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Yaebin loves college. It’s so much better than high school, she loves the independence and all of her new friends. She’s learning so much and it’s so fun and she’s just having a great time. She chose a college not super far from her hometown and her doctor said that she’d be fine to drive long distances now, so she gets to go home as often as she likes, which is really nice. It’s like she’s finally becoming who she was always meant to be.
“Got stiffed at the rub-n-tug this morning, so now I gotta track down the son of a bitch who thinks we give out blowjobs for free,” Minkyung’s voice buzzes through her phone. “And it’s not even like he paid less, he didn’t pay at all.”
“You don’t know who he was? I thought most guys that go there are regulars,” Yaebin says. She’s leaning back in her desk chair, holding her phone to her ear. She’s supposed to be studying but fuck studying if she can be talking to her girlfriend. “What are you gonna do when you find him?”
“Beat him up, take his money,” Minkyung says tiredly. “Tell him to never come back. People think that since my dad’s in jail now that they can get away with pulling shit, like my cousins haven’t literally killed people before.”
“I love it when you talk like that, you sound like those gangsters in the movies,” Yaebin says, unable to keep herself from grinning. “Say something scary.”
“Fuck you,” Minkyung says, but there’s no venom in her voice. “Hey, uh, your mom said something about family weekend at your school.”
“You talk to my mom?” Yaebin asks.
“Yeah, all the time,” Minkyung replies, like it should be obvious. “We run errands together.”
Yaebin laughs as she imagines Minkyung getting gas at Costco with her mother. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, man, your mom loves me, she gave me your room,” Minkyung says. “You’re officially her second favorite child.”
“Bullshit,” Yaebin says. “I was never her favorite in the first place, Dongho has always been the golden child.”
“Hey, you’re probably your dad’s favorite,” Minkyung points out. “He buys you literally anything you ask for.”
“He’s trying to buy my love after he made an ass out of himself when I had my epic mental breakdown. He can go fuck himself.”
“Okay, come on, I asked about family weekend.”
“Uh, yeah, there are, like, events and stuff for the students to attend with their families if they want. My parents said they’d try to make it,” Yaebin says. “Why? You wanna come?”
“Hell yeah, I wanna come.”
“Okay, well, you can come with my parents. They’re going to stay at a hotel nearby but you can stay with me in my dorm.”
“Sounds sexy,” Minkyung says. There’s a loud crashing sound on the other end of the line and Yaebin can hear Minkyung curse. “Fuck, babe, I gotta go, I’ll call you later.”
“Promise? You won’t fall asleep early again?” Yaebin says.
“Fuck off, I’d just finished a two day job with Joshua, I was fucking tired,” Minkyung explains. “Look, my brother just fell through the ceiling, I’ll call you after dinner, around nine, that good for you?”
“Perfect,” Yaebin says, mollified. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Cheesy ass. Talk to you later.”
Minkyung hangs up and Yaebin puts her phone down on her desk, stretching her arms above her head. Her laptop is still open in front of her but she doesn’t want to study anymore.
“Who was that?” her roommate asks cheekily.
Yaebin looks over at Jieqiong, who is sitting on her bed with her own laptop. “Just a friend from back home.”
“Come on, you don’t smile like that for just a friend,” Jieqiong says. “Was that your boyfriend?”
“I told you, I don’t have a boyfriend,” Yaebin says. They’ve been living together for five months but she still hasn’t come out to Jieqiong. It’s not that she’s scared or ashamed, she just never feels like it’s the right time, and at this point, she doesn’t want anything to change.
“Then how come you never agree to go out with the guys I set you up with?” Jieqiong asks. “You deserve to be happy.”
“I am happy, I don’t need a boyfriend for that,” Yaebin says.
Jieqiong rolls her eyes. “That is exactly what someone who has a secret boyfriend would say.”
“Jieqiong. I don’t have a boyfriend,” Yaebin says.
“Well, it sounds like someone coming this weekend, so I guess I’ll find out soon anyways,” Jieqiong sings with a smile on her face like she has any idea.
“Yeah, okay.” Yaebin closes her laptop and climbs onto her bed. “You got anyone coming?”
Jieqiong sighs, letting Yaebin change the subject easily. “Are you kidding? My parents wouldn’t come here if I died.”
