Abby arched her back trying to get comfortable. She hated her chair, it was hard and uncomfortable. She wished her Customer Relations job at a financial firm provided something better. She stretched again as she waited for her next call to come in. The end of the day could not come soon enough. 8 hours of listening to clients complain and whine on the phone while sitting in her torture device of a chair left her feeling like she needed a full body massage by the end of each day. Although she despised most aspects of her job it was counterbalanced with some great perks. Decent pay for the area she lived in, weekends off, great health benefits and an employer who was willing to pay for any secondary education that she would take to further advance her in her career. Currently Abby was studying Foreign Business Affairs with a specialization in Korea. This also meant studying the Korean language, along with its business practices and government. Abby was obsessed with everything Korean, especially Korean Dramas or K-Dramas as they were more popularly known.
Abby's friends loved to tease her relentlessly about her obsession. She particularly recalled a conversation with her best friend Beth one afternoon.
"How can you stand to watch those shows Abby?" Beth had asked her, "The emotions are over the top and so affected that it borders on the ridiculous."
Abby had laughed, "That's the point."
Beth looked at her incredulously, "Excuse me?"
"The emotions are meant to be over the top. That is how the directors want it. You would be surprised, it sucks you in and you are crying or sobbing right along with the actors."
"Well the plot lines are ridiculous or used over and over again or both. Don't you get bored with that?"
"Not in the slightest," Abby replied, "The main plot may be similar to other dramas but how well the writers portray the new story line and how well the actors bring out that story is what makes it so good. Half the time it makes you want to jump through the screen and throttle the actors or sit there and hold them as they cry. It is absolutely addicting."
Beth shook her head in disbelief, "Well I still don't get it, it seems weird to me. And honestly I think the acting is terrible."
Abby scoffed, "I know of no English speaking actor that can bring across the emotions as well as the Korean actors I have seen."
"Brad Pitt?"
"Amateur," snorted Abby.
"Scarlett Johansen?"
"Pathetic, a statue could do better,"
"Dame Judy Dench!" crowed Beth, thinking she had one that Abby could not refute.
"You're kidding, right?"
"She is an amazing actress!" Beth cried in shock.
"She is," conceded Abby, "But her range of emotions is lacking."
"You're out of you mind, Abby." Beth shook her head as she looked at her friend and then laughed.
Abby laughed with her, "Well it is my crazy mind," She winked at Beth, "Look it is just my opinion about a genre that I like. But I still think you need to watch a few more. I know you will be addicted as I am. And did I mention that the male actors are drop dead GORGEOUS." Abby drew out the last word, to emphasize her meaning.
Beth laughed, "No, you didn't." She said sarcastically as she winked at Abby. "Maybe I will have to check it out. But then again not all of us are as crazy as you. Some of us need sleep. I have no idea how you manage to binge watch those shows, plus get your school work done after a full day of work. Are you a secret Vampire?" She asked peering at Abby and poking her pale white skin.
Abby almost fell out of her chair laughing at her friend," I wish, it would make so many things easier. Just because I look like I have never seen sunlight does not mean I cannot get some. And to answer you question, energy drinks are a wonderful thing. Sleep is for the weak, I get what little I need on Sundays."
She grinned at Beth who gave her an exasperated sigh." What are we going to do with you Miss Abigail Anabeth Quelsy? If you keep this up you will end up ruining your looks. I would kill for your complexion Abby; perfect skin, killer green eyes, and curly, red hair. Vampire my rear end, you can't be a Vampire, Vampires are ugly."
Abby laughed again at her silly friend, "You may have to argue with Stephanie Meyer about that. Apparently they are supposed to be gorgeous and sparkly."
Beth grinned, "Well then you should fit right in. Well, except for the sparkly part. We will just have to throw some glitter on you and call it fairy dust."
Abby smiled to herself as she recalled the memory. She stared up at the clock and willed it to be the end of the work day. Her professor had canceled class due to being sick and she was looking forward to catching up to some of her favorite K-Dramas. She also wanted to go over her itinerary one more time before she left in two weeks. Abby had finally saved enough money for her dream trip to Korea. Her friends and family thought she was out of her mind and had tried several times to talk her out of it. They asked her why she didn't book a trip to a relaxing beach somewhere instead. None of them could understand her excitement of going to Korea. But Abby was over the moon about this trip. Seeing the places she had read about and seen on television, practicing her Korean, which she felt she needed quite a lot. In Abby's mind her pronunciation was awful, and she did not have the correct formalities down. But that still did not hamper her excitement about the trip. She felt both exhilarated and scared, but a good kind of scared. The one feels when experiencing the new and unknown. Like the first time one goes skydiving; it is terrifying jumping out of that plane, but that feeling of falling through the sky, weightless and free, tumbling towards the earth beneath you, there is nothing quite like it, the awe inspiring feeling of being completely free. Abby wanted to do so many things; trying the local cuisine, visiting the historical sites, and trying Korean karaoke. While there she also wanted to check out the possibility of transferring to a university there and seeing about transferring to the local branch of the financial firm. The company was paying for part of the trip so she could check out how she might fit in and how passable her Korean was; as well as were going to put her in touch with recruiters from the universities and other academic institutions to see about transferring her remaining education there as well. Abby had kept this part quiet from her family. As far as they knew she was just going for a vacation, not looking to possibly eventually move there.
The two weeks could not pass fast enough for Abby's liking. At times she felt she would need to smack her head against a wall just to keep her sanity while waiting. But thankfully it finally did pass and Abby was scheduled to depart from her home in Vancouver, Canada that morning on a non-stop 11 hour flight to Seoul, Korea. Sitting down on the edge of her bed beforehand she double checked her check list one more time. Passport, check; cellphone, check; battery pack, check; neck pillow, check. Going down the list one by one she checked off each item, her excitement and paranoia building as the time to leave came closer. According to her list Abby had everything but something still felt off. She shrugged it off as nerves about her first trip alone and had no more time to think about it as the call came up notifying her cab was there to take her to the airport. The flight left around noon, as it took off she relaxed into her seat and hoped between the songs and movies she had downloaded on her phone and the book she had brought she would not be bored on the flight. She supposed she would need to try and sleep. Adjusting to the time change when she arrived would be difficult. She had been warned not to sleep when she arrived no matter how tired she was and to stay up and go to bed at an appropriate local time. She was not too worried, there was so much she wanted to do when she got there she was worried about fitting it all into the two weeks she was there. It had worried her when she was packing that she would bring too much and not allow enough space for the things she might want to buy. So Abby had packed light, bringing a sundress, cardigan, black dress pants, silk blouse, jeans and a t-shirt. With those outfits a pair of sneakers and dressy sandals would be fine for foot wear. She figured she could buy any extra clothing she might need there. Also she was not sure about the local climate, no matter how much research she had done.
The 11 hour flight dampened Abby's spirits somewhat. By the time she arrived she was bone sore and so wore out that she could barely stand. She had found it impossible to get comfortable and sleep on the plane. Although she was not in as high of spirits when she left, she was still smiling with excitement as she exited the plane. She was finally in Korea; the reality hit her as she heard the chatter and took in the different sights with Korean writing all around her.
It was 5 p.m. local time by the time Abby retrieved her luggage, passed through Immigration and Security. She hailed a cab to her hotel and hoped that by the time she checked in she would still have enough time to visit at least one interesting place and get a bite to eat. Upon finally reaching her room the look of the soft comfortable bed beckoned to her. I'll just take a quick nap," she thought to herself as she lay across the bed and sank into the comfortable into oblivion.