“So what did you want from me?” Mandy said, directing her question to Yi Jung

“Well you said you would help me get a date with Ga Eul and I was thinking if you could clear your schedule for tomorrow?”

“Sure, just let me check which classes we have tomorrow” she said as she took out her ipad “At what time do you want me?”

“After 2pm, when Ga Eul’s shift ends at school” replied Yi Jung

“So we would have to leave Dr. Park’s class”

“We?” Ji Hoo asked raising his eyebrows

“You said that day that you would be happy to help me” said Mandy

“I’m not so sure” said Ji Hoo

“Well you are coming, no excuses allowed” and finished the topic

She continued asking Yi Jung questions about the next day and Woo Bin and Ji Hoo kept drinking their tea.

“So ‘Bhai’ would you be meeting us there or someplace else?” Mandy asked Woo Bin.

“I never agreed to go you know neither did I want to come today;” said Woo Bin “and what’s with the name-calling, huh?”

“I told you it means brother in Hindi”

“I know you told me that, but I also remember you saying that it had some other meaning.”

“But that was your homework and I also told you that you could take Ga Eul’s help” said Mandy

“You know you should’ve become a teacher instead of a doctor, you just looove giving homework. And just so you know, I don’t know the meaning of what you call me either.” Said Ji Hoo

“Well I actually did think about becoming a teacher but I was never that good with controlling kids” said Mandy

“How do you know you cannot control kids?” asked Yi Jung

“Well, I have 25 cousins in total and they are all elder than me. Now as you can imagine they have lots of kids. I love each of those little rascals but don’t give them to me to take care of all at once; it once happened that I took them all to the park; definitely one of the worst days of my life.”

“Can we please return back to the point? You were going to tell me what my name means” said Woo Bin

“And mine too” said Ji Hoo

“OK, I’ll tell what your name means, but then you have to promise me you will come with us”

“Ok deal” and Woo Bin shook hands with Mandy

“Ok first tell me what do your subordinates call you?” Mandy asked Woo Bin

“Hyung-nim, but what does that have to do with it?”

“I’ll tell you, but first tell me what does hyung-nim mean?”

“’Hyung’ means elder brother and ‘nim’ is added as a sign of respect”

“Well ‘bhai’ means the same; in India, a person who is a gang leader or mobster is also called a ‘Bhai’, therefore I called you that.” Mandy explained in a serious tone, knowing fully that her words could be taken the wrong way. But Woo Bin was not angry.

“Well actually I’m no longer a mobster, I’ve turned 90% of my money into legitimate businesses, there’s still 10% left though.”

“Which is necessary, if you ask me; everyone needs someone to do the dirty work, might as well be you” interjected Mandy “and no, I’m not making fun of you because I know that to run a large business some shady dealings are necessary.”

“Didn’t know girls were so street smart” smirked Yi Jung

“Well almost all girls that you might have known are street smart; they just pretend to be butterflies because they think that it makes them look attractive. Yuck! Even if my behavior has been a turn off for potential boyfriends, then I’m happy to be single because then the guy doesn’t know the real me, he only likes the image I’m projecting.”

“Also didn’t know that you were so deep” Ji Hoo said teasingly

“Oye!” Mandy lightly hit him on the arm

“But why did you call those kind of girls butterflies?” asked Yi Jung curiously

“It’s a term me and my sis coined for these girls. They act all fragile and innocent like butterflies and eat only a morsel of food in front of guys and act all damsels in distress, whereas, in reality, they can chuck down a whole bucket of chicken wings and kick anyone’s if they wanted to. I just hate those kinds of girls.” Pouted Mandy

“Well then it’s a relief to know that my yeodongsaeng can take care of herself.” Said Woo Bin, chuckling at her

“What does that mean?”

“That’s your homework now” said Woo Bin and everyone laughed out loud.

“Ok it’s my turn now; tell me what does my name mean?” said Ji Hoo

“Why can’t you people do anything on your own? How did you complete your homework in school?”

“We didn’t get any” commented Yi Jung

“Figures; fine I’ll tell you too, but you have to promise you won’t get depressed”

“Uh, okay” Ji Hoo was confused about the condition she presented

“’Devdas’ is actually a famous character of a story; like Romeo. The girl he was in love with, got married off to someone else and he started drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He eventually died because of the large amounts of alcohol destroyed his body internally; but that’s not the point. In contemporary cases, whenever someone turns to alcohol to seek comfort from love problems they are referred to as ‘Devdas’. When I saw you that night downing glass after glass of scotch; I thought of you as ‘Devdas’” she finished weakly.

Yi Jung and Woo Bin were looking at their friend whose head was bent low. There was an uncomfortable silence in the air but then suddenly Ji Hoo started laughing uncontrollably.

“I don’t think that really suits me because I rarely drink; that day was an exception but trust me that the hangover I got the next day has righted me forever. I don’t think I can stand to consume anymore alcohol; I even stopped drinking wine after that day, which was one of my favorite ways to de-stress.”

“I think you can now turn to ‘dal’; you seemed to like that a lot and too much of that doesn’t give a hangover, though I’m not sure about the trips to the bathroom you might have to take” and the two would be doctors fell to floor laughing while the other two friends looked at them like they had gone crazy