4,510 words.
It seemed silly. She was meeting the person who’d been her best friend for years. So why would she be nervous? Technically, they were still best friends. They just hadn’t seen each other in a while. But that didn’t mean they weren’t still best friends, did it?
Min-ju opened her phone, turned on the display screen mirror, and eyed her bangs. She patted them and then turned her head to look at them from a different angle. She checked the time, shut her phone and put it in her purse. It wasn’t unusual that for Kyung-sun was late. Of course she would be late. How could Min-ju have thought otherwise? Thinking of this made Min-ju smile broadly and remember the countless times she’d stood waiting for Kyung-sun. Outside a movie theater, in front of a convenience store, or outside a classroom or the cafeteria. She’d spent hours, maybe even days of her life waiting for Kyung-sun. What did a few more minutes matter?
She was standing in Seomyeon in front of the December Café, a relatively elegant place Min-ju’s ex-boyfriend had introduced to her before they’d split up. Each table had its own curtain and the place was filled with candles. The environment was very adult, which was ironic because it wasn’t far from one of the princess cafés she and Kyung-sun had used to frequent in high school. Things change so fast. One day waiting in front of princess cafes; pimpled faces dressing up in wedding gowns, makeup, dreaming of marrying an actual prince. Then, a couple years later; faces clear, wearing makeup all the time, boys, separate lives, college, travel; standing in front of an new, more adult kind of café, a little nervous because it’s been a while.
She leaned her head, looking down the street trying to spy one of the princess cafes. She couldn’t see it. She shook her head to herself. Silly.
Min-ju kept a small smile on her face. Her eyes were a little wide, but not too wide. She gently rocked back-and-forth in her high heels, proudly displaying her recently slimed calves covered in sleek black nylon stockings. She held her new purse with two hands across her front.
She wondered if Kyung-sun had changed much. Of course she had. She must have. People change when they finish high school. Kyung-sun had always been a little rough around the edges. She had a deep voice, and zero sense of style or beauty. Kyung-sun was the tough girl in their class. Min-ju tried to picture Kyung-sun in her mind. Her face, like her head, was large. That was easy to remember. Her hair was naturally curly. How Min-ju used to envy that hair, even though Kung-sun herself could have cared less. And her eyes! Min-ju giggled out loud thinking of the torture Kyung-sun endured because of her eyes. “Countryside eyes!” they called her. Indeed, her eyes had the look of a bygone era. She looked like photos of Korean women during the 50s, 60s and 70s. Fat single lids. The under part of her eye bulbous and pronounced. The fact that Kyung-sun’s skin was a deep shade of brown didn’t help her cause. Min-ju chuckled, remembering Kyung-sun, furious, her deep voice rising to the point that she sounded more like an old man than a high school girl. She’d start swinging her fists with abandon, slugging people on the arm or back. If nothing else Kyung-sun was powerful. How many times had Min-ju woken up in the morning to find her skin dotted with black and blue bruises courtesy of Kyung-sung? Surely nowadays she didn’t hit people so often.
The traffic in the back streets of Seomyeon was naturally heavy on an early Saturday evening. The electric signs on all the restaurants and bars started to come on. Their buzz signaled the beginning of the night. In front of Min-ju three taxis were lined up in a row, moving just a few inches per minute. Masses of people wound their way through the seemingly parked cars. During high school it was rare for Min-ju to be in Seomyeon so late. Her parents were strict in that way. She usually had to be home for dinner or by 6:30 p.m. But of course things were different. They’d relinquished control for the most part. An early curfew seemed absurd in light of her plans to go abroad. They couldn’t very well keep tabs on her in America during three months.
Min-ju stared forward, not looking at anything in particular. After a minute the taxis had moved about half a car length and Min-ju playfully rolled her eyes at Kyung-sun’s continued tardiness. She saw a group of high school girls, dressed in green sweatshirts and long red plaid skirts, not completely unlike the ones she used to wear. Not wearing a uniform was just one of the pleasures of having finished high school. Being able to wear makeup, ear rings, short skirts, high heels, and carrying a purse made it all the sweeter. She couldn’t imagine her life before, even though it hadn’t been all that long before. She watched the girls and smirked disapprovingly. They were huddled around a game, trying to guide a crane toward small, inconsequential stuffed puppies and kittens. They were shouting and shrieking. It was all very familiar to Min-ju. Her closet was littered with such objects. She wondered if the girls had any sense how much their lives would change once they’d finished high school. She wondered if in a couple years, one of them would be standing in the same exact place she stood now, watching other high school girls, thinking the very things Min-ju was thinking just then.
