I hear one alarm clock after another going off in adjacent rooms. It must be 7 o’clock already. The doors at this cubicle hotel are so thin that I can literally hear everything that goes on next-door. The sound of my neighbor chewing a breakfast bar. The sound of her clipping her toenails. The sound of her putting on her underwear. It’s disturbing how well we know each other’s morning routines.
I tell Brian I need to go now. We already talked for seven hours and I want to take a shower. He doesn’t say anything.
“Hello? You still there?”
Brian takes a few more seconds before he finally responds, “Yea, I’m looking up plane tickets now.”
“Where are you going? Another business trip?”
“I want you to fly over to NYC and stay over at my place for a week.”
What? My heart skipped a beat. Why is he acting so impulsive? This is so out of his character that I feel really confused. I mean nervous-as-hell confused because I can’t tell if he is serious.
Brian clears his throat and continues with an unusual vulnerability in his voice, “To be honest, I have this nagging fear. Maybe we are meant to be together, but if I take too long to decide, you might never come back to America. What if you meet a guy, fall in love, get a job, and settle down in Seoul? We’ll never know if things could have worked out between us.”
I’ve been waiting for this moment for over two years, but the timing could not have been more off. At any other time, I would have jumped at this opportunity, but right now is a really bad time. First of all, I barely have enough money to pay for a bus ride to the airport. Second, I haven’t been feeling particularly confident or sexy these days. Especially after the suspension, I’ve been hiding from my closest friends and family. I still feel ashamed, lost, and confused, and I’m not in the mood to go on any extravagant date. I’m just not presentable—neither physically nor emotionally.
I tell him I can’t go. Undeterred, he says he already has enough points and mileage to get me free plane tickets.
“I will pick you up from the airport. I’ve never gone on a date with a girl and you know I’ve been saving everything for the girl of my dreams. Please, Kristen.”
I’m so torn. I’m so happy. I’m so upset. I tell him I’ll think about it.
“No, please. Can you please pack your bags now?”
YOU ARE READING
Millennial's Monologue: Secret Dramas in Our Hearts & Souls
Non-FictionREAL LIFE STORY: I was a stereotypical high achiever in an Ivy League school who got suspended for plagiarism; April was a sweet girl who worked in a high-end prostitution ring. We were both in our early twenties when we became friends. A perfect...
