MISA’S POV

Smiling like no tomorrow daydreaming about your three week vacation ahead you threw another book in your rucksack before your mom barged into your room without knocking. “Misa my dear, breakfast is on the table waiting for you. I need you to eat something before you leave” she informed you calmly. Your mom was always so concerned whether you were eating enough or not. She always made sure you were never leaving the house on an empty stomach. With a startled expression on your face you turned around throwing the rucksack effortlessly over your shoulder not feeling hungry but rather full of excitement. It didn’t matter if you weren’t feeling the need to eat, you were still going to do so not to disappoint your parents by disobeying them in any way. “I was finished anyway” you murmured following your mom out of your room into the kitchen where the word breakfast was an understatement compared to the feast meal that was spread out on the kitchen table in front of you. “Are you excited to visit the uni?” one of your oppa’s grinned swallowing down his breakfast with some lemon flavored green tea. With a big smile plastered on your face you sat yourself at the table serving yourself with not too much food. “Of course I am excited! How can I not be?” Your mom sighed at the sight of the little amount of food on your plate. “Misa you need to eat a little more, you want to starve?” she exclaimed putting twice as much on your plate. Your eyes grew big ready to pop out of their orbits. “Mom?! How can I starve?” you mumbled wondering how you were going to finish all of it. “Eat!” your mom insisted pointing at the plate in front of you. “Hurry, it’ll get cold. You have to leave to the airport in thirty minutes” she reminded you turning back to the stove behind her to stew some more meat. You did as told taking another spoonful of rice forcing yourself to eat as much as you could. You knew she meant well, but why on earth did she prepare so much? As if you were not going to eat while you’re South Korea.

With a full tummy ready to detonate after storing all the food from the plate into your stomach somehow, you were finally finished after twenty minutes. It didn’t leave you much time to brush your teeth, but no matter how, you had to. Rushing yourself up the stairs as far that was even possible since you were feeling paralyzed to move, you quickly brushed your teeth until one of your oppa’s was shouting from down the stairs that it was time for you to leave. Your parents weren’t sure what to think of your long journey to South Korea, but they were feeling somewhat relieved that one of your friends would be there to await you knowing you were not wandering around alone. If it wasn’t for your friend Jamie, your elders would never have allowed you to go. “Please be careful and don’t talk to strangers. I want you back in one piece” your dad murmured with a great amount of concern across his face. “I will call you every day to see how you are doing” your mom added as she held your face between her hand palms as if she was never going to see you again. “Be careful okay?” You gave your mom an assuring nod. “Don’t worry. Believe it or not, I can look out for myself too. I’ll be back before you know it”. It sounded somewhat unrealistic when that left your mouth because in reality you did not plan on fast pacing through your vacation. Yes you were allowed to go because you were invited to one of the best Universities of Seoul, but that didn’t mean you didn’t plan on having at least a little bit of fun. There was no way you were going to waste three weeks sitting in your hotel room playing Uno and counting walls. “Have a safe flight” both your parents added in union before they gave you the biggest hug you had in years and showered you with so many kisses it made you feel uncomfortable. “I’ll call as soon as I land safely in Seoul. Don’t worry” you assured them following your big brother out of the house who was waiting for you in the car starting to become a little impatient. You rushed to the passenger’s seat and got in as you were waved goodbye by two overly worried parents. You were definitely not going to miss that. Well at least not that much.

India really is a crazy place to drive your car you thought as you looked out of the window starting to become somewhat frustrated fearing you were going to miss your flight after all. That was not the reality you wanted. Why out of all days were you stuck in traffic at this hour? As early as seven-thirty in the morning? Just when you let out a sigh knowing it was of no use to stress, an idiotic driver threw his car in front of yours causing you to shift from left to right because your oppa unexpectedly was forced to step on the break. Angrily he pressed the horn feeling somewhat fired up wondering what that idiot was thinking. “Watch where the hell you drive moron!” he cursed effortlessly. He knew cursing was bad, but he was no way going to hold his grudges at this point. That idiot could have gotten you into an accident. You gave your brother a shocked look. Did he really just curse?  Feeling your eyes burning he turned his head. “Just pretend you didn’t hear that” he smirked. “And don’t tell mom. She will slap my brains out” he added causing you to giggle. You didn’t like to curse either and always preferred not to, but sometimes you need to vent your anger and the way your oppa did was rather funny to you. “I promise I won’t tell” you chuckled slightly amused turning on the radio in the hopes it would make time go faster.

