Jiyong’s mom was clearly pleased to have him as her lunch date again, but also irritated.

“This is about Dara, isn’t it?” she said, breaking the spaghetti noodles in half with a satisfying crack and dropping them in the boiling water.

“Yes. So listen and set aside everything you think you know about her. Because I totally lied to you.”

“What?” She whirled around, wiping her hands on her apron.

“When I brought Dara for Thanksgiving, I only knew her as a girl in my apartment complex. We were barely friends at that point. Not that she didn’t try, I’m just not good with people I don’t know well.”

“She wasn’t your girlfriend? But you said she was. We played The Newlywed Game…” She glanced at the kitchen table, as if picturing the night all over again.

“Hanbin was so worried about bringing Hayi. She hates attention, and he was afraid to bring her home to meet everyone and have all that pressure on her to fit in. So, he asked if one of us guys might want to bring a girl too.”

“Everyone knows Dara’s not your girlfriend except me?” His mom’s face dropped.

Oh, no. Now he’d hurt her feelings.

“Hey, come sit for a minute.” He led her over to the table. “Nobody knew. When Hanbin asked us, Soohyuk and Seunghyun said they weren’t dating anyone and outright refused. I didn’t answer because Dara’s face popped into my head, and I thought she might be spunky enough to come along with me. I guess I thought she’d find the whole thing funny.”

“It’s not funny to let me get attached to someone who’s just pretending, Jiyong.” Mom’s shoulders slumped. “She held my hand while I had my dental work done. And I was just imposing on her. I’ve said the most awful things about her.”

“You weren’t imposing. That’s the thing. She cares about you and was happy to do it. And she’s so worried you hate her now that you know we lied to you. She’s … she’s this amazing person, and I want to date her for real.”

That perked Mom right up. She jumped from her chair and went over to the stove to stir the noodles. “Well, of course you do. I didn’t ruin it for you, did I? I was so upset at the time, I couldn’t think straight. But when she told that other young man that there wasn’t anyone else … Oh, my poor boy. You must be heartbroken. Does she only see you as a friend? You have to tell her how you feel.”

Her emotional whiplash was giving him a headache, but it wasn’t really her fault.

“I didn’t tell Dara how I felt about her until it was almost too late. But, yeah, I’ve told her and … I think it’s going to work out.”

“Well, what can I do to help?”

YoungHwan walked in right then. He was in his golf shoes, and Mom was momentarily distracted by reminding him to take them off in the house.

“Can I tell YoungHwan?” she asked. “About Dara?”

“What’s this about Dara?” YoungHwan asked, coming over to lift the lid on the spaghetti sauce and take a whiff.

Jiyong realized he did not want his mom being the messenger to the rest of the family. “Dara is coming for Sunday dinner,” he told YoungHwan. “And bringing cake.”

“Well, that’s excellent news. I’m always in favor of more dessert around here."

While YoungHwan had the water flowing into the sink to wash his hands, Jiyong leaned in to whisper in his mom’s ear. “You asked if you could do anything. Will you call Dara and invite her to Sunday dinner? And then please don’t tell anyone else anything. I’ll do it that night.”

She nodded. “I can certainly do that.”

+++

Dara stared at her email from the DNA company. The results from her test were back, and while it was fun to know that she had a little bit of Pacific Island and South Asian roots along with her mostly Scandinavian background, that wasn’t why she had ordered the test.

What if she had done all this and nobody was out there? Or what if they were and didn’t want to meet? What if she found out things she didn’t want to know? The only information Dara had on her dad was his first name, Teddy, and that he didn’t know about her. Almost thirty years had gone by. She didn’t need raising. What was it she wanted from him? Information? Closure? To know he was okay? Finding him was something she had always wished for, but now that it might be an option, she was scared of the unknown. She was scared of getting her hopes up only to have them dashed.

Delaying, she picked up her phone, checking for the latest update from Ji Yeon and Jung-suk. Ji Yeon had gone to the hospital with labor pains a few hours earlier, but didn’t know if they’d admit her. No new text messages. Nothing new on social media either.

Dara texted Jisoo, knowing she’d be close by and would know what was going on. How is she?

Jisoo’s answer popped up a minute later. False labor. They sent her home. She’s embarrassed, like she’s supposed to be an expert in labor cues or something. A call from you would cheer her up for sure.

Dara didn’t have to be asked twice. She scrolled to Ji Yeon’s number and called, waiting for her to answer.

“Dara? I was about to call you, except I can’t stop crying, and I really don’t have a reason to cry. Who looks forward to labor?”

“Ji Yeon. It’s gonna be okay. Jisoo told me to call and cheer you up. What would cheer you up?”

Ji Yeon sniffled. “Tell me your drama. What’s the latest with Jiyong? Or should I not ask?”

Dara smiled. “You may ask. He came over after you and Jisoo left and we … worked things out.”

“That’s an awesomely vague answer.” Ji Yeon pressed for more details, oohing and ahhing at the right times.

It gave Dara a chance to reflect on the past few days. She and Jiyong’s morning workouts were a lot less productive, but refreshing in a totally different way, now that they ended with toe-curling, sigh-inducing goodbye kisses.

Dara felt utterly giddy, but it was laced with an underlying panic. She was in the heady, first few days of a relationship when everything felt like rainbows and unicorns, but