cherry wood. Behind them stood a stack of shelves where Yul had placed a record player, some ficus and spider plants, and an expensive-looking TV. It sat there like an afterthought, akin to a board game to be pulled out occasionally.
“Eun-Mee!” said Yul. “That’s a very rude thing to say.”
Eun-Mee suddenly became very quiet, a look of disappointment on her face. Soo-Ja did her best to stay above this.
“Nobody likes to stay in a hotel. I don’t blame Eun-Mee. You always want to be in your own home, sleep in your own bed,” Soo-Ja said, holding up her teacup.
“Oh, I don’t mind hotels,” Eun-Mee quickly corrected her. “In fact, I love the Plaza Athénée in New York, or the Napoleon in Paris, or the Fujiya in Tokyo. But where you work, it’s not really a hotel, is it? It’s more of an inn, or a motel.”
“Eun-Mee, why are you saying such rude things?” asked Yul, looking at her with annoyance.
But Soo-Ja feared his reaction could only make things worse. “Technically, she’s right. We are in fact more of an inn than a hotel,” Soo-Ja said, making it clear that she was not bothered by Eun-Mee’s comment.
“And a very dirty one, too. Dusty. And I’m telling you this as a friend, who really hopes that your little business can in fact become a real business one day.”
“Eun-Mee is right,” said Min, as usual taking sides against Soo-Ja. “You need to do something about that, Soo-Ja. We have to make sure rooms are clean. That is a basic rule. You listen well to Eun-Mee. She has a lot of valuable advice to share.”
Eun-Mee smiled faintly, almost in distaste, as if she didn’t care for the support of someone as inconsequential as Min. “I can’t help it. I’m not one of those two-faced women who pretend to be one thing in public and are something else in private.”
“Please stop talking to our guests like that,” said Yul.
“She needs our help, yeobo. You can’t think she wants to stay where she is forever. She’ll want one day to have what we have, a house like this, with working appliances and nice furniture. If she is to make something of herself, she’ll need to work somewhere better than her motel.” Eun-Mee then turned to Soo-Ja, still holding her teacup on her lap. She had not sipped a single drop, and the hot liquid kept threatening to spill over. “And I call it a motel because a place where men go to have sex with women is a motel. Do they ever ask you, by the way, to bring them girls to spend the night with?”
Yul put his teacup on the table, and then rose. “Stop it, Eun-Mee. What is wrong with you today?”
“It’s fine, Yul. You don’t need to defend me,” said Soo-Ja, doing her best to stay calm. “Actually, it’s not the men who ask, it’s the women. They come to the hotel and ask if there are men looking for company. These women have small children, or are widows, or young girls without families. They’re hungry. And yes, sometimes I tell them what door to knock on.”
“The commissions must be nice,” said Eun-Mee, smiling, looking vindicated, as if Soo-Ja had confirmed her suspicions.
“I don’t ask for it, and they don’t offer it,” Soo-Ja replied. She drank her tea as if this were normal conversation for a Saturday afternoon. She would not make a scene; she knew that’s what Eun-Mee wanted.
“Are you ever tempted to make some bucks yourself?” asked Eun-Mee.
“Eun-Mee!” Yul shouted. He looked at Soo-Ja, his eyes full of pain. She wanted to tell him, It’s okay, I can handle it.
“No, Eun-Mee, I’m not,” said Soo-Ja, looking at her evenly.
“Really? What if the guest were, say, not some ugly nincompoop, but a handsome fella, like my husband? Would you make an exception for my husband?”
Now all three of them looked at Eun-Mee, stunned. Soo-Ja could see her own hand shaking, and the tea spilling over from her cup onto her lap and falling onto the furry beige carpet. Yul rose again from his seat and walked to Eun-Mee, grabbing her arm and forcing her to rise. She resisted.
“You owe Soo-Ja an apology,” said Yul.
Soo-Ja put her teacup on the table and rose as well. She did not want Yul to take her side—it would only make things worse. All she wanted was to get out of their house.
“I’m just joking! It’s a joke,” said Eun-Mee, struggling to free her arm from Yul’s