“I might be being nosy. I admit I have no idea what’s going on in your family, but what do you think about moving back with your parents? Just make up with them? After staying there for a while, you can move out once we get married … If we hurry, we can make it happen fast.”

“Wait, doctor. I’m really grateful you brought me here and that you’ve been helping me. But what are you talking about? Where is this coming from? I think you have some unexamined assumptions, no, fantasies about women, marriage, and starting a family.”

“Why are you suddenly addressing me as doctor? I’m just trying to figure out how to protect you, how to make you happy. I haven’t dated much, so I don’t really know women. I don’t have siblings, nor many friends or cousins, so I don’t know much about women. I admit it. I just want to be with someone I can talk to and listen to music with, someone I can be true friends with. Please don’t misunderstand what I’m trying to say.”

“Okay, I’ll call you Jihyun. Jihyun, you’re nine years older than me. Why do you use the honorific with me? Why haven’t you even touched my hand if you’re interested in me? A lot of things you say don’t make sense to me. Is this marriage talk coming from some sort of weird sense of ethical obligation after carrying me while I was naked?”

“One question at a time, please. What am I supposed to do if you carpet-bomb me like that?” He forces a laugh before responding. “Okay, let me answer … What was your first question? Okay. So you are saying I can talk to you casually, right? Well, I’d like that.” He switches the phrasing with me and continues. “Secondly, why don’t I even touch your hand? Well…”He looks at my fingers. My nails are a mess from my nail-biting habit. I curl my fingers to hide them. He gently places his hand over mine. I can feel the lines of his palms. They feel like they will leave marks on the back of my hand. He has a warm, soft hand. Unlike mine, there are no hard calluses. Jihyun takes his dress shoes off, crawls onto the bed, and lies down by my side. I no longer wait for a kiss with my eyes closed like the time before. I lean in to kiss him. I want more. More. More.