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KITTY’S BEEN A LITTLE COMPLAINER allfroot hearts ina hole inon our shoes, Kitty’s still trying to weasel her way out of wearing a hanbok to Aunt Carrie and Uncle Victor’s "Look at the sleeves! They’re three-quarter length on ly Daddy says, "They’re supposed to be that way"

Kitty points to randht the hanboks for us the last tiot’s hanbok has a yellow jacket and apple-green skirt Mine is hot pink with an ivory-white jacket and a long hot-pink boith flowers embroidered down the front The skirt is voluminous, full like a bell, and it falls all the way to the floor Unlike Kitty’s, which hits right at her ankles

"It’s not our fault you grow like a weed," I say, fussing with ht I had to watch a YouTube video ure it out, and it still looks lopsided and sad

"My skirt’s too short too," she gru the botto a hanbok because you have to walk delicately in it and hold the skirt closed with one hand or the whole thing co the his te "I hate New Year’s Day," and it puts everyone but ot is already in a semi-sour et home from her friend’s cabin in ti could sour h, because I’ about h, and how and when I’ive it to him, and what he’ll say, and what it will mean Should I drop it in his ain, will he shten the mood? Or will he pretend he never saw it, to spare us both? I think that would be worse I have to keep re, Peter is kind and he is easygoing and he won’t be cruel no matter what Of thatso hard about?" Kitty asks me

I barely hear her

"Hello?"

I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep, and all I see is Peter’s face I don’t knohat I want froirlfriend heavy-duty serious love, or if it’s e had before, just fun and so in between, but I do know I can’t get his Handsome Boy face out of my mind The way he set to breathe soet to Aunt Carrie and Uncle Victor’s, none of the other cousins are wearing hanboks, and Kitty practically turns purple with the effort of not yelling at Daddy Margot and I give him some side-eye too It’s not particularly comfortable to sit around in a hanbok all day But then Grand smile, which makes up for it

As we take off our shoes and coats at the front door, I whisper to Kitty, "Maybe the adults will give us irls look so cute," Aunt Carrie said as she hugs us "Haven refused to wear hers!"

Haven rolls her eyes at her ot Haven and I are only a few months apart, but she thinks she’s so ot

We get the bowing out of the way first In Korean culture, you bow to your elders on New Year’s Day and wish theive you est, so as the oldest adult, Grandma sits down on the couch first, and Aunt Carrie and Uncle Victor bow first, then Daddy, all the way down the line to Kitty, who is youngest When it’s Daddy’s turn to sit on the couch and receive his bows, there’s an empty couch cushion next to him as there has been every New Year’s Day since Mo in a out ten-dollar bills Grand the sa When it’s my turn to bow, I kneel, hands folded in front of my forehead, and I vow that I will not see Daddy alone on that couch again next year

We get ten dollars from Aunt Carrie and Uncle Victor, ten from Daddy, ten from Aunt Min and Uncle Sam, who aren’t our real aunt and uncle but second cousins (or is it cousins once removed? They’re Moet ood take Last year the aunts and uncles were only doing five apiece

Next we do rice cake soup for good luck Aunt Carrie also made black-eyed pea cakes and insists we try at least one, though no one wants to The twins, Harry and Leon--our third cousins? Cousins twice removed?--refuse to eat the soup or the black-eyed pea cakes and are eating chicken nuggets in the TV roo table, so Kitty and I eat on stools at the kitchen island We can hear everyone laughing froin to eat s work out with et a smaller bowl of soup than everyone else?" Kitty whispers to et our ol of kimchi?"

"Because Aunt Carrie thinks we don’t like it because we’re not full Korean"

"Go ask for some," Kitty whispers

So I do, but mainly because I want soot, Haven, and I go up to Haven’s roo Usually she plays with the twins, but this time she picks up Aunt Carrie’s Yorkie, Sirls

Haven has indie rock band posters on her walls;them out There’s a new one, a letterpressed Belle and Sebastian It looks like denim "This is cool," I say

"I was just about to switch that one out," Haven says "You can have it if you want"