Chapter Text
Ha-yeong's first day of graduate school went well. Well, she hoped it did. But the two or so hours were over and she had made a new friend, Elise. The two of them went to the nearest dining hall they found to have lunch. On the way there, they had been debriefing about the class and their professor. It was only the start yet they were already loaded with essays, readings, and research papers that they were expected to complete within month, luckily she wasn't alone.
"Since we both have Wednesdays and Fridays off, we can meet up sometimes on campus to do school work together. It would feel at least less taxing for me that way." Elise continues their conversation once they've settled in their seats in the hall.
"I could work with that," Ha-yeong rearranges the plates on her tray to give herself some time to think about a better suggestion, "but what about meeting up on the days that we have class so that we don't have to waste our days off. I'm sure you're also busy with work or something? Cause I set those days as my work only days."
Elise gives a nod in consideration while cutting a piece off her beef steak. Ensuring the piece was coated in bechamel sauce, she takes a bite and hums. Ha-yeong follows suit and takes a sip of her onion soup while waiting.
"Oh that's fair. Yeah, so after lunch on Mondays and Thursdays?" Elise replies once done with her first bite of the steak. "I love the sauce on this, by the way."
"Yes. Perfect." Ha-yeong says before taking a few pieces of roasted vegetables to try after having some of the soup. "Your steak looks really soft too. I think I need some bread with mine actually. Did you see any when we were ordering?"
Elise shakes her head so Ha-yeong looks back to the dining counter to see if they have any on display. Before she can do a full scan, the sound of a piano -- her ringtone -- fills the space. Embarrassed that her phone wasn't on silent, she quickly answers and gives Elise an apologetic look who responds with a dismissive look of her own.
"Hel-"
"Ha-yeong! Are you having lunch now?" The familiar voice cuts in.
"Oh- Hee-jung? Me? I'm in..." Ha-yeong places a hand over the receiver and leans over to Elise to almost whisper, "which hall are we in right now?"
"Uhm..." Elise says, her mouth covered with one hand. After a few chews, Elise gets back to her with an answer, "Ferris Booth Commons."
Ha-yeong mouths a 'thank you' and leans back to answer, "Ferris Booth Commons" to the caller on the other line.
"Got it. I'm going."
"Wait, I'm not alone though, I'll ask if you can join." Ha-yeong doesn't wait for Hee-jung's response to turn back to Elise who's almost done with her meal. "A friend of mine would like to join us for lunch, is that fine with you?"
Elise raises a thumbs up in response, her mouth full and satisfied with her lunch choice for the day. Ha-yeong returns the gesture and reverts her attention to the call. "Okay, its fine. We're at one of the booths on the left."
"Mhm got it. See you." Hee-jung responds in a sing-song tone.
"Call me again if you can't find us." A hum of acknowledgement is heard on the other end of line before it ends and Ha-yeong sets down her phone to resume eating.
"Sorry, that was a friend that I made during orientation." Ha-yeong quickly explains, taking her spoon to stir her soup.
"Oh, were they not in class today?" Elise asks in between bites of the mashed potatoes provided with her meal.
"Oh no." She confirms before taking another sip of her soup. "So actually, she was in the wrong group for the orientation. She got mixed up with the rooms so instead of being with fellow Art History Master's candidates, she was with us."
"Hahaha. What?" Her friend lightly slaps the table as she chuckles over the story.
"Yeah." Ha-yeong holds back her own laughter to have some more soup and so she can continue the rest of the story. "Its funnier because she didn't realize until later when she saw her friends who were also taking a Master's pass by our group."
"Wait, was she the one with the short hair who just left half-way through?" Elise leans forward and knits her brows, trying to recall her own memories of the orientation.
A pat on Ha-yeong shoulder causes her to flinch. "Hi! Yes, that was me last Friday." The pair look up to see someone standing at their table beside Ha-yeong with a tray.
"I'm Hee-jung or Jasmine, whichever is easier." She introduces herself and sets down her tray to the table. Ha-yeong stands up to give her a hug in greeting. "Nice to see you again."
