot about that." MI Sun muttered. They had planned the week out, but Mi Sun didn't want to disappoint her daughter. She turned to Lucy and asked."Would you and Susie like to come with us?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I have to go to work soon and Didi is already expecting Susie over there." Lucy explained.
"Can we talk?" Jin asked getting up from the couch when Mi Sun and Ji Yeon walked through the door.
"We're going to the zoo. There we talked." Mi Sun stated taking Ji Yeon to her room to get her dressed.
"You know what I mean." Jin said coming into the room.
"I'm not talking to you." Mi Sun told him pulling a turqouise dress with Moana on it over Ji Yeon's head.
"She kissed me." Jin insisted following Mi Sun into the bathroom where she grabbed a hair brush and went back in Ji Yeon's room shutting the door behind her.
The car ride to the zoo was quiet and tense, Even Mi Cha knew better then to start trouble.
"Can we see the pandas first?" Ji Yeon asked once they entered the zoo and were walking by the pink flamingos.
"We have to walk through the snake room to get there." JIn told her.
"I don't like snakes." Ji Yeon pouted.
"I want to see a snake. I never saw one before." Mi Cha insisted.
"We'll find another way to the pandas." Mi Sun said taking Ji Yeon's hand.
"There is no other way." Jin told her looking at the map of the zoo."Going this way is the fastest."
"We'll find another way." Mi Sun argued walking away.
"What's with you two?" Ki Min asked.
"You know." Jin answered turning to follow his wife.
"Mommy I want to see the snakes. It's not my fault Ji Yeon is a scaredy baby." Mi Cha whined.
"Jin." Ki MIn called out making Jin turn around."My daughter really wants to see the snakes and we are the guests. Will you come with us?" Ki Min asked sweetly.
Jin sighed and lead the way into the snake room. He would let Mi Sun cool off.
"Can we get a drink?" Ji Yeon asked once they had been walking for awhile.
"What do you want?" Mi Sun asked as they walked up to the snack bar.
"I want that." Ji Yeon pointed to the panda shaped cup.
"Can I get the panda cup with lemonaide and a large raspberry tea please." Mi Sun placed their order.
They decided to take a break and sit in the shade sipping their drinks. While they were waiting they saw Jin and Ki Min coming their way. They ordered some drinks and sat nearby. Jin giving his wife some space so they wouldn't argue in public.
"Can we see the pandas now?" Ji Yeon asked as she finished her drink.
They began walking again until they came to the petting zoo. Ji Yeon was annoyed when Mi Cha wanted to stop and go in the petting zoo.
"Do you want to go in?" Mi Sun asked Ji Yeon.
"No." Ji Yeon answered stomping her foot."I want to see the pandas."
"She prefers seeing animals from a distance." Jin remarked remembering the last time he had taken Ji Yeon to the zoo.
"We'll go see them soon." Mi Sun promised.
Mi Cha took her time at the petting zoo making sure she stayed as long as possible if only to annoy Ji Yeon more.
JI Yeon sighed in releife when Mi Cha finally came out of the gate and told her mother she needed to use the restroom.
"I need to go potty too." Ji Yeon said.
"I can go in all by myself." Mi Cha boasted going into a stall while Ki Min waited outside by the row of sinks.
"I can too." Ji Yeon insisted.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Mi Sun asked standing outside the door.
"No. I can do it." Ji Yeon answered confidently. She climbed up onto the toilet, but fell in beofre she could even go to the bathroom.
MI Sun helped her out and got her clothes changed while Mi Cha laughed and called her a baby again. Ji Yeon felt like crying but held her tears in not wanting Mi Cha to see her cry.
They walked out of the bathroom where Jin was waiting for them.
"Hey look." Ji Yeon pointed."There's Dil."
"Is her your friend?" Mi Cha asked.
"Yes." Ji Yeon answered about to wave to Dil.
"You can't be friends with a boy." Mi Cha told her as Dil called out to Ji Yeon.
"Oh." Ji Yeon said sadly only feeling worse about this day. The only thing that would make her feel a little better is if she got to see the pandas.
Dil watched his best friend and her parents walk away. He grabbed Didi's hand as she lead him back to the tables where they were having lunch.
"Guys aliums took over Ji Yeon and her parents." Dil cried when he joined the other kids.
"Dil don't be redictulous." Tommy told him."Aliums aren't real."
"Oh yeah then how come Ji Yeon wasn't talking like she normally does? I couldn't understand anything she said and she didn't say anything when she saw me." Dil protested.
"That is weird." Kimi commented.
"Well then I guess we just gotta find out for ourselves." Tommy declared getting up from his seat.
"Why don't we just ask Susie." Chuckie reasoned not wanting to get lost at the zoo.
Tommy looked over to where Susie, Angelica, and his parents were eating lunch.
"She's busy eating." Tommy said."All we gotta do is find them and prove to Dil everything is ok and come back before they even know we're gone."
Chuckie sighed and followed his friends reluctantly.
"How are we sposed to find them?" Phil asked.
"Yeah there's lots of people here." Lil added as they passed a picture of the pandas.
"Before the aliums got her she told me she was coming here to see the pandas." Dil remarked remembering his last conversation with Ji Yeon.
"Then that's where we gotta go." Tommy declared leading the way.
He didn't exactly know where the pandas were. He then remembered the small colring page he and his friends had recieved when they came inot the zoo. It was a map showing where all the animals were located using a trail of pictures. He looked around noticing they were at the hippos. He pulled out the map and saw that they had to pass the hippos and then the elephants and that would lead them to the pandas.
"Come on guys. I know where to go." Tommy said leading his friends past the hippos and onto the elephants. They reached the pandas and Dil quickly spotted Ji Yeon standing near the glass wall watchign the pandas eagerly. He wanted to go up to her, but was afraid she wouldn't recognize being an alien now. Dil gasped when he heard her say something to her mother.
