Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy
I was on my way home when my boyfie and I got caught in the rain. We were hungry and initially were in a bad mood because I came late. I would like to state an excuse but it doesn’t matter anyway, Miggy doesn’t like excuses and a plain apology is more than enough for him. This reminds me that excuses do ruin the apology, explicating an idea that Benjamin Franklin firmly believes in. We went across a small alley in which a bit of a rotten building stands with a sign that says “coffee shop upstairs” and without hesitations, entered the first cafe we passed by–this is how we discovered Cafe Noriter.
Noriter 놀이터 is a Korean term for “Playground”. At the first sight of the place, I already felt warm-hearted. I ordered for their usual hot cocoa while Miggy asked for an Iced Mocha. As soon as I saw the design of the cafe, I felt like a kid all over again. Miggy retorted that my attention span went down to 2% again, I was so busy taking down notes and photos of the place I couldn’t even understand what he was saying. What he was saying, I think I already know. That’s how it is between me and Miggy, often times he’s just about to say what I was thinking and we’ll blurt out the same words out loud together and laugh “Let’s have coffee in here again!”. We both loved the playful detail of the place, on how it made us think and feel like a kid again. I loved how the memory of the people who went here was carved in each vandal on the wooden floor and soon enough indeed I found myself doodling too. I also loved how the customers respected the white wall, saving it from random scribbles. For me,this simple act of respect reflected the love of the people who have been here–the people who treasure this place.
But how can you help yourself not to fall in love from it’s childish charms? This place dispatches a little membrane and connects the older you to your younger self. It makes you leave your worries outside and teaches you how to dream again. A dream is born from hope, and this hope sprouts from a bean of optimism–without optimism, there is no dream. I took off my shoes and sat next to Miggy as he tapped the laptop for wifi-connection. We sipped our coffee and shared our laughs and in two little cups we carved our little memories on the ground that touched our feet.
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Soon after we’re finished with our cups, we placed our little memories along with the other little cups sprouting hopes and dreams, and then we left like happy little toddlers on the loose. Even in denying this, I guess that’s how we all are in some way–happy, crazy little toddlers on the loose pretending like grown-ups who know everything when we can’t even fool ourselves. 
Love. Travel. Poetry. Food. Music.
