Felix Lee has never been in love and outside of trivial high school relationships, he's remained single for a long time. Until one day is friend and group member Hyunjin convinces him to download a dating app.
I stared down at my phone in the small studio we used as Chan was recording parts for a song. It had been almost a week since the first time I spoke with Lina and was surprised at how disappointed I was that I hadn't heard from her again.
She's just busy. You talked once on a dating app, it's not like you're the first thing she thinks of every day. I'll send her a message, I mean the worst she could do is tell me to leave her alone.
AussieSeoul Hey Lina! I know it's been a few days since we talked. I just got so busy with work. How are you?
My palms felt sweaty when I hit send. I locked my phone as Chan called me to come over to record my part. Just after my second run through, my phone buzzed. "Just a sec, Chan" I said as I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. "OoOoOo" Hyunjin said from the couch at the back of the room, "I bet I know who that is!"
GuitarGirl Felix! I meant to message you a few days ago, but I got into writing a song, and then there was work. I'm so sorry!
I smiled and felt a blush creeping up my cheeks. Completely oblivious to the other 7 members that could see me in through the booth window.
AussieSeoul It's ok! I'm glad you didn't forget about me. 😊
GuitarGirl How could I forget about our charming conversation? 😄
AussieSeoul I dunno, maybe I'm forgetable.
GuitarGirl Hmmm. Not yet. I'm interested.
AussieSeoul Well, I'm interested too. Should we maybe get coffee?
Is it too soon to ask her out, ugh. Good job, man. That was stupid. You haven't even told her who you are.
The three bubbles by her name popped up and then went away. I rubbed my palm on my pants in frustration.
AussieSeoul I'm sorry, that was...I didn't mean to say that. I've only talked to you once, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking.
I brushed my hair back off my face and shifted my weight as I stood.
GuitarGirl I'd love coffee, but we should probably go somwhere crowded. Just in case you're some kind of serial killer. 😉
I felt my smile broaden as I read her message.
"Felix?" I heard Chan say from the other side of the wall, "Are you done flirting? Can we get this done now?"
"I'm not flirting!" I protested as I put the headphones back over my ears.
"He's flirting, isn't he?" Changbin said as he elbowed Hyunjin in the ribs.
"Oh yeah, Yongbok has cruuusssshhhh." He said wiggling in his seat.
I shook my head as my friends continued to tease me. ___ A few days later I walked down the small forgotten alley that lead to my favorite coffee shop. It was almost an hour away from the dorm by metro, but I'd always been able to keep a low profile here. It hadn't even occured to me when I asked Lina to coffee that I was going to have to reveal my face, but it was too late for me to worry about it now. I didn't want to message her back and suddenly say I couldn't make it. So I was taking the chance.
I walked in and ordered a cappuccino before sitting down at a table and waiting. Her profile picture, like mine, hadn't shown much of her face. Just a girl holding a white acoustic guitar in a floral dress.
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I heard the door of the shop open a few minutes later. I looked up to see a girl about my age in a blue dress looking around.
"Lina?" I asked when she looked at me.
"Felix?" She said laughing "Oh god, this is so weird." She said as she sat down across from me.
"Yeah, it's been ages since I've been on a date." I laughed "I have no idea what I'm even doing."
"This place isn't exactly crowded, though." She said laughing at me as my coffee was set down in front of me.
"I know, I just wanted somewhere quiet. I live with a lot of roommates and quiet is hard to come by. But hey, at least there's witnesses." I joked as I pointed to the employees behind the counter.
"Well, at least there's that. What'd you get?" She asked pointing at my coffee.
"Cappuccino. I probably drink too many of them."
"Oooh, I should get one." She said starting to stand up.
"No, it's ok, have this one, I'll go order another one." I slid the drink over to her and ran to the counter and ordered another for myself.
When I came back to the table she was leaning back in the chair with her legs crossed off to the side of the chair. She was really pretty. Her dark hair was curled and half of it was pinned up. She wasn't fully Korean, her green eyes gave that away. I guess I never really looked Korean either with the freckles that smattered across my cheeks.
"Ok, I'm back." I said as I sat back down.
"I love your freckles." She said giggling and sipping the coffee.
"Ah, yeah. I hear that a lot." I laughed.
We sat there for the next three hours talking, not finding a single moment of awkwardness in the conversation. She was twenty-one. She grew up in Los Angeles. Her father was American and worked as a roadie for a lot of shows in the area, and her mom was Korean. She'd been raised with an intense love for all music, and played piano as well as guitar. She spoke Japanese and Korean as well as a tiny bit of French. Every little thing I learned about her was like getting to know a secret about her.
"So you're a songwriter then" I commented "Do you work with any of the major labels?" I asked.
She let out a loud "Ha!" with a big smile "I'm not that good. Right now music is just what I do in my spare time. I mean, someday it'd be nice if I could make it my job, if I could get over my heart stopping stage fright. But, I do like what I do."
"Which is?" I asked waiting for her to answer.
"I'm in IT at a company here in Seoul. I had to find something to support myself, and computers have always come easy to me. It's just not my passion. What do you do?"
I paused,of course she'd ask that. What the hell am I supposed to say? Somehow she hasn't seemed to recognize me. What do I tell her?
Think Felix, say something. Do I tell her who I am? Seems a bit soon for that. Ugh, just be honest Felix. You can't see more of this girl if you lie to her.
"You don't know who I am?" I asked after a moment, pausing.
"No? Should I?"
Inside I was jumping up and down. Finally someone who didn't like me because of who I was. She was normal, beautiful, easy to talk to, and I couldn't believe I got this lucky on a stupid dating app.
"A lot of people do. I'm actually glad you don't. It's hard for me to meet people that don't just like me because of who I am."
She squinted her eyes and looked at me.
"Nope, no idea." She said after a moment of thought, "are you going to tell me?" She laughed "Cause it's a little sketchy that you still haven't told me." she joked putting her elbows on the table and her head in hear hands to look at me.
I laughed "Sorry! Have you heard of Stray Kids? I'm one of the members. The Kpop group?" I said pretending to think I was important.
"No idea." She said again laughing.
"Good." I laughed again. "That's really good." I smiled at her.
We sat there and talked for another hour before I had to leave for practice.
"I had fun" she said as we left.
"Me too, we should do this again." I said "Let me give you my number so we can talk more easily" I said as she handed me her phone. "Give me your phone and I'll give you mine." She said smiling.
She tapped her number into my phone and handed it back to me. "I'll talk to you later Felix of Stray Kids" she laughed as she walked away. I turned on my heel and walked back to the metro station with a smile on my face.
