Twelve-seventeen. The plane should be on its way, now, climbing through the clouds and angling west, over Asia and towards Europe.

Byuli rests her head on her arms and watches the clouds. They’re perfect: big and fleecy. Flying through them is like traveling into another world. She’s so used to it that being on the ground almost feels foreign.

It’s not fair that the clouds can embrace the sun when Byuli’s is so far away from her.

Sighing, she rolls onto her side and lifts her phone. Its screen lights up; her lockscreen is her dog sleeping in a laundry basket. There are no notifications. Yongsun’s working, all her attention on the passengers and their needs. Thoughts of Byuli are safely tucked away in the back of her mind, where she can’t be distracting.

How boring.

The television plays a rerun of a concert she and Yongsun had gone to weeks ago. Everything else is music shows, family sitcoms, made-for-TV movies, and news. Nothing good. Not good enough to distract her, anyway, but anything is better than the silence of the hotel room.

Maybe she’ll take another nap. But then she won’t sleep well during the night, and it’s hard enough falling asleep as it is. The bed feels too big and empty, even with pillows stuffed under the covers.

Her stomach growls, a louder rumble than the gurgling she’s been trying to keep at bay with snacks. There’s no reason to not go out and explore a little, get some food. Yongsun will let her know when her plane’s in, anyway, and there is nothing else to occupy her time. May as well spend a few hours out and about.

She almost regrets it upon returning. The summer heat beat down unforgivingly the entire afternoon. The clouds did little to offer a break.

But she ate some delicious food and met a few adorable cats. Her camera roll is full of fun photos. It wasn’t a wasted day.

There’s still no message from Yongsun. Byuli sets her phone on the bedside table and stretches her arms.

“May as well shower…” She locks the bathroom door out of habit. Yongsun has a habit of walking in and scaring her.

Singing aloud to herself, Byuli washes her hair and face and scrubs the sweat from her skin until she’s nice and pink from cleanliness, not sunburn. Except her feet show some paler lines from the straps of her sandals.

Fresh from the shower, she rubs her hair with a towel and lays it across her pillow. She doesn’t close the shades but turns off the lights. Stretched out like a starfish, Byuli watches the sky as the light fades even further into night. The city lights play over the walls and ceiling in nonsense patterns.

Her eyes are too heavy to stay open, and she lies awake a while.

Ultimately, Sleep settles. It'll pass the time waiting for her dream to return to her.

Hours and a cab ride later, Yonguns stands safely on the ground outside their hotel. She’s tempted to sit on her luggage and scoot through the lobby like a child on a toy, but she musters the last dregs of willpower and stays upright through the brief journey from the front doors to the elevator and down the hall.

Her door opens with a beep. The lights are off, but the shades are up and TV is on.

She wheels her luggage through the door, balances awkwardly to remove her heeled shoes, and stumbles into the room. Byuli’s asleep, breathing even and barely audible.

Yongsun bites her bottom lip, softening the whimpers as she treads to the ba