by Asher Quinn
“It’s reminds me of New England when the August heat continues until almost October,” Jack said, tilting his face up toward the sun.
“Are you from New England? I feel I’ve known you forever and I know nothing about your family except for your son, Lucas.” She was towel drying her hair now.
Jack spread his towel and sat next to her, still dripping wet. He caught her eyeing him. He smiled.
“What?”
“I saw that.”
“Saw what?”
“You looking at me.”
“You have a great body. Oops. I can say that right? We’re not at work.”
“You can and thanks. Many years spent at the gym.”
“Well, it shows.”
Jack retrieved a beer for himself. “Yes.”
“Yes?”
“I’m from Bristol, Rhode Island. My parents still live there in the house I grew up in.”
“And they have Luke?”
“Yes.”
“Other family?”
“One sister, Jenna. She’s gay. Has a partner. Harper.”
“Oh. Are they married?”
“Yes. I had the wedding for them on the Chapel property in Rio. Was nice.”
“How are your parents with it?”
“Dad is fine, Mom isn’t. French Canadian Catholic.”
“Ouch. And Jenna?”
“It’s difficult for her. She expects more from my mom. But, they peacefully coexist by avoiding the subject… most of the time.”
“Jack.”
“Mmmm?” He was lying down on his stomach.
“Are you gay?”
He coughed and sat up. “What? Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. Song Woo-bin mostly.”
“Does everyone know?” So much for Jenna being the second.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. It’s just that I’ve seen how you are with him. Especially when we were with him in the hospital in Seoul.”
“Yes. At least I think so.” He pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms around them.
“You think so.”
“I really don’t know. If it weren’t for Woo-bin…. I just know how I feel about him.”
“You love him.”
“Yes. I’ve never felt this way for anyone. I was attracted to my roommate in college, but I never acted on those feelings. The love I feel for Woo-bin is different, more intense. Very different from what I felt for Nannie, my wife.”
“I’m sorry about that, Jack. I read it in your file back in New York.”
“It’s been six years. I wouldn’t know I’d moved past it if it weren’t for Woo-bin.”
“Have you told him?”
“What? No!”
“Okay. Relax. I was just wondering. I know things are different here. You do need to be careful.”
“I know. And I’m trying, but that asshole is making it difficult.”
“The GM.”
“Yes.”
“He is a bit much.”
“Something isn’t right, there. I agree with you. He has something he is holding over Woo-bin. He seems like a cornered animal. So different from how he was months ago.”
“I agree. But what?”
“I don’t know, and I’m not sure how to find out either.”
The gulls were overhead following the shoreline, calling, diving.
Jack’s cell rang. He reached into the pocket of his jeans, retrieving it. Jenna.
“Hey! What’s up? What? Where?” He looked at Missy, wide-eyed. “Stay put. We’ll make arrangements, and I’ll meet you at the airport on Jeju. Of course I am. I can’t wait to see you and Harper. I’ll call you back in fifteen minutes.” He hung up. “My sister and her partner are here at the airport in Seoul.” Surprise!
Missy got her phone out of her bag. “Names?” She called the corporate travel bureau. “I’ll need two seats from Seoul to Jeju ASAP.” She winked at Jack.
Indispensable.
THEY WERE standing outside by the curb at Arrivals, side by side. Woo-bin was actually at the house when he got back from the beach, so he asked him to drive. He jumped out of the car and headed for them and then stopped. Out from behind both women stepped Luke. He couldn’t move at first. Luke. “Oh my God! Lukey!”
Jack knelt as the boy ran into his daddy’s open arms. “Dad! The plane ride was awesome! We sat in first class!”
“Was it? You did?” He looked at his sister as he wiped the tears from his face. Thank you, he mouthed.
Jenna and Harper were dealing with their own tears.
Jack stood, hand on Luke’s head, and turned to the two standing by the open car door. “Jenna, Harper, Luke, this is my admin, Missy Argent, and our property manager slash project leader slash driver when I need him, Song Woo-bin.”
Both women walked over to grasp Missy’s outstretched hand but didn’t really know how to respond to Woo-bin as he bowed and went to grab their bags.
“Why is he bowing? Aunt Jenna isn’t royalty.”
Jack and Missy both laughed. “Well, Lukey, in Korea people bow out of respect, especially to their bosses, the boss’s family, and to people older than them.” He looked at Luke, “Hey, what about school?”
“Gram took care of it. I’ll make up what I miss on weekends when I get back.”
“She went to school with the head of the school board. She has pull.” Jenna was smirking.
“Ah.” Jack nodded.
Woo-bin had loaded the bags in the trunk, and Missy, Jenna, and Harper were already in the car. As Jack and Luke were about to climb in, Luke stopped and bowed to Woo-bin. Woo-bin smiled broadly, and Jack ruffled Luke’s hair.
“Dad!”
“He worked on his hair for an hour before we left for the airport back in the States.”
“Aunt Jenna!”
Woo-bin closed the door, and soon they were off, headed back to the house.
The ride took thirty minutes, and Jack used this opportunity to call GM Lee.
He looked at Missy as he hit the Call button. “I have an idea.”
