Joel nodded over to their right. “He’s standing next to that woman with the red hair.”
Hwa didn’t need to look. She looked anyway. Eileen stood beside a short man in a tux, listening attentively and smiling. She looked a little rounder than usual. Tired. Like she didn’t have the time or inclination for proper food. When she saw Hwa, her smile fell a little. Oblivious, Joel pushed forward across the dance floor with his hand outstretched.
“Hi, Dr. Carlino,” he said.
The doctor lit up when he recognized Joel. Literally. Something in his eyes flashed a bright gold. They reminded Hwa of Dr. Mantis’s eyes, and she wondered if he’d gone all the way—cameras in both eyes, not just the one. When he focused on her and she saw his pupils dilate sideways, she knew he had.
“Hello, Joel! I was hoping to see you this evening. And this is the bodyguard, yes? The organic one?”
Hwa squeezed his warm, damp, fleshy hand. “That’s me. Go Jung-hwa. Nice to meet you.”
“What a wonderful specimen you are, my dear.” Dr. Carlino refused to let go of her hand until Hwa forcibly removed it. The blush spreading up into his vanishing hairline was going absolutely nowhere, though. He gestured at her. “You must be so proud of all this.”
Hwa didn’t know if he was talking about her outfit or the body it covered. She wasn’t particularly proud of either. They were both temporary. “I work out,” she said, finally.
“Oh, no, my dear, I meant your genome.” Dr. Carlino plucked the air around her like a faith healer doing a cold read. “It’s so … pristine. Intact. No edits. No augments. Pure and simple and austere. Almost, dare I say it, zen.”
Whatever part of Eileen that still thought of Hwa as a friend must have activated on autopilot, because she quickly put her hand on Dr. Carlino’s arm before Hwa could give him a piece of her mind. “I’m a little thirsty. Can we get you two some drinks?”
“Sure,” Hwa said. Eileen was one of the few people in the room she’d trust to pour her anything. “Club soda for both of us.”
Eileen pointed to the dance floor. “Just so you know—”
“Is that your mom?” Joel asked. “Dancing with Daniel?”
“There. Now you know,” Eileen said, and followed Dr. Carlino.
Hwa was dreaming, and this was a nightmare. She was derealizing, and this was a seizure. She was dead, and this was Hell. A Hell of perfunctory jazz standards and crudités and an eternity spent watching her mother grinning at her from over her boss’s shoulder as she ran one gem-studded hand up and down his back.
“I want to go downstairs,” Hwa said.
“She looks nice,” Joel said. “That gold colour really suits you both. Of course, hers is the whole dress, and yours are just the pearl buttons on that catsuit, but—”
“Hwa-jeon!”
Some in the crowd paused to glance at Sunny. Sunny ignored them. She lifted her hand from Daniel’s shoulder and gestured for Hwa to come forward. Hwa’s feet had no desire to move. None whatsoever. And yet they were moving, perhaps steered toward her mother by Joel. Abruptly they came to a stop, and Joel offered his hand to Sunny.
“Hi. I’m Joel Lynch. Hwa is my protection. I’m very happy to meet you.”
Her mother shook Joel’s hand. “How nice to meet you, Joel! I’m Go Sun-hwa. Most people call me Sunny.”
Customers, Hwa added silently. Punters. Marks. Not friends.
“Are you having a good time?” Joel asked.
“Oh, it’s just a beautiful party,” Sunny gushed. “You’ve just outdone yourselves.”
The creeping nausea that always assailed Hwa each time her mother opened her mouth climbed up from her belly to her throat and began tightening its grip. Why did she have to be here, with him? The payday from events like these was never small. She didn’t need to bother Síofra. She could find some other sorry sap to cling to without any issue. She had chosen Síofra because she knew he worked with Hwa.
“May I please cut in?” Joel asked.
“Eh?” Hwa and her mother said, in unison.
“You don’t mind, do you, Daniel? I just want to learn more about Hwa straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were. You’ll dance with her, won’t you?”
“Naturally,” Síofra said, and took Hwa’s hand before she could protest. And then Joel and her mother were drifting away, her mother scowling at her from across an ever-widening gulf of marble floor and good breeding. And Síofra was gently trying to lead her. “Relax,” he kept saying. “They’ll be fine. I’m keeping an eye on him, too.”