by Linda Verji
“No thanks.” Vina gave a fake shiver. She’d seen first-hand how messed up that whole institution was and she had no intention of ending up one of its victims. Her plan was to dillydally until the day her family finally gave up on her. Eager to change the subject, she said, “Are you done with your food? We still need to check out the furniture place.”
“I’m done.” April pushed her plate away.
The ladies spent the next hour window-shopping for nursery furniture. Though April had only recently discovered that she was pregnant, she was already in new-mother mode. Vina and Snow found it hilarious but they humored her anyway. To be honest, Vina didn’t mind being dragged along on April’s baby-trips. This was likely the only chance she’d ever get to do this kind of thing.
About an hour and a half later, the three women were ready to leave the mall. Since Snow had come in her own car, she headed out first. Vina and April followed soon after. Vina backed her Mazda out of its parking space and drove out of the mall’s underground parking.
She was just about to get to the gates when April suddenly gasped. “Oh-oh-oh.”
“What? What? What?” Vina glanced at her friend only to find her staring out the windshield in wide-eyed surprise.
“Vina, look.” April pointed towards the sidewalk.
The moment Vina saw what her friend was staring at, shock spiraled through her. She blinked, then blinked again. Her mouth fell open. Was that… was that a man walking down the street, naked as the day he was born, in broad daylight?
Yes! Yes it was.
The man strolled down the sidewalk, dangling bits and all, looking like he had no care in the world. The shocked stares that followed him didn’t seem to have any effect on the wide grin that split his broad face. Vina was shocked enough that she even forgot that she was at the wheel.
And then the inevitable happened.
Crash! The violent bang of her car against the bumper of the vehicle in front of her was almost deafening enough to drown out April’s sudden scream. Vina’s torso and head lurched forward with the force of the hit. Her eyes closed tightly, she let out a sharp breath and clung to the steering wheel.
CHAPTER 2
Though the crash wasn’t bad, it was enough to make Vina’s heart jerk in shock. That shock was swiftly followed by concern, and she whirled to face April. April, who had her eyes shut tight, was holding onto her stomach as if to make sure the baby was okay.
Immediate alarm streaked through Vina and she reached to rub her friend’s arm. “April, are you okay?”
April pulled in a long breath then nodded. “I am.”
“Are you sure?” Vina asked, panic dripping from her every word. If her careless driving had caused harm to April’s baby, she’d never forgive herself.
This time April opened her eyes. “I’m sure.”
It still wasn’t enough to ease Vina’s concern. Frowning, she suggested, “We should go to the hospital and get you checked up. You never know-”
“Vina. Stop.” Her friend cut her off with a chuckle. “The baby and I are okay. Seriously. It was just a minor bump.”
“Still, maybe we should-” Vina’s words were cut off by a sudden rapping on the window on her side of her car.
She turned her head only to come face to face with a familiar face. It was the man from the food-court, the eavesdropper. However, his handsome features were now marred by a frown and glare. He angrily rapped on the window again, and Vina rolled it down.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Mr. Eavesdropper started in on her the moment her window was down. “Didn’t you see me in front of you?”
“Sorry. Sorry.” Vina snatched a glance at the car she’d just bumped into. It was a sleek, red Honda SUV that looked brand new apart from the large dent that now marred its rear bumper. Wincing, she turned back to Mr. Eavesdropper. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking-”
“Are you blind or just a horrible driver?” Mr. Eavesdropper cut her off mid-sentence.
“Neither,” Vina retorted. Did he really need to be that rude over a dented bumper? Despite the irritation that was beginning to bubble within her, she kept her voice even as she started, “I was just-”
“We’re not even driving that fast.” He cut her off again. “How did you manage to hit me?” He snorted as he scowled at her. “They just give driving licenses to anyone these days, don’t they? I-”
“Excuse me?” Vina cut him off. She angrily pushed her door open. Mr. Eavesdropper quickly took a step back to keep from being hit by the swinging door. Once she was out of the car, Vina pressed her fist to her hip as she glared at the man. “Fine, I hit your bumper, but there’s no reason to insult me.”
