If you'd asked me, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. But of course, nobody had asked me.

"Is Sehun here?"

I looked up from my laptop, where I'd been studying the seating arrangements for that weekend's wedding. A pretty girl in shorts and button-down shirt, her bob hair pulled back in a headband, was standing just inside the main door of the office, a picnic basket over one arm.

"Um," I said, looking toward the back room. He wasn't there; he'd left a few minutes earlier with another girl, whom he'd introduced to me as Taeyeon. "He's actually at lunch."

"Oh." Her disappointment was fast and obvious. "Do you know where he went?"

I shook my head. "Sorry."

She twisted , either pouting or thinking or both. Then she set the basket down, pulling out her phone, and quickly typed in a message. A moment later, I heard a ding. "Oh," she said. "He says he's in a meeting?"

The fact this was phrased as a question suggested I was supposed to give an answer. Instead, I just shrugged, smiling, and went back to my tables.

I heard her typed something else. Then she said, "Well, I guess you can do sandwiches for dinner, too, right?"

I'm not sure why I was still involved in this exchange. Looking up, I saw she was watching me, again expecting a response. "Guess so."

At this, she smiled, like I'd said much more than two words. "Okay if leave a quick note?" she asked, picking up a Soojung Bae Weddings pad from the table between us. This time she didn't wait for an answer. She just started writing.

Too many tables at this wedding, I thought to myself as I went back to my work. At least it was a sit-down dinner, so we wouldn't be directing traffic at a buffet.

"If you could give this to him," the girl said, forcing me to look up again, "that would be great." She was holding out a piece of paper, folded into a neat square.

I put it on the table, above my own papers. "Sure thing."

"Thanks so much!" A clink, then a creak, as she lifted the basket again and walked to the door. Once outside, she slid on a pair of sunglasses before walking away.

I filled in another table with names, all the while aware of the folded note nearby, SEHUN written on the top in curling, girlish hand. I had the weirdest urge to open and read it, although I had no idea why. His love life was none of my concern. But it was annoying to have to run interference for him while he was off having lunch and I was still working.

That said, I had to admit (but would not have aloud, not to anyone) that having Sehun as a co-worker wasn't actually bad. Sure, there was his tendency to break things - a stapler and tape measure had suffered the same fate as the tape dispenser in his short employ - as well as the constant chatter that now filled the time I used to spend organizing place cards in silence. But in truth, he was funny, and I often had to bit back my own laughs as he talks about his various misadventures while we sat working side by side. Like, perhaps, scheduling two lunches at once. I couldn't wait to hear about that one.

About twenty minutes later, stomach grumbling, I took my own break, walking over to the coffee shop for an turkey sandwich. The line was long, and I ended up back by Phone Lady, who was set up at the window again.

". . . so I said, you don't have to tell me about health concerns," she was saying, her voice loud as always. "I'm a cancer survivor! Sicken cells in two years scraped off my shoulders and back. And I still managed to pay my rent and bills."

A pause, but a short one. Whoever Phone Lady was always talking to, they never seemed to get much a word in.

"I never wanted a tenant anyway. We renovated that apartment for Mark, so he'd have a place for his machines. That's how good I was to him! And you know how that turned out."

Ahead of me, a woman in a black business suit, an ID badge of some sort clipped to her jacket, exhaled loudly. I wanted to tell her to save her breath. I'd heard people outright tell Phone Lady to hush and she barely batted an eye.

"I know my rights as a landlord," she continued. "And I'm not afraid to evict, so sir. But it's just so unfortunate. I thought having someone in that apartment would be a good thing. Just my luck. I don't get good things, I guess."

Hearing this, I craned my neck to see how many people were still ahead of me. I could handle Phone Lady's complaining, her detailed stories of the slights of co-workers and relatives, even the long-winded stories about her cats' health issues. But the sad thing wasn't worth an turkey sandwich to me. I had enough of that in my own head.

Luckily, the businesswoman and guy behind her had simple orders, so soon enough I was on my way. As I pushed out the door, holding it for a man carrying a baby, Phone Lady was saying something about joining a dating website. Better him than me, I thought. The stories just went on and on, whether or not anyone was there to listen.

I'd planned to bring my food back to the office to eat. On my way, though, I saw Vivi, tied up by a bench in a shady spot next to the stationary store, a blue bandana around his neck. Clearly, Sehun had discovered that the couple that owned the store,  Taeyang and Hyorin, were huge animal lovers. I was actually surprised he wasn't already just hanging out inside. When Vivi saw me, he sat up, wagging his tail.

