As a  stream of mustard was flying through the sky, the tall boy leapt in front of his friend, soaring across the kitchen. Mustard splattered across his back, and the boy collapsed onto the floor, his body going limp. The handsome boy fell to his knees, kneeling at his friend’s side and grabbing his hand. “Sungyeol-hyung…” his voice overwhelmed with sadness.

Jane stood completely still, her eyes wide-open. She dropped the bottle to the floor. Her mind was still processing the events that just transpired. The fact that two strange men had just barged into her apartment, one of them was a celebrity, and she had just unintentionally shot mustard at them. But all she could focus on was that the tall boy had admirably taken a “bullet” for his friend. It was like a climactic scene from an action movie. “That was so cool,” she finally spoke in awe, barely above a whisper.

The tall boy (apparently named Sungyeol)suddenly  got up to his knees, done feigning his death by condiment, and exclaimed, “Right! That was cool. Like an action star.” The handsome boy pushed him back onto the ground in frustration, upset that Sungyeol ruined a perfectly awesome moment by praising himself.

Jane quickly bent over to help the fallen boy up, hooking her arm underneath his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” she asked, slightly horrified that she treated a stranger so horribly. That’s right, he was a stranger. Not only that but he was an intruder, and she was helping him?  “Wait a second, “ she started. Then her mind finally became clear. Her concerned expression dropped from her face, and she frowned, growing angrier by the second. “No, I’m not sorry,” she declared. Then she pulled her arm away from the boy and shoved him. He fell to the ground for the third time in a minute. He looked at her with a terrified expression, like a deer caught in the headlights. “You’re the ones who barged into my house like couple of assassins. What the hell do you guys want? What are you doing here?” she demanded, squinting her eyes and squaring her shoulders. Jane wanted to look intimidating, to show that even though she was small, she was not to be trifled with. But her heart was fluttering like a humming bird’s wings, feeling as if it was about to burst from her chest. She was scared.

Both of the boys stared back at her blankly. They didn’t understand her; she had gone off at them in rapid-fire English.  They were frozen just still as if they were afraid that motion would provoke the beast. Good, they’re scared, she thought feeling relieved. “Who are you? What do you want?” she growled in Korean.

“You don’t know us?” the tall boy asked, gesturing at the both of them with his hands. He was still laying on the ground.

Why would I? Jane questioned to herself. Should I? She took a step forward, closing the gap between them. Both of the boys flinched. “No, I don’t know you. I know him,” she stated curtly nodding in the direction of his accomplice.

Both of them looked utterly confused. “Me?” the actor asked, pointing to himself, his mouth agape in shock.

“Yea, from the ice cream commercial. Pop! Pop!” she explained, performing the same dance move that she recalled from few seconds of the commercial she saw.

“Pop? Pop?” the tall boy repeated, mimicking Jane’s moves. “Ah! Natuur Pop!” he exclaimed, hitting his famous friend in the leg. Then he pointed to himself and asked, “You..You really don’t know me?”

Jane started to grow angry at the boy’s insistence. “No, I know him,” she said slowly and clearly as she pointed to Ice Cream boy again.

The long-legged boy quickly got to his feet and turned towards his friend, giving him a lost look. “Hyung, she really doesn’t know us,” the handsome boy said, leaning on his shoulder against the kitchen wall.

“That’s weird. He came out of here. We saw him! They obviously know each other,” Sungyeol responded, passionately gesturing at each point he made.

The actor placed his head against the wall and thought for a second. “Probably keeping it a secret,” he concluded.

“Why?” his friend whined.

“I don’t know. Maybe…”

“AHEM!” Jane coughed, and they immediately turned towards her. She was growing annoyed. Her agitation was visible as she was tapping her foot incessantly on the kitchen tiles. After talking with them for a few minutes, these boys had answered none of her questions and instead interrogated her. And now they were ignoring her, discussing a matter Jane was unaware of. It’s not that she thought that the boys were being rude; she just hated being left out. “I CAN understand you guys. What are you talking about?”

“Dongwoo-hyung. We followed him here,” Sungyeol said finally giving Jane some answers. Jane felt her heart soften at the mention of Dongwoo. “Do you know him?”

