Chapter 2: The Beginning of a Journey

                Kate squished her way through the crowded plane to her seat in the Business Class. Cheaper than First Class, less crowded than Second Class, or so I thought, she said to herself, as she finally sat in her seat. It was a window seat a few rows away from the curtain that separated her, and First Class.

She plopped down into her seat and heaved a big sigh as she tried to relax. It was the first time in her entire life that she had ever been on a plane. She smoothed back her hair and laid her head back on the seat. Korea. She couldn’t believe she was finally going. All those years in high school trying to think about what she wanted to do with her life, the two years in community college; it was her second year when she finally decided on her major. She had worked her off in a factory and then doing several other jobs in order to afford to attend her dream university. In fact, the only university that taught Asian languages that was even remotely close to home. She studied several hours a day after work, on weekends and in her free time. After a while, she figured out about Younghwa University from a friend in Korean Class.

                “You wouldn’t believe it, Kate!” Veronica Mejia, Kate’s best friend exclaimed. “It’s one of the most prestigious schools in South Korea, and their curriculum is taught entirely in English! How great is that?” she said, jumping up and down with excitement. Kate smiled so hard her cheeks hurt.

                “That’s amazing Veronica! Are you planning on attending there as well?” Kate asked as they headed towards the campus café.

                “You bet! I wouldn’t pass up this chance for the world!” she squealed as she skipped ahead of Kate. “This is such an amazing opportunity, and the best part…” Veronica trailed off, leaving Kate hanging.

                “The best part is…” Kate tried nudging Veronica for the information.

                “They are coming to our school for an off campus orientation presentation! It takes place tomorrow at noon! Are you coming?” she looked intently at Kate for her desired response. Kate hesitated for a moment.

                “Hmmm. I don’t know, Ian and I were planning on going out for lunch tomorrow,” Veronica rolled her eyes.

                “Ian isn’t a sure thing, you know; he’s always so wishy-washy about your ‘relationship’. Besides, it hasn’t even been that long. This is an opportunity of a lifetime! You never know when something like this will come around again. It’s one of the few campus visits they are doing in the United States!” Kate nodded. She knew very well how heavily this would impact her life, but then she thought of Ian.

                Ian and Veronica had both been there for her since the beginning. During Orientation, Veronica had just waltzed up to her, introduced herself, grabbed Kate by the arm, and said,

                “Don’t worry! I’ll take care of you! You’ll have nothing to worry about!” that night, all the freshman got together in the mess hall and were being introduced to each other. She had seen Ian from across the room. He was a tall, stocky dark haired boy, with dark rimmed glasses. His hair was black, and very short. His eyes were a deep hazelnut brown, and when he smiled she felt her heart thump out of her chest.

                So this is what it’s like to be in love, she thought to herself. Their eyes met from across the room for a split moment, but Kate quickly shot her head down in embarrassment. Veronica, seeing what had happened, gave a sly smile towards Kate and nudged her.

                “Why don’t you go over and talk to him?” she asked, playfully poking Kate in her ribs. Kate twisted away, her cheeks flushing a deep red.

                “I don’t think so; he-he wouldn’t be interested in a shy farm girl like me.” Veronica giggled.

                “Don’t count yourself out just yet,” she pulled at her shoulder, and Kate looked up as the boy began to come towards her. Her heart began racing. She could feel the blood flooding into her cheeks, making her face more of a burgundy color. She tried to look away, but she couldn’t. She was hypnotized by his aura. He stopped about two feet away from her.

                “Hey.” That was all he had to say, and Kate’s heart melted. She became speechless. She was on the verge of forgetting how to breathe. 

                “H-Hi.” She choked out. She could feel Veronica staring at her intently, waiting for her next move.

                “My name is Ian Smith; it’s nice to meet you.” He extended his hand, and Kate hesitantly took it, giving him a week hand shake.

                “My name is Kate Christian. It’s nice to meet you.”  Veronica hopped up next to him and extended her hand.

                “Hiya! My name is Veronica. Veronica Mejia!” He jumped back in surprise, but cautiously took her hand. She shook it vigorously before letting go. “Nice to meet ya!” he nodded and gave Kate a sideways look.

                After that, the three of them had become the best of friends. As the years went by, they became closer, and then the day came when she had to choose between love, and a life choice that might tear them apart. Kate knew what she had to do to succeed in life.

                Later that day, Ian approached her as she was heading toward her next class.

                “Hey baby,” he grabbed her shoulder, pulled her in and kissed her gently on her forehead. “You ready to go?” he asked as he reached for her hand. Kate slowly pulled away. Ian’s face fell. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” he strode up to her and grabbed her shoulders. “Kate, are you okay?” He looked into her eyes. It hurt her to see him so concerned, but she had to tell him sooner rathe than later. She swallowed her pride and faced him.

                “Ian, I know that I’ve talked about my future plans, with going to Korea and all-” he cut her off.

                “Babe, I thought we discussed this? You said you were going to finish here, and then think about going. I thought we were going to discuss this as a team?” Kate sighed.

                “Ian, this is the chance of a lifetime! It’s a very prestigious school. I may not have this chance again to meet with representatives directly from the school.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “This is huge for me, it’s the chance I’ve been waiting for, can’t you be happy for me?” he rolled his eyes and turned away.

                “Why?” he turned towards her, his eyes pleading with her. “Why would you leave me? What does Korea have to offer that I can’t give you?” now it was Kate’s turn to roll her eyes. She had explained this to Ian plenty of times before, but he was being stubborn and refusing to listen to logic.

                Then he shot her a cold look that struck fear into her. He could not be thinking what she thought he was thinking.

                “Is there someone over there?” Bingo. Everything she had hoped he wouldn’t think about, he did. “Am I not attractive to you?” he said, coming closer, bearing down on her.

                “No, that’s not it, I love you Ian, this has nothing to do with whether or not I find Asian men attractive, I’m going over for school, not to sleep around.” He just shook his head and turned away. Kate couldn’t believe it. This was the most ridiculous thing he could have suggested.

                “Whatever, do what you want, I’m done.” Kate’s jaw dropped. Did he seriously just dump her, over which college she wanted to go to? Ian walked away, and all Kate could do was watch, heartbroken as the love of her life walked away from her for the last time.

                Kate shook her head as she came to, the pilot came on the intercom, announcing that it would be another twenty minutes before takeoff. As she stretched she looked out the window.

                Take a good look, Kate, she told herself. You don’t know how long it will be before you come back. As she turned away, she noticed that someone had sat down next to her. She leaned lower to get a better look at the stranger. He had on a hoodie, so it was difficult to see him without looking like a stalker.

                He had on a gray hoodie with the emblem: AOM. It seemed familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen it before. He was wearing baggy jeans and a pair of white adiddas.  From what she could see, he had smooth, porcelain skin, and plump lips.

                Then, he lifted his head, and pulled down his hood. His hair clung to his head from the heat, sweat slowly running down his cheek. He wiped off his sweat with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. She looked straight ahead and stared at the back of the seat ahead of her. The man she had just seen was none other than Park Jaebom.

End of Chapter 2