Shaking away the embarrassment of Chelsea's exhibit, Barbie formally extended her hand.

"That's a nice name. I'm Barbie. And it's no problem at all."

Kangmin shook her hand warmly. The skin of his palm felt like butter.

"So will you be all right if we drop you at the university?" Chelsea asked.

"Yes, I'll message my brother and wait for him to come so we can go to the house together. I can just hang around at the university until then…"

"Okay."

"If it's no trouble," he added.

Chelsea shook her head. "No trouble."

With his suitcase tossed into the trunk of her car, Chelsea, Barbie and Kangmin finally prepared to leave the airport.

"Do you want to sit in the front?" Barbie asked.

"No, it's okay." He slid into the back seat. Barbie thought it rude to leave him in the back by himself but then she imagined he'd feel less at ease sitting beside Chelsea, or even herself. She took her place in the front next to her friend as Kangmin sat in the seat behind her.

Chelsea adjusted the rear view mirror and paused when something caught her eye.

"Kangmin?"

He lifted his eyes. "Mm?"

"Seatbelt?"

Barbie shifted in her seat to see that he had not worn his.

The look on his face was of genuine confusion. "In the backseat?"

Chelsea gave a large sweet smile, "If you don't want me to lose my license, then yes, please."

"Woah. Seriously?"

Barbie chuckled. "Yep. It's a new world, huh?" She said with a smile.

"Very much," he replied before buckling up.

"Thankyou! Here, hold this." Chelsea shoved her phone into Barbie's hands as the robotic voice of the GPS guided her out of the terminal.

"Can I turn on the radio?" Barbie asked.

"Wait till I get on the road." Chelsea was deep in concentration.

She drove at a snail's pace until they reached the thruway where she eventually relaxed and allowed Barbie to turn on the music.

"I'm really sorry to have stressed you out, Chels." Barbie said in earnest.

Chelsea frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm glad you asked me, it's good for me to practise coming to the airport," she reasoned.

"Well, thanks for coming."

"No sweat."

Kangmin jumped in, "Yeah, thanks for coming."

Chelsea chuckled at him.

"So what are you going to do when you get home?" She asked.

Barbie and Kangmin glanced at each other and threw the question back at her.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Yeah, who are you talking to?"

Chelsea shrugged with a look of 'duh' written on her face, "Oh, I don't know! Anyone who would like to contribute?"

Barbie and Kangmin answered in unison.

"Sleep."

Chelsea frowned. "You didn't sleep on the plane? Barbie, you would have been travelling for almost two days!"

Barbie rested her head against the window. "I slept a bit but it was restless. Maybe if I had been flying First Class…"

Chelsea interrupted. "If you ever have the money to afford First Class, you will be paying for my ticket too."

Barbie scoffed. "If I had the money for a First Class ticket, I would be spending it on a lot more than just a holiday. Can you keep your eyes on the road please?"

"They are on the road…"

"No, you keep looking this way at me. It's making me nervous."

"What are you talking about? I am in complete control of my own car- OH!"

Chelsea gasped.

She slammed on the brakes, just in time to stop the car from rear-ending the driver in front of her.

Barbie squealed as her upper body was thrown forward, her seatbelt cutting into her chest, before being pushed back to rattle her head against the seat. She heard Kangmin grunt behind her as the force of the brake shook him equally.

"Damn it. I'm sorry, guys." Chelsea said in shame, moving the hair out of her eyes.

Kangmin massaged his temples. "It's okay. With driving like that, I'm not surprised you have to wear seat belts."

Chelsea raised an eyebrow to the rearview mirror. "Oh, you're one to talk, mister…"

"Chels!" Barbie interjected before Chelsea could say anything offensive. But Kangmin had already sensed the intention.

"You were going to make an Asian joke, no?"

Chelsea laughed. "Is it a joke if it's true?"

Kangmin narrowed his eyes at her. "I thought gingers were supposed to be jolly."

"I thought Asians were meant to be polite."

Barbie decided that was enough and turned off the radio so she could speak.

"OKAY! We are all good, it's no big deal. Are you okay, Kangmin?"

"Yeh, I'm fine."

"Okay, great. Chelsea, you're okay?"

"Yeah, babe."

"Good," Barbie exhaled. "Chels, it's green."

"Right, sorry."

She eased off the brakes painfully slowly. The hum of the engine rose in volume and the tension between the car's passengers eventually dissipated. Having spent enough time in silence, Barbie thought it appropriate to turn on the radio. So too did Chelsea finally think the air was comfortable enough for her to speak.

"Kangmin, I hope you didn't have any breakables in your bag," she said, glancing at the view mirror.

"No, don't worry," he reassured her. "I stuffed my bag well, I doubt anything could move around in there. Although…" He bent over in his seat to pick up a box from the floor of the car. "Barbie is this one of your things? I just noticed it fell. It might be broken."

Barbie reached behind her and took the package from his hands and realised it was the $40 doll she had bought for Kelly from Incheon Airport.

"Oh, no."