 “Dongwoo?” she repeated. “Yea, he’s my friend,” she said nonchalantly, trying not to reveal too much about their relationship. “You know him?”

“Yea, we’re his friends too,” he responded with a gummy smile and gesturing between him and his friend, who gave her a friendly wave.

Jane could feel her harsh exterior start to crumble away, exposing her soft center. She always knew that she was very trusting of people, and maybe too trusting at times. But…but they’re still Dongwoo’s friends. That should count for something. A friend of a friend is…Wait, Janie, don’t get carried away. They could still be kidnappers. You’ve watched Taken. You’re no fool! She started arguing with herself. She then looked at the couple again, and it was as if she was looking at them for the first time. Jane had noticed how handsome they were before, but she didn’t really notice to what extent. Exceptionally handsome. It made her heart skip a beat. But what really lowered her guard was not their faces, but their expressions. They were terrified of her, of little tiny Janie. These two towered over her, yet they flinched at her every move, as if she was going to attack them. Even Sungyeol’s wide smile seemed forced because his eyes looked lost in confusion. And the other one’s expression was too stoic to read properly, but he didn’t ever meet with Jane’s gaze. Jane laughed. She never felt so intimidating in her life; it gave her ego a boost.

“My name is Sungyeol,” the tall boy spoke, interrupting her train of thought. He shook Jane’s hand warmly. Then, he gestured to his friend and said, “This is L…I mean, Myungsoo. I mean…” His voice drifted into doubt, looking desperately at his friend for the answer. Did they actually know each other, because it didn’t seem like Sungyeol knew what to call his accomplice?

“El Myungsoo?” Jane repeated. 

The Ice Cream boy shook his head and looked over to Sungyeol. “No, just…Myung..soo?” he asked his friend, raising his shoulders in confusion. Does he even know his own name?

Something was off. They were holding back some vital information. Janie could sense it. She took a step back from them and rested on her heels. Her shoulders collapsed, and she shrunk down to her normal small size. It’s time to get some answers from these weirdos. Like Mom says, you catch more flies with sugar. But who wants to catch flies anyways? Stop it head! Focus!  "Soooo...you followed Dongwoo here?" she asked nicely with a large smile forced upon her face.

"Yea." They both said in unison. Their eyes fixed to the floor, as if they were two children about to be scolded by their mother.

They weren’t making it easy for her. "Why?"

The boys were silent for a second and communicated to each other with their eyes, as if they were planning how much to divulge to Jane. After a few intense stares and head shakes were exchanged, Sungyeol gave in, sighed, and finally started to provide some answers, "Because he's been acting weird lately. Sneaking off."

"Going to hospitals," Myungsoo added. Heat rushed to Jane’s cheeks.

 "Keeping secrets from us. We're like family. We don't hide secrets from one another," Sungyeol ended passionately, and Myungsoo nodded in agreement. They really do seem to care a lot about Dongwoo, Jane thought. Guilt took over her. She was unknowingly responsible for Dongwoo’s erratic behavior, causing his friends to worry. But why didn’t he tell them about me? Is he embarrassed by me? But would I have told anyone about him, if he didn’t take me to the hospital? Probably not. Sungyeol must’ve noticed Jane undergoing this internal struggle and misinterpreted it as confusion. “Do you understand?”

She understood all too well. Jane hated secrets. Okay, so she liked having her own secrets, but her curious nature would not tolerate secrets being hidden from her. She would always uncover them after pestering her friends/family or after some delicate snooping. So given that, she completely understood where his friends were coming from. In fact, she could easily see herself tailing one of her friends for the same reasons.

 “I understand,” she finally spoke with a nod. She looked over at Sungyeol and saw the mustard splatter on his shoulder. “Just one moment please,” Jane requested. She walked away from them and entered into her father’s room. Approaching her father’s dresser, she opened a drawer and pulled out one of her dad’s old work-out shirts. “He won’t miss this,” she mumbled. With shirt in hand, she returned to the boys, who hadn’t moved from their spot as if they taken root in her kitchen. She handed the shirt to Sungyeol. “Give me your shirt please,” she commanded politely.

“What?!” he asked, his large eyes expanding to twice their normal size.

