She was sick of listening the piece. It won’t affect her performance anyway. Maybe she should have bought a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream from Duty Free. She didn’t sleep very well in the last few days and was too lazy to go to the Duty Free since she had to walk to another terminal. Yes, she was that lazy.

Kim Hyuna unplugged her earphone afterwards. She didn’t feel like listening to those piece at the moment. The airplane staff couldn’t give any further details about the departure time from Seoul to Vienna. Well, that’s great. She had to wait for at least an hour. At least.

She looked around her. The airport looked very different from the last time she was there. When was that? She was not a traveller anyway and the only place that she had gone to was Jeju Island. Only Jeju Island and it was a school field trip. That means they had renovation after she went to Jeju Island then. For few minutes, she looked at something in front of her. Something caught her attention. Actually, someone caught her attention. A guy with plain grey shirt sat in front of her looked very attractive. Okay, it was over-exaggerated. He was not as handsome as models in the Cosmopolitan magazine. Not y type but cool-nerdy type, she assumed. He used glasses and hell, his skin is much more paler than her. Is he a vampire or something?

Without thinking twice, she went towards him. She was glad that nobody sat beside him. This is weird, she thought. She didn’t want that guy to think that she is a total freak. She was just… bored. Yes, bored! That is a good reason, right?

“Uh… Hey, nice to meet you. When is your flight?” she asked while giving him her hand for shaking hands. Awkward, much!

He looked at her and smiled, “Nice to meet you too? Flight KE834 going to London at 01.05 AM. How about you?”

It wasn’t really that bad as what she thought. He was a good person. Maybe she couldn’t judge him only because he greeted her too. “Flight KE…229 to Vienna. My flight is delayed. I don’t know what’s worse than that.”

“Having a bad memory about the airport is worse than delays,” he said spontaneously.

She pouted and asked, “You have a bad memory in this airport?”

He didn’t answer directly. He never thought of telling this to someone that he didn’t know. But maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to tell her right? To him, she looked like a very innocent person. “I broke up with my ex-girlfriend in the airport when we both were going to Japan. We were on our way to the gate when suddenly she asked me to break up with her,” he confessed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that—I shouldn’t have said that,” she said quietly.

He didn’t want her to know more than that actually. She was just a stranger. “Let’s not talk about that. It was three years ago anyway. How about you?”

“It must be a bad year for you. You’re still haven’t recover from it, am I right?”

It was very hard to change a topic with women. Geez, he needed to revise his manuscript draft. He murmured, “I guess so.”

She noticed that he had no interest on talking with her. Thus, she looked at the booklet which was on his lap. “MY by Jay Stomp. Jay Stomp? That’s your name? Are you half korean?”

"It’s my pen name. I’m full korean anyway. Jay is from my family’s name which is Jang. The alphabet ‘J’ sounded like Jay. Then Stomp means music with a fast tempo and heavy beat. I love listening to rock and jazz. So I decided to use the name ‘Jay Stomp’ instead of using my real name.”

She nodded. It was pretty cool that he made his own pen name. “So that booklet is… a manuscript draft. You wanted to be a writer, I assume?” she asked.

He nodded. It was odd that she knew about  manuscript draft. All of his friends did not notice that it was a manuscript created by him. People would assume that it was an research essay made by him.

“If you don’t mind, what is your job?"

“I’m still taking my master degree in Korean Linguistics right now. But I have part time job as a private lesson teacher. How about you?”

She pointed at the violin case behind her back. “Actually, I didn’t take music degree for university, I took Sociology and Anthropology instead. But yeah, I’m a violinist too.”

“Let me think. So the reason why you’re going to Vienna right now is… something related to music, then?” he guessed.

“Bingo! I’m participating in a violin competition and the opening ceremony is tomorrow afternoon. I’m hoping that they would not delay the flight until midnight. How about you?”

“Need to go to London because my father is sick and he needed an operation for his heart disease,” he sighed.

“Why didn’t you stay—“ He glared at her and she realized, “Oh, because of your trauma. Isn’t it?”

He nodded. He didn’t want to go to London because he was scared. Yes, scared of facing the reality. He didn’t want to remember anything about that day or her. She was his first girlfriend and his first love. The reason why she wanted to break up with him hurt him a lot more than it was. She cheated on him with his own best friend. Yong Junhyung and Goo Hara. They made a cute couple anyway.