After driving for at least two hours you finally made it to the airport, alive! Now you were at the airport it was another challenge to find a parking spot. Today things just weren’t going easy on you and you were sure something else was going to happen. With patience and driving around the parking lot about two times, your brother found a free parking place not too far from the entrance. Filled with excitement you stepped out closing the door. This was it. In three hours you would be up in the air leaving home for three whole weeks. Pretending to be pained, your brother pulled out your suitcase out of the trunk and put it down. “Sis, do you even plan on coming back? Your suitcase is heavy!” he complained closing the trunk. “Oppa! It’s not that heavy?!” you sing-songed trying to swing your suitcase on the cart. He was right, it was. You didn’t remember packing more than was necessary. “Did you bring your whole your wardrobe?” your brother shrugged helping you put the suitcase on the cart like it was as light as a feather. How did guys do that so effortlessly? “I told you it was heavy. Did you put rocks in it?” he teased you short after. You raised your shoulders somewhat stunned yourself. “I don’t know. I just packed the necessary. That’s all” and pushed your glasses back up your nose. “Right” your brother smirked. “Girls are all the same. They all bring too much”. You turned around and frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Aigo you look so cute when you pout” your brother shrugged poking your cheeks. “Let’s go. You’re going to be late” and pushed the cart in front of him while you followed him like a lost puppy.

As expected you found so many tourists lined up ready to check in their luggage to make it to border security on time. It was no surprise you were forced to wait for twenty minutes before it was your turn, but the bigger the relief as soon as you dropped off your suitcase. You no longer had to worry about that, so you prayed. You turned to your brother after you threw your rucksack back on your shoulders. You were going to need it after all since it contained all your entertainment including a book and MP3 player. It was a long flight. “Thank you oppa for driving me here” you smiled pumped with excitement. “Why are you growing up so fast huh? It still feel likes yesterday when I was giving you piggyback rides. What happened to my baby sister?” your brother smiled not sure if he should let you go or not. “I am still your sister! I just grew up” you smiled reminding the tall oppa in front of you. “I’ll be okay. I can totally kick if I need to”. “I know you will. Take care of yourself okay? If anyone dares to harm you, I’ll hunt them down and make them pay for it” your brother added before he gave you the big hug only an oppa would. “Don’t worry oppa. I will call” you assured your worried looking brother whom you knew was having a hard time to let go of his baby sister. “You better. Make memories and take a lot of pictures” your brother added before you slowly made your way to the border the security waving your oppa goodbye after hugging him for the last time.

The second you entirely disappeared from his sight your brother returned home while you found yourself someplace to sit and enjoy an iced tea while you were waiting to board your plane. It gave you such a strange sensation as you watched these planes take off and land. It’s not like you have never been on a plane before, but something about going to Seoul was feeling so different to you. Maybe it was exciting because this could be your new home for a while if you were going to be accepted to the University of your choice that is. Or maybe it was something else you couldn’t quite put your finger on. Despite of feeling a little anxious about being on a plane for so long, you were happy with excitement to see your unni Jamie whom you haven’t seen since the last time she visited you almost two years ago. Time sure does fly. As soon as you saw the announcement on one of the television screens that your flight was ready for boarding you made your way to the gate ending up being more nervous than ever as soon as you made yourself comfortable in the place. At least you tried. Bye India. See you soon! You thought as you looked out of the window. Groggily you opened your eyes yawning like a lion as soon as the flight attendant announced you were landing in Seoul Incheon Airport shortly. Amazed you looked out of the window admiring the beauty from up in the air. It sure looked gorgeous from what you could see. Even though it was just the airport. Pumped as you were excited to see your friend you left the plane with the biggest smile on your face wondering what amazing things were ahead of you this summer. The beautiful things you were going to see. The delicious food you were going to eat. After you successfully collected your luggage you followed the crowd to the exit not knowing that your friend Jamie was waiting for you.

