“Leo?” the woman says.
“Umma?” I swear I notice Leo step farther in front of me, blocking me from the woman’s sight lines.
The woman sounds perplexed as she asks him a question in Korean. Leo’s body remains a sturdy wall between me and this situation.
It clicks. Umma must mean mom in Korean. Leo may have gotten fired from Traveltineraries, but Mrs. Min, his mom, still is a permanent housekeeper here at this hotel, and we arrived just as she was cleaning my room.
Double damn.
“I’m off from work today,” Leo switches to English and lies through his teeth. I forgot that not only are we faking our relationship for the show, but he’s keeping his employment status from his mom. If we get cast, what’s he going to tell her then?
At least with Dad, he’ll watchMadcap Marketlive and I can answer his million questions after. Leo lives with his mom. He can’t dodge her curiosity forever.
And now I’m undeniably nervous about this introduction I didn’t prepare for.Neither of usprepared for. Tongue-wrestling in front of her isn’t the best first impression.
There’s stark silence from his mom’s side and then: “Who is your friend?”
Hesitantly, I poke my head out. “Hi there.” My wave makes the situation more awkward.
“This is Holden,” Leo says quickly before I can get any other words out.
“Holden who?” I get the impression that Leo and his mom share a lot. How can you not when you’ve lived together alone for so long? Obviously, he’s never mentioned me before which reads like a major red flag to her. On the hike, I was worried about Leo’s exes, but maybe I should be more worried about Leo’s mom blowing up our spot.
“Holden James,” Leo says as if this offers any further explanation. “He’s, uh, staying here. In this room. That you’re cleaning.”
She eyes us both. “I’m done cleaning. Well, almost.” She shuffles toward the runaway toilet paper rolls, sighing the whole way, winding them back up. There’s a quizzical set to her eyebrows when she returns. “Where did you two meet?” Somehow, it’s like a I stumbled into a job interview.
I answer for a stammering Leo. “On an online forum for a game show we both like.” He shoots me with a look of surprise. It was the best I could come up with, and at the very least, it’s good practice for when we tell the casting directors atMadcap Market. As queer men, we have undeniable practice in withholding secrets until we’re ready to share.
“You watch game shows?” She steps closer to her son. I notice a name tag on her chest. It reads: Sun Young. When I look up to meet her eyes, it’s abundantly clear she’s not buying any of this, and from the flush on Leo’s cheeks and the puffiness of his lips, she knows our true afternoon intentions, which is a new level of mortifying.
“Yeah, a bunch. When I get home from work. In my room. They’re relaxing.” Leo’s shaky voice isn’t exactly convincing. I’m going to need to coach him before Monday. He needs practice, needs to utilize that bedroom confidence he possesses. God, do we have our work cut out for us.
But right now, my only care is Leo’s unease. We talked about my coming out, but not his. While agreeing to our scheme meant he was publicly out, that doesn’t mean his mom is accepting as mine is.
Was.
“I thought you were always playing those video games on your computer.” That makes sense to me. I picture Leo hunched over in a gaming chair, headset on, talking shit with hisMinecraftbuddies. Maybe he even live streams his adventures. While it’s not my cup of tea, I could get behind spending lazy, rainy Sunday afternoons having Leo teach me about his favorite games, maybe even creating characters of my own to play side by side. Monitors and rolling chairs and quests and slow, sensual sex when our eyes grow too fatigued to look at screens any longer.
Wait, what am I talking about? There’s no future beyondMadcap Market.Focus, Holden.
“Sometimes I’m playing video games,” Leo answers. “Sometimes I’m watchingMadcap Market.”
The veil of befuddlement doesn’t lift from Sun Young’s face, which leads me to believe she’s unfamiliar with it. I wonder what she’d think about her son going on a televised competition show. “Interesting. What are you doing up here?”
Judging by her expression, she absolutely knows what we were doing up here, but Leo speaks anyway, dispelling most of the uncomfortable tension. “We just got back from a hike. Holden was going to shower and change before we go out again.”
His cover story feels scattershot at best, but Sun Young seems pleased enough to drop the subject, gathering her cleaning supplies and pushing her cart toward the hallway, nearly knocking me over in the process. She nods at me as she passes. “Don’t forget that it’s your turn to cook dinner tonight. I don’t want that pickled cabbage going to waste.”
Leo glances at me first. “I won’t forget, Umma. I’ll be home in enough time to make the bossam. I promise.”
“Good. You are welcome to join us,” Mrs. Min says to me before moving on to the next room.
“Oh, thank you.” I’m oddly touched by the invitation, even if it sounded offhanded and not entirely welcoming.
That interaction was an ice-cold bucket of water dropped on our afternoon. Even though the door is closed and Leo’s mom is gone, her presence lingers. We can hear the vacuum start up in the next room. How can we baptize those sheets when Leo’s mom has just changed them?
“Sorry, uh, about that.” Leo ventures farther into the room, a frantic energy bouncing off him, even as he sits in the chair at the table he’s become so familiar with.
