Page 42 of Defended
The impatience in her voice instantly made him suspicious.
"Is there a reason you're so eager for me to visit already?" he asked, moving into the living room to sit down on the couch. Might as well be comfortable while he found out what his momreallywanted.
"Because I miss mywang-ja-nim, is not enough?" She did a good job of sounding affronted, but Kawan was used to his mother's tricks, and calling him her 'prince' was not enough to distract him. The endearment had made him feel like royalty when he was a kid; now he was wise to how his mom could use it to her advantage.
"I miss you too,Umma. And no, it's not. I can tell that you want something."
"So suspicious," she said. Kawan just leaned back against the couch, waiting. After a moment she sighed with resignation. "You know me too well. Fine. There's a young woman here—"
"Umma,no," Kawan said with a groan. He'd really hoped it wouldn't be something like that. As much as his mom never found any woman he introduced her to quite up to her standards, she was still always looking.
Especially after the Krissy debacle. Although, she'd had some really good points about Krissy.
"She's very nice—"
Kawan cut her off again. "Umma, I'm seeing someone up here."
Silence.
He rubbed his hand over his face, waiting to see how she would respond.
"I see." There was another long pause. "What's her name? How long have you been seeing her? Is she why you moved farther away from your family?" There was a definite edge to that last question and Kawan couldn't help but chuckle. That was his mom all over.
"Her name is Melody. I met her after I moved up here, and we just went on our first date last weekend."
"Where did you meet her?" she asked.
"Ah... well..." He stumbled over his words, realizing how woefully unprepared he was to talk to his mother about Melody. Although, it was always possible no amount of preparation would have been enough. His father had always said Kawan took after his mom and that was why he made such a good lawyer. They could both be unrelenting with their pursuit of information. Kawan liked to joke that, as a librarian, his mom used her powers for good. Mostly.
"Kawan." The flat tone of her voice was filled with warning, as if the use of his name wasn't enough.
"She was sort of a client, but not really." He said, the words coming out a little rushed. No matter how self-assured he became, no matter how dominant, somehow his mom always managed to make him feel a little insecure. It was probably good for him, but it was never a comfortable experience. "She's definitely not a client now."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he cringed internally. If a client of his babbled to him this way, he'd assume they were guilty of something.
He forgave himself, because he was a little off-his-game this morning. Realizing that Melody had lied to her friend, which had also been extremely unsafe, followed by a phone call from his mom... Sitting up straight, he gave himself a little shake.
Get a hold of yourself.
"Melody's working toward her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She's very smart." Although a little naive in some ways.
"Is she Korean?" She sounded thoughtful. His mom was apparently willing to overlook the fact that Melody had needed legal help—at least for now.
"No, she's white."
"Does she want children?"
Kawan pinched the bridge of his nose. "We just went on our first datelast weekend,Umma. The topic hasn't come up yet."
She tutted at him. "You aren't getting any younger, Kawan, these are important things to know."
"Yes,Umma."
"Don't you make 'dutiful son' noises at me, Kawan, I… Oh.Appawants to talk to you. Hold on." It would only be a temporary reprieve, Kawan knew. Now that she knew about Melody, she needed the time to regroup and adjust how to approach him. Fortunately, he'd also be able to use that time to prepare some answers.
"Bye,Umma, love you."
"Sa-lang-hai, eolin wangja." There was a muffled noise as she passed the phone over to his father.
