Audrey
Audrey,
Long time, no talk. How are you?
I miss you. It's been lonely here without you. Not much has changed since you left. Everyone is still the same.
How is it in Korea? Are the people nice? Have you met anyone yet?
I'm sorry I was such a bad friend when you were still in Australia. I should have been there for you. You were my friend first. Adam has been a real jerk lately. He's become quite the... play boy. I've lost all respect for him. You were right about him.
I hope we can still talk and be friends.
From,
Jessica
I stared at the email that morning, my heart pounding in my chest. It had been so long since I had heard any news about Adam, let alone Jessica. I enjoyed my months without social media. I enjoyed not knowing what he was up to.
Putting my phone down, I climbed out of bed and got ready for my class.
The day passed quickly. I couldn't focus during the lesson. I couldn't stop thinking about Jessica contacting me. Why was she regretting it now? Why could she not have been there for me when I asked her in the first place? She was my best friend for so long and we lost contact all over Adam. All over her wanting to stay his friend.
When I got home that afternoon, I opened my email and typed a response.
Hi Jessica,
It has been a long time. I must say, I never thought I'd hear from you again. You're a bit late in trying to reach out, but I appreciate it. Maybe we can rekindle our friendship, but we can never hang out like we used to. Those times are gone.
As for Korea, I love it here. I've made some really great friends and I am currently seeing someone. He's five years older than me and I don't get along with his parents at all. But he gets me. He's completely different to Adam. Even putting them in the same sentence is wrong. He's the reason I went to Korea. He's the more in my life I was searching for: proof that there is still hope. Proof that there are genuinely good people still in this world.
Sorry if that sounds rude to you, but you weren't a great friend. I'm willing to give this another chance though.
How's life in Australia? How's university?
Please don't ever inform me about Adam again. I've moved on from that. Our lives are separate now and I don't want to ever know about his existence again.
From,
Audrey
*
The days began to fly by quickly. Faster than I knew, I was sitting my end-of-semester exams.
For once in my life, things were going smoothly. I felt happy. I'd wake up and enjoy my talks with Hye Ri. Every Wednesday night I met with Do Yun for English tutoring. Every other day I saw Joon Soo. Albeit, he was getting busier these days, training his replacement. He had handed in his resignation and agreed to stay until the end of this issue, which ended in one more week. Then he was finished. On the other hand, his friend's place was close to the uni, so he had more time. He often dropped around to join us for dinner.
The peace in it all was comforting. My life had been an endless pile of stress after stress. Yet, for some reason, the comfort made me nervous. I was so used to drama, that simplicity seemed odd. Just a tired expression from Joon Soo had me wondering if perhaps he was rethinking our relationship. Then not long after, he'd complain about being up late, editing articles, and my worries would brush away. Despite knowing I was worrying for no reason, I was still nervous.
*
"How does it feel to be finished your first semester?" Do Yun asked as I sat down across from him at our usual Wednesday meeting spot.
"Absolutely brilliant. One semester left and I'm finished university forever," I said in relief.
"Then what? Are you moving back to Hoju?" he asked.
"Probably. My visa is only a study visa."
He was quiet for a moment, as if deciding whether or not he wanted to ask me his next question, but he asked anyway. "What about Park Joon Soo? What will happen to you both if you move back?"
I looked at my lap, my gut churning slightly. "I don't know."
"Have you not talked about it?"
I shook my head. "I don't want to think about it, to be honest."
"Why?"
"Because I can't reason a good way for this to end. I've studied English literature, so there's no career path for me here. He doesn't speak any English. I don't see how it would work..."
We were both silent for a while. The noise of talking and clinking glasses and plates around us seemed to grow more loudly. "Well, if he lets you slip out of his fingers, I will follow you to Hoju and marry you instead."
Rolling my eyes, I gently hit him on the arm. "You're funny."
He grinned cockishly. "I know."
Reaching across the table, I opened his book up.
"But I wasn't joking," is what his next words sounded like, but they were barely audible, spoken under his breath.
I looked up at him, my eyebrows furrowed. "What did you say?"
He grinned again at me. "Nothing at all."
*
"Thanks for dropping me home," I said as I demounted the motor bike, handing him back the helmet.
"It's no problem. Anything for you, Audrey."
I grinned at him and turned to leave.
"Audrey?"
I spun around.
"Thank you."
"What for?"
"A number of things."
I walked closer and glared at him. "What for?"
"For tutoring me. For hanging out with me. For staying."
I pushed him gently. "Don't thank me for that. It's what friends are for."
"No, really. Most people at my university look down at me for not being as quick as them to pick up everything. My family didn't even expect me to get into university. I was supposed to get a labour job. I'm the first person from my family to go to university, so..."
"You know I'm not someone to judge others based on wealth or brains. I've had enough of judgement in my past."
"You wouldn't stop being my friend, no matter what?"
"No matter what."
Rather than his normal, cheeky grin, a small, but genuine smile spread across Do Yun's face. His eyes stayed on me for a while, until finally he shook his head and popped the helmet on. "Park Joon Soo is such a lucky man. I hope he knows that."
"Get going, punk."
I watched Do Yun ride around the corner before turning around and heading back inside.
Closing the door behind me, I turned around and saw Hye Ri, asleep on her bed with the book hanging out of her hand.
"If you sleep like that you'll wake up with back pains," I mumbled.
I approached her and corrected her body.
"And you didn't even take off your make! You'll get old quickly, you silly girl."
After removing her makeup and setting her book aside, I opened the fridge to find some food.
For Audrey, was written on a post-it-note, stuck on a container.
I pulled out the container and opened the lid. Japchae. Delicious.
Ding!
Joon Soo: I'm home.
Me: Long day?
Joon Soo: Don't get me started. Three more days and I will finally get paid for my efforts!
Me: Great! You deserve it.
Joon Soo: What are you doing?
I sent him a picture of my dinner. Eating.
Joon Soo: Looks yummy. Did you make it?
Me: No, Hye Ri did. She left some out for me.
Joon Soo: What a great friend. Baek Hu tells me to cook for him.
Me: I know. I have great friends. Really great friends. And you are living off him for free right now...
Joon Soo: Not a great boyfriend? :(
Me: No.
Me: An amazing boyfriend.
Joon Soo: :)
Joon Soo: I have to go to bed now, my amazing girlfriend. I'm about to fall asleep texting this.
Me: Okay. Sleep well!
Joon Soo: Saranghae.
Me: Saranghae.
I finished my dinner, brushed teeth, had a shower, then climbed into bed. I was happy, really happy, for the first time in what felt like an eternity. And I was also so scared.
I really have some great friends, I thought.
_____
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