“You don’t want me to come in tomorrow?” Joon Gi switched the phone to his other ear and frowned at the television screen. A beautiful journalist with brown skin and a tight afro bobbed her head and clutched a microphone to her red lips.
“I’m asking for a favor. It’s been ages since I’ve taken a good look at my taxes. And you said you were going to help with book-keeping so…”
“I meant with advertisements and marketing, not… this.”
“Well, this is what I need.”
Tyler walked into the living room dressed in a T-shirt and jogging shorts. He ran a hand through his hair and mouthed, “Who’s that?”
Joon ignored him and turned slightly away so he could have the illusion of privacy. “Sky, is something going on?”
“No,” she said quickly. Too quickly. “Everything is great.”
“Because if I’ve done something that offended you…”
“Joon Gi, you’re overthinking things. All I need you to do is get my old records organized so I can actually understand them. I thought you’d thank me. You can work better at home than here at the bakery where it’s chaos every minute of the day.”
“You sure that’s all it is?”
“Mm-hm.” Voices echoed in the background. Probably Jo.
The voice grew louder.
“But what if I need to get something from the office?”
“I’ll leave the key under the rock by the side door. Okay?”
More talking.
“You sound busy.”
“Yeah, Jo is here helping me prepare for tomorrow morning.”
“I guess you really don’t need me then.”
“Exactly. You can take your time with those taxes and then email them when you’re done.”
There was a ‘whoosh’ in the background and then a feeble voice screamed, “Sky, help!”
“What’s going on?” he asked, snapping to attention.
“Jo’s burning something. I have to go. Good night.”
Click.
She hung up.
Joon listened to the dial tone for a second before setting his phone down and scratching his temple. Tyler observed him with a sloppy grin. His dark eyes sparkled when he asked, “Trouble at the new job?”
“It’s just weird.”
“What is?”
“I could be wrong but I think… Sky might be avoiding me.”
“What? You?”
Joon shifted in the sofa and faced Tyler, his eyebrows scrunched. “She’s been acting weird the past couple of days. She told me not to report to work early anymore. And when I do show up, I’m always running errands outside of the shop. Today, she kicked me out to work on her taxes.”
“It sounds like she’s just being a boss.”
“No, it’s more than that. Even if I can’t cook that well, she needs my help in the kitchen. She’s running around doing everything herself and it’s killing her. I don’t understand why she’s rejecting my help.”
Tyler scooted to the edge of his seat and tilted his head. “Or maybe you’re the one who misses spending time with her and you’re blowing this out of proportion because you don’t want to accept the truth of your feelings.”
Joon internalized those words and rejected them. There was no way he saw Sky as anything more than a means to an end. Besides, he had zero intentions of staying in Belize for long. The minute he scraped the money together, he was gone.
“You’ve been watching romantic comedies again, haven’t you?” Joon grabbed a pillow and hurled it as his friend.
Tyler ducked and the pillow went sailing harmlessly past the sofa. “We all have our guilty pleasures. Now admit it. You’re into your new boss.”
“I’m hungry.” Joon Gi stood and strode into the kitchen.
Tyler followed him. “This is a good thing.”
“Ramen?”
“Your crush.”
Joon Gi grabbed a pot by the handle and shot Tyler a dark look. “We’re almost thirty, Ty. You’re still using words like that?”
“It fits in your case. You’ve still got the emotional capacity of a fetus.”
Joon Gi chuckled. “Wow.”
“I’ll prove it. Remember that girl we met at the Korean Embassy that summer? The ambassador’s daughter?”
“Oh, yeah. She was hot.” Joon grinned.
“She was so into you, but after messing around for a few days, you told her there was no point in meeting further. You said she’d go back to her country and you’d stay here in Belize. You didn’t even try to make it work.”
“I was being practical.”
“You were being cold. You’ve never given any woman the chance to get close to you.”
“What about Hanna?”
Tyler snorted his disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Joon Gi filled the pot with water and set it on the stove to bubble. “I gave her access to my bank account, traded insider secrets. I basically laid my soul bare to her.”
“Dude, your soul isn’t made of stocks.”
“Says who?”
“Love is about,” Tyler stared into the distance, his eyes going hazy, “it’s about caring for someone more than you care about yourself. It’s going crazy and turning inside out and losing control because the person with all the power isn’t you.”
“Sounds like a horror movie.”
Tyler narrowed his eyes to slits. “You’re missing out.”
“On being controlled by another person? No, I don’t think so.” Joon rested his elbows on the counter and studied Tyler. “Since when did you experience this crazy type of love? I don’t remember you bringing a woman around since you graduated law school.”
“I’m not a monk, you know. I date. I just don’t talk about it.”
“So you’re keeping secrets?” Joon launched over the counter and locked Tyler in a head-brace. Holding him tightly, he barked, “Who is she?”
Tyler squirmed. “Get off, man!”
“Not until you cave.”
“It’s nobody!”
“Tell me!”
Tyler managed to slip out and brushed his hair back over his forehead. Dark eyes almost collapsing, he grumbled, “You’re insane.”
“If I’d known you were such a love doctor, I would have asked you for advice on me and Hanna. Maybe she would have stuck around if I’d bought her flowers and crap like that.”
“It’s not about flowers.” Tyler shrugged. “It’s about sincerity.”
“Sincerity makes you vulnerable.” Joon shook his head and tore open the Ramen package.
“That’s the only way you can really love someone. If you let them in.”
“I’m good.” Joon stirred the noodles. “You and Domino are the only lovers I need.”