Jane giggled, realizing how weird she must have sounded. She pointed to the stain on his shirt. “I want to clean that,” she explained while mimicking washing the stain out with her hands.

“Oh! Thank you!” he said. Then, he began to take off his shirt. Jane let out a squeal, her hands shot up to cover her eyes, and she quickly turned around. Sungyeol and Myungsoo (if that really was his name) started laughing at her sudden shyness. Jane had tried so hard to act tough in front of them just moments before, but she couldn’t hide her innocent nature. She’s never even kissed a boy, and she was not prepared to see a virtual stranger strip. She put her palm to her chest. Her heart was beating fast, and she was growing hot. She began fanning herself with her free hand. What was he trying to pull? Maybe they weren’t as harmless as she thought.

As she was fretting, Sungyeol tapped her shoulder, and she jumped. “Uh, here,” he said handing over his dirty t-shirt. He pulled at the collar of her dad’s shirt that was a few sizes too big for him, even though her dad was shorter than him. “Thanks for this.”

“No problem,” Jane said as she took the shirt from his hand. She walked over to her stink and pointed to her kitchen table. "Please sit,” she urged them. The boys willingly did so. She had expected them to sit up straight and proper, as this was the first time in her house. But she must have created a comfortable enough atmosphere in the past few minutes because Sungyeol and Myungsoo were reclining at the kitchen table with their legs spread wide open. Their heads resembled owls as they kept turning round and round, analyzing every bit of her apartment. She laughed to herself, They really are Dongwoo’s friends. After treating the stain, she let the shirt soak for a bit. As she waited, Jane walked over to her fridge, “Would you like anything to drink?"

"What do you have?" Sungyeol asked.

Jane poked her head into its cold interior and looked around. "Water...juice...beer."

"Beer! Beer! Beer!" They practically squealed in unison. Jane laughed, pulled out two ice cold beers (that Dongwoo had given her), and handed them to the thirsty boys.

As she sat down with nothing in her own hands, Sungyeol asked, "You're not drinking?" He cautiously took a sip from his own can, while Myungsoo took a large gulp and gave a satisfied “Ah!” I wonder if he did a commercial for beer too. That practically looked like one.

She turned her attention back to Sungyeol. "Oh no. I can't,” Jane explained. “I came back from the hospital today."

"That was you!" he exclaimed. Myungsoo choked on his beer, either because he was shocked by this news or startled from his friend’s sudden shout.

I guess that it’s my turn to give some answers, Jane concluded."Yea, Dongwoo brought me to the hospital. My appendix,” she stopped. What was the word she was looking for? Her brain froze from exhaustion. “Ah...boom!" she said. She put her hands next to her scar and made them “pop,” also giving some gushing noises.

"Ooooh," they both said, understanding what she had meant with her crazed jazz hands, or at least they pretended to.

Jane then turned her attention back to Myungsoo, still curious about him. Everything about him screamed celebrity, yet here he was, at her kitchen table drinking cheap beer. And she was dressed in sweats. Just her luck. "How do you know Dongwoo?"

"Uh...we go to school together?" he said. His tone drifted into doubt again. Does everything this guy says have to be a question? He doesn’t seem sure about anything.

Sungyeol jumped in, diverting the conversation away from his friend. "What about you? Are you his girlfriend?"

" Pbft!” Jane snorted and entered into a laughing fit. She definitely did not think about Dongwoo in that way, especially since he reminded her so much of her older brother. Her and Dongwoo, that would be like ! Just wrong.

She probably would have continued laughing for much longer, but she pulled her stomach in the wrong way in her fit, her stitches tugged tightly on her skin. “Ow!” She looked up at the boys across the table for the first time since she went off. They were staring at her curiously, like she was something that they’ve never seen before. She blushed and looked down at the table, her fingers tracing the knots and whorls in the wood. “No, I met him at a convenience store. He's like a brother.” While she was talking, she heard a click. Her head jerked upwards. She saw Sungyeol  with a cellphone in his hand, aimed right at her. “Huh? Did you just take a picture?"

Sungyeol put the phone down immediately. Myungsoo looked in the other direction, pretending as if he was suddenly interested in her wallpaper. "Uh, yea," Sungyeol’s voice cracked.

