Rain splattered against the windshield as Lisa pulled up to the house in the suburbs. Once again, her parents were out for the evening. According to Minnie, it was an after-work event that their father "couldn't miss." And their mother never let an opportunity to socialize go unnoticed.
It was perfect for Lisa, who only ever wanted to visit her sister without their parents ruining the atmosphere.
"What are you cooking this time?" Lisa asked, crossing the threshold from rainy Seoul to warm, cozy home. "Huh. I don't smell anything."
Minnie hugged her sister before helping her take off her wet rain jacket and hanging it on a hook by the door. "You make it sound like all I do is cook. I only cook half of the time. And I'll cook even less after I get married. Eunwoo makes the most incredible pasta. I'm going to get so fat."
The conversation always went straight to Minnie's relationship. Not that Lisa minded. Besides their jobs and childhoods, there wasn't much else for them to talk about.
Which was probably why the next thing Minnie commented on was Lisa's slight change in appearance.
"Whoa. You braided your hair." She plopped down on the couch and turned off the police procedural playing on the living room TV. "I don't think I've seen it like that since I was a kid. Remember how Mom used to put all those little flowers in it?"
"Don't remind me." Lisa instinctively grabbed her hair, which she'd let Roseanne braid again, as she joined her sister on the couch. "How are the wedding plans coming along?"
Minnie withheld an immediate answer, silently acknowledging the abrupt change in subject. "Great, actually. Eunwoo and I were able to lock down the Lutheran church his family goes to for the weekend before the real wedding. Although, we're signing the marriage license the day of the Christian wedding, so I guess that's the 'real' wedding."
"Mom and Dad won't think of it that way."
"Yup. It's exactly why I'm barely allowed to see Eunwoo between weddings. I told Mom that we'll be married in the eyes of the law and whatnot before then, but she's adamant that we hold off on the 'wedding night' until the following weekend. I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm still a virgin."
Lisa chuckled. "I think she'd just rather not think about her daughter's sex life."
"Oh, she's already giving me 'subtle' tips for my wedding night. And the honeymoon. She's basically said she expects the two of us to spend the whole trip making her some grandkids."
Lisa smiled. "Indonesia, right?"
"Yup. It's going to be awesome. Just me, Eunwoo, and the beaches of Bali. A whole week of paradise." Minnie sighed wistfully. "By the way, what are you going to wear? Mom needs to know if she should get you a new chakkri."
"I've got a perfectly good sabai to wear to your wedding. I hardly ever wear it, so Mom's never seen it before.'"
"What color is it? As long as it's not white or black."
"Of course not. It's blue."
"Ooh, that will look great on you!" Minnie pulled a pillow into her lap as her eyes wandered toward the ceiling. "You haven't told me if your plus-one is filled yet. Have you found a date? Are you even seeing anyone right now?"
The questions kept coming at Lisa like soccer balls at after- school goalkeeper practice. "No idea if I'll bring a friend or not."
"That's not what I asked, Lisa. I asked if you might be seeing someone. Someone you'd bring to the wedding who we could all meet."
