The plane was cruising at an altitude of 30,000 feet in the air. It was 40 minutes into the flight and the pilot had just the no-seatbelt sign. Kim Jaeseop, better known for his nickname of AJ, got up out of his seat and pulled out his backpack from the overhead storage unit above his seat. Sitting back down, he pulled his laptop out and placed it on the tray attached to the seat in front of him. Noticing a sticky note on the case to the laptop, AJ glanced at it and saw that it was from his fellow bandmate, Soohyun.

            Hey AJ,
            We miss you already! I know this will be a new experience for you and studying abroad can have challenges of its own. Check your email when you can. The guys (myself included) have made a video for you that we think you’ll enjoy. Have a safe flight and call us as soon as you can to let us know you arrived and settled in. - Soo

                AJ smiled as he peeled off the sticky note and placed it in the first compartment of his backpack so he wouldn’t lose it. As soon as the computer was , he checked the wifi signal and plugged in his earphones. Once he was connected to the internet, he logged into his email account and saw a message from Soohyun. Moments later a video popped up on the screen and AJ relaxed in his seat as he saw the members of U-Kiss show up on the screen.

                “Hey, AJ.” Soohyun’s voice began as he was holding the camera with one hand, trying to keep a steady balance on the recording.

                “YO YO YO!” Eli said as he snuck up in the corner of the screen. Soohyun laughed and shoved him away with his free hand.

                “As I was saying…I guess by the time that you’re watching this, you’re in the middle of your flight. I would hope so, at least. Unless you don’t watch this ‘til you’re in New York, but then how would you entertain yourself for 14 hours on a flight?” Soohyun said as Hoon came up behind him.

                “Hey, why are you shooting this? Why don’t you let me be the film director?” Hoon asked as Soohyun turned around in surprise. He wondered if he’d ever be able to get a word in before completing the video. Hoping to free his one hand, he handed over the camcorder and waited a moment for Hoon to get him in focus before resuming his greeting.

                “AJ, I’m very excited for you. I’m sure you are, too. I know that there will be uncertainty at times, but we just wanted to let you know that we are here for you whenever you need us! I know the time difference will take some getting used to, but you know we’ll do our best to overcome that.”

                “YAH! Are you going to talk all day, Soo? If he’s watching this on the flight, you might put him to sleep with all that yapping.” Dongho interrupted on the recording. AJ chuckled at Dongho’s disregard for honorifics. He watched intently to see how Soohyun would react; curious to see if Dongho would be put in his place. Dongho made the mistake of turning his back to Soohyun and just as he was rolling his eyes on the camera, he got a smack to the back of the head. Hoon burst into laughter, ‘causing the camcorder to shake slightly from it. AJ placed his right hand over his mouth to try not to disturb the others around him. He shook his head and sighed to himself. “Dongho, you pabo …I guess he likes learning the hard way.” AJ thought to himself. It was little things like this that he knew he’d miss the most. Seven months may not seem long, but the aspect of transitioning to student life made him uneasy.

                “Well, it looks like I’m being told to cut my speech short, so I’ll let the others talk and come back at the end to say ‘goodbye.’ “ Soohyun said as he motioned for Hoon to start looking for the others.

                “You know, I’m right here!” Dongho piped up upon seeing Hoon walk towards the hallway. All of them had gathered at Soohyun’s apartment for the filming. Hoon deliberately started to walk a bit quicker to avoid recording Dongho making Soohyun burst out into laughter.

                “Aigoo…see what is happening to me since you’re not here, AJ? You need to turn around and come back and take care of your maknae.” Dongho shouted loud enough to be heard in the background.

                “Kiseop, care to say anything to AJ?” Hoon said as he opened the door to the guest bedroom that had been converted into a dance practice room. Kiseop looked up and finished his pop-locking for a solo dance move for one of their songs.

                “Hyung…who’s gonna spit raps for me to dance to? I’m gonna miss you! We are very happy for you to be able to pursue your education. Study well and make us proud. AJ HWAITING!” Kiseop said as he made a fist and pumped it in the air. AJ made a tiny fist and whispered “HWAITING” back to Kiseop’s recorded form. In the back corner of the room, Kevin was practicing his dance moves as well. Hoon walked over to him and Kevin instantly pouted to the camera.

