At dinner, I caught Channing and Minjae holding hands under the table. She wasn’t as jubilant as she’d been before, I noticed. There was a tenderness between them as if they were running out of time.
Chapter 23
As Channing, Minjae, and I ate dinner with the children that Thursday night, I found my thoughts wandering toward the picture Kent had offered me. All the Korean families in East End together in his house floated in my mind’s eye. His party was the next night. I had not imagined I’d still be in town, but since I was, why couldn’t I go? The crisis between Channing and Minjae seemed to be over. I could relax. Though I suspected that Kent was still preoccupied with my cousin enough to say she could come earlier with the children and though I couldn’t dismiss his attempt at covering up his eagerness for her attendance with his weird laughter, this was not a private dinner he was offering as he had in the past. He was inviting the whole Korean community and some major leaders who weren’t necessarily Korean. I’d get to see Paul and Ames and maybe even Alice and Jesse and their baby again. Harabeoji could be with his friends.
I waited for a chance to ask Channing about Kent’s party. Even if she decided not to go, I could bring the children. I knew Kent would not be as happy as he’d be if Channing showed up. Still, I’d tell him I tried.
It didn’t occur to me that he hadn’t invited me specifically. He’d requested that I ask Channing to attend. I’d overlooked that fact. I guess I heard what I wanted to hear. I wanted to be part of this largegathering, the kind Channing’s parents had hosted before my aunt had died.
I looked for a private moment to talk with my cousin. Even when we settled ourselves in the living room where Minjae had been challenged to a video game by Edison, Channing sat beside him. I curled up in an armchair near her.
“Harabeoji has such a community here,” I began as the children shouted at the action on the screen. “He hasn’t made the same kind of friends in Boston.”
“He loves East End,” Channing said.
I continued, “I didn’t think we’d be here nearly a whole week.” She reached out and patted my leg, giving me a grateful smile. “I’m so glad you stayed this long.”
“Of course.” I paused and then went ahead. “So you know how Harabeoji and I were going to leave tomorrow but I ran into Kent recently, and he said he’s throwing a housewarming tomorrow night.”
Channing withdrew her hand and looked crestfallen. Immediately, I regretted bringing up Kent’s party.
Minjae put his arm around her and said to me, “Yeah, I heard about it. It’s really good timing for me. I’m planning to go. Way to keep up my contacts so I can come back.” Then he kissed Channing on the lips.
Austin scooted away from them, saying, “Eeew.”
“Hey, your turn,” Edison told his brother and motioned to the screen.
“You mean after your contract is up in a few months?” I asked Minjae as his attention diverted to the game.
He looked confused at my words and lifted his eyebrows at Channing.
“I’m going to tell her, I promise,” she said to him. “Let me tell her later.”
“Tell us what?” Austin asked, saying exactly what came to my mind in that moment.
Minjae pointed to the large screen in front of us. “Watch out!” he warned as his avatar swerved into Austin’s.
I told Channing later that she didn’t have to worry about Kent. She hardly seemed concerned and helped me take my clothes out of the dryer. “You should wash the kids’ stuff now,” I told her, and she said she’d do it in the morning, that the machines were surprisingly loud and would wake the children.
“I need to talk to you,” she said, scrutinizing the ceiling of the laundry room. It was adjacent to the boys’ bedrooms, so the noise might have woken them, she was correct. Otherwise, I didn’t know what there was to notice. With the AC at such a low temperature, there wasn’t a single mosquito. She shook her head as if talking to herself. “I’ve done a thorough sweep of the place, but sometimes it feels like Kent knows things he shouldn’t know.” Her voice was low.
“You mean like he’s bugged the house?” I replied in my normal speaking voice.
She raised her fingers to her lips. “I haven’t found anything, but, yeah, it just seems that way to me.”
I carried the basket with my clean clothes out to the hallway, and we walked to Mrs. Ahn’s study. In a quieter tone, I said, “I know you don’t like Kent, but now you just sound paranoid. Really. You said it yourself and Harabeoji said it, too; Kent knows everyone, that’s why he’s everywhere. Listen, at his party, we can just say hi and leave. We don’t have to stay.”
She stood in the doorway and waited until I’d put my clothes away. Then she waved me toward her, and I followed her down the stairs. In the kitchen she turned on an episode of Chunhyang, raising the volume just enough so that it couldn’t be heard from upstairs. After a meticulousinspection of a small room off the kitchen, she invited me in and closed the door. I didn’t believe Kent had bugged the house, but it was clear she didn’t feel comfortable talking unless she felt safe.
“Minjae wanted to end the engagement in person when he goes to Seoul next month. There’s a slowdown then, and he’d already told the team he’ll be gone for a couple of weeks. It’s Chuseok so they understood.
“I wanted him to tell her sooner because that just seemed so long, and after I’m done here, I want him to visit me in Boston and—anyway, I told him I couldn’t see him until he told her.”
“His fiancée?” I asked.
She nodded, wincing at the word. “But then this thing happened with his job.” She moved her bangs off her forehead. The room we were in was chillier than I expected, and the air around us was damp.
“That’s what your fight was about?” I asked.
