"So, what am I making for New Year's? Any ideas? Something universal, right? Should it be a stew? They're predicting that it'll be chilly out, but no bad weather, really. Still, it should be a food that sticks to your insides. People need that." 

Miyuki had out a pen and a pad of paper on our counter, trying to come up with ideas. New Year's was only a few days away, coming this Sunday. 

"Make soba. My mom always makes soba. I bet everyone wants soba on New Year's," Nikki said, leaning on the counter with his fist on his cheek in laziness. There wasn't many people to serve right now. He didn't have anything to do, like Miyuki. She'd finished her last order this morning, so she'd wandered in here by noon and hadn't left. She'd been surviving on lattes and macarons for the past couple of hours. 

"Well, not everyone coming is Japanese." She was writing it down, though. 

"That's true. Who's coming? What do Thai people eat for New Year's?" Nikki was watching her write.

It made me think of Gyeong-Wan. What do Korean people eat for New Year's? 

"Call Prin. Ask him."

"Nah, he'll talk my ear off. I'll call Somchai."

He immediately started doing that, and Miyuki became preoccupied with her ideas. I saw her write down gyoza. Chicken and vegetable gyoza sounded nice, as did shrimp. But, it was bothering me that I didn't know what Korean people eat on New Year's. It'd be easy enough to ask Gyeong-Wan when he came in today. 

Memories of this morning. Him taking out my baba au rhums. Just like my daydream, what I wished he would do when I was by myself and overwhelmed in my kitchen. He'd taken care of it just like I dreamed... No questions, no need to tell him to do it. He'd done it like a professional, incredibly. He'd also picked up on my teaching him to cut the chocolate correctly, too. There'd been no need to show him a second time. 

"Huuuh? That's too complicated. We can't cook that. How about you bring it? Like a potluck. I bet that's easier," Nikki was saying. He covered his phone a little bit and leaned in further to Miyuki. "He's talking about 'flower water' this, and 'mango infused' that. That's too complicated, right?" 

"Don't be rude. I'm sure we can figure it out," Miyuki half scolded him. "Don't forget, you're talking to an elder."

Nikki hung his head a little bit in acknowledgment of this. He went back to his phone. "Somchai, Miyuki says she can figure it out. Can you find us a recipe? Uh huh. Oh, good. Yeah, send it to her phone. What else should we be aware of? Oh. Yeah, we want to include everybody for the New Year's feast, make them feel welcome. That's why we're asking."

Miyuki's pen poked her paper a few times in thought. "Does the grocery store have mandarins? They must, right? I want to make sure everyone who comes gets two. We need a lot of them."

That made me think, too. "Maybe I should make an mandarin themed cake. I know it's not traditional, but I think we're going away from that. Everyone likes mandarins on New Year's. I think that brings us all together, something we have in common." 

Miyuki gasped. "Yes, that would be very good. Oh, but can you make nian gao, too? That's a dessert that Chinese people eat on New Year's. I think it would be nice to include it." Her pen pointed at me.

Nian gao? "What is it?" I'd have to write down her ideas, too. I brought out my phone to write it down on my notepad app. My finger hovered over my phone, but...

"It's a sticky rice cake. Sweet cake. It's kind of similar to mochi, I guess."

I was already shaking my head. I might know about how to make western sweets, but I didn't know much about making Asian ones. It was best to leave it up to the professionals, if we didn't want to offend anyone. I knew just the person. "Ask Yuko if she knows how to make it. I wouldn't want to mess it up and disappoint anybody."

"That's a great idea. I'll write that down. I'll ask her later." Her pen quickly scribbled it down, but I was shaking my head again. She didn't see it.

"Ask her as soon as possible. I don't want her to strain herself in getting prepared for it. I'll go over there, too, and help her prepare as much as I can." Now that I was thinking about it more, maybe it wasn't a good idea to ask her. But, these sticky rice cakes would be a small batch like she was used to making these days. Maybe it would be okay, but I had to take care to make sure she'd be okay making them. 

"Sounds good. I'll go over there today."

"Okay."

Nikki was off the phone now and had assumed his position again, his fist under his chin. "Are we going to the shrine again this year? I wonder what my fortune will be. I don't really believe in it, but-"

"You definitely believed it last year when you got the worst kind you can get," Miyuki snorted as she was still writing. 

He stood up straight. Oh, here we go. I tried to hide my smile with my hand. "Well, it was the worst one! Of course I had to get it changed! Anyone would be upset about that!" 

"You always try to act so cool, but you're just as traditional as the rest of us," Miyuki sighed, rolling her eyes, as she picked up her cup. It was almost empty. She'd need to be topped off soon. "Mr. 'my mom always makes soba on New Year's'." She snorted into her cup as she sipped.

"Well. Well, that's..." He had nothing to say to that. I tried not let out my giggle, or he might try to defend himself from me, too. The idea just made me want to laugh harder. He stuck his tongue out at her instead and took her cup from her hand, going to make her a new latte before she could ask. She stuck her tongue out at him, too, really getting into it.

After a while, we were quiet. My mind wandered to Gyeong-Wan again. He definitely wasn't going home for New Year's. It was a relief. He wouldn't have to deal with his family and friends. It sounded like they had a lot of questions about his new life, and he wasn't answering them. I was glad he wouldn't have to deal with that in person, but sad for him since he couldn't go home. 

Then, there was my own home life. I wouldn't be going home, either. My mom wouldn't want to see me. She wasn't mad at me for what she called my "life choices", but she didn't agree with them. They made her uncomfortable. She'd likely go over to her friends' houses in turn and sit down with them for a chat, bringing them little treats as gifts. She talked to me about it sometimes. We never talked about me, only what she was doing. She didn't want to know about my life, and therefore we didn't talk much. 

At least Gyeong-Wan and I had unfriendly families in common. It made me feel less alone. He'd probably understand my problems if I felt comfortable enough to open up more about them. He definitely wouldn't judge me. I got that feeling strongly. 

Gyeong-Wan at the New Year's feast at French Cup. Would he feel comfortable here? I had to find out what kinds of traditions Korean people have for New Year's. I took my phone out, searching before I fully knew what I was doing. 

By the time Gyeong-Wan came in around 3PM, I knew what I was going to do. It was too easy. I'd only searched on my phone for five minutes before I found them. Korean honey cookies, or yakgwa. A flour based cookie pastry hybrid. It was right up my alley. I'd had no idea there could be such a dessert from Korea. 

As he hugged me in the doorway, I imagined his face when he'd see them on New Year's. How happy he'd be, maybe like a little kid. I wanted him to feel that way. Happy on New Year's. He'd been so sad lately. I wanted to make him happy again. 

He felt so good in my arms. He was smiling. He'd come in with the fresh air from outside. He was fresh air all by himself. I didn't even care that the front door being open was letting in the cold. 

I'd make sure he'd have a good time on New Year's. It was my secret promise.