The night was still young, its moonlight shining bright over the area of Incheon Airport. Deep inside one of the terminals, a group of girls were seen encircling a hesitant yet excited young lady.

“You’re sure that you’ll be safe, right?” A worried Taeyeon asked anxiously.

“Must you really go?” Hyoyeon was reluctant in seeing her friend leave.

“You have to come back in one piece, all right?” Jessica warned the girl before hugging her. “We’re all so worried but why are you so calm?”

“I am worried.” Tiffany gave a small laugh while getting into a group hug. “But this will be a good experience, I swear.”

“Oh look!” Yoona shouted in glee. “The EXO boys are here too!”

“Waa! Unnie, you’re so popular.” Seohyun teased as Tiffany walked over to the group.

“Hi guys.” Tiffany muttered softly. “Why are all of you here?”

“We came to send you off.” Suho started talking first. “Actually, Luhan hyung, Baekhyun and Jongin were really insistent on seeing you so the rest of us figured we’d tagged along.”

“O-Oh. You guys shouldn’t have. You’re too nice.”

“We hope you have fun, noona!” Tao smiled brightly before adding. “Oh and maybe you can buy us some souvenirs too.”

The maknae then got slapped in his arms; the older hyungs obviously embarrassed at his shameless request.

“Sure. I’ll get you guys something nice.” Tiffany winked.

“Uhm.” Kai cleared his throat as he looked at the group. “C-Can I have some alone time with noona?”

EXO laughed, knowing that it wasn’t only Kai but Luhan and Baekhyun as well who wanted to talk to the girl alone. No matter how much secrets they hid from each other, it was not successful. They were a group who went through thick and thin with each other; there’s no way there could be secrets within the boys.

“You’ll get me more souvenirs than the rest, right?” Kai joked as he stared at the flustered Tiffany.

“I’ll give you anything in the world, Jongin.”

“Okay then. I’d like to have a star when you return.”

“Yah.” The girl rolled her eyes. “Can’t you ask for something more realistic?”

The duo laughed, somehow assured of the fact that their relationship was turning back to how it was at the start.

“Promise me you’ll enjoy yourself?” The man extended his pinky and the girl returned it.

“Promise.”

“Erm, noona?” He called out to her before she left to find Luhan. “When you return… W-Would you want to hang out together again? I… I really love yo-”

The man sighed as he controlled his words. “I really love your company.”

“Of course.” Tiffany was relief that he hadn’t confess yet. “Anything for you, remember?”

The duo parted, with Tiffany leaving for Luhan who was already waiting for her at the side.

“Hey. You came.” She smiled to the man.

“We all did.” Luhan replied while taking out something from his pocket. “Noona? I want you to have this.”

The girl extended her hands, wondering what the object was and she widened her eyes upon seeing a silver necklace with the shape of a heart.

“It’s something for you to remember me by when you’re there.” The man began seriously. “It will be as if I’m back home as well.”

“Should I go say hi to the other Luhan?” She teased but stopped when Luhan shook his head.

“I don’t think you can, noona. He’s a prince!”

“Psh. And I’m a guest. Surely the royal family would be interested in seeing humans from our Earth.”

“They will.” Luhan nodded his head in agreement. “I did.”

Seeing her eyes shifting awkwardly, the man could only guess that she wasn’t comfortable talking about her feelings.

“Oh, before you go, there’s someone else who would like to talk to you.” Luhan pointed behind and as the girl turned, a sheepish Baekhyun was seen staring at his legs.

“Go talk to him.” He added softly. “You can’t avoid him forever.”

The girl nodded her head in compliance; her steps slow while approaching the man.

“H-Hi n-noona.” The man stuttered as the girl stood to his front. “G-Guess you’re really g-going huh?”

“Yeah! I’m so excited, honestly.” She replied happily, in fact, too happily.

Baekhyun nodded his head in understanding but he can’t help but wonder.  Why does it seem as though Tiffany was trying too hard to show him that she was happy?

“Look.” He took in a deep breath. “I just wanted to say sorry for what I did.”

“It’s oka-”

“It’s not okay, noona. I’m just so sorry. I wasn’t thinking when I did such a horrible thing. Only… Only when you’re gone do I realise that maybe… just maybe… I wasn’t lying about my feelings.”

“I don’t understa-”

“You don’t need to.” Baekhyun interrupted her words again. “I may have led you on and had an ulterior motive behind my actions but… I really do love you, noona. I realise that my feelings for you were real.”

“Of course, I don’t expect you to come and leap into my arms.” He sighed. “I just… I just wanted to say sorry.”

“I-It’s okay, Baekhyun ah.” Tiffany gulped as she patted him on his shoulders. “Really.”

To be honest, it wasn’t okay. She still had feelings for him but she knows she could not trust her heart anymore. Her feelings were complicated and her situations were undesirable.

Tiffany wasn’t stupid. She knows that Kai, Luhan and Baekhyun may have developed a romantic interest towards her. Worse still, the guys were all close with one another.

This makes the girl afraid because her heart was honestly in pieces. She needed time to think; time to be alone so she could refocus and piece her heart back into one.

The girl then left her friends behind as she entered the checking area. Looking back, she had so much regrets in the past few weeks. As she entered the plane, Tiffany made a mental note to herself.

You will come back as a new person, Hwang Mi Young.

--

During her plane ride, Tiffany had slept, allowing her mind to be free of the constant worries she faced from day to day.

When she finally reached the States, a woman welcomed her as soon as she landed and Tiffany had remembered her words clearly.

“Miss Hwang? I’m afraid there had been a slight miscommunication over the phone. You leave today.”

Her mind had turned into a quick turmoil and she turned afraid because she hadn’t prepared herself for this.

Tiffany remembered calling Jessica, the first person she could think of when she was in danger.

All right, maybe “first” was an underestimation, but hey, she was second. If she had called Luhan…

She would not.

She could not.

And maybe that’s why she feels better, hearing a friend’s voice telling her that everything would be all right.

When the girl had first set her eyes on the rocket, Tiffany had been in awe. It was huge. She was even more surprised to see that the interior was much larger than she had expected it to be.

“Hey, so you’re the girly huh?” A burly man called out to her.

“Leave her alone, Bob. She seems nice.” A woman chided.

Upon closer inspection, Tiffany realised she wasn’t a normal woman. She was the lead astronaut.

“Hi. My name is Kim and that’s Bob. We’re both your companions throughout your journey to Earth II.” The woman smiled.

I’m glad I went instead of Kai… He would never have understood their English.

“Hi! My name is Tiffany. Thank you for being here today and I really hope you take care of me since I really know nothing about this.”

“Don’t worry, girly.” Bob had laughed. “We do this every time, though I do recommend you wearing your space suit unless you have an early death wish.”

The girl complied, with Kim helping her with her suit. It amazed her to know that she could wear her normal clothes inside. Honestly, she had always thought that the astronauts wore nothing but their space suits.

“Now sit tight and wear your seatbelt. We’re taking off in a couple of minutes.” Kim commanded.

“E-Excuse me? May I know how long we’ll be in Earth II?”

“As long as you like, girly.” Bob winked. “But remember to keep it within a span of a week.”

Tiffany laughed, glad that she had two friendly companions for this unknown journey.

At last, here she was.

“We’re closing the door now. Just sit tight.” Kim patted her hands and Tiffany took in a deep breath.

“It’s time for countdown!”

5.

I won’t die, would I?

4.

Of course not. They’re both experienced astronauts. I just have to trust them.

3.

What if the people there won’t like me?

2.

Stop it Tiffany. You’re thinking too much.

1.

Oh well. Here goes nothing.

Take off.