A/N This story is inspired by Grey's Anatomy and a million little things. Warning deals with some current events.
"Min Jun will you play with me?" Ji Yeon asked.
"Not right now. I gotta do zoom class." Min Jun told her as Jin finished logging Min Jun in.
"Why don't you go watch Bluey until Min Jun is finished with school." Jin suggested.
Ji Yeon ran out of the basement and onto the couch. Jin followed her and turned on the TV for her.
"I watched all the episodes of Bluey, even the ones I already seed." Ji Yeon said as she stood in the entry way of her parents' bedroom two hours later.
"Go watch a movie or play outside." Jin told Ji Yeon, not even looking up from his laptop.
"Mommy said I can't go outside." Ji Yeon reminded her father as she remembered the conversation she and her family had had the previous week on the laptop.
"You can play outside in the backyard." Jin assured her as he looked up from the reports he had been going over.
"I don't want to play by myself anymore." Ji Yeon whined. She hadn't been able to see any of her friends in awhile all because of some sickness that was spreading all over the world.
"Go play with Cleo. We'll do something fun when I'm done working." Jin promised.
Ji Yeon ran to the living room in search of Cleo. She looked in all the usual places where Cleo liked to sleep, only to not find her anywhere. She checked the kitchen to see if Cleo had gone in there, but didn't see her. Ji Yeon knew Cleo wasn't in the playroom since the gate was up blocking the stairs. She checked all of the bedrooms with no luck.
Ji Yeon slumped down on the couch unsure of what to do next. She was tired of watching TV and tired of being alone. She reached for her tablet and called Dil.
"Hey what's up? Long time no talk." Dil said as he answered the call on the first ring.
"I can't find Cleo anywhere." Ji Yeon stated not even bothering with a greeting.
"Did you check all her hiding spots?" Dil asked.
"Yeah but she's not in any of them." Ji Yeon assured him.
"Why don't you ask somebody to help you find her?" Dil suggested."I can come over if you want."
Seeing Dil's smiling face on the screen almost prompted Ji Yeon to say yes, but then she remembered the conversation from before once again.
She had been playing in her room when her father had called all of the kids to the dining room. They all sat around the table with the laptop in the middle.
"From this moment on nobody leaves the house and nobody outside of who lives in the house can come in." MI Sun instructed.
Ji Yeon was confused as to why they couldn't go anywhere. All she knew was that there was a really terrible sickness going around making people sick meaning her mommy had to work alot.
"Uh Ji Yeon are you awake?" Dil asked snapping Ji Yeon back to reality.
"Yeah I'm awake. I was just thinking." She told him.
"If I can come to your house or not?" Dil asked hopefully almost dropping his tablet in his joy.
"Sorry Dil, you can't come over, and I was thinking that I wish my mommy was here. Cleo always comes to her." Ji Yeon sighed as she spoke the last part.
"I can help you look for her." Dil almost shouted. He was desperate for company as nobody was around to play with him. Tommy was upstairs on the computer doing school while his mom was doing the same only teaching instead of learning, and his dad was down in the basement trying to come up with a new toy.
"No. Thanks. I'm sure she's around here somewhere." Ji Yeon insisted hanging up the tablet.
Ji Yeon got up walked to her parents room. She stopped just outside the door when she heard a familiar voice.
"Mommy!" Ji Yeon exclaimed jumping on the bed and coming face to face with Cleo."And Cleo. I was looking for you."
Ji Yeon gave the dog a hug and leaned against her father turning her attention to the laptop.
"Mommy come home. I miss you." Ji Yeon said in a small voice.
"I'll be home soon. Why don't you go play with Cleo while daddy and I talk." MI Sun said.
"Ok." Ji Yeon said sadly sliding off the bed. Ji Yeon tugged on Cleo 's collar but she wouldn't budge.
"Cleo go." MI Sun commaned promptimg the dog to jump off the bed and follow Ji Yeon out of the room.
"As I was saying." MI Sun continued after Jin had closed the bedroom door."I'm just waiting for my test to come back and if its negative I'll be home tonight."
"I hope you get to come home. You look exhausted." Jin noted as he took in his wifes tired appearance.
"I gotta go." MI Sun said pulling her mask back over her face."I'll text you if I'm coming home, and don't tell Ji Yeon just in case."
"Don't worry. I won't." Jin promised as they both hung up.
Little did the parents know that Ji Yeon was standing outside the door listening.
"Did you hear that Cleo?" Ji Yeon asked the dog whispering excitedly."Mommy might come home tonight."
In response Cleo let out a soft bark running in a circle around Ji Yeon.
"Ssh, Cleo be quiet." Ji Yeon Warned."Lets go get a snack."
They walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Ji Yeon went to the pantry and began looking through the basket of snacks and not finding anything that she wanted. She then went to the fridge and opened it.
Jin decided to take a break from work. He closed his laptop and went into the kitchen. He stopped short of entering the kitchen when he noticed a trail of various snacks leading to the fridge and the door to the pantry wide open.
