Jaeyeon Kim wasn’t looking for a serious relationship when she sent Sung Hwan Hong a shy monkey emoji after viewing his profile on Hinge on Sept. 21, 2024. “I was bored and lonely while on a concert tour in St. Louis,” said Ms. Kim, 35, a classically trained lyric soprano soloist, who was living in the Bronx.
Although she disappeared from Hinge for four days, there was a message waiting from Mr. Hong, who goes by Andrew. “I didn’t think a beautiful girl would be interested, but I wanted to meet her even though I feared she might be shallow,” said Mr. Hong, 36, a litigation lawyer with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in New York.
On Sept. 29, they met at Mosaic, a cocktail bar in Astoria, Queens. “I was instantly attracted, and could tell by his shirt that he worked out,” Ms. Kim said. “He had a gentle smile and calming voice that made me feel safe.”
The two talked nonstop about all the things they had in common: work, fitness, philosophy and liberal Christianity, childhood memories, and Korean families.
Ms. Kim felt comfortable enough to share her thyroid cancer scare in 2021, two surgeries, and inability to sing for six months. “He accepted all of it,” she said.
While waiting for an Uber for Ms. Kim, Mr. Hong said he felt in his heart that she was the one. Though he was “shocked and excited” by their interaction, he told himself “to take it slowly and enjoy this moment,” he said.
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