“Are you sure that you’re going to be okay?” Dr. Thompson said with a worried expression. “I feel bad leaving you alone”

Jane was laying on the couch, watching her father preparing to leave. Although she was released from the hospital earlier that day, her father put her on bed-rest, or in this case couch-rest. Her father wanted the least opportunity to reopen her new stitches. But knowing Jane’s luck as of late, she would find some way to pop the seam. Jane tried to calm down her father’s nerve, “Dad, I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl. Plus, I’m just sitting on the couch all day.”

“I know, but I would feel better if someone was here to look after you.” He walked over to his daughter and her hair. He sighed, “Besides, you’ll always be my little girl.”

“Daddy,” Jane began to speak with reservation. She didn’t really want to tell him this lest he make a bigger deal out of the situation than it actually was. It was, after all, two kids in their early twenties having a play-date. Was that so strange? “Actually, Dongwoo is coming over later, you know, to hang out.”

Dr. Thompson pulled back from his daughter and gave her a stern look. “Dongwoo is coming? You two all alone in this apartment?” Jane nodded innocently. “You call my beeper if he tries anything funny. If he even touches you in any way, call me”

“Dad!” Jane whined, lightly pushing her father away. “It’s not like that. Besides, even with one less organ, I can take him. You saw how small and skinny he was.” She flexed her arms, hidden underneath her flannel pajamas. “Look at these guns!”

Her father squeezed her bicep and cocked his head. “Looks like your guns ran out of ammunition. You need to start working out again.”

Jane gave an embarrassed smile, “Yea it’s been awhile.”

“Since when?”

“Senior year in high school,” she answered honestly. “I’ve been busy, you know. People in Phi Beta Kappa aren’t bodybuilders for a reason. We work out a different muscle,” she finished explaining, pointing to her head.

Dr. Thompson ruffled his daughter’s head. “Don’t work it out too much. You don’t want to get a big head.” He looked at the clock and started to make his way to the door. “I gotta go or I’m gonna be late. Call me if you need anything. I might be able to leave early today. So I’ll see you soon!”

“Okay Dad! Have a good day!” She watched her father leave and close the door behind him. Once Jane heard the door return to its frame, she threw the blanket off of herself, leapt off of the couch, and ran into the bedroom. She had no idea when Dongwoo was coming over, so she had better prepare as soon as she could, starting with finding an appropriate outfit to wear. It would look bad if she received Dongwoo twice in her apartment while wearing pajamas.

As she was through the clothes in her closet, she began to eliminate some of her options. Putting a dress up to her body, she looked at herself in the mirror. She winced. The last time she wore a dress, it did not go so well. Better not give herself an opportunity to ruin her last good dress. A skirt would be good then. No, it would rub against her stitches, and knowing her luck and with Dongwoo’s fear of blood, her wound would reopen.  As she saw herself in the mirror holding up the skirt to her body, Jane began to laugh and put the skirt away. What was she doing? Dongwoo had literally seen her at her worst moment in her life. Anything would be an improvement on that ghastly image. Besides, she began to feel comfortable around Dongwoo, like he was her older brother. It didn’t really matter what she wore. So Jane opted for comfort over cute. Her grey capri sweatpants and pink-striped t-shirt was a slight improvement from her pajamas, but an improvement nonetheless. And for the finishing touch, she threw her hair up into a high bun and smoothed her unruly bangs into place.

After getting changed, she left her bedroom and looked around the main living area. With her abrupt visit to the hospital, the apartment was in the same messy state it was when Dongwoo had first come over. Dirty dishes still laid in the sink. Her study material was still sprawled across the kitchen table. Even the t.v. remote was where Dongwoo had left it. Jane frowned. She would have to tidy up a bit, just to make it look livable.

A half an hour later of sprucing and vacuuming, the apartment didn’t exactly sparkle, but you could at least move around the apartment without stubbing your toe on a stray book or shoe. Jane plopped down on the couch satisfied with her cleaning accomplishment. It’s all you can expect from an invalid anyway, Jane thought gingerly touching her side. Her stitches began to feel uncomfortable rubbing against the bandages. I shouldn’t move around too much.