"Why didn’t you ask?” Jane asked with a giggle “Take it again. I wasn't looking," she said, giving Sungyeol the cheesiest smile and her hands tucked underneath her chin, becoming photo ready. If they were going to take a photo of her, it might as well be a nice one.

"She's funny," Myungsoo laughed pointing at her with his beer can.

"Okay, one..two..three,” Sungyeol instructed, making a funny face on three, turning Jane’s smile from a cheesy-fake smile into a genuine one. “Thank you! ...And send."

"Who did you send that to?" Jane asked. She didn’t really expect him to send it to anybody. She just thought that they were going to present it as proof that they had met to Dongwoo.

"Another friend,” Sungyeol simply responded, not giving into her curiousity. Jane stuck her tongue out at him, but he didn’t notice. Something across the room had caught his eye. “Is that a pineapple?” Sure enough, right next to the couch was a pineapple that Jane had never seen before, and as far as she knew pineapples didn’t just spontaneously sprout from the ground. Sungyeol jumped up and retrieved it “Did Dongwoo give this to you?” he asked as he cradled it in his hands.

“Huh?” She thought back to Dongwoo digging through his bulbous bookbag, taking out various things before he found the book. That’s where it must have come from. She frowned. A part of her wished that she had an apartment that magically sprouted fruit. “No, he must have left it here.”

“Can we eat it?” Sungyeol asked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows. Myungsoo nodded somewhat drunkenly in response.

“Sure why not?” Jane shrugged. She herself was starving. Grabbing the pineapple from Sungyeol, she went over to the kitchen counter with it and grabbed a knife. Then her mind went blank as she studied the prickly fruit. “Uh, do any of you guys know how to cut a pineapple?”

Sungyeol laughed at her incompetence. “No, but I think that I can figure it out,” he said confidently. “It can’t be that hard.”

As it would turn out, cutting pineapple was hard. After Jane and Sungyeol struggled with a knife and cursed the prickly fruit, while Myungsoo sat at the table, drank another beer, and gave “helpful” comments, finally they had a plate of misshapen, yellow rhombuses. Sungyeol cautiously popped one in his mouth and washed it down with a swig from his beer. “This combination is weird,” he said scrunching his face.

 “But not bad,” Myungsoo laughed, eating a few pieces himself. Jane, then, grabbed a few pieces and shoved them into , afraid that the two tall boys would devour them all.

Sungyeol was about to eat another, but his phone rang. He picked it up and saw the caller ID. “Oh, he's calling.” He immediately answered it. “Hello...hyung? Eung, she says that he's like an oppa."

"Who is that?" Jane asked, becoming growingly aware that they were talking about her.

"Hmmm...Sungkyu-hyung," Myungsoo concluded, his cheeks growing ruddy from the beer.

"No, she doesn't know us. Right! It's weird,” Sungyeol continued on the phone. Then he shot a glance at Jane, looking at her up and down.  “She's looks okay, I guess.” Now Jane was offended. Who was this Sungkyu anyway?

"Here let me talk to him," Jane said, extending an open palm to Sungyeol.

"Huh?" he asked, looking at her empty hand.

Jane shook her hand in his face. “I want to talk to Sungkyu," she responded cutely, hoping that he would give into her aegyo.

"Uh..Okay,” Sungyeol acquiesced, placing his cellphone in her hand apprehensively. Myungsoo shot him a concerning look.

Jane smiled and put the phone to her cheek. She was going to have fun with him. "Hello," she said in English.

The other side was silent for a few seconds. "Oh. Hello,” a voice chirped, responding in English as well. “Who is this?"

Jane’s smile grew. He caught the bait. "This is Jane. And who are you?" she asked innocently, feigning ignorance.

"Ah, my name is Kim Sungkyu,” he said then paused for a moment, possibly racking his brain for Englishe phrases. “Nice to meet you. Uh...how are you?"

"I'm fine. Thank you,” Jane said sweetly. “And you?" Sungyeol and Myungsoo started to giggle, realizing what she was doing, messing with their hyung. She put a finger to her lip, shushing them.

