F.U

Chapter 6

Chaeyoung

THE UMBRELLAS WAS A perfect example of something I'd sorely missed out on by being away from a college campus for so long. Set on the edge of Main Street, it was an indoor bar that served discounted drinks in rain - boot shaped glasses. Unlike on the ship, where I could only get two drinks a night - and only on certain days, the bartenders here weren't counting anything but money. As for the bar's namesake, the ceiling was comprised of colorful open umbrellas that hung high above the dance floor. That, and every table was carved into a perfect round, canopy shape.

I was sitting in a "rainforest" booth for a second hour, listening to Jisoo complain about her ex - girlfriend. She had yet to buy me and Jennie the promised drinks, but several guys were sending me free ones every twenty minutes.

To my surprise, men and women were sending Jennie free drinks as well, and she was completely unfazed by their attention. She smiled each time and raised her glass in their direction - turning away at the exact moment that they glared at me.

What the hell?

"You know something else I'm going to miss about my ex - girlfriend?" Jisoo asked. "Even though she was crazy as hell, she gave me the best orgasm of my life. Like, her tongue game was amazing."

"You're still talking about this?" Jennie laughed and sipped her beer. "Thank you so much for sharing the intimate details with us, Jisoo."

"I mean, the things she could do with her tongue were out of this world." She was still talking. "I don't know if I'll ever find someone else with a special tongue like that."

I stifled a groan and pulled out my phone. Needing a distraction from Jisoo's words, I sent a mass text message to fifty phone numbers I'd saved from all my voyages.

Me: Hey everyone! It's me, Chaeyoung Park from the SS World Odyssey/Semester at Sea! Just letting you know I'm back on campus, and I'd love to hang out again. Sea friends are friends forever, right?

My phone buzzed in seconds with responses.

555 - 6754: I think you have the wrong number...

555 - 3216: Dude, I did Semester at Sea two and a half years ago. Don't remember you.

555 - 0965: The 'Chaeyoung Park' who refused to go out with me? Fuck off.

It didn't buzz again for hours.

"Hey, I have a question for you." Jisoo waved her hand in front of my face when Jennie stepped away. "How long have you and Jennie really been friends? Just tell me because Jennie has lied to me about this twice tonight already."

"We've never been friends." I sipped my drink, refreshing my inbox. "We're enemies who've learned how to tolerate each other."

"True enemies can't be cordial."

"You can if you have to be," I said. "Aren't you trying to be cordial with your ex?"

"She blocked my number a few minutes ago." She tossed back the rest of her shot. "You want to help me find someone to sleep with tonight? That is, unless you're interested."

"I'll help you when I get back," I laughed, standing up from the table. "I need to make sure I'm making the most out of my first on - campus drinking experience."

I made my way over to the bar, and the bartender smiled, handing me a new orange drink and winking at me.

"Must feel nice being you tonight," a familiar voice on my left said.

I looked over and found myself face to face with Bobby Kim, the guy I had a crush on during my senior year of high school. I'd told Jennie back then that he was not trustworthy, but she never took my advice when it came to her "real friends."