57 pages • 1 hour read
Frances ChaIf I Had Your Face
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary: “Ara”
Ara decides to return home for the Lunar New Year because of Sujin and Taein. Sujin has been struggling with how long it is taking her to heal after the surgery, so Ara decides that she desperately needs a change of scenery. Ara says that the idea came from Taein, who’d recorded a message to his fans saying he is going to visit home before he goes on tour with his band despite the complicated nature of his relationship to his family. When Ara’s mother texts her, tentatively inviting her home for the holiday, Ara agrees, citing Sujin as the reason.
On the day of the Lunar New Year, Ara, Sujin, and Miho leave to return to their hometown of Cheongju. Miho decides to accompany them because she wants to visit Mrs. Loring’s grave and she’d heard that Ara’s family lives in the historical Hanok complex. Frustrated by Miho’s assumptions about her upbringing, Ara sends Sujin to Miho to explain the situation to her. Ara and her family do not live in the complex, but in a small home on the corner of the property; her family are caretakers for the wealthy family that lives in the main house.
On the bus, the trio discusses the late Mrs. Loring. Miho doesn’t understand why Sujin doesn’t want to visit Mrs. Loring’s grave. She explains that while Mrs. Loring liked Miho because she was talented, Mrs. Loring didn’t really care about Sujin and the other less noticeable children. Once they enter the town, they wait at the bus station for a taxi to take them to the Hanok house grounds. The taxi driver asks if the girls live at the Hanok estate, but Sujin denies this, stating that they’re only visiting someone they know.
On the way to the Hanok estate, Ara thinks about the accident that led to her losing her ability to speak. Her parents had been saving up money to purchase a small apartment in the city which was supposed to double in value in the coming years. Ara thinks about all of the money spent on her behalf from her medical bills and mental health specialists, and she believes her guilt is why she hasn’t visited her family in three years. She also thinks about her growing resentment toward her parents, who seem to be certain that no man in Seoul will want to marry Ara as she is now.
Once they arrive at the main house, they enter the small annex on the edge of the estate that had been gifted to Ara’s parents when they got married. It is small, made up of two rooms and a kitchen. Ara remembers her mother’s horrified reaction when she once asked her to borrow some sleeping mats from the estate and feels frustrated. Miho is entranced by the beauty of the estate, stating that if she were the one who lived there, she’d never leave. The trio finds Ara’s mother in the kitchen of the main house working with several other women. When they notice Ara, they become excited, commenting on her appearance and weight. They talk to Sujin and Miho, making sympathetic comments about their upbringing at the Loring Center. The women sit the trio down, offering them dumplings.
The women continue to ask them questions while they eat, surprised to hear that they will be leaving in less than two days. The women tell Ara’s mother that she must ask Ara her question immediately. Ara’s mother asks how her job in the salon is going. Sujin answers for Ara, stating that she is very successful and has many regular clients who enjoy seeing her. Ara’s mother smiles, but continues, stating that many of Ara’s friends from high school are getting married, and she is also of marrying age. When Ara asks her what she is talking about, her mother continues, stating that the older barber, Mr. Moon, that Ara used to sweep floors for, has gotten divorced. She implies that Ara would make a good wife for him, stating that he is still in his prime and is very strong.
Miho and Sujin try to stand up for Ara, asking her mother whether he could compete with Ara’s salary working in the city. Her mother shakes her head, explaining that it isn’t about money, but about finding a man who would marry Ara. Her mother asks her to meet him, to just consider what she’s saying. Miho, in an effort to end the conversation, tells Ara’s mother that she and Sujin will talk to her about it. After leaving the kitchen, Ara, Sujin, and Miho discuss Ara’s options. Miho and Sujin convince Ara to go to see Mr. Moon to appease her mother, even if she isn’t interested in marrying him. As they get ready to leave the main house on their bikes, they run into Jun, one of the sons of the family living inside of the estate. Ara remembers seeing him when she was younger and having a childhood crush on him.
When they arrive at Mr. Moon’s hair salon, Mr. Moon notices Ara from outside the window and waves at her to enter the salon. Sujin and Miho go to the bakery next door to congratulate their friend from high school on her marriage. Once alone, Mr. Moon pulls out an old notebook from one of his drawers, stating that it used to be Ara’s and that he is glad she is doing well in Seoul. Mr. Moon thinks about his life so far, telling Ara he is glad that she has lived her life more adventurously than he has. Mr. Moon tells Ara that he was the one who called the police on the night of her accident. He’d been walking one night when he heard screams and went to investigate. He found Ara being brutally beaten by some other girls, and he pretended to be a police officer to scare them all away.
