29 Dates

by Melissa de la Cruz

  Jisu: That sounds amazing. Maybe I should become a bad vegan!

  BumsOO: It’s not something to joke about. Those vegans are better off reintroducing meat into their system—at least then they’d get some proper protein.

  Jisu: Wow, so you’re really into health and diet.

  BumsOO: Ever since I started gymnastics as a kid. They go hand in hand.

  Jisu: I played softball and volleyball all the way through middle school, but those sports feel like child’s play compared to gymnastics.

  BumsOO: I mean, all sports require a certain drive and focus that, let’s be honest, most kids just don’t have or care about.

  Jisu: True! It’s a miracle my parents came to all of my games. I can’t imagine how boring it must be.

  BumsOO: Which positions did you play?

  Jisu: Outfielder in softball, which meant I was never paying any attention to the game. And in volleyball, I was the setter, because what I lack in height, I made up for by getting the ball way up for the strikers. And you? I don’t think I even know the basic terminology for gymnastics.

  BumsOO: I still participate, actually. And I do a bit of everything. There’s the floor, the rings, the vault, which is my favorite, the pommel horse—I’m boring you with all my gymnastics talk, aren’t I?

  Jisu: Hmm? What, no! Please continue.

  BumsOO: Nah, I could see your eyes glaze over. I don’t blame you though. Unless you’re actually competing or tuning in to the Olympics every four years, it’s not that interesting unless you’re actually doing it.

  Jisu: To be honest, sports in general aren’t really my thing.

  BumsOO: Says the girl who’s participated in not one, but two sports!

  Jisu: I know, I know. But it’s not like I was ever any good or super passionate about them. I feel like half the sports or extracurricular activities we all do aren’t even genuine interests. We’re all just forcing ourselves to do everything in the hopes that we can seem a little bit interesting on our college applications.

  BumsOO: Finally! Here comes my food. Thank you, sir. Can you hang back while I try a bite? Hmm. Yeah, no, that’s way too salty. Did the chef get upset because I wanted a new batch? Because it’s just too salty now. It tastes deliberately oversalted.

  Jisu: Bumsoo, I’m sure it’s fine. It can’t be that bad, right?

  BumsOO: Have a bite and tell me yourself. You can’t expect anyone to actually eat this heap of sodium.

  Jisu: It’s really not bad! Also, it’s nice and warm like you asked.

  BumsOO: No, I’d like to send this back please. And can you just bring over a cup of green tea? That should be simple enough.

  Jisu: Bumsoo! I think they really tried their best.

  BumsOO: I’m sorry I brought us here. The service used to be so much better—

  Jisu: Dude, it’s just mac and cheese.

  BumsOO: What?

  Jisu: It’s just noodles and cheese—and they had the fancy fake cheese you wanted. It tasted great, which I know because I literally tried it. I don’t see why you had to make such a big deal.

  BumsOO: Let me guess. You think I’m super picky and obnoxious because I’m vegan.

  Jisu: Not at all. I have friends who are vegan and would love this place. I think you’re just rude.

  BumsOO: Excuse me? I think you’re the one being rude.

  Jisu: No, I’m being honest.

  BumsOO: You know, I’ve been on a bunch of these seons and I’ve never met anyone as disrespectful as you.

  Jisu: Disrespectful! You’re one to talk about disrespect.

  BumsOO: I’m not going to stand for this. I’m leaving.

  Jisu: Go ahead. I’m going to wait for the check and make sure to tip generously.

  BumsOO: I can’t believe this.

  Jisu: What are you still doing here? Bye!

  8

  Jisu was helping Linda set the dining room table for lunch when she heard Jeff Murray come in through the front door.

  “Daaaaad!” Mandy yelled as she ran down the steps and into her father’s arms. Mr. Murray was home from his business trip, and Jisu and the Murrays were going to finally have a proper family meal.

  “We’ve been cooking all morning just for you, Dad,” Mandy said. Linda and Jisu exchanged a look. Of course, the two of them had been the ones to toil away in the kitchen while Mandy was upstairs, FaceTiming with her friends.

