On the two-hour drive, Mr Blesi said he couldn’t stop worrying about Joey. Steven is the more extroverted sibling, he says. Joey is more shy, more introverted.
“Steven and he are best friends,” said Mr Blesi, “I was just worried to death for him, about how he became a heart instead of half a heart.”
Steven Blesi has been waiting for years for the opportunity to study abroad, his father said. He has a passion for international business, especially in East Asia, but the coronavirus pandemic prevented him from going there until this fall.
“My wife is Latino, but he doesn’t want to go to Latin America,” said Blesi, chuckling. “He is actually learning Korean in addition to Spanish. He wants to speak more languages than my wife.” On Saturday, initial reports suggested that about 20 foreign nationals had been killed but none of them were from the United States.
“That gave us hope,” Mr. Blesi said.
He and his wife remained optimistic even as he tried repeatedly to call their son and another person – a police officer – finally answered. Steven Blesi’s phone was among many scattered across the scene of the death crowd.
“Well, maybe his phone fell out of his hand,” Mr. Blesi recalls thinking. “Maybe he lost his phone.”
Mr. Blesi was finally able to recount what happened to his son after contacting some of his friends in Seoul. He just finished his midterm exam, he and a group of friends went out on a happy Saturday night. They finally found themselves at the Halloween festival. Several of Steven Blesi’s friends left the gathering to hide from the crowd, but he remained.
“I texted him maybe half an hour before all this happened, and I said, ‘I know you’re going away. Be safe,” Mr Blesi said. “I never got an answer for that.”
In addition to his grief, Mr Blesi said he felt anger towards the authorities he believes allowed this to happen.
He said they should not let such crowds. “I see politicians out there grieving on Twitter,” he said. “For me, it was just publicity on their part. In the meantime, they should be working to try to make sure the rules are in place to not allow this type of crowding to happen again.”
Mr. Blesi and those who know his son agree that his distinguishing feature is the compassion he has for others, especially those in need. Mr. Blesi said he was never afraid to stand up for someone in need. He enjoys travel and basketball, and he and his brother are both Eagle Scouts.
“He was a man with a spirit of adventure and a spirit of love,” Mr. Blesi said. “That’s the only way I know to describe him. And the loss is just unbearable.”
After he posted confirmation of his son’s death on Twitter, the responses kept coming.
“May he rest in happy, pain-free places,” said one.
“Heartbreaking,” said another.
