Anxiousness had loomed over Tiffany long before they took off from LA. The first-class ticket TaeYeon got her only help easing the tension in her body. The knowing smiles and over the top hospitality she received from the flight attendances are irking her, though. She was thankful it was a night flight, thus after thirty minutes on air, added with the weariness and a nice glass of wine; she was out like a bulb. They were halfway across the ocean when an abrupt turbulence rudely jerked her out of her dreamless sleep, she has been up and restless ever since.

“It’ll be another couple of hours before we get to my parents’,” TaeYeon informs, stealing a glance at her side, “you should take a nap.”

“You’re the one who should be sleeping.”

The blonde shakes her head lightly, smile intact. “I’m good. I used to do this trip before I got my own place near Incheon.”

For the nth time on the span of the lone hour they have been on the train, Tiffany taps the armrest separating her and TaeYeon. With each mile covered, they are getting closer—she is getting closer to meet TaeYeon’s parents and while it is clear she is going to be introduced as a mere friend of the blonde, she can’t help but worrying about the older Kims’ reaction. She never gets anywhere near meeting the parents step with her past lovers. There was Andrew’s, her rather serious boyfriend during college, but she met his parents accidentally on dinner, once. Meeting Miguel’s and Mary-Anne’s are not counted because none of them were her lovers. So meeting and living with TaeYeon’s, even when it is only for a couple of days, is going to be a whole new situation she is not sure she can handle well.

“Calm down.” TaeYeon’s hand grasps her jittery one; she must have noticed her nervous tick. “My little sister is away in Seoul for school, so it’s only my parents. Mom can be a little overbearing sometimes, but my dad will love you. Just tell him you’re an ATC and he will be all over you in seconds.” She winks, laughing a bit when Tiffany’s lips purse into tight line.

“That’s not really calming.”

“Well... If this might help... I’m nervous too.” The pilot smiles sheepishly. “So, let’s be nervous together?”

“You’re not helping.”

“I know.”

“How about... you let me be nervous this time? Keep yours for when you’re going to meet mine.”

TaeYeon stiffens and Tiffany falters a little; the sudden look of apprehension has caught her off guard. She always presumes they are together, when they are not, yet, she hopes. It has been months and her frustration of their relationship’s lack of progress is getting on her nerves. Elisa’s (and Stephan’s) continuous prodding is not helping her at all.

“I’m going to meet yours soon?”

The question blinks Tiffany back to the present. She stares long and hard at the blonde beside her, trying to gauge whatever she is thinking at the moment and notices nothing she does not wish to see in the pair of onyx orbs. With a sigh, Tiffany settles on letting the matter drop, again. Both of them are edgy. Adding the pressure of making their relationship official right now—if it goes as the ATC has predicted, will put more stress and awkwardness when she eventually meets TaeYeon’s family within hours, or, God forbids, TaeYeon snaps under the strain and decides to abandon her here in South Korea where she can barely understand the language—is beyond doubt not the best course of action.

“That means you are meeting Stephan, Miguel, and Mary-Anne...” Tiffany inserts a disarming grin as TaeYeon’s eyes grow wide. “And maybe their parents too.”

“Now I’m nervous.”

“You already win over Elisa.”

TaeYeon chuckles. “I doubt everyone in your family will love me just because I give them a model airplane.”

“It’s a 1:200 scale, exact replica of Korean Air’s Boeing 777-200.”

“Why am I not surprised you remember the specification?” TaeYeon mutters to herself, a fond smile on her lips.

The blonde pilot might have gone a little overboard with the gift (she religiously ignored the 14 years old and over label on the box, which earned her a mouthful of scolding from Tiffany), but she could not help herself. When she saw the model aircrafts, she just knew she has to get one for Elisa. Although Tiffany and she ended up assembling then setting it on top of the tallest drawer in Elisa’s room while the little girl was away with her other mother, the ATC had relayed how much Elisa gushed about it when she saw the plane standing proud on her drawer and TaeYeon felt some surge of satisfaction. Her heart still swells whenever she recalls Elisa thanking (in all three languages) and making smooching noise for her through the phone.

