West Seoul University Series

by Leigh Ban

  Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, Hongsik was practically dragging me away from Old College Hall. I looked at him in confusion. He wanted to sit next to me in Topics in Political Philosophy and I had let him since I didn’t know anybody else in the class, but I wasn’t sure why he was suddenly acting as if we were dating.

  “Hongsik, I didn’t know you signed up for Latin Dance.”

  “Oh, I signed up last minute.”

  Immediately, I regretted having shown him my timetable at Bubble Bomb. While we walked away from Old College Hall, I tried to devise a plan to politely distance myself from Hongsik. I didn’t want him to get mad at me since I was going to be taking three classes with him until the end of the semester. As he rambled on about his oh-so-miserable journey to Old College Hall today, I shrugged his arm off, giving him a fake laugh as I did so.

  While pretending to listen to Hongsik, I overheard the conversation between two girls in front of us.

  “Bona, why do we have to walk so much after we’ve been dancing? Aren’t there proper dance studios somewhere on campus?”

  “Exactly. Why don’t we have our class in one of the rehearsal rooms at the student center? Whatever. The only reason I wanted to take this elective was to dance with some cute guys.”

  “I hear you. I wish I could’ve been paired with that really hot guy.”

  I held back giggles as I realized this had to be why Dana encouraged me to take Latin Dance. The last time we returned from Bubble Bomb, Dana belted out in a sing-song voice that she was going to make sure Joon, the guy with the nose piercing, would become her boyfriend. When I tried to calm her down, she added I should get a boyfriend too so that we could go on a double date.

  The two girls lowered their voices.

  “Yeah, there was a really hot guy. Dayoung, do you mean the guy in the blue shirt? The one the professor kept complimenting?”

  “Was that what he was wearing, Bona? Yup, the tall guy with the broad, broad shoulders.”

  My face felt hot. Though Hongsik continued talking to me, all I could think about was the moment Taehyun smiled at me as he folded up his shirt sleeves.

  Chapter Four

  “Room 901 Kid! Are you listening to the cha-cha-cha again? I know you told me about meeting your future lover in Latin Dance, but—”

  “Taehyun? I didn’t call him my future lover. I don’t even have his number,” I said to Dana as she added her room card to the slot on the wall.

  She had returned to our dorm room with a huge grin on her face. I presumed she wasn’t this ecstatic just because it was Thursday, the last day of classes for her this week.

  “Well, I’m saying it now. He’s your future lover. Then, once you guys are in a relationship, I’m calling him your future husband.”

  “Dana, you’re nuts.”

  “And you love me for it! Stella, you’re blushing. Anyway, can you come out with me please? A bunch of Joon’s friends will be there. Hongsik isn’t invited. He’s kind of obsessed with you, isn’t he?”

  I didn’t even have to tell her he suddenly came and put his arm around me after Latin Dance. During Introduction to Commercial Law, there was a discussion on different types of legal systems. Every time I contributed with my opinion, Hongsik spoke up in agreement. As his English seemed to be quite good, at first, I assumed this was because he hadn’t prepared for class and didn’t have anything better to say. After the fourth time, Dana and Yumi, who had been sitting next to me, looked at me with confusion. When I had dinner with Dana that evening, she said even the professor seemed weirded out by what Hongsik did.

  Dana and I met up with everybody at a pizza pub called The Grind, which played Korean underground hip-hop. I’d never heard any of the songs before, even at Bubble Bomb. The group of us ordered three large pizzas, each with different toppings, as well as some side dishes. After nibbling on some hot wings and taking a bite of the pepperoni pizza, I was surprised at how delicious the food was.

  “Do you like this pizza? Or do you love it?” Dana asked Yumi and me as we devoured our first slice.

  Yumi replied, “We’re definitely coming back here.”

  She seemed pleased to see me enjoy the meal. While we waited for the food, Joon claimed The Grind had the best pizza not only in Sinchon, but in all of Seoul, and Yumi had given him an incredulous glance.

