The sun was starting to set while I took the last picture off my wall and put it in to one of my bags, UCLA has been my home for the past years, it is the place where I met my best friend, had my first boyfriend - even though most of the times I wish I hadn't - heard really harsh critics and won at beer pong five times. I've made so many memories here, luckily I have almost every single one of them on camera, that's one of the perks of majoring in Film and Journalism, you've got to train your film-making and photography skills and I've chosen to do so with my own life. 

My parents weren't very supportive of my course choice back in senior year both of them were pretty worried about the markert and how would I fit in it and if I would get paid enough, they tried to fight me at the time but later on they gave up because I had gotten in one of the best schools in the country. I know they still worry, specially my father who pressures me to this day, questioning how will I live at my own cost and pulling jokes about how what he paid for my tuition will probably be more than what I'll make in my life, he thinks he's really funny with those even though he's the only one who laughs each time, but I hope to prove him wrong very soon.

"Smile!" my roommate Beckett chanted happily as she snapped a picture of me "The last picture I take of you and you look all gloomy!"

"Stop this! I'm so sad to leave, but I'm also excited for what's to come, as in starting to work and everything else" I said "I'll miss you the most though"

"I sure won't miss you talking in your sleep every night" she started laughing as I threw the jeans I was holding at her "Do you even understand the concept of joking?"

We kept reminiscing our college days and deciding who was going to keep what from our room for a few minutes when our dorm inspector knocked on our already open door.

"Cora?" she called for me "Professor William has requested your presence at Dr. Robinson's office, he says he needs you there as soon as possible"

"Okay, I'll be there" I softly replied "Did he say what it is about?"

"No, just told me to give you the message be there" she coldly answered "Congratulations on graduating by the way, you too Beckett I guess it was everyone's surprise to see you up there" with that comment she left our room and disappeared into the hallway.

"Bitc- I can't say that word because I know how it downgrades women but honestly I have no other thoughts about her!" she defended herself as I glared at her "Anyway, what do you think it is about?"

"I honestly have no idea, all my loans were already paid for and I don't remember anything I could have possibly done to get in trouble"

"What about that time we skinny-dipped in the campus' lake?" she asked "Could they have found out about it?"

"Oh my God no way! It was freshmen year right? They would've punished us before wouldn't they?" I start panicking "I better go there now before we antecipate it even more"

"I'll text mom telling I'll be late for the dinner party then! I can't miss this, go!" she gestured towards the door "Come back with good news please so this won't be a waste!"

I left the room and walked towards Dr. Robinson's office wondering why Professor William would want to speak to me, and why on the principal's office. Did I do something wrong? Did I do something right? Are they going to communicate me that I'm not graduating after all? With all these thoughts racing through my mind I knocked on the door with shaking hands.

I hear a muffled "Come in" sound and entered the room, everything looked pretty normal, I've never been here before but Dr. Robinson is a very elegant man and his office reflects it in its modern decoration with black and white contrapositions. I looked at the Professor William who held a calm expression on his face, matching the principal's that was collected, both probably a paradox of my own.

"Hello miss" Dr. Robinson said gesturing to the chair next to Professor William and in front of his' "Please sit down"

"You're probably wondering why I asked to talk to you and Dr. Robinson together" Professor said and I nodded "When I was grading your class' graduation projects I ran through yours and I must say I was quite impressed by it so I brought it to Dr. Robinson and so was he. Your topics were very specific and really well elaborated"

"I thought so too and your subject was also very interesting, no other student chose to talk about the geopolitics during The Cold War specially focusing on the secondary countries, as they are called, that received investments from the US" Dr. Robinson continued Professor William's explanation "So Professor came up with an idea to bring it to life"

"To bring my project to life? How exactly?" I spoke for the first time "By publishing it?"

