"Why did you bring a hampster to school?' Tommy asked Min Jun when school let out and they were waiting in line for the bus to pick them up.
"I didn't. It's our class pet and it's my turn to take it home for the weekend." Min Jun explained.
"Oh. Our class doean't have a pet." Tommy said."We take home a stuffed animal."
The bus finally arrived and the kids quickly found their seats.
"See you on the playground on Monday." Min Jun called when the bus stopped at his house.
"Bye, See ya." Tommy and the rest of the kids that Min Jun called friends called from their various seats around the bus.
Min Jun walked inside his house and set the hampster cage on the coffee table.
"What's that?' Ji Yeon asked getting off the couch for a closer look.
"It's a hampster." Min Jun told her opening the cage.
"I want to see it." Ji Yeon cried reaching for the small gray animal.
"No." Min Jun cried slapping her hand away and grabbing the hampster and going in the kitchen. Ji Yeon followed him to see what he was up to.
"Eomma are you scared of hampsters?" Min Jun asked mischeviously as he held the hampster out.
Mi Sun turned away from the stove where she had been preparing dinner and faced Min Jun."No. Hampsters are cute."
"Ok." Min Jun pouted pulling the hampster close to him. He was disappointed that he couldn't scare his mom since he had heard a lot of girls are scared of things like mice and hampsters."Are you sure you're not scared?'
"I'm sure." MI Sun assured him and turned back to the stove.
"Then hold him." MIn Jun dared holding the hampster out toward his mom.
Mi Sun carefully took the hampster from Min Jun's hands."Now do you believe me?'
"I want to see it." Ji Yeon called from the doorway where she had been watching.
Mi Sun knelt down so Ji Yeon could see the hampster up close.
"I want to hold it." Ji Yeon said reaching for the hampster once more.
"I don't think that's a good idea. He might get away and get lost." Mi Sun told her."You can touch it though."
Ji Yeon reached her pointer finger out but before she could touch it Cleo came over and licked the hampster.
"Cleo." Min Jun yelled making the dog back away.
Mi Sun held the hampster closer to Ji Yeon so she could touch it."Aw. It's soft and wet."
"You shouldn't be so mean to Cleo. She was being nice. I'd be more worried about Ninja." Mi Sun told Min Jun as she handed him the hampster."Go put it in it's cage. It's almost time for dinner."
Ji Yeon followed Min Jun into the living room and watched him put the hampster away. He then took the cage and put it in his room.
"Min Jun did you give Cleo food and water?" Mi Sun asked as she was cleaning up after dinner.
"I'll do it later. I have to take care of Herman." Min Jun stated walking to his room.
Later that night Min Jun put Cleo outside so she wouldn't bother Herman. He didn't worry about Ninja since he came and went as he pleased, not really coming inside the house much.
The next morning Ji Yeon went outside to get Cleo. She found her eating something off the ground. She bent down for a closer look and noticed some small square objects on the ground. She looked up and noticed Min Jun's magnet toys were still outside on the table where he and some of his friends had been playing with them. They had started building a city when they got called in to eat lunch. She didn't think much of it until she picked up the few remaining ones off the ground and placed them back on the table. She didn't want Min Jun to think she messed up his toy, so she quickly picked stuck the squares back together, so they wouldn't get lost and put them back on the building that looked like it had been messed up.
Once inside Ji Yeon noticed that Celo's food and water bowls were still empty, so that meant that MIn Jun didn't do his chore like he was suppossed to. Ji Yeon grabbed a step stool from under the sink and filled Cleo's water bowl. As she stepped down from the stool water spilled leaving a trail all the way to where Cleo's bowls sat. Next came the food which was a little easier. Luckily for Ji Yeon the dog food sat at the bottom of the pantry. She grabbed the scoop that was used for the food and filled the bowl all the way up to the top and a little extra since Cleo didn't eat anything for dinner. Just like the water, a trail of dog food was soon on the floor as Ji Yeon carried the food bowl back to it's place.
"What are you doing?" Mi Sun asked coming into the kitchen.
"Min Jun didn't give Cleo food and water." Ji Yeon answered.
"I'll have a talk with him later. For now you need to help me clean up this mess." Mi Sun told her daughter.
Ji Yeon looked down at the floor and saw the mess of soggy dog food she had made."Sorry."
"It's ok. Let's just get this cleaned up." Mi Sun said handing Ji Yeon some paper towels."We have to leave soon."
"Where are we going?' Ji Yeon asked as she helped clean up the mess.
"To the hospital." Mi Sun answered as she cleaed up the last of the mess.
"No." Ji Yeon whined.
"It's just for a check up." Mi Sun assured her.
Once the kitchen was all cleaned they got dressed and dropped Min Jun off Didi's house since his older siblings couldn't be trusted to babysit and they were off at friends houses anyway. MIn Jun didin't mind since he would rather play with Tommy and the others anyway.
"I hate the hospital." Ji Yeon whined when they walked through the doors.
