Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 3.

Here is where the story starts getting more and more fun! I hope you’re enjoying the journey!

“형!” Hwan Soo shouted at the man who was truly more like a brother than a friend to him.

Jung-hyun, his best friend, flashed a million-watt smile. It was good to see his friend’s face after so long. Four years. Four long years since he’d actually seen Jung-hyun in the flesh.

“Hwan Soo-a! 오랜만이다,” Jung-hyun said, walked over to Hwan Soo and gave him a big brotherly hug.

“For sure. Too long if you ask me. You look great, 형,” Hwan Soo said, repeating his earlier greeting.

“나?” Jung-hyun gave himself a quick once over before glancing back at Hwan Soo. “Look at you! Clearly acting is treating you well.” Jung-hyun strolled to the counter to order coffee. While tea might’ve been the lifeblood of most Koreans at one time, coffee had taken over that position in recent years. Not only just for the taste or style, but because of the artwork and colors some baristas had created for their customers.

Hwan Soo loved this particular café because of its quiet atmosphere. Most people were there to get work done, keeping their heads down in a book or a computer. It was the perfect place to keep him anonymous. If no one looked, no one would recognize him. Not that many would as he had yet to make it big.

The café had stark white walls which caused the light from the large floor to ceiling front windows to brighten the whole place even though it was tucked into a narrow alleyway. A long black bar counter had several small, yet ornate, flower arrangements lining the middle, while shorter circular tables scattered through the café had black and white tile tops, matching the whole clean aesthetic of the place.  

The smell of the different coffees brewing blended and instantly woke any sleepy soul. Pastries that looked more like works of art than something that should be eaten, lined the small glass shelves near the stark black counter.

As they approached the counter, the young man at the register bowed and said, “안녕하세요.”

Hwan Soo reciprocated the kind hello and added his order. “커피 이 인분

주세요.”

“내,” the server confirmed and at Hwan Soo’s nod, quickly got to work on making the coffees for them.

“How is my famous best man doing?” Jung-hyun said, resuming their conversation once the barista handed them their order.

“야, no one knows me. I’m still only a small time actor, second lead material. No one wants to hire me for a lead,” Hwan Soo said, downtrodden. Not that being second lead was the worst thing. He was just the guy who never got the girl.

“I remember when you thought no one would hire you at all, but look at how far you’ve gotten. I’ve seen your name pop up more and more on the fan sites lately. I’m sure you’ll hit it big soon. Have you auditioned for anything new recently?”

“Yeah, it’s a lead role and casting calls end today.  But as much as I want it, I haven’t heard anything yet. If I were to get it, filming would start this month and I know this is an important time for you. I want to be here to support my biggest fan for his wedding,” Hwan Soo explained as they made their way to one of the small tables in the corner which looked out to an almost empty, hidden alleyway.  Unlike in other countries, in Korea one could usually find some of the best food, bars, and even cafés on the side streets that one stumbled upon. That’s how Hwan Soo had found this go-to coffee shop, a book store, and a bar.

“Thanks. I appreciate you being there for me,” Jung-hyun said and clapped him on the back.

“More importantly, where is the unlucky lady who agreed to marry you? I still can’t believe you, the man who swore women were nothing more than a distraction from success, will soon be tied down. And that you were the one to suggest it,” Hwan Soo joked.

“You’ll officially meet her tonight. She’s picking up her maid of honor, Maria, at the airport right now.” Jung-hyun said as he sipped on his coffee and let out a small moan of appreciation.

“I’m sure they are going to have a lot of stuff to catch up on before the wedding, so they’re going to enjoy their time together. Just like us,” Hwan Soo said and smiled.

“About that…” Jung-hyun’s face contorted as he struggled to form words, obviously nervous to break whatever news it was to his friend.

“Spit it out, 형,” Hwan Soo said, impatient.

“Maria doesn’t really understand how Val and I started dating and we don’t want her to know just yet. Val wants to tell her at some point on this trip, but she isn’t ready. So you need to keep our secret.”

Hwan Soo knew the way that his friend’s relationship had started had been unorthodox, but nothing that was unheard of. Having read enough drama scripts, he recognized that his friends had fallen in love in a fairly cliché trope. Wealthy man borrows not so wealthy woman to help him out of a jam and suddenly they fall in love. If Hwan Soo could pitch it to one of his director buddies, they’d eat it up.

“Why is it that she doesn’t know? I mean if they’re best friends…”

“As Val put it, Maria is the type who wouldn’t be thrilled that her best friend was ‘used to further a man’s place in the world’,” Jung-Hyun said.

“That’s a very negative view of what actually happened. It wasn’t really like that,” Hwan Soo argued. Was Val’s friend really that stubborn that she wouldn’t try to understand how her best friend had fallen in love? How could someone claim to be her friend at all?

“Unfortunately Maria has a skewed view of romance and falling in love.”

“What woman doesn’t?” Hwan Soo joked, thinking it was true though. Except for his last ex, the women he dated had mapped out their entire future from day one. Most of the women were blind dates his mom had set him up on for the sole purpose of becoming his wife.

His ex, however, was the one woman who’d broken his heart by not wanting more and his heart was still on its road to repair.  She had been the one woman he had wished to plan a future life with and when she had left, he no longer had any interest in that kind of future. Staying single was his best bet at enjoying life.

“Just please, keep it a secret for now,” Jung-hyun begged.

“Fine,” Hwan Soo reluctantly agreed for the benefit of his friend. But when he looked over at Jung-hyun, who was sipping his coffee slowly, thoughtfully, Hwan Soo knew there was something else he needed to say.

“I know there’s more so please spit it out,” Hwan Soo demanded.

“How did you…” Jung-hyun started to say, but didn’t need to finish the question. Having been friends since they were four years old made it easy to read each other. “I need your help with Maria.”

“Help how?”

“Since she doesn’t speak or read Korean, you’ll need to help her get around when Val and I are expected to do wedding planning. You’re essentially going to have to be her lifeline.”

“Lifeline? Isn’t that just another name for a babysitter?” Hwan Soo sipped the bitter coffee, which left both a literal and figurative bad taste in his mouth. “How often are you going to be dealing with all this wedding stuff?”

“It’s gonna be pretty packed with all the things Val needs to learn herself, and I don’t want her having to go it alone. Even though my parents have accepted the marriage, I don’t trust them to not try something to get her to run away. Not that she would, but I don’t want them to give her a reason to do it,” Jung-hyun explained.

Hwan Soo knew Jung-hyun’s family was very traditional. Hwan Soo’s family was pretty similar, but he’d never broken the rules by dating a non-Korean girl because from what he had seen, foreigners were loud, obnoxious, had few manners, and didn’t dress all that well. Fashion being as important to Korean life as being well off and respecting elders.

After four years apart from the man who was like a brother, Hwan Soo had been sure that he was going to have time to catch up with his friend, reminisce, and make some new memories. Now that was being totally thrown away and replaced by having to hang around with an American girl.

But for Jung-hyun, Hwan Soo would put on his best acting face and seem happy to do what his friend asked. “I’m sure that if she’s as great as Val, it’ll be just fine.”

His one hope was that Val’s friend wouldn’t turn out to be like the typical tourists that caused his skin to crawl.

When Maria entered the bar where Val had mentioned they were meeting Jung-hyun, all Maria could think was, “Damn.” It wasn’t like any bar she had ever been to back home. The ceiling was covered, literally every square inch, in empty liquor bottles that had been repurposed with twinkling lights. The tables and chairs were all mismatched furniture, and the bar itself looked like it couldn’t make up its mind between bougie, noir, or hipster.

On the wall behind the counter the liquor was stacked high on shelves with a library ladder the bartenders had to use to climb for the literal top shelf liquor. Above the bar was an insanely ornate chandelier that was easily six-foot-tall.

Unlike the mismatched furniture, the bartenders wore matching vests, striped shirts, and bow ties. The waitresses were all gorgeous, thin, model-esque, swaying their hips in tiny black dresses that hid none of their curves.

When Maria finally took her eyes off the décor and staff, she noticed a handsome man waving at them and recognized Jung-hyun the second she saw him. He was always well dressed, even when casual. Even though he looked like he’d just thrown on his oversized, large knit, electric blue sweater, pale blue ripped jeans, and Timberlands, she knew his outfit was carefully planned. His hair, black as the night sky, slightly wavy, hung just above his brow, in a bowl-like fashion, but clearly styled to appear that way. Tall and lean, he had sharply a chiseled face that accented high cheekbones and a square jaw.  Small black studs dotted his lobes and gleamed in the dim light in the bar. Looking around at the other men in the space, she checked out whether the men were dressed in suits, or casual. Whether they had dyed hair or basic black. Maria realized that men in the U.S. seemed to lack something Korean men had down to a science. Confidence in style.  

Val’s face lit up when she caught her soon-to-be husband’s eye. His face brightened just the same as she ran over to gently peck him on the cheek and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“Maria, I’d like you to formally introduce you to my fiancé Park Jung-hyun.” Val’s smile went nearly ear to ear. The excitement was evident in her voice. Seeing her friend this happy was really all Maria wanted.

She walked over to him with her arms wide and was about to give him a big congratulatory hug when there was a harsh tug on the collar of her shirt.

“What the-” She choked and spun around to see who the asshole was that had caused her to stop dead.

The young Korean man was handsome, taller than a redwood tree with a chiseled jaw line and plump heart shaped lips. He was dressed in an ornately embroidered denim jacket, white t-shirt, very nice fitting black jeans, and white sneakers. Even though he was a jerk, he was a handsome jerk with nice style.

“누구세요?”unknown rude guy said.

What the hell? she thought and wondered what the handsome jerk had said.

“아 친고야, 괜찮아, she is new to this,” Jung-hyun said and clapped the man on his shoulder.  “Maria, 미안해요, here PDA, like hugs, are not commonly seen or done. Couples will maybe hold hands and peck each other on the cheek, but larger gestures are just not acceptable in public. He didn’t mean to tug so hard.  He was just saving you from embarrassment.”  

Maria looked back over to Jung-hyun. “You know this guy?”

“Maria,” Val jumped in. “That’s Jung-hyun’s best friend and also his best man.”

“I don’t care who he is, you don’t go pulling people by the collar. And what the hell did he call me?”

“He asked who you were,” Val said, translating what the man had said.

“친고, this is Val’s best friend, and maid of honor, and your new partner in crime for the next four weeks,” Jung-hyun explained to the man.

“뭐라고?” he asked.

“Say what now?” Maria said.

They said the words simultaneously and while Maria might not know the language, it was obvious his reaction was the same as hers.

“I told you at the coffee shop that Maria is going to need to learn some Korean to give her speech at the wedding,” Jung-hyun said.

“No one said anything about me giving a speech in Korean and if anything Val can help me.”

“But I’m going to be busy with all the wedding stuff. Jung-hyun-a and his family have me taking classes on the different ceremonies that are done as part of a Korean wedding.”

“Shouldn’t I be accompanying you to those classes? I’m part of the wedding too,” Maria said.

“Yes, shouldn’t she?” The deep voice of the man she thought couldn’t speak English reached her ears. In surprise, her ears perked up to continue listening as his voice was alluring and made a shiver go down her spine.

“Yeah! Wait. You speak English?” she said and eyed the man suspiciously.

He glanced at her, rolled his eyes, and didn’t bother to answer her question, which, she admitted, was pretty dumb considering she had heard him speak in almost perfect English.

Jung-hyun reached out to pat his friend’s shoulder. “헹, you know just like I do, that your jobs in the bridal party are just a western thing.  Maid of honor and best man are not a thing here in Korea. You won’t do much of anything until the reception,” Jung-hyun explained to Maria.

“But she’s …” the man began, but stopped.

“I’m what?” Maria crossed her arms, dropped a hip, and looked over at him. His side profile was even more interesting than staring at him dead on. The man was totally attractive, and if his gorgeous lips would’ve stayed shut, or if he’d kept his long, soft, fingered hands off her collar, she would have found him to be really hot.

He looked over and smirked. “You don’t want me to finish the sentence.”

That smirk mixed with those full lips almost made her forget he was being a totally rude ass. As she looked at his lips, however, she lost her angry train of thought as her mind starting picturing those lips moving down her neck and leaving little love marks along her skin.  His voice alone was causing sensations through her body that not even her ex had when he’d physically touched her.

Somehow she fought back those thoughts and remembered that he was about to insult her. Her mind crashed back to reality.

“Oh please, I’d love to hear you finish,” she said with as much bravado as she could muster. “What’s your name? Chingu?” she said, repeating the name she’d heard Jung-hyun call him earlier. She gave Chingu an abrupt once over, ready to pounce at whatever he had to say. She was also getting angry at how attractive she found him in his way too stylish outfit, obviously custom made for him, and how it was causing her body to react when her brain was screaming for her to ignore the jerk.

The two men of the group hunched over laughing while Val tried to nudge her fiancé to stop his near tears chuckle.

“Where did you find this girl? This is a joke, right?” the still unnamed best man choked out through his laughter.

“I’m no joke you little-”

“His name isn’t Chingu,” Val cut in, trying to hold her own little chuckle. Val looked at her fiancé for help, which he was unable to give to stop Maria from say anything potentially life ruining. “Chingu means brother. It’s a term of endearment between friends. His name,” Val said and pointed at the handsome jerk, “Is Lee Hwan Soo.”

“Lee Hwan Soo?” Maria repeated, making sure she got the name correct.

Val nodded happily and Maria turned back to him to give a piece of her mind. “Listen here, Lee. I don’t-”

“Lee is my surname,” he corrected.

“Last names come first? Where am I?” Her head pounded with anger and frustration and even worse, she hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol yet. She was feeling more out of place by the second.

“You’re in Seoul, South Korea, where English isn’t the first language and we have different customs. Start getting used to it. You’re here for a month,” Hwan Soo responded with curtness. His gaze held no mockery, only total distaste for her. His lips were pursed since he clearly was holding back even more things he wanted to say.

Her comment clearly had gotten under his skin. While she wasn’t sure what she had said that was worth warranting such a heated response, she also felt compelled to defend herself. “This wasn’t exactly a well-planned trip for me. I was told two weeks ago that my best friend was engaged and asked to fly out here for a month to help plan the wedding. So excuse me, Mr. High and Mighty for not grasping all of your culture and language in the …” She paused and looked at her phone for the time. “Ten hours I’ve been in your country.”

Always the one to try and smooth out awkward situations, Val interjected, “Let’s get some drinks.” When she handed the drink menu across the table, Maria blinked several times. It was the same characters she had seen at the airport, but this time they didn’t have the nice English translations below.

“Val, I can’t read any of this.” Heat rushed up to Maria’s face as Lee Hwan Soo scoffed while standing next to her at the bar top table.

“Oh geez, I’m sorry Mari, right…umm…”

“Just get her one of the fruity soju drinks,” His Royal Annoyance said.

“No, it’s ok. I’ve got a headache so I think I’ll just go back to the apartment.” Maria had felt uncomfortable all day and the night so far had only solidified how out of place she was. She wanted to be there for Val, make things calm and easy for her best friend’s big day, but Maria being there seemed to complicate everyone’s life.