The taxis finally moved along and were replaced by two other taxis and a black Hyundai. Min-ju sighed, blowing air through her bangs, looking toward the sky. It was dusk, and the sky had deep golden hue. Hwang-sa, the yellow dust, was in full swing. While the idea of breathing in pollution and sand via China was a little disgusting, it did make for a uniquely beautiful sky at times. Min-ju felt a vibration in her purse and pulled out her phone.
“Guess what?” the text message read, followed by three surprised emoticon faces, “I’m late! Sorry!”
Min-ju laughed.
“Hurry up! Are you a snail?” she typed, adding a winking emoticon.
She snapped the phone shut and thought about going inside the café to wait. It was a little cold and she didn’t particularly like being seen standing alone for minutes on end. People might think she was lonely. Min-ju wondered if anyone she knew had seen her. If they had they’d probably seen her reading Kyung-sun’s text message. Obviously she was waiting for someone. And if she went inside she’d be alone there too.
Only then did she notice loud music coming from the speakers outside a makeup shop, not far from where the high school girls continued to play the crane game. It was a song by Dongbangsin-gi, New Power from the East, the pop group she and Kyung-sun had loved throughout much of high school. She had hardly thought of Dongbangsin-gi since she’d finished school. How strange. Was it fate she would hear it again on the very night she was meeting Kyung-sun? It seemed so.
The song was “HUG,” which was one of their major hits. Although nothing about DBSK had seemed minor at that time. Min-ju, self-consciously, but also a little sarcastically, bobbed her head in time with the music. She and Kyung-sun’s infatuation with the group had been no small matter. For about a year it was the only thing they talked about. Since their school was all girls, they rarely even saw boys, let alone talked or hung out with them. So when they passed notes back in forth during class, or in their final year of high school, when they finally got mobile phones and could text message one another, it was usually about DBSK and others like them. Although mostly DBSK. During high school they lived and breathed DBSK.
Their obsession seemed a little strange now. A little silly and stupid. The group was still popular, but it didn’t interest her anymore. A group like DBSK seemed unimportant in light of doing something like going to live in California for three months. Min-ju grinned a little. She stared at the girls across the street. Min-ju squinted a little more and tilted her head to the side. The small smile disappeared from her lips. The cars in front of her had been replaced again by two mopeds, a taxi and a white Hyundai.
What had she and Kyung-sun been thinking being so concerned with a silly music group? The infatuation had started with an appearance on one of the Saturday afternoon variety programs. Min-ju was stretched out on the floor at Kyung-sun’s family apartment. At the time they had the latest and greatest plasma TV money could buy. She vividly remembered walking into the front room the day they’d bought it. The thing took up 75 percent of the wall and was much taller than either she or Kyung-sun was. Sometimes they’d watch standing up, or even pretend to be part of the action. After school on Saturdays, if they didn’t go to Seomyeon, they ended up at Kung-sun’s apartment.
When the announcer had said a new group would debut on that program Kyung-sun and Min-ju hadn’t thought anything of it. Even the fact that the new group had some affiliation with Super Junior, who they both liked, didn’t get them excited. But the instant DBSK had walked on stage Min-ju’s heart began to thump.
So handsome!” she’d muttered in disbelief before they’d even reached the front of the stage.
Kyung-sun scooted toward the screen.
“Ohhh!” they said at the same time, their mouths wide open, when they started singing.
Kyung-sun made a whimpering sound as the member they would later know as Micky Yoochun, came to the front for a dancing solo.
“He’s so beautiful,” Min-ju said. “So beautiful.”
As they watched the song each of their mouths fell wider. Sometimes they gasped. Other times they cried out.
“Oh-ma,” Kung-sun said. Her mother, thinking her daughter had called for her poked her head out from the kitchen.
“Oh, no no, mother, I was talking about this,” Kyung-sun said, gesturing to the TV. Her mother smirked knowingly and went back into the kitchen.
