West Seoul University Series

by Leigh Ban

  “Hey!” he called out as he came over to my table. “I used my superpower to get here in twenty-five minutes.”

  “No, you took half an hour to get here,” I argued, though I knew I was being petty.

  He ran his hand through his windswept hair. “Yumi, I’m sorry. I promise I won’t ever be late again.”

  “Because the next time you’re late, I’ll video-call our professor and make sure you fail the course.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic. I promise I didn’t forget about our plans. I just had a wild night yesterday.”

  “Do you think I care? What are you, a freshman who had his first sip of alcohol last night? Whatever. Let’s stop talking about this. I can feel my blood pressure rise as I speak.”

  “Alright. Looks like you were busy with something anyway though.” He read off my laptop screen, “In preparing for the Hope Scholarship, I—”

  “Stop it,” I shouted, slamming my laptop shut. “It’s almost three o’clock. You were supposed to get here at two. You’re supposed to be apologetic right now.”

  “I’m sorry, Yumi,” he said with a grating smile.

  “Isaac, I’ve got two eyes and a brain—I can tell you’re not really sorry. You know, I’ve met plenty of jerks in college, but I’m starting to think you might be the biggest asshole at West Seoul University. You should know that no matter what you do from this point on, I won’t be writing you a love letter. Isaac Bong, you’re not getting an A, not in a million years.”

  “Which means you’re not getting an A either,” he muttered.

  “Oh, boo-hoo.” I glared at him while I put my laptop into my backpack.

  As we got up, he added, “Look, if you’re serious about applying for the Hope Scholarship, you shouldn’t be turning down an opportunity to receive an A+.”

  Though I walked with my head turned away from him, I felt handcuffed to him. “Shut up. You’re a premed student. Don’t act like you know about a scholarship for economics majors better than me.”

  “After you,” he said as he held the glass door open. “Yumi, my brother was a Hope Scholar during his last year of college. I know it’s fiercely competitive. Before he won the scholarship, he took twenty-one credits and got a perfect 4.3 out of 4.3.”

  “Good for him. But for your information, grades aren’t the only thing they judge. It’s not simply a scholarship dedicated to the students who get the most A’s.”

  “Because most of the candidates have a near-perfect GPA anyway. Applying for the Hope Scholarship with good grades is like entering a golf tournament with a full set of golf clubs.”

  I snickered. “That’s a dumb analogy. Haven’t you heard of one-club golf tournaments?”

  “No. Golf is boring.”

  “You’re the one who brought up golf tournaments,” I pointed out.

  At some point, we’d made an unspoken agreement to head over to the festival. Though we continued bickering, we kept our voices low, and my expression had softened. To people who were watching us from afar, we might’ve even looked like a quarreling couple.

  “Welcome to the Seoul Autumn Harvest Festival, Yumi,” Isaac said as he gestured toward a large forest-green vinyl sign.

  “Look, I’ve got a lot of work to do. Should we take a photo next to that sign and call it a day?” I asked.

  “Way to make it obvious to the professor that we just took a half-assed photo and left straight away.”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t give a hoot. He’s not going to analyze every photo we upload. There are over eighty students in our class.”

  “Alright, alright. Why don’t we go over to the booth over there then? Let’s snap a picture with that huge pumpkin.” He pointed at a pale-orange, deflated-looking pumpkin that was big enough for ten children to sit on.

  “That is the most hideous pumpkin I’ve ever seen,” I remarked as we walked over.

  Isaac didn’t seem to agree. He smiled at the pumpkin like it was glorious and handed me his phone. “Hey, can you snap a picture of me with the pumpkin?”

  After dashing over to the pumpkin, he stood behind it and stretched his arms out to the side.

  “Have fun at the ball, Cinderella,” I said dryly before snapping a photo.

  He chortled. To my embarrassment, he proceeded to give me a slow, regal wave. While I cringed and shook my head at him, a middle-aged woman in a straw hat approached me.

  “Would you like me to take a photo of the two of you?” she asked.

