Sunday morning was full of hustle in the hotel suite. Mindy and the others climbed out of bed slowly, letting Arthur rest for as long as possible. The girls took turns getting ready, packing their belongings, then waking Arthur and distracting him. All for the fun of getting a swat on the ass so he could finish cleaning and packing.
After making sure he made good on his threat to fill her holes full of cum, Mindy left for church. With her leggings and panties under her navy blue overall dress, she was in no danger of leaking. Despite that, the awareness of his seed in her gave her a sense of his presence, which made her happy. The opaque white blouse under the navy blue suspenders and the front panel of the dress was modest. She buttoned the blouse to the base of her neck, proper for church.
Thoughts of Arthur kept her company on the drive from the Ashwood Hotel. The car was too quiet, so she listened to music. The parking lot was three-quarters full when she arrived and filling. She met her parents in the foyer, scurrying in her boots.
"Ji-Min!" Her mother approached. "Where have you been? We were getting worried!"
Mindy checked the clock, and the service didn't start for another five minutes. "I'm here, Umma! Did you bring the kimchi toast?"
"You missed Sunday school!" Her mother said. "That's not like you."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Umma." Mindy said. "I was with my friends. We had a sleepover instead of going to one of those homecoming parties, and we were up late watching movies, so we slept in this morning."
"Okay, okay." Her father spoke up. "Kimchi is in the fridge downstairs, but get it after the service."
"Okay." Mindy said. "I'll meet you in there. I want to say hello to my friends."
"Okay." Her mom patted her father's arm and followed him into the sanctuary.
Mindy said a quick hello to the gaggle of girls she knew from high school. They barely had time to hug hello before the crowd shuffled them through the doors. Mindy walked, giggling with them as they entered the sanctuary and went their separate ways. The long sanctuary held rows of dark, wooden pews marching to a wooden altar that reminded Mindy of a porch fence. The waist-high wooden barrier separated them from a raised platform that bore the raised pulpit on the left and a large wooden altar toward the back. Someone had decorated the bible-laden table with candles, linens, and the seasonal cornucopia with its wax fruit spilling onto the tablecloth.
The large brass pipes behind the altar were for show. Mindy had seen the speakers hidden behind them that connected to the electric organ. The oldest congregation member, Mrs. Kim, played the instrument with nothing short of miraculous skill, given the withered nature of her long fingers. The music signaled everyone to their seats just as Mindy entered her row.
Mindy sank into the wooden pew beside her parents a dozen seconds before the service started. The hard surface reminded her of the cane strikes coloring her backside under her clothes, which made her thoughts drift between Arthur, Rani, and the others. She looked toward the wooden rafters and trusses in the high ceiling and breathed.
Memories of her recent activities flooded her as she said good morning to those around her. She gave them her well-practiced smile and bowing nod. Everyone fell silent as the minister began making his weekly announcements. The volunteer committee was still looking for help with the upcoming harvest festival (the annual alternative to Halloween for kids whose parents refused to allow trick or treating). The choir director canceled rehearsal for this week for a reason Mindy ignored. She started tuning out the pastor's voice as she kept her eyes forward and her smile in place.
Mindy couldn't get Arthur out of her mind. The way he looked beneath her as she rode him until he emptied himself into her, his glistening chest and abs rigid under her hands. Selene and Rani were on either side of her, reaching between her legs and rubbing her clit until she quivered. The look in Kelly's eyes as she met Mindy's gaze and the tug at the corner of her mouth lifted her soft lips into the hint of a smile.
Mindy didn't stop smiling during the church service, even as Pastor Seong lectured on the evils of pride, which was his topic for the day. Pharisees were prideful because they thought they knew everything, but Christ told his followers to embrace humility. Mindy might have taken the lesson more seriously if the person delivering the moral wasn't standing above everyone else in a wooden pulpit, wearing robes and vestments that strove to signify the speaker was the most important person in the room. In her experience, Pastor Seong had all the humility of a "self-made" billionaire.
Her parents sat beside her in the pew as always, and her older brother and his wife sat a few rows ahead. She imagined Arthur next to her. When her sister-in-law rested her head on Mindy's brother's shoulder, Mindy wished Arthur were there for her to do the same.
She supposed he might never set foot in this sanctuary, which seemed a shame to her. The truth about Mindy would shock the people here, but she'd spent so much time in this church growing up that it was her second home. It was a pity to not share that with Arthur or Rani.
