Youngjae cracked his eyes open. The room was still dark and he groaned. What’s the time? He looked around blearily for the bedroom clock before a green glow stabbed his eyes. He squinted. 3:30 AM!? Why so early!?
Groaning again, he rolled over. Why did I wake up in the first place again?
As he rolled around, trying to get comfortable, he felt his bladder almost burst from all his moving around. Oh. That’s why.
Holding back another groan, he gingerly moved the blanket off his body and stood up, walking to the toilet quickly. He sighed as he relieved himself while he tried not to go blind from the bathroom lights due to waking up to a dark environment. I should try breaking the habit of drinking water whenever I’m nervous, Youngjae thought as he stared at bathroom wall dazedly. Really, visiting the bathroom 6 times during performances is a little too much.
Shaking his head at himself, he washed his hands and stared at his reflection in the mirror.
Wow, I look tired. Damn my bladder for getting me up in the middle of the night.
He sighed and grimaced at himself in the mirror.
My bladder is crazy. Especially when I’m scared.


Youngjae watched the girl bind her wound with bandages skillfully.
“Wow, how did you do it so quickly? And it looks professional too,” Daehyun asked.
“I-I was studying to be a doctor back in South Korea...” the girl said hesitantly.
“Oh, okay.”
One of the men snapped at the girl, who flinched and scowled. She replied something to the man before turning to Daehyun and Jongup.
“I’m sorry, the man asked us to be quiet.”
Daehyun just nodded while Jongup eyed the man. Youngjae sighed as he leaned back in his seat, his palms damp with sweat.
What’s going to happen to us? How are we going to get out of here?
He tried to take deep breaths to calm his heart down.
“Are you alright?” Himchan suddenly asked quietly, giving him a miniature heart-attack.
“DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!” Youngjae whispered-yelled back, his heart hammering loudly in his ears.
“Sorry! You just seemed really nervous, that’s all.”
Youngjae sighed. “I just... I wasn’t expecting to be attacked like this...”
Himchan nodded. “Yeah, this is a pretty rare and unlucky chance.”
Youngjae sighed again as he tried to wipe his hands on his jeans. He watched his hands shake slightly as he rested them on his legs.
“I’m scared, Himchan-hyung. I’m scared that we won’t get out of here alive. I’m scared that we’ll never see our families and friends again. What if we crash? What if we get shot? I don’t want to die yet.”
Out the corner of his eyes, Youngjae could see Himchan staring at him. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders.
“I’m scared too. We all are,” he whispered, giving Youngjae a comforting hug.
“Then how come you’re so calm?”
“Because the girl said that she’ll try and get us out of this situation, even though I don’t see how. I don’t know how she’s going to get us out of here alive. But she’s the only one who can speak Italian -- or at least, the only one brave enough. I’m terrified that we’ll die, but maybe she has a plan to get us out of here alive. She said to trust in her, and trusting in her is better than having no hope,” Himchan said, his voice barely loud enough for Youngjae to hear over the loud humming of the plane’s engines.
Youngjae looked at Himchan before looking at the girl, sitting on the floor at the front. He studied her face, taking in her set jaws and the determination in her eyes.
“...I hope she can save us,” he said as he hugged Himchan back.  

An hour passed, and Youngjae still couldn’t take his eyes off the guns. He glanced to his left to find Himchan still staring out of the window and when he peeked at the seats in front of him, he could see Yongguk fiddling with a pen while Junhong slowly and methodically ripped a piece of paper into smaller and smaller pieces. In the front row seats, he could see Jongup and Daehyun holding hands tightly and the girl watching the terrorists and the passengers from the floor.
Again, Youngjae's eyes travelled back to the guns in the men's hands. He stared at them for a while before he realised a major problem.
, not now.
He crossed his legs tightly as he started to bite his bottom lip.
"Youngjae? Are you okay?" A voice asked.
He turned his head to find Himchan looking at him worriedly.
"Uh... I... really need to pee..."
Silence fell between them.
"...how are you going to get permission to go to the toilet? You've got like, another two hours to go or something."
"I don't know.”
Himchan opened his mouth before he froze, and Youngjae frowned at him. He watched Himchan gulp and stare at something behind his head, so he turned around to find himself staring up not one, nor two but three gun barrels, the black metal glinting in the lights.
.