Next, he reveals that he’d asked how Ara was doing to one of Ara’s mother’s friends, and his question had been misinterpreted as one hinting at romantic interest. He assures Ara that that is not the case, but that he clings to the memory of the night he saved Ara and is grateful for the chance to tell her about it. By the time Miho and Sujin leave their friend’s bakery, Ara is sitting outside and staring at the sky. They ask how the conversation went and joke about how ridiculous they feel it is to get married in one’s twenties.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Kyuri”
Kyuri’s client Bruce has not returned to the room salon in almost three weeks, and Kyuri is becoming anxious. Unsure of her own motives, she decides to take Sujin to an expensive dinner at the Reign Hotel, the same place that Bruce is supposed to have his sangyeonrae, a formally arranged meeting between families prior to marriage. When they arrive at the hotel and are waiting to be seated, Kyuri sees Bruce, his fiancée, and their families enter the building. Kyuri studies them, taking in their appearances and apparent wealth with envy. Bruce notices Kyuri as he walks past, his face becoming hard and cold. Once Sujin and Kyuri are seated at their own table, Kyuri receives a text from Bruce, telling her that her life is over.
Kyuri thinks about the other room salon girls who were taken in by their clients. She thinks about how the men would eventually get tired of the charade and abandon the girls, causing them to return to the room salons where they would be shamed and ridiculed. Kyuri thinks back to Bruce, realizing that she liked him more than she had thought even though she knew she couldn’t afford to.
On Monday, when Kyuri returns to Ajax, the madam slaps her. Bruce has called the room salon, screaming in rage about Kyuri’s actions. The madam tried to placate Bruce, saying that she will handle Kyuri. Kyuri cries on the floor. The other girls in the salon enter the room, startled by the screaming. They try to calm the madam down, pulling her away from Kyuri. They ask Kyuri what has happened, and she tells them that she upset one of her regulars.
Throughout the following week, Kyuri is on her best behavior, acting extra bubbly and happy. On Friday, one of Bruce’s friends comes to Ajax with some of his clients. He sees Kyuri and tells her that he doesn’t want her in the room with his clients because he knows what happened with Bruce. One of the man’s clients tells him that he likes Kyuri because she’s a good drinker, so he allows her to stay. They drink until Kyuri is unable to remember anything else about the night.
The next morning, Kyuri wakes up at home with a terrible hangover, throwing up in her bed. She sleeps all day, and by the time she wakes up, it is evening and Miho has asked Sujin to stay with Kyuri to watch her. Kyuri thinks about how Sujin wants to become a room salon girl like her and how she doesn’t understand what that really means, but she says nothing.
On Tuesday, the police show up at Ajax after receiving a report that the establishment is engaging sex workers. Kyuri immediately knows this is because of Bruce, and she can tell that the madam knows as well and is thinking about how much debt to add to Kyuri’s tab. Kyuri steps up, asking the police officers if the report was submitted by Bruce, stating that she is his girlfriend, and this was the result of an argument between the two of them. She offers the police officers her apology, stating that she has texts as evidence of their intimate relationship. The police officers accept Kyuri’s excuse, frustrated by the way that rich people feel they can order them around when they’re angry. The police officers take Kyuri back to the station with them to finalize their reports. When she leaves the police station the next day, she decides to text Bruce explaining her actions and apologizing. Kyuri walks into a pharmacy and asks for some painkillers for her headache. Bruce responds to her text, and she almost cries in relief.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Miho”
Miho thinks about Kyuri and the way that she perceives Miho as naive and on the road to heartbreak. She states that Kyuri believes she is the victim in every situation; she never questions her own actions as a contributing factor to the consequences she faces. One day, after Kyuri and Miho no longer live together, Miho pledges to create a Kyuri series of artwork. She thinks of Sujin and Ara, deciding to create art of them too.
Miho knows that Hanbin will one day break her heart, but she continues to love him anyway. She thinks about how she and Hanbin ended up dating. A month after Ruby died by suicide, both Miho and Hanbin were still grieving the loss of their friend. They comforted each other, laying in bed and holding each other.
At Miho’s art studio, she continues to work on another Ruby inspired sculpture. The director of her department comes into the room, telling Miho that a congressman is coming to visit and that he is planning a luncheon for several politicians and potential patrons of the university; he wants Miho to attend the function, stating that she is the department’s “mascot.”
Later, Miho meets Hanbin for dinner and tells him about the upcoming meeting with the donors. Hanbin is very excited for her, but Miho decides to change the topic, not wanting to talk about it. She asks Hanbin how work is, and he says it’s depressing and he doesn’t want to talk about it. Hanbin has been working as a bellboy in his family’s hotel, in an effort to have him learn how to do the work that he will one day manage as the CEO. Miho thinks about Ruby who used to love staying at hotels, and she remembers a time when Ruby reserved the presidential suite of a hotel that her father had purchased to make him angry. Miho wonders if the reason that Hanbin likes her now is because he can provide for her since she isn’t wealthy like Ruby was.
