Start Again

Chapter Eighteen

Joon Soo

"Joon Soo, wake up!" my mother's voice said, forcing my eyes open.

"What, Eomma?" I asked, sitting up in my bed. She stared at me from across the room, her hands on her hips.

"Why did you spend all this money in one day on our credit card?" My mother held up the latest bank statement.

"I had a date. I didn't think you'd oppose."

My mother's eyes widened. Forgetting her anger, she came closer and sat down on my bed. "A date? With whom? Who is she? What do her parents do? When can we meet her?"

"Slow down, eomma. She's someone I met at work. And you can't meet her yet... we aren't even a couple."

"Do you like her?"

I nodded.

"My Joon Soo finally likes someone! Then why aren't you in a relationship?"

"Because I haven't told her I like her yet."

"Why not?"

"Because we are friends and I have to find the right way to do it."

"Well, since you haven't decided, would you like to go on another date this Saturday? I know this daughter of a chaebol who is renting one of our flats. She doesn't have any brothers and her father wants a man to run the company after him so—"

"What part of me liking someone do you not understand, Eomma?"

"But you're not in a relationship."

"Even so, I'm not going to go on another date with someone else. Besides, I'm seeing her on Saturday. I was planning on telling her then that I like her..."

"Then will you bring her home?"

"After a while I will."

"Joon Soo, you must tell me who she is. I have to make sure she's a good match for my son."

"Eomma, how many times have you been trying to set me up with someone? You know I'm not interested in many people. Can't you let your son be happy and date who he wants without you getting picky about what her background is?"

"Can I at least know her name?"

I bit my lip and looked down at my bed sheets. I had to think fast. There should not be any reason why she couldn't know her name, but I knew telling my mother would give away her nationality. My mother always wanted me to marry a Korean woman, so she would not be happy to know she's a Westerner. "Oh Da Ree."

"Oh Da Ree? Never heard of her..."

I wasn't lying. In truth, I was just mispronouncing her first name, but my mother wouldn't know any better.

"Very well. I will give you one month though, then you have to bring her home."

"Okay, okay. I will." I have one month to find a way to convince my mother to be happy with my choice. That is if Audrey even accepts me.

*

"Annyeonghaseyo," I said as I approached the front desk. "I have an interview with Cha Si Hoo at 1pm."

"Hold on, I will just call his office."

I was at a neighbouring university to interview a lecturer about a new scientific discovery they made with a lecturer from SNU. Kim Eum Shim had called me, asking me to cover the piece. She didn't want me to hand it off to one of the students, afraid they wouldn't do it justice. So here I was on a Friday, ready to interview this lecturer when I should have been going through finalisations of articles for the magazine at SNU.