Last Night at the Café

4 | Chamomile Latte

"GET HOME SAFE," she called out to each child as she waved at them from the driveway.

In their bright yellow bucket hats, their hands tight in their parent's hands, they called and waved back. This was a scene they observed daily. Seollal was glad when restrictions finally lifted for it meant she could meet the children again. She had missed the bright cheer they brought into the classrooms, their piping voices as they followed along with English lessons, and even the chaos of playground breaks.

When the last child had left, she straightened and beat a fist into her lower back. Who knew that being a kindergarten teacher would mean lower back ache at twenty-seven? Her slacks also bore creases from sitting cross-legged with the children and just a brown smudge showed up at her sleeve from someone's chocolate cupcake.

With a loud sigh, Yu Ah planted an elbow on her shoulder as she leant into her side.

"Aigoo ya," she started airily, bringing with her a whiff of her citrus perfume, "how's our lovesick girl doing? You said you had something to tell me about you and that barista?"

"Ah, your arm is heavy!" she exclaimed as she ducked out of her friend's reach to spin around and march into the office.

At this hour, the office was abuzz with the clickety-clack of keyboards of fellow teachers rushing out paperwork before the day ended. Decked from floor to ceiling with glass panels on one side, afternoon light streamed in, guided by adjustable wooden panes. She had a desk by the window, allowing her a view of the playground and a small public park.

Seollal plopped herself at her desk, her fingers reaching for her bottle of water to guzzle it down. Her parched throat satisfied, she let out a sigh. Yu Ah was fishing for news, she knew. She had left her friend a vague message over the weekend, one that was causing her to whine and beg for news.

"Look at you," Yu Ah went on as she fished around in her bag. With an abrupt motion, she flipped open a compact mirror before her face.

Seollal caught a flash of her own eyes before she pushed her friend's hand aside with a grumble. Lovesick? She returned her bottle to its place with as much calm indifference as she could.

"Your head is in the clouds." Yu Ah nodded knowingly as her eyes lengthened when she smiled. "Thinking about your Kazu?"

"Ani!" she exclaimed.

With a huff, she tapped impatiently at her keyboard, her eyes narrowed as the screen of her desktop slowly flickered to life. There was nothing to say about their little supper. She and Kazu hadn't even exchanged numbers. They had merely parted ways at the subway station before going their separate routes home.

In fact, he did not live far from her workplace. After the contract on his rental apartment ended, he had moved back in with his parents, half an hour away from her studio apartment in Sillim. Not exactly far, but the difference between Yongsan's skyscrapers and pricey real estate and Sillim's drab buildings in greys and browns, was an indicator of where they stood. He must have come from a well-to-do family for them to be able to afford a home in one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in Seoul. Then again, Yongsan was home to Little Tokyo where Japanese families have lived for years. His parents could have simply chosen to settle down there for reasons of community.

She let out a long sigh before casting her friend a glance.

"Fine," she finally said, her voice lowered, "I asked him out."

Yu Ah let out a startled exclaim as her compact dropped from her hands and clattered onto her desk. She scrambled for it but it skidded across the surface before smacking onto the floor.