"Did you hear that guys?" Dil asked turning to his friends.
"She a alien." Phil and Lil gasped.
"I still don't believe it. Let's go back and ask Susie about this. Maybe she has a answer." Tommy advised his friends as he lead the way back just as his parents were finishing up lunch.
"Hey Susie can we ask you something?" Susie nodded and Tommy took her to a corner near the petting zoo that the kids were currently in."Dil thinks his friend Ji Yeon is an alien."
Susie bagan to laugh confusing the younger kids around her.
"She's not a alien." Susie started to explain.
"Then how come she wasn't talking like us?" Dil asked.
"Yeah we couldn't understand what she was saying." Lil added.
Susie giggled again before explaining."That's because her and her family are from another country where they speak a different language."
"What's a language?" Tommy asked.
Susie thought for a minute."It's how you talk like we speak English."
The kids still looked confused so Susie continued to explain the best way she could."People who don't live here talk different then us."
"Oh." All the kids answered. Susie sighed in releif when they finally seemed to understand.
"Can we go in there?" Ji Yeon asked after they had walked around the zoo and found their way to the gift shop.
Mi Sun noticed what had caught Ji Yeon's attention so they walked inside where they bought a white shirt with a panda on it.
"It's to big." Ji Yeon complained after they had paid for the shirt.
"You can wear it to bed." Mi Sun as Ki Min came up behind her to pay for the arm load of stuff she was buying for Mi Cha.
Luckily Ji Yeon seemed satisfied with the answer and they left the zoo with two very happy but sleepy children thanks to Mi Cha's early morning playdate.
"How can you let a dog sleep in your bed?" Mi Cha asked later that night when she walked into the room to find Ji Yeon curled up with Cleo all ready for bed in her oversized panda shirt.
"She likes sleeping here." Ji Yeon answered scooting over so Mi Cha would have more room.
"Well I don't want to sleep with a dog." Mi Cha protested shoving Cleo until she jumped off the bed."And you should sleep on the floor too. I'm the guest and I need room." She shoved Ji Yeon off the bed making her land on top of Cleo.
"I can't wait until you leave." Ji Yeon whispered under her breath. She would've said it louder but didn't want to disappoint her mother and not try to be friends with Mi Cha. She grabbed Cleo's collar and walked out the door.
Ji Yeon went into her parents room and made herself comfortable in the bed. She could hear her parents and Ki Min argueing once again. She didn't like it and wished they would just leave. Luckily a storm rolled in and dulled the yelling enough for Ji Yeon to fall alseep.
"The bed is taken." Mi Sun said noticing her daughter and Cleo in the middle of the bed. She thrust a spare blanket into Jin's hands and shutting the door. She climbed into bed but sleep didn't come easily.
MI Sun dreamt of losing the love of her life. Different situations plagued her dreams from him running off with Ki Min to him dying due to his job. She woke up with a start to find Cleo staring at her. She got out of bed and quietly made her way to the living room.
"Jin." Mi Sun said loud enough to wake him up.
"What's wrong?" Jin asked sitting up.
"I'm sorry." Mi Sun stated as a loud boom of thunder resinated through the sky making Mi Sun jump.
Jin pulled Mi Sun into his arms." I'm sorry too. Can we just go back to the way we were before?"
"Just promise me you'll never kiss another woman again." Mi Sun said.
Jin pulled Mi Sun closer planting a sweet kiss on her lips. He layed down still holding Mi sun close covering them both with a blanket."Of course not. You're the only one that I want."
Mi Sun soon fell asleep in the safety of Jin's arms reassured tthat he belonged to her and only her.
Ji Yeon woke up and walked into the living room finding her parents asleep on the couch.
"Can I have coffee again?" Ji Yeon asked noticng her father awake.
"When did you have coffee?" Jin asked.
"I let her have a drink." Mi Sun murmered sleepily.
Mi Sun sat up allowing Jin to get up and go make some coffee. Ji Yeon joined her mother on the couch.
"When are they leaving?" Ji Yeon suddenly asked.
"Soon." Mi Sun answered knowing perfectly well who Ji Yeon was refering to.
"Good. I don't like when you and appa fight." Ji Yeon said.
"I don't either." Mi Sun commented giving Ji Yeon a hug.
"This is how you drink coffee." Jin told Ji Yeon setting a mug in front of her."Not like your mom's"
Ji Yeon took a drink and made a face as she spit the black coffee back into the cup."eomma's is better."
Jin got up to get a new cup while Mi Sun let Ji Yeon have a drink of hers to get the bitter taste out of her mouth.
"We're ready to go." Ki Min announced standign in the kitchen doorway. After last night's arguement they had decided it was best if Ki Min and Mi Cha left earlier then planned.
Mi Sun dropped them off at the airport and decided to take Ji Yeon to the park.
"Hi guys." Ji Yeon greeted her freinds as they played in the sandbox.
"You're not a alium anymore." Dil shouted standing up and giving Ji Yeon a hug.
"What are you talking about?" Ji Yeon asked with a confused look as Dil back away.
"I saw you at the zoo and we couldn't understand what you were saying." Dil explained.
"Oh. I was speaking Korean." Ji Yeon told him."It's the way me and my family talk sometimes. Everybody talks like that where I come from."
"Want to build sand castles?" Tommy asked.
"Ok." Ji Yeon agreed.
They played for the rest of the afternoon until they were all called to go home.
"Do I have to be friends with Mi Cha?" Ji Yeon asked as Mi Sun tucked her into bed later that night.
"No. You can be friends with who ever you want." Mi Sun told her.
"Ok cuz Dil is a nicer friend and doesn't call me a baby." Ji Yeon said happily.
The End