【Episode 34 – Basketball Game Tickets (1)】
"What are you talking about right now?"
"If you have feelings for me, don't do this. I don't have those kinds of feelings for you."
It wasn't even a confession, but my heart pounded at the thought that this was truly the end.
I felt awful having to end things like this without being able to say I was sorry or wish her happiness.
But...
"Yeah, I don't either. So don't worry. Hey, you have the wonton noodles. I'll have the Shanghai noodles. Deal?"
I said it once more after that, but Sujeong scolded me, telling me not to talk nonsense.
Her demeanor was so composed that it was almost embarrassing.
However, after that day, the contact from Sujeong grew infrequent.
Occasionally, she would send texts like, "What are you doing?", "How have you been?", or "I'm crazy busy," but there were no messages asking to hang out or grab a meal together.
Sujeong had gotten my message that day.
I thought she would need time.
Because I did.
Because we all did.
***
November 5, 2012, was more boisterous than your average Monday.
With the 57th U.S. Presidential Election taking place the next day, the candidates' names could be heard all around campus, and heated debates broke out over who was likely to win.
"Heon, you were here."
"Hyung, you're here."
While sitting in the Goldin Lounge organizing my schedule, Dongwook-hyung entered the lounge.
"Did you have a good weekend?"
"Yes."
"What about you, Hyung?"
"I met up with a lawyer from a law firm here that I'd kept in touch with when working in Korea, along with his wife—we had a couples' dinner. Guess he saw the news. The
"I see."
"But, *whew*—you really need to know politics to survive here. The whole dinner was talk about this election. I only know the names Obama and Romney; what do I know about American politics? I broke a sweat going 'Mmhmm, mmhmm' throughout the meal. What about you, Heon? American politics?"
"No. I don't really know much either."
"Really? It's a small comfort that you don't know either. Ah, right. Heon, what are you doing next weekend? Busy?"
"Next weekend? No. I'm fine. Why?"
"I got some basketball game tickets, but I don't think I can make it next weekend. My mother-in-law and father-in-law are visiting next week. Want to go watch?"
"A basketball game?"
"Yeah, the New York Knicks and Indiana, is it? Anyway, Sunday, November 18th. It's at Madison Square Garden."
"Oh, really? Those tickets must be hard to get."
"I got them from someone, too."
"That lawyer from the firm?"
"No, someone else."
"If you're giving them to me, I'd really appreciate it."
"Sure, here."
Dongwook-hyung took two NBA game tickets out of his bag and handed them to me.
"Oh, there are two."
"Yeah. They gave me two for me and my wife to go. If you have someone to go with, take them along."
"Thank you, Hyung. Oh, these look like really good seats."
"You like basketball, don't you? Go watch with a friend."
"Thank you. I'll enjoy it. Ah, but how did you know I like basketball?"
"Huh? You said so at the housewarming party. That you like basketball. That Vince Carter is your favorite."
"Ah, did I say that? Haha. I think I was a little drunk toward the end that day."
I like basketball. It's the only sport I love.
Ten years ago, when I lived in New York, I'd regretted not being able to go to many games, and at this unexpected gift, the corners of my mouth rose without me realizing it.
"Hey, Heon, what are you looking at, smiling like that?"
Just then, Michael and Sein entered the Goldin Lounge.
"You're here?"
"By the way, you pulled another one during Con Law (contract law: Commercial Law), didn't you?"
"What did I even do?"
"I heard everything. That you trashed that nasty Thomas McCliffe."
Thomas McCliffe.
He's the guy who took the plaintiff's side—the man who sued a woman for not sleeping with him—in the debate during last Commercial Law class.
Coincidentally, just as Michael spoke his name, the guy appeared on the other side of the lounge.
"It's not like I trashed him."
"Everyone's saying you trashed him. Dongwook-hyung said so too. Right, Hyung?"
"Mmm—right. You did trash him. Because the professor called it a decision victory."
"But why do you hate him so much?"
