Chapter 2

They say bad things come in waves. It seemed that was the case today.

“Introduce yourselves. This is my girlfriend, Hyeji Jang, and this is my friend, Hari Shin.”

My friend’s friend and his girlfriend.

As Hari thought about how well this could go, Hyeji introduced herself.

“Hi, I’m Hyeji. I’ve heard a lot about you from Minwoo.”

Hari introduced herself and wondered what Minwoo could possibly have told Hyeji about her.

“Hey, I’m Hari.”

Hari stood uncomfortably after exchanging hellos. It had been forever since she had met Minwoo, and he had suddenly invited her out for lunch. She accepted the invite feeling a bit nervous about meeting an old friend, and did her best to look good. Who would have thought it was going to also be a meeting with his girlfriend?

“Aren’t you all hungry? What should we order?” Minwoo’s eyes never left his girlfriend. “How about you, babe? I’m feeling either pasta or pizza.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Can I get both?”

“I don’t see why not. We can always share.”

Hari felt like a ghost between them, as Minwoo and Hyeji could not keep their eyes off of each other. At last, Minwoo gave Hari a quick look.

“How about you, Hari?”

Hari’s heart felt ripped apart. How could she sit in front of her crush and his girlfriend while keeping a straight face? She had no confidence that she’d be able to make it through a casual meal. Still, she didn’t want Minwoo to figure out her feelings for him even more.

As Hari sat, wishing that this was all a bad dream, her phone rang, offering her a welcome opportunity to run away from her situation.

“Hello? Yes, boss! Oh, really? Okay, I’m on my way.”

Hari made eye contact with Minwoo who seemed a little lost.

“I’m so sorry, but my manager is asking for me,” she said. “I’d better get going.”

“It’s Saturday,” Minwoo replied.

“Oh come on. Who has weekends these days.”

“You should still have lunch with us before you go.”

The phone rang again. Hari felt a surge of relief and gave Hyeji a laid-back smile.

“I really do apologize. It was nice meeting you. Let’s keep in touch! Hello?”

Hari pretended to pick up the phone and quickly exited the restaurant, leaving no time for goodbyes. Once outside, she stood next to the building experiencing a rush of emotions. She was embarrassed thinking that Minwoo had figured out her feelings for him, and felt pathetic. She hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself, and hoped Minwoo didn’t pity her. She could not keep the tears from falling.

“-Hello? What’s going on with you? What do you mean, ‘boss?’”

It was her younger brother Hamin, still waiting on the phone. Hari took a big breath and put the phone to her ear.

“Hey. What’s up?”

She was glad that her brother had gotten her out of her uncomfortable situation, but felt that something was off.

“Did you see the news?” he asked.

“What news?”

“The avian influenza.”

Avian influenza?

Hari closed her eyes. It turns out the world was not all hers.

“Did sales drop a lot?” she asked.

“You know it. We don’t even get a single phone call.”

“How are Mom and Dad?”

“Dad can’t stop smoking, and Mom can’t stop crying.”

Hari let out a big sigh. Her dad, Jooyong, was scammed out of his retirement fund, and he barely afforded to keep open his small pub with Hari’s loans. As his fried chicken slowly began to gain popularity, the avian influenza broke out. Hari could just see his dad lamenting his unluckiness.

“Cheer him up,” she suggested. “Tell him there are times when sales are high and times when they aren’t.”

“I know,” her brother said. “Hey, Hari…”

Hari knew what was going to come out of her brother’s mouth.

“...We need to pay our rent for the pub.”

“I know,” Hari sighed. “I’ll figure something out.”

Hari reassured her brother and hung up, feeling her tears rising again. Her event with Minwoo had been hard enough, and now there was this situation with money. She wondered if she should find a part-time job. Her current paycheck was mainly going to her loans and interest, and another job could relieve some of the pressure.

Okay. Let me….

Hari gave her friend Youngseo a call.

“Hey it’s me, your prettiest friend,” she said. “Buy me a drink.”

Hari really needed a drink.

“Let’s see,” Youngseo began once they’d met, counting on her fingers. “Your crush, Minwoo, called for lunch, but brought his girlfriend along, and your parents are asking for money to pay their rent.”

“Yup,” replied Hari. “And I am drowning in loans.”

As Hari spoke sadly, Youngseo put another finger down.

“Well, if you’re going to find a part time job, you’ll have no weekends and nights for fun.” As she put another finger down, Youngseo gave Hari a look. “Hey, let’s not collect our griefs. Some of these things haven’t even happened, yet.”

