Page 7 of The Lookback

I sit, but I can’t help noticing that David has been entirely quiet since summoning me. “Surely David mentioned that I was on my way to Los Angeles for a meeting?” I glare at him. “A meeting that was hard to get.”

“Isn’t that why we have private jets?” David’s smiling, but it looks a little pained.

“We told David that just a few hours of your time would help us feel much better about things.” Mrs. Park sits across from me, like we’re about to discuss a business deal. Then she looks at me expectantly.

Arewe talking about business? “I’m sorry—what things exactly do we have to discuss?” I hate feeling like I failed to read a memo that was marked urgent.

“My son isn’t young, and you’re even older than he is.” Mrs. Park leans closer. “You called me a few months back and told me that you were getting married, but we haven’t heard a single peep about it since. We’ve been patient, but as far as I can tell, you’ve made no progress whatsoever in pinning things down.”

Pinning things. . . “Do you mean, like setting a date?”

Mrs. Park blinks. “Surely you two have chosen a date already.”

“Helen and I both have busy schedules,” David says. “We were just so happy to be engaged that?—”

Mrs. Park grabs my hand, pulling it toward her. “What is this?” She’s peering at the ring David had custom made for me at Tiffany’s. It’s supposed to be a tiny shackle. “What on earth is this?” She snaps her head toward her son, who’s now sitting beside me. “No wonder she’s not rushing to marry you. You bought her the ugliest ring I have ever seen. Americans care about this kind of thing. You’ve embarrassed her.”

“Mom, it has a special meaning.” David’sfinallystarting to look a little annoyed, but he’s about an hour late, if you ask me. Which Mrs. Park will surely do any minute.

“What’s the meaning?” She tilts her head. “Does it symbolize that your relationship is mechanical? Or is it something to do with garbage?” She purses her lips.

Mr. Park clears his throat. “You’re being worse than my mother.”

Mrs. Park’s eyes fly wide, and she rounds on her husband. She’s speaking Korean far too fast for me to understand what she’s saying, but he sure earned himself an earful. At least he freed my hand. I was about two seconds away from gnawing it off at my wrist just to escape.

“Listen,” I say in a short lull. “David and I aren’t even sure that we’re getting married.”

Mrs. Park freezes.

So does her husband.

David grunts next to me.

“If you think about it, from a business perspective, unless an acquisition by my company makes sense to grow your group, there’s really no reason for us to get married. When David and I looked into the numbers, your strengths and ours. . .” I shrug. “I mostly acquire undervalued companies so I can sell them off or fix them up andthensell them off. You have a totally different growth strategy, which is admirable, and your company isn’t undervalued, so?—”

“You can’t sell our company off.” Mrs. Park’s consonants are clipped.

“Exactly,” I say.

“So you’re breaking up?” Mr. Park frowns.

David laughs. “No, Dad, we aren’t breaking up. She’s just not planning to acquire our American branch at this time.”

Mr. Park blinks. “And because our company isn’t undervalued, you’re not getting married?”

“The only good reasons to get married are to solidify an unequal merger or acquisition,” I say, “or if you’re having children.”

“Exactly.” Mrs. Park smiles. “Most Americans don’t understand, but your parents raised you properly.”

I frown. “Which is why we don’t need to get married.”

Now Mrs. Park and Mr. Park are both frowning. “Are you saying you never plan to have children?”

“I’ve been very clear with David that I don’t want?—”

“To be forced into anything,” David says. “We’re going to let things happen as they happen.” He stands up. “And on that note, my lovely girlfriend has a meeting in the morning and there’s a long way for her to go before she gets there.”

“Right.” I stand up, not as relieved as I expected to be. “Yes, I do need to go.”

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