The rest of the week dragged on slowly as I waited for the weekend to arrive.  At least practice gave me the opportunity to let out all of my wriggles and nervousness.  Consequently, the more nervous I was, the better I performed.  Most people were impressed with it except for a few like Chung Ae who just glared at me as they passed by.  I didn’t let it bother me; why should I bother with people like that?  Actually, it wasn’t a good thing, my weird running habit.  If I was upset or nervous or scared, I always ran faster, and often times longer, to gain that tranquility and blank mind I craved.  Some people used drugs to escape –I ran.  A few times back in America I worked myself to exhaustion, in which case someone would have to take me home where my parents would fuss over me before and after I took an hour long ice bath.

Friday came and I wasn’t sure if my thudding heart was because of my nervousness or excitement.  Maybe both?  Luckily, I acted somewhat normal around Youngmin.  I didn’t stutter or say anything stupid or giggle (heaven forbid I giggle).  So I figured I was okay in that area.

How I made it through classes is beyond me, I know I didn’t learn anything.  Lunch was a blur of Ara Cha and her friends.  At practice I was finally able to calm down a bit.  Like always I kept to myself, not running with anybody.  I needed to clear my head… again… like I had been doing all week long. 

Maybe I should try some yoga.  I’ll ask Coach.

My workout over, I made my way over to the coach and asked if I could do a bit of yoga to replace strength training.  He readily agreed considering how hard I’d worked recently.  I thanked him politely and quickly made my way to the dance room which is usually empty at this time.

Sweaty and disgusting, I quickly began my work, using my ipod to play the music.  The slow, soft, calming music filled the air and I lowered the lights.  Then I started my routine.  I stretched out my muscles, letting out all of the stress and nerves in my body, breathing deeply and slowly.  Before I knew it, the music stopped playing and it was time to go shower.  As I stepped into the steaming water, my worries continued to wash away.  Finally able to relax, I shut off the water and stepped into some casual clothes: a gray and white striped shirt with capped sleeves, a fitted green jacket, dark jeans, and a pair of gray and white striped ballet flats that matched my shirt.  Tying a gray scarf around my neck, I was ready.

Finally, I stepped outside again, a wispy breeze fluttering my wet strands of hair.  I glanced around, searching for Youngmin.  Upon finding him, I casually made my way over to where he stood with the rest of Boyfriend.  As I stopped next to him, he looked down at me, smiling.

“You ready?” I asked, although he looked more than ready in his blue jeans and clean, red shirt. 

“Yeh, let’s go.”  He bid farewell to the others who gave us amused expressions as we began walking away. 

“Umma!  I’m home!”  I yelled into the apartment.  “I brought a friend with me!”

“Mwo?” I heard the shriek come from the kitchen.  Smiling to myself, I met my mom at the entrance of the kitchen, her wiping her hands on a dishtowel. 

“Welcome home, Jin Haneul!” her smile slid past me and her eyes landed on Youngmin behind me.  “And who is this?  I saw him before, but you never introduced us.”

“Oh, eh, Umma, this is Jo Youngmin, a classmate of mine at school.  Youngmin-oppa, this is my umma.”

My mom’s eyes widened when I called Youngmin ‘oppa.’  Seriously, what was the big deal?

“Thank you for letting me over, Mrs. Jung.”  Youngmin bowed his head.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure!  A friend of Jin Haneul’s is a friend of mine.  Especially one as handsome as you.”

“Mom!” I whined, totally embarrassed.  “Youngmin-oppa and I are going up to my room to study.”  I practically started shoving the boy up the stairs.

“I’ll make some snacks!” Umma called after us. 

I pushed Youngmin through the door in my room and closed it firmly behind me, sighing in relief.  He looked around at my room, appearing to take everything in.  It wasn’t large, but it wasn’t small either.  I loved the greens and blues that gave the space a cool but comfortable look.

(Take away the beach poster above the bed and that’s the basic idea)

Then, locking eyes with Youngmin, I guided him to my desk, pulling over an extra chair for myself.  Taking out a few worksheets that I had gathered from our English teacher, I got to work trying to re-teach Youngmin what we had learned that week and the one before.  He listened intently as I explained the grammatical structure and which form of a sentence makes the most sense and sounds the most sophisticated.  The going was slow, but I made sure that Youngmin understood everything I taught him, even if I had to re-word a statement three different times.  It wasn’t hard to keep patient with this blonde boy.  He worked so hard and really tried to learn everything.

About an hour and a half (and a few cookies) later, when I thought he had a firm hold on the things I had taught him, I gave the boy a few examples from our previous homework and let him work it out on his own.  Glancing through the sentences, he corrected them successfully and with incredible ease.

“There, that’s it.  That’s the correct way.”  Youngmin pushed the sheet over to me, a light dancing in his eyes.  “Jin, I understand it.  I can understand what it’s saying and know how to fix grammatical errors.  I did it!”  He threw a fist in the air triumphantly, before turning back to me again.  “Thank you, Jin.  Thank you so much.”  His voice had grown soft and genuinely grateful.

