Hae-Rin's P.O.V

' Hae-Rin-ah, have fun in Korea for your brother alright? You've been sticking that pretty head of yours in books for at least a decade. Now that you've graduated, get a boyfriend or something! You sometimes make me wonder if you are in actual fact a female; you don't seem to be self conscious at all. You know, you would honestly look incredibly gorgeous if you took better care of your appearance'

'Aish oppa! Being pretty isn't going to get me anywhere! I'd rather be the loser and study hard, than carry my head around and be immersed in superficiality. Also, do you really think I'd want a boyfriend? Guys are jerks, and the closest I'll ever be to a guy is with you, my brother.'

' I suppose you don't have raging hormones yet. And please, men can't hold their raging homones, so you can't expect them to contain themselves.'

I just shook my head in disgust and glared at my older brother.

My older brother Woo-Chan ruffled my hair and said, 'Good night and sleep tight Hae-Rin ah', and left the room.

- 

*sigh* My heart continues to thump at the thought of going to Korea tomorrow. I've never been to Korea in my entire life, and I have no idea what to expect. What if I don't fit in? What if my relatives don't like me? I really don't know what to expect.

Speaking of Korea, my father contacted by auntie in South Korea, and she has willingly offered me accomodation which is very generous, but I am also dreading the awkwardness that will saturate the air. In truth, I've never in my life met my relatives; this is partially because I've never had the opportunity to, but also because I live in the U.S, and they live in Korea. As a Korean American, I've always suffered from an identity crisis, not knowing where I truly belonged. I also have several cultural issues. One fact about me I try to keep away from everyone else is that I can't eat Korean food. Never once have I ever eaten Kimchi, or rice for that matter. You could almost call it a phobia. My parents and Woo-Chan know very well about my eating problems, but no one else. So.... I have no idea how I'm going to survive in Korea. I'm S.C.R.E.W.E.D

At Incheon airport

I finally arrived at Incheon airport! My eyes widened at the sight of the large mass of people walking around at the airport. There were so many Koreans!!!! I mean, that's because it is Korea, but I've never seen so many Korean people in my entire life! I was amazed that so many people looked like me. I continued staring at people passing by until a girl glared at me for staring at her.

As I walked out of the terminal, I was met with greeting signs everywhere, each with different names on them. I finally tracked mine, and the owner of the placard appeared to be a middle-aged woman, who looked very chic but also very warm. Her eyes were wandering everywhere, looking for me, so I awkwardly waved at her.

'Omo! Are you Hae-Rin! Wow! You are so beautiful and grown up! I've only seen you through pictures, but I must say, you look better in real life.'

'Haha. Thank you auntie.  I have to say, you look amazing yourself! Damn~! I have a cool auntie.'

'*chuckling* Awww. Thanks for the compliment Hae-Rin. Now first, let's drive you over to my house. All of your relatives are waiting for you.'

'A-all o-of my r-relatives?'

'Haha. Don't be nervous Hae-Rin. We won't bite. Besides, I can't pick out a single flaw from you, and so I'm sure everyone will love you.'

'It's just.. I am not really familiar with being around my relatives. They are strangers to me.'

'You will warm up eventually.'

At auntie's house

As soon as I walked in, I was faced with a living room full of faces filled with anticipation and delight. Knowing I would be meeting all of my relatives, I put more effort into my appearance than usual- normally, I wouldn't care at all. However, I wanted to make a good first impression, and so I put on makeup that Woo-Chan had bought for me. Hence, I looked more gorgeous than I would if I hadn't worn any, and I also put on my contact lenses.

'Omma. That noona is very pretty! Who is she?' A little boy, presumably one of my cousins, asked his mother.

'That's your cousin Hae-Rin noona! Go on, give her a hug!' his mother replied.

The boy approached me and hugged me very tightly.

'Hi, my name is Min. It's nice to meet  you, pretty noona.'

'*chuckling* It's nice to meet you too Min.'

My auntie- auntie Ye-Seul- the one who picked me up from the airport, walked in. She was carrying my luggage and some groceries she had bought for tonight's dinner.

