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DITW 12-5: Requital
🕑 Added 2023-11-15 00:00:03 +0000 UTCKimmy watched Hyun escort Sophie to the lobby doors of Meyer’s building, sitting in Hyun’s passenger seat, the sunshade dropped to obscure herself from Meyer—and Josh, if Josh came down with Meyer to meet Soph. But there was nothing she was guilty of; only a worried woman wanting to confirm her husband’s location. Hardly a crime. Anything to confirm Devlin Stone hadn’t corrupted Josh’s mind somehow. One thing came into clear focus during Josh’s multi-day punishment: she would have to confess the truth to him before he heard it somewhere else. No longer could she string him along; she’d extended and extended and further extended the time she would walk the line, riding out the nefarious fun they were both having with mute abandon—until now. The path she’d traveled had narrowed and narrowed, and these last two days showed for sure she was walking a tightrope over a deathly descent.
Sophie carried her pink plastic travel bag with her, and Hyun carried an extra. They mounted the steps and, at last, the lobby doors opened, the parking lot’s reflection disappearing from its mirrored face, and in the slash of dark stood Meyer. No Josh. She moved her head side to side, eyes narrowed, trying to see if Josh lurked in the background, hanging back. Josh and Meyer could live like vampires when they were together, filling themselves with junk food and enduring epic Xbox and action movie binges without ever coming out for sunlight. Maybe Josh hung back because the light stung his skin.
But she didn’t see him, not even a shadow hanging out in the back.
Now Meyer and Hyun were talking, all smiles and friendly chatter, Hyun passing over the extra bag to Meyer. Hyun seemed even robuster than usual, talking fast and using her hands. Probably explaining to Meyer how she and Kimmy were going out for dinner tonight. How they were going into the city. There: Sophie turned and waved to her Aunt Kimmy, and Meyer and Hyun looked over and waved as well. She waved back, flicking the visor up, no more need to hide.
Transition over, more waves, and then Hyun was returning to the car. When she got in, Kimmy said, “Everything good?”
“All good,” Hyun said, fixing her hair in the rearview.
“Any sign of Josh?”
Hyun screwed her mouth up and looked over. “No. No sign of him.”
“And you didn’t mention him, right?”
“No. I said nothing.”
“Okay,” Kimmy said, small and quiet, rubbing her knees. “Call Sophie later tonight. She’ll tell you if he’s there or not.”
#
Two girls—no, two women—out for a fun night in the city.
After dropping Sophie off with her father, they’d stopped at the apartment. Tonight, they would go to an excellent restaurant. They would eat fine food. They would dress up. So Kimmy put on a jacket and pants and high-heeled shoes and Hyun tried things on from Kimmy’s closet that might fit her. When they couldn’t get a good match—and Hyun showed signs of dismay because of it—Kimmy had said they would go shopping first. For both of them.
They traveled into the city in casual wear, stopping at Bayview Village, where Kimmy had once bought a jacket she’d loved. That would have been back in the days before she worked for Devlin; but the coat had been a fine purchase and a favored item in her closet. The boutique was called Cyrano, and she and Hyun poked through every item they had. And they had fun doing it.
They tried many things on and waited for the other to show it off. From the beginning, Kimmy had said the shopping and dinner would be her treat. Hyun was on a tight budget; she was a single mom working part-time and going to school. Kimmy didn’t want her to worry. The only thing was, Hyun kept trying on things that were closer to her own budget, and Kimmy had to push finer things into her gentle hands, press her to try them on. Then she would show Hyun the pleasure from her viewpoint, complimenting her on her fit, on the way her body looked. It had been more fun than she’d anticipated. Kimmy chose for Hyun a steel-colored satin blouse, a long wool cardigan in caramel-chocolate, trousers in gray flannel. For herself: black tapered trousers that ended above the ankle and an unstructured blazer in black; a white poplin shirt and patented black leather Oxfords set on a chunky sole. Hyun got the same shoes in a luxurious oxblood. Hyun’s cheeks reddened at the total when Kimmy paid, and when they were out in the shopping center’s galley, she held Hyun’s neck and kissed her mouth. She’d said, “I wanted to see you in them. I think you’re so beautiful.”
