"Remind me again why we're doing this. Why we're going to blow half our week's food budget on a single dinner, just so we can hang out with the guy who broke your heart," Lee was to my left and Marco at my right. We were heading down the street to one of those Korean bbq places. I'd been here for nearly half a year and have yet to visit one of them yet. I let out an exasperated sigh and Marco rolled his eyes. "We're going because he's your brother, and because he wants to re-establish a relationship with Elle. One of her conditions was that we are included in this friendship circle," Marco explained for me, to which I was thankful for. Lee, on the other hand…. He eyes narrowed unimpressed. "Who said I ever wanted to be chums with Noah? I was doing perfectly fine before he came back along." "Lee….." I sighed deeply again. "Just do it for Elle. If she wants us there, the least we can do is go along." "No, the least we can do is nothing. Do you really want to be friends with Noah again, Elle?" Lee's gaze wandered back over to me. I stared straight forward, considering Lee's question for a second. Well, no; not really. It's not at the top of list anyway, but… "That's why I want to be friends, Elle. You make it easy…. And I just want it to be easy for a little while." I guess a part of me feels like I can't say "no". Oh well…. I sighed for I don't what time that day and closed my eyes. "Might as well, while he's here anyway…."
We agreed to meet Noah outside the restaurant at seven that Saturday night. He was already outside the place when we came into view. Naturally with his hands in his pockets, he saw us and grinned. We met on the sidewalk halfway. "Hey," Noah greeted everyone in his usual casual manner. "Hey, man." "Hi, bro." "Good evening, Noah," we all acknowledged back. "Should we go in? I have no idea how these places work," Lee's head turned to the sliding wooden doors. "We just go in and sit down," I explained; sure, I'd never actually been to somewhere like here, but I knew enough about the culture. They took my word for it and we all clambered inside. It was a cute little restaurant: one room and each table had a tiny grill in the middle of it. "How 'bout here?" We found a four-person table with two chairs on each side. Lee and Noah sat down beside each other. Marco helped me remove my jacket and placed it on the back of my chair before doing the same with his. Once we were seated, I pulled out a two-sided menu. It was all in Korean- fantastic. But it did have pictures.
"Why do you guys want?" I asked, scanning over the menu; I could read a good part of it, and knew they couldn't. "How does this work?" Noah eyed the grill suspiciously. "You cook your own food at your table. We order raw meat and veggies and stuff like that," Lee told him. "You're supposed to cook it yourself?" Noah didn't sound impressed. "It's really good; you can cook your food how you like," I rushed to Lee's aid. "I can man the grill," Marco folded his arms. "You?" Noah's eyes darted to him. "Let him. He's a really good cook," I said without thinking. Luckily I didn't notice all eyes, particularly Marco's, on me immediately after this. Marco smiled; Noah did not.
"How does a plate of marinated beef rib-eye sound?" My finger pointed to the photo so they'd know what it looked like. They seemed surprisingly cool with this suggestion. "Sure. And how about some beef bugogi too?" Lee added. "Sounds good. What do you guys think?" "I'm down. Marco?" "Yeah, sure. Those will grill nicely." "Great! And what do we want to drink?" I then picked up the smaller, thinner drink card. This one didn't have any pictures for me to show them. It didn't help it was all in a language they couldn't understand either.
Noah shrugged. "Any of those alcohol?" My finger flinched a tad. "Uh, yes. What kind of alcohol do you want?" "Any beer?" "You want Korean beer?" I questioned, making Noah blink to me startled. "What about that booze they're always drinking in Korean dramas? What's that called?" Lee asked. "Soju?" I answered a bit unsure; I've never any of this before. "Yeah, that. It's supposed to be sweet, isn't it? Let's try a bottle of that," Lee announced. "Eh, why not?" Noah's shoulder shrugged again. I set down the drink menu and lowered my eyes. "I'll get a pot of tea, then," I think it went over their heads that I don't drink now. Instead, Noah glanced over to Marco with a bit of smug air about him. He spread his arms along the top of his chair in a confident position.
"What about you, Marco? What are you gonna get to drink?" "I think I'll have an iced coffee," Marco replied with speed and finality. Noah looked surprised, and a little brash. "What? You don't wanna drink with us?" There was a tone to his voice. I sent Noah a look, but Marco kept his calm, collected composure. He straightened his back up and looked Noah dead in the eye. "Elle's here, and I'm taking us home later. I want to be aware for the journey." Marco…. I snuck a peek at him through the corner of my eye. He's been extra-cautious since I told him about my stocker….. And I absolutely loved it; I think I adored it more and more each day. But Noah, on the other hand…
Of course, Noah frowned mildly insulted. "I know Elle's here. What does that have to do anything? Heh, can't handle your liquor too good?" "That's not it," Marco's eyes sharpened onto Noah's; it was clear he was growing more upset. "You don't drink like a little pansy?" Noah jarred. "I don't drink anymore, Noah. Does that make me a pansy too?" I retorted to him coolly. "That's different! You not drinking doesn't make you any less cool, Elle," Noah shot back, but not as romantically as you think. "But it does for me?" Marco crossed his arms.
