A Silent Lover

2. Imani

The damn form in front of me is too long and my hand is starting to cramp from having to write small enough to fill in the tiny blanks. This is the 20th of some of the same forms that I've been filling out all week, and the sad part is that this is just to apply for the contracting permit for my new building. I tell myself that it will all be worth it once it's over; I'll finally have my brand-new tutoring company to launch.

I can take on more students and hopefully gain the attention of the local hagwons and high-schools as well. I've been working hard all day and as I let out a sigh, I can feel a headache coming on. I start to rub my eyes to ease the little pinpricks of pain I feel, but noise coming into the café interrupts me.

Two tall guys have just walked in and I spare them a glance since they're bringing in a lot of racket for just two people. They sit down next to a silent guy dressed all in black and I shift my attention back to the building permit, not wanting the distraction. I sigh in frustration while translating the Hangul into English and then my answers from English to Hangul in my head, my thoughts only managing to increase the ache in my skull.

I take a sip of my tea, but it's ice cold and I get up to go to the counter for a fresh one. After adding in an unhealthy amount of sugar to the fresh cup, I take a sip and reclaim my seat, feeling infused with life again. I keep seeing JaeHyun's face in my mind as I fill out the document and I tell myself that this form is just one more step closer to him.

I finish the paperwork with a flourish and sigh in relief as I lean back in my chair. Only two weeks left until the building is mine officially and I can start talking with a contractor about making it look like a place of learning instead of the small hospital practice it once was. But tomorrow is Saturday and my day to visit with JaeHyun. I've become so busy lately that I'm scared he'll feel like I'm neglecting him, so I definitely can't miss it. I start thinking about what I'm going to get him as a surprise gift when a shadow forms overhead. One of the tall guys from earlier is standing next to my table, and I crane my neck to look up at him.

"Hello, my name is N. How are you? I'm fine thank you." He says it all in rushed and heavily accented English and it takes me a second to figure out what he meant to say. I look him over, noting his black hair, darker olive complexion and the black bracelets that decorate his wrists. He's a little thin and looks harmless enough, so I roll my eyes a little at his eager smile and decide to play along.

"Anneyonghaesyo. Pangawayo." I give him a small bow of my head in greeting.

He looks surprised that I know even that small amount of Korean and he starts speaking in small sentences, I guess testing to see how much I understand.

"My friend... Over there... He wants to speak to you." He points behind me and I turn around in my seat.

"Your friend?" I say back. I look over at the two guys sitting at the table. One of them has his mouth hanging open comically and the other looks like he wants to commit murder.

"My friend... He shy," he says again in English.

I'm pretty amused now since this isn't the first time this has happened to me in the five years that I've lived in Korea. Coming here as an international college student had been a dream of mine since I'd watched my first Korean drama when I was twelve. My parents had been supportive of my leaving the country, and I had gotten into a pretty good college through an English program. Since living in Korea, there hadn't been a time when I wasn't spoken to like this, whether it was for a friend whose English was non-existent or for a guy who wanted to see what being with a foreigner was like.

While it had been fun the first few times, I wasn't really a fan of being picked up in general. But the guy in front of me looked genuine and I thought that it couldn't hurt since I was done with my work anyways. So, giving a small smile to N, I rose from my seat. His eyes widened once I stood to my full height and I smirked at his expression. He took a step back, said "Whoa" and clutched at his heart. I couldn't stop the laugh that burst out of me, the first one I'd had all day.