After dinner, Hanbin drops Miho off at her house, surprising and disappointing her. She begins to sketch a drawing in her room inspired by the emotions she feels when Kyuri enters the room, watching her. Kyuri lashes out at her, stating that Miho has somehow managed to get all of the best things, her fellowship and boyfriend, and that she envies her. Miho says she’s in a bad mood, and Kyuri immediately asks if it’s because of Hanbin. Miho notices that Kyuri has begun to look at her with pity, and she tells Kyuri she wishes she wouldn’t give Hanbin such a hard time. Kyuri laughs at her, telling her that she has it all wrong. Miho demands that Kyuri explain what she’s talking about. Kyuri tells her that Hanbin is having sex with at least one other girl besides her. Miho walks away, returning to her room where she removes the jewelry Hanbin had given her, deeply upset.
Miho comes up with an idea to prove that Hanbin is cheating on her. She decides to steal the SD card from Hanbin’s dash camera to see if another woman had gotten into the car with him. When she sees him next, she tells him she has accidentally left her phone and some other items in his car, and she goes alone to retrieve the SD card. When she gets home, she watches the video on her laptop. She finds a video of him having sex with another girl in his car, and Miho is devastated. She realizes the girl is Nami, Kyuri’s friend, and she realizes that their affair must have started on the night that they’d all gone to karaoke together after Kyuri and Miho had left late into the night. Over the next few days, Miho continues to go through the dash camera footage and discovers that he is being set up with a girl from a conglomerate, and they may as well be engaged.
Miho thinks about their relationship and how she’d always felt guilty and like a burden to Hanbin. She decides that she will continue to date him until her Ruby exhibition, accepting all of the gifts and money that he offers her and asking him for more. She decides to leak to magazines that Hanbin is her boyfriend, determined to elevate her social status before he leaves her.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Wonna”
Over the past three months, Wonna has been playing a game with God, bartering things away like cigarettes and diet pills, in exchange for keeping her baby alive. During her last visit to the doctor, she was told that the baby has made it into the second trimester, and the chance of miscarriage has dropped significantly; Wonna still remains scared for her baby. Wonna’s husband has left for a business trip in China. Before he left, he encouraged Wonna to go to a fair to look at some things for the baby, but Wonna became angry, stating that he was putting a hex on their baby by talking about her. Her husband told her that she was being ridiculous, and he reminded her to talk to her boss about maternity leave.
At work, Wonna contemplates how to ask her manager about her maternity leave, wanting to receive the maximum amount possible: one year. She has yet to tell any of her coworkers about her pregnancy, and she fears they will react poorly to the news of her taking paid time off and giving them more work to do. At the company lunch, Wonna’s coworkers discuss how expensive having children is, which causes Wonna to become anxious.
Back at the office, Wonna’s manager calls her into her office and confronts her about her pregnancy. Her manager asks if she has spoken to HR yet; Wonna tells her that she hasn’t. Her manager tells Wonna that she can’t spare Wonna because of a high-stakes project coming up, stating that it would be unfair to her peers to be forced to work on this job-saving project while she is at home. Wonna’s manager tells her she can’t spare her for more than three months and implies that if she applies for a longer leave than that, she will lose her job. Upset by the conversation with her manager, Wonna leaves early for the day.
When she gets home, she is shocked to see her husband standing in the hallway. He tells her that he is sick, but she notices that his suitcase is nowhere to be seen and that he has been eating spicy food. Her husband admits that he lost his job two months ago; he had been staying with his father when he pretended to go on business trips so that he could apply for jobs and go to interviews. He tells Wonna he didn’t want to worry her and to think about the baby.
Sometime later, Wonna talks to her unborn child. She tells her she isn’t sure what her life will look like, but that she will always love her and take care of her. She imagines her growing up and leaving home. She states that she knows her baby will always come back to her and that she will be happy.
Chapters 9-12 Analysis
The complicated emotions surrounding the protagonists’ upbringings discussed in Chapter 3 and 8 continue in Chapter 9 as Ara, Sujin, and Miho return to their small town for the Lunar New Year. Miho and Sujin argue about the late Mrs. Loring, about whom they have different opinions. Sujin tells Miho that Mrs. Loring “only liked kids who were special in some way because it made her feel good about looking after us” (149), while Miho argues that Mrs. Loring was a kind woman in general. Miho’s perception of reality is challenged by Sujin’s experience and displays another case in which a person’s perception of events is often different from its reality, causing strife between Perception Versus Reality. This moment also foreshadows the later reveal that it was Sujin who called the Loring Center about helping Miho get into art school, not Mrs. Loring.