“Your siblings would,” Yaebin says.
“Yeah, if they manage to escape long enough to get here,” Jieqiong scoffs. “God, I mean, I thought moving to America was the dream, I don’t get why they’re so upset about it.”
“You’re not exactly at UCLA or Yale,” Yaebin says. “Cal State Fresno isn’t something parents love to brag about.”
“Your parents are so proud of you though.”
“Uh, yeah, they thought I’d be dead in a ditch by now, so anything other than that makes them beyond happy.”
Jieqiong laughs sarcastically and gets up, putting her laptop on her desk. “Alright, well, I have to go to class, so I’ll be back before ten. Remember to take your pills before you go to sleep.”
“Okay, have fun, love you, bye,” Yaebin says, waving.
“Bye bye.” Jieqiong grabs her backpack and blows Yaebin a kiss before leaving and locking the door behind her.
Yaebin rolls over on her bed and looks at her phone to check the time. It’s 7:42PM, so she’s got more than an hour before Minkyung calls back. She can wait.
“My mom wants to know what your guys’ favorite fruits are, she’s bringing parfaits on Saturday,” Kevin says when he joins Yaebin and their friends at the campus Starbucks for breakfast.
“Dude, I fucking love your mom,” Soyeon says through a mouthful of muffin. “I like bananas.”
“You are disgusting,” Jungwoo mutters as he wipes her crumbs into a napkin.
“My favorite fruit is cherries,” Jieqiong says without looking up from her notebook. “What’s eleven cubed?”
“Thirteen thirty-one,” Yaebin tells her. “Strawberries.”
“Jungwoo?” Kevin asks.
“Peach, I guess,” Jungwoo says.
“Hey, Yaebin’s boyfriend is coming, she should make one for him too,” Jieqiong says absentmindedly.
The other three turn to Yaebin with wide eyes.
“When did you get a boyfriend?” Soyeon asks. “Why didn’t I know about this? He doesn’t go here? Who is he?”
“Oh my god,” Yaebin groans. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I mean, it would make sense. All of us have hooked up with people since school started except for you,” Kevin points out.
“Jungwoo hasn’t,” Yaebin argues.
“Jungwoo is in a committed relationship with God,” Soyeon says, pointing up.
“Okay, shut up,” Jungwoo snaps, pushing Soyeon’s shoulder. “I haven’t hooked up but I’ve gone on dates.”
“Come on, I don’t get why you can’t tell us,” Jieqiong says. She slips her notebook into her backpack and zips it up. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Is he super old or something?” Soyeon asks. “Do your parents not approve of him so you have to keep him a secret? Has he been to jail?”
“I heard you call someone ‘babe’ on the phone once,” Kevin adds. “It definitely wasn’t your mom.”
“Is he married?” Soyeon asks. “Oh my god, are you a mistress?”
Yaebin takes a sip of her coffee. “I’m not dignifying that with an answer, Soyeon.”
“That means he’s married,” Soyeon whispers to Jungwoo, who rolls his eyes.
“He’s coming this weekend, you might as well tell us,” Jieqiong says.
“Okay, fine. I’m in a relationship,” Yaebin says and Jieqiong cheers. “Are you happy now?”
“No, bitch, why didn’t you tell us? We’ve been hanging out for months,” Kevin says sadly. “We’re your friends. We’re supposed to tell each other these things.”
“I didn’t think it was something you guys needed to know,” Yaebin replies, shrugging. “It’s not a big deal.”
“How long have you been together? Did you go to the same high school? What’s his name? Is he in college?” Soyeon asks, leaning forward on the table. “What’s his Instagram? Is he Korean?”
“Can you not talk with food in your mouth? Is that something you’re legally allowed to do?” Jungwoo says.
“Shut up.” Soyeon wipes her mouth with a napkin and pushes Jungwoo away. “Is he cute? Like, objectively, not as his girlfriend, is he good looking? How tall is he?”
“We met junior year of high school and we’ve been dating since then,” Yaebin says shortly. “That’s all I’m telling you.”
Jieqiong sighs. “You are such a party pooper.”
“Bite me,” Yaebin shoots back.
“I don’t think your boyfriend would approve of that,” Jieqiong says.
