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Minhee had a bright smile on her face as she went around the pet shop searching for her husband. Seungmin was on his phone when she found him, his eyes traveling along the array of kennels with a wide variety of puppies in them.
"Min..." Minhee called, grabbing the man by his wrist, her heart hammering against her ribs excitedly. "Come, let me show you something."
There were birds, bunnies, puppies, and other pets in metal cages as Minhee walked past each section. Seungmin looked over his shoulder and saw a staff member following them, a woman in her early twenties, who didn’t interrupt the couple as she already knew where Minhee was headed.
"Min, look." Said Minhee as she finally stopped, picking up a small kitten, about four or five weeks old, so tiny and of milky white color. "Adorable, isn't she?"
"A kitten?" Seungmin scoffed, crossing his arms. He knew Minhee owned three cats that she left at her parents' after she got married, and he was very well aware of her love for cats. This time, as strange as it sounded, Minhee agreed to adopt a dog like Seungmin wanted, without any argument, only to make a one-eighty turn at the first sight of a kitten.
"I thought we agreed on getting a dog, a puppy."
"Change of plans." Minhee's eyes gleamed as she gripped the man's arm. "Look how cute they are, Min. Let's take one home."
"No way, Lina." Seungmin shook his head. "I prefer dogs." The man pointed toward the area where he found the puppies, but Minhee was having none of that.
"Cats are small and cute. They take up less space." The woman tried to make her point while the kitten purred, snuggling up against the warmth of her dress.
"Dogs are loyal, and there are small breeds if you didn't know." Seungmin countered, trying to mimic his wife's voice. The pet store staff blinked at the duo, contemplating if she was allowed to talk, deciding to leave the two to deal with their arguments alone.
"Cats are independent."
"Dogs are intelligent."
"I've got a man who woofs all day; I don't want another one."
"I have a woman who's sassy and aggressive enough; I don't want another one."
"Seungmin, I swear to—"
"Mommy?"
The voice was timid, but enough to catch the attention of the bickering couple. Minhee closed her mouth as Seungmin turned, his eyes naturally casting down to meet his daughter's height.
"Bokkie find!" The little girl announced, jumping on her feet. She looked so excited that her long search for a pet had come to an end, a successful end. She reached her hand up toward her mother and jumped, her loose pigtails bouncing with each move.
"Bokkie find pet. Come!" Minhee shrugged and took the girl's hand, with Seungmin following without a question. Yongbok marched ahead, directing her parents into another section of the store, a place even Minhee hadn't explored.
"Slowly, Bokkie." Minhee gulped and told her daughter as they stepped into a corner where there were only glass cages, except for metal, each containing creatures she wouldn't even call pets. There were snakes, big and small, iguanas, and lizards as Yongbok skipped her way, excitedly waving at the animals, who only hissed back in response.
"Look." Yongbok proudly announced, showing the pet she wanted. Minhee took a step forward, observing the creature.
The pet Yongbok chose was tiny and stocky, tinier than the kitten Minhee wanted. It was so small that it would no doubt fit in Yongbok's little palm, a creature with black and red hair all over its body that looked at the visitors with its eight round eyes.
Minhee gripped the sleeve of her husband's shirt while Seungmin felt his breath being knocked out because there was no way Yongbok went to the 'shady' part of the pet shop and found her pet.
"A spider?" Seungmin gasped as he felt his wife shudder behind him.
"It's a tarantula." The staff, for the first time since Seungmin saw her, spoke, guiding them to the glass cage. "It's a friendly creature that's calm and doesn't need much space."
Yongbok had her eyes fixed on the creature with so much love, as if she had reunited with her favorite doll after a long time. Minhee smiled as the girl glanced at her, not at all genuinely.
Yongbok lifted the glass lid and stuck her hand inside, scooping up the creature before Minhee could step in and stop her. The tarantula crawled up her arm with its lank dark legs, and the girl giggled, much to her parents' horror.
Yongbok happily patted the creature as it walked further up, her innocent eyes observing her new pet's adorable acts.
"Hold, Mommy." Said the girl and extended her arm, the little gesture bringing panic to her mother. Minhee took a cautious step back, a subtle shiver running through her nerves. Yongbok, on the other hand, was awestruck, looking at the eight-legged pet, just like how Minhee looked at the kitten.
"We're not getting a—" Minhee began, glancing helplessly at the man beside her, Seungmin raising an eyebrow with a 'go ahead and deal with your own mini version.' look while Yongbok blinked at her mother.
"Mommy, we take him home."
"Him?"
"It's a male tarantula, ma'am." the staff clarified on behalf of the girl, and Minhee shook her head. "Your daughter has taken a liking to him, and she got him adjusted to her within seconds. It's something new; usually, he isn't friendly. I guess your daughter is different."
Yongbok happily giggled at the compliment, and Minhee was at a loss for words. It seemed like Yongbok had already gathered enough information about the spider from the staff.
It meant she was serious about the creature.
And it was concerning.
Minhee knew Yongbok's love for tiny things. For the girl, tiny meant cute, like daffodils, small car toys, her Auntie honey's hair clips, Chan's wolf doll, and whatever comes in a tiny form. Now adding fresh to the list was this hairy, beastly creature.
"He's cute." Yongbok giggled as the spider crawled up her hand to her shoulder, saying something neither of her parents could relate to. "Bokkie name him Tan. Bokkie's friend."
Minhee looked at Seungmin, whose gaze was already on her, their eyes talking. The male shook his head, and Minhee thought for a good few minutes.
"We're not getting a spider, Bokkie." Minhee spoke at last, glaring at her husband, who was not at all helping as the little girl shook her head.
