The warm September evening air buzzed with the sounds of Seoul’s bustling streets as Sara and Nari were walking along the bustling thoroughfare.
‘So, what did you do today while I was working?’ Nari asked.
Sara grinned, the kind of grin that hinted at a day well spent.
‘I’ve been sightseeing like a proper tourist,’ she said, holding up her phone.
‘I even bought a Korean SIM card for my other phone, so communication will be much easier now.
Oh!
And I found a great-looking coffee place.
You mentioned loving coffee.
Want to check it out?
It’s just over there.’ Nari’s eyes lit up.
‘Let’s go right away.
I need caffeine.’ The café door jingled as they entered, and it was as if they stepped into a nest.
The world outside was forgotten.
The air here was thick with the intimacy of whispered conversations and the earthy warmth of freshly ground beans.
Mario, the barista, stood behind the counter, his Italian roots were unmistakable in his eye-catching demeanor.
‘Sara!’ he exclaimed, his voice lilting with the cadence of a faraway Italy.
‘Ciao, Bella!’ Sara waved, pulling Nari forward.
‘Mario, I’m back, and I brought a friend.
She loves coffee— I think she’ll become your most loyal customer.’ Mario leaned on the counter.
‘I’ll do my best.
And you, Sara, since you don’t like coffee, what will you drink?’ Sara tilted her head in thought.
‘Hmm… Do you have Italian ice cream?’ ‘Of course!’ Mario exclaimed.
‘I made two new flavors just yesterday.
Want to try them and tell me what you think?
They’re not on the menu yet.’ Sara feigned a serious expression.
‘I’m warning you, I’m an ice cream expert.
I’ll be a tough critic.’ ‘We shall see,’ he said as he disappeared behind the counter, leaving Sara and Nari alone at a table by the window.
As they sat, Nari leaned in, her curiosity piqued.
‘It seems like you’ve known each other forever.’ Sara shrugged with a laugh.
‘It’s the camaraderie of Italians, especially when they’re abroad.’ ‘Well,’ Nari said, ‘tonight you’ll meet more of my friends.
I thought you’d enjoy meeting some locals.’ ‘I love the idea,’ Sara said.
‘It’s been too long since I had a proper night out.’ Mario soon returned, balancing a tray with a steaming cup of coffee and two small bowls of gelato.
‘Here we are,’ he announced, setting the tray down with care.
‘Two new flavors: coffee and lemon-ginger.
Let me know what you think.’ Sara dipped her spoon into the gelato, her expression sharpening as she tasted the first flavor.
‘The coffee is excellent—balanced, not too sweet.
Perfect.’ She paused, trying the next.
‘The lemon-ginger, though, is too acidic.
I’d lighten it a bit.’ Mario nodded thoughtfully.
‘I was debating that myself, but you’ve convinced me.’ Nari watched the exchange with growing amusement.
‘Wow, you really are an ice cream expert!
I like all ice cream indiscriminately.’ ‘I’m not much of a sweets person, but ice cream is my exception.’ Nari took a sip of her coffee, savoring the rich, robust flavor.
‘Ahh, this is perfect.
This might just become my go-to spot before work.’ As the warmth of their conversation lingered, Nari glanced at her watch and frowned slightly.
‘It’s getting late.
We should head out if we want to be on time for dinner.’ … The Korean barbecue restaurant exhaled its familiar breath of smoke and garlic, the air laden with the scent of sizzling meats.
Sang-in, Eu-jin, and Yoo sat at a table encircling the grill, chatting while waiting for the others to arrive.
‘I’m really curious to meet Nari’s friend,’ Yoo said, adjusting his seat.
‘She’s told me so much about her.’ Eu-jin nodded, sipping his beer.
‘They’ve only known each other for a few months, but the way Nari talks, you’d think they’ve been friends forever.’ ‘That’s so unlike Nari,’ Sang-in chimed in.
‘Normally, she’s cautious with people—shy, even.
But with this girl, it’s like she’s a completely different person.’ Yoo leaned forward, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper.
‘Inviting her to her house before even meeting her in person…
That’s bold, especially for Nari.’ Sang-in raised an eyebrow.
‘What do you mean?’ ‘Don’t you know how they met?’ Yoo asked, his tone laced with incredulity.
Sang-in shook his head.
‘It was through a language exchange program,’ Yoo explained.
‘Nari’s learning Spanish, and her friend is supposedly learning Korean.’ Sang-in’s surprise was evident.
‘I didn’t know she was a foreigner.’ Eu-jin interjected, a soft laugh escaping his lips.
‘She’s not a foreigner.
