Dealing With The Kid Mafia

After arranging my bed, I sat on it and closed my eyes. I tried to replay the entire day's happenings and realized that this had been one of the longest days I had ever experienced. As I was deep in thoughts, I decided to lie down and fall asleep. That's when I heard a continuous banging on my door. Opening my eyes, I wondered: "What could it be at this hour?"

I started towards the door and immediately I opened it, a woman carrying another woman entered quickly. She walked towards my bed and dropped the body on it.

"Thank you! Unbelievable! How could they all get so drunk?" The woman, who was Jang Sik's wife asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"What is going on?" I asked and she looked at her sister-in-law who lied on the bed completely drunk, before saying: "Ah, the thing is…"

The conclusion of her statement was implied by Jin Ho's question.

"Are you asking me to leave my room for these men?" Jin Ho asked as two heavily drunk men were also dropped in his room.

"No, that's not it. We are asking you to share the room with them", Jang Sik kindly explained.

"Is that even possible?" Jin Ho was getting furious.

"If not, you can sleep with the kids", Jang Sik told him.

And since I was also given such an option, I asked his wife: "Where is their room?"

Storming out of my room, I stood in the hallway. Since no one was around, I could express how I felt about the current situation. I said: "Wow, unbelievable. Just when I was about to sleep…"

"... nuisance came my way", Jin Ho added.

I turned around and realized that he was in a similar condition as me. "Where are you headed to?" I asked whilst staring at the blanket and pillow in his hands.

"What about you?" He asked as he also saw me holding the same items.

"Somewhere", I replied. "Me too", he said.

But after walking for a while, I realized that he was right behind me. "Why are you still following me?" I asked.

"I'm not. We just happen to be walking in the same direction", he replied and walked past me.

That's when I saw him moving towards the kid's room. "Perhaps, are you going to…" I was about to ask but the smile he gave made the confirmation.

"Damn it", I said and dashed for the door.

We both held the door's handle and started arguing. "I got here first", I challenged.

"No, I got here first", he insisted.

"Are you trying to beat me with your strength?" I asked as he tried to shove me aside with his body.

"No, I'm just trying to claim what's rightfully mine", he explained.

However, as we were pushing and shoving, a tiny voice asked: "What are you two doing?"

Another voice tinier than the first also asked: "Are you coming to sleep with us?"

We turned around only to see two little angels before us. They were so adorable and made me yearn to become a babysitter.

"Yes, I am", I replied.

But the older one said: "Don't. I hate it. I hate sleeping with others."

"Me too. Get lost!" The younger one was surprisingly ruder than his older brother.

The two kids walked towards the door and we both stepped back. The older one opened the door and the younger one followed him inside. We just looked at them in amazement. And the sound that penetrated through our ears was the most disturbing as these kids slammed the door in a very disrespectful manner.

Looking at Jin Ho, I asked: "What just happened?"

"Did those kids just disrespect us?" He asked.

"They're dead meat", I added. "Did that kid just slam the door at us? I think they need some spanking", Jin Ho added.

"That's right. What should we do to them?" I asked and he replied saying: "Let's go by Plan A."

"And what's Plan A?" I asked.

"Watch and learn", he replied with a smirk. A few minutes later, he knocked at the door and said: "Kids, please open the door and get some free cookies."

"Will they fall for that?" I asked and he said in reply: "I have been a kid before. And the thing kiddie boys can't resist is…"

"Cookies?" I asked but he replied: "Their curiosity."

Soon, the door opened and the older one asked: "Where are the cookies?"

Placing his feet in between the door and the room, Jin Ho asked: "Do you know where they sell some?"

"Aish this crook", the kid said and was about to slam the door. But Jin Ho told him: "Not so fast", and pushed the door open.

"Amy, enter", he said and I obeyed.

"So was that your plan?" I asked after entering the room.

"That's right. To bribe the kids. And it worked", he said as he closed the door.

After placing my stuff down, I asked them: "Kids, why don't you want to sleep with others?"

The older one began to explain: "Because…" but the younger one intervened.

"Shut it. It's not like they are any different", he mentioned. I guess he wasn't rude to us only.

Moving closer to Jin Ho, I muttered: "I think it would have been better if we had stayed in our rooms."

"I'm starting to have regrets", he said. "I feel your pain", I added.

"What's with you two? Are you lovers?" The younger asked.

Jin Ho and I looked at each other in disbelief. We were both wondering if this guy was really a kid or a grown man in a kid's body.

