Chapter 11
The winter wind bites at me as I get out of the car.
Daniel does the same, stepping onto the pristine driveway of his parents' estate.
I am so nervous. I haven't been to his parents' house in a long time, and to make matters worse, Danny's mom was recently sick.
She's doing okay now, but the anxiety is still eating me.
As we walk up the path to the giant house, I lean in close to him.
"Why didn't you tell me your mom had been sick?" I whisper.
"She has people taking care of her," Danny replies.
"Yeah, but you're her son," I counter, looking up at him. "You're supposed to be the one taking care of her."
He stops and looks down at me. He gives me that warning glare.
"Don't do that, not right now. Okay?" he says tensely. "She has people taking care of her. Trust me, it would be hell on Earth trying to take care of my mom while she has the flu. Just leave it alone."
I hold my tongue and smooth down my outfit.
Even though it's freezing out in early February, I wanted to look nice, so I wore a cute, comfortable, fluffy dress paired with warm stockings and boots.
It's cozy despite the winter chill, but it doesn't do much to calm the butterflies in my stomach. Danny said I look like a doll.
God, I’m nervous as hell. I barely know his parents. And from what I’ve seen of Danny’s father, it’s usually in a business setting. I’ve only been to their estate once and it’s when no one was home.
Do I look good enough?
We reach the front steps and ring the bell on the gigantic door.
A moment later, the door swings open to reveal a butler.
Except, it’s a woman. She looks to be in her early 40s, but she looks great.
She’s tall. About 6’0, the exact same height as Danny, and her blonde hair is parted down the middle and slicked back into a neat ponytail. She's wearing a grey tailored suit.
"Young Master Daniel," she greets us in a thick Russian accent.
I force a very big smile onto my face, trying to be polite.
"Irina," Danny says, leaning forward to give the woman a warm hug.
My heart stops.
Irina? Rena?
My mind suddenly feels sick. My stomach drops straight through the floor. This can't be the woman. It just can't be.
My eyes find Daniel, giving him a hard look. Sensing my gaze, he turns back to us and begins to introduce us.
Maybe this is a good thing, because if she's just, like, a babysitter or someone that his parents know... but I don't know, dude. I don't know what to say.
Irina lets us come in.
"Nice to meet you, Irina," I say, giving her a hug.
Irina smiles at me. "It's very nice to meet you too… Um. I'm so sorry, Mrs. Akari, would you prefer me to call you by your first name?"
"Sure, yes, please. It's Melody," I say happily.
Irina is amazing. She’s able to do her job, make everyone feel welcome, and talk to me all at the same time.
When we head into the main family room, Danny's father is there. Right away, Danny says something to him in Japanese, and they just start talking. No idea what the hell they’re saying.
"Ogenki desu ka? Saikin dou desu ka?" Kenjiro asks his son. "Shigoto wa junchou desu ka?"
Danny nods. "Hai, junchou desu. Saikin wa atarashii kuraianto no ken de sukoshi isogashii desu ga, mondai nai desu."
I just stand there hearing them. What I also recognize is that his father doesn't say a single thing to me. He just ignores me.
If the floor could swallow me up right now I'd feel more comfortable.
"Kondo issho ni gorufu demo dou da? Atarashii kousu ga dekita n da," Kenjiro says, gesturing slightly.
"Ii ne. Zehi ikou," Danny replies.
Then, Kenjiro finally turns around. He greets me with a smile.
"Hello, Melody," he says in his thick Japanese accent.
I stretch my arm forward and just go in to hug him. He seems completely taken aback, stiffening up.
"Oh, ha ha," he chuckles awkwardly.
I catch the look on Danny's face, and he is visibly grimacing.
He pulls me back and puts pressure on my upper back to bow. I let him. Wow that was embarrassing.
"I'm so sorry," I stammer quickly. "I... I'm a hugger. I didn't mean to, if that was out of line."
"No, no, it's okay," Kenjiro says, waving it off. "You're my daughter-in-law, after all."
"What daughter-in-law?" a voice says.
It’s a commanding, feminine one accompanying the distinct click of high heels clicking against the rich flooring.
It's Danny's mom. She looks absolutely gorgeous.
Danny looks so happy to see her, and when he goes up to hug her, she puts her hand to his face. Then, she grills at me up and down, as if I am nothing but a burnt biscuit.
She then looks at Danny and starts speaking fluid Korean to him, knowing I can't understand a single word.
"Nega neoreul wihae halsu inneun geon da haesseo," she scolds. "Jo-eun hak-gyo-e bonaego, bujok-ham eopsi kiwosseo. Nae insaengeul da bachyeonneunde, ireon yeojareul nae jibe deryeowa? Nae ap-e deryeooji mallago naega mal haesseo, an haesseo?"