She slid off the plastic bag and carefully opened the box. Both the outer and inner cardboard layers had warped from the impact though the doll itself was mostly fine.

"Is it broken?" Chelsea asked, concerned.

"Not really. It's just that her hands are supposed to be one on top of the other on her stomach but now one of them is a bit loose. See? now it's hanging just a bit below the other."

She wiggled the wired limb to show the elasticity caused by the fall.

Chelsea glanced over and quickly dismissed the damage. "Oh pfft! The way you were talking, I thought it had come loose or something. You can hardly see the difference!"

Barbie laughed. "I know, it's not noticeable but my OCD tendencies can see nothing else."

"Okay, well I'm sorry. I'll buy a discounted one from Chinatown."

"I'm just kidding, Chels, it's okay. I'm sure Kelly wouldn't care or even notice. I gave away her guinea pig to the pet store because she wasn't taking good care of it, right? Well, she didn't notice for a whole week."

Kangmin nearly choked on his bottle of water. He began convulsing with restrained laughter, his lips struggling to contain the liquid.

"Careful you don't drown," Chelsea said, grinning as she steered the car around a bend.

Kangmin finally managed to gulp down the water. "How do you not notice an animal is missing for seven days?" He asked.

Barbie giggled. "Oh yeah, she was very excited to get it but after a while, she just lost interest. So many days she just forgot to feed it. But when she realised he was gone, she was so upset. I don't think she will ever forgive me for that."

"Ah, so now you just buy her dolls," said Chelsea.

"Correct. Much easier to take care of than a guinea pig."

"Is it a princess or something?"

"Uh no. It was just a regular guinea pig. Is that a species?" Barbie was confused.

"The doll, I mean." Chelsea rolled her eyes.

"Oh."

Barbie took another look at the pale figure in her hands. Her ebony hair was elaborately wrapped into a massive sidepiece of braids and chignons, outdone by the lavishness of her many skirts dyed in various hues of pink.

"I thought it was a queen. I don't know, but it's pretty."

Kangmin leaned forward to Barbie's shoulder. "Let me see."

He took the box from her hands and observed it for a moment.

"It looks more like a gisaeng," he said.

"A gay-what now?" Squeaked Chelsea.

"Gi-saeng." Kangmin enunciated. "Entertainers. You know Geisha?"

Both Barbie and Chelsea gasped.

"You mean like a… prostitute?" Barbie hushed.

"NO, no, no." Kangmin dismissed her concerns. "Gisaeng were like artists. Dancers and musicians and other things, you know. Even Geisha were like this. But, the way she is standing… with her hands… this is how a queen stands not a gisaeng, so you might be right… ah, I don't know…"

Barbie observed his face as his voice trailed off. His brow was furrowed in deep concentration.

"You seem to know a lot about this," she said with a cheeky grin. "Are you sure you aren't studying fashion?"

He gave her a sarcastic laugh in return.

"No. Late night dramas can be very… educational. Here."

He handed the doll back to her.

"I'll Google it when I get home," said Barbie. "Gisaeng… gisaeng…"

She let her American tongue grow accustomed to the new term.

"So Kangmin," Chelsea decided to begin a new conversation. "How long are you staying in the States? Is it permanent?"

Kangmin leaned back against his seat and looked out the window.

"I'm not sure. I will be here until I complete this degree. And then after that, I'm not sure."

"Well, where exactly is your brother staying?"

Barbie chimed in. "You don't even have his address, do you?"

As if on cue, the high-pitched voice of an angry miniature thug sounded, screaming at Kangmin to pick up his phone.

"That's him now," he said, pulling the phone out of his coat, preparing to answer.

"That was scary," Chelsea said to Barbie who nodded in agreement.

Not as scary though, they both realised, as the heated conversation that would take place behind them. She wasn't sure what had been said on the other end but by the tone of Kangmin's response, it must have been a lame excuse for leaving him stranded at the airport. He was clearly not happy.

"NO." He rumbled into the receiver. It was the only word in Korean that Barbie knew besides "Yes". She and Chelsea exchanged glances, slightly frightened by the noise. Just as he had spoken to her on the plane, his voice never reached the point of yelling but it had become heavy and intimidating, even more so now that he was not just annoyed but angry. In a foreign language, his voice sounded even more threatening. Both of the women remained completely quiet as Kangmin scolded his brother. Barbie knew they would have a laugh about this once he was gone.

Another minute passed and his voice calmed. He was repeating a particular word over and over again in a reassuring tone that sounded to Barbie like forgiveness.

Barbie looked over her shoulder and saw him alternate between listening to the phone and removing it from his ear to type notes, saying nothing besides an occasional "yeah" or "okay".

Barbie returned to face the front and released a breath she did not know she was holding. She heard Chelsea snigger under her breath. Looking over at her, they both struggled to suppress laughter.

Finally, Kangmin ended the conversation and returned his phone to the inner pocket of his coat.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Hmm? Sorry for what?" Chelsea asked innocently, making Barbie cough out a laugh.

Kangmin looked at her incredulously. "You know what. But anyway, here is the address. I had the correct one already but now I know for sure." He handed the phone to Barbie.

