Boundaries

5. Warped

The sound of the ten pound balls crashing into the obstacles at the end of the dozens of lanes surrounding you makes it hard to hear exactly what Jongdae says, but you are pretty sure he yells something like, "BAM! THAT'S HOW WE DO IT!"

Minseok is laughing and standing to high five your friend. You beam at the two of them and marvel at how instantly they hit it off. Then again, if you were their common link, they probably had quite a few similar traits.

An "X" fills in the next spot on Jongdae's digital scorecard. He and Minseok are neck and neck now. You trail behind by an insurmountable margin, helpless, forced to watch how the game progresses and climaxes with no control over the outcome. No matter what, you will lose.

But they are happy. No malice lies in this friendly competition. And you mirror their joy.

Minseok grabs his lucky electric blue ball and makes his way to the foul line, positioning himself for the final frame. He's always been a great bowler.

Strike one.

He glances back, his eyes scrunched up playfully, and wiggles his brow at Jongdae. He waits for his ball to cycle back to him, and the moment the conveyor belt presents it, he takes aim at the expectant pins. You and Jongdae munch on nachos and soft pretzels, enjoying playing the role of the audience. The sphere glides down the polished lane and knocks down every red-striped obstacle.

Minseok bows to the standing ovation you and Jongdae provide. Jongdae shakes Minseok's hand, bending in genuflection. Minseok humbly gestures towards the lane, coming to sit by you as Jongdae plays out his final turn.

Ten pins go flying.

A minute of anticipation.

Strike two.

Minseok leaps to his feet, clapping and laughing heartily. You congratulate them both on a game well-played, and they slap each other on the shoulders, celebrating their tied score in the typical male fashion.

On the ride to your favorite bakery, Jongdae enthralls Minseok with tales of his interactions with other celebrities like Minseok's choice actor Lu Han. Jongdae pulls his phone from his pocket and hides the screen, dialing a number with a smug smile stretched across his face. Then a high voice crackles through the speakers.

"Hello?" Minseok gasps, and you almost swerve into oncoming traffic.

Jongdae stifles a laugh before answering. "Lulu! How are you?"

"Jongdae! It's been a while! Life's good. How are you?"

"Ah, as well as one can be in this line of work."

"Oh, I understand."

"Listen, I wanted to know when you're going to be in Seoul next. You've got an appearance scheduled for that new film you're in, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be there next month, the first week of December."

"Fantastic. Send me the details as the date gets closer. I'm crashing your premiere-" He looks back meaningfully at Minseok. "-and I'm bringing friends." Minseok inhales sharply, choking on the air and coughing violently into his arm.

Lu Han laughs boisterously. "Sounds good, my man! The more the merrier. Can't wait to see you then. And you've got to start telling me when your concerts pass through Tianjin, all right?"

"I'll be on top of it. Promise."

"Good. Nice to hear from you, Jongdae. Stay sane!"

"Same to you, Han. Peace." He ends the call.