And now they were all dressed up (and attracting attention), having dinner in the city, enjoying twenty-dollar cocktails at the Auberge du Pommier. Kimmy’s was made with non-alcoholic gin and strawberry and lemon and basil; Hyun had the Papillon: gin and lavender and lemon, and blueberries in with the ice. It was thrilling to introduce Hyun to these finer things. Hyun appreciated them. Appreciated them in the way one would when they’d coveted them for a long time.
Together, they looked elegant. Accomplished. Kimmy ordered the butter-poached halibut and Hyun ordered the Hudson Valley duck breast with Swiss chard and caramelized onion jus. She’d called ahead and used the Stone Brokerage name to get an emergency table. She told Hyun she had to pretend she was a Korean mining executive, and Hyun said she had no idea what that might look like. Kimmy told her to look rich, and they giggled as Hyun tried out all sorts of facial expressions, looking for the right one.
They ordered dessert. Kimmy said, “I’m getting you a glass of champagne. I love the pink on your cheeks when you drink.”
Over a shared Crème brûlée, Hyun with a flute of bubbly Taittinger Brut Réserve, they smiled at each other in strange and surrendering manners, and they laughed at the strange circumstance that they found themselves in.
Kimmy checked her watch. “Shoot,” she said, setting her fork down. “Hyun, it’s eight.”
Hyun looked puzzled.
“It’s eight. Call Sophie. Call Sophie and ask her.”
Hyun gave one curt nod, wiped her mouth with her napkin in a small dainty move, then set her chair back. She produced her phone and called Meyer.
Kimmy listened to them make small talk, an uncomfortable wedge forming near her esophagus, hearing the words of a failed marriage, of a union parted. Their patter filled her with dread. But still she waited. Urging Hyun with a steady gaze, her eyes commanding her to ask the question. Get Sophie on the phone. Josh wouldn’t engage Sophie in games of subterfuge; Josh wouldn’t ask Sophie to say he wasn’t at Meyer’s.
Then Hyun was talking to Sophie. “Are you ready for bed? . . . That’s good. What did you have for dinner? . . . Aw, you love that. And what did…? . . . Uh-huh. . . . Oh, he is? Oh, that’s good.” Her eyes flicked up, and she nodded, a sly smile on her innocent face. She moved her face from the phone to mouth the confirming phrase: “He’s there.”
“Yes,” Kimmy sighed, and then bowed her head. She sank back in the comfortable chair while Hyun talked with Sophie.
All that worry for nothing. The guilt had weighed on her like a Mack truck.
The enormous weight lifted now, and she felt lighter than she had in days.
“I’m having dinner with your Aunt Kimmy.”
Kimmy moved to the table again. “Say hi for me.”
Hyun told her Sophie said hi back, both of them smiling. The relief had her fingers tingling and a lightness in her stomach the champagne couldn’t have provided.
When Hyun finished the call with Sophie, Kimmy reached across the table to hold her hand. “We have to get out of here,” she said.
“We do?” Hyun looked as light and happy as Kimmy felt.
“Yeah, we do,” she said. “I want to show you off.”
#
They drove not too far away, to a place near her office. She parked the car three shops down from the destination, worried if she parked out front, she would never get Hyun out of the vehicle. As luck would have it, Hyun was talking a lot and talking fast, and Kimmy took her hand while they walked the shopfronts in the old drive-up plaza on Yonge Street. Hyun paused at last, realizing something was up. Kimmy nodded her head to the side, indicating the threshold they would cross.
“Oh, no, Kimmy,” Hyun said, her happiness shrinking toward terror.
“Oh, yes, Hyun,” she said, taking Hyun’s hand in both of hers now, warm and comforting, her face showing amusement.
“Kimmy, it’s... It’s...” Hyun’s face showed fear still, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“It’s where we have to go,” Kimmy said. “To find the things we need. . . . Where did you get yours?”
“Online,” Hyun said. “Like a normal person.” Her eyes roamed the storefront over Kimmy’s shoulder.
“Are you going to be brave for me?”
