DAMI

I stopped outside the restaurant to check my phone. I couldn't believe I'd let Siyeon talk me into this. I mean, yes, I'd been single longer than I wanted, but had I really sunk so low that I was going on blind dates from Siyeon? I mean, seriously - Siyeon? If Siyeon was so good at romance, why couldn't she find anything for herself. "I can't believe," I said to myself, "I'm about to go on a blind date set up by a woman who's sugar-mommying a college girl." Not that there's anything wrong with that, I guess, if that's your thing. I don't want anything that complicated, though. I just want an ordinary girlfriend. Someone who'll talk my ear off when I get home from a day at the zoo. Someone who doesn't mind that zookeepers smell like animal until after we've gotten a shower. Someone I can learn from. Am I really going to get that from someone Siyeon sets me up with?  There's only one way to find out:  I squared my shoulders and stepped into the restaurant.

The hostess greeted me as soon as I stepped in the door. I gave her the reservation number that Siyeon had emailed me. "Oh, you're the blind date!" she said with a smile. "She's already here - I'll take you to her." She led me through the door into the dining room and indicated a table in the corner, where a woman was sitting facing the wall. Seriously? Facing the wall? Who gets to a restaurant first and chooses the seat facing the wall? What kind of wingnut had Siyeon fixed me up with?

As I thanked the hostess and started to make my way across the dining room, she crossed her fingers and said "I'm hoping for you - I think you two would be so cute together!" Oh great. So at least my humiliation is going to provide entertainment for the restaurant staff.

I stopped, took a deep breath, and tried to refocus my state of mind. Siyeon's a romance author - she's got to know a thing or two about love and dating. This couldn't possibly be as bad as I was fearing. I walked the rest of the way across the dining room and stopped next to the table where my blind date was sitting. "Hi!" I said with a smile. "You must be Siyeon's friend. I'm Siyeon's . . . other friend." Oh, smooth.  She'll definitely be all over me with an opening line like that.

I looked at her as she stood up to greet me. She was definitely pretty - I had to hand it to Siyeon for that. She was a little taller than me, and wore her hair in a bob with bangs that framed her face beautifully. She was wearing a white blouse trimmed with gold braid and a white miniskirt - I suddenly felt underdressed in my blue sailor dress. I realized I was getting lost looking at her legs and instantly snapped my attention back to her face. looked like it was just begging to be kissed. Her nose was long and straight. And her eyes. . . looking into her eyes felt like I was letting her look inside of me. I had definitely been single too long, if this was how I was going to react to the first pretty woman Siyeon set me up with.

HANDONG

I interlaced my fingers and held my hands in my lap, trying to keep from fidgeting. I looked at the paintings on the walls - I sat facing the wall so that I wouldn't go nuts wondering if each woman entering the room was my date. Why had I even agreed to this? I'm Siyeon's agent, not her friend - I should be maintaining a professional distance, not letting her set me up on blind dates with her friends. I sighed. I knew why I had agreed to this - because as much as my professional life was a success, my personal life was a shambles. I could match a book with the right publisher without a second thought, but ask me to find myself a girlfriend, all I turn up are flakes and es. I mean, really, the villainess in Siyeon's latest book is based on my last ex-girlfriend. So I supposed I could do worse than to trust Siyeon. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, held it for a count of ten, then released it. I practically jumped out of my skin when I heard a voice to my right has "Hi! You must be Siyeon's friend. I'm Siyeon's. . . other friend."

I stood up to greet her. What I could see of her body through the dress she was wearing spoke of someone who exercised a lot - oh God, had Siyeon set me up with a gym rat? Surely she knew better than that! Then again, maybe not - as I stood up, I noticed that she was shorter than me. Siyeon knows I like taller women! Doesn't she? All the things she could possibly change to make this woman different from my ex, and she picked height?

I could feel her eyes on me as we faced each other. She wore her hair in a floppy bob. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, sleepy - no, that wasn't the word. What would be the word Siyeon would use? Sultry! That's it. I began to feel that maybe there was something sparking between us. I smiled slightly. "Pleased to meet you, Siyeon's other friend. I'm Handong. I'm actually Siyeon's agent. I guess she considers me a friend too, but. . ." I ran out of words. I gestured for her to sit down, then sat back down opposite her. After an uncomfortably long silence, I asked, "So. . . do you have a name, or am I just supposed to call you 'Siyeon's other friend' all night?"

She laughed. Not the tinkling of little bells laugh that Siyeon tends to write all of her heroines having if I don't stop her, but something warmer, richer. "I'm Dami,." she said. "I've known Siyeon since high school."

Things fell quiet again after that, which was only interrupted by the waiter coming to take our orders. 

DAMI

After the waiter left with our orders, we fell back into silence. Oh, this was horrible! I need someone who talks more than me, and instead Siyeon sets me up with someone shyer than me.  How could there possibly be someone shyer than me? 

"So," Handong said, obviously struggling to bring out the words, "I've already told you that I'm Siyeon's agent. What do you do when you're not out on awkward blind dates set up by Siyeon?"

I laughed - at least she was recognizing that this was awkward. "I'm a zookeeper."

Handong brought her hands to in delight. "A zookeeper? Are you the inspiration for the heroine of The Zookeeper's Bride?"

Just then the waiter brought our drinks. I took a sip of my drink and nodded. "Guilty as charged."

Her eyes grew wide. "And you really go in the cages with the lions and tigers?"

I nodded. "But the bears are my favorites. That's where I was today. One of the bears was having cubs."

"Cubs?" She squealed. "I want to see them!" 

"They won't go on display for a few months yet." Seeing the look of disappointment that was coming over her face, I made an impulsive decision, one I still don't understand. "But after dinner, if you want, I can take you in to see them."

She was practically bounding in her chair, she was so giddy with excitement. "Really? You can do that?"

I took another sip of my drink. "I'm not supposed to, but everyone does it from time to time."

"Oh." She looked downcast. "I dont want you to get in trouble because of me." 

I shook my head. "There won't be any trouble. What do you say? After dinner, how about I take you for an after-hours tour of the zoo?"

She looked like a kid who'd just been told there was going to be an extra Christmas this year. "Really? You can do that? We can do that?"'

I nodded. "Sure. The only person who'd even care is my boss, and he won't be around after hours."

HANDONG

Soon after that, the waiter brought our dinner. Ordinarily I would have been excited by this - it's next to impossible to get a table at this restaurant; I don't know how Siyeon pulled it off. But all I could think about was going to the zoo with Dami. I peppered her with questions about the zoo, and she never seemed to tire of answering them. Except for an interest in cute baby animals, I'd never really been interested in the zoo, but Dami made it sound like the most fascinating place in the world.

"You should write a book," I said. "People would love to read the stories that you're telling me."

She blushed, then shook her head. "Maybe someday, if I get a promotion, but no one wants to read the adventures of an assistant zookeeper."

"Don't sell yourself short," I said between bites of beef and rice. "You've got a gift for storytelling. I would know - I've met people who've had the most fascinating adventures, but who's telling of them is about as exciting as a laundry list."

She laughed and refilled our glasses. "No," she said, "I'm no Siyeon."

"No no no," I responded. "Siyeon's talent is a different sort altogether. She's got the gift of creating stories out of nothing. You've got stories to tell of things that actually happened to you, and you're able to tell them in an interesting way."