【Episode 12 – Housewarming (1)】
“What are you guys doing this weekend?”
At the table in the Goldin Lounge where we had gathered as promised after morning classes ended.
Donguk hyung asked us.
“Nothing much.”
“I was thinking of going to the library. Why?”
“Ah, it’s nothing much. My wife came from Korea. She packed a lot of food on the way here, like soy sauce crab and stuff. If it’s okay with everyone, I was thinking of having that housewarming party I mentioned before.”
“Sounds good!”
“Me too.”
“What about you, Heon? This Saturday.”
Donguk hyung had mentioned it a few times. That his wife was a good cook, and when she came from Korea, he’d invite us over once.
Everyone looked excited, so I didn’t want to dampen the mood, but for some reason, I felt like I had to meet Sujeong.
“I’m sorry. There’s someone I have to meet.”
“Oh, really? No need to apologize. Then, shall we have the housewarming party next weekend? Is everyone free then?”
“Aww, that’s too bad. Soy sauce crab…”
Even Sein, who was usually composed, had an unmistakably disappointed expression. Soy sauce crab was that kind of magical food.
And it wasn’t like I could tell them to go ahead without me because I was fine with it. That didn’t seem like proper etiquette. And more than anything, I wanted to eat soy sauce crab too.
“Is the person you have to meet the one who gave you that suit?”
While everyone was expressing their disappointment, Michael asked with narrowed eyes. He might usually act like a scatterbrain, but he had good instincts. Especially when it came to relationships between men and women.
“Yeah, that friend.”
“Oh—I was right! Your girlfriend?”
“If she were my girlfriend, wouldn’t I have said I was going to meet my girlfriend?”
“Then a girlfriend you’re going to start dating soon?”
“Bzzt. Can you become a criminal lawyer with instincts like that?”
I said that, but inside, I was thinking the opposite.
Ah, this guy won’t become a criminal lawyer. He’ll become a divorce lawyer.
“Really? No way.”
“What do you mean, no way.”
“Hey, honestly, even if you’re close friends, what kind of woman buys a suit for a man she has no feelings for? Right, Sein?”
“I can’t… disagree with that.”
“What, you two? Are you starting to look alike because you lived in the same dorm?”
“Hey!”
While Michael, who was very interested in other people’s love lives, was making all sorts of deductions, Donguk hyung, who had been listening quietly, called my name again.
“Heon.”
“Yes.”
“If it’s not like that, bring her along.”
“Huh?”
“If you’re not going on a date, you can bring her to the housewarming party.”
“It’s not like that.”
“My wife and I really don’t mind. We have plenty of food, and both of us like meeting new people. Housewarming parties are for getting closer, after all. Ah, of course I’m not pressuring you. If you have things to talk about just the two of you and need to meet alone, we can have the housewarming party next week. However, if that’s not the case, I’m saying you’re welcome to invite her.”
At the unexpected offer, I didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
But after thinking about it briefly, I realized there was no reason I couldn’t bring Sujeong along.
Honestly, it might even be better than meeting just the two of us.
My intention was to meet her to express my gratitude for the gift, but Sujeong would obviously come out expecting a date.
In that case, wouldn’t meeting with several other people be a more ‘considerate way to push her away’ than meeting just the two of us?
“Is it really okay, Hyung?”
“Yeah. If you’re fine with it.”
“Then I’ll ask her.”
“Yay!”
Unexpectedly, Sein was the happiest about my words.
“Why are you so excited?”
“Hehe. It’s soy sauce crab.”
Yeah, soy sauce crab is acknowledged.
***
Click.
Thursday afternoon, after finishing Civil Law class, I was going to head to the library but just came home instead.
I expected no one to be there, but…
“You’re back early?”
Mia was at home.
“Oh, you were home.”
“Yeah. I’ve been home because I haven’t been feeling well.”
“Why? A cold?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have a fever, but my body just feels achy.”
“Oh no.”
“Heon, have you eaten?”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah.”
“No, not yet.”
“Then do you want to order something together? I haven’t eaten since breakfast, so I’m kind of hungry.”
Five in the afternoon. It was a bit early for dinner, but honestly, I was a little hungry too.
On the way here, I considered buying a hot dog, but the cart line was too long so I gave up; this worked out.
“Sure.”
“Okay. Great. What do you want? Pizza? Or Chinese?”
“Chinese delivers?”
“‘Crescent Moon’ at the end of the block does. They deliver to nearby apartments for orders over thirty dollars. But the taste is just okay. Though I’m so hungry right now that I’m not in a position to be picky.”
2012, New York.
The food delivery craze had not yet arrived.
“Which do you want more?”
“Honestly, right now I’d rather have rice or wonton soup than pizza, even if it doesn’t taste as good. But if you want pizza, I don’t mind eating pizza. I’m hungry—”
I was craving rice and soup more than pizza too.
But I didn’t want to eat bad Chinese food…
“Can I use the kitchen, if that’s okay?”
“Here?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? To cook?”
“I think it’d be better than eating bad Chinese food.”
“Then I’d love that.”
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Yeah!”
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. I’m just making instant food.”
“Whatever. Please, Heon. I feel like I’m going to starve to death.”
One of the rules when moving into this apartment was “don’t cook food that smells,” so I was slightly puzzled that she readily said it was okay.
But it didn’t matter. I really wanted to eat ramyeon.
I quickly went to my room and brought out instant rice, ramyeon, Spam, seaweed, and other items I had brought from Korea and started preparing them. I even took out the instant galbitang my mother had packed and boiled it.
