When one of the twins woke up, the other one also did. So, they ended up getting them both from the bed to bring them downstairs with them.
"Dada, hungry," Luna said and laid her head on Lisa's shoulder. "Oh I just remembered that Heejin and I cooked stir-fried octopus. Do you want to have some?" Jennie asked Lisa.
"Mama, I want some too," Aelia said, then her sister butted in, saying "Me too."
"Oh no, you can't have it. Mama and Auntie Heejin made it spicy. Sorry babies, we'll just ask Auntie Jiwoo to make something else for you," Jennie said apologetically.
"Mmkay," the girls said in unison. "Are they allergic to seafoods or anything?" Jennie asked because she don't want to feed them foods without knowing that they are allergic to it.
"None so far. Mom had allergies from peanuts, they're lucky they didn't get it," Lisa said and chuckled.
"Some our relatives have allergies to seafoods. Oh even my mom, she's allergic to shrimp. So, I wasn't able get a taste of it until I was nineteen. Gahd, I still remember how scared I was the first time I tried it. I really thought I was allergic to it as well, it turned out that I wasn't and I was happy of course," Jennie said and smiled while reminiscing those memories. Those were the times when she was beginning to rebel against her parents.
"Did your mom find out?" Lisa asked. Jennie sighed and said, "Of course, one of the maids snitched on me. She was so angry and she got me grounded. I think she was just jealous that I could eat shrimps and she can't." Both of them laughed and so did the twins even though they didn't fully understand what their mother just said.
When they got to the kitchen, they caught Heejin eating stir-fried octopus by herself. She got surprised to see them that she dropped her chopsticks.
Lisa and Jennie just looked at each other and laughed. "What's with that look?" Jennie asked their cousin who looks like she just got caught stealing.
"Sorry sis, I was so hungry and I just couldn't help myself," the girl said apologetically. Jennie chuckled before saying, "What are talking about? It's totally fine."
Jennie and Lisa put their babies to their seats and they also grabbed theirs. Then Jiwoo started serving them foods. And so they begun eating. Jennie was about to feed Luna but the girl pushed her hand and said, "No mama, I'm a big girl now. I can do it on my own."
"Me too, we eat without help," Aelia agreed to her sister.
"Really? That's great," Lisa said, praising their children.
"Okay then, be careful. It's alright to make a mess though. Mama and Dada's gonna help you clean up later anyway," Jennie reminded them. When she was just little, she wasn't allowed to spill even a little drop of her water or a little piece of crumb because her parents always said that ladies should learn proper etiquette and table manners even at a young age.
It was tough for a little girl because at that age, making mistakes was inevitable. That made a huge impact to her life and she don't want her children to experience the same thing. They are kids, so they're going to let them be kids.
"Sis, they're actually just trying to impress you," Heejin said, teasing the twins.
"Auntie Jinjin!" the two whined and the grown ups just laughed at them. "Auntie is just joking. Go on, continue eating," Jennie said.
And so they continued eating diligently, unconsciously proving Heejin's claim. Since they are all gathered in the table, Jennie suddenly think of telling them about their plans on enrolling the kids to a kindergarten this year. Also, she want to tell them about her, going back to Paris three days from now.
"Uh little Sun, little Moon, do you know what school is?" Jennie asked. Lisa knew instantly what Jennie's trying to do.
"Yeah, I saw it on the TV. Kids go to school, Mama," Luna replied. Aelia nodded and said, "Right, the kid we met at the bouncy bouncy said that they make more friends in school and they learn to write and draw shapes."
"We already know shapes and colors though and Auntie Irene is also teaching us to write our names," Luna said. "That's great but what do you think about going to school?" Jennie asked. "Do you want to go to kindergarten?" This time it was Lisa.
"For me, that would be great. Luna, Aelia, you said you wanted to learn have playmates, right? There are a lot of kids there, you'll surely have fun," Heejin said, trying to convince the little girls.
"Let us think about it first," Aelia said and shrugged her shoulders afterwards, making the adults laugh at her silliness.
"Okay, please think about it well. We are expecting a positive response," Lisa said as if she was talking to a client.
Luna leaned over to Aelia's ear and they began whispering to each other. The couple along with Heejin just watched them.
After a few more seconds, they stopped and fixed how they sit. Then Aelia said, "We agree on going to school."
"Wow, that was fast," Jennie said and chuckled. "Tomorrow, Dada's going to look for a nice and safe kindergarten for the both you," Lisa said.
"I wanna come with you, can I?" Jennie said. She want to be involved in choosing the best school for the twins too. "Oh of course, we'll do it together."
"I want to go too but sadly, I have work tomorrow," Heejin said and sighed afterwards.
"Before I forget. I have something to tell you guys," Jennie said which made Lisa look at her. "What is it love?" The latter asked.
"I told you about the boss wanting to talk to me, right? It meant that I have to go back to Paris," Jennie started.
"You will go back to Paris, Mama?" Luna asked with a sad look on her face. "It means your leaving us, Mama?" This time it was Aelia. Aww, she didn't even finish what she's trying to say yet they're already sad.
"Babies, your mama have to go but she's coming back immediately," Heejin said, trying to make the situation lighter.
"Auntie is right, Mama won't stay long in Paris. Mama just have to fix things there," Jennie said but it didn't help at all.
"Mama, you said you're never going to leave us again. Then why are you going to Paris without us?" Luna pouted and her eyes began to water.
Seconds later Aelia began crying as she say, "Mama please bring us with you." Jennie just looked at Lisa and the latter shrugged her shoulder.
"But—do they have passports?" Jennie said which made Lisa smile mentally. Actually, she wanted to go with Jennie as well. That's why she didn't make an effort to convince the twins to let their mother go.