Trying to change the subject, I asked: "So kids, who wants to hear a story?"

"Me", the older one replied. But then, the stare the younger one gave was a preview of the reply I expected.

"Are we toddlers? Do you have a video game on your phone? Give us that", he stated.

"Yes, the game is better", the older one now changed his mind.

"Unbelievable", I muttered. Jin Ho took out his phone and handed it to them. "Alright, here you go."

Seeing their eagerness to play a game, I thought that our troubles were over until...

"Ahjussi, your phone is not working", the older one said.

"What do you mean?" Jin Ho asked and took the phone back. He tried to turn it on and realized that it was dead. "Why did my battery have to die at this instance?" He cried out.

That's when the mafia interfered. "Don't you have a power bank with you? You are so out of date", he said in Jin Ho's face.

"Don't ask me. Don't look at me", I kept praying but this prayer was pointless.

"What about you? Don't you have a phone?" He asked me.

"Somehow, I don't have it with me right now", I replied. I knew that this kid won't say anything good. But why did it hurt so much when he said: "So careless and dumb."

"Hey! You!" I exclaimed as I couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, you are staying in our house, stop shouting", that mini sized mafia replied.

"Did you speak informally to me?" I asked and he said back: "Yes, why? How else should I speak to a dumbie?"

"Dumbie?" I had never felt so insulted in my life. This kid had just reduced my life span by a third.

"Hey kid, insult her one more time and I won't care about being a guest in your house. If you think that we are scared of you, then piss off", Jin Ho showed his manliness.

"And what can you do?" He asked and Jin Ho gave off a wicked smile.

The next moment, Jin Ho asked the younger one: "I can't hear you. What are you saying?"

"Hey, Jin Ho, stop it. What if their parents find out?" I asked and looked at the older brother who asked his younger sibling: "Bro, don't you feel dizzy?"

The boy who had been hanged upside down and had his mouth covered, couldn't utter a word.

Jin Ho looked at him and told me: "Don't worry. Even if they press charges, I would pay the fine at court. But first, I need to teach these kids a lesson."

Walking over to his bed, Jin Ho placed his body gently on it and looked at the tied-up boy who hanged above him. He then said to him: "I will release you after I have woken up. If you make a sound, then I will never release you. Do you understand?"

He closed his eyes and shortly afterwards asked him: "Will you ever disrespect an adult again?"

The kid shook his head sideways in reply. "Will you ever use informal speech with an older one again?" Once again he shook his head sideways in reply. "Will you ever insult anyone again?" And the reply stayed the same.

Now in control, Jin Ho stood up and released him.

In their room, Jang Sik and his wife started to worry about us.

"Honey, what if the kids are disturbing them?" His wife asked him.

"True, I even get scared of them at times", he replied.

They both looked at each other and said in unison: "Especially the younger one."

Right after saying that, they got up from their bed and rushed to their kids room.

As we were inside, we heard a knock on the door.

"Who could it be?" I asked and Jin Ho went to get the door.

"Jang Sik's wife. What brings you here?" He asked and then realized that she was not the only one.

"Jang Sik, you too", he said upon seeing him.

"I was worried that the kids might be disturbing you, so I came to check up on you", Jang Sik explained.

"Not at all. Everything is fine", Jin Ho replied.

"Are you sure?" His wife asked. "Yes. Look at them", Jin Ho mentioned and opened the door. What they saw left them in shock. The older one was sitting before me and the younger one was on my lap as I narrated a story to them. They were even asking questions about the story.

Upon seeing their parents, they ran out. "Mom! Mom!" They happily exclaimed.

"Mom, can we sleep in your room tonight?" The younger one asked an expected question.

"All of a sudden?" Their mom asked as they never liked to sleep with her.

"Alright, come with me", she said and the family of four left together. Jang Sik waved us goodbye and we headed back into the room.

"Finally!" I exclaimed. "They're gone", Jin Ho added.

"It looked impossible to discipline them. Good job!" I congratulated him.

Feeling extremely tired, he asked: "Should we sleep?"

"Well, we have nothing else to do apart from that", I replied.

"Good night once again", he said this time round. I smiled and went to sleep.

After lying on the bed for a while, he asked: "Are you asleep?"

"Looks like you can't sleep as well", I replied.

"Want to talk?" He asked and I asked: "About what?"

"Everything that's happened. Like how you ended up on the bus", he said.

"Should we talk then?" I asked. Finally, I could share my story with someone who was ready to listen.