Danny answers back in Korean, sounding so sad as he tries to cajole his mother in this whiny drawn out way they pronounce their words I can’t understand. "Eomma, jebalyo... Nae anaeyo. Saranghandagoyo."
She cuts him off instantly.
"Sarang-eun museun! Uri bakk-enamdeul-i bomyeon mwora hagesseo?
Eodiseo ireon kkamdung-ireul uri jibe deryeoon geosinya?
Ige eolmana changpihan irinji ara? San-gweop-cheung chulsin-do anigo...
Jeongmal silmang-ida. Yeonaehal ddaen gwaenchaneosseo.
Geuddaen geunyang jaemi-ro dareun mas-eul bondago saeng-gak-haesseunikka.
Geunde gajok-ege mangsin-eul jugo, ije uri jib-e kkaji deryeowa? !"
At this point, his mother looks over at me. She gives me a slow once-over, clucks her tongue, and just continues speaking in Korean as she walks angrily, yet gracefully away. Danny looks at me for a second, and then he just stares at the ground in what looks like shame.
Then, in English, Kenjiro tries to break the tension. "Don't worry about that. She's just having a bad day today. You know, menopause and that."
I feel absolutely terrible. So out of place.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I peer over at Danny and whisper, "Maybe I should go."
"No," Danny says. "It's fine."
"She doesn't want me here," I whisper back.
"I want you here," Danny says firmly. "That's good enough."
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea," I say, trembling. "I don't want to upset your family."
"You're my wife," Danny insists, looking at me. "She's gonna have to get used to you sooner or later."
It just hurts so bad because I had even tried to learn Korean during the early portions of us dating, but his mother just never wanted to have anything to do with me. And he wasn’t interested in speaking it around me enough.
Sinking into sadness, I find myself feeling completely alone. I look around the spacious house, putting my hands behind my back, just standing there feeling awkward in the living room.
Danny's mother comes back into the room and does a double take when she sees me standing there.
Before I can move, she snaps at me in Korean.
The woman is clearly doing this on purpose because she's completely capable of speaking English. She doesn't even have the courtesy of cussing me out in my language. Granted I'm in her house but she must know I can't understand a word of what she's saying.
"Wae ajikdo yeogi isseo? Mwogo dodukjilhal georago chatgo inneun geoya? Dangjang naga!" she spits out, her eyes narrow and accusatory. "Wae neorang biseuthage saenggin saramina chaji, nae adeul insaengeul mangchireogo hae, uh?"
I just stand there, feeling as though I have no choice but to respect this woman. And honestly, what am I even going to say? I can't even understand what she's saying to me.
So, I just stand there and take my punishment, holding my head down with my hands behind my back, looking respectfully at the floor.
Suddenly, Danny comes over and grabs me quickly by the arm.
"Come," he tells me. "Get out of her way."
I follow him, walking with him while his mother continues speaking in Korean, probably throwing epithets at my back.
Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she's cussing me out for some reason.
Later, as we're sitting at the dinner table, Kenjiro and Danny are speaking in Japanese. All of it is just gobbledygook to me as I use my chopsticks daintily, trying to just focus on my food.
Danny's mother calls out to the butler.
"Irina, bapirang nepkin jom deo gajyeodajullae?"
"Ye, samonim," Irina answers in fluent, perfect Korean.
She takes off toward the kitchen, moving elegantly. I sit there, my eyes following and tracking all of Irina's movements. I can't take sitting here like a ghost anymore.
"Will you please excuse me?" I say to the table.
His mother just rolls her eyes at me. I get up anyway, and I head straight toward the kitchen.
"Can I help you with anything, Irina?" I say sweetly.
Irina looks around and tells me, "Oh no, you're a guest, please."
Then I go up to her and say, "Actually, I wanted to ask you something."
Irina smiles sweetly. This woman looks so kind, so professional, so homey. She keeps the place spotless. She can’t be a bad person, right?
"Does Danny come over here often?" I ask her.
"Eh. Well, he tries to," Irina says in a thick foreign accent. "His mother likes, eh, when he visits often, so… he tries come… least twice a week. Although, eh, he's been coming more often lately because of the latest client."
That makes me feel absolutely horrible because not once did he invite me over here. I mean, of course, his mom doesn't like me, I understand that. But my paranoia is telling me that maybe he's involved with this woman.
How am I going to ask Irina what I really want to ask her?
What to say, what to say, what to say...
Well, there's only one way to do this.