Ira:

I stared down at the papers. My eyes scanned over the words printed in plain black ink. The throbbing in pain coming from my head wasn't helping me concentrate. I was so focused on the paperwork, that I almost forgot where I was. I glanced out the window of the plane, staring at the dark sky along with the city lights that twinkled below. We should be landing soon, I'm pretty we've been on this plane for way too long.

Well, at least too long for me. I had to act like I was oblivious to the rude comments the Korean woman beside me was whispering. Sometimes she would utter it to herself, other times she'd speak to the woman across the aisle. I'm pretty sure they've never met each other till now. I chuckled to myself, it's nice to know that disliking me brings people together. The two women assumed that I didn't speak Korean so they spoke openly. I didn't mind at all. I looked back towards the sheets of paper.

Seoul National University Hospital.

I stared at the name for a while, seeming to blank out. I shuffled the papers aimlessly before grabbing my folder and placing them inside. I set the folder on my lap and leaned back in my seat, groaning. 

I placed both hands on the folder before closing my eyes to rest. When my eyes opened again, I was greeted by various figures out their seats and grabbing their carry-on. I took in a breath before grabbing my folder and slowly standing from my seat. I stretched my arms out, making a sort of muffled grunt in the process. After the woman sitting beside me grabbed her ideals, I did the same, grabbing mine. I grabbed the big shoulder bag I brought with me onto this metal bird.

Stuffing the folder into the bag, I slowly made my way off the plane. I'm here. I'm in South Korea. I haven't been here once in my life. Yet why am I here? I'm here because of my parents. When I was about 6 months old, I was adopted by a lovely Korean couple who I now call mom and dad. We were in California at the time. Of course it wasn't easy when it came to school, being a black girl with two Asian parents. When my mom would pick me up, or stop by the school, the stares from the children were hard to bare. The questions were also hard to answer.

Before I knew it I found myself standing in baggage claim, watching the many suitcases slide by.

After I turned 16, my parents said I have a choice. I could go with them to Korea and attend college there, or stay and study in America. As you can guess, I stayed in America. I started college at the age of 16, being smart enough to finish high school early. I specifically remember the teasing from kids in high school, saying it's only because my parents are Asian. I breezed through Med school with scholarships. Graduated early, and found myself at a hospital as a Thoracic Surgeon though I specialized in Neurosurgery. I was transferred to the Trauma department. I was there for less than 6 months. My parents were persuading me to move to Korea. They missed me dearly, and I haven't come to visit once.

It only took me about a week to make a decision. When I thought about it, there weren't any reasons not to go. I've spoken Korean since I was six. I learned to read it and write Hangul around eight. My parents miss me, what more do I need?

I almost missed my bags, getting lost in my own thoughts. I picked up my suitcases. I only had two of them. I had a big one, and a medium sized one. I also had my shoulder bag with me. I began dragging both bags behind me, looking around, hoping I'm going the right way.

After walking for a bit, I stopped and dug through my bag for my phone. I scrambled to find my earphones. After untangling them from the web of my other things. I plugged my earphones into my phone. I scrolled through some songs and landed on a song by Drake. I walked to the beat of the music, not minding any looks I got. 

 I felt indifferent to the stares I was getting. I was too carefree to care about what anyone was saying. Every once in a while I would make eye contact with someone who was staring on. I'd give a friendly smile before looking away. I wasn't sure where I was walking, or where I was heading. I'm hoping I stumble upon the exit. Thankfully I was lucky, feeling a big wave of relief as I spotted the main exit.

I hauled the suitcases with me. I stopped a few meters from the exit as a tall slim man in black came into view. In his hands he held a paper with words written on it. As I got closer to the man, I recognized the words were printed. It was my name. The man must have noticed my gaze on him. He looked up and met my eyes.

"Ira?" The man spoke, his voice too deep for his appearance. I nodded my head slowly, taking small steps towards the man.

"Your parents hired me to make sure you get to the house safely." He explained in English, folding the paper he was holding. He shoved the paper into his pocket before glancing at me once again.

Before I could object, he grabbed my suitcases from my hands.

"Oh," I began, "It's fine, I can carry my own bags." I spoke in Korean, taking him by surprise.

"No, no, don't worry about it." He assured me, before clearing his throat, "Follow me to the car."

I nodded, showing a strained smile. I followed him quietly through the doors and out to the front where a black car waited. I ran ahead to open the door for myself before he could. I slowly slipped into the back seat as he loaded my luggage into the trunk. I closed the door, and pulled on my seat belt. It's at that moment that I realized my music stopped playing. I reached into my shoulder bag and pulled out my phone, switching the music back on. I nearly jumped at the sound of a car door closing. All my attention was on my phone up till then. I looked up to see my , looking at me from the driver's seat.

