6

“Dressing up for your date?” Mandy asked as Jisu checked her reflection in the mirror.

“It’s not a date. We discussed this,” Jisu said. “We even consulted your magazines and their online quizzes.”

“Right, but there is one rule that trumps it all,” Mandy said.

“And what’s that? I didn’t realize you were the authority on dating, Mandy.” Jisu took off her sweater and tried a different one. Did the peach-colored one look better with her skin tone, or was the bright blue better? Why did it even matter? Why did she care?

“If you’re overthinking it, which you clearly are—this is your third outfit change now—then it’s certainly a date, at least in your mind.” Mandy smiled mischievously. Date or no date, having Mandy around only made Jisu more anxious about seeing Austin.

“Maybe I should cancel.” Jisu sighed. “I have a lot of homework. I don’t have time and I should be studying anyway.”

“No!” Mandy put her hands on Jisu’s shoulders. “You’ve been working all week and you deserve a break. Plus I want to hear everything that happens.”

Jisu twiddled with the hem of her royal blue sweater. It was a striking color that made her feel confident and like her best self. She did want to see Austin, in the sense that she wanted to get to know her peers and make friends. At least she admitted that much to herself.

Jisu put her DSLR in her bag and walked out of her room. Mandy followed her downstairs and sat on the bottom step.

“Leaving already? Isn’t your date not for another two hours?” she asked.

“I’m going to walk around the city with this.” Jisu held up her camera. She snapped a candid photo of Mandy on the staircase.

“No pictures!” Mandy yelled, and dramatically covered her face as if she were a famous celebrity being chased by the paparazzi. Jisu turned on the flash and snapped some more, and the two of them fell over laughing.

Jisu didn’t expect to work up a sweat from simply walking around the city, but the hills of San Francisco were steeper than she’d realized. Still, she loved the curvature of the streets. It reminded her of the winding streets of Itaewon, where she’d wander around to photograph impressive views of Seoul with the Namsan Tower looming not too far in the distance. Jisu weaved in and out of similarly narrow alleys and major streets, capturing the everyday pedestrians of San Francisco walking from point A to point B: an old bag lady pushing along her cart of belongings, a jogging father who was running with the stroller that held his cooing baby and several adorable dogs being walked by their respective owners.

She drank in the views from every angle and reached the top of Lombard Street just in time to capture the sun as the final golden rays of the day poured over the city.

She sent a photo of the view to Euni and Min.

Jisu checked her notifications. There was an unread text from Kaylee.

Woof. Kaylee was still feeling some type of way about Jisu’s solo time with Austin.

Kaylee sent Jisu three prayer hands emojis, and she knew they were all good.

This is not a date. This isn’t like any of the seons I’ve been on. I’m just hanging out with a new friend, who just happens to be really cute and charming, who’s also Kaylee’s crush. It’s not a big deal. It’s not a date. Not. A. Date.

“Hey!” Austin walked over to Jisu just as she walked through the theater doors. “What’s this?” He pointed to her camera bag.

“It’s not a date,” Jisu blurted without even thinking. She immediately covered her mouth, wanting to die. If lightning struck her dead right there, in that moment, she would be more than okay with it.

Austin looked stunned for a second, but immediately broke into laughter. “Ouch, Jisu. You sure you’re okay being seen in public with me?” He was so gracious and charming. Jisu didn’t know if that made her feel better or worse.

“Oh, my god, I’m so sorry.” She could feel her face getting red. And the more she thought about how much she was blushing, the warmer her face got. It was mortifying.

“Girl, you need to chill.” Austin put his hands on Jisu’s shoulders as if to calm her down, but she only became hyperconscious about how close he was to her.

“I think some of Kaylee’s neuroticism’s rubbing off on you.”

“Sorry,” Jisu said. “I’m just so new to everything, I’m even nervous about making friends.” Maybe he would buy this excuse.

“I get it. I get it.” There wasn’t a trace of worry on his face. He carried himself with an air of unbothered confidence.

Jisu followed Austin as he moved seamlessly from the ticket booth to the concessions to their seats. By the time they sat down, any trace of embarrassment she’d felt had all but disappeared. They were simply two new friends watching a movie together. Jisu visualized her nerves, all jittery and shaky, forming a tidal wave and slowly receding from her mind. The previews started playing, and she leaned back into her seat, finally at ease.

About halfway through the movie, the tidal wave of nerves appeared again. Every time Jisu laughed at a funny scene, she could sense Austin stealing glances and smiling at her.

What does it mean? Is that what normal friends do?

She’d never felt as hyperaware of every movement she made when she’d gone to the movies with Euni or Min. But she hadn’t felt this way on any of her seons either.

You need to relax, Jisu thought. New country, new city, new friends. Anyone would feel nervous. This isn’t a date. Jisu Kim, you are not on a date!

When the credits rolled, Jisu let out a deep breath. The rest of her body followed suit—the muscles in her neck, back and shoulders released. She didn’t realize how tense she had been during the entire movie. Sitting next to a cute boy in the dark for two hours while tempering your thoughts was exhausting. All she wanted to do was go home, edit her photos and pass out.

