29 Dates

by Melissa de la Cruz

  “What’s making you so happy, Jisu?”

  “I got into UChicago!” Jisu said.

  “Wow! That’s where you’ve been wanting to go, right?” Chances were her grandfather didn’t fully understand which college was ranked high and which school was good for what. He only remembered that this was the school she wanted.

  “Your parents really outdid themselves by sending their only kid across the ocean to study at a completely new school,” Haraboji said. “But you still did it, Jisu. And I am so, so proud of you.”

  “Thank you, Haraboji.” Jisu was surprised at how choked up she was getting. Her grandfather’s words stirred something in her. She was filled with joy and happiness when she heard the news, but talking to her grandfather made her feel strong, like she really could do anything.

  “I can’t wait to celebrate with you, Umma and Appa when I get back,” she said.

  “I can hardly wait either.”

  * * *

  It was a day filled with emotional phone calls. Jisu wanted to keep going. She wanted to call everyone she ever met in life to tell them she had gotten into a great college. A college of her choice. Was it too early to call Euni and Min? Jisu sent them a Kakao message anyway.

  Hey guys* call me when you can. I have good news!

  Jisu’s phone started ringing the second she put it down. Euni was requesting a video chat. That was quick.

  “What are you doing up so early?” Jisu was surprised to see not just Euni but also Min up and awake. They were dressed and outdoors. It was still dark outside in Seoul. “Did you guys sneak out and go clubbing? You said you’d wait until the summer so we could all go together!”

  “What? No!” Euni laughed.

  Jisu could see clearer now that they were wearing sweatpants, leggings and headbands. Min grabbed a hold of Euni’s phone.

  “Guess what? Euni is a morning person and a runner now.” Min looked exhausted. “And she’s making me go on early-morning runs with her.”

  “Min, it was your idea!” Euni shouted from behind her as she stretched her legs.

  “No, I said that you should start exercising more to maintain your health. Not like this!” Min pulled her hoodie over her head and groaned. “I already get my cardio in through dance class. You think I need to do this, too?”

  “It definitely won’t hurt though,” Jisu said. “All that stamina will help you belt those high notes and get the choreography done.”

  “I guess.” Min rolled her eyes. “Here, Euni, take your phone back. I need to stretch also.”

  “So what’s the good news, Jisu?” Euni asked.

  “Well.” Jisu couldn’t stop smiling. “I got my acceptance from UChicago today!”

  Euni and Min both exploded with shouts and cheers. The three of them ran and jumped about.

  “UChicago?” Min asked. “That’s one of the really tough ones, right? It’s supposed to be harder to get into some Ivy schools, isn’t it?”

  Min could’ve been playing dumb. She could’ve also been hyping Jisu up. But hearing her talk about her future college this way was rewarding and made her feel accomplished.

  “It’s an amazing school.” Euni beamed like a proud parent. “Jisu, I’m so happy for you! This means I get to visit Chicago!”

  “And I’ll visit you in New Haven!” For once, thinking about the future didn’t fill Jisu with dread.

  “By the way, what’s going on with that guy Dave?” Min asked. Euni nudged her in the ribs, maybe a little too hard.

  “Ow! What?” Min clutched her sides and glared at Euni.

  “Can you just let her have her moment?” Jisu heard Euni whisper to Min.

  “What? I thought that was what she meant when she said she had good news.” Min scratched her head and looked back at the camera to Jisu. “Is he still being a jerk?” Euni nudged her again. “Ow!”

  “Euni, it’s fine,” Jisu said. “He’s not a jerk. He never was.”

  “But he cheated on his girlfriend! I don’t care how good-looking or nice he is to you. That’s just a bad omen in general,” Min started to say.

  “So turns out he didn’t.” Jisu wondered if she had the energy to really get into all the details. She didn’t want to undo all the effects of the peaceful rest and good news from earlier.

  “What do you mean?” Euni asked. “Spill!”

  “Apparently he already broke up with his girlfriend months ago, and they were just being low-key about it.”