'Guys! Don't make it so awkward! Why don't you all talk to one another? From what I've seen, Hae-Rin is a very pleasant young lady.' auntie said.

The silence however, continued. I grasped tightly onto the hem of my dress, as I had no idea how to handle this situation. It was incredibly, incredibly awkward.

'Hi Hae-Rin. I'm Yoona. Do you know me by any chance?' Finally, someone spoke up.

'Hi Yoona. Sorry no. Have you seen me before?'

'O-o-oh no. It's just..... do you listen to kpop?'

'Haha no. I think it's actually pretty lame. It's not my style, and the lyrics are too shallow in meaning. Besides, I find the songs so similar, and the idols seem to have all had plastic surgery which I am totally against.'

Yoona suddenly appeared flustered, and I on the other hand was very confused. The entire family was laughing and snickering. It was the first time I heard many of their voices. Yoona  on the other hand appeared very uncomfortable and almost offended. Was she a fan of kpop, and had I just insulted one of her obsessions? After all, I knew plenty of crazy kpop fans in the U.S.

I quickly apologised, but Yoona made me dumbfounded by saying, 'I'm actually a K-pop idol. I'm Yoona from Girls' Generation.'

I looked at her in horror, and my mouth wouldn't shut. I had, on my first encounter with one of my cousins, directly insulted her career, and her life.

'*chuckling* Don't worry Hae-Rin, you are entitled to your own opinion, and I guess the culture is just very different. It doesn't matter. While you are staying here in Korea, I will make sure you fall in love with K-pop.'

'I sure hope so unni.'

We spent a couple more hours talking, and I felt a weird sensation. I felt like I had known them all along, and I was just seeing them again after a couple of years. I felt at home. Then, auntie Ye-Seul walked into the lounge and told us to get ready for dinner.

-

I started shaking nervously, and my eyes were rapidly gazing around the dinner table. Every plate was filled with Korean food. I.HATE.KOREAN.FOOD. I stared hard at the food whilst all the others began digging in.

'Hae-Rin, are you alright? Have something to eat.'

'Umm... auntie. There's something I haven't told you, and it appears my father hasn't told you either. I can't eat Korean food.'

The dinner table suddenly grew silent, and all of my relatives stared at me, all with their mouths open. Some made clincking sounds as they dropped their utensils.

'MWOH!!!!!' They all exclaimed simultaneously.

'Umm... I can't eat Korean food.'

'We heard you. We just can't believe it. HOW??? You're Korean!' exclaimed auntie Ye-Seul

I then went on ahead to tediously explain my eating problem; I hadn't been able to eat Korean food since birth. I hated the taste of rice and the taste of kimchi, which made me despise Korean food in all.

Being apologetic that she had nothing else to offer me to eat, auntie Ye-Seul gave me 10,000 won, and told me to go out a get some street food to eat.

-

Outside, the streets were still bustling. It was a very unfamiliar vibe. In fact, in America, night-life was almost non-existent.

Walking out of auntie's house, I headed for a street vendor to find some Western food. I spotted one with corndogs and some fish-cake, which I was fine with, and so I headed towards that vendor.

'Hello.' the vendor owner said.

'Hello. Can I please get two corndogs, and a bowl of fishcakes?'

'Sure. By the way, are you new here? You look very unfamiliar, but I have to say, you are one good-looking girl.'

At the mention of a 'good-looking girl', a boy, who was wearing a black mask and a cap, turned his head around towards my direction. Intimidated by the attention, I kept my head low and quickly received my food. As the street vendor was very small, the only place I could sit next to was the seat next to the boy wearing a cap and mask. He immediately turned stiff, and began to nervously look around.

Confused, I asked, 'Are you okay sir?'

'You don't know me?' the boy asked.

'Well.. I'm new to Korea so no.'

Suddenly, a hoard of Korean girls started screaming and running towards our direction.

'Aisshhh. How did they recognise me?' He quickly grabbed my wrist and began running down the street.

To be continued

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To any readers out there reading this, though there might not be anyone, how did you find the first chapter?

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