The Ball Brother Curse Strikes Again!

For those of you who don't know, we Ball boys have a "curse" of sorts. What I mean by that is people have a strange habit of staring at us wherever we go. I don't know what it is about my face that draws people's attention, but whether it be Wal-Mart or in a Braum's, people love to stare at me. Don't believe me? Ask my brothers and they will tell you exactly the same thing. Having said that, I thought by coming across the sea, I would escape some of the strange people who seem to float to me, but alas, I was wrong.

It all started yesterday when Soojeong had to go to work. Using the map she drew for me I set out on the hour and a half trip to the part of Seoul where she works called Gangnam. I had no problems getting there at all, and Soojeong and I met for a nice lunch, and then I met her. Just a few buildings down from where Soojeong works is a bookstore called Gyobo. I figured I would drop in for a bit and look at some books. They have books in English, Japanese, and Korean, so I felt like I was in heaven. That is when I noticed her. I had been looking at some Japanese novels when this girl appeared on the other side of the table. That in itself is not weird, but when I went to the books on Korean history and culture and she came and stood nearly shoulder to shoulder with me, that is when things started to get a little weird..

I made my way back to the Japanese books thinking to myself, "man, this girl is weird, I hope she doesn't keep following me," but lo and behold she did. I kindly turned to her and asked her in Japanese if she spoke Japanese...nope. I told her that I do not speak much Korean and I thought that would do the trick in shaking her off my tail. Not a chance. I started walking towards the other side of the bookstore when I heard the "patter patter patter" of running feet. You got it, stalker girl followed me. Everywhere I went she was on my tail. She even got bold enough to put her arm through the crook of my arm and rest her head on my bicep as she cackled like a maniac. She touched my hair, felt my skin, and looked at my eyes like I was some exotic animal she had never seen before. She told me through broken English that she, "liked clouds and the color pink" and something about a Victoria's Secret fashion show. WTF? She said in Korean that her stomach hurt, so I responded in Korean by asking if she had taken any medicine. She hadn't. I told her I had a girlfriend and her response was in Korean, "do you really have a girlfriend?". I once again kindly said yes and showed her a picture of Soojeong and I. Didn't deter this stalker at all.

She said to me that she was hungry, to which I replied, "I just ate a lot of food with my girlfriend, so I am full." By this time and hour or more had passed. I thought of ways I could escape, but nothing seemed to work. I even went to the bathroom twice and thought about turning my reversible jacket to its other color so that I could trip to escape incognito, but she waited by the door like a watchdog. Finally, I made up that I had to meet my friend at 3:00 and would have to leave soon. I was already wearing a scarf Soojeong had knitted for me when this crazy girl tried to put hers on me as well. She was nuts! D-Day approached and when 3:00 rolled around, I made my way to the exit. She followed me all the way out and protected me with her umbrella until I got to the bus stop. I had no idea where the hell I would go, but I decided to catch the same bus I came in on and just go up a few stations and hide myself. It worked!! About that time, Anselm called and I made my way stealthily back to the bookstore with him, afraid of what I might find in its depths.