December

----Chatroom 293---

: Kim Hana is coming to Sunday dinner.

: No.

: I swear. I was at Song's getting my mani pedi, and Suzy and Krystal were there and they couldn't stop talking about it.

: But how? Norms never get invited to Sunday dinners. 

: I heard her mom is dating Dr. Lee Taewoon.

: Chaekyung's dad? Shut. Up.

: Wow. Looks like Mrs. Kim is trying to claw her way back up the social ladder.

: Like mother like daughter.

: What do you mean?

: I head Kim Hana was totally flirting with Luhan at some Norm Party over Thanksgiving.

: No way. Isn't she going out with that Choi Siwon person?

: Yeah but why drink the milk when you can get the creme de la creme?

: There is no way those girls are going to let that happen.

: I don't know. She is Kim Hana.

: So?

: Somehow that girl always gets what she wants.

Hana:

It was weird being back in Krystal's house. Aside from the fact that pretty much everyone in the library was staring or whispering, not one detail had changed.

On the other side of the room, next to the study desks, Luhan was talking to Baekhyun, both of them keeping their eyes on the crowd. Suddenly I caught his eye and he tilted his head in an almost imperceptible nod. 

My body temperature skyrocketed to nuclear levels. I turned around and studied the spines of the books, pretending not to notice him/. My phone beeped, and I fished it out of my clutch purse. It was a text from Yoona.

Still alive?

I laughed under my breath and texted back.

So far.

Good. Take notes!! And come over after. We can detox you! :p

"Having fun?"

I tucked the phone away as Seul Mi sidled up to me and offered a cup of cider. She was wearing a black silk dress with a high ruffled neck and no sleeves. 

Her heels gave her a good three inches on me. She leaned back against the floor to ceiling bookshelf behind me and surveyed the room.

I put my clutch down and took the cup.

"Couldn't you get excommunicated for talking to me?" I said, feeling grateful nonetheless. She was the first person who'd spoken to me all night. 

"Yes, but I have my excuses all lined up," She  replied, talking out of the side of . "First, it's the holidays and talking to you is a form of charity,"

"Gee, thanks." I said.

"And second, I'm drunk." She added, lifting her cup in a  toast.

My lips pursed. "Is that what I taste? Did you spike this?"

She shrugged. "What's a Sunday dinner without a little alcohol?"

"You should drink some and drown your sorrows."

"What sorrows?" I frowned.

Seul Mi took a deep breath. "You know.. it's the holidays...yoru dad is MIA..."

My throat completely closed off.

"Don't get me wrong, sometimes I wished my dad would disappear," she joked. "But do you ever wonder where he is...where he's living..whether he's working?"

"Yeah." I said, telling myself that she wasn't trying to be mean.

"Did your dad ever work in a service job? Like as a waiter or anything?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"What? I don't know. Why?" 

She shrugged and turned to face the room again. "Nah. I just wonder where a person like that ends up."

I took a shaky breath and sipped my cider, then spit it back into the cup when I remembered there was alcohol in it.

I felt an intense need to change the subject but I couldn't think of anything to talk about.

My gaze immediately traveled to Luhan.

"So, what do you think of our Luhan?" Seul Mi asked, as if reading my mind.

The girl was seriously fraying my nerves. "Why? Did he say something about me?"

Seul Mi frowned thoughtfully. "No, I just thought you might have formed an opinion about the guy who now lives in your room. Why? Should he have said something about you?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Suzy slipping into the room and took it as an excuse. "I'll be right back."

The conservatory was cool and quiet, the glass walls surrounding the grand piano looking out over a rose garden. Suzy stood in the center of the room, fiddling with her cell.

"Suzy." I whispered.

Her hand flew to . When he saw it was me she grimaced. "God! You scared the hell outta me," she said in full voice. Then she looked me up and down. "Where did you get that outfit? The streets?"

I chose to let the comment roll off my back. "Can we talk?"

"Why? So you can call me a again?"

"No. I'm sorry about that. I just...you're so different. I guess I was just shocked."

"Different how?" she asked, her eyes like slits. "Oh, you mean coz I have a life? Coz I'm not following you around like some puppt dog?"

I blinked in surprise. "You've never did."

"Whatever. You loved the fact your were more popular than me. That you got to bring me along to parties I wasn't invited to, like I was some orphan you were helping out. That you and Krystal and Seul Mi were like a little ." She said lifting a hand.

"Well guess what?" she continued. "There's a new now. And we don't need a fourth."

I swallowed hard. "I thought we were friends."

"Friends don't just disappear in the middle of the night and never call," she said. 

Suzy took a step towards me. "Doesn't matter. Your father stole from us. He broke up my family."