  “So he’s not a cheater—he’s just like a really upstanding, noble gentleman?” Euni said.

  “Yeah, what are you waiting for, Jisu? Lock it down!” Min was now jogging in place and properly warming up, as if all of Jisu’s news from SF had given her a boost of energy.

  “I don’t know. I completely misunderstood, and now he’s being distant. I missed my shot. And I tried, too! If he even really liked me that much, we would’ve made amends. I don’t think he even wants to be my friend anymore.” Saying it all out loud made it seem more real, and Jisu felt disheartened all over again.

  “Okay, so let me get this straight.” Min took charge of the phone and commanded Jisu’s attention. “This guy is cute, going to Harvard, comes from a nice Korean family that you already get along with and has already made a good impression on your parents that one time he met them.”

  “And more important, you actually like him!” Euni shouted from behind Min.

  “Yeah, not to get all Ms. Moon on you, but you can’t give up on this one.” Min spoke as she did what looked like lunges to Jisu.

  “But also, Jisu, if he’s not chasing you either, then he’s an idiot. All of his family and school qualifications aside,” Euni said. “You have any chance of running into him outside of class? Like when you guys can actually talk?”

  “Tiffany’s throwing a party tonight at her house. It’s a party for the seniors. I think he’s going to be there...unless he’s trying to avoid me.”

  “He’s a man-child if he doesn’t go to a senior class party just to avoid you. So if he isn’t there, forget about him. But if he is, just talk to him,” Euni advised.

  “I already tried though! He wants nothing to do with me.”

  “Okay, but how soon after the whole messy incident did you try to talk to him?” Min asked.

  “I don’t know...it was a week or so after.”

  “Jisu, if I’ve learned anything from all the dance competitions I’ve aced, it’s that there’s nothing more fragile than a guy’s pride and ego. He needs time to lick his wounds. And then he’ll come around.”

  Min wasn’t one to always dole out good advice, but what she said made sense. Maybe Dave just needed space.

  “Well, even if I get to talk to him at the party, I won’t have that much time. I have to leave early to go to a seon.”

  “You’re still going on those?” Min asked. “I thought you were done after number twenty-five.”

  “No, Ms. Moon is still keeping them coming. I have one this afternoon, which will be twenty-eight—I counted—and then one after Tiffany’s party, unlucky number twenty-nine.”

  “Back-to-back seons in one day? Damn, Jisu. Are you sure you’re not the player here?” Euni joked.

  “I’m not invested in them. They’re just a way to kill time,” Jisu said.

  “Spoken like a true player,” Min said. She was doing jumping jacks now.

  “All right, Jisu. Min and I need to actually go on our run. Let us know how everything goes. And congratulations again on UChicago!”

  The girls blew each other kisses and hung up. Jisu wished she could go on an excruciating 5:00 a.m. run with them.

  She looked at the letter from UChicago on her computer and the adrenaline rush surged through her veins all over again.

  Guess who just got accepted into UChicago!

  Jisu sent off a te
xt to her Wick group chat with Hiba, Jamie and Tiffany.

  HIBA: OMG!

  JAMIE: Amazingggg.

  TIFFANY: Yesss. GO, JISU. Can’t want to celebrate at my party tonight!

  With each ding and celebratory response, Jisu’s heart doubled in size with joy. She was excited to see all of them later. If only she could just cut through seons twenty-eight and twenty-nine.

  Jisu’s fingers hovered over her screen. She wanted to text Dave and tell him her good news, too.

  Maybe it was the rush of excitement from the acceptance combined with the bountiful support and adulation from her parents and friends, but thinking about Dave made Jisu’s heart race faster. He was a Korean guy her parents had been impressed with, and she’d been quick to resist any romantic notion of him because of this. But he was so many other things. He was kind and caring. He could impress you with how smart he was, but he never showed off. He was funny and could make you laugh. He walked around with drive and purpose.