She the tv and began to watch her daily sitcom. She had missed a day, and a lot had happened. The main couple’s relationship had progressed significantly. “They better not have kissed last episode,” she mumbled to herself as she picked up a couple of long embroidery threads. Jane always felt to keep her fingers busy while watching tv, whether she’d be taking notes, drawing pictures, shoveling food into . But today she was doing something that she hadn’t done in a while. She was giggling to herself as she was paying attention to her craft. She hadn’t felt this excited for awhile. She really missed hanging out with friends.

Time seemed to pass slowly, as it always does when you are waiting for someone. ‘A watched pot never boils.’ Psh! Mom and her clichés. Once the show was over, Jane turned off the tv and walked over to the window, hoping to catch a glance of her friend. She thought about trying to sneak up on him, giving him a good scare. He seemed like an easily excitable person. She could have fun messing with him.

Tic. Toc. Tic. Toc…Hurry up! Jane rested her head on the windowsill. Where is he? Did something happen? She quickly looked at the clock. It had only been five minutes since she started to look out the window, but it had felt like an hour.  Time was flowing like a lazy river, and Jane needed the current to become stronger so that she could reach her destination faster. She needed to distract herself, but how?

She picked up one of her grammar books and immediately put it back down, shaking her head. No, she didn’t have the attention to absorb any of the material. Jane then took out her laptop. She needed to find a black hole, her whole-heartedly into its grasp. What she needed was…the Backstreet Boys.

The 90s boy band might seem passé to some, but to Jane, they sent her on a stroll down memory lane, not only when she was much much younger and they were actually relevant (they will always she relevant in her heart of hearts), but also when her and her friends would have a 90s revival night during those late college nights. And even though it had been a while since she had last played their songs, the words were already engraved into her memory. She only needed to press play, and the lyrics would come flowing right out of . The tune, on the other hand, was another issue. In her family, Jane was notoriously tone deaf…and notoriously did not care. She would continue to belt out every song stuck in her head, much to her family’s chagrin. Her mother always said that Jane would have been a great singer if she had the talent because she definitely had the passion for singing. Unfortunately, Jane was stuck with the vocal version of having “two-left-feet.”

But it was more than enough for Jane, as she was singing passionately on the couch, using the tv remote as a microphone. “Show you the man that I’ve become!”

“Oh, you’re a man?!” a voice came from her side.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Jane screamed and reflexively threw the remote at the direction of the voice, hitting the person in the head.

“Uh ow!” Dongwoo said, his hands rushing to the point of impact, right below his eye.

“OMIGAWD! Dongwoo! I’m so sorry!” Jane apologized. She jumped up from the couch and grabbed by the shoulder, pushing him towards the spot that she just left. “Sit down. I’ll get ice.”

Dongwoo started to wave his hand. “No, no. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“Psh!” Jane remarked as she was already filling up a bag with ice cubes. “You’re cheek is going to get big, and you’ll look like this.” She grimaced and closed one eye. Dongwoo laughed at her expression, gingerly touching the area below his eye. It was already beginning to swell. After fixing up a ice pack, Jane sat down next to him, putting the bag against his cheek. “I’m sorry again.”

“Hey, you didn’t mean to,” he said taking a hold of the bag. “How are you feeling? Do you still hurt?”

Jane pinched the air with her fingers. “Just a little. But I’m better.” Dongwoo looked relieved, but also he looked like something else. Jane couldn’t put her finger on it. There was something different about his appearance. He wasn’t wearing his usual baseball cap or hoodie covering his head. Jane could actually see the top of his head. It was really shiny. The light bounced of it like a mirror. His hair was perfectly quaffed. Was his hair always that color? It looked lighter than the other day. But under his hair looked different as well. Did his complexion always look that clear? Jane shook those thoughts out of her head. Dongwoo was starting to give her weird looks for staring at him too long. Don’t be silly. It’s still Dongwoo. “How did you get in?”

Dongwoo gave an embarrassed giggle. “The door was opened,” he answered pointing to the door. “I heard you singing. You have a good voice.”

“Psh!” Jane scoffed giving her friend a playful push. “Don’t lie.”

“You’re right. It ,” Dongwoo said with a mischievous smile. He then began to mimic the way she sang.

Jane shot him a stern look, “Do you really want to see my scar again?” She asked, pulling up the hem of her shirt.

