Tap, Tap, Tap.

     Ryeowook tapped the spoon on the side of the sugar basin. The growing rhythm caused the couple in front to turn their heads. The young woman gave him a loud tut, then turned away to continue her conversation with her partner. Ryeowook put the spoon back onto the saucer and studied his watch. he had been sitting here for forty-five minutes; his date was half-an-hour late and his patience was wearing thin now.

    Looking at the empty cup in front of him, Ryeowook pondered whether to order another coffee or to just get up and leave, and forget the whole blind date thing. It was turning into a really bad idea and Ryeowook was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with it.

    He was unlucky in love.He had dated in the past, but nothing serious. Almost gotten engaged once though, but that relationship had ended badly. A classic case of infidelity, on the other part, with Ryeowook best friend, now his worst enemy. Ryeowook had tried to steer clear of men after that and concentrated on his career as a primary school teacher. Once bitten, twice shy, comes to mind. He had almost succeeded in his plan until he was pushed, none too gently, into this date.

     Ryeowook looked down at his watch again and then gave the room a quick scan. He looked over to an elderly waitress, who made eye contact and hurried over to the table. The waitress took a note pad and pencil out of a pocket stitched onto the front of her crisp, white apron.

   "More coffee?" The waitress asked, eyeing the neat pyramid of sugar cubes Ryeowook had constructed on the table.

   "Yes please," Ryeowook answered, quickly putting the cubes back into the basin.

   "Have you been stood up, dear?" The waitress asked in a sympathetic voice, and scribbled down ryeowook's order in her note pad.

Ryeowook's eyes shot up to look at the waitress, who was smiling down at him. he was sure there was a hint of sarcasm in the old woman's voice.

   "No, I'm just early," Ryeowook said, defensively.

   "Well, never mind then dear, I'll be back shortly with your coffee."

Ryeowook stared after her and frowned with disgust. 'cheek.'

   He really wished that he hadn't listened to his cousin sungmin. Sungmin's match-making had got him into trouble before, so he didn't particularly like blind dates. He had realised long ago that sungmin seemed to have one mission in life, and that was to marry Ryeowook off to an eligible man. Ryeowook recalled the first time his cousin had arranged a blind date, and he shuddered at the memory.

* * *
Flashback

 He had been eighteen at that time and had a crush on cho kyuhyun, a student at college. Ryeowook was painfully shy and wouldn't dream of taking the first steps to ask someone for a date. Sungmin was more outgoing, however, and being a busy body, had arranged a blind date with kyuhyun. Ryeowook's nerves had been on edge all that day and as he was getting ready to meet the man of his dreams, sungmin had arrived with a bottle of wine.

   "For medicinal purposes only,"
 sungmin had said.

 "Just a glass of wine to calm your nerves."

But, Ryeowook wasn't close to  being calm, and it didn't stop at one glass. Four glasses later, taken on an empty stomach, ryeowook had been ready to conquer the world, or so he thought. he sat in the crowded bar waiting for his date to arrive and his head started to spin. On seeing kyuhyun approach his table he stood up to greet him. He must have stood up too quickly, as a terrible feeling of nausea came over him and he clapped a hand over his mouth. It was too late; he promptly vomited all over kyuhyun's shiny shoes, totally ruining them and passed out on the floor. Ryeowook couldn't remember how he got home, but the next day he was full of remorse and embarrassment and avoided the man of his dreams like the plague. That was seven years ago and hadn't seen kyuhyun since.

End of flashback

* * *

        Now Ryeowook was waiting for another blind date, and although he was older.

It still didn't stop the feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach. Originally sungmin and his wife Kim Saeun were supposed to be here, it was to be a foursome. Fate had intervened however, and Kim Saeun had gone into labour, three weeks early with their first child. So it was now that Ryeowook sat alone waiting to meet sungmin's much talked about work colleague.

    They had stuck to the original plan of meeting in the restaurant; Ryeowook thought he might feel better if he knew who he was looking for. Sungmin had grinned