"Did you get it?" Jisoo asked with a big smile when I walked into her house after work.

"Get what?" My arms were full of my study materials and the snacks I'd brought that morning at the store. I was still in my zoo T-shirt.

Jisoo held up a big white envelope.

My heart skipped a beat. "No. I came straight here from work. Which school?"

"Gangnam University."

I dropped my armload on her table. "And? Did you get in?"

"Of course. Just like you will." 

I threw the pack of gummies at her head a little harder than I intended and she held up her hands to block the assault.

"What? We shouldn't be confident?" Jisoo asked. She picked up the pack of candy and opened it.

"I don't want to jinx it. With my luck, I won't get into any colleges."

Jisoo groaned. "What do you always say? There is no luck involved. This is about hard work, and we both know you've put in the time."

She was right. I had worked hard. I was a 4.25 GPA student, with extracurricular experience that included volunteer work, community outreach programs, clubs, and college prep courses. I had done almost everything on the "how to earn a scholarship" list I'd printed out years ago and stuck on my magnet board in my room. I wasn't just going to get into every college I applied to, I was going to have college paid for. I had to have it paid for.

I picked up Jisoo's envelope. It was heavy in my hands. I turned it over and over again. "Is this the only one you got today?" It was taking everything in me not to skip this study session and go home to check my mail.

"Yes. No Seoul National yet."

Seoul was Jisoo's top choice, and she'd tried to convince me to make it as mine as well. Seoul National, like Jisoo often pointed out, was one of the best schools for veterinary medicine (my dream job), as well as the best school for primary medicine (her dream job). But even thought she was right, and in my heart of hearts I knew it was probably the perfect school for me, Seoul National was up north, which wasn't close to Busan. Jisoo had practically forced me to apply. She thought that I'd want to flee from my dysfunctional family My family may have been dysfunctional, but they were mine, and I was the only one holding them together. The strings I was using were so frayed that I was sure without me they'd snap and everything would be broken. I needed to stay as close as possible. I needed to know I could come home regularly and check on everyone.

So my top choice was Busan University. Just far enough away to live on campus, but still only a 45-minute drive back home. Plus, it was an excellent school. I wasn't sacrificing anything by staying close.

The back door opened and Irene walked into the kitchen. She still wore her tutu from earlier. Jisoo and I immediately stopped talking about college. Irene was going to a community college and, depending on her mood, was very touchy about it.

"You didn't change at home?" I asked.

"I'm channeling my inner dancer." Irene grabbed my hand and spun me toward her.

"I like your inner dancer," I smiled.

"As you should." She let me go and her eyes zeroed in on the college packet that sat on the table. "Whose acceptance letter?"

"Mine," Jisoo said. "I got into Gangnam Univeristy!"

"Nice! Congrats." Irene looked from Jisoo to me and then back again. "You weren't going to tell me?"

"Of course I was," Jisoo said. "I was distracted by your tutu."

She shook her head. "Just because I don't have all your brains doesn't mean I'm a crappy, jealous friend. Tell me things like this."

"We will," Jisoo said. "Promise."

"Same," I said. I picked up the bag of chips and handed them to Irene. "I brought you a snack."

"Thanks!" Irene said. "My favorite."

I went to the cupboard in Jisoo's kitchen and retrieved three glasses. "Speaking of snacks, what kind of candy does Boyfriend like? I need to know for my party tomorrow."

"Jinyoung. His name is Jinyoung," Irene huffed.

"His name is Jinyoung?" Jisoo asked. "Huh."

I knew she was kidding but Irene still scowled in her direction. Then she turned to me and said, "I'm not sure. I just started dating him a couple weeks ago."

"Find out and text me." I pour Coca Cola into our cups and took a swig of mine right away. I needed caffeine. It had already been a long day and we had at least three hours of studying ahead of us.

"I don't think you can all something a party when only three people are invited," Irene said as if she'd been thinking about this fact since our talk earlier today.

"I actually invited four, but Jimin couldn't come."

"Zoo Jimin?" Irene asked.

"Yes, but don't call him that if you ever meet him."

She laughed. "I'm sad he can't come. I wanted to finally meet the infamous Jimin."

"Infamous? I wouldn't call him infamous."

"What would you call him?"

I looked up in thought. "Talked-about-on-occassion."

She nodded. "Okay, I wanted to meet the talked-about-on-occassion Zoo Jimin."

"Yes, it would've been fun. He's fun. But whatever. No Zoo Jimin."

"We are talking entirely too much about boys for a study session, " Jisoo said from her spot at the table.

"Yes, you're right," I said with a sigh, sitting down beside her and reaching for my Skittles. "Let's get to work."