Chapter 5
Brunch
Julia
“Oh no, Julia. I’m so sorry, honey. It’ll all be okay,” Sonia offered in her kind, gentle way.
Julia, Sonia, and Rachel were sitting at their regular table facing the ocean at Water Grill for Sunday brunch, a tradition
they’d started once they graduated from college and had paychecks to afford the luxury. Even if luxury initially meant meeting
up at IHOP in the early days.
It had been a week since her grandmother dropped the bomb on her about her illness. Halmoni’s next appointment wasn’t for
a few weeks, so Julia was left with her worst fears taking root in her head. Her inclination was to bury herself under her
covers and hide from the world. But her friends would not allow it.
“Julia, don’t invite worry. Everything is still unknown right now. No use in fretting over something that might not even be
the worst-case scenario,” Rachel said in her contrasting no-nonsense way.
It was what Julia was so grateful for about her two best friends. Sonia approached everything with the utmost care and concern.
Rachel was all logic and practicality. She needed to hear both sides today.
“Thanks, guys. I’m trying to be strong for my halmoni, but . . .” Julia stopped and pressed her lips together to push back the swell of emotion “. . . I’m scared.”
“I bet your halmoni is taking the news like a baller. Unfazed, amiright?” Rachel asked.
“Well, she’s definitely trying to take care of all her unfinished business,” Julia agreed.
“What do you mean?” Sonia asked.
“Well, the way she told me she was sick was by saying that it was her dying wish for me to find the love of my life.” Julia
let out a huff.
“Whoa,” Sonia whispered.
“I hate to say it, but whether imminently dying or one-day dying, it’s just like a Korean halmoni to use the news to lay on
the guilt trip,” Rachel said.
“Rachel! Don’t say something like that.” Sonia swatted at Rachel’s arm just as she was putting the olive from her Bloody Mary
into her mouth.
“Hey, easy. Choking hazard here. I’m not trying to be heartless. I’m just sayin’ . . .”
“It’s fine. Rachel’s right,” Julia said. “But that’s not all. I was in such a haze after she dropped the bomb that I immediately
turned around and asked my family to help set me up. To find me eligible bachelors to date to find a partner.”
“Oh shit, you sold your soul,” Rachel gasped.
“I mean, I limited it to three dates. I won’t be put through the torture forever. But I panicked.”
From the moment her grandmother had dropped the bomb, Julia had fretted, a tennis match of stress volleying back and forth
between worrying about her grandmother’s health and worrying about the health of her dating life. Obviously the two did not
compare, but the combination did a number on Julia’s acid reflux.
“I can’t believe you finally did it. You agreed to let your family set you up.
” Sonia’s voice carried an alarming amount of glee.
“I don’t actually think it’s the worst idea, to be honest. Julia, you haven’t had the best luck with men.
No offense,” she added, patting Julia on the shoulder.
“What could it hurt, right? It’s only three dates. ”
“Sure, but just because she’s not doing the choosing, she still has to be the one to go on these dates. And that’s where it
gets tricky for our tortured heroine.” Rachel looked from Julia to Sonia. “Oh, I’m supposed to add no offense here, right?”
Julia cut into her brioche French toast and dipped a piece into the warm bourbon maple syrup. She peeked to see a hopeful
look on Sonia’s face. A contrast to the skeptical look on Rachel’s. Just as expected. Julia didn’t know what to think. Was
it really not a big deal, or was it the biggest deal ever?
“Oh God.” Julia dropped her fork and put her head into her hands. “My grandmother thinks I’m magically gonna find a partner
after three dates. Of their choosing. There’s just no way.”
“We’re gonna need some mimosas over here,” Rachel said to the server.
“Don’t worry about the end game just yet. Focus on these setups. Who knows? Anything could happen. You could meet the man of your dreams.” Sonia’s excitement and positivity were at a fever pitch.
“If you break out into a song and dance, I will never speak to you again,” Julia said.
“Anyways, um, shall we bring up the elephant in the room?” Sonia asked.
“Oh, I’m so glad you mentioned it before I had to. Sonia, honey, did you mean to leave the house wearing those things?” Rachel
asked, pointing to Sonia’s feet. “Haven’t I told you to always have an emergency pair of cute shoes in the car?”