“I didn’t insult you.”
“You just called me blind and a horrible driver.”
“No. I asked you if you were blind or just a horrible driver?” the guy retorted smartly.
“It’s the same thing,” Vina countered in a heated tone.
“Not where I come from.” Mr. Eavesdropper jabbed towards his car. “What are you going to do about this?”
Vina and Mr. Eavesdropper had now gained a small audience, and the cars behind Vina’s were now hooting for them to move. The smart thing would’ve been for her to end this quickly, offer to repair his car and move on. But this guy was so annoying that she didn’t feel like giving in so easily and she found herself saying, “I’m going to do nothing.”
“What?”
“Absolutely nothing.” She glowered at the man. “It’s not my fault that you were driving so slow.”
“What?” Mr. Eavesdropper blinked then blinked again. “Are you trying to pretend that this is my fault?”
“I’m not trying anything. Just saying the truth,” Vina returned promptly. “You were driving too slow and braked quickly before I could stop my car.”
The disbelief that flooded the man’s face was funny enough that Vina’s mouth twitched in an instinctive smile. He looked absolutely floored by her assertions and for a moment just stared at her in wide-eyed shock.
And then he guffawed – but there was no humor in the harsh sound. “This is ridiculous.”
Vina arched her eyebrows. “Is it?”
“I can’t believe this is happening.” He ran his hand through his hair, ruffling the silky strands, as he laughed again.
“Look what you did.” She pointed to the damaged front bumper of her own car. Struggling to keep her expression grave, she suggested, “Give me your insurance information. Someone will need to pay for this.”
“Are you joking?” All humor was gone from the man’s expression. His dark eyes were stormy with anger and his mouth was drawn in a straight thin like. He was mad. He was mad as hell.
Unmoved by his anger, Vina offered him a cold, disdainful look. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
Someone hooted, someone shouted at them to move but neither Vina nor Mr. Eavesdropper turned away from the stare-match that they were both intent on winning.
Mr. Eavesdropper glowered at Vina. “Are you seriously trying to make me pay for your crappy driving?”
“The only crappy behavior going on here is the way you’re trying to dodge your responsibilities.” Vina held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Hurry up and give me your insurance information.”
“Wha-” The man paused and drew in a deep breath as if trying to calm himself. When his eyes met Vina’s, they sparkled with restrained anger. “So you’re not just a gold-digger, you’re a scammer too?”
“What?” Vina blinked at him. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me,” Mr. Eavesdropper retorted then abruptly spun on his heels. “Forget it. I don’t need your money anyway.”
“Hey! You… What… You…” Vina called after him as he started towards his car. She followed him but before she could reach him, he was already in his care. She rapped her knuckles on the window. “You… Hey… Open up.”
Mr. Eavesdropper didn’t even turn his head. He started the car, and
seconds later it moved. Vina quickly stepped back to keep from getting hit. And then just like that he was gone, leaving her heated and aching for him to explain himself.
Gold-digger? Scammer? Vina huffed as she strode back to her own car. The nerve of that man. That was libel… or was it slander? Urgh!
It took several deep calming breaths for her to finally be able to explain to a curious April what had happened. “Can you believe it? He called me a scammer.”
“Well… you did try to claim that he was the one at fault,” April offered.
“Whose side are you on?” Vina glared at her friend.
“Sorry.” April immediately lifted her hand in mock surrender as a smile danced on her lips. “You were right and he was wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.”
Vina’s eyes narrowed as she stared at her friend. “Now you’re just humoring me.”
April laughed. “Of course.”
“Fine, it was my fault but the only reason I turned it on him is because he was insulting me,” Vina explained. With a sneer, she added, “It’s true what they say. God never gives you everything. After giving that guy a nice face, he decided to balance it out with a crappy personality.”
