“Oh good, you’re home,” Siwon heard when he walked into the house early one Monday evening. “Can you tell me how to call for a cab? I’d usually just take a bus but I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

    Siwon stopped and looked at Haneul in confusion. “Why aren’t you just calling your driver?” He asked.

    “What driver?” Now Haneul was confused.

    “Didn’t your uncle assign you a car and driver?”
    “No,” Haneul replied. “I haven’t spoken to him since he arranged for me to come back to Korea.”

    Siwon looked completely shocked. He had known that things were not very happy in Haneul’s family relationships but he didn’t realize that by marrying him she had been moved out of her family completely. “I’ll drive you,” he offered. “Where are you going?”
    “Well, if you’re sure,” Haneul hesitated. She was still unused to her husband offering to spend time with her, let alone helping her out. When Siwon said nothing, she continued. “First, I need to get to the closest bookstore. After that, I need to go to Seoul’s Orphanage for Children with Disabilities.”

    Siwon stared at her but led her to his car. While Haneul was in the store, Siwon sat in the car lost in thought. He remembered the vow he had made after his conversation with Kris. He had felt so strongly about getting to know his wife at the time but had let his busyness drift him back into apathy.

    “I got everything I need,” Haneul’s return startled Siwon from his revery. “I hope I didn’t take too long.” She continued when her husband didn’t respond.

    “No,” Siwon said putting the car into gear. “You were very quick.” He eyed the bag on her lap.”What did you get?”

    “A calendar and some stickers,” she responded. At Siwon’s nod of encouragement she went on. “The little boy I work with on Tuesdays and Thursdays got his days confused and is refusing to leave the school room because I didn’t come today.”

    “I can understand why you would want to go to the orphanage,” Siwon said, “but what good are a calendar and some stickers going to do?”

    “Minwoo and I are going to put stars on every Tuesday and Thursday in the month. Every night before he goes to bed, he’ll put a sticker on that day on the calendar. This way, he’ll always know what day it is and if I’m coming or not,” Haneul explained.

    “So simple,” Siwon said thoughtfully, “yet so brilliant.” Haneul sat there in stunned silence for a few moments but then felt that it was necessary to say something.

    “It’s not really brilliant,” Haneul protested. “It’s just a variation of a daily visual schedule. We used them all of the time back in the U.S.”

    “You worked with kids in the U.S.?” Siwon asked, finally finding a way to learn more about his wife and get closer to her.

    “Yes, I believe it was in my profile that my uncle gave your family,” Haneul replied. “I have a degree in elementary education. I taught fifth grade before… the incident. Then I worked as an aide in special education.”

    “Incident?” Siwon questioned.

    “That was in the profile as well,” Haneul said, the beginnings of tears lining her eyes. “I almost memorized what your parents sent about you and you... Never mind. We’re here. Just stay in the car. We can talk some other time.” Siwon parked and Haneul hopped out and walked into the orphanage without a backward glance.

    Left alone in the car, Siwon rubbed his face in frustration. He had been making some progress in getting to know Haneul and now his previous indifference has come back to haunt him. Back when his father was in the process of making the arrangements with Haneul’s uncle, he had done everything he could to ignore the situation, hoping it would fall through, like several had before. If he had been sent a profile about Haneul he simply could not recall it.

    Siwon pulled out his phone determinedly and dialed his father’s number. “Abeoji,” he said. “When you were negotiating my marriage, did you receive a profile about Haneul?”

    “You did? You sent it to me? Are you sure?”

    “I don’t remember getting it. Would it be possible for you to email it to me again?”

    “Thank you, Abeoji,” Siwon hung up after promises to keep in closer contact. He waited a few seconds and then checked his email. Finding the attachment he sat and read until Haneul returned thirty minutes later.

    “I didn’t know,” Siwon said. “That you went through all of that and then came into a marriage with someone as selfish as me. You deserve better!”

    Haneul had no response. She just stared at him, dumbstruck.

    “It might take some time,” Siwon said,” but I promise you, I WILL be a better husband.”