What makes me happy today?

After I finished my touring at Hapjung, I hurried to take a subway to get to another place, Nokburn, where I was scheduled to meet another student of mine at 1;30. But I was given some free time -about one and half hour left- until I resumed my task. All I had to do now was find a good place to sooth my empty stomach, the one which charged me reasonable price for a meal. I don’t care about taste, but rather about quantity and price. One of my rules is not to exceed five thousand won for a meal, if possible and to avoid meat or fast food. To meet both at the same time, I had tried to find a proper one on my mind searching the whole area near the station, and I did one two blocks away in the end. It is a small cafeteria in front of the Nokburn Office that serves a various kinds of fusion food. I concluded that for prices, the dishes they served were not bad in taste and quality. The problem is that its inner space was too narrow for the diners to enjoy leisurely lunch during a short break, so some could not choose but to wait in line both inside or out side, if he or she got a chance. Sweating heavily, I stepped inside and noticed a table with four seats in the corner, where a young man was enjoying his lunch, his eyes fixed on a mobile phone. He didn’t give any glance at me, engrossed in the two businesses-one is chewing and the other scanning his mobile phone. In my eyes, he even seemed to enjoy the right to take up the table independently of the waiting line. I asked the hostess, “May I share the table with him?” Her answer was firm and short. “No, sorry.” At the moment, I was at a loss for my words, curious about why. I thought to myself that “Four persons on the table originally designed for 4” are suitable for their policy. Though I found an empty table after a while, I consisted in waiting for him to stand up. Not until a little longer wait was I able to take the table for my lunch. No sooner had I started eating than a family of three approached my table and was waiting in front of my table as I was. The wife was holding a small kid by the hand and the husband kept silence saying something by his look. I looked up at her, saying “Why don’t you share the table with me?” They did not lose any moment to give me bright smiles and took their seats. Then I saw the hostess walking toward me and explained the previous situation, “The guy said that he didn’t want to have anyone with him while eating.” I had no intention to blame him for his selfish behavior. What I real want to say about it is that he should have been more considerate about me and the place. Probably, the cafeteria seemed to compromise food prices for more customers. The inner space is so limited and stuffy that it has no merit to draw customers. Their choice was price rather than taste. Of course, they had good taste for me. The guy used the cafeteria so inefficiently in my eyes by misunderstanding his table for his own right because he came first. I was very sorry about his attitude. In my view, the guy was certain he was smart enough to silence me and the hostess, but he never knew how to mix with others, who might be his customers or clients by accident some day. The moment I stood up from the table, the husband returned from the cupboard with three glasses of water and laid one down before me without saying a word. He seemed to have wanted to return my favor that way. His little consideration clearly emptied my heavy mind of a cloud, which simultaneously alleviated my irritations from the weather. He who knows how to move others with a little kindness can, I am sure, survive today’s tough economic environments. Our happiness in life somewhat depends on an ability to read others’ minds not familiarity with them.