During the performance the girls became more and more titillated. Like Min-ju had initially said; the boys were beautiful. They had angular faces accented with perfect make up. Their eyes were dark and outlined in the shape of almonds. Their lips were glossed, giving them the perfect pitch of pink. Each member’s clothing was stylish and a little wild in their own way. One could even say DSBK were almost visions of the women Min-ju, and to a lesser extent Kyung-sun, had aspired to become. The women they weren’t quite yet allowed to be. But they were men and they danced and sang wonderfully.
By the end of the performance Min-ju and Kyung-sun were on their knees in front of the TV. When the band went offstage they hugged. They held each other for a long time, cheek to cheek, still occasionally whimpering or whining in adulation. After the song the band did a short interview and self-introduction. Kyung-sun and Min-ju’s mouths were still wide long into the commercial break that followed.
They shrieked, stood up and sprinted into the bedroom in what would become a regular pattern. DBSK on television--screaming, rapture, often crying, embracing, then directly to the bedroom where for hours they would discuss the band with thousands of other girls in the same heightened state via the Internet.
Across the street from Min-ju one of the girls she’d been watching screamed and held a pink bear in the air. She held it like a trophy, high above her head, her arms fully extended. She jumped up and down in her black converse sneakers, her friends rushing forward to take a turn at holding the prize. They pulled at her sweater and skirt, some even trying to grab the toy from the girl’s hand. One of the other girls turned back to the machine, determined to win her own. She stuffed several coins into the slot and slammed her fist on the top of the game as the crane jerked forward.
Min-ju saw this and shook her head in disbelief. She probably wasn’t even two years their senior, but it may as well have been two decades. “HUG” ended. The silence seemed loud in contrast. Min-ju looked in the direction of the makeup store. She remembered she needed to buy some eye-liner. She had to remember to buy it the next day. She’d only brought enough money for dinner and a pitcher of beer. She inventoried the other makeup and hair care products set aside for her trip. She was worried about finding the various cosmetics she’d need while in America. American women don’t wear as much makeup as Korean women do. And once she got to America there was no telling how easily acquiring such things would be. She was going to be living in an apartment near the restaurant she’d be working at. The agency she’d been dealing with had told her she’d be close to a shopping mall, but who knew if it would have what she needed. “Chance favors the prepared mind,” she thought. A ball of nervousness grew in her stomach. In less than a week she would be in a strange country.
Min-ju took out her phone again. Kyung-sun’s lateness was starting to bother her a little. She looked at the time. It was 6:06 p.m. Only four minutes had passed since she’d last checked. The cars had changed back to three taxis. Another DBSK song erupted from the speakers at the makeup store.
Two songs in a row by DBSK? Strange, Min-ju thought. She wondered who had programmed the music at the makeup store. But it occurred to her the group still had some popularity. She didn’t know or care much one way or the other.
The song was “When We Promised,” which Min-ju remembered had come out at the height of she Kyung-sun’s mania. By then they’d been following DBSK nearly six months. To call them fanatical was an understatement. They knew each member in explicit detail--their nicknames, favorite foods, clothing lines, animal, colors, and seasons; their ideal types, blood types, birthdates, religions, where they lived, where they liked to hang out, the kind of people they liked, what they did when they got ready in the morning, and what they did at night before they went to bed.
But the memory that jumped out at Min-ju was the stories they used to write about their respective favorite members: Micky Yoo-chun and U-Know Yun-ho. There were countless forums where DBSK fans could contribute their own stories about the different members. The stories were sometimes based on real events; concerts the group played, rehearsals, flying to Japan for a publicity tour, and shopping for clothes. But more often than not they were entirely made up situations; the group spending the Lunar New Year together, enrolling in the same University, visiting their parent’s homes, or serving in the military together.
Min-ju and Kyung-sun were avid contributors and readers of the forums. It wasn’t a stretch to say they spent the majority of their and energy during the day either creating and trading ideas for new stories, or critiquing other stories. This communication would build to a fever pitch during the day, until school finally ended and they could sprint to the closest computer game room or Kyung-sun’s apartment to pound them into a computer.
Min-ju had been quick to claim Micky Yoo-chun as hers. She was fond of saying she’d fallen for him before he’d reached the front of the stage during that first TV performance. What he wore, did, or said mattered very little to her. She loved him unconditionally due in no small part to the fact that it had been love at first sight.
For Kyung-sun, U-Know was to her liking. He was the best dancer and a bit of a prankster, which they both thought suited Kyung-sun’s personality well.