Her parents would riot if she brought Arthur in one Sunday, and poor Arthur didn't speak a lick of Korean. If only he could learn Korean by licking one, he'd be fluent now. She repressed the giggle that threatened to interrupt the somber sermon.
Rani might come, but she didn't speak Korean and might be a worse choice than Arthur. Mindy could tell her parents Rani was a friend, but the young woman had a habit of speaking her mind regardless of who was listening. Mindy had a difficult time imagining Rani lying to anyone. Meanwhile, Mindy's life had become full of lies.
As far as her parents knew, she was moving in with a group of girls she knew from college. She left Arthur out of her retellings. Nor had she gone into unnecessary detail. She'd spoken of Rani, Kelly, Selene, and Kat to her parents, even by name, but they assumed her relationships with the girls were platonic. They had no reason to suspect their daughter was bisexual or that she'd participated in the wild nights she'd had with them.
All part of the college experience.
Her foot tapped against the sanctuary carpet, impatient for the end of the service until the benediction arrived. The organ music ended the ceremony as it began, and the people around Mindy broke into conversation.
"How was the homecoming game?" Her father leaned over to ask. "Did we win?"
"I don't know... my friends wanted to leave before the game ended, so I missed the last few minutes." Mindy scrunched her nose, and her dad's frown broke into a smile.
"You left the game early?" Her father asked in disbelief. "But you love football! Go Wolves!" He pumped his fist in the air to show his support.
"I know, Appa." Mindy said, twirling the end of her hair. "But my friends weren't that into the game." She'd been the one to suggest leaving early, but she wasn't about to admit that, or why. A pang of guilt flared as she remembered the game, feigning ignorance about football so Arthur could teach her. A deception she wouldn't confess to her father either. She frowned, considering how that approach to flirting with Arthur hadn't gone as she'd hoped, not that she minded listening to Kelly explain the game either.
"Ah." Her dad said, mistaking the cause of her frown. "It's okay. I'll check the website." He held up his phone. "Maybe next year we'll close the restaurant."
Mindy giggled, causing her father to look at her. "You say that every year, Appa."
"Heh." Her father chuckled. "Okay, okay. But this time, I mean it!"
Mindy patted her father's arm, squeezing his upper arm before she released him.
"You said the kimchi toast is downstairs?" Mindy asked.
"Yeah. Your Umma put it there before Sunday school." Her dad said, gesturing to her mother, who was talking with Mrs. Won in the row behind them.
"Well, I should get going." Mindy said, standing. "I'll find it."
"Nonsense. I'll take you." Her mom interrupted her departure. Mindy recognized the need for an excuse for her mother to end the conversation with Mrs. Won and didn't protest. She smiled and took her mother's arm as they left the sanctuary, shaking the pastor's hand at the exit.
After leaving the sanctuary, she followed her mother to the fridge in the basement hall. The industrial kitchen might have seemed strange to anyone else, but it reminded Mindy of home, given the time she spent in her father's restaurant. Her mother opened the fridge, and Mindy accepted the tray of kimchi toast she'd asked her mother to put aside for her.
"And this brunch is for your friends?" Her mom asked.
"Yeah. We're having a big potluck at the house with the landlady to go over everything." Mindy explained.
"If you'd given me more warning, I might have been able to join you." Her mom said, her lips pinched in the slightest suggestion of a frown.
"I'm sorry, Umma. I just assumed you couldn't make it since you have the restaurant." Mindy said. She looked at the floor to show how apologetic she was.
"It's okay. I'm glad you're making friends, Ji-Min." Her mother said. "It's good for you to spend time with girls your age, not chasing boys in those dorms."
Mindy smiled. "They're a great group, Umma."
"When do I get to meet them? These girls you're moving into a house with?" Her Umma asked.
"Oh, well, soon? Maybe I can bring them to the restaurant one night?" Mindy asked.
"We're closed tomorrow. Why don't you bring your friends for pizza, and I'll meet them?" She asked. "Or I can come to the school?"
"I'll ask them!" Mindy said, reviewing who might be available. "It might be short notice, though. Next Monday?"
"Isn't that your fall break?" Her mom asked. "It's okay. I'll come visit you for dinner tomorrow and meet whoever is there. We can catch up and escape the apartment for the night. We can have a girls' night! Karaoke!"
Mindy smiled; her mother's enthusiasm surprised her but was catching. Still, her heart pounded into overdrive in her chest. Her parents knew nothing concerning her campus life, and they might freak out if they learned about her love life. If Rachel, Sara, or Bella said the wrong thing, the curated image she'd crafted for her parents would come crashing down.
