Chapter 19

Because Eura is still on her honeymoon, my first source for love advice is Jay. After returning home from Wendy's place, I contemplated messaging Jay. He will come to my aid if I need him to, but how flabbergasted will he be when I ask him about love advice? I can already imagine the excessive teasing that man will do to me.

I am reluctant, but he's my only option. I have no friends. I dial Jay's number and wait for him to pick up.

"Eugene? How unusual for you to call me, especially this late at night."

"Jay, are you free tomorrow?"

"Well, tomorrow is Sunday, so yes, I am free. What's up?"

"Do…you want to go out and eat lunch together?"

The other line becomes quiet. I was never the type to invite others; I had always been the invited type. I wonder what Jay's expression looks like. Are his eyes protruding out and his mouth gaping wide? Imaging that face on him is amusing.

"Hello?"

"S-sorry, Eugene. Can you repeat what you said once more?"

"Want to eat lunch together?"

"You are Eugene, right? You are my nephew, right? I'm not talking to some phony?" His tone gradually became worried with each question he asked.

"I'm Eugene Kwak."

"When's your birthday?" Why is he interrogating me?

"March 12, 1997."

"And what's my name and birthday?"

"You're Jay Hee Park. You're my mother's younger brother. Your birthday is November 23, 1988." I know that he's going to ask more questions, so I better dish out all the information I know about him so he'd finally be convinced. "Your fiancee's name is Lauren Ku. You are a CPA. You have a twenty-two-year age gap with Mom. You like meat. You hate fruit."

I am not sure if I should go on. I think that's enough personal information. If he still isn't convinced, then maybe I should recite his Social Security Number? The receiving end becomes silent once more. I hope he's convinced now.

I hear Jay take a deep breath. "Okay, you are Eugene."

"Always was."

"What brings you to take the initiative?"

"I want some…advice."

"Advice? What kind?"

I hesitate to answer for a second, but I speak up. Chickening out is not an option anymore. "Love advice."

"You're in love? You? YOU?" Why is he shrieking all of a sudden? My eardrums hurt.

"Is it that weird?"

"Where do you want to eat tomorrow?"

"I'm…in the mood for ramen. I know a good place."

"You went out to eat with someone?"

"Is that weird?"

"With whom? That next-door neighbor girl?"

"Her name's Wendy."

"I smell juicy stuff. I'll come pick you up. You have got to tell me the details. I want to know." He hangs up. I am not mentally prepared for the excessive teasing coming my way.

~

Here I am in the same restaurant from before. Jay is sitting across from me grinning ear to ear. He looks like the Cheshire cat from the animated Alice in Wonderland movie. I am a dog person, yet I seem to have a weird magnetism towards cat-like people. If Wendy is like a domestic house cat, Jay is like a cheetah.

We both ordered our food and now we are accompanied by silence. My uncle wants the details of my current love life and I don't want to say anything. I grip my sketchbook tight; I think the pages are going to bend. Do I speak up? Do I wait for him to speak up? I am not sure how to conquer this silence. It's too awkward.

"So…" Jay takes the initiative, "Tell me what sort of love advice you want?"

What sort of love advice? You mean there are different kinds? Oh gosh, what have I gotten myself into? What kind do I want?

"The basic one, I suppose?" I hear uncertainty in my own voice.

Jay hums. "You never had a crush on anyone until now, right?"

I nod. Jay continues, "What do you feel for this girl?"

I place a hand to my heart as I think about Wendy. "I feel an unusual warm feeling that brushes against my heart like someone brushing a feather against my body. Seeing her smile makes me smile. Seeing her vulnerable and sad makes me want to see her smile. When she's happy, I am happy too. When she's sad, I am sad. It's hard to get her out of my mind. I think about her constantly." I am amazed how much her presence has affected me.

Jay covers his mouth. His eyes narrows and his eyebrows scrunch up. It looks as if he's going to cry and it makes me worried. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just so happy that little Eugene is falling in love. You're growing up." Was it something worth giving such a dramatic reaction?

"What about you? How did you know when you realized you were in love with Lauren?"

An awkward silence greets us again when the waitress interrupts us with our food. We take a quick break to start eating our food before it gets cold. The spicy chicken ramen is still as good as ever. Jay got the shoyu ramen; like Wendy, he's also bad with spicy food.

After taking a few bites, our conversation resumes. Jay speaks up. "I first met Lauren in my freshman year in college. We were awkward eighteen year olds that happened to sit next to each other at the time. We were in a required English class. When class had ended, she had forgotten her pencil case. She had left the classroom in a rush, so I rushed out to reach out to her and gave it back. When she thanked me and gave me a bright smile, I knew she was the one for me."

I found it hard to imagine someone like Lauren giving out an innocent smile. She always seems snooty to me. Maybe the phrase 'Love is blind' applies to Jay.

"How could you tell?" I am curious on how someone could know their destined person just from sight alone.

"I could just feel it. Her smile was one of those rare genuine smiles with no malicious intent. I could tell that this person was not a superficial one and I was right. That's why I plan on making her my wife."

"How long did it take for you to confess?"

Jay meekly smiles as he answers my question. "It was hard at first. I had a big fat crush on her, but she never had any dating experience before. All I could do was try to be subtle. That took me two years. It was an arduous process." He takes a large gulp of water and slams the cup onto the table.

"How did you confess?"

"I just said it loud and clear. Lauren had reacted awkwardly, but she quickly accepted my confession after realizing she felt the same way."

So, if I feel the same way, I should just go for it? I guess that is the most plausible answer. Beating around the bush won't get me anywhere and making Wendy wait for so long is also disrespectful. I like her too, so I should give her an answer as soon as possible.

"So, when are you going to confess?"

"I don't know." What is considered soon? Tomorrow? The day after? Three days? Four days? A week?

Jay raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean you don't know? You have to confess soon or you'll lose her."

"She already confessed to me, but I told her to wait for my answer."

Jay smacks his hand to his forehead. Worry comes to me. I can already tell he's not satisfied with my answer at all.

"Eugene, Eugene, Eugene…never let a lady wait. She's going to slip out of your hands if you hesitate for too long."

"What else could I have done? I have never been in a relationship and it felt too soon to jump into one."

"Okay, you're in the right…somewhat. Still, you need to hurry up with your answer or she will move on."

"Said from someone who waited two years for his crush to like him back?"

"Touche."

We resume eating. After taking a bite, Jay gasps and places his chopsticks down. "That's right. Eugene, I forgot to tell you this. Eura will be back from her honeymoon tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Has it already been two weeks?"

Time flew by so fast since the wedding. I did not realize two weeks had passed. Maybe I should also ask Eura for advice since she is married. I think if I talk to her, I can gain confidence to give Wendy a concrete answer.