"Look, let's just all get tea. We can drink some other night when we're at home or somewhere, ok?" Lee finally raised up his hands to defuse the situation. "Alright. Can you order for us, Elle?" Marco asked me. I nodded. "Sure thing," my hand lifted to call a waitress over. This lovely young Korean woman came over, asking what we'd like in Korean. I answered in Korean, showing her on the menu just in case I mispronounced anything. She took down our order. Then she flashed me a grin. I blinked to her puzzled when her head motioned to all the guys sitting at my table. My cheeks instantly blushed and I looked down to my balled hands on my lap. Still grinning, she left our table. Once she was gone, everyone glanced to me perplexed. "Elle, you ok?" Marco inquired. "O-Oh yeah! I'm fine!" I spouted back, unable to look up from my hands. Looks like took me at my word, since they started conversing amongst themselves.
Marco sat back in his chair, keeping his arms crossed; Noah did the same. The two men glared at each other. "So, gotten into med school yet? Or are you still floundering with that too?" "Marco!" I gasped, shocked. But Noah wasn't fazed in the slightest. His glare merely sharpened onto Marco. "Not yet. It's harder to get into a prestigious medical programme than the liberal arts." "Noah!" "Come on, you guys. Don't fight. The last time we were together like this was….. uh…. huh. When was it?" Lee pondered to himself, lifting his eyes up towards the ceiling in a thoughtful fashion. Marco and Noah didn't take their eyes off each other an inch.
"I remember. It was when you tried to goat me into a fight back at the academy's football yard," Noah spat bitterly. "That's not how I remember it, Flynn," Marco countered with an equal amount of venom. "Hey, yeah! I remember that night! That Chloe chick stopped you, didn't she Noah?" Lee's fingers snapped in remembrance. "I don't want to talk about her," Noah's frown widened. "Why? Because you dated Chloe after you and Elle broke up?" Lee seemed genuinely confused. I almost spat up the sip of water I was taking. "What?!" Noah and Chloe actually dated?! You mean while I was suffering the most excruciating pain for four years, he was going out with Chloe?!
Thank goodness the food and beverages arrived when they did. I'm sure this would have turned ugly fast if we weren't forced to get off the topic. The waitress turned on the grill and left us to it. No one did anything right away, but soon enough Marco picked up the tongs. "How does everyone liked their meat cooked?" "Medium." "I'm good with medium." "Medium-well." "Alright," my housemate began to fry our dinner. We watched him, growing evermore hungry by the tantalizing aromas.
"Here, Elle. This one's for you," my eyes grew as Marco picked up the largest piece in the tongs. "Oh, no! You should have that one, Marco. It's the biggest!" "That's why I'm giving it to you. Give me your plate." "I'm with Elle on this one, Marco. You know she eats like a bird," Lee clasped his hands, resting one elbow up beside him. "But this is her first time having Korean bbq," Marco disputed kindly. "So? It's all our first time. Here, I'll take it." "Marco should have it. He's doing all the cooking," I argued with Lee. Noah rolled his eyes. "I'll settle this. Give to me. Here, give those two smaller pieces to Elle." "She can pick her own meat," Lee shot back. Let's just say it wasn't the best way to start a meal.
We ate, making admittedly forced small talk in between bites. I had just finished my plate and reached over to the grill with my chopsticks. Noah looked at me. "You shouldn't eat so much meat, Elle." "Excuse me?!" My eyes flashed to him incredulously. "It's not healthy for someone your size and weight." "I can eat whatever I want, Noah." "Oh? You're going to argue this with someone who has a master's degree in medicine?" Noah retorted sharply. "Leave her alone, Flynn," Marco warned, glaring at him while continuing to eat from his own plate. "Sorry for caring about her digestive system," Noah shot back. Having enough, Marco set down his chopsticks.
"Do you know why she's eating so much beef? It's because she's ate nothing but instant ramen for the past three months, and not by choice. I guess you wouldn't know what it's like having to go without, coming from an ultra-wealthy family. But ever since the three of us moved in together, we've actually been able to afford food like fruit, vegetables, and meat. So don't you sit there and lecture her about how much she eats. I doubt it'll affect her health, after those first few months she lived through."
