"How's our Junie today?"
Ye-Jin paused and looked up from her chopping. The halting of the knife gave the other Asian woman permission to steal a piece of carrot to pop in her mouth.
Ye-Jin sighed and continued with her chopping. "Upstairs, trying to find a new disease that would prevent him from getting on a plane."
"Still haven't accepted it, huh?" Nora picked up a stick of celery and began chewing on it.
"Nope."
"I wouldn't discount it, though."
"What?" Ye-Jin asked in confusion.
"The disease. Your kid's scary smart, Jinnie. I'd make sure he doesn't have access to a shed or a library. I read on the internet about this kid who built a nuclear reactor in his outdoor shed using smoke detectors and batteries."
Ye-Jin shot Nora a skeptical look. Nora was fond of clickbait stories.
Nora's blonde pixie-cut hair bounced as she nodded vigorously, finishing off the celery. "True story. You should be careful."
"I doubt we'll have a shed in Seoul, much less a backyard to put it in."
"But the kids love being outside. Do you really have to go?"
"Now you sound like Junie."
"I'm being serious here, bud. For once!"
"It's not like I have much of a choice. Either I take this job, or I'll have to choose between paying the bills or my kids going to college." Her life had never been easy, and just as she thought she was on her way to a semblance of financial freedom, life saddled her with three more mouths to feed along with student debt, hospital bills, and her parents' mortgage.
Nora rolled her eyes. "There you go, sounding like such a Tiger mom. Your kid just turned five and you're thinking college already. Maybe Junie will get a scholarship like you, ever thought of that?"
"You know scholarships don't cover everything. I can't deal in 'maybes'. Not when I'm the adult. Hope is not a strategy." That truth had been driven home time and time again since she turned sixteen.
"How about your baby-daddy? Didn't you say he was loaded?"
"Not going there, Nora," she gently warned her friend.
Junie's resemblance to his father was a stark reminder of why they were no longer together. He'd told her point blank that fatherhood wasn't for him. If she wanted kids, they weren't going to be his. Oh, the irony.
They separated amicably after he moved out of the room he'd rented from her for over three years. She'd always known there would be an end and counted herself lucky to have had him even for that short time. He was bound for bigger things and her more pedestrian dreams of her own home and family weren't compatible with his lofty goals.
Two years later, while working the booths at a Google I/O conference in San Francisco, they'd bumped into each other. He'd taken the helm of his uncle's company after finishing his mandatory service, and was there as one of the speakers.
Junie had been conceived that weekend. He'd gone back to Seoul and she'd found out she was pregnant almost six months later; too late to do anything about it even if she'd wanted to.
Her father couldn't even look at her much less speak to her once he'd found out.That had changed the moment he'd laid eyes on Junie. Her son had instantly captivated her normally reserved father.
Junie was the apple of her father's eye. While he'd never say it, she knew he'd forgiven her and saw his grandson for the blessing that he was. It was a toss up who was more proud of her son between her and her father.
YOU ARE READING
Something About Ye-Jin
Fanfiction💬'It felt like a thousand shards of glass had embedded into her chest, making her wonder how she was still breathing. How was it that even though she'd always expected that painful moment, the reality was even more devastating? To the day, she stil...