JAMIE’S POV

You were quietly sipping your coffee as you were giving yourself a little time to wake up. It was way too early for your liking since you have only slept a little total of five hours if you were lucky considering you returned from London only eight hours ago. Somehow the thought of vacation gave you comfort as you were finally giving yourself some time to wind down after working three years straight without catching your breath. A job of a choreographer never ends as you usually find yourself swing from one project to the next, but then again, it was your life and you couldn’t imagine life without it. It kept you healthy and in shape while you were traveling the world at the same time and see all these gorgeous countries. In fact you were in Seoul only a few months ago working with girl group 4Minute as you were approached by Universal Music Japan and Cube Entertainment when they were desperately looking for a choreographer for the girls’ music video ‘Crazy’. Of course you took the job but you couldn’t really explore the city as you would have liked. In fact, you spent the biggest amount of time between mirrors in a dancing studio. Nonetheless the more you were thrilled to go back to really see the city’s beauty and get a real taste of their culture.

Once you finished your coffee you noticed it was more than just time to leave, actually, you started to run late for your train if you weren’t going to hurry up just now. “Crap” you cursed as you flew up from your big sofa rushing into the kitchen to rinse the coffee out of the mug you were just drinking from and put it down in the sink. You had everything but time to clean that up just now. In a rush you double checked the windows in all the rooms and the big glass window door to your balcony to see if everything was locked and secure. You might be living on the fifth floor, but that was not a guarantee you could leave your window open just like that. Criminals do crazy things these days. You never know, right? Once you checked all three rooms and closed the doors everywhere you could, you grabbed your leather jacket and pulled the big suitcase behind you out of your apartment locking the door. Just when the elevator reached the fifth floor you realized you forgot your bag. Your handbag! Your phone! “” you murmured parking the suitcase close to a wall in the hallway and walked back into your apartment to look for your bag which seemed nowhere to be found. “Are you kidding me really?” you mumbled going from room to room. It’s not really the first time you didn’t remember where you left your handbag and where you saw it for the last time. Actually, it nearly happened every day. Early stages of Alzheimer’s? You didn’t really know, but you sure were sangtae like that.

After combing your apartment, you finally found your handbag in the bathroom. What the hell was it doing in your bathroom? You must have taken it with you and forgot about it as soon as you left. In a rush you threw it over your shoulder and made another attempt to leave your apartment. Without forgetting anything this time that is. Luckily for you the elevator was still on the fifth floor and could just walk in without waiting another minute or two. You blew out a sigh of relief as soon as the elevator made it to the ground floor and you finally left the building, fifteen minutes later. You always left earlier, because it was better to be prepared to possible delays, but this time you had to pray there wouldn’t be any since you already missed the train you had to catch. Despite of it being summer it still was a little bit chilly when you walked to the train station dragging the suitcase behind you that you decided to throw on your jacket. Maybe it was just too early in the morning. That wasn’t even a maybe, it was early. Fifteen minutes past four to be exact. After walking for ten minutes you finally reached the train station when all you could do is wait for another twenty minutes now, great! For a minute you were considering taking a cab, but just when you decided to, the train was already here. As usual the train ride was pretty boring and lonely since most people were still in their beds sleeping. Anyone who’d be up at this hour and boarded the train were all trashed from a night out. It wasn’t long before you finally reached the airport and made your way to the departure hall to check yourself in and drop off your suitcase that was making your arm numb from pulling. Maybe you weren’t in shape as much as you’d like to think? Once you got rid of your suitcase and made it through border security without any hassle, you found some time to catch your breath and read a book enjoying a bagel with a latte coffee at your favorite place, Starbucks! This was life, you thought as you looked out of the window watching the sun rise. There was something about sun risings in the summer that made you feel happy, really happy. The season where days were long and warm, just how you liked it.

