Chapter 16 Mr. Trot #2
“Okay, about this trot. It was . . . awful.”
“It’s an acquired taste, for sure. But a lot of people love it almost as much as, some even more so than, K-pop.”
“I can’t believe I thought he was a K-pop idol. I was looking forward to some fun songs and dancing and light sticks and fan chants.”
“Did you enjoy yourself at least?” he asked.
“Not at all,” she answered truthfully.
Tae’s chuckle came through the phone, and the sound poured over Julia’s nerves like honey.
“Well, if it helps, my mom would be jealous. Wait, yeah, that probably doesn’t help at all,” Tae said.
“Probably mine too. Okay, I think he’s almost done, and the date will finally start, I guess?”
“Don’t make a mean comment about his costumes, his dancing, or his singing. Or his hair.”
“I know, I know. I’m reformed. He’s here. Gotta run,” Julia said.
“Have fun,” she heard Tae say as she disconnected.
Julia shoved her phone back into her purse.
“Julia? Hi, I’m so sorry for all the waiting. I never introduced myself. I’m Young, Young Kim.”
Julia narrowed her eyes as the man reached out his hand in greeting. His English was perfect, without even a hint of a Korean
accent. But onstage . . .
Young broke out in a huge smile. “Busted,” he said and laughed. “I’ll explain everything. Let’s get out of here and go get
a drink. Do you mind if I meet you at the bar? I don’t think we can be seen leaving together.”
Julia looked around a basically empty room. Not sure who he was worried about, but she took his word for it and agreed to
meet him there. She preferred this anyways, and having her car for a quick getaway if needed. She reminded herself to limit
herself to one glass of wine just in case.
“Sure, meet you there.”
“Can we get your most discreet booth,” Young asked the hostess, leaning in to whisper in her ear. She leaned back and gave him a confused look, but just shrugged it off and led them to a booth near the kitchen doors.
Julia felt he was going a little overboard, especially considering this was Los Angeles and there were people a lot more famous
than Mr. Trot. But she didn’t say anything. Maybe she really was reformed after all. Before Tae’s Guide to Dating, she would have most definitely roasted this dude.
What a waste, though. She had a whole list of K-pop songs she was going to reference during their date.
“Did you enjoy the show? Wasn’t it incredible?”
Julia nodded. She opened her mouth to say something kind but took a second too long to figure out what that could be.
“The girls were going wild,” Young said, amazed.
Girls wasn’t quite the word she’d use to describe the middle-aged women in the audience.
“I was worried during the meet and greet whether we had enough security.”
“Um . . .”
“When you tripped and the water spilled, I thought it might be a sasaeng. But thankfully, it was someone harmless.” He let
out a fake laugh.
“Sasaeng?”
“Oh yes, a sasaeng is a fan who is a little too into me, if you know what I mean. I don’t think they’re dangerous, but they
are borderline obsessed. I haven’t seen them yet. But I know they’re there, obsessing over me.”
Young continued to talk about the show, the fans, himself.
Julia continued to drink her wine and then ordered another glass.
“My voice was on point tonight.”
Sip.
“I knew the fans in California would love the hip thrusts we added to the choreography.”
Sip.
“Trot’s popularity is really unmatched. We might pass BTS one day.”
Yes, BTS! Finally, something Julia could talk about. But honestly, by this point, she couldn’t be bothered to even try to
engage.
Sip.
Sip.
Sip.
He didn’t ask one question about her, except if she enjoyed the show. She tried to temper her expression and be careful with
her words. Wine lowered her inhibitions, and she didn’t want to see the fallout of Mr. Trot breaking into tears.
“It was my first time listening to trot.” The truth. No lies told.
“It was a dying art for a while, but it’s really resurged. My goal is to bring it to the world. Maybe perform at Coachella
one day.”
Julia tried to imagine the sequins at Coachella and couldn’t see it.
“I could headline alongside Justin Bieber and Bad Bunny,” Mr. Trot continued.
Julia’s eye roll was barely contained.
“How do you feel about splitting time between New York and Seoul?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, what now?” Julia wasn’t sure she heard him clearly.
“Look, Julia, I’m open to having some fun, but you’d have to be able to travel. Maybe quit your job and just come work for
me. You could play the part of being a staff member on my entourage. As long as I’m Mr. Trot, it’s probably best that I maintain
the image of being available. Keep the hope alive, you know, for the fans.”