She knew Hyun would submit, but for now let her go through the act. Hyun looked aside and found her excuse: two Persian men watching them from a shiny black pickup truck parked outside the shawarma place two storefronts down.
“Okay, let’s get inside,” she said.
#
It was a riot watching Hyun from afar as Hyun walked with timid interest up and down the aisles of the sex shop Kimmy had bought her extra-large dildo at. Hyun looked better than Kimmy had ever seen her, and she wondered if Hyun had always looked like this and she’d just never seen it, or perhaps the wonder she felt was inspired within. Maybe it was the way she wanted to see Hyun now.
Hyun kept her hands in her pockets like a good kid who would never want to be accused of shoplifting, moving from display to display. Her posture eased after a few minutes. There was a pure beauty in her innocence. The clothes Kimmy had gifted her brought something out in Hyun. She was stunning in her own way. Of average height, of average build, but the beauty was in her perfect face, her irreproachable charm, the bottomless marveling in her dark eyes. Soon, Hyun’s hands came out of her pockets and touched things that interested her.
And now, more perfection to this corrupting moment: at first she’d been disappointed to see only one person behind the cash at the store; an unfamiliar face. Not the previous women who’d slighted her when she’d been here last. Not the manager and the trainee. Some blue-haired, heavyset college girl. But then, the front door opened and someone came in, and not a customer. It was the manager, holding in one hand a cardboard drink tray and two sugary drinks from the bubble tea shop, paper straws sticking out the top.
And tonight Kimmy was six-feet-plus in her chunky and expensive Oxfords; she wore red lipstick, she wore a black suit. She made steady eye contact with the manager and smiled. The manager nodded in return, moving past her to the cash counter, looking back once with an unsureness that Kimmy hoped would lead to an eventual remembering.
“Hey,” Hyun said behind her in a mouselike call, and Kimmy turned to find her standing close, bringing something for Kimmy to look at.
Whatever it was, Hyun had brought a display model, and the sealed package, passing over the display model. Kimmy took it. It looked like underwear with straps; a wide, soft leather belt that one would tighten with velcro, straps that would go around the legs, and a thong back and black triangle front. Hyun held up the sealed package that showed a photo of the item in use. A strap-on harness that supported an inserted dildo.
“Wow,” Kimmy said, not acting shocked or surprised, but with calm assessment. She held it to her own waist like she was testing out a pair of shorts before heading to the fitting room. “Yeah, I like it. You want this?”
“What do you think?”
Kimmy held the harness up again, looking it over. “I think we should get two.”
“You do?”
“Well, we don’t want to keep exchanging the same one back and forth in the middle of fun.”
Hyun sucked her lips between her teeth, then let them plop out again, speaking now more breathlessly. “Okay, yeah, that’s a good idea.”
Kimmy ran her fingers over the display model’s crotch, where there were two sections with cut-outs meant for other attachments besides the fake dick that would push through the circular cut-out in the black triangle’s front.
Hyun’s brow lowered. “What’s that for?”
Kimmy said, “I think you can put a vibrator in here probably, you know, for yourself. Front and back.”
“Back?” Hyun took a second to comprehend, then put a hand on her own hot cheek. “Oh, my gosh.”
“Let’s get two,” she said, passing the display back to Hyun.
Hyun took it, thinking ahead and saying, “We can use the big one you like.”
Kimmy smiled devilishly. “You mean Devlin’s?”
Hyun turned up her nose. “I don’t like it being his.”
Kimmy saw the point and smiled warmly, putting a hand on Hyun’s neck. “It’s not. He’s not in my life anymore. I mean it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure, Hyun.”
“You have to name it something else.”
Kimmy said, “I’ll throw that one out.”
Hyun looked surprised. “You will?”
“Yeah, consider it done, Hyun. I don’t want you to think about that.”
“So, do you want to get two?”
“You know what I like about them?”
“What?”
“You can kiss me while we use it, and I can put my arms around you.”
Hyun’s eyes widened and the pinky color on her pale cheeks brightened. Kimmy smiled and bit her lower lip, cocking her head. Hyun swooned.
“You can go pick out a dildo for both of us. How about that? They have to fit the harness.”
