Frankly in Love

The students finish up their senior year with more freedom and celebration. Frank pulls Q aside to update him on his father’s diagnosis, and Q cries, wondering aloud if they will also be doomed to lose their friendship one day. Frank claims this won’t happen and makes Q laugh.

Later, Frank and Joy talk and realize that the five Korean American families are now divided between their families. Although Frank asks Joy to not let the conflict impact them, she knows it will. With Q, the three pick up their college admissions letters and drive to a café to open them together. Both Frank and Joy get into their top choices, Stanford and Carnegie Mellon University, respectively. Q doesn’t get his top choice but is accepted to MIT. The three congratulate one another. Frank goes home to tell his parents the news, determined to enjoy his remaining time with Q, Joy, and his family.

Frank calls his sister Hanna and the two catch up, with her congratulating him on his acceptance to Stanford. She already knows about their father’s cancer because of one of their mother’s emails. She wants to visit with her husband Miles, and confides in Frank that she is newly pregnant. Frank asks Hanna if she will come home before he leaves for college; she wants to try, but the situation is “simplicated.”

Frank remembers how, as a child, he made oobleck, a substance made of cornstarch and water that feels and acts like a solid when it encounters force—but yields like water to a gentle touch. His father’s chemotherapy weakens his immune system, making it impossible for him to continue working at The Store. Frank tries to enjoy his last moments with his father and sends photos of them to Hanna, though she doesn’t respond. The family hires Luis (first mentioned in Chapter 7) as an assistant to help at The Store, and Frank spends most of his time helping him rather than dating Joy for a month. To free up time for him and his mother, Frank buys and installs a dozen security cameras so his father can monitor Luis at The Store without being there. They are all amazed at how well Luis is doing and Frank sees his mother smile and look younger, overjoyed at the time they have bought.

Because of this newfound time, Frank is able to sneak out on a date with Joy, using Q as an alibi. The impending graduation means everywhere is busy and crowded, so they wait at a restaurant for a table while Joy gets increasingly grumpy. After eating, Joy calms a bit, but then three white men start singing a racist song at her. Frank gets mad and starts shouting at them, but the hostess makes him and Joy leave the restaurant. They try to go on their planned trip to the museum but find it closed because it’s at capacity. Joy begins to cry, telling Frank that they’ve waited a month for this date, and now it has gone badly. Although Frank reassures her that there will be other dates, she notes that summers of love are meant to be carefree. Frank notices missed texts from Q and realizes that they’ve been keeping him waiting past the agreed time. At home in bed, Frank texts Joy, acknowledging that the date was a disaster, but promising better ones.

While the rest of the graduating class celebrates, the Apeys mourn the end of their school days and friendships. Although Frank’s father cannot make the celebration, his mother live streams it and he sends his congratulations. While Joy and Q head off to get dinner with their families, Frank returns home to spend time with his parents.

Frank cleans up after dinner, and while his parents rest, he writes them a note telling them that he’s headed to a graduation party. Instead, he goes and parks by a beach, hoping to resume his romance with Joy. He sneaks up to her house, climbing the structural supports. When Frank reaches Joy’s room, she hacks the security system and blocks her door to buy them some time to talk. From the expression on her face, Frank can tell something serious is about to happen. She tells him that they should stop seeing each other, as something bad is bound to happen if they continue sneaking around. Frank argues that they can ignore their families and do whatever their souls compel them to do. However, Joy says she can’t date him anymore, and after telling him goodnight, she leaves him sitting on the beach watching the dinoflagellates (plankton). Eventually, he sneaks back the way he came, but as he is climbing down the deck, he falls.

Frank goes to the hospital, is diagnosed with a sprained ankle, and returns home. Q comes over to keep Frank company, and the latter updates him on what happened. Q hugs him while he cries and then produces a final Dungeons & Dragons campaign for them to play together. Soon, the boys are laughing again. For weeks, they continue this routine while Frank’s ankle heals.

Joy is away on vacation in Paris with her family. She posts photos of her vacation and Frank posts photos of his indoor activities, with their only acknowledgement of each other being comments and likes exchanged on social media. One day after the Dungeons & Dragons campaign with Q, the doorbell rings and it’s the Songs at the door. They have brought presents from Paris and apologize for not coming sooner after learning of Frank’s father’s cancer. Frank sneaks a glance at Joy and can still read love in her face.

That evening, Frank thinks about tribes and belonging, musing how things like time and money can create gaps, even within the same culture. As he muses, he hears a rustling, and Joy comes crawling from underneath some bushes. She says she’s leaving for college the next day and wanted to apologize. She tells Frank that she wants his forgiveness, that she didn’t feel as brave as him in continuing their relationship undercover. Joy says he is her best friend and doesn’t want to lose him. Frank kisses her and says he will always love her.

Frank’s ankle heals and he looks forward to the next chapter of his life. He finishes his Dungeons & Dragons campaign with Q and their friend Paul. They hug goodbye. Frank can feel his parents’ sadness at the impending change. He begins texting Joy again, but their communication slows as Joy begins adjusting to life at college, and he realizes this is normal.

The night before he leaves for Stanford, Frank and his father share a beer, knowing this may be their final moment together. His father tells him that he’s neohumanistic (believing in the potential and agency of all things, living or otherwise), and that he’s proud of him and loves him. He says life is but a dream, but that he’s had a beautiful dream and beautiful children, and he asks Frank to relay this to Hanna. Frank says he needs to tell Hanna this himself. At the end of their conversation, Frank’s father tells him to major in business not music, and Frank laughs, knowing he’ll do what he wants anyway.

Before leaving for Stanford, Frank stops at Q’s house to return his Dungeons & Dragons dice. At the door, Q kisses him, and Frank suddenly realizes why his friend never shared his crush. Q cries and Frank wipes his tears away, realizing how beautiful he is. He tells Q that someday, he will make some boy very happy, and that he will miss him. While driving to college, Frank stops at a burned forest to relieve himself. He takes out his Tascam, presses the record button, and leaves it in the crook of a tree.

In the final section (“after we end”), Frank begins going by both of his names: Frank Sung-Mi. After two months of college, Frank is notified of his father’s inevitable death and returns home. Hanna is already there with her husband Miles, and her and Frank’s father tells Miles that he will be the best father for Sunny, the couple’s soon-to-be daughter. The reunited family lives together for three days. Everyone Frank knows comes to his father’s funeral, including Joy, who kisses his neck and holds him while he cries. Joy looks expectantly at Frank as they part ways, but Frank knows their romance has ended. As Frank drives back to Stanford, he sees the Tascam is missing from where he left it. He and his friend Evon, who is riding with him, briefly discuss Q’s sexuality. Back on campus, Frank walks along a wall and continues forward, even after the wall ends.