Translation of Love

5

Hongdae

I've been staring at my phone for much too long, lips pressed together in uncertainty.

Can you meet again today at 2?

As much as I should accept Taeyoung's offer—learning the language I am so overwhelmingly surrounded by is a good idea—the memory of last time still makes my cheeks burn.

Why couldn't it have been a girl? Or a guy that I don't find attractive? His face seems like one that belongs on the ads I see around Korea—on the side of city buses, on posters at the convenience store windows, and even promoting very feminine, pink makeup brands. There is no lack of attractive korean men in the marketing here, and also vice versa. Beautiful k-pop girls promote soju? It baffles me to see how much Koreans love alcohol, and not just the students surrounding campus.

But before I can talk myself into making an excuse, my fingers type an okay.

I sigh to myself, unsure of what I've set myself up for.

Hours later I'm standing on a sidewalk, dodging the eyes of the people who walk by, waiting for the mystery that is Taeyoung. He arrives without even giving me a reassuring smile.

"Let's walk a bit today."

So we do. He seems to be quizzing me on Hangul, which makes me incredibly embarrassed every time someone walks by. The only positive commentary he gives me is that my rieul pronouncing is now at least comprehensible. How reassuring.

I can't help but feel overly self-conscious in every way; of how loud my voice is, of how I'm walking, of where I'm looking, how often should I turn my head to look at him? How long is too long when it comes to looking someone in the eyes? How much distance should I keep between us? These spiralling thoughts just make it harder to converse with him. They even cause me to lightly trip over a crack in the sidewalk. I recover quickly though, it's not like tripping over nothing is something new to me.

Taeyoung slightly pauses though, catching my slip.

"You alright?"

"Hmm?" I raise my eyebrows and finally look over at him. "Oh yeah, fine." I look away, those few seconds being enough to make my cheeks burn with fury.

He suddenly stops drilling me with Hangul questions. I can feel his eyes analyzing me, but I force my gaze forward. My heart feels like its climbing up my chest and I don't know what to do with my hands. I decide to take out my phone from my pocket and just hold it with both hands.

"This is the main area of Hongdae. It's always busy, even more on the weekends."

I watch as young people with impeccable and unique fashions walk from every direction possible. There are suddenly many makeup shops and small clothing stores. Tables with things like jewelry and small accessories pop up. A street opens up to a peculiar road. Instead of cars, it's flooded with people, and I become aware of booming noise behind the camouflaged chatter.

Curiosity chases after me as I take slow steps towards a crowd, head turning every which way in order to sneak a peek behind everyone. Taeyoung slows his steps, seemingly observing my reaction to whatever is behind the wall of bodies.

Finally I get brave enough to just go up against the crowd. Pushing up onto my toes, I crane my neck and finally see what the commotion is.

A group of three guys are dancing to what sounds like a Korean pop song. Their clothes are brightly coloured and trendy, their faces adorning careful makeup. While they don't possess the aura or confidence of a celebrity, they hit the moves pretty well. Then again, what do I know about dancing?