“That was fun,” Austin said. He stood close to Jisu. She could see the individual threads running through his shirt, and he could probably see the same in hers. Austin had the slightest tan line around his eyes that you could only notice if you were inches away from his face. What details did he notice? Jisu took a step back. Did he always stand so close to whomever he was talking to?

“You hungry?” he asked. “C’mon, let’s grab a bite at Bo’s.”

He didn’t even ask if she wanted to go or not, just if she was hungry. It was all so cavalier, so casual. But to her, every stop from the theater out to the parking lot felt significant—like it was all leading to something. Jisu imagined waves of energy undulating from her shoes and onto the concrete with every step she took.

And then she heard it. The collective jansori from her parents and Linda echoed in her mind. What did you do all day? What progress have you made? Time is running out faster and faster. She should say no, go home and chip away at all the homework she had. You’re already out. By the time you got home, you’d be so tired you’d go straight to bed anyway. It’s rude to say no. How else are you supposed to make friends? Her thoughts drowned out the jansori. Jisu let Austin take her hand and lead her away.

In the parking lot, other couples, both young and old, got into their respective cars and drove off into the night. Austin opened the passenger door of his car for Jisu and closed it gently when she got in. He’s being a gentleman, like any good person would, Jisu told herself. But another wave of nerves came crashing back into the folds of her brain. Jisu let herself indulge in the nervous excitement. If this were a seon, it would be the first one she was genuinely thrilled about.

The tide of excitement pulled away just as quickly as it had come in when Austin and Jisu pulled up to the diner. Austin’s crew of friends were already seated at a booth by the window and waved at them.

“This is my friend Jisu. She just transferred to Wick.” Austin introduced her to the group. Kaylee was right about Bo’s. The two of them were really just hanging out as friends after all. Jisu wondered if she had been imagining the tension from the last two hours.

It was true. They were simply two new friends spending time together, Jisu had said so herself. Still, she detected a small sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. I’m hungry, she thought and focused on the menu.

“Jisu, right? You’re the new girl!” Jisu had been staring so intently at the menu, she’d hardly noticed the two blond girls in matching cheerleader uniforms sitting across from her.

“I’m Jamie and this is Tiffany.” Next to Jisu’s petite frame, the two girls looked straight up Amazonian with their broad shoulders and toned arms. Jamie’s hair was up in a high ponytail and Tiffany’s was in braided pigtails. They weren’t sisters, but they could be twins. Their movements were so synced that Jisu wondered how synchronized they looked when they were in cheer squad mode.

“We just came from practice, so we’re ready to eat everything,” Jamie said just as the waitress showed up with an entire tray of food. There was a plate of pasta, two baked potatoes, an omelet, french fries, a plate of grilled vegetables and a cheesy quesadilla.

“This is all for just the two of you?” Jisu asked. “How do you stay so slim?”

“Nobody ever thinks this, but cheerleading is one of the most rigorous sports,” Tiffany said as she heaped a serving of baked ziti onto her plate.

“Yeah, everyone thinks it’s just cute girls in ponytails waving some pompoms—I mean, we are pretty cute—but people don’t realize that we are literally throwing each other and hurling ourselves into the air.” Jamie cut the quesadilla into thirds and offered Jisu some.

“I bet you could beat up every single guy at this booth,” Jisu said as she bit into the quesadilla.

“That’s 100 percent true!” Jamie and Tiffany said simultaneously and laughed.

“You remind me of those cheerleaders in Bring It On. They were so much better and cooler than the dumb football players in that movie.”

“Oh, my god, that’s our favorite old movie!” Jamie exclaimed. “Such a classic.”

“How do you know Bring It On? Did they have that in Korea?” Tiffany asked.

“Tiffany, we get the internet in Korea, too. That movie defined my idea of American high schools, to be honest.”

“Yeah, Tiffany.” Jamie threw a fry at Tiffany. “The internet and technology there is so much faster than here. Duh.”

“Well, that movie is hella old!” Tiffany defended herself. “I’m surprised any of us have seen it. That was like way before our time.”

Jisu glanced at Austin on the other side of the booth. Each time she looked over, their eyes locked and he smiled. Was he being a flirt? Or just encouraging of her making new friends? Every question she asked herself resembled the stupid quizzes from Mandy’s stack of magazines. But she had more questions for her questions and no answers. The ambiguity of it all was too distracting. Jisu started to miss the seons.

During the ride back home, Jisu replayed fragments of the night in her head: the way she’d introduced herself, how she’d spoken about Seoul, how she’d reacted to a funny comment. At least Austin was the one driving and not her. Since when was socializing so anxiety-inducing for her? Being in a new city in a new country definitely had something to do with it.

When Austin pulled up to the Murrays’ residence, Jisu was ready to run up the stairs and head straight to her room to replay those fragments a hundred more times before really decompressing.

“Thanks for the ride,” Jisu said as she loosened the seat belt.

“I’m glad you came out and met everyone. It’s like you’ve already been going to Wick for the last three years.” Austin smiled.

Jisu watched Austin drive off. By the time she made her way to room and plopped onto her bed, she decided that none of the events of the night meant anything beyond friendship. Austin, Tiffany and Jamie—all of them were her new friends. She was relieved just to have made friends within her first week in a new city.

And of course, Kaylee would be equally relieved to hear how the night went.