His father, for instance, perceives Asianness as a liability in America and instills in Henry

a profound sense of insecurity by reminding him to "know his place." "'You think she

like your funny face?'" (73), asks Henry's father when Henry takes a white girl to his

school dance, blaming his son for being foolishly taken in by a clever girl who he claims

only needs a free ticket. As Henry recollects about his father, "He was forever there to let

me know every disadvantage I would have to overcome" (135). Unfortunately, the Asian

ethnic background, according to Henry's father, is one of the disadvantages for his son to

overcome. In contrast, Kwang sees it as an asset to tap into in order to build a strong

future America. That is why Kwang probably sees in his young Korean-American

protege, as Henry himself puts it, someone "from the future" or "a someone we Koreans

were becoming, the last brand of an American" (139).

 Idealization and adoration are mutual in the evolving relationship between Henry

and Kwang, but the fledging "romance" between them cannot materialize into a solid,

sustaining partnership. A sad truth about their relationship is that, as with any couple in

the initial stage of their romance, they both do not know exactly what they see in each

other; they see only what they want to see in the other. The other becomes a screen onto

which they project and play out their own unmet needs and desires. Clearly, Kwang

validates Henry's subject position in American society, and Henry for some time feels

that he can find a steady foothold in America society via Kwang's multiethnic campaign

and his concept of a big American family. But the undeniable fact is that both Henry and

Kwang hide a web of lies and betrayals behind their carefully built-up images. After all,

Henry is a planted mole hired by an unknown client, obviously one of Kwang's

opponents who strongly objects to his soaring political power and wants to forestall his