"One, let's get some food. I'm hungry." I look at my best friend, Ekta, whom I, adoringly, call One.
"Haan! I'm hungry as well." She answers. ['Yes' in Hindi.]
"Let's have some Korean food!" I suggest.
"Really?What if we don't like it?"
Ekta and I are not foodies so we're always cautious about trying new types of food.
"Babe, we are in Jeju. We have to have Korean food at some point. It'd be weird if we don't have it even once." I tell her.
My best friend, Ekta and I are on a girl trip. We are in Jeju Island, South Korea.
"Sarey! Let's have Korean food." ['Okay' in Telugu.]
We walk along the beach looking for a restaurant that appeals to us.
"That one looks good." She points at a restaurant a little ahead.
I nod and we make our way to the restaurant. When we enter the restaurant, we notice there are a few customers. A few old couples and a group of young men chatting happily among themselves.
"Annyeonghaseyo." The host bows slightly and smiles at us.
"Annyeonghaseyo." I smile and nod at her.
The host looks happy and says something more in Korean.
'Holy crap! I only know annyeonghaseyo!' "English???" I interrupt her.
She shakes her head.
"Table???" I hold out two fingers to indicate we need a table for two.
She nods and leads us to a table for two.
"Gamsahamnida." I thank her.
She smiles, gives us the menus and goes back to her position. We settle down and open the menu. Our eyes widen. We quickly flip through the menu.
"Tujhe kuch samaj mein aa raha hai?" Ekta asks me. ['Do you understand anything?' in Hindi.]
"Yes!" I nod, enthusiastically.
"Kya????" ['What?' in Hindi.]
"Ki yeh sab Korean mein hai!" I laugh at my own joke. ['That all this is in Korean.' in Hindi.]
She huffs in annoyance and hits me with the menu. "You're too much. Ippudu em cheddam? ['What do we do now?' in Telugu.]
"I know some names. Kimchi, Bulgogi, Bibimbap, Japchae, Jjajangmyeon, Gimbap..." I tap my chin to remember more names.
"Will you be able to find these in the menu?" She asks hopefully.
I shake my head. "I don't know to read Hangul."
"Ab yeh Hangul kahan se aagaya? We are talking about Korean here." She looks at me like I'm mad. ['Where did this Hangul come from, now?' in Hindi]
"Korean is also known as Hangul. Adey ankunta." ['I think so.' in Telugu.]
"Do you at least know the main ingredients in the dishes you mentioned?" Ekta asks.
"I'm confused about the main ingredients. But I know, Kimchi is cabbage ka achaar. Very famous here." I tell her. [Achaar means pickle in Hindi.]
"Uff! Let's just ask one of the customers. Somebody must know some English." She says in frustration.
"Let's ask them." I, discreetly, point at the group of men at a nearby table.
YOU ARE READING
Chance Encounters
FanfictionVeronica and her friend, Ekta are on girls' trip to Jeju when they unexpectedly ending up meeting some very famous people.
