Pathways of Life

Surprises

Jungkook Pov

Erika and I were getting along great. We had been on a few dates. Not all of them ended like the picnic. Remembering back to her body in the moonlight. I didn't want her thinking that's all I wanted. I wanted all of her so I was slowing it down. Just enjoying being with her.

I had many ideas for the company I now ran. I wanted to make it bigger and better. I wanted people to be lined up to work for me. I wanted them all in. To be loyal to the company. For them to feel like a part of something. To feel like the company cared about them. That they weren't just a number. I believed that with that, great success would come.

So at the end of the week I was going to visit Kids First Daycare. My plan was to learn what it takes to run a successful daycare so that I could offer one right on the premises so people would have peace of mind and could visit their children during their lunch hour. I was a bit nervous. I really wasn't good with kids. Ok. Maybe that's not the right way to go. I just hadn't really been around kids. They kind of scared me. I didn't figure I would have any reason to be around kids.

I had done my research though and for a successful business, I really believed this was the way to go. I was taking Jake, my right hand man, with me to kind of take the edge off. He was also going to take notes.

Friday came and I was super nervous. Maybe I should just send Jake. He could take all the notes and I could plan from there. No. I needed to be hands on for now. I needed to be accessible so people knew I meant what I said. I had two meetings this morning so I needed to focus. The daycare was after lunch so I just needed to relax.

I looked in the mirror. "You got this, Jungkook. You are not afraid of some little snot nosed kids. You are a young, good looking, powerful, and successful businessman. People respect you. They are impressed by you. Show them who you are."

The day flew by and I was immersed in paperwork, totally unaware of the time. Jake poked his head in. "Are you about ready?"

I looked up, confused for a moment, when the lightbulb came on. Daycare. My stomach clenched. I think I started to sweat. "I'll be ready in a minute."

As we drove to Kids First, Jake did all the talking. I'm not sure he even took a breath. Was he always this chatty? We pulled up. I took several deep breaths and I was getting out and headed in. Completely professional. On the outside anyway.

We met in the office of Karen Whittaker. She ran the daycare so she took us through the daily routine. "So really what you need is someone competent to head up your daycare. Someone who can do all this behind the scenes stuff so you don't have to do anything but sign the check."

"Thank you for your advice." I said. That really sounded like a great idea. Have someone else be in charge so I didn't have to worry about it.

"Ok. Let's go on a little tour. Follow me gentlemen." We followed behind her as she told us about each room. "This is the kitchen where we prepare food for the children. Over here is the crafts room. Children like to do things with their hands. Over here is the napping room. Tired kids are cranky kids. Then here is the playroom. We have different sections depending on the age of the child. Toys are cleaned daily. Children are walking germ boxes. Speaking of kids, here they come."

I froze. I was doing great as long as they weren't by me. Relax Jungkook. They are only small humans. I watched as the older kids rushed in. They headed straight to their play area. The smaller children were being herded in and guided to their area. The babies were being held or pushed in strollers.

It got super noisy really fast. How did they think in all this noise. "I can see this is overwhelming. The noise does get quieter. They are all just wound up from being outside."