CHAPTER 7

‘The menu doesn’t seem to have enough vegetables……. Oh, she forgot carrots!’

Minhee stepped aside so that only Taejun could see her and mouthed ‘carrot’. Taejun’s eyebrows twitched as he noticed Minhee’s silent exclamation. Concentrating, squinting his eyes, he hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

[……Carrots?]

[Santon likes carrots too?? Rose also likes carrots! But, is carrot your only favorite food?]

Taejun was genuinely taken aback.

‘What’s my favorite food?’

No one had ever asked him this question before. From the age of twelve, he’d been on food stamps to stave off hunger, and when he volunteered for the army at eighteen, he ate whatever rations were available.

Even now, he hastily filled his stomach with sandwiches or protein shakes in front of the computer for lunch, reheated whatever the chef had prepared, and placed it in the refrigerator for dinner.

He ate whatever was given to him, had no aversions to any food, and didn’t have any particular favorites.

Suddenly, a distant memory of a dinner scene came to his mind. It was around the time he turned eight, back when he still lived in Korea.

Steaming white rice, grilled fish, fried eggs, miso stew, and spinach and bean sprout side dishes were placed on the small dining table. A family of four sitting around, laughing and talking excitedly about how they were going to America because of Taejun.

‘What did I eat well then?’

‘Taejun, eat a variety of foods so you can grow tall like your brother.’

His mother spoke as she placed a piece of fish on his spoon, and that day, following his brother’s choice of side dishes, Taejun effortlessly finished a bowl of rice.

[……Rice, grilled fish, fried egg, miso stew].

[Eww! I don’t like fish!]

Minhee interjected with a gentle but firm voice.

“Rose, everyone has different favorite foods, and each family has different dishes they eat. You shouldn’t say ‘eww’ to someone else’s food, didn’t you learn that in school?”

Rose, realizing her mistake, glanced at Taejun apologetically and lightly tapped his knee with her small hand.

[Sorry, Santon. Eat a lot of fish.]

[…Sure.]

Somewhere around Taejun’s heart, something tickled, and his breath caught. Minhee stroked Rose’s head and said.

[I’ll ask the chef to cook Rose’s favorite food twice a week. But what if the chef serves something that your uncle or me likes, but Rose doesn’t? You learned that at school too, right?]

Rose pouted and reluctantly offered,

[I’ll try three bites.]

[Yeah, you don’t have to eat it all, so just try three bites. Even if it doesn’t suit your taste at first, try it twice and a third time, maybe you’ll start to like it. Now, let’s go race our plane, shall we?]

Rose jumped up and offered Taejun an awkwardly folded paper airplane. The initials “TJ” were written in crooked letters on the airplane.

As Minhee held Rose’s hand and led her down the hallway, she gestured for Taejun to join them.

[Let’s go to the runway, Rose.]

[To the runway! But what’s a runway?]

[It’s a long path where airplanes can take off, like that hallway over there.]

[Can I fly first? Daddy always said ‘Young Lady First’.]

[Yeah, it’s okay for me, but ask your uncle.]

[Santon, can I go first?]

Rose and Minhee turned to Taejun simultaneously.

Taejun stood awkwardly in the hallway, holding the paper airplane Rose had given him.

He didn’t know whether to burst out laughing or bash his head in self-deprecation at the strange and awkward sight of six-year-old Rose and him deciding which airplane to fly first.

[…You go first.]

[Thanks, Santon. Santon is a really nice person. Dad said that too.]

Just like his brother sometimes did, Rose reached out and lightly tapped Taejun’s arm while smiling.

‘…Did my brother say that about me? That I’m a nice person?’

Before the shock of Rose’s nonchalant words could sink in, the child shouted with excitement as she threw a paper plane like a hand grenade. After a few lurches in the air, the plane flew farther than expected and landed halfway down the hall.

[Good job, Rose! Next turn, is it ‘ladies first’ after the ‘Young Lady’?]

Minhee looked at Taejun with playful eyes, seeking his approval. Taejun gave up thinking about it and nodded toward Min-hee.

[Thanks, Rose’s uncle is such a nice guy!]

[Yeah, am I right?]

‘Ha… I never felt this beaten up even when climbing into the ring for sparring with a pro.’

Just by standing and listening to the conversation between Minhee and Rose about him, Taejun felt his strength draining from his limbs.

Staring blankly, absentmindedly aligning the edge of the paper airplane he held, Minhee energetically extended her arm, sending her whole body into the air. It was almost as if she was about to plant the airplane firmly on the floor.

Bounding a few times on her tiptoes, she lost balance and staggered forward. At that moment, Taejun reflexively reached out and caught her forearm. Minhee was pulled towards him, her other arm flailing for balance.

