As previously told in my last blog….I had woken up to the world’s worst hangover and I now had to go outside and see the world…..
Despite having spent the first half of the morning puking in a laundry bag from the oriental raisin bark drink I had to cure my hangover (숙취해소음료 in Korean aka: Hangover Drinks), I felt that they did EXACTLY what it was supposed to do.
Granted, I was supposed to drink it BEFORE I drank alcohol. And again before bed to negate the effects of the hangover.
Regardless, they WORK. Another thing I could thank my new friend for.
Anyone who knows me knows that my usual response to going out and drinking is mostly a decline of invitation. I’ve NEVER been much of a drinker because of past trauma surrounding the use of alcohol at the age of 13 by a predatory friend’s father. So after becoming a legal 21 year old drinking adult, I didn’t see alcohol as anything special or “FUN” and only drank in the presence of people I could trust with my life. And only for BIG reasons of celebration….like a wedding. Like my dear old friend Tiffany who would get drunk and we would find her under the Christmas tree during the holidays….. These things are bound to happen when you 1.) Don’t ever drink and haven’t developed a tolerance of any kind. 2.) And enjoy the people you’re around and feel safe.
JH2 made drinking fun. I felt safe with him, regardless of him being a new friend. I enjoyed the fact that he was talkative when he drank and a lot more open with his thoughts and emotions. Less shy, though he’s not exactly a shy man in the first place….That isn’t the term I would use to describe him….maybe more “emotionally crippled”……like a lot of men I had spoken to in Korea, as it’s not in their nature to be forthcoming with information about their feelings in general. Sadness and negative emotions are to be withheld. Anger and jealousy stay bottled up. K-Rage/Kimchi Temper is REAL (more on that later). And Korean’s in general really believe in “Saving face” (aka 체면을 지키다) which loosely translates as “keeping one’s reputation”. This goes not only for saving their reputation, but saving YOU from losing yours.
There’s even a proverb there that reads:
“A man should cry only three times in his life, when he was born, when his parents passed away and when his nation meets the destruction.” (Korean Proverb)
Yeah…… I know what you’re thinking if you’re my age and have been raised to express your emotions, good or bad, but in a constructive manner…..
All Hail Britney, Bitch.
After finishing up my laundry and returning to my guesthouse, I was amazed how good I felt. I felt even better after I washed up and regulated my body temperature again. Lol
I had a message. It was JH2 asking if I had made it back safety and letting me know he made it to where he was going. Very kind of him I thought to myself. It’s a trait I find attractive in others. The common courtesy to let someone know you’re safe.
He informed me that he was going to be working part time today and would have some money to be able to come back tonight so we could meet and go out again. He asked me where I wanted to go and I mentioned there were quite a few places I wanted to go while I was in Korea and sent him a list I had created before I left my own country based on suggestions from instagram posts, search engines, and friends.
JH2 finished his part time job around 6pm and told me to meet him in Digital Media City. At this point, I was still getting lost on the trains (notorious for getting on the right train but going the wrong direction) but thankfully, I still made it on time to the exit we chose to meet at.
The first thing I noticed about him was how handsome he looked on this day. He, regardless of working, looked dressed up yet still relaxed. And we matched. Which of course made me laugh because that’s how you can tell people are a couple in South Korea.
It was actually an ongoing joke every time I saw this man. We ALWAYS matched, though NEVER on purpose.
HA! Just kidding. I think this trend, though cute LOOKING, is quite ridiculous. I think it’s stemmed from showing off and jealousy. It’s almost like announcing to the world THIS is YOUR person….which again SOUNDS cute in theory, but it’s rubbing it in the faces of those who are single, maybe got dumped recently, are mourning the death of a partner….. and yet also being so annoying about your territorial possessiveness that you need to SHOW people someone belongs to you by the clothing you wear.
You also couldn’t help that a lot of things to see in Korea are couple theme related. A big trend here is to take a LOT of pictures. Photo Booth stores and Photo Ops were EVERYWHERE.
We walked and talked through the scenery of Digital Media City….
I laughed with JH2 asked me if I wanted to have my picture taken here. My face turned so red. But you couldn’t help find beauty in the area we were walking in…. Everything was lit up with lights, and it was nice to walk hand in hand with him while we admired the lights around us.
Before we left, we checked the train schedule for the time of the last train.
We had PLENTY of time as the last train didn’t stop running until at least 11:30PM or so. Upon finishing our tour of DMC, we made our way to one of the sights I wanted to see on my trip.
N Seoul Tower.
There’s a 2km trail up to Namsan Park with stairs for visitors to climb all the way up to the base of N Seoul Tower. It takes about 30 minutes to reach the tower and it’s a relatively easy hike. Though JH2 had to stop to take frequent breaks, I teased him about continuing to exercise. I’m a trainer, That’s my job.
Being how late it what when we actually got to the top of hill to reach the tower, and the day we decided to go, the tower itself was actually closed. Funny enough, I was actually just happy with the view I was seeing with the company I was with. JH2 was an awesome guide. Very informative and attentive. This place was beautiful at night. It overlooked the nightlife of Seoul below.
This is a popular spot actually for K-drama watchers. I admit, at this time, I hadn’t watched any. Looking back now, and having watched a few before returning to Korea again, I recognize the things I had seen and realized in a different way how romantic this place actually was to go here.
I’m happy we had gone here before I had watched any so I could feel the charm and romance from this place organically. Now when I do see I spot I’ve visited in a drama, I’m taken to MY memory of it instead of the scene of the drama…..For the MOST part…..
N. Seoul tower has an area like a spot we have here in San Francisco, California where people buy locks and write their messages of love. Pier 39 is where our love locks were found.
For Korea, it’s here at this tower.
As we walked along the bridge looking at the messages on the locks, The night suddenly got really cold. Why so suddenly was Mother Nature trying to urge us closer to each other for warmth? Lol
because we hadn’t been paying attention to the time and it was LATE. We were lucky to have made the last cable car ride down back to the bottom of the hill. I had never actually taken a cable car before due to my insane fear of heights but JH2 held me without knowing I was scared or maybe he did know. He was REALLY good at reading me even when I was playing poker face pretending I wasn’t cold.
Now this is where I’m glad I hadn’t watched Kdramas before hand because I could say this fun moment would have been ruined by my ADHD need to connect music to events and memories…..guaranteed I would have heard:
ALMOST PARADISE…..*Insert Boys Over Flowers theme*
It definitely made my second trip to this tower in my third visit to Korea have a completely different feel to it. ….
Once we made our way back on our ground, we still had enough time for a late dinner as fried chicken places seemed to always be open late. We came back to Sinchon, which was the area next to Hongdae where I stayed. A 10 min walk.
It’s the one thing I can say I admired about the new friend I had made and others of his culture is that they liked to make us feel safe. By meeting us in our area. I would have assumed this was a ploy to get laid as it had been with other attempts.
But on this night, JH2 made sure I made it home. He kissed me on the forehead, smiled at me, said his goodnight, and took a taxi home, even though he could have stayed. I literally stood in my doorway for a few mins wondering it that had been a date or if he was being kind and planned to never see me again.
I was dumbstruck…..We were friends I think…..did I like him? No….I didn’t see him like that. …or did I? Did this man like me? Or was he saving face?….
Upon getting out of the shower before bed, he texted me to tell me he had fun and made it home. He let me know he would be working for a few days to make some money and we would meet up again closer to the weekend if I was free.
I smiled. Checked my Bumble friends app, sent a few messages, and went to sleep……
Next Chapter: My Foreigner Friends…
ShayRae's Experiences in Modern Romance 