BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Groaning, Hyukjae rolled over on his king-sized bed and squinted at the obnoxious red numbers on his alarm clock. 

6:30AM.

Rubbing his bleary eyes, he sat up and stared blankly out his glass doors that led to the balcony. Outside, the ocean waves were crashing gently onto the shore, with seagulls cawing to signal the beginning of a new day.

"Today's the big day..." he thought to himself as he plodded to the bathroom.

After taking a refreshing rinse, Hyukjae made his way into his walk-in closet. He slipped on his beloved pilot uniform and tied a perfect knot on his black silk tie in record time before fastening a silver Rolex on his left wrist and a platinum ring on his right middle finger. To finish off the look, he pinned his most-treasured golden aviation pin of excellence on his navy blazer along with his name badge.

'Not bad, Lee Hyukjae,' he smirked into the mirror.

Taking one last look, he grabbed his pilot hat and went downstairs with his suitcase to head for the airport.

~*~*~*~

"Darling, could you do me a huge favor?"

Cherie rolled her eyes.

"No?"

"Come on, help your old man out here. Is Hyorin awake yet?"

Cherie looked at her best friend and roomie, Kim Hyorin, who was painting her nails while singing along to Lady Gaga.

"She's seemingly alive. What's up?"

"Could you take my place and ride on the Korean Airbus' maiden voyage tonight?"

"... why?"

"I have an important banquet with the ministers of Sweden and France today so I won't be able to make it on time."

"Well shouldn't your secretary do something about that?"

"Come on sweety, it's not like you haven't helped me before. This is Italy we're talking about! Hasn't your dream always been to shoot for Italian Vogue? Well, here's your chance. You don't have anything planned for the month since it's summer right?"

Cherie's eyes widened.

"ITALY?!"

Hyorin snapped her head up at Cherie.

"I love you too. You better hurry up though. The press conference starts at 4PM and the flight leaves at 7PM."

"But daddy, why the sudden change in attitude..."

"Hush. We'll talk about it later. Oh, take Hyorin with you too."

Cherie whipped her head around to Hyorin.

"We're going to Italy."

"No way."

"Yes way."

"Nuh uh!"

"Yah huh! Stop arguing with me and pack your stuff."

Hyorin squealed as Cherie said goodbye to her dad, fumbling her way around the messy room towards Cherie.

"Why are we suddenly going to Italy? What should I bring? How long are we staying?"

"My dad's busy, so he wants me to take his place as the foreign ambassador, and since you're a hot celebrity, it would be great publicity."

Hyorin pouted.

"A cold celebrity that is. I can't do anything now that my vocal chords are injured."

"Aww honey, just think of those Italian boys and your body will heal in no time."

~*~*~*~

"You ready for today Captain?" the airport's head security guard asked Hyukjae as he helped him take the luggage out of Hyukjae's red Porsche.

"You bet. Watch out for me on channel 5," Hyukjae said, tossing his car keys up in the air,

Laughing, the guard nudged Hyukjae. "Tell the pretty Italian ladies I said hi aight?"

"Will do." Hyukjae smiled, saluting the guard with two fingers, military style.

"He couldn't carry a conversation with a woman for 2 minutes even if his life depended on it!" Lee Donghae hollered as he made his way with his luggage towards his best friend from across the enclosed staff parking lot.

"Dude. Ladies dig reserved men," Hyukjae retorted as Donghae came closer to them. 

"The great and mighty Lee Hyukjae is intimidated by females? Well, they say women age like fine wine. But my wife? She's aging like milk. It's better if you steer clear from them," the security guard joked.

Hyukjae and Donghae looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Let's retreat to a cave and be monks then. I'll bring some sticks to light the fire," Hyukjae said as he patted the guard on the shoulders.

"Sounds fantastic. How about you Donghae?"

Hyukjae shook his head. "Oh no, he's lives for women. I show up at his doorstep and find him with a different girl each time. What can I say, he's on fire. This guy couldn't live in solitude or else he goes nuts."

Dodging Donghae's oncoming punch, he laughed.

"What? It's the truth."

~*~*~*~

"This will be a breakthrough for our company, Korea's aviation image, and our business relations with other leading airlines that have collaborated with us for this major flight. VIP's from around world will be on this flight, and under the very capable leadership of our very own Captain Lee Hyukjae and his co-pilot Lee Donghae, I'm sure this will be a shining moment in history," the airline CEO asserted as he briefed the filght crew on the essentials of the flight in the private meeting lounge.

Hyukjae and Donghae took their cue and stood up, making their way to the front.

