lingered over her ears, his warm breath entering her again. His solid frame melted, bending like clay, molding to her frame like a perfect pillow.
Soo-Ja heard knocking on the door. She was tempted to tell the person to go away, but then she heard Jae-Hwa’s voice asking her if she was all right, and telling her she had to go back to her husband soon. Soo-Ja was reminded, amid all this, that she had business to take care of, and that she had never gotten to ask Jae-Hwa about the loan. She didn’t have much time left. She splashed some water on her face, turned the faucet off, and told Jae-Hwa she was on her way out.
When Soo-Ja came back to the table, she found Jae-Hwa holding her purse and waiting for her, but Eun-Mee had already left. She had to take care of some business having to do with the new house she was renovating, Jae-Hwa told her. Apparently it was almost finished. Soo-Ja knew, though, the real reason she had left. Things between the two of them would always be uncomfortable from now on.
Today, with Jae-Hwa, Eun-Mee had found the perfect opportunity to confront Soo-Ja. They could never have had that conversation on their own, not if they wanted to keep up the pretense that they didn’t know about each other. Jae-Hwa had been essential, an unknowing witness, a midwife of tales, though the tale was not intended for her, but for Soo-Ja. Soo-Ja also noticed that Eun-Mee had taken great pains to draw Jae-Hwa’s sympathy. She cared what Jae-Hwa thought of her. But why?
“Jae-Hwa, before you go, I need to ask you something. You know that I don’t like to ask for things, but this is very important.” Soo-Ja told her about the loan she needed, emphasizing it was only a loan, and she’d pay her back, and that yes, Jae-Hwa was the only person she knew who could help her. When she finished, Jae-Hwa looked at her strangely.
“Did you two time it? You must’ve planned it this way. Is that why you were in the bathroom so long? To give Eun-Mee her time? So that’s why Eun-Mee left early. So you could have your turn.”
Soo-Ja looked at Jae-Hwa, a little surprised by the briskness in her voice. She was so different, this Jae-Hwa, from the diffident girl who had always been glad to be a satellite to her sun; foolish was the one who expected to touch the same river twice. “I’m a little confused,” she said. “What do you mean?”
“Eun-Mee asked me for a loan as well, and I already agreed to it. She’s a safe bet, being a doctor’s wife and all. Oh, Soo-Ja, if only you had asked me before! I can’t lend money to both of you, my husband would kill me. And I already gave her my word.”
“When did she ask you?” Soo-Ja could sense her own face turning ashen. I can’t believe I left Jae-Hwa alone with Eun-Mee.
“Just now, while you were in the bathroom. Oh, Soo-Ja, I’m sorry. It sounds like a good investment. But come here and give me a hug. It was so wonderful to see you again.”
As Jae-Hwa embraced Soo-Ja, Soo-Ja’s chin dropped and her body stiffened. It had taken less than a second for Soo-Ja to realize exactly what Eun-Mee had done to her, and what she would continue to do.
That night, the watchman Soo-Ja had hired to stay at the front desk did not show up, and when she went looking for Min in her room, she saw he was already asleep. She did not want to wake him up (she had always been partial to sleep—it was the only time they were truly free, truly without worries—how could she begrudge Min that?), and so she returned to the front desk, to watch it herself. After a couple of hours, around one in the morning, she decided to make herself some coffee. It was then that she saw Yul come to the front desk, wearing a thick dark blue robe over his pajamas. They were the only people awake in the hotel, it seemed, and it felt a bit like having it to themselves.
“You can’t sleep?” Soo-Ja asked him.
“I was hoping to catch you alone,” he said, leaning over the counter. “Eun-Mee told me what happened with your friend Jae-Hwa today.”
Soo-Ja felt her blood boil at the mention of Eun-Mee’s name.
“Why would she tell you that? To make me look bad?”
“Why didn’t you just