Finest Jin

Noona Revealed

"The night is beautiful!" So was the man at my side. We strode along the Han River trail, the chilly night air trying to wiggle under our face masks. 

"Are you from America?" He asked, politely turning his head to hear my answer.

"Yes, but not the U.S. I am from Canada." I was careful to use honorifics in my responses to him. He was doing the same. He hadn't yet asked the dreaded question, but I already knew I was a Noona to him. Would that information send him screaming to the hills? I hoped not. 

"Are you from Seoul?" He shook his head.

"Gwacheon." I asked about his birth place and childhood. He spoke candidly, but cautiously. I caught the gist of most of what he said, but missed many of the finer points. I listened attentively just the same. I was taking Hangul lessons and trying desperately to improve but there was still so much I had to learn. He asked about my life and it was pretty uneventful. I gladly recounted my family history in summary; schooling, degree, growing up in Canada. 4 brothers, 3 sisters...this made his mouth fall open. I laughed. 

"I forgot, large families are pretty rare in Korea." He nodded. 

He was leading me off the trail now and we slid carefully down an embankment until we were below the main ground level, out of reach of the wind. He paused, looking at me. I grinned. 

"This is a great spot." I sat down and patted the earth next to me. He sat down. Here we were sheltered from the elements and prying eyes. It was warmer with the wind unable to touch us. The river stretched out in front of us, dappled with the colourful city lights. "Wowwww..." I breathed. "It is so beautiful here." Jin seemed pleased. He was watching me from the corner of his eye, still not at ease. He pulled his knees up and hugged them. Like a little boy. He had led me here but was still not quite the confident persona he projected on stage. I hugged my knees in imitation of him. We sat quietly. I stared admiringly at the scene in front of us, content to just listen to his breaths. He was relaxing. Jins' shoulders were starting to lower to a less defensive stance. Several times he turned to me as though to say something, but then thought better of it. He was shy! I had never suffered from shyness, but was determined not to overwhelm the poor guy.

"Orion!" I pointed up at the sky. SeokJin followed my gaze. I lay back, pointing to the constellation. "There is his belt...see those really bright stars all in a line? And there are his shoulders...really broad, like yours." I added a smile in his direction to hit the compliment home. He understood. I watched his eyes crease with pleasure and he lay back beside me. "There's the Big Dipper." I gestured to the clump of stars, tracing its' outline with my fingers. Jin squinted up, trying to see it. The stars were dim in the brightness of the city,

"The Dragon." said Jin, sliding his large hands across the sky. 

"Dragon?" He nodded, showing me the head, body and tail. I took the opportunity to slide a little closer to see from his angle. When our bodies touched, he paused, then continued. "Right there?" I followed the pattern, excited to see new pictures in familiar skies. He agreed, further detailing the star design. "Wow. I have never seen the Dragon before..."

"White Tiger!" His enthusiasm was infectious. I couldn't help but laugh. I was getting a tour of the Asian skies from the perfect nesting spot with the perfect nesting partner. I followed his guidance to pick out the Tiger, the Tortoise, the Crane...I showed him the Seven Sisters, Pegasus, Ursus Major...and how to trace the handle of the Big Dipper to the North Star. 

"That is the star that can always point you to home. " Jin looked at me solemnly. 

"You are a long way from home." I clasped my hands and set them on my stomach.