No one dared utter a word for a moment; it was silent, and in the tensest of ways. I don't think Noah could have glared harder at Marco just then. "Oh, right; I almost forgot. You three live together now….. In a two-bedroom apartment." "Jesus, Noah; stop it! He sleeps on the couch, for Christ's sake! What? You really think he'd share a room with Elle?" Lee yelled in anger. None of the boys were particularly happy right now. Talk about an awkward situation. I just sat there, continuing to munch on my beef.
"How would I know where he sleeps? The only thing I know about the man is that he had the hots for my woman back when we were dating," Noah accused. "Well of course he liked Elle; who wouldn't like her? But the point is Marco never acted on it. Elle kissed him, remember?" Lee stated. "Oh, I remember," Noah took a big swill of his now lukewarm tea. "Guys….." I sighed, lowering my chopsticks. This was getting ridiculous; I had no idea there was so much bad blood between them. But, just like they do in those cheesy romance movies, I was utterly ignored by three hot-headed men currently at each other's throats. Lee's eyes narrowed sourly onto Noah.
"Just admit it. You're not interested in being friends with Elle; you still have a thing for her." "That's where you're wrong, little brother," Noah leaned back in his chair. "Really? Then why are you so on edge about Marco being around?" "I'm not on edge; I could care less that Marco just randomly- and quite conveniently- showed back up in your lives. I just want to spend some time with Elle while I'm here. What's wrong with that?" Noah demanded. "What's wrong with that? Did you ever take Elle's feelings into consideration? No; of course you didn't. Lee's right; you want to hang around for your sake, not Elle's," Marco added to the fight. Noah fired him a look. "You really don't know what you're talking about, pretty boy." "Oh, I think I do. What does Elle get out of this friendship? Or me and Lee, for that matter?" "Guys, come on. Please stop fighting," I sighed gravely.
"Why do you even want to be friends? If you're looking for a girl to date, there's several beautiful women in Korea," Lee threw his hand up. "For the last time, I didn't come for that!" Noah slammed his hand down onto the tabletop. "Oh, so you're looking for a bed buddy then?" Lee smirked very, very sourly. Noah looked like he wanted to wipe that smirk right off Lee's face. "Trust me, Lee; I don't have any problems in that department, unlike your virgin ass." "Hey, yeah. That brings up a good question: just how many girls have you shagged since you and Elle broke up?" Lee brought his thumb up under his bottom lip. "None of your business," Noah retorted. "What about you, Marco? How many girls have you dated since high school?" My best friend then asked our housemate. Macro didn't reply right away, polishing off his tea in an awkward manner. He set down his cup and exhaled intensely.
"None." "What?" This caught all of us by absolute shock. Marco's eyes scrolled up a bit; him looking rather shy just then. "I just didn't meet anyone I wanted to date. Not since….." But Marco caught himself mid-sentence. Our eyes met timidly through their corners, only to immediately rush away. We were both blushing insanely by then; my hand lifting to my pounding chest. Marco… "Awe!" Noah cooed happily. Noah did not look amused- not at all. He simply scoffed and refilled his own teacup.
"You made it all the way to PhD without getting laid? How sad are you?" "Not every guy wants to sleep with anything that moves!" Marco shot back. "Is that what you think I'm like?" Noah had a dangerous tone to his voice. "I'm sure you weren't thirsty through school," Marco wasn't afraid of Noah; not at all. "Listen, you little…!" But Lee burst out laughing.
"It's so true, isn't it, Noah?" "Shut up, Lee!" "See? Why did we think this would be a good idea? We have nothing in common," Macro rolled his eyes. "Actually, I think you two are more alike than you may realize," Lee took a bite of his beef with that knowing grin of his. "How can you compare me with this loser?" Noah questioned Lee, earning his millionth glare from Marco. He too smirked in premature victory. "I may not have the track record in bed that you do, but I've managed to retain these things called "class" and "dignity" over the years. Remember what those are?" "I'm gonna kick your smarmy….!"
It was my turn to throw my arms up in the air dramatically. "Oh my god! Why are we even talking about this? This was supposed to be a nice night out to develop our friendship; not tear each other to pieces. So what if Marco didn't date through masters and undergrad? You didn't have the same negative reaction when I told you I was single for the past seven years," I was speaking to Noah in specific. His head turned to me a bit alarmed. For the first time tonight, he seemed flustered. "W-Well, no….. I mean, it's different with you." "No, it's not. I haven't gotten laid since my first year at Berkeley. If anyone's the real loser here, it's me." "No, you're not," Noah shook his head. "Don't say that," Marco tacked on, placing his hand on the rim of my chair. I couldn't help but smile, feeling somewhat playful. If that's the way they want to play, so be it. I leaned forward a bit, reaching for my cup on the table. "Seven years….. You guys probably thought I got lucky back in Amsterdam, didn't you?"
