I met Haneul Unnie in my first year of college through a mutual friend, who had been in a few of my pre- med classes. Although initially it was awkward  between the two of us, we ended up becoming really good friends, she became the older sister that I had always wanted. She was really helpful in getting me through my freshman and sophmore years of college. Although she had been a Junior when we met, we stayed close even after she and her twin brother Paul had returned to Korea. It was amazing how close we stayed especially since she lived all the way in Korea and we weren't able to see each other in person very often. That is why I was so excited to go to Korea for a summer abroad, I was really excited to see Haneul Unnie again, as well as Paul, who I had a crush on since my sophmore year of college.

Haneul Unnie was really excited when I had called to tell her that I was coming to Korea. When I called her a few days before my flight to Seoul, we spent 3 hours planning out everything taht we were going to do together while I was there. When I arrived in Korea, she met me at the airport and she wouldn’t stop jumping up and down with excitement when we saw each other. As I took in the sights of Seoul, I couldn't wait to begin this new adventure and I had hoped that I would make a lot of meaningful memories that I could cherish forever. That trip to Seoul was one of heartbreak and of new beginings. 

I remember when I first found out that Paul had a girlfriend, it was shortly after I had arrived in Seoul and Haneul Unnie and I were supposed to go to dinner with Paul and some of their other friends.

     Flashback

Tears b in my eyes, I turned away from the couple in disbelief at what I had just seen. All I could think about in that moment was that I needed to get out of there, so I began to run. After a while I started running, faster and faster until I reached my hotel, I walked to the elevator in a rush eager to get up to my room and cry my heart out. I felt so lost and confused. What went wrong, I thought to myself, why did he do this to me. I thought that he liked me, he was so nice to me and he seemed to really care for me. As I cried, I thought about that night, when I had gone to the movies with my friends including Paul and  Haneul Unnie. We had ended up going to a scary movie and somehow I ended up sitting next to Paul.  Since I hate scary movies, I had spent over half the movie hidding behind my jacket. Then during one of the scarier parts of the movie Paul had reached over and covered my eyes, which at the time had made me confused since I had been trying to stop crushing on Paul. My Heart was crushed when I found out that I no longer had a chance with Paul.

It was shortly after this heartbreak that I met Minho, I had gone out with Haneul Unnie and some of her other friends and Minho was also there since he was friends with Haneul Unnie. We had talked a bit and were friendly to each other, but we didn't get really close until I had returned to Korea to complete my Fellowship requirements for my degree. It took about a year after I found out that Paul had a girlfriend for me to get over him. Once I realized that I was completely over Paul, I felt so free and happy. Now when I look back at that time, I ask myself why I ever liked Paul in the first place. I feel so silly now about how I acted at the time. I acted like a lovesick and overemotional teenager when I should have been acting my age. Truthfully I never should have assumed that Paul had returned my feelings, it was probably just him being polite. That whole ordeal with Paul taught me that you should never assume that a boy returns your feelings, it could just be him being nice or polite.