“Huh? Oh, yes, sorry. Yes, I’m Julia. Are you Dr. Park?”
The tall stranger smiled, and his entire face changed from regal to dashing. Julia was mesmerized. This guy had walked straight off a movie set. He had to have.
“Yes, I am Dr. Park. But you can call me Joshua.”
His English wasn’t terrible. But it didn’t seem like he was going to say much more than this unless he switched to Korean. And...
Tae. That’s why Tae was here. To interpret. She turned to introduce Tae to Joshua, but he’d already reached out a hand and the two of them spoke together in Korean. It was light and both were smiling. Apparently, Tae was going to make the most out of this night and not let it be awkward. Tae didn’t do awkward.
Julia was the master of awkward.
Joshua opened the door for Julia, and Tae and followed them inside. The host walked them to their small table for three by the window and pulled out a chair for Julia as she sat down and pulled the napkin into her lap. When she looked up, she was surprised to find Tae sitting next to her and Joshua sitting in the only remaining seat... across from Tae. This was an awkward setup. The two men were already engaged in what sounded like a friendly chat. Julia tried to focus and listen along, waiting for words she might recognize.
In fact, Tae and the good doctor continued to chat—long, animated sentences punctuated with laughs and nods—as Julia waited for Tae to interpret and bring her into the loop.
“Dr. Park is consulting on a few patient surgeries at UCLA,” Tae finally said to her.
“And?” Julia asked.
Tae looked at her confused.
“That’s it? What else? You guys said like twenty things there. There’s nothing more to convey?”
“You seem incredibly interested,” he said, raising an eyebrow. It felt like an accusation. “He saves lives for a living. Do you want me to share the details? I was trying to spare you.”
Tae’s smile wasn’t his normal good-natured one. Nor was it his wicked, playful one. It was tight and didn’t come with the usual matching sparkle in his eyes. Why was he so annoyed with her?
“I guess not. I was just thinking there’d be more to interpret so I can get to know him better. You both looked like you were talking about fun stuff too,” Julia said. She wanted to know the fun stuff. Her mouth turned down as she frowned at being left out.
“We’re also talking about soccer, and I know you hate sports talk. But if you want me to translate...”
“Ugh, no, I’m fine. Carry on.” That was not the fun stuff. Julia appreciated that Tae spared her. She smiled at Joshua and then turned to Tae. Her smile slowly dropped as his eyes narrowed at her. What was his problem?
Tae just shook his head and turned back to hear what Joshua was saying. In fact, Tae listened for a good five more minutes without interpreting anything to Julia. How much was there to say about soccer?
Julia was bored. She looked around the restaurant at the various couples with their expensive clothes and overpriced handbags.
Julia felt a warmth at her thigh and glanced down to see Tae’s hand on her leg. Was he... feeling her up? On her date? He couldn’t wait untilafterthe date when she was more prepared for this kind of hubba-hubba?
“Your napkin was slipping off your lap. I just readjusted it for you.” His mouth turned up slightly in one corner.
Julia swallowed. She couldn’t think straight while Tae was touching her. She cleared her throat, which got the attention ofboth men. “Um, excuse me. I just had a tickle.” She reached for her water and drank the entire glass.
Tae passed her his untouched glass of water.
Julia was starving. Her stomach growled, and she quickly pressed down on it with her hands, hoping nobody noticed. Tae spared a glance her way, and the corner of his mouth lifted again.
The server finally came and dropped off a bread basket and butter. Yes, thank God, Julia thought as her mouth watered at the smell. Joshua and Tae could continue chatting all they wanted. Julia just needed that beautiful, warm dinner roll to make her happy.
As Joshua continued to talk while Tae dutifully listened, neither made a move for the bread. Julia didn’t want to reach across the table and be rude. But desperate times...
She lifted her hand toward the basket just as Joshua picked it up. She smiled in gratitude, even though he wasn’t actually looking at her, and raised her bread plate. Without missing a beat in their conversation, with the tongs in hand, Joshua picked up a roll and put it on his plate. He then passed the basket to Tae. Julia let out a little whimper.
Tae turned to glance at Julia. “Did you want some bread, Julia?” he asked.
Julia narrowed her eyes at Tae. He knew she damn well wanted some bread. “Yes, please,” she said with a strained smile, mouth possibly drooling.
Tae put a dinner roll on Julia’s plate... and then another... and winked.