  Joon’s friends dressed like him. They had pierced ears or noses or lips and wore oversized clothes with beanies or bucket hats. Some of them seemed to have tattoos. One guy even had a palm-sized cross on his neck. They were Joon’s friends from his major, clothing and textiles. I wondered if this was the unofficial uniform of the clothing and textiles students at West Seoul University.

  While Dana focused on talking to Joon, a couple of his friends flirted with Yumi.

  A guy grabbed my shoulder and said, “You look exotic.”

  I turned to face him. He had a bowl cut and wore black stud earrings.

  “Stella, right? Is that your actual name?”

  “Of course. I’ve been Stella Hart for nineteen years.”

  “Aha! I could kind of tell by your pronunciation. Your Korean is really good though.”

  “Thanks? I grew up in America, but my mom spoke Korean to me ever since I was born.”

  “So you’re not really American or Korean?”

  As I’d experienced an identity crisis as a teenager in a predominantly white area, hearing his question hurt. I didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, Yumi tapped my arm and asked if I wanted to go to the bathroom with her.

  After the group of us spent an hour or two at The Grind, enjoying the food and the vibe, we decided to head over to Bubble Bomb, which was a five-minute walk away. Although we only had two pints of beer each, Dana was giggly as she walked with Joon. He had his arm around her, and she leaned into his shoulder.

  Yumi turned to me with a slight smirk. “Should we make a bet on if they’ll wander off on their own later?”

  I giggled, peering over at Dana and Joon.

  Yumi continued. “I want to be happy for her. I’m just trying to figure out what type of guy Joon is. I think Dana falls in love way too easily.”

  I nodded, though Taehyun immediately came to mind. I knew I was guilty of doing the same thing.

  “Stella, let me warn you about a lot of the Korean guys our age. They’ll go overboard and make you feel like you’re the only girl in the world—until you realize they’ll never ask you to officially be their girlfriend. They think it’s fun to act like they’re competing to be the most romantic guy of the year, as long as they don’t have to be fully committed to you.”

  I replied, “So… don’t trust a guy unless we’ve agreed to be in a relationship?”

  “Hmm, no. Don’t trust guys too quickly, even if you’ve entered into a relationship. It takes a while to truly know whether someone is capable of being loyal to you. I personally think this should be considered common sense when it comes to dating.”

  “Thanks, Yumi. You should be a relationship counselor. If you open your office next to the main library, there’d be a queue of college girls extending past the front gate.”

  “I doubt people would want advice from someone as single as me.”

  We laughed before following the rest of our group into the building.

  “Also, Stella, beware of being ghosted.”

  Dana woke me up around noon. When I opened my eyes, I was overwhelmed with nausea. Drinking soju bombs after beer turned out to be a terrible idea, although I had a blast. At Bubble Bomb, Yumi shared stories about some of her worst dates. As a freshman, she went on a date with a guy who had entered university a year early and borrowed his friend’s driver’s license. They were immediately kicked out of the bar when she called him by his real name during the ID check. Another guy forced her to hide in his closet when he heard his parents arrive early from a trip, only for them to find her chunky platform heels at the entrance of the house.

  “Stella, do you want to grab instant noo
dles with me at the convenience store?”

  Although I wanted to continue sleeping, I knew I couldn’t spend the entire day in bed because I had Latin Dance later. I went out with Dana without bothering to change out of my ratty pajamas.

  At the convenience store on the first floor of International House, Dana chucked a small bottle of grated pear juice into our shopping basket.

  “Trust me, this is the best hangover drink.”

  We sat on some plastic chairs in the dining area at the back of the convenience store. While I waited for my noodles to be ready, I took a swig of pear juice and was pleasantly surprised.

  “Dana, you’re right. This is better than the sports drinks I usually have.”

  “Does that mean you can go out again tonight?”

  I glanced at Dana. She didn’t even need to say Joon’s name for me to realize that he’d asked her to come out drinking with his group of friends. As I was reminded of the conversation I had with Yumi during the walk to Bubble Bomb, I wanted to tell Dana to go on a proper date with Joon.