“By the way, can I read your manuscript? Maybe I could help you!” she requested.

“Are you sure? This is not a chicklit story. No romance in the story, actually.” He questioned while handling the manuscript draft to her.

“I’m sure! Are you underestimate me? I got the highest in Korean when I was still a senior high school,” she confessed to him.

He let her read the manuscript although it was embarassing. She was his first reader. He never gave anyone a chance to read his manuscript, even his sister. There was something about her that makes him wanted to trust her. It sounded very weird actually but he didn’t care. She read through the first thirty pages. It was amazing that it only took her twenty minutes to read it. She didn’t fail to make him amazed. She pointed out his mistakes from the plot to his diction.

“Are you sure you’re not a Korean Linguistics student?” he asked suspiciously.

“I told you. Don’t underestimate me because I got the highest in Korean at my school,” she repeated.

He looked at her and smirked, “This is funny. We talk for more than thirty minutes now but we haven’t known each other’s name yet.”

“Kim Hyuna.”

“Jang Hyunseung.”

"I can't stop smilling, I blame you, Hyunseung-sii!" she giggled while wiping out her tears of joy.

He smiled. Speaking with her made him realize that a conversation is so much more than words; a conversation is eyes, smiles and the silences between words. He couldn’t help it but to laugh with her too. He didn’t expect that she was fun to talk with. It was not a bad thing too. They talked about their childhood memories, their family, her journey to become a violinist and his manuscript which already been rejected many times by the publishers.

“Yeah, I’m sorry—“ Then he noticed that the passengers who were going to Austria—The same flight as Kim Hyuna—argued with the airport staffs near their gate. They were complaining about the delays, he guessed.

“Hyuna-sii. What will you do to solve this problem?” he asked her. She looked at the crowds behind her.

“Seriously?”

He didn’t expect her to answer his question with only ‘seriously’. She took her violin case and started to play Michiru Ochima’s Kazabue. This was out of his expection. She looked like she love the piece very much. It was elegant and perfect at the same time. Hyunseung was amazed with her talent. No, she was a prodigy for him.

The passengers looked at her instantly. Of course, who would not be amazed with her smooth performance? She didn’t stop after playing Kazabue. She played another piece which was not familiar for people who watched her performance. He felt melancholy and peaceful at the same time when he heard her playing the violin. It was a weird feeling for him. After she played the violin, the passengers clapped their hands in unison. She bowed politely.

“What was that?” he asked out of curiousity.

“It’s called ‘Unforgettable’. I made it for fun. How was it?” she said cheerfully.

Jang Hyunseung clapped his hands and smiled, “I didn’t know that you are a violin prodigy, Hyuna-sii.”

She chuckled, “You just met me, Hyunseung-sii. I don’t expect you to know that I’m a violin prodigy. Well, I’m not even a prodigy.”

“You’re underestimating yourself. You’re good, believe me.”

They sat on their chair again. People around them were still whispering about her, Kim Hyuna. They were really amazed with her performance. And yet, she was very embarassed for playing the violin in front of the crowds. There were a lot of people went towards her and praised her. It was crazy.

Well. Okay. He didn’t expect to talk with Kim Hyuna for more than… two hours? He checked his watch. 12.25 AM? Two hours had passed and he felt like it was just a minute ago that he was annoyed by her presence.

“This is a final announcement for all passengers travelling to Vienna on flight KE229. Please have your boarding passes and passports ready for boarding. Flight KE229 now boarding at gate 15.”

It was her flight. At last. She put her violin inside the violin case again and told him, “I need to go, Hyunseung-sii. My flight is waiting for me.”

Before she went to the gate, he grabbed her arm. He forced her to take the manuscript draft and said, “Keep this. I want you to have this.”

Her eyes widened. It was his draft, why did he give it to her? She gave the draft back but in return, he sneakily put the draft into her bag. Kim Hyuna sighed and asked, “Why? But it’s important to you, Hyunseung-sii.”

“I still have another hard copy here in my bag,” he said, “Someday if I become a writer, you can tell the world that you know me. Have a safe flight, Hyuna-sii.”