  Jisu wasn’t going to text him. She was going to see him at Tiffany’s party, where she would tell him about UChicago. And she would tell him how he’d made her feel: seen, heard, complete.

  MARCH 28, SAN FRANCISCO

  DATE NO. 28

  NAME: Park Jimin aka Jimmy

  * * *

  ROLE MODELS:

  Lionel Messi, Mia Hamm, Pele

  * * *

  Parent Occupations:

  Korean literature teacher;

  American ambassador

  * * *

  Jisu: Who are your heroes?

  JIMMY: Oh, this one’s easy. Pele, Lionel Messi and Mia Hamm.

  Jisu: So you like soccer! Got it.

  JIMMY: Ha, yeah. It’s a little more than a hobby.

  Jisu: Nice. I’m really into photography, so I get it.

  JIMMY: So, how’s your senior year going? I feel like people are either super chilled out or hyper stressed during senior year.

  Jisu: Well, I’m definitely in the hyper-stressed camp.

  JIMMY: Oh, no! Why? All the college stuff?

  Jisu: Yeah, pretty much. I’ve gotten into a few places—

  JIMMY: That’s great!

  Jisu: But I’ve also been wait-listed at a few other places. What about you? Super chill or super pressed?

  JIMMY: Hella chill. I’m never pressed. Nothing can get me freaked out.

  Jisu: Really? Nothing? What if Lionel Messi got injured really badly?

  JIMMY: He’ll get the best doctors. He’ll always get back up.

  Jisu: What if he died?

  JIMMY: Okay, that’s the grim. You’re talking about the King of Soccer here.

  Jisu: You’re getting upset just by the mere thought though. I think we’ve figured out your no-chill trigger.

  JIMMY: I was pretty upset when the US didn’t qualify for the last World Cup. That was bad. I’m pretty sure it broke my heart.

  Jisu: But South Korea participated that year.

  JIMMY: Yeah, thank god. I’ve actually never been to Korea, but I am Korean. So it was nice to at least have a team to root for. Plus they all look like me, and that’s kinda cool!

  Jisu: So how is everything “hella chill” for you right now? Even my friends who got into their dream colleges are still trying to keep up with class so their acceptances don’t get rescinded.

  JIMMY: The honest truth is that I got into Notre Dame, not based off my grades—which aren’t even that bad—but based off my soccer-playing. I’m going to play my way through college. It’s gonna be great.

  Jisu: That’s cool. What do you want to study when you’re at Notre Dame though?

  JIMMY: Uh, I’ve never really thought about that. I think I wanna try to go pro if I can. So I’m really just focused on soccer.

  Jisu: Huh. You kinda remind me of someone I know.

  JIMMY: Oh, do you know someone else who’s trying to go pro?

  Jisu: No. And he doesn’t even play the same sport.

  JIMMY: What sport then?

  Jisu: Surfing. Is that even a college sport?

  JIMMY: Probably not?

  Jisu: Yeah, he’s just really into it. He only wants to eat, sleep, surf and repeat.

  JIMMY: If I could just eat, sleep and play soccer, that would be the dream.

  Jisu: Yeah... I don’t know if I feel that way about anything. I need my various interests.

  JIMMY: Hey—do you have any plans for later today? You wanna get outta here? We can watch a movie or something at my place.

  Jisu: Uh, I can’t. A friend of mine is throwing a party at her house and I can’t miss it. Actually, I’m running a bit late and should be on my way already. It was nice meeting you though!

  29

  Jisu spent the whole time en route to Tiffany’s strategizing how she would find Dave and talk to him. But none of it was necessary. He was the first person in her line of vision when she walked through the door.

  He gave a benign head nod. They approached each other and met in the center of the room.

  “Heard you got into UChicago. Congrats,” Dave said, his tone a touch softer now. He gave her a high five. It was a friendly gesture, but not the one she wanted. “I was worried you weren’t coming,” he said.

  Did he still care? Or was he just being nice to be nice?