“Oh come on, Mari. Please don’t leave,” Val said and tried to stop her from going as Maria stepped away from their table.

She leaned close and in a low voice that only Val could hear, and said, “I can’t speak the language, I can’t even read it, I’m unfamiliar with the traditions, I know nothing. I don’t want to embarrass you. Plus, with all the traveling I did the last day and a half, this jet lag has taken its toll.”  Turning to the two men, she plastered on a bright smile and said, “Enjoy your night.” She bowed her head as she had seen others do during the course of the day, hoping she was at least catching on to that custom.

“You managed to get that right,” Douchey McDouche responded as he bowed his head.

She was trying out different names for him, but nothing seemed to encapsulate everything she was feeling about him.

Why was that Lee Hwan Soo guy such a hard ass? It wasn’t like she had a crash course in Korean and Korean culture. She wasn’t opposed to learning new things but he seemed to take everything she said about not understanding as an insult. She was frustrated, flustered and so maybe she didn’t properly convey what she wanted to say, but it didn’t justify his sneer and judgment. While Val tried to calm the storm brewing between Maria and Lee Hwan Soo by whispering something to him and jerking her head at Jung-hyun to get involved, Maria knew that if she didn’t walk away, the situation would have simply continued to get a lot worse. That international incident she was worried about would totally come true.

Hurrying from the bar, she found a long line of taxis outside, watching, waiting, hoping to see drunks stumble out to their cab. She walked over to one cab and climbed in. When he began to speak in Korean, she realized she was screwed. She bowed her head and was about to climb back out of the cab when her door quickly shut and a knock rapped on the front driver window.

She was about to protest when the taxi driver rolled his window down and a too familiar and arrogant voice drifted in. Lee Hwan Soo pushed a piece of paper and a large wad of cash toward the man whose face lit up like he had just received the biggest gift of his life.  With a quick bow at Lee Hwan Soo, the driver quickly started his cab and pulled out onto the busy streets of Seoul.

She looked out her window as they began driving away. Douche Canoe stood in front of the bar and bowed several times with a cocky smirk on his face. His gaze met hers for a few seconds before he shook his head, scratched the back of his immaculately cut and styled black hair as if in puzzlement, and then he was gone from sight as the cab quickly shot around the corner.

This month was going to be an absolute bitch, she thought.

And here is your phonetics! How did you do? Did you figure out what was going on? 

형-Hyung – older brother (both literal and friend)

오랜만이다- oraenmanida – long time no see

나 – na - me

안녕하세요- anyeonghasaeyo - hello

커피 이 인분 주세요- kopee ee-een bon jusaeyo – two coffees please

내- nae - yes

야- ya – hey!

누구세요- nugusaeyo – who are you?

아 친고야, 괜찮아- ah chinguya, qwaenchanha –ah buddy, it’s ok.

뭐라고- mworagoo – what did you say?

Hangul, 1, 2,

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 2.

THE HANGUL HAS FINALLY ARRIVED INTO THE STORY!!! ARE YOU EXCITED?!?! CLEARLY I AM!! I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS!!! 

And that’s how Maria ended up taking a month-long break from a job she probably was going to quit when she got home and hopped on a twenty-four-hour flight to a country she knew next to nothing about.

As she walked past the large airport welcome sign that read 한국에 오신걸 환영합니다, she felt relieved to see that although it was in what looked like hieroglyphics, the sign also had English underneath that said ‘Welcome to Korea’. She had barely cleared Customs and Immigration when her phone began to buzz and she swiped to answer, knowing exactly who it was.

“Mom, I literally just landed. I haven’t even found Val yet.”

“Did you sit next to anyone nice on the flight? It was a long journey,” she probed.

“Are you seriously asking if I met someone on the flight?” Maria hissed. Her mom was beyond unbelievable.

“You never know. And with a flight that long-”

Maria couldn’t let her mom finish the ridiculous line of questioning and quickly cut her off. “I met a lovely mother and her baby daughter, who shockingly didn’t cry for the whole flight, and then the second flight was a sixty-year-old man who was going to visit his son, whose wife just gave birth to his first grandson.”

“Really? Such a shame,” the disappointment in her mother’s voice wasn’t surprising.

“By the way, I landed safely and none of my luggage was lost,” she said in a heavy sigh as she was being passed by thousands of other travelers.

“Of course, of course. I’m glad you’re safe. Give Val a hug and kiss for me. And maybe ask her fiancé if he has any nice single-”

“Gotta go,” Maria said and hung up before her mother finished. Not only because of the fact she didn’t want to hear the end of the statement but also because she had walked into what looked like a city square in the middle of the airport. It was filled with thousands of people, both travelers and loved ones, offering their hugs of either hello or goodbye.

Stores, some familiar, most unrecognizable, lined the raised walkways surrounding the square. Walkways that looked as if encapsulated in pristine glass. Colorful LED screens with more of the Korean letters, with products she had never heard of, hung above her. She felt as if she had entered something out of a sci-fi future fantasy world and wondered how she would ever find her best friend among the masses.

She looked around, searching for the large pile of curly hair atop tanned skin, when suddenly a loud squeal came from down the way. She spotted her best friend waving frantically, jumping up and down. Bolting past a mound of luggage, Val ran to wrap Maria in a huge hug.

“Mari!” Val squealed.

“Val!” Maria squealed back and they giggled their way through all the excitement.

“It’s been way too long!” Maria was so happy to actually be able to hug her friend. “First you move across the country and now we’re more than half way around the world for your wedding! P.S. Are we still in an airport?”

Val chuckled. “I know, right? When I landed I said the same thing. Jung-hyun gave me a tour of the place and, I kid you not, we spent half the day here. If you think this is impressive, Seoul is a twenty-four-hour city. New York is a total noob when it comes to all night festivities. Seoul is the true city that never sleeps. You’re going to love the food, the culture, the drinks, the people, the men.” Val couldn’t stop gushing about the place, and so far Maria had to agree the place was going to be some kind of sight.

“Did my mom already call you because I’m not interested in the men. I’m here to celebrate my best friend in the entire world getting married! But I’ll admit I can’t wait to see your Jung-hyun again. I only met him once when I came to visit and we’ve maybe said a few words to each other during FaceTime. I’m glad I’m getting the time to know him better. Make sure he is one hundred percent right for my girl.”

“He’s staying with his family, but you’ll get to meet him and his best friend tonight when we go for drinks.”

“What do you mean he’s staying with family? Where are you staying?” Maria had been starting to get weird vibes about this wedding since the day Val announced it was even a thing. There were too many variables that didn’t leave Maria with the feeling she was going to be happy for her friend’s marriage.

“His family put you and me up in an amazing penthouse a little way from their place. Traditionally, couples don’t stay overnight, or even live together, unless they’re married. It’s changed a little bit over the years, but his family is old school so…”

“You’re serious? You’re actually living separately this whole month?”

“Jung-hyun and I may not go home together but we spend a lot of time with each other. To be honest, even when we lived together that week because of my apartment flood, we never actually have spent the whole night together, well not on purpose. I usually slept in his guest room.”

“But when do you get to…” Maria trailed off waiting for Val to finish the sentence. What shocked Maria was the bright shade of red Val was turning. “You haven’t – never- what the hell? Really?”

“진짜,” Val responded nervously.  

“Jin-Huh?” Maria knew whatever was said was not English.

“Jinjja,” Val said, correcting her pronunciation.  Then she quickly said, “미안해…which is Korean for sorry.”

“Mi…an…hae,” Mari repeated, thinking she’d be using that word a lot in the next month.  “Seriously?” she added, wondering if her friend was for real about learning Korean.

“진짜. Seriously. English isn’t totally common here yet. I’ve been learning since Jung-hyun and I started dating and it’s getting more comfortable for me to speak it. Especially here.”

“Could’ve given me that small heads up.” Maria could feel the anxiety creeping up on her as she realized how much of an outsider she was. Looking around to find the few English signs around, she noticed some people were staring and pointing at them but Val didn’t seem to care.

“Just ignore it, Mari. But if you want to know, all of them are giving you some high compliments. The men think you’re a hottie,” Val said and laughed as she wheeled Maria’s bag out of the airport.

The scent of the city hit Maria’s nostrils and comfort filled her. She might not know Seoul, but city life was a happy place for her. When Val and Maria were kids, they had always talked about getting a small apartment in New York City together, living their dream lives, in their dream city. But while Val had a life plan, big dreams, and a smart head on her shoulders, Maria, had always lacked direction. While intelligent, she didn’t know where to funnel her knowledge and she hoped that one day she’d figure out what to do.

At the curb a man standing by a large luxury sedan noticed them approaching even though the place was packed full of cars, vans, buses, and people. He opened the car door as he executed a deep bow.

“This is yours?” Maria asked, opening her eyes wide with surprise.

“Jung-hyun’s family prefers using a car instead of public transportation.”

“These people seem to have a lot of say in what you do and don’t do.” Maria couldn’t hide her concern about the situation any longer.

“Maria…” Her friend seemed to know where the conversation was headed and also that it was not the time or the place to be having the discussion.

“You can’t live with him, you haven’t slept with him, they won’t let you choose how to get around. Next you’re going to tell me they tell you what to eat, how to dress, and when you can use the restroom,” she said as they climbed into the car and although Maria wasn’t happy, she also had to say she was impressed with the car service her fiancé’s family had provided. The expensive vehicle was packed with high-end creature comforts. Leather heated seats, video monitors on the back of the front head rests, arm rests with charger ports, and cold water bottles in the cup holders instantly made one feel luxurious.

“It’s a cultural thing. Be happy they accepted me at all. A lot of parents have people already set up for their children, and even if they’re in love with someone else, they marry who their parents chose. Don’t even get me started on the whole interracial thing,” Val explained, grabbed the water and took large swigs, clearly uncomfortable with Maria’s slightly accusatory tone.

“You’re joking right? What century are we in? Did my plane time travel?” Maria hadn’t expected to start this journey with a fight, but the worry about people she had never met was causing her to take it out on her best friend.

“Please, Mari,” Val begged.

“I’m sorry, but the things you’re telling me sound ridiculous and archaic. And I can’t believe that you’re going along with it so calmly.”

“Because I love Jung-hyun. I would do just about anything for him. It’s not like he hasn’t fought for my side on some of these things. He’s a great man and we are fine with this setup for now. It’s only for the next month or so.”

“Or so?” Maria’s neck snapped as she whipped her head around to face her friend.

“Well, after the ceremony-”

“You’re going back to your dream job in California, designing homes for the rich and famous, right?” Maria’s nails dug into the leather as she fought to control her anger.

“I really like it here, Maria. This city is massive and I could easily get the same job. Probably work a lot more and make way more connections…”

“Valerie!” Maria never used her friend’s full name unless absolutely necessary and this was definitely time for it. “Who are you? Have they brainwashed you? Are you joining some sort of cult? You’ve never jumped into something like this so quick! Even the move to California was a two month back and forth and that was for your dream job. All of a sudden you’re happy with just packing up and moving to a different country to make this dude’s family happy?”

“It’s not like that. I haven’t even mentioned it to Jung-hyun yet. It’s just that …I see how happy he’s been with his family around and I want to see him that happy all the time,” Val said.

Her friend appeared to have entered her own world where dopey grins and glazed over eyes seemed to be her new standard look. But Maria couldn’t let it go.  “You could make him that happy with just the two of you. Alone. Home.  In California.”

“It’s a different kind of happy. Maria, I know you’re worried and I understand. But please, for my sake, stop and wait until you spend more time with Jung-hyun. During all the times you’ve spoken with him, even when you met him, did he ever seem like some evil guy set on ruining my life, and making me a stay at home wife, whose only job is to cook and clean?”

Val had a point. The several times Maria had spoken to Jung-hyun, he seemed like a great guy. Downright romantic even.

With a huff of defeat Maria nodded. “Fine. I will stop, for now. But I’m gonna have words with him at some point. For today I will be the best friend who’s super excited that her best friend is getting married.”

“Thank you, Mari, honestly.” Val’s voice held desperation and Maria hated that she was the one to cause strain, but she wasn’t someone who held back. It’s probably why she was perpetually single and had very few good friends. Except Val and she would do whatever she could to see her friend happy.

As Maria sat back in the comfortable leather seat, she looked out the window to view the bustling city she was about to call home for the next four weeks.  Only four weeks, she thought, and hoped her friend’s wedding would go off without Maria accidently causing an international incident.

Here are the phonetics to test your hangul pronunciation! :)

한국에 오신걸 환영합니다- hangukae oshinkeol hwanyeong hab ni da – Welcome to Korea

진짜 – jinjja - seriously

미안해- mianhae - sorry

Hangul, 1, 

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 1.

ok fun fact I can’t copy and paste from WORD. So I legit had to figure out how to get this posted. BUT I DID IT!!! Here it is guys the first chapter of SEOUL SEARCHING! Please heart, reblog, and share where ever you can! 

“You’re what?” Maria jumped up in bed during her usual late night ‘chic chat’ with her best friend Valerie.

“I’m getting married!” Val shouted, flaunting the large diamond on her left ring finger over FaceTime, causing Maria to lift the phone closer to get a better look at the rock.

Maria’s best friend since diapers was getting married. That was the beginning of the end, she thought. Once one friend got engaged, the rest were sure to follow. And then there she was, Maria the perpetually single friend who could never hold a relationship for more than a month. Mostly because all the men she dated ended up cheating on her but also because commitment was never a word that people would use to describe her behavior.

She had changed majors four times throughout her college career, and once she had graduated she’d had a series of jobs that never kept her attention for longer than six months. The only constants she had were her mother and her best friend Val.  But now Val was getting married and lately all Maria’s mother could think of was marrying off her only daughter. It was almost to the point where she could have her own reality dating show.

Most people wouldn’t believe that there were mothers like Maria’s still around. Ones who showed off their daughter’s picture out to random men she sees while standing in line to get coffee at the local shop. The kind of mom who made fake dating profiles, essentially catfishing men, and then made just as fake plans with her daughter so she would walk into a blind date with said man who thought he’d been talking to her for a month.

A mom who every single time a family friend announced their child was getting married, spiraled into a depression so deep the only way to pull her out was for Maria to go on a few dates with men who she had absolutely no interest in. Yeah, that kind of mom.

Val had always been there to help Maria get past all the skeevy men, the mom harassment, and everything else they ever got themselves into. Then Val had gotten her dream job as an interior decorator to the rich and moved across the country. Maria knew things would never be the same, but it didn’t end the bond they shared. They talked regularly and Maria would go to visit when she left one job and had the free time to travel before starting the new one. But now Val was about to lose her ‘constant’ status. Marriage was a whole new beast and Maria wasn’t sure she could compete with a husband.

“I couldn’t believe it!” Val said with a squeal. “We were out to dinner and he was talking about taking me to go and meet his parents, and how he wanted a family of his own and then BAM! He was down on one knee,” Val gushed and fell with a soft thud onto her bed.

“You’ve never met his family? Shouldn’t that come before the wedding? Ya know, to see what you’re about to get yourself into?” Maria fell back onto her own bed, twirling her long brown hair between her fingers.

