Page 38 of The Cuffing Game
“It’s not as good as LA’s, but it’s pretty decent. The food wasn’t why I moved here.”
“Then why? Did you want to escape the cowboys?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “The only cowboys I ever hear of on a day-to-day basis are the football team. Yes, my family lives in the middle of nowhere, and yes, some peopledohave horses, but the only time I see actual cowboys is at the state fair.”
“And you’ve lived your entire life there? Have you been to Korea?”
He’d asked the question out of sheer curiosity, but Mia bristled.
“Yeah, I have,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “We went to Seoul once when I was little. But I don’t really remember it. I’m from a big family and traveling internationally is too expensive with so many people. My sisters and I... we’re pretty Americanized. We can understand Korean but can’t speak much of it. And our family doesn’t celebrate any Korean holidays. The only holiday my parents get really into is Christmas, to the point that we used to put on our own family Christmas plays when we were younger.”
Noah’s eyebrows shot up. “Family Christmas plays? How many siblings do you have?”
“Four.”
“Jesus, five kids?” Belatedly realizing his reaction might have been rude, Noah added, “Is that normal in Texas?”
“Not at all, at least not in the part I’m from. My parents like to joke that they stubbornly kept trying for a son. To this day, none of us are sure how true or false that statement is.”
“Stubborn, huh? Must run in the family.”
He expected Mia to glare at him and was caught off guard when she let out a genuine laugh. Her face lit up in a way Noah wasn’t prepared for. The light, surprisingly cute sound was so different from her usual sarcastic laughs that his brain short-circuited a little.
“Iknow,” Mia continued, oblivious to the way Noah’s heart now beat faster. “I’m self-aware. My parents and I both don’t know when to give up.”
She giggled again, and this time, Noah laughed with her. He was still smiling when he asked, “So how did you end up in LA, then? If not the cowboys... did you want to escape from your sisters?”
Mia frowned. “Not really. I mean, you’re on the right track, because Ididwant to escapesomeone. But it wasn’t my sisters. Or cowboys. My parents and I don’t agree on a lot of things.”
Now that sounded familiar. “Like what?” Noah asked.
“Well, my mom wanted me to stay in state for college, for one,” Mia replied. “Study something easy and get married to a rich guy.”
Noah winced. “She sounds very traditional.”
“Yeah. My younger sisters are still in middle school and high school, but my mom is probably going to pressure them to find husbands when they’re older, too. I wish she’d justtrustus to figure out how we’re going to support ourselves.”
“How about your dad?” Noah asked. “Does he feel the same way?”
“My dad is more supportive, thankfully. But I can justtellby the anxiety in his eyes that he thinks I’m wasting my college scholarship by studying film.”
“So that’s why you try so hard in class.” The words came out of Noah’s mouth before he could stop them. “You’retrying to prove your parents wrong,” he quickly added, so Mia wouldn’t think he was being mean. “I’m guessing you’re the same way in all of your classes?”
Mia’s eyes widened in surprise. “Yeah, I am. But that’s only part of the reason. It’s also because of my sisters. My older sister, Jeannette, stayed home for college. For me. For my parents. For everyone, really. And I love her so much. But I want to set an example for my younger sisters, so they know it’s okay to dream bigger.”
Noah leaned back, slowly nodding as he thought about all those months he’d spent making fun of Mia for being such a try hard. Guilt knotted his stomach as he thought of all the times he’d teased her. “I respect that,” he said. “Really.”
Mia blinked, as if she couldn’t believe what he’d just said. She stared deep into the fire for a long moment before asking, “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Noah said.
“Earlier, you said my mom sounds very traditional. And although I’ve heard stories, I don’t know what actual Koreans in South Korea are really like. Are they as homophobic as people say they are?”
Noah drew in a sharp breath. “Well, not everyone is. I’m not, for one. But a lot of people still are, especially the older generations. Why?”
“Well, I’m bi, and my crush in high school was a girl. My parents didn’t like it when I went to homecoming with her, but I was never sure if it was a Texan thing or a Korean thing, or both.”
Noah clenched his hands into fists. Suddenly he was back home in his family’s apartment in Seoul, hugging his brother as he cried after yet another one of their father’s hateful rants.