  “You know you don’t have to bring Yumi and me along every time you meet Joon, right?”

  “I know. I just like spending time as a group and having you around.”

  “Dana, when all of us were hanging out yesterday, you stuck to Joon like glue the entire time. You barely said a word to any of his friends.”

  Dana blushed and pretended to focus on eating her noodles.

  “Which is fine. I’m glad you asked me to come and I had a lot of fun. What I’m suggesting is not that you stop inviting me out. I just feel like you and Joon should spend time together without the rest of us there. Maybe a lunch date.”

  She nodded. “I’m not going to disagree because… there’s nothing I disagree with.”

  After she gave me a pout, we exploded with laughter.

  Then, she continued. “Let’s be real. If Joon wanted to go on a date, I would say yes in a heartbeat. The problem is, he hasn’t brought it up. Surely, I could ask him out, right? To be honest, I’m used to hanging out with him in a group and I don’t know whether he’s interested in me enough. I love spending time with him this way. I wouldn’t want to lose what we have by being overeager too soon.”

  I replied, “I can relate. It’s not easy to know how things will turn out with guys. Heck, I’m not good at being bold either. I do think Joon seems into you. Unless he’s an asshole playing around with your feelings, I bet he wants to get to know you better. Also, what if he meets another girl who is super upfront and assumes you’re not as interested in him?”

  “Good point.” Dana paused. “I’ll think about it.”

  Once we were done eating and returned from the convenience store, I was even more exhausted than when I’d woken up. After showering, I intended to lie in bed and listen to music for half an hour but ended up falling asleep again.

  My nap was interrupted by the cha-cha-cha. As soon as I heard the music, which was set as my ringtone, I remembered I had to go to Latin Dance and panicked as I fumbled around trying to find my phone. There was a missed call from Hongsik.

  At first, I was relieved I had woken up ten minutes before my four o’clock class. Then I realized how far the building was from my dorm. After I changed into the first clean T-shirt and pair of jeans I could find, I threw on my purple Lanvin sneakers from Grandma and dashed out the door. Although I was full of adrenaline as I hurried across campus, I had to stop several times to check the directions Professor Hwang posted online.

  “Sorry I’m late!” I called out as I ran into the hall.

  The other students were already in pairs while the cha-cha-cha played in the background.

  Professor Hwang came up to me and asked, “Are you the exchange student? Stella Hart? We did the attendance a couple of minutes ago. I’ll check that you’re here now. Did you follow the directions I posted?”

  “Yes, I tried to follow it, but I got confused and somehow ended up lost.”

  Professor Hwang gave me a sympathetic nod. “I see. West Seoul University can be like a maze sometimes.”

  I supposed she believed my lie since I was an exchange student.

  “Stella, take your sneakers off and do some stretches, okay? Then you can join in. Oh, except I’m afraid we don’t have a dance partner for you because there’s an odd number of students. I guess you can practice with me for now. I’ll pretend to be your male dance partner.”

  When I turned around to go over to the shoe rack, I saw Taehyun. Dressed in a light gray sweater with a pair of trousers, he looked like he’d stepped out of a Christmas-themed romantic comedy. Taehyun was even more handsome than I remembered. A second later, he held hands with the girl in sparkly gold dance shoes as she swayed her hips sensually.

  Chapter Five

  The moment I entered my dorm room, I burst into tears. The image of Taehyun with the lithe girl in sparkly gold dance shoes was vivid in my mind, but I only had myself to blame. I wondered if he’d asked her to be his partner first and started bawling. While she danced flirtatiously, Taehyun exuded masculinity, and they’d looked so striking together.

  Just as I threw myself on the bed, I heard the cha-cha-cha again. Although I wanted to chuck my phone out the window, I picked up the call when I saw Grandma’s name appear on the screen.

  “Grandma,” I said, biting into my hand to muffle my sobs. “It’s me.”

