Warning: Barely edited at midnight

 

 

“Ahhh...Jungkook, seriously. You’ll be fine. They’ll think you’re an absolute sweetheart,” his dad beamed,”and don’t worry, you’ll make friends.” He hugged his mom as she tried to contain herself. His height enveloped her, “I’ll call you, okay?,” she nodded, “Bye Jungkookie!” He sighed as he inched his way towards the TSA check, he’d only walked a few feet before turning around to give more hugs. “Bye again,” he chuckled before taking off, quicker this time.

 

The security line wasn’t too long at the end of summer, rather people were coming back from their travels than going someplace else. Also, it was super freaking early right now. He patiently waited knowing his parents were probably watching him, waiting for him to turn around. He was comfortable. He had his favorite t-shirt and some jean jogger sweatpants? He wasn’t really sure what they were, but his mother had insisted on them for the flight.

 

He looked pretty emo to be honest with a black beanie and a black backpack and black shoes and black bangs swept to the side of his forehead. Luckily, his wide smile made him look friendlier despite the darker appearance. He turned back towards his parents who were, unsurprisingly, still there. He meekly waved, not wanting to draw too much attention, but they enthusiastically waved back, and he laughed, genuinely.

 

He grabbed a few gray bins for his shoes, bag, and laptop. Apparently, you had to separate everything. His parents had flown before, he had not. Well actually he did, but he was pretty young, so he doesn’t actually know what was going on that well. He put his shoes and jacket in one bin, his backpack in a second, and his laptop in a third. He walked through the detector when they told him to. He looked for his parents after putting his shoes back on. He waited til he was ready to go to look straight at them. He waved more eagerly this time before deciding to just head to his gate, he loved his parents but he knew they’d hold it out for as long as they could.

 

It was late morning now. He didn't eat a proper breakfast as butterflies had taken up most of his stomach that morning, and he hadn't gotten any sleep either. He really couldn’t sleep. He laid with his earbuds all night letting them lessen his worries. He was going to America, having never been out of country, except for Japan when he was younger.

 

He’d have to obviously start a new school, it’s not like he could physically take his school with him. Honestly, he’d only have Jimin if he stayed in that high school. He remembered though that Jimin’s parents had decided to put him in a vocational school for business, which majorly . There was still something comforting in something familiar though.

 

His worst fear, was making friends. He knew it wasn’t that hard, but he hated rejection and tended to wear his heart on his sleeve. Not everybody would be welcoming, some would be condescending. He hoped though, that most people would be decent human beings. He was generally quite friendly in class, so no one should have a reason not to like him. He wasn’t some angsty teen. He was courteous and polite to his classmates. He was friendly enough in class, but kept a small group of friends that got to see his crazier side, like Jimin, Jin, Namjoon, and Yugyeom.

 

Jimin is his best friend and two years older than him, but only a grade ahead. Dancing was Jimin’s passion, honestly it’s all he wanted to do, but his parents wanted him to focus getting into some elite business school. Namjoon, obviously to Jungkook, was a Psych major. He was a filial son with proud parents who believed in whatever path he had set out for himself. Yugyeom was set on getting a scholarship into an Arts School and was on track as far as Jungkook knew. Jin sorta did what he wanted, he started working after school, rather than the typical university path that his peers took. He still didn’t know what he wanted to do with life no matter how much advice Namjoon had given him. Both he and Jungkook tried him just to get a degree in something.

 

He was extremely grateful that he had supportive parents. Normally, he’s not one to go by himself to a foreign country to start all over again, but this last year he’d had a sudden realization that, maybe, he didn’t have to stay in Korea forever, and that there was whole freaking planet to explore! It bothered him at first that he couldn’t do anything about those nagging thoughts. A month later, there were flyers for an exchange program, he’d seen them before, but now they offered financial aid, he wasn’t by any means poor, but his family wasn’t rich considering these programs cost thousands of dollars to attend.

 

All his close friends had agreed that this was a great opportunity and that they’d all want to go to America blah blah blah. He wouldn’t get to hang out at Jin and Namjoon’s dorm with Jimin, while he and Yugyeom fought for the fourth controller. Sometimes Namjoon would study them for some Psych assignment, or Jin and Jimin would go off to scavenge the kitchen, conveniently forgetting to tell him. He couldn’t dance with Jimin and Yugyeom after school when they should've been studying or doing homework. He couldn’t go to a cafe with Namjoon when he needed advice. He couldn’t pester Jin to cook for him or spoil him. Now he actually has to introduce himself to strangers in a language he honestly wasn’t completely comfortable with. Namjoon taught him what he could, but it still wasn't natural to him. He knew he’d get by though and maybe the school was filled with k-pop fans. Who knows honestly? But still, all he can do is hope.

