Dinner with Nala

One morning while Jae Lee is in the room, he wakes up to a call. He answers it, and right after he hung up, turns on the television. He sees the news about a man who was killed in a road accident. "What happened," Mari walks in the room, takes off her hat and sits on the couch. "Where have you been?" he asks her, as he looks at his phone and checks the time. It is seven in the morning, which is very unusual that Mari had already gone out. "I had some errands which cannot wait," she replies as she puts her arms around him. "Did you miss me?" she asks Jae. He says nothing, but kisses her forehead. He gets up after a short while, and when she asks where he is going, he tells her that he is to prepare breakfast. He opens the door, but he suddenly remembers something, and comes back. "Before I forget, your designer has called about half an hour ago, and wants you to call her back." She smiles and nods, he continues to walk out the room and closes the door behind him.

******

"Where did this happen?" Coree asks the other person on the line. She holds the mobile phone with her left hand and supports it with her shoulder, as she tries to open a can of tomatoes for her pasta. She realizes that she is having a hard time, so she puts down the phone and places it on speaker. The woman from the other line seems worried. "I know it wasn't some sort of an accident, Coree." Mister Lim and his wife are both loyal clients of Coree. They own a huge boutique in Myeongdong and they have bought a number of Coree's designs for their print models. The woman on the phone discusses how the car crash happened and though authorities claim that it is a simple road accident, his wife insists that his mobile phone went missing, so it could be more than just a crash with robbery. "His wife claims that he was intentionally killed." After hearing this, Coree thinks of the design that was stolen by Mari for the latter's engagement. "I'll call you later," Coree tells the woman and ends the call. She calls on Han, who then walks past her and goes to check the gate. "She comes back with Nala, and Coree walks to him and welcomes the young man. "Hi, Eun is not here, he is with his Papa." Nala says he will simply call Eun but Coree asks him why he decides to visit her son. "I want to discuss a project with him, he told me before that he will be available today, since it's a weekend, but I guess he keeps on forgetting," Nala explains with a bit of a laugh. Han leads him to sit on the sofa in the living room, as Coree explains that she will finish cooking the pasta in a few minutes and wants to have Nala eat with Han and herself.

It is past nine in the morning, and Coree finally drains the pasta, glances at Nala who is seated on the sofa. She then places the pasta on a plate, grabs a bowl and transfers the pasta sauce in it, and while Han sets the table, Coree finally removes her apron and calls Nala from the living. "Shall we?" she asks him. Nala gets up and goes to the dining table set by Han. While they eat, Coree thanks Nala for being so accommodating and nice to her son. He thanks her in return, and tells her that Eun is a good friend, they help out each other with their subjects. Han eats silently with them, and smiles everytime Nala glances at her while he talks. When she is about to finish, Coree again thanks Nala, "I'm so glad that my son has found a true friend who always allows him to have dinner with his family," Coree says with a smile. Nala is completely clueless. "Dinner?" "Yes, he came in late a few times, he said he was with you," "Ma'am," Nala says as he wipes his mouth with a table napkin. "I am very sorry but I believe you are being mistaken. There were a couple of times when a car would pick him up outside our house right before dinner. Eun never had dinner with us, he must be with someone else." "Is that so?" Coree asks as she puts back the fork on the plate. She tries to remember the nights that Eun has told her about the dinner with Nala and his family, how nice they were to him and how they brought him once to a restaurant they own. "No ma'am, we do not own one. My parents are both in the construction business, Steak Villa is not ours, definitely." Han pauses for a bit, grabs a glass of water and drinks. She stands up and glances at Coree, then goes back to the kitchen. "Is it where Eun was having dinner?" Coree continues to ask Nala. "Yes, I guess he ate there several times with.." Nala suddenly remembers who actually owns the restaurant and pauses, he tries to change the topic by saying that he and his mother had been to one of her fashion shows. Coree has observed Nala, and in about an hour, he says goodbye after he was told by Coree that Eun will be spending the night with his father. He says goodbye, and tells Coree that he had a great time. "My pleasure, Nala," she says. "I hope you and Eun will continue to be good friends." When Nala has left, Coree closes the gate and goes back inside the house. Han walks toward her, Coree, Nala said, " Coree cut her off, "I know Han, Steak Villa is where Eun had dinner multiple times, but told us he was with Nala and his family." "He thought you wouldn't find out." Coree nods in agreement and walks her way up the staircase.