He walked over to the open fridge to find his daughter halfway in the second to bottom drawer attempting to lift half a medium sized watermelon while Cleo stood near by watching.
"What are you doing?" Jin asked starling Ji Yeon and making her jump.
"I want a snack." Ji Yeon told him as he lifted her out of the fridge.
Jin sat Ji Yeon down on the floor and lifted the watermelon half out of the fridge and began cutting it up into slices.
"Go outside and eat your watermelon so you don't make a mess." Jin as he handed Ji Yeon a slice and finished cutting up the rest of the watermelon.
"Can we do something fun after I eat my snack?" Ji Yeon asked looking up at her father.
"in a little bit." Jin assured as he put the watermelon in a bowl and made his downstairs.
Ji Yeon sat outside in the grass enjoying her watermelon. She stopped eating when Cleo came over and sat down beside her.
"I guess daddy forgot to give you a snack too." Ji Yeon commented as Cleo stared at her half eaten watermelon slice."I'll go get you some."
Ji Yeon went inside and saw the empty bowl where the watermelon had been sitting on the counter. She would have to find Cleo something else for a snack. She looked in the pantry but didn't see anything that Cleo could eat. She grabbed her tablet and went back outside.
"there's no more watermelon but we can share." Ji Yeon offered holding her piece of watermelon out to Cleo as she sat in the grass next to her. She had seen Dil share snacks with Spifi once so figured it would be ok.
As Ji Yeon and Cleo sat in the grass taking turns taking bites of the watermelon Ji Yeon turned on the tablet and called Dil.
"You found Cleo!" Dil cried happily when answered
"Yep." Ji Yeon answered as she took the last bite of watermelon and threw the green end in the yard."What are you doing?"
"I just had a snack with Tommy but now he's back at the computer learning stuff."Dil sighed.
"Why can't we learn stuff like our older brothers can?"Ji Yeon asked.
"My mommy said I could if there was a pre school program,whatever that means." Dil told her.
There conversation was interrupted by Cleo barking. Ji Yeon jumped at the sound accidently dropping the tablet in the grass. She looked over in the direction Cleo was facing and heard something moving in the grass.
"What's going on?" Dil shouted over Cleo's barking only to receive no answer. He hung up as he heard a scream and grabbed his backpack full of random items and hurried out the door unnoticed.
Ji Yeon didn't wait for whatever was in the tall grass to come out and eat her. She ran as fast as she could back inside as whatever it was jumped out of the grass near the garden.
She ran to her parents room for comfort only to find her father asleep. She didn't want to wake him since he had worked the night before.
Ji Yeon went back to the living room and was about to sit down when she heard a soft small knock on front door. She went over to the window beside the door and peaked out. She found Dil standing on the porch.
"What are you doing here?" Ji Yeon whispered harshly as she let Dil inside.
"I heard you scream so I came over to make sure you were oK." Dil informed her. He was greatful to see his best friend alive and unharmed.
"I'm OK. Now you have to go afore my daddy wakes up." Ji Yeon insisted pushing Dil toward the door.
"Wait." Dil cried stopping Ji Yeon from pushing him any further." I want to see what scared and I'm not even sick so its ok if I stay."
"Ok, but you gotta be quiet and leave afore my daddy wakes up." Ji Yeon relented.
"Deal." Dil agreed and the two kids shook hands.
Ji Yeon lead the way to the back door. Dil opened it and they both slowly walked out into the yard in case whatever was out there was waiting to eat them.
"I don't see nothing." Dil complained as he looked around the yard not spotting anything unusual.
"The noise was over there." Ji Yeon pointed to a patch of grass in between the garden and fence.
"I'll go take a look." Dil offered as he walked over to where Ji Yeon had pointed.
Ji Yeon watched Dil walk across the grass. She felt a little scared and jumped when Cleo licked her hand. She hadn't known she had stayed outside.
Dil looked around when he reached the patch of grass but all he saw was some chewed on cucumbers, a half eaten watermelon rind and flattened grass.
Dil walked back over to Ji Yeon."All I seed was chewed on veggies. Maybe what you heared was Cleo getting a snack."
Ji Yeon shook her head."Cleo was with me the whole time and she doesn't eat stuff from the garden unless my mommy gives it to her."
Both kids jumped as they heard Ji Yeon's name being called.
"You gotta go now." Ji Yeon said pushing Dil toward the gate.
Ji Yeon let out a sigh of relief as she watched Dil walk backwards out of the gate just as her father opened the back door.
"Can we do something fun now?" Ji Yeon asked as Jin approached her.
"Take Cleo inside and put on your shoes." Jin told her.
Cleo followed Ji Yeon inside and went to her bed while Ji Yeon put her shoes on.
"Can I wear my baby shark mask?" Ji Yeon asked excitedly as she finished putting on her shoes. She was excited to be going somewhere after not leaving the house for nearly two weeks.
"You only have to wear it when they deliver our groceries." Jin told her as he carried her to the car and buckled her into her car seat.
