Seoul Mates

         “Mom, hurry up! I’m gonna be late for the plane!” Amber impatiently called out to her mother. Her dad hurriedly dragged her suitcase into the back of their Chevy Venture, and handed Amber the car keys.
         “You drive this time, honey. It’ll be your last time for a very long while.” He told her warmly, and looked at her lovingly. Amber felt a surge of sadness course through her, travelling up her spine. Her vision became blurry as she regarded her father, smiling and holding out the keys. Amber gratefully took the keys, and climbed into the driver’s seat.
         “All set?” Amber called out to her parents. Her mom nodded beside her in the passenger seat, and made sure that Amber had her passport and plane ticket with her. “Then let’s roll!” Amber exclaimed and, laughing, backed out of the driveway, away from the home that she’d known for as long as her memory would allow.

***

         Pulling her forest green suitcase behind her, Amber looked around the unfamiliar airport in In-Chun, South Korea, and gazed at the faces of the people around her. She suddenly felt alone and afraid. For a split second, she wavered in her decision to transfer to Seoul where the company she worked for was opening a new foreign branch office. Amber wanted to experience a new culture different from her own, and was the first person in her company to volunteer for the new branch office in Seoul, South Korea, where they will team up with a Korean movie production company, Sung-Moon Movie Corporation.
         However, Amber’s resolution soon caught up with her. Lifting her head once more, she strode confidently out of the airport doors.
         Squinting against the bright afternoon sun, Amber marveled at the number of cars and people passing on the busy street. She sighed, and wondered again how she would ever get to the apartment her company had arranged for her to live in during her time in Korea.
         “Jae-ga-do-wha-deu-ril-guh-up-na-yo?” A voice in Korean sounded behind her. Amber whirled around. Standing before her, wearing a bright and charming smile, was a tall and good-looking man in late twenties, looking sincerely down at her troubled expression.
         She blinked, and stammered, “Oh, um, sorry I don’t understand Korean…”
         The guy smiled and spoke again in perfect English, “Is there anything I can help you with?”
         Amber replied quickly, “No…yes. Yes, I would like to know how to get to this address…” and handed him a piece of paper.
         He glanced at it, and replied, “No problem. That’s close to where I used to live a while ago before I moved.” He paused, and tilted his head towards the direction where his car was parked. “My car’s park right over there. Would you like me to take you there?” A doubtful look swept across Amber’s face. He started, suddenly remembering that he had yet to introduce himself. Holding out his hand, he said, “My name is Kim Ji Hoon, but you can call me Hoon.”
         Amber reached for his outstretched hand and smiled. “My name is Amber Lee.” Looking Hoon straight in the eye, she searched for a hint of dishonesty, but could find none in his dark brown eyes other than sincerity and integrity. Amber looked down at her feet, and finally replied.
         “Alright, Hoon, even though it is not my nature to accept rides from strangers, I guess I will trust you and ask you to drive me to my apartment.” Hoon smiled and ran his hand over his ruffled hair.
         “Alright, follow me.”
         Together, they walked towards Hoon’s car, a sleek and sweet Audi TT Roadster. Upon reaching the car, Amber whistled.
         “Nice car you have there, Hoon. What are you, a millionaire?” Amber said jokingly.
         Hoon ran a hand through his hair again, and smiled as he reached for his keys. “Nah, it’s no big deal.” He opened the door for Amber, and rushed to the driver’s side after closing the passenger door.
         Driving into Seoul, they found themselves in the midst of a traffic jam. Hoon sighed, and looked apologetically at Amber.
         “It’s always like this, no matter what time of the day it is. It’s probably even worse now that it’s rush hour.” Hoon reached for the CD controls, and an upbeat Korean song flowed out of the car stereo speakers. Hoon continued, “So, Amber, where did you come from and why did you come here?”
         Amber responded promptly, “I used to live in Vancouver, Canada. The company that I work for back home is opening a new branch office in Seoul, and I volunteered to come here and help run the office.” She looked at him sideways, and raised an eyebrow questioningly, “How did you learn to speak English so fluently, anyhow?”
         Hoon laughed and shook his head, “I thought it was pretty obvious! I moved to the States with my mom, while my dad continued to run his company here, when I was 10, and only came back here to work at my dad’s company after I graduated from Harvard.”
         Amber stared at him, open-eyed. “You graduated from Harvard? Wow, you must be extremely brilliant.”
         Hoon shrugged the compliment off, and continued. “So I take it that you’re not Korean, although you do look like one. Are you Chinese or Japanese?”
         Amber replied with a laugh, “Hey, everyone says that I look more Korean than I do Chinese, but yeah I’m Chinese.” Silence resumed after that, owing to the fact that Amber was becoming drowsy because of the time difference.
         After two hours of chaotic driving in Seoul, they finally arrived at Amber’s apartment, a nice and convenient stretch of condos along the road, which also played host to a vast number of a variety of shops, markets, and restaurants. To Hoon’s surprise, he found a parking spot not far from Amber’s apartment building soon after they arrived, and helped Amber carry her suitcase into the elevators and up to her suite. At the door, Amber looked hesitant to ask him in.
         Hoon sensed her discomfort, and gently let her off the hook by saying, “I have to get back to the office, there’s an important meeting that’s happening later this afternoon.”
         Amber’s face relaxed, and said, “I’ll walk you down to your car then.” They entered the elevator, and walked out of the building into the bright afternoon sun. As Hoon climbed into the car, Amber said gratefully, “Hoon, thank you for everything. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know where I would be right now.”
         Hoon only grinned boyishly, and told her, “Don’t worry about it. I know how it feels to arrive in a brand new country that’s completely foreign to you.” Hoon pulled a business card from his suit jacket pocket. “Here, my card. My numbers are on it. Feel free to call me anytime you need help. I’d be glad to be of assistance.”
         Amber took the card and smiled again gratefully. “Thanks again, Hoon. I suppose I’ll have to trouble you again soon with something later on. You better go now, or you’ll be late for your meeting.”
         Hoon looked at his watch and started. “Shoot, you’re right, I should get going now. I’m going to be late if I leave any later. See you later then, Amber.” He waved goodbye and was gone in a flash.
         Amber raised the card to her view, and read, “Sung-Moon Movie Corporation, Kim Ji Hoon, General Manager.” Something tugged at the back of her foggy, drowsy head. However, her fatigue prevented her from investigating the matter further, and upon reaching her apartment, she fell heavily onto the couch, which was provided along with many other pieces of furniture, and fell into a deep sleep.