  “Yes please.” I handed her Isaac’s phone, then went over to him. “Thank you so much.”

  “You guys make a cute couple,” said the woman.

  “Oh, we’re not dating,” I called out after I heard the shutter.

  “Yet,” Isaac added.

  Although I was tempted to yell at him and tell him to quit messing around, I didn’t want us to get into a fight in front of someone who’d kindly helped us out.

  The woman handed me Isaac’s phone. “You should go check out the Korean drum dance. The performers are phenomenal.”

  “We will. Have a great day!” I responded.

  Once the woman left, I shoved Isaac’s chest with his phone. As he took his phone from me, he gave me an expectant look.

  “No,” I muttered.

  “Come on, Yumi. We came all the way to the festival. Let’s go check out the performance.” He showed me the photo of us with the pumpkins. “I’ll send this to you now.”

  “Isaac, you should be grateful I didn’t call Professor Kwon after I found out you were going to be late,” I said as I pulled out my phone and opened our chatroom.

  He pointed to my legs. “Hey, at least I didn’t turn up in sweatpants.”

  Although I made a mental note to dress more presentably next time, especially seeing as we were supposed to take photos to upload as our profile picture, I wasn’t willing to admit this. I snorted at him. “Did you really think I was going to show up in a frilly little first-date dress? Fat chance. That would be a waste of dry-cleaning fees.”

  “I set our photo as my profile picture,” Isaac announced, ignoring what I’d just told him.

  I gazed into his dark eyes, wondering if I’d gone too far. After all, I didn’t want him to turn up in a pair of sweatpants for the rest of the semester.

  He added, “Looks like I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do the next time a girl asks for my number and messages me on JoaJoa.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You mean, when a girl messages you to sell you her pyramid scheme?”

  Chapter Four

  Was Professor Lim the spawn of the devil? A few hours after I changed my JoaJoa profile picture, I was inclined to believe so. Since this was the first time I’d set a photo of me with a guy as my profile picture on any type of messenger or social media app, the reactions to my photo were overwhelming and embarrassing, to say the least.

  First came the messages from my friends. I’d already told my closest friends, Dana and Stella, about the details of my partner assignment for Society and Love, so they didn’t freak out when I uploaded the photo. However, I was immediately bombarded with messages from people I categorized as part-time friends: girls I used to sit with in class and would probably hang out with again if our circumstances overlapped but otherwise never kept in touch with.

  OMG!!!!! Girl!!!!! So glad to see you’ve finally found the one! Look forward to seeing more cute pictures of you and your BF!

  What did I say, Yumi? I told you there’s a guy out there for every girl—even the ones with bitter souls. Also, we need to catch up over lunch soon. You’re not still trying to lose weight, are you? Just wondering.

  Love the photo of you and your boyfriend. I always knew you stayed single because you had high standards. You’ve got good taste! You’re such a lucky girl. By the way, does your boyfriend have any hot single friends you might be able to set me up with? I haven’t been on a single date this year…

  The annoying thing was, if they’d been people I’d definitely meet agai
n in the future, I would’ve clarified what was going on. However, I didn’t see the point in explaining how I was essentially taking a fake boyfriend course, especially as I’d only accidentally signed up for the class. To be honest, I had the feeling people would assume I was lying to save face and not come off as desperate if I told them I’d actually intended to enroll in Finance and Society.

  Although I wanted to ignore all the snarky, condescending messages I’d received, I didn’t want anyone to waste time speculating or spreading rumors, so I decided to send everyone the same generic response.

  Hey! We haven’t talked in forever. Thanks, but he’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend from one of my classes.

  Frankly, what was ten times more mortifying than all of those messages combined was the call from Mom.

  “Yumi, where are you, darling?” she asked the instant I picked up.

  “Mom?”

  “Are you back at your apartment? Can we talk?”

  I sighed. I knew exactly what she was going to address by the concerned tone of her voice. “Yeah, I’m just alone in my room. I’ve been writing my Hope Scholarship essays.”

