There are Many Flowers in Seoul

Chapter Sixty-One

Arcades and game centres had a universal theme; low lighting, flashing lights, and a lot of noise. The darkness made it difficult to make people out and the tall gaming machines were excellent for hiding behind. Not to mention, everyone was too immersed in their own games to notice Rose and Tae-won had arrived or were mingling in between them.

'What about that?' he asked, noticing a dance machine.

Rose shuddered. The memories of her graduation night were still too raw in her mind for her to contemplate hopping on the machine. Besides, she wasn't nearly as coordinated as someone who'd trained as a professional entertainer and there was no way she'd win against Tae-won. Noticing a drum machine covered in Japanese writing nearby, Rose dragged Tae-won towards it. 'You should be okay with this, right?' she asked. 'Seeing as you're kind of musical.'

'Singing and drumming are totally different things.'

'Does that mean you might lose?' Rose teased.

'I never lose.'

Tae-won lost.

Tae-won lost a lot.

It was hardly surprising that a man who spent his life on a schedule hadn't found the time to hang out in arcades to work on the skills required to beat a teenage girl at games, but that didn't mean Rose wasn't going to boast every time she humiliated him at something. Naturally, she kept him away from anything that would require the use of her legs. Hitomi was the dancer, not her, and Rose didn't want to let Tae-won in on that little secret. Determined to regain some of his pride and dignity, Tae-won dragged Rose over to the UFO catcher machines. They played electronic music and flashed their lights to entice players to the stacks of soft toys wedged inside of them, and the two-pronged claws hung on metal wrapped cables, waiting to be directed into position so they could drop into the pile and snag the prizes. 'This, I can do,' he said with misplaced confidence, dropping coins into the slot until the buttons illuminated. Tae-won adopted a power stance – legs apart, eyes on the claw, and his hands either side of the controls – and let out a long breath. 'I'll win every toy in this machine.'

Rose laughed softly. 'Every toy? It'd be cheaper to buy them in a store.'

'Oi, are you doubting me?'

'Yes. Always. There's no way you'll get anything out of this machine.'

'Just watch.'

Rose did watch. She watched him fail fourteen times in a row. Every time she took pity on him and offered to take a shot herself, he nudged her away and reassured her that he was more than capable of handling the task of capturing a cheap soft toy that neither of them wanted or needed. Tired of his failed efforts and pointless pride, Rose collected change from a nearby automated machine and set herself up at the catcher beside him. Her performance was a testament to the hours she'd spent hiding from her fake friends and societal obligations when she caught a soft toy on her first attempt. When this rousing success didn't catch Tae-won's attention, Rose caught another, and another. When she had four toys – enough for him, Hitomi, Yuta, and herself – she returned to his side with her trophies and stared at him until he gave her his attention.

Tae-won looked down at the toys bundled in her arms – all of them cats which were supposed to look like they were sleeping with their legs splayed out and their stitched eyes closed – and then up at her face. 'Yah,' he said, bewildered by her success, 'how did you get all those?'

'Practice and hand eye coordination.'

Tae-won shifted his weight between his feet, pouting now it was clear he'd failed again. It was more humiliating because he'd suggested they go there in the first place. Had they stayed at the karaoke place he might have stood a chance of proving how amazing he was in front of his girlfriend, but now he'd only proven that he had no talent for games. Rather than admitting his failings he asked gruffly, 'Why do you even need so many toys?'