Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I was in a state of mental panic. I was freaking in. Out was not how I was freaking. After all, the stewardesses only smiled at me when I passed by them. Some thought I looked friendly enough to say "hello" to. Many of the ladies had accents like L. Joe, some maybe even thicker. Others were completely fluent, the voice running smooth in an American accent. The only person that could see that I was terribly stressed was me and I couldn't even look at myself. 

I scrambled to my seat, which happened to be in first class. It was rather amazing. Spacious and crisp, the seats were a uniform white and all were in the reclined position. I had a small television screen to myself with a completely functioning DVD player. I didn't need it but I thought it was pretty cool. My carry-on had my books in it, as well as a few personal hygiene items. I was rather over-the-top and had brought my toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as floss, a hairbrush and deodarant. Soap, shampoo and conditioner... those strange breath mint strips that you only find in gas stations nowadays... I had it all in my carry-on. I also had it in my head to pack a pair of clothes, but that was to make sure there was enough room for my brother's gift in my suitcase. My wallet and passport was in my carry-on, along with my mom's credit card information. She had told me to use it in emergency... I had a hard time classifying what emergency really meant, so I decided to avoid it altogether. 

Now that I was going to Korea, I was rather glad for my strange packing habits. At least, I wasn't completely defenseless there. 

The ride was longer. 13 hours to be exact. I was ready to cry within six hours, sick of my seat. I wanted to roam and explore but I was hesitant. After all, mose of the faces around were Korean. They probably didn't understand a thing in English. That considerably scared me. I read and ate and read some more. I managed to cram all of my books into my carry-on. I was proud of the fact that I balanced a lot better than I did a week earlier. 

I ate a lot of the snacks they gave me. Many of them called me "L. Joe" and told me it was a peculiar name for a girl. I simply smiled and told them there was a mix-up. For some reason, they simply nodded and didn't question anything further. 

By the time I was about to land, I was sure I gained ten pounds. I finished the third book of the House of Night series and finished Twelfth Grade Kills. I gave myself time to mull over each book. Imagining it happening in real life, me as an innocent bystander. A friend of sorts to Vladimir or Zoey. If I was there, I probably would've brought more disaster to the story than needed. 

My mind would drift to the disaster I was in. That was all my doing. My clumsiness, my anxiety, and my simple awkwardness are all factors of terrible news to come. This unspoken tension with Leanne, this unnamed fiasco with L. Joe. I thought it was my crazy romantic mind twisting ideas to my liking but it seemed like it wasn't so. But, a fan's mind could be just as romantically twisted as mine. 

Giving up, I would decide to read another book. 

As soon as I managed to shuffle out of the airplane, I was ready to cry once again. I had no material to start with Korean. I could hardly pick up on some of the sentences and words, much less carry a conversation. I gulped as I walked down the stairs towards the luggage pick-up. I hurried down, hastily searching for some sort of indication of L. Joe. His suitcase had to be around somewhere. I studied the conveyor belt closely, looking at each name tag. 

Thankfully, I found in big, bold letters "이병헌 L.JOE" on a rectangle, black suitcase. I seized it, scarmbling it off of the moving belt. It was heavy and completely threw me off balance. 

Suddenly, a loud yell resonated from one of the people waiting. A young boy, short like me and probably the same age, if not younger. He rushed towards me and tried to yank the suitcase away from me. "Wait! No, no! No!" I yelled back. He had black hair and chubby cheeks. I yanked back, pulling against his cute force. He began to yell in Korean. I shook my head, my hair swaying back and forth. "No! Wait! I know L. Joe! Look! Look!"

The boy was adamant and stubborn, still yelling things in Korean. He didn't stop pulling the suitcase until I let go. He had stumbled back, his bottom landing on the floor. The suitcase fell, too. My chin trembled even though I held it up high. "Look! I know him! His number! Look!" I cried, exasperated but I still tried to sound as simple as I could. I held up my forearm, showing the black markings of his name and cell phone number. 

"L. Joe hyung!" he cried, then spoke more Korean. He grabbed my forearm as his eyes sternly looked at the scrawled numbers. Soft, cute eyes looked back at me then at the number then back at me. I gulped. "You know Korea?" he spoke in a heavy, barely understandable English.

I shook my head. "No Korean. No... hahn-gool. Only English," I told him slowly and, hopefully, clearly. It took him a while to process it then slowly nodded. He called five other boys over, all respectively handsome in their own way. The first thing I noticed about any one of them was the one with humungous lips. They were glorious; I wanted lips just to press them together. They looked that plump and cushion-y. 

The first boy began to converse with the others in Korean. He spoke quickly. One of them had a deep, gravelly voice that sounded like he mumbled a lot. It made me smile loosely; despite it being another language, he spoke a lot like my friend Jolan. After a few minutes, in which I straightened out L. Joe's suitcase and idly held the handle, they looked towards me. Two of them had on bright smiles, the first boy and the one with huge lips. The others looked concerned but still gave a friendly aura. 

"My name's Ricky. I'm good and you?" he spoke, bursting with an exuberance that reminded me of myself. However, the English was off. I smiled brightly, trying to hold  in my laugh. 

"I'm Kari. It's nice to meet you." I held out my hand for him to shake, still clutching L. Joe's suitcase tightly. He looked down at my hand, confused for a moment. That's when I noticed something I didn't catch before. He was absolutely adorable and handsome. He had flawless features, seeming like a porcelian baby doll. It was a warm kind of handsome, the kind that makes you want to smile and cuddle and watch movies. It was different from L. Joe's, whose handsomeness makes you want to melt into a pile of goo and just ogle him with your eyes. That's when he shook my hand excitedly, my hand becoming jelly as he moved it up and down.

I looked towards the others. One gave a half-smile, one of the taller boys. He pointed towards an area where other people are gathering. There were some English words I understood on the signs. "Currency", "language"... however, the English on the signs were strange and fragmented. Non-fluent speakers must've made the signs without consulting help. "Help. Over there."

It wasn't hard to tell that all of them were seriously trying to converse with me and understand what's going on. So I gulped and tried my best to say simply, "L. Joe is in Canada. Small town. Very small. We mixed... mistake. We made a mistake." I was speaking so slowly it got on my nerves, but the slower I spoke, the easier they seemed to get what I was saying. 

"L. Joe... your friend?" one of the blonde boys asked. His face was small and feminine, but still extremely handsome. I idly thought about why Leanne freaked out about them so much. I get it now. I get her spazzes. 

I nodded slowly, tapping my chin once. "Yes... He helped me."

Ricky grinned widely. He then pulled my free hand, dragging me towards the travel centre. "We help! You learn!" I let out a yelp, my eyes wide as I looked towards the other boys. They all chuckled, some of them even shaking their heads. They all muttered things in Korean, agreeing with each other, it seemed. I wondered what they were saying. That's when I decided that Ricky was probably leading me to a dictionary. Which is the first thing I thought of when I got off the plane.