“Okay,” Hyun said, face serious, having been assigned a very important task. Kimmy touched her cheek. “Get anything you want.”
“Okay. Okay,” Hyun said, eyes lost in thought. Then: “You want a really big one, right?”
“I’ll like whatever you pick.”
Hyun nodded. “I’ll get you a really big one. Oh...”
“Oh, what?”
Hyun scrunched her cute nose up. “I don’t like it to be flesh-colored or with, you know, veins and stuff.”
Kimmy chuckled, her heart soaring with adoration. “I told you to get whatever you want. Whatever it is that makes your motor purr, baby.”
Hyun’s eyes shone, and she took a deep breath, soaking in Kimmy’s affection. And then she was heading back to the section that would host suitable toys that would work with the harness, now Hyun’s timidity gone and replaced with a subdued yet fervent purpose.
Hyun was wonderful. She was wonderful, and Kimmy couldn’t wait to kiss her right in front of the manager.
Comments
Kat
@Glaucon, I don’t know what KT’s experiences have been, but being a former Torontonian myself I think I can speak to some of it. It’s a nice city, but like all big cities Toronto has changed a lot, especially in the past 30 years. No one can afford to live there, unless you have a lot of money, or you’re willing to mortgage yourself into the ground. There’s also a “we’re the centre of the universe” attitude that comes with living in the largest city in Canada, one that I never get from people that live in Vancouver or Montreal. I grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, so I’ve experienced both sides. It’s a competitive place, too. Maybe it’s a sort of snobbery, thinking that everything there is better, and you’re not as interesting if you live elsewhere. They’re always shocked to find out that we actually have great restaurants, good shopping, and competent doctors out here in the suburbs. Lol Like we’re all unsophisticated or something. It’s hard to describe. It’s just a feeling. Once I moved back to the suburbs after living and working in Toronto for 15 years, I knew that I never wanted to move back there.
Kat
KT, this is some great insight on how you craft your masterpieces!
Kat
Amazing! I knew there was going to be more at play here.
CSH
Wow, thanks for the reply. That certainly explains it. I can see the whole Hyun thing sinking all of Kimmy’s plans.
Glaucon
Also now I'm really curious about what is SPECIFICALLY derisive of Torontonians. I have my guesses but these things are always colored by personal experience.
Glaucon
That's really interesting KT. I appreciate these notes on how you figured out your writer's voice, as it's something I struggle with a lot. Maybe I'll luck into some sudden inspiration one day.
Kat
On another side note, we also used to hang out in Yorkville on weekends, because my mom would get her hair done there. In the Winter, Hazelton Lanes used to have an outdoor skating rink, and my dad would take us skating to kill the boredom while my mom got her hair done. Hazelton Lanes was always boring for us, except for the stationary store where we bought stickers to add to our collections. It was all a kid could afford there. Sandwiches at the now closed Coffee Mill were staples for us, too.
Kat
I spent a lot of time on the weekends at Bayview Village in the 80’s with my parents. We lived in the suburbs (east…near Kimmy and Josh haha), so we would come into the city on Saturdays to shop and see family, etc. Our dentist office was also in the Bayview Village offices. I remember always getting a cheese dog for lunch from Tummy Ticklers, and shoes from Capezio. I went to the movies there, too! When I worked there in the 90’s Kmart was still open. Lol Bayview was always an upscale plaza, but it really went up after the Kmart closed and Restoration Hardware moved in. I haven’t been there in years.
Bill F Protagoras
I think I chose the Madame because of the Bourgeois (French) Connection between the two books... I suspect you're right about the Free Indirect Discourse... even if it wasn't the first it certainly sticks in my mind... Aaaaah, Elmore Leonard, like Faulkner once I started I couldn't let him go... He is a prime example of why genre snobbery is so clearly arrant nonsense... You chose a good guiding light... I can look up now and see most of his books sitting next to my Flashman collection... a few I lost to a philistine watering potted plants carelessly... but kindle has its virtues... I can see his influence... but your penchant for exotic vocabulary reminds me of John Gardner and Anthony Burgess... I'm loving where you're taking us...
