A Full Contact List and Still Eating Alone
6/25/2026
2 min read
#OnMaTuTu
“Tú has group chats for everything — but at 7pm, sitting with a takeout box in a tiny room, no one thinks to ask if he's eaten.”
— A Full Contact List and Still Eating Alone
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7pm. Tú opens his takeout box, sets it on the desk, and stares at the wall.
A 15-square-meter room. The air conditioner hums steadily. No other sound.
Tú has been working as an accountant in Saigon for exactly one year. He's not someone without friends — his phone is full of group chats: the office group, the college friends group, the hometown crew. Messages come in, too. Mostly reaction stickers, memes, or someone asking for his bank number to split last week's lunch.
No one asks "have you eaten yet?"
Tú scrolls TikTok while he eats. Everyone seems to be out in groups — full tables, cold beers, laughter. He swipes past without stopping.
Then he opens a food delivery app. Stares at the empty cart. Closes it.
Not because he's not hungry — but because ordering more food to eat alone won't change anything about the night. Once this takeout box is done, so is the evening.
Back home, his mom would call his name from the kitchen at 6pm. No texts needed, no scheduled dinner — just walk downstairs and there'd be food, and someone to sit with. Tú didn't used to think much about that.
Tonight, he does.
Since moving to the city, no one has ever just casually texted "hey, eaten yet?" — not because he has no friends, but because everyone is wrapped up in their own lives. Everyone's busy. Everyone's a little alone, in their own way. No one says it out loud.
Tú finishes the takeout, washes his chopsticks, sits back down at his desk. Opens the monthly report. Keeps going.
Not because the loneliness has passed — but because tonight is still here, and tomorrow will come anyway.
"Eaten yet? I'm asking you. Even cold rice counts."
Do you ever have evenings where eating alone feels heavier than usual?
How did this story make you feel?