Jessica stretched her seat out as far as she could, fluffed up her pillow, and laid down facing Yuri. She studied the cute tomboy’s face while Yuri stared intently at her personal movie screen. She is really cute...and nice too. First the ice cream, now protection from the stupid drunks so I can sleep. Why did I feel all flushed when she stopped my fall earlier? My heart was really racing too. It’s probably because I was so pissed off at that guy…yeah, that’s all it was. Hmm, I wonder why she’s going to Seoul?

Toward the end of the second movie Yuri stood up, stretched her legs and glanced over at Jessica and saw that she was shivering. She grabbed an extra blanket from the overhead bin and placed it over the sleeping girl who immediately stopped shivering and now smiled contently in her sleep. Mr. Goh saw what Yuri had done and felt a little better about the ‘guy’ who had offered to watch over Jessica. Feeling that she was safe, he decided to lie back in his chair and take a nap.

Yuri sat back down and stared at the brown-haired girl as she slept. She is so pretty. Her lips look so soft…I bet they taste like cotton candy. Sleep well, beautiful. Yuri leaned over and was about to caress Jessica’s cheek but stopped herself before her hand met with the sleeping girl’s face. Oh crap! What the hell am I doing? If I touch her, she’ll slap me and kick me, and then have me arrested for being a ert! Oh God, Yuri. What has gotten into you?

After about 9 hours into the flight, Jessica was awakened by the rumbling in her stomach. She looked over and noticed a tray of food on Yuri’s table. She reached over and tapped the tomboy on the arm. “Yuri, how long was I asleep for?"

“For almost 5 movies."

Jessica’s stomach suddenly rumbled loudly which startled the tomboy, causing the hungry girl to blush from embarrassment.

“Sounds like somebody’s hungry." Yuri reached over and pulled out the tray table and placed the food in front of Jessica. "Here you go. I asked the flight attendant to leave a tray for you. I chose the beef. I hope that’s okay. I also got you some water and ginger ale. I’ll go get you some ice.”

“Thank you,” Jessica said gratefully as she dug into the food laid before her not leaving a single crumb behind.

When Jessica finished, she excused herself and went to freshen up in the lavatory. When she returned to her seat she noticed that Yuri’s personal screen was off and her headphones were now plugged into an iPod. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was asleep.

Jessica quietly made her way to her seat trying her best not to disturb Yuri. While looking for her seatbelt she was shocked at what she heard coming from her seatmate's direction. Yuri, eyes still closed, was humming a tune that was very, very familiar to Jessica. The tomboy seemed to only know the lyrics to the chorus and totally butchered the pronunciation of the Korean words.

“My mi, mi, mister, rock this world...Deo dangdanghage neon Mr. Mr...nal bwa…Mr. Mr…geurae baro neo…Nal gaseum ttwige han…Mr. Mr…choegoui namja…Mr. Mr…geuge baro neo…Sangcheoro kkaejin yurijogakdo…Byeori doeneun neo Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr….Nareul bitnaejul…seontaek badeun ja…Geuge baro neo Mr. Mr…1. 2. 3. 4.” Yuri bopped her head back and forth during the dance break while humming the tune of the song that Jessica knew all too well.

Jessica suddenly felt betrayed. She knew who I was this whole time. I wonder what this girl is up to or what she wants from me. She reached over and tugged on Yuri’s arm to get her attention. Yuri removed her headphones and turned to face the pretty girl seated next to her.

Jessica eyed the short-haired girl suspiciously. “No more movies for you, huh? Is that Korean pop music you’re listening to? I recognize the song but for some reason I can’t remember the name of the group who sings it. Do you know their name?”

“Sorry if I was singing too loud. My eyes got tired so I grabbed my iPod. You know…I don’t know who sings it.  I don’t understand any Korean and I don’t think I’m pronouncing the words correctly, but I really like the song. It’s catchy.” Of course, Yuri was completely unaware that Jessica knew the song very well since it was one of her group’s recent hits.

Jessica wasn’t convinced. “Haven’t you seen the music video for it? It’s a pretty popular song in Korea, even in other countries.”

“No, I don’t watch a lot of TV. My cousin who lives in Korea sent me a mixed CD a couple of months ago with a whole bunch of Kpop songs on it. I downloaded the music onto my iPod to get ready for my trip.”

“So you don’t know any Kpop groups?”

“I do know one group…I’m sure you’ve heard of them,” Yuri replied excitedly. “They’re called f(x). They’re my favorite!  I have all of their albums…all autographed too!”

“f(x)? Oh yeah, I’ve heard of them. They’re pretty popular. How did you get autographs from them?” Jessica asked as she continued to grill Yuri.

Yuri paused for a second and remembered the last conversation she had about f(x). About a year ago, the daughter of one the nurses she worked with found out that Amber was her cousin. After that, things got a little crazy. Yuri would find boxes of letters and gifts left on top of her car for Amber. Girls would sometimes wait outside of the hospital to take pictures with her. “There’s Amber Liu’s cousin!” they yelled as they ran after her. When Yuri told her younger cousin about it, Amber just laughed and said, “Welcome to my life, bro. They’re called fangirls.”

Yuri wasn’t sure if Soo Yeon was a fangirl, but she didn’t want to take any chances, so rather than admit that she was Amber’s cousin, she made up another story. “Mmm…my cousin is good friends with...uhh...with Victoria’s cousin,” Yuri stammered.

“Really? My favorite member is Krystal. Who is yours? What’s your favorite song?”

Yuri suddenly felt uneasy. ! Why is this girl interrogating me about f(x)? Maybe she really is a fangirl.

The tomboy bit her lower lip. “Hmmm…Amber! Amber is my favorite. I like her style. Plus, she’s Taiwanese like me. My favorite song is ‘Chu’ but I also like ‘Goodbye Summer’.”

“You don’t like Victoria? She’s very pretty. I read in a magazine that she’s a really sweet girl,” Jessica said as she waited for her seatmate’s response wondering if she really liked the tomboy of the group.

“Victoria is alright. I like Amber more,” Yuri replied confidently.

Jessica surprisingly felt a little disappointed. She likes Amber? I guess she doesn’t like girly girls.

Just then, the fasten seat belt sign came on and there was an announcement overhead.

Saved by the captain, whew! Yuri breathed a sigh of relief. “Looks like we’re going to land soon...I’m gonna go freshen up! Excuse me," she said as she jumped up and walked quickly toward the lavatory.  

Jessica fidgeted in her seat and noticed Yuri’s bag sitting on the floor. She glanced at the bag and saw a small gift inside with a pretty bow. She looked down the aisle to make sure that Yuri was still in the bathroom. Seeing that the coast was clear, she looked at the tag on the gift still unaware that the tomboys were cousins.

To Amber: You’ll always be my favorite Kpop idol! I love you!

“So she really does have a thing for Amber...” Jessica muttered in disbelief.