“Um . . .” Julia couldn’t find the words. Hold your horses. You’re getting ahead of yourself. Are you fucking kidding me? Quit my job? You mean the one for the company that I STARTED and OWN and RUN? Yeah, all those would work. But she bit her tongue and spared Mr. Trot her wrath. This was a first.
“We can shore up the details later. Do you want to come back to my hotel for ramen?” He lifted a brow, and his face broke
into a cocky smile.
Ramen? No, thanks. It was the last thing she wanted to do. Mr. Trot’s bloated ego, Julia Song’s bloated gut.
She’d stay for a little bit longer to save face, and then she would make an excuse for a quick exit.
“Anyways, as I was saying about Coachella . . .”
Sip.
“Jin jin jin jin jin e-ya. Blah blah jin e-yaaaaa . . .” Julia sang into the phone as she sank into the back seat of the Uber that came to pick her up.
“Julia, how much have you had to drink?” Tae asked on the other end of the phone.
“I took a sip every time Mr. Trot told me how amazing he was. I needed to have my mouth occupied so I wouldn’t go off on him
about his ego. I’m reforrrrmmmmed, I’m telling you. So, Tae, that was a lot of sips. I think he wanted me to be his booty call.”
“What the fuck?” Tae’s voice was rumbly and scary . . . and very hot.
“I don’t know. It felt like that. But maybe I was wrong, and he’s just socially awkward or something. He invited me to his
room to eat ramen.”
“Julia.”
“Tae.” Julia said his name, lowering her voice and trying to mimic his very serious tone. She started to giggle. “Like I’m
gonna have ramen this late at night. I’m not nineteen anymore. My body would hate me.”
“Julia, when a guy asks you to come over for ramen, he’s . . .” Tae cleared his throat and lowered his voice “. . . propositioning you.”
“Ewww, with Mr. Trot? As if,” Julia said. “Now, if you wanted ramen, I’d consider it.” She’d probably regret that tomorrow, but for now, she’d tell it like it was.
Tae groaned into the phone, and it sent vibrations through Julia to parts that had been dormant for too long. Maybe she could
ask the driver to change course and head down to Tae’s.
“I can go with you to pick up your car tomorrow,” Tae offered, bringing her back from her pipe dreams. “I’m glad you got an
Uber.”
“You will not. It is much too far for you to come up here. And trafffffic . . .”
“Julia, I have an appointment with you at your office tomorrow, remember?”
“No. I’m drunk. I barely remember my own name. But do you know what I do remember? Jin jin jin jin jin e-ya. . . .” She continued to sing the trot song now stuck as a permanent ear worm in her brain. She’d be haunted by it for the
rest of her life.
“You can come over my house and sing it on the karaoke machine with my mom next time you’re down,” Tae teased.
“You’re coming to the office tomorrow?” she said, though it may have been more of a squeal. She was a few seconds behind in
the conversation and was just catching up in her head.
Tae’s chuckle warmed her. “Yup, I am. During Demo Day, I pointed out how the new light fixtures didn’t feel right for those
makeup stations, remember? I’m showing you the new choices tomorrow.”
“Oh, good. I trust you. You’re so good with all that stuff. I wanna sing karaoke with your mom,” Julia said. She thought she’d
heard Tae say something about her being a nut under his breath, but she wasn’t sure. “Tae?”
“Yeah, Jules.” His voice was soft, amused, listening.
“Was this one my fault?”
“Julia . . .”
“Could I have done something differently so that this date wasn’t such a disaster? Should I try and like trot music? Maybe
it was the wine that made Young Kim seem like the biggest egomaniac on the planet. If I—”
“Julia, you didn’t have to do anything differently. It wasn’t your fault. He doesn’t deserve you, not even for one date. I’m
sorry you didn’t have any fun.”
“I had fun at our BTS concert,” Julia said and sighed.
“Yeah, so did I,” he replied.
“Thanks, Tae, for everything.” Julia’s heart warmed. She always felt better when she talked to Tae. Her eyes got heavier as
the car drove its way to her home. She sighed one more time. “You always make me feel better about myself, really,” she said,
letting out a long sigh. “Why can’t all men be like you?”
“Julia, don’t be silly,” he said.
Julia’s entire face felt so heavy. She was so sleepy. She remembered letting out one last sigh and vaguely mumbling some final
words. “You’re the one I want to be with, Tae. I hope they set me up with you next . . .”
Julia didn’t know how long she’d been dozing. But when she opened her eyes, the car was pulling up to her building. She said
her thanks to the driver, took out her keys, and shuffled up to her condo, all thoughts of the night’s conversations buried
beneath her dream of going straight to bed.