Chapter 21 What About Julia?
What About Julia?
Tae
“Thanks for coming over to help, man. We really appreciate it.”
Sonia Oh and James Shim had just bought a house in Silverlake and were in the process of updating the floors, the kitchen,
and the bathrooms. It was a stunning Spanish-inspired home with arched doorways and incredible original-to-the-house trim.
Tae’s hands itched to work on it to renovate and restore it to all its potential.
“When Julia said you were working with her GC on the Starlight office renovations, I begged her to let me ask you to help
us with ours too. She raved and raved and raved about how you’ve saved the day. She would be lost without you.”
“Sonia.” James put a hand on her arm as a gentle warning.
“I’m just saying, honey.”
Tae wasn’t sure exactly what it was that Julia had raved about to Sonia, but he appreciated a solid referral and some extra work. Tae had done some odd jobs for Sonia’s parents in
the past, but being here going over what she and James needed from him was nice and, hopefully, lucrative.
Tae didn’t know many people his own age, to be honest. If friendships were determined by the amount of time you spent with someone, Mr. Im, the ninety-year-old with IBS and a constantly backed-up toilet that regularly needed fixing, would probably be considered Tae’s bestie by this point.
“You’re in such high demand these days, I hear,” Sonia said.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Tae said.
“Even my cousin, who lives down in San Diego, has heard of you. Now that you’re doing work favors for friends in LA, are you
going to expand your services?” Sonia asked.
“I actually don’t do any of this formally. I just do it to help if someone needs it.”
“Well, if you do decide to take on more, you should probably get licensed for some of the bigger types of jobs, just to be
safe,” James suggested.
Tae didn’t want to take on bigger types of jobs, at least nothing that required him to be licensed and pigeon-holed. He was
fine doing what he was doing. At least he would be, once he paid off his dad’s medical bills. The only thing he wanted right
now was not to be asked about what he wanted. When it came to choices about this future, Tae felt paralyzed.
What if he chose wrong again? How many chances does someone get to pivot and change course in their life?
“Mr. Fixer-Upper by day, expert dating coach by night, all with a heart of gold. You’ve been so amazing for Julia. Tae, you’re
possibly the one man I’d leave James for. I’ve told him so,” Sonia said.
“Thanks, honey. I’d also leave you for Tae,” James replied.
Tae laughed at their interaction. Sweet.
“So speaking of Julia . . .”
Tae straightened his back, and his ears perked up. Sonia and James exchanged a knowing glance and smiled. Guess Tae’s eagerness
hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Sonia topped off Tae’s coffee mug and leaned back into James’s waiting arm draped over the back of their sofa. Tae brought
the mug up to take a sip.
“I mean, Dr. Fucking Park, amirite?” Sonia said.
Tae choked on the molten liquid and forced it down before almost coughing it back up.
“Jesus, honey, you couldn’t wait for Tae to have finished his coffee first? You just dove right in,” James said.
The corners of Sonia’s mouth turned downward in an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry, Tae. Here,” she said, passing him a napkin.
“But truly, what an asshole.”
Guess Tae didn’t have to wonder if they’d heard about the date with Dr. Park. His face heated, thinking of the humiliation
he battled at the end of the night. No job. No pay. The dude had been trying to make Tae feel small.
And it had almost worked.
What an arrogant prick. The only satisfaction Tae got from it all was knowing Julia would never give that guy a chance again.
She’d seemed interested in the beginning. The man was a model dressed up as a doctor. But Julia did not suffer fools gladly.
And her face at the end of the night said it all. She was done with Dr. Park.
“Tae?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, total douchebag. Completely wrong for Julia,” he said.
“And how do you think things are going with Julia?” She raised a brow and had a wicked gleam in her eye. Sonia could mean anything by this
question. Things as in work stuff? Things as in practice-dating stuff? Things as in we-almost-kissed-until-my-ex-showed-up
stuff? Things as in I-can’t-stop-thinking-about-her stuff? So many things.
“Good, good. I mean, she’s gone on three pretty epically bad setups. But none of them was her fault at all. Those guys were
idiots. I mean, where did her parents find these guys? I know they mean well, and I suppose they look good on paper, but they
were not good enough for her. She needs someone who will adore her.
Respect what a badass she is. Really see her, ya know?
” He stopped himself. Why was it so quiet?
Why wasn’t anyone agreeing with him, chiming in, bashing these guys and taking the heat off Julia?
He looked up at two faces stretched to their limits with goofy smiles.
“I’ll never doubt you again, honey. Add the twenty bucks to my you’re always right tab. He’s whooped,” James said.
“It’s not just him. She’s whooped, too. The way she was defending his honor as a dating coach and almost taking offense at
how bad her dates were, not because she had to go through them but because it might reflect poorly on Tae? And then there
was the competency porn. Oh my God, I could barely hold in my squeals. Rachel had to kick me under the table.”
“How’s the bruise on your shin, by the way? Does it hurt any less?” James asked.
Tae waved his hands in James and Sonia’s direction. “Excuse me. Hello? Over here? I’m sitting right here. What are you talking
about? Julia defended me? And, um, what’s this, uh, competency porn?” His voice had gone up an octave. Cool, Tae. Real cool.
Sonia flicked her hand in the air as if waving away the silly questions. “Girl talk. The good stuff.”
Tae nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed at what this girl talk might entail and how much of it entailed him. He reached for
the architecture photography book on their coffee table to distract himself.
Sonia gasped.
Tae looked up.