Even after dropping April off at her apartment, Vina was still steaming. The fact that he’d insulted her pricked, but what really bothered her was the face that he’d walked away without giving her a chance to insult him back. How dare he have the last word. Well, at least she’d gotten off without having to pay for damaging his bumper.
‘Let’s forget that nosy bastard,’ she soothed herself as entered the hotel where she was supposed to have her blind date. She had better things to do with her time like preparing for this date. She took her phone out of her purse and called her doctor-date.
“I’m already in the restaurant,” her date pleasantly announced. “Are you close by?”
“Yes.” A hint of seductive smokiness in her voice, Vina asked, “What are you wearing?”
“A navy suit. You’ll see me as soon as you walk in.” He asked, “What are you wearing?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll find you.” Vina ended the call without answering his question. Why ruin the surprise?
Instead of heading directly to the hotel’s restaurant, she made a detour into the restroom. In there, she got out of her grey t-shirt, light-wash jeans and sneakers, then put on a black belly-shirt with the word ‘bitch’ emblazoned boldly across the bust area, leather pants and thigh-high boots. Then she started on her make-up. First the eyes; she lined her eyelashes with a black pencil that left her looking like a hangover raccoon. To worsen the effect, she dabbed silver eye-shadow over her eyelid. Now onto her mouth;
Wait. She suddenly paused with the blood-red lipstick just inches from her lips. What if Mr. Eavesdropper had taken note of her plates and reported her to the cops? He looked like just the type to do something like that. Would she be arrested? Her heart seized at the thought but then her common sense reassured, she wasn’t the one who’d run away. If anyone asked, she’d just say that he’s zoomed off before she could offer to pay him. Bonus; maybe they’d arrest him for running off.
Grinning, she applied her lipstick. Vina smacked her lips and stared at her image in the mirror. God, she looked awful. Score. She picked her purse from the counter and extracted a pack of cigarettes from within it. Holding a cigarette between her fingers, just inches from her mouth, she studied herself in the mirror. The additional prop made her look absolutely wild.
Too much? She thought about it then shook her head. In this game there was no such thing as too much. She shook her long hair out of its customary ponytail and ruffled it so that it left her looking like something the cat had just dragged in from the club.
Then she exited the restroom.
Gaping stares and whispers followed her as she made her way towards the restaurant. The moment she entered the spacious restaurant, she saw her date. And he saw her. Shock filled his eyes, and then distaste. His upper lip lifted in an automatic sneer as he sat back in his seat and folded his arms in his chest. Vina could’ve sworn that she could even hear his thoughts.
What is wrong with that woman? Thank God I don’t know her. Hopefully, my date will be much classier than her.
Still walking, she stared straight at him and smiled. He immediately averted his eyes. He was probably thinking that if he ignored her, she’d just keep walking. Barely able to keep a straight face, Vina stopped at his table. The doctor’s eyes immediately swung to her and panic flared within them.
“Dr. Kang?” she asked.
He frowned. “Do I know you?”
“I’m Vina.” When he didn’t react to the name, she explained, “Your date.”
The horror that immediately clouded his face made every minute she’d spent dressing up in the bathroom completely worth it. He sat up and pushed back his seat as if afraid that he might catch something from her if he was too close. Disbelief etched in his every word, he asked, “You’re Alvina?”
“Yes.” Smiling, she held out the hand holding the cigarette. “Hi.”
*
LATER THE SAME evening, Orion dropped by his mother’s house after work. The moment he stepped into the living room, he found his younger brother, Julian, lounging in front of the TV, playing a video game. Like Orion, Julian was dark-haired and tall. However, he still carried the coltish,long-limbed look prevalent among teens even though he was already twenty-two.
“Hey,” Julian greeted without turning away from the television.
“Don’t hey me.” Orion came up behind the couch and slapped the back of his brother’s head.
“Ow!” Julian exclaimed he clutched the back of his head and gave his brother an annoyed look. “What did you do that for?”