  “Tiffany would hate me if I missed out on this.” Jisu searched the room for Tiffany. She’d prepared for this moment, to come face-to-face with Dave, but her stomach kept doing flips and it was difficult to look Dave in the eye.

  It had never been difficult to look at him before.

  “I know.” Dave looked down at his feet. “I was being kind of a jerk in Mrs. French’s class the other day. So I thought you might try to avoid me. I’m sorry.”

  He looked back up at Jisu. Suddenly she no longer felt afraid to meet his gaze.

  “When I kissed you, it wasn’t for any other reason than the fact that I like you. I’m crazy about you, Jees.”

  Jisu’s heart beat, not faster with nervous anticipation, but steadily and stronger now with exhilaration. The rest of her body felt springy and weightless. Thank god for the wall she was leaning on—without it, she might have collapsed into a puddle of feelings. Everything he said was everything she was feeling about him, too. She took Dave’s hand and locked her fingers with his.

  “I wish we could be alone on the bleachers again. It would be different this time,” she said.

  “You mean, you wouldn’t get all red in the face and storm off?” Dave teased. It instantly felt like they were back to normal. Finally.

  “What if we just left this party?” he asked.

  “First of all, Tiffany would hold that against me for god knows how long,” Jisu said. “And also...I kind of have to ditch early anyway. I have a seon to go to...but those things don’t mean anything to me! Honestly.” Jisu tried to temper the growing knot of anxiety in her stomach as she waited for his reaction.

  “Well, you know you’re not the only one people are lining up to date. I have my own blind date to get to.” Dave grinned.

  Jisu stared at him, confused.

  “It’s a joke!” he said as he pulled her in for a reassuring hug. “Well, kind of. The second my mom found out I broke up with Sophie, she’s been trying to set me up on a blind date. I’m just doing it for her.”

  “Do you know who your date is?”

  “She’s the daughter of a friend of a friend of my mom’s... I think?” Dave put his hands together like a light bulb went off in his head. “When’s your seon?”

  “Soon. I actually probably have to leave in a few. I like to be early to these things.”

  “Mine’s also tonight. We should ditch our dates and meet up later,” Dave suggested.

  “Okay, but don’t be rude to your date! I always go in with an open mind. I mean, I know it won�
�t lead to anything, but—”

  “No! Don’t be too nice.” Dave put his hands on Jisu’s shoulders. “I can’t lose you to some rando.”

  Jisu felt light and weightless, like she could float off into the air and Dave’s arms on her shoulders were the only things holding her down.

  “There’s no way that’s going to happen. He’s going to be my twenty-ninth seon. And any number with the number nine is my unlucky number.”

  * * *

  Jisu got to El Farolito ten minutes early, in case her date showed up early, as well. She’d keep it to an hour or less, and then meet up with Dave. That was the plan.

  “Steak burrito to stay, right?” the man behind the counter asked.

  Jisu was a bonafide regular at El Farolito now. The delicious and overly stuffed burritos made it easy to keep coming back, but it had also become one of her go-to spots for her American seons. It was so nice to not have to meet at a fancy hotel lobby that was covered in Italian marble and lit by grandiose chandeliers. And each seon she had here chipped away at her bittersweet original El Farolito memory with Austin, the one who originally took her for burritos—and where she’d seen Dave with Sophie for the first time.

  Jisu placed her order and slid into a booth, wondering what her date looked like.

  Her phone vibrated. It was a text from Dave. Already?

  So I just got to my date. And she is a total stunner. Might have to see where this goes...

  What? This was a complete 180 from what he’d said just an hour or so ago. Jisu stared at her phone, confused.

  “Also, I think twenty-nine might actually be your lucky number. Or not. You know, there’s no such thing as cursed numbers, right?”

  Jisu looked up. Dave was standing in front of her. Dave Kang. Her heart burst and expanded like a time-lapse of a rapidly blooming flower. Happiness overwhelmed her. It was so tangible, she could feel it in her bones. For a moment, she blacked out, but the rapid beating of her heart jolted her back to consciousness. Dave was her twenty-ninth seon. But how?