A Love She Deserves

Garachico

"Gracias!" Dara thanked the driver before she closed the door of the passenger seat. She looks around and smiles.

Dara is in Garachico, a municipality in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. She is not supposed to come to that island, but when she was in Madrid, she saw a pamphlet about the town, and it piques her interest. Hence, she is in Garachico.

She checks her phone to check the address of her rented place. She uses GPS to find it. She finds the house quickly and glad that the host of the house speaks English. The host leads her to the room and left her after telling her some information. Her room is cozy, and it has its bathroom. There are a shared kitchen, dining area, and living room. Dara meets an American couple who are celebrating their 10th anniversary through traveling.

After Dara get some rest and freshen up, she decided to explore the town and probably try some local cuisine.

Dara has been all over Europe for the past six weeks. She went to Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. Spain was her next stop, and she is planning to visit Portugal, Ireland, Iceland, and Turkey soon.

Dara is walking in Plaza de la Libertad at that moment. It's almost sunset, and children are playing on the plaza. Two were chasing each other, heading directly to Dara so, she avoided them, but she bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry," Dara said in Korean, "I mean, Lo Siento," she apologizes to the man. The man looks up to her and smiles. "It's okay. No worries," he said in his thick English accent that somehow sounds like Korean. Dara looks at the man. He is tall, a bit tan with a nice built. He is wearing a plain shirt, black pants, and sneakers. He is carrying an eco-bag with vegetables in it. He looks Asian, but some Asian somehow looks Hispanic. Maybe a Filipino?

The man is staring at her, too, and smiles. "You're Korean?" the man asks in Korean.

Dara was surprised, but she smiles. "Yes," The man nods and looks around before looking back at her, "You must be a tourist," he held his hand out for Dara. "I'm Yoo Ah In,"

Dara shook his hand, "Park Sandara," she let go of his hand.

"Bienvenido a Garachico," Ah In said in his Spanish accent. Dara smiles awkwardly and nods. It's been a while since she interacts with a Korean person aside calling Young Bae and Seon Woong from time to time. It's refreshing, and it makes her miss her brothers and South Korea.

"So, what brings you on this island?" he asks.

"Just a vacation. I saw a pamphlet of it in Madrid so, I decided to visit," Dara explains while waving her hand in the air. Ah In nods.

"You must be missing Korean food, huh?" he teases her. Dara chuckles and agrees with him.

"Yeah. The last time I ate Korean food was kind of disappointing," she shrugs and grins sheepishly. Ah In chuckles. "How about as a welcome gift, let me treat you a meal," he suggested.

Dara blinks, "Oh, no. You don't have to," she shook her head.

"I insist. My wife and I own a restaurant nearby. We serve Asian foods, mostly Korean, of course," he said. Dara smiles upon hearing they serve Korean food.

"I will pay a fortune for a kimchi jigae and potato jeon," she mutters.

"Perfect! I think my wife is cooking 'kimchi jigae' right now. I could make a quick potato jeon for you," Ah In said. "Let's go?"

Dara nodded and followed Ah In. As they head to Ah In and his wife's restaurant, Dara found out that Ah In met his wife in Madrid two years ago. After a month, they start dating, and three months later, they got married. They opened their restaurant last year, and it's the only restaurant that serves Korean food on the island of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.