Seoulmates

Packing

There she was, sitting on the floor surrounded by half-filled boxes. She stared into the beams of light that filtered through the window. Dust motes swirled and floated around, undisturbed by the teenage girl sitting cross-legged next to her bed. Silently they danced and disappeared.

"Ella," a voice from the hallway called. Just like that, the silence was broken and the girl became conscious of her surroundings once again. "Have you finished packing your books?"

The girl looked around at the half-empty boxes that surrounded her, "Uh, not yet." She turned to the bookshelf behind her and sighed. "How I am supposed to choose which ones to take?" She had already packed her absolute favorites, but there were so many more that promised adventure and meeting old friends. She grabbed another series and sealed the box before she can change her mind.

"Now what?" The girl muttered. She stood up to stretch her slightly stiff legs and to consult her to-pack list that she typed up on her tiny blue laptop. "Books, check. Passport/Visa," she turned to look at the manila envelope containing all her documents, "check. Health insurance, check. Extra phone charger, check." She continued muttering through her list until she came to clothes. She hadn't packed any clothes yet.

"Ella, come down for lunch, please." Her mother called.

"Coming," she left her laptop open on her desk and with a short glance behind her, she exited her room and headed for the stairs.

Lunch turned out to be pastrami sandwiches. Ella ate three and downed a glass o f pink lemonade, her favorite beverage. She sat for a few minutes and scrolled through Instagram, liking pictures of kpop bands and announcements of new music videos. It's so weird that I'm going to be there in a few days. She thought to herself.

Ella shook her head and walked back upstairs. She packed a few of her favorite t-shirts and her winter coat. Jeans, shoes, undies, bras and everything else was also rolled up neatly and placed carefully into her huge red suitcase. Winter clothes are most important, since they are most expensive. Summer clothes can be bought cheaply later. It took a few hours, but she finished packing.

After eating dinner, Ella went back up to her bedroom and thought for a while. At least I don't have a dog that I'm leaving behind. At least I don't have a boyfriend that I'm leaving behind. At least I'll be able to listen to my favorite kind of music where ever I go. At least I'll actually learn Korean. At least I'll be away from my annoying brothers. She thought about the things that she'll learn and about the people she'll meet and tried not to think about the people she'll miss. She thought until her thoughts melded with the window. She was staring at the light filtering through the window again.

The sun was starting to set. The white warm, yellow, beams of the afternoon started morphing to oranges and deep reds. Dust motes were no longer visible and her backyard was starting to host oddly-shaped shadows. She sighed and looked at her phone. It was 8:30 and the summer sun was starting to disappear. As the sun sank below the horizon, Ella spaced out. Her consciousness seemed to fade as the sunlight did. Finally snapping out of it, Ella plugged her phone into the charger and sprawled herself out on top of her bed.

Sleep was coming, she could feel it. Her eyes were starting to droop and her thoughts were starting to become incoherent. Just as sleep had her within its grasp, her phone buzzed loudly against the wood of her nightstand. Ella, with her sleep heavy arm patted the nightstand in blind search of her phone. Finally she found it and turned on the bright screen. A Kakao message lit up on the screen. Her friend Yeonkyung messaged her.

Eunji-ya! Eonje kal geoya? (Eunji! When are you going to come?)

With a smile, Ella replied:

8weol 23il kal geoeyo. Kidaehaejwoyo! kkkk (I'm coming on August 23rd. Look forward to it! hahaha)

Eung! Joha. Kidaehago isseo kkk (Okay! Good. I'm excited haha)

Ijeneun jega janeun geoteul dwoel geoeyo. (From now on, I'll be sleeping.)

Ah, keurae. Jalja! (Ah, okay. Sleep well!)

Ella laid her phone back down on the nightstand and quickly fell asleep.

Author's Note: I speak quite a bit Korean, I have put translations in parenthesis next to romanizations of Hangeul. I have also decided to use romanizations rather than Hangeul for your convenience. Please enjoy the rest of this story. 기대해주세요~!