“Well his family is all in Korea,” Val explained as she snuggled into her comforter.

“Korea? Good or bad half? Are you sure he isn’t a spy? Are you sure you’re not about to be kidnapped? I watch the news!” Maria was both joking and fairly serious.

“You’ve met the boy. Does he seem like a spy?” Val said rolling her eyes.

“That’s what he wants us to think,” Maria joked, putting on her best interrogation voice.

“They’re from South Korea. The family lives in Seoul, in some well to do area. Apparently they are fairly wealthy on their own.” The smile on Val’s face couldn’t be wiped off and Maria could feel her excitement course through the phone camera.

“Look at you, marrying for love and finding out he’s also loaded as hell. Good things truly come to good people.”

“You know I don’t care about the money,” Val said with a shrug.

Maria looked off to the side and scrunched her nose, trying everything not to roll her eyes at her friend who wasn’t quick to catch her sarcasm.

“I know that, Val. It’s my way of saying congrats.”

“I called for another reason,” Val said and instantly went from a light laugh to a serious tone.

“Is this a shotgun wedding? Should I be buying you diapers and a cradle instead of a set of plates?” Maria said as she grabbed her computer to begin the quest for baby gifts.

“Oh my God, Mari! No, no. Nothing crazy like that. I wanted to know if you’d like to be my maid of honor?”

That halted all Maria’s movements. Maid of Honor?

Maria’s heart flew through the roof with happiness but also with the realization that it could be as bad as a death sentence. Her mother, the woman set on trying to have Maria married by the end of, well, every year since she graduated high school, would more than likely hear about this and start the quest of finding Maria a date for the wedding and more.  

“Are you kidding me?” Maria couldn’t believe her bestie even had to ask.

“I’ve never been more serious. Except for maybe when I said yes to Jung-hyun,” Val giggled.

“Yes! I would love to! OMG, I need to start planning a bridal shower and a bachelorette party-”

“Well Korean weddings are a little different,” Val said and cut off Maria’s planning excitement.

“But you’re not Korean.”

“Since I never followed any religion, and don’t really know my cultural background, negative to being adopted, and Jung-hyun’s family is steeped in tradition, I decided I’d follow suit.”

“Ah,” was all Maria could say as her mind was still processing her friend’s decision.

“I mean, I guess we can still do the western thing of a bachelorette party. You know I want to wear a crown.”

“Western? You make it sound so foreign.” Maria was starting to not recognize her friend, and concern grew with every passing second they stayed on the phone.

“It is…or it will be,” Val said, clearly avoiding something.

“If you don’t spit it out in the next sentence, I’m going to fly over there just to slap you,” Maria half-kidded, impatience growing.

“The wedding is going to be in Seoul…South Korea.”

If you missed the first chapter, which is the explanation of hangul, don’t worry! This chapter didn’t have any! LOL. But here is the link and next week will have hangul I promise!! SO KEEP STUDYING!! 

Ch.1

Hangul (한글)

Hangul is the Korean alphabet. It’s the letters that form the gorgeous puzzle pieces of Korean words. Sadly there is no way to put this into a story without having an extremely lengthy scene that would bore you and having you scream, “WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE OUT?!”

Don’t worry throughout the story you will receive both the hangul as well as a romanization. It will be at the bottom of every chapter so you can sound it out as you read. 

Here is my breakdown of the letters and how you sound them out.

A real first chapter will be posted next week. Until then practice sounding out these letters as well as continue listening to K-pop and K-dramas and see if you can figure out how to spell some of the words they say!! (YES I ASSIGNED YOU SOME HOMEWORK…but tbh, you were gonna do that stuff anyway.)

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 3.

Here is where the story starts getting more and more fun! I hope you’re enjoying the journey!

“형!” Hwan Soo shouted at the man who was truly more like a brother than a friend to him.

Jung-hyun, his best friend, flashed a million-watt smile. It was good to see his friend’s face after so long. Four years. Four long years since he’d actually seen Jung-hyun in the flesh.

“Hwan Soo-a! 오랜만이다,” Jung-hyun said, walked over to Hwan Soo and gave him a big brotherly hug.

“For sure. Too long if you ask me. You look great, 형,” Hwan Soo said, repeating his earlier greeting.

“나?” Jung-hyun gave himself a quick once over before glancing back at Hwan Soo. “Look at you! Clearly acting is treating you well.” Jung-hyun strolled to the counter to order coffee. While tea might’ve been the lifeblood of most Koreans at one time, coffee had taken over that position in recent years. Not only just for the taste or style, but because of the artwork and colors some baristas had created for their customers.

Hwan Soo loved this particular café because of its quiet atmosphere. Most people were there to get work done, keeping their heads down in a book or a computer. It was the perfect place to keep him anonymous. If no one looked, no one would recognize him. Not that many would as he had yet to make it big.

The café had stark white walls which caused the light from the large floor to ceiling front windows to brighten the whole place even though it was tucked into a narrow alleyway. A long black bar counter had several small, yet ornate, flower arrangements lining the middle, while shorter circular tables scattered through the café had black and white tile tops, matching the whole clean aesthetic of the place.  

The smell of the different coffees brewing blended and instantly woke any sleepy soul. Pastries that looked more like works of art than something that should be eaten, lined the small glass shelves near the stark black counter.

As they approached the counter, the young man at the register bowed and said, “안녕하세요.”

Hwan Soo reciprocated the kind hello and added his order. “커피 이 인분

주세요.”

“내,” the server confirmed and at Hwan Soo’s nod, quickly got to work on making the coffees for them.

“How is my famous best man doing?” Jung-hyun said, resuming their conversation once the barista handed them their order.

“야, no one knows me. I’m still only a small time actor, second lead material. No one wants to hire me for a lead,” Hwan Soo said, downtrodden. Not that being second lead was the worst thing. He was just the guy who never got the girl.

“I remember when you thought no one would hire you at all, but look at how far you’ve gotten. I’ve seen your name pop up more and more on the fan sites lately. I’m sure you’ll hit it big soon. Have you auditioned for anything new recently?”

“Yeah, it’s a lead role and casting calls end today.  But as much as I want it, I haven’t heard anything yet. If I were to get it, filming would start this month and I know this is an important time for you. I want to be here to support my biggest fan for his wedding,” Hwan Soo explained as they made their way to one of the small tables in the corner which looked out to an almost empty, hidden alleyway.  Unlike in other countries, in Korea one could usually find some of the best food, bars, and even cafés on the side streets that one stumbled upon. That’s how Hwan Soo had found this go-to coffee shop, a book store, and a bar.

“Thanks. I appreciate you being there for me,” Jung-hyun said and clapped him on the back.

“More importantly, where is the unlucky lady who agreed to marry you? I still can’t believe you, the man who swore women were nothing more than a distraction from success, will soon be tied down. And that you were the one to suggest it,” Hwan Soo joked.

“You’ll officially meet her tonight. She’s picking up her maid of honor, Maria, at the airport right now.” Jung-hyun said as he sipped on his coffee and let out a small moan of appreciation.

“I’m sure they are going to have a lot of stuff to catch up on before the wedding, so they’re going to enjoy their time together. Just like us,” Hwan Soo said and smiled.

“About that…” Jung-hyun’s face contorted as he struggled to form words, obviously nervous to break whatever news it was to his friend.

“Spit it out, 형,” Hwan Soo said, impatient.

“Maria doesn’t really understand how Val and I started dating and we don’t want her to know just yet. Val wants to tell her at some point on this trip, but she isn’t ready. So you need to keep our secret.”

Hwan Soo knew the way that his friend’s relationship had started had been unorthodox, but nothing that was unheard of. Having read enough drama scripts, he recognized that his friends had fallen in love in a fairly cliché trope. Wealthy man borrows not so wealthy woman to help him out of a jam and suddenly they fall in love. If Hwan Soo could pitch it to one of his director buddies, they’d eat it up.

“Why is it that she doesn’t know? I mean if they’re best friends…”

“As Val put it, Maria is the type who wouldn’t be thrilled that her best friend was ‘used to further a man’s place in the world’,” Jung-Hyun said.

“That’s a very negative view of what actually happened. It wasn’t really like that,” Hwan Soo argued. Was Val’s friend really that stubborn that she wouldn’t try to understand how her best friend had fallen in love? How could someone claim to be her friend at all?

“Unfortunately Maria has a skewed view of romance and falling in love.”

“What woman doesn’t?” Hwan Soo joked, thinking it was true though. Except for his last ex, the women he dated had mapped out their entire future from day one. Most of the women were blind dates his mom had set him up on for the sole purpose of becoming his wife.

His ex, however, was the one woman who’d broken his heart by not wanting more and his heart was still on its road to repair.  She had been the one woman he had wished to plan a future life with and when she had left, he no longer had any interest in that kind of future. Staying single was his best bet at enjoying life.

“Just please, keep it a secret for now,” Jung-hyun begged.

“Fine,” Hwan Soo reluctantly agreed for the benefit of his friend. But when he looked over at Jung-hyun, who was sipping his coffee slowly, thoughtfully, Hwan Soo knew there was something else he needed to say.

“I know there’s more so please spit it out,” Hwan Soo demanded.

“How did you…” Jung-hyun started to say, but didn’t need to finish the question. Having been friends since they were four years old made it easy to read each other. “I need your help with Maria.”

“Help how?”

“Since she doesn’t speak or read Korean, you’ll need to help her get around when Val and I are expected to do wedding planning. You’re essentially going to have to be her lifeline.”

“Lifeline? Isn’t that just another name for a babysitter?” Hwan Soo sipped the bitter coffee, which left both a literal and figurative bad taste in his mouth. “How often are you going to be dealing with all this wedding stuff?”

“It’s gonna be pretty packed with all the things Val needs to learn herself, and I don’t want her having to go it alone. Even though my parents have accepted the marriage, I don’t trust them to not try something to get her to run away. Not that she would, but I don’t want them to give her a reason to do it,” Jung-hyun explained.

Hwan Soo knew Jung-hyun’s family was very traditional. Hwan Soo’s family was pretty similar, but he’d never broken the rules by dating a non-Korean girl because from what he had seen, foreigners were loud, obnoxious, had few manners, and didn’t dress all that well. Fashion being as important to Korean life as being well off and respecting elders.

After four years apart from the man who was like a brother, Hwan Soo had been sure that he was going to have time to catch up with his friend, reminisce, and make some new memories. Now that was being totally thrown away and replaced by having to hang around with an American girl.

But for Jung-hyun, Hwan Soo would put on his best acting face and seem happy to do what his friend asked. “I’m sure that if she’s as great as Val, it’ll be just fine.”

His one hope was that Val’s friend wouldn’t turn out to be like the typical tourists that caused his skin to crawl.

When Maria entered the bar where Val had mentioned they were meeting Jung-hyun, all Maria could think was, “Damn.” It wasn’t like any bar she had ever been to back home. The ceiling was covered, literally every square inch, in empty liquor bottles that had been repurposed with twinkling lights. The tables and chairs were all mismatched furniture, and the bar itself looked like it couldn’t make up its mind between bougie, noir, or hipster.

On the wall behind the counter the liquor was stacked high on shelves with a library ladder the bartenders had to use to climb for the literal top shelf liquor. Above the bar was an insanely ornate chandelier that was easily six-foot-tall.

Unlike the mismatched furniture, the bartenders wore matching vests, striped shirts, and bow ties. The waitresses were all gorgeous, thin, model-esque, swaying their hips in tiny black dresses that hid none of their curves.

When Maria finally took her eyes off the décor and staff, she noticed a handsome man waving at them and recognized Jung-hyun the second she saw him. He was always well dressed, even when casual. Even though he looked like he’d just thrown on his oversized, large knit, electric blue sweater, pale blue ripped jeans, and Timberlands, she knew his outfit was carefully planned. His hair, black as the night sky, slightly wavy, hung just above his brow, in a bowl-like fashion, but clearly styled to appear that way. Tall and lean, he had sharply a chiseled face that accented high cheekbones and a square jaw.  Small black studs dotted his lobes and gleamed in the dim light in the bar. Looking around at the other men in the space, she checked out whether the men were dressed in suits, or casual. Whether they had dyed hair or basic black. Maria realized that men in the U.S. seemed to lack something Korean men had down to a science. Confidence in style.  

Val’s face lit up when she caught her soon-to-be husband’s eye. His face brightened just the same as she ran over to gently peck him on the cheek and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“Maria, I’d like you to formally introduce you to my fiancé Park Jung-hyun.” Val’s smile went nearly ear to ear. The excitement was evident in her voice. Seeing her friend this happy was really all Maria wanted.

She walked over to him with her arms wide and was about to give him a big congratulatory hug when there was a harsh tug on the collar of her shirt.

“What the-” She choked and spun around to see who the asshole was that had caused her to stop dead.

The young Korean man was handsome, taller than a redwood tree with a chiseled jaw line and plump heart shaped lips. He was dressed in an ornately embroidered denim jacket, white t-shirt, very nice fitting black jeans, and white sneakers. Even though he was a jerk, he was a handsome jerk with nice style.

“누구세요?”unknown rude guy said.

What the hell? she thought and wondered what the handsome jerk had said.

“아 친고야, 괜찮아, she is new to this,” Jung-hyun said and clapped the man on his shoulder.  “Maria, 미안해요, here PDA, like hugs, are not commonly seen or done. Couples will maybe hold hands and peck each other on the cheek, but larger gestures are just not acceptable in public. He didn’t mean to tug so hard.  He was just saving you from embarrassment.”  

Maria looked back over to Jung-hyun. “You know this guy?”

“Maria,” Val jumped in. “That’s Jung-hyun’s best friend and also his best man.”

“I don’t care who he is, you don’t go pulling people by the collar. And what the hell did he call me?”

“He asked who you were,” Val said, translating what the man had said.

“친고, this is Val’s best friend, and maid of honor, and your new partner in crime for the next four weeks,” Jung-hyun explained to the man.

“뭐라고?” he asked.

“Say what now?” Maria said.

They said the words simultaneously and while Maria might not know the language, it was obvious his reaction was the same as hers.

“I told you at the coffee shop that Maria is going to need to learn some Korean to give her speech at the wedding,” Jung-hyun said.

“No one said anything about me giving a speech in Korean and if anything Val can help me.”

“But I’m going to be busy with all the wedding stuff. Jung-hyun-a and his family have me taking classes on the different ceremonies that are done as part of a Korean wedding.”

“Shouldn’t I be accompanying you to those classes? I’m part of the wedding too,” Maria said.

“Yes, shouldn’t she?” The deep voice of the man she thought couldn’t speak English reached her ears. In surprise, her ears perked up to continue listening as his voice was alluring and made a shiver go down her spine.

“Yeah! Wait. You speak English?” she said and eyed the man suspiciously.

He glanced at her, rolled his eyes, and didn’t bother to answer her question, which, she admitted, was pretty dumb considering she had heard him speak in almost perfect English.

Jung-hyun reached out to pat his friend’s shoulder. “헹, you know just like I do, that your jobs in the bridal party are just a western thing.  Maid of honor and best man are not a thing here in Korea. You won’t do much of anything until the reception,” Jung-hyun explained to Maria.

