“Sure.”
They fell silent, and Dahye thought he seemed annoyed. No doubt she had embarrassed him. Earlier, he had been garrulous; now he said nothing. He stared at his wine glass, swirling the contents around and around.
What would Eunhye do in this situation?
Eunhye had loved cooking, reading, and watching romantic movies. She had loved the color pink. She had been obsessed with the ocean and tide pools, swimming, water lilies, jellyfish, all of it.
“Sometimes, on the weekends, I go to the aquarium by myself,” Dahye blurted out, and Hyukjoon looked up. “I know it sounds silly, but it’s such a peaceful place. I can spend hours there, just wandering around from exhibit to exhibit. Have you been?”
“Once. A long time ago.”
“Do you remember it?”
He hesitated. “Kind of.”
“The light makes everything look blue. If you go right by the tanks, or stand in the middle of the tunnel, the glow from the water makes you look like you’re some creature in an aquatic city.” Dahye closed her eyes, remembering the way her sister would stand there, motionless, a hand held high.
This seemed to distract Hyukjoon. After another bottle of wine, he was happy again. He told her about his two cats andhow he was closer to his sister than he was to his brother. Even though he was twenty-nine, his mother still called him aga.Baby.He loved any movie where the protagonists went to space.Armageddonwas his favorite. His dream was to go to the moon someday.
“You’re telling me you wouldn’t even consider it?” he asked Dahye, astounded. “An all-expenses-paid trip to space with no strings attached. You would still turn it down?”
“I don’t know. Space seems too scary.” She paused, considering. “What about aliens?”
“What about them?”
She shrugged. “I’d rather go to the deepest part of the ocean,” she offered.
“The Mariana Trench?”
“Uh-huh.” Dahye had learned about the Mariana Trench from Eunhye. In her head, she saw her sister waving around a printed image of a new discovery. It was a fish found at the bottom of the depths that had a transparent head. Eunhye had talked about it for days.
Dahye paused, thinking. “I bet there’s all kinds of weird stuff down there. Fish with ten eyes. Octopuses with twenty legs. Anthropomorphic seaweed.” She wiggled her fingers and stuck out her tongue at him, and Hyukjoon cocked his head.
“You’re afraid of aliens, but not anthropomorphic seaweed?”
She made a face. “It’s not like the seaweed is going to probe me.”
A look of shock passed over his features, and then he burst into laughter. “Here I was, enchanted by your pretty face. Turns out you’re funny, too.”
“Am I?”
“Funnier than most women I’ve met.”
They reached for their wine glasses at the same time and both smiled politely.
“You never answered my question,” Hyukjoon said after a sip.
“What question?”
“Do you have any siblings?”
Dahye’s blood ran cold. Eunhye’s face, bathed in blue light, appeared in her mind. She shivered. Pushed the image away. “No,” she said, a little too quickly. “I’m an only child.”
+
They said their goodbyes outside of the restaurant and parted without any trace of lingering. He didn’t try to kiss her or hold her hand. He didn’t say anything about a second date, either. She assumed he didn’t want to be seen with her in public and hurried in the opposite direction, darting into the first subway station she came across.
The trains rushed past. She listened to their rumbling and screeching, getting her bearings, before calling Bora.