"No!" Both Lee and I flinched at Marco and Noah's sudden simultaneous yelling. What the…..?! What? Just, what?! They continued to stare at me; their eyes bolted in. "Not at all!" "Never! What are you talking about?" They carried on at the same time. I blinked…. I could only blink. Lee and I looked at each other, then I turned back to them totally dumbfounded. That was not the reaction I had anticipated. It's almost like I had insinuated something insulting to them. Wait…. My mouth opened a little. Does this mean then that they….? Do they see me as some sort of virginal creature or something? But I'm not even a virgin…
"There's nothing wrong with it. I am a grown woman, after all….." I gazed down at my tea. "I told you I never thought that!" Noah slammed his hand down on the table again. "Elle doesn't have much experience in the dating department," Lee rubbed the back of his neck. I know he was trying to help me, but really Lee? Did you have to put it like that? I shrugged, plucking up one of the last few remaining bits of meat on the grill. "I'm not so naïve. I did have one boyfriend before." "Yeah, my brother- and look how that turned out. Should have just followed the rules, Elle," Lee proclaimed. "We came up with those best friends' rules when we were five; they don't count anymore," I ate my food. "They shouldn't have counted back then. Would have saved us a big headache that first summer," Noah rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut it, Noah. Transparency's never been your forte either," Lee fired back. Marco snickered and Noah flashed him an annoyed glare.
"What's your problem, Marco?" "Who says I got a problem, Flynn?" "Are you looking to pick a fight with me again? Well that'd be stupid cause you'd lose." "Incredible. After all those years, you still have such a nasty temper. Stop being so childish," Marco announced. Noah crackled his hand muscles just by bringing them into a fist. "Childish? How about I knock your lights out? Would that be "childish"?" "I thought you said you didn't start fights, Noah; only finished them?" Lee smirked at his brother. "What did you just say?!" Noah demanded of him. "Jesus Christ, how dumb can you be?" "You wanna say that to my face, you…..?"
"For goodness's sake! All of you, stop it!" I lunged up from my chair, sending it falling back behind me. Now all men were quiet, gawking over to me with gigantic eyes. It took me a second to calm my mind down enough to begin talking again. I sent them all enraged looks. "Are you guys elementary school children? Seriously! We're supposed to be friends. I'm friends with each of you, but you all act like you want to kill each other! Grow up! There's no reason for you to fight like this. We're all in Seoul for such a short amount of time; I don't want to spend it refereeing you three!" My forefinger shot in my best friend's direction. "Lee- you and Noah are brothers, whether you like it or not. You can be civil to him for at least while he's here. And you two!" My finger then swung over to Marco and Noah. "I know there's some bad blood from the past, but that's all done now. There's no reason for you to fight anymore. Nobody's won or lost here, ok? If you really want our friendship to work, then try to get along. No more threatening to knock each other's lights out. Got it?!"
I think not just theirs but all eyes in the restaurant were now glued onto me. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. I took a few deep, stilling breaths, planting both hands on the corner of the table. Well! I hadn't scouted like that since….. I honestly can't remember. The first voice I heard wasn't any of theirs; it was a male voice I didn't recognize. He muttered something under his breath, making me turn my head to him. This older Korean man was glaring at me from his table across the room. After watching him for a moment, this sudden compulsion to laugh swept over me. Lee, Marco, and Noah all looked at me like I was crazy when I suddenly burst out laughing. I was laughing so hard, I actually had to get down to my knees.
"Elle?" That was all Lee said, gazing down at me worriedly. I wiped the corner of my eyes, still laughing. "That man…. He said "those damn noisy foreigners"," I elucidated in between laughs. They all glanced at him, suddenly being hit with the same realization as me- that we weren't the only ones in the joint, and we had put on quite a show for our audience. Lee was the first to crack a smile, and Marco couldn't stop himself from chuckling. Soon enough, they were laughing with me, which I'm sure didn't add to the drama-fest we just presented. Marco helped me get my chair back up and sit down on it. He grinned at me, then over at Noah. For the first I think ever, the two men were not showing any animosity towards the other.
"Ok, I think I got it out of my system. You?" Marco asked Noah, to which he nodded. "I think so. Lee?" "Yeah, pretty much. I don't hate your guts so much anymore, if that means anything." The men all gave a nod to each other, then- like they had it planned- gazed back to me. They all grinned my way, looking much more relaxed now. I think we needed that cathartic laughter.
"Sorry, Elle." "Yeah, sorry." "Sorry about that, babe." They apologized one-by-one. My eyes did a round-table and I finally smiled at them. "So, are we finally all cool now?" Lee and Noah nodded, and Marco draped his arm behind my chair in a comforting style.
"Yeah, we're cool."