my arms. “We need to talk about this, and you’re never around. Do you think Grandfather might be telling the truth about this Haemosu thing?”
He’d jerked his head up. “You’re not still thinking about your grandfather’s crazy stories?”
“I know. It’s bizarre. But what if he’s right? Doesn’t that worry you even a little?”
“Jae Hwa,” he’d said, pulling me closer by the hand, “your grandfather has been ‘seeing’ things for years. Ever since—”
“Sun?”
Dad had straightened, leaning on his golf club. “He told you that?”
“Sort of.”
Dad stared out the window. “Sun went missing when I was a senior in high school. She was dating a foreigner. A white guy from South Africa.”
Oh great,
I remember thinking.
Just what I need.
“Dad. Just because someone isn’t Korean doesn’t mean he’s bad to date.”
Dad had set his club against the wall and dug into his pocket, pulling out a thick silver-linked chain. “The police looked everywhere for her. The last time anyone saw Sun, she was with him. I printed out a thousand pictures of her and handed them to everyone I came across. We alerted the newspapers, and the news channel even mentioned her. She was never found. Except for this.”
Dad held out his palm. A broken silver pendant attached to a chain was cupped inside. I’d seen this before. This was the other object hidden inside the black pouch with Mom’s wedding ring.
“It was the necklace I got her for her fifteenth birthday.”
“You think the foreigner killed her?”
He had cleared his throat as he stuffed the chain back into his pocket. His face had a pained look, and I wanted to help him somehow; but instead I just stood there, stiff and uncertain. “Your grandfather blamed it on supernatural beings. I think it was his way of dealing with her loss. Make it less his fault for letting her go out with that guy.”
“But it wasn’t Grandfather’s or that guy’s fault! It was Haemosu. Dad, I know it.”
Dad had rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“So, you don’t believe any of the old stories?” I’d said. “What about that evidence Grandfather had in the cave? What about the stories from our family?”
“Evidence? I’m not sure I’d call it that. Everyone has their way of dealing with things. His way isn’t mine and that’s fine, but there’s something else you need to know.”
“Okay,” I’d said.
“I’m glad you’re finally getting time with your aunt. It was wrong of me to have kept you from meeting her. I was worried that she would get you wrapped up in those stories as well. Your grandfather somehow convinced her that his delusions were true. She’s spent her whole life seeking a phantom that doesn’t exist. And what does she have to show for it? She’s never married. She lives like a hermit. Don’t let either of them ruin your life, too.”
Now, sitting here in class, Dad’s words bounce back and forth in my head like a sparring match. There’s no way Dad is going to let me leave the country. I see that now.
Komo’s suggestion to convince Dad to let me get married or run away seems ridiculous, but what other choice do I have? Outside the classroom, winter howls, and the barren cherry tree branches shift and bend to its force. I wonder how much more of my family’s insanity I can handle.
My eyes wander from my vocabulary list and scan the room for possible husbands to keep me from focusing on reality. It’s comical to think about it. Me. Sixteen. Married.
I mean, there’s Jared; he’s kind of cute, but his breath always stinks. Tyler’s a definite possibility, but he’s too tall. I’m not an expert on kissing, but I think it would be awkward to kiss someone so high up. He’d have to have a bendable giraffe’s neck to make it work. I snort at the thought.
“What are you snickering about?” Michelle whispers as she slides in beside me when Mrs. Song isn’t looking. We usually share
He’d jerked his head up. “You’re not still thinking about your grandfather’s crazy stories?”
“I know. It’s bizarre. But what if he’s right? Doesn’t that worry you even a little?”
“Jae Hwa,” he’d said, pulling me closer by the hand, “your grandfather has been ‘seeing’ things for years. Ever since—”
“Sun?”
Dad had straightened, leaning on his golf club. “He told you that?”
“Sort of.”
Dad stared out the window. “Sun went missing when I was a senior in high school. She was dating a foreigner. A white guy from South Africa.”
Oh great,
I remember thinking.
Just what I need.
“Dad. Just because someone isn’t Korean doesn’t mean he’s bad to date.”
Dad had set his club against the wall and dug into his pocket, pulling out a thick silver-linked chain. “The police looked everywhere for her. The last time anyone saw Sun, she was with him. I printed out a thousand pictures of her and handed them to everyone I came across. We alerted the newspapers, and the news channel even mentioned her. She was never found. Except for this.”
Dad held out his palm. A broken silver pendant attached to a chain was cupped inside. I’d seen this before. This was the other object hidden inside the black pouch with Mom’s wedding ring.
“It was the necklace I got her for her fifteenth birthday.”
“You think the foreigner killed her?”
He had cleared his throat as he stuffed the chain back into his pocket. His face had a pained look, and I wanted to help him somehow; but instead I just stood there, stiff and uncertain. “Your grandfather blamed it on supernatural beings. I think it was his way of dealing with her loss. Make it less his fault for letting her go out with that guy.”
“But it wasn’t Grandfather’s or that guy’s fault! It was Haemosu. Dad, I know it.”
Dad had rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“So, you don’t believe any of the old stories?” I’d said. “What about that evidence Grandfather had in the cave? What about the stories from our family?”
“Evidence? I’m not sure I’d call it that. Everyone has their way of dealing with things. His way isn’t mine and that’s fine, but there’s something else you need to know.”
“Okay,” I’d said.
“I’m glad you’re finally getting time with your aunt. It was wrong of me to have kept you from meeting her. I was worried that she would get you wrapped up in those stories as well. Your grandfather somehow convinced her that his delusions were true. She’s spent her whole life seeking a phantom that doesn’t exist. And what does she have to show for it? She’s never married. She lives like a hermit. Don’t let either of them ruin your life, too.”
Now, sitting here in class, Dad’s words bounce back and forth in my head like a sparring match. There’s no way Dad is going to let me leave the country. I see that now.
Komo’s suggestion to convince Dad to let me get married or run away seems ridiculous, but what other choice do I have? Outside the classroom, winter howls, and the barren cherry tree branches shift and bend to its force. I wonder how much more of my family’s insanity I can handle.
My eyes wander from my vocabulary list and scan the room for possible husbands to keep me from focusing on reality. It’s comical to think about it. Me. Sixteen. Married.
I mean, there’s Jared; he’s kind of cute, but his breath always stinks. Tyler’s a definite possibility, but he’s too tall. I’m not an expert on kissing, but I think it would be awkward to kiss someone so high up. He’d have to have a bendable giraffe’s neck to make it work. I snort at the thought.
“What are you snickering about?” Michelle whispers as she slides in beside me when Mrs. Song isn’t looking. We usually share
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