“What’s his favorite fruit?” Kevin asks. “My mom will make a parfait for him.”
Yaebin sighs and leans back in her seat. “Apples.”
“Sexy,” Soyeon remarks. “Wait, holy shit, you’ve been together for two years?”
“That’s a long ass time for eighteen year olds,” Jungwoo says.
“Yeah, we’re a paragon of young love,” Yaebin drawls.
Soyeon narrows her eyes. “I don’t know what that means.”
“That’s why you’re at Fresno,” Yaebin says, putting a hand on Soyeon’s shoulder.
When Yaebin wakes up the next morning, she dreads getting up until she remembers that it’s Saturday, and she jumps out of bed. Jieqiong is already up and getting dressed, grinning at Yaebin from her side of the room.
“Big day, sleepyhead,” she says. “Your boyfriend’s coming.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Yaebin grabs her bag of toiletries. “I’ll be back.”
She walks down the hall to the bathroom and checks her phone for notifications. She has a couple texts from Eunwoo, who is three hours ahead at her college in New York, a good morning text from her sister, and a text from her mom saying that they’re on their way up that was sent about an hour ago.
She calls Minkyung when she gets to the bathroom and balances her phone on her shoulder.
Minkyung picks up on the fourth ring. “Hey there.”
“Hiya. Are you with my parents?”
“Yeah, your mom is driving and your dad is sleeping. Your mom says hi.”
“Hi, Mom. So, my friends think that my boyfriend is coming up to visit today.”
There’s a pause and then she hears a surprised laugh from Minkyung. “They don’t know that you’re gay?” she asks. It’s not angry or demanding, it’s just a question. Minkyung knows as well as anyone else how hard it can be to come out and she’s never put any pressure on Yaebin to tell people.
“I never said I wasn’t,” Yaebin says. “They found out I’m in a relationship and they just assumed.”
“Does that mean I can’t kiss you when we get there?”
“Whoa, hey, I never said that.”
“I mean, if your friends don’t know, we better not.”
“If you hold back any kisses from me, I am literally going to kill you.”
Minkyung laughs again. “Yeah, I’d like to see you fucking try. Sorry, Mrs. Kang.”
“When do you think you’re going to get here?” Yaebin finishes getting ready and heads back to her room. “I need to figure out what I’m going to do with you guys.”
“It’ll probably be a few more hours,” Minkyung guesses. “We’ll be there before lunch.”
“Oh, awesome. There’s a lunch picnic we can go to.”
“That sounds terrific,” Minkyung says and Yaebin can’t tell if she’s joking or not.
Yaebin gets back to her room. “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah. Your mom loves you.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Yaebin hangs up and tosses her phone onto her bed so she can get dressed.
“Kevin said his mom and sister are going to be here in like ten minutes and Soyeon’s parents are coming for lunch,” Jieqiong tells her. “Jungwoo’s family didn’t want to buy plane tickets just to stay for one night.”
“Valid as hell,” Yaebin says. “I respect that.”
“Take your meds.” Jieqiong tosses her a pill bottle. “You need water?”
“Nah, I still have some.”
The two girls get ready for the day in companionable silence. Jieqiong checks something on her phone while Yaebin does her makeup and then they leave for breakfast together. Jungwoo and Soyeon are already at Starbucks when they get there and Soyeon waves them over.
“Jungwoo and I are gonna take my parents kayaking,” Soyeon says.
Jieqiong raises her eyebrows. “Jungwoo? Kayaking?”
“Her mom is a snake and I can’t get out of it,” Jungwoo says, shrugging. “How bad can it be?”
“You are going to have a terrible time,” Yaebin tells him. She reaches over to rip off a piece of Soyeon’s croissant for herself.
“I’ve kayaked before,” Jungwoo says defensively. “It’s not that hard.”
“You’ve never kayaked with Soyeon,” Jieqiong points out. “The bitch is crazy. We went one weekend and we almost died.”
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t the one who tipped the whole ass boat over because I saw a fish,” Soyeon snaps.
The door to the cafe opens loudly and they all turn to see Kevin coming in with his mom.
“We brought yogurt!”