“GM Lee. Busy? Good. I would like to borrow Song Woo-bin for a while. My sister is visiting, and I’ll need a driver. There’s nothing wrong with my current driver. I prefer Song Woo-bin. Also, I’ll be off while she’s here. As will Ms. Argent. She’s going to help with arrangements, etc. I’m sure Ms. Park Ji-hye is more than competent enough to handle things while Ms. Argent is gone. Well, have Cheol-min take over Song Woo-bin’s responsibilities while he’s out. I’m sure you will, but I trust in your ability to keep everything on schedule while I’m out. Thank you.” He hung up.
Missy was grinning ear to ear. “I gather that didn’t go so well.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s all set.” He knocked on the separator. Woo-bin lowered the glass panel between the front of the car and the passenger compartment. “Woo-bin.”
“Yes, Seonsaengnim.”
“For the next couple of weeks, I will need you to drive us. We’ll be doing a lot of sightseeing, and I know you’re an expert on Jeju. Ms. Argent will be joining us and may have some suggestions.”
They made eye contact in the rearview mirror. He looked worried.
“Don’t worry about GM Lee. I’ve already spoken to him.”
“Yes, Seonsaengnim.” Woo-bin raised the glass panel.
“Why did he call you so-sing-nam?”
“It’s so-sang-nim. It means boss or superior. Because I’m his boss.”
“Oh. Well, what should I call him?”
“You should call him, Song Woo-bin-shi, because he is older than you.”
“And that’s his name?”
“Song Woo-bin is his name. The ‘shi’ after his name means mister. Got it? Repeat it for me.”
“Song—Woo-bin—sheee.”
“Very good, Lukey. Just don’t drag the ‘shi’ out. Say it just like the word she.”
“Song Woo-bin-shi.”
“Yes!”
The girls exchanged glances.
Daddy teaching his boy.
The car pulled into the drive, and Choon-hee was waiting by the garage door. Woo-bin must have called her. Woo-bin ran around to open the door and then headed to grab the bags from the trunk.
“Kim Choon-hee, this is my sister, Jenna, and her friend Harper.” He winked at Jenna.
Choon-hee nodded, and both women bowed.
“You no need bow for me. You are family of Seonsaengnim Calloway.”
“I think it might take us a while to grow accustomed to the culture here, so please forgive us if we do or say anything that seems offensive, Kim Choon-hee.”
Harper nodded her agreement.
“And this”—he brought Luke around front and was holding him close, arms around him—“is my boy, Luke.”
Luke bowed low. Jack felt the pride he always experienced for his boy blooming in his chest.
Choon-hee was still smiling. And that, Jack knew, meant that she was extremely pleased.
“He is very handsome and polite, just like father.”
Woo-bin was already at the door with the bags, and Missy was ahead of him opening it. The house was cool and comfortable. Jack was sure that Choon-hee had cleaned, turned on the AC, and gotten the guest room ready. He told her that Jenna and Harper would sleep in the same room because they were longtime friends. It was culturally acceptable for friends, male or female, to sleep together.
Woo-bin had already placed the bags in the guest room and was excusing himself.
“Woo-bin.”
“Yes, Seonsaengnim?”
“Will you be around later? I thought that maybe we could join you on your patio, if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course, Seonsaengnim.”
Their eyes met, and Woo-bin held his gaze, then, removing his hat, headed toward his room.
Jenna exchanged looks with Harper.
“Jen?” Jack raised an eyebrow.
“He’s hot. What a handsome guy.” She looked at Missy. “Am I right?”
“Yes. Song Woo-bin, or as your brother insists on calling him, Woo-bin, is a handsome guy.”
“Dad, you said there was a beach. Can I see it?”
“You bet. Let’s eat first, and then we can go for a walk on the beach. Deal?”
“Deal.” They both bumped fists, then elbows.
“Hey. I want to try that.”
Luke did same with Missy. They laughed.
“Dinner be ready soon. All go clean up, and then sit in dining room.”
“Well, I’ll be going.”
“No. You won’t. Go use one of the million guests rooms here and have dinner and stay a while. I’d like it if you did, Miss.”
She cocked her head to the side slightly and seemed to think on it a minute. “Okay.” She grabbed her bag.
“End of the hall, last door on left.”
She raised her thumb and headed that way.
Picking up Luke and swinging him around into a piggyback in a perfectly executed move that had been rehearsed many, many times before, Jack led the way to Jenna and Harper’s room.
“This is our room? It’s huge and so is this house,” Jenna said as she walked through the door.
“And there’s a beautiful garden with a hot tub.” Harper opened the french-style garden doors that led out to a patio covered by a pergola also overgrown with lemon bells like Woo-bin’s. “Wow.”
“Where’s my room, Dad?” Luke had climbed down and was peeking around Harper to get a look at the patio.
“Well, Lukey, you’re sleeping with me. I have a huge bed, and we also have a hot tub and our own bathroom. You okay with that?”
“I don’t get my own room?”
“I was kinda hoping that we could sit up late and look at stars from the hot tub, but if you want to be alone in your own room, I guess I could have Choon-hee make up one of the other guest rooms.” Jack smiled at Jenna, then turned back to Luke, putting on his best serious face.
