A/N: Hey, ToAnyone4Ever. This is another surprise birthday fic for you. I could go on and fan girl again for you, but you already know I think you’re an amazing person. This one is an idea I never really got around to discussing with you, and so I thought it was perfect to surprise you with. It’s basically set around the time Sulli came to NY but reimagined with Krystal and her meeting at the airport and stuck together for a delay between flights. Enjoy, and happy birthday!! ^^

It had been exciting for Sulli when she first found out she would be heading to NYC for a photoshoot and party. It was also good to just be able to get out of South Korea for awhile. She enjoyed herself immensely as she posed for photos and was able to mingle with all the staff and other partygoers at the party. The lights and excitement of NYC had been a nice change. Sometimes it’s hard being home with netizens bashing her for almost every little thing imaginable. But Sulli has somewhat gotten used to that. She’s been in a group and as an actress criticism is apart of the job description. More than just getting away from Seoul for awhile was also time to not think about her.

Not that she isn’t somewhere always in the back of her mind. It doesn’t matter where she is in the world because Jung Soojung isn’t far from her thoughts. It’s impossible to forget about a woman like her. Someone who was her best friend and someone she shared everything with from their days of being young trainees to beyond. It’s difficult to forget the woman you’ve loved so deeply, and still love deeply to this day. Even if she hasn’t seen or spoken to Soojung in a while. The feelings haven’t gone away and are still there. At least they are still there for her. She has no idea what’s going on in Soojung’s head these days.

“Did you have a good time?” She hears her manager ask from beside her. With any trip, even if it was mostly for business it must come to an end. She’s riding in the car heading back to JFK international and will be boarding her flight back to Seoul soon. It was indeed a fun trip. She nods and gives a smile.

“I had a very good time. It was nice to see NYC.”

NYC is the sort of place that you have to experience at least once. The lights, sounds, attractions. All the different food to try. Some of it similar to home, but not quite. Some of it all new to her. All the different people she was able to meet and speak English with. Sulli thinks it would have been nice to have Soojung by her side for the experience. Soojung would have enjoyed being here. Sulli would have enjoyed to have her here too, well maybe another time. The car pulls up to the airport and the dark-haired woman gets out with manager by her side. The long flight she is already prepared for, with snacks, reading material, and comfortable neck pillow for when she falls asleep. Sulli was all prepared to walk through the security and present her passport. They were a little early anyway for the flight, and so she was prepared to sit and wait for boarding. What Sulli wasn’t prepared for had been the delay.

“We’re going to be delayed a bit.” Her manager tells her when she finds out that the flight is not going out right away. Sulli nods in understanding. After all, things like this do happen and it’s not totally unexpected.

“Do you know for how long?”

“Three hours expected, but it might not be that long.”

Sulli thinks she is glad she has extra snacks. But in this case she might as well be prepared and buy more. She could be stuck here for a while, and at least the airport has plenty of seating and shops. The dark-haired woman finds a nice mostly secluded section to sit. She puts her luggage down and thanks god there is a spot to charge her phone if needed. Her manager and crew sit too and Sulli is asked if she wants anything. Sulli declines politely and tells everyone to make sure they get something to eat or drink if they need. She might as well start reading her book now. Although, reading was really meant to be for her long flight. It couldn’t have been anymore than 15 minutes when Sulli swears she hears someone calling her name, but it couldn't be that particular person, right?

“Ssul?”

Okay, now that time she certainly heard her name. Only again it couldn’t be who she thinks it is. That would be some hell of a coincidence if the voice she’s really hearing is that of Jung Soojung. The one person who’s usually somewhere in her thoughts and on her mind. No, it can’t be who she thinks.

“Sulli?

Sulli is too afraid to look. It sounds like Soojung, but it couldn’t really be. She takes to reading her book rigorously as it’s better than looking up and finding that she’s possibly just imagining things.

“Jinri.”

Sulli can’t ignore the voice this time. When she looks up and sees it is Soojung standing there looking really as if she herself has finished a photoshoot, or even walked a runway. Sulli takes her in fully. She hasn’t seen the beautiful brunette in so long and yet, she still looks much like she imagined. She looks very much like the Soojung she’s seen in photos whenever Soojung is actually seen in public. Of all the airports in all of the USA Soojung just happens to be in the very one she’s also stuck in for whatever duration of time. At the same time Sulli feels like only this could happen.

“Soojung.”

“Hey,” the slightly shorter woman whispers. “Did you hear me calling me?”

