by Linda Verji
Soon, Vina was once more distracted by the business of running a kitchen. Unfortunately, April was a woman of her word. When the kitchen eventually closed for the night, she was still hanging around the restaurant, waiting for her.
As soon as Vina changed out of her chef-coat and into her street clothes, April sidled up next to her. “You’re driving me home.”
“I am?” Vina’s eyebrows shot up. “What about Roman?”
As if he could tell he was the topic of the conversation, Roman emerged into the dining room. At over six-feet, Roman was quite the midnight-haired giant when compared to Vina. But he and April, who was almost as tall as him, were quite the match. They made a handsome couple that was currently the envy of everyone who worked at Tellers.
“Are you ready to go, baby?” he directed his question to April.
April slipped her arm into the crook of Vina’s arm as she smiled at her fiancé. “Vina’s driving me home.”
“Why?” Roman frowned. “You and I are going in the same direction, aren’t we?”
Despite being engaged and expecting, the two didn’t as yet live together.
“Don’t ask questions.” April edged closer to him and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you at home.”
Leaving the poor man gaping in disbelief, the two women left the restaurant. They were barely in the car before the grilling began. How was the date? What did you do? Was it fun? Was he a gentleman?
Vina studied her friend with raised eyebrows. “You do realize that it was a fake date, right?”
“Fake. Bake. It was still a date,” April dismissed. “But I’m glad to know it went well. When is your next date?”
“Tomorrow.”
“What are you doing?”
“Not sure.”
“Well ask him.”
“I will, later.”
“No, ask him now,” April cajoled. “I want to know.”
“It’s almost eleven,” Vina tried to reason with her friend. “He’s probably asleep.”
“And maybe he’s not. Just try.” April was practically bouncing in her seat as she wheedled, “I’m really curious. Aren’t you?”
Yes, Vina was curious. She was also very eager to hear Orion’s voice again, which was the main reason she hadn’t called him the whole week. This was a fake relationship – she wasn’t supposed to miss him or want to hear his voice. Any meetings or calls between them were supposed to be strictly business – not for pleasure. The sooner she remembered that, the better.
The other reason she was a little hesitant to call him was because of the hard-on incident. Though she’d pretended to be blasé about the whole incident and even tried to forget it, it had left her feeling unsettled and, frankly, turned on. From what she’d seen, Orion wasn’t a small man. Her dreams in the last few days had been tempered by imaginings of her peeling off his joggers so she could check him out for herself and maybe test-drive him. If she talked to him and heard that deep sexy voice again, no doubt, those dreams would’ve only worsened.
“Call him,” April cajoled, giving Vina her best puppy dog eyes. “Please.”
Vina sighed. “Ugh! Fine, if you insist.”
Though her face was expressionless as she reached for her phone, on the inside she was a bundle of nerves. The thought of talking to Orion made her nervous – and excited. After pairing her cell-phone with her blue-tooth headset and setting it up for a hands-free call, she dialed his number.
He picked up on the first ring. “Vina, Vina, Vina.”
“Were you just sitting there waiting for me to call?” she teased with a smile.
“Of course. I’m watching the most boring movie ever and was just waiting for something to distract me,” he countered with a chuckle. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good.”
“Are you home too?”
“Nah, just getting off work.”
“It almost eleven.”
“The trials of working in a restaurant,” Via said.
April waved her hand impatiently, her way of telling Vina to get on with the real reason for the phone call.
Rolling her eyes, Vina asked Orion. “I just wanted to confirm that we’re on for tomorrow.”
“Of course we are,” he said, a smile in his voice.
Even though she was aware of April watching her every action and expression, Vina couldn’t help the smile that instantly creased her face. “What are we doing? Will it painful?”
“I don’t want to ruin the surprise.” He chuckled “But beware; it’s going to be a worthy punishment for what you did to me last week.”
“The class wasn’t that bad.” She laughed.
“Oh yes it was,” he insisted but there was a note of laughter in his voice. “It almost crippled me. My clients kept asking me if I needed a crutch.”