“You didn’t come to work today.”
“Oh! Sorry.” Julian rubbed the back of his head. “Had to deal with a little side project.” He gave Orion a meaningful look as he added, “You know, the kind that puts money in my pocket.”
“Don’t give me that look,” Orion countered. “You’re the one who said you wanted to work at our place even if it meant not getting paid.”
“I didn’t think you were serious about not paying me. Speaking of payment-” Julian turned on the couch to fully face Orion. “Hyeong, my friends are going on a trip to L.A. and we’re supposed to contribute eight hundred dollars.”
“I’m not your bank account.”
“Hyeong,” Julian wheedled.
“Ask your mother for money.” Orion turned to take a look around the room. “Where is she anyway?”
“The kitchen,” Julian said. As Orion started towards the kitchen, Julian called out, “What about the money? I’ll pay you back.”
Orion waved at him but didn’t answer. He chuckled when his brother’s whiny ‘hyeong’ followed him into the kitchen. He’d probably end up giving the kid the money anyway, but he didn’t want to surrender too early.
“Hey,” his mother, Yoon-ah, greeted him with a smile the moment he stepped into the kitchen. One look at Yoon-ah and it was obvious where he and his brother got their good looks from. Even at fifty-four she was quite attractive with her long, silky hair and slender, fit figure.
“Hey.” He closed the distance between them to give her a brief hug.
“I didn’t know you were coming over,” she said as she turned back to the spinach she was chopping up.
“I wasn’t going to but then I found these-” Orion dug into pocket to come up with two yellow pieces of paper that had Korean symbols painted on them. He slapped the talismans on the counter next to his mother. She glanced at them, then at him before quickly averting her gaze. With a meaningful look, he continued, “- and I thought I should bring them back to their owner.”
“Oh, you found them?” his mother asked, her blasé expression showing no guilt whatsoever.
“Yes, I found them.” He shook his head slowly and gave her a disapproving look. “Eomma? Under my desk? Seriously?”
“I thought you w
ouldn’t look there.” Yoon-ah shrugged. “Who checks under their desk for bujeok? You’re a very strange child.”
“I’m strange?” Orion gave his mother a disapproving look. “You’re the one going around dropping your litter everywhere. What do you think your students would say if they found out that you believe in this kind of thing?”
“I don’t care what about their opinion. It’s none of their business.” Yoon-ah scraped the now-cut spinach from the wooden board and into a plate. “Besides if they knew how well these things work they’d be begging me to introduce them to my shaman.”
“They don’t work.”
“Of course they do.” She eyed him. “Why do you think your business is successful? It’s my bujeok.”
“And I suppose my hardwork has nothing to do with it?” Orion took the talismans and balled them in his fist. “Please stop leaving these things at my office or I’ll report you to… to somebody.”
As usual his words went through one of Yoon-ah’s ears and out the other. Without missing a beat, she asked, “You’re staying for dinner, right?”
Surrendering, Orion leaned back against the counter. “Depends. Who’s cooking?”
“Rude boy.” She lifted her hand to smack him but he ducked away with a laugh. Glaring at him, she ordered, “Get the beef for me. It’s in the fridge.”
“Okay.” He crossed the room to open the fridge.
“Did you think about that thing?” Yoon-ah called out behind him.
“What thing?” Orion grabbed a bowl containing diced and now-marinating meat.
“The Robin thing.”
“I told you I wasn’t doing it,” he said as he brought the meat to his mother. He set the plate on the counter beside her.
“Why not?” Yoon-ah asked as she peeled off the clear-paper covering the bowl.
“Why not?” Orion counted down the reasons on his fingers. “One, I don’t believe in any of that ‘marry a tiger or you’ll die’ crap. Two, I’m not interested in getting married right now. Three, she’s nineteen. I can barely stand Julian and he’s twenty-two. What am I going to do with a nineteen-year-old kid?”