“I did. I just wasn’t sure if I should look.”

Sulli was scared to look up because of the fear that she was simply imagining things. Now that she has looked up and sees it is Soojung. She doesn’t know what to do. She has no idea what else she could say now. It’s been too long and too much time has passed, right?

“What are you doing here?” Sulli is able to ask her.

“My flight had to make a detour and now I’m here until we can fly again.”

They’re here under similar reasons. Now it’s a matter of what are they going to do? It’s possible they’re both going to be here until further notice. It’s even possible they might even be waiting for the same flight. However, what will they do here in this moment? Should she ask Soojung to sit with her? Should she simply say nothing and let Soojung go about her business. All the time she takes wondering she hears Soojung talking.

“What?” The dark-haired woman asks because she missed a lot of what Soojung said.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Soojung repeats and gestures to the seat that is close enough to her own, but not too close either. Sulli understands why she has chosen this seat. It’s giving Sulli space if she should need it. But it’s also not so far away either, so if they did start talking while they wait. They would still be close enough to talk. Sulli isn’t about to tell Soojung she can’t sit there. It’s a free space, and what does it matter if she might be uncomfortable in some way. She knows Soojung has to be feeling some level of uncomfortability too. She sees the brunette sit down and it goes pretty much as she expected.

Neither one of them are saying anything. It’s awkward and silent. Soojung is scrolling through her phone and she is also looking through hers. Sulli stops soon and turns to look over to her. They can’t spend their entire time here like this. Sulli decides one of them has to break the ice. She might as well be the one.

“Hey,” Sulli whispers. “We’re probably going to be here for a while. Would you like to walk over there with me to the food court?”

Soojung nods in the affirmative. Sulli mentions to her manager that she’s going to walk over to the shop to maybe grab some tea. The two women make the walk over to one of the food court shops. It feels weird to walk with Soojung, but not unwanted. Once there Sulli purchases herself a bottle of water and a mixed fruit container that looks especially good filled with grapes, melon, pineapple, and kiwi. Soojung looks at what she’s buying and frown in concern.

“Is that all you’re going to buy?”

“Yes, it’ll be fine for now.”

Soojung shakes her head and then Sulli watches as the slightly shorter woman picks up one of the sandwiches and two iced teas. Soojung goes over to pay the cashier and turns to Sulli with a small smile.

“This isn’t necessary, Soojung.”

“No, maybe not. But you’re going to eat actual food too.”

Sulli sees there’s not much that’s going to change Soojung’s mind. They take their purchased items back to where they were sitting and Soojung hands over the sandwich.

“Take half.” Sulli tells her.

“But, I bought it for you.”

Sulli looks suddenly stern. “I want you to take half.”

Soojung chuckles some. “Okay, I’ll take half. Happy, now?”

“Yes.” The dark-haired woman nods. Who knows how long they will actually be stuck here for. It makes no sense to not share the sandwich. They sit in a comfortable silence now that’s not as awkward as earlier. The brunette leans back into her seat and decides to ask a question. They might as well make some conversation while here.

“What are you doing here in NYC?”

“I had a photo shoot.” Sulli answers. If she and Soojung were in touch more often that’s something that could have already been known. But they haven’t been in touch lately, so outside of possibly looking one another up on Instagram there wouldn’t have been anyway to know what either one of them is doing.

“That’s good, I’m glad you were able to get out of Seoul for a while and do something else in another city. Did you have fun?”

“Yes, I had a really nice time. It was fun being around a different environment and different people.”

Soojung nods in understanding. “I’m glad that you had a good time, Ssul. I know it’s hard sometimes back in Seoul.”

“Do you have any idea how hard it’s been?” Sulli wants to ask but doesn’t. Soojung can’t possibly know how hard it’s been for her. They haven’t properly had a conversation like this in a long time. Sulli doesn’t think they should get into anything heavy here while waiting in this airport. It’s why the dark-haired woman is going to keep topics as neutral as possible. Soojung says no more and she also doesn’t speak. It couldn’t have been more than 30 minutes now since finding out the flight was delayed. Why does it feel like it’s been even longer than 30 minutes? Maybe it feels long because no one is really talking right now. Soojung gets up soon to answer a phone call that sounds like business. Sulli wonders how much longer will her flight be delayed. It’s weird sitting here with Soojung after so long. As much as she has wanted to be right here with Soojung. It’s still feels awkward in a way.

“It’s been too long since we’ve seen one another.”