"Wait, what? Your parents are --"

"Getting divorced? Yeah. Thanks to you," Suzy spat. "That's what happened when your dad stole all my dad's money."

Luhan:

"Dude, Kim Hana looks hot tonight," Taejun said as we walked into the dining room.

"Too bad I never got a chance to tap that." Taeju added. They laughed and slapped hands while I swallowed my disgust.

"Don't be a jackass," Baekhyun said, buttoning his jacket as he came up behind us.

We all look at him, confused. Baekhyun had never scolded anyone for anything, especially not talk.

"What?" he said, pausing. "There are parents all over the place. Get a life." 

He moved on to join Krystal and her family.

I kept one eye on Hana who was slowly making her way along the opposite side of the dining table. I glanced at the place cards. Mrs Jung liked to mix adults and kids.

Who was I going to spend the night making tortured small talks with?

Finally I spotted my name. I was between Mrs. Bang and Mr Park. Great. Mrs Depressed and Mr Loud.

I glanced around and saw Hana's name on the next card. Instant excitemment.

I looked over my shoulder at Mrs Jung, made sure no one else was watching, then quickly switched Hana's card with Mr Park's. I shoved my shaking hands into my pockets. I had just broken a major Crestie rule.

No one messed with Mrs Jung's order of things.

"If everyone would please take their seats!" Mrs Jung announced, ringing her obnoxious dinner bell.

As Hana slipped into her seat, her arm grazed mine. She was wearing the this dark purple blouse with a wide neck that exposed her collar bone. All I wanted to do was kiss that collarbone.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey."

I felt like every inch of my skin was on fire.

"So, I'm thinking...after this we should go somewhere." I whispered.

She ducked her head. "Go somehwere?"

"Yeah. You and me."

"I have a boyfriend, Luhan."

"All I wanna do is talk."

She scoffed and tore off a piece of her bread. "Yeah right."

I sat back, faking offense. "Why? What do you think I wanna do?"

She looked at me and rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

"No really. Tell me. Is there something you wanna do other than talk?"

Hana shoved a huge piece of bread in . I'd been right about one thing. Sunday dinners were way more fun with her here. I took a bite of my risotto and looked across the table for the first time.

Seul Mi was glaring right at me as if I'd just stomped on her foot.

Crap. I glanced away. 

"So, Dr Lee Taewoo, how are things in the hospital?" Mrs Bae asked.

"Fantastic." She replied.

"It's our honor to have you," Mrs Jung told him. "I'm so glad you brought along our old friend." She smiled at Hana's mother. "Would've invited you myself, but I was sure you'd be interested."

I felt Hana tense up next to me, but her mother beamed. 

"Of course I'm interested. I missed you girls." She grinned at Seul Mi's mother, who gave her what I thought was an encouraging look, and at Suzy and Baekhyun's moms too. My mother looked kind of pale as she touched her napkin to and cleared her tthroat.

"Yes, they've missed you too," My mother added. "Can't tell you how often they talk about you."

Hana's mother seriously looked as if she was going to with hapiness.

"It's true," Mrs Bae said. "We've especially missed your seven layer chocolate cake."

Hana smiled as her mother beamed.

"You should think about making this a weekly thing again." Mrs Jung said.

My skin tingled. Hana at every Sunday dinner? Greatest thing ever. If she were here every week, my friends  would have to get used to her again. Who knew?

"I would love that," Mrs Kim said happily.

"Good." Then Mrs Jung sat back in her chair and something in her eyes shifted. "In fact, perhaps you should host next month."

Hana's smiled faded.

"Oh, fabulous idea!" My mother trilled, catching on to the joke. "But don't you live in the Orchard View Condo? Would you even be able to squeeze us all into that tiny place?"

Hana's mother went ashen. I wanted to launch myself over the table and wring my mom's neck. How could she say that?

I hated her in that moment.

"Ladies." Seul Mi's mother scolded. Across the way, Seul Mi's dad let out a loud burp.

A few people laughed under their breath. Hana's mother leaned behind Taejun's back to whisper something to Dr. Lee. He nodded and pushed his chair away from the table.

"I think we should be going."

"Oh, Taewoo, please. Is that necessary?"

"Yes."

Good for him.

Hana didn't move. The mortification was written all over her face. So blatant I felt it in my gut.

Suddenly I didn't care about Seul Mi's glare or the fact that Suzy and Baekhyun and Krystal were watching. I leaned towards her ear.

"Don't listen," I said. "They're just a bunch of sad old es with nothing better to do."

Hana looked at me, her eyes shining.

I wanted to kill every person in the room who'd ever made her feel bad. But then she pressed her lips together and shoved herself up from the table. And left.

"Thanks for coming." Suzy said sarcastically. Krystal shot her a scornful look but Suzy just rolled her eyes.