The past two months have disappeared faster than I expected. Between work and life, Geonsu and I were both busy people. Yet somehow, not a day passed without a message from him. Just a message here and there, while on break or while I was waiting in my office for more work. At first, I thought he simply liked sharing things. Then I noticed that somehow every picture, complaint and update found its way to me.

Amira was reinventing the dessert menu for spring and Geonsu made a point of updating me with pictures. Some creations didn’t work out, but Geonsu reassured me they didn’t go to waste. The desserts were still tasty enough and were waiting for me, if I wanted them. I started to bring home Strawberry Basil Panna Cotta that somehow didn’t firm enough, Olive Oil and Orange Cake that tasted a bit too much of Olive Oil but was later caked in frosting and Pistachio Tiramisu which, never had any flaws, but I was greedy for. At one point, I begged them to give some to the girls at the club. I had to bring some to work and hand out to my coworkers. My mom got sick of the sugar and swore up and down she would not touch any sugar for at least 4 months, yet she ate the last Pistachio Tiramisu piece I left in the fridge.

I had to get the refill to the piece my mom ate, so Monday after I got off work, I spontaneously decided to visit the kitchen. I usually only went there on weekends while I was at the club for work. Lately, I kept finding reasons to drop by. The missing dessert simply happened to be today's.

I arrived there at around 7 pm. I didn’t know yet if I was allowed to just open the door and make myself known, because most times when I came by the door was opened. I decided to knock, even though realistically they would not be able to hear it. I opened the door and peeked inside. Geonsu was talking to someone, gesturing above a plate and explaining something. The person was just nodding and pointing, emphasizing something. I was spotted by Chris, whom I met around 4 weeks ago. He is a very funny guy, although sometimes he tries and fails. Always smiling, light on his feet and rocking a buzz cut. He always bleached his hair and had one pierced ear. He had doe eyes and a short nose, prominent lips and tan skin.

“Hey! What are you doing dropping by here? Nice to see you, man!” He fist bumped my arm and smiled.

“I’m out of desserts.” I smiled back, winking at him.

He started laughing and raised his index finger at me signaling me to wait a second. He came back seconds later holding a white cup in his hand, walking towards me. He passed Geonsu’s table and patted his shoulder, then pointed at me standing in the door and kept on walking. He handed me the cup. Geonsu was looking at him and frowned, then mouthed “Give me a minute” at me.

“Here, have some coffee. Be careful, it’s hot.” Chris said and then departed, saying he had to get back to work.

I felt bad, I was disrupting them. Chris reassured me they were managing the orders just fine and would have spent the time doing stupid stuff around the kitchen anyway while there were no orders to take care of. I didn’t talk individually to all the staff, but they would always wave at me. The girls, me and them started to smoke together. I was still unsure if I should come over so often, but they were treating me like I was a part of the kitchen’s process. As I was sipping my coffee, Geonsu said something to Chris before walking my way.

“Sorry, me and Marco are not getting along.” He looked back at Marco while he said that. Marco raised his arm at him, as if inviting him to fight him. They both laughed after that move.

“What’s wrong?”

“He doesn’t like my plating for the spring special. I tried to convince him but…”

“He doesn’t seem impressed.” I laughed, imagining these grown adults fighting.

“Too bad. What I say goes.” He shrugged his shoulders and moved his head to the side, singling me to follow him outside. “How is it? The coffee?” He asked after we closed the door.

“It’s good. You must have good machines here. I like it.”

“"Oh, and..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "We never went to the Cat Café. Want to go next week, maybe on Tuesday? Are you free?”

“I am free at 6 pm. I work at the Health Center until then…”

“Can I pick you up? I don’t work Tuesday.” He was fidgeting with his thumbs and his shoulders were raised.

“Yeah, you can. I’ll text you the address.”

His shoulders suddenly relaxed and he smiled at me, but I noticed he had a habit of not looking me in the eyes. Was he really this shy? He went inside and came back with my dessert. I handed him back the white cup and departed.

While at work that Saturday, I realized I no longer got handed one of the restaurant's white cups. I had my own. It was a dark green ceramic mug with a slightly uneven rim and a tiny black cat painted near the handle. The glaze wasn't perfect. One ear of the cat was larger than the other, giving it a permanently annoyed expression. Geonsu had bought it for me; or rather, it had simply appeared that day on the shelf beside the back door. He promised me nobody else would use it.

"You always drink from the same one anyway." He answered. “This is yours now.”

I was now sure he was interested. The question was whether he would ever do something about it.

Tuesday afternoon couldn’t come quicker. I was happy that he remembered the time I mentioned the Cat Café and made a point of asking me out. It was soon time to clock out when I received a text message.

“I think I am at the right building. I’m at parking lot B23. Should I come up and wait for you at the entrance of the building?”

I chuckled, because what do you mean you think you are at the right building? I texted him to wait for me there, thinking he might get lost if he tried to navigate around the building. He let me know which car he drove, and I was preparing my stuff to leave when Alex knocked on the door and entered.

“Kento, let’s go. Last-call-coffee.”

Last-call-coffee was the last coffee of the day I would drink the days I work at the health center. I always drank it with Alex. Today I had to turn him down.