“But she’s …” the man began, but stopped.

“I’m what?” Maria crossed her arms, dropped a hip, and looked over at him. His side profile was even more interesting than staring at him dead on. The man was totally attractive, and if his gorgeous lips would’ve stayed shut, or if he’d kept his long, soft, fingered hands off her collar, she would have found him to be really hot.

He looked over and smirked. “You don’t want me to finish the sentence.”

That smirk mixed with those full lips almost made her forget he was being a totally rude ass. As she looked at his lips, however, she lost her angry train of thought as her mind starting picturing those lips moving down her neck and leaving little love marks along her skin.  His voice alone was causing sensations through her body that not even her ex had when he’d physically touched her.

Somehow she fought back those thoughts and remembered that he was about to insult her. Her mind crashed back to reality.

“Oh please, I’d love to hear you finish,” she said with as much bravado as she could muster. “What’s your name? Chingu?” she said, repeating the name she’d heard Jung-hyun call him earlier. She gave Chingu an abrupt once over, ready to pounce at whatever he had to say. She was also getting angry at how attractive she found him in his way too stylish outfit, obviously custom made for him, and how it was causing her body to react when her brain was screaming for her to ignore the jerk.

The two men of the group hunched over laughing while Val tried to nudge her fiancé to stop his near tears chuckle.

“Where did you find this girl? This is a joke, right?” the still unnamed best man choked out through his laughter.

“I’m no joke you little-”

“His name isn’t Chingu,” Val cut in, trying to hold her own little chuckle. Val looked at her fiancé for help, which he was unable to give to stop Maria from say anything potentially life ruining. “Chingu means brother. It’s a term of endearment between friends. His name,” Val said and pointed at the handsome jerk, “Is Lee Hwan Soo.”

“Lee Hwan Soo?” Maria repeated, making sure she got the name correct.

Val nodded happily and Maria turned back to him to give a piece of her mind. “Listen here, Lee. I don’t-”

“Lee is my surname,” he corrected.

“Last names come first? Where am I?” Her head pounded with anger and frustration and even worse, she hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol yet. She was feeling more out of place by the second.

“You’re in Seoul, South Korea, where English isn’t the first language and we have different customs. Start getting used to it. You’re here for a month,” Hwan Soo responded with curtness. His gaze held no mockery, only total distaste for her. His lips were pursed since he clearly was holding back even more things he wanted to say.

Her comment clearly had gotten under his skin. While she wasn’t sure what she had said that was worth warranting such a heated response, she also felt compelled to defend herself. “This wasn’t exactly a well-planned trip for me. I was told two weeks ago that my best friend was engaged and asked to fly out here for a month to help plan the wedding. So excuse me, Mr. High and Mighty for not grasping all of your culture and language in the …” She paused and looked at her phone for the time. “Ten hours I’ve been in your country.”

Always the one to try and smooth out awkward situations, Val interjected, “Let’s get some drinks.” When she handed the drink menu across the table, Maria blinked several times. It was the same characters she had seen at the airport, but this time they didn’t have the nice English translations below.

“Val, I can’t read any of this.” Heat rushed up to Maria’s face as Lee Hwan Soo scoffed while standing next to her at the bar top table.

“Oh geez, I’m sorry Mari, right…umm…”

“Just get her one of the fruity soju drinks,” His Royal Annoyance said.

“No, it’s ok. I’ve got a headache so I think I’ll just go back to the apartment.” Maria had felt uncomfortable all day and the night so far had only solidified how out of place she was. She wanted to be there for Val, make things calm and easy for her best friend’s big day, but Maria being there seemed to complicate everyone’s life.

“Oh come on, Mari. Please don’t leave,” Val said and tried to stop her from going as Maria stepped away from their table.

She leaned close and in a low voice that only Val could hear, and said, “I can’t speak the language, I can’t even read it, I’m unfamiliar with the traditions, I know nothing. I don’t want to embarrass you. Plus, with all the traveling I did the last day and a half, this jet lag has taken its toll.”  Turning to the two men, she plastered on a bright smile and said, “Enjoy your night.” She bowed her head as she had seen others do during the course of the day, hoping she was at least catching on to that custom.

“You managed to get that right,” Douchey McDouche responded as he bowed his head.

She was trying out different names for him, but nothing seemed to encapsulate everything she was feeling about him.

Why was that Lee Hwan Soo guy such a hard ass? It wasn’t like she had a crash course in Korean and Korean culture. She wasn’t opposed to learning new things but he seemed to take everything she said about not understanding as an insult. She was frustrated, flustered and so maybe she didn’t properly convey what she wanted to say, but it didn’t justify his sneer and judgment. While Val tried to calm the storm brewing between Maria and Lee Hwan Soo by whispering something to him and jerking her head at Jung-hyun to get involved, Maria knew that if she didn’t walk away, the situation would have simply continued to get a lot worse. That international incident she was worried about would totally come true.

Hurrying from the bar, she found a long line of taxis outside, watching, waiting, hoping to see drunks stumble out to their cab. She walked over to one cab and climbed in. When he began to speak in Korean, she realized she was screwed. She bowed her head and was about to climb back out of the cab when her door quickly shut and a knock rapped on the front driver window.

She was about to protest when the taxi driver rolled his window down and a too familiar and arrogant voice drifted in. Lee Hwan Soo pushed a piece of paper and a large wad of cash toward the man whose face lit up like he had just received the biggest gift of his life.  With a quick bow at Lee Hwan Soo, the driver quickly started his cab and pulled out onto the busy streets of Seoul.

She looked out her window as they began driving away. Douche Canoe stood in front of the bar and bowed several times with a cocky smirk on his face. His gaze met hers for a few seconds before he shook his head, scratched the back of his immaculately cut and styled black hair as if in puzzlement, and then he was gone from sight as the cab quickly shot around the corner.

This month was going to be an absolute bitch, she thought.

And here is your phonetics! How did you do? Did you figure out what was going on? 

형-Hyung – older brother (both literal and friend)

오랜만이다- oraenmanida – long time no see

나 – na - me

안녕하세요- anyeonghasaeyo - hello

커피 이 인분 주세요- kopee ee-een bon jusaeyo – two coffees please

내- nae - yes

야- ya – hey!

누구세요- nugusaeyo – who are you?

아 친고야, 괜찮아- ah chinguya, qwaenchanha –ah buddy, it’s ok.

뭐라고- mworagoo – what did you say?

Hangul, 1, 2,

YASSSSS THE LOVERS HAVE MET!!!

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 3.

Here is where the story starts getting more and more fun! I hope you’re enjoying the journey!

“형!” Hwan Soo shouted at the man who was truly more like a brother than a friend to him.

Jung-hyun, his best friend, flashed a million-watt smile. It was good to see his friend’s face after so long. Four years. Four long years since he’d actually seen Jung-hyun in the flesh.

“Hwan Soo-a! 오랜만이다,” Jung-hyun said, walked over to Hwan Soo and gave him a big brotherly hug.

“For sure. Too long if you ask me. You look great, 형,” Hwan Soo said, repeating his earlier greeting.

“나?” Jung-hyun gave himself a quick once over before glancing back at Hwan Soo. “Look at you! Clearly acting is treating you well.” Jung-hyun strolled to the counter to order coffee. While tea might’ve been the lifeblood of most Koreans at one time, coffee had taken over that position in recent years. Not only just for the taste or style, but because of the artwork and colors some baristas had created for their customers.

Hwan Soo loved this particular café because of its quiet atmosphere. Most people were there to get work done, keeping their heads down in a book or a computer. It was the perfect place to keep him anonymous. If no one looked, no one would recognize him. Not that many would as he had yet to make it big.

The café had stark white walls which caused the light from the large floor to ceiling front windows to brighten the whole place even though it was tucked into a narrow alleyway. A long black bar counter had several small, yet ornate, flower arrangements lining the middle, while shorter circular tables scattered through the café had black and white tile tops, matching the whole clean aesthetic of the place.  

The smell of the different coffees brewing blended and instantly woke any sleepy soul. Pastries that looked more like works of art than something that should be eaten, lined the small glass shelves near the stark black counter.

As they approached the counter, the young man at the register bowed and said, “안녕하세요.”

Hwan Soo reciprocated the kind hello and added his order. “커피 이 인분

주세요.”

“내,” the server confirmed and at Hwan Soo’s nod, quickly got to work on making the coffees for them.

“How is my famous best man doing?” Jung-hyun said, resuming their conversation once the barista handed them their order.

“야, no one knows me. I’m still only a small time actor, second lead material. No one wants to hire me for a lead,” Hwan Soo said, downtrodden. Not that being second lead was the worst thing. He was just the guy who never got the girl.

“I remember when you thought no one would hire you at all, but look at how far you’ve gotten. I’ve seen your name pop up more and more on the fan sites lately. I’m sure you’ll hit it big soon. Have you auditioned for anything new recently?”

“Yeah, it’s a lead role and casting calls end today.  But as much as I want it, I haven’t heard anything yet. If I were to get it, filming would start this month and I know this is an important time for you. I want to be here to support my biggest fan for his wedding,” Hwan Soo explained as they made their way to one of the small tables in the corner which looked out to an almost empty, hidden alleyway.  Unlike in other countries, in Korea one could usually find some of the best food, bars, and even cafés on the side streets that one stumbled upon. That’s how Hwan Soo had found this go-to coffee shop, a book store, and a bar.

“Thanks. I appreciate you being there for me,” Jung-hyun said and clapped him on the back.

“More importantly, where is the unlucky lady who agreed to marry you? I still can’t believe you, the man who swore women were nothing more than a distraction from success, will soon be tied down. And that you were the one to suggest it,” Hwan Soo joked.

“You’ll officially meet her tonight. She’s picking up her maid of honor, Maria, at the airport right now.” Jung-hyun said as he sipped on his coffee and let out a small moan of appreciation.

“I’m sure they are going to have a lot of stuff to catch up on before the wedding, so they’re going to enjoy their time together. Just like us,” Hwan Soo said and smiled.

“About that…” Jung-hyun’s face contorted as he struggled to form words, obviously nervous to break whatever news it was to his friend.

“Spit it out, 형,” Hwan Soo said, impatient.

“Maria doesn’t really understand how Val and I started dating and we don’t want her to know just yet. Val wants to tell her at some point on this trip, but she isn’t ready. So you need to keep our secret.”

Hwan Soo knew the way that his friend’s relationship had started had been unorthodox, but nothing that was unheard of. Having read enough drama scripts, he recognized that his friends had fallen in love in a fairly cliché trope. Wealthy man borrows not so wealthy woman to help him out of a jam and suddenly they fall in love. If Hwan Soo could pitch it to one of his director buddies, they’d eat it up.

“Why is it that she doesn’t know? I mean if they’re best friends…”

“As Val put it, Maria is the type who wouldn’t be thrilled that her best friend was ‘used to further a man’s place in the world’,” Jung-Hyun said.

“That’s a very negative view of what actually happened. It wasn’t really like that,” Hwan Soo argued. Was Val’s friend really that stubborn that she wouldn’t try to understand how her best friend had fallen in love? How could someone claim to be her friend at all?

“Unfortunately Maria has a skewed view of romance and falling in love.”

“What woman doesn’t?” Hwan Soo joked, thinking it was true though. Except for his last ex, the women he dated had mapped out their entire future from day one. Most of the women were blind dates his mom had set him up on for the sole purpose of becoming his wife.

His ex, however, was the one woman who’d broken his heart by not wanting more and his heart was still on its road to repair.  She had been the one woman he had wished to plan a future life with and when she had left, he no longer had any interest in that kind of future. Staying single was his best bet at enjoying life.

“Just please, keep it a secret for now,” Jung-hyun begged.

“Fine,” Hwan Soo reluctantly agreed for the benefit of his friend. But when he looked over at Jung-hyun, who was sipping his coffee slowly, thoughtfully, Hwan Soo knew there was something else he needed to say.

“I know there’s more so please spit it out,” Hwan Soo demanded.

“How did you…” Jung-hyun started to say, but didn’t need to finish the question. Having been friends since they were four years old made it easy to read each other. “I need your help with Maria.”

“Help how?”

“Since she doesn’t speak or read Korean, you’ll need to help her get around when Val and I are expected to do wedding planning. You’re essentially going to have to be her lifeline.”

“Lifeline? Isn’t that just another name for a babysitter?” Hwan Soo sipped the bitter coffee, which left both a literal and figurative bad taste in his mouth. “How often are you going to be dealing with all this wedding stuff?”

“It’s gonna be pretty packed with all the things Val needs to learn herself, and I don’t want her having to go it alone. Even though my parents have accepted the marriage, I don’t trust them to not try something to get her to run away. Not that she would, but I don’t want them to give her a reason to do it,” Jung-hyun explained.

Hwan Soo knew Jung-hyun’s family was very traditional. Hwan Soo’s family was pretty similar, but he’d never broken the rules by dating a non-Korean girl because from what he had seen, foreigners were loud, obnoxious, had few manners, and didn’t dress all that well. Fashion being as important to Korean life as being well off and respecting elders.

After four years apart from the man who was like a brother, Hwan Soo had been sure that he was going to have time to catch up with his friend, reminisce, and make some new memories. Now that was being totally thrown away and replaced by having to hang around with an American girl.

But for Jung-hyun, Hwan Soo would put on his best acting face and seem happy to do what his friend asked. “I’m sure that if she’s as great as Val, it’ll be just fine.”

His one hope was that Val’s friend wouldn’t turn out to be like the typical tourists that caused his skin to crawl.

When Maria entered the bar where Val had mentioned they were meeting Jung-hyun, all Maria could think was, “Damn.” It wasn’t like any bar she had ever been to back home. The ceiling was covered, literally every square inch, in empty liquor bottles that had been repurposed with twinkling lights. The tables and chairs were all mismatched furniture, and the bar itself looked like it couldn’t make up its mind between bougie, noir, or hipster.

On the wall behind the counter the liquor was stacked high on shelves with a library ladder the bartenders had to use to climb for the literal top shelf liquor. Above the bar was an insanely ornate chandelier that was easily six-foot-tall.

Unlike the mismatched furniture, the bartenders wore matching vests, striped shirts, and bow ties. The waitresses were all gorgeous, thin, model-esque, swaying their hips in tiny black dresses that hid none of their curves.

When Maria finally took her eyes off the décor and staff, she noticed a handsome man waving at them and recognized Jung-hyun the second she saw him. He was always well dressed, even when casual. Even though he looked like he’d just thrown on his oversized, large knit, electric blue sweater, pale blue ripped jeans, and Timberlands, she knew his outfit was carefully planned. His hair, black as the night sky, slightly wavy, hung just above his brow, in a bowl-like fashion, but clearly styled to appear that way. Tall and lean, he had sharply a chiseled face that accented high cheekbones and a square jaw.  Small black studs dotted his lobes and gleamed in the dim light in the bar. Looking around at the other men in the space, she checked out whether the men were dressed in suits, or casual. Whether they had dyed hair or basic black. Maria realized that men in the U.S. seemed to lack something Korean men had down to a science. Confidence in style.  

