Tae
“Thanks for coming over to help, man. We really appreciate it.”
Sonia Oh and James Shim had just bought a house in Silverlake and were in the process of updating the floors, the kitchen, and the bathrooms. It was a stunning Spanish-inspired home with arched doorways and incredible original-to-the-house trim. Tae’s hands itched to work on it to renovate and restore it to all its potential.
“When Julia said you were working with her GC on the Starlight office renovations, I begged her to let me ask you to help us with ours too. She raved and raved andravedabout how you’ve saved the day. She would be lost without you.”
“Sonia.” James put a hand on her arm as a gentle warning.
“I’m just saying, honey.”
Tae wasn’t sure exactly what it was that Julia hadravedabout to Sonia, but he appreciated a solid referral and some extra work. Tae had done some odd jobs for Sonia’s parents in the past, but being here going over what she and James needed from him was nice and, hopefully, lucrative.
Tae didn’t know many people his own age, to be honest. If friendships were determined by the amount of time you spentwith someone, Mr. Im, the ninety-year-old with IBS and a constantly backed-up toilet that regularly needed fixing, would probably be considered Tae’s bestie by this point.
“You’re in such high demand these days, I hear,” Sonia said.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Tae said.
“Even my cousin, who lives down in San Diego, has heard of you. Now that you’re doing work favors for friends in LA, are you going to expand your services?” Sonia asked.
“I actually don’t do any of this formally. I just do it to help if someone needs it.”
“Well, if you do decide to take on more, you should probably get licensed for some of the bigger types of jobs, just to be safe,” James suggested.
Tae didn’t want to take on bigger types of jobs, at least nothing that required him to be licensed and pigeon-holed. He was fine doing what he was doing. At least he would be, once he paid off his dad’s medical bills. The only thing he wanted right now was not to be asked about what he wanted. When it came to choices about this future, Tae felt paralyzed.
What if he chose wrong again? How many chances does someone get to pivot and change course in their life?
“Mr. Fixer-Upper by day, expert dating coach by night, all with a heart of gold. You’ve been so amazing for Julia. Tae, you’re possibly the one man I’d leave James for. I’ve told him so,” Sonia said.
“Thanks, honey. I’d also leave you for Tae,” James replied.
Tae laughed at their interaction. Sweet.
“So speaking of Julia...”
Tae straightened his back, and his ears perked up. Sonia and James exchanged a knowing glance and smiled. Guess Tae’s eagerness hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Sonia topped off Tae’s coffee mug and leaned back into James’s waiting arm draped over the back of their sofa. Tae brought the mug up to take a sip.
“I mean, Dr. Fucking Park, amirite?” Sonia said.
Tae choked on the molten liquid and forced it down before almost coughing it back up.
“Jesus, honey, you couldn’t wait for Tae to have finished his coffee first? You just dove right in,” James said.
The corners of Sonia’s mouth turned downward in an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry, Tae. Here,” she said, passing him a napkin. “But truly, what an asshole.”
Guess Tae didn’t have to wonder if they’d heard about the date with Dr. Park. His face heated, thinking of the humiliation he battled at the end of the night.No job. No pay.The dude had been trying to make Tae feel small.
And it had almost worked.
What an arrogant prick. The only satisfaction Tae got from it all was knowing Julia would never give that guy a chance again. She’d seemed interested in the beginning. The man was a model dressed up as a doctor. But Julia did not suffer fools gladly. And her face at the end of the night said it all. She was done with Dr. Park.
“Tae?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, total douchebag. Completely wrong for Julia,” he said.