***

         A week passed before HighEnd Advertising, the company Amber worked for, had finally finished all its preparations for its grand opening. Amber was kept extremely busy the whole week. She soon met many friends and colleagues who gave her tremendous help in preparing her office. The immense workload and pressure placed on her shoulders gave her no time for leisure, and the memory of Hoon completely filtered out of her head as she rushed here and there trying to organize everything for the grand opening. Many people from Sung-Moon came to help her. It was decided that Amber was going to be the manager of HighEnd Advertising Seoul Branch.
         On opening night, everyone from HighEnd and Sung-Moon came for the cocktail party that ensued at night after the morning opening ceremony. Amber was dressed in a lacy light purple, spaghetti strap evening gown, with a silky sky blue inner lining and tiny silver-and-pink flowers along the neckline. Apart from the gown, she had a light blue scarf flowing down her back on her neck. On her feet were silver strappy sandals, and her long black hair was swept up in an elegant bun with long, wavy wisps of hair falling down.
         Amber entered the ballroom filled with elegant guests dressed in the most beautiful fashion imaginable. She glanced over at the tables lined with platters of delicious food, and congratulated herself on her great success in organizing the cocktail party and every detail surrounding the office. She smiled and made small talk with many people with whom she had worked for the past week, and advanced on to the refreshments. Amber reached for a glass of champagne, and sipped lightly from it. She had always loved champagne, especially its sweet and bubbly taste. Then suddenly, she nearly choked on the champagne as a familiar voice called out over the buzz in the ballroom.
         “Amber!”
         She turned around abruptly, spilling a little of the champagne. Hoon was walking rapidly towards her. He smiled broadly as he reached her, then frowned slightly, confused.
         “Amber, why – I mean, nice to see you again. Don’t tell me. You work for HighEnd?” Hoon exclaimed.
         Amber’s shock at seeing Hoon at the cocktail party was immense. She regained her thoughts after a few seconds of initial shock. “You…Oh! I remember now! That’s what was bugging me when I read your business card! You’re the general manager for Sung-Moon? Wow, what a coincidence! Yes, I do work for HighEnd. In fact, I’m the manager for the branch office. But…oh, what a surprise!” Amber replied rapidly, her astonishment still apparent on her face.
         Hoon laughed heartily at the incident, his own apparent astonishment not less than Amber’s. Then suddenly, a girl walked up beside Hoon and wrapped her hands around his left arm. Hoon looked at her, and looked back at Amber. Amber thought she saw a shadow of annoyance cross his handsome face. He introduced the girl, a note of annoyance in his voice, “Amber, this is Choi Yoo Jin. She works at Sung-Moon as well.”
         Choi Yoo Jin smiled gracefully, “Hi Amber, call me Eugene. It’s so awkward for people to call me by my Korean name.”
         Amber laughed, “I suppose you are both from the States?”
         Hoon shook his head. Eugene replied, seeing that Hoon made no attempts to explain. “Nope. I’m from Toronto. I was born there.” She finished off with a hint of superiority. Amber smiled, and looked down at her champagne. Hoon continued, “Well Amber, it’s so fantastic to meet you here. Now we’re actually colleagues right? This is a small world. I still can’t believe how coincidental it was for me to meet you before our companies even met up together.”
         Amber could only grin, her surprise not wholly diminished at this time. Nodding slightly, she answered, “Yeah I know, it’s totally awesome.” Then a silent and awkward silence pursued.
         Hoon looked at Amber, and said truthfully, “Amber, you look truly amazing tonight.”
         Amber look at him, surprised. She cast a glance at Eugene, who was obviously offended by Hoon’s compliment to Amber. Eugene's face twisted in a state of humiliation and anger, and she stalked off without uttering a sound. Hoon looked at Eugene and shrugged, and again gazed into Amber’s dark brown eyes. He took note of her long, curly lashes, her lids lightly swept over with blue shadow. Amber continued to be speechless. Then she finally uttered quietly, “Thanks, Hoon.” She looked down, too embarrassed to lift her eyes to him. It had been a long while since a guy had openly admired and complimented her.

To Be Continued