“You’re such a wuss,” Vina teased. “I’m sure whatever you have planned for me, I’ll be able to handle it.”
“We’ll see about that,” he threatened ominously. “See you tomorrow at ten, dress casual.”
“Yes, sir,” Vina said. A moment later, the two said their goodnights and ended the call.
“Aw, you two lovebirds were so cute,” April oohed as soon as Vina got off the phone.
“You need to check the definition of cute.” Vina snorted. “That was not cute. That was just a normal conversation between business partners.”
“Business partner, my foot,” April scoffed. “You know Orion could be The One.”
“Please don’t start that nonsense again!” Vina rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you there is no ‘The One’ for me.”
Ever the romantic, April insisted, “Everyone has The One. And if you just open your heart-”
“Stop. Stop. Stop.”Vina held up her hand to halt her friend’s words. “April, I get it. You believe in happily-ever-after and marriage. But I don’t. I think it’s bullshit. Still, have you ever heard me come after you for being a romantic? Did I say anything when you told me you and Roman were getting married?”
“No,” April said softly.
“Then why is it so hard for you to do the same for me?” Vina glanced at her friend. “Why can’t you accept that this is just who I am. I don’t want to meet ‘The One’. I don’t want to get married.”
Vina knew she sounded snippy, but she was just so tired of people acting like her relationship choices were somehow strange just because they didn’t match everyone else’s. She just wanted to be left alone to live her life as she pleased.
April was silent for quite some time before she sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess I can be pushy about my opinions sometimes.”
“Yes you can.” Vina sighed. “But I know you mean well.”
“I do.” Her expression earnest, April added, “I just want you to be happy.”
“And I am.” Vina offered her friend a reassuring smile. “I’m very happy with my life just as it is.”
BY THE TIME Vina parked her car in front of her family’s home it was past eleven. Usually by this hour, everyone would be asleep. However, tonight the lights on the ground-floor were on. They were waiting for her. Thankfully, her father’s car wasn’t in the driveway which meant he wouldn’t be involved in whatever intervention Dooshim had planned.
As soon as Vina stepped into the house, she was met by the sight of her mother and grandmother seated in the living-room. The two women turned at her arrival.
“You’re here?” Dooshim greeted while Na-ri gave Vina a nervous smile
“I am.” Vina kicked off her sneakers to put on house-slippers. “You two are up late.”
“We were waiting for you,” Dooshim said. “Come and sit down.”
“What is it?” Vina set her purse on one of the side-tables by the door before crossing the room to sit next to her mother. She gave Na-ri a questioning look, but Na-ri’s response was just a shrug as if she didn’t know what was going on either.
Dooshim plucked a file from her lap and slapped it on the coffee
table. “Stop seeing Orion.”
Well, that was dramatic! Barely holding back an eye-roll, Vina asked, “Why?”
“Because of this.” Dooshim gave a long-suffering sigh as she pushed the file towards Vina.
Vina glanced at the file but didn’t pick it up, mostly because she was one hundred percent sure it contained intrusive information about Orion – information she didn’t need to know unless he revealed it himself
She eyed her grandmother. “Halmeoni, do you know people get sued for this kind of stuff? ”
“Is that the problem right now?” Dooshim huffed indignantly. “Getting sued is the last thing you should be worried about when you’re involved with the son of a heathen.”
Vina’s eyebrows shot up. “Son of a heathen?”
Dooshim turned away from Vina to glare at Na-ri. “How could you let her get involved with that man when you know about his mother?”
“Eomma doesn’t know anything about Orion or his mother,” Vina quickly rushed to her mother’s defense.
“All I know is that she used to be an announcer,” Na-ri said. “Is there something wrong with her?”
“Something wrong?” Dooshim guffawed. “So much is wrong with her. Did you know that she got remarried after Lee Sang-joon died?”
Vina and Na-ri traded looks, but it was Vina who spoke. “No, we didn’t.”
