Nae Chingu (My Friends) Chapter Four

Nae Chingu (My Friends)

Chapter Four

When my alarm clock went off the next morning, I almost regretted promising Mae Ri that I'd go to school but even if I only admitted it to myself, it was more than my promise that made me go to school. I owed Jong Hwa a huge apology and I wasn't quite sure how to go about it. Or rather, the problem was I didn't know how Jong Hwa would react to my presence. I took another glance at the packet on my desk before leaving my bedroom.

While I had been throwing my little pity-party, Jong Hwa had taken it upon himself to find ways to keep me in Korea. I felt ashamed that I hadn't taken the initiative to do it myself and then called Jong Hwa a bastard for his efforts. I just hoped he would forgive me.

I always seemed to arrive at school before everyone else. I didn't know if it was due to my short commute to school or if the other students just hung out somewhere else before class but it was always quiet when I got there. I sat at my desk and listened to my iPod just waiting for my friends to show up. I was halfway through Super Junior's "Bonamona" when Mae Ri came bouncing into the room.

    "Oh good, you're here," she said. Today underneath the tan uniform she had on royal purple knee high stockings complete with a small white bow at the top. Honestly, how she found some of these items I didn't even know. Her hair was pulled into two pony tails that hung down to her shoulders and flounced with every move she made. These too, were accompanied by two white bows. "So what happened last night, what did Jong Hwa say?"

    "Actually--"

    "It's good to see you back, it's been so boring in the morning without you to razz Mae Ri," Ji Soo sauntered in looking relatively plain for his standards, if you didn't count the tight pony tail he sported which made his hair spurt out like short, spiky grass on the back of his head.

Behind him came in Jong Hwa, who didn't even glance in my direction and made me feel even worse. I stood up, "Jong Hwa, could I speak to you for a minute?" I asked in English, which only gained me an eye roll from Ji Soo.

    "There she goes speaking English again," he said before muttering something in French which, of course, I didn't understand and neither did Mae Ri because she learned Japanese instead.

    "It's okay, we don't--" Jong Hwa started to say but I jumped ahead.

    "It'll only take a minute....please Jong Hwa," I pleaded and he sighed. He was still upset from last night. He was usually never this resistant to talking to me but he nodded and followed me out the door anyway. The hallway had a few people but not so many that we couldn't talk privately.

    "Jong Hwa," I spoke in English to reduce the amount of eavesdroppers. "I found the packet you left for me and I'm so sorry!"

    "It's not a big deal," he still wouldn't look at me and instead looked at the floor.

    "No, it is a big deal!" I corrected him and I meant it. "It is a big deal, you went out of your way for me and I-I called you--"

    "Can I just ask you something," he finally looked up at me.

    "Ah, sure," suddenly I was the one looking at the floor and avoiding eye contact.

    "Do you even want to stay here, I mean I know your mom is back in the States and you don't talk about her but I know you miss her," he ran his hand through his hair which gave him a rugged look. "You may not think so, but you just gave up. Does he scare you that much?"

Whoa, invasive much? Jong Hwa was always the one who kept the coolest head so why all of a sudden was he being so...so...hot headed! Whatever the reason, I decided I would answer him honestly, "Yeah, of course, I miss her but-but she left me here so I guess I don't miss her as much as I should. Not enough to move back to the States anyway," I let out a relieved breath. I had never admitted that to anyone, I didn't hold it against my mom that she left but I guess it didn't quite endear her to me either because she just...left. She announced she wanted a divorce and within two weeks she'd went back to the States with the promise to bring me with her when she could. The divorce had been finalized shortly thereafter and due to her lack of economic stability, my father had been granted temporary custody. We knew because we had gotten a letter in the mail, she hadn't even bothered to tell us the news.

    "So, do you want to stay?" Jong Hwa asked patiently. This was the Jong Hwa I was used to, calm and collected and it made me feel a little more settled.

    "More than you could possibly know," I admitted without hesitation. "I couldn't even imagine not being with Mae Ri or Ji Soo or...you every day," suddenly this conversation had taken an awkward turn. "Umm," I picked at an invisible spot on my jacket, still avoiding eye contact.

    "Good, because I-we want you to stay too," he cleared his throat. "Take a look at what I left for you," he said, sounding much more normal than he had when we first came out into the hallway.

    "I will-am looking at it," I nodded.

    "Ok, let's go back in, I fear Mae Ri will break her neck if she sticks her head out of the window any longer," he teased and pointed at the window between the classroom and the hallway.

I turned around just in time to see Mae Ri jerk her head back into the classroom but not before her hair got caught and she smacked her forehead on the windowpane. I nearly passed out from laughter. It was good to know we were all back on an even keel and I felt even lighter knowing that I may not have to leave after all, not if what those papers Jong Hwa had given me meant anything.

