The docks of Seoul were surprisingly empty today. The waves glimmered crystal blue and the air smelled of salt and oil. The seagulls’ cries echoed in the air, carried by the wind. A young man dressed simply in a black coat and heavy shoes entered the 13th dock and looked around.

23 year-old Choi Seunghyun looked around as he dropped his backpack to the ground, panting slightly. Surprisingly, he was the first one there- he figured Youngbae or Seungri will outrun him, but apart from the seagulls and him there wasn’t a soul alive on dock 13.

The sea breeze hit him, and he closed his eyes and breathed the salt into his lungs. Today’s the day, he thought with a tinge of excitement, bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly. Today they’ll flip a page in the book of their lives and start over in a new continent- America.

Jiyong had it all figured out. After they all graduate from college (Daesung, Youngbae and Seungri successfully, Jiyong and Seunghyun- not so much) they’ll stay in Korea for a year, earn some money, gather some life experience (or as Seunghyun called it- rust), and then they’ll board a cargo ship to America and settle in California.

Daesung, of course, had his worries. Moving to a new country was hard, he said while nibbling on his bottom lip nervously, and his English is not so good. Jiyong said that they’ll take an intense English-learning course in college and perfect their English to the maximum level. That seemed to satisfy Daesung, and they sealed the deal with their custom spit-on-your-hand handshake.

“Hyung!” Youngbae’s voice rang through the open space and Seunghyun his heels. Youngbae and Jiyong ran across the dock cheerfully, their steps ringing off the cement. Seunghyun smiled and waved, relieved that he didn’t get the date wrong and that today’s the day.

“I see you took your elephants with you,” he said when the two reached them, referring to Youngbae’s heavy army boots. Youngbae smiled and nodded, the excitement showing on his face in a form of light pink flush on his cheeks.

Jiyong clapped his hands. “Y’all ready?” He asked in English, using his horrible fake southern accent. Seunghyun punched him in the arm and was about to make a hurtful comment about it, but someone beat him to it.

“Knock that off, hyung, you sound like you just woke up after a surgery at the dentists’,” Seungri said, tapping on Jiyong shoulder with his bright smile on display. Behind him, Daesung laughed; the sound was like honey to Seunghyun’s ears, thick and sweet. He smiled.

“When did you get here?” He asked Daesung while Jiyong squealed and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. Daesung tried to ignore Seungri’s protests in the background as he answered. “Just now.”

“So,” Youngbae started, and Jiyong climbed off of Seungri. “Where’s this Hyunseung guy you talked about?”

Jiyong took a peek at his phone. “He’ll be here any minute to lead us to dock 17,” he said finally. “There was slight traffic, but he’s driving as fast as legally possible.”

Seunghyun took Daesung’s hand in his, and the younger beamed up at him and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Seunghyun took a deep breath and looked at the horizon.

The waves glimmered crystal blue and the air smelled of salt and oil. The seagulls cried above their heads, as if bidding them farewell. It’s a new day, a new page, and a fresh start.