Lost in your book you were startled when a woman’s voice announced that your flight was ready for boarding and that all passengers were expected at the announced gate. You folded your book and slid it back in your handbag not bothered about returning the mug and left. You still had time obviously, but why on earth was this gate all the way on the other side? As soon you found the gate you got in line with all the other passengers that were mostly Korean, ready to board. You sure were relieved as soon as you were sitting back down on your and had a window seat. There was something nerving about planes and people that made you impatient. People were always a little tense it seems. You prepared everything you needed for your flight. A big giant book and a healthy dose of music, what else? After a long flight of nearly fifteen hours and a stopover in France, you finally arrived at Incheon Airport. You were relieved to finally get out because your poor behind was hurting from sitting down. You stretched yourself yawning before you followed the fellow passengers out of the plane. Like a bag of potatoes with no energy you waited for your luggage that seemed to last a lifetime. You watched all suitcase passing by on the luggage belt before your eyes and of course, your suitcase was one of the last until you realized that the luggage was making a second round. ‘What’s wrong with me?’ you murmured in your mind mentally face palming yourself for your own stupidity. You struggled as you pulled the suitcase off the belt until a friendly Korean young man decided to help you. You barely knew any Korean but you learned how to thank someone and you bowed thankfully for the young man helping you. How embarrassing. Even your energy seemed to have left and to even consider you had to drive yourself and your best friend from Incheon to Seoul. “Coffee. I need more coffee” you mumbled as you pulled your suitcase behind you dragging your feet forcing yourself to move desperately looking for a Starbucks. In your dismay, the airport was pretty darn big and nothing like you were used to in Berlin.

Since you arrived earlier than your dearest friend Misa, you checked the arrival boards to see when she was arriving exactly. Awesomeness! Two more hours to kill before she would arrive. Lucky as you were, you found a Starbucks without even really looking for it, but how were you going to entertain yourself the next two hours? You pushed your black framed Dior reading glasses back up your nose and decided to read a little bit more as you were sipping your coffee. The fourth of today. Usually you’d only drink one coffee a day max, but today was an exception. You had to get up early. Your flight was pretty long and you still had to drive for two hours or so. While you were waiting and reading your book like a nerd, you read some Emails you received on your phone and replied to those you could in between. After you finished your coffee you decided to make your way to the arrival gate to wait for your best friend and sat yourself down on one of the benches. No matter how tired you really were from your flight with a lot of turbulence, you couldn’t wait to see your best friend Misa again whom you didn’t see in person for two years now. Quietly you released another sigh when something else caught your attention. Did you hear that right? You were pretty sure you heard a bunch of girls screaming or were you high from your flight? You blinked your eyes wondering where all the fuss was coming from and looked around until your eyes detected a group of screaming teen girls, you think, with camera’s in their hands shooting pictures of whoever was in front of them. You couldn’t see much nor could tell who these ‘celebrities’ were. All you could see was a group of guys surrounded by airport security. You shook your head feeling sorry for them. No incognito arrivals for any kind of celebrity. Somehow these fans always knew the right time and place to meet their idols. You shrugged it off when you noticed the first passengers walking through the gate, meaning your friend has landed. You didn’t see Misa yet. Just a couple of old folks possibly on a retirement journey? Finally, there she was! “Hiii” you cheered welcoming your best friend with a big teddy hug. “Unni?!” your best friend cheered excitedly more than happy to see you too.