KT Morrison
Back when I started this writing thing in January 2016, I plopped a very old copy of Madame Bovary on my desk for reference. Flaubert was the first, I believe, to use Third Person Free Indirect Discourse. Flaubert was great, but I settled on Elmore Leonard as the guiding star for finding my own writer's voice. One needs a rule system to know when they're coloring out of the lines! But here’s another thing about Flaubert and Madame Bovary and Devil In The Waters: there is very much a component of analytical derision on my part for the modern Torontonian bourgeoisie. As a newfound Provinciale myself, I like to look back and reflect on how it poisoned even me.
KT Morrison
Ha ha, so many literary gems here
KT Morrison
Ooo, that's a nice observation.
KT Morrison
Yes, I think Kimmy is Devlinning Hyun, too.
KT Morrison
And here's another complication: Kimmy started something with Hyun, and she might think it's going to go away, but it's not going to go away and now she has to make the best of it.
KT Morrison
I waited a day to reply to this post because I didn't want to give anything away. SPOILER ALERT CSH's response is exactly what I hoped for. Frustration and irritation as a tool to misdirection. I wanted the scene with Kimmy in the hotel to come abruptly. There's a lot going on in those first five chapters and I had to phrase them so they were doing two things at once. Granted, I thought I could do it in four not five, but I think it heightened the effect!
KT Morrison
@Kat It's been decades(!) since I've been to Bayview Village (longer ago than the 90s, ha ha) but I have fond memories of going to the movies there. You used to have to take an escalator down to the theater level, and the place was decorated like a mishmash of Art Deco and Victorian times. Wonderful. This would be the 70s, ha ha. I can still smell the popcorn and picture the concession the way it was. It was an upscale mall back then, but I'm sure it's been renoed to nameless modernity and plugged with luxury brands by now.
Kat
Kimmy is the Devlin here 100%. Dressing Hyun in expensive clothes, taking her out for an expensive meal, wanting to “show her off”, giving her the sexual interest that she’s dreamed of, etc. Hyun has way more to lose here when all of this goes sideways. She’s definitely gambling with her daughter’s life.
Kat
L_S87 I think you got it right. Kimmy takes Josh for granted, because she feels that she can. They’ve been together so long, and she can’t see a life without him in it. She’s said they are a perfect fit for each other. I think if Josh really were to leave her, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. However, this doesn’t excuse her behaviour with Hyun. Is she going to confess this stuff to Josh, as well? Lol I highly doubt it. Glaucon, you are right the two relationships are nowhere the same, but it’s infuriating seeing how comfortable Kimmy is with Hyun. I get that she likes it because she is the dominant one, showing Hyun new things, buying her expensive clothes, etc., but her husband is at Meyer’s literally torturing himself with what she might have done, and what his next move is. I’d love to see Kimmy do some penance for a change. She never seems to mope for too long.
Glaucon
Agreed. Side note to this, despite being a major component of the story since page one, we actually know very little about Devlin and what he really wants out of everything. He says stuff about what he wants all the time, sure, but his actions rarely line up with what he claims. Side note to the side note, and a response to the above I think looking back people might actually be surprised how few scenes Devlin has actually been present in (Especially if he's not the texter).
Glaucon
I don't think we should compare Hyun and Josh's relationships with Kimmy one-for-one, Josh and Kimmy are a multi-year long relationship, Hyun and Kimmy are barely a thing, just a transitory fantasy for Kimmy. It's easy for Kimmy to treat Hyun "sweetly" right now when that doesn't really cost her anything, they don't even have a real relationship with compromise, it's just a fling. I don't think the love and affection are comparable, even in the last Hyun and Kimmy scene from the previous book Kimmy recognizes she's basically taking advantage of Hyun's real feeling that Kimmy doesn't really reciprocate. This is not romantically meaningful to Kimmy (imo).
L_S87
That's basically it. She treats Hyun better than Josh while being so adamant on how much she needs and loves him. I'm not sure if the reason she treats Josh so awfully is because she takes him for granted, or if her twisted version of love is so strong for him that she feels free to let everything out, all her deepest, darkest, despicable desires. Something she doesn't do with Hyun because the love and affection is different, the bond not so strong. Or maybe she's such a good little demoness that she reads that Hyun needs a firm, but gentle hand for the corruption to "take" so she's treating her differently. We have half a series from Kimmy's POV, and yet it's still impossible to figure out what goes through her head most of the time.
