It’s been a while since I’ve been single, after that painful break-up. And Dara had been telling me to hang out and mingle with people.

“How about Speed Dating?” Dara said.

“No! NEVER!” I objected.

After a few weeks….

So I did something I said I would never do. I don’t even want to do it. SPEED DATING. I know! But that’s how Dara and Min Ho met, and I’m not into the bar thing, and I don’t do internet dating. So I figured I should embrace the embarrassment and give it a try. Or some sort of self-help nonsense, I saw a face after face, but I made no real connections. The night was winding down and my second-to-the-last-speed suitor plopped down. Right away….

But—

I realized he wasn’t part of the speed dating event.

He didn’t have the required name tag, and he was looking around furtively. My alarm bells started ringing. “I’m not part of the speed dating thing”, he explained (alarm bells got louder), “I’m here with a friend, and I saw you over here and I wanted to meet you…. So here I am”. Now I try not to be too much of a you-know-what but this is Seoul. The hokey lines were too much. I did what any self-respecting Seoul woman would do.

I took the remains of my dignity and left.

I wasn’t rude; I just thanked him for his interest but told him I was done meeting people for the night. The crazy part was, he looked more appealing than anyone I had met in the past hour. He was wearing a really great blue polo.

So a few days went by, and I got zero calls from speed suitors, and the whole thing had me feeling depressed. I went to the Mystery Roast to get my coffee and free weekly paper; I flipped immediately to the ‘I Saw You’ section, because I wanted to live vicariously. In the middle of the page I saw this, “You: Speed Dating last Friday; Me: Blue Polo, I crashed the party. Can we get coffee some time?”

THE FIRST DATE…..

Talk about a memorable first date…. We took the first trip to Jeju Island; the weather was perfect. We strolled, we talked…. Then we both saw a pedal boat. I hate hate hate boats. Kim Bum, have I mentioned his name? Yeah, his Kim Bum of course, he love boats – he shouted, “Kaja!” Now this boat was not just any pedal boat, it was an old wooden boat that made me feel like I was going to be sick just by looking at it. But I really wanted the date to go well. I felt like a caged animal, looking left and right, and sweating (I have fear of drowning!). Then further down the bay, I saw….

Jaejoong, a.k.a. MY EX!

Yes, Jaejong. Met-Someone-Else-Broke-My-Heart-I-Know-He-Wasn’t-Right-For-Me Jaejoong. My stomach dropped. The interesting part was, I didn’t feel any twinge for Jaejoong, I mostly felt like I didn’t want the date with Kim Bum to be derailed!

Kim Bum was still looking at the old boat, so I did this sort of dorkey maneuver, grabbed his arm, and turned both of us away from Jaejoong. Then I crossed over into a potentially crazy territory.

I pulled Kim Bum towards the boat, yelping “Yes! Let’s do it!”

We got into the boat and hid behind Kim Bum. I chanced a look over Kim Bum’s shoulder and Jaejoong passed by without seeing me. YES! I breathed a sigh of relief until I looked down and saw a hole on the boat. Obviously, I had just signed my own death warrant, but hey! No problemo! Evidently, I survived the ride, but I think my fingernail marks are still embedded into Kim Bum’s skin. It was actually fun. The whole crazy date was fun!

After several dates we were officially together. YES! I’m in a relationship. And I think I’ve really found the one. We’ll I’ve been waiting for something to bond us forever but I guess I have to wait longer. Until one day……

THAT ONE DAY…..

It was magical. Kim Bum had been doing a lot of planning and I still don’t know how he pulled it all off! Of course, even though I knew all along that he was going to pop the question, I was completely clueless, so I nearly derailed his plans. But true love won out. The question was popped (and answered) at….

JEJU ISLAND….

We arrived at Jeju and Kim Bum had an itinerary – ride the boat (oh no!), walk along the bay, get some refreshments…. But it started pouring rain! Pouring. I was wearing a sundress and sandals, and I started complaining right away. We took a cover beneath a big palm tree and I figured we’d hit that shed, the only shed in this place. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea, so it was full, another thing for me to complain about (whoops!). The rain poured heavier, then we ran, but I lost Kim Bum. Luckily, I found him, and he handed me….

A BOX OF CRACKER JACK!

He knows I love Cracker Jack! I took the box and tore right in, going straight for the prize. But I couldn’t find it! “There’s no prize in here,” I muttered. “WHAT?!??” Kim Bum yelled. I couldn’t figure out why he was so worried about it, but he started jamming his hand inside and spilling my delicious snack all over the ground. Suddenly he yelled, “I FOUND IT!!!” and pulled the small wrapped prize out. “It was stuck to the side” he explained, sweating. I took it – it was kind of heavy and lumpy. I ripped it open, and I saw a ring. but instead of a plastic ring with a fake gem, it’s a platinum ring with a diamond on top. Kim Bum looked at me, and asked, “Can you be Mrs. Kim for the rest of your life?” I was shocked. “I –mean, I-I,” he was stuttering, panicking. “Oh! God.” He said.  I laughed. “Okay, take two!” he said. “Ms. Kim So Eun, I… I want to take care of you and be your husband for the r-re….”  But before he could finish his words I pulled him over and kissed him. I didn’t notice everybody was watching us, and still I don’t care. Everybody was wearing smiles and was cheering for us. I hope he got the message, just like everybody else here. (Obviously, he did!) ^_^