Deen-Why Do You Cry?

'Mee,' I whined. 'How much longer will it take?'

'It's almost ready,' Mee called from the kitchen. I sighed and went back to watching cartoons on the laptop.

It was nighttime. Mee spent most of the day setting up the place. We still didn't have any furniture other than some utensils and a bed. Good. It meant I could delay studying since there was no desk.

'Deen, don't just watch cartoons all day!' Mee scolded as she came in, holding a hot pot. She put it on a blanket laid out on the floor. 'You need to study!'

'But there is no desk to study on,' I complained.

'You don't need a desk to study! All you need are books. Start studying after dinner.'

I groaned. I won't be in school for at least a week since there were some formalities regarding my transfer. But Mee won't let me slack off either. Being a kid sucks.

'Here you go,' Mee handed me chopsticks as I sat down.

'Why do we need these for?' I asked. 'I can just eat with a spoon.'

'When in Rome, do as the romans do,' Mee said wisely.

'We're in Korea,' I corrected her.

'It's a saying Deen. Meaning, when you're in another country, you should follow their customs.'

'Then why does the saying only mentions Rome? It should be, when in Korea, do as the Koreans do. Right?'

Mee looked at me incredulously. 'Just eat,' she finally said.

'Can we have ice cream afterwards?' I asked hopefully.

'No,' Mee replied flatly. 'It's too cold outside. You'll become sick.'

'Then a chocolate,' I begged. 'Please Mee.'

Mee gave me a stern look. I tried to look as innocent as possible, pleading with my eyes.

'Mee please,' I said once more.

She sighed. 'Fine,' Mee said. 'But you won't get anymore chocolates nor ice cream for the next few weeks. We need to save up.'

'Yaii!' I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air and began to eat. Mee smiled. 'Eat up,' she said as she got up to change the channel on the laptop. She tuned in to a Korean show.

'Oh!' She said, surprised. 'D3 are on.'

Oh dear lord, I groaned inwardly. And the fangirl has been unleashed again. Mee excitedly sat down to watch.

'And Joonjae sshi,' the interviewer asked one of the members. 'Don't you regret not going to the army?'

'What the he...' Mee started to curse but stopped herself. She always tried to minimize the cursing in front of me.

'What in the world,' Mee amended angrily. 'Why is he asking such things? Everyone knows Joonjae can't go to the army because of his nationality. Ugh!'

'Which is why, I have donated 100 million KRW to the government for funding the education of the slain soldiers' children,' Joonjae replied, smiling at the audience. Jeez, I thought. Could have just bought hundreds of chocolates with that much money. Grown ups just make everything complicated.

'That is so thoughtful of him,' Mee commented. 'He was always the generous one.'

'You don't even know him,' I said sarcastically. Mee ignored me.

'Taewon sshi,' the host said. 'How do you feel now that your ex-members have been released from the military?'

Mee went still. 'Soo-Yon and Cheng were released?' she asked in surprise. 'But why is this host asking these in public? What an attention seeker.'

'What's an attention seeker?' I asked curiously.

'Someone who deliberately seeks for attention to themselves,' Mee answered, her eyes glued to the screen.

'Oh, you mean like a kid,' I said.

'Yes. Only in this case, the kid is stuck in a grown up's body.'

'Of course I'm happy,' Taewon said politely. 'I have nothing but respect for my ex-members. I'm glad Soo-Yon and Cheng returned safely.'

'Hm?' Mee frowned. She looked at the screen with a strange expression. Then she lost track of her thought and dabbed her eyes. Uh oh. She is crying again.

'Mee,' I said. 'Why do you cry whenever you see them?'

Mee patted my head gently. 'Because, they gave me the courage to make the most difficult decision of my life,' she said softly.