"The hospital is the best place ever." Miju said as she met them in waiting room.
"You like it here, Imo?" Ji Yeon asked incredulously. She couldn't understand why anyone would like a place where you just got stuck with needles and had to stay in bed.
"Of course. You get to perform cool surgeries and save lives." Miju explained.
"I still don't like it here." JI Yeon grumbled crossing her arms as they continued walking down the hall.
Miju left to get back to her job and a few minutes later a pretty blond doctor walked in.
"Do I have to get stuck with needles again?" Ji Yeon asked upon seeing the familar doctor.
"Not today." Dr Robbins said."You just have to relax and let me look at your insition."
Mi Sun lifted Ji Yeon onto the examination table and helped her take off her turquoise dress.
"Ok. Everything looks good." Dr Robbins concluded as she finished her examination."Any pain for either of you?"
"No." Mi Sun answered and Ji Yeon shook her head. It had been a week since Ji Yeon had her kidney transplant.
The visit concluded shortly after and they picked up Min Jun and headed home. Ji Yeon took a nap and Min Jun went to play with herman.
"Does he do this at school?" Phil asked as he and Min Jun watched Herman roll around his room in his clear ball. Phil had come over for a sleepover after being at Tommy's all day.
"Yeah, Sometimes." Min Jun answered. Suddenly they heard tiny feet running down the hall.
"Min Jun." Ji Yeon yelled barging into the room.
"What's wrong?" Min Jun asked.
"Cleo is gone." Ji Yeon panted.
"She's fine. She's probably outside." Min Jun told her.
"She's not." Ji Yeon stomped her foot."You made her disappear cuz you only care about the hampster now and you didn't give her food and water yesterday night."
"She's here somewhere. Go ask eomma or appa." Min Jun told her.
Ji Yeon ran off to find her mother since her father wasn't home yet. She found her a few minutes later outside working with her plants.
"Min Jun made Cleo disappear." Ji Yeon cried.
"I'm sure she's around here somewhere." Mi Sun said standing up and taking her daughter's hand as they began to walk back inside. Along the way Mi Sun noticed the magnet blocks on the table.
"I told your brother to put these up." Mi Sun said putting them in the box.
"Well he didn't and Cleo ate some." Ji Yeon told her.
"Did you see her eat some?" Mi Sun asked in a worried tone.
Ji Yeon nodded."They're was some on the ground and I saw Cleo by them."
Mi Sun pulled out her phone and called her husband."Did you come home for lunch?"
"For a few minutes, but I'm at the vet right now with Cleo. I think she ate something. She wasn't acting right when I got home." Jin explained."They did X rays and they said she swallowed something. They're taking her to surgery now."
"I think she ate some of Min Jun's magnet blocks." Mi Sun told her.
"He was suppossed to put those away." Jin sighed.
"Well they're going in the trash so this doesn't happen again." Mi Sun said picking up the box and throwing it in the trash.
"Cleo's still in surgery. I'll call you when she's out." Jin promised.
Ji Yeon sat on the couch and glared at Min Jun as he and Phil made their way outside. They came back in a few seconds later.
"Where's my magnet blocks?" Min Jun yelled.
"You did make Cleo disappear. Some are her tummy and made her sick and the other ones are in the trash." Ji Yeon told him.
"Come on Phil. Let's go finish setting up the maze for Herman." Min Jun said sadly.
"You kow hampsters are kinda boring after awhile." Phil commented as they continued to watch Herman navigate the maze.
"Yeah. Dogs and cats are more fun." Min Jun agreed.
Monday came and Min Jun was relieved to give Herman back.
"How did things go with the hampster?" Tommy asked at recess when he noticed Min Jun wasm't playing.
"Not good. I made Cleo disappear." Min Jun answered sadly.
"How did you do that?" Chuckie asked nervously.
"I left my magnet blocks out and she ate some." Min Jun answered.
"We always have to pick up our toys when we're doone playing with them." Kimi commented.
"Us too." Tommy added."Spiffi eats anything."
That afternoon Min Jun went home and began cleaning the playroom.
"How come you're cleaning up?" Ji Yeon asked as she came down the stairs.
"Cause I want Cleo to come back." Min Jun told her. He then went to his room and Ji Yeon's and put away all the toys and anything else he thought Cleo might eat.
The next day he came home to find Ji Yeon sitting on the couch watching Lady and the tramp, a movie she normally wouldn't watch with a blanket around her.
"Why are you watching this and why do you have a blanket on?" Min Jun asked.
Ji Yeon put a finger to her lips and moved the blanket a little to reveal Cleo laying her head on her lap."We have to be quiet and let Cleo sleep."
Seeing Cleo brought a huge smile to Min Jun's face. He sat next to Ji Yeon and petted Cleo's head."Sorry for making you disappear."
"You made her disappear, but after you cleaned she came back." Ji Yeon said happily as she gave Min Jun a hug the best she could with Cleo on her lap.
The kids sat together with thier dog and enjoyed a quiet afternoon.
The End