Chapter 3 #2
It was the most unconventional, out-of-left-field job offer he’d ever received.
“I’m sorry, Halmoni, but I don’t think I can do this for you. I hate to disappoint you, but this isn’t a job that I’m able to accept.”
“Think it over, and then you can tell me how much money you want later.” Grandma Song slapped his face two times gently. “You’re
a good boy, Tae. I know I can count on you. Also, I’d like you to drive me to the herbalist tomorrow.” She stood up with no
further information or details. Tae was stunned into silence, unable to figure out what to respond to first.
“I want to eat my birthday cake now. That’s enough for today.”
And just like that, Halmoni got up and walked away. No more discussion. No more questions. Tae watched as she clasped her
hands behind her back and slowly returned to the others.
Leaving Tae to wonder what he had just gotten himself into.
Tae needed to think over what Grandma Song had just asked him to do. He wasn’t sure he could do it, to be honest.
What surprised him was that anyone thought that Julia Song needed help at all. He had always thought of her as so capable,
in control of any and every situation. She ran her own company, for goodness’ sake. She was smart, successful, charming, and
gorgeous. So why would her grandmother want to pay Tae to date her? Even if Julia was having trouble finding a partner, there
were certainly more impressive guys than Tae to ask.
Tae had, of course, heard the rumor before—that he had the reputation for being the guy a girl dates before finding The One.
But that was ridiculous. Figures that the only thing people found worthy about Tae was some made-up magical power or charm.
He shook his head just thinking about how absurd Korean superstitions could be. It wasn’t hard to figure out. Tae treated
women well, with respect. And since he was never going to be anyone’s idea of marriage material, what without a big title
and a retirement fund, it was more likely he ended up helping women work out what they really did want in a future partner.
That must be what Grandma Song was hoping for with Julia.
Tae would never understand Korean grandmothers. He’d lost both of his when he was still a child. But Grandma Song was everyone’s
halmoni in the neighborhood, highly revered and beloved. He knew he couldn’t possibly turn her down.
The sounds from the kitchen grew louder, and Tae caught a glimpse of Grandma Song reaching for an almost empty makgeolli bottle
and draining the contents straight into her mouth while no one was looking.
He needed to escape before he got roped into any more odd requests.
Tae quickly put his shoes on and headed home. He’d have to think more about it. No one said no to Halmoni, ever. So he’d just have to figure out another way.
As he was crossing the street, he heard the cries.
“Why? Why? Why?”
He thought it was an injured coyote at first. But when he looked to his left, he saw her. Sitting in the small neighborhood
park next to their houses, on the swings . . . was Julia. Speak of the devil.
“Why? Why? Why?”
Tae walked over to see her almost collapsed into the small leather seat, a chain in each hand, haphazardly pushing herself,
jerking her body into various directions on the swing.
“Julia?”
“Why? Why? Why?”
He came a little closer. “Julia? Are you . . . Are you okay?”
Her red-rimmed eyes looked up from underneath her bangs. She squinted as if the face in front of her would be clearer, cocking
her head from one side to the other, trying to make out who he was. Julia reared her head back as her entire face opened up
with recognition. “Taehyung?” she said in a relieved whisper, a small smile blooming. “Hi, stranger.”
The way she greeted him was both sweet and sexy, and it was as if Tae was a kid again, standing in slack-jawed awe at his beautiful neighbor.
He took a quick breath to steady himself and tucked his lips in under his teeth, hiding his smile. He knelt down in front
of the swing. “Hi, Julia. You doing all right?”
She shook her head slowly. “I had wine. And makgeolli. Winegeolli.” She giggled. “I’m . . . I’m . . . drunk.”
Ahhhh, yeah. That was it.
“And screwed,” she added.
“I’m sorry?”
She stood up abruptly, swaying with the movement, and Tae grabbed her elbow to help steady her. “I said, I’m drunk and screwed.
Drunk and screwed. Drunk and screwed.”
Tae tried not to laugh. The amazing Julia Song, CEO and altogether badass . . . a hilarious drunk.
“What happened, Julia? Why are you screwed?”
Julia looked up into Tae’s eyes and slapped a hand on his cheek, moving his head from side to side as if trying to determine
if he was real. “Taehyung Kim. You don’t look fifteen anymore.”
“That’s because I’m twenty-five,” he said with a smile. “And you can just call me Tae now. Only the grandmas call me Taehyung.”
He felt a bit like when he was just a preteen and couldn’t string words together when talking to Julia.
“Tae,” she sighed.
Tae ignored how he was very into hearing her say his name like that. Chill, Tae. You’re not a lovestruck teenager anymore. And this is an inebriated woman. Off-limits in every way.
“Tae, I did something I’m gonna really regret. And now—” a tear welled up in her eye, and Tae was mesmerized, watching, waiting
for it to fall “—I have to pay the price.”
“What is it? Maybe I can help. You’re worrying me.” Tae had almost never seen the mighty Julia Song cry, not even when she broke her arm falling out of the huge olive tree in his backyard when she was thirteen. It was Tae, the small eight-year-old who’d cried for her instead.