NO POV

‘Finally, there she is’ Jamie thought as soon as her best friend Misa followed the grannies and grandpas out of the exit. “Hiii” Jamie cheered excitedly greeting her friend welcoming her with a big teddy hug. “Unni?!” Misa cheered more than happy to see her too. “It’s so good to see you again” Jamie smiled with no ends happy enough that her long flight and the long waiting in general was over. “Gosh it’s been too long hasn’t it?” she chuckled despite it being two years she last saw her best friend that felt like a lifetime. Misa shrugged thinking the exact same thing when she looked at Jamie. “You kidding me?” she started. “Two years is way too long. But the more I am excited for this trip. I still can’t believe my mom approved of me going”. Jamie laughed knowing exactly how worried Misa’s mom could be, but she couldn’t blame her for that. The world was filled with too many crazies. She had all the right reasons to be concerned. “I am so glad she did. There is no way I would have gone on this trip without you”. “Good because I would be really upset and hurt if you did anyways” Misa shrugged pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Just kidding” she continued waving her hands around. “I don’t want to miss the fun. I have a feeling this will be an unforgettable summer” she added resting her hands on the big pink suitcase in front of her. “Definitely” Jamie nodded in agreement. “But please I warn you. Don’t hate me for my clumsiness okay?” she chuckled taking off her leather jacket. It was way too hot despite of the cool breeze the air conditioning was blowing through the airport. “Well then, if you’re ready to go, let’s pick up our car” Jamie cheered trying to remain just excited as she was before all the waiting, but unfortunately for her feeling tired was a little more dominant.

Dragging the suitcases that felt heavier than when they left from home somehow, both Jamie and Misa headed to the rental car shop that was just outside of the exit of the airport on the left. A bell chimed as soon as two amiga’s entered alerting the employee sitting behind the desk looking somewhat startled. “How can I help you?” the man behind the desk wearing a striped sleeveless shirt with a navy blue tie smiled while he straightened himself. “Oh hi” Jamie smiled tucking her hair behind her ear. “I am here to pick up a car I rented for today?” she informed the man placing all the possible reservation papers she had printed out on the counter for him to see. Misa and Jamie both exchanged glares thinking the exact same thing while the young man nervously grabbed the papers and checked everything possible in their database. This guy definitely was not confident at what he was doing. Possibly an intern? “Miss Jamie Parker?” he asked moving his eyes between Misa and Jamie wondering who was who. Jamie raised her hand “Now that must be me” she sing-songed ready to make Misa burst out in laughter, but she managed to hold it in like a champion. “Can I have your passport and driver's license please?” the guy continued looking more nervous than he already did as if he knew you knew he was a newbie and struggling. Jamie nodded digging into her purse looking for her driver's license putting them on the counter. “One moment please” the young smiled nervously sitting back down behind the counter doing the necessary to verify while Misa was playing with her hair twirling it around her index finger out of boredom when Jamie was just staring in front of her daydreaming.

“There you go” the man smiled giving Jamie her documents back along with a sheet of paper with the bill on it that she already paid with her credit card as soon as she booked her trip. “Here’s the key the car. Let me inform you that you can drop this car off at any of our associated locations in the country as soon as you complete your rental”. Jamie nodded that she understood. “I will only need this car today, but thank you” she added trying to make it less awkward for the intern. “Alright. My assistant will guide you to your car that is in our garage at this airport if that is okay?” the man asked while he informed the two of them. Jamie nodded grabbing the car keys and the invoices from the counter while a very good looking young man stepped from behind the counter. Where did he hide himself all this time? Funny and strangely, he was reminding Misa of someone very familiar too but she couldn’t quite put the finger on who exactly. “He looks so familiar” Misa whispered poking Jamie’s arm to get her attention somehow wracking her brain until she finally got it. Jamie gave her best friend a confused look wondering what she was talking about. “Who?” she asked raising her voice a little. Instead of answering at first, Misa gave her friend a ‘duh’ expression as if it was more than obvious. “He looks like Taemin. Don’t you think?” Misa added with a straight face convinced about her findings. Jamie thought it was rather funny and started to laugh. “Misa, really? Can you really even imagine for one second a Taemin working for a car rental shop guiding their customers to their rental cars?” Misa blinked her eyes thinking it over for a second. “Well yes. I mean no! But he really does look like Lee Taemin. Don’t tell me you can’t see any similarity?”. “Here’s your car” the Taemin look-a-like, at least according to Misa, interrupted your conversation as soon as you stopped in front of a dark grey Volkswagen that was an oldie but Goldie. It still looked brand new. “Have a safe trip” the young man flashed a smile confirming her discovery.

