On My Side

Chapter 8

"Men are fucking gross!" Azul exclaimed as she walked through the apartment door and threw her bag on the couch.

"What is it this time?" Paloma asked. Although she was emotionally exhausted, she tried to stay present to her little sister's dilemma.

"So, I was plunging another mess out of the men's toilet, and Jorge said my butt looked good when I was bent over like that. So, I told him to fuck off, to which he replied that he would rather fuck me. At that point, I told him to fuck around and find out," Azul said, surprisingly, all in one breath.

"That's sexual harassment," Paloma pointed out.

"This is Telemundo. Do you think they care about sexual harassment?" Azul asked pointedly.

"Well, they're operating here. So, they have to care," Paloma argued. "You don't have to keep working there. I've told you a hundred times to quit and go to college like you want to," she added.

"With what money?" Azul asked. "You know I don't have the money to go right now."

"I'll help you," Paloma vowed.

"Right. You can barely survive on what you make. How are you going to help me?" Azul pointed out.

"I'll get a part-time job," Paloma replied. "Where there's a will, there's a way," she encouraged.

"I don't know," Azul said defeatedly. "I don't want to keep talking about it right now. Let's change the subject," she sighed. "Have you heard from Eunwoo?"

"Now, we've hit on the topic of conversation that I don't want to talk about," Paloma answered. "But to answer your question, no, he hasn't called or texted."

"That little bitch!" Azul griped. "He'd better not meet me in a dark alley. I'll show him what happens when you mess with a García," she vowed.

Paloma shook her head. "Just let it go," she urged. "It's whatever," she added, trying to sound has nonchalant as she could. "So, he was honest with me in the end. What do I have to be mad about?"

"Well, you can be mad that he only said that stuff at the last minute before he was right about to go back. You guys were inseparable every damn day, and then, suddenly, 'Oh, sorry, I'm too busy to be in love'," Azul said, trying to imitate Eunwoo's voice.

"You know, I went into the show, knowing it wasn't going to help me find true love," Paloma asserted. "And it didn't. So, there you have it," she added.

"Whatever you say," Azul replied as she absently scrolled on her phone. Paloma went to the sink to wash the dishes. She sighed heavily. If she were being honest, she had felt a deep connection to Eunwoo, but she was trying to move on, as she imagined he had done.

However, her assumption was incorrect. Eunwoo regretted his decision to walk away from the budding relationship, but he was too ashamed to try to contact her. He had seen in her eyes that he hurt her by walking out that night, but he had no idea how to change course. He doubted that she would even give him the time of day anymore. Paloma seemed like one of those girls who didn't suffer fool lightly.

What's done is done, Eunwoo thought sadly as he tossed his rehearsal clothes into the washer. He stood there for a moment with his hand on the rumbling washing machine. He had thought that feelings could just be turned off when they became inconvenient, but he had not bargained on his inability to get Paloma out of his head.

Just then, Eunwoo's phone rang. He felt a moment of exhilaration, thinking it might be Paloma, that she might have telepathically picked up on his feelings from thousands of miles away, but alas, it was just Mr. Suh.

"I need you to come by the office," he said before Eunwoo could even say hello.

"I'm doing laundry," Eunwoo replied.

"Well, you won't have to worry about laundry where you're going," Mr. Suh replied.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Eunwoo asked.

"You haven't checked the online forums today?" Mr. Suh asked, in what sounded more like a reproach.

"No, I don't live my life online," Eunwoo said, becoming irritated with this conversation.

"Listen, there is someone from LA saying that they saw you doing drugs when you were on vacation there," Mr. Suh revealed.

"What?!" Eunwoo shouted into the phone. "I was with Paloma the whole time. I didn't do a damn thing!" he protested.

Mr. Suh seemed to sniff nervously. "I doubt that bringing her up would be helpful to your cause," he ventured.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eunwoo demanded.

"Well, I'm just saying that if you are under suspicion for illegal drug use, mentioning your relationship with a girl from the wrong side of the tracks won't be helpful," Mr. Suh replied.

"You're a real bastard; you know that?" Eunwoo shot back. "She's a fucking teacher! She's not a drug dealer!"

"I didn't say she was a dealer. I just said that it's not a good look for you to be hanging out with an East LA girl," Mr. Suh tried to clarify.

"Oh, I see. So, nothing good can come out of East LA," he said with heavy sarcasm.

"Listen, are you coming in or not?" Mr. Sah asked in exasperation.

"Nope, I'm thinking I'm not," Eunwoo said before hanging up. No sooner had he hung up than he heard a knock at the door. In his rush to answer the door, he stubbed his toe brutally against the couch.

He limped toward the door and opened it to find two policemen. "Lee Dong-min-ssi?" the bearded officer asked.

"Yes," he replied hesitantly.

"We need you to come with us and answer some questions about your recent trip to the United States," the other officer said as he clicked his pen repeatedly.

"Don't you need to read me my rights or something?" Eunwoo asked.

"Sir, you're not under arrest. We are still in the investigative stage," Beardy said flatly.

Eunwoo reluctantly accompanied the two officers to the police station where he was placed in an investigation room. Eunwoo looked around the room, trying to find the CCTV camera. He was sure there was one. He finally found it with its red light flashing from a dark corner of the ceiling.

A man of about 50 years-old entered the room and fell exhaustedly into the chair across from Eunwoo. "I'm Detective Lim," he said, extending his hand languidly toward Eunwoo who gave it a perfunctory shake.

"So, we've received a report that you may have engaged in illegal drug use while out of the country. As you well know, Korea is not messing around about drug use. We will prosecute you even if the behavior took place elsewhere," he said.

"Yeah, I know that," Eunwoo answered. "But I didn't take any drugs while I was in the U.S.," he defended.

"Well, sir, I'll be the judge of that," Detective Lim said dully. A younger man entered the room and went directly toward Eunwoo, stopping behind him to cut off some of his hair and put it in a plastic bag.

"What the hell?" Eunwoo protested.

"I'll need you to pee in this," the young man said, placing a clear cup on the table in front of him. Eunwoo stood and grabbed the cup. When they reached the restroom, the man accompanied him inside.

"What? Are you going to watch me pee in this cup?" Eunwoo asked incredulously.

"It's my job," the man said with his arms crossed, waiting for the peeing to commence.