Val’s face lit up when she caught her soon-to-be husband’s eye. His face brightened just the same as she ran over to gently peck him on the cheek and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“Maria, I’d like you to formally introduce you to my fiancé Park Jung-hyun.” Val’s smile went nearly ear to ear. The excitement was evident in her voice. Seeing her friend this happy was really all Maria wanted.

She walked over to him with her arms wide and was about to give him a big congratulatory hug when there was a harsh tug on the collar of her shirt.

“What the-” She choked and spun around to see who the asshole was that had caused her to stop dead.

The young Korean man was handsome, taller than a redwood tree with a chiseled jaw line and plump heart shaped lips. He was dressed in an ornately embroidered denim jacket, white t-shirt, very nice fitting black jeans, and white sneakers. Even though he was a jerk, he was a handsome jerk with nice style.

“누구세요?”unknown rude guy said.

What the hell? she thought and wondered what the handsome jerk had said.

“아 친고야, 괜찮아, she is new to this,” Jung-hyun said and clapped the man on his shoulder.  “Maria, 미안해요, here PDA, like hugs, are not commonly seen or done. Couples will maybe hold hands and peck each other on the cheek, but larger gestures are just not acceptable in public. He didn’t mean to tug so hard.  He was just saving you from embarrassment.”  

Maria looked back over to Jung-hyun. “You know this guy?”

“Maria,” Val jumped in. “That’s Jung-hyun’s best friend and also his best man.”

“I don’t care who he is, you don’t go pulling people by the collar. And what the hell did he call me?”

“He asked who you were,” Val said, translating what the man had said.

“친고, this is Val’s best friend, and maid of honor, and your new partner in crime for the next four weeks,” Jung-hyun explained to the man.

“뭐라고?” he asked.

“Say what now?” Maria said.

They said the words simultaneously and while Maria might not know the language, it was obvious his reaction was the same as hers.

“I told you at the coffee shop that Maria is going to need to learn some Korean to give her speech at the wedding,” Jung-hyun said.

“No one said anything about me giving a speech in Korean and if anything Val can help me.”

“But I’m going to be busy with all the wedding stuff. Jung-hyun-a and his family have me taking classes on the different ceremonies that are done as part of a Korean wedding.”

“Shouldn’t I be accompanying you to those classes? I’m part of the wedding too,” Maria said.

“Yes, shouldn’t she?” The deep voice of the man she thought couldn’t speak English reached her ears. In surprise, her ears perked up to continue listening as his voice was alluring and made a shiver go down her spine.

“Yeah! Wait. You speak English?” she said and eyed the man suspiciously.

He glanced at her, rolled his eyes, and didn’t bother to answer her question, which, she admitted, was pretty dumb considering she had heard him speak in almost perfect English.

Jung-hyun reached out to pat his friend’s shoulder. “헹, you know just like I do, that your jobs in the bridal party are just a western thing.  Maid of honor and best man are not a thing here in Korea. You won’t do much of anything until the reception,” Jung-hyun explained to Maria.

“But she’s …” the man began, but stopped.

“I’m what?” Maria crossed her arms, dropped a hip, and looked over at him. His side profile was even more interesting than staring at him dead on. The man was totally attractive, and if his gorgeous lips would’ve stayed shut, or if he’d kept his long, soft, fingered hands off her collar, she would have found him to be really hot.

He looked over and smirked. “You don’t want me to finish the sentence.”

That smirk mixed with those full lips almost made her forget he was being a totally rude ass. As she looked at his lips, however, she lost her angry train of thought as her mind starting picturing those lips moving down her neck and leaving little love marks along her skin.  His voice alone was causing sensations through her body that not even her ex had when he’d physically touched her.

Somehow she fought back those thoughts and remembered that he was about to insult her. Her mind crashed back to reality.

“Oh please, I’d love to hear you finish,” she said with as much bravado as she could muster. “What’s your name? Chingu?” she said, repeating the name she’d heard Jung-hyun call him earlier. She gave Chingu an abrupt once over, ready to pounce at whatever he had to say. She was also getting angry at how attractive she found him in his way too stylish outfit, obviously custom made for him, and how it was causing her body to react when her brain was screaming for her to ignore the jerk.

The two men of the group hunched over laughing while Val tried to nudge her fiancé to stop his near tears chuckle.

“Where did you find this girl? This is a joke, right?” the still unnamed best man choked out through his laughter.

“I’m no joke you little-”

“His name isn’t Chingu,” Val cut in, trying to hold her own little chuckle. Val looked at her fiancé for help, which he was unable to give to stop Maria from say anything potentially life ruining. “Chingu means brother. It’s a term of endearment between friends. His name,” Val said and pointed at the handsome jerk, “Is Lee Hwan Soo.”

“Lee Hwan Soo?” Maria repeated, making sure she got the name correct.

Val nodded happily and Maria turned back to him to give a piece of her mind. “Listen here, Lee. I don’t-”

“Lee is my surname,” he corrected.

“Last names come first? Where am I?” Her head pounded with anger and frustration and even worse, she hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol yet. She was feeling more out of place by the second.

“You’re in Seoul, South Korea, where English isn’t the first language and we have different customs. Start getting used to it. You’re here for a month,” Hwan Soo responded with curtness. His gaze held no mockery, only total distaste for her. His lips were pursed since he clearly was holding back even more things he wanted to say.

Her comment clearly had gotten under his skin. While she wasn’t sure what she had said that was worth warranting such a heated response, she also felt compelled to defend herself. “This wasn’t exactly a well-planned trip for me. I was told two weeks ago that my best friend was engaged and asked to fly out here for a month to help plan the wedding. So excuse me, Mr. High and Mighty for not grasping all of your culture and language in the …” She paused and looked at her phone for the time. “Ten hours I’ve been in your country.”

Always the one to try and smooth out awkward situations, Val interjected, “Let’s get some drinks.” When she handed the drink menu across the table, Maria blinked several times. It was the same characters she had seen at the airport, but this time they didn’t have the nice English translations below.

“Val, I can’t read any of this.” Heat rushed up to Maria’s face as Lee Hwan Soo scoffed while standing next to her at the bar top table.

“Oh geez, I’m sorry Mari, right…umm…”

“Just get her one of the fruity soju drinks,” His Royal Annoyance said.

“No, it’s ok. I’ve got a headache so I think I’ll just go back to the apartment.” Maria had felt uncomfortable all day and the night so far had only solidified how out of place she was. She wanted to be there for Val, make things calm and easy for her best friend’s big day, but Maria being there seemed to complicate everyone’s life.

“Oh come on, Mari. Please don’t leave,” Val said and tried to stop her from going as Maria stepped away from their table.

She leaned close and in a low voice that only Val could hear, and said, “I can’t speak the language, I can’t even read it, I’m unfamiliar with the traditions, I know nothing. I don’t want to embarrass you. Plus, with all the traveling I did the last day and a half, this jet lag has taken its toll.”  Turning to the two men, she plastered on a bright smile and said, “Enjoy your night.” She bowed her head as she had seen others do during the course of the day, hoping she was at least catching on to that custom.

“You managed to get that right,” Douchey McDouche responded as he bowed his head.

She was trying out different names for him, but nothing seemed to encapsulate everything she was feeling about him.

Why was that Lee Hwan Soo guy such a hard ass? It wasn’t like she had a crash course in Korean and Korean culture. She wasn’t opposed to learning new things but he seemed to take everything she said about not understanding as an insult. She was frustrated, flustered and so maybe she didn’t properly convey what she wanted to say, but it didn’t justify his sneer and judgment. While Val tried to calm the storm brewing between Maria and Lee Hwan Soo by whispering something to him and jerking her head at Jung-hyun to get involved, Maria knew that if she didn’t walk away, the situation would have simply continued to get a lot worse. That international incident she was worried about would totally come true.

Hurrying from the bar, she found a long line of taxis outside, watching, waiting, hoping to see drunks stumble out to their cab. She walked over to one cab and climbed in. When he began to speak in Korean, she realized she was screwed. She bowed her head and was about to climb back out of the cab when her door quickly shut and a knock rapped on the front driver window.

She was about to protest when the taxi driver rolled his window down and a too familiar and arrogant voice drifted in. Lee Hwan Soo pushed a piece of paper and a large wad of cash toward the man whose face lit up like he had just received the biggest gift of his life.  With a quick bow at Lee Hwan Soo, the driver quickly started his cab and pulled out onto the busy streets of Seoul.

She looked out her window as they began driving away. Douche Canoe stood in front of the bar and bowed several times with a cocky smirk on his face. His gaze met hers for a few seconds before he shook his head, scratched the back of his immaculately cut and styled black hair as if in puzzlement, and then he was gone from sight as the cab quickly shot around the corner.

This month was going to be an absolute bitch, she thought.

And here is your phonetics! How did you do? Did you figure out what was going on? 

형-Hyung – older brother (both literal and friend)

오랜만이다- oraenmanida – long time no see

나 – na - me

안녕하세요- anyeonghasaeyo - hello

커피 이 인분 주세요- kopee ee-een bon jusaeyo – two coffees please

내- nae - yes

야- ya – hey!

누구세요- nugusaeyo – who are you?

아 친고야, 괜찮아- ah chinguya, qwaenchanha –ah buddy, it’s ok.

뭐라고- mworagoo – what did you say?

Hangul, 1, 2,

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 2.

THE HANGUL HAS FINALLY ARRIVED INTO THE STORY!!! ARE YOU EXCITED?!?! CLEARLY I AM!! I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS!!! 

And that’s how Maria ended up taking a month-long break from a job she probably was going to quit when she got home and hopped on a twenty-four-hour flight to a country she knew next to nothing about.

As she walked past the large airport welcome sign that read 한국에 오신걸 환영합니다, she felt relieved to see that although it was in what looked like hieroglyphics, the sign also had English underneath that said ‘Welcome to Korea’. She had barely cleared Customs and Immigration when her phone began to buzz and she swiped to answer, knowing exactly who it was.

“Mom, I literally just landed. I haven’t even found Val yet.”

“Did you sit next to anyone nice on the flight? It was a long journey,” she probed.

“Are you seriously asking if I met someone on the flight?” Maria hissed. Her mom was beyond unbelievable.

“You never know. And with a flight that long-”

Maria couldn’t let her mom finish the ridiculous line of questioning and quickly cut her off. “I met a lovely mother and her baby daughter, who shockingly didn’t cry for the whole flight, and then the second flight was a sixty-year-old man who was going to visit his son, whose wife just gave birth to his first grandson.”

“Really? Such a shame,” the disappointment in her mother’s voice wasn’t surprising.

“By the way, I landed safely and none of my luggage was lost,” she said in a heavy sigh as she was being passed by thousands of other travelers.

“Of course, of course. I’m glad you’re safe. Give Val a hug and kiss for me. And maybe ask her fiancé if he has any nice single-”

“Gotta go,” Maria said and hung up before her mother finished. Not only because of the fact she didn’t want to hear the end of the statement but also because she had walked into what looked like a city square in the middle of the airport. It was filled with thousands of people, both travelers and loved ones, offering their hugs of either hello or goodbye.

Stores, some familiar, most unrecognizable, lined the raised walkways surrounding the square. Walkways that looked as if encapsulated in pristine glass. Colorful LED screens with more of the Korean letters, with products she had never heard of, hung above her. She felt as if she had entered something out of a sci-fi future fantasy world and wondered how she would ever find her best friend among the masses.

She looked around, searching for the large pile of curly hair atop tanned skin, when suddenly a loud squeal came from down the way. She spotted her best friend waving frantically, jumping up and down. Bolting past a mound of luggage, Val ran to wrap Maria in a huge hug.

“Mari!” Val squealed.

“Val!” Maria squealed back and they giggled their way through all the excitement.

“It’s been way too long!” Maria was so happy to actually be able to hug her friend. “First you move across the country and now we’re more than half way around the world for your wedding! P.S. Are we still in an airport?”

Val chuckled. “I know, right? When I landed I said the same thing. Jung-hyun gave me a tour of the place and, I kid you not, we spent half the day here. If you think this is impressive, Seoul is a twenty-four-hour city. New York is a total noob when it comes to all night festivities. Seoul is the true city that never sleeps. You’re going to love the food, the culture, the drinks, the people, the men.” Val couldn’t stop gushing about the place, and so far Maria had to agree the place was going to be some kind of sight.

“Did my mom already call you because I’m not interested in the men. I’m here to celebrate my best friend in the entire world getting married! But I’ll admit I can’t wait to see your Jung-hyun again. I only met him once when I came to visit and we’ve maybe said a few words to each other during FaceTime. I’m glad I’m getting the time to know him better. Make sure he is one hundred percent right for my girl.”

“He’s staying with his family, but you’ll get to meet him and his best friend tonight when we go for drinks.”

“What do you mean he’s staying with family? Where are you staying?” Maria had been starting to get weird vibes about this wedding since the day Val announced it was even a thing. There were too many variables that didn’t leave Maria with the feeling she was going to be happy for her friend’s marriage.

“His family put you and me up in an amazing penthouse a little way from their place. Traditionally, couples don’t stay overnight, or even live together, unless they’re married. It’s changed a little bit over the years, but his family is old school so…”

“You’re serious? You’re actually living separately this whole month?”

“Jung-hyun and I may not go home together but we spend a lot of time with each other. To be honest, even when we lived together that week because of my apartment flood, we never actually have spent the whole night together, well not on purpose. I usually slept in his guest room.”

“But when do you get to…” Maria trailed off waiting for Val to finish the sentence. What shocked Maria was the bright shade of red Val was turning. “You haven’t – never- what the hell? Really?”

“진짜,” Val responded nervously.  

“Jin-Huh?” Maria knew whatever was said was not English.

“Jinjja,” Val said, correcting her pronunciation.  Then she quickly said, “미안해…which is Korean for sorry.”

“Mi…an…hae,” Mari repeated, thinking she’d be using that word a lot in the next month.  “Seriously?” she added, wondering if her friend was for real about learning Korean.

“진짜. Seriously. English isn’t totally common here yet. I’ve been learning since Jung-hyun and I started dating and it’s getting more comfortable for me to speak it. Especially here.”

“Could’ve given me that small heads up.” Maria could feel the anxiety creeping up on her as she realized how much of an outsider she was. Looking around to find the few English signs around, she noticed some people were staring and pointing at them but Val didn’t seem to care.

“Just ignore it, Mari. But if you want to know, all of them are giving you some high compliments. The men think you’re a hottie,” Val said and laughed as she wheeled Maria’s bag out of the airport.

The scent of the city hit Maria’s nostrils and comfort filled her. She might not know Seoul, but city life was a happy place for her. When Val and Maria were kids, they had always talked about getting a small apartment in New York City together, living their dream lives, in their dream city. But while Val had a life plan, big dreams, and a smart head on her shoulders, Maria, had always lacked direction. While intelligent, she didn’t know where to funnel her knowledge and she hoped that one day she’d figure out what to do.

At the curb a man standing by a large luxury sedan noticed them approaching even though the place was packed full of cars, vans, buses, and people. He opened the car door as he executed a deep bow.

“This is yours?” Maria asked, opening her eyes wide with surprise.