Yaebin is sitting next to Jieqiong as she often always is, listening to Soyeon joke around with her parents. Kevin is talking to his sister and Jungwoo and Jieqiong are talking to Kevin’s parents. Yaebin keeps checking her phone for updates until it dings with a text from her mom and she jumps up.
“My mom says she’s here,” she says, scanning the grassy area filled with students and their families.
She spots her parents coming towards them and squeals before running over to greet them. Her mother gives her a tight hug that lasts a long time and she gets an awkward sort of side hug from her dad. Then, her parents step out of the way and Minkyung is standing there with a huge smile on her face. Something warm bubbles in her chest and she can’t help but throw herself at her girlfriend, who catches her with a laugh.
“Jesus, it’s only been three weeks,” Minkyung says. “What are you going to do once I inevitably go to jail?”
“Visit you every week, obviously,” Yaebin replies. “Come on, come meet my friends.”
“Did you tell them?” Minkyung asks quietly.
Yaebin shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t -”
“It’s okay,” Minkyung says. “It’s none of my business.”
“It kind of is.”
“Not, like, entirely, though.”
They get back to the picnic table where her friends and their families are, and her friends are watching her with wide, curious eyes.
“These are my parents, and this is my friend Minkyung,” Yaebin introduces. “That’s Soyeon and her parents, Kevin and his mom and sister, Jungwoo, and Jieqiong.”
The parents all move to sit and talk together, which leaves Yaebin to pull Minkyung to sit next to her.
“Hi, you’re really pretty,” Kevin gushes.
“Thank you,” Minkyung says, smiling. “So are you.”
Kevin blushes. “Oh my god, stop.”
“What is this, are you flirting?” Jungwoo asks incredulously. “Is that what’s happening in front of me right now?”
“Okay, hey, shut the fuck up, this is amazing,” Soyeon says, pushing Jungwoo. “And Kevin’s right, she’s super pretty.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Jieqiong says, butting in before any more tomfoolery can take place. “Yaebin’s told me a little bit about you, it’s nice to put a face to the name.”
“You too,” Minkyung replies. “You’re Jieqiong, right? Yaebin tells me all about you.”
“So, do you go to college?” Jieqiong asks.
Minkyung gives Yaebin a brief glance before shaking her head. “No, I’m just working for now.”
“She might try community college,” Yaebin says, nudging Minkyung with her elbow.
“That’s still a discussion we’re having,” Minkyung says.
“What do you do?” Jungwoo asks, not unkindly.
“I, um. I help out my family’s business,” Minkyung answers carefully.
“Oh, that’s cool, what kind of business?” Kevin chimes in.
They seem genuinely interested and Yaebin can tell that Minkyung is running out of ways to twist the truth.
“We own a laundromat,” Minkyung says.
Kevin raises his eyebrows. “Wow, how much money does that make for you guys?”
Minkyung thinks about it for a second because, while the laundromat functions as a laundromat, it also gets other kinds of income. “Uh, you know. Enough.”
“Okay, haha, anyways, how was the drive up?” Yaebin says, quickly changing the subject.
“Long. Your dad snores,” Minkyung replies. She gives Yaebin a silent look of gratitude. “And your mom likes singing trot while she drives.”
“My mom too,” Soyeon says.
They talk for a while and it’s nice. The two separate parts of Yaebin’s life have finally come together. Minkyung and Jungwoo get along really well, Yaebin thinks it must have something to do with both of them being blindingly beautiful and having a similar sense of humor. Her parents approve of her friends, which isn’t necessary but it’s nice. She thinks that after they saw Minkyung crawling in through her window covered in dirt from some job she refuses to talk about, they’ll love any friends of hers.
“I’m going to go get something to drink,” Minkyung tells her quietly.
“Oh, okay, do you want me to come with you?” Yaebin asks.
Minkyung shakes her head. “No, I’ll be fine.”
She pats Yaebin’s hand and Yaebin itches to pull her in for a kiss before she leaves, but doesn’t get to. Her friends close in as soon as Minkyung is out of earshot.
“What the hell, Yaebin, I thought your boyfriend was coming, where is he?” Jieqiong asks.
“I never said my boyfriend was coming,” Yaebin states. “I never even said I had a boyfriend.”
“What are you talking about?” Kevin says. “You said you were in a relationship! My mom made a whole apple parfait!”
