“Hello, hello. I acted confidently. Hello, hello. I want to talk to you for a moment,” Andreya’s phone sang.

Andreya would have normally ignored her phone that early in the morning. The thought that it could have been from Chanji made her decide to check it. Her assumption proved to be true; he invited her to get something to eat with him. His persistence on association made her realize he no longer shared simple friendly feelings for her. Before she really had time to contemplate her schedule, he already informed her he would be waiting for her. In response, she rubbed her temples and sighed before she got out of bed.

As she got dressed, Andreya pondered over her situation and tried to figure out a way she could politely explain why she wasn’t interested in dating. She decided wearing casual clothes might aid in that message. As she reached for her keys, Tina zoomed ahead and grabbed her own keys first.

“Are you okay?” Andreya asked and stepped back, slightly startled at the scene she just witnessed.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

Andreya could do nothing but raise her eyebrows and watch Tina as she left the door. She tried hard to remember the last time Tina had acted so excited, but there were too many memories to think of a particular indecent. Soon, she decided to let it pass because would probably eventually subside.

Later, she arrived at the cafe that Chanji was supposed to be at, but he was nowhere to be found. She just sat and waited as several passersby stared at her foreign presence. Living in South Korea for so long desensitized her from the annoyance of the constant attention, so she barely noticed it. Even so, she was thoroughly annoyed by the ignorant whispering and became impatient waiting for Chanji.  Just as Andreya pulled out her phone to text him, he appeared out of thin air holding a bag of food and a cup holder with two spots occupied.

“You didn’t think we were eating here, did you?” he asked as he tilted his head to the side.

“We’re not?”

“No, silly. It’s too nice of a day today. Let’s go to the park.”

“Umm, alright.” Andreya thought that would have been a very uncomfortable place to reject him, so she decided to let it wait for another day.

He gestured with the cup holder and stammered, “C-could you–”

“Oh, sorry.” She immediately took hold of the cup holder relieving him of some of the weight until they sat on a comfy bench.

The entire outing was extremely peaceful and not romantic in the least. Andreya even wondered why she even questioned his motives. One question he asked made her slightly nervous, though.

A little girl ran up to them and giggled uncontrollably until she gently poked Andreya’s arm. Immediately after, she pulled her hand back, squealed, and sprinted away. Once again, Andreya was touched by a child who was excited to touch a foreigner.

Catching her off guard, Chanji asked, “Andreya, do you want kids?”

She thought for a moment before she answered. “Well, yes and no. I love children, but to have them costs a lot of pain and requires a lot of responsibility.”

“I don’t mind,” he stated as he leaned back and looked up to the sky. “I really want to be a father. I… All my best memories were with my dad, and I want to have a son so that I can pass on all of our fun moments.”

Andreya allowed herself to meditate on the words he used for some time. She understood that most boys never want responsibilities, and contemplated if this boy was all that different. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice herself loudly slurping her empty cup.

Chanji chuckled and whispered, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, sorry,” she apologized as she gathered her things. “I was just thinking.”

After an awkwardly quiet walk home, Chanji offered her a coupon.

“What’s this for?” Andreya asked with a half confused, half amused expression.

“We’re friends right? Here’s a gift from a friend to a friend.” He noticed the awkward atmosphere and went on to elaborate. “See? It says, ‘Buy one, get one free.’ That means if you buy one item, you ca–”

Andreya snatched the coupon and barked, “Just give me the stupid coupon.”

“If it’s so stupid, give it back,” he teased.

“I don’t have time for these childish games,” she muttered as she opened her door.

Before she went inside, he wished her a good day. As soon as she went inside and closed the door, she stopped and reviewed the events that took place. After a few more seconds, she felt silly for thinking about a boy who she didn’t even like. To redirect her thoughts, she grabbed a tub of ice cream from the freezer and flipped on some cartoons.

Not too long after, her phone started playing Stop Girl by U-Kiss. That song was set as the default for any unknown contacts.

From: Unknown

Uhh…

The text just read, “Uhh…” Andreya just stared at the message with her eyebrows furrowed before she responded.

To: Unknown

Who the heck just says, “Uhh…”?

From: Unknown

I meant to continue, but I

accidentally sent the message.

To: Unknown

Okay, that’s great. Who are you?

From: Unknown

You know who I am.

Andreya became annoyed, but she calmly responded.

To: Unknown

No, I honestly don’t.

From: Unknown

You’re the one who gave me your

number.

Andreya looked to the ceiling, and then scanned the walls around her as she desperately tried to remember who she may have given the number to.

To: Unknown

Was this in Korea or the U.S.?

From: Unknown

Don’t be silly. It was a couple

days ago, maybe a week.

To: Unknown

Even if I did, why did it take you

until now to text me?

From: Unknown

I’ve been a little busy, sorry. But

 I know you’ll forgive me.

To: Unknown

And why is that?

From: Unknown

Because of who I am.

To: Unknown

Who are you?!

From: Unknown

I trust that you’re smart enough to

 figure it out. ;)

Within seconds, Tina came home and Andreya greeted, “Hey, how was work?”

Tina slammed her bag on the table and her hair backwards. After an obnoxiously loud sigh, she picked out a spoon from a drawer and sat on the sofa. Before she could get her grubby hands into the ice cream, Andreya pulled the tub away.

“I asked you a question,” she scolded.

Tina leaned forward and stretched her arm and dipped out some ice cream as she answered, “Someone offered me a job yesterday, and today, I was officially hired.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Andreya questioned, offended that her best friend kept such a big secret.

“I wasn’t supposed to; it’s top secret. I’m not even supposed to be discussing this with you,” she explained with both of her eyebrows raised.

“So you’re a spy?” Andreya asked in a mocking tone.

“Shh! They’ll hear you!” Tina dramatically screamed as she cupped Andreya’s mouth shut. She looked in all directions and continued by whispering, “Yes, I’m a spy, and I’m involved in high priority, top secret missions. I have all of my spy gadgets back at the secret headquarters. I have also been taught the ancient art of Ninja Skillz; my current level is seventy three point eight–”

“Point eight?” Andreya asked out loud breaking the quietness.

Tina stood up, slumped her shoulders, scuffed her heels on the floor as she walked away, and mumbled, “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“The ‘Ninja Skillz level seventy three point eight’ killed it,” Andreya stated as she continued eating ice cream.

Tina turned around with wide eyes and asked, “If I left that part out, would you believe me?”

While changing the channel, Andreya didn’t make eye contact as she responded, “Not even.”

Tina smirked to herself and went off into her room.