“Minjae needs to take care of people’s feelings, that’s who he is. I love that about him,” she replied.
I was glad the introductions were over. They had stressed me out. Now we could enjoy Korea. We had our plans laid. Tomorrow we’d be in Namwon, the land where Harabeoji, our fathers, and our ancestors had been born.
“And maybe we could go to Busan, too, afterward,” I suggested.
Channing nodded. “We have time. We just have to find the cheapest way to get there.”
We took the express train to Namwon. The news said it was unseasonably warm for November. More like September, weather forecasters said. It was a quiet and smooth ride, and everyone seemed more relaxed. Minjae and Paul joked around. I liked that Minjae and Paul sat behind us and Channing and I sat together. I kept thinking how now that she was with Minjae, I’d see less and less of my cousin. In the past, her relationships hadn’t kept her from meeting me and Harabeoji and her dad every few weeks, but now that Minjae’s mother said she would not move from Seoul, I began to worry that Minjae would want to live in Korea permanently, and Channing would yield to moving here. I admired how quietly Minjae’s mother had asserted herself. Someone was going to have to give up someone else, I was sure of it.
There’s so much to say about the beauty of this little town that ourgrandfather used to tell us about. It wasn’t so little, first of all, but it felt that way. We took a taxi to the hotel that offered traditional rooms, with bedding rolled up in a closet that you spread on the gleaming wood floor to sleep. Here again, I was surprised to find that Channing and I would share a room and Paul and Minjae would share another. It made sense because otherwise Paul and I would have separate rooms, and we’d spend more money all around.
Minjae and Channing were rather shy with each other, holding hands but otherwise not displaying how much they loved each other. We walked around the gardens of Gwanghallu, but the pavilion was cordoned off so we couldn’t enter it.
“This is the place my mother told me about,” Channing said.
“I wish she was here with us,” I said, looking out over the ponds and small colorful buildings scattered over the green land.
“Wait, listen,” she said. We were walking past a long wall of shrubbery, and the crickets that had been loudly chirping all around us suddenly stopped when we neared. And then when we passed, they resumed again.
I laughed. “It’s just like Harabeoji said.”
At sunset Paul asked me to follow him while Minjae led Channing to the Ojakgyo Bridge, a stone walkway that arched over a pond.
“What are we doing here?” I asked.
“One sec,” he said. And then he gestured with his chin in the direction of the bridge. “Okay, now you can look.” We had the perfect view.
I turned to see fireflies flitting in the air around the couple. They stood in the middle of the stone bridge, on the highest part. Then Minjae bent down on one knee. There can only be one reason for that posture.
Channing’s hands flew to her face. Minjae held open a ring box and Channing extended her hand and he slid a ring on her finger. She pulled him up to her then, and they kissed in each other’s arms. I looked away. Itwas their moment. With the fiery sunset in this place we’d dreamt of, my cousin Channing became officially engaged to her person.
Paul, on the other hand, was taking a video of the whole romantic moment. He nudged me. “Take some photos of them?” He reminded me of his grandfather at that moment. Was that a good thing? I wasn’t sure.
Channing and Minjae were walking off the bridge already, so I leaned over to get a good angle and lost my balance. Together we fell to the ground, Paul on his back and me facing him as I held out my hands to stop myself. He cushioned my landing, so I had nothing to complain about. Before I could apologize, we had a moment when we looked into each other’s eyes up close.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” I said back. I felt a warmth rise from my stomach to my chest and rest there. Channing started laughing, and we joined her as we got to our feet.
Chapter 46
The wedding took place in Seoul. Everyone was notified and flew in the following month. The four of us extended our travels around the peninsula. It worked with Paul and my schedule since we didn’t have to fly home and then return months later.
It was a showstopper wedding. Koreans know how to throw a party in an instant. Nothing like the States, where it takes a year to plan. It was one of those pick a dress, pick a venue, pick a hanbok, go on your honeymoon kind of weddings—which Channing loved. She was not fussy. She just wanted to be with Minjae.
She wore a huge white ballgown with a long veil and a thousand buttons down the back. Koreans know how to apply makeup, and she had better skin than Minjae after three dermatologist treatments, which was a feat. I improved mine after one visit and refused to endure any more, despite the urging of the aesthetician. The therapy that surprised me had to do with my scalp. Apparently, they had this twelve-step treatment so that your hair would be scrubbed clean and allow the hair follicles to grow thicker and longer. I saw women in their twenties in that hair salon when actually those over fifty needed it. I made a note to tell Mrs. Yun and Mrs. Ku since they were in town to attend the wedding. It was the destination wedding of the year for those Stateside.
I was the maid of honor. Paul was the best man. We didn’t have to give speeches. It was all about eating great food and taking a lot of photographs.
Before she walked down the aisle with her father—who had traveled with my parents and the Yuns—I asked Channing how she could be sure Minjae was the love she’d been looking for. “What will you do if you’re wrong?” I asked.
“Then I’ll cry and move on,” she replied.
“But why do you have to marry him right away?”
“His mom wants us to. She’s an independent woman in Korea, but she doesn’t believe we love each other unless we’re married. That’s where she put her foot down. She’s stubborn.”
“So you’ll throw yourself into it and see what happens?” I asked.
