It was a long day of traveling to South Korea for the light festival, only to miss it. I felt jet-lagged and exhausted. How could my day get any worse? Oh, well, it did. I had to wait one hour for my ride.

“Please don’t mock,” I say on the phone, while finally getting into the cab.

“I’m sorry girl.” I could hear slight giggles through the phone.

“Gamsahabnida (Thank you),” I say handing the driver money.

“Why are you laughing?” I ask.

“Because, it’s like Jesus has some kind of bounty on you.”

“Hey! I need the rest of my trip to go smoothly.”

“I take it back. But hey, maybe you’ll meet your Mr perfect here.”

“You think so?” I laugh, “Really? In this huge city, I doubt it.”

“You never know.”

“You watch too many kdramas,” I say playfully.

“Who got me into kdramas?”

“Right…” She has a point, “I surrender madam.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Well, I should let you go.”

“Okay, love you.”

“Love you too, save me some of that chocolate cake.”

“Sorry—it’s already eaten.”

“Rose!” I empathize, “Really?”

“Hehe,” she says. “Love you!!”

“I love you too,” I say, lacking energy and still slightly annoyed, and then I get off the phone.

I just watch the city pass by and the sun is starting to set, bringing Gold and purple hues into the sky.

“Wow,” I gasp quietly.

“It’s really beautiful,” the driver responds.

“Yeah, you speak English?”

“Yeah,” He says, “Do you speak Korean?”

“Some simple phrases but not fluently.”

“You seem to have good pronunciation.”

“Thank you.”

“My family is having a private event at the light festival, would you want to come?”

“Really?” I ask confused and caught off guard.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Thank you.”

The next day, I picked up my friend and we decided to go.

“What dress should I wear?” I ask, holding up this golden colored silk dress.

“Oh my gosh! That’s _the_ one!” She emphasized.

“Try it on!” She said excitedly.

I did what she said, and she was right. The yellow color popped my brunette hair out, and the off-the-shoulder sleeves fit perfectly.

I entered the room and did a turn, moving the skirt around with my hands.

“GIRLLL!” She snapped, “You look

gorg-eous!”

“Thank you,” I held my hands to my heart. I gave her the finger heart, and she did it back.

“We’re in Korea now, which is ironic because we always do the finger heart.”

I laugh, “It’s like we’re naturally born Koreans,” I say sarcastically.

She laughs—even though she is Korean.

She decides to wear this beautiful purple dress with yellow flowers and ruffles.

“Yes, girl!” I hype her up with the same energy she gave me.

It was finally time. Nerves swell up in me, “Is this a good idea? We don’t even know the family.”

“Trust me, it’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” I take a deep breath.

A black limo comes to pick us up, we get in giggling. “You would think the president was going to be there,” I said quietly, adding to the laughter.

“Maybe Trump is making an appearance,” She whispered.

We both couldn’t help laughing.

“You ladies have never been picked up before in a limo?” The driver asks.

“No, are we supposed to have done that?”

The driver laughs lightly, “No, just curious, everyone has to at least _once_.”

“Well, at least we can be princesses for one night.”

“Yes ma’am,” that’s all he says.

“Oh my gosh! Look over there,” Grayson—my friend—says pointing outside her window.

“Oh wow! It’s beautiful.”

The sun was now setting, and a yellow and blue gradient radiated in the sky. And we could see all the lights, all lined up on pillars and buildings.

I gasp, “It’s like I’m in a kdrama.”

“Oh honey, there is more.”

“Really?” I ask.

“I can just tell there is something for you here.”

“Hmm,” I nod, accepting what she says.

Our driver lends us a hand out of the car.

We hear another car pull up and a Man wearing a tuxedo gets out.

“He’s just your type,” Grayson whispers.

I give her a ‘not right now look’.

As he steps closer I notice his slicked-back blonde hair. “Hello darling,” he says.

I look around and find he’s looking at me.

“I invited you here earlier?” He asks, trying to jog my memory.

“Oh!” I smile in recognition, “Yes!”

“You look magnificent,” He says.

“Thank you,” I feel myself blush.

“You are in a kdrama,” She says through gritted teeth.

Part 2

———

It was so silent that all you could hear was the crickets.

“This is my family,” He said, gesturing to the group of people behind him.

“Hi I’m Peggy,” One lady with black fluffy hair said, and then the rest introduced themselves.

“Let’s go ahead and start,” A grandma said, and so we did. In an instant lights in the distance are now on, it’s looks like a light display—it’s Radiant.

“I’ll go make friends, you go talk to your Oppa,” Grayson sings.

I giggle, “Thanks.”

Oppa and I walk slowly and enjoy the view.

“It’s so magnificent,” I say with a passion, taking in all the lights.

“It really is,” He says.

“So is this something you guys do all the time?”

“Yeah it’s our tradition, every year around this time—May to June-ish, we come here.”

“I could see why,” I say, completely amused by my surroundings.

“We’ve thought about buying this land so many times.”

“I totally get that, if I lived here I’d never want to leave,” I say. He slightly chuckles at my response.

Sudden chills send goosebumps all over my body, and my teeth chatter.

“You cold?” He asks, then lays his jacket over my shoulders which I secure with my hands, holding it tight. A huge smile appeared on my face.

“Is this place worth the drive here?” He says, looking up ahead.

“Yes,” I said, squinting, and tilting my head towards him.

“What’s your favorite song?” I ask randomly.

“I like Sway by Frank Sinatra.”

“Really?” I said excitedly, “That’s one of my favorite songs!”

“They don’t make songs like they did back then.”

“Amen, brotha!” I chant, holding a fist up.

He laughs again and his laugh sounds like a rich man’s laugh—but genuine.

The sun beamed off nearby trees, the laughter and talking set as background noise and warmth echoed in my heart.

“So that’s what you guys talked about!” Grayson cried, head resting on her hands, expectantly waiting for more.

“He gave me his jacket!”

“I saw that,” She smirked, “You go girl.”

She followed up with, “I told you it was going to be like a kdrama!”

“I’m so happy I went, you were so right. You know Rose said the same thing, like am I blocked from some secret service or something?”

“Great minds think alike,” She laughed. “Maybe you are….” She gave me a smug grin.

I placed my hand on hers, “Oh a serious note, I am sorry I didn’t get to talk to you much.”

“That’s okay because I got some information for you!”

“Tell me!” I pat her arm in excitement.

“Okay so….He is a CEO for starters,” She waits for my reply. I squeal then she adds more, “His family is so kind! And they seemed to love you already. You’re practically already part of the family.”

“Ahhh!” I proclaimed, red warmth shooting into my face making me hide underneath my hands.

“But don’t worry he will surely be looking for his princess. You got his number right?”

My eyes widen.

“You did not! Jalen! No!” She grabs my arms and slightly shakes me.

(Let me know if you want a part 3!)