“What kind of flowers do you think she liked?” Jongup asked Daehyun. He blinked at Jongup.
“I haven’t got a clue,” he said. “She never mentioned what kind of flowers she liked, did she?”
“I don’t think so...” Jongup said hesitantly.
“Hmmm... how about flowers that are appropriate for cemeteries?”
“Okay. Do you know what kind of flowers are used for graves?”
“...No.”
They both stared at each other blankly before bursting out into laughter.
“We’re hopeless,” Jongup said, chuckling.
“Yeah... let’s ask the florist then,” Daehyun said, grinning while he looked around.
“Oh, excuse me miss,” he called, raising his hand. Jongup turned around to see a young lady shyly walking to them. A blush was evident on her cheeks as she bowed to the two boys.
“How may I help you, sirs?”
“We would like to buy some flowers to put on a grave, but we don’t know what type of flowers to buy,” Daehyun said sheepishly.
“Oh, is it for a loved one, a close friend or...?”
“She’s... someone special to us.”
“Okay then. Well, we don’t have strict funeral flower etiquette, but we generally choose flowers that represents the deceased’s traits, their favourite flowers or specific flowers with specific meanings. Like forget-me-nots; they specifically represent positive memories, and carnations or daisies represent innocence.”
She pointed at some white flowers, which Jongup looked at with curiosity.
“Of course, some people like to go for less common flowers, like alstroemerias; which represents memories linked with friendship, and gladiolus; which represent strength of character. Does your friend have a favourite flower or...?”
Jongup and Daehyun exchanged looks.
“Uh... we don’t know, but we’ll take gladiolus,” Daehyun said.
“Okay then, would you like to put it in a bouquet? It’ll look nice with some tiger lillies and alstroemerias.”
“Uhhh...” Daehyun looked at Jongup, who shrugged. “Yeah, sounds good,” he said.
She smiled, nodded and walked away to assemble the bouquet. Daehyun whipped around to face Jongup.
“Yah, why are you so quiet! Leaving me to do all the talking!”
“I don’t really have anything to say...”
“What do you mean, you don’t have anything to say!” Daehyun said as he shook Jongup playfully.
“I don’t know what to say!” Jongup protested as his world tilted around crazily from Daehyun’s shaking. He caught sight of Junhong carrying a box of cherry tomatoes while Himchan, Yongguk and Youngjae followed behind with exasperated looks on their faces, their hands holding a watermelon, a rockmelon and a honeydew.
“Oh, they’re back from the supermarket--”
“Here you go sirs, that’ll be 13,580 wons, please,” the florist interrupted, holding up the prettily arranged bouquet.
Daehyun paid her while Jongup took the flowers, sniffing them as he joined the other boys.
“Pretty,” Himchan said as he peered at the flowers.
“Mmhmm, hey, Junhong, where are you going?” Yongguk asked as the maknae dashed off to the floristry. Jongup turned around to find Junhong holding a sprig of cherry blossoms and cheekily asking the florist if he could take it. Jongup watched incredulously as she blushed and nodded, giggling as Junhong cheered and gave her a hug.
“Dude. What. He just got flowers for free,” Youngjae said as Junhong ran back to them.
“Maknae aegyo. Powerful stuff, you know,” Yongguk said, shrugging nonchalantly.
“Lucky...” Daehyun said enviously as he pocketed his wallet.
“Alright hyungs, let’s go!” Junhong grinned as he ran to the van.
“Wait, why did he get a sprig of blossoms...?” Himchan asked as they walked back to the van. Jongup shrugged as the van’s engine started rumbling.

As the scenery slowly changed to the countryside, Jongup watched the trees go by. Slowly, he drifted off, lost in his daydreams.



The toilet flushed and Jongup looked up to find Youngjae timidly walking back to his seat, but not before giving a brief nod of thanks to the girl. He caught Youngjae’s eyes and Youngjae gave a small thumbs up, causing Jongup to smile slightly. Suddenly, a gun was shoved in his face, causing Jongup to jolt backwards.
“Whoa! What--”
The girl interrupted, quickly standing up to face the man. She rapidly spoke in Italian and he replied sharply. She frowned and said something while Jongup tried to inch away from the gun. Suddenly, the gun swung out of Jongup’s view to the girl’s head. Jongup heard the passengers around them gasp while the man suddenly started ranting, shouting and pointing the gun at her head. She replied quickly and confidently, though Jongup could see the fear in her eyes. He watched as she waved her hands towards the passengers and then pointed at herself. She turned to the passengers and said:
“Even if you know how to speak Italian, don’t raise your hand and just shake your head no.”
They all shook their heads as they watched the scene unfold before their eyes with fear.
The girl turned back and said something to the man, who looked like he was getting pissed off. Jongup’s heart started to pound as he watched the hand wrapped around the gun tighten. The man suddenly shouted back at the girl and Jongup finally noticed another man walking up towards them. The man placed a hand on the shoulder of the angry terrorist, but the terrorist shook off the hand violently. He gestured wildly and Jongup flinched as the gun swung around the plane crazily. Out the corner of his eyes, he saw the leader start to make his way to the man.