***

School went by fast despite being somewhat behind due to the two days I missed. During our lunch period I informed Ji Soo and Mae Ri about what Jong Hwa had found out. It was an foreign student exchange program that provided scholarships to incoming foreigners to study at a Korean school. Normally the program required a guardian's consent but Jong Hwa thought they might make an exception if the student was already of age according to their country's laws. The program provided dorms to the students as well as a small allowance as long as the student's grades were maintained. There were a few other requirements but there wasn't a lot of information in the packet so I was going to stop by the headquarters after school. Jong Hwa and Mae Ri both insisted they wanted to go with me but I declined. If this wasn't going to work out, and I had my serious doubts, then I wanted to find out by myself before telling them the bad news.

Knowing my luck, this wouldn't work, I thought as I stood outside he front doors of the Educational Student Exchange, which I dubbed the ESE for short. The building was somewhat nondescript with simple block hangeul above the rotating doors but I still felt nervous. I took a deep breath and walked in.

Behind the front desk sat a woman wearing a small headset. Her fingers cruised over the keyboard in front of her as she set up an appointment for the person on the phone. I waited patiently and looked around the lobby. It was small with furnishings that seemed bland and melded with the tan moldings and wasn't all together impressive. However the open space around the lobby was impressive, it was so open which more than made up for the suffocating neutral tones. Across from the sitting area was a glass elevator but other than that, there was only one other door that led to I didn't know where. The woman finished the call and turned to me with a sweet smile. It made me feel slightly better.

    "How can I help you," she asked in English. Most Koreans that knew English didn't talk to me in Korean because they assumed I didn't know any. Under normal circumstances it annoyed me but in this situation, I was sure she spoke English to most of her clients and it was just part of her job to switch back and forth between the two languages.

    "Ah, I wanted to speak with someone about the foreign exchange program," I said.

    "Do you have an appointment with someone," she clicked a few buttons on her keyboard again, in an attempt to look for an appointment.

    "No, um, do I need one?" I asked. I hadn't even considered the fact that I might need an appointment.

    "No, I can have someone come out to meet you but it might take a little bit, go ahead and have a seat and someone will be out to see you," she gestured to the tan chairs.

I thanked her and set off towards the sitting area. It didn't take very long, maybe twenty minutes, before the one door opened up and out walked a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. It was hard to tell how old some Koreans were because they always seemed so ageless. He wore a suit without a tie and somehow managed to remind me of Jong Hwa. It might have been the glasses he was wearing but I felt somewhat better after seeing him. He stopped at the desk and had a short conversation with the woman, asking about me, I assumed before walking towards me with a hand stretched out for a handshake.

    "Hello, my name is Soo Chan Min," He spoke in English as well. "How can I help you?"

Deciding to set things straight right off the bat, I ignored his hand and gave him a deep bow. "Annyeonghaseyo, Soo Chan Min-ssi," I straightened up. "Cheoum boepgetssumnida*, jeoneun Ril-Li imnida.*"

    "Hangugmal hae?*" He asked me in Korean, he looked impressed.

    "Ne," I gave him a small smile. He chuckled and put down his hand sheepishly. "I have questions about the program."

    "Sure, why don't we head back to my desk, I'd be more than happy to answer your questions." he gestured towards the door and showed me the way to his cubical. It was small but very neat, there was a singular photo with him and some woman, I assumed it was his girlfriend because he wasn't wearing a ring.  "So what questions do you have?"

    "Well for starters, what are you acceptance requirements, the informational packet wasn't very informative," I said trying not to sound mean.

    "I agree, I've been trying to get the company to release a new, updated version." He laughed and nodded his head in agreement, "Well, for starters the candidate must be foreign, we don't accept any Koreans into the program. You aren't Korean, right?"

    "Ne, I was born in the United States but I've been living in Korea for a little over three years now," I informed him. He nodded and pulled out a note pad and started taking notes. "Why don't I just tell you whats going on, it might make it easier?"

    "Sure," he said and sat patiently as I explained my situation to him.

When I was done, he picked up his phone and asked whoever was on the other end if they had a moment to talk. After a few words he hung up and told me to sit tight while he checked a few things. His tone was neutral but judging by his face, I shouldn't get my hopes up. I nodded and sighed. If this didn't work, I had two options: head back to the States or stay here and get a job. Mae Ri's parents would probably let me live with them but I would still have to pay my tuition which was laughably expensive. Of course, if I went to a regular high school I could probably do it except my choices for colleges would be considerably different.

Either way I would figure out because Jong Hwa was right, I had given up but not anymore.

