Geunyeoreul Gochida! Page #2

For every girl with shameful American-looking eyebrows.

• Short story

								


“Sorry?”

“It’s me,” she repeats. “Min-Kyung.”

My eyes widen. “Min-Kyung?” She nods with another stiff laugh. “Is it really you?” 

“Don’t act so surprised. I’m only a year older now.” 

I laugh nervously, unable to stop myself from looking her up and down. Her skin is paler now too. I’m too shocked to say anything else.

“How have you been?” She grabs my hands and looks at me for an answer, but I don’t recognize her touch as she does so. The fingers are too cold and thin to be hers. 

My eyes finally meet hers, but I don’t recognize them either. She has small red slits on the top and bottom, and I notice she now has an extra eyelid. I look beneath her eye and see that there’s also a small bag-like line there too.

I don’t know who I’m talking to.

“I’ve been—”

“Min!” The sound of Aunt Jae’s voice interrupts me before I can answer. Both of us look over to the kitchen. “Come here for some ginseng!” 

Min-Kyung lets go of my hands and calls out to her Mom. “We’re coming!” She then looks back over to me and smiles. “We’ll catch up later.”

“Yeah,” I reply, giving her a cordial nod. “We will.” 

She nods back. I can’t help but stare at the stitches following the dents of her collarbone. 

“Let’s go.” Min-Kyung walks away into the kitchen and calls out to me over her shoulder. “You know I love ginseng.” My eyebrows knit together.

She never loved ginseng. 

-

I’ve been staring at the ceiling with the taste of ginseng in my mouth for the past three hours. The room is dark and quiet, but I can still hear the faint sounds of my mom and aunts talking in the kitchen. I groan and pull my pillow over my face, trying to block out the noise. It’s hopeless. 

I sigh and throw the covers off my body. Maybe a quick walk will help me fall asleep. 

I slowly walk over to the bedroom door and open it as quietly as I can. I try my hardest to silence my heavy tiptoes, but the floor still creaks as I walk across it. Nonetheless, I take the back staircase and make it over to the foyer without waking Min-Kyung in the other room. I’m just a hair away from the front door when I suddenly hear my mother’s name. 

“Oh, Jang-Mi…” It’s Aunt Ji-Hye. Her voice is sympathetic and motherly, a tone she dons quite frequently. She was always the nicest out of Mom's sisters. I listen closer as she speaks again. “That poor daughter of yours with such wide hips.” 

I whip my head around to face the invisible kitchen, my head instinctively leaning forward. They’re talking about me?

I can’t help but take a few steps closer to the kitchen. 

“I agree with Ji-Hye,” Aunt Jin replies. “Min-a’s hips should be our top priority.” 

My eyebrows raise. What could they possibly be talking about? Top priority? I take a few more steps to the kitchen, my curiosity peaking. 

“Now wait a minute…” I recognize Aunt Jae’s voice immediately, and my stomach begins to churn. I hear one of the kitchen chair’s rub against the floor, so I guess that Aunt Jae has stood up from her seat. I hope she’s standing to oppose Aunt Ji-Hye and Aunt Jin, but even I know it’s unlikely. “What about those hands? I can see an American appetite through those fingers.” Horror clouds my face as my aunts take turns agreeing with Aunt Jae. I feel blood rushing to my face as it pales at the same time. “Or what about her stomach? Neck? Collarbones? Maybe hands should come last.” 

“But there has to be something done with those shoulders,” Mom says. “Oh, those shoulders…” 

A sharp gasp escapes my throat upon hearing my mother’s voice. I feel a pit of betrayal forming in my stomach as she continues to talk. 

“Min-a has the most awful shoulders,” Mom says. “Too much fat.” 

The memory of her squeezing my shoulders yesterday enters my brain. I feel tears well in my eyes as I remember her words—the same words she’s repeating to my aunts right now. 

I take a few more steps closer to the kitchen.
 
“Jang-Mi.” The defiant voice lets me know that Aunt Jae is talking again. “Geunyeoreul gochida.” 

I raise my eyebrows once more.

“Geunyeoreul gochida,” Aunt Jae repeats. “Geunyeoreul gochida.” 

I lean a little closer, trying to decipher the meaning behind her words. I haven’t spoken Korean since I was a child. 

“Geunyeoreul gochida.”

My translation is slow, but Aunt Jae continues to chant.

“Geunyeoreul gochida.”

I can’t remember what the words mean. Mom stopped speaking to me in Korean long ago. But still, I think back as far as I can, trying to recall its translation. 

“Geunyeoreul gochida.” 

Geunyeoreul… girl? It’s the only word my childhood can offer me. But what about gochida? Just one out of the millions of words I haven’t spoken in years. 

“Geunyeoreul gochida.” 

Gochida… I take a few more steps to the kitchen. 

“Geunyeoreul gochida.” 

Wait, I know it. 

“Min-a.” 

I turn around with a gasp. 

Min-Kyung is standing before me. I put my hand on my chest, trying to level my breathing. Her sudden presence has raised goosebumps on my skin, and I can feel my heart beating out of my chest. 

“Min-Kyung…” I take a few more breaths to get out my words. “Sorry, you… you scared me.”

She smiles at me. “Oh, sorry about that.”

“It’s alright,” I reply, still breathing heavily. “I just didn’t expect you to be down here this late.”

“Oh, I just needed to get some water from the kitchen.” She holds up a glass of water I didn’t even realize was in her hand. “Did you come from the backstairs?” 

I nod. “Yeah, I did. I didn’t want to disturb anybody.”

“Makes sense.”

I nod again, unsure of what to say as my breathing slowly goes back to normal. The silence almost saddens me, as it never used to exist. 

“Oh, um…” Min-Kyung starts again, looking down at her hand. “Here.” She hands me her cup of water, which is still filled to the top. I notice there isn’t a water ring anywhere on the edges. “You seem like you could use some.”

“That’s okay,” I respond, holding the cup back out for her to take. “You just got it and I would hate to drink your water.” 

Min-Kyung shakes her head with a smile. “No, really, it’s okay.” She lightly pushes the cup closer to my direction. “You seem out of breath.” 

“Oh, well…” I stare back down at the cup. I shrug. “Thanks.” 

I bring the cup to my lips and take a sip. 

The second the water enters my throat, I pull the cup away from my mouth. An all too familiar taste begins to marinate on my tongue. 

“Ginseng…”

Min-Kyung shakes her head.

“It’s water.” 

I shake my head back at her. “No, it’s not…”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s…” I bring the cup to my nose. “It’s...” 

I’m not quick enough to stop my body from falling to the floor. My head hits the wood and blackens my vision, but a piercing ringing sound is clear. I squeeze my eyes shut to get it out, but it doesn’t stop. My hands are suddenly too exhausted to cover my ears. 

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