"No spider, mommy." She said, completely missing the point. "It's a tae- tar- tan-" She pouted, looking up at the staff beside her.
"Tarantula."
Yongbok hummed with a wide smile. "He's a tarantula, mommy. No spider."
Minhee sighed as Seungmin stepped in, crouching to meet his daughter's eyes, his tone gentle. "We can't, Bokkie." He began, thinking. "No one in our family knows how to take care of a spid-"
"Tarantula." Yongbok said as she went to the cage, carefully placing the creature back inside.
"Yeah, tarantula." Seungmin took a sharp breath, correcting himself. She came back in a moment and stood in front of the male, extending her arms for him to lift her up, and Seungmin did what his daughter wanted.
"Bokkie take care of Tan." The girl said as Minhee ran a hand through her hair. "Bokkie is a big girl now."
"But-"
"Mommy and Auntie Honey say Bokkie gets what Bokkie wants." Getting a hint that her parents were likely to disagree, Yongbok pouted, turning her head to look at her mother.
"Bokkie want Tan." She stubbornly said, crossing her arms tightly on top of her dress, her cheeks puffing out.
Seungmin closed his eyes for a moment before opening them with a tender, kind of forced smile. "Baby, don't be-"
"Bokkie is a big girl now." She whined, trying again. "Mommy say big girls go to school. Bokkie goes to school with Channie; Bokkie is a big girl."
"We already told you, princess-"
"Mommy say no, Bokkie go ask Auntie Honey." Yongbok announced, taking out her trump card. She knew her aunt would never say no to her, and she very well knew when and where to use it to get what she wanted.
"I'm sure your Auntie Honey will give you the whole world if you ask." Seungmin said, trying his last luck, stealing a few glances toward the glass cage where Yongbok left her new friend. "But not that."
"Auntie Honey will."
Seungmin looked at his wife, his eyes pleading. Minhee closed her eyes once, assuringly, and placed a hand on their daughter's shoulder.
"Fine." Said Minhee. "We'll get one, but you have to wait and be a big girl, bigger than Channie. You are too young to take care of the tiny buddy you found." She said, looking at the tiny frown that was making its presence on her daughter's forehead.
"How big?" Yongbok asked curiously. "Big like Binnie?"
"Yes." Seungmin joined, Yongbok whipping her head to her father. "When you'll be thirteen, no, when you'll be fifteen, we'll come back and get Tan for you."
"Tan wait for Bokkie?"
"He sure will." Minhee says with a relieved smile. "He's your friend; he'll surely wait." Yongbok nods with a hint of sadness because it will take so many years for her to be as big as her big brother, and she can't wait to be that big. She cast her head down in disappointment, only for it to vanish as she heard a snake hiss from the side.
"Papa, snakes."
Oh, no!
Seungmin sighed for the millionth time, but he's used to all this, dealing with the mother-daughter duo. It's a usual song in his house: leave the mother alone for a second, and she'll start a world war; leave the daughter for a second, and she'll start the same world war, but make it a mini version. He's keeping his cool because, compared to what usually happens when they're out, this is nothing, and it can be dealt with; Seungmin has no doubt.
"Princess." He called, and Yongbok blinked at the male innocently.
"Papa, go there."
"No, Bokkie." Minhee began. "I saw parakeets there. Colourful parakeets. Wanna see?" She smirked, the idea seemingly catching the little girl's attention.
"White, red, green, yellow, and many more—"
"Blue?"
"Yeah, I saw a blue one too. Let's go there, yeah?" She asks as she took Yongbok from Seungmin, and the girl excitedly nods, leaving the thought of having creepy pets behind.
"-And- and Bokkie find him. He so tiny and cute. Bokkie said take him home. Mommy said no, Papa said no, made Bokkie sad."
Hyunjin was sitting on her bed as Yongbok kept yapping about what her mommy and papa did to her, promising a pet she liked and not getting one. Chan was dozing off in his mother's lap, fingers tight around Hyunjin's white nightgown.
Hyunjin's back was leaned and relaxed against the pile of pillows she propped up for support as she attentively listened to whatever the little girl was saying.
"How dare they?" Hyunjin snapped back playfully as she sat straight, gently patting Chan on his shoulders to relax him. "How dare they say no to my princess?"
"They did. They did." Yongbok pouted with so much sadness in her voice, crawling closer to her aunt, the mattress bouncing slightly.
Chan twitched, still in his sleep while Yongbok blinked at him, yawning. But she wasn't ready to sleep anytime soon. Sleep can wait, but what her parents did can't.
"Bokkie said Bokkie go to Auntie Honey." She smiled, circling her tiny arms around Hyunjin's hand, bright eyes looking up at the woman. "Auntie Honey, Bokkie wants Tan."
"Tan?"
Yongbok nodded. "Bokkie gave name. He's cute, cute name for cute friend." She giggled, watching Chan shift to the other side, hiding his face in his mother's gown.
"Aww, what a cute name." Hyunjin spoke, lifting her hand to circle it around the girl to bring her closer, with Yongbok snuggling to her aunt.
"Auntie Honey, Bokkie want Tan."
"Of course, Auntie will get you your Tan." Hyunjin said, running a hand through Yongbok's hair, glancing at her affectionately. "Auntie promised. Remember, what Bokkie want?"
"Bokkie gets." Yongbok replied, a little proudly.
"Now tell me what it is, a cat? A puppy?" Hyunjin asked curiously. "I'm sure it'll be as adorable as my princess. Is it a bunny?"
"Auntie Honey is silly," Yongbok giggled. "Tan is no bunny."
"Then?"
"Tan is a tarantula."
Hyunjin frowned, slowly an image forming in her mind as her eyes went wide.
"A- a WHAT?"