Suddenly, his blood ran cold when the gun swung back to aim between his eyes. His vision  narrowed to focus on the gun barrel and he watched everything happen in slow-motion.
A gasp echoed through his ears.
The finger slowly pulled on the trigger.
Someone began to shout out his name.
Dark purple fabric swirled into his vision.
Hands were pushing and pulling him.
The gun barrel disappeared.
There was a click, and a shuddering roar.
Explosion. A flash of white.
Ear-piercing screams rang in his ears and everything sped up, returning to normal speed.

“Jongup! JONGUP!” Someone shook his shoulders as the purple fabric dropped to the ground. Jongup turned in a daze to find Daehyun looking at him worriedly, his hands shaking him frantically.
“Jongup-hyung! Are you okay!?” Junhong shouted from behind.
He nodded before he turned around to find the leader shouting at the shooter angrily. Passengers were screaming and clinging to each other, tears running down their faces. Jongup saw a few passengers looking at something on the ground, concern on their faces.
“Are you okay, miss?”
“Someone get help!”
“Oh my god, she’s bleeding--”
“Help! Help!”
Jongup looked down to find the girl curled up, screaming in pain. Dark red blood stained her purple shirt as she writhed and her eyes were shut tight, her hands pressed on her left hip. She shouted something and the leader bent down, pulling her hands away. He spoke quietly but coldly to the girl, sparking Jongup’s curiosity.
“What is he doing?”
“Get him away from her!”
The man stood up and roared at the noisy passengers, silencing them. Raising his gun, he looked around before suddenly aiming the gun at Junhong. Jongup stopped breathing as the terrorist leader barked something at Junhong.
“I-I don’t know what you’re saying...”
“He’s s-saying to take c-care of me,” the girl said hoarsely.
Jongup could hear Junhong panicking. “But I don’t know how to!”
“Don’t worry, I-I’ll help...”
The leader snarled at Junhong, who looked up at him with wide eyes. The girl said something to him, and he lowered his gun. Jongup watched as the leader turned to the man who shot the girl and screamed something at him, causing the man to flinch.
“J-Junhong, please help me sit up against the wall...”
Jongup quickly got up at the same time as Junhong to help the girl, but the leader suddenly raised his gun at Jongup. He raised his hands immediately, freezing in his position.
“He doesn’t w-want anyone but J-Junhong to help m-me...” the girl said as she gritted her teeth in pain.
“Why me?”
“B-because you look innocent and like y-you won’t do anything...”
Junhong crept forward and gently propped the girl up against the wall while Jongup slowly eased back into his seat, watching Junhong and the girl with concern.
“Please get me s-some painkillers, t-tweezers... needle a-and thread and some cloth... b-blanket or towels would d-do...”
Junhong quickly got up to collect the materials. Daehyun grabbed Jongup’s hand and squeezed it as they both watched the girl bite back another scream of pain as she tried to suppress the flow of blood from her wound. Her leg was twitching and Jongup could see that she was trying not to jerk from the pain.
“Um... there’s no needle and thread, but there’s tweezers, painkillers, some blankets and I brought some water,” Junhong said upon his return. He knelt down next to the girl, fed her the painkillers and helped her drink the water.

