by Linda Verji
Na-ri ducked in front of Vina and blocked Min-kyu’s path to her. “No.”
Min-kyu was so stunned by his wife’s sudden defiance that stilled. For a moment he just stared at her. Finally, he bit out. “Move.”
Her eyes never wavering from his, Na-ri shook her head. “No.”
“Move,” he repeated, his voice wintery cold.
“N-” Na-ri never got to finish the word. Min-kyu’s palm slammed so hard against her face that its clap echoed in the room. Na-ri fell to the floor with a low cry.
“Eomma.” “Min-kyu!” Both Vina and Dooshim scream. Vina knelt down next to her fallen mother while Dooshim grabbed her son’s arm trying to calm him down. “Ya! There’s no need for you to be like this.”
“No need?” Min-kyu’s voice rose with each word. “Did you hear what she’s planning to do?”
“No. No. She was just joking,” Dooshim tried to soothe him.
“Joking? About dishonoring me?” He pointed at Vina and shook his finger. “You. If you don’t want to get disowned right now, call that man right now and tell him that you won’t be seeing him again.”
“Min-kyu-a, Min-kyu-a,” His mother patted his back even as she held tight to his arm to keep him from moving towards Vina and Na-ri. “Relax first, eh? Let’s talk about this in the living room, eh?”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” His rage-filled eyes locked on Vina. “Call him now.”
Vina was torn between obeying her father to protect her mother and disobeying him so she could be happy.
Her mother made the choice for her. “Im-na, go pack your bags.”
“What?” All three occupants of the room turned shocked eyes to her.
Na-ri slowly rose to her feet with Vina hanging onto her arm. She patted her daughter’s hand as she locked eyes with her. “Go pack your bags. Now.”
“Young Na-ri!” Min-kyu boomed.
“What?” Na-ri spun to face him. The anger that was in her eyes, the determination in her posture was so unfamiliar that everyone in the room, including Min-kyu, was stunned into silence. Glaring at her husband, she spoke to Vina. “Go. Let him disown you.”
“Eomma!”
“Go.” Her mother pushed her towards the glass door that led to the dining room.
Conflicted, Vina stared at her mother. But finally she too made her decision. She started towards the door.
“Song Im-na.” Her father’s yell followed her. “If you take another step, it will be the end. You’ll never be able to get into this house again.”
Vina stopped moving.
“Im-na-ya, there’s nothing good in this house. All it’s brought you is pain,” Na-ri countered. “Go and be happy.”
Vina pulled in a deep breath then took a step forward, and another, and another.
“Im-na. Im-na,” Min-kyu’s calls merged with Dooshim’s pleas to calm down but Vina kept moving until she was out of the kitchen. Instead of going upstairs to pack, she just grabbed her purse from the living room, put on her shoes and headed out the door. She was scared that if she stayed any longer, she’d change her mind.
It was only once she was outside, getting beaten by the night’s cold breeze, that she finally took her first easy breath. But with that easy breath came a host of conflicted emotions. So she was out – but what about her mother? Vina looked back at the two-story mansion that was once her home. Should she go back in and get her mother? How could she leave her in there with her father raging like that? What if he killed?
It was almost as if Na-ri was a psychic because right then Vina received a text message from her.
“I’m okay. Your father won’t do anything to me,” the text said. “I’ve already called Orion and told him to expect you.”
Almost at the same time, Orion called. As soon as Vina picked up, his worried voice echoed over the phone. “Where are you?”
For some reason, hearing his voice overwhelmed her. The emotions swirling inside her broke out of their cage. Anger, fear, worry, disappointment – they all spilled out and before she knew it, she was crying. She hunkered down in front of her parents’ house with her phone to her ear and cried.
VINA’S SOBS CUT into Orion. they speared into his heart and left him teary-eyed. He didn’t even know what exactly had happened to get her kicked out of their house and yet it still broke his hear her crying so bitterly. The worst part was that he wasn’t even close enough to hold her.
