"Okay, we'll see you in a half hour." Trish finished her call then turned to In-ho. "My friend, Marcy, said she's out of town right now visiting her family. But that her roommate, Jackie, is there. She's also a friend. She'll let us stay, and will be waiting to let us in."

"Marcy is your old roommate?" He kept his head looking forward at the road. 

She answered, "Yeah. We shared an apartment our senior year. She's got a new place with another friend of ours." Trish shrugged. "She's cool." There was a sign mentioning an exit to downtown Monterey. She knew she had to make a call before arriving in Santa Cruz. Calling from this point in the journey had been a good idea.

It would be about 30 minutes until they arrived. Trish looked out the window at the sand dunes from the highway. It was a lulling landscape, reminding her of trips around the large Monterey Bay. Santa Cruz was across, on the other side. She slide in the seat, enjoying the soft, leather against her skin. Time slid by. In-ho put on some more classical music. The sand dunes gave way to artichoke fields. They passed Moss Landing, the power plant and Watsonville. Other signs she recognized passed by. When the correct exit came up, she mentioned it was time to turn off. 

They followed Google Maps to get them around town until they were near the apartment. When they pulled onto the street for the apartment, they could see a light on in the little beach house. All of the houses were built in the 1940s in this neighborhood. Now, they were mostly rented out by USC students or commuters to the Silicon Valley. They were charming, with rectangular windows making up the front windows and white picket fences around small yards.

In-ho parked the Ferrari on the street since the short driveway already had a cute mini cooper parked there. They could hear a TV or something in the background as they rang the bell. Then, "Just a minute." Some loud footfalls were heard running towards the door. It opened to a small Asian girl with a short, black bob. She looked like she was straight out of a Japanese manga. She had on the classic beachwear, shorts and a tank top. "Hey, you. It's been awhile. Like probably since graduation. Come on in." She waved them inside.

They followed her through the door. In-ho looked around at the small living room, and sat across on the couch. Trish plopped down next to him. The poster from the concert she'd gone to on the beach with Marcy was still on the wall. The couch still smelled a little like smoke from the lady they'd bought it from second hand when she'd been going to college. Cat fur still clung to bits of the side, no matter how much they'd vacuumed. Knickknacks from adventures at the Boardwalk sat on a shelf across from her. The stuffed animal that Marcy's boyfriend had won for her sat center among shells, stones, and fairy figurines. It felt comfortable here, again to be back at one of her old stomping grounds.

"Hey, I'm Jackie." Marcy's roommate halted Trish's trip down memory lane, bringing her back to the present. Trish's present after college. Jackie shook In-ho's hand and turned to Trish. "Welcome back."

"It all still seems the same." Trish realized how far she'd come since moving to L.A. College seemed like another world now.

"Yeah. We haven't done much to the apartment since you left. I think the last time you were here was the graduation party." Jackie turned to In-ho, adjusting into a crossed-legged position on a small sofa across from them. A car chase scene from some action movie was paused on a TV that hung above a mechanical fireplace already running with fake firelights, but blowing out warm air.

Trish gestured to her side. "This is my friend, In-ho."

He nodded to Jackie. "Nice to meet you."

Jackie smiled wide at him, and Trish tried to hide her feeling that crept up her spine when Jackie looked at him. Was it possessiveness? She could see the glare in Jackie's eye. She was looking him up and down. She wasn't quite drooling, but Trish figured she'd need to get the girl a cup soon.

"Very nice to meet you. In-ho, you said, right? Is that, Korean?" Jackie's voice turned extra silky.

In-ho seemed to have stiffened up. His whole body language had grown wooden. He wasn't as relaxed as he had been. He was more formal. "Yes. I went to school in the States when I was younger, then returned to Korea."

"I thought so from your accent. I'm Japanese-American. I've been learning Korean from all the K-pop I've been watching. I started with J-pop though." She squinted her eyes. "You know, you look kinda familiar."

"Oh, I say he looks like all of the K-drama actors. He's so cute." Trish gave him a buddy punch in the arm. "He works out so much too. Like he could be on any of those shows in a snap." Trish snapped her fingers to emphasize.

"Are you two together?" Jackie motioned to the two of them.

Trish answered first before he could. "Oh no. Just friends." Trish kept talking for them both. "We work together. From my new assignment in LA."

Jackie laughed. "Oh yeah. Hope the job is going well."

"It is. Thank you. It's a dream career." Trish couldn't help but look over at In-ho. He was looking at her with a huge smile, like she was keeping a secret for them both. Was she? Was this only a business trip? She shook it off, filing the thought for later.

Jackie stood up. "I'm such a cringe host." She started walking to the kitchen. "You both want something to drink, right? You're staying the night, so we should make the most of it. We can watch some K-dramas I've got on DVD."

She moved to the rack of CDs and DVDs, pointing to them. "There's a whole bunch over there. You can pick one you like from the stack." Marcy moved out of the room to the kitchen. They heard the rustle of some pots and then a cabinet open.

Trish got up and shook her shoulders. "I guess I should brush up on them. After all, I'm in the business of dealing with K-pop actors now." She walked over to the stack of DVDs, and took some off the shelf.

He got up and stood next to her. She showed a few to him. "Any you think look good?" 

They looked through some titles, and stopped on one where it listed his name in the title of a supporting role. He kept his voice low. "I did that one a couple years ago, when Friends5 debuted." They heard movement and rummaging in the kitchen. Then, there was the distinct sound of popping corn. She could smell the butter.

Trish put that DVD back on the shelf. "That one I think we'll save for another time." She turned to him. "Though I'd love to see your acting in one of these." She looked over the titles again. She read the back. Seeing he wasn't in the listings, she said, "How about this one? It's about rival chefs?"

"I don't mind. Any would be fine," he answered.

Just then, Jackie walked back in. "I found some chips too, and popped some microwave popcorn. I'll go back for the cheese in a second. We can make a little party out of this." She set down the snacks and plunked down a bottle of wine. "I hope you don't mind white wine. It's the only kind we have. Unless you guys are more into beer. But I like wine with my K-drama."

"Wine sounds great." Trish answered quickly reaching for the offered wine glass. She grabbed one for In-ho, and passed it to him. Jackie poured the wine into their glasses, pouring some for herself. She raised her glass and said, "To new friends." Trish nodded, agreeing. She was definitely feeling like In-ho's friend. But what it meant to be a K-pop star's friend, she wasn't sure. It was going to be interesting to find out.