If she were an ant on this formica topped table, it would sound like thunder, a thousand granules of sugar falling from where she had upturned the sachet and missed the cup by inches. Even Moonbyul had to admit that today she was distracted, her brain snapping back to the moment where it had left her body just in time to frown at her own clumsiness as she dropped the empty sachet onto the saucer and wiped the mess she had made with a serviette before crumpling that up and placing it next to the discarded sachet. It was their first date and she was so nervous that she had made sure to get herself a drink and sit down before she made a nuisance of herself by getting in everyones way. Only once had she seen her and her heart had instantly jumped out of her chest, well not literally but it felt like a possibility at the time and she had had to fight the overwhelming urge to place her hand on her chest to prevent it happening. A tinkle of the bell hanging over the door alerted her to a new arrival and she felt her face grow hot, the tip of her nose and her ears competing to become the reddest, all of a sudden her hands were sweaty and she wiped them frantically on her trousers until she was face to face with beauty itself. Something in her told her to stand up and wait for her date to sit down first, it was a small amount of chivalry that had somehow been ingrained in her since she had realised her unspoken role as the 'male' in the relationship and she unconsciously did similar things all the time. As they sat, she smiled and tried her hardest to look Yongsun in the eyes as she greeted her but it was proving a challenge, it felt illegal to look directly at her as though she was the sun in human form. A waitress made her way over to their table, both Yongsun and Moonbyul making hasty greetings and complimenting an aspect of their outfits in turn, Moonbyul said she didn't want anything, indicating her half full cup and Yongsun ordered herself a hot cocoa. 

It had been a one in a million chance finding a fellow Korean in a foreign country but Moonbyul had been cheeky and researched the place where most Koreans visited in London and had purposely made her visit include those places. So here they sat, two Korean women who spoke very broken English, in an English cafe on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. Neither one of them had been here before but to Moonbyul at least, it didn't matter as long as they were together. As soon as they had parted ways a few days before, after managing to exchange details, they had started chatting, on Instagram of all places, trading likes on old posts and dropping the odd DM asking how the day had gone. Moonbyul's bio on all her social media was very explicit in her love for women but Yongsun liked to keep some mystery to hers, although she was in no way trying to hide, through subtle hints and some covert questioning by Moonbyul, she had established that there was a chance between them and so had tried to casually flirt whilst simultaneously be flirted with, neither one of them as subtle as they thought they were. There had been no declaration of love but there was a romance bubbling beneath the surface of every message either one dared to end with a kiss emoji or a heart one. So the arangement was made to meet at this very cafe on this very day and at this very time so that they could spend some time together as a potential real couple. 

The afternoon rolled on and people came and went in small droves and singular visits but neither of them would have noticed if the cafe had simply disappeared around them because the only thing that mattered now was each other. It was an odd feeling for both of them to be so free, as Moonbyul reached across the short expanse of cold table top and placed her hand over Yongsun's she felt a small flinch out of habit and smiled. "You know we can hold hands here right?, it's not seen as odd here Yongsun. You can relax.", she smiled as she said it and was greeted with a nervous smile as she reached out with her other hand and carressed Yongsun's cheek softly. She was right, nobody had moved either physically or impulsively, there was no judgement here at all and it felt so freeing. "You know, there is something i'd like to try if that's ok?, you can say no if you like, but all this time i've had the overwhelming urge to kiss you.". She watched as Yongsun's face turned a little pink but the tiny nod was all she needed and she was leaning closer, her drink pushed to the far right of her, well out of harms way before she moved. As she drew closer, she was aware of every single other person in the room and her own cheeks coloured a little as she kept inching closer. Yongsun leaned in a little so that Moonbyul didn't have to do all the work by herself and there was a hint of a smile when their lips finally met. It was soft, a first kiss that conveyed no intention of pressuring either one of them to kiss again or with any more ferocity. Once they broke apart, Moonbyul hesitated to move away, she stayed with her face a few millimetres from Yongsun's and could feel the warmth of her breath on her lips still, they would never be able to do this in public back home so she savoured the moment and smiled as she boldly went in for a second kiss. Yongsun gasped into the kiss a little, she was surprised only by the brashness of Moonbyul's determination to not let them waste another second apart but she closed her eyes and settled into the kiss, placing her hand on Moonbyul's cheek gently as she took control and kept the kiss going until she was ready to stop. Sitting back in her seat as they finished, she smiled and held Moonbyul's hand in the space between them as she muttered, "I think I could fall in love with you Moon Byulyi.".