7 #2
In the foyer, Mido put on her shoes. She opened the front door but turned when she heard her friend’s voice.
“Is she gone?” Yun stepped out of her bedroom, her face red, bruised and swollen.
“Yun!”
Yun’s hair was loose around her shoulders. She was still in her long flannel nightgown. Shocked, Mido covered her mouth. She didn’t know how her face had become like that.
Nari opened the front door.
“You’d better go, dear. You can see Yun next week. She will return to school.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mido tried to have courage, and smiled at her friend.
“If you want me to bring your homework, I can do that.” She wanted to stay longer, but Mrs. Lim would notice her lateness.
Mido wanted to tell Yun about their homeroom teacher’s new wavy hairstyle and how lunch had been so dull without her, but it seemed wrong to whine about such things when her friend had been hiding in her room like that.
Someone had hit her, and Mido remembered what Yun had said the time Mr. Na struck her with a ruler, that Yun’s parents thought teachers should punish a disobedient child.
“I missed you,” Mido blurted out, and waved goodbye.
For the first time, Yun was the one who didn’t speak.
After church services, Helen heard about Yun’s family from Sonya.
Yun’s father’s business partner had sold their three convenience stores without his knowledge and signed promissory notes, pledging their buildings as the asset.
The partner was nowhere to be found, and Yun’s father was suddenly near ruin.
He had family in Orange County, and they planned on moving to California in August.
Helen didn’t understand how this could happen.
“The partner was Yun’s father’s best friend from high school.
He was in charge of the money because he had the initial investment capital, while Yun’s father was the one who did the work, but apparently they bought the buildings together.
The partner had a gambling problem, and he borrowed money from banks and some bad people.
After he sold everything, he left the remaining debts and then ran away.
Yun’s father has no idea where he went.”
Helen leaned in closer, not wanting to be disturbed by the other women who wanted to speak with her sister. They stood below the staircase near the church auditorium, with Helen’s back against the crowds to keep Sonya for herself.
“Do you know these people?” Helen asked.
“Yun’s family? Of course not,” Sonya said, surprised.
“I never even spoke to Yun’s mother until Mido became friends with the child.
” She caught herself sounding haughty and felt ashamed.
It seemed uncharitable. “Yun’s mother seems like a very nice woman.
My husband and the Chairman were talking about the scandal during dinner last week, and I didn’t realize who they were talking about until he mentioned the stores, and it occurred to me that it must be Mido’s friend’s family. ”
Helen wasn’t sure what to say. It must be terrible for Yun’s family, yet selfishly, she felt disappointed that Mido’s only friend was moving away.
“Apparently they lost everything and have just enough money left to get to California. His sister could sponsor their immigration. The partner stuck them with tax problems, too, and the company that bought the stores had all the legal documents in place, so there’s nothing Yun’s father can do.
The Chairman said the whole matter is sordid and you can’t trust weak people with addiction problems.”
The two sisters understood. Their parents had routinely gambled and fled, leaving them behind whenever they became a burden. When the parents returned home, Sonya, Helen, and Kenny knew their mounting debts would continue to plague the family.
“The Chairman said the scandal was featured in the major business paper, so all the other papers carried the story. Anyway, now they have to go to America. Can you imagine starting again at their age? I don’t think they can speak English. That poor woman.”
“Yun’s mother has always been so nice to Mido. I was grateful for that,” Helen said. “Mido is heartbroken.”
“Are you sending her to Sydney during vacation?”
“Yes,” Helen said. “Kenny called last week. The children are so excited, and Mido can go to Lily’s school. She got permission.”
“I like Lily. She’s always thinking. Kenny is lucky to have her,” Sonya said.
The sisters had not known what to think when their younger brother Kenny migrated to Australia on his own, then married a White Australian girl, but things had worked out well for him there, and Lily had turned out to be a wonderful sister-in-law.
She was devoted to Kenny and their four children.
She worked in the bursar’s office at a girls’ school.
“Have you seen Yun’s mother at services? I looked for them. Yun usually sits with Mido, but she wasn’t in their pew this morning.”
“She can’t show her face, I think,” Sonya said.
The sisters said nothing else, understanding how things could get that way.
On Monday evening, Helen picked up a jam roll cake at a bakery near the Lotte Hotel. Mido had told her that this was Yun’s favorite.
Nari was home alone. She accepted the cake and smiled, ushering Helen into the living room.
“Mido was here the other day.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, she came by to check on Yun. I thought that was nice.” Nari offered Helen tea.
“I’m sorry to drop by without any notice. I won’t be long. I have to get home and make dinner. I just heard you’re going away, and I was sad to hear it. Mido has never had a friend like your daughter before. Yun is very special. I wanted to thank you for always welcoming her to your home.”
Helen didn’t want to say any more. Seeing Nari’s anguished face, Helen reached for the woman’s hands and held them for a moment, then let go.
Their daughters were friends, but Helen and Nari moved in different circles. Nari tried to keep herself from crying.