Chapter Forty-Six
Yuna
In the evening, I’m back at Ivy and Tony’s place. I’m feeling much better about the encounter with that damned Woomin at the restaurant. Seeing him again gave me closure I hadn’t realized I wanted. Knowing that he didn’t get any of what he wanted soothed my old hurt. Now I’m scab- and scar-free. Ta-da!
Thankfully, Mr. Choi and Ms. Kim have no idea who he is, so they won’t be reporting him to Mom. She hired them after the breakup. Well, it wasn’t even a breakup. More like telling me he was through because he got the money he really needed. Said it was seed money for him to start a business.
And yet here he is—in Los Angeles, working as a server at a restaurant. What a joke.
I have no clue what he was thinking, coming up to me again like that. Did he think he could get more money from my family?
I honestly don’t understand what I ever saw in him. I thought the way the outer corners of his eyes curve down made him look like a nice, even-tempered guy before. But now it just makes him look shifty. It’s embarrassing that I ever thought he was genuine. The only saving grace is that we never did anything more than heavy petting. Otherwise, I would’ve bleached my vagina.
The lights are on in the living room. I walk over, then stop when I see Mom, Ivy and Tony with Katherine and Sebastian, who are resting in two electric cradles that rock automatically.
“Hello, everyone,” I say warmly.
“Not so loud. The twins are sleeping,” Mom hisses.
“Sorry,” I whisper, then hug Mom, just because I’m about to hug Ivy. Mom isn’t a super hugger—it isn’t a thing in Korea—but she tries to fit in when she’s in the States.
Ivy waves with a huge smile. “Hey!” she whispers.
“You’re back!” I hug her tightly. It’s always good to see her.
“Yup. Discharged this afternoon.”
“Outrageous!” Mom says. “You should’ve been able to spend at least another week at the hospital.”
That’s just like Mom. She thinks new mothers should have at least two full months of pampering in a private room at a hospital or someplace similar. “Mom, American hospitals aren’t like the luxury wing at Hae Min Hospital in Seoul.”
“It’s so backward and inconvenient,” Mom mutters.
I try not to laugh at how annoyed she is. Almost like a child denied a favorite treat.
I look over at the twins and marvel again at how tiny and precious they are. They’re making all my protective instincts and love swell. “They’re sleeping like angels.”
“Yeah, thank God,” Tony says. “Those cradles are worth their weight in gold.”
“Oh my God yes. Whoever invented them should get a Nobel Prize,” Ivy says.
“Why didn’t you set up the cradles upstairs?” I ask.
“We’ve got a set for upstairs, too. Should’ve bought stock in the company,” Ivy says.
We chat for a little bit, but Ivy gets tired. Not surprising. She’s just had not one, but two babies. That’s double the work.
Tony takes a twin in each arm and goes upstairs to get them settled in the nursery. Ivy follows.
I wave goodbye, and turn to Mom. “Are you heading back to the Aylster?”
“Yes, and you should come with me,” Mom says like it’s been decided. “Ivy and Tony will want to be alone with their babies. Trust me.”
Huh. She’s a bit too insistent. She’s told me to move to the hotel, but this is a bit too stubborn. “I don’t have the time to pack.”
“Ms. Lim has taken care of that already.”
I close my eyes briefly. I guess no was never really an option, but it rarely is when Mom is dead set on something.