“You’re making breakfast?” Hawk’s hesitant voice came from the kitchen doorway.

Seung-Bae wedged the spatula’s flat edge under a sizzling egg and gently flipped it over. Then he glanced over his shoulder.

“I wasn’t expecting you to show your face this early,” he smirked.

Hawk leaned against the wall and chewed nervously at his bottom lip. Seung-Bae could feel his best friend’s eyes, probing as if Hawk wanted to say something but couldn’t force the words out.

“Where’s Haenyeo?” Hawk finally asked.

 “She’s still asleep,” Seung-Bae replied. “Halmeoni was worried she wasn’t eating enough, so Eun-Mi came over with supplies. We were down to some old cheese slices and a bottle of pepper paste.” He slid the pair of fried eggs onto a plate and then motioned to an overhead cupboard. “We’re even out of ramyeon.”

Min-Jae, still dazed from sleep, shuffled into the kitchen and pushed past Hawk to get to the refrigerator. He pulled out a questionable carton of milk and shook it, then maneuvered the top open and sniffed its contents.

“Yeah,” Hawk mumbled. “I meant to go to the grocery store yesterday but …”

“But he was a little busy,” Min-Jae finished for him. “Getting me arrested,” he hissed quietly in Hawk’s direction.

“What?” Seung-Bae looked over his shoulder at Min-Jae.

“Helping me move in,” Min-Jae replied gleefully. “Didn’t he tell you? I’m officially a member of the household. Omo … I forgot to tell Hyun-Woo. Where is he?”

“He left already, said he had some errands to run, and then he’s meeting his brother down the street for lunch.” Seung-Bae pulled a black-handled knife out of the block and positioned it carefully over the center of a ripe cantaloupe. “Hey … I thought you basically lived on our couch already?”

“Did you call my mom yesterday?” Hawk asked.

 “No, I forgot,” Seung-Bae admitted. “I’ll call her later.”

“Don’t forget. You don’t want her showing up while Haenyeo is here. She’ll have a fit.”

“Hyeong ….” Min-Jae started to reach for a melon wedge, then snatched Seung-Bae’s left hand and held it up for inspection. “Is that a couples ring?” he hooted in disbelief. “Did you and Haenyeo get couples rings?”

Seung-Bae pulled his hand away.

“You’re blushing!” Min-Jae howled with laughter. “Couples rings after, what, three days? I knew it! I knew you two were up to something last night.”

Seung-Bae smiled. Then he looked up and met Hawk’s stare. Hawk’s features tightened, his mouth pressed into a firm, angry line. The intensity of the gaze felt suffocating, and Seung-Bae looked away and moistened his lips. “We’re getting married,” he announced. “I’ve asked her to marry me.”

Hawk’s eyes widened, and his ears began to flame. “What? You’ve only just met her!”

“I know it seems fast, but this is what I want. I’m crazy about her, Hawk.”

Hawk stormed the length of the kitchen and his face into Seung-Bae’s. “You can’t get married!” He yelled. “You haven’t even graduated from college yet. You haven’t even completed military service yet. Why the hell would you want to get married?” He turned and began pacing the floor while his fingers clawed into his abdomen. “You’ve only known her for a couple of days, Bae. You don’t know anything about her! How can you be sure it’s even real?”

Seung-Bae set the knife onto the counter and, bowing his head, at the juice that covered his fingers.

“I told you what happened,” Hawk’s voice was just above a whisper. “I told you how all those men started acting crazy around her. And now you are acting crazy. She’s manipulating you, Seung-Bae. Can’t you see that? Maybe she isn’t doing it on purpose, I don’t know, but your feelings aren’t natural. They can’t be. You don’t even know who she really is!”

Seung-Bae leaned against the countertop and studied his friend. He could feel the tension rolling off Hawk in erratic waves. But it didn’t matter. Hawk was simply overreacting as always, and after time he’d settle down and come to accept the change.

“I know all I need to know,” Seung-Bae said, “and I love her.” He pulled in a deep breath and shook his head. “My father – you don’t even know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to set up an arranged marriage for me. He’s trying to use me in one of his business schemes.”

Hawk’s fist hammered against the countertop. “So you’re using her? You’re marrying Haenyeo so your Dad can’t force you to marry someone else? Who is using who, Seung-Bae? Huh?”

Seung-Bae turned and, reaching for a clean plate, began lining it with small wedges of cantaloupe. “It’s not like that. I love her. If I don’t marry her now … I’m afraid I might lose her.”

“And what about us? What about the band? What about our dream, Seung-Bae? You promised ….”

Seung-Bae lifted the breakfast plate and placed it onto a tray. “I’m not quitting the band. Nothing’s changed.”

Hawk let out a disbelieving puff of air. “Yeah, right. Nothing’s changed at all.” He turned and grabbed Min-Jae’s arm. “Let’s get the hell out of here. We’re obviously in the way.”

Min-Jae shrugged apologetically as he was dragged towards the front door, and Seung-Bae nodded back to him.

“Hyeong, buy me breakfast.” Min-Jae’s voice carried from the hallway beyond the open front door. “I’m starving.”

“Shut up,” Hawk fumed, and then the door clicked shut.

The apartment was quiet.

Seung-Bae opened an overhead cupboard and pulled out a glass tumbler. He filled it with cold water from the refrigerator and then set the glass onto the breakfast tray.

“Let’s see. What else,” he murmured to himself. He thought for a moment, then opened another cupboard and reached for one of his mother’s small, porcelain vases. From a lower cabinet he found a stack of old construction paper and a roll of clear tape. He cut, twisted, and taped until he’d formed a reasonable facsimile of a red bloom. Happily, he placed his creation into the vase and arranged the result in the upper left corner of the breakfast tray. Then he lifted it, and made his way to the bedroom.

Haenyeo was still sleeping. He kicked away a pillow and blanket, his makeshift bed left strewn across the floor, and kneeled to set the breakfast tray on the bedside table. She stirred at the noise then settled back into a pattern of deep breathing. He reached to brush aside a damp curl that stuck to her bottom lip. She was thinner than she had been. Eun-Mi’s grandmother was right. Haenyeo wasn’t eating enough, or maybe the Korean diet didn’t agree with her. Whatever it was, she looked rather frail, and it worried him.

Everything worried him. He felt entangled. Everyone’s expectations snagged and reeled him in, pulling at him from different directions until he felt like he was coming apart. It was only when he looked at Haenyeo that he felt a sense of clarity and purpose. He had to protect her, had to keep her close and safe so she would never disappear.

From his desk, his cell pinged. It was from Hyun-Woo, a text message to Hawk, Min-Jae, and himself.

Practice tonight. Get focused. Audition tomorrow morning. Hwaiting!

Just as he set the cell down, the house phone began to chirp. He lifted the extension from its cradle and moved out into the living room, pulling the bedroom door closed behind him so the noise would not wake Haenyeo.

“Hello?”

“I’m flying to Taipai this morning,” his father’s voice boomed across the line. “Meet me at Incheon Airport at 10:00 near the KoreanAir check-in. I have something to tell you.”

The line disconnected, and Seung-Bae’s stomach plummeted. It was the summons he’d been dreading.

“Dammit!”

It was 8:55. He could just make it through traffic if he hurried.