A winter day in athens, 2024
Jihee and her friend Soonie were sitting upstairs in The Globe, a bar in downtown Athens. Jihee had just arrived in the US to begin her PhD in Art Education a few months prior and was attempting to make connections in her new home. She had downloaded the online dating app Hinge, but had not been impressed by the local prospects.
"What about this one?," Soonie asked Jihee.
"No, he's too young!"
Disregarding her friend, Soonie tapped on the like button anyway.
I received a notification on my phone. A new like on Hinge? Interesting. I analyzed the parameters in front of me: a grad student, jiu jitsu practitioner, and a kindhearted smile, all rolled up into the most gorgeous girl I'd ever seen. I knew I had to impress her! I messaged her immediately, blasting her with a barrage of verbose correspondences. (Jihee later admitted that she didn't know what the heck I was talking about half the time in those initial messages, and honestly, I don't really remember either). I somehow managed to secure a date with her on January 25th, 2024, at Taqueria La Parrilla.
I remember being nervous. I arrived early and got us a table. I faced away from the door because I was afraid I'd mess things up by being awkward in some way. It turned out that my fears were unwarranted. In walked a girl who, impossibly, was even more gorgeous in person. She greeted me with a smile and a big hug before sitting down to order. I managed to navigate my way through our first date. I think Jihee enjoyed getting to talk to me about Korea since I had visited my family when they lived there while I was in college.
Before we parted ways, I managed to secure a second date and a kiss in the parking lot. I convinced her to go to Costco with me for a hotdog and cheese pizza. The night was an enormous success.
Of course, I did not have a Costco membership at that time. But that was part of my nefarious plan! I would get a Costco membership, and once she was in the store, she would visualize us together shopping there with our family and she would be hooked from then on. Jihee had no conception of my dastardly scheme, and maintains to this day that she did not make any connection of that sort between Costco and forming a committed relationship.
I guess it must be a coincidence that we've loved each other ever since.
