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I can’t even be angry at this summary. It’s only the truth. I clank my beer against Jules’s. “Thanks.”
“I should’ve known when he never introduced me to his parents that it was going nowhere. It means something here in Korea.”
“Isn’t that a big deal in America, too?”
“Not like here. Here it’s basically a sign he’s going to marry you. I knew one Korean girl who didn’t even learn her boyfriend’s parents’ names until he proposed.”
“Well.” I drain the rest of my beer.
“I know. This is a sign.” She leans forward.
“Of what? That we’re out of beer?” I set down my now empty can.
“No. That we should both leave Korea behind. There’s got to be better countries with better stories for us. I opt for New Zealand.”
“Why there?”
“Because everyone’s nice there. Even their birds are flightless.”
I am buzzed enough that this makes sense. “Okay. New Zealand it is.” I stand up. “But first, let’s have another beer.”
* * *
• • •
IT’S DARK WHEN we arrive home. At some point, I remembered that alcohol was a depressant and stopped drinking. Jules, however, declared that coming down off her buzz would be a mistake and moved from beer to soju, downing the potent rice wine like it was water. She totters on her wedges as we climb up the hill. I have one hand attached to Jules’s elbow to keep her from falling and the other holding a six-pack I no longer have any interest in drinking. I had second thoughts at the convenience store, but when the irritated clerk snapped something at me in Korean while I counted out coins I found in the bottom of my purse, I decided the beer was a necessity I could not live without. In retrospect, buying something because I was mad at the clerk doesn’t make any sense, but I was determined to pay for my beer.
“He doesn’t like your coins,” Jules informed me in an overly loud voice.
“I figured.” He kept pointing at my phone. I ignored him and methodically counted out all the won I had. But now, with the six-pack weighing my arm down and a layer of dust coating every inch of my skin, I think that maybe the coins would’ve been better spent on a pack of wet wipes.
I swipe the six-pack across my forehead. “Is this hill getting steeper?”
“No. Korea is mountainous. You’ll get used to it.”
“I’m leaving in seven, no, six days.” There’s no time to get used to anything. There’s no time to learn the language. There’s no time to download a payment app. There’s no time to fall in love with Yujun.
“Oh.” Jules falls silent.
Up ahead a pair of headlights flash. A car door opens and then thuds shut quietly. A tall man emerges from the darkness and strolls toward us, his hands in his pockets. I can’t see his face but I’d bet this six-pack and the imaginary wipes I really, really wish I had that he has a smile on his face.
Jules makes a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. “I still can’t believe you picked up this guy at the airport. I live at airports and no one there looks like him.” She slaps me on the back. “Better spend your last six days here wisely.”
“I thought you told me to beware of Korean boys who wanted to take advantage of loose Americans.”
“But look at him.” Jules points toward the approaching Yujun. “Why go out with him unless you’re going to see him with his shirt off?”
I ponder this. It does seem right that after all the crap things I’ve endured that I get one good thing out of this trip. It would be a crime not to see Yujun shirtless.
“I bet he has abs.” Jules nods emphatically and practically falls over.
I grab her arm and haul her upright.
“Did you have a nice night?” Yujun calls out, amusement tinging his voice.
“It looks better than it actually was,” I reply. “No offense, Jules.”
“None taken, Hara.” She waves tipsily. “Choi Yujun-ssi, take care of my friend.”
“I think it is you who needs the help.” Yujun loops one of Jules’s arms around his neck and half walks, half carries her up the rest of the incline.
“How was your dinner tonight?” I ask, hurrying by to open the gate.
“It was not as good as yours.” He hauls Jules in and helps her to the front step. Anna opens the door and the light spills out, highlighting his perfect form—the broad shoulders encased in the still-crisp white shirt and his trim waist accented by a pair of dark trousers hemmed right at the ankle bone. He’s so tall and so fine, and being near him makes me almost forget every bad thing that happened today.
I dawdle outside while he hands Jules over to our roommates. It’s late. He probably wants to go home to bed, and yet . . . he’s here. And has been here waiting for me.