“No, Dad. It’s good. I miss you, so it’d be cool to look at stars before bed with you… in a hot tub!”
Jack laughed and grabbed Luke, throwing him over his shoulder. “You two get ready for dinner. We’ll do the same. See you in the dining room in half an hour?”
“Sounds good.”
Jack hugged both women. “I’m really glad you’re here, Jen. And, um, I need to talk later.”
“Everything all right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just something I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay, sure.” She looked concerned.
“Don’t worry. It’s not anything bad. Well, Mom might have a stroke.”
“Your driver?”
“What?”
“I knew it! Didn’t I tell you, Harper?”
“You did.”
“What about Woo-bin?”
She grabbed his face and gave it an annoying squeeze. “Later.” She pushed him, Luke, and Luke’s bag out the door.
“What’s Aunt Jenna talking about? What about Song Woo-bin-shi?”
“It’s nothing.” He took Luke and his bag to his room to get ready. Am I seriously the only one who had no idea?
After dinner Jack took Luke to the beach. They walked a good length of it before returning and sitting in the hot tub to watch the stars come out.
“You can see more stars here, Dad.”
“You can. Not as much light pollution as San Francisco or New England. Is it too hot?”
“Nah. I can take it.”
“Well, you need to tell me if it gets too hot.”
“I will. Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“What did Aunt Jenna mean about Song Woo-bin? You said that Grandma will probably have a stroke.”
Great. Not sure if I’m ready for this. “Your aunt thinks something about me that I’m not too sure about myself.”
“And it has to do with your driver?”
“It does.”
“Is he your friend too?”
“My friend?”
“Like Harper.”
Smart kid, like his mother.
“He’s not, Luke. But I want him to be. I don’t know if he feels the same way about me as I do for him. Do you understand?” He never sugarcoated or ever lied to his son. Ever. Truth always, no matter how difficult.
Luke didn’t answer right away, and they sat there looking at the stars for a bit. Then, “Dad.”
“Yeah, Lukey?”
“What about Mom? You loved her, right?”
“Of course I did. Always. My feelings for Song Woo-bin are not the same. But I do love him too, Luke.”
“I’m glad, Dad.”
“You are?”
“Yes. I don’t want you to be lonely.”
“I’m not, Luke. I have you, and you have me. We’ll never be lonely. Right?”
“Hey, you two.” Jenna appeared from around the corner.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Aunt Jenna.”
“Are you prunes yet?”
“Prunes?” Luke looked at her questioningly.
“She wants to know if we’re ready to get out.”
“I think so. I’m about done.”
“Song Woo-bin wants to know if we’re coming to join him. He’s playing his guitar. He’s pretty good, actually.”
“You should hear his voice.”
“If it’s as good as his playing….”
“It is.”
They both climbed out of the hot tub and dried off.
“We’ll be there in a few. Let him know we’re coming.”
“Okay. I will.” With that, she headed back to Woo-bin’s patio.
JACK SAT with Luke on his left on the stump that Woo-bin used to cut the wood for his little hearth. Luke rested his head on his arm, which was draped across Jack’s thigh, half-asleep. Jenna and Harper were to his right. Choon-hee had not joined them this evening. Woo-bin was strumming his guitar quietly, and the chords blended with the background night noise of Jeju. He would occasionally glance at Jack, making eye contact.
>
“Song Woo-bin, is your family on Jeju Island?”
“Please, call me Woo-bin as Mr. Jack Calloway does.”
Jenna smiled.
“My family comes from Jeju Island, but they are no longer here. My father and brother live in Seoul.” He didn’t offer information about his mother, and Jenna did not ask. Jack was thankful for that.
“Then you must know Jeju fairly well,” Harper said, lighting a cigarette.
“Harper,” Jenna scolded.
“What? I haven’t had one since we left New York.”
“You said you were going to use this vacation as a means to quit.”
“Just this one.”
Jenna raised an eyebrow.
Harper dropped it and stamped it out, tossing the remains into the fire.
“So, Woo-bin, any interesting places to see?” Jenna asked.
“Oh yes. I have a plan for tomorrow. I already discussed it with Ms. Argent.”
“You and Ms. Argent have a plan?” Jack stood, scooping up Luke and holding him, his head on his daddy’s shoulder.
“Yes, Seonsaengnim. Did you want me to elaborate?”
“No, no, knowing you and Missy, I’m sure it will be a full day.”
“Yes Ja…. Seonsaengnim.” Woo-bin made eye contact again and then dipped his head, and as he did, his bangs fluttered in the breeze.
Jack could feel the pressure in his chest… the excitement that just eye contact with Woo-bin created within him. “You can call me Jack in front of my family, Woo-bin.”
“Yes, Jack.”
“Alright, night, everyone. Think I need to get this little guy to bed.” Woo-bin, Jenna, and Harper stood. Jack leaned over and kissed both his sister and her partner on the cheek. As he turned, he caught Woo-bin’s eye and winked. Even by the firelight, he could see the blush rising in his cheeks. Jack smiled and headed to his room.