I want a love like a Korean soap opera. That is all.
No, wait. That is not all.
I was stationed in Korea for a year and enjoyed it when I least expected to. Learned how to make kimchi like a pro (sans burying it in ground on top of rotting fish). Still, I didn’t learn the language beyond “Hello!”, “Thank you” and “Agashi!” as I looked like a 13 year old boy back then and had to explain to disapproving older women in the ladies restroom.
I’d read articles that Japanese women preferred Korean men because they were more romantic and emotional. I lived in Japan too but romance was not on my mind at 10 years old. Neither did I learn any Japanese except how to say hello when answering a telephone.
Then I put on a random Netflix suggestion (that algorithm knows too much: I’m still a Jet-li, martial arts loving, crouching kitty, hidden nerd deep down), I put on Alchemy of Souls as background noise while I sat at the computer to work. Problem is, it’s subtitled. I hate dub overs as much as anyone with taste but it also leaves me no choice but to read and I can’t work while reading…and so now I’m not working. I watched all the episodes that were available in one night. I never…what’s that word? Sit and watch one episode after another after another for hours…marathon! That’s it! I don’t marathon shows. Too much to do! There’s dances to attend! Pool parties! Fire twirling! And yes, actual WORK for my cabaret and zombie flashmob group (Z season is only 3 months out, time to update the website, get rehearsals on the books, finish new choreography)….But I’m on the sofa reading/watching for hours and wondering why they say one word but I’m reading an entire sentence. What’s worse, now I have to wait for weekends to roll around for the next episode.
This is what I’ve come to, huh? With so much to do this weekend, this is how I spent it.
Of course, Netflix having found my kryptonite begins suggesting other Korean shows. Most look pretty lame but at the top of the list was Crash Landing On You. Why did Hyun Bin have to be so handsome? And the chemistry between him and Son Ye Jin…All the feels, the tears (They got me crying too but I’ll deny it to anyone who knows me and blame hormones if caught in the act).
I was in too deep. I needed to know. So I jumped ahead to the last episode. Yep, I do that sometimes with books too. If it’s too tense, I won’t sleep and no time to stay up reading all night like I did when I was a kid.
Two weeks a year? Really? That’s your happily ever after? Well, they are now married IRL (thanks Google. “You’re welcome, K-nerd-stalker”) and expecting their first child so I can go to sleep believing that’s even better than a movie ending. Because it’s real. For some at least. And that gives my romantic heart hope (and unrealistic expectations).
The Kitchen Sink 