Ara, as the group leaves Seoul and approaches the small town they are from, thinks about how her life has changed since moving away from her family. She thinks that “In a way, I will be glad when we are almost home and the scenery will turn into rice fields and farm plots, and I will be reminded of how far I have come, instead of what I cannot reach,” displaying the complexity of her feelings toward her family (151). Her simple upbringing here is a source of comfort—a reminder that where she is presently represents success—and offers her a break from the struggle to achieve more. While Ara feels immense guilt toward her parents for the way that her accident financially, and in turn socially, limited them, she can’t help but feel grateful to have been able to leave them behind. Ara’s thinking reveals another social hierarchy that simmers quietly in the background of the novel: the idea that the city is superior to the rural. For Ara, she views her return home as a symbol of her victory; the “rice fields” and “farm plots” now only coming into view when she allows them to. She can compartmentalize the things she “cannot reach” within the city, the social status she will never be able to have, by mentally placing herself above the people who live outside of the city as farmers and homeworkers.
Later, when Ara’s mother tries to convince her to speak to Mr. Moon, an older gentleman that she thinks is interested in marrying her, Ara feels deeply hurt. As a way to cope with her feelings, she returns to the comfort of her parasocial relationship with the K-Pop idol Taein, stating that “I would rather die alone in the middle of the city listening to Taein’s voice every day on my phone. What makes me sad is that my mother thinks that this is the best my life can be” (163). Ara’s mother believes that, due to the traumatic loss of her voice, Ara will struggle to find someone to marry, and it is best for her to find someone quickly and settle down. These limiting thoughts make Ara crave the safety she feels from her one-sided relationship with Taein and acts as a form of escapism for her; this dependence reasserts itself more and more as she continues to lean into the relationship with Taein that she has created for herself.
In Chapter 10, Kyuri thinks about the women who fall in love or leave the room salon to become their client’s mistress. She states that it always falls through:
Most of the time, though, the men grew tired of it all first. And when the girls came back, they were older and usually fatter and they had to go on extreme diets and take pills and all that or the madams would shame them ceaselessly. And their hope-filled glimmers would be crushed to powder (179).
This moment showcases the severity of the gender bias within the society that the novel depicts; the men can cast aside the women when they become tired of them, and the women are shamed and forced to return to a life not of their choosing.
Perception Versus Reality is a theme that deeply influences this novel. Kyuri, who is terrified and struggling emotionally after Bruce calls the room salon, angry about Kyuri’s actions, pretends to be happy and boisterous. She states that “For a week I hold my breath and live as if I am swimming in a dream. At work, I am bubbly, I am witty, I am effervescent to the point of frenzy […] when I can’t keep still and bounce around, drunk out of my mind. They think I am even greater fun than usual” (181). The men perceive her as being in a good mood, assuming that something good must have happened. In reality, however, the opposite is true. The men who will face no repercussions for their actions are able to remain willfully ignorant of the harsh nature of the room salon. Kyuri’s actions, going to a dinner she knew her client would be at with his fiancée, placed her thousands of dollars in debt with the madam of her shop, almost causing her to be physically assaulted. The hypocrisy between the treatment of the male clients and the female room salon employees is clear and represents the gender inequality that is present within South Korean society.
Kyuri points out the hypocrisy in the way that public opinion places all blame on the room salon girls and not on the men who patronize them after the police attempt to raid Ajax. She tells the reader that:
Us girls, we have been trained for years […] So the girl gets jailed and fined for prostitution, and vilified in society as someone who does this for easy money. The girls who die in the process—the ones who are beaten to death or the ones who kill themselves—they don’t even make the news (186).
This moment emphasizes the double standards set by society that allow men to do as they please but hold women under a microscope. While society’s perception of room salon girls remains negative and condemning, the reality is that the women who work in the room salons are desperate and vulnerable, but due to the stigma surrounding their profession, little help or sympathy is offered to them.
In Chapter 11, Miho’s relationship with Hanbin is complicated by the truth that he is cheating on her and has been lying to her. As she thinks back on her relationship with him, she can’t help but wonder why he would enter a relationship with her after dating someone like Ruby. She comments that “I am a welcome change because with me he can play the role of protector. There is a limit to how much Korean men are willing to endure female money, especially if they are wealthy themselves” (205), explaining that part of the reason Hanbin likes her is because he gets to provide for her, which in turn gives him power over her. Here, Miho directly enters the conversation about the domestic, gender, and wealth hierarchies that make it almost impossible for women to find traction within. She tells readers that Hanbin, who represents Korean men in this case, wants to be with her because he can use his wealth and status as a means to attract and hold Miho within his life. Miho states that men have a “limit” to how much they can “endure” when it comes to feminine wealth since it defies traditional gender roles that place men as the providers within the society and women as the caretakers.
