“Alright class, for homework tonight read pages 36-50 and do the critical thinking.”

 The bell rings dismissing class, everyone gathers their things and scurries out from the door. Tiffany writes down the assignment, she packs up her things and walks out the door.

“Tiffany!”

Tiffany jerks her head to the right, she sees Jessica walking toward her at a quick pace.

 “Oh Jessica,” She smiled as she slings her bag over her shoulder.

“I’m heading home now, my English class got canceled.” Jessica bragged, a cocky smile on her face.

Tiffany scoffs, “You’re just getting lucky with everything…”

Jessica laughs, “I know. Anyways, do you want to go get dinner somewhere?”

Tiffany perks her lips, “Where?”

 The latter shrugs, “Anywhere. It’s Friday night.”

Tiffany chuckles, “That’s true. Okay, classes are over for me anyways. So let’s drive home first and we can carpool together.”

 Jessica nods, “Okay. Meet you at home.”

The two friends part ways to their separate cars. As Tiffany was about to unlock her car, someone grabs her wrist and turns her around. Her eyes widen in shock, but she quickly calms herself down realizing it was only Jay.

“Geez Jay, can you at least say my name instead of forcefully turning me around?” Tiffany snapped in irritation, pulling her hand away from her boyfriend.

 Jay rolls his eyes, “Whatever. Anyways, let’s hang out. I don’t have classes.”

 Tiffany unlocks her car door, “I’m hanging out with Jessica tonight.”

Jay groans, “What about me? I’m your boyfriend.”

Tiffany tosses her bag in the passenger seat and closes it before looking back to Jay.

 “And Jessica’s my best friend,” She retorted, her anger rising.

 Jay takes a deep breath, “We haven’t hung out in so long.”

 Tiffany sighs in annoyance, “Sorry Jay. Next time, I already told Jessica I was going to hang out with her.”

The latter groans and runs a hand through his messy hair. “Whatever.” He replied bluntly, without giving a chance for Tiffany to talk he turns around and walks away.

 Tiffany was about to call for him but she stopped herself, there was no point if it was going to lead to more arguing and besides, she didn’t even want to talk to him.  Tiffany drives home and to her surprise she sees Jessica sitting on the steps of the stairs of their apartment building.

She parks in her usual spot and notices Jessica looking at her so she waves and motions her to walk to her car. Jessica holds up her pointer finger, indicating her to wait a moment, she then turns her head to the right displaying her phone up to her ear. Tiffany nods in her car and patiently waits for Jessica to finish her conversation.

Several minutes pass by and Jessica finally ends her call, she stuffs her phone in her back pocket and walks to Tiffany’s car.

“Hey let’s go,” Jessica said as she sat down in the passenger seat.

 Tiffany nods, “Okay.”

 She pulls out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

“Where are we going?” Tiffany asked, unsure of where their set destination was.

 “Let’s just go to the Korean restaurant we like,” Jessica replied as she was applying lip gloss.

 “Okay,” She said, taking a right at the intersection.

“So who were you talking too?” Tiffany asked, striking up a conversation.

 Jessica smacks her lips as she finishes applying her lip gloss to make sure each lip had an even coat. She glances at Tiffany with stoic eyes, “Yul.”

 Tiffany’s eyes widen, she wanted to look at Jessica but since she was driving she had to keep her eyes on the road.

“That reminds me…How are you guys’ able to communicate? He’s in Korea,” Tiffany inquired, realizing that Jessica had been texting Yul for quite some time.

Jessica picks at her nails, “We both downloaded this app that allows us to text and call for free.”

 Tiffany quickly gazes at Jessica, “Seriously? What’s it called?”

 “Let’s talk free.”

 “That’s so cool…” She said in awe, she was fascinated that two people who were thousands of miles apart from each other were able to communicate.

 Jessica smiles, “Yeah. You should download it…Then you can tell Taeng to download it and you both can start texting.”

 Tiffany groans as she pulls up to a red light, she glances over at Jessica with an irritated look on her face. “Seriously Jessica? How long are you going to keep teasing me about him?”

 Jessica shrugs, “Why are you getting so defensive? Can’t you take a joke?”

 Tiffany sighs, “Yeah maybe after one or two. But you keep teasing me and it’s getting annoying.”

Jessica rolls her eyes, “It’s not my fault you’re attracted to him.”

 Tiffany chokes on her breath, “W-what?!”

 The blonde latter crosses her arms, “I’m not stupid Tiffany. And neither are you, we both know that you’re attracted to him.”

Tiffany remains quiet; she takes the final left to their destination and parks in an available spot. She gets out of her car, Jessica following behind, they both enter the restaurant. They were led to a small booth in the corner, the waiter hands them their menus and leaves to allow them to look it over.

Tiffany couldn’t help but wonder about herself and Taeng. The words of Jessica were echoing in her mind and she was trying to decipher them into her own emotions.

 Jessica sets down her menu, “Sorry.”

 Tiffany snaps out of her thoughts and peeks over her menu. “For?”

“Saying all that stuff about you and Taeng, I’ll stop,” Jessica said; a sincere smile on her face.

