Worried I might run into him in front of our friends
On a rainy evening, an invitation to a mutual friend’s gathering arrives. Jiwoo sits in the counseling room with the reply box open, after hearing her ex will…
The night Jiwoo gets an invitation, she talks with her counselor about her hesitation to run into her ex at a gathering with mutual friends.
On a rainy evening, Jiwoo gets an invitation to a weekend gathering in a group chat with mutual friends. One friend says her ex will be there too, and another replies that they’re already going. Unable to answer the invitation, Jiwoo comes to see Yeonhwa and talks about how she swallows her own words first, afraid of making anyone uncomfortable. Yeonhwa doesn’t decide for her. Instead, she asks Jiwoo what scene comes to mind first when she thinks about the gathering.
When you’re unsure about meeting mutual friends
Sometimes the first thing on your mind isn’t whether to go, but whom you might see there and what that encounter might be like.
When you meet up with mutual friends, what scene comes to mind first?
The moment she wondered whom she might make uncomfortable before answering the invitation stayed with me. I think Jiwoo was paying more attention to how her words might sound among her friends than to whether she wanted to go. If you’ve been through something similar, you can tell me about it too. We can start with the part that’s stayed on your mind.
Scenes
- 01 · The night the invitation arrived Invitation notification — On Friday evening, an invitation to a weekend gathering appears in a group chat with mutual friends.
- 02 · One name He’s coming too — A friend writes in the group chat, “I’m going too! Minjae says he’ll be there.” Jiwoo spots Minjae’s name on the guest list.
- 03 · What she worried about first Who might feel uncomfortable — Jiwoo sits across from Yeonhwa, still not having replied to the invitation. She worried first that her friends might feel awkward if she said she was going. Jiwoo: I’m afraid everyone will feel uncomfortable if I say I’m going. Yeonhwa: Jiwoo, when you picture walking into the gathering, who do you see yourself running into first?
- 04 · The name left hanging Before her friends — Jiwoo says she’s afraid she’ll see Minjae first if she goes. At the end of saying she’s worried her friends might feel uncomfortable, Minjae’s name slips out. Jiwoo: Honestly, I don’t know what to say if I see Minjae. Yeonhwa: You mentioned Minjae after talking about your friends. What’s the first thing that comes to mind about what you might say next?
Stories by Yeonhwa
- Yeonhwa
- On the way home from the work dinner, I ask the cards whether I should change jobs.
- After the meeting, I find myself thinking about that kindness again.
- Whenever I come home from a holiday gathering after being introduced to someone, I feel like I’m not enough.
- When I get back to my desk after a meeting, I remember how we used to laugh at the beginning.
- After the work dinner, they go quiet, and I keep trying to start a conversation.
- On payday, I sent my heart, but got a joke back
- At the company dinner, I wonder if I can let go of an old habit.
- My heart feels torn on the way to work