Free Frankly in Love by David Yoon

American movies and Double-Double cheeseburgers and English-speaking friends.”
    “I think there’s an In-N-Out in Nepal.”
    I laugh. “But you know what they’re doing right now? With us? They want us to stay inside their bubble.”
    Joy sits up and looks at me with her head tilted.
    “Their little dream,” I say, “is that we get married and have kids, and that those kids will marry nothing but Koreans and have more kids, and that their bubble will stay intact after they’re gone. They want us to take care of it forever.”
    Joy closes her eyes tight. She looks like how I feel: stuck. We’re both stuck. But we’re also both tired of being stuck. She keeps her voice even. “As if we had this huge blind spot for the ninety-eight percent of our school that’s not Korean. That’s like trying to fool ourselves that we’re not really here in America. That’s impossible.”
    “Mmm.”
    Joy sighs. “Is it wrong that I sometimes wonder if Wu’s even worth the hassle?”
    “Damn,” I say. “Poor Wu.”
    “No, shit, I take it back. I love Wu. I really do.”
    “Tell me what you love about him.”
    “Well, first, he’s totally hot.”
    “Blah, blah, blah,” I say.
    “But also, he’s really kind, and he loves his family, like, you should see him with his mom and dad and sister and other sister who’s a bitch but whatever. He’s so sweet.”
    “That’s actually really cool.”
    “Right? And he’s secretly smart about business. Not what kind of business to run, but how to run it. You know?”
    “Sure.”
    “You think corporate operational management is boring.”
    “No, not at all.”
    “You do.”
    “No way, no,” I say. “I just don’t really know what it entails. Or care. Because it’s so totally and completely boring.”
    “Dick!” But she says it in a kindhearted way.
    “Okay, your turn: what’s so great about Brit Means?”
    I find a nut, screw it onto the bolt. Perfect fit.
    This means something. Brit Means something.
    I sigh with contentment and begin. “First of all, she’s totally hot.”
    “Blah, blah, blah,” says Joy.
    “And she’s smart, and passionate about the environment and biology and stuff. But at a deeper level?”
    “Like anal?”
    I snort, then recover. “She just really likes me. And I just really like her. I’m sounding basic, huh.”
    “But you can’t tell your parents about her.”
    “Doosh, way to bring shit down.”
    “Sorry. I’m just so sick of what they want versus what I want.”
    “Eh, it’s okay.”
    Joy sits up to look at me. “Really, I’m sorry.”
    We look at each other, she with her Chinese boy problem, me with my new white girl problem.
    I think about Hanna. Was Miles worth it? Does she cry every night in his arms over Mom-n-Dad’s stonewalling? Maybe she’s hardened her heart to it. Maybe she left the bubble, and then burst it with a sharp kick before walking away.
    I fast-forward into Hanna’s future. When she buys her first home, do Mom-n-Dad visit? When she has her first child, do they come to the hospital? And Miles, the poor guy—what will he feel like as the years pile on?
    There are no good answers for Hanna. Not ever. Just living in between worlds forever, in a limbo much deeper than I yetknow. I find tears swelling my eyes with their warmth. I blink and blink and blink. I want to float off the ground, so I clutch the carpet again to anchor me.
    What kind of answers could Hanna possibly have about Mom-n-Dad, who love her—and whom she can’t help but love back—but also never want to see her again? They made a choice, and ultimately they chose the amber bubble over all else.
    Oh my god, Hanna, did you make the right choice?
    And am I destined to eventually face the same choice?
    The mere existence of such a choice makes me want to punch the world flat.
    It’s just me and Hanna. The Book of Li ends with us two.
    I take a breath. Joy hasn’t noticed my wet eyes. When she is looking elsewhere, I squeegee them dry with