Prologue.

|This isn't a story of happily ever afters or of love conquering all. No, my dearest reader, this is a collection of stories about how two idiots working in a firm ended up in Germany for a wedding. One of them, that one right there, sadly eating stale brötchen after a wedding. Before this moment, that idiot didn't even know what the fuck a brötchen was! Look at it! Absolutely heartbroken? Isn't it sad? And why is he sad, you may ask dear reader? Because he did this to himself.|

October | Berlin, Germany 1997

As the narrator has described…

A young Korean man in his late twenties sat uncomfortably inside a muggy, dingy café somewhere in Neuköln. It was his first time in the country and so far, it hadn't gone as planned. The usually cool, carefully crafted façade of total control had been chipped away by both this trip and his personal life. Being caught in the rain was only the icing on this sopping, sad cake.

It being a Sunday and all, most stores in the country were closed leading him to desperately step into the first enclosed area with an open sign… unfortunately, it was this unwelcoming, damp café. The small bell rang as he swung the door open and inside the minuscule establishment. He felt almost blinded by the sheer lack of taste. Contrasting the dark, stormy climate outside, the café was brightly lit by unpleasant florescent ceiling lights that heightened an almost sickening canary yellow wallpaper. Bright red vinyl tables and mismatched chairs littered around a loud display case that a teen waitress aimlessly leaned against.

The young Mädchen had bob-length green hair and dark makeup around her bright blue eyes. She looked like those goth girls he'd seen at the malls in the States. She loudly masticated a piece of bubble gum, grimacing at the shallow pool of water forming underneath his feet. "Ja?" she asked, annoyed to be having a drenched customer standing around awkwardly. The man hesitated for a moment trying to remember the exact words for this exchange. "Eine… er," he spoke flustered. The girl leaned her head forward as if asking him to hurry up with it. "Tischer four mich, bitter." Her face scrunched but pointed at one of the many tables available. He collapsed onto the chair and made an odd squishing sound as his clothing rubbed against the vinyl. The waitress set down a menu before him and pulled out a notepad. "Ein kaffee—"

"Mit milch?"

"Yes, I mean—ja."

He closed the menu but the waitress continued to stare, unperturbed. Her notepad was still in hand and her pen was unmoving.

"…"

She looked directly into his eyes with a bored expression. The young woman continued to chew on her gum, now popping the air bubbles inside her mouth. He looked back at her, her gaze unmoving. She then glanced at him and then back at the menu. He nodded and opened the piece of paper in his hands. He pointed at a random thing and looked back at her for approval. She nodded and went behind the display case.

She threw down a plate containing some sort of bun-like bread with salad and cheese in front of him before spinning around and walking back to the counter to prepare his coffee. The sounds of grinding beans and piercing, steamed coffee filled the otherwise silent café. The man wiped away the trickles of rainwater cascading down his forehead and out of his line of sight. He picked up the sandwich with both his hands and bit into it. It was hard. Clenching his jaw tightly, he yanked back a piece. He could swear he heard a faint ripping sound as he pulled back on the bread. It was rough and scratched the roof of his mouth. Painfully chewing, he watched as the rain continued to pour outside. 'I should've bought an umbrella,' he thought to himself.

With a heavy clunk, the waitress sat a coffee cup. She tore the page off of her notepad and placed it on the table facing down. "You can pay when you're done," she spoke in almost perfect English. The man glanced up at her stunned as she sauntered away, a small grin decorating her face. 'Of course, she spoke English' he thought to himself.' He took a sip of the coffee and to his surprise, it was actually decent. He set the cup down and tried to hack into the bread once more.

While this meal was surely awful and did not help the situation, the man felt an overwhelming sensation come over him. After all, he'd just ditched a wedding. It was not out of love for those at the wedding party or because of the breakup but something else entirely. It was equal parts disappointment and revulsion. In the pit of his stomach rested a word that he'd resisted saying acknowledging—let alone admit to himself he'd ever felt it. 'Was it because of ?' he asked himself, sensing a tinge of pain strike his chest. Was he in—

|Actually, I think this is a bad time to start this story. Sure this is the beginning of one of the stories but as you have read, it doesn't make any sense. You need the context! But ah, this is a messy story… how the two idiots met is complicated and if we take away one of the stories it doesn't make much sense so, huh, where do we begin? Hmm.. oh, I think I know. Let's start with the first people in the office to date—the two that jumpstarted all the office drama and chaos! So let's begin three years before that.|

September | Seoul, Korea 1994