Breaking off the hug, she introduces Hee-jung properly to Elise, "this is the one who accidentally crashed our orientation, she's taking a Master's in Art History." Ha-yeong then introduces her lunch mate, "this is Elise. We're fellow Master's candidates for the Modern and Contemporary Art program."
The two shake hands and exchange greetings to be acquainted and then they settle in their seats. "Did you come from class?" Elise asks.
"Yep. I called Ha-yeong just in case she was in campus as soon as it ended. Didn't feel like hanging out with my usual crowd today."
"Oh? Why's that?" Elise says tilting her head to the side.
"I like you guys. Its also fun hanging out with people from other Master's programs its great for building the network." Hee-jung says before starting on her garlic and butter salmon.
"Fair point." Elise nods finding the answer acceptable.
With Hee-jung settled at the table, Ha-yeong excuses herself to see if she can get some bread for her soup. At her return, they're comparing their schedules for the day.
"Since you're basically free today, would like me to give you a tour of the campus after lunch? I took my undergrad here too so this place feels almost like home to me already." She smiles setting her chin on her finger tips for extra emphasis.
"Oh, that would actually be good. I don't think one tour of the campus is enough to know my way around here." Elise enthusiastically accepts the offer. They both turn to Ha-yeong expectantly who mulls over the idea for as long as she finishes chewing a piece of soup soaked bread.
"Yeah, I'll take a tour too please." Ha-yeong finally says. Now that their plans after lunch were settled, the trio move on to another topic as they finish their lunch.
The tour was very detailed as Hee-jung showed them all possible dining spots that she knew, art-related activity centers that regularly hosted exhibitions, and Hee-jung's favorite libraries for resources and resting. It was a lot more walking than their orientation but it covered the whole campus so Ha-yeong couldn't exactly complain. Feeling a bit famished, they moved to a nearby cafe shop just at the outskirts of campus to rest their feet and try to get to know one another better.
"So why did you choose to do a Master's?" Hee-jung begins another round of questions as they wait for their drinks.
Ha-yeong lays an elbow on the table to rest her chin on her hand. "My parents wanted me to do an undergraduate degree in the US actually but I didn't feel up to it." Her gaze wanders off to the window at the front of the cafe, "since I didn't think it was relevant to the type of work that I wanted to do."
Before she lets herself get lost in the past, she turns back to her friends with a small smile. "But now that its been a few years working as a gallery curator in Korea, I think doing further study at a global scale would challenge me to broaden my perspective on art."
Her two friends nod respectfully and give her a few more moments of quiet in case Ha-yeong had anything else to add. She leans back and sits in the silence, waiting for someone else to take over.
Sensing that Ha-yeong had finished, Elise jumps in. Absentmindedly playing . "Well, I wanted to take a Master's immediately after getting my undergraduate degree two years ago but then I had a kid," she pauses at this point to check for her friends' reactions and if they had any interjections--there weren't any--before carrying on, "so I had to put that on hold just until my baby was old enough that my husband could take over most of the child-rearing duties."
Elise looks over to Hee-jung who sits across her. "And you, Hee-jung?"
"Order for Hannah?" The barista calls out, effectively cutting off their conversation.
"That's us. I'll get our drinks so you two can chill there." Ha-yeong ushers Elise and Hee-jung back to take their seats as they all stood to retrieve their order. The latter pair give her thankful looks as they take their seats while Ha-yeong quickly goes over to the receiving side of the counter. She runs down their orders on the receipt to compare with the drinks presented to her before mumbling a 'thanks' to the barista and taking the tray to their table.
With the drinks distributed, Elise places a hand on the table towards Hee-jung to get the latter's attention. "So what made you choose to take up a Master's?"
Hee-jung takes a sip of her drink and shrugs. "My answer is sort of similar to Ha-yeong's except I'm doing further study because my parents are medical doctors so, as you might know, its not practical enough" Hee-jung emphasizes her last phrase with air-quotes. She pauses to take another sip of her drink.
"But the heart wants what it wants. So I've been here for a while trying to prove them wrong--in a way." Her gaze moves down to her cup as she stirs the drink with her straw. "I've made it work so far with several apprenticeships and other side jobs. I already disappointed them with my art-related undergrad degree so a master's isn't going to kill them."
