“Yaya!”

The moment I walked into the coffee shop I was attacked by a mini whirlwind of excitement. To my surprise, all the ruckus was coming from none other than…

“Mari?”

She nodded excitedly like a puppy.

“It’s been years, literally, but you look the same. Well, you look older, but in a good way I promise. Wow, I can’t believe it’s really you. How-”

“Mari, what are you doing here?” I asked, interrupting her babbly. Time hadn’t changed that much about her.

Shockingly, she stopped fidgeting long enough to bow deeply towards me. People were giving us weird looks so I straightened her up and we grabbed a table near the window to sit and talk at.

“I’m really sorry,” Mari said. “At first I didn’t know it was the same guy, but then once I did realize it I should’ve broken it off but he was such a good guy and-”

“Mari. Mari! What are you talking about?”

“CAP,” she said. “We’ve been seeing each other.”

My mouth flopped open and shut a couple times. There was no way. CAP…and Mari? The powers that be certainly have a sense of humor.

“Please don’t hate me.”

“Shouldn’t you have thought about that before you got involved with a married man?”

“I didn’t know at first but then he said not to worry about it. If I’d known it was you then it would have been a different story, but I’m sorry, I really am.”

“I was just teasing you. I haven’t been a saint in the relationship either,” I admitted. “Besides, if CAP’s girlfriend had to be anyone then at least it’s you.” I paused for a moment. “Just don’t run out on him or I’ll hunt you down.”

“You’re just as much of a runner as I am,” she shot back. “Or at least, that’s what I heard.”

“Touché.”

We sat and talked for a while before the men showed up. Baro seemed shocked by how friendly Mari and I were, but when I explained the situation, he took it all in stride. In fact, the meeting went much more smoothly that I could have expected.

“So how did you two meet?” I asked.

“Remember that guy I left with?”

I nodded. I’d never actually met the guy but I recalled how she used to gush about him.

“Well once we got away, he changed. No more dates or gifts or any of that. He was always calling me names…he was kind of, abusive, you know? I was really depressed for a while.

“Then I remembered you and I tried to do what you would. I decided I deserved better and I made my way back home. My uncle took me in and I worked for him. That’s how I met CAP.”

“What does your uncle do?” Baro asked.

“My uncle was one of the managers for CAP and his boys back in the day. I would help out sometimes when they were really busy.”

I let out a sigh of relief. For a moment I’d thought she was going to say Andy was here uncle. That would have been some bull.

“But all that was a while ago,” I pointed out. “I know you haven’t been seeing each other that long.”

“You know that gallery showing I had a little while ago?” CAP asked. He’d been really focusing on his art since retirement. “Mari was there. We started catching up and everything kind of went from there.”

“Is this him?” Mari broke in, grinning widely. It took a moment for me to understand the reference, but I grinned back at her when I did.

“Yes. This is him in the flesh.”

“What are you two talking about?” CAP asked.

“It’s an inside joke,” I said, winking at Mari. “Anyway, Sunwoo, this is Mari. Mari, meet Sunwoo.”

Mari continued giggling across the table and it was like we were back in the kitchen at Chan Hee’s all those years ago.

“Why do I have the feel I’ve been talked about?” Baro asked.

“Because you have been,” I replied, “but that was a long time ago.” I thought about it for a moment before adding, “You know, this whole thing is really kind of messed up.”

“How?” CAP asked.

“Well let’s see. You and I are married, yet we I know your girlfriend and you know my boyfriend. Mari and I used to work together and she used to listen to me gush about the both of you. Am I the only one who sees how weird this is? It’s like Mari and I were connected, and then I was connected with CAP and Baro. I disconnected with Baro to connect with CAP. CAP and I disconnect, and that leads to me and Mari reconnecting. Then Mari and CAP reconnect and Baro and I reconnected too.”

Everyone took a moment to process the information then we all laughed.

“What kind of Twilight Zone have we fallen into?” Mari asked.

“Let’s not forget the biggest factor here,” CAP said.

“What do you mean?” Baro asked.

“You two have to meet Min Ki.”

“I haven’t seen that kid in a decade. I wonder if he still remembers me,” Baro mused.

“You’ll find out tonight.”

“What?” Mari asked.

“You didn’t tell her?” I directed at CAP. I wanted to hit him when he shook his head and shrugged. “Mari, tonight we were going to have a big dinner and introduce you both to our son.”

 “Thanks for telling me. Minsoo was probably going to blindside me at the front door or something,” she said while glaring at CAP.

I laughed. “He still does stuff like that?” I shook my head. “I thought he’d grow out of that.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.”

“Sorry. It’s just that…I finally have my friend back. You do realize you are never going to win anything ever again right,” I teased.

“Oh joy.”

Baro laughed and Mari him. “You don’t get a pass either,” she told him. “You may have good taste in jewelry, but Yaya and I are a team now. You mess with her and you mess with me.”

Seeing how Mari was at least a foot shorter than Baro it was funny to imagine her jumping him but I didn’t doubt she could take him for a minutes. She was small, but she was scrappy.

“Well now that we’ve all met, we’ll see each other later, right?” I asked.

Everyone murmured in assent and we left in our new couples- Baro and I holding hands behind CAP and Mari who was chatting about something while the former just nodded. I felt oddly content considering what had just transpired, but I was enjoying the moment.