It was another few minutes before Soo Chan Min came back and faced me. "Honestly, your situation is a little unconventional but I think we can work with it." His face split into a smile and it took everything I had not to launch myself into his arms and hug him.

    "Jeongmalyo*?"Jinjja!" I could feel the tears coming and I couldn't stop them.

    "Yes, really," he patted my shoulder. "You are an adult by American standards and therefore you are you own legal guardian. There are a few requirements such as your GPA, and you'll have to complete a few tests for the standard subjects such as math, reading, writing, things like that but pending any bad scores, we should be able to get you in."

He handed me a few tissues and we hammered out the details; the first step would be to take the tests and get my transcripts from my current school which wouldn't be too hard. He gave me a few tips on what to expect from the tests but he told me not to worry about them. He scheduled my tests for the following Monday after school and sent me on my way with another pat on my shoulder and an encouraging smile. I wanted to talk about what happened after I was accepted into the program but he said we could save that conversation for when I got into the program.

I tried to get a hold on my crying before I left the building but it just didn't seem possible. I was so happy; the first thing I wanted to do was call Jong Hwa but I settled for Mae Ri instead, I wouldn't be embarrassed to cry in front of Mae Ri.

I called Mae Ri as soon as I got to the bus stop, "Lily! How did it-" she didn't finish her sentence because I burst out into tears again. Normally I wasn't this emotional but I felt the happiest I had ever felt in my entire life and I couldn't handle it. "Oh no, no Lily don't cry!"

That's when I heard the voices in the background and I didn't have to ask who they were. "Those bastards," Ji Soo's voice carried clear as day through the line. Jong Hwa was asking for the phone but it seemed like Mae Ri was trying to push him away because her voice came across loud but jumbled as if she was fighting with someone.

    "Jjamkkan man*! Lily talk to me," another round of tussling came across the line. "Ya, jugeul-lae*?"

I laughed because I didn't know what else to do. I had to get myself under control but listening to my friends fighting on the other side made me almost hysterical. I laughed so loud the other people in the bus stop actually backed away from me. I waved at them and apologized but it was enough to get me under control. "Mae Ri-ya, Mae Ri-ya!" It took a few tries but I got through to her eventually. "They say I'm a candidate!"

    "Mwo!" Another round of fumbling, "Ya! Jong Hwa! I can't hear her, what did you say Lily?"

    "They say I'm a candidate, meet me at the convenient store, I'm on my way there now," rather than wait for an answer, I hung up and waited for the bus.

It took me another twenty minutes before I got to the store but everyone was already there waiting. Mae Ri sat cross legged on one of the benches and actively ignored the other two boys. Ji Soo was talking to Jong Hwa but it didn't look like Jong Hwa was listening either. As soon as I walked through the doors all three of them were up and asking me questions about the meeting.

    "Sit down, sit down," I told them and went to grab something to drink for myself. They sat impatiently while I had terrible enjoyment watching them squirm, waiting for answers. As soon as I sat down, Mae Ri jumped right in.

    "So what happened? Why were you crying earlier? They said you are a candidate, what does that mean?" I held up my hand to quiet her.

    "This is what happened..."

***

Mae Ri cried herself so I didn't feel so bad about my little episode. Jong Hwa didn't say much, he just listened and let Mae Ri do all the talking. After I told them everything I knew, we discussed how hard the entrance exams were going to be and what I should do to prepare which eventually lead us into talking about the entrance exams for SFLHS and how scary those were. We hung out for nearly three hours before we each went our separate ways.

I didn't get the text message from Jong Hwa until I got home. It read, "I'm glad you're not giving up."

I didn't know what else to say so I simply replied with, "Me too."

I felt the familiar pang in my chest after reading his message for the second time and I knew what it meant. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, I knew it was useless. I was starting to fall in love with one of my best friends and I didn't know how to stop...

To Be Continued...

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*Cheoum Boepgetssumnida: Literal translation is "This is our first time meeting" but for English speakers, it's the equivalent to "Nice to meet you". It's used usually only when two people meet for the first time.

*Jeoneun Ril-Li-imnida: Formal level of "I am Lily" because Koreans have a hard time distinguishing between R's and L's, a word that usually starts with an "L" sounds like an "R" so Ril-Li actually means "Lily" if said by a native English speaker.

*Hangugmal hae: Informal for "Do you speak Korean?"

*Jeongmalyo: Formal for "Really?"

*Jjamkkan man: Informal "Just a minute"

*Juguel-lae: "Do you want to die?" or "Do you want me to kill you?" Quite honestly, I never understood the direct translation of this phrase so I don't try, I just know the meaning of the phrase. It's used as a threat in an argument but never as an actual intent to kill someone.