Page 81 of Don’t Be A Stranger

I hear someone calling out to Bora and she tells them to wait a second. I know she has a kitchen to run but it makes me feel special that she’s giving me a brief moment of her time.

“Dae was worried that if he asked you, you’d say no,” Bora finally admits.

Well that’s stupid. Dae is the one who wants nothing to do with me.

“Look,” Bora sighs. “I’m just doing as I was told.”

“That’s a first,” I mumble smugly into the phone.

Bora either didn’t hear me or doesn’t care. I’m sure it’s the latter. “Are you coming or not?”

“I just got off a long shift, Bora, and I really think Dae is just being—”

Someone calls out to her again and she groans. “I’ll text you where we’re meeting. See you in an hour.”

Then the line goes dead. I stare down at my phone, processing the entire conversation. Great, now I’m going to have to think of something to talk to Dae about. He’s never seemed interested in knowing anything about me, so I’m sure his invitation was rhetorical but Bora just ran with it. Like she normally does.

At least now I don’t have to sit back at the apartment.

Twenty-Seven

River

Considering it’s a Friday night, the Indian restaurant we all agreed on is completely packed and of course my brother and sister wanted to eat at one of the fancier restaurants. I’m not exactly dressed for it but hey, if Dae is paying then sign me up, I guess.

I look over the menu and it seems only right that I order butter chicken. Maybe Summer and I can try to make it again at some point in the future when we don’t feel so far away from each other.

“So, Jaejoon,” Dae begins but continues to stare down at his menu. “How’s…work been?”

Bora—who is sitting between Dae and me—doesn’t even bother to look at her menu, instead finding the start of this conversation much more interesting.

Bora nudges Dae’s shoulder. “He goes by River, remember?”

Dae finally looks up from his menu, eyes wide. “Right, yeah, sorry.”

Like I said, Dae is significantly older than me. Sixteen years to be exact. I grew up only seeing him on holidays. That’s about it. Dae not knowing that I prefer to go by my American name isn’t all that surprising. He wouldn’t know that I’ve grown up resenting my Korean name. I’ve only ever heard it spoken in disappointment from our parents. I eventually grew to resent it, so now River is the person I am while Jaejoon is who my parents want me to be.

I take a sip of my soda before answering. “Yeah, work is good.” It’s all I give because I don’t know what else to share. What could Dae possibly care about?

“Is Metric’s keeping you busy?” Dae’s question catches me off guard.

How does he know where I work? I don’t have to think of an excuse because Bora grins.

“I told you.” She nudges my shoulder. “He does ask about you.”

My eyes snap in Dae’s direction to find him already looking at me.

I’ve always wanted to be like Dae. Our parents never seemed angry or upset with him. It was almost as if he was capable of walking on water. They were only ever happy when it came to Dae’s existence.

Dae’s calling.

Dae’s visiting.

Dae opened his own practice.

I wanted to be like him, sure, but I also just wanted to be around my big brother. But why would Dae care? We’re complete strangers most of the time.

“Really?” I try to keep my tone light and not like this means everything to me. “You ask about me?”