‘Quick! Come on, Max,’ shouts Zieg, grabbing her boyfriend's hand before she starts to rush toward the pedestrian lights, crossing the main road.

‘I’m with you,’ replies Max, alongside Zieg and matching her stride for stride.

The young couple reach the roadside, where Zieg gazes intently at the red pedestrian light. Then Max turns on hearing …

Whoosh! …

To see a large, all-black motorbike and rider dressed in black leather and a black crash helmet blast past at high speed, less than a meter in front of them.

‘Wow!’ shouts Zieg, quickly taking a step back, shocked by the roar of the powerful machine.

Max also takes half a step back as he turns to face Zieg.

‘I’ve got you!’ says Max, stretching to put an arm around his girlfriend’s waist to steady her balance while straining his neck to get a look at the motorbike licence plate.

‘Maniac!’ shouts Zieg toward the speeding machine while shaking slightly because of her near miss.

Zieg reaches for Max’s hand again before taking a small, forward step toward the pedestrian crossing.

I don’t want to be late,’ she says, as a shiver runs down her spine, making her breath a little faster as she returns her focus to Max and her friends.

‘Jeez, I haven’t seen you this excited in a while,’ says Max, before looking left and right at all the speeding traffic directly in front of them, only now with a firm grip on Zieg’s hand.

‘I can’t wait to see Nari and Dal. It’s been years since we last met,’ says Zieg, edging closer toward the kerb.

Max looks at the red light, and as soon as it changes from orange to green, he feels a sharp tug on his arm as Zieg starts to dash forward.

‘No!’ shouts Max.

Before! …

‘Now!’ he adds quickly.

The couple dash across the main road past six lanes of stationary traffic, resulting in several people walking in the opposite direction to give stern and disapproving looks along with grunts of annoyance as they sidestep or dodge the quick-moving young couple.

Zieg and Max reach the opposite side of the busy main road and turn right.

Then Rip! …

Zieg snags her t-shirt on a long bent bolt jutting out as it holds two pedestrian steel railings together.

‘Dam!’ shouts Zieg as she stops running to inspect the damage.

‘Come on! I’ll buy you a new one,’ says Max, tugging Zieg’s hand.

‘You want to meet Nari and Dal, remember!’ he adds.

Zieg agrees to Max’s offer before they run again toward Zoo-Zoo’s gaming arcade, a popular hangout for many local and international gamers and slot machine players.

‘There they are, I think?’ shouts Zieg, breathing heavily as she and Max near a tall, multi-coloured, brightly lit building.

Max is also breathing faster, and he’s none the wiser because he’s never met Zieg’s friends before, but he has seen their pictures on Zieg’s smartphone.

‘Hey! Nari, Dal!’ shouts Zieg, now stationary, while jumping up and down and waving both hands wildly in the air as she tries to keep a line of sight on her friends through the crowd of bustling people.

Max scans the crowds directly ahead, hoping to see two people waving back at them. And sure enough, a young Korean couple not too far in front are waving in Zieg’s direction.

‘Yes! Nari, Dal,’ shouts Zieg again.

‘Come on, Max,’ she continues, grabbing his hand before dashing toward her friends.

Nari and Dal also run toward Zieg through the crowded pedestrian walkway, and as the four young people meet, their emotions burst into handshakes, hugs, and quick introductions for both men. 

‘You're strong,’ says Max, shaking hands with Dal whilst looking him in the eye.

‘And you have a firm handshake, my friend,’ replies Dal, who was born in Korea yet speaks fluent English, having learnt from an early age and before playfully slapping Max on the arm at shoulder height.

‘Ha!’ replies Max, now smiling at Dal. ‘I like your style,’ he adds, gently nodding at him.

‘Yeah! This should be fun!’ remarks Dal.

‘To right! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you guys for a while,’ replies Max, flicking his eyes toward Zieg before Nari, then back at Dal.

‘Sweet!’ says Zieg. ‘Look at these two. It looks like they’re long-lost brothers already?’ she adds in her native Korean language.

‘Yeah! Boys will be boys,’ replies Nari, also in her Korean dialect and smiling firstly at Zieg before the men.

‘That means I’m at a disadvantage,’ says Max, raising his eyebrows while nodding.

‘Don’t you speak Korean?’ asks Dal.

‘No, sorry,’ says Max.

‘I’m not that clever,’ he adds, making Zieg, Nari and Dal laugh out loud.

‘No problem,’ says Dal, now calmer. ‘I’ll tell you when the women are talking about you in Korean,’ he adds, tapping Max lightly on the shoulder.

‘Thanks, man,’ says Max, already starting to like Dal and Nari.

‘Yeah!’ smiles Nari. ‘They’re just like brothers,’ she adds, this time in English because she also learnt English when she was young, resulting in Zieg smiling as Max and Dal laugh.

‘Shall we?’ asks Nari, continuing in English as she turns to walk in the direction of Zoo-Zoo’s.

The guys set off toward the popular gaming arcade in a flurry of fast-paced walking, conversation and laughter amidst the hustle and bustle of Seoul city life.

‘Now that’s impressive!’ says Max, standing with hands on hips in front of a pair of double doors while looking up at the exterior of Zoo-Zoo's tall building.

‘Yeah, it’s famous around here,’ says Nari, grinning at Max’s reaction.

‘Come on,’ says Dal, heading inside.

The two women follow Dal as Max flicks his head to his right because of the roar of a powerful machine and the glint of a black crash helmet, which catches his eye.

Max notes the black motorbike with its dressed-in-black rider accelerating off at speed before turning left into the traffic from the road alongside Zoo-Zoo’s.

‘Jeez! There are plenty of black motorbikes around?’ mutters Max before following the guys into the gaming arcade.

Inside Zoo-Zoo’s, Max catches up with the rest of the guys, and his amazement is evident again as he stands alongside Zieg, slowly turning on the spot ...