  “Yumi, I know you’re not a child anymore. Your dad and I are fine with you being in a mature, adult relationship. Now, I’m not saying your boyfriend might be a bad influence on you, but I just want to warn you to be careful. If you ever feel pressured to do things you’re not comfortable with, please remember that you’ve got people around you who are willing to help you.”

  Although I wanted to cut her off, I was lost for words. I wasn’t sure if she’d recently seen a documentary about abusive boyfriends or unplanned pregnancies or college students who were recruited into shady cults by their partners. I just couldn’t handle how paranoid she was being. Because she didn’t know of my brief past relationships, I presumed she and Dad believed I’d finally gotten my first boyfriend.

  She added, “Besides, I know you’re going through a busy time. I wouldn’t want you to sacrifice any of your precious opportunities just for a guy.”

  “Sacrifice my opportunities just for a guy?” I repeated, a wave of irritation washing over me. “Mom, you have it all wrong.”

  “I’m sorry, darling. I know you must be enamored with him. It’s the honeymoon phase, isn’t it? He’s probably not a bad guy. I’d like to believe the boy who’s dating my daughter is a decent person, but you never know these days.”

  “No, Mom. He’s not my boyfriend.” I pressed my temple with the tip of my finger and groaned. “He’s my classmate. Our professor asked us to set the photo as our profile picture.”

  “Why in the world would your professor ask you to do such a thing?”

  “Well, he didn’t ask us personally. It’s part of our partner assignment.”

  “Your partner assignment?” She snorted. “What kind of course requires you to upload a profile picture of you with a guy?”

  “I know, I know. It’s an unconventional class. I guess you could call it… the fake boyfriend lesson.”

  Partner Assignment #1

  The Seoul Autumn Harvest Festival was an exciting event with so much to see and experience. The Korean drum dance performance seemed to be well-received by the crowd. Some of the best photo spots included the welcome sign and the giant pumpkin display, where Isaac and I chose to take our first profile picture. Overall, it was a great festival for both couples and families alike.

  During the next few lectures for Society and Love, I refused to sit next to Isaac. I arrived just as class was about to start and sat in the back row. Although he managed to come and find me at break time, I left my earphones on while he talked to me. Most of the students in our class seemed to be getting more comfortable around each other. I couldn’t help but wonder how much better the course would be if I actually liked my partner. For the second partner assignment, Professor Lim told us to visit the Han River.

  “Good morning! Are you up?” Isaac said after calling me at noon, three hours before we were supposed to meet.

  “Why wouldn’t I be awake? You were the one who slept in last time, not me,” I retorted as I looked into my closet.

  “Rest assured, I won’t be late today. Remember to bring a jacket, Mimi. It’s supposed to get chilly once the sun goes down.”

  “Mimi? Isaac, I hate nicknames. Anyway, what makes you think I’d be willing to stay at the Han River until then? You’re free to hang out by the riverside on your own though. Heck, why don’t you invite someone once I leave, Mr. All-the-Girls-Want-My-Number?”

  “You’re no fun, Yumi. You know that?”

  “Yeah, I’m no fun because it’s midterm period. I’ve got to study. I have my first exam in nine days,” I said, although I actually had dinner plans with Dana and Stella.

  Once I hung up, I rummaged through my wardrobe. I didn’t want Isaac to assume I’d dolled up to look good for him, but I wasn’t willing to look sloppy either. For me, picking an outfit was usually easy because everything I owned was black. However, once I began pondering over whether a long wrap skirt was too dressy or a flared dress was too short, I felt like I had nothing to wear. In the end, I decided to wear a drapey shirt with a pair of shorts I’d already worn several times that week.

  When I left my apartment, I was amazed by how perfect the weather was. The sky was crystal-clear, and a light breeze tickled my neck. Though strands of hair blew onto my face and stuck to my cheeks, I didn’t mind. I caught a bus to Yeouido Park, which stretched along the Han River. As I went over the bridge, I couldn’t help but smile at the spectacular view. I was so used to hanging out near campus I’d forgotten how much I loved the riverside.