  Mr. Murray made his way into the kitchen and embraced his wife. He was at least a foot taller than her, but they were both the same shade of blond. And while Linda’s eyes were a simple brown, his shared the same green color as Mandy’s. He looked like he could sunburn easily. “Whatever you’re making, it smells amazing.” He turned to Jisu. “And you must be our new guest. It’s so nice to meet you, Jisu. I’m sorry to have missed your first couple weeks here, but welcome.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Murray!” Jisu said. “It’s nice to finally meet you, too.”

  “Please, call me Jeff.” He waved off the formality just as Linda had done when Jisu first landed in San Francisco.

  Jisu went in for a handshake, but he went for a full-on bear hug. On the surface, the Murrays looked like an almost too-perfect, pristine Stepford-like family. But they truly were warm, friendly people.

  Seeing all three of them together made Jisu’s heart ache. She yearned for Sunday mornings in Seoul. She wanted to be back in her parents’ dining room. Jisu closed her eyes and could see her dad sitting across from her, taking sips from his coffee while reading the morning paper, giving her a breakdown of current events. She could see her mom piling steamed vegetables and sweet black beans onto her dish to make sure her daughter got her nutrients. Jisu would give anything to eat her mother’s banchan again. The steamed tofu, mini anchovies, scallion pancakes, cucumber kimchi—she missed all of it.

  Jisu opened her eyes. The Murrays were sitting where she had imagined her own parents. Just two and a half months until you’re back in Seoul. The countdown clock in Jisu’s brain could not move any slower.

  “So, tell me, Jisu. How do you like Wick-Helmering so far?” Jeff asked as he passed the plate of grilled vegetables to his wife. The weather in the Bay Area had been unseasonably warmer than usual, and Linda had said it was an excuse to use the grill one more time.

  “I actually really like it,” Jisu said. And it was true. Transitioning to a whole new country was not without its difficulties, but Wick—as great of a reputation as it had for academic excellence—was much more relaxed than Daewon. Jisu was easing into her classes without much struggle and she had time to actually attend her photography club meetings and make new friends like Jamie and Tiffany. Even Kaylee was warming up to her again. “I just really miss home, is all.”

  “Trust me, I know a thing or two about homesickness,” Jeff said. “These two here will tell you how often I’m on the road.”

  “What do you do when you miss home?” Jisu asked.

  “Well, for one, I’ll FaceTime with Linda, and also Mandy, if she’s not too busy hanging out with her friends.”

  “Dad, that was just one time.” Mandy rolled her eyes.

  “Otherwise, I keep myself as busy as I can,” Jeff said. “Have you joined any clubs or any teams?”

  “Jisu is an excellent photographer,” Linda said. Jisu had probably shown her no more than four or five of her stills, but Linda spoke as if she had studied Jisu’s whole portfolio and carefully curated a selection of the best pictures. It was the kind of confidence that only a proud, supportive parent could learn to exude.

  “I’m an amateur, but yes. I went to the first club meeting the other day and I think I’m going to participate in some of the contests this year.”

  Jisu never had time to actually join the photography club at Daewon. She probably was better off spending whatever free time she had to start looking into and prepari
ng for college admissions, but she was no longer in Seoul and no longer a Daewon student. She was miles and miles away and she was going to do what she wanted.

  “That’s great! You should join more clubs—it’ll get your mind off home,” Jeff said. “And when you do catch up with your parents and your friends, you’ll have so much to fill them in on.”

  “Jisu, honey, you’ve barely touched your plate. Are you feeling all right?” Linda asked. Jisu looked down. They had spent the morning cooking together and Jisu had been excited to eat, but thoughts of home had eliminated her appetite. Still...she didn’t want to be rude.

  “No, this is great!” she said as she lifted a forkful of food to her mouth. “So, did you go anywhere exciting for this trip?”

  “I went to the glamorous Midwest—outside Chicago, not even in the actual city. So no, nothing exciting.” Jeff laughed.

