At five foot six inches, I’m not a giant, but I have at least five inches on Anna.

“What? I’m small but mighty.” She flexes an arm, and if there’s a muscle there, it’s not visible to the human eye.

“I’m good,” I tell her.

“All right. So besides the funeral, are you enjoying yourself here in Seoul?”

My mind flashes to the dinner with Yujun last night. It was one of the nicest dinners I’ve ever had. “Yeah. I think tomorrow I’ll do something touristy. I heard there’s a statue of King Sejong somewhere.”

“Oh yeah, he’s downtown at the Gwanghwamun Plaza along with Admiral Yi Sunsin. It’s an easy subway ride. There’s a ton of stuff to do over there. There’s a museum and a palace. The entry fees aren’t too expensive either. It’s a nice way to spend the day.” Anna chatters on, adding details about all the things I can do including lunch at the top of city hall, a couple of museums, and hanbok rental shops. If I rent one I can get into the palace for a discount. The strawberry café is nearly empty and it takes no time to buy our desserts. Milk cake for Mel and Jules and a strawberry-cream-filled white cake for Anna. At Anna’s suggestion, I buy sugared strawberry candies for Kim Jihye instead of something perishable because “carrying around a cake in the subway is no fun,” Anna declares as she swipes her phone across the payment pad. The staff boxes everything up in an elegant white container decorated with a green ribbon and paper tag with a smiling strawberry. Seoul isn’t all funeral homes and dead dads. It is also darling packages, kind staff people, and welcoming flatmates.

“How long have you lived here?” I ask.

“A little under two years. I’ll be going home soon. Oregon,” she provides before I have to ask. “I’d love to stay longer, but even though the pay is decent and the rent is covered by my school, it’s not something I can do long-term because of benefits and stuff. Plus, I miss my family. I know I’m going to miss being here once I leave, though, so it’s bad either way.”

“What made you come here in the first place?”

The corner of her mouth lifts. “A boy, but not in the traditional sense. I had the biggest crush on this Korean exchange student at my high school, and so I started learning all about Korea so I could talk to him. The more I studied the language and the history and the people, the more I wanted to come here and see everything for myself.”

“What happened with the boy?”

“He had a girlfriend back home, and to avoid turning girls down, he pretended he couldn’t understand you.”

“That’s sort of hilarious.”

“I know, right?” Anna laughs. “Anyway, I’m glad I came. Korea’s beautiful. Amazing food, super clean, the people are as nice as can be. I mean, sure, there’s a lot wrong with it, but isn’t there a lot wrong everywhere in the world? It’s too bad you can’t stay longer. It’s hard to get a feel for a place being here such a short while.”