She’s Korean, just raised abroad.’ Before anyone could respond, Yoo’s gaze shifted toward the entrance.
‘They’re here!’ Nari walked in.
‘Hi!
Sorry for the delay’.
Behind her followed Sara, whose expression bore the mixture of warmth and curiosity that comes from stepping into an unfamiliar scene that feels strangely inevitable.
Yoo, Sang-in, and Eu-jin greeted her in unison, their curiosity focused on the young woman standing in front of them.
Nari gestured toward her companion.
‘This is my friend, Cheong Sara.’ Sara inclined her head slightly.
‘Hello.
Nice to meet you.’ As introductions were exchanged, Sang-in couldn’t hide his mild confusion.
‘Nari, I thought your friend was Spanish…’ Sara laughed lightly.
‘I feel your disappointment!
I just live in Spain, but if it earns me points…
I’ve been there for many, many years.’ Her humor broke the ice, and the group laughed together.
Yoo leaned back, feigning defeat.
‘So you already know Korean food.
We won’t be able to surprise you.’ ‘In Korea,’ Sara replied, her voice touched with nostalgia, ‘every meal feels like a surprise.
It’s what I miss the most.’ Eu-jin nodded in understanding.
‘The same thing happened to me when I lived abroad.
I knew all the Korean restaurants in the city, but it was never quite the same.’ ‘Exactly!’ Sara exclaimed.
Nari, emboldened by the ease of the exchange, declared, ‘Sara, you can’t leave Korea without eating barbecued meat.’ ‘Absolutely not,’ Sara agreed with a resolute nod.
‘It wouldn’t be a trip to Korea without it.
But…’ she paused dramatically, ‘something’s missing.’ ‘What’s missing?’ Sang-in asked, leaning closer.
‘Soju,’ Sara said with a mischief grin.
Yoo clapped his hands, a delighted laugh escaping him.
‘I already like this girl!’ The table was soon laden with an assortment of sizzling meats, colorful banchan, and bottles of soju.
‘Sara,’ Sang-in began, pouring a glass with careful precision, ‘have you tried somek before?’ ”I haven’t,’ she admitted, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
Yoo feigned shock.
‘Dear, you can’t reach thirty without tasting it.
That’s sacrilege!’ ‘Fine!’ Sara declared, laughing.
‘But in return, you all have to try something with me—a Spanish toast you can’t reach thirty without doing it either.’ ‘Deal,’ Sang-in said without hesitation, his hands already preparing the somek.
‘I’ll make the drinks, and you explain the rules.’ Sara stood, prompting the others to follow her lead.
She raised her glass, her voice carrying the authority of someone invoking an ancient rite.
‘It’s simple.
Take your glass and say, Arriba!’ She lifted her glass high.
‘Arriba!’ the group echoed, their movements synchronized.
‘Abajo!’ Sara said, lowering her glass.
‘Abajo!’ they repeated.
‘Al centro!’ She brought her glass to the center.
‘Y pa dentro!’ Sara finished, tilting her glass back and drinking with a flourish.
Sang-in grinned, raising his glass.
‘I’ve got the bombs ready!’ The group lifted their glasses, the room filling with laughter as they shouted in unison, ‘Arriba, abajo, al centro, y pa dentro!’ Laughter erupted as they mimicked her.
In that moment, as glasses clinked and laughter filled the room, Sara felt a shift, subtle but profound.
The simple toast was like a bridge connecting her to a part of herself she had nearly forgotten.
The warm way Nari’s friends had included her in their circle planted a seed of belonging in her.
Sara realized how alien this sense of community had felt during her previous visits to Korea, trips that had been fleeting and clouded by grief.
After her grandmother’s death, her connection to this country had withered, leaving only scattered memories of quiet family dinners.
That morning, as she toured the city alone, she began to see Korea differently.
It wasn’t just a place her family came from—it was alive.
Tonight, sitting among Nari’s friends, she felt the weight of her initial apprehensions lifting.
She was no longer the relative returning for duty rather than desire.
Here, she was Sara, laughing at friend’s jokes, feeling, for the first time, what it was like to be part of this world.
The thought crept in, tentative but persistent: Could this be more than a visit?
Could this be the place where she chose to root herself, not for family obligations or fleeting nostalgia, but for her own sense of belonging?
The idea surprised her, yet it didn’t feel foreign.
The days spent in Seoul had awakened a longing she hadn’t expected—a longing to live here, not just visit it, to build something new here.
As the evening wore on, Sara found herself imagining what it would be like to stay: walking these streets daily, finding her own rhythms in this city, and learning to call this place home.