Foreigner

Landing

It was strange being, across the world. The air had changed, the skyline was flipped. I had one goal in mind. Find my exchange family then the nearest bed. I grabbed a trolly and jammed all my bags in. The wheels squealed down the airport hall as I headed towards a Starbucks.

As I pulled out my phone , all of a sudden I was on the ground. My phone flew out of sight and my eyes where at a knee high level. I looked around seeing the swarm of people surrounding me. My pulse raced, I was startled, confused and increasingly becoming annoyed.

"괜찮아?( gwaenchanh-a?/are you ok?)"

I looked up only to be met with a pair of eyes. His face covered in a black medical mask, from nose to chin. Before I knew it I was yanked away. Further from the masked guy and even further from my things. The crowd moved on, leaving me to recover from the unexpected damage it'd caused. "Great" my arm stung like freshly rug burned flesh. I walked back over to my luggage and scavenged for my phone. I knew this would happen. Everything was going too smoothly.

"Excuse me?" I turned to the sound of broken English. "You hand phone." Again I was met with the same black mask and droopy eyes. I reached for my phone back, and politely bowed. "감사합니다. (Thank you.)" I spoke meekly. I wasn't confident in my Korean at all. Even a simple response proved challenging. I was beginning to feel a little in over my head.

"아 전 정국! (Yah Jeon Jungkook!) *he looked back toward the group of men behind him* At this point my eyes were still fixated on him as he politely bowed slightly. He turned away and I watched him walk. I was in a slight trance as I watched him trudge almost gracefully. Must be the jet-lag.

Moments Later

After a few minutes of wrong turns and confusing signs I finally managed to find my exchange partner. We'd both exchanged our pleasant introductions. She complimented my hair and dark skin, a little evasive background but I couldn't blame her. She had probably been expecting a European type. The tall pretty type with blue eyes and long blonde hair.

"So you're from New York?"  So Hee was her name. She was young and fashion forward. Kind of the ideal expectation of a young modern Korean woman. She fit perfectly with the beauty norm here. The slim figure amble bosom, young fresh face plastered on every poster billboard and headline ad within a 10 mile radius. If you were looking for that 'It Girl' she was it. "Yea. Bronx born and raised." She's Korean-American but spent the majority of her university life in Korea. We caught the first cab to her apartment and I started to feel more at ease. I looked around at the chic two bedroom apartment, equipped with the best of the best amenities. The largest bathroom stocked with the latest advanced skincare products. A kitchen filled with the healthiest of selections. She showed me to my room and helped with my bags.

"I should leave you to get rest, your tutor is coming tomorrow."

"Tutor?"

She nodded and headed toward the door. "It's too improve your Korean. It's part of the program. Night." She smiled and left before I could respond. I busied myself with unpacking, and setting up my new room. The bed here was softer than mine, and cool against the comfortably warm air. I grabbed my phone inspecting the new cracks across the screen.  Again those eyes popped up into my head. His silhouette from behind. I sighed rolling over and closing my eyes. My brain was going haywire. Dwelling on minuscule things was distracting. I pulled the silk blanket over my shoulder. "Silk" I snuggled into the sheets "I could get used to this."