" 'I won't eat it.' For the first time in a long while, her speech was clear and distinct. 'What?' my wife's father and brother, who were both similarly hot tempered, yelled in concert. Yeong-ho's wife quickly grabbed her husband's arm. 'My heart will pack in if this goes on any longer!' my-father in law shouted at Yeong-Hye. 'Don't you understand what your father is telling you? If he tells you to eat, you eat!"
I expected an answer from my wife along the lines of 'I'm sorry, Father, but I just can't eat it,' but all she said was 'I do not eat meat' clearly enunciated, and seemingly not the least bit apologetic.
...My Father in law stooped sightly as he thrust the pork at my wife's face, a lifetime's rigid discipline unable to disguise his advanced age. 'Eat it! Listen to what your father is telling you and eat. Everything I say is for your own good. So why act like this if it makes you ill?'
The fatherly affection that was almost choking the old made made a powerful impression on me, I was moved to tears in spite of myself. Probably everyone gathered there felt the same.
With one hand my wife pushed away his chopsticks, where were shaking silently in empty space. 'Father, I don't eat meat.' In an instant, his flat palm cleaved the empty space. My wife cupped her cheek in her hand." Pg. 43-44