He shook her gently, only just realizing that he’d grabbed both of her arms in his hands. Her skin was covered in goose bumps,
and Tae rubbed his hands along them to warm her up.
“I, I . . . oh God, I promised my grandmother I’d get married. Do you know how impossible that is? And I was so out of sorts, I agreed to let my family help me find someone to marry.” She kept saying the words as if they were foreign to her.
“Short legs. Too old. Healthy head. H Mart discount.” She started sobbing and buried her face in Tae’s chest. “I wanted Hyun
Bin, but I’m gonna end up with a Korean Danny Devito.”
Understanding hit him. So this was why her grandmother wanted Tae’s help. Julia had made a promise, and Halmoni was gonna
help her keep it.
“Wow, um, okay. It’s okay. It can’t be that bad. It won’t be. So you’ll go on a few dates with guys your parents know. It
won’t be awful. And who knows, maybe you’ll end up liking one of them.”
It actually did sound kind of awful. He hated the pressure in the Korean community to be set up by your family once you hit
a certain age if you were still single. Your entire self-worth put on display like a laundry list of redeeming qualities.
But he wasn’t going to tell a drunk and upset woman that.
“It doesn’t matter who they set me up with. It will end badly.”
“You don’t know that. Not until you give it a chance.”
“No, really.” Julia leaned in, her whisper loud enough to set all the neighborhood dogs barking.
“I am really, really bad at dating.” Julia pulled out of Tae’s hold.
She kept her eyes on the ground, trying to hide behind her hair.
“I don’t like bowling shirts. Or bad cologne.
I say whatever I’m thinking. And it never ends well.
I’m just too much to handle, I guess.” She dramatically threw her head back, looking up into the sky, raising her fists and shaking them.
“Did you hear that, world? I’m thirty and single and suck at dating.
Mr. Malibu said that I, Julia Song, am undateable.
” She dropped her head, lowering her voice to a whisper.
“Wanna hear a secret? He wasn’t the only one to call me that. ”
Well, those guys sounded like dicks.
“Julia, it can’t be that bad,” Tae said, trying to reassure her.
“Oh no, Tae, it’s that bad. I make sure of it,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
She collapsed back down in the seat, head lolling from side to side.
“Instead of worrying if I’m too much for someone, I make sure of it that I am. Before I see it in his eyes that he is intimidated
by my success, I bury him with it instead. Do you think I like making men cry, Tae? I don’t! But it’s better to be too much than not enough.”
He wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about, but he was certain she would regret having opened up like this once she was
sober. He just needed to get Julia home and pump some water into her before she passed out and woke up with a killer hangover.
“Any man would be lucky to date you. You just have to find someone you feel comfortable being yourself around. Who finds your
honesty refreshing and funny. Who celebrates your success. Who appreciates all the hard work and sacrifice you’ve put in for
your company and for your family.”
“Well, I don’t think such a man exists. But if he does, it’s up to them,” she said, throwing her head back toward her house.
“They gotta find him. I gotta try and not scare him away. Gonna ask my coach how to do that.”
“Your coach?”
“My Pilates—no, my executive—no, my . . . one of them. One of my coaches. They’ll help me figure out how to date a man successfully and to win his heart just long enough so that my parents can stay in Irvine and my grandmother can live forever.”
Tae furrowed his brow, completely lost by Julia’s train of thought.
“This will all be okay, I promise. We’ll figure it out.”
Julia looked back up at Tae. “Hey, when did you grow up?” she slurred.
He reached out and held her chin in his hand to steady her. He looked her in the eyes and watched as hers widened. “I’ve been
grown, Julia,” he said, his voice a near growl.
“Oh,” she sighed, holding her mouth in the shape of the word, looking at him as if searching for some answer she couldn’t
quite reach.
She pulled her head back from his hand and furrowed her brow. “Hey, why don’t you call me noona anymore? I’m still older than
you. Don’t be rude.”
And there it was, little-brother-zoned once again. “Sorry, Julia noona.”
She smiled and nodded, satisfied. But just as quickly the smile disappeared.
Julia suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm with an intensity that surprised him. “Remember when I was given the solo in
the Christmas musical, even though I couldn’t hold a tune, and you practiced every single note with me until I got it right
because you wouldn’t let me fail?” she whispered.
Tae swallowed back the sudden emotion in his throat. He couldn’t believe Julia remembered that. He was only nine years old
at the time but could see exactly what was going on. She was so scared she’d embarrass herself and her family. But too stubborn
and hell-bent on being awarded the honor of the solo to turn it down. They’d worked for weeks, Tae on the piano training her
ear to get each note right.
“Promise me you won’t let me fail,” she said, a single tear running down her cheek.
Tae rubbed his thumb across her skin, wiping it away. “It’s all gonna be okay,” he assured her. “I promise. Now, let’s get you inside. It’s starting to get cold.”
He wasn’t sure how he was going to do it, but he was gonna keep his promise.
She nodded slowly, stood up, and leaned into the warmth of Tae’s body.
He wrapped an arm around her and walked her home.