Wednesday, May 21

Morning

I had an idea for where to take Taemin today! We'll see if he likes it.

Later

Today was just as special as I had hoped it to be! When we met in the morning, I asked Taemin if, instead of visiting some place in Atlanta, we could visit one of my favorite places outside the city. He agreed and off we went!

It's really strange having a cameraman follow you around everywhere. I suppose you get used to it after a while, but I feel like I have to watch every little thing I say or do... Well, back to the story!

Taemin and I went to a little place called Mercier Orchards. It's in the city of Ellijay in the north Georgia mountains. Almost every year, while my family lived in Georgia, we went to Mercier to pick apples. In the spring of 2013, for the first time, my family went to pick strawberries!

So I decided to take Taemin and he loved it! It was nice and cool up in the mountains, so even though we were walking around picking the delicious red fruit, we didn't get very sweaty. But the best part was that we could eat the berries right off the plants! It was a very enjoyable experience, but the day wasn't over yet!

We drove back towards Atlanta, but stopped at one of my favorite restaurants. My friend Alisa first introduced me to this restaurant a year ago. Since the beginning of the school year, I tried to make it in there at least every 2 weeks. At this point, I know all the waitresses and they all know me. It's a little hole-in-the-wall Korean restaurant called ill mee. I really hoped Taemin would like it.

We walked in the front door. "Annyeonghasaeyo!" (Hello!) I called out.

"Annyeonghasaeyo!" Was called out in response to mine and one of the waitresses came to meet us.

"Hello again, Hannah!" She said in Korean. "Would you like your regular seat?"

"Yes, thank you!" I replied. The waitress showed the four of us to our seats with an extended glance at the cameramen.

After taking our drink order, the waitress left and Taemin turned to me. "You speak Korean?" He asked me in his language, amazed.

"Oh! Didn't I tell you that?"

"No!"

"Yeah I took a class in Korean last semester at school. I'm still just a beginner, but the waitresses here have been kind enough to teach me a couple of words every time I come in here."

We continued to talk throughout the rest of the meal. Taemin insisted that I talk in Korean whenever I could and I was happy to do so. The food was delicious, as always. I actually really like the kimchi, which they serve with every meal.

Taemin enjoyed the food too, but commented that it wasn't the same as the food in Korea. He said that I'd have to come visit him sometime and try some REAL Korean food. Just the thought of it makes me smile.

Anyway, we stayed out pretty late and we're going to the aquarium tomorrow, so I gotta go to bed. Assuming I can sleep at all!

Thursday, May 22

Today we went to the aquarium. The aquarium was SUPER cool, as usual, and as an added bonus there weren't many people there. Taemin and I looked at the animals and talked for HOURS, mostly in Korean. He was really happy to be able to speak in his own language and I was happy to receive some pointers. At one point we were talking about his life and, specifically, dancing.

"Do you like dancing?" He asked me.

"I love dancing!"

"Do you?" He asked excitedly. Then he showed me some of his fancy-shmancy K-Pop dance moves. Did I mention that he's the lead dancer in his group? He's REALLY good.

I laughed nervously. "I can't dance like that!" I looked around the room, expecting strange glances, and was surprised to find the room empty except for the four of us.

"Then how do you dance?" Asked Taemin.

"Um... Well... I know how to waltz!"

"Waltz?"

"Yeah, waltz!" I replied, excited that I could teach him something about dancing he didn't already know. "Lemme show you!"

I grabbed his right hand and put it on my hip. I grabbed his left in my right, put my right hand on his shoulder, and started to teach him the basic.

After going through the basic steps, no more than 4 times, Taemin said "I know this!" And immediately started doing more advances moves. Luckily, I've had more than a little experience with waltz, so I was able to follow along pretty well. Until he tried to dip me.

Now, I'm a little bit overweight and very self conscious about it. I've never let anyone dip me before! But Taemin, who, as a dancer, is very strong, threw me into that dip like I was a rag doll. My reflexes kicked in and I flung my arms around his neck, scared of falling. But Taemin managed to keep me up, a testament to his... impressive muscles.

Instead of falling, we just stood there for what seemed like an eternity, my arms around his neck, him holding me up. "He has really pretty eyes" I thought. "No, Hannah. Snap out of it!" I tried to redirect my gaze, but I found myself unable to pull away. I looked at his neck to try and avoid eye contact, but then he swallowed. What was he thinking about? I looked back up into his eyes and he started to pull me closer. Was this really happening? I closed my eyes.

If it weren't for the group of 40 or so elementary school students walking into the room, I think we might still be standing there. We snapped back to our senses and awkwardly left the room.

So... Yeah... That was our trip to the aquarium. I wonder what he thinks of me. We've had a ton of fun, but... Ugh... Never mind. I'm kinda confused... We'll see what happens tomorrow. We're going to a Braves Game! I'm so excited!