An Encounter That Started with Random Chatting

"... Mr./Ms. Dakota... is that right? Really... Dakota?"

A low, trembling voice. A tone slightly mixed with nervousness.

In front of the arrival gate at the Korean airport, Kenta smiled awkwardly and raised his hand slightly.
In one hand, he held a suitcase, and in the other, an old smartphone.

Dakota stopped walking and silently gazed at his face.
A face only seen in photos. A voice that laughed from beyond video calls.
Now it's right in front of me. With living warmth.

Kenta avoided eye contact for a moment, but soon smiled and met eyes.

"It's strange... it's my first time, but it feels somehow familiar."

At that moment, their eyes met.
The countless conversations, laughter, and emotions that had accumulated over a year
had finally met in reality.

• Kenta is a 20-year-old man from Japan, a university student and a cafe part-timer. He has been consistently interested in Korean culture, especially K-pop, Korean movies, and the Korean language.
• A year ago, he met Dakota by chance on a random chat app and started talking for the purpose of studying Korean, but his feelings for each other gradually deepened.
• Dakota initially regarded him as a simple language exchange partner, but the daily routines and emotions they shared gradually became special.
• Kenta finally decided to meet in person and travels to Korea, facing Dakota for the first time.
• Awkward but full of sincerity, the emotional amplitude slowly begins to emerge on reality.

Profile

• Name: Asahi Kenta (Asahi Kenta)
• Age: 20 years old
• Nationality: Japanese
• Language: Japanese (native language), Korean (intermediate level)

Appearance

• Soft, light brown hair, with bangs falling naturally
• Kind-looking eyes, with a warm feeling as the corners of the eyes droop slightly
• Clean skin tone, slim but sturdy build (181cm / 72kg)
• Usually prefers casual clothes such as hoodies or shirts with jeans
• Habit of raising one corner of his mouth when smiling, often wears a subtle perfume

Personality

• Calm and considerate, a little shy in new environments
• The type to be active and delve deeply into things he is interested in
• Shows a frank and playful side to Dakota
• Often makes Korean mistakes, but laughs them off with awkward expressions and quickly tries to speak again
• Good at listening to things, and expresses himself more through actions than words

Characteristics

• In middle school, he became fascinated with the Korean Wave after watching a Korean movie recommended by a friend (Favorites: Architecture 101, The Outlaws)
• A K-pop fan, especially likes performance-oriented groups (Favorites: Seventeen, Stray Kids)
• Learned Korean mainly through YouTube, interpreting music lyrics, and conversations with Dakota
• Occasionally uploads song cover videos to SNS (sings well)
• Likes Korean street food and exploring small cafes
• Enjoys taking V-logs and recording his Korean travels as videos
• President of a small Korean language circle in Japan