Waxing Moon by H.S. Kim Page A

for a while, listening to each other’s breathing and getting used to the dark. And then Min pulled her close to his chest and groaned like a beast. His arms compressed her organs in her rib cage so tightly that she felt they might explode. When he finally released her, the air temporarily trapped in her throat escaped violently through her mouth, producing a loud sound, the burp of a giant. He rubbed her head ever so gently and groaned again. Nani broke out sobbing, punching his chest. He groaned again. Nani said, “I hate you!” Min kept rubbing her head and groaned more loudly. His body was trembling ever so slightly. Nani stopped punching him. She relaxed in his arms for a while.
    “Gods! What am I doing here? Mirae is sick as a dog. I have to go and ask Mistress Yee what I should do!” Nani sprang up and opened the door. Before she ran, she looked around and met Min’s eyes. He was smiling down at her like Buddha. She pushed him away and ran like a little rabbit, looking back with a mischievous grin on her lips.

12
    Halfway to Mistress Yee’s quarters, Nani suddenly turned around and went back to the maids’ quarters. She didn’t think Mistress Yee would be up. Besides, she wouldn’t be interested in the welfare of her household members. She would reprove her for making noise so early in the morning.
    Nani slipped into the kitchen, out of breath. Her heart was still pounding violently. She drank water in the kitchen, dripping it all over her chest. She stood there, lost in thought, reviewing what had just happened in the storage room. Min’s body had felt like a perfect rock by a creek, smoothed over eons, where everyone would want to sit and listen to the sound of the cascading water or to lie down and find a million flecks of golden light dancing through the branches high above which would make one’s head spin as fast as the earth rotated. For as long as she could remember, Min had loved her. He cared about her as if there were nothing else in the world, but why didn’t he covet her like a normal man? She sucked her cheek, puzzled, dissatisfied, but strangely happy too.
    “Big Sister!” Soonyi said, coming into the kitchen.
    Nani whirled around. “You startled me!”
    “I am sorry, Big Sister. I was looking for you because I needed your help to get started with breakfast,” Soonyi said, on the verge of tears. She was tired. While Nani was out, Mirae had woken up and screamed about the cloth she found in her mouth. “Are you trying to choke me?” she had asked.
    “How is Mirae?” Nani asked.
    “Oh, she is fine. After yelling at me, she fell back asleep as soon as she put her head on the pillow,” Soonyi explained.
    “If she has the energy to yell, she will recover in no time,” Nani said.
    “What do I do with the soaked mung beans?” Soonyi asked.
    “Go and rub them between your hands until they are hulled. And then you know what to do. I don’t need to explain how to grind the beans, do I?”
    “No, Big Sister. That’s always been my chore,” Soonyi assured Nani.
    “When you are done, go to Mistress Yee and tell her that Mirae is sick. Very sick. Tell her she is as hot as an iron on the stove,” Nani said, beginning to chop vegetables.
    “I can’t go see Mistress Yee,” Soonyi whimpered.
    “Child, what is the matter with you?” Nani asked, frowning. Half of her mind was elsewhere. Min had shoulders like . . . what?
    “Mistress Yee doesn’t like me,” Soonyi said, turning pale.
    “That’s no news. She likes no one,” Nani said, slicing summer zucchinis as thinly as she could.
    “Should I talk to her when I take breakfast to her?” Soonyi asked.
    “No,” Nani replied, and placed her knife on the cutting board. “You don’t bring up problems before breakfast. You do that when the mistress is done with breakfast, so that at least she won’t have a table full of food to turn over. Besides, if she gets upset before breakfast and refuses to eat, you will be pleading with