L_S87
Huh. That's a VERY astute observation. The way Kimmy treats Hyun is very similar to how she treats Josh, she's just much kinder and less forceful in how she projects her dominance of the situation. Kimmy seems to have zero intentions to replace Josh, though I could see that happening with Hyun becoming her sole focus if Josh leaves for some reason. Hyun is a bit of a security blanket for Kimmy, in many different ways. That assumes, of course, that the impending disaster doesn't destroy Hyun's trust and love in Kimmy. I see your point of distraction. For me it's a needed one. This adds a necessary layer of complexity to a situation that would otherwise be somewhat straightforward on where Josh, Kimmy and Devlin end up.
CSH
Nice point, but not sure I agree, maybe Hyun is another Josh, with Kimmy learning to be a kinder Dom? In any case, it’s a bit late in the game for all this and I fear time spent on Hyun detracts from moving the main three characters forward.
CSH
Devlin does have a homoerotic kink for Josh and Josh for him. They may not do anything about it but it’s definitely there.
Bill F Protagoras
Also we can love more than one person at the same time, and love doesn't have to diminish the person who gives it or the one who receives it.
Bill F Protagoras
People are making some good points... yet it seems that romantic love, erotic satisfaction and family love are all being bunched up together higgledy-piggledy... everyone is becoming a bit procrustean, riding their hobby horses and poking their hobgoblins... which is all good fun, but isn't it at times a bit puritanical and hypocritical... and a lot of the vitriol is being poured on Kimmy, and Josh is casually despised and underestimated. Whose motivations could withstand hostile scrutiny... I don't exclude myself from these criticisms... but I see K and J as the protagonists of the book... to the child in me they are the heroes flawed, but worthy of compassion... but Devlin is a big fat tick that represents most of the most pernicious things in the world... his only redeeming features being that the size of penis gives temporary respite to some peoples' erotic needs... and gets US all riled up in the best and worst way... I just don't want to ever say (though its "only" fiction)... yer know, that Emma Bovary and that Kimmy Chang both deserved what they got... If only out of my respect for Flaubert and Morrison...
Bill F Protagoras
Don't worry Mike the more wheels the greater the redundancy...or the more "Devlin's" preference for the Hareem... Although I don't see how Josh as a victim fits into your original 4... unless you are suggesting Devlin has some sort of homoerotic kink for him. I don't really see Josh consenting... but maybe that's Devlin's thing... Mmmm and could Kimmy somehow have become a vicarious substitute for her husband... If that's the case he seems to have stepped on his own dick, doesn't he? Nonethess, as you imply, KT will surely provide grist for our mill. See you on the other side... Cheers!
Kat
I agree. Hyun is much more dangerous, because what they’re doing will blow up the family, and mess up Sophie’s life. I almost wish Kimmy had gone back and just fucked Devlin. With him there’s no affection, no real respect. Yes, he’s cruel and part of the attraction for both of them is the torment it causes Josh, but I think this thing with Hyun is so much worse. With Hyun, there’s actual affection. They genuinely care for each other. I think it might do Josh in, too. Knowing that while he was away trying to work through their issues, Kimmy was spending her time with Hyun, putting his care and needs last, yet again. It kind of made my stomach turn during the chat at the sex shop when Kimmy told Hyun she’d throw out the Devlin dildo just like that, because Hyun didn’t like it. It seems so easy for Kimmy to be kind and giving to Hyun, but to her own husband she’s an awful demon. Yes, she’s enjoying her corruption of Hyun, but she doing it sweetly with kindness, like with real feeling and love. I don’t get that for Josh. Even in the beginning of the chapter where she states that she’s going to have to confess to Josh sooner than later. And then in the next part she’s basically cheating on him, taking Hyun out on a date, getting ready to seduce her again. It’s really frustrating. I want all of Kimmy’s dirt to finally come out. Maybe Quinn’s cousin the PI will spy on Kimmy, and get pictures, etc. of her and Hyun together. That would be bad.
