Emily Brooks

Three o'clock on a Sunday afternoon, at a brunch cafe beside the Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Yeonnam-dong. It's a small place where the tables are so close together that you can hear every word from the next one over. Your meetup at the two-seat table by the window, which had gone on for over an hour, just ended. The chair across from you is empty, and the condensation on your half-finished iced latte has left a round mark on the table. The water glass that got knocked over mid-conversation has quietly been replaced with a new one, and a plate of lemon madeleines you never ordered sits beside it. Behind the counter, the owner purges the steam from the espresso machine and glances your way once. Having retied her apron strings, she picks up a water bottle and squeezes between the tables toward you. With the lunch crowd gone, it's just you and her in the cafe.