The Ohana Read Online Free

accompanying letter said she was seventeen-years-old and she thought he looked pleasant. 
    Chaul Roong stroked the picture with his finger. “She’s beautiful.”
    Bok Nam sighed. “You should get a wife. You’re still a young man.”
    Chaul Roong never talked about his wife in Korea. He decided to now, “I already have a wife.”
    Bok Nam raised his eyebrows. “You do?”
    “My wife and a daughter live in Korea. Dok Ja's a good wife who cares for my mother. Soon I will send for her.” Five years had gone by since he saw them last. Thinking of his wife and daughter only reminded him of the painful circumstances of his leaving Korea. He wanted to block it out, but remembering the enormous debt he owed his wife, he sent money home to her every two months.
    “A man should have his family with him,” Bok Nam said.
    Chaul Roong nodded.
     
    Chaul Roong and Bok Nam pushed through the crowd in the hot, airless room where the picture brides clutched photographs in their hands while anxiously scanning the sea of people. Bok Nam tugged at Chaul Roong’s sleeve and pointed his finger at a slim figure in a chogori made up of a chima , a sheer red wrap-around skirt over a sokchima , a bright, yellow underskirt. The sleeves of her jeogori , short jacket, were embroidered with threads of gold. Her black hair was parted in the middle and twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck. High cheekbones beneath almond-shaped eyes lent her round face strength and character. Her skin was like ivory cream, blushed a muted rose over full lips.
    Everything disappeared around Chaul Roong as their eyes met. She looked from him to the picture in her hand, then up at him again. When she tilted her head and smiled, he felt something he never felt before stir inside him.
    He walked toward her and stopped two feet away. “Song Tae Ja?”
    She nodded and cast her eyes down. Her eyelashes fluttered as she modestly covered a tiny smile with her hand.
    “I’m pleased to meet my husband at last.” She bowed.
    “I’m Han Chaul Roong.” The words came out of him slowly. “May I present my good friend Chong Bok Nam.” His hand shook as he gestured behind him, where Bok Nam waited.
    Tae Ja looked up quickly, then returned her eyes to the ground. “Most pleased to meet you.”
    Chaul Roong looked from Tae Ja to Bok Nam, then back again. The merciless years of labor in the cane field left deep creases in Bok Nam’s brown, leathery face. His thin, gray hair made him look like her grandfather.
    As Chaul Roong fell into the web of her youthful vibrancy and dark, intelligent eyes, a distant image burst into his thoughts. He saw Dok Ja's tears and the sweet face of his sleeping daughter.
    He turned to Bok Nam and congratulated him.
     
    For several weeks Chaul Roong avoided his old friend and his new wife. Finally, Bok Nam approached him in the fields during lunch break. “Why do you stay away? My being married shouldn’t make such a big difference. Have I made you angry with me?”
    Chaul Roong pretended to look down at something. “I thought I would leave you alone to enjoy your happiness. I didn’t want to intrude.”
    Bok Nam patted his arm. “Perhaps seeing all the brides reminded you of your wife. Maybe she'll join you soon. Meanwhile, I want to invite you to our home as a guest. Tae Ja is a wonderful cook. I told her you’re the smart one who wrote the letters.” Bok Nam smiled. “I miss your stories, and I know my wife would like them too.”
    Knowing he couldn’t stay away forever, Chaul Roong agreed.
     
    Chaul Roong handed Bok Nam a bottle of rice wine at the door of the Chong’s two-room cabin. Bok Nam thanked him and led him into his house. The men walked past a mattress with a brightly colored blanket neatly spread over it, then out the back door and down a well-worn path to the kitchen which was in a separate building near the outhouse.
    The kitchen was dominated by the safe, a tall, screened cabinet where food was kept. It