"Uh..I'm good!" Sungkyu said, pretending to be cool, but Jane could sense him sweating on the other side of the line. His pauses in between statements were growing longer. She was wondering how much longer he could last before cracking.

"Is that the girl? Put her on speaker," Jane heard another voice demand.

 "I want to hear too," a third voice whined. How many people were on the other side?

 "Speaker, hyung! Speaker," the second voice commanded Sungkyu.

"Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate,” Sungkyu yelled at them in Korean. Then Jane heard a beep. She giggled. Even though he acted annoyed with the other two, Sungkyu easily gave into them and put it on speaker phone. “I, uh...You,” he stumbled in English. “Ummmm, Dongwoo's friend?"

"Nope, his wife," Jane said coolly.

"WHAT?!" The three voices screamed in unison from the other side. Sungyeol and Myungsoo must’ve forgotten Jane’s plan to mess with Sungkyu because they both choked on their pineapple and beer.

"Hehehe kidding!” Jane breaking out her Korean. “You guys are gullible," she finished sticking out her tongue to the two across the table. They looked relieved, but Sungkyu on the other hand…

"You...you speak Korean?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yea, I'm learning, and Dongwoo's helping me. I'm good, right?" Jane explained.

"...Eung." Sungkyu barely managed to squeak out, growing speechless.

Sensing that, Jane decided that she was done messing with him. "I'm giving the phone back to Sungyeol-ssi. Nice meeting you, Sungkyu-ssi. Bye!"

Sungkyu sounded relieved to finish the conversation. "Bye! Bye!"

Jane gave back the cell phone to Sungyeol, who immediately placed it upon his slightly puffy cheek."Oh, hyung. Yea, see you in a bit," he said and hung up the phone. He looked over at Jane and asked embarrassedly, "Where's the bathroom?"

"Over there," she said, pointing at a door behind her. Sungyeol bowed and rushed off to the toilet, grabbing his stomach. Maybe beer and pineapple wasn’t the best idea of the year.

After Sungyeol left, Jane was left with Myungsoo, who tried to dodge her questions all night long. Now, there was an awkward silence between them. Jane began to tap the table with her fingertips, and Myungsoo became fascinated by her wallpaper again. Jane couldn’t take the silence any longer. "So do you get free ice cream?"

He looked towards her and shrugged. "Sometimes."

"Can you give me some?” Jane asked. “I like ice cream a lot.”

Myungsoo opened his mouth to answer, but another voice boomed throughout the apartment, "Jay, I'm home!"

"Dad?!" Jane asked in shock. Her dad came home earlier than she expected he would, and at the completely wrong time.

"Dad?" Myungsoo mouthed to Jane. She nodded frantically. Then in a state of panic, he fell out of his seat and crawled underneath the kitchen table. Jane knew that it probably wasn’t the best solution, but she couldn’t think of a better one, especially with her father just steps away. She didn’t have enough time to hide him in a closet.

"Yea, I was able to get out of work early like I thought,” her dad said while he took off his shoes and hung up his coat.  “So how about we go out to dinner tonight?”

"Yay! That's great!” Jane rejoiced. The faster she got her dad out of there, the quicker Myungsoo could make his escape out of her apartment. “I'm starving. Let’s go soon!"

 Her father then walked into the kitchen with a stern look on his face and his hands on his hips. Jane’s heart dropped into her stomach. "Janie, you forgot to lock the door again."

Jane felt Myungsoo’s crouched body lean against her legs. A cold sweat began to form above her brow. "Oh I did?" Jane tried to feign innocence, but her voice cracked. She always had a hard time lying to her parents.

"Yea. It's like you are begging strange men to come in and kidnap you,” he lectured as he approached the table. With every step he took, Jane’s heart pounded harder. He pulled out a chair to sit down, but something (or in this case someone) caught his eye. He bent over and looked underneath the table. “Jay, why is there a guy under our table?” he asked sternly. Having been caught, Myungsoo slowly got up from under the table and bowed to Dr. Thompson. Jane’s dad looked past the embarrassed celebrity and spoke to his daughter. “Funny. He doesn't look like Dongwoo."

