18

“But will she have ownership of any of the recipes?” Sam Soon’s lawyer asked Mr. Chu. For the past ten minutes, they’d been battling about the job offer and as time went by, all Sam Soon wanted to do was punch Mr. Hwang for stepping into her shop. After all, if he’d just left her alone, she wouldn’t have wasted her time on the pointless lunch, nor would she have heard Jin Hun proposing to who ever that had been.

Having had enough of the stupid restaurant, Sam Soon dropped her glass on the table. It fell so hard that she was surprised that it didn't break. She looked up from it to find everyone staring at her. She stood up. “Look, I am not going to close my shop, okay? So why are we even discussing this?”

Mr. Chu raised his head at her. “It will be a great opportunity for you and besides, I am sure we could come up with some kind of compromise….” He glanced at her lawyer.

She looked around the restaurant and saw that a small group of professionals had taken Jin Hun's former table. She turned back to Mr. Hwang and his colleagues. “Well, I’m leaving. It was nice meeting you all,” she said, sounding like she meant the exact opposite.

She heard Yi Young and her lawyer trying to stop her but she just ignored them and followed her feet out of the restaurant. The second she stepped out of the building, she hailed a cab and gave the driver Jin Hun’s address. Who the fu.ck did he think he was? How dare he propose to someone else so soon? Did he ever love her? Had their years together meant nothing? All she wanted was an explanation, and to wring his foolish neck. They were about 15 minutes away from his apartment complex when her phone rang. She looked at the caller id – it was Tae Young. She’d actually forgotten about him for a moment. For a split second she contemplated not answering it but decided that he’d never done anything to deserve being treated like that.

“Hi, Honey,” he said cheerfully.

“Hi.”

“So how did the meeting go?”

“Why don’t you call your friend to find out?”

“Er…” He seemed to be at a loss for words.

It wasn’t exactly his fault that Mr. Hwang has deceived them so she decided not to take it out on him. “Let’s not talk about it, okay?”

“But…” He paused. “Well, you can tell me all about it on the looong plane ride. Have you packed yet?”

“No.”

“Why not? Remember that our flight leaves really early. Make sure you’re ready when I come over to pick you up.”

“Well....”

“Is anything the matter? What happened at the meeting?” When she didn’t respond, he said, “Well cheer up. After you meet my parents, we’ll set a date and get married then we can worry about whatever it is together. I really can’t wait for you to be part of our family.”

A few minutes later, Sam Soon hung up the phone. She sighed. She knew a nice man who dreamt of marrying her and there she was about to go and talk to someone who'd forgotten her so quickly. Focus, Sam Soon, focus, she reminded herself.

“Hey, Mister,” she said to the cab driver, “can you turn around?”




***
Arriving in New York had been uneventful except for the fact that they’d arrived at Newark International Airport. At first, Sam Soon had wondered if she’d been spelling New York wrong for all these years but then when Tae Young explained it, she wondered why he’d said they were flying to New York when in fact, they arrived in New Jersey. Or did he just say that because their final destination was New York? Not that the city really mattered because apparently, she couldn’t understand much English. How come they sounded so nasal and absolutely nothing like her English teacher? Her suspicions had been realized – yup, her teacher sucked. Although she had to admit that even Tae Young seemed to be having a bit of a problem communicating with the locals because he had to repeat every single thing he said to them. It was a bit amusing watching him get frustrated.

And as these thoughts went through her mind, she wondered if that was what she was supposed to think about on the way to meet her in-laws for the first time. Growing up, she’d never pictured herself sitting next to her fiancé in a cab riding on the streets of New York about to meet her parents-in-law for the first time at a hospital. Something just didn’t feel right about it. And as she thought about it, she remembered the first time she’d met President Na at Jin Hun’s apartment. No, she’d certainly never dreamed of that, but for some reason, it hadn't felt odd. And as she giggled at the memory, she looked out of the window and saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time. Then she wondered if that was exactly the spot on the bridge Jin Hun had been the first time he’d seen it.


***

“Tae Young, you really came?” His mother was sitting up in her hospital bed holding a book.

“Of course I did, Omma,” he said, going up to her and hugging her.

She was a slightly built woman who looked nothing like him. However, Sam Soon could see the resemblance to Soo Hyun, with both of them having the same snub nose and round eyes. She was dressed in her hospital gown but with her bright complexion and demeanor, Sam Soon wondered if she was really sick.

“Where’s Appa?” Tae Young asked.

“He just went out to get something to eat. Did you come straight from the airport?”

Tae Young nodded.

“But why did you rush here? Didn’t your father tell you that it was only the flu and they were just keeping me for some tests?”

He nodded again. “But I didn’t believe him.”

His mother shook her head disapprovingly. “Why wouldn’t you believe him? When has he ever lied?”

After a moment, his mother’s eyes drifted from him and settled on Sam Soon. She grinned at her. “This must be the woman making my son so happy these days.”

Sam Soon smiled and looked down humbly.

“You do look chubbier than in the picture he sent,” she observed. “Was that an old photo?”

Tae Young shook his head. “No. The last one I sent was from about two months ago.”

His mother’s eyes widened. “You gained so much weight in two months? Are you pregnant?”

Sam Soon chuckled. She sort of liked this blunt woman. “No, Eomeoni….” She paused. It was weird calling anyone other than President Na by that name. In fact, it sounded wrong. She cleared her throat. “I am not pregnant -I just eat a lot.”

“Then you should watch what you eat. It’s not good for a woman to be fat.” She gestured for Sam Soon to move closer. “I hope the rumor I heard about you staying at a hotel is not true,” she said to them.


