Closer than Ever

Chapter 9 - Friends Like These

BTS is filming a music video for their upcoming single, Permission to Dance. That means that Taehyung and the other guys are all too busy to work on their solo albums for a few days, and I am off-duty again. I had thought of going to Pohang to visit my friends, but when I texted Kyunghee about it, she said that she wanted to come see me in Seoul today instead.

I wait at the bus terminal, feeling very excited to see her. It's only been two months, which is hard to believe because it feels like I left Pohang years ago.

Imagine my surprise when Amanda and another colleague, Colleen, exit the bus behind Kyunghee. "Oh my god! You're all here!!" I yell, running up to hug them. Corona restrictions and social distancing be damned!

"Surprise! It's so good to see you!" Kyunghee chirps.

"You look really happy!" Colleen says, grinning and giving me a bear hug.

"What are you doing to make your skin glow like that?" Kyunghee asks, reaching out as if she's going to touch my forehead.

"Nothing special. Must be the pure Seoul air!" I answer, laughing. It feels really weird to be having a whole conversation in English, after speaking mostly Korean for months.

"Who are you working for now? You just told us it was a music agency!" Amanda holds my shoulders at arm's length and stares at me hard. I fight to keep a straight face but I can tell that my eyes are smiling anyway. "No..." she says, her eyes searching mine. "BIGHIT?!?"

I laugh. "I signed a buttload of non-disclosure agreements and such, so I can't tell you anything!" I say, beaming. "You know there are hundreds of agencies in this country, though."

Amanda turns to the others. "Let's get her drunk, and find out all the details," she says.

"Amanda, you know I can hear you, right?" I laugh. "Oh my god, it's good to see you all! What do you want to do first?"

"Lunch!" Colleen and Kyunghee say in unison.

"And soju!" Amanda adds. I laugh and shake my head.

"You know I'm not going to get drunk and spill the beans. I'm very good with top secret stuff." I really want to tell them the story about eating the elevator code, but I'm afraid that I will reveal too much.

We stop by my apartment so they can drop off their overnight bags and then decide to try Gusto Taco for lunch. Colleen is worried that it might be too spicy for her, but we assure her (based on no actual information) that she can just ask for less spice on hers.

We chat merrily as we step onto the train, but I stop stock-still for a moment when my eyes lock with Taehyung's. He's staring down at us from one of those subway car ad posters, this one for Samsung phones. Kyunghee and Colleen are walking ahead of us and don't even notice but Amanda follows my eyeline, gives me a significant look, and smirks. I frown at her and roll my eyes, but I can feel my cheeks blazing red under my mask.

"One of your coworkers?" she half-whispers.

"Hush. You know I'm ARMY, I just wasn't expecting to have Tae-Tae staring at me from on high!" I reply, giving her a mean mug over my mask. I don't like lying to my friends, but I also don't want to get fired from by far the best job I've ever had, so...

The restaurant is a cozy little place with exposed brick, cast iron window frames and a stained concrete floor. We all order tacos except for Colleen, who decides that a burrito would be safer. I'm a terrible drinker, but I let them peer-pressure me into getting a margarita, too. It's been so long since I had anything resembling Mexican food!

We munch on our food up on the roof deck, talking about the happenings in Pohang, reminiscing about that trip we all took to Thailand the last spring break before the pandemic, and just generally enjoying each other's company. That sly little minx Amanda waits until I've had about half of my giant margarita and feel pleasantly tipsy, then says, "So, tell us about your new job!"