Jiyeon explained, “Instead of going through a magical door, Molly ends up transported to different worlds when she touches certain objects. Or sometimes it’s the same world, but she’s thrown into a different time period. Her mom is an archaeologist so she comes across a lot of artifacts. They travel all over.”
“It was about the evils of colonialism and the societal prison of traditional gender roles,” said Denny, as he left them on the porch. He was now a man on a mission. “I’m gonna find those books and make you read them.”
“I think I would’ve really liked that series when I was a kid,” Eunjae admitted to Jiyeon, once her brother had gone. “I only had the books my nanny brought me, though. She’s the one who gave meThe Brass Key. Later, she tracked down the rest of the series at garage sales and the flea market. She wanted me to have them at home so I could read whenever I wanted, even if my parents didn’t have time to bring me to the library. Or if they didn’t want to.”
Home. When Eunjae was little, the house in Brisbane felt the way a home should feel, but only when Miss Vivi was there. She lived with them in a shoebox of a room that always smelled like perfume and the posy of flowers she kept on the altar by her narrow bed. A framed print of the Virgin Mary occupied this altar, and a wooden rosary with beads worn smooth by Miss Vivi’s fingers.
She was always singing. The house swelled with music throughout the day. Eunjae learned dozens of songs with her, from Disney movies and the radio. He studied the ballads that played during Miss Vivi’s treasured drama programs, in English and Korean, Japanese and Tagalog. Whatever she was watching, whatever she was singing, he would sing it with her. He remembered going through a phase when he was very young, stubbornly believing that it was fine to communicate only through snatches and snippets of song lyrics, or by humming melodies instead of pronouncing words. Miss Vivi always knew what he was trying to tell her.
But she didn't live with them on the weekends. From Friday night until Sunday afternoon, she returned to her sister’s house in town, leaving Eunjae with his face pressed to the panes of the downstairs windows. Unmoored without Miss Vivi, he fled into the pages of his books.
“Do you still keep in touch with her?” asked Jiyeon. “Your nanny.”
“No. My parents… fired her. I was thirteen, almost fourteen. After they sent her away, I didn’t know how to reach her. I think she tried to write to me a few times but Mum was still mad and got rid of the letters. When I moved to Korea, I only knew that her name was Vivian. Miss Vivi.”
He hadn’t talked about her for so long. Why did it still hurt so much?
“So they wouldn’t buy you books, and they didn’t want to bring you to the library. They gave you a nanny to love you and raise you because they weren’t around, and then they took her away.” Something fierce glittered in her brown eyes.
He looked down at his shoes. “Pretty much.”
Jiyeon pushed the water bottle in his direction. Gently, she said, “I’m sorry. You don’t have to talk about it anymore. But… wherever she is right now, I bet she still loves you.”
“I still love her, too.”
Eunjae uncapped the bottle, grateful to drink and have an excuse not to talk. He'd drained almost half when his phone went off, rattling on the black metal tabletop like something possessed. Jungwoo’s name popped up, along with the words INCOMING VIDEO CALL.
Jiyeon saw the notification and vacated her chair right away, rushing to give him some privacy. Even so, six of Eunjae's nine brothers still managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of her as she left the porch. Nothing substantial, just the back of Jiyeon’s pale blue blouse and a fall of long, dark hair, but that was more than enough.
Immediately, Jesse shrieked, “You're with agirl?”
21
“Isthisoneofthose… what do you call it, Nicky? A midlife crisis?”
“Hong Namgyu, why are you stupid?”
“Ari’s not old enough for a midlife crisis,” said Kei, imbuing his voice with levels of patience you’d typically reserve for toddlers and kittens. “It’s more like a quarter life crisis.”
“I’m not having a quarter life crisis,” Eunjae argued, in vain. Not even Jungwoo paid him any attention. He was still focused on the spot over Eunjae's shoulder where Jiyeon had been just a few seconds ago, before she pulled the glass door shut behind her.
Kazu yawned. “It’s really goddamn early here,” he complained, joining the call from his hotel room in Paris. He went every year for the Vuitton show, since he was an ambassador for the brand. “What’s going on now, kid? Hurry up so I can sleep for another hour.”
“God, can you put some clothes on?”
“Yeah, why’s Zuzu always naked?” Jesse demanded.
“Naked? I have pants on! And underwear!”
“Oh, wait,” said Kei, rolling his eyes. “Let me just give you an award for that.”
Namgyu gave a wistful sigh. “Aww! I wish we could all have awards for putting our clothes on. Life would be so much happier.”
“Jungwoo-yah, where’s Max?”
“Taking a nap. He said he already told Ari what to do and there’s nothing else to discuss.”
“He wants you to fake your own death, doesn’t he?”
