The Noh Family by Grace K. Shim

Author:Grace K. Shim [Shim, Grace K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2022-05-03T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

As soon as Halmoni leaves for the hospital, I call my mom.

“Chloe-yah, what is it? Are you okay?” Her hushed tone tells me she’s at the hospital.

“Halmoni told me everything,” I blurt out.

“Everything?” Her voice is soft and unchallenging, which is just as good as admitting she’s been lying to me all these years.

“And it’s time you told me everything too. About knowing Dad’s family all along. About working at Sam Won Department Store. About the curse!”

The line goes flat. I check the phone to see if we’ve lost the connection, but she’s still there. “Mom?” I say after a good minute.

“I can’t believe she told you.” She sighs a deep and breathy sigh into the receiver. Almost like she’s relieved. “The last time we saw each other, she made me promise never to speak of each other again. I kept them from you, not because of her. I thought it was best to stay away from people who only saw us as bad luck. It was killing me keeping that kind of secret to myself.”

“It . . . it was killing you?” I can barely say the words through my rage. All these years she’s been lying to me and she’s the victim?

“Chloe-yah, I thought about telling you a thousand times. I-I had to keep my word.” Her voice trembles. “You’re not mad, are you?”

“I can’t even begin to answer that question, Mom. I mean, how would you feel if you just found out your whole life was a lie?!” I’m screaming at the top of my lungs and flailing my hands in frustration.

“Your life isn’t a lie.” Her voice cracks, and she whimpers, softly. “Chloe-yah, I did what I thought was best for you. I’m not perfect, but I love you. Please come home now so we can sort this out.”

“There’s no way I’m coming home early, not after this.”

“Please, no,” she pleads desperately. “You can’t stay another day with them. You can’t trust anything they say—”

“I can’t trust anything they say?” I balk dramatically through the receiver. “That’s rich, coming from you. Halmoni tells me things, things about my dad, about my past. She’s not the one I need to worry about lying to me.”

She sobs so quietly, I can hear the monitors beeping in the background. “You don’t mean that.” I’m not sure if she’s saying this to me or trying to convince herself of it. “This is a lot to process, I know you’re upset. You have every right to be. I’m sure if you knew everything, I mean everything, you’d understand.” She sniffs.

“How can I be sure I know everything? You never tell me anything.” I release another exasperated sigh. All those years of getting the runaround about Dad come to mind and it reignites my anger.

“I promise, from now on I won’t keep any secrets from you. All you have to do is ask. Please. Chloe-yah, please,” she begs.

The sincerity in her plea gets to me and I draw in a deep breath and try to calm myself down.

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