Last Night at the Café

19 | Samgyetang

A / N

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SEOLLAL HAD CHANGED out three times before finally settling on her first outfit. She didn't think herself fussy when it came to her attire, but it would be their first official date after all. She wanted to complement him, yet she had never seen him in anything other than the black sweaters and black pants he wore at the cafe. A white patterned dress that fell about her shins, and tied with a ribbon at her waist, she felt, would be the best match to whatever she thought he had.

She spotted Kazu waiting outside the subway station, decked in a black shirt and blue jeans. A cute lion's head, just the size of a thumb, was embroidered over his breast pocket. A pleased hum left him when he looked up.

"You look really pretty today," he said with a smile.

Gyeongbokgung was a must for dates, in her opinion. The palace compound, home to the Joseon kings, had been destroyed and rebuilt twice. She had visited it on school trips but never had the time to take in the architecture and atmosphere at her leisure.

They paused at Gwanghwamun with its three arched entrances to watch the changing of the guards. The imposing white walls were topped by grey-tiled roofs on which animal statues had been placed on the edges. 

"I'm going to find my wangjanim today!" she declared heartily.

They stood in the middle of a stone-flagged plaza hemmed in by stone walls on all sides. Visitors strolled around, posing for pictures, some decked in hanbok, the traditional clothes donned by Koreans. The throne room was an imposing structure that faced them with its two-layered grey tiled ceiling with red beams holding it up and green patterned doors. The harmonious blends of blues and yellows and reds and whites made for a colourful contrast against the mountain-backed landscape and the unpaved roads.

Kazu let out a huff.

"Any prince you find here is probably long dead. You should be careful."

She let out a little gasp at a photo shoot taking place nearby. A couple dressed in traditional clothes sat together under the eaves, beaming at the camera.

"Look at them!" she exclaimed. "Let's dress up like them next time."

The woman's hanbok consisted of a light pink jacket over a cream-coloured skirt overlaid with a shimmery fabric and seed pearls. Light danced over the silk when she moved, giving the impression of a glittering layer of water. She held a simple bouquet in her hands; bursts of pink and red blooms complemented by smaller white buds and sprigs of greens. Her hair was braided down her back and tied with a red silk ribbon.

The man beside her wore the traditional clothes of a Prince, consisting of a navy blue robe with the emblem of dragons on his chest and shoulders, and a jade belt around his waist. He had on a black hat over his hair, secured with strings of beads to his chin, with a fan that he held casually in one hand.

Her lips curled into a smile and a flush suffused her features when she felt his fingers thread between hers. When she turned to him, she saw he had his gaze kept ahead.

His hand was warm, sending little electrifying pulses up her wrist and her arm.

Then he turned his face to hers.

"I'm not letting you run off with some random prince."

"Oh?" She raised their linked hands, her eyes going to his. "But he's already found me."