“The disrespect!” Dooshim huffed.
“Disrespect?” Vina was genuinely confused.
“How could she remarry and dishonor her husband like that?” the older woman clucked disapprovingly.
What? Vina frowned and, before she could stop herself, asked, “So remarrying is wrong? But dad also remarried.”
“That’s different. Men are different,” Dooshim said. “A woman should remain faithful to her husband’s memory.”
Vina’s jaw dropped. The sheer double-standard behind the statement was so ridiculous, she didn’t even know how to point it out.
“That’s not even the worst part.” Dooshim leaned forward and lowered her voice as if she was about to reveal a state secret. “The man she married was younger than her.”
Vina laughed. It was a low laugh but, nonetheless, her grandmother heard it and shot her a sharp look. Vina quickly covered her amusement with a gasp. “No, she didn’t.”
“She did.” After a brief pause, Dooshim added, “And they divorced.”
“Nooo,” Vina gasped, this time she made sure that to widen her eyes and part her lips so that her grandmother could see how absolutely scandalized she was.
“She’s terrible, just terrible.” Dooshim turned to Na-ri. “We can’t let our Im-na go to that house. I even heard that she regularly visits a shaman in Seoul. Heathens!”
“Eomma’s mom also believes in shamans,” Vina helpfully reminded her.
Dooshim shot Na-ri a sneer.“That’s why your mother is the way she is.”
“But you still let her marry Dad,” Vina pointed out.
“Stop confusing me.” Dooshim quickly waved away that bit of common sense before she continued with her tirade, “If it was just those things then maybe… maybe I would let you marry her son. But you know what I heard?”
Vina arched her eyebrows. “Mm?”
“I heard that half of Lee Sang-joon’s property went to charity, while his sons had to share the other half.” Dooshim pursed her lips and frowned in apparent disapproval. “Even worse, Yoon-ah is also just as loose with her money. Rumor has it that she gives out more than half her salary to an orphanage she started back home.”
Vina didn’t even bother asking if being charitable was a bad thing because, judging from her grandmother’s expression, it obviously was.
“How are they supposed to live if they keep giving out their property like that?” Dooshim asked.
“I think they’re living just fine,” Vina said, a hint of weariness.
“They have a lot of money now – but at this rate they’ll end up broke. How are you supposed to live with a broke husband?” The elderly woman shook her head slowly. “No way. You can’t go to that house.”
“Halmeoni, have you forgotten that I also work and I get paid pretty well,” Vina reminded her. “If Orion and I ever got married, trust me, we’d be just fine.”
“But you’ll quit as soon as you’re married,” Dooshim reminded her. “Then what will you eat?”
Vina didn’t bother saying that she had no intention of quitting her career because it would be a waste of breath. In Dooshim’s world, a woman’s real career was bearing kids, raising them and catering to her husband. Everything else was just a distraction.
Trying a different tactic, Vina gestured towards the file. “Everything you’ve told me is about Yoon-ah. There is nothing in there about Orion. Is his business doing well?”
Though she was frowning, Dooshim nodded. “Yes.”
“Then we don’t need to worry about him,” Vina said. “Once you meet him, you’ll realize that he’s a very driven man. If he wasn’t, he would’ve merely sat down to enjoy his father’s money. Instead he started his own business. He’s the kind of man who’ll end making his own fortune.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Dooshim reluctantly agreed.
“And like you said, despite their charitable endeavors, they are still wealthy,” Vina pointed out. “Lee Sang-joon has been gone for seventeen years now. If they’re not yet broke, I doubt it’s going to happen any time soon.”
Vina was quite aware that she sounded just as money-mad as her grandmother but the only way to win this game was to work within the confines of her grandmother’s flawed logic and greed.
“You’re right,” Dooshim agreed. “But what about his mother. I don’t think we can bring her into our family.”
“Our family is hardly the poster-child for purity,” Vina reminded her grandmother. “Have you forgotten that dad has a mistress in-”
“Im-na.” Na-ri slapped Vina’s thigh to remind her that was a no-go topic. Dooshim’s stormy expression made it clear that Vina was skating on thin ice.