The first story Min-ju and Kyung-sun wrote together involved Micky and U-Know coming to Busan for a publicity appearance and then stopping in the Starbucks in Seomyeon for coffee and scones. The second story, which was basically Kyung-sun’s idea, had the pair single handedly saving Korea from drug-smuggling Japanese Mafioso. Min-ju always preferred to write subtle stories, often involving hints of fate and romance, but Kyung-sun was partial to action-based plots with fist-fights and violence. Eventually there was some disagreement about this. They even argued about it a few times. Although in the end Kung-sun, despite being bigger and more powerful, usually yielded to Min-ju because since she was six months older.
At one point someone on the forum wrote a story in which Micky and U-Know fall in love with each other and become a steady couple. For Min-ju and Kyung-sun this revelation was second only to DBSK’s first TV appearance. Of course they fell in love! The idea that two boys that were so handsome, kind, and polite, could be a couple was mesmerizing. They never gave a second thought to the fact that, if the stories were true, then that would mean Micky and U-Know were likely gay and probably even less accessible to them in real life. For them, Micky and U-Know, much like themselves, were sexless objects. They were beautiful, just as Min-ju wanted to be beautiful. Kyung-sun to a lesser degree, but this was due in no small part to her father’s wish than Kyung-sun had been born a son.
At first the stories they wrote about the Micky and U-Know couple were drenched in romantic whimsy. Min-ju of course was partial to them having fallen in love at first sight. While Kyung-sun had been preoccupied with the physical nature of their relationship--the first time Micky and U-Know held hands at a Lotte (Busan) Giants baseball game, and their first kiss over a chocolate sundae at the McDonalds in Seomyeon.
Largely due to the volatile emotions of the contributors the forum became very competitive. People often either loved the stories or hated them. They made the fans either cry or slam their fist against the keyboard in disgust.
The forum went beyond written stories too. People posted actual photos of Micky and U-Know, touching one another, standing with their arms around each other. The evidence seemed almost convincing at times. A growing segment of the forum believed the two were actually in love with each other. This case was made stronger with the posting of things like a video showing Micky cupping U-Know’s cold hands with his own, and warming them up by blowing into them.
As Min-ju remembered the video of Micky cupping U-Know’s hands she realized she herself felt cold. She bent her knees a little, bobbing up and down in an effort to warm up. She checked her phone again. It was 6:09. Nearly 10 minutes late. She started to recall why, when she and Kyung-sun drifted out of contact, that she didn’t care that much. Clearly they were different people with different priorities. It seemed Min-ju had simply outgrown her. The cars moved steadily for a minute. Then stopped again. A truck carrying a billboard announcing a new nightclub was also stuck in the traffic. The music joined the DSBK song from the makeup store to make one loud, blaring sound.
And Min-ju’s distancing away from Kyung-sun had started during their height of DBSK infused craziness. She didn’t think about it concretely at the time, but she couldn’t help but notice that Kyung-sun, who was a very physical person to begin with, would grab Min-ju’s hand, or want to walk arm-in-arm, more often than usual. Min-ju didn’t object to this. It was quite normal for Korean women to do such things. But there soon became something a little different in Kyung-sun’s touch. At first Min-ju was comfortable and sometimes she even liked it. They would sit together, writing a romantic story about Micky and U-Know, sometimes even pretending to be them. They’d be Micky and U-Know watching a movie together, secretly holding and rubbing each other’s hands, trying to keep themselves hidden from the fans that were always around, always watching their every move. At Kyung-sun’s house they’d play a DVD on her family’s giant TV screen, dancing and singing with the band before slipping away to lay on Kyung-sun’s bed where they could talk about the concert and their gratitude for their passionate fans.
Their role plays never went further than that. But the more the competition became fierce on the “Micky/U-Know Love Story” forum, the more Kyung-sun started to treat Min-ju like her partner. This came to a head one Sunday. Min-ju was woken up at 8 a.m. because Kyung-sun had called her several times trying to wake her up. She told Min-ju to come to her apartment immediately. When Min-ju protested Kyung-sun became angry and hung up on her, only to call back two minutes later, making the same request in a much more polite tone.
When Min-ju got there it was obvious that Kyung-sun had been up the entire night. Several empty Coke cans, remnants of dried squid and banana peels covered the desk. Kyung-sun’s eyes were bloodshot. She took Min-ju’s hand and led her to the computer chair and sat her down. Then Kyung-sun stood behind her, wrapping her arms tightly around Min-ju’s neck.
