"Welcome to Seoul. May your stay be as wonderful as your imagination can be." Radio announcement inside the airport.
The place was a vacuumed, well-organized planet with all the inhabitants neatly orientated. Aesthetically well-placed furniture, a hint of control freak energy around every corner. The meticulous nature that surrounded us, was so clean we felt dirty walking around the airport.
It explained why the flight was also so quiet. The announcements on the flight and conversations were like different lullabies, with every person concerned for the next person. Unbelievable!
We woke up well rested, with a hunger for adventure. It made us turn into the first restaurant we found.
Probably not that hungry since we stood outside Myeongga's Garden, arguing who translated it correctly.
"Our stomachs are causing us to argue with each other,'' I said.
''We love to argue and some of us love to be right all the time," Jamie responded.
''Guys, can we just find a table so you can hear proper Korean when I order my food,'' Ashley exclaimed.
The service was spectacular, and the food looked delicious from the tables all around us. My stomach even agreed with a bit of noise. It was time to order our Korean delicacies.
The waiter started naming them all, and we settled for all the researched reviews we could find.
There was Kimchi, Bibimbap, Red rice cakes (tteokbokki), Bulgogi and Korean stew (jjigae). They even sent us Jajangmyeon, Samgyeopsal, and Korean fried chicken like we were ONC ambassadors or something. The waiter was so friendly, that Ashley tried to pay her before we were even done.
Rare stuff. I understood the term, ''We are what we eat,'' I said. We ate like it was our first time out of the womb. A bond being formed between us and the food.
''Try the Bibimbap Ashley,'' I said while eating.
The words thank you had no meaning at that moment. We proceeded to bow our heads with the understanding of why it exists.
Sometimes words speak louder than action, but sometimes action is the absence of words.
It was time to leave the airport and head to our accommodation that my father organized for us. We did check the reviews and could not wait to see more beauty and meet the indigenous people of the country. Nari, our Uber driver, who is also an employee of the hotel, met us.
''Welcome to South Korea. I am the flower that blooms in the East, the water that quenches the desert sun, the light magnified by darkness, but you can call me Naree, which means Lily,'' Nari said.
The urge to bow again had grasped us again, but Jamie went in for a big hug and she allowed him.
''This must be the heaven everyone talks about so much,'' Jamie said.
The ride took some time, but we needed the time to take as many pictures as our memory cards allowed.
"Can you believe it? My cellphone is still in airplane mode,'' I said.
The buildings looked ancient with modern features but the best of all, the colors all around us had us in awe.
A place where nature met modernization.
Finally, we arrived at the place where reviews and pictures did not do justice. The doorman bowed, and we followed suit.
**Welcome to The Myeongdong **
slogan: ''Speak the word only and it will be done''.
The place was exquisite, the ancient temple meets the royal palace.
The man at the front desk awaiting us, dressed in a black suit with a blood red shirt, really stood out amongst the paintings and flowers that occupied the room. A grey beard with marks all over his face like he was a samurai in his past life.
''Welcome to The Myeongdong. My name is Jin and I will show you around our establishment and answer all your questions while Nari will be your tour guide outside this establishment. I can only assist with information about this place,'' Jin said.
''Thank you for clearing all that up, now we know who to run to when we are in trouble,'' I responded.
We made our way to the elevator. Floor 24.
To change our clothes and experience the nightlife.
''I will find my room later. You guys will probably change clothes till you fall asleep,'' Jamie said while laughing.
Upon entering the room, the place had Ashley screaming at the top of her lungs. A dream come true bedroom, living space, and the television room but the bathroom had her gasping for breath. My father or mother never spoke of this place, only when I had questions did they have a quick fix answer. The view outside was amazing while pondering on the small balcony. The place was impeccably clean, giving us the feeling of being the first people ever to stay there.
Something felt off about this whole place, but the look on Ashley's face made me even more worried. A blank stare while she stood at the bathroom door, freaked me out.
''Ashley! Is everything alright?'' I asked.
She looked right at me with that spooky look and screamed as loud as possible.
''Two big mirrors for us with a walk-in closet! I said two big mirrors!'' Ashley shouted.
My face was pale with a smile. The relief soared through my facial expression.
Ashley started unpacking her bags. She brought a lot more clothes than me. It took a while to unpack everything until it was finally my turn.
She opened my first bag and on top of my clothes, there was an object of a triangular nature, a wooden figure, with inscriptions on the back, and a sign unfamiliar to the both of us. I knew that I left it in my room back home.
''What do we have here Seulgi?''Ashley asked.
I had no choice but to tell her the story about my grandmother and that I had no idea what this object was. We both used our cell phones to try and find answers to no avail.
A knock on the door distracted us and I went to open the door with the object still in my hand. It was Jin informing us of dinner that would be served downstairs at our convenience as a welcome meal.
''Please tell me that Bibimbap will be served,'' Ashley asked.
He kept staring at the object in my hand rather and ignored Ashley.
''Do you know what that is?'' Jin asked.
Chapter 1 is completed and ready to submit, first impressions on the storyline?
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GUESS WHAT? (ONC 2024)
FantasyA young girl is summoned by her grandmother on her deathbed, to share one specific story and present her with a gift. A love story with words that fill up all the blank spaces. She sets out to find this love story but does she have enough words to...
