The Kissing Booth: Adult Edition

Lee Arrives

Elle's P.O.V.-

Dear reader, I went to Berkeley.

Seven Years Later:

Seoul, South Korea-

I quickly ruffled through the contents of my bag. "Let's see. Phone, wallet, water bottle, tea thermos, train pass for Lee, uh what else.....? What am I missing?" With a quick sweep through this floor of my apartment, I realized that I had everything I would need for the time being. I stuffed the rest of my bungeoppang bun I got last night into my mouth and grabbed my house keys. The front door was locked, and I was on my way to the train station, trying to chew and swallow as I hurried down the street.

The train wasn't too crowded this time of day, which isn't really saying much to be honest. And I thought Los Angeles was congested. Ha, oh naïve, simple me. I'd never really experienced anything like Seoul before; well, Paris was also crowded but this was a whole different level. Plus I kinda stuck out like a sore thumb wherever I went.

It took me over an hour to arrive at Incheon Airport. I'd only been here once before, back when I first moved to South Korea. Finding Lee in this massive place wasn't going to be easy, especially considering that he didn't have a phone over here. We hatched a plan before his flight from California took off. We'd meet in Big Bowl in Terminal Two's restaurant area. I mainly chose this location because its sign was in English. Once I got there, it was another forty-five minutes until Lee showed up. I anticipated this long wait, so I brought some work along with me to pass the time.

I was in the middle of page five of my article when a familiar, wonderful voice called out to me. It was technically considered rude to do that in a Korean public space, but I suppose Lee wouldn't know that. "Elle!" My head lifted up to see my best friend making a mad dash towards where I was sitting. A smile drew across my lips as I set my paper down. "Lee!" He caught me in his widespread arms, lifting me up off the floor a little. "Ah, Elle!" "Lee," I held him so tightly, wrapping my arms around his waist. Lee; my glorious, special, most marvellous friend- Lee. He was here. After five months of not seeing each other, he was finally here. And I couldn't have been happier in that moment.

Naturally the first thing I did was offer to take Lee out to dinner; cause I could afford that, I say in a sarcastic tone. Lucky for me though, Lee just wanted to go home and crash. He wasn't used to the time difference yet and was exhausted from the flight. I complied and we took the train straight back to my end of Seoul. I'd shown Lee around my apartment via FaceTime before but was surprised and astonished to actually see it in person. He set his little suitcase down at the front of the apartment and took a look around.

"Whoa, this place is huge!" "A two-story apartment, Lee," I was currently in the kitchen getting us two cups of water. "How can you afford this place?! I thought your stipend was piddly this year." "It is, but Daddy's inheritance has helped Brad and me out a lot. Plus I got a good deal- it's so far from the university campus," I came over to him, handing him a full glass. He took a sip and continued looking around in awe. Sure beat the single dorm rooms we had in undergrad and masters.

"Does your landlord know I'm staying for the next three months?" "Sure does, and thankfully, she didn't increase my rent... yet." "Well if she does, I'll cover it. I'm just so glad I finally got to come out and see you, Elle." "I'm glad your supervisor was so understanding. You really lucked out with him, Lee." My best friend nodded. "Yeah, Berkeley's been good to me. And what about you?" "Me?" "Yes, you. How's Seoul National University treating you? Miss Edinburgh yet?" "A little. Korea's been such a culture shock, but I'm so happy I'm here. I'm so lucky my supervisor gave me the go ahead to go aboard to research." "Gotta love being a PhD candidate," Lee grinned. "I'll drink to that," we clanked our glasses together.

Lee and I graduated from Berkeley together and both applied for masters' positions everywhere. By the time I was done with undergrad, I knew I wanted to be an academic. Researching and traveling was in my blood. So it was only nature that I went aboard for masters and PhD. I got my masters in Amsterdam, where I lived for two years. Then I moved to Edinburgh for PhD. A large part of my thesis was on Asian folklore, and where better to study that than in Asia? In my second year of PhD, my supervisor called me into his office with a research proposition. The rest is history.

Lee went to plop himself down onto my couch, where I joined him. He threw his head back and then flashed me a smile- a true, genuine smile. "It's really good to see you again, Elle." "Likewise, Lee. You're looking good." "So are you. I can see you're taking advantage of the Korean face cream available." I laughed. Well, he's not wrong. "I'll take that as a compliment. Are you hungry?" "Starving, but I'm too tired to eat right now." "What if I made you some ramen?" I offered. Lee thought for a moment before a knowing smile grew across his lips. Ok, I knew what that smile meant. He watched me get up and head back to the kitchen, which was in view of the living room he was currently in.

"Wanna an egg in it too?" I called back. "Is that something they do out here?" He hollered in return. "Yes." "Then sure; toss an egg in. Why not?" Why not? Wait, do I even have any eggs? Shoulda checked this before I offered. I could hear Lee sigh from here while I went to look in the fridge. His gaze was locked onto me again.

"So, you meet any smexy men out here yet?" There was a playful tone to Lee's voice. I rolled my eyes, partly because I saw the lack of eggs in my apartment. Oops. "Come on, Lee. You know there's been no one since Noah. Besides, I would have told you." "Seriously, Elle? You've been here for months now. You must have saw someone on campus or somewhere. Noah broke up with you when you chose Berkeley; it's time to move on. That ship has sailed." An annoyed sigh fell from my lips. "It has nothing to do with Noah, Lee; I'm so over him. You know that. It's just that school's been really busy. I'm teaching, researching, writing; I don't have time for any of that." "Uh huh, sure. Whatever you have to tell yourself," Lee's head threw back again. I shot him a light-hearted glare but turned back to cooking his ramen. I was down to three packs and wouldn't be able to go food shopping until Saturday- fantastic.

While I was in the middle of doing all that, my phone vibrated on my counter. Initially I ignored it, turning the stove on and opening the package. Lee was half asleep by now, so I stayed quiet for the time being. Yeah, I don't blame him for being so tired; the time-change is always super hard on me as well. With the water set to boil, I then turned my attention to a finding a suitable replacement for Lee's egg. That's when my phone buzzed again. Afraid it might disturb Lee, I picked it up this time, only for my eyes to grow gigantic at the name and number appearing on the screen. As quietly as possible, I slipped into the hallway and pressed the answer key. My voice was a low whisper speaking into the phone.

"Marco?"