Idols, shoping & sand.

Simple interpretation

Kat and Sojin traveled well together. Quiet at first soon turned into chatter about family. Kate spoke of her younger sister Kelly. Since they had lost their parents years earlier, Kat and Kelly were close.

Although her once a week call, after moving to South Korea, had turned into once every two weeks, they tried to Skype at least once a month. Kelly was married to a computer graphics designer and they lived in Central California. They had two kids that Kat adored and it goes without saying they thought she was the best aunt in the world.

Sojin told Kat about his younger sister Yoon Na, how smart she was and her current educational endeavor. Living with a psychologist is difficult to say the least. Sojin had grown more and more quiet at home, learning the less he said the better.

Sojin loved his sister very much but he looked forward to her getting married and hopefully moving in with her husbands family. She was currently dating another grad student, equally as smart, but they refuse to talk wedding until they complete their doctorates.

Of course this would leave him at home with his mother and grandmother. Sojin had always been comfortable as the man around the house, but he also longed for a companion. He had all but resigned to the fact that he would be single forever, when one day a new employee started at the hospital. She was from the US. He admitted this did not impress him near as much as her smile. At first he attributed it to being nervous but learned she had a wonderful ability to calm people with her smile. Now that he has gotten to know her, she is more than a calming spirit with a wonderful smile.

Kat asked, "before this smiley lady showed up, was their someone who tried to steal your heart?"

Sojin replied, "after a long illness my father passed away. It got hard for me to think of leaving to go to a university so I stayed near home. I did have a girlfriend and it was actually serious between her and I. But, from the first visit she did not get along with my mother. She all but refused to live in the same house. We fought often and in the end I chose my family over her and it ended."

"Oh, I see." Kat replied.

"Deciding to break up instead of facing hurting my mother was difficult for me. I became quiet and distant. I didn't want to resent my mother but sometimes I did. I started working at the hospital and focusing on that really helped me," he said.

Kat didn't know what to say. She wanted to be supportive and not too critical. Family in Korea held a different meaning than in the US. After just a few years she slowly came to realize those differences. As hard as the younger generation tries to pull away from tradition, it's almost impossible from the elders viewpoint.

Kat finally did reply, " I am sorry your personal sacrifice in the past have been so great. Doesn't your mother want you to be happy? Maybe she has a hard time talking about her feelings as well."

The two travelers road in silence for a while. Sojin felt the mood needed some changing so he the stereo and pushed a CD into the player. F(x) came bursting out of the speakers, much to Kat's delight and Sojin's surprise. She looked at Sojin and squeezed his arm.

"This is perfect!" she exclaimed.

Inside Sojin was trying to estimate how the trip was going. He gave the first part of the journey a five out of five. The music being the big winner. He got an arm squeeze, it had to be good. The chatter would continue on and off for the rest of the trip.

The travelers made great time and arrived in Busan at mid morning.

"Do you want to go see the ocean first thing or save it for a little later. There's lots to do in town. We could walk around and do some shopping then have lunch." Sojin said.

Kat said, "a little shopping sounds great, lets start there."

He found great parking close to Gukje Market. They both made muscle stretching noises as they got out of the car. They quickly looked at teach other and blamed the long car ride for the stiffness.

Kat laughed saying, "a walk would do us good, huh?"

Sojin replied, "It's been a long time since my last rode trip anywhere. I must be out of practice."

They set out on the shopping and exploring journey. Kat was amazed by the street vendors and tiny shops and all the thousand and thousands of any item you could imagine. They walked and talked about the weather, the beautiful day and how lovely this city was. It was a little chillier than expected and Kat was a little disappointed she didn't think ahead to bring a scarf. She packed well, but it was back in the car.

Just then Sojin grabbed her hand and pulled her into a store. He was looking around as if he needed to find something urgently. He spotted just what he was looking for. It was a very pretty blue scarf, fuzzy and warm. He gently wrapped it around Kats neck. He stood back a bit and admired it as if he had made it himself. Kat blushed for a moment thinking she had better watch what she wishes for.

