Unlikely Romance

ONE

“Even the air smells different.”

It was the very first thought that Dara Park voiced out loud as she walked out of the airport. Her hand tightened around the slim handle of her enormous suitcase as she surveyed her homeland with wide eager eyes. It has exactly been 12 years, 7 months and 22 days since the whole Park family left and migrated to the Philippines. And as expected Korea changed. Everything around her seemed bigger and fancier than they were years ago. Towering buildings stood close to each other giving the newcomers the strange feeling of being swallowed alive. Flashing electronic billboards were placed high above the highway. And there seemed to have more vehicles zooming in and out of the freeway.

She inhaled. There was certain crispness in the air. Winter was just around the corner. Suddenly, nostalgia filled her senses as she stood there studying the people walking past her. The air in Busan, her hometown, smelled strongly of the ocean. Back in Busan she could hardly walk down the street without somebody pausing to greet her or just to tell her how big the freshly caught sea foods were. She would occasional help out several grandparents with the tasks. But Seoul was different then and it certainly is still different now.

City people are indeed different from provincial girls like her. They would never stop to greet strangers’ hello with a polite bow and bright smile. They would just walk past each other looking as though they were running late. This kind of behavior is probably an everyday occurrence in every country. Or rather in every city where everywhere is bustling with activities.

A girl with big geeky glasses stood beside her while muttering curses under her breath as she looked at the time on her digital watch. Dara slightly frowned when the red blinking numbers read 10:45 AM. She had forgotten that Korea is on a different time zone from the Philippines. She spun right round to look back at the sea of people going in and out of the airport. Maybe they have passed each other on the way out? She thought cranking her neck higher as she looked for her best friend slash cousin. They clearly agreed to meet outside the gates because it would easier that way.

“Where is she?” She wondered a little worried. “She haven’t forgotten..right?” A few minutes have passed before she suddenly remembered her phone. She then fished her handphone from the front pocket of her suitcase and turned it on. She fiddled with the buttons and listened to the voice message with a mixture of affection and exasperation.