Falling in love in Seoul

Leaving Australia

It was a casual Saturday when I was watching a K-Drama called "Two Worlds Apart". I've been planning on going on vacation in Seoul for a long time now. And at that moment, I texted my friend and asked him, if we wanted to visit Korea together. My friend and I just graduated from High School. We both live in Sydney, Australia. So basically a long way from Seoul. I just checked, it takes about 11 hours to get there. In the crazy mind I was, I texted him if we was up for it. I knew he always takes a long while to reply, so I kept on watching my K-Drama. Lee Jong-Suk is in it. I've seen him on "Romance is a bonus book" before. I absolutely adore him and I wish I'd see him one day and get a photo with him. About an episode later I checked my phone. He already answered - "As you know I am really scared of flying. That's why I barely fly. I especially hate long distance flights as you already know" looking at that text disappointed me. I kind of expected a straight "yes" but considering him never flying for more than 3 hours, I'm not surprised, I understand him. "I know it's a long way, but I just want to get out of here after we graduated. And Seoul has been my favorite destination for a long time. You know how much I love the culture, K-Pop and the K-Dramas. But I understand you. If you're not up for it, maybe I ask someone else or just fly by myself." I thought to myself "alright, you don't have that much friends that would be up for a vacation in South Korea - if he's not up for it, maybe you should really consider flying by yourself." 

But he answered in a different tone 20 minutes later. "You know what? You're right. I want to get out of here too. The problem with Australia is, that you really have to leave the country in order to visit other places. And they all are thousands of kilometers away. But I really wanna travel with you. Count me in, even though I will probably freak out when we are actually on the plane. I finally have to fight my fears in order to visit all the amazing places in the world." Seriously, I was so glad he answered positively back. Traveling alone wouldn't be a problem, but it's always better with the right company. 

We texted and planned the whole day and night. We found a cheap but good airline and a hotel with prestige and booked both. 

A month later, in September, I woke up with the thought that this day is the the day I leave Australia and visit another country. South Korea. I got up, showered, dressed up and did my Make-Up. I put on a beige dress with a white jacket and beautiful white shoes. I straightened my wavy hair and did my full face Make-Up. I was so happy that day. Everything just fit - the vibe, the make up, the hair and the clothes. I got downstairs to my family who consists of my mom, dad and my little sister and we ate breakfast together. Did I mention that I am mixed? My mom is White and my dad is Korean. When my dad moved to Australia a long time ago, he adjusted to the lifestyle pretty quickly. While raising me and my sister, he taught us Korean, so I am fluent in English and Korean. But my dad being adjusted to a white lifestyle, we barely did anything related to the Korean culture. I learned a lot by myself when I discovered K-Pop and K-Drama. 

Another important fact about me is that my family is wealthy - my dad is the CEO of an e-commerce brand. My mom is a professor at a private University in Sydney. I myself went to privat schools my whole life - but I was always reminded that I should be kind and glad that we have money since my dad built the company with his own to hands out of nothing 15 years ago. He didn't have much back then but invested it all in his dream. I was always told to believe in my dreams but I'm not going to lie when I say that my parents had plans of their own for me. They want me to move to the USA and study business or law there. They even enrolled me at Yale and Brown University. This is not what I want at all. My wish is to travel the world for a year and then maybe go to University. But not in the USA. I just don't know what I want to do yet and my parents keep adding unnecessary pressure on me.

My dad offered me to take me to the airport which I was glad about since he didn't work today to spend time with me. I said goodbye to my sister and my mom, who said about a hundred times that I should call and text her everyday and pressured me to stay safe. I assured her I will.

When I got to the airport, my friend was already waiting there. You probably asking yourself how he looks like. He is the usual 185cm(6'1) tall, dark blond, white boy. Most girls fall for him since he is very handsome, too. We've been friends since elementary school and he's one of the few true friends I have. He saw the big Mercedes my dad was driving and immediately recognized us and waved at us. My dad helped me with my luggage and said goodbye to me. He gave me a big hug and basically held the same speech as my mom. I laughed it off and hugged him one last time before me and my friend, whose name is Jonathan, left. 

We checked in, got through security and waited till our plane was ready to board. When we got into our seats, we both suddenly got scared. But we both calmed each other and laughed it off - till the plane started and flew off in the air - and we got a sudden hit in our stomaches. We both screamed for a second but laughed it off immediately afterwards.

I did. I was finally on my way to Seoul.