How it Happened
Trish: We first met at a coffee shop down in the south of South Korea down in a little city named Suncheon. I was reading a book and enjoying the last part of my winter break.
I sat across the room from two Korean guys and a girl. Every once in a while I would hear some laughs and look up and see them glancing in my direction. I thought sarcastically, "ha ha, yes, please, go ahead, laugh at the waygook ( the foreigner)."
HyunSung: What really happened was this: I saw a girl a cross the room and I told my friends she was cute. So they laughed at me and tried to make me talk to her.
I read some more and a little later a girl came over and introduced herself as Elly. We talked for a while and she eventually introduced me to her two other friends, Jaysock and HyunSung. the four of us talked for a while mostly it was Elly and I. HyunSung didn't talk much but Elly would get confused by something I would say and then HyunSung would mumble something to her and then she would say "Oh!" and then respond to my question.
I didn't mumble! I just spoke Korean to her....
So I started catching on that HyunSung spoke English. It was funny we practiced saying and writing each others names in both languages. In English my name is Patricia in Korean it sounds like Pae-tu-re-sha.
It was starting to get late so we moved our conversation to a restaurant where I had Gamjaetang. (Pork ribs boiled in potato gravy soup.) As most Korean food it was delicious!!
I worried that she wouldn't like the dinner, because most of Korean food in restaurants are family style. But she really enjoyed the food, so I tried to give her a taste of everything.
He kept offering me food and asking me to try it. I didn't want to offend anyone I tried everything he showed me. Most of it was pretty good but I was getting really full. Elly kept making jokes saying, "I think he likes you." Awkward much? I think so.
Anyway, after that, the next week we went bowling as a group. He talked to me a little but we actually didn't have a conversation. He ask me go to his church THROUGH ELLY, So the went to church together. So that Sunday, we had real conversation. I taught him how to play chess. I remember, he said, "I was born for this."
After few days, I sent her a text, that I wanted to give her a book. So we decided to have dinner. that night. I got a call from her cancelling the dinner. I was really disapointed. I asked why and she told me that she lost her key to her home plus locker. (Homeplus is a grocery store but at the entrance you can put your things in.)
Yes, like normal, I lost something. I tried everything, speaking English, speaking the Korean I knew, doing every mime possible to get them to understand but, nothing worked. So I asked him to help me. He helped me like superman, because he said 5 words and then they understood. That day he gave me an English book. He said that is one of his favorite books. I still to this day, haven't read the whole book.
I told her the truth later, I didn't read that book. I just wanted to see her again, so I got the book. My mom read that book but not me.
He asked me if I wanted to go to a place called Odongdo. It is a small beautiful island to walk around on the South Coast. From there its history in the making!