As he set down the plastic cup, the girl let out a sigh. She closed her eyes and leaned back, breathing heavily. Junhong looked at Jongup in confusion and fear. Jongup looked back helplessly as the girl grabbed a blanket and pressed it down on her gunshot wound.
A few minutes later, she opened her eyes.
“Thanks, Junhong. I need to get the bullet out now though, so can you give me the tweezer?”
“What!? Get the bullet out!?” Junhong yelped. One of the masked men turned around and glared at Junhong, who cringed and attempted to make himself smaller.
“Yeah... I can feel it. I think it hit and ricocheted off my hip-bone.”
Jongup winced. Too much details. Junhong also winced, and Jongup was sure that Daehyun and probably Yongguk also flinched.
“Oh and can you tear a piece of a blanket off too?” the girl asked. Junhong nodded hesitantly and passed a piece alongside with the tweezers to her. Jongup watched as she twisted the blanket into a roll and held it between her teeth. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she pushed the pair of tweezers into her wound.
She suddenly chomped down on the blanket and a strangled scream escaped as she bent over, twisting violently. Jongup stared with horror at the operation before his eyes and he felt Daehyun almost break his hand as the girl pulled the bloodied tweezers out and flung it away, the bullet thudding on the floor.

Junhong crept forward and helped the girl press the blanket on her wound as she cried out through the piece of blanket in . She slowly lied down on the floor, whimpering in pain and Junhong quickly turned around, letting the girl rest her head on his leg. Jongup could see that her eyes were squeezed shut and she was trying to control her breathing.

Slowly, her breathing calmed down. She opened her eyes and smiled weakly at Junhong.
“Thanks, Junhong.”
“No problem. Hey, how did you know my name?” Junhong asked.
“Uh.” She looked away.
There was silence.
“You’re a fan, aren’t you?” Yongguk asked as he peered over Daehyun’s seat. The girl blushed and tried to avoid everyone’s gaze as Junhong grinned.
“What’s your name?” Daehyun asked.
“My name’s Choi Jin Ae.”
“Oh, same last name as Junhong! You guys could be distant relatives!” Daehyun said, smiling softly.
Jongup chuckled when suddenly a masked man shouted at them, causing them to have heart attacks. He aimed his gun at Jongup’s head. Wait, why me again? Jin Ae said something in Italian to him, and he replied curtly. Again, she said something but her tone caught Jongup’s attention. It was sad and pleading, and Jongup could detect a hint of desperation or fear. He frowned in confusion as the man slowly lowered his gun. Finally, the terrorist walked away and they all sighed in relief.
“What did you say to him?” Junhong asked Jin Ae.
“I just asked him to let us talk so that I can keep my mind off my pain,” she said, smiling.
“Oh, okay, that’s cool,” Junhong nodded, not quite completely convinced.
Jongup wasn’t sure either, but as he watched the blood soak the blanket, he decided to let it go.
“How come you know what to do? Where did you learn this sort of stuff from?” Junhong asked, waving his hand over Jin Ae’s bandaged gash and bullet wound.
“In South Korea, I was studying to become a doctor,” Jin Ae said. “My parents wanted me to go to Harvard University in USA.”
“Wow.”
“Where are your parents? Aren’t they here on the plane?” Yongguk asked.
Jin Ae hesitated and Jongup frowned.
“No, they’re not here.”
“Oh. Where are they then?” Daehyun asked.
“At home, in Seoul.”
“Why are you travelling alone?” Jongup finally heard Youngjae say something from behind Junhong’s empty seat. “Aren’t you kind of young to be travelling a long distance away from home by yourself?”
“Hey! I’m a few months older than Zelo!”
“Still, why are you travelling alone?”
A look of sadness flashed in her eyes and she turned her head to stare at the ceiling. Jongup exchanged glances with Daehyun as she took a deep breath.
“I’m running away from home.”

Junhong stared out of the window dreamily when Himchan suddenly smacked him over the back of his head, jolting him out of his daydreams.
“Ow! Hyung! What was that for!?”
“I’ve been calling your name about 5 times already!”
“Really? Sorry, hyung. What is it?”
“Why did you get the cherry blossoms?”
“Don’t you know? It’s Jin Ae’s favourite flower.”
The older members -- especially Jongup and Daehyun -- stared at him.
“Wait, what? How did you know?” Daehyun asked.
Junhong looked away sadly and saw rows of grave headstones and mounds coming into view.
“Oh look, we’re here now.”

