“Someone I had a blind date with last year.”

“She’s so pretty. Is she Miss Korea or something?”

“Actually, yes.”

“Whoa.”

I notice a man holding a cigarette in his lips. He lifts his chin in my direction, and a man next to him crumples a paper cup in his hand and throws it to the ground. They watch me intently. I feel paranoid. Maybe they were just checking out the woman who went into the hospital. Today, I coach myself, I’m not going to try predicting the future. Not gonna try anything stupid. Please. The wind is rising today.

Jihyun holds my hand with one of his and pulls my suitcase with the other, guiding me to the parking lot. Early in the morning he arrived at the hospital, pulled out all the stuff I’d been keeping in paper bags, and transferred them gently into the suitcase. Now he opens the trunk of his car.

“Yeoul, Yeoul!” It’s Sol and Eunyong, running over to me with their shirts billowing behind them. They each hold plastic bags full of stuff with the name of the supermarket. When they reach us, they are huffing and puffing. The beads of sweat on Sol’s forehead reflect the sun and glisten; it feels like they should make the sounds of jingling bells. Eunyong speaks: “We almost missed you leaving! You were gonna take off before we got here, just like that?” I can’t tell if she’s teasing or genuinely hurt. “Well, this is your stuff from your old place. Your clothes and books. We packed them up for you.” Only then does she really see me. “Wait. You look nice. Where did you get the new clothes?” Eunyong makes me twirl to see my clothes from all directions.

“Well, the hospital director insisted …”

“Huh. So you’re like her new daughter-in-law or something?” Eunyong turns to Jihyun and comfortably addresses him. “Hello. We’ve met. I’m Yeoul’s friend.”

“Of course I remember. No need to reintroduce yourself.”

Sol watches me in silence.

* * *

“The wind is blasting in my face back here. Close the window!” Eunyong breaks the awkward silence in the car. Jihyun has been driving, stiffly looking ahead, never turning his gaze anywhere else even when we were at a red light. But at Eunyong’s complaint, he briefly glances at the back seat through the mirror.

“Sol, why are you so quiet? Are you upset or something?”

“No, I’m just tired from sprinting earlier.”

Eunyong interrupts, “Why didn’t you wait for me? Did you think we weren’t gonna show up on the day you get to leave the hospital? It’s a day to celebrate!”

“I waited for you to come all morning. I thought you guys couldn’t make it, so that’s why we were taking off … Hey, I want to show you guys something later.”

“What is it?”