                “AJ, I’m going to miss you so much! I’m actually jealous since you’ll be in the States for several months. It’s not California, but still…send me lots of American food! Hahaha.” Kevin said as Kiseop came up behind him and rested his head on his shoulder. They both started making silly faces and acting goofy, making AJ smile.

                “AJ, glad to see that you’re getting this opportunity to further your education. You will be studying, right?” Eli raised his eyebrow, showing off his piercing above his left eye. “Make sure to balance everything out equally and have fun, too! Hope you find inspiration to write some more songs. Don’t be a stranger! Don’t forget about your rapping hyung!” Eli pretended to cry. The others started to gather around him and joined in with him as they pouted to the camcorder. Soohyun grabbed the cam from Hoon’s hand, allowing Hoon to be filmed next.

                “AJ, I have such confidence in you. Study hard and learn lots of Japanese so that you can help us speak more to our KissMes. Take lots of pictures and video so we can see how beautiful New York is.” Hoon smiled. Dongho started making faces and putting bunny ears with his fingers on top of Hoon’s head from behind him. He was trying to get back at Hoon for not filming him earlier. Hoon was watching Soohyun’s reaction and looked behind him, immediately making Dongho whip his hands behind his back and act as if nothing happened.

                “My turn, now? Good!” Dongho said nervously, trying to distract Hoon from questioning him further. He stepped in front of Hoon and cleared his throat as Hoon just shook his head. “AJ, we really will be incomplete without you. Make the most out of your trip. Don’t hold back with what you want to do while you’re there because you never know if you’ll get the experience to do it the next time around. Eat well and take care of yourself. HWAITING!”

                “Alright, AJ. Looks like I finally have a chance to speak again. As your leader I want you to do your best. Make us proud! You will always have our support. Let us know that you made it to New York safely.” Soohyun said as he motioned for everyone to gather around behind him. They all started waving and shouting their goodbyes to the screen. Moments later the recording was stopped and the screen for the video turned black. AJ sighed as clicked out of the email. He was sure going to miss his hyungs. He decided to check out a few webpages before closing the laptop and placing it into his backpack. Reaching for his iPhone, he started playing a few games on it before rubbing his eyes. He was a bit tired since he was too excited to sleep the night before. Stretching out and reclining his seat, AJ tranferred his earphones to his iPhone and opened up the music selection on his iTunes. Closing his eyes, he started to relax his body as he let the music fill his ears.

***

                AJ’s stomach began to get knots in it as the plane started to descend to the runway for its landing. His hands gripped the edge of the seat as he felt the plane’s wheels touch down and heard the whooshing sound of the flaps on the wings slowing down the plane to a complete stop. The pilot made the announcement over the intercom welcoming the passengers to New York and describing the temperature for the day. AJ gathered his belongings and made his way out of the plane and into the airport. After passing through customs, he walked to the area where he would meet his chauffer to take him to Columbia University. Searching around for his name on the placard, he gasped as he saw who was holding the sign.

                “AJ! My man…how are you? Welcome to the US. How was your flight? I bet that was a long trip. Get any sleep on the way over?”

                “JD! What are you doing here? You’re my chauffer? I was not expecting that.” AJ gave him a hearty hug. JD Relic was one of their producers that helped with some of U-Kiss’ songs.

                “I’m in town for some business. I heard that your flight was coming in today and had to jump at the opportunity to take you to Columbia University. Who better to show you around than me, huh?” JD winked. The two guys walked to the luggage carousel and picked up AJ’s suitcases before heading to the parking garage. They made small talk on the drive to the campus and once they arrived, made their way to the office where they would be getting his student ID and schedule.

                “Looks like the folks at NH Media wanted you to have some privacy in the case where you might be recognized. With that haircut, I kinda doubt it…but always better to be safe than sorry!” JD said as he jingled a set of keys in his hand.

                “Wait…I’m not staying on campus?” AJ asked; a confused look on his face.

