Chapter 76
The car left JFK Airport and made a sharp turn westward near Queens Zoo. Then it maintained a steady speed toward Manhattan. The scenery outside the window was still far from the glamorous metropolis that people commonly know as New York.
The landscape of modest and monotonous houses that felt somewhat desolate, with large shopping malls appearing occasionally, was a typical suburban metropolitan scene. It seemed there had been heavy snowfall recently, as white patches of unmelted snow remained here and there like white stains.
The four people sitting face to face—no, the three people excluding Jiin—were still chattering away, sharing news with each other.
The adoptive father, who had just entered his fifties, looked older than Jiin remembered. He still appeared younger than Western men his age and had the gentle manner and composure characteristic of a man who had lived affluently, but he couldn’t completely erase the traces of difficult years since the divorce.
As far as Jiin remembered, he had never once raised his voice or frowned at the twins. Even during the period when he was becoming materialistic enough to feel like a different person, though the time spent together may have been limited, he was a father who did his best to listen when it came to dealing with them.
Since their mother had hired the best divorce lawyers to secure both custody and parental rights of the twins and Jiin, losing both the glamorous life at ‘Mio Palazzo’ and the twins simultaneously must have been quite difficult for him.
The adoptive father, who had been responding to the twins’ chatter with fond smiles or playfully teasing them by deliberately contradicting their words, suddenly looked out the window. Then he lightly tapped Yui’s knee beside him a couple of times and said:
“Oh, this time we’ll probably have to stay at the hotel where dad works. Is that okay?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Dad’s boss gave us a nice room after hearing you were coming.”
“Aw, it would be more comfortable to just stay at dad’s place.”
Ian, who didn’t particularly like staying in hotels, didn’t seem pleased with his father’s suggestion.
“Since dad’s boss specially looked after us knowing you were coming, let’s gratefully accept the kindness this time. Okay? Besides, it’s Jiin’s first trip to New York, so staying at a hotel would give him more of a travel feeling, wouldn’t it?”
“True, dad’s hotel is pretty fancy. We’ve stayed there before, but it would be good for hyung to see it too.”
“Right? The twins can share a twin room, and Jiin can use a double room by himself.”
“Ah… Ian and I will use the same room.”
Though Jiin had expected to stay at the adoptive father’s luxury condo on Park Avenue on the Upper East Side, he didn’t really care where they stayed. If they had to split into two rooms, it seemed better for the guys to share the same room, but Ian grabbed Jiin’s shoulder and stepped in to stop him, pretending to be mature.
“It’s okay, hyung. What’s between Jung Yui and me? You use it comfortably by yourself.”
“Both rooms are spacious and they’re suites with living rooms attached, so there won’t be any inconvenience even if two people share. Oh, and…”
“What now? Dad, you always have that expression when you want to ask for something.”
At Yui’s observation, the adoptive father burst into pleasant laughter and hugged her shoulders tightly before letting go.
The scenery outside had already left the quiet suburban area and was beginning to take on more urban colors. The car was entering Long Island City. The gaps between buildings narrowed and their heights became dizzyingly steep. Jiin felt the pleasant excitement of travel while reviewing the itinerary he had carefully planned from Paeli.
“That boss invited you to dinner tonight. It’s a place that’s hard to get reservations for suddenly, but it’s a really good opportunity. It’s a hot place that opened recently, so even Yui and Ian haven’t been there.”
“Sigh, so it’s a business dinner after all.”
At Yui’s unenthusiastic reaction with a shrug, the adoptive father laughed again. He had the expression of someone who couldn’t help but find adorable a child acting like they knew all about adult affairs.
“He’s a thoughtful person who’s being friendly and considerate. I promise tomorrow onwards will be completely free schedule.”
Having occasionally had such occasions whenever they visited New York, the twins accepted it familiarly while not being enthusiastic about it. After confirming the two’s reactions, the adoptive father also sought understanding from Jiin, who sat diagonally across from him.
“Jiin, it’ll be a bit uncomfortable, but let’s compromise for just one meal. Okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine with it. I’m actually looking forward to it since it’s a restaurant that’s hard to get reservations for.”
“Right, it’s a very nice place so you’ll like it too. Then… shall we have lunch just among ourselves first?”
The car was just entering the Queensboro Bridge.
The Queensboro Bridge was exactly the bridge that protagonist Kevin crossed when entering Manhattan from JFK Airport in <Home Alone 2: Lost in New York>, which had become a classic movie to watch every year-end.
Through the trusses between the piers that intersected each other as precisely as a honeycomb, Manhattan across the river began to come into view. Even though this was nearly their tenth visit to New York, the twins cheered and stuck to the window taking pictures.