Dongwoo’s free hand shot to her shirt, pulling it back down. “Stop it! Stop it!” Jane laughed. She liked seeing Dongwoo squirm like that. She had a tendency for finding peoples buttons and pushing them a little. She claimed she did it because all little sisters were contractually obligated to; everyone else claims it was because she was slightly passive aggressive.

Then she noticed that Dongwoo was still holding the ice next to his cheek. “Here. Let me look.” She said moving the bag gently from his eye. She scooted closer to him to get a better look. The swelling had gone down a little, but there was something else weird happening on his cheek. Moisture from the bag was clustering oddly against his skin; it looked as if his skin was almost melting. Jane rubbed her thumb against his cheek. Color had come off onto her thumb, the same shade as his skin. She quickly looked up at his eyes. Dark lines were painted along his lash line.

Laughter began to build up in the bottom of her belly. She tried to hold it in, for fear of hurting Dongwoo’s feelings. But the laughter had already traveled up and was pressing forcibly against the walls of her cheeks. She couldn’t help but to let out a snort.

“What? Why? Why are you laughing?” Dongwoo asked unconsciously laughing himself.

Jane pushed her thumb into his line of sight. “You’re wearing…make-up!” She said bursting out into a fit of giggles and snorts. Tears were coming out of her eyes. “You look prettier than I do!” She pointed at her clean face.

He cocked his head to the side. “Is it really that weird?” He asked.

Jane was waving her hands as she rocked back and forth, still laughing. “No no no,” she tried to assure him. She then remembered long ago reading an article about how men in South Korean tended to wear make-up. But she was just not used to seeing it. Some boys in America never even brushed their hair.  Jane couldn’t even fathom them applying concealer underneath their eyes, let alone eyeliner like Dongwoo did. She finally started to breath normally. “You look nice. Very Handsome.” She gave him a thumbs up.

Dongwoo looked eager to change the subject because he was already sifting through the bookbag that he brought with him. “Ah! Here it is! Jjang!” He said, pulling out a long, thin book. He proudly showed it to his find. “Let’s read this!” It was a Korean children’s book with a penguin wearing goggles on the front.

“Pororo…” she pronounced carefully. Dongwoo nodded. This was a really good idea, giving Jane a much needed opportunity to expand her vocabulary and practice her pronunciation. Warmness began to form in her heart. Dongwoo was looking after her so well. She was grateful. “CUTE!” she exclaimed, giving her approval for his choice of activity.

The two moved closer towards each other so that they both could read and look at the pictures. Jane looked over at her friend, “Do you read? Or me?”

Dongwoo nudged her. “You!” he said encouragingly.

Jane gulped. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She was about to be confronted with a lot of words that she had never seen before. Children’s books tended to have weird vocabulary. She remembered when she read one for her German class (Latin students are encouraged to learn French and German too for their research). There was a flying pickle involved and a boy named “Tiny Tuesday.” She didn’t want Dongwoo to think any less of her, or any reason to mock her either. Dongwoo nudged her again, with the book opened to the first page. “Go ahead!”

It took them over an hour to finish the small book. Jane pronounced everything slowly and carefully. Dongwoo would politely correct whenever she would stumble. It didn’t bother Jane though. She was eager to learn Korean and to learn it correctly. Dongwoo was very good at showing her the inntonations and helping her find the rhythm of the language.

It was hard speaking a language. She still wasn’t used to forming such foreign words with . She would have to over-exaggerate the pronunciation a couple of times before it became natural. She felt like a little kid learning to talk.

Not only did her slow reading delay the process, but she also asked questions about the pictures. “How do you say this?” She asked pointing to a tree. Dongwoo would answer every single one, satiating her unending curiosity. Not only that, but he would also ask her questions about the story:

“What do you think will happen next?” I don’t know. I’m scared. Turn the page! “Who’s your favorite character?” Jane pointed to Loopy. “Why?” She’s pink. Pink’s my favorite color. Who’s your favorite? “Crog.” Why? “Green’s my favorite color.” I know. “How?!” Jane pointed to the pants he was wearing; they were green. It’s obvious.