“What’s wrong with my Birkenstocks?”
“Well, they’re not even the decently cute white ones. They’re just two tan straps with buckles attached to a corkboard,” Rachel answered.
“I like them,” Julia chimed in, head still in her hands. “They’re comfortable and, despite the aesthetic limitations, have
managed to remain remarkably relevant in fashion.”
“You’re both doing this to incite me, I see. I won’t bite. I won’t peel off my fake lashes in rage like last time we had this
conversation,” Rachel said.
Julia reached her hand across the table, and Sonia met it in a high five.
“Anyways, the elephant I was going to bring up is that if your family is setting you up, there’s a decent chance they’ll know
the guy’s family as well,” Sonia suggested.
“That’s a good point. So it’s not only your reputation on the line, it’s theirs too.” Rachel’s words were not helping Julia’s
nerves.
Julia didn’t do well in normal social situations. Suddenly the added pressure of not embarrassing her parents made her want
to wave the white flag.
“I actually think this is a good thing. These parents likely know you and who you are. The moms are probably foaming at the
mouth for their sons to marry The Julia Song. So when things go south—” Rachel’s yelp stopped her statement in its tracks.
“Why’d you kick me?” she said to Sonia.
Sonia’s eyes widened in an unspoken warning.
“What I meant was if things go south,” Rachel said and widened her eyes back at Sonia, “then they’ll likely blame their sons for ruining their
dreams of a lavish wedding and free products for life. It’ll never be your fault. You’re in the clear.”
Sonia reached over and grabbed Julia’s hand. “We’re not trying to freak you out. Just go and have fun, with an open mind.
What’s the worst that can happen?” Sonia asked.
Julia groaned. “Oh, I don’t know . . . I disappoint my grandmother and break her heart. Or I shame my parents’ good names, and they’re banished to a small town with no other Koreans and bemoan the lack of good cabbage in the area’s farm stands.”
“Well, that took a turn,” Rachel said, her fork holding a piece of her salmon Benedict hanging in midair.
“You should get a coach or something. You love a good coach. Don’t you have, like, ten of them for all your life’s needs?”
Sonia asked.
“Do dating coaches even exist? I feel like if they did, there’d be some reality show on Bravo about it already,” Rachel added.
“Funny you should mention this,” Julia said, dreading what she was about to share with her friends. Would they laugh at her?
Possibly. But they could also think it was the best idea ever. At this point, what did Julia have to lose anyway? She needed
all the help she could get. “I may have already asked my young neighbor to be my dating coach,” she admitted.
“Which young neighbor? The one who sells the Girl Scout Cookies? Or the one who won the high-school spelling bee last year?”
Sonia’s family were third-generation Irvine Koreans. They knew everyone.
“Taehyung, the kid across the street,” Julia said.
“Wait, do you mean Tae Kim?” Sonia’s voice was excited with recognition.
“Yeah, Tae Kim,” she said.
Julia took the last bite of French toast, swirled it around in the decadent syrup, and put it in her mouth. She grabbed her
coffee and took a sip to wash it down. She looked out at the ocean, one of the best outdoor seating views of any restaurant
on the Westside. She mentally reviewed the entire next year’s marketing plan. She grew ten new gray hairs . . .
It had been awfully quiet for way too many moments.
Julia slowly brought her gaze back to the table. Both friends sat, elbows down, faces cradled in hands, smiling, staring.
“What?” Julia asked.
“You saw Tae Kim,” they said in unison.
“Yeah, why?”
“Be-still-my-heart Tae Kim?” Sonia said.
“Body-made-by-the-gods Tae Kim?” Rachel chimed in.
“Voice-to-make-my-panties-melt Tae Kim?”
“You-can-see-everything-in-those-jeans Tae Kim?”
“Jesus, you two are frightening. Throw some cold water on your faces and don’t come back to this conversation with smut on
the brain,” Julia said. “Wait, how do you guys even know him?”
“We met him at Starlight’s launch party four years ago,” Rachel said. “I still think of him in that—”
“Gray suit.” Sonia’s voice joined in with Rachel’s.
Julia didn’t remember Tae being at her launch party. Though, that was a really overwhelming night with so many people there
to wish her well. But she’d seen the all-grown Tae Kim with her own eyes. She could understand the appeal.
