F.U

Chapter 17

Chaeyoung

SUBJECT: URGENT. MEETING Needed ASAP.

Hey Chaeyoung,

I hope your first semester on land is going well. (Are you missing anything about Semester at Sea yet?)

Something important has come to my attention, so is there any way you could meet me during my office hours when I return from leave next month?

PS — Congratulations on both of your pieces winning top honors at the Rose Awards.

Arnold Hinton

Academic Advisor

SUBJECT: RE: URGENT. Meeting Needed ASAP.

MR. HINTON,

My first semester on land is going great. (Not missing anything at all) Can we do the first Friday of next month at 3:00?

PS — Thank you very much.

I REFRESHED MY EMAIL, waiting for his reply, and a text message from Jennie appeared on my screen.

Jennie: I think I deserve to be paid for my services since you finally got your driver's license...

Me: I'm low on cash...Will you accept my mouth and finger?

Jennie: Depends on if you'll also go down on me...

"ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND this entire dinner looking at your phone, Chaeyoung?" My Dad's voice made me look up. "You haven't said a single word for the past twenty minutes."

"My apologies." I set my phone down and sighed.

I'd managed to avoid spending more than a few minutes with him since the semester started, and before I could call to reinitiate contact on my own terms, he'd shown up at the house today and insisted on whisking me away to a "family dinner." The only problem was, the woman sitting between us would never be considered family to me.

Never.

"I love your house, Chaeyoung," his wife said. "And I think it's really cute that you and Jennie are cordial enough now that you can live under the same roof. I would've never thought the two of you would be on good terms."

"Dad, can you pass the salt, please?"

He passed it to me.

"So, um..." His wife smiled.

"Did you two keep in contact while you were away at sea, or did you just run into her when you returned?"

I salted my mashed potatoes and stuck a spoonful into my mouth.

"Chaeyoung." My dad softly scolded me. "Stella is trying to talk to you."

"Is she? What did she ask?"

"She asked if you and Jennie kept in contact while you were away at sea, or did you run into her when you returned?"

"We kept in contact while I was at sea." I sipped my wine, avoiding Stella's fake smile.

"So, she kept up with your port schedule and sent you letters?" Stella asked.

I picked up a knife and smeared butter on a roll.

"Chaeyoung Marie Park..." My father set his napkin on the table.

"I'm not sure why you insist on being disrespectful to my wife, but —"

"Because she's disrespectful to me!" I snapped.

"You two bringing me here of all places is also disrespectful to me. Why would you even do that?"