2016

It had been a year since Emily became a managing editor. She loved it and she was good at it. She and Lita had grown the social media and original content together. They'd even started an end of the year awards for the website that had Twitter users flooding feeds with their opinions and votes and increasing site traffic tenfold. The boss was happy, Emily was comfortable at home and in her position. It was all good.

And yet, there was still something missing. Each day she smiled with her family, and felt fulfilled at work, but her mind would not, or perhaps could not, shut down. It kept her awake at night imagining the what-ifs of life. Could she be doing something more? Could she be doing better? Why wasn't she happy? Was she just being a spoiled brat? The anxiety was starting to make her sick.

Part of her felt guilty for not enjoying how good she had it. Her sister Danielle had hurt her wrist at work 6 months before and was now miserable. Her wrist gave her chronic pain and the battle with Worker's Compensation to undergo the surgery that would alleviate the pain was drawn out and ugly. She'd had to quit school and work for something not as physically taxing. It was quite a blow to the vivacious woman with a keen mind and a drive to help others. Emily tried to help her sister as best she could, but mostly that consisted of moral support. It was Danielle's battle. She had to learn to deal with devious lawyers, money-hungry companies, and a system that was not geared to feel pity for her situation.

Emily sat on the sofa watching Danielle re-wrap her wrist in the specially molded wrist-guard prescribed by her doctor. "It's bad today?"

Danielle nodded. Unlike Emily, she had an extremely high tolerance for pain. So she was pale, pinch-faced, and somber, Emily knew her sister was hurting. "Can I get you anything?"

"It's okay. Let's just watch 'Healer' again," Danielle said, referring to her favorite 2014 Korean drama with actors Ji Chang-wook and Park Min-young. They'd only just finished it last month, but the romance, action, and wonderful relationship between the female lead and her father were things that both girls loved.

"Maybe we can finally get mom to watch," Emily said deviously, rubbing her hands together like a villain. And, as if on cue, both girls yelled, "MOOOOOM!"

"What?" Their mom sounded annoyed by the sudden noise.

"You busy? It's K-drama time. You promised," Danielle said, holding up her throbbing wrist for extra pity.

Mom sighed. "Do I get chocolate out of this?"

"Nutella," Emily promised solemnly.

"Okay. Make the subtitles bigger," Mom said, coming to sit in her white chair as the girls got the drama started.

Near the end of the first episode, Emily got a message from her boss that left her mouth hanging open.

"What is it?" Danielle asked, instinctively knowing that she should pause the show.

Mom, however, was annoyed at the disruption. "No phones!"

"I…uh…" Emily mumbled before handing the phone over.

"HOLY CRAP!" Danielle yelled, jumping up.

"Wait. What?!" Mom asked, curious beyond belief.

"Emily's going to Korea!" Danielle cried. "As part of an all-expenses-paid journalism trip. If she does well, her boss says she can take a post there as a writer!"

Emily was still sitting on the sofa in stunned disbelief.

"Are you moving to Korea?" Mom asked. Her doe-brown eyes were wide as she stared at her stunned eldest daughter.

"I, uh, don't know," Emily said. Her brain was starting to function now and she jumped up, grabbing her phone from Danielle's hand and quickly typing a reply to her boss. "First I go to Korea in October and see."

"That's next month," Danielle pointed out.

Emily started dancing around. "I'm going to Korea! For work! Whoooo!"

The next hour was chaos as Emily ironed out the details with her boss and the Korean culture program that had recruited their company. It was also full of telling friends and family, and of course, Lita, who was stoked as well. At hour's end, she'd been booked on a flight three weeks out.

For the first time in a very long time, Emily's mind, despite the chaos of the afternoon, was quiet. It was as though something had been driving her to push her boundaries and explore. Once the opportunity had opened, her soul quieted and it was the first time in ages her mind was at peace.

"Happy, baby?" Mom asked and Emily looked at her. The older woman looked a little sad. They both knew that change was afoot and that change would separate them for a while.

"I already miss you," Emily said, hugging her mom.

"That's what video chat is for. Don't you worry bout us old people," mom said, smiling over at their dad who had come in from doing his chores to join in on the excitement.

"Go be young, kiddo," her dad said.

Three weeks later, after intense meetings with her team about coverage and what to do when she wouldn't be available, Emily walked the streets of Seoul. Just like that. It felt so natural to travel, land, and set up in her hotel room. There was something about being out of her comfort zone in a place with a history many centuries longer than her country that filled her with peace. She felt like she was in the right place at the right time for the first time in her life. She'd studied as much Korean as she could and found it extremely helpful. Koreans were even more welcoming when they heard her halting, accented attempts to communicate.

She'd arrived a few days before the trip to acclimate and do some sight-seeing of her own. Eating and walking famous neighborhoods were on her list of things to do as well as meet with some long-time online friends.

While walking in Itaewon, a place popular with foreigners, Emily absorbed the high-energy of the streets filled with Koreans and people from all over the world. As she waited in line for a kebab near Itaewon Station Exit 4, a tall Korean man bumped into her and apologized in flawless English. She turned to look after him, surprised, but only caught his back as he continued on his way. He wore a large black backpack, jeans, and had the back and sides of his head shaved, and quickly walked away with long strides. Rather than be annoyed, she was intrigued. Although many people spoke English, not many had no accent at all. Maybe he wasn't Korean. It always was fun to guess people's backstories, especially in a place like Itaewon with such diversity.

The journalism schedule was packed with interviews and sight-seeing during the day, and meetings with her team at night to gather and post coverage. It was a busy three weeks, but everyone seemed to be excited. There were journalists from the US, Scotland, England, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Hong Kong, all of whom were professional and surprisingly friendly. Journalists weren't always known for their affability, but Emily was pleasantly surprised.

Together, the team of 15 journalists and their translators traversed Seoul and Busan, hitting all the major cultural points, doing interviews, writing and filming coverage, and immersing themselves in the country that they wrote about. For Emily, it was exactly what she'd needed in order to expand her skill set as a Hallyu journalist. It was one thing to cover Hallyu from America and quite another to stand in Korea and learn about what really shapes the cultural exports of food, music, drama, and more in person.

At the end of the three weeks, she was exhausted, as were the rest of the journalists, a few of whom had already become fast friends. Parting was difficult after such an intense experience, but Emily was also ready to be in her own bed after hopping from hotel to hotel. However, as she sat on the plane that was to take her from Korea back to California, she found herself wondering about the guy who'd bumped into her on the street. Where had he been going? What did he look like? As the plane took off, Emily brushed the thoughts away and looked forward to seeing her family after 15 hours in a plane.