$3.94 Korean convenience store dinner

A smoked-duck and spicy-pork bento tastes awful, with hard rice; he plans to cook using a newly bought pot. A Korean date responds warmly after his confession but remains vague; two dates cancel, while an Italian outing is planned. By week three, noisy low-privacy housing, language anxiety, failed Tinder plans, and dwindling time leave him depressed and directionless.

The Korean adventure is reproducing his recurring isolation, romantic frustration, and indecision.