  “There was that one time we all got to go to Hawaii,” Mandy said. “We made a family trip out of it. Have you been, Jisu?”

  “I actually haven’t. My parents like to travel around Asia mostly, and sometimes Europe. I have been to New York once though, and I loved it.” Jisu wished her parents could be here to explore San Francisco with her as they had all the other cities they’d traveled to.

  “Have you guys ever been to Seoul?” she asked.

  “We haven’t! But now we have no excuse not to,” Linda said. “I’ve actually never been to Asia. The long flights are just so daunting.”

  “We should visit Jisu in the summer!” Mandy suggested.

  “You should. Seoul is the best,” Jisu said. “And I could be your tour guide!”

  In her mind, Jisu conjured up lists of places to eat and shop. She mentally visited all the hangout spots that she’d frequented with Euni and Min. Had they discovered any new ones since she’d been gone?

  She started to feel physically ill and excused herself from the table at the earliest moment she could without being rude. After trudging upstairs, she plopped herself onto her bed and tried to call her parents. Voice mail. The sun probably hadn’t even risen over Seoul yet, so a part of her was quietly relieved that they hadn’t answered all grumpy in a half-awake stupor.

  Earlier in the week, Jisu had learned the hard way that spending countless hours scrolling through her friends’ Instagram pages made the homesickness worse. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, but distance plus social media makes the heart crumble from intense, unbearable waves of FOMO and homesickness.

  She’d promised herself not to check social media so often, but in a moment of weakness, Jisu peeked at Euni’s and Min’s photos. Seeing their selfies, aerial shots of their smoothies and concert photos made her briefly feel that she was there with them. But the ache returned immediately. Jisu wanted so badly to be there next to her friends. She wanted them here, too, in her room. She wanted to tell them about everything: the Murrays, all the crazy different non-uniformed outfits people wore at school, the amazing burritos and pho she’d been eating nonstop since arriving in the Bay Area, her new giant blonde goddess friends Jamie and Tiffany, her annoying classmates, the faux Korean Dave, even about Austin...

  Jisu’s phone buzzed. She grabbed it to check her notifications. Maybe Euni was up early and down to video chat?

  REMINDER: Text Dave Kang about IS project.

  Ughhh. Jisu yelled into her pillow. Stupid Dave had promised to text Jisu his schedule, but he still hadn’t reached out. He was probably busy scaling a mountain somewhere, so that he could use the experience as a long-winded metaphor in his college application essays. They still had a lot of time, but Jisu needed to get her work done, too.

  JISU: Hello? When are we meeting up for the IS project? Time is ticking.

  DAVE: Yes, Master Kim! Whenever you want.

  JISU: This isn’t a joke. We really need to start. And I can meet whenever! You’re the one with the impossible schedule!

  DAVE: I know, I know. Sorry I’m being flaky. How about Weds after school? Practice got canceled.

  JISU: Works. See you at the library.

  Finally. Figuring out a time to meet Dave was like pulling teeth. Just how difficult was it going to be to put together an entire project with this guy?

  JULY 27, SUMMER BREAK

  DATE NO. 8

  NAME: Lee Dongjoo

  * * *

  INTERESTS:

  Son Heungmin, Steve Jobs, LeBron James

  * * *

  ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

  Perfect SAT Score, Youngest Intern at Microsoft,

  2nd Place in National Robotics Competition

  * * *

  Jisu: So, you grew up splitting your time between Seoul and New York? What was that like?

  DongJOO: The jet lag is just awful. There’s no easy way around it. I still haven’t figured it out! And I had two BlackBerrys—remember those?

  Jisu: I never really had a need for one, but yeah, I remember my dad used one before switching over to the Android.

  DongJOO: I have my last two BlackBerrys mounted and framed in my study.

  Jisu: No way, that’s so silly!

  DongJOO: I know, but I was really attached to them! I’ve good memories. When I got the email notifying me that I got the internship at Microsoft, I read it on my New York BlackBerry. And then when I found out that I made runner-up for the National Robotics Competition, I found it through my Seoul BlackBerry.