What Kyung-sun had been up all night creating was a spliced video loop of Micky and U-Know coming together in a deep, passionate kiss. The visual was entrancing, and looked very realistic. It showed the two standing in an embrace, then slowly moving toward each other, locking lips; their heads turning, deepening the kiss.
Min-ju’s mouth dropped open as Kyung-sun nestled closer to her. She sat there, watching the clip, which was set to play on an endless loop.
“Do you like it?” asked Kyung-sun.
“How did you do it?”
Min-ju was speechless. She did like it, but somehow, seeing Micky and U-Know kissing had made the fantasy too direct. The longer she stared at it, watching them come together again and again, the less plausible the situation became. Her mouth closed and her eyes softened. Soon she had blank expression on her face.
“Don’t you like it?” asked Kyung-sun.
Min-ju was speechless. She didn’t know what she thought about it other than the fact that for the first time, the idea of Micky and U-Know being a couple seemed a little strange.
Kyung-sun quickly caught on to this. First she loosened her embrace of Min-ju, then she pulled her arms completely away. Even though Min-ju couldn’t see Kyung-sun, she could feel the anger growing behind her. Finally, Kyung-sun stomped out of the room and locked herself in her bedroom. She waited for a while, but it was clear that Kyung-sun wasn’t coming out again.
From then their interest in the “Micky/U-Know Love Story” forum waned. For a while Kyung-sun tried to act like nothing had happened. She’d grab Min-ju’s hand tightly on the way to school or wrap her arm around her, as if to both embrace and put her in a headlock. Min-ju didn’t usually protest, because she knew Kyung-sun would get angry again. But she never reciprocated. In fact, it drove her further away.
They remained best friends, but in name only. Soon, a boy from the nearby boy’s high school showed an interest in Min-ju. They became a couple and started spending all their free time together. Min-ju had less time for Kyung-sun. High school ended. Even after Min-ju and her boyfriend broke later that summer her friendship with Kyung-sun continued to fade. In the fall Kyung-sun went to college in Gupo to study pet grooming. And Min-ju found an ad for a Korean agency that placed young women in temporary waitressiing jobs in California.
And now here she was. In less than a week she’d be out of Korea and working at some restaurant called Chan’s in Livermore, a district of San Francisco. San Francisco--one of the greatest cities in the world. Who knew what Kyung-sun had become?
The girls across the street pulled another prize from the crane game. This time it was a purple kitten. A few of them shrieked and took turns pushing their noses into the soft fur of the stuffed animal. Min-ju watched them, relieved that part of her life was over. These days she was given to the adventure of life; the unpredictability and freedom that adulthood offered. She had a hunch that her life was only beginning, and she was much happier to embrace it, rather than embracing some silly stuffed animal or a fantasy concerning two pop stars she would never have the chance to even meet.
Content with two toys the group of girls left the crane game. The DSBK song ended and Min-ju felt a tap on her shoulder. She whipped around. It was Kyung-sun.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Kyung-sun said, smiling a little, but visibly nervous.
Min-ju’s mouth dropped open as she looked Kyung-sun over. She could hardly believe it was the same girl she’d known during high school. At first Min-ju thought Kyung-sun looked like an actress, but after a minute she concluded she looked more like a runway model. Her hair, which had always been ragged and unkempt, was healthy, radiant and long. She wore a tight fitting skirt that showcased a body, once chubby and shapeless, that was slim and curvaceous. But the thing that stood out the most was her eyes, the eyes she and their friends had once labeled “slits,” were now bright, wide and circular.
“It’s only a few minutes after six,” Min-ju said, also nervous, “You aren’t late.”
They stared at each other for a couple more seconds, then cried out in unison and interlocked the fingers of both their hands. The winces of nervousness quickly gave way to knowing smiles and they burst out laughing. They had lost touch for some time, and their circumstances had changed and would naturally change more in the future, but they were still Kyung-sun and Min-ju--the same girls who had been best of friends throughout much of their high school lives.
After exchanging pleasantries they immediately dove headfirst into the stories of their youth. The old, mean teachers from their high school, the awful food in the cafeteria, the long walk up and down the steep hill every day--and of course DBSK. As they battled to exchange reminisces they interlocked arms and edged their way through the taxis on their way to dinner, roaring with laughter, sometimes doubling over and stomping on the ground in excitement. As if high school had never ended.