“I said I was in a relationship, I didn’t say anything about a boyfriend,” Yaebin tells them. “You just put words in my mouth.”
She watches as the realization slowly falls over Jungwoo, Kevin, and Jieqiong.
“I’m confused, what does that mean?” Soyeon asks cluelessly.
Minkyung returns then, with a can of ginger ale, and she immediately picks up on the mood.
“What’s going on?” she asks Yaebin.
Yaebin reaches across the table to grab the apple parfait and hands it to Minkyung. “Kevin’s mom made an apple parfait for you.”
“Oh.” Minkyung’s face brightens as she accepts it. “Thank you Mrs. Kevin’s mom, I love apples.”
“No fucking way,” Jieqiong mutters, her eyes widening. “What the fuck?”
Minkyung looks at Yaebin with searching eyes. “What happened?”
“Nothing, my friends are just dumbasses,” Yaebin replies, smiling sweetly.
“Wait, I thought the apple parfait was for your boyfriend,” Soyeon says loudly. They all kind of stare at her until she gasps. “Oh my god! Minkyung is your boyfriend?”
“Definitely not, but you’ve got the right idea,” Minkyung says, giving Soyeon a thumbs up.
“You’re gay?” Kevin asks, his voice high pitched and strained. “Like, for real?”
“Well, yeah, there’s literally no reason for me to be making this up,” Yaebin says, shrugging.
“You did make an entire Wikipedia article on a fake country to prank Soyeon once,” Jungwoo points out.
“Yeah, okay, I made my friend pretend to be my girlfriend so you guys would think I’m gay as a joke,” Yaebin says dryly. “Do you really think I’d do that?”
“Nah, you’re not smart enough to think up how to pull this off,” Minkyung says. “And, uh, no one would stay with your weirdo ass for two years unless they really, really liked you.”
“Shut up, you’re not easy to be with either,” Yaebin shoots back. “I got kidnapped and tortured by your dad and I’m still here.”
“Wait, wait, wait, oh my god, slow down,” Jieqiong stops them. “What do you mean you got kidnapped and tortured?”
“No big deal, she just has a crazy dad,” Yaebin says.
Minkyung nods and shoots Jieqiong finger guns. “Psychopath.”
“But anyways, that was ages ago, he’s in jail now, and she’s still a stubborn bitch,” Yaebin says. “Remember when you didn’t talk to me for, like, three days because I spilled your foundation?”
“Um, yes, my forty-six dollar foundation that I actually spent money on? You, of all people, should know how much makeup is worth.”
“It was an accident and I said sorry!”
“Forty-six dollars, Yaebin! I hadn’t paid for anything before that since the fucking PSAT.”
“Okay, first of all, I offered to buy you more and you got all mad about me thinking you’re a charity or whatever, so that’s on you, and second, it is not my fault that you have no idea how to manage your finances!”
“I run a business inside of a business, Yaebin, I can manage my finances just fine.”
“Neither of your businesses are legitimate.”
“I can’t tell if this is just, like, playful bickering or if we’re watching their relationship fall apart in real time,” Kevin says.
“Oh, this relationship is never going to fall apart, she’s not allowed to leave me,” Yaebin states. “I got zip tied to a chair and pistol whipped for her, she owes me her damn life.”
Soyeon raises her hand while she takes a sip of her coffee. “What is pistol whipped?”
“She got hit in the head by a gun,” Minkyung explains. “Also, you gotta stop bringing that up because it makes me look bad.”
“You operate a rub-n-tug, ma’am, everything about your life right now makes you look bad except for me,” Yaebin replies.
Minkyung looks down at her. “You’re strangely confident for someone who is only five four.”
“Okay, I admit it, they’re kinda cute,” Jungwoo says, resting his chin on his fist.
“They’re adorable,” Jieqiong corrects him. “Can you believe that out of all of us, Yaebin is the one in a committed relationship?”
“Yes, actually, Jungwoo is a fake bitch, I have abandonment issues, you’re a massive slut, and Soyeon is just chaotic, so it makes sense,” Kevin says.
Jieqiong hits him. “I am not a slut!”
“Wait, what is a rub-n-tug?” Soyeon asks.