Bill F Protagoras
attention is hardly going to make George Smiley eagerly recruit Kimmy and Hyun as crack operatives for his merry mole hunt... Even the acerbic Jackson Lamb would probably only fart in their general direction... and his "team" are despised and derided for their incompetence. Maybe James Bond but he would insist that they change their names to something supposedly raunchy but just demeaning... or should I say laughable... PS (should have been "more admirable than others.")
Glaucon
Definitely
Bill F Protagoras
Requital... is like reciprocity, giving what you owe as sociological lubricant but legally it can mean to pay back, or get payback... In common parlance I think it is best known in the phrase "unrequited love." A brokerage firm has a fiduciary duty to its clients, so Devlin should at least have a cursory knowledge of how to act in good faith. Cyrano was a good natured man (and expert killer) whose huge nose proved a bane to his obtaining requital. There are obvious examples of requital in this episode some admirable than others. In general, this episode seems on the surface to show a minimal amount of human vanity and laudable examples of affection. Although hearing your daughter mention, no doubt enthusiastically, that her uncle Josh is around spoiling her with
Andrew Mellein
Whatever happened to Kimmy's line "We are in trouble Josh" then it cut out to Hyun? Then we still have not seen the information Devlin revealed to Josh? And what about Kimmy going to up to Devlin's apartment? I hate to say this but I want to see Devlin back to make some twisted drama in this story. But Ill still read and see where the story goes!
L_S87
Good point. I meant Devlin 2.0 in regards to Josh and their marriage and Kimmy finding a new "toy" to play with that has the same capacity to destroy everything. Not so much that Hyun is anything like Devlin or has any desire to hurt Josh or corrupt anyone. Kimmy stepped away from Devlin as if that was some great accomplishment, yet she just filled that void with someone equally dangerous, if emotionally quite different.
Mike Monroe
I am not a fan of the Kimmy ..Hyun thing...not feeling it at all ..Hyun is a fourth wheel not needed ..if any fourth wheel there should be it should be Amy raising her evil head..period ...The 4 original s Devlin ..Josh ..Kimmy and Amy...this a destructive path...with a child also in play . Not feeling this .. Josh's family is placed in a direct path of a Tornado...sorry not liking this part so far. I sure KT has more in store ..so will have to see.
Glaucon
Interesting parallel (to me): Meyer is reluctant to even help Josh hire a third party if he thinks it's to spy on his wife, while Hyun is happy to use her daughter to spy for Kimmy. A big part of this is down to Kimmy's superior skill at manipulation, but I still think it's a noteworthy touchstone showing Josh's relative "power" in the narrative.
Glaucon
I think Kimmy is the Devlin 2.0 in the pairing if anyone is. She's the overt corrupting influence that really mostly cares about the sexual dimension of the relationship and is a "bad idea" for Hyun more than the other way around (Hyun is gambling with her daughter's family connections in a way that could poison that relationship). And the way that Kimmy thinks about their sex in the previous encounter, thinking about how Devlin would do things, etc. Kimmy's devilification has been a major theme of the story IMO.
L_S87
I see your point, I thought on it myself a while back. While I find the Hyun and Kimmy relationship much more compelling than you do, I felt the same about how "sudden" this felt. I came to the conclusion that it happened this way because it had to. Not because KT shoe horned it in, but because Kimmy had zero reason to be involved with Hyun on a sexual level while Devlin was satisfying her extramarital needs. Once Devlin became a non option in her mind, she needed a replacement. I don't think she expected it to be Hyun, but that's the unique place she found herself when her leverage plan went a bit sideways in the emotional department. And so here we are. Hyun is A softer, sweeter Devlin. A Devlin that Kimmy actually cares about. But still a Devlin when it comes to sex and scratching that taboo itch Kimmy's got.
