서울에서 아직 안 자는데

It was eleven at night. The summer heat of Seoul was still lingering in the air. The crowd in Myeongdong had disappeared together with the pushcarts that lined the walking streets much earlier. But the city had not quite slept yet. I was walking along the street of Myeongdong and a guy came up to me and asked,"찜질방 어디에?"(where to go for Korean sauna?). I replied, "Sorry, I don't know." He walked away.

I could not sleep and my stomach was feeling a bit hungry after a strenuous day of walking. At one corner of the street, a brightly lite building attracted my attention like a moth attracted to a candle flame.

I never thought that coffee, tea, gelato, cake and sandwich could be such a luxurious indulgence. Sitting by the window on the second floor of the cafe and enjoying my gelato and sandwich, the day ended quite satisfyingly. The Myeongdong crowd had left and there was nothing much to gaze out of the window at. But then, I would also not be gazed at by the passer-bys, I thought.