Vina quickly backtracked, “I’m just saying that we’re not perfect so you shouldn’t expect a perfect man.” She added, “Besides that, I’m not exactly the catch of the century. You’re always telling me that because I’m thirty-one, I shouldn’t be too picky. Well, you’re being too picky now. If you set our standards are too high, I’m going to end up single.”
“God forbid!” Dooshim trembled like that was the worst possible thing that could happen. It was enough to make her back off. “Okay fine. But I’m going to have to meet this Orion myself and decide.”
“That’s okay. You’ll meet him eventually, and you’ll like him,” Vina promised. “But let’s wait a little while longer. We don’t want him to think we’re too desperate, do we?”
“Of course not,” her grandmother enthusiastically shook her head.
“And given enough time, I’ll be able to read him and decide if he’s worth my time.”
“You’re right, you’re right.,” Dooshim gave Vina an approving look. “You have so much common sense. You must get that from our side of the family.”
Vina offered her a thin smile. “Of course. Where else would I get it.” She plucked the file from the coffee table and waved it. “Let’s not tell Dad about this right now. You know how he can get.”
“Of course not,” Dooshim agreed readily. “He’ll just ruin it. We’ll wait until we know that young man a bit more.”
And that’s how you sell ice to an eskimo. Grinning, Vina headed up the stairs to her bedroom.
CHAPTER 9
Ring. Ring. Ring. Orion woke up to the incessant ringing of his doorbell. Ring. Ring. Ring.
Go away. Groaning, he buried his head in the pillow and gathered the sides up to block the sound. But it was no use… Ring. Ring. Ring.
He turned bleary eyes to his bedside clock. It said seven a.m. Usually, he’d be up by now but last night he’d worked overtime to make up for the fact that he’d be spendin
g his day with Vina. Ring. Ring. Ring.
“Fine. Fine. Fine, I’m coming,” he grumbled under his breath. He shoved the covers away, pulled on a t-shirt and shorts then stumbled to the door. When he glanced at the intercom’s screen and saw who was at his doorstep, he seriously considered just pretending that he wasn’t around.
“Why are you here?” he glared at his mother when he opened the door.
“Good morning to you too.” Yoon-ah shoved him aside so she could get into the house.
“Do you know what time it is?” Orion complained as he followed her to the living room. “Normal mothers don’t pop into their son’s house this early.”
“But I’m not normal, as you always remind me,” Yoon-ah retorted cheekily as she made her way to the adjoining kitchen. “You know if you just gave me my own key, I wouldn’t have to wake you up. I could just get in and out without disturbing you.”
“That’s not happening.” Orion snorted. “Why are you in my house?”
“I’m here to do my motherly du-” Her breath hitched as she hauled the bag she was carrying onto the kitchen counter. “-motherly duty.”
“What?”
“Your date with Vina is today, right?” From the bag, she pulled out groceries one by one. Out came cucumbers, a pineapple, tomatoes, bread…
Orion eyed the bounty of food distrustfully. “What does my date with Vina have to do with your motherly duty and all this food?”
Yoon-ah ignored his question and instead asked her own. “What were you planning for the date?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I assume that is code for you haven’t even planned it yet.” Unaffected by her son’s impolite attitude, Yoon-ah tore open a bag that held several packs of lunch meat. “Well, you’re lucky to have a mother like me because I’ve already decided what you’ll do. You two are going to have a picnic.”
“We’re not going on a picnic.” Orion strode over to the counter and started to stuff the groceries back into their bag. “And I can plan my own dates.”
His mother took the groceries right out again. “The weathergirl on CBS said that today is going to be sunny – a perfect day for a picnic. She’s often wrong but even a broken clock is right twice a day. Also, my hairstylist says that there’s an open-air indie performance at Luther Park. A picnic plus nice music – that’s the perfect date. Very romantic.”
