“I don’t know...”
“Well, you keep doubting yourself and taking your own sweet time. I’m sure after Julia’s moved on with her life, you’ll easily find someone to replace the void. No problem.” Min’s voice dripped with sarcasm. Asshole.
He knew what Min was saying made sense. But he just couldn’t see how it could work. “Since when did you become Dr. Phil?”
“I told you, I have a very good therapist.”
“Since when did you decide to become my big brother?”
Min tucked his lips, holding in the frustration he clearly felt. Tae was being a dick on purpose.
“When you stopped trying to be a fucking saint and proved you needed help too.”
Tae glanced over at his brother. Was that what kept him so distant? The fact that he thought Tae never needed help? God, he thought about all the times he needed someone, anyone, to offer a helping hand. He conceded.
“Well, thanks for showing up,” he said.
“Tae, one more thing. Consider this a life lesson from your big brother. Check your sources, verify details, before throwing your life away.”
“Um, thanks?” Tae laughed. “What do you mean by that cryptic message?” Didn’t Julia say something similar as her parting blow before she drove away?
“What I mean is... it wasn’t Julia who paid for Dad’s hospital bills.”
Tae’s head jerked up in surprise. “What? How do you know that?”
“Because it was me who did.”
29
Time
Julia
Maybe it should have been a tougher decision. But the more Julia thought about the idea of going to Korea, the more it felt right. And the timing couldn’t have been better. Or worse, she supposed, depending on what outcome she was hoping for.
It had been a couple weeks since she’d last seen Tae from the rearview mirror of her car. She ached to reach out to him, but she had so many conflicting emotions about everything that had transpired. He was angry, and that anger disturbed her. He had been mean, and that pissed her off. He’d accused her of something she hadn’t done without giving her a chance to explain. And, oh yeah, he colluded with her grandmother behind her back. That was a blow.
Any one thing could have been a deal-breaker. But oddly, all of them together added up to something clearly not being right with Tae. He was overwhelmed, stressed, buckling under the pressure. And he ended up pushing her away, hard.
More than anything, Julia hoped he would get the help that he needed. And if, at some point, he wanted to talk to her, she’d be there. Or she’d be in Korea. But she’d make herself available.
She couldn’t put her life on hold. She had to move forward. So she did... right through the door of her parents’ house.
“I’m home,” she said.
Julia’s dad peeked his head around the corner. “Julia, we didn’t know you were coming. Isn’t it work time?” he asked.
“I took today off to get some errands done and to come see you. Are Umma and Halmoni home too?”
“Yes, yes, everyone’s home,” he said, turning back around to watch the television. “Yeobo, Julia is here,” he screamed in the direction of no one, but clearly hoping her mother would hear him.
Julia walked in the kitchen. It was empty. She looked out to the backyard. No one. This was odd.
She made her way to the other side of the house to her grandmother’s room. The door was closed but slightly ajar. She peeked in and saw her halmoni and her mom sitting together on the floor, heads lowered, looking at something in her grandmother’s hands.
“It’s so beautiful. I can’t believe you still have it and you never told me,” she heard her mother say.
“I didn’t want you to ask for it,” her grandmother responded.