Soojung returns and apologizes to her but it was an important business call she had to take. The dark-haired woman tells her that it’s fine and she understands. Soojung sees her yawn and how tired Sulli really looks. She feels badly that they haven’t been in touch as much as they once were. There’s a reason why they’re here together now. Of all the airports and times that this could have happened. They are right here together after all the time that has passed.

“Tired?” The brunette whispers softly.

“Yea, a little.”

“You can lean on my shoulder.”

Sulli looks over to her apprehensively. Should she just take the offer shoulder? She is tired and wouldn’t mind falling asleep for a little while. But to sleep on Soojung’s shoulder? It would bring up more feelings of such good times. Not that she needs to be reminded of feelings she has and always will have for one Jung Soojung.

“I…”

“Here, you should try to close your eyes some. We still don’t know for how long we’re going to be here.”

The soft way Soojung speaks and the fact that she is indeed tired enough to take a power nap. Sulli ends up taking her offer and leaning against her shoulder. It’s comfortable and familiar all at once. She remembers times of them just leaning into one another and talking for hours on end. She’s missed their good times and most of all she had missed Soojung.

“Hey, Ssul?”

“Yeah?” Sulli acknowledges with her eyes closed. She isn’t yet sleeping but feels like very soon she could be.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

“Yes, I’m sorry that it’s gotten this awkward with us. I’m sorry that I didn’t make enough effort to reach out to you for when you needed me.”

It’s nice enough but Sulli finds she can’t respond. Her eyes feel suddenly heavier than ever and she drifts off completely. Soojung looks down to the sleeping woman. God, is Choi Sulli absolutely breathtaking. She has always been beautiful and even more so this close up. Has it really been that long since being close enough to reach out to touch Sulli. Soojung sighs and feels disappointment within herself. She has been in love with Choi Sulli for such a long time. Even just when they were best friends there was something there between them. Sulli has had her heart for a long time. She still has her heart and Soojung knows she always will.

“I’m sorry.” She whispers again.

She watches the dark-haired woman sleep for a while before drifting off herself. It’s here the two fall asleep side by side just like times in the past, but not quite. Somehow in the midst of falling asleep someone touches the other’s hand. Somehow two hands find each other and reach out to hold on. The whole time Sulli holds onto Soojung’s hand, and Soojung holds hers too. It’s familiar indeed, yet not familiar too. Sulli has no idea for how long she’s asleep when she feels her hand being held. The dark-haired woman sits up enough to see that she’s holding hands with Soojung. She shakes her head with a small smile. There is something unsurprising about them holding hands.

Sulli gently tries to pull her hand free. It’s the action of her moving her hand that makes Soojung wake up. This is when their eyes meet and Sulli sees the questioning gaze in Soojung’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You stopped holding my hand.”

“Oh…”

That simple statement that shouldn’t mean too much of anything ends up meaning everything. Soojung is probably talking about here in this moment. It just sounds like it means much more. Sulli doesn't want to assume and it’s why she makes like she needs to get up to go to the bathroom.

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Ssul, wait…”

The slightly taller woman doesn’t want. She simply keeps moving to the restroom she saw nearby the store they bought the food from. Sulli needs to at least through some water on her face and pull herself together. What she didn’t expect was for Soojung to come after her? She didn’t expect to be in the middle of preparing to throw water on her face when Soojung entered the bathroom too.

“Wait, we need to talk.”

“You want to talk now?” Sulli turns to her in disbelief.

“Then let’s go talk over by the windows. We can watch the planes come in and hope it’s our flights.”

Soojung says this with a smile that is all too familiar that makes Sulli want to smile right along with her. Sulli supposes is they’re going to talk it could be by the windows. They’ll mostly have privacy and it’s true they need to talk. Of course once they get over there no one knows where to begin. It’s hard to determine who should start and to what should they address first. It feels like there’s a lot to address all at once.

“I’m sorry about us not being in contact much, Ssul. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most.”

Sulli nods and thanks her for the apology. “You weren’t the only one who didn’t reach out. I could have also tried more to reach you, but it seemed like anytime I would reach for the phone. I couldn’t complete the call.”

When Soojung hears this it brings back many a memory of trying to call Sulli too. She would sometimes scroll through the phone and pass by her number, slowing down just before getting to Sulli’s contact info. Then there have been the times she actually did press call and let it ring for all of a few second before hastily ending said call.

“I tried to call you too, a lot of times I would look at your contact info and almost go through with it. But something would always stop me.”

