not look that much older than the last time she saw him, eight years earlier, though she knew he must be in his late thirties now. His hair was a little long, which lent him a boyish quality, and he still had the same serious, handsome face that seemed to her more appropriate for a student leader than a doctor. Soo-Ja couldn’t pretend she hadn’t thought of him in the years since she had seen him last. Of course she had, and it was amazing to see he did not look much different in person than he had in her dreams. He still had those deep eyes that seemed to contain mountains of sorrows. But when he smiled, his entire face followed the lead of his lips, expression lines forming on the sides and around his eyes.
Soo-Ja hoped that upon seeing him again, she’d simply feel the expected warmth and surprise you feel when reunited with an old friend—for that’s what he was in the eyes of the world, a distant friend, the kind you run into at weddings and funerals, once every decade or so. But instead, she felt a piercing sensation in her heart, and her breathing became shallow. Soo-Ja could not run to him—if she couldn’t do that before, why did she think she could do that now?
“This can’t be the place where we’re staying! Was there some kind of mix-up?” Eun-Mee asked Yul, ignoring Soo-Ja. “Whoever suggested this hotel must’ve been pulling a prank.”
Yul bowed to Soo-Ja, and she bowed back to him. Then he asked after her health and the health of her daughter. His wife, watching this, suddenly made a big show of making a realization. She started pointing at Soo-Ja.
“Ah! Your husband must be a friend of my husband’s,” Eun-Mee said, suddenly bowing warmly and smiling, full of affection. She then turned to Yul. “You want to help your friend’s business, that’s why we’re staying here! Why didn’t you tell me that’s why you picked this place?”
Yul did not reply, and Soo-Ja realized it was because he did not want to lie.
“Our husbands were in a youth group together, back in the sixties,” Soo-Ja cut in.
Eun-Mee smiled at Soo-Ja, seemingly satisfied. “Oh, I see! I was wondering why we were here. I thought it was a prank. No offense, but we’re used to better accommodations. But now I understand! My husband is a friend, and you will give us a good rate. In fact, friends being friends, it wouldn’t be out of place to let us stay here for free!”
Soo-Ja wasn’t entirely unused to this—the richer the guest, the more they expected, and for the least amount of money. Yul stepped forward. “Of course we’re paying full price. Just because we know each other, it doesn’t mean we can take advantage.”
“Oh, honey, let’s leave it up to her, shall we?” cooed Eun-Mee.
Soo-Ja pulled out her guest book and her calculator, seemingly to check them in, but more to hide her nervousness. “For how many nights?” she asked, not looking up.
Soo-Ja had asked Yul this, but it was Eun-Mee who answered. “We don’t know. At least two weeks, but it may be more.”
Soo-Ja looked at her, confused. Yul smiled at his wife weakly, then turned to Soo-Ja. “We’ll be here for two nights.” Soo-Ja realized at that moment that Yul did not really want to stay at the hotel. She couldn’t decide what had led to them showing up there, but it was clear that Yul was trying to figure out how to shorten the stay without making it seem like he was hiding something.
“Two nights? It’ll be much longer than that, for sure! At least until the house is ready.” Eun-Mee turned to face Soo-Ja. “Do you know about this? We’ve just bought a big house here in Seoul. I’ve been asking Yul for years to get us out of that fish sinkhole of Pusan and he finally relented. Seoul is so much more my style, and the house is beautiful. As soon as we’re done building and painting the last bathroom, we can move in. It’s a modern bathroom. With a toilet. And tiles on the floor.”
Soo-Ja tried to hide all of the emotions that hit her at once. Time had not dulled her feelings for Yul—she still loved him, and felt both petrified and elated that he was there to stay. And not just stay in the city, but in her own hotel! For a moment she didn’t care that he