“Jung-hyun’s family prefers using a car instead of public transportation.”

“These people seem to have a lot of say in what you do and don’t do.” Maria couldn’t hide her concern about the situation any longer.

“Maria…” Her friend seemed to know where the conversation was headed and also that it was not the time or the place to be having the discussion.

“You can’t live with him, you haven’t slept with him, they won’t let you choose how to get around. Next you’re going to tell me they tell you what to eat, how to dress, and when you can use the restroom,” she said as they climbed into the car and although Maria wasn’t happy, she also had to say she was impressed with the car service her fiancé’s family had provided. The expensive vehicle was packed with high-end creature comforts. Leather heated seats, video monitors on the back of the front head rests, arm rests with charger ports, and cold water bottles in the cup holders instantly made one feel luxurious.

“It’s a cultural thing. Be happy they accepted me at all. A lot of parents have people already set up for their children, and even if they’re in love with someone else, they marry who their parents chose. Don’t even get me started on the whole interracial thing,” Val explained, grabbed the water and took large swigs, clearly uncomfortable with Maria’s slightly accusatory tone.

“You’re joking right? What century are we in? Did my plane time travel?” Maria hadn’t expected to start this journey with a fight, but the worry about people she had never met was causing her to take it out on her best friend.

“Please, Mari,” Val begged.

“I’m sorry, but the things you’re telling me sound ridiculous and archaic. And I can’t believe that you’re going along with it so calmly.”

“Because I love Jung-hyun. I would do just about anything for him. It’s not like he hasn’t fought for my side on some of these things. He’s a great man and we are fine with this setup for now. It’s only for the next month or so.”

“Or so?” Maria’s neck snapped as she whipped her head around to face her friend.

“Well, after the ceremony-”

“You’re going back to your dream job in California, designing homes for the rich and famous, right?” Maria’s nails dug into the leather as she fought to control her anger.

“I really like it here, Maria. This city is massive and I could easily get the same job. Probably work a lot more and make way more connections…”

“Valerie!” Maria never used her friend’s full name unless absolutely necessary and this was definitely time for it. “Who are you? Have they brainwashed you? Are you joining some sort of cult? You’ve never jumped into something like this so quick! Even the move to California was a two month back and forth and that was for your dream job. All of a sudden you’re happy with just packing up and moving to a different country to make this dude’s family happy?”

“It’s not like that. I haven’t even mentioned it to Jung-hyun yet. It’s just that …I see how happy he’s been with his family around and I want to see him that happy all the time,” Val said.

Her friend appeared to have entered her own world where dopey grins and glazed over eyes seemed to be her new standard look. But Maria couldn’t let it go.  “You could make him that happy with just the two of you. Alone. Home.  In California.”

“It’s a different kind of happy. Maria, I know you’re worried and I understand. But please, for my sake, stop and wait until you spend more time with Jung-hyun. During all the times you’ve spoken with him, even when you met him, did he ever seem like some evil guy set on ruining my life, and making me a stay at home wife, whose only job is to cook and clean?”

Val had a point. The several times Maria had spoken to Jung-hyun, he seemed like a great guy. Downright romantic even.

With a huff of defeat Maria nodded. “Fine. I will stop, for now. But I’m gonna have words with him at some point. For today I will be the best friend who’s super excited that her best friend is getting married.”

“Thank you, Mari, honestly.” Val’s voice held desperation and Maria hated that she was the one to cause strain, but she wasn’t someone who held back. It’s probably why she was perpetually single and had very few good friends. Except Val and she would do whatever she could to see her friend happy.

As Maria sat back in the comfortable leather seat, she looked out the window to view the bustling city she was about to call home for the next four weeks.  Only four weeks, she thought, and hoped her friend’s wedding would go off without Maria accidently causing an international incident.

Here are the phonetics to test your hangul pronunciation! :)

한국에 오신걸 환영합니다- hangukae oshinkeol hwanyeong hab ni da – Welcome to Korea

진짜 – jinjja - seriously

미안해- mianhae - sorry

Hangul, 1, 

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 2.

THE HANGUL HAS FINALLY ARRIVED INTO THE STORY!!! ARE YOU EXCITED?!?! CLEARLY I AM!! I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS!!! 

And that’s how Maria ended up taking a month-long break from a job she probably was going to quit when she got home and hopped on a twenty-four-hour flight to a country she knew next to nothing about.

As she walked past the large airport welcome sign that read 한국에 오신걸 환영합니다, she felt relieved to see that although it was in what looked like hieroglyphics, the sign also had English underneath that said ‘Welcome to Korea’. She had barely cleared Customs and Immigration when her phone began to buzz and she swiped to answer, knowing exactly who it was.

“Mom, I literally just landed. I haven’t even found Val yet.”

“Did you sit next to anyone nice on the flight? It was a long journey,” she probed.

“Are you seriously asking if I met someone on the flight?” Maria hissed. Her mom was beyond unbelievable.

“You never know. And with a flight that long-”

Maria couldn’t let her mom finish the ridiculous line of questioning and quickly cut her off. “I met a lovely mother and her baby daughter, who shockingly didn’t cry for the whole flight, and then the second flight was a sixty-year-old man who was going to visit his son, whose wife just gave birth to his first grandson.”

“Really? Such a shame,” the disappointment in her mother’s voice wasn’t surprising.

“By the way, I landed safely and none of my luggage was lost,” she said in a heavy sigh as she was being passed by thousands of other travelers.

“Of course, of course. I’m glad you’re safe. Give Val a hug and kiss for me. And maybe ask her fiancé if he has any nice single-”

“Gotta go,” Maria said and hung up before her mother finished. Not only because of the fact she didn’t want to hear the end of the statement but also because she had walked into what looked like a city square in the middle of the airport. It was filled with thousands of people, both travelers and loved ones, offering their hugs of either hello or goodbye.

Stores, some familiar, most unrecognizable, lined the raised walkways surrounding the square. Walkways that looked as if encapsulated in pristine glass. Colorful LED screens with more of the Korean letters, with products she had never heard of, hung above her. She felt as if she had entered something out of a sci-fi future fantasy world and wondered how she would ever find her best friend among the masses.

She looked around, searching for the large pile of curly hair atop tanned skin, when suddenly a loud squeal came from down the way. She spotted her best friend waving frantically, jumping up and down. Bolting past a mound of luggage, Val ran to wrap Maria in a huge hug.

“Mari!” Val squealed.

“Val!” Maria squealed back and they giggled their way through all the excitement.

“It’s been way too long!” Maria was so happy to actually be able to hug her friend. “First you move across the country and now we’re more than half way around the world for your wedding! P.S. Are we still in an airport?”

Val chuckled. “I know, right? When I landed I said the same thing. Jung-hyun gave me a tour of the place and, I kid you not, we spent half the day here. If you think this is impressive, Seoul is a twenty-four-hour city. New York is a total noob when it comes to all night festivities. Seoul is the true city that never sleeps. You’re going to love the food, the culture, the drinks, the people, the men.” Val couldn’t stop gushing about the place, and so far Maria had to agree the place was going to be some kind of sight.

“Did my mom already call you because I’m not interested in the men. I’m here to celebrate my best friend in the entire world getting married! But I’ll admit I can’t wait to see your Jung-hyun again. I only met him once when I came to visit and we’ve maybe said a few words to each other during FaceTime. I’m glad I’m getting the time to know him better. Make sure he is one hundred percent right for my girl.”

“He’s staying with his family, but you’ll get to meet him and his best friend tonight when we go for drinks.”

“What do you mean he’s staying with family? Where are you staying?” Maria had been starting to get weird vibes about this wedding since the day Val announced it was even a thing. There were too many variables that didn’t leave Maria with the feeling she was going to be happy for her friend’s marriage.

“His family put you and me up in an amazing penthouse a little way from their place. Traditionally, couples don’t stay overnight, or even live together, unless they’re married. It’s changed a little bit over the years, but his family is old school so…”

“You’re serious? You’re actually living separately this whole month?”

“Jung-hyun and I may not go home together but we spend a lot of time with each other. To be honest, even when we lived together that week because of my apartment flood, we never actually have spent the whole night together, well not on purpose. I usually slept in his guest room.”

“But when do you get to…” Maria trailed off waiting for Val to finish the sentence. What shocked Maria was the bright shade of red Val was turning. “You haven’t – never- what the hell? Really?”

“진짜,” Val responded nervously.  

“Jin-Huh?” Maria knew whatever was said was not English.

“Jinjja,” Val said, correcting her pronunciation.  Then she quickly said, “미안해…which is Korean for sorry.”

“Mi…an…hae,” Mari repeated, thinking she’d be using that word a lot in the next month.  “Seriously?” she added, wondering if her friend was for real about learning Korean.

“진짜. Seriously. English isn’t totally common here yet. I’ve been learning since Jung-hyun and I started dating and it’s getting more comfortable for me to speak it. Especially here.”

“Could’ve given me that small heads up.” Maria could feel the anxiety creeping up on her as she realized how much of an outsider she was. Looking around to find the few English signs around, she noticed some people were staring and pointing at them but Val didn’t seem to care.

“Just ignore it, Mari. But if you want to know, all of them are giving you some high compliments. The men think you’re a hottie,” Val said and laughed as she wheeled Maria’s bag out of the airport.

The scent of the city hit Maria’s nostrils and comfort filled her. She might not know Seoul, but city life was a happy place for her. When Val and Maria were kids, they had always talked about getting a small apartment in New York City together, living their dream lives, in their dream city. But while Val had a life plan, big dreams, and a smart head on her shoulders, Maria, had always lacked direction. While intelligent, she didn’t know where to funnel her knowledge and she hoped that one day she’d figure out what to do.

At the curb a man standing by a large luxury sedan noticed them approaching even though the place was packed full of cars, vans, buses, and people. He opened the car door as he executed a deep bow.

“This is yours?” Maria asked, opening her eyes wide with surprise.

“Jung-hyun’s family prefers using a car instead of public transportation.”

“These people seem to have a lot of say in what you do and don’t do.” Maria couldn’t hide her concern about the situation any longer.

“Maria…” Her friend seemed to know where the conversation was headed and also that it was not the time or the place to be having the discussion.

“You can’t live with him, you haven’t slept with him, they won’t let you choose how to get around. Next you’re going to tell me they tell you what to eat, how to dress, and when you can use the restroom,” she said as they climbed into the car and although Maria wasn’t happy, she also had to say she was impressed with the car service her fiancé’s family had provided. The expensive vehicle was packed with high-end creature comforts. Leather heated seats, video monitors on the back of the front head rests, arm rests with charger ports, and cold water bottles in the cup holders instantly made one feel luxurious.

“It’s a cultural thing. Be happy they accepted me at all. A lot of parents have people already set up for their children, and even if they’re in love with someone else, they marry who their parents chose. Don’t even get me started on the whole interracial thing,” Val explained, grabbed the water and took large swigs, clearly uncomfortable with Maria’s slightly accusatory tone.

“You’re joking right? What century are we in? Did my plane time travel?” Maria hadn’t expected to start this journey with a fight, but the worry about people she had never met was causing her to take it out on her best friend.

“Please, Mari,” Val begged.

“I’m sorry, but the things you’re telling me sound ridiculous and archaic. And I can’t believe that you’re going along with it so calmly.”

“Because I love Jung-hyun. I would do just about anything for him. It’s not like he hasn’t fought for my side on some of these things. He’s a great man and we are fine with this setup for now. It’s only for the next month or so.”

“Or so?” Maria’s neck snapped as she whipped her head around to face her friend.

“Well, after the ceremony-”

“You’re going back to your dream job in California, designing homes for the rich and famous, right?” Maria’s nails dug into the leather as she fought to control her anger.

“I really like it here, Maria. This city is massive and I could easily get the same job. Probably work a lot more and make way more connections…”

“Valerie!” Maria never used her friend’s full name unless absolutely necessary and this was definitely time for it. “Who are you? Have they brainwashed you? Are you joining some sort of cult? You’ve never jumped into something like this so quick! Even the move to California was a two month back and forth and that was for your dream job. All of a sudden you’re happy with just packing up and moving to a different country to make this dude’s family happy?”

“It’s not like that. I haven’t even mentioned it to Jung-hyun yet. It’s just that …I see how happy he’s been with his family around and I want to see him that happy all the time,” Val said.

Her friend appeared to have entered her own world where dopey grins and glazed over eyes seemed to be her new standard look. But Maria couldn’t let it go.  “You could make him that happy with just the two of you. Alone. Home.  In California.”

“It’s a different kind of happy. Maria, I know you’re worried and I understand. But please, for my sake, stop and wait until you spend more time with Jung-hyun. During all the times you’ve spoken with him, even when you met him, did he ever seem like some evil guy set on ruining my life, and making me a stay at home wife, whose only job is to cook and clean?”

Val had a point. The several times Maria had spoken to Jung-hyun, he seemed like a great guy. Downright romantic even.

With a huff of defeat Maria nodded. “Fine. I will stop, for now. But I’m gonna have words with him at some point. For today I will be the best friend who’s super excited that her best friend is getting married.”

“Thank you, Mari, honestly.” Val’s voice held desperation and Maria hated that she was the one to cause strain, but she wasn’t someone who held back. It’s probably why she was perpetually single and had very few good friends. Except Val and she would do whatever she could to see her friend happy.

As Maria sat back in the comfortable leather seat, she looked out the window to view the bustling city she was about to call home for the next four weeks.  Only four weeks, she thought, and hoped her friend’s wedding would go off without Maria accidently causing an international incident.

Here are the phonetics to test your hangul pronunciation! :)

한국에 오신걸 환영합니다- hangukae oshinkeol hwanyeong hab ni da – Welcome to Korea

진짜 – jinjja - seriously

미안해- mianhae - sorry

Hangul, 1, 

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 2.

THE HANGUL HAS FINALLY ARRIVED INTO THE STORY!!! ARE YOU EXCITED?!?! CLEARLY I AM!! I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS!!! 

And that’s how Maria ended up taking a month-long break from a job she probably was going to quit when she got home and hopped on a twenty-four-hour flight to a country she knew next to nothing about.

As she walked past the large airport welcome sign that read 한국에 오신걸 환영합니다, she felt relieved to see that although it was in what looked like hieroglyphics, the sign also had English underneath that said ‘Welcome to Korea’. She had barely cleared Customs and Immigration when her phone began to buzz and she swiped to answer, knowing exactly who it was.

“Mom, I literally just landed. I haven’t even found Val yet.”

“Did you sit next to anyone nice on the flight? It was a long journey,” she probed.

“Are you seriously asking if I met someone on the flight?” Maria hissed. Her mom was beyond unbelievable.

“You never know. And with a flight that long-”

Maria couldn’t let her mom finish the ridiculous line of questioning and quickly cut her off. “I met a lovely mother and her baby daughter, who shockingly didn’t cry for the whole flight, and then the second flight was a sixty-year-old man who was going to visit his son, whose wife just gave birth to his first grandson.”

“Really? Such a shame,” the disappointment in her mother’s voice wasn’t surprising.

“By the way, I landed safely and none of my luggage was lost,” she said in a heavy sigh as she was being passed by thousands of other travelers.

