What Remains

Chapter 3

            Alejandro stood with his two new friends, Noahis and Akio, from Germany and Japan respectively. They shared a dorm room but had not had much time to talk and get to know each other as they had all arrived exhausted and jet lagged. But after a good night's sleep, they now stood ready to begin their first day in the international student program.

A woman with long, straight black hair stood holding a stack of papers against her chest. She wore a low-cut white blouse and a blue plaid skirt, like the ones that Korean schoolgirls wore. However, this skirt was much shorter than any school dress code would have allowed. She wore high white stockings that stretched to her mid-thigh.

"Damn!" Noahis whispered to Alejandro. He knew that his new friend would have liked for him to add his confirmation to his evaluation of the woman's attractiveness, but Alejandro chose to leave him hanging. Sensing the slight tension, Akio let out a low whistle.

Seemingly unaware of the consternation she was causing, the woman began to speak. "Hi, I'm Yuna! You may remember me from the band ITZY."

Alejandro didn't know much about K-pop, but the other two seemed to recognize the reference. Despite not recognizing the name of the band, Alejandro smiled at her warmly. She winked at him suggestively.

Had he imagined that? He wasn't sure. It had looked like a wink, but he convinced himself that she wouldn't have done that in her position as a cultural ambassador to the international students' program. He had to have misread that, he repeated to himself. But her eyes remained on him a few moments longer. He squirmed a bit, uncomfortable at being the focus of her attention.

It appeared that Noahis and Akio had not missed the wink as they turned to look at Alejandro with admiration and a touch of jealousy. Alex ran his hand nervously over his tight curls. Finally, Yuna began to speak again which, mercifully took her attention off of Alejandro.

"Today we are going to visit the Five Palaces. These five palaces from the Joseon Dynasty are very representative of South Korean culture. I really think you are going to love this trip," Yuna said, flashing them finger hearts. Then, inexplicably to Alejandro, she put her index fingers to her cheeks as if to accentuate dimples that she didn't possess.

The group went outside and got in the SUV that was waiting for them, complete with driver. Alejandro crawled into the back bench seat and Yuna followed him, leaving the two seats ahead of them for Noahis and Akio. Yuna could have sat in the front seat, by the driver, but she had chosen to sit next to Alejandro.

He smiled nervously at her. The seat was large enough for three, but Yuna had chosen to sit right beside Alejandro, causing him to press himself as far as he could to the side window of the SUV. He made a concerted effort to not let his legs touch hers. He placed his hands on his knees.

"So, where are you from?" Yuna asked him animatedly.

"Um, I'm from LA --- Los Angeles," he explained unnecessarily.

"Oh, but you're so tan," Yuna commented with a puzzled look.

"Well, I'm of Mexican heritage," he replied patiently, despite his irritation with the insinuation that American meant white.

"Oh, Mexican! That's great," she exclaimed. "Hola, soy Yuna," she said, blowing a kiss toward Alejandro.

The greeting was so well-rehearsed that Alex guessed correctly that it had been something she had learned to say in Latin American countries as she traveled with her band. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

When they arrived at the first of the palaces, Changdeokgung, they all spilled out of the car. Alejandro looked at the floor as Yuna got out. Her short skirt didn't allow for her to exit the SUV in a ladylike manner, and he wanted to be sure to give her the respect she deserved.

As they walked around the palace, admiring its unique architecture and colorful red and green trim, Yuna always seemed to be directly at Alejandro's side. She brushed her arms against his as often as she could. Every time it happened, Alex would step to the side slightly to end the contact. His easy smile, however, never ceased to elicit a blush on Yuna's cheeks. He considered that she might be flirting with him, but he threw the idea out quickly, deciding that she was just friendly. But with a painful prick in his heart, he remembered how wrong he had been about Teresa's feelings.

His smile faded when he thought of her. He had texted her several times since arriving in Korea. She had only responded to the first one in which he told her that he had arrived safely. She had not responded to any of the pictures or good morning messages he had sent. He wondered if it was cruel to text her the same as he always had, but he decided that to drastically change his behavior toward her would be just as cruel.

Later, that night, as Noahis, Akio, and Alejandro sat, freshly showered, in the center of their dorm room floor, drinking beer, they talked of all they had seen on their first day. When the conversation lagged a bit, Noahis spoke up.

"It seems that you have an admirer, you damn bastard," he said to Alejandro. "I mean, not that I'm jealous," he lied with a laugh. "But, damn, I am jealous," he admitted. "She seems to have made her choice pretty clear. Akio, you and I don't stand a chance," Noahis lamented.

"No, it's not like that," Alejandro protested.

"Well, it might not be like that for you, but it definitely is for her," Akio offered. "Honestly, dude, if you don't want her, let me have a chance," he added. "She's just my type. I'm really into that rorikan look she's got going," Akio said with a sigh.

"Um, man, that's messed up," Alejandro replied. "Isn't that the Japanese form of the 'Lolita Complex'?" he asked.

"What's the 'Lolita Complex'?" Noahis asked.

Before Akio could jump in with a rationalization of the perversion, Alejandro explained. "It comes from a book by Vladimir Nabokov in which a middle-aged man is obsessed with a 12-year-old girl. Basically, it's the sexualization of children," he explained.

"Come on, man," Akio protested. "The girls I look at aren't kids. Some of them are in their late 20s," he argued.

"Yeah, but they are dressed like little girls. They hold stuffed animals and other objects that signal childhood, but they appear in very suggestive poses that should never be connected with childhood. So, call it what you will, but it's a perversion," Alejandro countered.

"Damn, man, you have such a stick up your ass," Noahis declared. "You come off as a guy who thinks he's so woke, but I'm sure you are as much of a dog as we are. Hand me your phone. Let me see your browser history," he challenged.

Alejandro opened his phone and passed it to Noahis, who scrolled through it, searching for evidence of perversion. Upon finding no porn sites, he began to delve into Alejandro's pictures. Finally, finding what he was looking for, he turned the phone toward his friends and declared, "How do you explain this?"

"That's my best friend, Teresa," Alex answered.

"Best friend. Right. So, why is she doing the Downward Dog in this pic?" Noahis asked. "A woman with an ass like that isn't anybody's friend," he declared.

Alejandro stood and snatched his phone back. "I'm going to turn in," he said. "I've had enough of this conversation. There is way too much toxic masculinity in this room right now. Maybe you two should hit the showers again, but use cold water this time," he admonished.

As they prepared for bed, Akio texted Noahis. "This guy thinks he's better than us."

Noahis responded back with the eye-rolling emoji.