When they had finally finished, a huge wave of accomplishment washed over Jane. She had just finished her first full book in Korean. Yea, it was about a penguin and his animal friends getting into a sticky situation, eventually pulling out scot-free and their friendship stronger than ever. But it was a book. A whole book! Jane laughed. She couldn’t even remember the last time she read a picture book. She concluded that all books should have pictures. They really do bring a whole other dimension to the story.

As she was lost in thought, Dongwoo’s attention was drawn towards her laptop. “You like them?” He asked pointing to BSB’s album photo on her itunes. “Really?”

Jane was not ashamed at all that Dongwoo had discovered her guilty pleasure. Boy bands were her weakness. She would never deny it to anyone; she couldn’t. “Yup! They’re awesome!” She picked up the laptop and placed it on her lap. She the image of them tenderly. “I love boy bands.”

Dongwoo burst suddenly into laughter. He fell onto the floor and began to roll around. Jane raised her eyebrow. Did she say something funny? “What? I do!” She kicked him as he was rolling. “Stop it!” she commanded. She felt herself pouting a little. What was his deal? She sighed. I guess this made them even; she did spend a good five minutes laughing at his face. She could at least stomach him laughing at her music preference.

Dongwoo slowly pulled himself back onto the couch, wiping tears from his eyes. “Do you listen to Kpop?” he asked as though he already knew the answer.

“Nope.” Jane shook her head. “I’m homesick. So I’ve been listening to American songs.” She felt guilty again for not wanting to immerse herself entirely into the Korean culture. She only really just got her toes wet, testing the waters, fearing to dive in. What if it was too cold? Hypothetically.

“There’s a lot of boy bands,” he said spreading out his arms. “A whole lot.”

“Really?!” Jane's heart jumped. She only knew about PSY, so she thought that she wouldn’t really care for Kpop. But boy bands was another matter entirely. She put her laptop onto Dongwoo’s lap. “Show me!”

“Okay!” he said excitedly. As he was surfing the internet, looking for the first Korean boy band song Jane will ever listen to, Jane’s heart began to pound with excitement. In a few seconds, she could have another Backstreet Boys again. She couldn’t wait. “Okay! Got it. You ready?”

Jane was bouncing up and down on the couch in excitement. “Press play already!” He did. The song was…familiar somehow. Like Jane had heard it before. She laughed when she realized what it reminded her of.

Dongwoo looked a little shocked. “What? What’s so funny?”

Jane could only say one thing. “Mario kart. It sounds like Mario Kart. Like Rainbow Road.”

“You don’t like it?”

Jane shook her head enthusiastically. “I LOVE it!” That connection made her like the song even more. It gave it a sense of nostalgia, a sense of fun. Dongwoo’s face lightened up. “It’s fun!” Jane started to dance in her seat. “What’s it called?”

“Man In Love,” he said joining in her impromptu dance party.

“Who sings it?” Jane asked shaking her head to the beat.

Dongwoo all the sudden stopped moving. He lifted his head to the ceiling deep in thought. Jane should’ve thought as much. Why would a guy know a lot about boy bands? “Shi…SHINee?” he stated as if a question.

“Can you show me more?” Jane asked innocently. “I think I like them.”

Dongwoo placed the laptop on the table in front of them and pulled up a video. “SHINee’s ‘Sherlock,’” he announced before he pressed play.

“Sherlock?” Jane said skeptically. A song about the most famous detective in literature? She expected to be confronted with pictures of Robert Downey Jr. Instead, she was greeted with the image of 5 beautiful boys. They obviously were wearing make-up like Dongwoo. Or at least she thought that they were all guys before. One of them had really long hair and bangs that covered half of his pretty face. He was maybe too pretty for Jane’s liking. Their voices were pleasant to the ear and powerful too, but they sounded drastically different from the first song. That small discontinuity quickly fell from her thoughts. Their dance was nothing like she had ever seen. Even the Backstreet Boys couldn’t move like that, especially now when they were in their thirties. “Whoa! They dance so well.”

“I can dance too,” Dongwoo said with a twinge of jealousy.

Jane scoffed in disbelief. “Dance like that?” She asked, pointing to computer screen. Sure Dongwoo moved. He moved a lot. Jane already noticed how his body was constantly twitching, but coordinated twitching was another matter. You have to find a rhythm and keep it.

