Page 89 of You Had Me At Annyeong!
‘Ow!’ she yelps out in pain.
Is he nice to me because I’m the ‘other woman’? Hey Bhagwan, am I the ‘woh’ inPati, Patni, Aur Woh? Yikes. I should be ashamed. What is even happening between him and Mina? What are his intentions? Kaash Alice were here. I’d have her interrogate him. Saare sawaalon ka jawaab my MI6 agent Ally 007 would’ve found!
A little toddler girl runs up to her as she tries to clear her head.
‘Oh, hi, you!’ Timira looks down to find a small human inside a hooded puffer jacket that looks heavier than her, staring at her with big, wondrous eyes.
The child’s face is covered in cotton candy which she’s holding in her hand. She giggles and extends her arm towards Timira.
‘For me? Aww, thank you, baby. But why are you alone? Where are your parents?’ She lifts the child and plonks her on her lap.
Haneul has been watching the scene unfold from afar and it makes him feel warm and gooey even on this chilly night.
Timira gets up, with the child now in her arms, holds her phone to her ear for a few seconds before putting it back inside her pocket, and looks all over as though trying to scan the crowd for a familiar face. Haneul hastens his steps.
‘Oh, thank God you are here! Why didn’t you answer my call?’
‘You called?’
He carefully places the coffee cups on the bench and reaches inside his pockets. All his pockets.
‘Damn, I think I’ve misplaced my phone. Or maybe it’s in my car … sorry!’
‘Jiah! Ji … aaaaaahhhh!’ A woman’s voice is getting closer to them and louder every second.
A woman in her twenties, frantically pushing a stroller, nearly crashes into them.
‘Jiah!Yeogi issne, dahaengida[Jiah, you are here. Thank God]!’ she cries in relief.
‘Ahjumma, geujjogui agiibnikka[Madame, is this your child]?’ the policeman asks.
‘Ye ye!’
She’s out of breath and panting. Timira spots another child inside the stroller, younger and way smaller than the one in her arms, asleep under multiple layers of warm covers.
‘Yeobo, yeobo!’
A man who also looks to be in his twenties catches up with them. His cheeks are flushed red, worry lines formed across his young forehead, and he’s sweating even in the cold. Along with him is a policeman.
Being a parent is no joke, Haneul thinks to himself.
‘Chajajwoseo gomawo. Jinja gomawoyo. Geurigo miyanhaeyo[Thank you for finding her. Thanks very much. And, very sorry]. Officer, sorry to have bothered you. This is our Jiah.’
The woman looks at Timira and asks for her baby to be handed to her. Timira leans towards Haneul and whispers in his ear.
‘How can you be sure these are the parents and not kidnappers? I’m not giving the child away until I’m sure.’
Haneul is surprised by the otherwise childlike, sometimes even hare-brained, Timira’s presence of mind.
The woman asks for the child again. This time, Timira speaks.
‘Hwagsilhabnikka? Dangsin-eun eomeoniibnida[Are you sure that you are the mother]?’
Bol diya. I’ve spoken the entirety of my Korean knowledge. Sab bol dala! Now I know what Lucky must’ve felt like speaking in English inDhoom!
The police officer, a young, seemingly new recruit, now speaks.
‘Ye,samonim. I’ve checked their IDs.Jinjjassda!’ He smiles reassuringly.
