I go on to explain this in more detail, describing only what I’ve seen on television. Bomi and Sangki are fascinated by this, while Jules is more interested in ordering food.
“We should go,” Sangki declares. “Is there one in LA? There’s a Rodeo Drive, right?”
I laugh a little at the thought of a rodeo taking place in the middle of Beverly Hills. “They’re pronounced differently. Ro-day-oh Drive is the fancy shopping district in Beverly Hills, and row-dee-oh is the show with the horses and cowboys. You have to go to Texas to see a real rodeo.”
“Let’s go to Texas. When Yujun gets back, we’ll plan something. He’d love a rodeo.”
“He would.” He would buy a huge hat, look gorgeous, and make a dozen friends in the space of an hour.
“I can’t afford to go to Texas,” Bomi says in a small voice.
“Me either. And if I’m flying back to the States, I have to visit my family, which is on the other side of the country. We can go to Jeju or you can stow aboard one of my trips to Singapore,” Jules invites.
Bomi gives her a grateful smile and the two touch their knees together, slightly, almost imperceptibly. I would’ve missed it had I not been watching, but now I feel like I’ve witnessed something I shouldn’t have. It also makes me feel even lonelier because these two have found each other and my love might be going on blind dates with Singaporeans.
Sangki catches my eye and arches an eyebrow toward the other two. I merely shrug. They’ll share when they’re ready.
“What was the emergency, Hara?” Sangki asks.
“Can we pretend that I didn’t have a meltdown earlier and we decided to get together because we missed each other and wanted to have a drink and some nachos?”
“We can, but you aren’t drinking,” he points out.
I grab the tequila bottle on the table and pour four shots. “It’s everything.”
I turn to the side and toss the shot back. The booze slides down smooth and then strikes when it hits the subway fish cake in my stomach—the only thing I’ve had today. I pour myself another shot and then another. Jules covers my glass before I can finish a fourth.
“Define ‘everything.’ ”
I tighten my grip on the neck of the bottle. “It’s work. I don’t think I’ll ever shake being a nepotism hire. It’s the slow progress of my Korean. It’s Wansu’s matchmaking and blind dates. It’s Yujun being gone. It’s not knowing if Yujun is getting the same dating profiles. It’s that this tequila is not making me drunk fast enough.”
“That is a lot.” Jules plucks the liquor from my hand and pours the shot herself.
I drink with gratitude. “The other day, Bujang-nim’s phone was ringing. Everyone was busy but me. I figured that voicemail would kick in, but—”
“But you were supposed to answer it and everyone thought you were arrogant because you refused to help your superior out,” Jules finishes.
“Yes. How did you know?”
“Because in the US, people use their work lines for personal shit all the time, but in Korea, that would be grounds for termination and no one ever does it. If the phone’s ringing, it’s a business call. You gotta pick up.”
I make a face. “That information would’ve been helpful last week.”
“I guess it’s on-the-job training,” Jules quips. “But let’s back the truck up. You’re dating? I thought you and Yujun were.” She interlocks her fingers and makes a jabbing motion.
Sangki starts coughing. Bomi averts her eyes.
This time I cover Jules’s hands. “Please never do this again or we will have to ban you from our get-togethers.”
“This was my idea.”
“I know, and it’s going to be very sad to see you standing in the street as we get drunk in here, but you brought it on yourself.”
“She’s right.” Sangki cracks open another bottle. “You can’t do that again. I’m traumatized.”
“I guess we’re all pretending like we’ve never seen or heard of sex before.” Jules scrunches her lips together in annoyance.
I release her fingers and reach for a piece of dried squid—something I would’ve never eaten back home because it sounds terrible, but it’s actually chewy and salty, which is really a perfect pairing for the sharp bite of the tequila.
“Wansu does not approve of Yujun and me as a couple—”
“No one approves of you two as a couple,” Jules interjects.
“Shhh,” Sangki puts his finger to his lips. “Let Hara tell us the story.” He pins his bright brown eyes on me. “You are the most entertainment we’ve had in ages.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m very entertaining,” Jules boasts.
Bomi nods encouragingly. I don’t know if I should be worried that Bomi is in the fresh crush stage, where she finds every outrageous thing Jules does quaint and funny, or delighted that the two have found each other.
I opt for the latter because at least someone is happy. I refill all of our glasses and then down both mine and Jules’s. Sangki moves the empty glasses to the side.
“I support you and Yujun,” he says.
Jules rolls her eyes. “I will, too.”
We all look to Bomi, who flushes under the attention.
“Kim Bomi?” Sangki prods.
“I support you as well,” she says, and hurriedly picks up her drink so she can hide her unease under the guise of politeness as she turns to the side and covers her face to drink.
In her hesitation, her answer is obvious. Even Jules picks up on it. “How can you, of all people, disapprove of this?”
The subtext is clear. How can Bomi, who is in a relationship that Korean society does not acknowledge as appropriate, be judgmental of another relationship that Korean society does not support?
Bomi rolls the empty glass between her hands. “Family means everything here. Even though the country makes it legal for people of the same clan to marry each other, the changed laws have not affected the hearts of the people. Some won’t talk to you after they find you have the same clan name as theirs. While there are no laws that keep Hara and Yujun apart, traditions will. When it is time to hold jesa during Chuseok and honor the ancestors, Yujun will be invited but Hara will not. At a wedding of his cousin or the baptism of a niece, Hara will again be left out. Maybe that life is okay for some, but Hara came here to Seoul to find her family.” Bomi sets down her glass and turns to me with an urgent look in her eyes. “Choi Wansu did not send Yujun away or prepare dating profiles for you because she does not think you are good enough for Yujun or that he is not good enough for you. She does it because she loves you and does not want to see you in pain.”