Chapter 83.2

Chapter 83.2

A subdued voice came through the receiver.

― I misspoke. I’m sorry. But you have two weeks to decide, André… I can’t wait longer.

After hanging up, André buried his face in his hands and rubbed it.

[Huu…]

If only he’d retired sooner and returned to New York.

If only his Mother had held on a little longer.

If only his Father were less incompetent.

But the past couldn’t be changed.

During the two-week grace period, he’d do everything possible before deciding.

His chest tightened, and his temples throbbed. André took a deep breath and instinctively reached for his left breast pocket. Then he remembered he’d moved Miran’s photo from his wallet to the desk drawer. He thought that since he would have the real thing when he got home, there was no need to carry it anymore.

With a bitter smile, he admitted to himself: he was hopelessly addicted to his unnecessarily beautiful tranquilizer.

—

“Cheers!”

Saturday night. In a hotel room near Washington, D.C., Miran and Hyunjung clinked beer cans across a small table. Hyunjung was inconsistent in attending language school classes, but she joined the Washington D.C. trip and became roommates with Miran once again.

“Oh, right! Unnie, I’m having a birthday party next Friday. Can you come? Seunghyuk oppa will be there too.”

“Happy birthday! What time and where should we go?”

“Seven p.m. We’ll meet in Koreatown for dinner, hit a bar, then move to a club around eleven. It’s called Limelight, the hottest club in New York these days. It’s crazy that they turned an old church into a club.”

Hyunjung chattered excitedly.

“Yeah, that’s unusual.”

Miran chimed in.

Born in ’95, Hyunjung was at the tail end of Gen X, even more outspoken and free-spirited than Miran’s peers.

“They have different themed rooms, but the most famous is the Shampoo Room. It’s filled with foam, and you play in it like you’re swimming. It’d be fun!”

“Oh! I think I’ve heard of that before.”

Her club-loving friends Miki and Lucito had been nagging her to go with them and had been mentioning the Shampoo Room. That must be Limelight.

Miran’s eyebrows drooped with a troubled face.

“But what should I do? I don’t think I can go to the club. I can do dinner and the bar, though. Is that okay?”

“Ah, why? Come on, unnie! It’s gonna be so fun!”

“I want to, but…”

When Miran trailed off, Hyunjung clapped her hands.

“Oh, right! You have a boyfriend!”

Miran’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How did you know that?”

Hyunjung laughed awkwardly.

“I bet there’s no one at our language school who doesn’t know that.”

“Really? I never told anyone…”

When Miran seemed genuinely surprised, Hyunjung hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth with eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Unnie, I was actually curious about that too. Is it true your boyfriend drives you to school in a Rolls-Royce every morning?”

That big car was a Rolls-Royce?

“… I don’t really know car brands.”

Miran answered vaguely. Frustrated, Hyunjung couldn’t hold back and started gossiping.

“Some Korean girl saw a Rolls-Royce parked in front of the school every morning. She said you got out of it. The guy inside was American, he was wearing a suit, and looked a bit older. People started saying you’re doing high-class escorting or sugar-dating—”

Hyunjung clamped her mouth shut and grabbed Miran’s hand.

“Unnie, don’t get me wrong! I didn’t believe it. I asked Seunghyuk oppa, and he said he knows your boyfriend. He said you’ve been dating since Korea, so I told that girl you’re not doing anything like that. But then Taeyoung oppa and Hongseok oppa said your boyfriend picks you up from the dorm and you’re living together, so… the rumors got a bit weird.”

Miran let out a hollow laugh.

Living together was true, so she couldn’t argue with that.

But high-class escorting? Sugar-dating?

She knew people loved baseless gossip, but she never imagined rumors this wild were circulating.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Hyunjung asked, “So… how old is your boyfriend?”