"Hey buddy," I said. He responded by wiggling harder, his front end now joining in, going the opposite direction. "You thirsty?"

He wasn't. His water bowl, a custom-made with his name on it - something I just knew a girl had purchased for Sehun - was full. Still, when I took a seat and untwisted my own bottle, I poured a bit in, topping him off. Vivi drank the water. Then, after sniffing at my sandwich from a distance, his long whiskers twitching, he turned in a circle and lay at my feet, his head on my shoe. Again, I was not a dog person. Or an animal person. But it seemed rude to move, so I didn't.

A moment later, my phone rang. Even without the caller ID I would've known it was Gayeon, based only on the noise in the background - children's voices, engaged in some sort of argument, a baby crying. "Hello?" I said.

"Hang on," she replied. Then: "Everyone HUSH I am on the PHONE or NO ICE CREAM for ANYONE."

The noise volum dropped, although I could still hear Yuri, sputtering.

"Hey," Gayeon said to me. "What are you doing?"

When I heard from Gayeon while she was in the role of taking care of the children and I was doing something alone, peacefully, I was always self-conscious about it. "Working," I said. "And eating lunch. What's up?"

The phone was pierced by a scream, which she ignored, saying, "Oh, the regular. Moving between food trucks and lessons, play dates and diaper changes."

"You just passed the ice cream place," I heard Jae say in his flat monotone.

"Shoot," she said. The twins cried in protest, saying something about harsh words. "Oh, like you haven't heard it before. And there are other ice cream places."

"Not like that one," Jae again.

"Can you shut up for one second and let me talk to Suzy?" she snapped. Silence. Temporarily. "Okay, quickly. I left it with Seojoon and his friend tonight at Jin's Diner for dinner at 7:30."

"Seojoon?" I asked. "Who's that?"

"The guy I met at the student government convention. I told you." She hadn't. But Gayeon was always talking to different guys, so I wasn't exactly shocked that one had slipped her mind. "Remember? They're civilized dinner people. He had one a varsity jacket!"

Which is equivalent of her type. But not mine, and I hadn't agreed to anything even resembling this. "Gayeon. I don't want to have dinner with strangers."

"And you don't want to go dancing with strangers. Or go to a party with strangers. You don't want to do anything with anyone."

"How did we go from strangers to anyone?"

"Everyone will be a stranger as long as you insist on never meeting people! What happened to making memories?"

I sighed, looking down at Vivi, who was drooling on the sidewalk beside my foot. "Who do all our memories have to involve people I don't know?"

"Because," she said, as Yuri cried again, "this is the summer for you to get used to meeting guys again. You have to get these first bumpy awful dates out of the way. Seaweed before pearls, and all that."

"And when, exactly,  will the pearls arrive?"

"In the fall at college, probably. But if you've already this awkward hard part, meeting them will be easier."

"So you're saying I should head into dinner tonight expecting disaster."

"Well, that's a bit strong. More likely a lack of chemistry or just boredom. But just consider the numbers. With Jongsuk, you hit the lottery your first shot. It takes a few tries, just based on the odds, before you can expect to win again."

This was just the kind of twisted Gayeon logic that always get me, the type sounded outright crazy . . . until it didn't. "Fine," I said. "Have you seen the guy I'm supposed to be paired up with, or is he purely a theoretical?"

"I have actually seen him. His name is Hyungsik. He had on a varsity jacket, too."

Which was nothing, as I saw enough formal wear. In my ming, though, I pictured rolling dice, slowing warning to the idea of aiming to gather losses rather than worrying about winning. If I really was cynical girl, then this was my style. "Okay. I'll see you at 7:30."

"All right!" she cheered, and I heard her beep the horn. "That's my girl. I got to go. Love you!"

"Love you back," I replied, although I was pretty sure she didn't hear me. As I put down my phone, I had a flashback of the Elf guy at the party: in her thinking, strike one. How many more before I'd earned a decent hit? I guessed I would find out.

Just as I thought this, I saw the girl with the picnic basket coming back across the courtyard. At the exact time - how was this possible? - Sehun and Taeyeon were coming the opposite direction. They were holding hands, each of them carrying a cup from Starbucks. Vivi and I were in the middle, the dead center point where these two parties would collide. I felt my stomach clench. Vivi started barking.