“No,” Dongwoo said, his eyes emitting a naughty glint. “I’m better.”

Jane motioned to him to get off the couch. “Prove it!”

“Okay!” Dongwoo accepted the challenge. He walked over to the laptop and changed the song to one of the hip hop songs Jane had on her itunes that she forgot she had. It was one that she had overheard at a frat party, liked, and bought as soon as she got back. She couldn’t even remember what it was called.

Dongwoo didn’t even give Jane a chance to try to think of the name. He had gripped her attention as soon as he got up. All the sudden, he moved his limbs smoothly, a big contrast from his sharp twitches. His limbs became fluid, and every move connected. It was even on beat…as much as Jane could tell. Jane felt her jaw drop. She was impressed, speechless, dumb-founded…insanely jealous. Then, all the sudden, he threw his body onto the floor. Jane’s eyes widened. What was he doing? Then he immediately reversed back upright, as if you were rewinding a film.

“No way!” Jane jumped up and started clapping immediately.

Dongwoo stopped dancing and started bowing. “I told you,” he said smugly.

“You’re cool.” Jane walked over next to him. “Teach me how to do that move.”

Dongwoo looked confused, then he realized which one, “Oh! The scorpion dance! Okay.” Her grabbed her by the waist and put her into position, giving both of them enough room in the small apartment to get down and back up again. He went slowly through the motions, not removing his gaze from Jane for one second. Jane too was analyzing each move of his body, trying to memorize it for when she would attempt it. She wanted to get it on the first try. Jane was competitive and did not want to lose to her new friend. “You go down like this. Hands here. Then you lift your leg like this. And you push off with your hands like this. Got it?”

Jane nodded. “Yep!” She left out a deep breath and cracked her neck. She went down the way Dongwoo had shown her, but as soon as her belly hit to ground, she remembered…her stitches. She flopped onto the floor in defeat. There was no way she could pull off the move perfectly in this condition. She grew frustrated. She kicked her feet as if she was having a tantrum.

Dongwoo laughed. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Squid dance,” Jane said jokingly. If she couldn’t do the scorpion dance, then she’ll just have to make up another animal based dance. It made her feel a little better. It was a small victory.

“Your stomach hurt?” Dongwoo asked, bending down to her level.

Jane looked at her friend. How did he know? She didn’t like to show it when she was in pain. She hated feeling vulnerable. That was probably also the reason why she never got into a serious relationship with a boy. She’d rather play it safe than put herself in a vulnerable position. She didn’t want to be attacked; like a limping lamb in front of a starving lion, the lion would naturally pounce and rip the lamb apart. But Dongwoo, this lion of a man, saw this little lamb trying to hide her injury. He called her bluff. “Can you help me up?” she asked already grabbing onto his shoulder, pulling herself up carefully.

Dongwoo pushed her over to the couch. “Sit down and rest,” he commanded the girl. He sat down next to her so that their shoulders were brushing up against each other.

Jane smiled to herself. Being with Dongwoo, sitting this closely to him, it was weird that it felt so comfortable. But it was like he was already family. They were already joking with each other like Jane did with her siblings. She enjoyed the banter. She had missed it, missed them, her brother and sister on the other side of the world. She turned and looked at Dongwoo. They definitely weren’t related, but his big, sparkling eyes reminded her of Maggie. His playful, teasing demeanor was like Kyle. It was weird. But Kyle would never were make-up, Jane joked to herself.

Jane felt a lump in her sweatpants. She had forgot about the gift that she made for Dongwoo. “Dongwoo, give me your hand.”

“Huh? Why?” he asked, looking slightly scared.

“Just close your eyes and give me your hand,” Jane said impatiently. He did what he was told tentatively. But as soon as she touch his wrist, recoiled.

“What are you doing?” he whined.

Jane grabbed his wrist. “Just wait! Hold on!” His wrist became still, but the nervous energy soon transferred to his legs. Jane sighed and tied the braided, twisted string around his wrist. She had misjudged how big his wrists were. He needs to eat more. “Jjang! Open your eyes!”

Dongwoo looked down at the bracelet on his wrist. He laughed, “It’s green!”