"Is everything alright?" He questioned. I nodded my head, keeping my mouth shut. He sighed and turned around to face the front. I watched as he pulled on his seat belt, before pulling a set of keys from his pocket. He started the car and began driving. My eyes slowly roamed to the window right beside me. Though we were barely away from the airport, the scenery already captured my attention.

The sky was a beautiful blue with big fluffy clouds all about. The sun was shining while birds were flying in the sky. I watched as we passed various things. From big buildings to small shops. Everything looked fascinating. I removed my earphones from the socket and switched to camera. I began to snap photos of everything I could. I don't want to forget what I am seeing, at the moment.

It was a bit hard to believe that I would be living in such a beautiful place. As we began to meet traffic, I looked back on various pictures I took earlier. The corners of my lips pulled up in a small smile.

"Beautiful," I muttered to myself. I found myself speaking English again.

After a few moments, I put my phone away, and pulled out the orange folder I had hidden in my bag. I set it on my lap, staring at it blankly for sometime. I inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. Opening the folder, I knew I had a choice to make.

Being the great person I am, I was looking for jobs ahead of time. Well, it seems like jobs were coming to me. At first, I applied to one hospital, and ended up getting requests from 4 more. All I have to do is sign a form, and give it to the Chairman of whichever hospital I chose.

I dug into my bag, feeling around till I found a black pen that I found on the plane. I flipped through the various papers, then found the one I was looking for.

Seoul National University Hospital.

I have made my choice, and that is it. Seoul National University Hospital is the second best hospital in South Korea. I would be a fool to turn them down. They even offered me a chef position, which I had to deny. I can't become a chef right away. I need to get to know the hospital and everyone in it.

Without any hesitation I signed my name on the paper, a sort of weight seeming to lift itself off my shoulders.

It wasn't long before we reached the destination. I looked up just in time to spot what seemed to be my parents' house. It's much bigger than any house we ever lived in when we were in America. It almost too big to believe that my parents owned it. I kept my eyes on the house as we pulled into the driveway, where a silver Audi sat looking quite nice.

"Ms. Vaughn, we've arrived." My spoke looking back at me. "Please make your way inside. I will bring your bags in." I didn't protest. I removed my seat belt, making sure to take my bag along with me. I opened the car door and stepped out. Before I could even close the door, I was pulled into a tight embrace.

"Ira!" A familiar voice chimed. I giggled as the pair of arms tighten around me.

"Mom!" I chimed. I hugged her back, a sudden feeling of happiness falling onto my heart.

"I've missed you so much!" She exclaimed, pulling back from the hug, and looking at me.

My mom hasn't changed much. Her hair was still jet black in that short, shoulder length hair style. Her brown eyes still just as brown, her tan skin is all the same.

"I missed you too! I haven't been able to breathe correctly since you two moved away." I cooed, pouting a bit.

She chuckled at my gesture before pulling me into another hug.

"Where's dad?" I questioned. On cue I heard a husky deep voice that I knew too well. I gently removed myself from my mother's arms and made my way over to my dad who was grinning at me.

"Dad!" I cried, pulling him into a tight hug. The impact of the hug almost knocked all the breathe out my system. He snickered, patting my back as I hugged him tightly.

"Last time I saw you like this, you were 9 years old." He muttered, "Either way, It's good to have you back."

After getting settled, I thanked the before seeing him off. I'm going to stay with my parents till I feel stable enough to live on my own.

"You didn't have any problems on your way here, did you?" My mom asked as we sat around the dinner table. I shook my head, taking the metal chopsticks in hand.

"Hey mom?" I called out as I began to eat.

"Mhh?" She replied looking up from her bowl.

"Where's Yoon Mi?" I questioned, not moving my eyes from my food. The air seemed to become very thick as an uncomfortable silence spread into the room.

Yoon Mi is my older sister. She's currently a lawyer and is very successful. Of course she's not my sister by blood. She was born before my parents decided to adopt me. Yoon Mi and I never got along. When I start a conversation with her, it escalates into an argument. She wasn't very happy about me moving to Korea. It used to hurt me, but it's gotten to the point where I'm very used to it.

I'm not going to lie, she can be a real . I mean, the same has been said about me but that's only at work. I'm very serious about work. Yoon Mi is like that all the time. I was pretty sure it was a phase, you know the whole hating me thing, but it's still the same.

"She has some big case she's working on," My mother finally spoke, "She's very busy."

I nodded, "I guess," was all I could say.

"Have you come to a decision?" My father suddenly asked.

After I chewed and swallowed my food I spoke, "Yes I have. I decided to go with Seoul National University Hospital. It's right here in Seoul so It's very close. I could even walk if I wanted to. " I explained, smiling widely.

My father simply nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

"That's good, it's a very good hospital. I'm sure you'll like it there." My mother added, before taking another bite of food.

"I'm sure you'll love life in Korea, you just gotta get used to it. That's all." My father said.

All I could do was sigh, "Let's hope so."