“Of course, of course. I’m glad you’re safe. Give Val a hug and kiss for me. And maybe ask her fiancé if he has any nice single-”

“Gotta go,” Maria said and hung up before her mother finished. Not only because of the fact she didn’t want to hear the end of the statement but also because she had walked into what looked like a city square in the middle of the airport. It was filled with thousands of people, both travelers and loved ones, offering their hugs of either hello or goodbye.

Stores, some familiar, most unrecognizable, lined the raised walkways surrounding the square. Walkways that looked as if encapsulated in pristine glass. Colorful LED screens with more of the Korean letters, with products she had never heard of, hung above her. She felt as if she had entered something out of a sci-fi future fantasy world and wondered how she would ever find her best friend among the masses.

She looked around, searching for the large pile of curly hair atop tanned skin, when suddenly a loud squeal came from down the way. She spotted her best friend waving frantically, jumping up and down. Bolting past a mound of luggage, Val ran to wrap Maria in a huge hug.

“Mari!” Val squealed.

“Val!” Maria squealed back and they giggled their way through all the excitement.

“It’s been way too long!” Maria was so happy to actually be able to hug her friend. “First you move across the country and now we’re more than half way around the world for your wedding! P.S. Are we still in an airport?”

Val chuckled. “I know, right? When I landed I said the same thing. Jung-hyun gave me a tour of the place and, I kid you not, we spent half the day here. If you think this is impressive, Seoul is a twenty-four-hour city. New York is a total noob when it comes to all night festivities. Seoul is the true city that never sleeps. You’re going to love the food, the culture, the drinks, the people, the men.” Val couldn’t stop gushing about the place, and so far Maria had to agree the place was going to be some kind of sight.

“Did my mom already call you because I’m not interested in the men. I’m here to celebrate my best friend in the entire world getting married! But I’ll admit I can’t wait to see your Jung-hyun again. I only met him once when I came to visit and we’ve maybe said a few words to each other during FaceTime. I’m glad I’m getting the time to know him better. Make sure he is one hundred percent right for my girl.”

“He’s staying with his family, but you’ll get to meet him and his best friend tonight when we go for drinks.”

“What do you mean he’s staying with family? Where are you staying?” Maria had been starting to get weird vibes about this wedding since the day Val announced it was even a thing. There were too many variables that didn’t leave Maria with the feeling she was going to be happy for her friend’s marriage.

“His family put you and me up in an amazing penthouse a little way from their place. Traditionally, couples don’t stay overnight, or even live together, unless they’re married. It’s changed a little bit over the years, but his family is old school so…”

“You’re serious? You’re actually living separately this whole month?”

“Jung-hyun and I may not go home together but we spend a lot of time with each other. To be honest, even when we lived together that week because of my apartment flood, we never actually have spent the whole night together, well not on purpose. I usually slept in his guest room.”

“But when do you get to…” Maria trailed off waiting for Val to finish the sentence. What shocked Maria was the bright shade of red Val was turning. “You haven’t – never- what the hell? Really?”

“진짜,” Val responded nervously.  

“Jin-Huh?” Maria knew whatever was said was not English.

“Jinjja,” Val said, correcting her pronunciation.  Then she quickly said, “미안해…which is Korean for sorry.”

“Mi…an…hae,” Mari repeated, thinking she’d be using that word a lot in the next month.  “Seriously?” she added, wondering if her friend was for real about learning Korean.

“진짜. Seriously. English isn’t totally common here yet. I’ve been learning since Jung-hyun and I started dating and it’s getting more comfortable for me to speak it. Especially here.”

“Could’ve given me that small heads up.” Maria could feel the anxiety creeping up on her as she realized how much of an outsider she was. Looking around to find the few English signs around, she noticed some people were staring and pointing at them but Val didn’t seem to care.

“Just ignore it, Mari. But if you want to know, all of them are giving you some high compliments. The men think you’re a hottie,” Val said and laughed as she wheeled Maria’s bag out of the airport.

The scent of the city hit Maria’s nostrils and comfort filled her. She might not know Seoul, but city life was a happy place for her. When Val and Maria were kids, they had always talked about getting a small apartment in New York City together, living their dream lives, in their dream city. But while Val had a life plan, big dreams, and a smart head on her shoulders, Maria, had always lacked direction. While intelligent, she didn’t know where to funnel her knowledge and she hoped that one day she’d figure out what to do.

At the curb a man standing by a large luxury sedan noticed them approaching even though the place was packed full of cars, vans, buses, and people. He opened the car door as he executed a deep bow.

“This is yours?” Maria asked, opening her eyes wide with surprise.

“Jung-hyun’s family prefers using a car instead of public transportation.”

“These people seem to have a lot of say in what you do and don’t do.” Maria couldn’t hide her concern about the situation any longer.

“Maria…” Her friend seemed to know where the conversation was headed and also that it was not the time or the place to be having the discussion.

“You can’t live with him, you haven’t slept with him, they won’t let you choose how to get around. Next you’re going to tell me they tell you what to eat, how to dress, and when you can use the restroom,” she said as they climbed into the car and although Maria wasn’t happy, she also had to say she was impressed with the car service her fiancé’s family had provided. The expensive vehicle was packed with high-end creature comforts. Leather heated seats, video monitors on the back of the front head rests, arm rests with charger ports, and cold water bottles in the cup holders instantly made one feel luxurious.

“It’s a cultural thing. Be happy they accepted me at all. A lot of parents have people already set up for their children, and even if they’re in love with someone else, they marry who their parents chose. Don’t even get me started on the whole interracial thing,” Val explained, grabbed the water and took large swigs, clearly uncomfortable with Maria’s slightly accusatory tone.

“You’re joking right? What century are we in? Did my plane time travel?” Maria hadn’t expected to start this journey with a fight, but the worry about people she had never met was causing her to take it out on her best friend.

“Please, Mari,” Val begged.

“I’m sorry, but the things you’re telling me sound ridiculous and archaic. And I can’t believe that you’re going along with it so calmly.”

“Because I love Jung-hyun. I would do just about anything for him. It’s not like he hasn’t fought for my side on some of these things. He’s a great man and we are fine with this setup for now. It’s only for the next month or so.”

“Or so?” Maria’s neck snapped as she whipped her head around to face her friend.

“Well, after the ceremony-”

“You’re going back to your dream job in California, designing homes for the rich and famous, right?” Maria’s nails dug into the leather as she fought to control her anger.

“I really like it here, Maria. This city is massive and I could easily get the same job. Probably work a lot more and make way more connections…”

“Valerie!” Maria never used her friend’s full name unless absolutely necessary and this was definitely time for it. “Who are you? Have they brainwashed you? Are you joining some sort of cult? You’ve never jumped into something like this so quick! Even the move to California was a two month back and forth and that was for your dream job. All of a sudden you’re happy with just packing up and moving to a different country to make this dude’s family happy?”

“It’s not like that. I haven’t even mentioned it to Jung-hyun yet. It’s just that …I see how happy he’s been with his family around and I want to see him that happy all the time,” Val said.

Her friend appeared to have entered her own world where dopey grins and glazed over eyes seemed to be her new standard look. But Maria couldn’t let it go.  “You could make him that happy with just the two of you. Alone. Home.  In California.”

“It’s a different kind of happy. Maria, I know you’re worried and I understand. But please, for my sake, stop and wait until you spend more time with Jung-hyun. During all the times you’ve spoken with him, even when you met him, did he ever seem like some evil guy set on ruining my life, and making me a stay at home wife, whose only job is to cook and clean?”

Val had a point. The several times Maria had spoken to Jung-hyun, he seemed like a great guy. Downright romantic even.

With a huff of defeat Maria nodded. “Fine. I will stop, for now. But I’m gonna have words with him at some point. For today I will be the best friend who’s super excited that her best friend is getting married.”

“Thank you, Mari, honestly.” Val’s voice held desperation and Maria hated that she was the one to cause strain, but she wasn’t someone who held back. It’s probably why she was perpetually single and had very few good friends. Except Val and she would do whatever she could to see her friend happy.

As Maria sat back in the comfortable leather seat, she looked out the window to view the bustling city she was about to call home for the next four weeks.  Only four weeks, she thought, and hoped her friend’s wedding would go off without Maria accidently causing an international incident.

Here are the phonetics to test your hangul pronunciation! :)

한국에 오신걸 환영합니다- hangukae oshinkeol hwanyeong hab ni da – Welcome to Korea

진짜 – jinjja - seriously

미안해- mianhae - sorry

Hangul, 1, 

GUYS PLEASE CHECK OUT MY SIDE PROJECT! Learn korean and fall in love!!

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 2.

THE HANGUL HAS FINALLY ARRIVED INTO THE STORY!!! ARE YOU EXCITED?!?! CLEARLY I AM!! I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS!!! 

And that’s how Maria ended up taking a month-long break from a job she probably was going to quit when she got home and hopped on a twenty-four-hour flight to a country she knew next to nothing about.

As she walked past the large airport welcome sign that read 한국에 오신걸 환영합니다, she felt relieved to see that although it was in what looked like hieroglyphics, the sign also had English underneath that said ‘Welcome to Korea’. She had barely cleared Customs and Immigration when her phone began to buzz and she swiped to answer, knowing exactly who it was.

“Mom, I literally just landed. I haven’t even found Val yet.”

“Did you sit next to anyone nice on the flight? It was a long journey,” she probed.

“Are you seriously asking if I met someone on the flight?” Maria hissed. Her mom was beyond unbelievable.

“You never know. And with a flight that long-”

Maria couldn’t let her mom finish the ridiculous line of questioning and quickly cut her off. “I met a lovely mother and her baby daughter, who shockingly didn’t cry for the whole flight, and then the second flight was a sixty-year-old man who was going to visit his son, whose wife just gave birth to his first grandson.”

“Really? Such a shame,” the disappointment in her mother’s voice wasn’t surprising.

“By the way, I landed safely and none of my luggage was lost,” she said in a heavy sigh as she was being passed by thousands of other travelers.

“Of course, of course. I’m glad you’re safe. Give Val a hug and kiss for me. And maybe ask her fiancé if he has any nice single-”

“Gotta go,” Maria said and hung up before her mother finished. Not only because of the fact she didn’t want to hear the end of the statement but also because she had walked into what looked like a city square in the middle of the airport. It was filled with thousands of people, both travelers and loved ones, offering their hugs of either hello or goodbye.

Stores, some familiar, most unrecognizable, lined the raised walkways surrounding the square. Walkways that looked as if encapsulated in pristine glass. Colorful LED screens with more of the Korean letters, with products she had never heard of, hung above her. She felt as if she had entered something out of a sci-fi future fantasy world and wondered how she would ever find her best friend among the masses.

She looked around, searching for the large pile of curly hair atop tanned skin, when suddenly a loud squeal came from down the way. She spotted her best friend waving frantically, jumping up and down. Bolting past a mound of luggage, Val ran to wrap Maria in a huge hug.

“Mari!” Val squealed.

“Val!” Maria squealed back and they giggled their way through all the excitement.

“It’s been way too long!” Maria was so happy to actually be able to hug her friend. “First you move across the country and now we’re more than half way around the world for your wedding! P.S. Are we still in an airport?”

Val chuckled. “I know, right? When I landed I said the same thing. Jung-hyun gave me a tour of the place and, I kid you not, we spent half the day here. If you think this is impressive, Seoul is a twenty-four-hour city. New York is a total noob when it comes to all night festivities. Seoul is the true city that never sleeps. You’re going to love the food, the culture, the drinks, the people, the men.” Val couldn’t stop gushing about the place, and so far Maria had to agree the place was going to be some kind of sight.

“Did my mom already call you because I’m not interested in the men. I’m here to celebrate my best friend in the entire world getting married! But I’ll admit I can’t wait to see your Jung-hyun again. I only met him once when I came to visit and we’ve maybe said a few words to each other during FaceTime. I’m glad I’m getting the time to know him better. Make sure he is one hundred percent right for my girl.”

“He’s staying with his family, but you’ll get to meet him and his best friend tonight when we go for drinks.”

“What do you mean he’s staying with family? Where are you staying?” Maria had been starting to get weird vibes about this wedding since the day Val announced it was even a thing. There were too many variables that didn’t leave Maria with the feeling she was going to be happy for her friend’s marriage.

“His family put you and me up in an amazing penthouse a little way from their place. Traditionally, couples don’t stay overnight, or even live together, unless they’re married. It’s changed a little bit over the years, but his family is old school so…”

“You’re serious? You’re actually living separately this whole month?”

“Jung-hyun and I may not go home together but we spend a lot of time with each other. To be honest, even when we lived together that week because of my apartment flood, we never actually have spent the whole night together, well not on purpose. I usually slept in his guest room.”

“But when do you get to…” Maria trailed off waiting for Val to finish the sentence. What shocked Maria was the bright shade of red Val was turning. “You haven’t – never- what the hell? Really?”

“진짜,” Val responded nervously.  

“Jin-Huh?” Maria knew whatever was said was not English.

“Jinjja,” Val said, correcting her pronunciation.  Then she quickly said, “미안해…which is Korean for sorry.”

“Mi…an…hae,” Mari repeated, thinking she’d be using that word a lot in the next month.  “Seriously?” she added, wondering if her friend was for real about learning Korean.

“진짜. Seriously. English isn’t totally common here yet. I’ve been learning since Jung-hyun and I started dating and it’s getting more comfortable for me to speak it. Especially here.”

“Could’ve given me that small heads up.” Maria could feel the anxiety creeping up on her as she realized how much of an outsider she was. Looking around to find the few English signs around, she noticed some people were staring and pointing at them but Val didn’t seem to care.

“Just ignore it, Mari. But if you want to know, all of them are giving you some high compliments. The men think you’re a hottie,” Val said and laughed as she wheeled Maria’s bag out of the airport.

The scent of the city hit Maria’s nostrils and comfort filled her. She might not know Seoul, but city life was a happy place for her. When Val and Maria were kids, they had always talked about getting a small apartment in New York City together, living their dream lives, in their dream city. But while Val had a life plan, big dreams, and a smart head on her shoulders, Maria, had always lacked direction. While intelligent, she didn’t know where to funnel her knowledge and she hoped that one day she’d figure out what to do.

At the curb a man standing by a large luxury sedan noticed them approaching even though the place was packed full of cars, vans, buses, and people. He opened the car door as he executed a deep bow.

“This is yours?” Maria asked, opening her eyes wide with surprise.

“Jung-hyun’s family prefers using a car instead of public transportation.”

“These people seem to have a lot of say in what you do and don’t do.” Maria couldn’t hide her concern about the situation any longer.

“Maria…” Her friend seemed to know where the conversation was headed and also that it was not the time or the place to be having the discussion.

“You can’t live with him, you haven’t slept with him, they won’t let you choose how to get around. Next you’re going to tell me they tell you what to eat, how to dress, and when you can use the restroom,” she said as they climbed into the car and although Maria wasn’t happy, she also had to say she was impressed with the car service her fiancé’s family had provided. The expensive vehicle was packed with high-end creature comforts. Leather heated seats, video monitors on the back of the front head rests, arm rests with charger ports, and cold water bottles in the cup holders instantly made one feel luxurious.

