Blue Periwinkle: early friendship

Chapter 6

The first instant I truly felt I had left home was when I stepped over the gap between the tube we were in and onto the plane. In that one instant, I felt like I was crossing a huge gap that I could never get back across. Of course, that was stupid of me, considering that I could always just escape back or return some day in the future.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, I strolled through the main door.

“Annyeonghaseyo!” the air stewardess dressed in light blue greeted me as I stepped through.

“Annyeonghaseyo!” I replied in perfect Korean. Her smile widened.

Slowly, I trudged down the aisle, looking for my seat. Belatedly I realized that every row skipped the number thirteen. I guessed that worked better for the superstitious bunch. Still, it was amusing. Smiling, I walked down a little further, passing by Dara and the gang, who waved. Eventually I found 4-06 in the next cabin. Each cabin was divided into two, except for the first-class cabin, which was just one big spacious area. So I was in the third part of the plane.

I ped my backpack and fished out my iPod, its earphones and a nice soft blanket. Then, I struggled to load the heavy thing up into the overhead compartment. Unfortunately, the stupid thing refused to stay open long enough for me to shove the pack all the way inside, and I wasn’t tall enough to keep it open and push my luggage through at the same time. I even went as far as to balance the bag on my head and try in vain to keep the compartment door open before I nearly fell backwards.

Where were the air hostesses when you needed them?

“Here, do you need help?” a deep resonating voice asked me in Korean. Arms reached around to hold the feisty compartment door up and I gladly pushed the heavy backpack into the space. I blew out some air, making the hair on my forehead fly. Groaning, I shook out my arms to get the blood circulating again.

I turned and smiled at the person. He was really good-looking, but he was wearing a hoodie which covered all his hair. Somehow, he seemed vaguely familiar, but I just pushed the thought out of my mind. If I had seen such a breathtakingly handsome guy around before, I wouldn’t have forgotten his face so easily.

“Kamsahamnida!” I thanked him, bowing.

He grinned and bowed in return. “Annyeonghaseyo. You can call me Jo.”

“Jo?” I returned, feeling more than a little out of place. He reminded me of the boyfriend I was leaving behind here.

“Neh. I figured out that you weren’t Korean because you had a little bit of an accent,” he continued.

“Then I should start with improving, right?” I asked, trying to ignore the fact that this guy’s name was Jo.

“Neh. You speak to me only in Korean now, and I’ll help you improve your pronunciation,” Jo said, smiling warmly at me.

I glanced at my feet, feeling a blush come over me. “Um, I don’t know how to say this in Korean,” I started in Korean. “So, do you want to go in first? Sit at the window seat?”

Jo quickly translated for me and made sure I got it and repeated it to him before he would sit down. Surprisingly, I picked up the language much faster now. Huh, maybe it was good that I wasn’t being taught by someone whose attention was all on Dara. I settled myself down in the aisle seat, arranging my blanket around me so that I wouldn’t feel cold.

With a jerk, the plane suddenly started shifting backwards. Shocked, I grabbed Jo’s hand and gripped it in fear as a mechanical voice told us to buckle our seatbelts and prepare for take-off. Pretty soon, the captain’s voice repeated the announcement over the loudspeaker, informing us the precise temperature and weather it was outside, the date and time, and the duration of our flight. After, a quick safety briefing was conducted by the air hostess. Just as we turned to start the taxi down the runway, the air hostess made her way back to some other part of the plane, probably to strap herself in.

Then we were moving, faster than I’d ever been on any vehicle. The scenery outside the window flashed by, and the machine noise grew louder and louder. I hyperventilated.

“Shh… It’ll be alright,” Jo comforted me. I gave him a grateful smile.

A feeling of weightlessness gripped me as the plane finally lifted off the ground. I shut my eyes tight as I felt my body tip backward as the plane rose. A queer sensation attacked my ears, and they popped painfully a few times before we finally came to cruising altitude.

Jo grinned at me, squeezing my hand to console me. I took another deep breath and reluctantly let go, settling myself back in my seat and ensuring that my seatbelt was tightly buckled.

“So, is this your first flight?” he asked, curiosity tingeing his voice.

“Actually, I’m not sure. I think I’ve travelled before, but I probably don’t remember. I was born in Korea, apparently. My mother flew back here with me after my birth. My sister tells me that my mother wanted to have me in her own birth country,” I replied, opening up a little to him.

“Your sister?”