“It’s the reality I’m going to face soon,” said Hari.

“But your friend is here to buy you a drink for that.”

Youngseo showed Hari her pinky to reassure Hari that her world wasn’t over. Hari gave a smile.

“Shall we begin?”

“Our food isn’t here yet.”

“We can get started with the drinks first.”

Youngseo looked at Hari sternly.

“Drinks during the day on an empty stomach is a big no for me.”

“Your friend is drowning her sorrows. You can get a little wasted, can’t you?”

“I may pay for the drinks, but not more than that. What if I throw up on my clothes?”

Youngseo showed off her top. It was, of course, a luxury brand. Youngseo was the daughter of Youngjin group’s CEO. From high school to their present age of 27, Hari and Youngseo had been best friends. It was something of an unlikely bond. Unlike Youngseo, who grew up in a wealthy family, Hari was squarely middle class class. Having a rich friend, however, had always come with benefits. For example, Hari could get free drinks.

“You’re rich, anyway! Just buy a new top. Let me get started on my drink.”

“No,” said Youngseo. “I have to go on a blind date today.”

“You had plans today? What time? Why didn’t you let me know?”

“It’s for dinner, anyway. I didn’t want to talk about it because I don’t even want to go.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to get married any time soon.”

“Then just play dumb. You’re good at that. You kind of are.”

Youngseo shot a glare, and Hari burst into laughter.

“I’m too lazy for that,” Youngseo continued. “I’ve already used that card a couple of times.”

“You actually played dumb on your blind date?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty good at it now. ‘Hello, I am dumb. I hope you are not too old for my sense of humor.’”

Youngseo flapped her arms like a chicken, and Hari burst out laughing.

“My goodness! How old are they?”

“It depends. I don’t even look into them before the date anymore so I’m not sure. I don’t care, anyways.”

“Your father doesn’t get mad?”

“Nope. He just brings in man after man. It’s like we’re battling to see who’s going to win at the end.”

Hari could tell that Youngseo was tired. She started to feel bad about not looking after her friend and only talking about her problems.

“Why can’t you just not show up?” she asked.

“I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to lose against my dad. On top of that, he pays for my living, and I want that to keep going.”

Youngseo was right. She did have a job, but to live her luxurious life, she needed her father’s financial support. Hari wondered why Youngseo didn’t try to find an actual, decent man.

“I mean all your dates are wealthy,” Hari said. “Just marry one of them.”

“That’s also a no. I’m looking for my soulmate. One true love.”

“Same.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. I’m looking for my soulmate. My love requires a wealthy man.”

As Hari gave a big smile, the food finally arrived. As the sizzling pork dish was placed on the table, Hari quickly opened a bottle of soju.

“One for me, one for you!”

The two filled their glasses.

“To both of our soulmates,” said Hari, raising her glass. “Cheers!”

They downed their shots.

“Playing dumb is overrated,” mused Hari. “How about you go femme fatale now? A seductive, sexy woman. Who knows? Your soulmate might appear.”

“Femme fatale?”

“’I devour all my men. Rawr.’”

Hari pretended to kiss the air and gave a wink as Youngseo took another shot.

“Wait!” Youngseo grabbed Hari’s wrist as she prepared to take her own.

“Hey, you made me spill my drink!”

“I’ve got an idea.” Youngseo’s eyes twinkled, and Hari squinted in confusion.

“Why do you have to come up with an idea now, when we’re drinking?”

“Because it just popped into my head?”

“What is it?” As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Hari regretted asking. She felt the wickedness behind Youngseo’s smile.

“You said you were looking for a part-time job, right?”

“Yeah…wait! Never mind. no.” Hari quickly changed her answer, not liking where the conversation was going. As she started to take another drink, Youngseo grabbed Hari’s wrist even harder.

“You are feeling low seeing your crush be with another girl.”

“What does that have to do with me finding a job?”

“To get your mind off of him, you should find another person.”

“Who…no! No way!”

“Yup. My blind date.”

Hari couldn’t believe it. “Are you drunk?” she asked.

“Why? You need the money. Get over Minwoo! Go on the date and just have fun! You can bring yourself down for just one day.”

As Hari heard the name “Minwoo”, she felt a pain as if needles were piercing her chest.

“You need to pay off your mountain of loans,” Youngseo persisted.

You bitch! Trying to use me and my pain?

Hari took a shot and glared at Youngseo.

“How much?”