“Ah, dammit Kibum.” I sighed

It was early Saturday morning and I was sitting at my working desk grading homework assignments for my 4^th grade class. My kids were doing well for the most part, but I still had a few that just weren’t grasping the English lessons like they should have. Sometimes I felt horrible about it. After all, it wasn’t like I was experienced in teaching. It had only been a year since I graduated school and somehow I ended up here on the other side of the world.  It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if I some friends here. The most I had was a great aunt who, honestly, wasn’t exactly a freakin’ peach to be around. But I needed her. I don’t know what my mom was thinking. She had to know that my background was gonna cause me some trouble with some folks over here too. My Korean-speaking skills were only so-so; not being fluent just made everyone around me seem so intimidating.

I giggled to myself thinking about my students. For a lot of them, it was their first time seeing someone Black in person. I overheard them saying that they liked my skin because it was “shiny” and looked like chocolate.  I got myself out of my thoughts long enough to finish grading the rest of the assignments. It’s crazy how much work someone could get done when they have absolutely no life.  I sighed as I sat back in my chair. I looked around at my apartment (partially funded by my aunt) and wondered what I could be doing.

“Eh…I could go shopping, I guess.” I sighed. I had been prolonging it for a while, but my kitchen was starting to get pathetic. Even walking to a market and buying groceries was too socially awkward for me, but it needed to be done. I made my way to my bedroom and threw on some decent clothing as well as a thick jacket. The apartment building I lived in lacked a working elevator. Apparently it has been broken far before I even moved here. On the way downstairs I passed by Mrs. Jung, an old lady who lived a couple floors down. She wasn’t necessarily cold towards me when I first moved in, but she wasn’t exactly very welcoming either. I made it a habit to help her up and down the stairs when she was carrying things; she just seemed so fragile and small. She must’ve appreciated it sense now she’s always excited to see me in passing. I told her I was on the way to pick up some things at the market so she asked me to pick up something for her as well.

I took in the morning air as I left the building, but of course I could feel some eyes of people passing by. I don’t straighten my hair very often (it’s not good for it) so I would usually just wear it curly like it naturally grows. However, I didn’t realize how much of a spectacle I would make myself. My hair was pretty big. So, instead, I made it habit to keep my hair twisted, braided, or pulled back underneath a beanie. It was pretty good luck for me to live so close to the market; no matter how much I grew up with it, I could never get used to the idea of being stared at. I couldn’t imagine having to walk more than a couple blocks.

I had finally reached the supermarket, but just as I was about to enter, I bumped into someone who was exiting.

“Oh, excuse me!” I stated.

“Excuse me.” I heard a male’s polite response. I didn’t even bother looking up at his face, which was probably why I was able to notice the piece of jewelry he had dropped. Of course, I stooped down to pick it up. As I slowly stood back up I was in awe at the watch; it looked so expensive, it even had some initials engraved on it. JYP….where had I seen that before? I broke myself from the golden trance to see the man walking down the sidewalk.

“Sir!”  Sir’s a universal word, right? I thought to myself. “Excuse me!”

                But the man didn’t hear me, he was still walking briskly. Just what was this guy in a rush for? I began following him, almost completely copying his fast steps. I hate being so short-legged.

“SIR, YOU DROPPED THIS!” I shouted as I caught up to him. The man finally turned around and that’s when I noticed how “covered” he was. He was wearing a ball cap and sunglasses despite the fact that it was quite cloudy out today. He kept placing his face downward and looking around. What’s with this guy? Was this watch even his? Before I could think of anything else to say he was already looking at the watch in my hand.

“Oh…oh, thank you!” The man exclaimed realizing what had happened.

“It’s nothing.” I shrugged.

“Yea…custom made,” He continued, “But it was made a little too big. This tends to happen a lot. This is the first time I could have REALLY lost it.”

 

I was following his words pretty well; maybe my Hangul wasn’t as bad as I thought. I wasn’t sure how to respond, though. I at small talk, and that’s in any language.

 

“You know,” the man continued, “A lot of people probably would have kept this for themselves…maybe even sold it.” He chuckled.

 

“Oh, well…it’s nothing, you know.” I smiled shyly. What else was I supposed to say? The man looked at me and gave me a soft smile.

“You don't know who I am, do you?” He asked the question seeming to already know the answer.

I shook my head in response and he just chuckled.

“Park JinYoung.” He bowed and offered his hand. I smiled.

“Jamie.” I awkwardly introduced myself. Saying my whole name would have been too much. I'd have to explain why I had a boy's name, why I'm a junior. I was just lucky he didn't know my folks so I wouldn't have to discuss why I have my mom's last name and not my dad's. He crossed his arms.

“I take it you’re not from around here.” He joked as he spoke English. What the hell, I thought to myself. Why didn’t he speak English in the first place? Yeah, I’ll admit, I didn’t like that people assumed I couldn’t speak Korean but still.

“Yea,” I laughed nervously, “I’m not.”

“What brings you here?”

“Well my mother thought it would be a good idea for me to be here for a while. I’ve got a job at the local elementary school teaching English classes.”

 

Apparently I sparked his interests, for his eyes brightened and he all of a sudden looked intrigued.

“Oh, really? You’re qualified?”

“Yes, sir. I graduated college back in the states majoring in English.” I said. Was he really impressed by that?

“So you would be able to do private tutoring as well, right?”

“Well…yes, I’m trained to do that.” He couldn’t have wanted me to teach him, he spoke far too well. Maybe he has a kid?

 

JinYoung started to dig through his coat pocket and pulled out a small card.

“Well, if you’re interested I could offer you a tutoring job for one of my kids.” He handed me his business card and I put it in my pocket.

“Thank you very much, sir.” I smiled excitedly. I could always use extra money.

“No, thank you,” He smiled as he held up his watch, “Try to give me a call this week. My office hours are on the card.”

 

With that Mr. Park turned and began making his way back to wear he was heading, brisk walk and all. He also kept looking around and tugging at his ball cap just like before. He was nice, I thought to myself, but that was still pretty weird. I turned back and started heading back towards the supermarket contemplating over what just happened. I was so glad the possibility of an additional job just fell into my lap like that. With the thought still in mind, I reached out my pocket to take a closer look at the business card. But what I saw left me so shocked that I stopped in my tracks, despite the numerous amounts of people around me. My eyes widened as I read the words. The name…..the company…..I couldn’t even speak. I could bopped myself in the head for being so dense. 

 

“Wait….that was THE J.Y.P.?!”