"Okay," Gayeon said, extracting a lock of her hair from Yuri's sticky grip. "Tell me again exactly what you said to the barista."

"His name is Kyungsoo."

"Whatever. Just read."

I looked down at my phone, between us on the bed. At my desk, Jae was now reading my dictionary, flipping its pages. "Hey, it's Suzy. Going to a party tonight, want to come?"

She thought about this, wrinkling her nose. "It's a bit conversational for my taste."

"It's eleven words," I pointed out.

"Yes, but it's how they sound." Yuri let out a cry, and Gayeon put her on the floor, where she promptly crawled over to my closet, her hands slapping the door. "I would have been like, 'Party Tuesday you in'. No puncuation, because you're a busy girl, and let him ask who it is, don't tell him."

"Why not?"

"Because it adds mystery!" she said. "And mystery is everything, especially at the beginning."

"Well, it's done now," I told her. "He already responded."

"And said what?"

I hit the screen, scrolling down. "Sure. Off at 7."

From her serious face, studying the screen, you could have thought this was an ancient scroll that needed to be translated. "Yeah. He's got the upper hand now. It's obvious."

"How?" I questioned.

"He responded with 'Sure.' It's like you're twisting his arm, begging him. He's agreeing, not accepting."

"You get all that from 'sure'?"

"It's syntax. Context. You have to read between the lines."

"There aren't lines, it's, like, one sentence."

"Two," Jae corrected me from the desk. "That was two sentences."

"Are you supposed to be listening?" Gayeon asked him. "Read your book."

"It's the dictionary."

"Even better." She got to her feet, walking over to the closet, where Yuri was now trying to chew on one of my shoes. Picking her up, she said, "Let's just work with what we have. He's off at seven. Now, you absolutely can't go to his work and meet him there -"

"Why not?" I asked. "Isn't that why he told me that?"

"Because that looks even more desperate! You never meet anyone halfway, you make them come to you. He's already had 'sure.' You need to get the rest of the shots."

"This is crazy," I groaned. "I refuse to believe anyone strategizes at this level when it comes to a simple date."

"Don't call it a date," she corrected me. "Too formal. You're hanging out at a party. With a group."

There was a knock on my door as Kai and Katyleen entered, each carrying a snack. "What are you guys doing?" Gayeon demanded. "Did you let yourselves in?"

"No. Wooyoung did," Katyleen told her. "And he offered snacks."

"No fair," Jae mumbled. "I'm hungry."

"Eomma says you need to drive us to the truck so Appa can take us to gymnastics." Kai instructed, popping a chip into .

"I thought she was doing that. I have a party to get to."

"She's tired. She said she needs to lie down."

Gayeon and I exchanged looks. Her mom went nonstop. When she got tired, it usually meant something. As in, another baby or something. "I'm going to Geonghoo Univeristy in August," she said to me, under her breath. "Baby or no baby."

"Who's having a baby?" Jae asked.

"Nobody," we said in unison. Gayeon shifted Yuri to her other hip, then looked at the twins, now sitting on the bed together, munching. "Fine. I'll drive you guys, then circle back and get ready. Suzy, let's meet at 6:30 at my house. In the meantime, text the Barista again but only give the party address I gave you. Nothing else. You have to have hand. It's important."

"Suzy knows a barista?" Jae questioned.

"Sure," I answered.

"I want more chips," Kai announced, crumpling up the bag. "Can I go ask Wooyoung?"

"No," Gayeon replied. "We're leaving. All of us. Now! Let's go."

Jae put down the dictionary, the twins stood up, and Gayeon followed, Yuri reaching for me as she passed. I patted her chubby hand, giving it a kiss, and she giggled.

"Why would anyone want to add to this?" Gayeon said, once everyone else had went down the stairs. "It's madness already."

"Love makes people do crazy things, I guess."

At this, she sighed, then waved over her shoulder as she left. As usual after their departure, the room felt bigger and quieter. I sat down on my bed, looking over the text exchanges with Kyungsoo. To me, they were just words, all the meanings Gayeon saw invisible. Was this really how it worked, when you were seeking? It seemed so complicated. Regardless, I did as she'd said and sent the address of the party, nothing else. A moment later, he texted back with just a K. From sentences to words to just letters. It was hard to see this as progress and not the other way.