When her sobs finally eased into sniffs, he prodded, “Sweetheart, where are you?”
“I’m-” She sniffed. “I’m in front of our house.”
“Wait for me there.” He stood up and grabbed his jacket and car keys. “I’ll come for you.”
“It’s okay. I can just take my car-”
“Alvina,” he cut her off. “I’m coming for you.”
It only took him only twenty minutes to get to her but it seemed like an eternity. A relieved breath puffed past his lips when he found her at a stop that was just a couple of feet from their house. As soon as she was in the in his car, he leaned over and dragged her into his arms. The feel of her, soft and small and unhurt, made him sigh in tortured relief.
“Are you okay?” he whispered against her hair.
Her breath puffed against his ear as she spoke. “I’m okay.”
He held her close for a moment longer before he pulled back so he could see her face. The only indication that she’d been crying was her slightly swollen and reddened eyes. “What happened?”
Her gaze turned away from his and towards the direction of their house. She sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
He wanted to push her for more information, find out who had hurt her and hurt the person back. But she looked like she needed his shoulder more than his vengeance. He leant forward to touch his lips to hers briefly before starting the car.
As soon as they got to his apartment, Vina made a beeline for his bedroom. After locking up and turning off the lights, he followed her there. She was nothing more than a covered bundle inside his bed. Orion stripped down to his briefs, lifted the covers then crawled in beside her.
With extreme care, he curved his arm around her waist and pulled back against him. Vina turned until they were facing each other then buried her face in his neck. She wasn’t crying, but it was obvious she needed his comfort tonight. He surrounded her with his arms and held her close.
He wasn’t sure who drifted off first but eventually, they both fell into slumber’s web. When he next woke, it was to the annoying ring of his doorbell. Opening his sore, scratchy eyes, Orion turned to glance at his bedside clock.
Four-thirty-seven a.m..
Good God! Who was at his door at this hour? Not even his mother was that brazen. His gaze lowered to the sweet bundle of womanly curves cuddled so trustingly against him. Vina was deep asleep, apparently undisturbed by the annoying all the ringing. And if he wanted to keep her that way, he needed to open the door.
With a groan, Orion stumbled out of the bed, put on some pants and headed to the door. What he found when he opened the door brought him to full wakefulness. Standing at his doorstep were several men dressed in matching overalls. In their arms were boxes upon boxes of Vina’s clothes, shoes, books among other things. One of the men even had her car keys and promptly handed them to Orion.
Her father had officially kicked her out.
Orion tried to keep the workmen from making too much noise as they carted her possessions into the house, but the inevitable happened. Vina woke up. When she saw her stuff piled high in his living room, she bit her bottom lip. Immediately, he could tell that she was holding back tears. Taking her hand, he led her back to his – no, their bedroom. Once they were there, he closed the door and pulled her into his arms. Obviously shaken and hurt by the finality of her father’s actions, Vina clung to him, seeking his comfort.
A tremor of fierce emotion went through Orion as his thoughts zeroed in on Min-kyu. What kind of father kicked his daughter out so unceremonious
ly? Even if she’d committed some unimaginable crime, how could he send her out into the night then dump her stuff at the doorstep of some man? It was almost as if the man was completely erasing Vina out of his life. No wonder she was so hurt.
Soon, Vina calmed down enough to murmur, “I’m sorry. I know you weren’t expecting this to happen so soon-”
“Don’t apologize.” Orion held her more tightly to his body. “I’m just glad you’re here.”
As luck would have it, this was the morning his mother chose to make one of her surprise visits. As soon as she saw the boxes of what was obviously a woman’s belongings and Vina sifting through some of that stuff, she went straight for her son.
“Lee Ri-on.” She smacked his arm with her bag. “Why you… why you… What exactly do you think you’re doing here.?”
“Eomma.” He ducked away. “That hurts.”
“It should.” Yoon-ah chased him around the sofa with Vina looking on in obvious shock. “Are you insane? Are you high?”