 

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He’d finally reached his gate with a little less than an hour to kill before boarding and had already eaten some overpriced airport pizza, and sat to listen to some music. He put on some GD, basically his favorite person ever. But for some reason he just wasn’t feeling it. His mind was too busy. He sighed as put his earbuds back in his pocket, unsure how to kill the now 40 minutes until boarding.

 

He took out a small notebook, one of many that he had a mild obsession collecting. Now he didn’t know what to draw. He scrolled through his camera roll trying to find something to sketch out. He had a picture of his host family. He assumed they were friendly enough based off their smiles on screen and the welcoming letters they sent. On the inside cover of this particular sketchbook was a caricature of he and brother that the latter had done, but he was in university, so he couldn’t see Jungkook off at the airport. They were close, but his brother didn’t have much free time to see him, but made up for it with silly texts and quick chats.

 

35 minutes left now. He let his pen swirl around the page making loops before deciding they were enough. He took out a pack of colored pencils and filled in the spaces with the colors of the rainbow. He was still pretty psyched that he wasn’t stuck with some cookie-cutter family. He might be borderline hipster, but whatever. His host family consisted of two dads, a daughter his age, and a son that was a couple years younger but a head taller than the entire family. He wondered what kind of dynamic they had. Would he be messing it up?

 

He was kinda tired since having no sleep tended to have that effect on people. He wanted to sleep, but also didn’t want to miss his flight, so he’d have to save it for later. It’d be a great way to kill 16 hours considering he could sleep anywhere. It was something he really prided himself on, and it was definitely useful for times like these.

 

He continued to fill the page with color until the PA system announced that the flight to Portland International Airport was now boarding first-class passengers. Every couple minutes, they would announce the next section of people to get on. Luckily, he was third. He shuffled his way onto the plane as people were trying to put their bags away and get around said people.

 

Unluckily, he had the middle seat. It wasn’t that bad, he just didn’t want to climb over people and just cause general awkwardness. He got seated and played some phone games until the cabin settled. It was another hour until they actually departed. Why does travelling have to take so long? It was already going to be a 14-hour flight.

 

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He woke up to his body being jostled in his seat. ‘Why do people complain about turbulence’, he thought,’ this is so cool!’ He was awake now sadly. He hadn’t bothered to look at the little TV in front of him. Everything’s in one ear and out the other today honestly. He had to press a little too hard on the TV’s faded touchscreen for it to process that he was very very hard now. He mentally apologized to whoever’s sitting in front of him. He put on some sit-com in English that he understood most of, but knew that he’d probably freeze up if he were in the same situation conversing with someone. He dozed off again.

He woke up again 7 hours later. Halfway through this god-damned flight, he thought. The person next to him has disappeared, probably to stretch or something. And the other one was quietly snoozing. He really needed the restroom. And he was hungry. The line had 7 other people, which basically meant that this line was going to take at least half an hour.

He assumed that he’d missed one of the few meals they served, and who knew how long it’d be. The Captain announced that the seatbelt signs were going to be turned back on. 5 people left the line. Were they really not that desperate? Someone went in, so now he was second in line! He saw a flight attendant glare at him, they had probably wanted him back in his seat because of Captain’s orders, but right now his bladder couldn’t care less.

Back at his seat, he re-started the episode he’d been watching. He only remembered seeing a couple minutes of it, surprised that he dozed off so quickly. The hours passed too slow. He managed a 20 minute nap, but he’d already gotten a good amount of sleep and honestly anymore would make him grouchy.

 

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Hours later, the plane started making its descent onto US soil. He could see snow-covered mountain peaks and lush green forest from peering over the other passengers. When he thought of America, he tended to think of L.A. with its constant traffic and too busy population, but this place up North seemed laid back and calm. A nice change. He could still feel his heart pounding in his chest though. He was nervous, like really really nervous.

 

The seatbelt sign turned off. Everyone shot out of their seats and down the aisles. Of course everybody doing this at the same time meant no one could actually get out, paradoxically. He tried to keep his movements smooth and sure despite his racing heart. He squeezed his way into the stream of passengers making to the front of the plane that led into the connecting tunnel, from the plane to the gate exit. It was a sunny day, which definitely didn't go unappreciated since it was his favorite kind of weather.

 

He followed the crowd assuming they were headed to Customs. The long line moved quickly and soon it was his turn. He handed the officer his passport and visa information.

“How long are you staying?”

“10 months.”

“What business do you have here?”

“I am an uh...exchange student.”

“Do you have an address that you’ll be staying at?”

“Yes,” he pulled out a piece of paper with all the host parents' contact information.

“Well, okay then. Enjoy your time here in Oregon, Je-oong-kook.” she put a sticker on his passport and handed it back. He wondered again how many variations he’d hear of his own name.

 

He went to find his bag at the carousel, which luckily didn’t take long, but he still needed time for his nerves. He went towards the terminal exit where they’d be waiting just for him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't written in years and decided to have a go at it lol, it's barely edited..

Hope you enjoyed reading!

- Rose