【Episode 6 – A New Connection (2)】
After Donguk-hyung left, Sein and I, who had been wondering where to eat lunch, decided to just eat at the lounge. We bought sandwiches and drinks from the cafe attached to the lounge and went out to the terrace.
“Should I switch too?”
“Switch what?”
“Classes.”
“Which class?”
“Commercial Law.”
“But you already chose Professor Cox’s class.”
“I just… thought about changing the time slot to match the lecture time you and Oppa are taking.”
“Then you’d have to change all your other classes too, right? It’d be complicated.”
“I guess so? I just thought it might be fun if we all took it together… Ah, right. So you’re moving this evening?”
Sein, who had brought up the topic of changing her schedule, seemed to realize it wasn’t such a good idea herself, and changed the subject, smacking her lips in disappointment.
“Yeah. If I head over after Criminal Law class and move my stuff, I think I can get there around nine.”
“You really don’t need any help?”
“Nope. It’s just one duffel bag and a backpack, so I can handle it alone.”
“Don’t you have school books too?”
“I moved all the books to my school locker today. It’s mostly clothes. And my computer.”
“Really?”
“Why? You gonna come help me carry a bag or something?”
“Well, if you need me, I will. Isn’t it in Harlem? Aren’t you scared?”
“It’s fine. It’s not that scary of a neighborhood. Come hang out sometime.”
“Really?”
“Why?”
“Nothing. …As Oppa said, you’re surprisingly sociable.”
*Me? That’s not true… Was I being too eager?*
From my perspective, they were already close classmates. But from theirs, they had just met me, so perhaps they might feel that way.
I finally understood why Donguk-hyung had called me a “nice guy” earlier.
“We’re in law school now. If you want to network well at ‘Wine and Cheese,’ shouldn’t you develop some social skills, even if you don’t have them?”
“Pfft— so you’re not actually good at it?”
“I’m not.”
“But I heard the rule is no visitors? The apartment you’re moving to today.”
“I’ll introduce you to Mia. She seems like a decent person. If you know each other, it should be okay to visit, right?”
“Introduce me too.”
While Sein and I were chatting about this and that, Michael appeared at our table.
“You startled me.”
“Introduce me to Mia too.”
“Okay.”
“Where are you coming from? Why are you sweating so much?”
“The registrar’s office.”
“Ah! Donguk-hyung went there just a little while ago too?”
“I actually ran into him on the way. He said he’s changing classes.”
“Why did you go there?”
“I had some classes to change too. I heard Professor Wiseman’s Civil Law class is strict, so I switched to Professor Skinner’s class.”
“I’m in Professor Skinner’s class too. When is it?”
“Tuesday and Thursday afternoons…”
Thud.
Michael, who had been talking while busily wiping his sweat, accidentally knocked my Commercial Law textbook that was on the table.
The textbook fell to the floor.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
The guy picked up the textbook and quickly placed it back on the table, apologizing. At that moment, a note that had been tucked between the pages fell out.
“Whose phone number is this?”
“Huh?”
“347-513-5134? Why does it look familiar? 513-5134… Ah! It’s Eleanor Young’s phone number!”
“How do you know that?”
“I asked.”
“Directly?”
“No. A friend who’s close with Eleanor is in my Procedure class, so I bugged them until I found out. But what about you? Wait, if it says ‘my number’ on the note, did Eleanor give it to you herself?”
Michael, suddenly getting excited.
He’s always been the excitable type.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
I hesitated briefly. I was about to tell the truth but changed my mind.
“I asked for it.”
“Oh— really? Wow— Jeheon, you’re smoother than you look.”
“What? Haha.”
I laughed.
The expression “smooth” used for a guy was one you’d use when his behavior around women came naturally.
I laughed at hearing that for the first time in my life.
“It’s not like that. We’re taking Commercial Law together, and there’s an assignment we have to do together, so I asked.”
“Ah, so that’s what it was?”
Michael was the sociable one. Everything he did was a bit clumsy, but he had a wide network and a lot of information.
From important news like, “A certain law firm is planning to hire several people for this summer’s internship,” to trivial gossip like, “Someone asked someone out and got rejected.”
It was thanks to Michael that our group—what you’d call the “outcast” group—was able to stay so sharp on school information.
That was why I made something up.
Having a lot of information also meant leaking a lot of information.
It wasn’t that big of a deal, but the thought of the news that Eleanor, who was very popular at school, had given me her phone number spreading through Michael didn’t seem like a great thing.
“What assignment?”
Sein, who had been listening quietly from the side, asked.
“Huh?”
“My professor didn’t mention anything like that during the class I’m taking.”
Ah, right. Sein is taking Professor Cox’s class too.
“Really? I guess there wasn’t enough time; they’ll assign it next class.”
This was true. She would assign it next class.
“Next class? But in your class time, she assigned it already?”
Ring, ring—
Then, right on cue, my phone rang—that welcome sound.
“Ah, sorry. It’s a call from Mia… See you later.”
I grabbed my phone and bag and left the terrace.
***
“Hi, Mia. What’s up.”
—Heon, you’re moving in today, right?
“Yeah. Why? Is there a problem?”
—It’s not a problem… I was going to be home, but something suddenly came up with my boyfriend, so I don’t think I’ll be home tonight.
“Really? When will you be back? If it’s too hard, I can move on Saturday or Sunday instead.”
—No. Jen should be there. I’ll let her know. There’s a spare key at home too, so if you ask Jen, she’ll give it to you. You don’t have Jen’s number, right?
“I don’t.”
—I’ll text it to you after the call. I’ll give her a heads-up, but call and coordinate your schedule with Jen.
“Got it.”
After the call with Mia, I immediately got a text from my roommate, Jennifer Lin. It said she had plans with someone in Tribeca after class, that she’d arrive before nine if she went straight there, and that she’d be at the apartment if I came after that.
I left a short reply saying, “Okay. See you then,” and as planned, went back home after school and packed my things.
As a small token of gratitude to Jake for letting me stay in his room all this time, I bought dinner from a nearby pizza place, then boarded the F-Line subway.
Until then, I had never imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that I would end up sleeping on the streets of Harlem.
Ring, ring—
—Hi, Heon.
“Mia, sorry to bother you, but I can’t get through to Jen.”
—What? Haven’t you gotten inside yet?
“Yeah.”
—It’s already ten! Did you talk to Jen?
“Yeah. After I talked to you earlier, she said she’d be there after nine, so I texted her saying I’d come then. So I came, but she’s not here. And her phone isn’t going through.”
—What the heck, Jen. Okay. I’ll try calling her. Wait, let me call and I’ll call you right back.
Click.
The moment I hung up with Mia,
Snap!
The whole neighborhood went dark.
Only then did I remember. In 2012, New York’s power supply had been unstable due to Hurricane Sandy.
A blackout. And of all days, it had to be today.
I had a rough idea of why Jennifer Lin couldn’t make it.
It seemed the Tribeca area had lost power first. Or maybe she’d been caught in the blackout on the subway.
Buzz—
“Heon, what should I do? I can’t reach Jen either.”
In 2012, cell phones didn’t connect in the New York subway.
And an Old Connection (1)
The 2012 blackout was quite serious.
Manhattan was pitch-black all weekend, and even after that, it took more than a week to fully restore power.
“…Sorry… I’m really, really sorry…”
She didn’t return until morning, drenched in sweat.