“Thank you for choosing Korean Airlines, we hope to see you again. Kamsahamnida.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and stretched. About 13 hours on the plane really your energy out.

“Key! We’re here, oh goodness we’re here! Bibimbab, kimbab, kimchi, tteokpokki!” Taemin bounced up and down, excitement written on his face. Actually he was more excited about the whole trip than me.

“Calm down, Tae. We won’t be having those today, you know.” I straightened my pants and put on my baggy orange Tigger hoodie over my long sleeve t-shirt.

“I know, but still! We can have those foods during the trip! Oh, oh we have to get some snacks in Everland!” Taemin squealed in delight. He’s a die-hard fan of Korean street snacks and I somehow tolerate his (not so) little obsession.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” We got off the plane and went straight to the toilet. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, so did Taemin. It was early in the morning when we arrived, about 7 AM. The sky was still dark by then. We got through immigration, claimed our baggage and got out.

“Everybody! Please gather up here!” Taecyeon shouted, holding up a red flag. Everyone came closer and we saw another man, shorter than Taecyeon, but taller than me and Taemin. He had this light brown hair and a big smile on his face.

“Annyeonghaseyo! Hello everyone, please follow me to the bus.” The guy led us outside and damnit! I knew it was going to be cold, but I didn’t expect it to be this cold!

“It’s pretty cold, isn’t it?” The local leader asked me with his accented English. His smile never faltered even once.

“Yes, it is. I didn’t know it would be this cold.” He chuckled slightly and shoved his hands into his pocket.

“That’s Seoul for you. Come on, the bus is not that far.” He walked ahead while I struggled to pull my luggage.

“Key, is that the local leader?” Taemin asked me without even taking his eyes off the guy.

“Yeah, I guess he is. What’s up? You like him already?” I wiggled my eyebrows and nudged him in the ribs. His cheeks turned into a slight tint of pink and he stuttered.

“N-no! Of course not, what are you talking about pssht!” He walked faster and I only laughed. That kid is so obvious sometimes.

“Good morning!” Another guy greeted in a heavy accent. He smiled and took my luggage, loading it to the bus. His hair was dark brown and he has these beady eyes that somehow looked like a puppy. I smiled back and got on the bus, sitting beside Taemin who was fiddling with his fingers. The rest of the group started filling up the remaining seats and the bus started to move. I wanted to ask Taemin what’s up but the light brown haired guy spoke up.

“Good morning everyone! My name is Lee Jinki, but it might be a little hard to pronounce so you can call me Onew instead. I will be your local leader for the next 8 days. And this guy on my left is Kim Jonghyun, a photographer. He will be taking your pictures throughout the journey and sell it on the last day. He’s raising some money for his university fee. Just call him Jjong, okay?”

“Hello!” He waved his hands and smiled, matching Onew’s big one. I just rolled my eyes and stared out the window.

“Okay, today we’re going to Everland. It’s an outdoor theme park where you can go on rides and such. We will give you an unlimited pass so you can get on any ride you want. You might also want to dress up more because it will be quite cold. The ride will be about 1 hour. So please rest up, everyone.” Onew looked at Taemin and Taemin blushed and diverted his gaze. Wow. Did I miss something?

The bus ride itself was pretty boring. The sights were okay, it’s something different from LA, but honestly I wasn’t that impressed just yet. After one hour of doing nothing, we finally got to Everland. The wind blew stronger than before and I regret wearing such thin clothing.

“Okay guys. Before you go your separate ways, let’s take a group picture.” Onew said after showing us the meeting point. We all took our places in front of this Christmas-tree-like décor.

“1,2,3 Kimchi. Okay?” This Jjong guy is really pathetic in English. I shook my head and tried hard not to insult him. He took our picture and gave a thumb up. I dragged Taemin away from the crowd right after that photographer was done.

“Key, I don’t know about you but I don’t think I’ll be riding anything in this cold weather.” Taemin hugged himself and shivered slightly.

“I know, I’m not going to ride anything. Let’s just take pictures then go straight to the restaurant.” We took some quick pictures in front of this beautiful and fake white tree decorated with golden reindeers. We also managed to get some boiled fish paste and grilled corn to munch on.

“Hey guys. You okay?” Taecyeon greeted.

“Nah, we’re freezing, Taec.” Taemin answered and munched on his corn. Taecyeon let out a goofy smile and tapped his finger on his chin.

“Hmmm… How about you go in the restaurant and warm up while getting something to eat. They have some great chicken nuggets there.”

“Nuggets! Come on Key!” This time Taemin dragged me to the restaurant and I heard Taecyeon laughing at us. Damn that goof.

We stayed cooped up at the restaurant until it was time to meet up. Perhaps in the summer this place would be more fun. But oh well, there’s nothing we could do anyway. We had to wait for a long time because the stupid people came 1 hour late! The nerve of those people!