L_S87
I feel like in many ways, Hyun is much more dangerous than Devlin. Not because she's evil for what she's allowed to transpire, but because she's so sweet and innocent while letting Kimmy guide this unique development in their "friendship". She's captured Kimmy's heart in a way Devlin never did. I'm not saying Kimmy wants to leave Josh, but more that if things go sideways, I could easily see her using Hyun as a plan B to fill an emotional void left by Josh's absence. Thus making her much less inclined to seek repentance from Josh for her actions, or put effort into reconciliation should Josh leave if (more like when) Devlin blows apart this house of cards called a "marriage". Josh is still #1, as evidenced by Kimmy's manipulation of Hyun here to find out where he's at, but Hyun's easy attitude and support is clearly cathartic and a draw for Kimmy. I wonder what is going through Hyun's head while Kimmy is demanding of her to use Sophie to find out if Josh is with Meyer, clearly setting the importance of that above their date... yet once the mission is accomplished, showering her with affection almost as if it's payment for a job well done. It would be so intriguing to peak into her psyche.
L_S87
Well. I'm glad Hyun got wrapped back into this, mostly because it's become clear that Hyun is Devlin 2.0. Kimmy is totally distraught about Josh, apologetic, conciliatory right up until she realizes she doesn't have to be afraid because she now knows where Josh is at. And once she's free of that fear it leaves an emotional void. What does Kimmy fill it with? Dirty, sordid sexuality with Hyun, of course. She's free from her worry, Josh isn't going to leave her because Devlin is whispering in his ear, false alarm, fine to go back to being "the real" Kimmy. And that's the problem. Kimmy doesn't even see it. She's so proud of herself for swearing off Devlin, for hating him for what he did to Josh. Shes completely oblivious to the the fact that she's doing the same damn thing with Hyun. Oh, sure, Hyun would never torment Josh, but he certainly would never see this behavior in the sex shop as "okay" much less the celebratory "thank you" sex that Kimmy is going to shower on Hyun for being her good little spy. I can't believe Kimmy had the gall to call Josh his own worst enemy. Pot, meet kettle.
KT Morrison
This is great.
CSH
I’m still enjoying the story but honestly not as much as before, the whole Hyun story line is a bit off putting for me in a way I can’t explain. It still feels a bit artificial as if we have gone off on a tangent story line. I find myself skimming these scenes as they are somehow non-erotic for me. I get the sense Hyun is destined to play some pivotal part in all this and so we must witness the relationship being built. But I think this should have been presented much earlier in the series to allow it to develop more fully than can be the case this late in the story. I feel like she is there now to make possible her blowing the whole situation up rather than being intrinsic to the story. Meanwhile, there hasn’t been anything erotic between Kimmy and Devlin or Kimmy and Josh in a while so the main plot points don’t seem to be moving. Devlin has disappeared from the story as a direct presence though his indirect presence is always felt. What happened to her going up to his apartment? Does she no longer see the guy at work? Obviously, hints are being dropped that something is up but we aren’t getting anything while we wait for Kimmy to get tired of taking advantage of her naive friend. Given this is the last book, at this point I’m not sure where we are going, or how we get to a satisfactory (even if not satisfying) conclusion. This book started great but how did we end up so soon in another of these scenes with Hyun?
Kat
On a side note, I worked part time at Bayview Village in the late 90’s when I was a student in College. Lol
Glaucon
I'm laughing, of course the second Kimmy feels free from actual consequences the guilt evaporates and look at what's first thing on the docket. And all her emotions are free-wheeling glee at the prospect of "corrupting" "innocence."
Kat
I knew it! I knew Kimmy was going to go back for more with Hyun. Then she has to cross the line even more by taking her to the same sex shop she bought Devlin’s replica, this time to buy a strap on, and to show herself fancy self off to the shop girls. Kimmy has absolutely no self control. She really can’t be on her own without some form of physical validation, can she? She whines and mopes about Josh not coming back, acting all miserable, but in a blink of an eye he’s replaced by Hyun wearing a strap on. It seems like Kimmy is the one in control and cold and manipulative, but she seems rather pathetic here to me. I think she’s using Hyun to make herself feel better, and distract herself from the truth in her life. I’m sure she has real affection for Hyun, but right now I think Hyun is being used as pure distraction for Kimmy. This is not going to end well for Kimmy or for Hyun when Meyer finds out.