“Hey, just listen first.” Orion stopped running to face his mother.
“Listen to what? To what?” Her purse caught his in the arm. “How can you do this to Im-na? How can you move her in without marrying her?” Yoon-ah punctuated each question with a smack. She wasn’t hitting him hard enough to cause real damage, but it was still painful. “Are you a dog? Why are you acting like one? Is this how I raised you? How dare you waste someone’s daughter like that. If you don’t want to get married then just live alone, you rat.”
“Eomma… sss,” Orion hissed as something hard in her purse knocked against his elbow.
“How am I supposed to face her parents?” She switched her weapon of choice now hitting him with her hand. “You punk.”
“Eomoni,” Vina raced to them and stepped in front of Orion. “Stop… please calm down.”
Orion immediately pushed her to the side lest his mother turn on her. But he was too late. Yoon-ah had already taken note of Vina.
Her eyes flashing with anger, the older woman turned to Vina. “You. You’re pretty, you’re smart, you cook well, you’re successful and you’re tough. I liked you. I really liked you… but you allowed this kind of behavior? What are you thinking?” She pointed to her son. “Do you love this punk that much?”
“Madam Hong,” Orion protested. “How can you call me a punk?”
“Shut it!” Yoon-ah snapped before turning to Vina. “What’s wrong with you? You should’ve insisted that you weren’t moving in here until you had at least an engagement ring on your finger.”
“I’m sorry, Eomoni.” Her head lowered, Vina murmured, “It was my idea.”
“What?” Yoon-ah stared at Vina, obvious shock in her wide eyes.
“No, don’t listen to her.” Orion tried to intervene to prevent his mother from turning her anger on Vina. “It was my idea.”
Both women ignored him. Yoon-ah asked Vina. “It was your idea?”
“Yes.” Vina nodded. Cracking her knuckles in obvious nervousness, she explained, “I’m the one who doesn’t want to get married. I’m the one who asked if we could move in together. I’m sorry.”
Her statement stunned Orion’s mother into silence. So stunned was Yoon-ah that she stumbled away from the pair to take a seat on the couch. Orion and Vina traded looks before they settled on either side of the older woman.
“Aigoo!” Yoon-ah exclaimed to herself. “You thoughtless kids.” Her gaze shifted from Vina to Orion and back to Vina as she shook her head. “If you love each other so much, why don’t you just get married?”
“We don’t want to,” Orion retorted.
“Why?” She stared at Vina.
“It’s personal,” Orion answered.
“What is personal between us?” She slapped his back. Glaring at him, she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Aigoo. To think I raised a criminal like this one.”
“If you don’t like our decision then just disown me,” Orion dared her cheekily.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like it. I don’t like it.” Yoon-ah hit him a few more times until he had to wrap his arms around her to keep her still.
“Don’t be like that,” Vina berated him.
“You see what I’m dealing with,” Yoon-ah shook off her son’s arms and shoved him away from her. To Vina, she said, “Now he’s your problem. You don’t know how irritating he is, how rude he is. He’s going to make you miserable. At least if you had a ring you could console yourself and pretend that he’s worth all the misery.”
Orion laughed. “Eomma, you know you’re talking about your son, right?”
“I know.” Yoon-ah kissed her teeth again. “What a disappointment.”
He grinned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders again. “I love you too.”
“Get off me.” Yoon-ah shoved him away, but he didn’t miss the unconscious smile that tugged at her lips.
EPILOGUE
Nine years later
“Soo-jin-a,” Vina called out. “Bring me your green dress. You’ll need something to wear to church.”
“Yes, Eomma.” Eight-year old, Soo-jin clambered off her bed and crossed the room to her closet. Minutes later, she came back with the green dress and handed it to her mother.
“Thank you.” Vina folded the dress and stuffed it into her daughter’s small white suitcase.
“Did you remember to pack me underwear?” Soo-jin watched her with raised eyebrows. “Last time you forgot.”
