7 #3
When Grandma did piecework for the hairpin factory, little Jiho helped her, getting faster all the time.
Umma sold yogurt drinks in the neighborhood, although her knees were giving her trouble.
Appa’s old blue truck had broken down again and needed a new carburetor, which had wiped out their savings.
Grandma had a cough that wouldn’t get better, but she refused to go to the doctor.
Ginny couldn’t mention that at school, she knew everyone but had no real, close friends and didn’t know how to make them.
“Oh, I have to go. Grandma needs me. I miss you, Ginny. I’m praying for you all the time,” her mother said.
“Hearing my daughter’s voice makes me feel like I had the most delicious meal. I feel full. I won’t even need breakfast,” Appa said, sniffling a little. “You make us so proud, our beloved daughter. You make us so proud.”
Ginny couldn’t speak anymore. If she started crying, it would make her parents feel awful.
“I know you are doing everything well, so I won’t tell you to do anything else.
Please tell Yun Teacher and Lion Teacher thank you again.
We’re so grateful, Ginny-ya, we’re going to pay all these debts.
Umma and I are working and saving money by living at Grandma’s. You can study hard and not worry.”
“Appa, I better go now. This phone call is expensive,” she said. “I’ll call you next week.”
Ginny closed her eyes. Grandma’s house usually smelled like camphor liniment, soy sauce, and the coal briquettes they used to heat the ondol rooms. When Grandma would hug her, Ginny would breathe in the clean, nutty scent of her hair oil.
After she hung up the phone, her family vanished again for the week.
There was no way of knowing when she’d see them again.
Ginny wiped her face with the back of her hand, then went to the bathroom to wash.
She’d get into her pajamas, finish the worksheets before bed.
The adults were eating now, and she wouldn’t bother them.
Yun served the salad in bowls and passed the bottle of ranch dressing. Everyone took ribs and chicken from the boxes and began eating.
“Tek was a surprise,” Yun said, confused by his appearance.
She knew things were awkward between Mido and Tek.
Mido had been mentioning him less. Of course, she’d also noticed her friend’s growing ease with Peter, but Mido had said nothing about him.
Peter was harder to read, but it was obvious that they got along, and she never saw Peter with another girl.
“He told her that he couldn’t make the trip. Then he showed up at work. At the new location.”
“So do we like him?” DH asked. “So weird they left even before introducing him to her brother. Don’t you think he should have met me?”
“Well, I met him when I was in middle school,” Yun said, “and he seems sort of the same. Good-natured. Funny.”
“Mido said that he had a crush on you then,” Peter said.
Lion smiled. “Everyone has a crush on my wife.”
“Not me,” Peter said.
“Me neither,” DH chimed in.
“Okay. Me neither,” Lion said, laughing.
Yun threw a balled-up paper napkin at her husband.
“Yes, I think Tek might have had a tiny crush on me, but it passed since I had zero interest in him. He seemed so Australian, not Korean at all. I guess Mido is fine with that since she grew up partly in Australia, but I found his informal behavior strange. Also, his Korean is not great.”
“Let’s just be honest,” Lion said. “You were waiting for a better-looking man, and I happen to be that ideal combination of intelligence, musical creativity, and movie star good looks.”
“Indeed.” Yun rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “I was waiting just for you.”
“Aaaww,” DH cooed.
“So… do we like him?” Peter asked this time. “I didn’t get a chance to really speak with him.”
In terms of looks, Tek was quite attractive—tall, clear-skinned, and fair. He kept his black hair short, and there was something happy and light in his expression. His smile came quickly.
He wasn’t like Peter, who always appeared sober, almost too serious. Even when Peter joked, he kept a straight face. Tek was the sort who’d laugh at his own punch line, inviting you to laugh with him.
“I wonder how long he’s staying. Apparently his job is really intense,” Yun said.
“I thought he seemed pleasant,” Lion said. “I mean, for a lawyer. He wasn’t full of himself.”
“Be fair. How many lawyers do you know?” Yun asked.
“Enough,” Lion replied. “I could never be one. Tough job.”
Lion habitually gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and a half dozen chances at redemption besides. Yun thought Tek was fine, but couldn’t figure out why he hadn’t come sooner, or why, though he and Mido weren’t formally engaged, he had used the word “fiancé” like it was nothing.
“They’re not going to get married,” Peter predicted. “I’d put a bet down on it.”
“Married?!” DH exclaimed.
“He told me he was her fiancé,” Peter said. DH crossed his arms.
“He’s fine, but no one is good enough for my Mido,” Yun said.
“Fiancé, huh? We’ll see about that,” DH said. “My baby sister.”