Summary

Chapter 11 resumes in the present day, with Janie’s visit to Hannah in Los Angeles. The sisters return to the hotel where Janie is staying and begin to argue, with Hannah insisting that she had needed to disappear in order to build her own identity. Janie gets on the elevator, intending to leave Hannah behind, but Hannah joins her in the elevator, and the sisters ride up and down the building together, neither one getting off. When Janie finally gets off and goes to her room, Hannah follows her there. Janie then tells Hannah about their father’s cancer. However, then Janie proceeds to lie by saying that their parents have decided to disown Hannah.

In Chapter 12, Janie recalls the ancient Korean fable of Simchung, which her and Hannah had been told when they were children. In the fable, Simchung is a beautiful...