CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

That morning I went fishing with Wendy my friend texted me a link and I actively ignored it. A few days earlier, Yeri told me she was tracking my location when I clicked on a link she sent. Because of this, I completely stopped accessing anything anyone sent me. This included a message from my best friend.

We met at school when she moved from New Zealand. Jennie Kim was the hot topic for weeks, even in my class. She was pretty and a little fierce, one of those mean girls in Western movies. If someone asked something stupid like “Which city did you live in?”, she would answer “Do you know any city in New Zealand?” in a cheeky way. Something a born and raised Korean wouldn't answer.

When Jennie needed extra Korean lessons, I became her tutor because I wanted extra points on my resume. At first, it was embarrassing since she was younger. And her classmates said that my beauty was equivalent to my arrogance, which was a lie. Believe it or not, Jennie was a scaredy cat when she wasn't surrounded by people to look at her. Believe it or not, Jennie was a scaredy cat when she wasn't surrounded by people to look at her.

Between correcting pronunciations and sharing snacks, I discovered that Jennie Kim was a sweet and pleasant girl. Fortunately, she discovered the same thing about me, and our friendship was natural from then on. She, along with Yeri, was one of the few people who could get me away from a study table. It didn't mean that Jennie wasn't an exemplary student; We're at the same college, but she's studying something related to computers. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the source of my devilish friend's spy link.

I could spend the day citing what I thought was good and what I thought was bad about my friend. For example, Jennie has enviable patience and she is also very persistent. These two attributes could be considered both good and bad. Jennie was patient when someone, better known as me, ignored her messages for hours. She knew my study schedule, so she knew I would only respond during breaks. Jennie also knew my work schedule in Seoul, she knew I would respond late at night.

Her persistence came into play when a minute passed after the time I was supposed to respond. Jennie would bombard me with messages until I responded. And it was like that every time, without fail. I was waiting for Sooyoung to finish closing the tteokbokki shop that night when I received about fifty messages from Jennie in the space of a minute. All of them being a variation of my name or her asking for attention.

Mandu
Hyun-ah
Baetokki
I need U
Baeby
Baechu
BAEEEEEEEEEE
DUDE C’MON!

Not with Baechu again.

Mandu
Hallelujah!

In my defense, I was planning on texting her and asking what was in that link. But I spent my entire shift thinking about the morning I had with Wendy. The things she said about the beginning of her career and how she ended up going to Seoul. Furthermore, what I couldn't get out of my head was her eyes full of tears. That was a sight I didn't want to see again.

It was bothering me so much.

Mandu
Hallelujah!
Am I not your best friend
anymore?
Did I finally lose my position
to Sooyoung?

Why this drama at this time
of night?                  
By the way, I'm walking to 
the bus stop with Sooyoung 
right now, it might take me
a little to respond.       

Mandu
DRAMA????
I'm not allowed to freak out
about my friend
When she no longer tells me
the important things?
Hello?????

I don't understand, Jennie.
What didn't I tell you?    

Mandu
You didn't click the link,
did you?

Kim Yerim told me not to
click on links. She hacked 
my phone when I did this.  
Is this link safe to click?

Mandu
Well, GENIUS
If I wanted to put malware
on your phone I wouldn't
say it's not safe, would I?

I think I deserved that answer, right? A person with bad intentions would never tell on themselves. Hackers must have no work ethic, I suppose. Yet another reason not to click on links, even if they are sent by my best friend.

Mandu
Well, GENIUS
If I wanted to put malware
on your phone I wouldn't
say it's not safe, would I?
[link]
Click now or I'll spread
the word that you were
born in Daegu

I never hid where I was born.

Mandu
Our college friends will ask
you to speak in dialect

I'm clicking the link, give
me a minute.               

I wasn't ashamed to speak with a Daegu accent, I just had no reason to speak like that. I lived there until I was five, a fraction of the time I lived in Incheon, I barely learned to read when we left that place. Even my father, born and raised there, began to lose his accent over his years in Incheon. Not showing this side of my life was automatic, but I didn't make a point of announcing that I knew the dialect. Jennie loved to use that to blackmail me. That's why I clicked on the link.

The link led to a post on Twitter, which wasn't strange coming from Jennie. She was one of those people addicted to social media, she was everywhere. In fact, she was the one who notified me when a new social media appeared and helped me create my profile there. When I saw that my handphone was being directed to Twitter, I thought it would be some gossip or a new meme and not my face in some photos published by a certain Katy Mik.

Those unexpected images made me gasp, which caught Sooyoung’s attention right beside me. Fearing that she would spy on my phone screen, I quickly moved to the window with the conversation with Jennie. Sooyoung asked me if I was okay and I replied that I was just my friend gossiping. Technically, it was gossip.

About me.

"About what?" She said innocently.

During the months on the road, Sooyoung and I loved gossiping in the bedroom. It was a crucial part of our dynamic, it was also what brought us together. But I couldn't tell her what I just saw.

“People... from college,” was the only thing that crossed my mind in response.

To my relief, that answer made Sooyoung not interested in the rest of the gossip. The only part of my college she was interested in was if I would drop out and accept becoming the band manager.

I turned my attention back to the conversation with Jennie. She was being very patient in waiting for my response. If the situation were the other way around, I would have demanded answers the moment I saw those photos.

I'm clicking the link, give
me a minute.               
It's not at all what you're
thinking, I can explain.   

Mandu
My BFF is dating THE Wendy
and I found out from a
tweet?
You better explain

I'm not dating anyone!

Mandu
Are you just ing her?
Girl, did you finally let go
of Sooyoung?
URGH!!!!!!
You're not telling me anything

I
My bus
Talk to you at home.

I barely had time to tell Jennie that my bus had arrived. I had zero chances to talk to my friend sitting next to Sooyoung. Not that she would check my phone on the way, but accidents could happen. The last thing I needed was to start a fight with Sooyoung on public transport. And I was sure that those photos would cause a negative reaction in Sooyoung. I mean, I was worried about her lack of energy when it came to Wendy, but I didn't need an angry Sooyoung right now.

She knew that I had spent Sunday with Wendy in the park along with Yeri and Seulgi, but she didn't know the details. Sooyoung didn't know that I spent most of my time next to Wendy. And she definitely didn't know that I made Wendy try my popsicle when she turned her nose up at the flavor I chose. That specific moment was saved forever in the photo published in that tweet.

I understood what made Jennie think I was in a relationship with Wendy... or doing other things. Yeri had pointed out that we were doing things that couples do. And I admit that from what little I saw of the photo, I could imagine a certain level of intimacy between the two of us. After all, sharing a popsicle was intimate and people wouldn't understand that I was just doing to Wendy what she did to me at the restaurant. Oh God! If only they had seen how she acted in the restaurant.

“Unnie, are you sure