  Jisu: Sentimental value. I get it. It’s kind of like this old, broken watch that I—

  DongJOO: Hang on, sorry. I just got an email I’ve been waiting on all day. Do you mind if I—

  Jisu: No, not at all. You do your thing. I have to use the restroom anyway, so I’ll be right back.

  Ten minutes later

  Jisu: Everything go okay? Put out some fires?

  DongJOO: What? Oh, the email. Yeah, everything’s handled. My buddy and I have a few meetings set up with some VCs who are interested in our start-up idea and we’re just dealing with some scheduling snafus.

  Jisu: It happens. All good! So, what’s the start-up idea? Must be good if you’ve already got people lined up to hear your pitch.

  DongJOO: Shoot, sorry. I just need to reply to this text real quick.

  Jisu: Sure. Go ahead.

  DongJOO: Sorry, I know I’m being so rude. It’s never like this.

  DongJOO: Um, where were we?

  Jisu: We were barely thirty minutes into the date when you checked your phone for the second time. That’s where we’re at.

  DongJOO: You’re mad. And you have every right to be. It’s just that—

  Jisu: Your phone’s ringing. Are you going to at least mute it? People are starting to stare...

  DongJOO: It’s kind of an emergency, so I’m—

  Jisu: Go. Take the call. I’m leaving.

  DongJOO: No! Don’t leave.

  Jisu: Look, we tried, right? We can at least report that back to Ms. Moon. I’m not even mad, really. Let’s just not waste each other’s time. Because then I will get mad.

  DongJOO: Okay, but if we leave right now, both our parents will know that this was super short and if your parents are anything like mine, they’ll nag you about how they’re trying sooo hard and you’re only putting in the minimum effort.

  Jisu: You’re not wrong. So what are you proposing?

  DongJOO: Clearly you already hate me—which you have every right to—and this isn’t going anywhere. I’m sure you have your matters of business to attend to. Why don’t we just stay here and do our thing for another half hour or so and then we can part ways?

  Jisu: Fine.

  DongJOO: Great! And I’m so sorry, Jisu. It’s just that my work is everything to me right now. But my parents... You get it. Right?

  Jisu: Oh, I get it. But I’m still going to sit here and text all my friends about what a jerk you are.

  DongJOO: As y
ou should! I’m a total jerk.

  Jisu: At least you’re straightforward. I’m setting an alarm for thirty minutes from now. When it rings, we can be free from each other.

  DongJOO: Deal. And again, sorry.

  9

  “Today’s assignment is on the board. Everyone pair up with the person on your left and get to work,” Mrs. French said as everyone entered the classroom and took their seats. “I need to take a very important phone call, so I’ll be in the hallway if you need me.”

  Jisu looked to her left. Her class partner for today was none other than Bobby the Troll. Ugh. Pairing up with chatty Kaylee, everything’s-peachy Dave or any one of his bros would’ve been less torturous. Anyone but Bobby! He was wearing that stupid red hoodie he always wore. It was like a bright warning sign—you would spot him walking down the hallway and either avoid him or brace for whatever ignorant comment he was going to make as he walked past you.

  Just be cool. Jisu remembered the fight that nearly broke out last time she and Bobby had spoken. Don’t give him the attention he wants. Just get the work done. Jisu opened her notebook to a new page and turned to Bobby.

  “Jisu Kim.” He was already smirking at her, eager to start off on the wrong foot. “Guess I don’t have to worry about getting a perfect score now. Or doing any of the work.”

  Was he trying to compliment her intellect? But he was talking like he was trying to annoy her. And what a weird way to announce that you would be slacking.

  Bobby looked around the class for a reaction from someone, anyone. But no one was paying attention.

  “Let’s just get the assignment done, okay?” Jisu felt irritable. Everything Bobby said to her made her feel uneasy. He was always pointing out things she already knew about herself, but singling them out like it was a bad thing. Jisu was a hardworking, smart student. He didn’t have to make her feel weird about it. Jisu opened her textbook to chapter nine. They were assigned to read it together and answer the given questions.