“Can’t do. I have to go.” I glanced at the clock and saw 1 more minute to go.

“Are you not feeling well? Where are you hurrying to?” He looked so confused.

“I am going to a café. I am drinking my last coffee with someone.” I could hardly suppress my smile. Alex smiled back.

“Oh, who is it?”

“Geonsu.” I casually said while finishing packing. “See ya!” I clocked out and departed, heading towards parking lot B23, leaving Alex back with his mouth slightly open and scratching his face.

As I was approaching the parking lot, I saw someone tall pace back and forth. I had to do a double take. It was him. He had a dark green, short sleeved, ribbed knit polo shirt on. The fabric followed the shape of his shoulders and arms without being tight. It looked simple, until he moved. The vertical knit making him seem broader than he already was. The pants were simply black with a leather belt. I never saw him wear something like this, not even when he came over for Christmas.

He saw me from a distance and came over, saying nothing, just smiling. I noticed our time spent together was often not long, with me dropping by for just 10 minutes at a time, but often we didn’t even talk much. The silence felt just right with him and his safety intoxicated me. I found myself often longing for his presence, being content with just knowing that if I looked back, he would be there.

He took my bag and we got inside his car. When I got inside, his car smelled normal, clean. Seconds after I sat down, I felt a faint scent. He was emitting his pheromones again. I remembered Christmas day, the way we washed the dishes together and he… he said whatever he said back then. I started to feel warm and squirmed on the seat. I noticed every now and then he would glance at me. I wanted to tease him a bit.

“Eyes on the road, Geonsu.”

His eyes widened and he took a deep breath while the tips of his ears turned red. I looked out the window before he could catch me smiling.

“I… I wasn’t…” He tried to speak but he got choked up. “Never mind.”

We arrived at the café. Warm yellow lights hung from the ceiling and illuminated rows of wooden shelves mounted on the walls. Some held books, while others were occupied by sleeping cats. A ginger cat was curled up inside a wicker basket hanging from the ceiling, completely undisturbed by the customers below. Every few steps there were cat trees, scratching posts and cushions scattered around the room. Some of the cats wandered between tables while others watched from elevated platforms as if they owned the place.

A white cat occupied the counter near the register and looked at every customer with the same expression of mild disappointment.

"I think he hates us." I whispered to him before we approached the barista.

"He definitely hates us." Geonsu agreed and laughed softly.

The employee taking our order laughed.

"What can I get you two?"

We sat down and talked. The conversation drifted from my university days to food, from food to travel, from travel to childhood stories. I learned that Geonsu had once gotten stuck in a tree because he was trying to steal some plums from the neighbor’s yard back in Korea while visiting his grandparents. He learned that I had accidentally set off a fire alarm in a chemistry lab during my first semester. Neither story made the other look particularly intelligent. He was about to say something else when he suddenly let out a “Ah!” and closed his eyes in pain.

“What? What’s wrong?” I didn’t understand what was going on.

He reached for his leg and looked down, so I looked around the table as well. The white cat was trying to climb up into his lap but slipped on his pants. He caught himself but Geonsu was suffering the consequences. As the cat managed to step into his lap, it started to turn around in circles. Every time turned around, his tail was swinging in Geonsu’s face. I started laughing. The cat eventually tucked its paws beneath its chest and settled into a loaf.

“Ah, he pinched me good.” He said, looking at the cat, not moving, as if he was afraid of it.

“Here are your drinks. Oh, he must like you. He hates being touched or grabbed.” The barista said, as she was setting the drinks on the table and the powdered doughnuts.

"Can I pet him?" Geonsu asked. Silly, why else would we go to a cat café.

“Yes, of course.” She answered.

“What’s his name?” I asked. I didn’t see this cat often here, so I didn’t know his name. Most cats here had some funny and stupid names like Lord Beef.

“His name is Asbestos.”

She smiled and left after answering my question. Geonsu and I looked at each other as if on instinct and lost our minds laughing. At his point I had tears in my eyes.

“Who the fuck names a cat Asbestos?” He cried, signaling me to stop looking at him. He was shaking so hard from laughing he had to hold the cat in his lap still.

“Shhh!” I reached forwards and slapped his hand lightly. “There’s kids in here.” But I was still laughing.

He reaches back but he flinches back, retreating it. He looks down at the table and seconds later smiles but goes ahead and reaches towards my hair. His fingers disappeared into the middle of my hair and opened lightly while sliding down, separating some strands. I stopped any movement and looked at him, my heart rate increased. This was the first time I could remember he decided to touch me out of his own volition. And he didn’t even touch me. He touched my hair. He looked away, clearing his throat.

“You… had some powdered sugar in your hair.”

“Thank you.”

We arrive around midnight at my apartment complex. He stops the car and steps out after I open my door. He grabs my bag from the back and stands with it in his right hand in front of me.

“Thank you for accepting to go out. I had fun. Well… I should probably let you get inside.”

He says as he moves his hand to hand me my bag. I held the bag in my hand, rather letting it drag on the pavement. I felt disappointed. I spoke up.

“You’re just going to leave? At least give me a hug.”