When my dad got home my mom called my sister and I to dinner. It started off normal, but after we all got settled into our seats and started eating, my mom apparently couldn't keep what had been bothering her in anymore.

"Soo Young," she began in her mother voice.

I stopped eating and looked at her, confused. I hadn't done anything wrong, so why was she acting like this?

"Your father and I have been talking, and we're worried about you," she continued carefully, folding her arms on the table and giving me a meaningful look, although I still didn't know what that meaning could be.

"Why?" I asked, even more confused than before.

"Well, you've always been a quiet kid, a bit of a loner, and there's nothing wrong with that," my mom began, and I could tell I was most definitely not going to like where this was going. "But I'm worried you're going a little too far with this."

"Too far?" It's not like I locked myself in my room and never associated with anyone. I spend a lot of my free time with my family, and I see Ga In sometimes, though we mostly just text because we're both so busy with school. I socialize. I just don't socialize with a lot of people.

"Maybe that's not the right way to say it," she said, pausing and glancing at my dad for help.

"The thing is, while we love that you spend so much time with us, and it's nice that your home and we know where you are and that your safe, it'd be better for you to go out and spend some time with people your own age too," he began, setting down his chopsticks.

"But I have Ga In. She's my age. And Jin Ri. She's really not much older than me."

"But that's just two people," my mom cut back in, "and we mean we want you to make friends outside of the family, so technically Jin Ri doesn't count."

"Ouch," Jin Ri said, taking another bite of food.

"I don't understand. This has never been a problem. I'm happy with just Ga In," I said, wondering where all this was coming from.

"We've never made a big deal out of it because we figured you would eventually go out and make friends on your own, but you haven't done that," my mom continued in earnest. "We're just worried about you. You've never been very big on communication, but you've been even worse lately. I'm sure it's because you hardly talk to people."

Never tell them anything important? Like what? As she's already pointed out, I don't really spend a lot of time with people, so it's not like a lot goes on in my life. As I said, I spend most of my free time with them, and the only other time I socialize is with Ga In, who's mom is best friends with my mom, so if anything important happens my mom is bound to find out from her if I forget to tell her first. I just don't understand where all this is coming from.

"We're just worried," Dad said, tapping in, "that if we let you go on like this, of it not ending well. You don't hardly have a life-" in the words of my sister, "ouch" "-which I'm sure you'll regret later, and you have poor social skills with new people."

"I do not!"

"Do you remember that waiter from the restaurant we went to last week?" Jin Ri asked. "The one who was flirting with you?"

"He wasn't flirting with me..."

"You're not helping yourself here." Is nobody on my side, I thought. "Anyway, remember when he said you should apply there so you two could spend more time together?" she waited until I nodded before continuing. "And what did you say?"

"That's not fair! Taking it out of context makes it sound bad!" I countered.

"It was bad in context! Now say it again!" she urged.

Everyone looked at me expectantly. It had just been me and Jin Ri at that restaurant, so my parents didn't know what she was talking about. And what I said was right, it doesn't sound good taken out of context. It doesn't sound like what I meant. I didn't mean anything bad by it.

"I said 'Sounds like spending a lot of time with people I don't like.'"

"Im Soo Young!" my mom exclaimed, aghast.

"I meant the customers!" I defended. "I'm sure he knew that's what I meant!"

"He didn't!" Jin Ri said. "He was insulted! He barely said a word to us after that!"

"That's it! You need better people skills, Soo Young," my dad said, pointing his finger at me sternly. "And the only way for that to happen is to actually interact with people. You are going to make more friends."

"What? But I don't want to! I'm happy with what I have!" I couldn't help but argue. I don't like socializing with new people. I liked my family and Ga In and Ga In's family and that's all I need. This was so stupid!

"The fact that you're taking this as a punishment just shows how much you need to spend more time with other people," my mom said, exasperated. "You're going to be dealing with people all your life, Soo Young, and you're going to need to know how to handle them well."

"School started weeks ago! Everyone's already made friends!"

"I seriously doubt there is a social rule that you can't make new friends in the middle of the school year."

"And I really don't talk to anyone at school. How in the world am I supposed to make friends? Just walk up to a random classmate and say 'Hey, my parents are forcing me to make new friends, do you want to be one of them?'"

"After last week," Jin Ri interjects, "I'm just glad to know that you know that's wrong."

I shoot her a disbelieving look that doesn't leave my face. What in the world?

"Going up and talking to random classmates is actually a good idea, Soo Young," my mom continues as if Jin Ri hasn't spoken. "That's how you make friends; talking to new people."

"That's just so awkward!"

"Not if you do it right," my dad said, "All you need to do is break the ice."

"How?"

How is a good question; how did tonight’s family dinner turn into my family giving me tips on how to make new friends?

"Compliments are good," Jin Ri suggests. "It's not the odd to walk up to someone you don't know well to give them a compliment. It gives you a good opening to start a conversation."

"A compliment?" I repeated, not sure if that was much help. I barely paid attention to the kids in my class, how would I have noticed anything to compliment anyone with? 

"You're just going to have to keep practicing," my mom said, her concerned mother face on now. "It's going to be hard at first, but it gets better."

Those words are so easy to say and yet so hard to experience.

I let out a sigh, not sure what else to say at this point. Everyone was against me, even Jin Ri. I really didn't see what the big deal was. I made a mistake last week, so what? No one's always perfect in social situations! We all say stupid things sometimes.

"You're going to have to try, there's no way out of that," my dad said, giving me a stern look. "Do you understand? You're going to make some more friends."

"Alright," I said, defeated, still reeling from this conversation.

Never would I have ever guessed that I would get scolded for something like this. I wasn't hurting or inconveniencing anyone, and I was happy with how things were. I didn't want to make new friends. I was happy with what I had, and it seemed like such a painfully awkward experience. And yet, my parents were bent on me doing it.

Part of me thought I could just pretend to try, that this would probably pass, but another part, the stronger part, wasn't comfortable with lying. Besides, my parents, especially my mom, seemed really bothered by this. I guess I could give it a shot, for them.

But where do I begin?