Chapter 1

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Sun-Hee was sure she had walked this hallway before. Maybe she didn't understand the directions correctly. That was likely the case, because her Korean was a little rusty. "Mailboxes, mailboxes, mailboxes," she hummed to herself as she looked around another corner. Even the hallways were works of art in this building. The walls were shiny tan squares of granite and the floors were a mix of grey and tan Terazzo flooring. With all the glass railings, solid wood benches, and breathtaking chandeliers, Sun-Hee understood she would likely be one of the only college students living in such luxury. 

Moving into a new apartment was always a hassle

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Moving into a new apartment was always a hassle. As she felt herself getting frustrated by being lost,  she took a deep breath and encouraged herself with the thought that next week at this time, she would be all moved in (most likely) and even know where the darn mailboxes were!  One thing Sun-Hee had learned over the years was that negative thoughts were self perpetuating. She needed to be kind to herself and give herself a break just as much as she should do that for other people.

After walking, what felt like, miles of getting nowhere, Sun-Hee decided to sit on a bench and rest for a minute. She gave herself a mental pat on the back for not spiraling into a pit of despair. It was her first day ever outside of the United States. She had arrived in Seoul this morning after a 15 hour flight that included two plane changes with short layovers. At barely 21 years old Sun-Hee didn't feel prepared to navigate all of this on her own. She had convinced her parents she could do it but she hadn't really convinced herself yet. 

Sun-Hee was going to start her senior year at Seoul University. She had attended Stanford University in California for her first three years but needed a fresh start after the disaster in her personal life last spring. But the self-love she had learned from a wise therapist was really helping her heal. And the fact that she could still encourage herself after the stress of traveling for the last day showed her she was strong and was ready for a change. Alright, enough sitting. She gave herself a mental kick in the butt, "Let's get it girl!"

As she continued to walk down the hall, she passed several nicely dressed people that would not make eye contact. Some were looking at their phones, others just looking straight ahead. She had tried saying "Excuse me." to a few who passed by, some didn't respond. One women gave Sun-Hee a horrible frown and shook her head. She knew that Americans were known to be overly friendly and that bothered some cultures, but she was wondering if she hadn't done enough research on Korean culture because she was unprepared for the rudeness she had just encountered. 

As she turned another corner she saw a handsome young man, probably in his early twenties, headed her direction. He was well dressed in a tan sweater and dark brown slacks. He was wearing a black beret on the back of his head and had a messenger bag strapped diagonally across his body. As he approached her he looked her in the eye and gave her a friendly, rectangular smile. Wow, she thought. What a beautiful smile. His friendliness made her take a chance.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to be a bother, but can you tell me if the mailboxes are close by?" Sun-Hee said in slow but fluent Korean. He stopped immediately and gave her his full attention. Sun-Hee was thinking that his hair looked really soft and he had some beautiful professional looking brown highlights. But of course, this apartment complex with all its security and privacy wasn't affordable to just anyone. If he could afford to live here, he could certainly afford decent highlights.

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