Elise and Ha-yeong don't say anything immediately in case Hee-jung had more to share. But Hee-jung continues with her drink so Ha-yeong takes that as a sign to ask her own question. "So then what's you're plan for after?"
The other two look to Ha-yeong, their fingers shifting towards themselves and to each other to clarify who should answer first. Ha-yeong does a similar gesture showing that any of them could start. Elise takes the lead in answer the question, clearing her throat after setting her half-empty drink down. "I'll probably look into curator work more since my family also has plans of opening a gallery. But not here though. I'll be moving further down south with my family where we planned to settle after I got my masters."
Hee-jung looks to Elise to check if she could give her answer already which Elise gives her a nod to proceed, tapping her fingers at the sides of her cup. "Hopefully, I get permanent work in some of the museums and galleries around here but I know someone who's doing that and managing a gallery of their own and also in academia so there's that. It'll all work out somehow." She nods with sincerity as if she's reciting a mantra to herself. "And you, Ha-yeong, what're your plans for post-grad?"
"I'll be going back to Korea probably. I have my family's gallery to manage so I'll just be resuming my work there with, hopefully, more freedom on what themes to use."
Hee-jung gives the two of them a slow nod, looking between the two of them with a knowing look. "Wow. You both come from families that own galleries. Are you-"
The chime of a phone goes off and all three pick up their phones to check their notifications. Following this, Elise gasps. "Oh shit." She double-checks her bag for anything she might've dropped and the metal chair scrapes the floor at the sudden movement of her standing up. "It's going to be 2 o'clock. I'm supposed to meet up with a friend in 30 minutes. I'll have to go first."
"It's already 2 pm?" Hee-jung does a similar check of her things and also stands but slow enough not to cause a loud sound from her chair. "I have to get back to campus before their offices close. I had a mix up with one of the electives I signed-up for. I have to head back as well."
Ha-yeong prepares to leave as well as the trio vacate their table with their almost finished drinks. At the side of the door to the cafe, Ha-yeong holds them up for a bit longer. "This was fun! I'll make a group chat for us so we can do this again some time in the year. What would you prefer to use for the group chat? Cuz I'm on different ones for each of you so I think having just one for the three of us together would be easier."
The two are hesitant to answer Ha-yeong, maybe because they're already in a hurry or because they just weren't sure either so she answers herself. "I think we all have iMessage right?" She holds up her phone and gestures to show the lock screen which the other two follow and confirm that they're on the same operating system.
"Okay great." Ha-yeong quickly unlocks her screen to open her notes app so Elise and Hee-jung can quickly type in it. "You can just give me your apple IDs so I'll save your contacts and set it up."
"Oh yes, that's perfect." Elise says while walking towards the subway. "I'll just send it to you over chat instead 'cause I really have to get going."
"Yeah, that's fine too! See you Thursday, Elise!" Ha-yeong yells towards the retreating figure that waves back to them in response.
"I'll just do the same since its long walk to the office. I'll see you around campus Ha-yeong."
"Of course. You too and good luck with your elective." Hee-jung gives her a small hug before walking to cross the street that leads back to campus.
With nothing else keeping her at the cafe, she calls up her driver so she could be picked up.
As she settles into the car, she receives an unexpected call from her mother. "Mom?" Ha-yeong speaks first, confused. "Isn't it like midnight still there? What are you doing up so early?"
"Oh," her mother feigns a casual laugh. "I just couldn't sleep until I got to call you. Don't worry, your father's still asleep. This kind of thing can't wake him up." Her mother's camera flips to show her unbothered father in his pajamas and sleeping mask.
"Mom. I'm still in the car." Ha-yeong presses on. It's really too early for this on their side and its going to mess up her mother's sleep schedule. "Call me back when I get home, in 20 minutes, and after you've had some rest. I can see the eye bags already forming under your eyes."