"Vivi!" Sehun called out, seeing only the dog. Vivi barked again, excited, while I made a point of looking directly at the girl with the basket, willing Sehun to follow my gaze. Finally he did, suddenly slowing his pace, as if he could put off this confrontation with space alone. Nope.

"Sehun?" The basket girl say, from my left side.

"Yoona!" he replied, from my right. Beside him, Taeyeon, in a red dress and sandals, gave a smile. "You're here!"

"I brought you lunch," she said, not smiling at all. "Like we discussed last night?"

Now Taeyeon's face changed. She looked at Sehun. "I thought you stayed in last night."

"I did," he said quickly. Yoona put a hand on her hip, physically contesting this. "With Yoona. Actually."

Now everyone looked tense. Expect for Vivi, who was wagging away, trying to get to Sehun.

"I'm going back to work," I said carefully, moving to step around the dog.

"I should, too," Sehun said immediately. "The boss is a rough during lunch breaks."

He wasn't getting away that easily, though. "Were you really with that girl last night?" asked Taeyeon as iI slipped past her. Vivi, having no luck with Sehun, tried to follow, his nose bumping my leg. "You lied to me?"

"I didn't lie," he said. "The plan was to hang out at her house and watch a movie. And -"

"He stayed until 3 a.m.," Yoona finished. "Him and his dog."

Taeyeon looked at Yoona. "Well, did he tell you we were together this weekend? He went out to eat with my entire family."

Clearly, this was news to Yoona, who responded with, "So you'd already done that when we met on Monday at the movie theather?"

I was clear of this now, free to go. I felt bad for Vivi, though, his stretched-out leash still tangled around one of Yoona's ankles, looking from the girls back to Sehun like a confused child.

"Monday?" Taeyeon demanded. "You said you had to stay home with your sister."

"Who then decided she wanted me to go to a movie," Sehun said quickly. Glares at him from both directions. "Ladies, I did go to the movies Monday and I stayed in last night. I haven't been untruthful to anyone here."

"Oh, so you didn't lie," Yoona said. "You just didn't tell the whole truth."

"Is there a difference?" Taeyeon asked.

"Well, if we're splitting hairs," Sehun said, "then yes. It's vast, actually."

"Vast?" Yoona repeated, whether because she didn't get the phrase or the word itself, I wasn't sure. Taeyeon, over the semantics, just loosened the top of her drink and threw the drink at Sehun, then walked away.

Whoa, I thought as Vivi dove for the ice cubes. Yoona unwound his leash form her foot, then shifted the basket to the other arm.

"Well," Sehun said, rather generous, smiling at her, "and then there were two."

"You're an ," she replied. Then she walked away as well.

In the silence that followed, I wished more than ever that I'd abandoned this scene when I had the chance. I was embarrassed enough; I couldn't imagine how Sehun felt. But as he bend down in front of Vivi, shirt stained wet with Coke, and scratched his ears, he appeared unaffected, as if this kind of thing happened all the time.

"She left you a note," I told him, just to say something. "Yoona. Before, when she came by."

"Oh, thanks." He stood again, then checked Vivi's bowl. "But I'm pretty sure whatever it says no longer matters."

I nodded, then walked toward the office. A moment later, he fell into a step behind me. I said, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." So agreeable. I was beginning to think this was a regular occurrence.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

I stopped and faced him, shielding my eyes with one hand. "Juggle two girls at once. It clearly won't work, at least not for long. And you can't enjoy getting busted."

"Well," he replied. "I don't consider it busted. I didn't lie to anyone, nor did I make any promises about exclusively."

"But it was clearly assumed."

"That's on them, not me." I tilted my head, making it clear I doubted this logic. "Look, I like hanging out with girls, plural. Commitment doesn't really work for me."

"Maybe because you're always hanging out with girls, plural?" I suggested.

"No," he countered, "because it's too serious. Everything gets, like, heavy, immediately. And all the questions: Where are you going? Who with? When will you be back? Why haven't you called? What's that glitter in your hair?"

"Glitter?"

He sighed. "Let me put it this way. You know that feeling, when you very first meet someone and there's a spark, that undeniable attraction, and everything about them seems new and interesting and perfect?"

A boy on the beach, his hands outstretched. White shirt glowing in the dark. "Yeah," I said. "Sure."

"It's the best, right? Like magic, that awesome." I nodded. "So why, if you could, wouldn't you want that all the time, every time?"

"Because," I said, then realized immediately this was not an answer. I swallowed, taking a breath. "Then you only have beginnings, over and over again. Nothing substantial."

