First names
Henry Park expounds, “Americans live on a first-name basis. She (Lelia) didn’t understand that there weren’t moments in our language-the rigorous , regimental one of family and servants - when the woman’s name could have naturally come out…At breakfast and lunch and dinner my father and I called her (the houselady) “Ah-juh-ma," literally aunt, but more akin to " ma'am," the customary address to an unrelated Korean woman." Korean culture does not overemphasize the first-names of individuals, comparatively, in the American culture; first names are used in identifying persons. Lelia, being American, finds it difficult to understand that Henry Park does not know the houselady’s first name despite being in the family ever since he was young.
Trips
Henry Park recounts, “The year before she left she often too trips. Mostly weekends somewhere. I stayed home. I never voiced any displeasure at this. I made sure to know where she was going, who’d likely be there, the particular milieu, whether dancing or sauna might be involved, those kinds of angles.” The trips are signals of Lelia’s deliberate avoidance of Henry Park. She chooses to spend her weekends on trips instead of being with Henry. Considering that she works during the week, the trips reduce the amount of time they are in in close proximity. Lelia no longer enjoys Park’s companionship which is an indicator that their love will not endure.