  “I hope I’m not calling at an inconvenient time for you, love.”

  “No, not at… all.”

  “Hang on, are you alright, Stella? You’re not ill, are you? Do you need me with you?”

  The concern in Grandma’s voice made me break down again.

  “Grandma, I made a mistake.”

  “Stella? What do you mean? Where are you, love? Are you safe?”

  I knew I couldn’t tell Grandma why I was crying. Taehyun wasn’t my boyfriend or even a fling. This was too trivial to share with anyone in my family.

  “I… fell over. I’m okay now.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital? I’ll take you there.”

  Once I considered the possibility of Grandma anxiously driving across the city to my dorm, I felt clear-headed. I stopped sobbing and took a few deep breaths.

  “Oh, I should’ve been more careful. I’m fine though. I’m sorry if I worried you. So, Grandma, how are you? Do you have any exciting news?”

  “Stella, I wanted to ask if you were free tomorrow. My friend Kyungsook is holding an event to celebrate the anniversary of Café K, and she told me she’d like to invite you. Do you want to stay with your grandfather and me for the weekend?”

  Grandma asked me to meet her near Cheongdam Fashion Street. At the end of our phone call, she’d told me she wanted to take me to a spa treatment before we went to Café K around dinnertime. I didn’t know what to expect because I’d never stepped foot in a spa.

  As soon as we entered, I was overwhelmed with the blend of luxurious aromas. From the waiting area to the bathroom, the entire spa was furnished and decorated in muted earth tones while the sound of waterfalls played in the background. All the employees were dressed in brown uniforms with their hair pulled back. They bowed and smiled at us as we made our way to the treatment room.

  My massage therapist handed me two massage bars. “Would you like to choose between these two scents?”

  The first bar smelled of warm vanilla fused with sweet coconut while the second was a calming lavender scent with a kick of peppermint.

  “The vanilla-y one, please.”

  The full-body massage lasted for three hours. Although I was too ticklish to keep still in the beginning, within five minutes, I heard Grandma snore from across the room. We had to take a brief shower after an extensive exfoliation process. When I returned to the massage table, I started dozing off.

  Once the massage ended, I was given a set of bath and body products with the same vanilla coconut scent as the massage bar I had previously selected. Grandma and I dropped by a specialt
y liquor store where she purchased a bottle of whiskey. We made our way over to Café K, which was only a few minutes’ walk away.

  As soon as we stepped in, a tall woman wearing a fur gilet and metallic kitten heels approached us. She had white, almost platinum blonde hair. I initially assumed she was middle-aged until Grandma whispered that was her friend Kyungsook. I handed Grandma the gift bag with the whiskey.

  “I’m so glad you could come. Is this your granddaughter?” Kyungsook asked.

  Grandma replied, “Thank you for inviting us. Yes, this is Stella, my daughter’s only child.”

  “What a beauty,” Kyungsook exclaimed, reaching out and stroking my hair.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled.

  “You speak Korean well,” Kyungsook remarked, though I’d barely said anything. “Stella, you were living in America, right?”

  “Yes, I’m here as an exchange student at West Seoul University.”

  “West Seoul University? How wonderful. Stella, the party ends in about an hour. At least for the customers. Then your grandmother and I will head out to dinner, but I’m sure you’d prefer to stay here with the other young ones.”

  Kyungsook gestured toward the café employees, who wore suits with bow ties. With their hair slicked back, they looked like they’d marched out of a magazine editorial.

  While Kyungsook chatted with Grandma, I looked around the place. Although the interior was usually white and minimalistic, with the help of pink lights and glitzy decorations, Café K had transformed into a nightclub. There was even a photo booth with a glittery backdrop, where a group of women stood giggling and gushing over how hot the employees were.

  Then I saw him. Phil Oh. His eyes sparkled under the lights, and he wore a white button-down shirt without a jacket and a bow tie. I wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be dressed as one of the employees or not. Although there were male models everywhere, once I laid my eyes on Phil, I couldn’t look away.