Sojin confirmed her satisfaction and asked if there was anything else she needed. She said no and he went to the shop owner to pay. Kat stood next to him and instantly started thinking of what she could get him.

She tugged at his sleeve and he looked at her. She pointed to a floppy looking hat behind the counter. She wasn't sure if she liked the looks of it either and decided to keep looking.

He looked at the hat and scrunched his face saying, "I am more of a baseball hat kind of guy. You know something cool, but not too cool."

She said "okay," and smiled.

They continued walking down the street. Neither was ready for lunch yet, so they continued on. They both noticed, a bit up ahead, that a rather large crowd had gathered. No police or emergency vehicles, so they were curious.

As they got closer they could hear people talking about what was happening. They both heard at the same time…"some idol star was filming something for a drama." They looked at each other and then Sojin noticed that he was being pulled forward by Kat as she grabbed his hand and charged ahead.

It was hard to see but Kat managed to find an opening (or she made one) and they gently pushed through the crowd. She was very determined, he liked it. She had a bit of a crazy side he had never seen before.

Sojin cleverly made some mental notes about the day so far.
1, She gets car sick if she reads while in the car.
2. She loves KPOP.
3. A chance to see and "Idol star" up close makes her very focused and strong.
4. She looks good in blue.

Sojin smiled, feeling very pleased with his detective skills. Of course honestly a 10 year old could have picked up on all of these, but he was quite pleased that he had a reason to remember such things.

Kat said, "can you see who it is? I can't really see anything."

Sojin took this as a request. This time he took off dragging her by the hand that he was still holding. He made his way through the crowd until they reached the set barrier. It was exciting, now they could see lots of people working, moving stuff around, lots of people all doing something to ready the set for filming.

An official looking person came around with a bull horn and announced that fans are welcome to stay but you must be quiet because they are ready to film. Nobody made a sound. A couple minutes later he arrived on set.

Kat squeezed Sojin's arm and leaned in very close to him and whispered, "it's Lee Min Ho, I can't believe this!"

Kat stared at the actor, Sojin stared at Kat. He thought she was like a little girl all star struck and in awe. She barely blinked, he didn't either.

They both watched for about 20 minutes then the director yelled cut. He wanted to make some changes to the set and everyone started working quickly.

Lee Min Ho walked over to the crowd. He shook some hands, thanked people for having interest and for being so quiet. He posed for a couple pictures and worked his way down the barrier. When he finally reached Kat, she shook his hand. She had a silly grin on her face she could not get rid of. Just then Sojin pulled out his phone and asked of he could take a picture of them both. Lee Min Ho leaned in towards Kat and smiled like a million bucks and flashed a peace sign. Kat was speechless. Then she leaned way over to look at the photo to see how it came out. Upon her approval she gave Sojin a big hug. It was nice and tight and several seconds long. She didn't care where they were because she was thanking him for being a perfect gentleman and a good friend.

She hooked her arm through his while they waited for a little while longer. Realizing they could spend several hours just working on one scene. They were amazed by the process, but both decided it was time to go.

Sojin asked Kat if she was hungry and then suggested they find a place for lunch. Kat agreed even though she could have watched all afternoon.

"It would be great to have lunch in a warm place." she said.

They walked again. Her arm still hooked in his. They felt comfortable this way.

They decided on a place that looked warm and cozy. They walked in and took a seat by a window.  Sojin scoring more points by helping Kat sit first. He was such a gentleman, she was happy to be here with him. They ordered a traditional meal with assorted meat which they cooked at the table.

"Are you having a nice time Sojin," Kat asked.

"Yes, very much, and you?" he replied.

Kat said, "I am having a wonderful time. This is the first real vacation I have taken since being here. I more or less thought of the whole South Korean experience as a working vacation.

He smiled as she took a bite of rice and kimchi. Sojin felt this moment was perfect. He wanted desperately to have the courage to tell her how he felt. But he just continued eating. Not yet, he said to himself, not yet.

