We escaped the Tarot Club[1]and the smell of burnt sage, stepping back into the sensory overload of the Club Fair.
"I need food," I announced. "Real food. Not spiritual enlightenment."
"There," Ha-neul pointed.
Parked near the main fountain was a sleek, black coffee truck. It wasn't a normal vendor. It was decked out with banners and life-sized cutouts of a incredibly handsome actor I recognized from a drama my mom watched back in Cherkasy.
"Good luck to the Drama Club! From your Sunbae, Kim Soo-hyun."
"Whoa," I stopped. "Is that... actually from him?"
"Yeah," Jun-seo said casually, adjusting his yellow sash. "He graduated a few years ago. Alumni send support trucks all the time. Idols, actors, singers... Kirin has connections."
We walked up to the window. The menu was extensive.
"It's on me," Jun-seo said, pulling out his wallet.
"Really?" My eyes lit up. "Anything?"
"Anything."
"Okay," I said, rubbing my hands together. "One corn dog. With sugar and ketchup. A bulgogi burger. And... tteokbokki. With extra cheese."
Jun-seo nodded, impressed. "Okay. I think Ha-neul can choose herself."
"Choose herself?" I was confused.
Jun-seo paused. He looked at me. He looked at the imaginary mountain of food I had just ordered.
"Wait," he said, a vein visibly bulging on his temple. "That... was all for you?"
"I'm a growing boy," I said innocently. "And I have a high metabolism. It's the Ukrainian genes."
Ha-neul snorted, covering her mouth to hide her laugh. "Just buy it for him, President. Before he eats the decorations."
Jun-seo sighed, defeated, and handed over his card. "You're lucky you're cheap to feed, Ha-neul."
We got our food—Ha-neul settled for a simple iced tea—and found a standing table. I was happily devouring my corn dog when a breathless first-year student with a "Student Council" armband skidded to a halt next to us.
"President Park!" he gasped. "The K-Pop Dance Club and the Hip-Hop Club are fighting over speaker volume again! They're having a dance-off to settle it, but it's getting aggressive!"
Jun-seo closed his eyes for a second, summoning patience from the universe. "Tell them I'll be there in ten minutes. If they break a speaker, it comes out of their budget."
The first-year nodded and sprinted away.
"You should go," Ha-neul said.
"I have ten minutes," Jun-seo said, looking at me. Or rather, looking past me. "San, look."
I turned. Right next to the food truck was a small, portable photo booth. "Kirin Memories - 4 Cuts."
"We have to," Jun-seo said, a boyish grin breaking through his exhaustion.
We squeezed into the tiny booth. It was a tight fit. Jun-seo in the middle, me on the left clutching my corn dog, Ha-neul on the right looking reluctant but secretly pleased.
"Okay! Funny faces!" Jun-seo commanded.
Flash.
"Serious faces!"
Flash.
"Peace signs!"
Flash.
"K-Pop heart!"
Flash.
The machine whirred and spat out two strips of photos. They were... surprisingly cute. In the last one, I was trying to make a finger heart but accidentally poked Jun-seo in the cheek, while Ha-neul was looking at both of us with pure, exasperated affection.
"Can I keep one?" I asked, holding the strip with two hands like it was a holy relic. "Please? For my room?"
Jun-seo and Ha-neul exchanged a look. They both scoffed in unison.
"You're like a puppy," Ha-neul muttered. "Take it."
"Keep it," Jun-seo laughed. "I have to go stop a dance riot. The tents start closing in two hours, so you two have plenty of time to explore. Don't cause trouble. And San."
My breath caught.
"Choose wisely."
I exhaled. He was referring to the club I want to be part of.
He waved and jogged off toward the noise of the dance battle, his yellow sash fluttering.
I carefully tucked the photo strip into my blazer pocket, feeling a warm glow in my chest.
"Well," Ha-neul said, sipping her tea. "He's gone. What now?"
I looked into the distance, watching Jun-seo's retreating back.
He stopped to greet a couple walking toward him. I squinted.
It was a tall guy and a girl in a white dress.
Yoo Chae-rin. And her puppy-dog boyfriend, Han Min-gyu.
My blood ran cold.
Jun-seo bowed to them, said something polite, and kept running.
Chae-rin and Min-gyu kept walking. Straight toward us.
"Oh no," I whispered.
"What?" Ha-neul asked.
Chae-rin had spotted us. Her eyes locked onto Ha-neul, and then shifted to the space beside her. Her expression was a mix of haughty disdain and... curiosity?
She walked right up to our table. Min-gyu trailed behind her, looking nervous.
"Ha-neul," Chae-rin said coolly. "Enjoying the commoner food?"
"It's a food truck, Chae-rin," Ha-neul said, not intimidated. "Hi, Min-gyu."
"Hello, Noona," Min-gyu bowed.
Chae-rin smirked, her eyes flicking to the side.
"And hello to you... and your boyfriend," she said, putting a heavy, mocking emphasis on the word. "I see you're on a date."
Ha-neul blinked. She frowned, turning her head to her left.
"Boyfriend? Chae-rin, don't be weird. San is just—"
She stopped.
She stared at the empty space beside her.
Her iced tea was there. My half-eaten burger was there.
Instead there was full-height cardboard figure of Kim Soo-hyun.
But I was gone.
I had evaporated. The second I saw Chae-rin, I had dropped into a crouch and crab-walked backward behind the coffee truck with the speed of a cockroach when the lights turn on.
"San?" Ha-neul asked, looking around. "Why are you so quiet?"
Silence.
Chae-rin stared at Ha-neul. Then she looked at the empty space. Then she looked back at Ha-neul.
"Are you..." Chae-rin took a small step back, her face twisting into a look of genuine concern and judgment. "Are you talking to an imaginary friend? Ha-neul... has the stress finally cracked you?"
Ha-neul looked around, bewildered. "He was... he was literally just standing here."
"Right," Chae-rin said slowly. "Well. Enjoy your... date. With the ghost. And... don't stress eat," she glanced at the leftovers of food I left.
She grabbed Min-gyu's arm and pulled him away quickly, casting one last look at Ha-neul as if she belonged in a mental institution.
Ha-neul stood alone by the truck, staring at my abandoned burger.
"That," she hissed to the empty air, "cowardly bastard."
[1] if you know you know :3