I should have known I was headed for trouble the minute Dongwoon met me at the door. He grabbed my arm, dragged me up the stairs to his bedroom, slammed the door and announced, “Have I got news for you!”

   “What have you done this time?” I asked suspiciously.

    Dongwoon tried to look offended. “What kind of question is that? It’s nothing bad; don’t worry. Believe me, Yoseob Hyung, you’re going to thank me for doing you a favor.”

Somehow I doubted it. My pert blond cousin Dongwoon, also know as Woonie, had done me many “favors” over the years and I never thanked him for any of them. He was always coming up with some crazy scheme and I usually got the worst end of it. I mentally braced myself.

    “All right, Woonie. What’s this wonderful favor I’m supposed to thank you for?”

    Dongwoon grinned. “Well, we’re going to the movies tomorrow night, right?”

    “Right. So?”

    “So Doojoon’s going with us and he’s bringing a friend for you.”

    “You fixed me up with a blind date?” I shrieked. “Woonie, I’ll kill you!”

    “Oh, Hyung,” Dongwoon protested. “Blind date sounds so negative. I just wanted to help you meet people, that’s all. After all, you just moved here and since Doojoon’s best friend isn’t dating anybody at the moment, it seemed natural to-“

     I cut him off. “I won’t do it, Woonie. No way, no how. Count me out.”

    “But, Hyung, it’s all planned!” Dongwoon wailed. “What’ll I tell Doojoon? What will Junhyung think?”

    “Who’s Junhyung?”

    “Doojoon’s best friend, you dope! Come on, Hyung. I know you’ll like Junhyung. He’s-“

    “Let me guess, He’s got a great personality, right?”

    “Of course he’s got a great personality,” Dongwoon said, ignoring my sarcastic tone. “And he’s on the football team with Doojoon. Doojoon says he’s a midfielder, whatever that is. He’s great looking, too.”

     I was not impressed, “Terrific. If he’s so great looking, why does his best friend have to fix him up with blind dates? I’m telling you, Woonie, I’m not going to the movies with you and that’s final!”

    ered again, I thought an hour later, as I climbed into my car to go home. Why do I let him talk me into these things? I decided it must be something in my genes. After all, Dongwoon’s father had successfully convinced my father to give up a good job and pack up and moved the entire family back to his hometown so the two of them could start their own business designing computer software. Being talked into things was definitely a hereditary trait.

   Not that I minded the move to Jeju. In fact, I had looked forward to it. Dongwoon was sometimes a little flighty, but he and I were very close and I was glad to see him every day. Even the idea of going to a new school didn’t scare me, since I already had friends in Dongwoon and his steady boyfriend, Doojoon.

   Best of all, I was getting away from Jinwoon.

   Jinwoon, the great love of my sophomore year, was handsome, athletic and everything else I had ever dreamed of in a guy. I found out later that he was also an egotistical jerk, but that hadn’t made it hurt any less when he dumped me for another boy the day before my sixteenth birthday. This year I could get a fresh start at a new school. I had learned my lesson the hard way. No more jocks for me!

I backed my car down the driveway and pushed aside all other thoughts while I concentrated on my driving. I had had my driver’s license for only two months and I didn’t have much confidence in my driving ability yet. Visiting Dongwoon’s house wasn’t exactly a driver’s dream either. The house stood on the corner of one of the busiest intersections here. I would have to back out onto the highway, and when I did, the rear end of my car would be dangerously close to the intersection. Dongwoon insisted that backing out was nothing once you got used to it, but the thought of doing it into all that traffic scared me to death.

Braking the car to a stop at the end of the driveway, I waited for the light at the intersection to turn red and stop the flow of the traffic on the highway. Now I could back out safely-or so I thought. I craned my neck to see out the rear window, then pushed the gas pedal and turned the steering wheel sharply to the right. As I entered the street, a bright red blur loomed up behind me from out of nowhere. I felt my car lurched forward with a sickening crunch.

 I leaped out, trembling all over, and ran to the rear of the car to survey the damage. For that had hit mine. It was a vintage Mustang. My own car’s rear bumper was badly twisted. As I gazed helplessly at the wreckage, the Mustang’s front door opened. I opened my mouth, prepared to apologize, but the words stuck in my throat as I stared at the guy who got out.

 He was well maybe around six feet tall or not. He looked like a volcano about to erupt.

“Ya!” He yelled. “What do you think you’re doing? Of all the stupid-“

The apology died on my lips. “You loud mouthed Neanderthal!” I yelled back. “This whole thing is your fault. You ran that red light!”

 “What red light? I made a right hand turn off that street and the light was green! I had the right of way!”

 “Well, if you’d been watching where you were going, you could have stopped before you hit me!”

 “That’s crazy! Nobody should have to watch out for cars going backward up the highway!”

  That remark infuriated me. “I wasn’t going backward the highway! I was backing out of a driveway and I looked first to make sure no one was coming.”

 “Well, there’s no point in arguing about it. The damage has already been done and we can’t change that.” He grumbled.

 “Should we call the police?”

 He snorted. “What for? It’s just a bumper. My dad’s insurance won’t pay a dime.”

  “Oh I see. First you’re mad because I hit your car now you’re mad because I didn’t hit it hard enough. Well, If you don’t mind, I’ll be willing to finish the job.”

  “Oh, shut up and give me your name and phone number”

  I was startled. “What?”

   “Write down your name and phone number and I’ll give you mine.” He said patiently.

   “Are you hitting on me?” I asked suspiciously.

   “Oh sure, I’m crazy about guys who wreck my car.” He said sarcastically. “Don’t be so dense! It’s a standard procedure.”

   “Oh really? And just how many situations like this have you been in?”

   “None, until I met you.” He took the paper and read my name out loud. “Yang Yoseob. That sounds familiar. Do I know you?”

   “I’ve never seen you before my entire life and I hope I never see you again!” I said loftily. I shoved the slip he handed me in to my bag, got into my car and drove away without a backward glance.