Sein cut in.
"He's obnoxious."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why?"
"There has to be a reason. Because he's handsome?"
"Hey, O Sein."
"What? It's true."
It was true. He was handsome.
Blond hair and blue eyes.
A small face with a high nose bridge.
A face that anyone would call handsome.
On top of that, he was tall and had a good body.
Broad shoulders and solid arms and legs.
He had probably done sports like crew or rugby in college.
He was the typical American guy you'd see in an Abercrombie ad.
"His grandfather is a Republican Senator from Texas."
"So?"
"What do you mean, so? What more needs to be said?"
"What does that mean? Why is having a senator grandfather obnoxious?"
"That's not it... No, forget it. Anyway, his rumors aren't great either. And more than anything, it's that look in his eyes. He pretends otherwise, but he has a condescending gaze. You can tell at a glance he's a white supremacist."
"Proof?"
"Hey, O Sein, what's wrong, do you like him?"
"No."
"Then why are you like this?"
"You need evidence to criticize someone. You can't just say things like that without proof."
"Ah, seriously, this is why looks are everything. O Sein, you're only like this because he's handsome, right?"
"Yeah."
"What?"
"At least I have evidence. You don't have any proof."
"Hey, forget it, forget it. I'm going."
"Where are you going? You just got here."
"I have somewhere to be. Bye."
Michael, who had just arrived, stormed off.
I didn't think it was something to get that angry about, so I was a bit bewildered when he left like that.
I found out later.
That something quite unpleasant had happened between the two of them at the beginning of the semester.
"I think it's the first time I've seen Michael get that angry."
"Right? Why is he like that? Did something happen between you two on the way here?"
"No. I met him in front of school, too. Just leave him."
"You really are something. You're subtly harsh to only Michael."
"Me? When?"
"You are."
"No, I'm not."
"What do you mean, no. You were just now."
"Just now? Honestly, I'm right. He criticized someone without evidence. That's true, isn't it?"
"It was just talking between friends. And something really might have happened between those two. Something they can't tell us."
"Still, calling him a white supremacist out of nowhere is a bit much. Don't you think?"
"That is true, but..."
I hadn't noticed until then.
That the subject of our conversation was approaching our table.
"So, Sein, even I think this time you were a bit—"
"What's up."
"Hey, Thomas."
***
Three minutes earlier,
Goldin Lounge, a different table.
"What's up, Thomas."
"Hey, yo."
"So? Did you ask Eleanor?"
"Yeah."
"What'd she say?"
"She said she'd think about it."
"Did you get rejected?"
"What are you talking about. Who got rejected."
He had been rejected.
He'd asked Eleanor out to an NBA game and had been flatly rejected.
She hadn't even glanced at the premium courtside seat tickets he'd bought for two thousand dollars each.
"The game's next week, right? But if she said she'd think about it, that means she rejected you."
"She said she has some show that day."
She had never offered such a pathetic excuse.
She'd simply said, "I'm good. Not much into sports."
"So you're saying you can't go together. Hey, Thomas, don't be like that and go with me. I'm a Carmelo Anthony fan."
"Forget it, dumbass. Why would I go there with you?"
"Then who are you going with?"
Just then, Jeheon, who was sitting at another table, came into Thomas McCliffe's view.
A few days ago, he'd heard a rumor that Eleanor was interested in him.
Thomas McCliffe shot up from his seat.
"Tom, where are you going?"
And he approached the table where Heon and his friends were sitting.
"What's up."
Basketball Game Tickets (2)
｢Two months earlier,
First week of the semester.
"Here she comes."
"Where?"
"There. Three o'clock."
Thomas McCliffe looked in the direction Jeff Maine, a fellow alumnus who had entered law school a year earlier, was pointing.
Several female students were standing where Jeff pointed, but only one caught his eye.
"That's her? The one they say is a model?"
"Yeah. Eleanor Young. UCLA grad."
It had only been three days since the semester started, but Eleanor was already becoming a celebrity.