Tyler stuck his tongue out in disgust. “Come on, man.”
Joon laughed.
A noise in the living room grabbed his attention.
“Did you hear that?” Joon tilted his head.
“What?” Tyler sampled the seasoning inside the Ramen package.
“It sounded like a lock snapping.”
Tyler spun.
Joon looked up just in time to see the knob turning and the door swinging in. His eyes widened and he dropped to the ground, clinging to the island counter and folding himself in. He heard the scrape of the bar stool as Tyler jumped to his feet.
“Halmoni!”
Halmoni?
He pictured the short and stalwart Korean woman. The Ho matriarch ruled her family with an iron-fist. Joon was not at all surprised to learn that she had a key to Tyler’s house, especially since she’d given the place to him.
The pot of water on the stove bubbled up.
Joon Gi cringed.
“What are you doing here?” Tyler asked his grandmother hoarsely. He cleared his throat and in a stronger voice added, “You didn’t tell me you were dropping by.”
Halmoni’s dry voice crackled through the room. “I brought some side dishes because I knew you’d be eating poorly. What is that? Ramen?”
Footsteps slapped against the tile.
Drawing nearer, nearer.
Joon Gi scrambled to the other side of the counter as Tyler sprinted ahead of his grandmother and spread his arms wide. “Wait!”
Halmoni stopped in her tracks. Joon could see her thick socks from his perch on the floor. “What are you doing?”
“The kitchen’s dirty. I don’t want you to see it.”
“The kitchen is fine…”
While Tyler kept his grandmother distracted, Joon crawled like a desperate ninja to the other side of the counter. With his body plastered against the wooden backing, Joon whipped his head left and right, searching for a way out.
Tyler’s house was too open. The only place he could run to was the bedroom and it would be pretty obvious that Tyler was stowing an ex-con in his guest room if Halmoni saw him sprinting across the way and crashing through the door like a maniac.
“Tyler, what is wrong with you?” Halmoni spoke in Korean and the way her tongue clucked over the words struck fear into Joon’s heart. “Are you hiding something in here?”
“No!” Tyler bellowed.
Joon Gi took a chance and slowly raised his head to peek over the counter. He saw Halmoni facing down with Tyler in front of the stove. Her back was turned so all he could observe was her short grey hair cut into a bob along with her loose blue shirt and pants.
Tyler’s almond-shaped eyes widened when he saw Joon Gi rising from behind the counter.
Halmoni began to turn around. “What are you staring at?”
Tyler pounced on his grandmother and hugged her tight. She squirmed in his arms, but he locked his hands and refused to let go. To his grandmother, he yelled, “I just… I love you so much.” To Joon Gi, he mouthed, “Get out of here! Go!”
Seizing the opportunity, Joon Gi rose to his full height and tiptoed toward the front door. It was the same distance as the guest room, but at least then, he could scramble out of the house and return with Halmoni none the wiser.
“Let go!” Halmoni bellowed.
Joon Gi froze in the middle of his stride just as Tyler’s grandmother spun.
He shot a glance over his shoulder.
Eyes connected with Halmoni.
Heart stuttered in his chest.
The stylish older woman wore a pair of glasses that almost popped off her face when she recognized him. Wrinkly cheeks flushing with color, she stretched out a crooked finger and growled, “You.”
Joon Gi bowed at the waist in deep respect. “Halmoni, how lovely to—” A slipper collided with his head.
Halmoni glared, one foot missing a shoe. “What are you doing in this house?”
“Halmoni, I can explain,” Tyler started.
His grandmother shoved him back. “Have you been harboring a criminal?”
Tyler snapped his mouth shut.
Joon saw the rising intensity in Halmoni’s face. The trembling arms. The quivering lips. There was no scenario where this ended well.
Not for Tyler.
And definitely not for him.
Joon had known Halmoni would freak out if she discovered he was crashing at Tyler’s, which was exactly why he’d kept his mouth shut and hadn’t even told his mother.
So much for that plan.
Halmoni raced around the counter like a drifter in the Fast and Furious franchise. Joon Gi dwarfed her by almost two feet, but she moved with such confidence and fire that he shirked back instinctively.
Thin grey eyebrows arched high. “How dare you mooch off my grandson!”
Joon Gi wanted to defend himself but two things held him back.
The first was that Halmoni wasn’t wrong. He was banking on his friendship with Tyler to keep him afloat. Joon couldn’t pay rent in his situation. He could barely find a dollar to catch the bus every morning.
The second reason he kept his trap shut was out of respect.
No matter what Halmoni did or said, she was his elder. Joon had been trained from childhood to respect those who were older than him and such deeply ingrained habits were hard to shake.
“Halmoni!” Tyler skidded around his grandmother and held her arm. His expression was pleading. “Joon caught a tough break but he’s still—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” She shot her hand up and glared at Joon. “Your poor mother can barely hold her head up back home. If it wasn’t for Sun Gi holding things together, she would have lost everything.”
Joon clutched his fingers into fists. His complicated relationship with his mother was private, not something that Halmoni could pick apart.
Just stay quiet. Remain respectful.
Halmoni turned away with a huff, dark eyes flashing. With anger. With purpose. “I want him out.”
“Halmoni,” Tyler begged.
“NOW!”
“It’s okay.” He looked at Tyler.
Guilt flashed in his friend’s eyes.
Joon woodenly turned around and strode to the door. Shame burned two circles into his cheeks. As he stepped out into the cold night with nothing but the clothes on his back, his phone and his socks, his hatred for his brother burned bright.
Sun Gi.
Sun Gi would pay for this.