A few years later, Seo-yeon made the decision to leave and move to the U.S. with the remaining money she had left. She had family in Hawaii and decided to move there. After what happened with her grandmother, she brought her mother along to make sure she could take good care of her and keep her close. The move would prove to be a blessing and a curse as Seon-yeon starts fresh in a new country.
Life in America...
Seo-yeon became part of a welcoming Asian community on the island of Oahu. Through networking she found out about a program at a bank that provided loans to small business owners. Seo-yeon had big dreams and wanted to open her own Korean restaurant. She had a true passion for cooking, a gift she learned from her mother as a young child growing up in Seoul, Korea. She wanted to bring the flavors and recipes of home to her community. With the help of a cousin, she found a prime location in downtown Honolulu and her efforts had soon paid off. Her restaurant became one of the busiest in Hawaii. Every morning on their way to work, passersby could catch the delightful smell of kimchi spices coming from Seo-yeon's restaurant, as she and her team prepared for the lunch crowd. Locals raved about the Korean BBQ and authentic dishes.
Over the next several years, Seo-yeon would open up several more locations throughout the Hawaiian islands. She even studied the local culture and added favorite dishes onto her menu. Life was going great for her until tragedy would strike her family again. Her mother, who had been helping her in the restaurant, died suddenly of a heart attack. This really took a toll on Seo-yeon, as she had never quite gotten over the loss of her grandmother. She felt somewhat guilty for not knowing that her mothers health had been failing. Truth is, her mother had been having chest pains for quite some time but didn't complain about it because she knew her daughter needed her. The heart-broken woman was so saddened by the death that she started to question her life and whether all of the sacrifices were worth it. She would now be forced to slow down and take time away from her restaurant businesses to take a trip home and bury her mother back in South Korea. She was to make a a fateful decision whether to sell her restaurants by the time she returned.
The almost ten hour flight from Honolulu to Seoul was a restless one for Seo-yeon and her cousin, who accompanied her. Unable to get much sleep, she sat in her window seat, gazing over the beautiful view of the Pacific Oceon. The closer she got there, the more she noticed the city had recovered from its recession and things looked so much different from when she was last there. While in town, she visited a family member who said she had something to give her. It was an envelope. A letter addressed to her from her late grandmother. The letter read:
"Dear Seo-yeon,
I instructed that you received this letter only after your mother had passed. I knew that you would feel alone and may be searching for answers. I am sorry that I left you. and I hope that you don't hate me for my decision to leave. I'm getting old and fragile now and suffering with many health issues and no longer want to be a burden. Please know that I am only doing what I feel is best at this time. I want you and your mother to have the opportunities that I didn't have and the kind of happiness in life that you deserve. Don't give up on your dreams! Remember when we used to talk and you said you always wanted to be have your own restaurant one day? Don't let go of that goal and never stop dreaming. Please don't let my death be in vain. I Love You!"
A New Journey...
The letter touched Seo-yeon and lifted her spirit. Although she was against her grandmother's decision to end her own life, she now understands why. She also understands some of the abandonment issues that attributed to her never finding love over those years. Well, now instead of letting her negative experiences define her, she can return back to her new home and focus on enjoying her journey by letting go of the past.
After Seo-yeon returned to Hawaii, she met a local man who later became her husband. In a romantic proposal, he had asked her to marry him in front of her customers and staff. A few years later, she got pregnant and they had a beautiful son together. Although she had to close down one of her restaurants to spend more time with her family, she never gave up her dreams as a Korean chef. She spent the rest of her years enjoying life and making sure that her employees did the same. She later wrote a recipe book, which included her memoire. It was titled, "Seoul Ties."
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