"But substantial is complicated. Substantial," he said, pointing at me, "is questions about glitter in your hair, or why you won't tag along shopping, or whether you find her friends annoying."

"So you don't want anything that lasts," I clarified. "Only a bunch of magical first nights and days, strung along right after the other."

He smiled. "Doesn't sound bad, does it? All the upsides of dating, none of the down."

"Expect when you get a drink thrown at you," I pointed out.

He shrugged. "Shirts can be washed."

We started walking again: it had been over an hour for each of us, and while my mom wasn't exactly harsh, she would notice.

"Let me guess," he said. "You think I'm terrible."

"Not really. It's just . . . not my way, I guess." I thought for a second. "What's funny is that Gayeon was just saying, basically, that I need to be more like you."

"Really?" I nodded. "How so?"

I paused, thinking how to respond, what I wanted to say. "My last relationship - my boyfriend - it was basically all one perfect early beginning. We met at the beach, clicked immediately, spent the whole night talking. Then we were long distance, so there was never a chance of anything getting old."

He was quiet, listening. "Sounds nice."

"It was." I gulped. "Anyway, I haven't dated since. I haven't wanted to. And she maintains it's because my expectations were set so high, right off the bat. Like no one will ever compete."

"Do you think that?"

"I don't know," I said. This was the truth. "But maybe going into things hoping they will be the wrong approach. Like, if I date someone expecting nothing, I'd better off."

"I don't expect nothing of a person," he corrected me. "Just the relationship."

"You're just having fun, though," I said. "No ties. No forever."

"Ugh, no." He winced. "And who wants to be tied?"

"I don't mind it with my boyfriend," I said. "Which is exactly why your way wouldn't work for me."

He thought about what I just said. "Sure it would. You just have to do it."

"Oh, right," I said. "Because it would be that easy for you to change your ways?"

"I could," he confidently announced.

"Sehun. You're seriously saying that it would be no problem at all for you to decide to date only one person, with an eye toward the long term, starting now?"

"Yeah, if I wanted to. Easily."

We were at the office now. Through the glass, I could see Eomma and Wooyoung at the conference table, that week's bride, Jeon Somin, between them. She was smart and gorgeous and had already had a dramatic, vocal meltdown about napkin holders. It was mid-June of my last summer doing this job. If I couldn't sell cucumbers or make coffee, maybe there was another way to endure.

"Want to bet on it?" I asked Sehun.

He raised an brow. "I'm listening."

"What about this," I said. "For a set period, I agree to date the way you do, multiple people, no commitment. At the same time, you find one girl and see her exclusively. We see who's out first."

"Oh, it'll be you," he smirked.

"We haven't even set the stakes," I said, offended.

"I'm very competitive," he explained. "Okay, specifics. What's the time period?"

"Three weeks?" I wasn't totally sure, but I thought I saw him shiver. "What, too long?"

"I was thinking maybe not long enough," he replied. "If I'm going to commit, I really need to go for it."

"Four," I said.

"Seven. That will get us to Julee's wedding."

I had to admit, I was surprised. "Agreed. Other fine print?"

"You can't just go on a couple of dates and call it multiple because that's what it would be for you. If you're going to be me, you have to be all me. Lots of dates. Like, every night.

"Sehun," I said. "I have to work."

"I work!" I just looked at him. "Let's say you have to do at least three a week."

"Three?" I said. "One."

"Please," he replied, looking offended. "Two or no deal."

I sighed. "Fine. Two it is. And what does the winner get?"

"Hmm. He leaned against the door, rubbing his chin like it actually helped him think. "If I win, I get to decide who you go out with next. And it can be anybody, you can't disagree or refuse, no take backs."

"And what about if I win?"

"You won't," he said, again so confidently. "But if we're talking hypothetical, that would mean I couldn't be one-woman man, so you also get to pick my next victim."

I stuck out my hand. "I have to admit," I said, "I'm not totally sure why you're agreeing to this."

"Because you think I can't do it," he replied. "And it's only for seven weeks."

"After which," I said, "you'll go back to dating the entire city and getting drinks thrown at you."

"While you," he added, "will be stuck with the person of my choosing, demanding the origin of the glitter in my hair."

We shook. It was a rare thing for me, lately or otherwise, to feel going into something that I already had an edge. But this time, I did. It was just dating, all beginnings, no endings. He was right - it did sound nice. And anyway, how hard could it be?