The posh high-rise glass building extended behind Joy as she made her way towards the nearest 7/11. The store was conveniently situated just around the corner of her house, next to the tattoo parlor where she’d gotten her first couple of ear piercings and the pet shop where she’d take Haetnim for a groom every other week. Her trip to the mom-and-pop had always one and the same purpose: nibbling on a bar of Magnum ice-cream which provided solace to her at this hour of the day. A light breeze blew through her raven hair, caressed her face, and ruffled the skirt of her dress just above her knees; though that was a warm day’s night, dusk had brought upon the city of Seoul a blanket of coolness, and Joy sighs with relief that she’d brought a jacket with her. UMI played on her iPod, but her mind was elsewhere, failing to comprehend the music or her surroundings.

Once inside the shop, her movements turned automatic: Third aisle. Top shelf. Walk towards the billing counter. She knew the process by heart.

“Slow night?” Joy asked the lad behind the counter, those being her first words after two or so hours.

“You know it,” came his laid-back reply as he scanned her two usual items: a packet of instant ramen and a plain Magnum. “For here?”

“You know it.”

"Is this your every-Saturday thing?” Jimin -- read the name embroidered on his polo under the store’s logo -- seemed genuinely curious from the way his eyebrows arch up at his regular. “Doesn’t it get boring? You know we provide a variety of products; let yourself try out new things. You might end up liking something new better.”

“Familiarity and continuity: these are my only sources of comfort. Call me a coward, it’s what I am. Proudly.” Though her words were meant for the employee’s ears, her eyes wandered to the door. She’s late… as usual.

“Damn! I pegged you as a lion but looks like behind your façade lives a cat.”

“I simply can’t stand unpredictability,” she explains under a sigh. “This façade is keeping me safe, is all.” They say it's dangerous to show too much of yourself. People might potentially have the power to destroy you, she had convinced herself.

“But it’s… comforting to open up to others sometimes. You never know how they might react,” he insisted.

“Others are unpredictable. I’ll have to pass.” Her statement was punctuated with a shrug of her shoulders.

“More like exciting or electrifying or, you know, even calming!”

Fittingly, those were the exact same things she felt melt down her stomach as she caught yellow converse step into the store; Joy doesn’t have to look up to know it’s her -- it’s Wendy. Yet still she does. And the view makes her insides churn, lingering even once she loses sight of the blonde who vanishes into the maze of aisles.

“I’ll let you know if I ever try. Good talk, Jimin.”

“Always. You know where the kettle is.”

Collecting her snacks, she waved him goodbye before making her way to the back of the store where she spent a handful of minutes cooking her noodles; she could have sat nearby, but that was not their spot. Outside was. So she hurries to the sidewalk sitting area, slouching at the diminutive round table, one of three. How long is she going to take today? Fifteen minutes, she’d find out later, when the woman walked out of the store clumsily cradling four completely different items.

“What have you today?” inquires Joy, ascending ever so subtly from her seat in order to get a glimpse of the array of goods in the other’s hands. “You really made it your life goal to try every flavour of chips ever, huh?”

“And you made it your life goal to stick to the usual, I see. We’re even.” Wendy declared with fervor, clicking her tongue. “How would you like to try some of my chips for a change?”

“I don’t think what you picked today would please my buds -- what’s that? Shrimp? Absolutely disgusting.” Joy grimaced, casually inspecting whatever weird-flavored chips Wendy had brought. Whoever thought shrimp is an acceptable flavour for chips?

“You’ll never know if you never try,” she reasons. “By the way, did you watch the movie I told you about last week?”

“Oh, yes -- yes, I did. I found it so pleasing to the eye, so aesthetically satisfying! Each shot had a hidden meaning, right? And, like, the characters were left to deal with endless emotions... without being able to satisfy any of them by the end of the movie,” rambled Joy, at her ice cream.

“Except for when they kiss, but it’s brief. The feeling of being lost but randomly finding solace and warmth in a total stranger… a bit like our situation, don’t you think?” She tilted her head a little, looking up at the woman sitting across from her and brushing sun-kissed hair behind her neck.

They had been religiously meeting each other on Saturdays, with the sole purpose of ranting about life and making sure that their sanity was intact. It started as a casualty: one day they were forced to share a table for the store was more crowded than usual, and from then on, they didn’t feel like separating, even when there were no other customers around. It felt natural, casual, spontaneous even, to share their thoughts and weird comments on the most random of subjects. Anime. Music. K-dramas. Movies. Songs. Food. Books. And what else there is to life. One topic they did not touch, however, was personal life or work -- it’s just not what their thing was, whatever was their thing. They were complete strangers, for sure, except not really at the same time. They just were.

Joy felt somewhat hesitant to reply. Sensing it, Wendy decided to speak again:

“I did it again. Procrastinating. Running from my problems and realizing that things could have turned out differently if I would have just confronted the situation. My problem would have been solved by now. I hate that it cannot just... solve itself,” the blonde ranted, smiling tiredly.

“I did it again. Wasting time. Closing people off. Ignoring my responsibilities. If I could just make a decision once in my life, one not influenced by anyone or anything. Why do I have to be so indecisive?” Joy frowned.

None of them knew the context behind each other’s confessions and did not bother to ask the other about it. They would rant and rave, feel dejected, but finally towards the end of the conversation they would be able to sit back and feel... satisfied and light. Tranquil. Still. Undisturbed. Understood. And sitting back and feeling all that felt…. good.

“Well, we better get our together by next Saturday,” Wendy stated, tearing open her chips.

“Yeah. Do not want to hear you rant about this next time... I believe that’ll be the 26^th, right?”

“And I’ll be here,” reassured Wendy. “Now time for you to taste these fancy chips.” She fished a yellow wedge out of the pack, bringing it to Joy’s mouth and asking her to “Open up.”

So, she did. And instantly regretted it.

“What the hell?! This taste awful!” Both of them laughed for what seemed like the longest time, before putting on their blasé masks.

It was now time for them to part, and they do so very ritualistically.

“Wendy.”

“Joy.”

There is a pregnant pause, a stare that lasts forever and a day. The night suddenly felt different, but oddly familiar in a way. They had never physically touched each other, until then. As if their movements were planned, they stepped closer simultaneously, arms enveloping each other’s frames. They find themselves in the safest embrace. Wendy casually slid her hands around Joy’s waist, mindlessly caressing her back. Joy had her hands intertwined behind her neck, carding through silky and golden strands. They pulled apart soon after, and locked their eyes one last time…

And departed into the real world, one where they had no choice but to fend for themselves. One where shrimp-flavored chips were but a bittersweet aftertaste.

It was quite scary how they could spill their feelings, emotions, and wildest thoughts to each other (and no one else) without the fear of being judged. The next week came by after what seemed like ages. Saturday, the 26^th, at the 7/11 around the corner of her house they met again. And again. And again.

Until they didn’t.

Name of the movie they were talking about- "Lost in Translation"

Name of the song Joy was listening to on her iPod- "UMI- Introspection"