*Bzzzzzzzz *Bzzzz

I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating. I mumble and turn over on the bed. Who’s calling so early? Maybe if I just ignore it the sound will just sto-

*Bzzzzz *Bzzzzz *Bzzzz

I groan and pull the pillow over my head. I can still hear the phone loud and clear. With a sigh I sit up on my bed and force an eye open. The room is so bright…. I stretch a bit and yawn. I look over at my alarm clock…it’s only 9:00 AM. So early… Wait…why am I even up again? I scratch my messy head.

*Bzzzzz *Bzzzzz

I turn to vibrating electronic next to my bed. Oh right…. Someone’s calling. I grumble a bit and pick up the phone.

“…Hello….?” My voice sounds surprisingly deep and course. I clear my throat and try again. “H-hello?”

“Lilly, Sweety! It’s Mom! Why haven’t you picked up my calls?”

“Eh….sorry Mom….I was sleeping.” I hear her tsking me on the other side.

“And here I thought you would’ve gotten rid of your lazy sleeping habits.” She continues by mumbling a bunch of incoherent scolding.

I grumble and interrupt her. “What are you calling so early for?”

I hear her gasp as if she just remembered the reason for her trouble.

“Lilly, I want you to meet someone today! You know him. He’s your childhood friend, Hoya. Remember? My best friend’s son? Anyways, we’re flying over at around noon. I scheduled a reservation at this one restaurant called Sun Garden. Search it up and meet us there at 12, okay? See you then!” With that my mom hangs up.

I rub my eyes and yawn again. Hoya….that sounds familiar…. Who do I know who’s name is Hoya…. I sit there and think for a moment. Hoya…..WAIT. Hoya! I remember who that is! I jump out of bed at the memory. I can’t believe I forgot who he was! He was the boy I would hang out all day with during elementary and middle school. We kind of faded away during High school. I forgot why, but I remember him now!

I get up excited. I wonder how he’s doing nowadays ? Hoya was always like a brother to me. He was a rather short kid and was made fun of when we were little. Like my mom said, his mom was best friends with my mom. Like our family, he grew up rich. Their family owned some prosperous business that had been passed down for generations.

When we were little I would be the one that would protect him. We were best friends for the longest of times….I wonder what happened?

I clean myself up and get dressed. I wonder why my mom chose now of all times to form a reunion for us…weird. Oh well. If I’ve learned anything from growing up, it’s that my mother was utterly unpredictable. Expect the unexpected.

I searched up the Sun Garden restaurant and went over. It was a really fancy place that was about fifteen miles away from the dorms. I wore a suitable blue dress with a white cardigan. I walked inside told them who my mother was and they nodded, leading me past multiple extravagant tables before stopping at a table for four. My mother, Hoya’s mother, and a familiar looking man is already seated.

“I believe this is the one, madam.” I nod to the waiter and he leaves.

“Lilly, so glad you’re here on time. Say hi to Hoya.” My mother says. She gets up and hugs me.

I turn to Hoya and am utterly dumbfounded into what I see. Hoya has grown…quite a lot. Even though he was sitting you could see that he was definitely not the short kid he used to be. His Jaw was more refined and his eyes were less rounded then I remembered. Overall, he looked a great deal more masculine. I have a feeling he’s good with the ladies.

“Hi Hoya.” I greet him with a smile. Though he looks different on the outside I’m confident he’s the same boy that I used to play Hungry Hungry Hippos with.

He smiles at me and greets me back. Wow. Even his voice has gotten deeper.

Well…what do you expect, it’s been about five years since you’ve seen him… I think to myself.

I take a seat. My mother looks excitedly between the two of us.

“My my, Lilly, dear.  It seems like forever since we’ve seen you! You sure have grown up! Look at you, you’re beautiful!” exclaims Hoya’s mom. She takes my hand in hers and gives it a light squeeze.

I smile.  “Thank you.”

Lunch is served. It’s some sort of specialty Korean noodles. They’re okay…but not as good as the ones at Ajeossi’s restaurant though…

 Small talk is made, mostly between the mothers of course. Every now and then Hoya and I say something but it’s only a matter of minutes before the subject is changed and a mother takes the reins. I take a glance at Hoya. I still can’t believe how much he’s changed.

“Yes…Hoya got accepted into Harvard. His teachers claim he’s always at the top of the class. They adore him.  In his free time Hoya helps his father with the company….he helps out so much. He’s guaranteed a high paying job right out of college.” I hear his mom say.

“Is that so? I’m so happy to hear that! Good job, Hoya. So young and doing so well already. Isn’t he amazing, Lilly?” my mom exclaims. She turns to me.

“Oh..ah, yes. Yes, that’s great.” I smile at him. He blushes a little but smiles back.

Lunch is over. My mother clears as if trying to get attention.

“Susan, I have a great idea. Why don’t we do some shopping around the area and let the kids do some catching up? I heard they have a great mall right around the corner.”

Hoya’s mom agrees. We say goodbye. Now it’s just Hoya and me. It’s kind of awkward….I guess five years of no contact does that though.

“So, you like take classes in Korea?” he asks. I’m still a bit shaken by the change of his voice but I hide my surprise.

“Ah, yes. It’s really interesting to see the customs and life styles of a country different from your own.”

He nods. We stand up and get ready to leave. I notice he’s at least half a head taller than me.

“Wow, you’ve grown a lot! I remember when we were little I would always be the taller one.”

He laughs and shrugs. “Well you can’t expect things to always stay the same, right?”

I laugh and agree. We grab some drinks from a nearby coffee shop and walk towards the nearby park to stroll around. Conversation is getting easier by the minute.

“So…is there any special girl you have in Harvard?” I ask. I raise my eyebrows knowingly. I’m positive there is. There has to be, I mean come one. Rich handsome guy with a set future? He must be the most wanted guy on campus.

To my surprise he stops. He looks at me confused.

“Don’t you know?”

I tilt my head. “Know what?”

“The purpose of today’s visit.”

I shrug my shoulders. “To visit old friends, right? It has been five years since we’ve seen each other.”

His eyes widen even more and he laughs nervously.

“Our moms are trying to set us up……”

I choke on my drink. What? Did I just hear correctly? Our moms are trying to form an arranged marriage? No, this can’t be true! My mom would never do that…would she? He quickly pats my back.

“Are you okay?” I nod.

“So I’m guessing your mom didn’t tell you about it…?” I nod again.

“I’m also assuming she didn’t tell you that I would be transferring for the remaining year and attending all your classes…..”

I choke again at the new information. What??? What’s going on? I looks at him wide eyed. He chuckles nervously.

“I…actually don’t think it’s such a …bad idea….” I don’t know what to say. What’s he trying to get at?

“What?”

“Well….I did have a crush on you at the end of middle school….”

Suddenly the reason for our cut of relationship came back at me. How could I have forgotten? Hoya had a huge crush on me at the end of 8^th grade. He confessed to me. At the time, I couldn’t see him in any way other than a brother. I ran away and avoided him since.

“I….I’m sorry…I have to go….”

Hoya looks disappointed.

“Oh…okay… I’ll see you in class tomorrow then.”

I nod and start walking home. My mom wants me to marry Hoya…she tried to set me up… What should I do? I don’t want to marry him. I like someone else… I think of Tora. I like Tora.

I look to my right. There’s a little café. I see my reflection. Slowly I notice the things beyond the reflection. People are inside, sitting at tables with their drinks. Some are on their phones, some are reading. I see the counter where people get their orders taken. I see a man at the counter. He’s tall, and looks oddly familiar. He looks like Tora. Wait…that is Tora.