‘Oops, I lost control.’

With the added weight of acceleration, Minhee’s palm slammed into his pectoral with an audible thud.

“Ugh…! That hurts.”

“Oops, sorry! I didn’t mean to do that on purpose!”

Minhee, looking flustered, withdrew her hand from his chest and backed away. But, Taejun’s hand still firmly gripped her forearm.

As the soft and yielding sensation tried to escape from his rough palm, Taejun, without realizing it, tightened his grip on Minhee’s arm.

“Ah…!”

As she was pulled towards him with little strength, a suppressed gasp escaped Minhee’s lips, and an intense warmth shot down his spine, anchoring itself somewhere. When Taejun hastily released her, there remained faint imprints of his grip on Minhee’s pale arm.

At the sight of it, Taejun’s expression hardened, then twisted in embarrassment as he nervously ran a hand through his hair.

“……I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ve always had a poor sense of balance. I almost fell, thank you for catching me.”

[Santon and Miss Minnie, why are you speaking Korean? Are you fighting? Mom and Dad fight in Korean so Rose won’t understand.]

Both Taejun and Minhee turned their heads abruptly toward Rose, responding to her inquiry.

Minhee was a little surprised to realize that she had just had a conversation with Taejun in Korean without realizing it. Although she was fluent in Korean after immigrating to Korea in the second grade, she was more comfortable with English in her daily life, so she rarely spoke Korean except with her dad or Miho.

Even though the sentences were brief, Taejun’s pronunciation and intonation seemed natural, indicating his proficiency in Korean. As Minhee looked at him with a curious expression, he returned her gaze with an expression that seemed as if he had been struck on the back of his head.

Initially, she thought of him as a moving, cold marble-like sculpture, but occasionally, the expressions hidden beneath that cold surface intrigued her.

‘What kind of expression is that… isn’t it unfair? And why is it cute? What am I supposed to do with him looking cute? Ugh, I’m smitten again.’

Minhee struggled to pull down the corners of her mouth that were about to rise on their own as she watched the normally serious-looking man stand there dumbfounded with his mouth open.

Taejun was visibly flustered. Apart from his brother and sister-in-law, Minhee was the first person he had spoken to in Korean. Being with her felt like flipping an unused switch without warning, and he found himself caught off guard.

[We didn’t fight, Rose. I just thanked your Uncle for catching me when I almost fell.]

[Okay. I thought Miss Minnie and Santon were fighting because Miss Minnie hit Santon. Don’t fight, both of you. Get along well. Now it’s Santon’s turn!]

Taejun, as if suddenly remembering, looked down at the paper airplane. Minhee picked up the dropped file after stumbling, and he could see a blush spreading across her cheeks. Once he became conscious of it, it felt like an invisible force was pushing down on him, much like Pavlov’s dog responding automatically.

‘What kind of influence does that face have on my nerves?’

His mind was in complete chaos.

‘Damn paper airplane race. I need to finish this crazy thing quickly.’

He threw the airplane haphazardly through the air. Just as Minhee used the file to create a gust of wind to cool down her flushed face, it whisked away Taejun’s paper airplane.

Bouncing off the wall, the airplane changed direction, twirling and spiraling before finally gliding to a stop near Minhee’s feet.

[Rose is the winner! Santon came last!]

Rose laughed gleefully, bouncing around the room, while Minhee, with flushed cheeks, looked down at Taejun’s airplane that had come to a stop near her feet. Taejun raised his hand to his forehead in disbelief.

‘What on earth have I done…?’

***

On the large bed, decorated in the same stark monochromatic tones as the living room, a slickly lotioned Rose and an old, fluffy stuffed rabbit peeked out from under the covers.

Rose, with her sparkling eyes, alternated her gaze between Taejun, who stood stiffly beside the bed, and Minhee, who was perched on the corner of the bed.

[Santon, read me a book.]

Mei-ling, Rose’s nanny, had hastily packed six picture books in the suitcase when coming to Taejun’s house. Minhee picked one out and handed it to Taejun. Recognizing the book, Rose giggled and wriggled her small body.

[This is the book Daddy reads to me before bed].

Taejun looked at his wristwatch, which was just about to strike eight, and was once again amazed that Rose was able to go to bed at such an early hour.

Until yesterday, Rose refused to go to sleep, enduring until she fell exhausted well past midnight, then collapsed on the living room floor. Now, she seemed half-asleep with her eyes drooping, even at this early hour.

Taejun pulled up a chair from the corner of the room and sat it next to the bed. The memory of someone reading a book to him aloud was distant. It was understandable. Taejun had started reading on his own around the age of three, and since then, there had been no need for anyone to read to him.