“Well, we’re here now. Why don’t we talk.”

This is really the last place to have a heart to heart talk in the middle of a crowded airport. But at the same time it feels like it could not be any other way but this. It feels like hours of talking. Sulli tells Soojung much about what she’s been up to. She tells her of her struggles and how coming here to NYC was more than just business, it was a chance to get away and do something different. She tells Soojung she would like to come back here to properly see more of the sights that the busy city has to offer.

“Well, it’s the city that doesn’t sleep.” Soojung offers with a laugh.

“Yes,” Sulli laughs some too. She has found out personally how the city doesn’t sleep at all. It always seemed something was going on no matter what time of day or night. But she supposed that she was one of the things that made it interesting. Sulli also listens to Soojung and her own struggles. She wishes that they had been in contact with one another more. Perhaps, they could have been there for one another like they should have been.

“I’m sorry I missed things with you too, Soojung. I’m happy for you though, you’re about to be in a new drama?”

“Yes, I’ll be all in motorcycle gear too.”

Sulli imagines Soojung as a motorcyclist. It’s a very attractive image and the brunette sees that Sulli has to be thinking about it. She smirks ever so slightly.

“Are you thinking about how hot I must look?” Soojung teases.

“No!” Sulli says it so quickly that it makes the slightly shorter woman laugh. Okay, so maybe Sulli was thinking about it, but only a little. Soojung laughs at her expression. It feels so good to laugh again with her. Before Soojung can speak again there’s the announcement of the flight preparing to board for Seoul.

“That’s me.” Sulli speaks. “I should get going, but this talk we had was a step in the right direction. Goodbye, Soojung.”

There’s something about the way that Sulli says goodbye that hurts her. She doesn’t want it to be goodbye for them, not in the permanent sense. She is hoping for a goodbye in the sense that they will see each other again. Sulli is walking off so fast now to make it back to her manager. Their flight is starting to prepare to be boarded. Soojung can’t let her go that way. It’s why she runs off after the dark-haired woman. She pushes her way passed people to get to where Sulli is. Soojung can’t let this end in that sort of goodbye. She makes a bit of a run for it because she sees Sulli getting closer to board.

“Ssul!” She shouts and hopes it’s loud enough. Sulli turns suddenly just as she’s reaching for her ticket to show the flight staff.

“Soojung?”

“This isn’t goodbye. We’re not saying goodbye like this. It’s not goodbye, but see you later?” The brunette says hopefully. Sulli has to go because the flight is preparing to go. She’s spent a few hours in total here with Jung Soojung and nothing really awful happened. They were able to talk some and it felt like they could take steps in the right direction. More than that Sulli doesn’t want to say goodbye to her either, and especially not in this manner. It’s why Sulli nods.

“I’ll see you later, Soojung.”

Soojung nods and waves her goodbye. The brunette stands there and watches until she can no longer see the woman she loves anymore. Everything isn’t fully resolved but Soojung does feel hopeful. She thinks there was a reason why they both just happened to meet here in JFK international as compared to any other airport at any other time.

“I’ll see you later, Ssul.”

Sulli finds her seat on the plane and takes out her neck pillow and book she brought specifically to read for her long flight home. She prepared herself well for her flight and everything that happened was expected, and she was even prepared for the delay that she hadn’t anticipated. What she hadn’t been prepared for was seeing Soojung. No, that was just about the last thing Sulli could have anticipated happening. At first she wasn’t ready to face her but it was also something they needed. Sulli buckles her seatbelt and her manager asks her how she’s feeling.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Sulli assures her with a smile. She is fine and she will continue to be fine. In truth the last thing Sulli wanted to do was say goodbye to Soojung. It wouldn’t have felt right saying goodbye right there in the airport. She really appreciated how Soojung came after her just to tell her she didn’t want it to be goodbye either. Sulli felt even more hope from that small but important gesture. She leans back into her chair and gets comfortable. The flight attendants are standing in the aisle and giving their standard flight takeoff information. She makes sure her phone is set to airplane mode and is all ready for the long flight home. Sulli hopes she sees Soojung again sooner rather than later. After all, they didn’t say goodbye but see you later.

“I’ll see you later, Jung Soojung.”

A/N: there you have a hopeful ending with no straight up angst because I wanted them both to have that same hopeful outlook like hey we could really fix this one day. I really hope you liked this one as well as the other fic. I wish you a very happy birthday and thank you again for simply being you, and I am very glad to know you and have you be my friend ^^