“And the mini pilot cap,” Tiffany reminds with a feigned exasperated sigh. “You’re going to make her want to be a pilot one day.”

“That’s the idea.” TaeYeon grins back toothily.

They manage to maintain the lightness only as far as the front door of TaeYeon’s house. After the train, they have to take a cab for another twenty minutes ride. TaeYeon lived in rural area, far from the city center. It surprises Tiffany when she first saw the house. It is a simple one-story house, with an attached hangar housing two planes and an asphalt airstrip as backyard. Her astonishment, however, cuts short when a middle-aged woman, presumably TaeYeon’s mother because she does resemble the blonde a lot, comes out to welcome them.

The conversation taking place afterward is tuned off by Tiffany’s selective hearing. She pays attention and smile when being clued to do so, but her brain can’t keep up with the rapid talking speed TaeYeon’s mother is doing. There are some words she fails to understand, too. TaeYeon’s father, on the other hand, is calmer. He tries to engage her in English and just like the blonde pilot had told her, he loves her—or more like her job. And just like that, the introduction phase goes in a blur for Tiffany. The next thing she knows, TaeYeon is leading her into the hangar.

“How are you feeling?” TaeYeon slips back to English once they are out of her parents’ earshot. She has juggled between the languages to accommodate both parties earlier and it honestly took toll on her. “My mom scolded me for dragging you out without proper lunch.”

Tiffany smiles, grasping the box containing their sandwich tighter. Their crazy work schedule—especially hers, ATC works seven days a week—granted them two days, a meager time to fit in with the thirteen hours flights and extra miles to get to TaeYeon’s house. They can’t afford lounging around, but Tiffany is more worried about TaeYeon than herself. She did nap on the flight while the blonde only manage a short shut-eye during the train ride and now she is already going to fly another plane.

“I’m fine. You?”

“I am now.”

The grin lights up TaeYeon’s expression as they stop short beside a red-painted Cessna Skyhawk 172. She hums in glee whilst running her hand on the cold, smooth metal surface and Tiffany can’t fight the smile from blooming on her own face. She has seen many sides of TaeYeon over the span of months they know each other. The embarrassing pilot asking her out through public communication, the persistent flirt, the hidden timid woman, the ‘less action, more talk’ believer, the romantic lover, but this version is unquestioningly her favorite so far. The aviation enthusiast.

“Come on, I’ll to show you everything.” TaeYeon captures Tiffany’s hand in hers then tugs her to circle the plane after she pushed the button to open the hangar door. “We have to do the usual checking first before we bring her out.”

“I’m not going to fly it—her now... right?”

“No, I will teach you how to today. The panel can be a little confusing at first glance, but everything is labeled and it’s the best single engine aircraft in the world, far easier to learn flying it than any other airplane.”

True to TaeYeon’s words, she does teach Tiffany about everything (and some more) she needs to know about the red metal bird. After checking the outer appearance of the plane, she angles herself cautiously on the wheel mount and unscrews the cap on the right one, mimicking what the blonde is doing on the left one, to find that the fuel, surprisingly, goes through them into the tank. It is full. They then climb lower to get inside the plane. TaeYeon’s warn comes a little too late because Tiffany already bumps her knee on the dashboard, yelping on the sudden pain and shooting a glare at the pilot for laughing at her. Apology comes in the form of the blonde hovering almost all over her; the seatbelt and harness are tricky to get on by herself for the first time.

“It’s not as easy to start as a car, but not that hard either,” TaeYeon’s instruction fills the small cockpit after she settles on her seat and did her own seatbelt. “First you have to turn the key to on,” she twists the aforementioned key easily, “flip up these two switches,” she points the ones labeled Mags and does as mentioned. “Now this, you won’t find in any car. A primer.”

“It looks like an old pinball launcher...” Tiffany pokes the protruding button TaeYeon motioned at on the center of the dashboard.