"Yeah, I already got passports for them last year because I was planning on taking them to Paris. Y'know I thought maybe we could just look at you from afar but you see, it didn't happen," Lisa said and she was trying hard not to sound excited about it.
"Sis, I know she just want to go with you too," Heejin said, busting Lisa.
"Hey! Why'd you have to say it?" Lisa said while playfully glaring at her cousin. Jennie on the other hand, just laughed at them.
"Alright, you three could go with me," Jennie said and in an instant, the twins stopped crying. They even started cheering and clapping.
"Why do I feel like you three planned this just so you could come with me?" She gave them a suspecting look. Lisa strongly denied, saying, "No way, they didn't even know you were leaving."
"When are you guys leaving?" Asked Heejin.
"Three days from now and that was what I was actually trying to say earlier," Jennie answered. "That soon??"
"Then we have to starting packing our things now," Lisa said while getting up from her seat but Jennie grabbed her by the wrist and made her sit again before saying, "Priya, calm down. It's still three days, we can pack our things the day before the flight. It's not like we're staying there for a whole month."
Heejin and Jennie laughed. Then the former said, "My dear cousin couldn't hide her excitement. I bet she's more excited than the twins."
"Mama, we're going to the tower, right?" Aelia asked while wiping her tears.
"Of course, darling," Jennie replied.
"By the way, will your company allow it, sis?" Heejin asked. To be honest, Jennie isn't sure about that but they're not doing anything wrong, right?
"I don't know. We'll just be careful, I guess," She replied. Lisa looked at her worriedly but she just gave the latter a smile.
When they finished their dinner, Heejin bid farewells. Her mom called her to go home because they had something to talk about. The family of four on the other hand, headed upstairs to their room.
Jennie decided to have a bath with the kids, just the three of them. Lisa was left on their bed, working on something through her laptop.
"Mama, why is dada not allowed?" Aelia asked. Jennie booped the little girl's nose before saying, "That's because we girls need to have privacy and so does dada."
"Mama, what do you mean? Dada is a girl too, right?" Luna asked with a confused look written over her face. Jennie scratched the back of her head. Damn, she didn't think it would be hard to explain.
"Well, dada looks like a girl but she has something that we don't have. Dada has a penis just like boys and boys are not allowed to see us naked," Jennie said gently, trying her best to make them understand. It might sound silly but she learned that when talking about reproductive organs, nothing should be censored.
"What is a penis mama?" Luna asked again. Jennie took a deep breath and said, "A penis is a part in the boys' body. It is a private part, sweetie. It is what they use in peeing and making babies. Meanwhile, we girls have vagina. That is our private part. We should not let anyone touch it and we should not touch other people's private parts as well. Do you girls understand?"
The two girls went silent for a while as of they were processing what Jennie just said. Then Luna said, "Mmkay, I get it." Then the other one also said the same. Then Jennie began to explain about the No No Square. She didn't think that she'll teach them about it as young as this age but it's best to start teaching them young.
"Mama, what if I want to hug and touch you? What should I do?" Aelia asked worriedly, afraid that she won't be able to touch her mama again.
"You just have to ask. You say 'Mama, can I hug you?' and mama will give you a hug. Also, from now on don't let anyone kiss you if they don't ask you for it. If you don't want to be kissed or if you don't want to be hugged, tell them. Remember, it's alright to tell people 'no' if you are uncomfortable," Jennie said and that my dear is how you teach a child about consent.
"Even you, mama?" Luna asked and Jennie nodded.
"Yes, even mama or dada. You should also do the same, alright? Even if we badly want to hug, kiss, or touch someone, if they don't like it, we have to respect their decision. Do you understand?"
"Yes mama," The twins said in unison.
"Now, can we finish bathing? Dada probably miss us already?" Jennie said and chuckled.
"No mama," Luna said while waving her index finger. Jennie got confused but then the girl chuckled and said, "I was just kidding, mama."
"Oh, I think you learned something," She smiled and got out of the tub slowly. Then she wore her bathrobe. She also helped the twins get out of the tub then she handed their little bathrobes to them. She even wanted to help them with it but they insisted that they can do it on their own because they're already big girls.
When they got out of the bathroom, Lisa closed her laptop and put it on the bedside table.
"What took my girls so long? Did you have girls talk in the bathroom?" Lisa asked while she got up from bed to get to them.
"We did," The little girls said at the same time. "Really? What did you talk about?"
"Dada we talked about penis and vagina," Aelia said enthusiastically which made Lisa choke on her own saliva. Jennie giggled before saying, "Are you okay, love?"
"Isn't it too early for them to learn about that?" Lisa asked while looking at Jennie. "No love, it's better to teach them while they're young," the latter replied.
"And what else did my babies learned from mama while on the bath?" Lisa asked the kids.
"Mama told us about the no no square!" Luna replied. "And mama said we should not let anyone kiss, hug, or touch us if they don't ask and if we don't like it. Also, we should also not do it without asking and if they don't like it," Aelia added.
"Wow, you taught them about consent. That's amazing, love," Lisa said and she tried to kiss Jennie but girls scolded her saying, "No dada! You can't kiss mama without asking her!"
"Yey! You really learn what I taught you," Jennie said and clapped her hands. "I was just testing you," Lisa said and giggled.
"But Mama, can Dada kiss you now?" Lisa asked and Jennie nodded. So she kissed the latter's cheek.
"That's how you do it, dada," Luna said while showing her thumbs up. Jennie picked up the blower and plugged it the socket near the bed. Then she called the twins to dry their hair but Lisa snatch the blower from her hand and said, "Let me do it, love. Let me serve my queen and my little princesses."
"What a charmer," Jennie said as she just gave in. And so Lisa did dry the twins' and their mothers' hair.
Later that night, they fell asleep in one bed again. Maybe they should get a bigger one.
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