Page 20 of Perfect Happiness
Her eyes began darting across Jinu’s face.A million emotions appeared and disappeared in her sunset-illuminated pupils.Eun-ho couldn’t decipher every emotion, but the last facial expression was clear as day:
Aha...
“Yes, I think I remember now,” she finally said.
Her voice was so quiet that Eun-ho felt like he needed to pull his eardrum out of his ear just to hear her.The end of her sentence even trembled slightly, conveying a sense of unease.
“You were a biology major.Your last name is Kim, and your first name is—”
“Jinu.”
Jinu saluted with one finger placed at the edge of his eyebrow.
Everything that happened after that depressed Eun-ho.The two reunited college friends were awkward at first, but before long, the two of them were on their way to a bar to catch up.Eun-ho tagged along.As he trailed behind them, he was able to overhear parts of their conversation.
Apparently, the woman, or Yuna as Jinu called her, had arrived at Olkhon Island that afternoon.She was travelling alone.She worked for her father’s company.And the pile of rocks that looked like gravestones wasn’t hers.In college, she had made Jinu and a man named Jiwoon a cup of coffee at her apartment.Jinu and she were the same age and had graduated the same year from the same college.That meant she was also the same age as Eun-ho.
The two of them entered a pub near the inn with Eun-ho still third-wheeling.The place had only a few things on the menu, there were too many people, and the music was too loud.
After being seated near the entrance, the woman said to Jinu: “By the way, you haven’t introduced me to your friend?”
Jinu opened his eyes wide, as if he’d just remembered something important.In a reluctant tone of voice, he introduced Eun-ho as “A once promising writer turned divorced high school Korean teacher.”While Jinu said it like a joke, Eun-ho knew what Jinu was doing.Jinu was trying to pick off Eun-ho before he could steal a base.Or better yet, he was intentionally trying to peg Eun-ho before he even had a chance to swing.
Eun-ho’s mind went blank for about five seconds after Jinu’s unnecessary attack.
With her gaze still locked on Eun-ho, Yuna asked Jinu a question: “And what about you, Jinu?What would you describe yourself as?”
“Me?I’m a wild lion who’s always ready to mate.”
Yuna raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything.
“And what about you, Yuna?”
Yuna gave him a smile as her eyes turned into half-moons.“I’m divorced.As of last week.”
Jinu was speechless as though he had accidentally swallowed his own tongue.But was he more shocked by the fact she was divorced or that she had only gotten divorced last week?
Eun-ho, on the other hand, was hopeful because that meant the goalie box was empty.Whether it was a week ago or a year ago, it didn’t matter.What was important was that she was single.
“I never would have guessed!”
Yuna laughed at Jinu’s delayed answer.Her teeth shined brightly as she burst out in laughter.
Eun-ho held his breath as he watched her.Her laugh was so light and smooth that it tickled his stomach, as though he had swallowed a feather.This sensation spread through to the back of his neck, causing the hair there to stand up.Thankfully, the waiter came before the rest of the hair on his body stood up.
“What are you going to drink?”Jinu asked Eun-ho.
But Eun-ho was unable to respond; his mind was focusing on keeping his composure in front of Yuna.
“I’ll have vodka,” Yuna said once Eun-ho didn’t reply.
They all agreed on vodka.As Yuna conveyed their order to the waiter, Eun-ho was once against surprised.First was the fact that she spoke Russian.Second was her ability to talk through the pub’s noise without needing to raise her voice.The waiter naturally lent her his left ear as though she had commanded it.
“I guess the rumors that you went to Moscow to study were true,” Jinu said after the waiter disappeared.“You sound like a native!”
She took this as a joke.“You mean people were spreading rumors about me?”
The conversation continued, but the one-sidedness of their small talk didn’t really make it a proper conversation.For every three things that Jinu said, Yuna only said one thing.She often omitted important details or didn’t finish her sentences.She would say, “Would you ...” and point at a napkin with her eyes to indicate what she wanted.From what Eun-ho could tell, this was her natural way of talking.