"Not by publishing, but by documenting it" Professor William answered me "Let us elaborate some more, you wrote about each country that supported the US during The Cold War and in return received investments, right? But we're aiming to discuss specifically one" he continued "I don't know if you ever heard of it, but before becoming a professor I used to be a correspondent for NBC News from 1982 to 1993 in South Korea to record and report the American investments there. I always wanted to go back and see for myself how much it has changed and maybe even write one article or two about the experience, but your project opened my eyes for another opportunity: to turn my experience into a documentary"

"When professor came to talk to me about it at first I thought he had lost his mind" Dr. Robinson said "Going to South Korea to film a documentary about the American intervention there and how the country developed, in contrast to North Korea, while keeping its culture intact, all that making a parallel with his old reports? Where would the money come from? And the crew? I said it was impossible but he had it all figured out and I could no long argue"

"Turns out a lot of people are interested in this idea!" Professor said "I got in touch with some of my old contacts from NBC News and I already have a crew here and in South Korea ready to start filming, we also have sponsors! Big names like Samsung and POSCO are willing to help us as they are huge multinationals which roots' are there, all we need now is your permission to begin and your passport to leave with us!" he excitedly finished "What do you say?"

I was dazed by the whole situation, there was no way this was happening, I looked at the two men in the room who were waiting for my answer "Let me see if I understood this well, you want to turn my project into a documentary, like the ones people watch on National Geographic and Discovery Channel, but only about South Korea and you already have it all figured out and you want me to go with Professor William to film and produce it?"

"That's exactly it" they said in unison and Dr. Robinson continued "You also won't need to pay for your stay there, which will last around six months, neither for the flight outlays or equipment and crew, your only expenses will be related to personal reasons, such as where you prefer to eat and shop, also, you will receive a weekly amount of money that is yet to be discussed since you were the one to write what is going to be used as the draft for this whole production"

"And I will supervise everything to keep the project on its tracks so you can relax about things such as the schedule bureaucracy and focus on developing the project, also this whole experience could do wonders for your career, imagine it as a prolonged internship full of advantages, payment and extra training!" Professor Williams' face lit up as he finished "So, what is your answer?"

"My answer is yes" I calmly replied even though I was practically bursting inside "When are we leaving?"

"On Monday, so you have two days to pack your belongings and say goodbye to your family and friends" he replied "I hope that's enough"

"It is" I said "Thank you so much for this opportunity Professor I will not let you down, and thank you Dr. Robinson I will do everything I am capable of to make UCLA and you proud"

"I'm sure of it" the principal replied "You can go back to your dorm now, Professor Robinson and I will make sure to contact you to send further details"

I thanked them again and left the room, I couldn't believe in what just happened in that office, only thirty minutes passed but it felt like eternity and I wondered if Beckett was still waiting for me to come back, I found it pretty soon when I stood at our door and saw her laying on the bed with her phone in her hands, she glanced my way and asked "Why are you crying?"

I didn't realize I was crying until then probably because as I sprinted down the hallways the wind in my face wouldn't let me feel the tears or maybe I was just going crazy, you never know. I sat next to her on the single bed and told her everything from me nervously knocking on Dr. Robinson's door to Professor William not being able to control his excitement as he asked what my final answer was, Beckett hugged me and I don't know for how long we stood like that until she let me go and said "Maybe you're the one who should text your mom now" she sighed "Hell, you sure are going to be late for dinner"

 

---

 

I communicated my family about the project the next day and they were all very supportive about it, which wasn't common but still heartwarming, even though I couldn't spend much time with my parents as they were in LA just for my graduation it felt good to see them one last time. Things worked differently for my brother and I, on Sunday he and Beckett hijacked me to go shopping for the travel and it didn't matter how much I would protest that I didn't need any more sundresses they just wouldn't quit.

