“Surely that can wait, and we can all sit down for some refreshmentafterward. Let’s go, right now,” the older woman said, and then called over her shoulder. “Mrs. Ku, second-floor tour, hurry, hurry.”
Just from the way we were grouped, Mrs. Yun and Channing went up the stairs ahead of Kent, and Mrs. Ku and I trailed behind. As we climbed, our hands on the railing, Mrs. Ku began to sneeze and asked me to get her tissue. I had to comply and ran down the stairs. It took a while, but I finally located a stack of napkins, grabbed two, and squeezed my way back through the crowd. A conversation caught my attention, making me slow down to hear more. Two women who were Mrs. Ku’s age were sighing and carrying on, grasping each other’s forearms to steady themselves.
“Aigu ukgee Chunhyang. I feel so sorry for her!” one exclaimed. The other agreed, replying in Korean, “She waited too long. That man was never going to marry her. Why did she give him her best years?”
My Korean wasn’t that good, but I’d definitely heard her say “Chunhyang.” What didukgee, which I knew to mean “forced,” mean in this context? At first, I thought they were talking about a K-drama, but their words indicated they were talking about a real person.Aiguwas an expression I’d heard before from my parents and Harabeoji. It was like “OMG” or “Oh no.” But why did they pity whomever they were talking about? The first older woman who had exclaimed said in Korean, “Well, she’s going to meet wonderful Kent now, so maybe she’ll be married soon and have a life.”
When I heard Kent’s name, I suspected they were talking about the woman from Philadelphia who was going to meet him tonight. I wanted to ask them to explain the Chunhyang reference, except just then I spotted Minjae. He was talking to people by the front door. Our eyes met and I pointed to the second floor. He nodded and wove around the crowd to join me on the stairs.
“Channing’s looking for you,” I said.
He thanked me and we hurried up together. At the top, we ran intoMrs. Yun and Mrs. Ku. Their heads were bent together looking at a phone. “Can you believe it?” they murmured.
“Where’s Channing?” I asked. Panic ran through me. I looked down one hallway and then I immediately let out a breath of relief. Harabeoji’s familiar figure was standing in front of a door midway down the corridor. I called to him as Minjae and I approached. I filed away a mental note to ask him about the meaning of “ukgee Chunhyang.” At the sound of my voice, he paused, and then instead of waiting for me, he opened the door and entered. Before Minjae and I reached that room, Channing ran out of it and threw herself into Minjae’s arms. Her chest was heaving. Behind her, Kent emerged swiftly, followed by my grandfather, who looked perplexed.
All of this took seconds and yet it seemed to stretch in time. Without a word to any of us, Minjae sheltered her, and Channing was enclosed by him, as if they were one body. Then they separated and rushed down the stairs, holding hands. I was roughly pushed out of the way by Kent, who ran in pursuit. Harabeoji helped me to my feet, and we watched over the railing as Channing and Minjae bolted for the door. People made a path for them, and in seconds they were gone. The door slammed behind them, probably by the strength of the wind, but it punctuated their departure.
The temperature dropped in the hallway, and everyone, including me, looked at Kent, who stood halfway down the staircase, absolutely still, his eyes trained on the door. He looked enraged. His face reddened. His hair mussed. He held a hand up to his cheek. He hated the two of them, Channing and Minjae. That was clear. I rubbed my elbow, which had taken the brunt of my fall.
Chapter 25
It was a long night. Channing didn’t answer my calls or texts.
On our walk to the cars that night of Kent’s party, I was able to put together part of the scene from Harabeoji and Mrs. Yun’s accounts. Mrs. Ku had called to Harabeoji from the staircase asking if he had a handkerchief. Kent had ushered Mrs. Yun and Channing to his bedroom, claiming he had a cabinet he’d ordered from Korea that he wanted their opinion on. Since Mrs. Ku wasn’t right behind them, he sent Mrs. Yun to bring her to the room but then closed the door behind her.
“I thought it was odd and told your Harabeoji. That was when you and Minjae arrived,” Mrs. Yun explained.
“Why didn’t you go in? Why were you and Mrs. Ku looking at a phone by the stairs?” I asked.
“Oh, dear Dahee,” Mrs. Yun exclaimed. “I was trying to help.”
“You left her alone with Kent,” I said.
She looked baffled. “I’d taken a picture of the cabinet when we first went in, so I showed it to Mrs. Ku so she didn’t have to walk all the way to the room,” Mrs. Yun said. “She was tired and needed to sit. There were not enough chairs in that house. He needs more furniture.”
I turned away from her and said to my grandfather, “What did you see, Harabeoji, when you walked in? Channing didn’t want to be alone with Kent.”
He said the door was locked at first, so he knocked. When it opened, Channing came running out. It appeared to be a bedroom, he observed. A large bed and an old Korean dresser, just like Mrs. Yun described.
After breakfast the next morning, the children were playing video games in the living room, and I was making a list of all the grocery items we needed to restock when I heard from Channing. It was Saturday, nearly ten o’clock. I was worried, but seeing her location on the phone app at the beach club told me at least she was safe with Minjae. Harabeoji had her location on his phone, too, so we had decided last night to wait until she was ready to tell us what had happened with Kent in his room to make her run out that way. Channing texted,Minjae’s leaving for Seoul tonight.
What? Why?I replied.
I’ll tell you later. Look, don’t repeat anything I tell you here out loud. I didn’t call because I know Kent is listening somehow.
What happened last night at the party? Should we come pick you up?
There was no answer.
I had to ask,What’s going on with Minjae? Why’s he going so soon?
Yes, wait. No. I’ll tell you when I see you. He goes to the airport at five. Could you bring the boys out here?
Out where? To the club? I can find something for them to do if you want to spend the last day with Minjae,I offered.
No, it’s too sad when it’s just us. It’ll be easier for me to say goodbye to him with you and the boys there. The kids love the beach club.
I had to admit that was true. A good point.We’ll be there.
