반포 continued...

Four to five times a week, I come here. I bring a drink, maybe a bag of chips and just sit on the steps next to the water. There's a certain sliver of time that the smog of the city actually enhances the composition of the sky as the sun sets behind the construction, lighting up the gray clouds with orange-pink streaks. The heat has subsided by now and the river provides sighs of relief that bristles through your hair and whispers lightly by. At 8:00PM, the water show begins and artificial light colors the bursts of water that fly out of the bridge into the river.

With the fading daylight, I watch the people. I watch families walk by, mothers calling out to their stumbling, bouncing, round balls of toddlers. I watch friends lay out a nighttime spread of Corean goodies as they shout with laughter and merriment. I watch couples lean their heads upon each other, fingers intertwined, taking in the last moments of the day together. I watch runners breathing hard, wiping the sweat from their brows as they make the last stretches of their jog. It's a curious mix of supreme joy and contentment mingled with a sense of overwhelming loneliness. It's not a sad feeling, more of a sensationally peculiar range of emotions.

Once the sun has bid adieu, Namsan Tower shines brightly and proudly atop Namsan "Hill." The rest of the city turns on its lights and from afar you can see the trains roll by on various bridges. There's so much to take in. I still can't believe this is my home. I can't believe I'm living alone, independent and self.sufficiently. It's a wonderful realization and a liberating one as well. I'm free.