"You don't even know what season is there now" I said "What if it's winter and all I'm taking are dresses and tank tops? I don't even like tank tops"

"Do you want to shop for winter clothes as well?" Rob asked "Oh my God yes! We are totally getting you a fur coat"

Robert is only one year younger than me and the fact that our is small drew us very close, so leaving home to study was really difficult for me because I didn't want to leave him alone, especially after he came out to my parents, I wanted to be there to give him all the support my father wasn't offering, it was a bit dramatic at first but things settled down after a while. Now he's in Pratt's Fashion course and he loves it so much, the last time I was on his apartment he showed me his sketches and they are incredible, so I can't argue much with him when it comes to dressing up and pretty much anything to be honest.

"That not what I meant Rob I-"

"Shut it right now Cora" Beckett covered my face with one of her hands while holding another dress with her free one "You are not going to take any of your UCLA hoodies to this trip! I won't allow it! Rob you go search for the coats I will conduct the summer session from now on" she finally let go of my face with a scowl still present on her face.

I also can't argue with Beckett, you might try but one can never win, she has a list of concepts that she loves and the first one is that she is always right - even when she isn't - that is why probably she is so good at what she does and why her parents never tried to interfere in her choices, she won't take no for an answer, even when it makes her seem lofty.

If Beckett said the sky was pink I truly believe it would turn, just for her.

"Put some sense on my sister's head for me Becky, but you are sure as hell not going to conduct the summer session alone I don't trust you either" my little brother said while looking through his phone not even noticing Beckett fake-crying grabbing a few shorts "By the way I googled the climate of Korea and you're in luck! You'll be staying there from July to December right?" he asked and I nodded "That means you'll be there for three seasons! Summer, autumn and winter, see?" he said as shoved his phone on to my face  "You are going to wear those dresses and then some really cool maroon coats to match the falling leaves and finally the fur coat we sure will buy as soon as we find one!"

I ended up surrendering to them and at the end of the day our legs were hurting from walking so much and my hands were full of shopping bags, Rob gave them the nickname of Treasure Bags because according to him you could find anything inside them, and none of us could disagree, you could go from nightgowns – Beckett's idea – to knitted socks – my idea, which earned me two pairs of very displeasured eyes – within a three fingers distance.

The night came through and my brother drove me to my hotel, it was the time to say our goodbyes, Rob made me promise to only buy fashionable clothes during my stay claiming to not give a damn if our time zones are extremely different "I don't care if you will be twelve hours in to the future you better send me a picture of an outfit before buying it, I'm not letting you spend your money on ugly things so please just do as I tell okay sis?" he said in between sniffles "I swear to God if you come home with another pair of those ugly socks I'm going to burn them all, those ugly things, not you, you're very pretty and I love you" we finished hugging and he started to head back to his car "I can't stay here any longer or I'll ugly cry and my foundation is too expensive to be ruined by steaming salty tears! Have fun! But not too much so my jealousy won't eat me alive!" Rob rambled while walking away and wiping his face.

At this point I was already tearing up when Beckett hugged me "You better text me every single day, I was already sad to leave you during graduation and at that you were supposed to be living in the US!" I laughed on her shoulder as she spoke "You better kick some serious there okay? I won't accept anything less than some Steven Spielberg material from your project"

"Beckett we're shooting a documentary not a romance movie if that's what you're expecting" I let go and looked at her glossy eyes.

"That's what they said about Avatar and look at how that turned out!" she laughed and hugged me one last time "I love you so much you're going to do so well, I'm already proud, please remember me when you're glamorous and wealthy okay? If you ever need a promoter call me, that's what I majored in anyway" 

"Nobody said that about A-"

Rob honked cutting me off "C'mon Becky! Hurry up or I'll leave you to walk home alone" and Beckett let go of me and ran towards his car, her hair in the wind as she did so and I laughed at my best friend as she stumbled towards the passenger seat, knowing no matter how far we'd live she would always be with me in a way. Not only figuratively but also literally because even now inside that car I could see her hands swiftly moving over her phone screen and two seconds later I heard my own ring.

