"Miss Ara, your registration and the welcome party is the only thing in your schedule today. Do you need anything else", Soo-ah's voice startled my deep thought? She has a personality that I easily felt comfortable with.
"Take the car with you, all my activities will just be in the hotel. I will call you if there's anything else", I have not really talked with Martin about the details of the living and getting around part.
"Martin asked for me to assist you in here in whatever help you needed. I promised him to help as much as I can," she smiled.
"I heard that you have been an exchange student in Copenhagen for 1 semester. Are you graduating now?" I didn't realize, I'm intruding too much but her forlorn reaction give it away "...sorry, I didn't mean to intrude…if it's too much you don't need to answer that."
"It's okay, Miss. I just need a semester to finish my thesis. I just needed to have some time off", I can feel that she doesn't want to elaborate further so I just didn't ask more.
After dropping me off at the hotel, she said goodbye. She somehow reminded me of myself when I first left home and went abroad to find better opportunity. I felt like I needed to know her more.
After checking in, I immediately head into the hall where the seminar will be held. I still have an hour before they officially close the registration. I just needed to pay and get the registration card so; I could probably have lunch and rest before attending the welcome party tonight.
"That was easy…" I muttered myself when I finally took care of the registration. They gave us an ID or badge of some sort, a bag full of brochures, goodies and the program for the 3 days that we will attend. I am only interested on the first day, but I must participate through the third day since it might as well be instrumental to my research.
I went to the hotel's Italian Restaurant; I'm craving for some seafood pasta for lunch. As I was waiting for my order, I flip the pages of the program. There's a welcome party at 8pm later, for orientation and getting to know the people in the seminar. There is only around 30 people participating including the 8 keynote speakers. I knew Professor Kim at least and he will be talking on the first day about the emergence and influence of Korean pop culture through its entertainment industry. So, there are 3 speakers tomorrow focusing on pop culture and the media. Day 2 will focus on service and hospitality industry and how they cope up with the growing tourism industry and there are 3 more speakers on this day including the manager of the biggest hotel chain in the country. Day 3 is how social media and the internet is filtering responsible information to make the image more favorable. Director Nam Jae-woo, NamEsis, one of the country's leading IT company that deals with privacy and social media marketing, is one of the speakers.
Am I reading this right? Could it possibly be him? After eating my lunch, I rush back to my hotel room to look for the business card that the annoyingly interesting guy gave me. Indeed, it's him. Nam Jae-woo. Is it fate or coincidence? It probably is just a coincidence but there's a tingle in my heart that hopes otherwise. I should not be so easily persuaded by romantic hopes anymore, I should learn from experience and just focus on practical things. Nevertheless, this coincidence made me smile.
I unpacked my luggage and arrange them nicely in the closet. I would have never expected to be checked in to a suite, but I guess these are luxuries that I needed to get used to. It still feels surreal. It's more than 2 years now since my first book got published. I have labored through the book for a very long time until I found the excuse to finish it, it was an excuse that almost cause me my sanity, but a wonderful product come out of it nonetheless.
A publisher approached me while I was at the crisis center and never expected that my journals will be published into a best seller internationally. Two books in 2 years, with almost 50 million sold is quite a ride. In a time when I desperately needed a chance to finally pull through, the opportunity came knocking; and when I opened the door, it opened to a whole lot of other possibilities that I could have never imagined. I finally started my restaurant business with my best friend Belle. I ventured an export business with my sister, her idea of developing local products and export them globally with the purpose of sustainability, is becoming a hit. In 2 years, I can say that I have invested my money well. I started writing my 3rd book, but I can't find time to find its depth. I finally started my goal to go back to the University and finish my dream.
The old me would have just satisfied in packing a cabin luggage and some clothes. I would have not differentiated, cocktail outfits, casual clothes, formal clothes etc. But, my sister, the ever-dotting fashionista that she is, insisted on being our own brands ambassador and always have to look good when we are out. So, a mere 4-day travel outfit requires a cabin luggage and a checked baggage. I should have asked Soo-ah to help me unpack these clothes. I never thought it would take forever. I have to wear a formal evening dress for the welcome party. I packed 2 pairs since I can't decide which one to wear.