I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.
- Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)
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PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - 2009
"Dude, you have to do me this one solid! You owe me, man!" Henry spoke through his clenched teeth, forcefully reminding Hyun Bin of the huge favor Henry had done for him only a few months before.
"You're not gonna be a wingman, I promise," Henry continued. He really wanted to convince his friend. "This chick just won't go without her friend, and I really, really want this girl, bro," he pleaded.
Bin rolled his eyes and sighed at the pathetic display in front of him. After many unanswered texts and dropped calls, Henry had resorted to showing up unannounced in Bin's room, to bludgeon his friend into submission.
"Do I need to remind you just how big of a favor?" Henry further needled him. "Maybe raise my voice a little more so that everyone can hear?" He said the last part particularly loudly.
Bin practically leapt off his bed to cover Henry's mouth with his hand. "What the fuck, man! Keep your voice down!" he whispered harshly. Ye-Jin had the hearing of a bat.
Henry pushed his hand away. "Geesh. What is it with you and Ye-Jin? Are you in love with her or something?"
"No! Of course not." Bin sighed out loud. "It's just... There's something about her. I can't get her out of my mind, even though I know it can't go anywhere."
"Dude, you don't have to tell me. I saw her first, remember? And I'm pretty sure we share the same reason why it can't go anywhere. Normally I'd say to just get it out of your system, but she's not the kind of girl, man. She'll have expectations." Henry looked at Bin with sympathy, before his expression cleared. He then smiled mischievously and clapped his hands together. "That's why you should just move on and come with me tonight!"
Bin shoved his friend out of the way, and sat heavily back on his bed. Maybe Henry was right. Since he couldn't get Ye-Jin out of his system then perhaps a few distractions would do the trick. It was certainly a method that his hyeong liked to employ. So Ji-Sub had many distractions.
"Fine," he told Henry. "Text me the time and place."
"YES!" Henry did a double fist-pump. "Someone's getting lucky tonight..." he sing-songed. He clapped Bin hard on the back. "We'll get your cherry popped pronto." He danced out of the room, shutting the door hard behind him. When he looked up he almost bumped into Ye-Jin who promptly backed away from him.
She smiled tremulously up at him. "Sorry, Henry. I'll just get out of your way."
She tried to side-step around him, but he stopped her.
"Hey, you doing okay? Haven't seen you all summer." He smiled handsomely at her.
She nodded vigorously, biting her lower lip, before smiling brightly. "Just busy with work."
"Still helping out your folks at that office building?" Her ex-roommate Soo-Ha had given him the low down on Ye-Jin after he'd met the two for the first time at the end of last summer.
"Um, it's actually a Motel 8, and yeah, on weekends," Ye-Jin gently corrected him. She wasn't ashamed of her family. She'd had to repeat this over and over again to herself in order to rise above the sometimes pitying or scornful looks she received from her much more privileged peers.
YOU ARE READING
Something About Ye-Jin
Fanfiction💬'It felt like a thousand shards of glass had embedded into her chest, making her wonder how she was still breathing. How was it that even though she'd always expected that painful moment, the reality was even more devastating? To the day, she stil...
