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Chapter 10: Something Good

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The smell of MooMoo’s in the morning was Heavenly, and by the time I finally got there Hwasa was already sitting in a booth with two orange juices ordered and a friendly smile on her face as she waved me over.

My mind was buzzing with the adrenaline of having gone off on Jinyoung. It wasn’t as if I’d planned to do it, and maybe I was a little harsh, but he was such a confusing person ever since I first met him in the museum. Even that first encounter was still a mystery to me, and on top of being extremely confusing and frustrating, his drinking is what really got to me. That was the last straw.

“I’m so sorry for being late! I kind of got into it with… my roommate, and then I got lost like three times on the walk here.”

“It’s no problem. I hope you like o.j.,” she nudged one of the drinks over to my side of the table, winking, “It’s not Sunny D, but it’ll have to do. When does your first class start?”

“Mmm, I have Basic Design I at 9:30.”

“Cool, we have plenty of time then,” Hwasa cooly waved over a nearby waitress, and we agreed, after her glowing testimony, to order a giant plate of pancakes to split between the two of us.”

“So tell me about yourself, where you’re from, why you chose JYPU, all the details.”

“I thought you said this wouldn’t be an interview.”

She laughed, “Not in the official sense, no, but Youngjae is like a little brother to me, so I usually end up interrogating all of his friends.”

“Is that a thing big sisters usually do?” I paused for a second, realizing my comment may have seemed a little rude, “I didn’t mean that in a snarky way. Sorry. I have only-child-syndrome.”

Hwasa just laughed again, “No, you’re good. It’s probably not a normal big sister thing now that you mention it. It’s just a me thing.”

“Well, to answer your questions, there’s really not much to know about me. I’m from a relatively small town in California called Avalon, near L.A. I wanted to come to JYPU, because it was far, far away from home, and I got accepted into the graphic design program here.”

“Has graphic design always been a passion of yours?”

I shook my head, “Not really. I actually applied to a different major at every school I applied for. I just happened to like this one the best out of all the schools I got accepted to. Plus, I just really like this city.”

At that Hwasa really started laughing, “I knew there was something I liked about you. You really are special, you know that.”

“I don’t know about that. I’m just like any other student here as far as I can tell.”

“No way. Most freshman are not already friends with one of the most popular guys at this school the moment they stroll in. Not to mention that you knew I ran the underground paper without me ever telling you. I’m pretty sure Youngjae didn’t tell you either, because he’s pretty good at keeping secrets... even from me.”

“Actually I heard about you from-,” I almost told her the truth, that I had recognized her name from something Jackson had mentioned about an article on hangover cures when he was talking to Jinyoung, but I wasn’t in a hurry to make her think I was any weirder than she probably already thought, and if I told her that, then I’d probably end up having to explain my living situation to her, and I really did not want to go down that road. “Youngjae’s friend, Jaebum. He used to live in Avalon, too. He’s the one who first mentioned something about you to me. I don’t know how he found out, though.”

“Ooo, I keep liking you more and more,” she smiled, “I know JB too. He and Youngjae live together, you know? Well, I guess you probably know if JB introduced you to him.”

“Yeah, I’ve met the other guys that they live with since I moved to New York.”

“Oh, yeah? I think I’ve met all of them except the two incoming freshmen-”

“Yugyeom and BamBam.”

“BamBam? That’s certainly an interesting name,” Hwasa giggled, “yeah, those two.”

“Oh, really?” I slumped in my chair a bit, and the waitress returned, setting the pancakes on the table and inviting us to dig in.

After she left, Hwasa continued, raising a singular eyebrow, “Is it just me or do you seem slightly disappointed that I haven’t met them?” She took her first bite.

“Oh, uhm, no. Well, maybe a little. I was just curious about something that’s kind of a rumour going around right now. I was wondering if you might know something about it since you seem to keep up with the gossip at this school for your newspaper, but it has to do with BamBam, so-”

“Try me. I may know more than I even know that I know.”

“Okay..., well, it involves his girlfriend… ex-girlfriend, I think,… Lisa, and this other girl, Mina.”

Hwasa gasped, “Mina Myoui? Hmm, so that’s who that guy in the picture is…”

“What do you mean?”

During the orientation, some freshman girls showed me a photo, asking me if it looks photoshopped or not. I guess they thought I would be able to tell better, because of my experience in the graphic design department. Anyway, I recognized the girl immediately, Mina Myoui. She’s a sophomore, super pretty and really popular not to mention that she’s incredibly talented. She plays viola, I think. There are always people trying to start rumours about her, so at first I kind of shrugged it off. I figured that whoever the guy was was probably trying to photoshop himself on a date with her or something, but if it was photoshop, it was a damn good job. The more I looked at it, the more real it looked.”

“No way!” I slammed my hands on the table before calmly pulling them back at my side and apologizing, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so dramatic. It’s just that I’m almost certain those pictures were set up by someone with something against BamBam and maybe Mina too. Whoever did it is messing with his relationship with this other girl, Lisa, and he doesn’t have any idea why.”

“Really? That’s crazy. I can’t believe all this was happening without me even knowing. Am I losing my touch?” She started rambling, half to herself.