Pen Pals

Dinner Date With My Boss

Once seated in the lavish, highly expensive restaurant I wasnt quite sure about this anymore. I felt conscious and out of place. There were to many familiar wealthy faces, not that they'd notice me as they wouldn't know me, but like I said they were famous more or less.

"Are you you okay, Tok- Hanaiya?" Mr boss stared at me curiously.

"Um.. I don't think my wallet can pay off the expense of the food here. Do they take card, because if not I shall find a cashpoint." I responded almost too quickly that I nearly bit my tongue.

"One, don't bite your tongue." He said comically, easing some nerves that I consumed about dinning with my boss.
"Two, I know this place seems quite vintage, but they have technology. We're in Korea!" At that we both laughed, allowing me to not tense in my seat.
"But why would you even suggest to pay?" He cut the laughter as if he was offended.

"Because we're not in a society where males have to do everything." My pro-fem came out.

"We haven't even ordered yet and you're bringing up such little matters? Foreigners!" He mumbled the last part, but I heard him anyways.

"Excuse me?" I raised a brow, whilst he looked at me a bit surprised.

"I'll be paying for both our orders and we will not quarrel about it. Regardless of your views on morality, as it seems, I am a man in this society, and in this society this is how I was raised. Plus I am the one who asked you out, highlighting the fact that I'm the boss after all." He said in a half-joking manner, but the fact that he had to put me in my place, I took this as no joking manner.

I nodded, with a half-plastered smile and said "Yes Mr. Kwung."

"About that.. Stop calling me Mr. Kwung, I am not old and I'm not my father. I'd appreciate it you kept the formality for formal occasions only. Do me the courtesy of calling me Ty." He said in an accepting kind of manner.

I froze a bit, but brushed it off before I began over thinking.
" Mr- I mean Ty, why do you insist on speaking English to me?" I wondered as well as trying to make conversation.

" I never get to practice it anymore and I'm rarely conversing with native speakers, so I take advantage when I can." He shrugged before picking up his menu.

We both stared at our menus for a good 5 minutes in pure silence. I was getting a little frustrated, because I didn't really know what I wanted. Yes I could read Korean, but despite it being written in Korean it didn't make sense. For example the dish called 'The Dragon Eye' would describe the main items within, not how it was cooked. It would just day: lamb, onions, garlic.

"Miss Hanaiya I see the confusion on your face. I should've mentioned that this restaurant is quite odd in its descriptions. Unless you grew up on old school Korean/oriental dishes then you wouldn't know what's what." He explained with a chuckle. I felt a bit embarrassed, but was relieved that it wasn't me being dumb.

He then ran through most of the dishes with me. We agreed to order a shared starter, which consisted on: dumplings, Korean styled spring rolls, crispy lamb skewers, mixed steam vegetables and some kind of beef broth thing.

"Anything else?" The old lady waitress offered, whilst still staring at me.

I was and I wasn't creeped out by it, I knew Koreans tend to be fastinated by foreigners. She looked at me as if I was not comprehendable, but I smiled at her politely, nevertheless.

" I would like my usual seafood platter, but doubled, for the main." He added onto the order, in Korean of course. The rest of our conversation was in English as he persued, which I followed.