“Just a minute.” Vina checked the side-pocket. She winced when all she found there were under-shirts. “Oops.”
Soo-jin sighed and shook her head disapprovingly. “What would you do without me here?”
Vina laughed. People often said that of her two daughters, Soo-jin most resembled her. The little girl was smaller than most girls her age and had her mother’s small button-like facial features. But as far as Vina was concerned that was where their resemblance stopped. Soo-jin had to be the most hardworking, responsible and diligent eight-year-old in the world-which was strange considering who her parents were. Vina couldn’t remember how she was at that age but surely she wasn’t as ‘grown-up’.
Just then Daughter Number Two raced into the room.
“Eomma.” Five-year-old, Hyo-jin made a beeline for her mother. “I’m hungry.”
“Didn’t you just have a sandwich an hour ago?” Vina asked as she zipped up Soo-jin’s suitcase.
“No, I didn’t,” Hyo-jin lied without even blinking.
Vina almost laughed. Now this one was without a doubt hers. Keeping her face straight, Vina berated, “Yah! Lee Hyo-jin. How many times have I told you not to lie?”
“Many times.” Unrepentant, Hyo-jin made a face. “But I’m hungry.”
“Go and tell Appa to fix you another sandwich,” Vina ordered.
“Okay.” But she didn’t move away. Instead, she flipped the lid on the pink suitcase that sat next to Soo-jin’s. The five-year-old peered into the suitcase. “Where’s Bunny?”
“Didn’t I put her in there?” Vina asked.
Hyo-jin shook her head. “She’s not in here.”
Soo-jin, who was currently lying on her bed, thumbing through a book, added, “You didn’t pack her.”
“Really?” Vina looked around the room. “Then where is she?”
She and Hyo-jin went around the room looking for the stuffed toy. When they couldn’t find it, Vina sent Hyo-jin out. “Ask Appa to help you search for it in the living room.”
As soon as Hyo-jin was out of the girls’ shared bedroom, Soo-jin confronted her mother. “Isn’t she too old for Bunny? I got rid of Teddy when I was four.”
“And that made me very sad.” Vina pouted as she watched her oldest daughter. “Why are you growing up so fast?”
“It’s boring being a kid,” Soo-jin stated matter-of-factly. “Did you remember to pack our toothbrushes?”
“Yes, Madam Lee.” Vina nodded, but she checked each suitcase just in case. “Where’s your inha
ler?”
“In my backpack.” Soo-jin turned back to her book. “I put it in there last night.”
A smile tugging at her lips, Vina shook her head. Definitely not me.
“Honey?” A deep voice rumbled outside the room. A second later, Orion strode into the girls’ bedroom with Hyo-jin balanced on his hip. His eyes onb Vina, he said, “We can’t find Bunny.”
Nine years later, Orion was still a lady-killer. Twenty-nine had been good to him, but at thirty-eight he was heart-stopping. He seemed to have acquired that quiet stylishness and maturity that came with age and being a family-man. And other women had noticed. Vina couldn’t even count the number of times one of his female clients had tried to get inappropriately close.
Thankfully, he only had eyes for her.
Nine years and he still treated her like she was his world, like there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. Of course they’d had their ups and down as a couple, times they couldn’t even bear to look at each other. But she’d never feared that he’d walk away from her or even considered walking away from him herself. Not even once. They were in this for keeps.
Though they were still not officially married, what they had worked for them. Vina was fully aware that not many people would’ve been okay with being in what was technically a common-law marriage, but she was okay with it. Some people found safety in having papers. She found safety in not having them, in knowing that staying with Orion was her choice and not something she was forced to do because of society’s strictures. Maybe that was her fear talking again – but she was glad that she’d found someone who understood her and loved her enough to stay by her side even without the security of a marriage license. How could she possibly let Orion go when he was that good to her?
He was hers to keep, hers to hold, her to love. Forever.
“Are you sure you’ve searched the living room well?” she asked.
He nodded. “It’s not there.”