                “If you feel there’s no threat and want to stay in the dorms you can always get in touch with the school. Don’t wait too long to do that though because there may not be a room available. Besides, once you see where you’ll be staying, I doubt you’ll want to leave.” JD motioned for AJ to follow and drove him to the destination 20 minutes away. Once they were inside the building, they rode the elevator to the 15^th floor. Grinning, JD handed AJ the keys to his apartment and let him unlock the door. AJ’s mouth dropped as he stepped inside. It was a luxurious penthouse suite. Besides the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, it contained a mini study room and another room where he would be able to practice his dancing as well as a computer with the equipment to record any music he might compose. “I don’t need to give you a speech about how having a place like this requires responsibility, correct? If you want to throw parties, no one will know…but don’t trash this place and have respect for what your label has decided to give you in return for getting accepted to an Ivy League university.” AJ nodded his head as he explored each room in awe. “I know you’re probably tired from your flight, but how about I take you out to dinner and we can go over any questions you may have.”

                “That would be great. Let’s do it.” AJ grinned.

                “You really need to get used to what New York has to offer since you won’t be driving…nor do you want to; the drivers here are crazy! If you’re not walking, there’s always the metro you can take; whether by bus or train. I wouldn’t hail too many taxis since they can get expensive. Let’s take a walk and I’ll show you some landmarks to familiarize yourself with.” JD explained as they took the elevator down to the ground floor. AJ listened intently to JD pointing out different places as they made their walk in the city. He was taking in the sounds and surroundings before they reached an Italian restaurant. Once they were inside and seated at a booth they were handed menus to glance over.

                “Good afternoon, my name is Jasmine. Welcome to Pisticci. I’ll be your waitress today. Is there anything I can start you off to drink?” Their waitress announced as the guys placed their order. “Great. I’ll be back in a few moments.”

                “Wow! She is so pretty.” AJ whispered to himself as JD started laughing. It snapped AJ out of his stupor and he looked back towards him wondering what was so funny.

                “You haven’t even been here for an hour yet and you’re already checking out the ladies. Be careful, AJ…I have a feeling your heart won’t be able to take in all the beauty that America has to offer. We are one giant melting pot. You will have a smorgasbord of choices when it comes to the female kind here.” JD winked as AJ started to blush. Jasmine returned a few minutes later with their drinks and AJ made it a point of staring a hole into the menu so that he wouldn’t have to show his face to her.

                “Are you guys ready to order, yet?” Jasmine asked after placing their drinks in front of them on the table.

                “Um…maybe just a few minutes to make sure.” JD winked as Jasmine nodded. “Looks like you need to take a drink to cool down from how beet red your face is getting.” JD teased as AJ grabbed his glass and took a few sips. Once he started to feel the embarrassment subside, he looked up.

                “Have you eaten here before? What do you suggest to eat?” AJ asked, wanting to make small talk to downplay what just happened.

                “A few times. It’s really good authentic Italian food. Not too far from campus, either…so who knows, you might be coming here every now and then during your semester. It doesn’t matter what you order, every dish is delicious. Maybe you can ask the waitress what specials they have.” JD said as AJ agreed. Soon Jasmine returned to their table.

                “Jasmine, my friend here just arrived today from Korea. He’s never been here before so he wants to know what would be a good dish for him to have. Do you have any suggestions?” JD grinned.

                “Goodness, that’s a long way from here. Welcome! It really depends on what you enjoy eating. Personally, I think the tilapia and salmon are really good and those dishes are good but not too filling. There’s the traditional pasta dishes that most Italian restaurants are known for: the fettuccini and spaghetti ones. We also have soups and salads as well as appetizers. Feel free to name a dish and I can explain what it is for you.” Jasmine smiled at AJ.

                “Uh…what is cavatelli?” AJ asked shyly.

                “It’s a type of pasta. Are you referring to the ‘Michael’s Pasta’ dish? It’s really delicious. I’ve had it before.” Jasmine said as she described the ingredients involved.

                “That sounds really good. Sure…I’ll try that.” AJ flashed his famous kitty smile at her as she jotted down his order.

                “I’ll have the Grilled Salmon Filet.” JD said as Jasmine made the notation.

                “We’ll have some bread coming out momentarily. I’ll place this order. Enjoy.” Jasmine smiled before walking to the kitchen.

                “So, what do you think of New York so far?” JD questioned as he relaxed in his seat in the booth.

                “I like it. I think I could get used to being here over the next few months.” AJ beamed as he thought of all the possibilities that could unfold.