***

The next day, Tae Young’s mother had come back from the hospital and after dinner, Sam Soon and Tae Young decided to take a stroll around Manhattan to look at some of the sights she’d read about. They’d just finished taking pictures at Grand Central Station when Sam Soon came face to face with the Grand Hyatt hotel.

“Hey, let’s go there.” She started walking towards it.

Tae Young followed her. “What’s so special about it? It’s just a hotel.”

They walked in and roamed about the lobby, feeling the golden pillars and walking over the marbled floors. The idiot really did waste a lot of money, she thought, noticing how expensive everything looked. They walked to the restaurant and then took a peek at the ballroom after which Sam Soon turned to Tae Young and said, “Do you think we could get a room?”

He looked surprised. “What?”

She smiled. “I want to see what the view is like.” Her smile faded when she looked at his face of confusion. What the hell was she thinking? She ran out the hotel and kept running and running till she ran out of breath. Then she staggered a few feet further till she got to an empty bus stop and sat down. She could hear Tae Young’s voice behind her as she tried to readjust herself on the cold, plastic seat but right then, there was one thing she was sure of; she could never forget Sam Shik. But even worse, she didn’t ever want to.


***

Jin Hun opened his car door when he saw Yi Young’s husband’s car pull into their driveway. “Noonim,” he called as soon as they stepped out.

Yi Young was surprised. “Sam Shiki?”

Jin Hun greeted them and after he refused to go into the house, her husband left them.

“What are you doing here?” Yi Young asked him.

“Where have you been?” For four days, Jin Hun had staked both of the houses, wondering where all three women had disappeared to. He’d called Sam Soon’s phone but it seemed to be permanently off and he’d been going out of his mind. He’d barely slept an hour each night.

“I went to spend some time with my husband’s family. Why are you looking for me?”

“Where’s Sam Soon?” he blurted out.

“She’s gone to see Tae Young’s family in America.” Yi Young watched him carefully.

His heart stopped. What? She actually had the guts to take it that far? Even when she still loved him? Was she crazy?

“Do you have an address?” If he had to go over there and bring her back, he would. He was sick of trying to convince her. If he had to force her, well, that's what he'd do.

“I have the phone number and name of the hotel she’s staying at. Why don’t you come in so that I can give them to you?”

***

Tae Young walked into the spare bedroom to find Sam Soon packing up her suitcase. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Sam Soon glanced at him. "I'm packing my things."

"Why?"

She looked at him but tried to avoid his eyes. “Tae Young, I don’t know how to say this but I don’t think I can do this," she said apologetically.

He went up to her and took her hands. “What do you mean?”

She shook her head vigorously. “I am so sorry. I am so sorry I took it this far. I never should have said yes to you. I never should have accepted your proposal.”

“What happened? Is it my family? Did my mother say anything?”

“No. Your mother’s great.”

“Then what is it?” he asked desperately.

Sam Soon looked away from the confusion in his eyes. There was absolutely nothing she could say to justify what she was doing so she decided to just tell the truth. “I’m still in love with Jin Hun.”

He shook his head. “No, you’re not."

She gave him a sidelong look.

“You’re in a new country – everything is different. You’re just confused.”

“I’m not confused. It’s because I am in a different country that I know I can’t be without him. I don’t feel right here,” she said, pointing to her heart.

He hissed. “That's a load of crap. And if you love him, so what?”

She raised her brow. “What?”

“You decided he wasn’t good enough for you, didn’t you?”

She shook her head. “He’s good enough for me – what’s so great about me? Why wouldn't he be good enough?”

“He’s a weak man, remember?”

“No, he’s not. And even if he is, I can be strong for both of us. I just can’t get him out of my mind – I’m sorry. I belong with him - with all his flaws. Even if I have to be the one that does everything in our relationship, I’ll do it. What’s the big deal? I won't die if I keep doing it, would I?”

He folded his arms. “And this isn’t something you could have told me in Seoul before I went and spent millions of Won on your ticket?”

She exhaled. “I’m sorry. I’ll give you a refund when we get back.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders. “It’s not about the money. Can't you see that you're making a fool of me?”

Sam Soon struggled to get out of his grip then pushed him off her. “How dare you hold me like that? Have you lost your mind?”

He glared at her then sat on the bed. “Well, I just can’t let you leave like this," he said calmly.

“How can you stop me?”

“Do you want my mother to die? I know you don’t care about me but do you want to stress her so much? If you’d never come it would have been different. But to just leave in the middle of the trip, how is she going to take it?”

Not that she wanted to hurt his mother, but she didn't exactly look like she was on her last legs. However, he had a point. “So you want me to pretend?”

“No. But if you have any decency at all, even just a little, you’ll complete the trip. Is this fair to my parents? Some of my father’s friends are coming over tomorrow to see you. What do you want me to tell them? All this could have been avoided if you'd never gotten on the plane. But you did and that's your fault. Don't disrespect my family and just stay for the rest of the days."


***
Jin Hun stood in line at the airport to check-in for his flight. His mother had screamed at him and said that he wasn’t thinking clearly, that it made no sense for him to run after someone who was marrying another man but he didn’t care. Calling the hotel had turned out futile as he'd been told that they'd never checked in. He’d already asked some friends to do some digging around the Korean community over in New York so that at least he’d have a reasonable place to start once he arrived, but with a name like Lee, he knew the search was going to prove difficult. But he didn’t care – he was up to the challenge. As he dragged his feet and moved towards the counter, all he could do was pray that Sam Soon wouldn't do anything rash like choosing to get married before returning to Korea.

The person in front of him got out of the line.

“May I have your passport and ticket?” the chubby lady at the ticket counter asked him.