"Thank you Mr R, " Hyukjae started, placing his hands on the sides of the mini podium. "I don't think I need to remind you that this is just like any other flight we've done, except maybe this time, it's the world's biggest airbus and one of the VIP's could very well be the Queen of England. No pressure or anything, " Hyukjae put his hands up in surrender, earning a skitter of laughter from around the room. "If a fellow co-worker needs help, be there. If a VIP needs anything, make sure to give it to them, because what are we best known for?" Hyukjae paused as the entire room boomed, "CUSTOMER SERVICE!"

"Thank you very much ladies and gentleman." Hyukjae slurred in a low, Elvis Presely-esque voice and flashed a grin as the staff hooted and clapped. His natural-born, charismatic leadership was lucidly evident and undeniable.

"I guess the only thing I have to say is even though this is work, remember to have a great time. That energy will make the flight less unbearable, and hopefully rub off on the dignitaries too. We're going to Italy baby!" Donghae pumped his fist in the air as the room burst out in applause and cheers.

The two pilots bowed and returned to their seats.

"I love how we never have a dull moment. Now, onto the specifics..." Mr. R smiled, continuing on from where he left off.

~*~*~*~

"Cher, I can't find my Blackberry," Hyorin mumbled, shuffling around her stuff in her Coach bag as they stood in the VIP line, waiting for their turn to greet the pilots of the airbus.

"Why am I not surprised?," Cherie shook her head as she whipped out her iPhone to check her messages.

From: Kyuhyun

To: Cherie

Message: YOU GUYS ARE COMING TO ITALY?!?!!?!
Your dad told me.
I'll be your free room & board this month.
You're welcome :)

Grinning, Cherie texted back. 

From: Cherie

To: Kyuhyun

Message: lol THANKS MAN. YOU'RE THE BEST.
You know when to pick us up right? ;D

From: Kyuhyun

To: Cherie

Message: For shizzle.
uhm, my stomach sounds like it's mauling a small animal.
gotta get some food.
iloveyoulikeachubbykidheartscandy<3

Smiling, Cherie texted one last time before turning her phone off.

From: Cherie

To: Kyuhyun

Message: WHUT? Your stomach is crazy yo.
*wraps you in bubble wrap*
BYE.
Love you ♥

Just before she hit the power button, Kyuhyun already texted back.

From: Kyuhyun

To: Cherie

Message: OMG YESSS BUBBLE.
pop. pop... pop?
YOU EVIL.
now i'm preoccupied with bubbles.
pop.
*slaps self*

bye.

"Only I can understand Kyu and his abhorrent randomness - there's your phone!" Cherie pointed at Hyorin's blazer pocket as Hyorin dramatically put her hands on her chest.

"What would I do without you, my savior!"

"All in a days worth. Do I get a prize?"

"You can have my napkin from McDonalds."

"Yay!" Cherie laughed, but stopped when she saw one of the pilots shaking hands with the Samsung representative.

Cherie couldn't talk.

She couldn't even breathe.

His jaw line was sharp and well-defined, with high cheekbones accentuating his almond-shaped eyes. His black-brown hair was neatly styled with a little bit of hairspray, and his tall and lean body was topped off with broad shoulders that fit the taylored pilot uniform perfectly.

Inhaling deeply, she dabbed her lips with a coat of shimmery lip-gloss. Despite all those butterflies flapping around crazily in her stomach, she knew that confidence in a woman was what attracted men the most. And she had every intention of attracting his attention to her.

Walking up to him, she made sure that his eyes were on her only.

"I guess I'll be trusting my life with you, Captain..." Cherie looked at his name-badge, "Hyukjae."

Hyukjae felt his heart palpitate considerably faster as her warm brown eyes crinkled, flickering back up to his own.

Smiling, she held out her hand for him to shake.

"I - I... You-'re... Welc -c -come?" Hyukjae stuttered bashfully, feeling his cheeks flame up instantly as he reached out to grip onto her hand, which was much smaller and very soft.

"You're funny Hyukjae," she laughed as she turned around to face the cameras, her hand still in his.

'Why does my name sound so good when it comes out of ?' he wondered, dazed by how near she was to him. He caught a whiff of her fruity perfume and felt his tummy tingle with pleasure.

After answering some questions from the reporters, she back turned to him.

"I'm Cherie by the way."

Biting her lips, she maintained eye contact with him and slowly let go of his hands as she made her way down the ramp with her friend.

'Cherie,' Hyukjae repeated in his mind, his gaze still trained on her retreating figure.

Wearing a baby blue strapless dress, her simplistic accessories accentuated her natural air of poise and elegance. Her silky, hazelnut colored hair was tousled, tumbling down her back like beach waves, but what attracted him the most was the sweetness of her breathtaking smile, which was aimed solely at him for those few short moments.

'She's so beautiful,' he whispered, ever so softly amongst the raucous atmosphere of the rowdy press and screaming fans.

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