"She definitely has a good body."
"Hot, right?"
"I prefer a more voluptuous type, but she's not bad."
"Hey, Tom. Where are you going?"
He was Thomas McCliffe, the Valedictorian of the prestigious Kinkaid High School and its Prom King.
Following his father's wishes, he entered Harvard and served on the school crew team and as student council president.
Not once had a woman ever rejected him.
"Hey."
"Hi."
"What's your name?"
"Eleanor."
"I'm Thomas. Nice to meet you, Eleanor. My close friends call me Tom. What time does your lecture end today?"
"Why?"
"Want to grab a drink after? I know a really nice bar around here."
"Yeah. I have somewhere to be after."
"Really? Well, it can't be helped then. See you around."
Relationships between men and women are truly mysterious.
It doesn't take much time for feelings to sprout.
That was the moment.
The point at which McCliffe's obsession with Eleanor began.
"What'd she say?"
"What do you think? Of course she turned him down."
"Turned him down? Oh—isn't this the first? A woman who rejected Tom McCliffe's 'let's grab a drink.'"
It was the first.
The first since he'd been rejected by a friend named Emo in high school.
"That's what makes you want to conquer her. Too easy and it's not attractive."
Even then, the reason for rejection had been that he wasn't of drinking age. He simply couldn't drink, but the objective of asking her to drink had been achieved.
"Jeff, want to bet?"
"A bet? Heh. How many months?"
"How many months? Are you kidding? Two weeks."｣
He had boasted so confidently...
Two months had passed.
He'd asked her out a few more times after that, but Eleanor was always firmly guarded.
He had shown up in front of her driving a Ferrari, and he had also appeared pretending it was a coincidence at a Chelsea cafe she frequented.
She had never once given him a proper glance.
He was slowly beginning to grow anxious.
He had asked around wondering if she might be a lesbian.
Damn, she wasn't.
"Tom, did you hear that rumor?"
"What rumor?"
"They say Eleanor left the freshman party with that Asian guy."
"Asian guy?"
"I heard his name is 'Honey' or something. Anyway, they say she left with a freshman with a gay-ish name like that."
Heon. He knew him. A guy who often got attention during class.
"Are you sure? She said she wasn't going to the freshman party."
He had asked her directly. She had definitely answered him that she wasn't going.
But she went?
"If you look at the Twitter of the kid who hosted the party, Clemens, there's a photo up. And you know Loraine? She got close with Eleanor and asked her. Who she thinks is the most decent guy at school. And apparently she said that Asian guy is cute."
At first, he didn't believe it.
'The Valedictorian and Prom King of Kinkaid High School, Thomas McCliffe, gets rejected, and she follows around some Asian punk?'
He thought it was a ridiculous rumor.
'Then why does she keep sitting next to him?'
*
｢A few days ago,
Richard Cox's Commercial Law class.
"Haha, that's creative. I hadn't thought of that either. What do you think? Counsel for the plaintiff, any counterargument sufficient to rebut the claim Heon just raised?"
He calls that creative?
It's just nonsense.
"Professor."
"Ah, yes, Thomas McCliffe."
"The expression 'worth having sexual relations with' is inherently ambiguous, and the mere fact that the lawsuit was filed cannot prove a lack of worth rather than a simple change of heart."
"It is not ambiguous. 'Worth having sexual relations with' refers to the quality that makes one want to have sexual relations. The plaintiff lacked or was deficient in such quality, which is why a three-month period was set in the first place, and the fact that the defendant had sexual relations with another man during that period confirms this. Therefore, it is appropriate to view the contract in this case as void from the beginning; however, if we are to assume there was a contract, it is more reasonable to view it as 'under negotiation' rather than 'established.'"
"Mmm... that's..."
Clap, clap, clap.
Honestly, though he had paused for a moment, Thomas could have kept rebutting.
But Professor Richard Cox rendered his decision, making it an embarrassing spectacle.