I can feel Yujun smiling. “Yes. In Korea, Valentine’s Day is where you must give me a present. I will expect flowers and chocolate. I like the chocolates with raspberries inside.”

I burst out laughing. “Are you kidding? Valentine’s Day is for women to buy men gifts?”

“Yes. Don’t forget.”

My laughter dies off when I think of how far away that made-up holiday is. “Valentine’s Day is months away. I may not even be here.”

“Of course you will,” he says, as if there isn’t even a question of me staying here for months at a time. “Christmas is sooner, I suppose. You can give me a gift at that time, too, although it’s not common. We’re Buddhists, you know.” I did not know. “Usually couples do things together. We can ice-skate or go to a ski resort. Do you ski?”

“No. I’m not very good at anything physical. I excel at all indoor activities such as drinking coffee, reading, napping. Those sorts of things.”

“Sounds perfect. It’s why lodges exist at all ski resorts.”

“You make it sound like I’ll be here for a while. It’s June and Christmas is six months away.”

“Finding Wansu was not the hard part, was it? It is figuring out how to go on from here that is the challenge, but we will wrestle the pig together.” I think that’s a general saying and that he’s not calling Wansu an animal. He likes her too much, more’s the pity. “You will learn about Chuseok,” he is saying, “which is our Thanksgiving, and the Lunar New Year and White Day, and we will get you a stamp so you can sign all your documents and—” He stops and his body tenses.

“And,” I prompt.

He gives himself a tiny shake. “And we will enter you into the registry, move you into a nicer place, find you a job, introduce you to all my relatives, which are not many, but still they will love you.”

“What about . . . her . . . relatives?”

“Both her parents died shortly after she married my father. They were in a car accident on the Mapo Bridge.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. This life . . . it has not always been easy for—” He cuts himself off. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s rest. Don’t move,” he says when I attempt to lie on my back.

“This can’t be comfortable for you. I’m lying on your arm. It’s going to fall asleep.”

“As if that wasn’t the reason I have arms,” he teases, folding his long limb around me. “We will untangle all of this,” he whispers.

I let him believe that. Maybe he can believe it enough for both of us.

“It could be worse,” he says.

“How?”

“We could actually be related.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The bed is toasty when I leave it. I slide out of bed and hobble to the bathroom. On the floor is the bag of clothes that Yujun got me from the gift shop. I shake out the contents and rummage through until I find a fresh pair of underwear. I clean up with a washcloth and dress myself. As I button the wide-legged trousers and tuck in the striped knit long-sleeve shirt, I wonder whether Yujun picked this outfit out or the salesperson did. Either way, it’s stylish and comfortable, which I appreciate. The hotel bathroom comes equipped with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and even a small disposable hairbrush. Just luxury-hotel things. If I had an active Instagram account, this would be perfect fodder for it, but my social media presence, much like my current life, is empty.