"Great!" Said Barbie. "So why exactly was he unable to get you?"

"Well," he began, "he is working at this club and he always gets the horrible nightshifts. So he asked for the weekend off to pick me up. But then his manager, I think, asked him to work the night and he accepted, thinking he could just leave in the morning right after his shift ended and go to the airport. But then his shift got extended because of some problem customers. He was allowed to leave only now."

"Ah."

"But all that is fine! I just wish he told me from the beginning so I could have found another way home earlier instead of bothering him at work and then having to ask you."

"You didn't ask me, I offered."

Kangmin paused. "Yes, but… still."

"I have a question." Chelsea raised one hand off the steering wheel like an inquisitive student.

"For me?" Kangmin asked sweetly, playing along.

"Yes, sir. Who comes to a new country without any money on them whatsoever?"

Barbie agreed. "This was on my mind too."

"Ah," Kangmin rubbed his brow, looking very embarrassed. "I transferred a lot of money actually to my brother's account which I planned to share with him once I got here. I had cash on me as well but then…" he broke off into silence.

"But then?" Barbie and Chelsea asked in unison.

"Then… I bought this coat." He buried his face in his hands.

"What?"

"Wait, what?"

Barbie and Chelsea burst into laughter.

"You burnt all your money on that coat?" Chelsea couldn't believe it.

Kangmin threw his hands in the air. "It was discounted at Incheon! I couldn't resist," he protested.

Barbie took a few seconds to examine the coat he was wearing, which looked to be made of fine wool and elegantly shaped. Sitting well on his skinny frame, she gathered that it was also the smallest of men's sizes.

"It is nice. How much was it?" She asked.

Kangmin looked at the floor. "No comment."

"Ha! Wow, really? That much? Even on special?"

"Yes." He said with an embarrassed smile.

"Okay, then."

Barbie left it there.

They travelled in silence after that, partly out of exhaustion (after all, it had only just reached 7:30am) but mostly because no one had anything else to say.

Barbie felt her eyes droop. She found herself even more comfortable in Chelsea's tiny car than on the Boeing aircraft so she let herself drift away to sleep.

"Uhh, ladies?"

The sleep was short-lived.

"Yeh?" Chelsea and Barbie replied.

Kangmin began with hesitation. "I know you study at Columbia but do you even live anywhere near the university or is it in a completely different direction to where you are going?"

He was rubbing his hands together nervously, taking them right back to the awkwardness of their first conversation.

Barbie lazily rolled over to the right and peeked through the gap between her seat and the car window to stare down Kangmin behind her.

"You're asking now? It's a bit late for that." She said in a dark tone.

She was only messing with him but the faux anger obviously did not translate well as Kangmin's face became pale with guilt. Inarticulate words of apology poured from his lips.

"Aish, I'm so sorry. How far is it from your live? I can uhh - what you say? -remburse you money for gas when I go home."

Barbie was surprised to hear his perfect English descend into a sputtering accented mess. It was endearing and she could not help but giggle.

"Kangmin?" She pronounced, as if talking to a child.

"Yes?"

"I was joking."

He pursed his lips. "Oh."

"I don't live on campus but I live very close. I use my grandparents' flat so it's cheaper for me, and Chelsea lives in the same building. I take a bus but it's very close."

He inhaled.

"Ah, I see. That's good."

Relieved, Kangmin's flustered face returned to its usual calm and dark demeanour.

"And it's reimburse," Barbie corrected.

"Reimburse," he repeated. "Thankyou."

"Hey guys," Chelsea called out. "I'm nearly there. Where exactly am I going?"

"Oh, damn it, sorry. Hang on." Barbie had forgotten she was holding Kangmin's phone. She quickly programmed the address on Chelsea's GPS and watched the blue line form on the screen.

"It's 47 Claremont. I know where that is actually."

"Yeh, me too." Chelsea replied. "I'm surprised you were able to get a room without in-person selection?"

Kangmin nodded. "Yes, my brother was in control of it. We had to do online selection. He just called me when it was time and told me what to do. We wanted another place but we missed out. We were lucky to get this one."

"Why didn't you just come to New York a few months earlier and sort it out here?" Barbie asked.

"Because I was still waiting to graduate from my degree at Seoul National University."

Barbie's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wow, that's cutting it close! Why not just wait a year before even applying…?"

She had not finished her question when Kangmin spoke.

"Because I don't like to miss an opportunity. If you think too much about what to do and how to do it and what will happen, mo, mo, mo, mo, whatever, then you end up doing nothing," he finished.

His tone was slightly heavy again. But this time, Barbie was not taken aback.

"That's true." She kept her face to the front as she responded. "But sometimes, you need to do more thinking before you act, otherwise you find yourself stranded with no one to help you and no money…"

She took a pause and then continued.

"…like at the airport."

She kept her smug expression facing the windscreen as Kangmin's eyes burned holes into the back of her seat. In the view mirror outside her window, she noticed his reflection look away to the floor, his stern expression melting into a warm amused smile.

"True." He said.