Last Night at the Café

9 | Pesto Pasta

JUST FOR FUN, she kept telling herself. She was here on a group date just for fun.

If there was any way to distract herself from her morose mood, then dropping herself in the middle of a group date would just do it. Or so she thought.

It wasn't something she usually took part in – she preferred the company of an old movie, exploring the markets that Seoul had to offer, or curled up in bed to create aesthetic boards on Pinterest. What better way to while her time away than to invest in the imaginary lives she had created?

But Yu Ah enjoyed them, and her friend's impromptu invitation back when she was a newcomer to the school was how they had gotten close in the first place. Besides, she thought she would reciprocate her friend's concern for her - and her efforts in beta-reading her drafts - by joining her in doing something she enjoyed.

They met at a café in Myeongdong that was outfitted stylishly with beams across the ceilings, white walls bearing abstract prints and clusters of lamps of clear glass that hung above each table. There were six of them, including the moderator. She, Yu Ah and another girl sat on one side of the table, while the moderator and two men faced them. After half an hour, the men would move down the seats so that everyone had a chance to converse with everyone else.

Her friend was doing well, conversing easily with her partner, her laughter bright in the shop as she artfully tucked her hair behind her ear to beam at the man across of her.

As for Seollal, she had already forgotten her partner's name.

Dong Wook?

Dong Woon?

Dong Dae Mun?

Or...Song Wook?

He was adept at doing the talking, and so she let him speak. He was a Marketing Executive at a firm that sold facial products and, just like her, had moved alone to Seoul for his work.

The first fifteen minutes sitting across of him felt like a promotional pitch for the brands under a well-known, local brand. Seollal found herself nodding her head like that of a bobble-head doll, muttering the required recipe for keeping up her end of the conversation. She enjoyed learning about skincare but wasn't the purpose of a date for learning more about the other person?

Yes. Nod head. Mm, I see. Nod head. Small laugh. Light sigh. Nod head. And what do you do in your free time?

At least he had nice hands, she consoled herself. Long, slim fingers curled around his utensils; she didn't think herself fussy when it came to physical characteristics of a partner, but she did like nice hand.

She mindlessly stabbed her pasta with a fork, the anecdotes he told going in through one ear, then out the other. The pesto pasta here was delicious. Then she cast Yu Ah's plate of aglio olio spaghetti a glance. Was it appropriate to ask her friend for a taste at a group date?

Why ever did she agree to come on this?

She had gone once or twice in the past when she was new to Seoul and finding some sort of community was more of a priority. But now, she had her select group of friends, a hobby that kept her busy, and a job that made her busier still. Right, she had come because she thought she would keep her friend company, see more of Seoul's social life, distract herself from the tumult of thoughts that were still making its incessant round in her head.

"Shall we change seats?" the moderator finally said, peering around the table with a smile.

Seollal glanced aside as she let out a relieved sigh.

~

The sky was the colour of pitch when they left the cafe, grey clouds covering the moon. Yu Ah let out a loud sigh as she stretched her arms above her head, her cropped top inching over her mid-riff.