I pat him on the back as we follow Dasom and begin to descend the staircase of what I believe is the twelfth building we’ve visited today. Thankfully it’s also the last one on the list he made. “I told you there was no hurry. I don’t want you moving somewhere you hate just because you feel like you need to give me my space back.”
He gives me a weak smile, then grabs the railing as he traipses down the steps. “I figured that trying to find a place would be rough, but I wasn’t expecting this.”
“It’s fine. I promise. Noel basically has me trained at this point anyway. I’d hate for all her hard work to go to waste,” I laugh. “Plus, I’ve got your boyfriend’s strawberry soju tainting my refrigerator, so you can’t leave ’til that’s gone.”
“You know that’s the best flavor. Don’t even start,” he argues.
Finally back on the sidewalk, I’m glad he didn’t like thatplace—the walk in and out with multiple flights of narrow stairs and no elevator was ridiculous. I say goodbye to Dasom again as she flags a taxi, then ask Jase, “You want to grab something to eat?”
“Sure,” he says, eyes fixed on his phone. He’s been texting with Nikko all day, keeping him updated on our progress—or lack thereof.
I glance around for the options near us, figuring food and a drink or two will probably perk him back up. Of course there are about five barbecue places in the immediate area, so I steer him toward the nearest one.
Jase is still tapping away, totally wrapped up in his conversation, so I find a table and push him into a seat. He looks up, startled, like he just realized we’ve had a complete change of scenery. “Sorry,” he says, putting his phone face down to the side. “My mom has been driving me crazy with questions about everything.”
“Oh? I thought you were talking to Nikko.” I turn my attention to the server when he appears, requesting beer and pork belly to throw on the grill while Jase adds on a few sides.
He grabs chopsticks to twiddle with while he talks. “I was earlier, but he had something to do, so we were just going to catch up later.” He spins one between his fingers, having to stop and catch it as it nearly flies away. “She called when we were at the place with the weird closet, and I told her I was looking at apartments and I’d call her tomorrow or something, but she took that as an invitation to start an inquisition.”
“Moms are like that,” I laugh. If given the opportunity, I think my own mother would call several times a day to check if I’ve been eating well and to see if I’ve met a woman to marry and start giving her grandchildren with. Honestly, she’d probably do that every hour, on the hour, if she thought she could get away with it.
“It’s weird, though. Mine isn’t. Or wasn’t? I think I’ve talkedto her more since telling her I was moving back here than I did in the last five years before. You know, we were never that close, but then I decided to leave again andnowshe wants to talk all the time. I think my dad might be making her crazy, though,” he says, then reaches for his drink as soon as it arrives with the food, gulping most of it down in one go.
“And how do you feel about this newfound involvement?” I ask, grabbing the pork belly slices with tongs and tossing them on the grill.
“It’s fine, I guess. It’s sweet that she put a clock with Seoul time on her phone so she can try to keep track of when I might be up or available to answer a call.” Jase draws his finger around the rim of his glass. “I kind of think she’s intrigued by the whole celebrity thing too. I’m not sure that she really totally understands all of it, but she knows he’s famous and she can’t tell her friends about us.”
Pushing the sizzling meat around to make sure it cooks evenly, I realize that’s something I’d never thought about. Working at the company, we keep so many secrets, but Jase has to do it too. Has to warn people and get them to swear they won’t say anything for fear of the wrong person finding out and trying to destroy what they have. Every precaution they take to remain hidden is another thing to worry about, but here I am, with my straight privilege I guess, getting photographed with this actress or that model and all I get is a pat on the back of admiration from my colleagues. “I’m sure she’s happy you’re happy,” I tell him, finally.
“Yeah.” He nods, a slight tilt of his head. “She hasn’t—and probably won’t—just come out and say that, but I guess that’s what parents want for their kids.”
“Well, one of the things,” I joke. “Dad was happy with all my taekwondo trophies and when I got accepted to Yonsei. But I know my mom won’t be satisfied until I come back to Jeju with a wife and a couple of kids.”
“Is that what you want?” Jase asks, suddenly.
“What? To go back home to Jeju? Or a wife and kids?” I flip a piece of pork onto his plate while waiting for clarification.
“Both?” He blows on the bite until he can pop it in his mouth and then gives me a thumbs up. “I feel like we haven’t talked about this for a while.”
“I don’t think we’ve talked about it at all,” I correct him. Maybe way back in the day. I lower my voice, out of both caution and sarcasm. “Plus, we’ve been talking about your relationship with Nikko for the last year.”
Jase’s jaw drops like he’s about to protest and then he seems to lose all the fight he had, because he knows I’m right and just quietly takes another slice of pork and starts chewing.
I snort at his reticence and take a sip of my drink. “I’d like to go visit them more. I know Jeju isn’t that far, but it’s not a day trip. So fitting it in my schedule is complicated. As for the wife and kids, I don’t know. I’m not opposed. I guess I’m just waiting for someone to show up and make me want that kind of thing,” I say with a shrug. “I think I feel like I still have time? I’m only just about to turn thirty. No one settles down so early anymore.”
“Dae-ho is about to,” Jase counters.
“Yeah, well, he was always an overachiever.” I can confidently attest to this, as I’ve known him since elementary school and he’s nevernotbeen in a rush to be the first to do everything. Get his license, lose his virginity, get married. All of it. I am positive his wife will be pregnant before they celebrate their first wedding anniversary.
After snagging the rest of the kimchi and some muchim, Jase looks at me and asks, “You’re sure you don’t mind me staying longer?”
“I really don’t. I told you when you first brought up the idea of coming back that you could stay with me as long as you needed to,” I tell him, again. “I maybe should have reconsidered saying Noel could come, too, but…” I yelp when he kicks meunder the table. “I’m kidding. You know that little hellion is welcome.”
“Noel loves you,” he insists.
I scoff. “Sure. Should we take bets on what she’s destroyed while we’ve been gone? It’s been long enough that she may have shredded the couch or something.”
Jase looks completely offended. “She would never!”