Sonia stared.
“Does Julia know about—” she gulped “—those?” She lifted her chin in the direction of his arm.
Tae wasn’t sure he was following. He looked down at the arm holding the book. His arms weren’t particularly hairy. His nails
didn’t have dirt under them.
“What?” he asked.
“Has Julia seen your . . . arm veins?” Sonia whispered in awe.
Tae looked again. His veins were prominent, but he’d never noticed before. Was Julia disgusted by this? Should he be wearing
long sleeves even in these warm Southern California climates?
“Tae, you’ll have to excuse my wife and her complete objectification of you. She has a thing for veins,” James explained.
“All women. All women have a thing for veins,” Sonia explained.
“Like vampires?” Tae didn’t know why he asked that. But it just seemed so odd.
Sonia snapped her head up, eyes wild with excitement. “Exactly. Like vampires,” she yelled.
Tae leaned back, trying to make some space between himself and the, um, vampire. She was starting to scare him.
“Don’t worry, Tae. She’s mine. I’m taking one for the team and protecting you all from her,” James teased.
Sonia hit him playfully in the arm.
This. This was what Tae wanted. This was what it was like spending time with Julia. Could he possibly get more of this, now
that the dates were over? Would Julia want more of this too? Tae thought back to his conversation with Kari. He’d told her
he didn’t have anything to give to anyone. And he believed it. He believed that it wasn’t fair for him to be in a relationship
right now when he didn’t have anything to give back.
But Julia had never really asked Tae for anything other than, well, himself. She always just seemed okay with Tae for who
he was. She didn’t seem to mind that he was a college dropout and a failed salaryman living with his parents. She never looked
at him with judgment or treated him as less-than. And she, successful and powerful, of all people, totally could.
It hit Tae like a ton of bricks.
Julia was everything he wanted.
And, if he was reading her right, beyond all reason, he might be exactly what she wanted too.
“Listen, Tae. I just gotta ask it. When are you gonna make your move? Are you gonna tell her how you feel? Maybe ask her out
on a real date?” James asked.
Sonia clasped her hands in front of her, shoulders to her ears, barely contained in her seat.
Tae was here to renovate their house. Not have them renovate his love life.
He lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck. He tried to laugh away his discomfort, but it came out as a way-too-hearty-for-the-situation
chuckle.
Sonia reached over and patted his knee. “There, there, Tae. We didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Look, if you’re not interested
in Julia, no worries. I can let her know that she should just go ahead and date—”
“Sonia, you’re not trying, by any chance, to reverse-psychology me into making some grand gesture to Julia, are you?” Tae
asked.
The innocent expression on her face exposed exactly what she was trying to do.
“Tae, I was in a similar situation. Sonia was out there dating all these men, and I hadn’t taken my shot. But I knew that
if I waited much longer, someone else with bigger balls than me was going to snatch her up. And no one has bigger balls than
me.”
“Honey, that didn’t come across quite the way I think you meant it to. What James is trying to say is—”
“I gotta get off my ass and make a move before someone else does and steals the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” Tae
interjected.
Sonia gasped. “Exactly,” she whispered.
“It’s just . . . I’m not sure I’m in a place right now in my life that I can date anyone.
I just got out of a relationship. And family .
. .” He had his go-to words all ready. About family being a priority, not having the time or emotional capacity to think about anything else.
But his family was actually doing okay now, finally.
Maybe trying to do something for himself at this point could work.
Was he ready? “Well, family’s taken up a lot of my energy lately. ”
“Good thing Julia isn’t someone who is always asking for more,” Sonia said. “And if anyone understands putting family first,
it’s Julia.”
Sonia was right. So was James. But Tae was right too. He had to be completely sure that he was ready and that he’d be good
to and for Julia before ever considering making a move to pursue something with her. She deserved the best, not just whatever
best Tae could muster.
“You’re a good guy, Tae. Everyone who knows and loves Julia thinks so,” Sonia said.
Tae let out an embarrassed breath. “Thanks, Sonia. I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that. I think maybe I’ve been a
little hard on myself. And maybe, just maybe, it’s time I let myself off the hook and give myself a break.” He raised his
eyes to meet two sets looking back at him and smiling.
“Okay, so no pressure at all, Tae. None, nope, nuh-uh. But, when you’re ready—like later tonight or tomorrow, you should totally have The Talk with Julia,”
Sonia said excitedly.
Tae laughed. Julia was a nut who surrounded herself with other nuts. And it was hilarious.
“I should get going. But thanks for the project. I’ll email you guys with some details and plans soon. And thanks for the
advice. I’m sure if anything does happen, you’ll hear it from Julia first. But I’ll make sure to give you both all the credit.”
“Oh yes, please do. Rachel will hate it that I was the one to convince you to finally take the leap. She was sure it was going
to be her,” Sonia gloated.
Tae said his goodbyes and left.
As he sat in his car, he pulled out his phone and opened a text to reply.
Thanks for reaching out again and for the encouraging words about my work. I’m definitely interested in speaking to you about
the floor plans and storefronts. Let me know what your schedule looks like.
It was time for him to make some choices about the future. He’d been mulling over whether to reply to Jess Kim and do this
work for Starlight. He wasn’t sure it was right for him at the moment. But why not? The pay would definitely come in handy.
He should at least take the meeting, check it out and see.
And if he was going to try some new stuff in his professional life, maybe doing it in his personal life could be a good idea
too.
Julia was worth taking the leap.
So maybe it was time to jump.