“And your neighbor is most definitely not a kid,” Rachel said.
“Everyone in Orange County knows about Tae Kim,” Sonia went on. “The very hot guy with the heart of gold. The one who came
home to take care of his sick dad. The one who offers to do anything and everything for those who need it.”
“The one who Sonia caught with his shirt off while he was fixing her parents’ plumbing. Remember her telling us about ev-er-y
ripple in that man’s abs? She sent us that picture she snuck of him in his jeans.”
“And his voice,” Sonia added wistfully. “I immediately told James I was adding Tae to my hall pass list.”
It sounded vaguely familiar. But she didn’t realize Sonia was talking about the same gangly young boy Julia had known growing
up.
“He’s the talk of the town, Julia. Orange County urban legend is that anyone that’s ever dated Tae has then gone on to get married to their next boyfriend. He treats women so right that they leave knowing what they want and deserve in a husband and attract exactly that.”
“Okay, but if he’s so good, why isn’t he the one that the girl ends up with, huh?” Rachel asked.
“Sadly, he doesn’t have a job and lives in his parents’ basement,” Sonia said.
“Well, I live in LA, not Orange County. And I’ve been busy building a company. I haven’t had time with the hometown gossip.
But Tae does have a job, you said so yourself. He helps everyone. That’s pretty admirable, if you ask me. And this is southern California. It’s not a basement—it’s a split level. I used
to hang out there when we were kids. It’s huge . . . bigger than most apartments in LA. He’s a catch.”
“So what you’re saying is that you’re interested,” Rachel said.
“No. Absolutely not. I used to babysit him. I fed him, cleaned him, told him to stop picking his nose,” Julia said.
“That’s basically what marriage is,” Sonia countered.
Julia couldn’t hold back the laugh. She shook her head. “Anyways, we took my grandma to the herbalist the other day. And when
Halmoni mentioned how I was being set up by my family—much to my mortification—I joked about how I needed a dating coach.
And he offered. To help. And before you keep going down the wrong path with this one, he’s way too young. I don’t date younger
guys.”
“He is nowhere near too young,” Rachel said, taking a sip of her mimosa. “So what kind of coaching are we talking about?” A knowing smirk danced around
her lips.
“We didn’t discuss details. He’ll probably just help me practice for my setups,” Julia explained.
“What do you mean practice?” Rachel asked.
“I don’t know. I guess we go on a test run before the real thing. Work through the kinks, practice the situational conversations . . .”
“Sounds romantic.” Rachel rolled her eyes.
“It’s not meant to be romantic. It’s not a real date.”
“Uh-huh, we’ll see,” Rachel said. “Well, he clearly has some dating experience. And he seems like a decent guy. Good on you
for asking for his help,” Rachel said.
“That sounds like heaven,” Sonia sighed. “Tae really is a saint.”
The waiter came by to clear the plates and placed the signed bill in front of Sonia.
“What the heck, Sonia? You did not pull the fake bathroom visit to pay for the bill, did you?”
“I will be very strapped for cash once my home remodeling starts,” Sonia said and shrugged. “I just wanted one last chance
to treat you girls to something.”
“Thank you, sweetie,” Rachel said.
“You didn’t have to, but thank you,” Julia said.
“Practice dates couldn’t hurt,” Sonia said as the three of them got up and grabbed their bags. “But I don’t think you should
write him off. Tae’s smoking hot and is a genuinely good guy. Why say no to that?”
“Again, he’s too young. We have nothing in common. And, well, if I’ve proven anything, it’s that I suck at all of this. So
if he actually is that great of a guy, I’m definitely not the one who should be dating him. We’ll just do some practice rounds,
and hopefully he’ll get me into good enough shape so that some other guy will end up stuck with me. Then I’ll compensate him
generously for his time and efforts so when all is said and done, we’ll be square.” Julia forced a smile at her friends as
she walked in front of them toward the exit . . . which just happened to be the unfortunate spot to very clearly hear their
responses.
“Yeah, sure, okay. I mean, what could ever go wrong?” Rachel asked.
“Said no romance novel or K-drama ever,” Sonia added.
Sometimes Julia hated her friends.