Junhong stood outside the reception quietly with Jongup and Daehyun as the other members went inside to pick up sticks of incense. He stared off into the distance, his hands holding the sprig of cherry blossoms and the box of cherry tomatoes.
“What are you going to do with the cherry tomatoes?” Jongup asked.
“That’s for me to eat with Jin Ae,” Junhong said without thinking.
“Huh?”
“Oh... um...” Junhong looked around in embarrassment. “I just... want to spend some time with her?”
“Oh okay, we’ll let you go last then,” Daehyun said.
“By the way, you still haven’t answered the question from back in the van,” Jongup said, pointing to the cherry blossoms in Junhong’s hand.
Junhong raised the cherry blossoms to eye-level, studying them. The pale pink petals fluttered in the breeze as Junhong sighed.
“When she died, she told me with her dying breath that she liked cherry blossoms.”
The expressions on their faces softened and a sad look came to their eyes. There was a rustle, and Junhong turned to find Yongguk, Himchan and Youngjae walking out of the reception. They all stood together for a moment, before Yongguk gave a sad smile and started walking among the rows of grassy mounds to Jin Ae’s grave. With a heavy heart, Junhong followed behind everyone, his hand holding the cherry blossoms delicately.


“I was sick of everything. They wanted -- demanded -- no, they expected perfect marks in everything I do and even demanded that I do better than straight A+. They were tiring me out, wearing me down. My parents wanted me to become a doctor like them, a top-class surgeon. I didn’t want to be a doctor, but they wouldn’t let me choose anything else. The more they pressed me to become a doctor, the more I hated them and the more I wanted to do anything else but medicine. So I chose to run away and start a new life somewhere where I can just be myself and choose to do what I want to do,” Jin Ae said quietly as she stared up at the ceiling of the plane.
Junhong felt something become damp under his hands and he looked down to find the blanket almost completely soaked through.
“Jin Ae! Your blanket!”
Jin Ae lifted her head, causing his leg to crawl with pins and needles. Junhong hastily helped her to sit up as she groaned in pain. Grabbing another blanket, he removed the bloodied blanket and pressed the fresh blanket on her wound. She held onto it and put pressure on her wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but Junhong frowned as her hands trembled.
“Are you okay? How are you feeling?” Jongup asked worriedly.
Jin Ae nodded. “Yeah, I just need to lie down so that my heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump the blood around my body,” she said.
“Here,” Junhong said, gently pulling Jin Ae to rest her head on his lap again. “I’ll help you with the blanket.”
“Thanks. How much longer until we land?”
“About 1 and half an hour,” Himchan said from behind Yongguk. Jin Ae took a deep breath and exhaled, her face becoming serious.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“If I’m getting sleepy, that means I’m losing too much blood. Don’t let me fall asleep, because I might not wake up again,” she said quietly.
Junhong’s eyes widened and he gripped the blanket harder.
“Don’t worry, we won’t let you sleep,” Daehyun said as he looked at Jin Ae worriedly.
She smiled and nodded.

45 minutes later, Junhong saw Jin Ae’s eyelids drooping slightly.
“Jin Ae!”
She jerked her head to look at Junhong.
“What?”
“What’s your favourite food?”
“Huh?”
“You look like you’re sleepy, so I’m keeping you awake,” Junhong said, smiling.
“Oh. My favourite food is honeydew, watermelon and rockmelon. I’m crazy about them,” she said, laughing weakly. “What about you?”
“Don’t you know? Aren’t you a fan of us?” Junhong said as he mock-gasped.
“I’m just making a conversation.”
“I know. I like cherry tomatoes,” he said.
“Cherry tomatoes are nice. Have you tried grape tomatoes? They’re sweeter.”
“Are they? I must try some when we land. If we land.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll land.”
“How do you know? How can you be so sure?” Daehyun suddenly asked.
“Even if I have to throw them out of the door myself and die in the process, I’ll make sure that you all land safely.”
Junhong was surprised at the determined expression on her face. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a faint crackle and a voice coming out from the cockpit:
“Ground Control calling Flight KE927, Ground Control calling Flight KE927, your signal has been received. Report your status.”
The voice continued in Italian while the passengers held their breath. Junhong watched as the terrorists turn to stare in the direction of the cockpit with wide eyes. The leader’s eyes narrowed, and then he suddenly roared. He stormed into the cockpit and dragged the pilot out, who was shouting and kicking. Turning around, he pressed the gun to the pilot’s head and shouted something at the man. Junhong felt Jin Ae struggle to get up, and he held her down.
“No, what are you doing?”
“He’s going to kill the pilot if I don’t do something!”
The pilot shouted and begged for mercy as the leader’s eyes turned cold.
“No, no! I have a wife and children! Please don’t kill me! Please!”
Tears ran down his face while Jin Ae shouted something in Italian at the leader.
There was a BANG and Jin Ae turned away quickly, sobbing. Junhong stared, aghast as the blood pooled around the pilot’s body on the floor. He turned away and wrapped his arms around Jin Ae, gasping as he shut his eyes, the image seared in his mind. Screams and the sound of sobbing echoed around the cabin as the terrorists shouted in Italian, aiming their guns everywhere.