  After I hopped off the bus at Yeouinaru Station, I headed over to Exit 2, where Isaac and I were supposed to meet. Though there was a massive crowd of people, I instantly spotted him.

  “Isaac,” I yelled out as I brushed shoulders with a man who was pushing a pram.

  Isaac waved at me and pointed to the nearest park entrance. Our eyes were on each other, but we were separated by a middle-aged woman walking three Pomeranians, followed by a teenage couple in matching graphic T-shirts—the girl was holding a foil picnic mat and the guy was carrying a box of pizza. Although I usually found matching couple outfits corny, I found myself giving them a big-sister grin; they looked so fresh-faced and excited, like they’d recently entered their first relationship.

  “When did you arrive?” I asked as I closed the distance between us. “I haven’t been here since last summer. The heat was tolerable, but I got a hundred mosquito bites on my arms and legs. For some reason, mosquitoes can’t get enough of me. By the way, should we order some food?”

  With a troubled look on his face, he put his finger on his lips to shush me. Somehow, I hadn’t noticed that he was wearing EarPods.

  “Hey, Joodam, I’ve got to go. I’ll message you later, okay?” he said to the person he’d been on the phone with.

  I couldn’t stop myself from wondering who he’d been talking to, but I didn’t want him to think I was being nosy or, worse, getting jealous. After all, I’d previously told him to invite a girl to hang out with once I left.

  “Sorry, that was kind of an important call.” He smiled at me as he put his phone in his pocket. “Did you say something about food? Should we order something or check out the vendors? Let’s grab some beer at the convenience store too.”

  Considering he’d just been on the phone with a girl whom he was probably on the cusp of dating, I was annoyed by his brazen demeanor. I was tempted to point out that the girl he’d been talking to probably wouldn’t want us to day drink together.

  “Actually, I have to leave soon,” I said, speeding up as we got closer to the river.

  “Soon? Why? Because of your midterms? Didn’t you say your first exam was in nine days? You got here five minutes ago. You’re not fooling me with your I’ve-got-to-study-right-this-moment narrative. Plus, we’re here for a class assignment.”

  A gush of wind hit my face. “Ordering pizza
and drinking beer is not a part of our assignment,” I retorted, pushing my hair away from my eyes.

  Isaac chuckled as a strand of hair flew into my mouth. “Yumi, relax a little. It’s a beautiful day. Why don’t you try and enjoy our time at the Han River?”

  “And maybe you should worry about your future a little. Don’t you need to study for orgo? I wouldn’t want you to fail the class twice.”

  “You should be thankful I came here with you,” he said, taking out his phone. “Alright, you grinch. If you really can’t stand being surrounded by happy people in a happy place while the sun shines over you, let’s take a selfie here.”

  Once he turned on the camera app, we stood in silence while he maneuvered his phone to get the best lighting and angle.

  “Except I happen to like Christmas,” I remarked in an attempt to lift the mood.

  Isaac didn’t utter a word as he pressed the shutter button. The only sound I heard was a small child’s shrill wail. While Isaac tucked his phone into his pocket, the cries grew louder. I turned around and saw a boy with blood trickling down his knees.

  “Hey, little man, where are your parents?” Isaac said to the boy, crouching down so that they were at eye level.

  The boy kept bawling.

  “Looks like you hurt yourself while you were having some fun. Do you remember what you were doing? Who are you here with?” Isaac asked.

  “My brother,” the boy whimpered.

  “Should we take him to the information center?” I suggested.

  “Isn’t the information center pretty far away? His parents might be nearby,” Isaac replied before he faced the boy again. “Did you come here with your brother? Just the two of you?”

  “And Grandma,” said the boy, wiping his tears with his fingers.

  “Did you agree on a meeting place? Can you remember where she told you to go if you got lost?”

  The boy shrugged, his skinny frame shaking with sobs. While Isaac gave him a comforting smile, I dug into my bag and took out a small pack of tissues. Once the boy calmed down, he pointed toward the playground.