“She’s in a different part of the plane,” I shrugged. “And she was born here, because my mother apparently couldn’t make it to Korea when she was carrying her.”

“Where’s your mother now? Is she up front with your sister too?” Jo asked.

I smiled awkwardly. “Hopefully, she’s in a better place now,” I murmured, casting my eyes down and praying that I wouldn’t cry.

Jo seemed to understand almost instantly. He tentatively squeezed my hand and subtly changed the topic.

We talked about random things for a good few minutes. Our topics spanned everything from nice colours, good fashion, to great food and even weirder things like what was the wackiest outfit we’d each ever seen, the best place in the world to lie and stare at the grass and exactly what a sunset represented. We talked about this all in Korean, and apart from Jo pausing here and there to correct my accent and my vocabulary, the banter didn’t stop. From time to time, Jo would laugh at something I’d said, and the sound of his laugh would make me laugh as well. It was just so dopey and cute that I absolutely had to giggle along.

After an hour or two onboard, just as my stomach was starting to grumble, I saw the air hostesses making their way down the aisle with a cart of food. I my lips and waited patiently until it was my turn to be served.

“Bulgogi or ramen?” she inquired politely, a firmly fixed smile on her face.

“Bulgogi,” Jo said immediately, eyeing the parcels of food in the cart.

I sent a questioning glance at him before replying, “Bulgogi.”

The air hostess smiled and passed us two parcels wrapped in tinfoil. They were both warm. I handed one to Jo.

“What would you like to drink?” she asked, flashing another warm smile at us.

I wondered if she ever got tired of doing that. Didn’t it hurt to keep your muscles fixed in that position for so long?

“Um, do you have apple juice?” I asked shyly, returning her smile.

She swiftly gave me this small carton of apple juice. It wasn’t even a cup, more like a little yoghurt bowl – only it had apple juice instead. I studied it from all angles as Jo asked for orange juice.

He got a nice cup – a proper one – into which she poured orange juice. I stared at it enviously. How do you even drink from a yoghurt carton?

As she moved away, I glared at him. “How come you get a nice cup and I get this yoghurt carton?” I asked, faking anger and waving the offensive yoghurt carton of apple juice in his face.

He chuckled, and I had to resist laughter again. I bit my lip instead.

“Here, you want to trade?” he asked, offering me his cup full of orange juice.

My eyes widened. “I was just kidding, it’s alright. I’ll find a way to drink from this – thing.”

Jo’s eyes flashed for a second, and before I knew it, the yoghurt carton was in his hands and he’d dumped the cup of orange juice on my plate. I stared at him.

“Happy now?” he asked, peeling the foil off the top of the carton and taking a sip of apple juice.

I felt uncomfortable that I’d had to make him give up his orange juice. “Mianhae,” I said, bowing to him. “I didn’t mean to make you take my yoghurt carton.”

He laughed again. “No problem. I like apple juice anyway!” and he took another contented sip out of that ridiculous looking carton. I grinned at him.

“Now eat,” he commanded, pointing sternly at my unopened bulgogi plate.

“Yes, sir!” I responded, tearing off the foil.

To my surprise, bulgogi seemed quite normal. It was basically just rice and some sort of curry. But it tasted good. Before I knew it, I’d finished everything.

Jo was laughing away beside me. “So you like Korean food?”

I nodded enthusiastically and took a few sips of orange juice to wash everything down. I’d never expected airline food to be so delicious. Maybe proper Korean food was even better. I decided to ask Jo about it.

“Is normal Korean bulgogi as good as this?”

Jo’s smile widened. “It’s much better!”

“Oh, then I think I’ll survive in Korea just fine!” I replied, feeling a spark of hope.

“Korea is a really nice place. I’m sure you’ll love it there,” Jo told me, his voice becoming deeper as he grew serious. “You have nothing to worry about.”

I just smiled in return.

Jo surprised me with a yawn right then. “I think I’m going to sleep as soon as the hostess clears this up,” he drawled.

The air hostess heard him and smiled kindly down at us. Jo was already almost asleep.

“Sleep well,” she told me.

I nodded, my eyes already closing. Everything somewhat disappeared behind a haze as I cuddled up under my blanket. I couldn’t control my head as it slipped onto Jo’s shoulder. Somehow through the fog I was slipping into, I felt him shift to make me feel more comfortable. His head tilted back, while I fully lost consciousness and went to sleep.

a/n: This is my favourite chapter so far. Thank you for all your support! :)