The leader’s voice suddenly boomed through the plane, silencing the passengers. One of the men dragged Jin Ae up and forced her to walk into the cockpit.
A few seconds later, her voice came over the PA system:
“Everyone, please be quiet. We have another 40 minutes before we land and he wants you all to be silent and remain in your seats. Continue to pretend there is no other pilot, we need to protect him.”
Junhong instantly stood up as Jin Ae staggered back, her hands clutching the sodden blanket. He changed the blankets and helped her to lie down again.
“S-, I’m losing too much blood...” she said, wincing as she pressed the blanket down on her wound.
Junhong looked at her pale face and shaky hands. “Hold on a bit longer, we’re almost there,” he said.
She sighed and nodded while Junhong helped apply pressure on the gunshot wound.

“How much longer?” Jin Ae asked.
“Another 20 minutes before we land. Hang in there!” Junhong replied. Jin Ae nodded weakly.
“Do you have any siblings?” Yongguk suddenly asked.
“Yeah. I have a little sister. She’s only 7 years old,” Jin Ae said. “My parents want her to be a doctor or a lawyer, they still haven’t made up their minds.”
“Wow, both jobs would earn a lot of money,” Daehyun said.
“I suppose so.”
“What do you want to be, if you don’t want to be a doctor?” Himchan asked curiously.
Jin Ae sighed and Junhong watched as a dreamy look come over her face.
“I want to become a world-class patissiere, where I can make people smile with pastries that I make. I want to blow people away with sweet food that makes their taste buds explode with flavour and enjoy myself while I’m at it. I always used to make sweet cakes and cookies for my little sister whenever I had time without our parents knowing,” she said as she smiled.
Junhong smiled as he imagined the older girl baking cookies for her little sister. The smile disappeared when Jin Ae’s face grew sad.
“I’ve got my entire life ahead of me. I want to work in a top-class restaurant, get married to a guy that I love, maybe have children and live in an apartment in a city somewhere, like Paris. But I won’t, will I? I won’t be able to live my dream out,” she said, her voice cracking.
“I won’t be able to see my family or my friends again. I won’t be able to see my little sister grow up, I won’t be able to hear her laugh, I won’t be able to watch her future grow. I won’t be able to see the world change and grow, I won’t be able to be there whenever something happens...”
She stopped and sniffled, tears running down her cheeks. Junhong’s heart stopped and he started panicking mentally.
“H-hey, don’t cry...” Junhong said hesitantly.
“I’m scared, Junhong. I’m scared. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to go just yet, I still have so much to live for,” Jin Ae said, lifting her hand to wipe her tears away. A faint bloody streak trailed across her cheeks.
“I didn’t even say goodbye to my parents and my sister...” she whispered.
“Hey, don’t say that, you’re gonna be okay. We’re nearly there, we’ll be able to get help for you and you’ll be able to hug your parents and make your sister more cookies and cakes, alright?” Junhong said quickly as he pressed down harder on Jin Ae’s wound, trying to stop the flow of blood.
She winced a little, before smiling up at Junhong. “Thanks, but--”
A man suddenly shouted in Italian from the cockpit, causing all the passengers and the terrorists to turn their heads. The leader followed the man into the cockpit before coming back out almost straight away, shouting something.
“Help me stand up,” Jin Ae said as she struggled to sit up. Junhong looked at her incredulously.
“What? But--”
“It’s important. Our lives depend on this.”
Junhong closed his mouth and swallowed. Heart hammering, he carefully helped Jin Ae to stand, making sure that pressure was continuously applied to her wound. With shaky legs, Jin Ae tried to walk, but in the end, Junhong supported her as they both peered into the cockpit.