“It works like one as well.” The blonde pulls and pumps it several times. “There... We can start now.”

TaeYeon turns the key into start position and the plane shakes as its motor becomes alive. Tiffany jumps slightly on her seat, the noise is loud. Looking out of the windshield, she sees the propeller move fast up front, creating an illusion of a full circle. Except that it is made of two pieces of blades that are very able to tear through human flesh in ease. TaeYeon must have noticed the ATC’s pale stricken expression because she stops fiddling with the fuel mixture lever and puts an assuring hand on her thigh. The words the blonde said, however, are swallowed by the engine noise.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance at herself, TaeYeon snatches the headsets then put one on Tiffany and her own head. “It’s okay; you will get use to it.”

And she does, eventually. TaeYeon distracts her attention by making her place her foot on the rudder bar, hands on the yolk, and to just feel while she navigates the plane slowly out of the hangar and into the airstrip. Tiffany watches as the blonde explains about the throttle. Her breath hitches as the plane gains speed and at 55 knot mark, TaeYeon pulls the yolk smoothly and the plane is airborne. 10 feet, 500 feet, and by the end 1000 feet above the land.

“You don’t have to report to the nearest tower?”

“We don’t have one for miles and we’re not going to get any higher than this.” TaeYeon is not surprised to hear the question, even as she notices Tiffany looking outside her window in awe. “How about lunch?”

“Lunch? Now?”

“Yes, now. You can hold the yolk while I eat.”

“No!”

A light, happy sound of laugh bubbles from TaeYeon’s throat. “I’m kidding.” She risks another glance at Tiffany, who huffs back at her. “But you can hand-feed me.”

The flying session ends in delight. TaeYeon had mayonnaise on the tip of her nose; something she earned from doing a trick without warning that scared Tiffany enough into believing they would drop straight from the sky for a second there. Other than that and their messy hair, everything is perfect. Tiffany can’t wait for her turn to try the next day and it turns out to be better than she had expected. It is easy and the sensation of having direct control of an airplane, instead of giving commands on their pilots, is something she loves. She does need to practice more to smoothen the landing, though. Then before they know it, they are back in the train to Incheon.

“’Invite your boyfriend JongHyun again next time’?” After the long uncomfortable silence, Tiffany finally says something. “Your boyfriend? Again?!” She tries not to be angry, but it is hard after hearing (and understanding) what TaeYeon’s mother had told them when she sent them off. Apparently the ex-copilot of TaeYeon had made his trip meeting the blonde’s parents long before she did.

TaeYeon looks guilty and Tiffany feels apologetic for almost yelling at her, but only a bit. The ATC had met JongHyun a couple times before. He is undeniably handsome and kind, even though TaeYeon claims him as an annoying big dork. He is harmless and she does not feel threatened by his general presence. In fact, deep down she is glad it is him TaeYeon chose to be the beard, instead of another man she knows nothing of. As a successful female international pilot, of age to marry, first child in the family, she can see why TaeYeon need to appease her parents’ inquiry about boyfriend. While herself, with an older brother who proudly stated himself as gay on the age of fifteen, the path of coming out had basically been made into a road for her. She understands their difference, yet jealousy is an irrational emotion she does not have a very good control of.

“I’m sor—“

“I get it,” Tiffany interrupts before the blonde can go on with the whole apologizing and explaining. She already knows what the other woman is going to say anyway. “I get it, I do. Just... answer this question...”

The pilot looks troubled but still nods slightly. “Okay...”

“Is that why you still haven’t made us official?”

TaeYeon opens and closes , but nothing comes out. Her mother had accidentally ruined the mood. Asking Tiffany now will make it seem like she is trying to salvage the situation while she doesn’t. She has everything preplanned, even before she asked her in the shooting range. Just a little more time, TaeYeon thinks as she ends up closing and avoids the look Tiffany is giving her, just wait a little longer.

Unfortunately, Tiffany takes the silence as a confirmation to her question. “I see...”