"Why can't we go in the store?" Ji Yeon asked when Jin pulled into a parking space and took out his phone to let the store know he was there to pick up his grocery order.
"Because we want to avoid people as much as possible so we don't get sick." Jin explained as best he could to an almost three year old.
"if I get sick can I see mommy?" Ji Yeon asked softly.
"You'll see mommy soon. I promise." Jin promised her.
"Tonight?" Ji Yeon asked hopefully.
"Maybe."Jin told her as he put on his mask as a man came over to their car with some bags in both hands.
Ji Yeon smiled and did as her daddy told her and put her mask on. She didn't mind wearing it because it reminded her of her mommy.
Jin popped the back of the car open allowing the man to put the bags in. The man was about to close the back when he called out."I got almost everything on the list except toilet paper."
"Of course." Jin sighed. He had checked all of the stores and none of them had any toilet paper.
When they got home the older kids were finished with school. They all unloaded the car and put up the groceries.
"Min Jun go to Phil's house and see if we can have a few rolls of toiler paper. Take your brother with you."Jin instructed.
"I want to go too" Ji Yeon cried about to run after the boys.
"We have something fun to do remember?" Jin asked picking Ji Yeon up and setting her on the counter.
"What are we going to do?" Ji Yeon asked.
She watched as Jin went to the fridge and pulled out some chocolate chip cookie dough and some different colored cookie cutters shaped like letters of the alphabet.
"We're going to make letter cookies so you can learn your letters." Jin answered setting the dough and cutters on the counter while he searched for a cookie sheet.
Together they rolled out the dough and began pressing the cutters into it.
Meanwhile Min Jun and Min Ho were making their way to Phil's house.
"Why are people buying a lot of toilet paper anyways?" Min Jun asked as they walked down the sidewalk.
"I don't know." Min Ho shrugged."Its stupid. Buying lots of toilet paper isn't going to keep the sickness away."
They reached Phil's house and Min znun knocked on the door.
"Hey guys whats up?" Phil asked as he answered the door.
The boys didn't have a time to answer before Howard came up behind Phil and began spraying disinfectant spray all over the boys who began coughing.
"Dad stop." Phil cried pushing Howard away." They're wearing masks."
"Can we have some toilet paper please?" Min Jun asked after his coughing fit.
"Sure. We got a whole closet full in the office/workout room that my dad thinks I don't know about. Be right back." Phil said and reappeared with a whole twelve pack of toilet paper."Sorry about my dad. He doesn't trust people who look like you."
"What did he mean people who look like us?" Min Jun asked as they walked back home.
"I'm not sure exactly." Min Ho replied even though he had an idea of what Phil meant. He didn't want Min Jun to get upset.
The boys forgot all about the ordeal when they walked in the house and smelled cookies baking.
Min Ho put some toilet paper in all of the bathrooms and came back into the kitchen.
"Can we have a cookie?" Min Jun asked as Jin pulled a second pan of cookies out of the oven and set them on the counter to cool.
"Yes but you have to help Ji Yeon with her letters before you eat it."Jin told him.
"Ok." Min Jun agreed as he picked up a cookie that had been cooling on a plate."This is the letter z."
"I want to spell my name with cookies." Ji Yeon said staring at all the different shaped cookies.
"Do you know what letter your name starts with?" Jin asked.
Ji Yeon nodded and reached for the j shaped cookie and sat it on a plate.
"Whats the next letter?" Min Ho asked grabbing a cookie that he knew Ji Yeon wouldn't need.
"I don't know." Ji Yeon shrugged.
Min Ho pointed to the I shaped cookie.
Ji Yeon placed it next to the j on the plate."Why does it sound like a e?"
"it just does." Jin told her."You'll learn all about it in school someday."
"Whats the next letter?" Min Jun asked.
Ji Yeon thought for a minute trying to remember what all the letters sounded like. It was hard for her to remember when she didn't speak everyday especially since she wasn't allowed to see her friends like she normally would.
"I don't know." Ji Yeon finally answered.
Jin could see that Ji Yeon was getting frustrated and so he spelled out her name in cookies so she could see.
"There i n" Min Jun told her as he pointed to each letter when Jin placed them in order on the plate.
"Spelling is hard" Ji Yeon complained getting down from the stool and going in the living room to sit on the couch.
She didn't even complain as Min Jun turned the TV on to Paw Patrol.
Ji Yeon soon forgot about not being able to spell her name when all the kids were called to dinner.
"We get pizza?" Ji Yeon asked surprised since they hardly got it and hadn't had it since the sickness began to spread more rapidly.
"Yes." Jin answered amused that his daughter would get so excited over frozen pizza.
"I don't want to go to bed." Ji Yeon whined as Jin tucked her into bed.
"I already let yo stay up past your bedtime. Its late and you need to go to sleep now." Jin told her switching off the light and leaving the room.
The only reason he had let Ji Yeon stay up later was in case Mi Sun came home. It was nearing ten and she still wasn't home. He hoped that her test had come back negative. He tried calling her only for her not to pick up.