"Have a nice trip!" I heard her voice through the speakers but also through the car window and then I saw my brother mischeviously smiling while swating her hand away, which caused the phone call to end and his car engine growl.

"I love you guys!" I screamed at them as they waved at me, disappearing into LA's starless night "A lot" I sighed entering the hotel I was staying my last night in my home country, well at least for six months.

 

---

 

The next morning I met with Professor William and half of our crew at LAX, he informed me that the rest of our staff was already in South Korea as they live there, he also assured me that everyone's documentation was ready when I asked him about the Korean visa I didn't got the chance to get, I found out that having Samsung as your sponsor really pays off since they already had taken care of everyone's visas in record time.

Our flight number resounded through the airport's speakers while we passed for the check points and finally found our seats in the stuffed airplane, mine was next Professor William's and I could already sense that neither of us were going to grab some sleep as we left off.

"I'm buzzing" he commented as we sat down "I don't think I have been this excited for something since my wedding, and you've never seen someone as amazing as my wife was"

He proceeded to tell me that he met his wife is South Korea while he use to work there as a journalist and that they got married before he left. "She died at a  very young age" he said "But I loved her nonetheless and I was very glad that she was willing to spend the little time she had left with me. You know how people call Paris 'The City Of Love'? Forget about that, Seoul is the real City Of Love" he smiled at me and then asked how I was feeling about our trip and living in a foreign country.

"I'm very excited too Professor" I said to him after clearing my throat "But I'm quite worried about the cultural difference between them and us aren't you?"

"God knows I was back in the day, but now I'm more than used to it. You see, I watch way too many K-Dramas online" he laughed "By the way you can call me Will from now on Cora, you're a professional just like me from the moment you were handed your diploma" he continued "Anyway, if you want to I can teach you some basic things such as treatment pronouns and greetings, do you?"

"It'd be so glad if you did so" I smiled at him "I've been stressing about this since yesterday but I had no time to look it up" 

So he did as he said, apparently Koreans take their hierarchy much more seriously than us Americans, Will taught me to call elder guys "oppa" but told me not to use it too soon, because a lot of girls give this title to their boyfriends, and I wouldn't want anybody to get the wrong idea. He also told me "noona" is the title that boys use towards elder women but also their girlfriends, working on a similar way as "oppa" so if someone calls me that I should keep my eyes open as well.

It felt almost like I was college all over again, he was teaching me so much about South Korea's culture I had to hold myself back from calling him Professor William. When I had memorized all of basic treatment pronouns Will decided to teach me "slangs" and "street talk" as he decided to call them, it was really funny because I could tell he was feeling like some rap star such as Kendrick Lamar or Jay-Z just by saying "assa" or "daebak" which I can't even remember what could possibly mean since I couldn't stop laughing, I think I might have woken up part of our crew but at that moment I couldn't hold back anymore.

We kept talking during the whole flight, Will narrated me the stories about his life in Korea and how much he missed his wife and how going there again would be the greatest closure he would have he said, I was impressed of how much this man has lived and experienced, I already held respect for him during our classes at the uni but seeing now how much he had to deal with and how he endured whatever was thrown at him made me feel glad I had the chance to work with him and get to know him more than the rest of my classmates, as selfish as I sound I wouldn't want any of them to live this but me. Later on he ended up showing me one of his favorite dramas, which was actually better than I though it would be so we watched halfway through it until it was time to leave.

The plane landed in Seoul faster than I thought it would, our flight attendant handed us masks and we put them on before leaving the airport, almost everyone was wearing one of them so I didn't felt out of place, it was also comforting not having to display my face straight at those unknow people. After passing through all the check points again and grabbing my bags I got to meet the city that was going to be my home for the rest of the year, but I had only two thoughts crossing my mind as I looked around: if I would be able to hold on to this opportunity while keeping my mental health intact and to remember to text Rob telling him that OMO here means "Oh My God".