Jane stuck out her tongue. “I told you I knew!” She then pointed at his wrist and showed him her own. She had put on the pink bracelet she made the afternoon before Dongwoo arrived. “They’re friendship bracelets. Now we’re officially friends! See look! They go together!” Dongwoo’s bracelet was mostly green, but there was a small pink line weaving through the pattern. Jane’s was the same but reversed. “Don’t take it off!” Jane commanded with a stern look. She assumed that Dongwoo wouldn’t obey her. She had noticed all the accessories that he would pile onto his body. Every time they met they were different. She still hoped that he would keep it on though because she really liked hers. She wouldn’t take hers off.

“Thank you!” he said, beaming, gingerly touching his new accessory.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing! They both jumped from their seats. It was Dongwoo’s cellphone. The smile fell from his face.

“Do you need to get that?” Jane asked, trying to see who was calling him. She knew it was rude, but her little sister curiosity always got the better of her. It’s not like it mattered. She didn’t know who “Leader Gyu” was anyways. But it seemed important based on his expression.

“I need to go,” Dongwoo said solemnly. Jane’s heart sank. She had wished that he would stay for dinner. She really didn’t want to have ramyeon alone again. She loved the noodles, hated the solidarity. Dongwoo must have noticed her disappointment. “I’ll try to come again tomorrow. But…”

Jane forced a smile unto her face. “I understand. I’m a big girl.” Repeating the same words she had said to her father earlier. “If you’re busy, you’re busy,” she said escorting him to the door, shuffling her heavy feet the whole way.

She did not even notice that her head was hanging down until Dongwoo pushed back up with his forefinger. “I’ll be back soon!” he promised, giving her an energizing smile. “You really need to get a cellphone.”

“Pfft! I know! It’s hard,” Jane said resting her head on the door she opened for her friend. As he walked across the threshold, Jane weakly waved, “Take care!”

“You too!” He called back as he walked down the hall.

Jane closed the door and rested her back against it. She let go a deep sigh. Her eyes drifted over the clock. It was close to dinnertime. If only he didn’t have to leave so soon. It was weird. While she was waiting for Dongwoo, time was at a virtual standstill. But those hours just flew by too quickly. It wasn’t fair. Her stomach growled. Mentally, she didn’t notice time flying by, but her stomach did. It was angry at her for not feeding it in hours.

She left the door and walked over to the fridge. She opened the door and plunged her face into its cool air. Looking around, she was surprised at the amount of food they suddenly had. Hearing about his daughter’s misfortune, many of the nurses at the hospital gathered together and made dishes for the Thompsons. I should’ve asked Dongwoo what they  were. Jane didn’t even know what she was looking at.

Suddenly, Jane could hear shuffling and mumbling from the other side of the fridge door. She froze. Someone else was inside her apartment. Maybe Dongwoo was trying to sneak up on her again.

“Is that you, Dongwoo-AAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Jane peered cautiously over the door. Her gaze was met with two tall Korean boys, posing as if they were in a spy movie, backs to the wall, hands in the shapes of guns. She immediately hid behind the door again.

The taller one pointed and shouted at her, “Ah! Girl! I was right!”

Jane grabbed a squeeze bottle of mustard. She really needed to start remembering to lock the door. The taller boy she had never seen before. But the handsome face of the shorter one looked familiar. She was always good with faces. With a deep breath, clutching the bottle, she quickly closed the fridge door and confronted the two boys, aiming the bottle at their faces. They immediately threw their hands up in the air, afraid of her condiment weapon.

The smaller one begin to laugh at the situation. The jaw of the taller one dropped. “An American girl?!” he exclaimed in disbelief, his voice cracking slightly.

“Whoa! Didn’t see that one coming?” the smaller one said with a crooked smile. He then bit back the smile once he realized that Jane was studying his face.

“Uh!” She had it. She knew who he was, but she couldn’t believe it. What in the world was he doing here? He shouldn’t be here. She had only seen his face for one second on tv, but without a doubt it was him. “ICE CREAM BOY!” she shouted in disbelief, using the mustard bottle to point at him. Acting in almost the same way the taller boy did. But he wasn’t holding a mustard bottle. In her shock, Jane accidentally squeezed the bottle, spraying a yellow stream in the direction of the Ice Cream boy’s face.