Misa was right. “It’s scary how Asians look alike so much sometimes” Jamie agreed while the look-alike walked back to the rental shop and she opened the trunk to store the suitcases. “I told you so” Misa sing-songed as she was helping Jamie out to push the suitcases into the trunk which seemed to be an impossible job. Both were exhausted from their flights and no longer had the energy nor the strength to lift the heavy luggage into the car properly. “Unnie, I am hungry” Misa whined while she was rubbing her tummy. “Can we stop somewhere on our way to eat something?” Jamie closed the trunk and gave her hungry friend a clear nod. “We will. I need something to eat too. I am pretty sure we will find some restaurant or anything on the way. Just let us get out here first. The sooner we are in Seoul, the better. I am really, really bloody tired” she explained unlocking the car ready to step behind the wheel. Misa followed Jamie’s example and stepped into the car and buckled herself in, but she couldn’t stop her tummy from growling. It wasn’t too long ago she had a feast meal for breakfast and some sandwich on the plane, but somehow she felt the need to eat again. Long flights do crazy things to people. Once both Jamie and Misa were settled ready for your adventurous trip, Jamie drove the car out of the garage trying to find her way out. After driving around once she decided to just follow some other cars that lead them out eventually. Once the two amiga’s were on the highway to Seoul, it only took twenty minutes for them to find a small restaurant at the side of the road. Jamie didn’t waste a second and pulled over as soon as she could so the both of them could fill their stomachs that suddenly felt so empty from all the traveling. The people owning the restaurant were so polite and the food was so delicious too. Once both Misa and Jamie had enough fluid and food stored in their bodies to keep them going for the next hours, they stopped at a gas station to throw some more gas in the gar as well as buy a few snacks and bottles of water for when they needed it. Enjoying the beautiful sunny weather both girls were singing along to some of their favorite CNBlue and SHINee songs to kill time while the windows were down and the warm summer breeze was blowing through their hair as they continued their journey to their end destination, Seoul.

It wasn’t long before the car suddenly started to make strange sounds which were mysterious to both Misa and Jamie. That could not be good. Actually, it could only mean one thing: trouble! Why here? Why now? “What’s that noise?” Misa whispered giving her friend a puzzled look thinking the car was going to break down any second and she was not planning on pushing the car forward. Jamie shook her head “I don’t know. It just doesn’t sound good. The question is, where it comes from…” and she couldn’t even finish her sentence when the car started to stutter ready to die any second. Lucky for the girls Jamie managed to drive the car to the side before the engine stopped working. “Are you seriously kidding me just now?” Jamie murmured somewhat shocked it stopped working so suddenly. What kind of car did this company give you? Everything looked just fine when you left Incheon. “Why is it always so much trouble to travel with me? It’s always bad luck” she pouted jumping out of the car. Misa stepped out as well trying to figure out what exactly has happened. “Don’t worry unni, it’s not your fault. This could have happened to anybody” Misa assured her stressing friend Jamie who was releasing multiple sighs finding reasons of why it broke down so suddenly. “Yea I know it’s not. But why are they giving us a car that is not even working properly? Did they even test it themselves? What are they thinking?” Jamie pouted as she started to investigate the car to see if she could see anything unusual or damage, but in her dismay, nothing was visible to her bare eyes. Now what? “I think it is time to call the towing company or something. We can’t stay at the side of the road forever can we?” Misa stated the obvious resting her hands on her hips as she was giving her friend a helpless look while the sun was burning into her skin. “We are so toast!” Jamie pouted kicking the wheel of the vehicle but could have known that that was going to hurt. “Ouch!” “Unni, you shouldn’t have done that” Misa chuckled not able to hold her laugh, but neither could Jamie. She was just laughing at her own stupidity. “Let’s see if we can find some numbers to call” Jamie murmured as she crawled back into the car to fish her phone out of her handbag and started to google for whatever she was going to find, but that was going to take some time because the network was everything but stable right now. Could they be any luckier at this point?