Tiffany slowly nods her head, “T-thanks…”

 Jessica quickly nods, “Yep.” She picks up her menu again and scans the menu.

 It left a dumbfounded Tiffany staring at her friend in confusion. One minute she was teasing her about Taeng and the next she apologizes and stops?

 “Why?” Tiffany said out of the blue.

 Jessica sets down the menu, “What?”

“Why did you all of a sudden apologize?” Tiffany asked in suspicion.

 Jessica shrugs, “Why does it matter? I said I would stop teasing you about Taeng isn’t that a good thing?”

Tiffany flinches in surprise, “I-I mean…Yeah, it’s just that…It was so sudden.”

 “Tiffany, you don’t like it when I tease you so I might as stop talking about Taeng around you.” Jessica retorted bluntly.

 “I never said I didn’t want you to stop talking about Taeng in general…” Tiffany muttered, her eyes returning to her menu.

 Jessica smirks, “So you’re saying…We should talk about Taeng?”

Tiffany jerks her head up, “W-what?! No that’s not what I meant!”

 Jessica laughs, “Then what Tiffany? What did you mean to say?”

 Tiffany felt flustered, she was tongue-tied and she couldn’t find a correct response.

 “I uhm…I.”

 Jessica claps her hands as she laughs, “Busted!”

Tiffany drops the menu, “Wait what?!”

 Jessica continues laughing, “Admit it… You like it whenever we talk about Taeng.”

 Tiffany grows red, she was thankful the restaurant was dim that only Jessica could see her pink cheeks.

“Geez…” Tiffany grumbled, in complete embarrassment.

 Jessica composes herself from her laughter and stares at her friend with a gleam in her eyes.

 “Come on, just admit it.” Jessica challenged, she smirks cockily.

Tiffany sighs, “It’s not that I want to hear his name every time…I just like talking about him.”

The latter stifles her laugh since she was trying to act serious, “Why?”

Tiffany shrugs, “I don’t know…He’s an interesting guy.”

 The waiter approaches their table with a cheeky smile on his face, “What can I get for you beautiful ladies?”

 Jessica rolls her eyes, “Bibimbap for both of us. Thanks.”

The waiter writes the order down, “Alright. I’ll get that started for you right away.” He takes the menus away from them and walks away, leaving the girls with their unfinished conversation.

 “Taeng is an interesting guy huh?” Jessica retorted, returning to the conversation.

 Tiffany absentmindedly nods, “Yeah…I’ve never met any guy like him before.”

 Jessica her eyebrows, “What do you mean?”

She shrugs again, “He’s nice...funny, sweet, easy to get along with, dorky…And he’s really cute.”

The corners of Jessica’s lips tug into another smirk, “Cute huh?”

 Tiffany blushes, “I’m just saying…”

 The latter leans forward in her seat, her devilish smirk appearing before Tiffany.

 “Doesn’t matter, you think he’s all the things you said right?” Jessica teased, suppressing her laughter.

Tiffany grows even redder, “Y-yeah.”

Jessica returns to her seat, “Okay. Just wondering.”

 Tiffany looks at Jessica with the utmost confusion. Jessica takes a sip of her water; she looks at Tiffany and sends her a warm smile. Tiffany’s mouth was agape; she shakes her head and snaps out of her thoughts.

Jessica, you really are weird. She thought to herself before taking a sip of her water.

 

“So Taeng…” Yul said, a smirk on his face.

Taeng looks up from his book, “So what?”

“You never answered my question.”

 Taeng his eyebrows in confusion, “What question?”

“If you like Tiffany,” Yul repeated bluntly.

Taeng’s eyes widen, “O-oh yeah.”

“Yeah, don’t think I forgot.”

 Taeng turns his head away, “Why does it matter?”

 Yul chuckles, “Come on…I just want to know. You never, I repeat NEVER, would talk to Jessica and me over chat. You also would never say you’ve got tons of time to do homework. You always put homework and studying first. I know you Taeng, I’ve been your roommate for the longest time to know everything about you.”

Taeng turns his head back to his head, his eyes soft and expressionless.

He sighs in defeat, “It’s not that I do like her…” He gazes at the latter with the same expression, “I’m just attracted to her…That’s it.”

Yul frowns, “Seriously?”

Taeng nods but somehow he felt hesitant to pursue with his answer.

 The latter sighs, “No feelings whatsoever?”

 Taeng bites his bottom lip, “Y-yeah. Just an attraction.”

 Again, he felt hesitant but he argued against it.

 Yul slowly nods, “I see…”

“It’d be hard anyways…” Taeng cuts in, his mind speaking out loud.

 Yul gazes at his friend, “What do you mean?”

Taeng’s eyes widen realizing what he said, he bites his bottom lip again and mentally curses himself for even saying his words.

 “Come on Taeng, tell me.” Yul persisted, his eyes locked on him.

Taeng sighs in defeat, “She’s in the states Yul.”

“So?”

 “So? I’m here, in Korea. We’re thousands of miles away.” Taeng stated, his eyes gazing down to his textbook that was still open on the table.