Her mother tuts her worries away. "That's basically the stress that I'm under. It'll go away once I've talked to you. I'm sure." But Ha-yeong gives her a disapproving look that her mother completely disregards. "I'll sleep after this, I promise. I just heard from our lawyers that there's even more to the case because your brother was also involved in the fire that happened during your exhibition in partnership with Natural Bebe. This was found out by Ji-hyeok who already provided it to the police before he got into the accident. Your brother's facing multiple allegations and it makes me so worried for him. And your father, he's just so disappointed. He tried to minimize the damage but with the internet nowadays, he can't keep everything hidden from the public."
Ha-yeong didn't know what to say. Instead, she gives nods and hums of approval to signal to her mother that she was, indeed, listening.
"It seems like your father will be issuing a statement about this and have your brother face the consequences of his actions in full. Our only hope now is the chance for a reduced sentence on good behavior later on. His trial will be coming up soon. Ha-yeong, where did it all go wrong?"
The afternoon traffic noise takes over for a while after. She wasn't sure what would be an appropriate response to her mother's question. 'Tae-young deserves it?' 'Serves him right for trying to be too greedy?' The quiet lasts for two blocks, just before the car pulls into the street of her apartment, broken by Ha-yeong. "Honestly, I don't know mom."
Their conversation dulls once more as she exits the car and enters her apartment building. Hoping for a topic change, her mother goes into some updates about the gallery as Ha-yeong enters through her apartment.
"It's great news that the reconstruction period for the gallery has only a week left but the difficult thing will be taking stock of the pieces that we stored for any damages. The assistant manager tells me it could take two months at the earliest since we'll have to bring in an inspector or something."
"Yeah, that's usually how it goes mom. We'll be lucky if its only two months for everything." Ha-yeong says as she slips into her home slippers and leaves her bag and unfinished drink at the living room to go into her bedroom. "Do you remember if Seon-u's prints at the first floor were affected by the fire?"
"Oh, those?" Her mother's voice echoes through her phone's loudspeaker. Ha-yeong changes into her comfortable house clothes as her mother continues. "They're fine. The fire was subdued before it could make it down although they do smell of smoke."
"Your office apparently was where the fire started so whatever you had there, I don't think you'll see them again." Her mother says just as Ha-yeong comes back to her bedroom to pick up her phone.
She walks back to the living room, setting her phone at the island dividing the space from the kitchen to check her fridge and cabinets for any snacks she had left. "That's fine, I guess. I hope there weren't any pieces left behind there since we were preparing for another show after Natural Bebe's."
"I guess we'll see when we double-check the archives which also reminds me... We'll be needing your help to handle the inspection. The team should already be preparing for it so they're just waiting for your input on the next steps. You can handle that right? Even with the time difference." Her mother says hoping to appeal to her daughter to the task.
Ha-yeong puffs out air holding back her laughter at her mother's attempt to add sweetness in her request to convince Ha-yeong. "Yeah. I was going to ask you what could I do for the gallery from here since I don't want to just do school work."
"Don't worry my daughter. I have plans for you." At the mention of this, her mother pauses. Ha-yeong finds pack of instant ramyun she could make and goes back to her phone to check if her mother had disconnected. Just as she approached her phone, her mother continues on. "Did you meet David Kim already? It was your first day so I'm sure you had the time to look around."
Ha-yeong makes a sound of feigned shame at the mistake. "Oh, right sorry. After class today, I was busy meeting with friends from the program so I forgot to check. I'll try again some time this week. But anyways," she adds emphasis to her next words as she chides her mother, "you should be sleeping already."
She glances at the time displayed on her phone and her eyes widen at how long the call has lasted, almost an hour. "It's like 5am there!" She whines hoping to pressure her mother to sleep. "Mom please rest already. You promised you would after you told me about the Ji-hyeok."
"Oh did I?" Her mother feigns ignorance. "Alright, alright. I'll sleep now. Your father will be getting up in a few hours too so I guess I'll sleep now."
"Yes, please. Good night." Ha-yeong says with finality. Her mother responds with a hum before ending the call. She worried about her mother staying up late today but she decided to leave it alone for now. If it happened again, then, that's when she might do something about it because that wasn't a normal thing for her. Shaking her worries off, she goes back to the unopened pack of ramyun and starts preparing her afternoon snack.
Today was good. Didn't even think about that today. This is good. I'm good. I'll just have my snack and then get started on my readings and essays for the rest of the evening.