Compared to the instant foods of 2022, it was humble, but I still managed to put together a decent spread.
“If only there were green onions or eggs, I could have made it look more presentable. Too bad.”
“Wow, this looks delicious. Can I eat some?”
“Yeah.”
She took a spoonful of the galbitang broth without hesitation and exclaimed,
“Wow, unbelievable.”
There was some exaggeration to it, but it was clear that it suited her palate.
“Is it okay?”
“Is it okay? What are you talking about? I think this is three times better than Crescent Moon.”
She emptied two packs of instant rice and the galbitang in the blink of an eye, and perhaps grateful, she began praising my cooking skills.
“But why are you so good at cooking?”
“It wasn’t cooking, it was instant food.”
“Really? Then Korean instant foods are really delicious. You could open a restaurant with these. Seriously.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Then can I understand that it’s okay to cook food like this in the apartment?”
“I like it.”
“And Jennifer?”
“I’ll ask Jen. But it should be fine. Actually, we made the rule against smelly cooking because of Takashi.”
“The owner of my room?”
“Yeah. His hobby was cooking, and later he decided to make sushi and brought fish home to prepare.”
“Ooh.”
When I first heard that rule, I had wondered what the standard for “smelly food” was.
But I didn’t ask. There was no reason to be picky when I wasn’t even paying rent, and since I’d end up eating out a lot for school anyway, it wasn’t a big obstacle.
But since I hadn’t seen Mia or Jennifer turn on the stove even once during the five days since I moved in, I had worried anxiously, “Does this mean I can’t even boil ramyeon?” so this was a relief.
Now it was clear. I could boil ramyeon.
“You won’t cook fish, right?”
“Never.”
After that simple meal, we sat on the sofa eating Mia’s hidden ice cream for dessert and chatted about this and that.
“But Jennifer seems to be late again today.”
“Jen? Yeah. She has classes until late.”
“Classes?”
“Yeah. She’s in the JD/MBA joint program.”
I didn’t know that.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah.”
“Must be tough.”
“Once she gets into something, she’s really something. Very competitive.”
“I see…”
“Doesn’t she seem like it?”
The JD/MBA joint program was a track where you could earn both a Juris Doctor (JD) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree simultaneously, a program offered at almost all university law schools.
It was hard to get into, but graduating from it was even more difficult.
Moreover, while most other universities structured the program over four years, Columbia had unusually made it a three-year program.
Which meant that Columbia’s JD/MBA program could be considered more difficult than others.
“You two should talk sometime. Who knows, you might have similar personalities.”
“Huh? Ah. Yeah, sure.”
“Anyway, thanks for the meal today. I’ll buy you dinner sometime.”
“No, don’t worry about it.”
She had seemed smart, but I had just thought she was a cold woman; after Mia’s explanation, Jennifer started to look a little different.
*
After finishing dinner and returning to my room, I sent the text I had been putting off.
[Me: Sujeong. I think I have to go to a housewarming party at a hyung’s place this weekend.]
[Sujeong: What? Are you seriously doing this!]
[Me: If it’s okay, you can come with me.]
[Sujeong: Really? Can I come too?]
[Me: Yeah. Hyung said it’s fine.]
[Sujeong: Great!]
Housewarming (2)
Having received tuition and living expense support from a Korean law firm, Donguk hyung lived in the Battery Park area at the southwestern tip of New York City.
“Wow, this apartment is really nice!”
“This house is amazing!”
It was a wonderful house. It wasn’t big, but it had a small Hudson River view, and it was a perfect space for a young couple to live in.
“It’s small.”
“Small? This is basically a palace in New York.”
“Still, you all found your way here well at once. New York condos are built so huge that they can be confusing.”
“We just followed Heon. He seemed to know the way well.”
Of course. Because I had been here before.
Donguk hyung had held housewarming parties before as well. Actually, I hadn’t been able to attend then.
At the time, I had been preoccupied with starting to date Sujeong. I had come by a few times later for school-related matters.
“Um, this is…”
“Oh my, what is this?”
“It’s a housewarming gift.”
“What money do students have to buy something like this… You should have just come empty-handed.”
“Ah, that was bought personally by Heon’s friend. We didn’t have money, so we only have these humble things… hehe.”
“Humble? This is exactly what you bring to housewarming parties.”
Before coming to Donguk hyung’s place, I had pooled money with Sein and Michael to buy toilet paper and detergent as housewarming gifts.
On the other hand, Sujeong had bought a cake from a patisserie she knew.
“Now, now, everyone sit. Hungry? Shall we eat first?”
“Wow, amazing. Did you make all of this, unni? Ah, can I call you unni?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then should we call you noona?”
“Hey, Michael, that’s not right. You and Heon should call her sister-in-law.”
“Oh, is that how it is? I didn’t know. I call my brother’s girlfriend noona too.”
“Hoho. Noona is fine too. I didn’t prepare much, but please eat a lot.”
“Yeah, everyone eat a lot. If this is left over, we’ll have to throw it away, so eat it all. Got it?”
“This is ‘didn’t prepare much’? I think it’s even bigger than my dad’s birthday feast.”
“Yay—soy sauce crab!”
On the dining table next to the kitchen, various Korean foods were prepared, including soy sauce crab, galbijjim, japchae, fried food, jeon, and more.
We each served food onto our plates and sat around the table in the living room to begin our meal, and Donguk hyung placed glasses of wine in front of us.
“We’ll eat well!”
The meal that began that way ended nearly three hours later. Everyone ate so much of the home-cooked meal they hadn’t had in a long time that their bellies were protruding, but there was still a lot of food left on the table.