Amorous is nothing like Joohyun had envisioned. She straightens her aching back after bending looking at the building for too long. None of the newspaper articles she’d read about the café had any photos or descriptors, so she had been expecting a cliché pink and red themed building filled with balloon hearts and couples wearing matching t-shirts. She thought she’d see at least a few splashes of the symbolic color of romance, but after staring at the building for a few minutes, she soon realized that none of the stereotypical hues were in sight.

Instead, Amorous was a tall, elegant building with a white exterior and a spiral that nearly topped the sky itself. Every floor was lined with elongated windows, giving those who were already inside a bird’s eye view of all of downtown Seoul, no matter which floor they were on. The scene at the base of the building was quiet chaos. Joohyun surveyed TV crews dotted the scene, pulling a few of those in the line away for interviews, the bubbling excitement of those around her who were dying to step inside and discover their soulmate, the loud chatter of the crowd, and Seungwan, pressing up to her side with a grin.

“Did your soulmate write anything else?” Joohyun asks, questioning the Canadian’s sudden shift in mood. On cue, her friend raises an ungloved hand, revealing the words 6th floor, Red Velvet Bakery on her thin wrist. “It’s almost 12 now, hopefully we’ll get in on time,” Seungwan mumbles with slight dissatisfaction. Joohyun smiles lazily at her, “If they’ve been waiting all their life to find you, I think they can stand to wait a little longer if you’re a little later than expected.”

Nodding at the older woman’s words, Seungwan pulls her black leather glove back over her hand and runs a hand through her light brown hair. She sighs in contentment and looks over at Joohyun, “I wonder if they’re up there already.” The two of them spend the next half hour trudging forward in the line at a snail’s pace, and quickly Seungwan grows bored and impatient. Joohyun, bemused, watches as Seungwan fumes quietly beside her.

“What do you think you’ll do first when you meet them?” She asks, attempting to stave off the younger woman’s impatience. The frown tugging on Seungwan’s features disappears, and a dreamy expression immediately takes its place. A moment later, and the Canadian is wriggling her eyebrows suggestively at her, earning a smack to her shoulder. Seungwan giggles in response to the older woman’s violent actions, “I’m just kidding…has your soulmate said anything to you at all since the last time?”

The carefree atmosphere that had surrounded the pair dissipates, and Irene tugs off her own gloves to showcase her unmarked hands to her friend. The distain is evident on the older woman’s face as she flips her hands over and even rolls up the sleeves of her thick wool coat, finding nothing. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of a mark anywhere. She sighs heavily before drawing her gloves back on over her bare skin, “Zilch.” She sees Seungwan hesitate, but quickly waves a hand at her friend, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll have plenty of things to do while you meet with your soulmate.”

When the security guards barring the way finally let the two women and a jumble of others through the front doors, Seungwan immediately drags Joohyun towards the elevators. They join the large crowd that had gathered outside the two twin shafts, Seungwan nervously biting at her fingernails. “It’s almost noon, now!” Seungwan exclaims as she and Joohyun press up against the people in front of them, attempting to get closer and closer to the front.

All around the two, people embracing, cheering, laughing and even crying. Joohyun is in awe of the wide array of raw emotion present in the area as well as the tasteful interior of the building, though Seungwan seems more preoccupied with the opening and closing of the elevator doors. The Canadian has a firm grip on Joohyun’s hand as the older woman imagines countless scenarios in her head as she surveys the couples around her.

She couldn’t help it, it was her writer’s mind that let the ideas flow within her. Perhaps the elderly couple embracing next to Seungwan were meeting each other for the first time, their fingers tangling in each other’s stony gray hair and their laughter lines crinkling as they pull away from each other’s arms. It’s a touching moment in any case, and Joohyun turns away just as she thinks she’s going to shed a tear.

 She then fixed her gaze on the young man and woman beside her. Joohyun imagines that the young they are childhood friends who always knew the truth yet refused to tell each other. Joohyun lets the scenario play for another second or two in her head, then continues to survey the crowd. Her eyes drift towards the lean figure of a young woman who she guesses is around her age. The woman is standing near the front of the line at the elevator parallel to the one Joohyun is waiting for. Two other young women, who are chatting away with each other, hold both of her arms – as if to keep her in place.

The mystery woman doesn’t speak, doesn’t acknowledge anyone or anything. Rather, the stranger’s dark eyes sweep across the crowd, as if they, too, are searching for something, amplifying Joohyun’s interest in her. I wonder what’s she looking for? Joohyun notes that the woman is rather beautiful, standing out to her from all the others in the crowd due to her charming features. She appraises the woman’s silky black hair, the fairness of her skin, the rosiness of her lips and her high cheekbones.

When their eyes meet, Joohyun feels a jolt of electricity shoot down her spine. All of the thoughts that had been swirling in Joohyun’s mind cease. It’s odd, but there was sudden serenity flooding Joohyun’s system at the sight of the woman. Though she was wearing a full-length black wool coat and gloves, Joohyun knew goosebumps were dotting every expanse of her skin. But before Joohyun has the sense to wave hello, someone grabs at her free hand from behind, slipping off her glove in one fluid motion.

“Are you my soulmate?” A hysteric young man half screams, half yells into her ear from excitement when Joohyun turns around. He drags her away from Seungwan and the crowd around the elevators by the hand, Joohyun stumbling on her feet. Their faces are inches apart when he comes to a sudden halt a few steps away from the fringes of the crowd. Joohyun can feel the heat of the blush spreading across the young man’s face like wildfire, can taste his staleness of his soiled breath.

She’s too shocked to say anything in response as his wild eyes scour over her skin. For the first time in her life, Joohyun feels frightened by a stranger. The young man shoves his own hand into her face, showing off the bold letters of the name he’s sporting. “Are you my soulmate?” He repeats, more forcefully this time, and Joohyun feels herself shrink in fear as her arm stings with his tight grip. “Hey! Get the away from her!” Seungwan exclaims as she appears over Joohyun’s shoulder. She takes advantage of the element of surprise and shoves the young man off of Joohyun with a single push.

He topples over onto the floor in shock, staring up at the both of them with wide eyes. Joohyun’s mouth drops when she sees who her rescuer is; she never expected the small w