Jane jumped up from her seat and walked up to Myungsoo’s side. "That's because he's Myungsoo...Dongwoo's friend," she explained, introducing the stranger.

Then she heard a toilet flush, and a door hinge squeak. Jane cursed to herself. She had forgotten all about Sungyeol in her state of panic, and of course, he would emerge running his mouth off loudly. "Hey, can I keep this shirt? I look good in it," he complimented himself, adjusting his borrowed shirt. Once he finally looked up from himself and saw Dr. Thompson, he squealed.

"And that's Sungyeol," Jane said, pointing behind her, her head hanging down. She was in so much trouble.

"Another one of Dongwoo's friends?" Her father asked, raising one eyebrow curiously.

"Mmhm." Jane responded not lifting her head.

"Is that my Notre Dame shirt?" he asked in disbelief

She looked up at her father and looked back at Sungyeol. She slapped herself on the forehead in frustration. She could actually feel her father’s disappointment towards her growing. "Oh yea. I'm washing his. I kinda got mustard all over it," she tried to explain, ending in a sheepish giggle.

"How?” He began, but then immediately threw his hands up in the air. “You know what. I don't even want to know."

Sungyeol tapped Jane on the shoulder. "We should leave," he said.

Jane nodded and responded in Korean, "That would be a good idea."

The boys bowed respectfully to her father, and said farewell. Then Sungyeol turned to Jane ."Bye. Take care," he said with a guilty expression on his face, feeling bad for landing Jane in a difficult situation. At least he could leave. Jane wasn’t so lucky.

"You too," she responded, sadly waving to her new friend. She did have a good time with Sungyeol up to that point; she did feel sad to see him go.

Myungsoo said his farewell next. Walking up to her, he gave a charming smile and promised, "I'll bring ice cream next time."

Jane was slightly shocked by his generosity. She had a hard time pegging him all night, unable to get a feel for his personality. She thought he was being a chic and distant celebrity, when he was avoiding her gaze and questions. Maybe he was just shy. "Oh thank you. Bye!" she said, returning a smile. Maybe she made two new friends.

After escorting her new friends out the door, Jane returned to see her dad sitting, facing her with his arms crossed tightly across his chest and his eyes boring holes through her body. "What happened to Dongwoo?" he asked demandingly.

Jane went to fridge and poured herself a glass of water. suddenly grew very parched and tight. She lifted a finger, asking her father to wait patiently, as she drained the glass of its contents. Afterwards, she gasped for air and wiped . "He came over too. He just left earlier," she finally answered.

Her father winced and began to rub his temples furiously. "I leave you alone for a couple of hours, and you meet with three guys in our apartment alone?"

"Actually it was ten guys,” Jane joked, hoping to make light of the situation. But it wasn’t the right time for jokes; her father’s face become stone-hard. “Oh my gawd! Dad, I'm kidding!" Jane tried to defend herself.

After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke again, "I'm getting you a cell phone."

"Really?!" Jane yelped. She expected to get lectured, or even grounded (if you can even ground post-grads), but getting a cell phone was almost like a reward. Was it possible that her father was happy to find her home with two strange men?

"Yea, if you're meeting with guys, you meet with them outside of this apartment. In public. Where people can see," he explained clearly.

"Hehehe Dad, you're silly,” Jane giggled. “Okay, I will. Thank you," she said, kissing her father on the top of his head, grateful to rejoin the 21^st century.

Dr. Thompson grabbed his daughter’s hand that was resting on his shoulder. He looked into his daughters eyes with a desperate expression. "You couldn't make friends with some girls?"

Jane laughed and playfully pushed her father. “Daddy,” she whined.

“Seriously, you’ve never had so many guy friends in your life,” her father spoke, facing a problem he had never had with Jane before.

“What can I say? Korean men love me,” she joked, wiggling her hips. But it still wasn’t the appropriate time to joke around.

“That’s it. I’m locking you up,” he said with a completely straight, serious face.

“You’ll never take me alive!” Jane yelled as she ran off into her bedroom. Once she reached her room, she finally heard her father laugh. She smiled. Finally, her father’s sour mood passed.

“Get dressed, you slob! I’m not taking you out in sweats!” he yelled to her. “And hurry up! I’m starving.”