Kat excused herself to the bathroom. Sojin took a moment t really think about this. He was very anxious about making this time last longer. He wanted to ask her to stay overnight. We are grown-ups, it shouldn't be this awkward. Maybe he should have gotten more advise before making this maiden voyage.

Kat came back, catching up with Sojin as he was paying the check.

She asked, "now do you want to check out the beach?"

"Absolutely, I can't wait," Sojin replied.  

They made their way back to the car. They would need to drive to the beach from here. Kat was admiring her scarf. It was very sweet of him to buy it for her. But, now she would be on the look-out for the perfect gift for him. The real trick would be surprising him. She feared he would never let her buy something for him if he knew what she was up to.

It was a very quick drive to a very nice beach. They parked and walked out. It was pretty windy but still very nice as they stood looking out onto the ocean. There were waves breaking far out and then again much closer. It was hypnotic as they both looked at the water not moving. Kat gathered her courage and without any big fanfare she took Sojins hand in hers. They looked at each other.

Kat said, "this is perfect."

"Yes it is," Said Sojin.

"I could look at the ocean like this forever," she said.

Sojin didn't even think before he heard himself asking her, "would you like to stay all night, in Busan. It's really beautiful, we don't have to rush back."

Kat had thought about what she would say if this came up. She forgot all that and just answered.

"I would like that. But, I don't want to go too fast. I am just enjoying this part of dating. I don't want to rush too far forward, not that I have been thinking about it, I..I..I have but, not all the time. I'm not some crazy ert or something. Why are you looking at me like that?" She said.

"I feel the same way, don't worry. You'll be safe with me," he added.

"I have no doubt about that. I do feel safe, and happy. Does that sound silly?" she asked.

"Not silly at all. I have been the man in my family for so long-it never occurred to me that living like this would beam lonely. I love my family and I can't leave them, not even for my own happiness. At least that is how I have always felt. But lately I think that it would be better for me to find love and have that for myself. It may help me love them more. If I spend my whole life alone, I may end up resenting my mother when it's not her fault. Does that make sense?" Sojin said.

Kat looked at Sojin the whole time he was speaking. She saw the sincere look in his eyes. She felt his words were truly from the heart. She did not feel scared. She didn't want to run oat as usual. She looked at him, then looked at the ocean. She squeezed his hand and then she reached up and kissed him. He was surprised, but pleased, very pleased. He kissed her back.

Kat said, "I think we should jump in-get out feet wet."

Sojin looked at her a bit puzzled, then said…"what?"

"The ocean, lets et our feet wet. ' she said.

He replied, "okay, but it's really cold. But, we did come all this way, why not?"

Sojin and Kat got their feet wet. They walked long the beach and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Soon it would be too cold to enjoy a day like this, so they made it last.

Finally they returned to the car. Kat tried very hard not to get any sand in the car. Sojin told her not to worry. Safely in the car they headed back to the city.

Sojin finally broke the silence with, "we should look for a place to stay tonight. I didn't call ahead and arrange anything. I wasn't sure. I didn't want to look like I was planning something.

Kat laughed and replied, "it's ok. I understand I would have thought you to be presumptuous if you made reservations.  I am still trying hard to define the line separating socially acceptable in Korea and what is not. Plus to be honest, this is my first time away from home since moving here. My first time on an overnight trip, so I am just a lilt nervous."

"Me too," Sojin added quickly.

"Look, lets just try and relax, both of us. We're not rushing. We can handle this Sojin, I know we can." Kat said.

Sojin added, "you're right, part of me feels like a kid and then part of me feels like an old man. I want to be somewhere in the middle."

Kat laughed a bit saying, "I know exactly what you mean. I have felt that way more than once today."

They found a nice place, close to downtown which made it easy to walk around and experience the night life in Busan. That is if they walk around tonight. Sojin went into the office to arrange for the night's stay. Kat stayed in the car. She was tired and looking forward to getting some rest. But, honestly…thinking of getting some rest the first night with this guy you are crazy about, should be the farthest thing from your mind. Come to your senses lady…it might not be all that restful. Now she was nervous again.

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