【Episode 035 – Basketball Game Tickets (2)】
“What’s up.”
“Hey, Thomas.”
“Honey, right? Your name.”
“Heon.”
“So, Honey.”
The guy smiled, revealing white teeth that looked like they belonged in a toothpaste commercial.
“Kekeke. Sorry, just joking. You’re not upset, right? Honestly, you get it, don’t you? It’s such a tease-worthy name, isn’t it?”
Having spent three years of high school and four years of college in North America, how many times had I heard jokes about my name?
Ten times? Twenty times?
I’d heard them hundreds of times, if not more.
At first, I’d even tried using an English name, but it didn’t feel like me and was awkward.
Heon.
It was a name with its pros and cons.
A name that left an impression after hearing it just once, but conversely, also an easy name to tease.
Literally, because the meaning of the name was “honey,” wasn’t it?
Honestly, I was numb to jokes like this.
However, when someone made such a petty joke, if you observed them closely, you could tell.
Whether they genuinely found my name amusing, or if they were pretending to make light of it while throwing a quick jab.
“What you argued in Professor Cox’s lecture was rather creative. The chances of such an argument being accepted in an actual courtroom are probably slim, but Professor Cox seems to like that kind of creativity. Ah, of course, I thought so too.”
This guy was the latter.
“Ah, I heard you guys are representing the school in the Immigration Law Moot Court Competition this time? Congrats.”
“Thanks.”
“So, what do you think about the immigration policy Obama proposed this time?”
In Hollywood teen movies set in schools, there’s always this character.
The handsome, athletic team captain.
Usually wearing a letterman jacket, swaggering around leading his teammates, like the leader of a pack of swaggering idiots.
Such a stereotypical type that there’s even a separate term for it: jock.
“Jock” is a shortening of “jockstrap” (protective gear for the groin), derived from the equipment that sports-loving men usually wear.
Truthfully, it’s a term used to mock that type of kid for being big but not too bright, but the best part is that the jocks themselves don’t take offense.
Thomas McCliff was a “jock.”
Ah, of course, having graduated from Harvard and currently attending NYU Law School, it’d be harsh to call him stupid, but his other characteristics really fit perfectly into the stereotypes Hollywood had created.
It oozed from his swaggering posture, his gaze, his aggressive tone.
The energy of trying to dominate his opponent.
I had no intention of condemning such habits of theirs.
In North American culture, confidence is a trait that’s highly valued.
However, confidence and arrogance are like the relationship between friendliness and rudeness.
It was but a paper-thin difference.
“Was my question too sudden? Still, if you’re representing the school in the Immigration Law Moot Court Competition, it’d be strange if you had no thoughts on this issue.”
‘What is this?’
I was slightly bewildered.
A guy who normally never exchanged a word with me had suddenly approached, greeted me, and was now asking about immigration law out of the blue—no matter how I thought about it, it was unnatural.
So I tried to recall memories of the future.
No matter how much I searched, there was nothing.
I think Michael had said some not-so-nice things about him back then too, but we had merely attended the same school; there was no overlap between him and me.
‘But why is he doing this?’
“What are you curious about?”
“Exactly what I asked. What you think of Obama’s immigration policy.”
I didn’t know. Neither Donguk nor Sein seemed to know either.
“Whatever it is, it’s probably better than the Republican side’s immigration policy.”
Korea is similar, but in America too, the tension between supporters of the two parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, is enormous.
As if I’d touched a sore spot because I didn’t want to say I didn’t know, the guy’s pale face flushed slightly.
“Ah, ah, I see. You’re the type who supports the Democrats.”
No. I didn’t particularly support any party.
If anything, I respected Obama and was more favorable toward him than the Republican candidate, Romney.
“Because I don’t have a Republican Senator for a grandfather.”
I’d said it meaning there was no need to blindly follow my family’s political views, but I wasn’t sure if he understood.
“Ah, wait, wait, which university did you graduate from? Didn’t you say you went to the University of Toronto? Then you’re not even an American citizen. Right. Uh—come to think of it, are the people here representing our school in the Immigration Law Moot Court Competition without even having American citizenship? That’s a bit… yeah.”
He seemed to have caught on. Now he was openly aggressive.
“Michael is an American citizen.”
‘Ugh—Sein, no, that’s just playing into his hands.’
“Michael? Michael who?”
“Michael Kim.”
“Michael Kim? First time hearing that name. Ah, but I’m really curious, why would a student from another country come to America and study American law? It’s not like you can use it when you go back, right? Ah, or does New York law have effect in Korea too?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Then why?”
“That’s…”
“Hahaha. Ah, it was a joke. You know, global commerce happens in New York. If you study here and go back, you’ll be able to get a good job, right? Yeah, everyone work hard. I was just curious about your opinions.”
The type to pretend to be humorous while getting on people’s nerves, and if the other person gets angry or serious, saying it was a joke and embarrassing them for no reason.
A typical “jock.” The attitude of the strong coming to bully the weak.
He seemed to have come to test the waters for something, and though I didn’t know exactly why he’d approached me, just ignoring him and sending him away felt like it would ruin my mood for the whole day.
“Thomas.”
“What?”
“So, do you think Obama will win in tomorrow’s presidential election, or Romney?”
The guy, who had been turning away with a victorious expression, twisted his face slightly.
“Obama.”
“What, weren’t you a supporter of your grandfather, no, I mean, a Republican supporter?”
“What? Ah, no. Haha, interesting. So you want Obama to win?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t be too cocky. Romney may be lagging a bit in name recognition, but in terms of national approval ratings, Obama is barely hanging on too.”
“I don’t think so. I have a feeling it’ll be a landslide.”
“Do you even know anything about American politics? You’re from Canada. If you don’t know, you’d better just stay quiet. At most, it’ll be a difference of 40 to 50 electoral votes.”
“Really? I think differently. I think there’ll be at least a 120-electoral-vote difference.”
“Haha! You’re hilarious—”
The guy’s expression, which had been about to answer with an annoyed look, suddenly changed.
“How many did you say? 120? Haha, fine. Let’s make a bet. Whoever gets closer to tomorrow’s voting results wins.”
He took the bait.
“What are we betting?”
“The loser runs a lap around the campus naked.”
In the presidential election held on November 6, 2012, Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Joe Biden secured 332 electors, crushing Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan by a margin of 126 electoral votes.
“Call!”
Basketball Game Tickets (3)
“As NSNBC predicted at the start of this election broadcast, President Obama, the Democratic candidate, has secured Ohio’s votes and been re-elected.”
The US presidential election is not a direct election but a system of electors and a two-stage election.
Therefore, in the first week of November, a first-round vote is held to select each state’s electors, and in the second week of December, the elected electors conduct a second-round vote to select the president.
Since the electors chosen in the first-round vote held in November are determined by which of the two candidates they support, the second-round vote held in December can be seen as an election that effectively confirms the results of the first-round vote.
Of course, electors chosen in the first-round vote could withdraw their support and vote for another candidate, but that is only a theoretical possibility and does not happen in reality.
Thus, the election held in November can be seen as de facto the US presidential election.
On November 7, 2012, President Barack Obama secured 332 electors, making his re-election certain. The difference in the number of electors was 126.
“Fuck!”
And Thomas McCliff’s streaking—running naked through streets, campus, and other public places—was all but confirmed.