What they both saw made Junhong’s blood run cold. The ground was close. Too close for his liking. Jin Ae and the terrorist leader both talked in Italian while Junhong watched the ground slowly but steadily get closer and closer.
“Everyone, continue to protect the pilot! Don’t give him away!” she shouted weakly, her face becoming paler and paler. Junhong pressed the already soaked blanket down harder on the bullet wound.
The terrorists continued to shout across the plane while Jin Ae gripped on Junhong’s arms, swaying dangerously. The leader shouted, pointing his gun at Jin Ae, who said something quickly. She shook her head frantically, waving around the plane.
“What’s going on?” Jongup asked.
“They’re freaking out because the ground is visible and there’s no one here who knows how to fly the plane,” Jin Ae replied quickly.
One of the men suddenly opened the plane’s door and the leader shouted at them, directing his men to the door. Junhong stared as each of them jumped out of the plane. It wasn’t until he saw white fabric billowing open in the grey dawn air that he realised -- they had parachutes.
Jin Ae yelled something in Italian and the leader yelled back before he jumped out, his hand yanking a cord.
“Pilot, land us now!” Jin Ae said as her legs gave way. Junhong grabbed her as fast as he could while the pilot rushed into the cockpit. A second later, the pilot’s voice came over the PA:
“Passengers, buckle yourself and brace for impact!”
“Brace! Brace! Brace! Stay down! Grab your ankles, grab the seat in front of you! Brace!” the flight attendants shouted frantically as they went to their seats.
Junhong looked up at the other B.A.P members, terrified.
“What about Jin Ae!?”
“Sir, both of you will have to sit down. Sit on the floor against the wall, put the girl between your legs, place your feet flat on the floor, hold onto her, put your head against the wall, put her head against your chest, go!” a flight attendant screamed.
Junhong quickly complied, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders and his right arm around her waist while still putting pressure on the blanket.
“Brace for crash-landing!” the pilot announced.
His back rammed up against the wall, Junhong could see all the passengers bracing themselves. The plane was silent except for the roar of the engines.
Then there was a loud BANG as the wheels came in contact with -- miraculously -- the runway. Junhong finally released the breath he was holding as he heard the passengers sigh with relief. He looked at Jin Ae to find her eyes closed.
“Jin Ae! JIN AE!”
Her eyes barely fluttered open. “Junhong...”
“Don’t die! We’ve landed! We’re almost there! We’re gonna get help!” Junhong said frantically.
She smiled and whispered something. Junhong bent closer to hear what she was saying.
“I can see cherry blossoms... they’re so beautiful. They’re my favourite flowers.”
Junhong’s heart stopped.
“Junhong... promise me that you’ll be successful in life. All of you guys. And... please tell my sister that I love her...”
Her voice trailed off and Junhong looked at her face again to find her eyes closed.
“Jin Ae? Jin Ae! JIN AE! DON’T DIE PLEASE!!”
He shook her as the other B.A.P members unbuckled their belts and surrounded Junhong while he tried to shake her awake.
“Jin Ae! Wake up!”
“No! She can’t be gone! Wake up!”
“I can’t feel a pulse!”
The door suddenly opened and black-uniformed paramedics swarmed in. Jin Ae was taken out of Junhong’s arms and the sirens wailed in the early Italian morning.
Tears ran down Junhong’s cheeks as all the passengers stepped onto the ground, crying and sobbing with relief. All the B.A.P boys gathered together for a group hug, their faces wet with tears as well.

Looking out to the distance, the older members of B.A.P watched the grass sway lightly in the breeze as they waited for Junhong.
“Hyungs, I’m done,” he called out quietly.
They turned around and joined him by the grave. The breeze carried the scent of the flowers away, a few slices of the fruits resting on the tombstone. Silently they all stood in front of the grave where only the birds’ calls and the rustling of leaves could be heard.
“Thank you, Choi Jin Ae. Please continue to watch over us as B.A.P becomes more successful,” Yongguk said.
“We’ll continue to work hard and do our best,” Himchan added.
Jongup held out his hand, palm facing down. He smiled as Daehyun, Youngjae and Junhong quickly followed suit, their hands on top of Jongup’s.
“Let’s go, B.A.P,” he said quietly as the two oldest members placed their hands on top.
“This is our promise to you, Jin Ae, in return for what you’ve done for us,” Daehyun said. “We will take over the world as the best--”
“Absolute--”
“Perfect kpop group in the world.”
They all grinned at each other.
“Let’s go, B.A.P, yes sir!” they shouted, raising their hands to the sky.

The ending is terrible. I'm sorry. Hahahaha.

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it. :) Please comment and tell me what you think. -SHadow