“It’s a cultural thing. Be happy they accepted me at all. A lot of parents have people already set up for their children, and even if they’re in love with someone else, they marry who their parents chose. Don’t even get me started on the whole interracial thing,” Val explained, grabbed the water and took large swigs, clearly uncomfortable with Maria’s slightly accusatory tone.

“You’re joking right? What century are we in? Did my plane time travel?” Maria hadn’t expected to start this journey with a fight, but the worry about people she had never met was causing her to take it out on her best friend.

“Please, Mari,” Val begged.

“I’m sorry, but the things you’re telling me sound ridiculous and archaic. And I can’t believe that you’re going along with it so calmly.”

“Because I love Jung-hyun. I would do just about anything for him. It’s not like he hasn’t fought for my side on some of these things. He’s a great man and we are fine with this setup for now. It’s only for the next month or so.”

“Or so?” Maria’s neck snapped as she whipped her head around to face her friend.

“Well, after the ceremony-”

“You’re going back to your dream job in California, designing homes for the rich and famous, right?” Maria’s nails dug into the leather as she fought to control her anger.

“I really like it here, Maria. This city is massive and I could easily get the same job. Probably work a lot more and make way more connections…”

“Valerie!” Maria never used her friend’s full name unless absolutely necessary and this was definitely time for it. “Who are you? Have they brainwashed you? Are you joining some sort of cult? You’ve never jumped into something like this so quick! Even the move to California was a two month back and forth and that was for your dream job. All of a sudden you’re happy with just packing up and moving to a different country to make this dude’s family happy?”

“It’s not like that. I haven’t even mentioned it to Jung-hyun yet. It’s just that …I see how happy he’s been with his family around and I want to see him that happy all the time,” Val said.

Her friend appeared to have entered her own world where dopey grins and glazed over eyes seemed to be her new standard look. But Maria couldn’t let it go.  “You could make him that happy with just the two of you. Alone. Home.  In California.”

“It’s a different kind of happy. Maria, I know you’re worried and I understand. But please, for my sake, stop and wait until you spend more time with Jung-hyun. During all the times you’ve spoken with him, even when you met him, did he ever seem like some evil guy set on ruining my life, and making me a stay at home wife, whose only job is to cook and clean?”

Val had a point. The several times Maria had spoken to Jung-hyun, he seemed like a great guy. Downright romantic even.

With a huff of defeat Maria nodded. “Fine. I will stop, for now. But I’m gonna have words with him at some point. For today I will be the best friend who’s super excited that her best friend is getting married.”

“Thank you, Mari, honestly.” Val’s voice held desperation and Maria hated that she was the one to cause strain, but she wasn’t someone who held back. It’s probably why she was perpetually single and had very few good friends. Except Val and she would do whatever she could to see her friend happy.

As Maria sat back in the comfortable leather seat, she looked out the window to view the bustling city she was about to call home for the next four weeks.  Only four weeks, she thought, and hoped her friend’s wedding would go off without Maria accidently causing an international incident.

Here are the phonetics to test your hangul pronunciation! :)

한국에 오신걸 환영합니다- hangukae oshinkeol hwanyeong hab ni da – Welcome to Korea

진짜 – jinjja - seriously

미안해- mianhae - sorry

Hangul, 1, 

Hangul (한글)

Hangul is the Korean alphabet. It’s the letters that form the gorgeous puzzle pieces of Korean words. Sadly there is no way to put this into a story without having an extremely lengthy scene that would bore you and having you scream, “WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE OUT?!”

Don’t worry throughout the story you will receive both the hangul as well as a romanization. It will be at the bottom of every chapter so you can sound it out as you read. 

Here is my breakdown of the letters and how you sound them out.

A real first chapter will be posted next week. Until then practice sounding out these letters as well as continue listening to K-pop and K-dramas and see if you can figure out how to spell some of the words they say!! (YES I ASSIGNED YOU SOME HOMEWORK…but tbh, you were gonna do that stuff anyway.)

Seoul Searching (An Educational Romance)

Here is my synopsis for the novel that will make up most of Korean From Context. (I’m also already planning a sequel…)

ENJOY!! 

Seoul Searching: 서울 검색해 (Thank the fiance for the pun)

Maria is the perpetually single girl who’s best friend breaks the news she is getting married! While celebrating Maria finds out that the wedding is being held in the fiance’s home country. South Korea.

Flying halfway across the world, Maria encounters more than just a culture shock and he goes by the name of…

Lee Hwan Soo, is an up and coming drama actor who is waiting for his big break when his best friend announces his engagement to a woman from America. Even though Hwan Soo is not all that fond of the concept, he is willing to accept that his friend is in love and has found happiness. 

Until he finds out that his best friend and his bride to be need Hwan Soo to ‘babysit’ the bride’s Maid of Honor, Maria.

Keeping her from making major faux pas, international incidents, and somehow teaching her how to speak an entirely knew language in time for their friends big day…What could possibly go wrong?

Join Maria and Lee Hwan Soo on a crazy rollercoaster or life, laugh, and most importantly love. 

Hello (안녕하세요)

My name is Sammie (쌔미). Since you probably don’t know who I am, because why and how would you, and if you do know me you already know, but, I have been writing since I was in the fifth grade and have been an avid Korean Pop and Korean Drama junkie for the last four or so years. 

Since getting into said Korean things, I realized I was slowly starting to pick up words and phrases used fairly often. I’m sure fans can agree that they have also picked up certain phrases.

I wanted to learn the language and so I bought study books and tried to dive in head first. It was so BORING. For me, at least, the breaking down to the point I was stressing out over something that was supposed to be fun, made me hate the idea of learning a new language. It was frustrating to the point of wanting to bang my head against a wall and throw the towel in. If you want to make something fun, try to not make it so clinical. I mean that’s probably why my high school Spanish never stuck. (Much to my mother’s disappointment) 

The only thing I could say it helped with was the pronunciation of the Hangul. Other than that, I wasn’t able to get any sort of enjoyment or accomplishment from the books.  

What I realized was that simply watching K-dramas and listening to K-pop was more helpful to me. I had a Korean mail lady at my shop who I would ask questions and she would give me the correct pronunciations. Soon she had let me start calling her 언니 (onnie: older sister toward from a female) and we formed a friendship. I came to realize I was learning from what I heard in context. And from that I have grown in my knowledge and have chosen to continue my studies in a unique way and want to bring you guys along. I want to use my writing. 

So here is my pitch: How fun would it be to learn a new language while falling in love?

Korean From Context is my baby. It’s the idea that a person can learn from what’s being said around what they don’t necessarily know. It’s my platform for a new type of genre. Educational Romance. 

Yes, this will be predominantly romance. My plan is to create one large novel, while also making small scenarios, where people can ask me how a saying would be used, or how something would play out in a particular situation. 

This is a site to learn and 재미있게 보내세요 (have fun)

Seoul Searching  (서울 검색해) 1.

ok fun fact I can’t copy and paste from WORD. So I legit had to figure out how to get this posted. BUT I DID IT!!! Here it is guys the first chapter of SEOUL SEARCHING! Please heart, reblog, and share where ever you can! 

“You’re what?” Maria jumped up in bed during her usual late night ‘chic chat’ with her best friend Valerie.

“I’m getting married!” Val shouted, flaunting the large diamond on her left ring finger over FaceTime, causing Maria to lift the phone closer to get a better look at the rock.

Maria’s best friend since diapers was getting married. That was the beginning of the end, she thought. Once one friend got engaged, the rest were sure to follow. And then there she was, Maria the perpetually single friend who could never hold a relationship for more than a month. Mostly because all the men she dated ended up cheating on her but also because commitment was never a word that people would use to describe her behavior.

She had changed majors four times throughout her college career, and once she had graduated she’d had a series of jobs that never kept her attention for longer than six months. The only constants she had were her mother and her best friend Val.  But now Val was getting married and lately all Maria’s mother could think of was marrying off her only daughter. It was almost to the point where she could have her own reality dating show.

Most people wouldn’t believe that there were mothers like Maria’s still around. Ones who showed off their daughter’s picture out to random men she sees while standing in line to get coffee at the local shop. The kind of mom who made fake dating profiles, essentially catfishing men, and then made just as fake plans with her daughter so she would walk into a blind date with said man who thought he’d been talking to her for a month.

A mom who every single time a family friend announced their child was getting married, spiraled into a depression so deep the only way to pull her out was for Maria to go on a few dates with men who she had absolutely no interest in. Yeah, that kind of mom.

Val had always been there to help Maria get past all the skeevy men, the mom harassment, and everything else they ever got themselves into. Then Val had gotten her dream job as an interior decorator to the rich and moved across the country. Maria knew things would never be the same, but it didn’t end the bond they shared. They talked regularly and Maria would go to visit when she left one job and had the free time to travel before starting the new one. But now Val was about to lose her ‘constant’ status. Marriage was a whole new beast and Maria wasn’t sure she could compete with a husband.

“I couldn’t believe it!” Val said with a squeal. “We were out to dinner and he was talking about taking me to go and meet his parents, and how he wanted a family of his own and then BAM! He was down on one knee,” Val gushed and fell with a soft thud onto her bed.

“You’ve never met his family? Shouldn’t that come before the wedding? Ya know, to see what you’re about to get yourself into?” Maria fell back onto her own bed, twirling her long brown hair between her fingers.

“Well his family is all in Korea,” Val explained as she snuggled into her comforter.

“Korea? Good or bad half? Are you sure he isn’t a spy? Are you sure you’re not about to be kidnapped? I watch the news!” Maria was both joking and fairly serious.

“You’ve met the boy. Does he seem like a spy?” Val said rolling her eyes.

“That’s what he wants us to think,” Maria joked, putting on her best interrogation voice.

“They’re from South Korea. The family lives in Seoul, in some well to do area. Apparently they are fairly wealthy on their own.” The smile on Val’s face couldn’t be wiped off and Maria could feel her excitement course through the phone camera.

“Look at you, marrying for love and finding out he’s also loaded as hell. Good things truly come to good people.”

“You know I don’t care about the money,” Val said with a shrug.

Maria looked off to the side and scrunched her nose, trying everything not to roll her eyes at her friend who wasn’t quick to catch her sarcasm.

“I know that, Val. It’s my way of saying congrats.”

“I called for another reason,” Val said and instantly went from a light laugh to a serious tone.

“Is this a shotgun wedding? Should I be buying you diapers and a cradle instead of a set of plates?” Maria said as she grabbed her computer to begin the quest for baby gifts.

“Oh my God, Mari! No, no. Nothing crazy like that. I wanted to know if you’d like to be my maid of honor?”

That halted all Maria’s movements. Maid of Honor?

Maria’s heart flew through the roof with happiness but also with the realization that it could be as bad as a death sentence. Her mother, the woman set on trying to have Maria married by the end of, well, every year since she graduated high school, would more than likely hear about this and start the quest of finding Maria a date for the wedding and more.  

“Are you kidding me?” Maria couldn’t believe her bestie even had to ask.

“I’ve never been more serious. Except for maybe when I said yes to Jung-hyun,” Val giggled.

“Yes! I would love to! OMG, I need to start planning a bridal shower and a bachelorette party-”

“Well Korean weddings are a little different,” Val said and cut off Maria’s planning excitement.

“But you’re not Korean.”

“Since I never followed any religion, and don’t really know my cultural background, negative to being adopted, and Jung-hyun’s family is steeped in tradition, I decided I’d follow suit.”

“Ah,” was all Maria could say as her mind was still processing her friend’s decision.

“I mean, I guess we can still do the western thing of a bachelorette party. You know I want to wear a crown.”

“Western? You make it sound so foreign.” Maria was starting to not recognize her friend, and concern grew with every passing second they stayed on the phone.

“It is…or it will be,” Val said, clearly avoiding something.

“If you don’t spit it out in the next sentence, I’m going to fly over there just to slap you,” Maria half-kidded, impatience growing.

“The wedding is going to be in Seoul…South Korea.”

If you missed the first chapter, which is the explanation of hangul, don’t worry! This chapter didn’t have any! LOL. But here is the link and next week will have hangul I promise!! SO KEEP STUDYING!! 

Ch.1

Hello (안녕하세요)

My name is Sammie (쌔미). Since you probably don’t know who I am, because why and how would you, and if you do know me you already know, but, I have been writing since I was in the fifth grade and have been an avid Korean Pop and Korean Drama junkie for the last four or so years. 

Since getting into said Korean things, I realized I was slowly starting to pick up words and phrases used fairly often. I’m sure fans can agree that they have also picked up certain phrases.

I wanted to learn the language and so I bought study books and tried to dive in head first. It was so BORING. For me, at least, the breaking down to the point I was stressing out over something that was supposed to be fun, made me hate the idea of learning a new language. It was frustrating to the point of wanting to bang my head against a wall and throw the towel in. If you want to make something fun, try to not make it so clinical. I mean that’s probably why my high school Spanish never stuck. (Much to my mother’s disappointment) 

The only thing I could say it helped with was the pronunciation of the Hangul. Other than that, I wasn’t able to get any sort of enjoyment or accomplishment from the books.  

What I realized was that simply watching K-dramas and listening to K-pop was more helpful to me. I had a Korean mail lady at my shop who I would ask questions and she would give me the correct pronunciations. Soon she had let me start calling her 언니 (onnie: older sister toward from a female) and we formed a friendship. I came to realize I was learning from what I heard in context. And from that I have grown in my knowledge and have chosen to continue my studies in a unique way and want to bring you guys along. I want to use my writing. 

So here is my pitch: How fun would it be to learn a new language while falling in love?

Korean From Context is my baby. It’s the idea that a person can learn from what’s being said around what they don’t necessarily know. It’s my platform for a new type of genre. Educational Romance. 

Yes, this will be predominantly romance. My plan is to create one large novel, while also making small scenarios, where people can ask me how a saying would be used, or how something would play out in a particular situation. 

This is a site to learn and 재미있게 보내세요 (have fun)

Seoul Searching (An Educational Romance)

Here is my synopsis for the novel that will make up most of Korean From Context. (I’m also already planning a sequel…)

ENJOY!! 

Seoul Searching: 서울 검색해 (Thank the fiance for the pun)

Maria is the perpetually single girl who’s best friend breaks the news she is getting married! While celebrating Maria finds out that the wedding is being held in the fiance’s home country. South Korea.

Flying halfway across the world, Maria encounters more than just a culture shock and he goes by the name of…

Lee Hwan Soo, is an up and coming drama actor who is waiting for his big break when his best friend announces his engagement to a woman from America. Even though Hwan Soo is not all that fond of the concept, he is willing to accept that his friend is in love and has found happiness. 

Until he finds out that his best friend and his bride to be need Hwan Soo to ‘babysit’ the bride’s Maid of Honor, Maria.

Keeping her from making major faux pas, international incidents, and somehow teaching her how to speak an entirely knew language in time for their friends big day…What could possibly go wrong?

Join Maria and Lee Hwan Soo on a crazy rollercoaster or life, laugh, and most importantly love.