We had nearly finished it off when a short woman walked up to us timidly with another young woman in tow. They were both dressed elegantly in beautiful pastel dresses with full faces of makeup. Minjae introduced them as Eunsol and her younger sister Eunyoo. “We’re so glad Minjae found you,” Eunsol said to Channing. “I knew he wanted to live in the US, and I just couldn’t make myself go.”
Eunyoo sat close to Paul and pouted at him. “But I want to go to the US,” she said.
“You can come visit,” he said to her.
“Do you think Minjae is with me because he wants to live in America?”Channing asked Eunsol. The tone of her voice was neutral. She was curious about this woman.
I knew she didn’t mean that he loved her because she was American, but I saw Minjae’s face flush as if he was worried Channing didn’t believe he loved her. I waited for a response from him or his ex.
Minjae said quickly to her, “Then I would have fallen in love with someone else—in Boston or in East End before you came back to town.”
“That sounds suspicious,” Channing and the ex said at the same time. They laughed, and I knew everything would be all right. A pair of women walked over just then, leaning over to touch Eunsol on the shoulder as they inspected us. They seemed curious, but then moved on.
“Minjae’s shyer than he lets on. I think he stayed with me because he was too shy to meet other girls,” Eunsol said.
I was surprised by her words. He didn’t seem shy to me at all.
“Minjae’s too nice sometimes for his own good. You have to make him be honest,” she continued, turning to Channing.
“I will,” Channing promised.
“I’m sad,” her sister said. “I wanted Minjae to be my brother-in-law.”
Eunsol made a fake frowny face at Eunyoo, who smiled back, then said to us, “I work upstairs in the store. I love it. Those two who came by work with me. I didn’t want them to sit with us.”
“Do you work here, too?” Channing asked Eunyoo.
“Me?” She looked grateful for the compliment. “I hope to someday. Right now I go to college still.”
Eunsol told her sister and Minjae to buy us some coffee. Then she lowered her voice. “Have you met Minjae’s mom yet?” Paul and I looked at each other. Channing held Eunsol’s gaze.
“What do you mean by that?” my cousin asked.
“She looks soft, but she’s really tough. Don’t be fooled. Stand your ground,” she said.
“I met her at graduation,” Paul said. “She was really sweet.”
“It’ll help that you’re with them,” the ex said to Paul. “You too,” she said to me. She continued, “I got engaged to Minjae in part because I was afraid she wouldn’t let me in her house unless we were official. She only wants the best for her son. She’s fiercely protective of him.”
I began to worry for my cousin.
After we said goodbye to the sisters, we bought some sweets from the food hall that Minjae said his mother liked to accompany a lilac-colored shawl in a soft cashmere that Channing had purchased in East End. We took the subway because it was faster than riding in a taxi during the day.
Minjae’s mother opened the door to the modest apartment right away and ushered us in, to my surprise. There was nothing about her that was formidable at first. She handed us slippers, and we bowed to her and handed over the gifts. Clearly, she loved Paul, and she fawned over her son. Her short hair was out of place because she’d been out to lunch with her girlfriends and had rushed back. Minjae’s ex’s words came back to me as she talked about how she’d never live in America.
“But I can’t leave you here,” Minjae said.
She waved his concerns away. “That’s good. Why should my life change? You’ve been studying and working in the States for years. Come visit often, okay?”
“It’s only for now. We’ll live in a lot of places,” Channing said, and squeezed Minjae’s arm. He seemed to cheer up at her words.
Besides a curious glance now and again, Minjae’s mother seemed more interested in making sure we had train tickets and hotel accommodations in Namwon than learning about her son’s love interest. I wondered about it, but Channing didn’t seem bothered. “I get a good feeling from her,” she said to me when we were back in our hotel room. The next day we’d meet the boys at the train station for the ride south to Namwon.
“She didn’t ask you any questions,” I said.
“I feel like she doesn’t want to scare me away,” she replied. “She was trying really hard. Minjae told me that he was really upset when Kent forced him here weeks ago. She was worried about him. He thought he would never see me again; he had to if he was going to keep me safe. She kept him going. She loves her son.”
“He sounded scared to disappoint her and his fiancée before, why couldn’t he tell her over the phone about you, she seems perfectly reasonable.”