Embarrassed, I blushed, saying, “I didn’t do anything.  You’re the one who did all of the work.”

Unexpectedly, Youngmin stood up from his seat, dragging me from mine in the process.  Before I could ask him what he was doing, I was enveloped in a bone-crushing embrace.  He held me firmly to his chest, squeezing me in his arms, his head turned into the crook of my neck.

Blushing furiously, I gasped, “Youngmin…-oppa…  I-I can’t… breath.”

“Oh!” he pulled back quickly.  “I’m sorry, Jin!  I didn’t-”

I couldn’t hold back a little laugh.  “It’s fine.  Besides, you are repaying me tomorrow, right?”  I desperately hoped that he hadn’t changed his mind.

To my relief, he nodded his head vigorously, “Of course!  Most definitely!”  Then he glanced at his watch, a gasp parting his lips.  “Oh, Jin, I’m so sorry, but I have to go.  I have something else going on tonight and I’m already late.”

I also glanced at my phone and realized that I was also late.  I had that business party tonight and I still needed to get ready.

“I have something else, too.  Let me walk you to the door.”  We both bounded downstairs and I bid him goodbye as he left.  When he was out of sight, I shut the door and ran back upstairs to take a quick shower, putting on loose clothes to work on my hair. 

Deciding that ringlets would look best, I started curling my blonde locks, applying a generous amount of mousse to keep the curls in place.  My makeup was simple, accenting my eyes the most.  Using my eyeliner, I drew a thin line under my eyes and winged it out on my top lid.  My mascara was black with a little glitter applied to the very tips of my lashes.  My eye shadow included a fine, white powder for the base and then sparkly pink to shade the outside of my eyelids.  Light foundation for my fair skin and just gloss for a clear sheen on my lips.

Turning to my closet, I pulled out the dress and slipped it on.  Facing the mirror, I was once again speechless at the girl staring back at me.  Her creamy skin didn’t look as bad as it had seemed in the tan-obsessed America I was used to.  Her heart shaped face with delicately high cheekbones gave her a young, innocent quality I was used to.  Her thick hair blonde hair looked like a curly halo around her face, cascading down her bare, flawless shoulders.  This new girl made my usually too-skinny legs look elegant and the heels added some height, making them look longer. 

That can’t be me, I thought.  This dress must have some enchantment cast upon it to make the wearer look more beautiful than she really is.  Or maybe I’d read one too many fantasy books…

I didn’t have any pretty jewelry to wear with this dress, so I shouldered my silver purse with a large bow on the front and a long, chain-linked strap.

Just as I stepped out onto the top step I heard my mom yell up to me, “Jin Haneul!  Are you ready?  It’s time to go.” 

I stumbled down the stairs as swiftly as I could in heels.  I met my umma and appa downstairs and when they saw me their eyes shone with pride.  Umma wore a floor length evening gown the color of jade green and Appa looked sharp in his black party suit with his tie the same color as my mother’s dress.

“Look at my gorgeous daughter,” Appa said.  “She shines like a gem.”

I grinned at my father’s cheesiness.  “Thanks appa,” I kissed him on the cheek.

“Jin Haneul,” I looked to my mom.  “I have something for you.”  She extended her hands, cupped around a box in soft, black satin tied with a white bow.

My eyes widened and with shaking hands took the box from my mother.  I stared at the gift in my hands and then looked back up at my parents who nodded to me encouragingly.  Slowly, I untied the ribbon, letting it drop to the floor, and opening the lid of the box.  Inside, on black velvet, rested a glittering teardrop diamond threaded along a delicate white gold chain.  I gasped softly, taking in the simple, mesmerizing beauty.

“I knew you didn’t have any jewelry to go with your dress, and when I saw this, I just had to get it for you.”  My mother beamed at me.

Overcome with emotion, I enveloped her in a tight hug in a rare show of affection.  Clearly surprised, my mother hugged me back just as tightly.  When I pulled back not too long after, she looked slightly disappointed, but her smile didn’t fade.

“Why don’t you let your father put it on?” my mother suggested.

I turned to my dad and handed him the box.  He carefully removed the necklace and I swept back my hair so he could clasp the chain behind my neck. 

“There,” he declared when finished, “now we’re ready.”  I could see his eyes glistening wetly and my chest clenched.  I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my head into his shoulder.

“Thank you, daddy,” I whispered, taking me back to when I used to call him that as a little girl.  He eagerly returned my embrace, holding me as if I were still six.

“You’re welcome, baby,” he replied just as softly.  He held just a few seconds longer before pulling back.  “Now, we don’t want to mess up your pretty hair and makeup, do we?  Let’s head out.”

I smiled at my mother and father.  They may not be my biological parents, but they were the ones who had raised me and loved me for the years I could remember.  I followed them out to the sleek car that waited for us outside.

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