The first time I went to South Korea, I was barely twenty years old and it was for a one-week cultural visit. Back then, I didn’t know a thing about Korean, except maybe “annyeonghaseyo”, “jebal”, “kamsahamnida” and two or three other basic things. Other than that, I knew bits of Mandarin, but my first language remained English.

So, when I went there for the first time, I had no idea how I was supposed to find my way in Seoul. I ended up in a small café and tried ordering something in English. The handsome cashier looked at me with lost eyes and I sighed.

“Erh… menu? Please? I mean… jebal… erh… jebalyo… maybe? Erh… menu?”

He seemed to understand and found a smaller menu he gave me. I pointed the beverage I wanted and he nodded, smiling, before he went to get me what I wanted. I felt my heart melt. He was SO handsome. His dark hair seemed so fluffy. His eyes were two huge, pure black irises. He was a bit chubby, but that made him even more handsome. And yes, I was gay. It wasn’t that I didn’t like girls, but I liked men a lot more. And this guy… he was SO y. In my opinion. If only he could be gay. But he probably wasn’t. Anyway, we didn’t even speak the same language. I had no chance with him…

“You… free?”

Wait what. I looked at him – he was back from getting my order – with surprised eyes. Was that… ENGLISH?!

“If I’m free?”

“Yes…”

“Free as in…?”

“Um…”

He seemed thoughtful as he was taking my money that he hadn’t taken before going to get my beverage. He pouted and frowned at the same time and gave me the change before he tilted his head to the side.

“You… cute? Is… ok?”

Wait what. I stared at him with big eyes. “Repeat please?”

“You cute…?”

“Oh? Um… thanks?”

He smiled and kept on talking to me, with a huge accent. “I Cho Kyuhyun. N… nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Kyuhyun! I’m Henry…”

“Henry… who?”

“Oh. Henry Lau…”

“Hi!”

I took a look behind me, just to make sure I wasn’t making anyone wait. There was nobody else. I looked at the cashier again and rubbed the back of my head. “Yeah, hi. Um… eeerh… Korean… jeoneun… Korean… ani… errrh…”

I cursed. “Hanguksaram anieyo… erm… Canadasaramieyo… Um… I’m not Korean? I don’t speak Korean? I’m Canadian? Is it better if I just say it like this?”

“Aaaah. Geuraeyo? Jeon hanguksaramieyo!”

“Yeah, you’re Korean… I got this…”

“Yaaaaah, Henry-sshi…”

He said a bunch of things I couldn’t understand because I only knew basic Korean. I looked at him with lost eyes. “I don’t understand…”

He sighed and pouted before he took a look at the clock. Noticing it was exactly fifteen past one in the afternoon, he smiled widely and left the counter to take my hand – my free hand, of course, not the one holding my beverage – and pull me to a table. He sat there and, very seriously, said:

“Teacheu Engrish me.”

I could only laugh. “What? You want me to teach you English?”

He nodded in a very serious way. “Teacheu Engrish.”

“English, dude, English!”

“Kyuhyun.”

That made me laugh again. I nodded. “Yeah. Kyuhyun.”

He said something in Korean while pouting and I frowned. “Eh?”

“Yeongeo…

“Oh. Yeah. I noticed… It’s okay, I can’t speak Korean…”

“Teacheu hangukeo you?”

“Hang… oh, Korean? You want to teach me Korean?”

“Ne… Henry-sshi teacheu Engrish me…”

“Waiiiiiit a sec. So you want me to teach you English and then you’ll teach me Korean?”

“Ne.”

“But why?”

“You cute.”

That again… I chuckled and let myself drown in his giant black irises. “Thanks. I have to say… you’re very good-looking. Too bad that you probably don’t like men…”

“Men? You? I like. You… free?”

I looked at him with surprised eyes. “Wait, what? You’re gay?”

“Gay? Me? Yes.”

And he was saying it like it was perfectly normal… I wasn’t exactly used to that. It wasn’t like they didn’t accept it in Canada. My country was pretty open to that. But still.

“I… I see.”

“You too?”

“Eh?”

“You too? Gay?”

“Ah… um, yeah.”

“Me too!”

“Yeah… I understood that part…”

“Ne, ne… oh!”

He said more things in Korean while pouting and looking at the clock. I guessed his break time was finished, and so he had to leave and get back to work. I smiled to him and shyly put my hand on his. “Erm… I guess… we’ll see each other? I don’t have a phone number while I’m here though… so I’ll come back here when I’m free?”

“Free? You free?”

I smiled. “My heart is. Free for you to steal,” I said in a lower voice. “See you, Kyuhyun.”

He smiled and went back to work. I kept on looking at him while I was drinking my beverage, and I smiled a little when I noticed how handsome he looked when he was working. He was smiling a lot, in a beautiful way, and speaking in what seemed like a very respectful language. I finished my drink, got up, took a look at him, saw that he was busy, and so I left to explore more of the city.