THE LANDLORD (BBANGSAZ)

Chapter 4

MINJI

A few days after Hanni confirmed that she wanted the apartment, I was sitting in the living room with Jia, reading the paper while she worked on assembling the latest Lego set I'd bought her. As a civil engineer, I felt it was important to buy my daughter just as many building projects as I did baby dolls.

I glanced over at Jia and couldn't help but smile at the scrunched-up, determined look on her face. She was quite the problem-solver, my little girl, and I loved to challenge her mind with different educational toys and games. And teaching her that just because some boy called her pretty didn't mean she had to share her cupcake, and lots of other important life lessons. Although the conversation the other night was one I'd have preferred wait for another twenty years.

"How's it coming, sweetie?" I asked, setting the paper down in my lap.

"Good," she chirped without looking up, jamming one blue Lego on top of another with a flourish. Glancing from the structure in front of her to the pile of Legos to her right, she carefully picked out a red piece and continued her slow process of deciding where to put it.

I chuckled and was about to resume reading the complaints about our city's bus stops when I heard a low rumble and a loud screeching sound in front of the house. Placing the paper on our coffee table, I stood and walked over to the window to see what was going on.

A midsized moving van was parking at the curb outside our house. And sure enough, once the van was fully parked, Hanni stepped out of the driver's side door, turning to make sure she'd parked far enough over.

Gotta love a woman who likes to do it herself.

My heart rate kicked up at the sight of her, causing me to quickly look away and shake my head. I wasn't normally the kind of woman who got aroused just by staring at women on the street. But seeing Hanni again, after the things we'd shared on her birthday . . . well, let's just say I had a hard time keeping my thoughts clean.

Raking my fingers roughly through my hair, I turned to get Jia's attention. "It looks like our new neighbor is here with all her things. Should we go out to meet her and help her carry some stuff?"

"Our new neighbor is a girl?" Jia asked, her voice high and excited.

"Yes, our new neighbor is a very nice lady. I think you'll like her a lot," I said calmly.

And I pray to God you won't recognize her in broad daylight.

Jia dropped the Legos she was holding onto the floor, gleefully running to the closet to put her shoes on.

As I walked over to the doorway and slipped into some sneakers, I started to panic over the slim chance that Jia would recognize Hanni and what her reaction would be. What were the chances that Jia even saw Hanni's face? Jia hadn't talked about the incident in a couple of days, and part of me hoped there was a good chance that she'd put it out of her mind for good. Or at least until she was older and in therapy.

We walked out the front door to find Hanni opening the back of the van, revealing stacks and stacks of cardboard boxes lined up in front of a precarious pile of furniture. At first glance, it looked like a lot of stuff for one person, but what did I know? I was sure if Jia and I were to move anytime soon, we'd need a van at least twice the size of Hanni's.

By the time Jia and I got to the curb, Hanni had already begun her attempt to lift the boxes out of the van, standing up on tiptoe to reach the highest box. Her fingers just barely brushed the bottom, and no matter how far she stretched her arms, it was clear that she just wasn't able to reach the box.

I stood there watching for a second longer than I should have, amused by her struggle and finding it endearing, when Hanni happened to turn and see us standing there watching her.