Real People in Love: Jee-Young & David

I was so excited when Jee-Young from Conventional Bliss emailed me about participating in Real People in Love. Jee-Young is someone who I've met through Twitter and I laughed as I read her responses because Jee-Young and her husband, David's, story lines up with Jus & mine.

How old are you and David?

I am 27 and David is 29.


How long have you been together?
We've been married for 9 months and together for 4 years.


When's your anniversary?
Our dating anniversary is January 28, 2007 and our wedding anniversary is September 18, 2010.

What are your occupations?

By day- I am a proposal writer at a global HR firm and David is a bank manager. By night- we are both struggling grad school students.

How did you meet?

David and I met at my first "real-life" job. We both grew up and lived in the same hometown all of our lives, but didn't meet one another until we were working in a town an hour or so away. It was a 100% commission, cold-calling sales job at a private investment firm. Needless to say, I only lasted 6 months and made one decent paycheck. David was my indirect manager and I always joke around with him that he was so into me that he broke the corporate dating policy. Haha, it was definitely fun and exciting, keeping everything a secret! He eventually left for a better opportunity and we always say that the best thing we got out of that company was each other!

How did you get engaged?

We feverishly looked at a million houses during summer of 2009. We finally found our dream house as summer was coming to a close. On August 24, we had our final walk-through at our first home.
Our realtor, Elizabeth, David and I (with my notebook and pen in hand) toured the house for any last minute details. Ironically, the master bedroom was the last room that we needed to check. As I came out of the master bathroom, David pulled me in next to him. I pushed him away out of embarrassment because I thought he was giddy about the house and I didn't want him to kiss me in front of Elizabeth, who was just a few feet away. But, he kept insisting and proceeded to say the most meaningful, heartfelt words I have ever heard in my life. I still didn't believe it was happening, even when he got down on one knee!
David planned for Elizabeth to video tape the entire proposal. I can almost guarantee you'll hear me say "OMG, babe, are you serious?" a few times before it actually sunk in. I was completely oblivious to his anxious state on our drive over to the house; and also to the fact that I was scrubbed out in a t-shirt and ripped jeans, while he was all put together.
All I remember is how happy I was; my face literally hurt the next day from smiling so much!

Tell us about your wedding day (not necessarily elements but feelings too)

My heart smiles when I think back to our wedding day; relishing in the joyous day that was about us, our love and the support of our family and friends. Our day was perfect. And if it wasn't, I didn't know about it. From the morning shower (good luck!) to the beautiful sunny afternoon, I was elated with every part of the day. Our first look and ceremony were filled with tears of joy. It was definitely one of the most intimate moments we've shared in the history of our relationship. Our reception was filled with laughter and smiles. We spent all night dancing and celebrating our special day. It meant the world to us to share our day with so many family and friends. From up north to different states to my maternal grandmother who flew in from Korea, I am so thankful for the love and blessing of our family and friends. The only regret I have is not being able to make the day last longer. I wish I could live forever in the moment of officially becoming David's wife and forever roommate.

Define Love:

Love is selfless and patient. It's more than just a whimsical feeling, it's something that defines your actions and your words every day. It's something that makes you want to be the best version of you that is humanly possible.

What's the toughest part of being in a committed relationship?

I think the toughest part of being in a committed relationship is learning how to openly communicate and compromise with one another. We are both individuals who think and act/react differently. We can't expect each other to read minds. It's the whole "selfless" factor of love. We're human beings, so it takes work to truly become selfless in our words and actions to one another.

What is the best part?

Do I have to choose one? I guess I can sum up all of it by saying that the best part of being in a committed relationship is having my best friend as my forever roomie in this crazy journey of life!

What is the best day you and David have had together?

Wow, that's a tough one. I could pick all of the vacations we've been lucky enough to go on together. But, in all honesty, I think the best day(s) we've had together are the ones where we steal away time to just be lazy and enjoy time with each other. We'll sleep in till noon, lay in bed cuddling, chatting, and laughing about this and that. Then we'll get up and cook breakfast for lunch. We'll play with our fur babies, Bailey & Buddy. Usually, we end up back in bed, fur babies in tow, watching a marathon of movies or one of our favorite TV shows (Modern Family, Simpsons, Criminal Minds, or anything on HGTV).

What makes you different from other couples?

I don't know what makes us different from other couples. All I know is that our love for each other isn't extravagant, it isn't perfect, and it isn't atypical. Our love is us, in our best reflection of God's unconditional love. We're just two people who love each other and find adventure in the everyday, conventional bliss we were lucky enough to have been blessed with in our lives.

What is the most essential element of making it?

I think the most essential element of making a marriage work is to acknowledge that it takes work and making the commitment to put in that work. David and I may not like each other every day; but, we do love each other every day. We have good days and bad, but both of us wake up knowing that we choose to make it work every day, because there is no one else we want to experience all of life's ups and downs with, but each other.

What is your favorite thing to do together?

David is obsessed with making to-do lists. We love to run errands all around town, playfully bickering over who gets to check off those never-ending tasks, and pat ourselves on the back for being productive on our time away from work. Whether it's grocery shopping or taking our fur babies to the dog park, doing the simplest of things together makes it that much more enjoyable.

Do you have a song?

We have too many to count. Our first dance song was "Until You" by Dave Barnes. We always joke that Chicago's "Glory of Love" from the Karate Kid 2 Soundtrack is our theme song. (Daniel San= David, Kumiko= me)

What are your hopes for the future?

For the immediate future, baby-making plans are set for 2012. I hope that we will be lucky enough to have happy, healthy children.
In the long run, I hope that as each day passes, we grow to love each more deeply, humbly and intimately that the first day we fell in love.

Anything else the world needs to know about love?

Real love isn't always rainbows and butterflies. But with mutual nurturing through respect, commitment, and honesty; it is the most beautiful thing two people can grow together. So when it comes along your way, hold on tight, and don't ever let it go!

If you'd like to participate in the Real People in Love series just shoot me an email!