 Yul leans against the table and crosses his arms, “And?”

 Taeng looks up, “Long-distance relationships are ridiculous. How can anyone fall in love with someone they can’t see every day?”

Yul doesn’t answer his question; he remains quiet with his eyes still on Taeng. Taeng sighs again and leans back against his chair, he was about to drop the conversation and pick up his book but he hears a sigh from the latter.

 “I can…”

 He looks at Yul with confusion, “What?”

“I’m in love with someone I can’t see every day,” Yul stated softly, his eyes now looking at Taeng’s book.

“Who?” Taeng asked, although for some reason he felt as if he already knew who the person was going to be.

Yul chuckles bitterly, he drums his fingers on the table before looking at Taeng.

 “Jessica…” Yul confessed, his face turning pink.

Taeng’s eyes widen, his assumption was right but he never thought it would be true. Ever since he became Yul’s roommate, he had always been suspicious about Yul’s feelings towards Jessica. He would always talk about her with an idiotic smile on his face. He even would stay up light just to talk to her. Taeng always wanted to ask Yul if he had feelings for the blonde girl but he was afraid he would be wrong or he might hurt his friends’ feelings so he kept it to himself.

 Hearing Yul confess to Taeng wasn’t a complete shocker but he was surprised that Yul finally decided to confess his true feelings.

“Really?” Taeng asked dumbfounded.

Yul chuckles and nods, “I’m in love with her Taeng.”

 “I had a feeling this whole time.”

“Really?”

Taeng nods, “I was always suspicious but I never thought it would be true.”

Yul chuckles bitterly, “Well… Now you know.”

 “Does she know?” Taeng asked curiously.

Yul’s face softens; he tightens his lips and grimaces.

 “Yeah…” He answered, earning a shocked look from Taeng.

“Seriously?” Taeng asked again for reassurance, receiving only a short nod from his friend.

 “Does…Does she love you back?” He asked softly, being sensitive to his friend’s feelings.

Yul chuckles softly, “Yeah.”

 Again, the same shocked expression bestows on Taeng’s face. He leans forward on the table and stares at Yul with disbelief.

“Are you serious?”

The latter his eyebrows and looks at him, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Taeng shakes his head, “No, don’t get me wrong. I’m just surprised…” He trails off, leaving Yul to look at him with a puzzling look.

“Surprised that?” Yul asked, encouraging his friend to continue.

“That you guys aren’t dating yet.” Taeng closes his eyes, afraid that Yul would get mad at him.

 After not feeling a punch on his arm, he slowly opens his eyes and sees Yul chuckling softly to himself.

“Taeng, you are a dork,” Yul said with a small smile on his face.

Taeng takes a deep breath, “I hope I didn’t…offend you?” He said, unsure if “offend” was the correct word to use.

Yul shakes his head, “No I’m not offended at all.”

Taeng tilts his head to the side, “May I ask then…” Yul motions his hand for him to continue. “How come you guys’ aren’t dating?”

Yul laughs, he looks down at the table with his arms crossed. His smile seemed bright and lively, which was surprising to Taeng since he pictured seeing Yul crying and acting dramatic about this situation.

“We are dating,” Yul stated after his laughing fit was over.

 Taeng’s eyes widen again in complete shock. “What?! How come you never told me?!” He exclaimed, his voice projected so loud that everyone around the campus heard him.

 “Aish, lower your voice! People are staring!” Yul said in complete embarrassment.

 Taeng sheepishly smiles after feeling the stares of the people, “Sorry.”

Yul sighs; he leans back up against his chair and shrugs his shoulders.

 “I didn’t’ tell you because…” Yul crinkles his face, “It’s difficult to explain.”

Taeng slowly nods, “Try.”

 Yul takes a deep breath, “We’re in love Taeng…Madly and deeply in love with each other. But we told each other it wouldn’t work out if we wanted to be in a relationship.”

 “How come?”

 Yul chuckles bitterly, “Like you said Taeng about Tiffany. She’s in the states and I’m here in Korea.”

 Taeng remains quiet; he patiently waits for his friend to continue.

Yul’s eyes soften, “But we vowed that we will be together.”

Taeng smiles softly, “And when is that?”

 Yul chuckles and looks at Taeng straight into his eyes.

 “The day we will see each other again,” Yul states with a confident smile on his face.

 Taeng’s smile grows wider, “You’re going to see her?”

 Yul nods, “I plan on visiting the states just to see her.”

 Taeng chuckles, “Hey, that’s great man.”

 Yul happily smiles, “Thanks.”

 “I’m happy for you, she seems like she makes you happy,” Taeng said with a bright smile.

 The latter nods again, “She does. That’s what love does to you.”

 Taeng’s smile fades away; he stares at Yul with questioning eyes.

That’s what love does to you, resounds in his head.

 Love.  

What is it about love that makes people so happy?

 How does love feel?

 What does love look like?

 Questions ponder throughout Taeng’s head.

But even a smart guy like him can’t answer those questions.

 Because for starters, he doesn’t even know what it feels like to be in love.