All the jeans at JCPenney made Joan’s hips look wide and boxy. Joan stood in front of the mirror that enclosed the claustrophobic dressing room space. An ad of a thin woman in dark purple sunglasses with her midriff showing mocked Joan as Joan contorted her body, looking for a flattering angle. Joan twisted her…

“Baby, we should move… Think about it. We’ve been stuck between these four walls for so long. We don’t even go out into the city that often. I don’t know what the outside looks like anymore,” Ji-hoon said.  Mae paused halfway between stroking her hand along Ji-hoon’s slender back. Just before she rose over his…

The rice wasn’t sticky enough. Grain scented steam rose from the rice cooker as Mom pushed her finger in grabbing a few grains on the tips of her fingers, sinking them into her mouth. She scrunched her face. Her red lipstick stuck to her teeth like a tattoo. She poured extra water into the cooker…