It was another poker night at Mato. Sunmi and I were at the bar sipping screwdrivers. She was really good at mixing drinks. Whenever I did it I would end up adding too much alcohol.

“So how did you know you loved Daehyun?”, I asked.

“Ooh why? Think you might be feeling sparks between you and Zelo?”, she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Stop that. And no I just like a good love story.”

“I don’t know about it being a good love story, but it’s definitely not boring.” I stared at her expectantly.

“Well let’s see. It was about two years ago. I was an intern at the animal hospital. And one day this guy waltzes in like he owns the place. He’s got this beautiful white cat in a carrier. Immediately all the women working fall over themselves trying to help this guy. And it’s clear that he’s used to this happening. Immediately, I did not like him. I’m pretty sure I was glaring at him but that doesn’t stop him from sauntering over to me with his cat to ask for help. I’ve never had so many people glare at me at once.”

“Daehyun sure is something else.” I said with a chuckle.

“Yeah you got that right. So then I get him checked him and all that tedious stuff. I tell him to wait in the lounge and that the vet would be right with him. I ask him if he’s got any questions. So then he leans over and whispers in my ear got any plans tonight. I was itching to punch him but instead I whispered back none of your business. Then he starts laughing. Looking back now that was probably the start of the endgame. There was something so genuine about his laugh. But at the time it just made me pause for a second before I went back to work. I brushed it off. But after that he kept showing up for random things like he wanted advice on what kind of food he should get his cat. It was clear he was there to see someone. Everyone was so sure it was them. The fights were pretty intense.”

“What did you think though?”

“I thought he must have been lonely. Why else would he come to the clinic where he would always be the center of attention? It was annoying at times but I also felt sympathetic. At the time, I was new to Seoul. I had almost no friends in Seoul. People would make fun of my Busan accent.” I was surprised that the ever cheerful and friendly Sunmi didn’t have friends back then.

“You have a Busan accent?”

“I worked hard to learn to speak standard Korean, but it comes out still time to time. Back then I tried not to talk too much to hide my accent. So people would think I was aloof or more serious than I really am. But now I’m not so ashamed of it since Dae Honey also has a Busan accent. I remember one day he pissed me off. I was really tired and I was running around doing errands for the vet but he wouldn’t leave me alone. So some of my accent slipped out. He was so surprised that his accent slipped out too. Honestly, I was relieved to have met someone else from Busan even if it was the clinic’s annoying flirt.”, she said with a small laugh.

“What are you two talking about?”, asked Youngjae as he put his arms around our shoulders. We were both so wrapped up in the conversation we didn’t even notice him approach.

“Just about how me and Dae Honey met. Did you get tired of playing poker?”, asked Sunmi.

“More like I got tired of losing. It’s not my night tonight.”, he replied with a shrug.

“But I remember those days. That boy had it bad. He kept asking me for reasons why he should go to the clinic. It was pretty funny.”, said Youngjae. I glanced over at the poker table. Zelo and Daehyun were watching Youngjae like hawks.

“I think they want you to get back.” Youngjae looked back.

“I guess I should go back. But one thing first. I got something to tell you guys. Lean in.”, he whispered. We both leaned in to hear him better.

“They both got it bad for you two.” Sunmi just laughed and I blushed.

“C’mon Youngjae we’re waiting on you!”, called Zelo and Daehyun. Youngjae shot us a mischievous smile before heading back over to the table.

“Did you forget to add hyung to that Zelo?”, he called back.