“Um… What’s EXO?” I asked completely confused. I looked at Hye Mi and then at Chanyeol-shi.

“Some band that all these girls are all obsessed with. I see them squealing all the time at the internet café I go to.” She looked back at him with a scrutinizing glance and grabbed the bags out of his hands.

“Thanks.” She said and walked back to my side. He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. You’re welcome.” He said sarcastically and then looked at me.

“I guess I should be going. If you need to talk to the director since you couldn’t today, I can give you directions again tomorrow.” I thought about it but before I could say anything Hye Mi responded first.

“Don’t worry. I can help her out. Let me show you the door.” She said and began walking towards the door. I grabbed her hand to stop her.

“One sec. I’ll show him out. I have to talk to him a bit anyways.” I said and walked out the door. Once outside I turned and looked at him.

“You forgot to mention the band that you were in. Is that why you didn’t want to go through crowded places and always wear this hat?” I was pretty irritated. I didn’t know why I was. I had just met this guy and I couldn’t expect him to tell his entire life story to some random girl who didn’t know her way around Seoul. Problem was, I did. And being in a famous band was a pretty big detail to forget to mention.

“I just didn’t want you to treat me differently. I like not being treated like a star. I don’t like when girls scream and yell when they see me. I want to be treated like a normal person again and have a normal conversation. Whenever I talk to other people, they act as if they are on pins and needles. Never actually saying what they feel; not wanting to say anything that might offend me. I don’t know. I guess it was just refreshing hanging out with someone who didn’t know me for my job but got to know me for me. Even if it was for just a day. I guess I’ll leave now.”

He began walking away, sulking. He was such a genuine guy and I couldn’t stay mad at someone who just wanted to be treated like a normal person.

“Hey wait up.” I caught up to him and walked along side him.

“It’s pretty cool that you’re in a band. Is that what you were doing in SM Entertainment? Do you work there?” I asked, finally putting two and two together.

“Yeah I do. I practice there with my other band members. There are six of us here and another six of us in China. We are one big group split into two. You can meet the rest of the guys sometime. They would really like you.” We got to the end of the street and stopped.

“Yeah. That would be fun. It was really nice meeting you today, Chanyeol-shi. I can not tell you how grateful I am for all the help today. I’ll probably be seeing a lot more of you since I’ll be coming back to SM and seeing if I could meet the director then. Careful on your way home.” I said waving bye and he waved back. He walked away and I watched his back disappear into the distance. I walked back and went into the house again to see Hye Mi and Ahjumma sitting at the table, waiting.

“Hey! Come and sit down. You must be exhausted from today. Eat with us and then you can go to sleep.” Hye Mi moved over and made room for me next to her. I went and sat down eating the rice and soup laid out before me. I missed Korean food. I forgot how nice a home-cooked meal was.

“So, how did you meet… that guy?” Hye Mi asked and looked at me inquisitively.

“I just happened to run into him today. Nothing major. Why are you so irritated by him?” I asked. She let out an exasperated sigh and groaned.

“It’s nothing personal obviously considering I don’t even know the guy. It’s just that all the girls, and I mean all the girls, are obsessed with him and EXO and whatever. I don’t know. I don’t really see why. They all seem just a little fake to me. Every time on TV they are always giving these cliché answers and they sound so rehearsed. Ofcourse all the other girls eat that up, but I see right through it. Anyways, just don’t become one of them. Please.”

She finished eating and washed her dishes. I finished right after and went to clean up my dishes as well but they took them from me and sent me upstairs. I had nothing at all to wear since I didn’t have any luggage with me. All my luggage was still at the hotel. Hye Mi said she’d come up with something for me. I went upstairs to my little home. I remembered coming back everyday, seeing my mom waiting outside for me. It was a great time. I slowly opened the door and went inside. I turned the lights on and just stood there.

Everything was just like it used to be. The small table we had was up against the corner and the mattresses were still rolled up to one side. The little kitchen in the corner still had peeling wallpaper and the entire room still had the musky smell of home. I didn’t believe that it could still be the exact same. So much had changed in these past five years but this room hadn’t changed. I had changed in these past five years but this room hadn’t. I unrolled the mattress and made myself a little bed.

Hye Mi knocked on the door and handed me a pair of pajamas. She promised to take me out wherever I wanted to go tomorrow. I wished her a good night and changed quickly. I took off my sweatshirt and saw the letters K-A-I on my arm. That jerk. Was he famous too? Was he a singer too? Is that why he gave me his “autograph” or whatever. Famous or not, he was terrible. I tried my best to rub the marker off but it was obviously not made to be erased. Frustrated, I went to bed, hoping the next day would be better than this one. 

What will happen on Kari's second day in Korea? Keep reading