After finishing a late lunch at a New York-style pizza place that the twins liked, the car that had dropped off luggage at the hotel and returned was waiting again. The adoptive father had to return to work, so he left first, and the remaining three decided to walk leisurely to the hotel while taking in the city atmosphere.
Knox Hotel, where the adoptive father worked as head chef of an Italian restaurant, was located about a 20-minute walk from the pizza place near Bryant Park. The shortest route would be to go straight with the park on the left, but the three chose a path that detoured about two blocks to pass through Times Square and Rockefeller Center.
Manhattan’s central district before Christmas and the year-end holidays was so dazzlingly bright and bustling it was bewildering. It seemed like an atmosphere that would excite even the most stoic person.
Just as the size and taste of pizza were completely different from Italy, even though it was a city within the same America, it was so different you could believe it was another country—completely different in color from Miami, a resort city with bright and relaxed vitality.
They pushed through the crowds—no, entrusted themselves to the crowds—gazing mesmerized at the signs of large theaters with over 500 seats and outdoor billboards of currently running productions, slowly heading north.
The three had agreed to travel by moving according to their individual desired schedules except for December 24th and 25th, and December 31st and New Year’s Day, having meals together in between. Jiin had planned to invest about a week of that time in theater viewing.
Most of the plays Jiin had researched and had in mind from Paeli were Off-Off-Broadway theatre productions. It wasn’t intentional, but most of the works that attracted him had experimental characteristics.
Therefore, the theaters Jiin would visit required going further inward from the main streets. Still, he would mainly be moving around Times Square. Since it would be a frequently visited area, Jiin explored the surroundings more carefully.
“Oppa, stand here! I’ll take a picture with Times Square in the background.”
Around the time they passed in front of the Minskoff Theatre, one of the famous large theaters, Yui grabbed Jiin’s arm and stopped him.
“Here?”
“It’s your first visit to New York. You have to leave a photo at landmarks. We did all this before too. You saw the photos, oppa.”
Yui was already taking out a Polaroid camera from her crossbody bag. It was a place where nine out of ten tourists visiting New York would take photos with Times Square’s colorful billboards in the background.
Jiin, who didn’t particularly like taking photos and hesitated for a moment, soon positioned himself without complaint.
Normally, Yui or Ian would have nagged him to smile more brightly, but before they could, Jiin’s face was already glowing brightly with anticipation and excitement.
Until dinner time, the three rested individually in Knox Hotel’s rooms. Despite flying comfortably in full-flat seats, they still had travel fatigue from the approximately 15-hour journey including the layover in Rome.
The rooms were decorated gorgeously yet not excessively, elegantly and comfortably, and the mattresses and bedding were impeccably comfortable. Nevertheless, even after drawing the blackout curtains and lying in bed, Jiin couldn’t fall asleep easily.
Only after spending about an hour searching for reviews of the plays he had selected as works of interest did Jiin close his eyes.
Thinking it was good to come to New York, that it might be an opportunity to restore his relationship with his adoptive father even slightly. With such hopes, he fell into sweet sleep.
■
The restaurant the adoptive father’s boss had invited them to was a French restaurant near Columbus Circle on the southwestern edge of Central Park, opened by a Michelin star chef a few months ago.
Since it was an upscale restaurant with a dress code, though not extremely strict, Jiin and the twins dressed appropriately.
The three who arrived about 10 minutes before the 7 PM reservation time had already been guided to their table and were having light pre-dinner drinks and conversation. It was a little past 7:10 PM, but the host who had arranged the gathering had not yet appeared.
After taking a sip of sparkling water and setting down her glass, Yui asked:
“But what kind of person is dad’s boss? It’ll be tough if he’s too strict. Do you communicate well?”
“He’s much younger than dad and has excellent manners, so we should communicate well.”
“The boss is younger than dad?”
According to the adoptive father’s explanation, his boss, a high-ranking executive at Knox Hotel New York, was a Korean man only thirty-four years old.
“He’s from an owner family that owns a very large Korean company, like mom. But he’s informal and humble despite that.”
Even as he said this, perhaps nervous about the meeting with his boss, the adoptive father kept moistening his lips with champagne.
“We’re going to select a new Executive chef at dad’s restaurant this time. Since he has personnel authority, you mustn’t behave rudely, okay?”
The adoptive father, who made the request in a lowered voice, suddenly widened his eyes and stiffened his expression as if he had spotted a ghost. Everyone’s gaze turned toward where his eyes were fixed.
There, a tall Asian man was entering alone, being guided by the restaurant manager. He was a man wearing a suit that wrapped his body so precisely without an inch of error that it seemed to restrain his body instead.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
