By: Lumina Gershfield

Lumina Gershfield — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 08:48:20 +0000

1. Don’t Destroy What You Create is a good title.
2. Speaking of being present at the airport, that is exactly what I was doing last night. My own Korean Dartnell-like experience:
The bus from InsaDong to Seoul Incheon International Airport is an hour and a half and costs 8,000 won. The bus was empty so I practiced my thrown away guitar as we glided along. Dainon had a layover from his trip home to the States from the Philippines. I’ve read his music reviews in a magazine, and we’re friends. I brought my guitar, a crush on him, a song in my heart, some Korean Kim Bap, Kim Chi, and an Asian Pear for a picnic lunch. I strummed with sore fingers (just learning to play, no calluses yet) all the way to the airport in sweet anticipation of his 3-D form. I wore high heels. This makes sense in Korea, trust me.
I teetered in my heels through the airport carrying the guitar. I nervously waited at the “Meeting Point East”.
6:45 pm. Just a bunch of people hugging each other, happy and oblivious to my problems. Sometimes a group clapped for someone. I tousled my hair. No one came over to me. No nervous first embrace. Everyone was definitely looking at me and they all whispered that I was a loser with no friends in the world.
7:30 pm I had them call his name in heavy Korean accent over the loudspeaker. I stood there at exit 3 in those stupid heels trying to trust the universe…
At 8:30 pm, his flight left for the States, and I was still standing there very present in Seoul, still hopefully inspecting each person walking past.
then
a sweet Australian boy heavy with languid eye contact, on his way to the backpackers hostel asked me if I knew where it was, he refused my offer of Kim Chi, but accepted my guitar song. We laughed late into the Seoul night together. I forgot about Dainon until I checked my email today to find his apology.

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By: Lumina Gershfield