OUR HEARTBEAT [BEOMJUN] ✅

four

The next day, at lunch, Arin and I discussed my topic choice.

“I like it,” Arin said as we sat side by side on our usual bench outside. “The Ask Arin Advice Show.” She placed each word in the air with her hand. “Triple A.”

“That might be copyrighted,” I said, sticking a straw into my smoothie.

“Either way, I’m voting for your idea.”

“You don’t have to,” I said.

“I know. I want to. It would be fun to hear people call in with their problems.”

I shoved her shoulder. “Be nice.”

“Was that mean?” Arin asked as she unwrapped her sandwich.

I ignored her question because I was pretty sure she was joking and asked, “Have you thought of a topic yet?”

She let out an exaggerated groan. “No. Do you have any other ideas in that brilliant brain of yours that I can have?”

“I had a hard enough time coming up with mine!”

Arin’s attention was drawn across the commons, her eyes locked onto a target. I followed her gaze to see Yeonjun talking to a group of guys. He held a can of Pepsi and a sandwich.

“How about Stalking 101?” I said. “How to get and hold the attention of your crush.”

Arin smirked. “Don’t tempt me. I’d be an excellent host for that topic as well.”

“So if that was your topic, step one would be: Drag your friend to stare at him in the hall. Step two: Stare at him while he eats his lunch. What is step three, Arin?”

“You think I’m all talk and no game? Is that it?”

“I know you are far from no game. I’ve seen you in action. I’m just wondering how this particular one is going to play out.”

“Step three, my doubting friend, is to make him think he’s the one with the crush on me.”

“And how is that accomplished?”

“Watch and learn.”

Arin left me on our lunch bench with my smoothie. I watched her dig her phone out of her pocket. As she walked, she stared at the screen until she walked herself right into Yeonjun. She jumped back, her hand flying to her chest as if startled. He reached out to steady her from the impact. She said something and he smiled and dropped his hand to his side. Then she started talking to another guy in the group. That guy shrugged. Arin said something else to the other guy, kicked his shoe playfully, and turned around and walked back to me.

“And that’s how it’s done,” she said, sitting back down.

“I have no idea what just happened.”

“I made my presence known but then made it clear I hadn’t been walking over there to talk to him.”

“Who was that other guy?” I asked.

“Byungchan. You don’t know Byungchan?”

“I’ve heard of him. Never met him.”

“Back to my city versus lake theory.”

It wasn’t that I wasn’t social … well, okay, it was a little bit that.

“I blame this all on Taehyun,” Arin continued, taking a bite of her sandwich. “He hoarded you to himself for nine months and then had the audacity to move.”

I played with my straw. “He didn’t want to move. He had to because, you know, his whole family was moving and without them he was kind of homeless. But I’m over Taehyun. That was last year. Why are you bringing up things that are in the past?” I asked.