February 14, 2003
[11 years ago]

 "Mommy!!! Look at how much people there are here!" Youngji exclaimed excitedly as she propped her legs up to get a better view from her window seat. Her eyes darted quickly around as she took note of the many activities taking place at the park across the street. Despite it being Feburary, the weather was still pleasantly warm and people made sure to take advantage of this. Groups of children laughed hysterically as they sprinted around in a game of tag. Parents sipped tea as they watched over their young ones from the shade of the porches. Most of the elders gathered toward the side of the park as they did some slow moving exercises. Traditional music could be heard through the car's window.

"Hong Kong is a beautiful place, isn't it?" Mrs. Heo chuckled as she steered her car to a stop in front of the park entrance. Even though they were suppose to be heading to her sister's house, she figured Youngji would want to stop by here first.

Without a reply, Youngji struggled her way out of the car and dashed to a middle aged lady passing flyers by the front gate.

"Hello! Today is our annual Hong Kong Fencing Team tryouts of 2003! Please come by and take a look!" She spoke in broken English and handed one over to Youngji. 

Youngji smiled back at her but that soon became a frown when she inspected the paper. "It's written in Chinese." 

Mrs. Heo kneeled down to match Youngji's eye level and began brushing the messy pieces of hair on her head.

"I can't read it either. But if you want, we can take a look around for it." 

Youngji shook her head. "No, that's okay! I want to play by myself now!" With that, she gave a quick peck on her mother's cheek and ran off into the distance. 

Mrs. Heo sighed and then smiled as she watched the little speck of her daughter fade away. Normally, she would feel concerned if a little girl was to just run away from her mother like that. But it's different for Youngji. Ever since she was little, she was known as everyone's Vitamin. Always smiling, always running around, always doing something. Mrs. Heo chuckled to herself as she remembered her daughter's silent wide mouth laugh that had been present during birth. Even the doctor couldn't help but smile at the sight of baby Youngji. 

Who knows? Maybe during the trip, she'll even find a friend that's from here, Mrs. Heo thought and took a seat at one of the tables.

---

A boy and a girl were playing jump rope by an empty fountain, with the water closed off until the next summer to come. Wanting to play too, Youngji stood by it and eagerly waited for them to notice her.

The girl did and smiled. "Oh, hello!"

Youngji returned the greeting and the two invited her to join in. They allowed Youngji to jump in the middle. They played for several rounds, taking turns between holding the rope and jumping in the middle. 

Soon, they grew exhausted and took a break as they drank water. 

The girl then turned to face Youngji and asked her something in Cantonese.

Confused, Youngji shook her head and spoke in English, having taken classes back in Korea. "Nope, I'm Korean! My name is Youngji!" 

The girl and the boy seemed to have understood as they gasped and chattered excitedly among themselves.

Youngji could only smile back at them in awe as they spoke in their foreign language. 

The girl,