Before she left him for good, she quickly pulled his grey shirt and pressed her lips lightly against his cheek. She smiled at him afterwards. “I can’t give you anything but at least, someday if I become a famous violinist, you can tell the world that I kissed you on the cheek. But please think as a goodbye kiss from me. Have safe flight too, Hyunseung-sii! It was great to talk to you!”

He touched his cheek as she went to her gate. It was the first time that someone kissed his cheek. He could feel his cheek went beet red. Kim Hyuna. He would never forget about her now.

“This is an announcement for all passengers travelling to London on flight KE834. Please have your boarding passes and passports ready for boarding. Flight KE834 now boarding at gate 14.”

It was time for him to leave South Korea, just like her. London and Austria. If only his family were in Austria instead of London, will he able to see her again? Will he be able to talk with her like this again? At the end, he didn’t know the answer to those questions.

[two years later]

She looked at the manuscript draft in front of her. “MY” by Jay Stomp. She still had the draft which he gave to her. The red pen scribbles made her laugh. It was cool to see a writer’s draft. She remembered that his handwriting was neat.

“I bought the novel, Hyuna-sii. Is he a new writer? A lot of people bought this book too.”

She looked at her manager and smiled, “Ahh~ Thank you so much, unnie! Yes, this is his first novel, I guess. What a coincidence that his fansigning event is the same day as my concert.”

Her manager looked at her and asked, “What did you say?”

She smiled to her manager and shook her head. It was useless to tell anyone about their relationship. Okay, nobody would actually care about their love story—Is that even count as a love story?

It was not a coincidence actually. Both of them knew that day was a special day for them. First of December. The day where she met him in the airport. How could she forget?

After she unwrapped the book, she looked at the cover. The design was quite artistic with a blond guy and the tattoo on his forearm. She read the draft before. The story was about a former prisoner’s life after being accused for doing something that he didn’t do. It was because his face looked a like with the real murderer. He spent twenty years in the prison and now, they set him free. ‘MY’ is a story about the main character coping up with the current urban life and learn things that he have never done for the last twenty years. She noticed that the tattoo on his right forearm in the cover indicated that he was a prisoner. It was very interesting to see the point of view from the prisoner itself. She never knew that he was a good writer.

As her manager fixed her hair, she tried to read the book. She was actually nervous. Performing in the café or on the street was not a big deal for a violinist like her. But this was her first real violin recital where she will perform in the real concert hall.

Kim Hyuna never thought of making an album. She would never imagine those kind of opportunity. As a teenager, she was hopeless on becoming a violinist. Of course, she didn’t take a music major in the university and playing the violin was only one of her hobbies. She was grateful that her company let her have the opportunity to make a debut album. Four months after the CEO of the company announced to her about this opportunity, Kim Hyuna created ‘RED’. The album consisted of ten different tracks which she composed by herself. She put her previous work before she made it as a runner-up in an Austrian competition for violinists.

“The recital will start at 6 PM. You still have time to eat lunch though. The makeup can wait then. You need to eat something, Hyuna-sii. You haven’t eat breakfast, have you?” asked her manager.

She shook her head and answered, “I guess I’ll grab something near here then. Thanks, unnie for the hair makeover!”

Her manager smiled and shouted, “Off you go, Hyuna-sii!”

“Come with me then, Unnie!”

She was able to read the book until the last chapter while indulged herself with western food. It was surprisingly good even though she doesn’t like a book with a dark genre like ‘MY’. No wonder it became a best-seller in South Korea. The book was very different from the draft that she had. Jang Hyunseung added unexpected scene in the story. Romance. Yes, he added a new female character as the main character’s love interest. It was déjà vu for her. The main character met up with the female character in the airport. Okay, that was very much déjà vu. She laughed until she made her manager confused.

After having her lunch together with her manager, she let her manager to put makeup on. It wasn’t very hard to make Kim Hyuna looks stunning. Only with a bit touch of makeup could do it. She is naturally a beautiful woman after all.

“Hyuna-sii. It’s time!”

She put the book inside her bag and tried to fix her dress before going to the stage. The staff told her that there were a lot of people who came to her recital although it was still early. Weird, indeed. Who wanted to spend their Sunday evening to watch a newbie’s recital?

She went to the stage along with her violin while the auditions clapped their hands, some of them shouted cheerfully. She took the microphone from one of the staff and bowed. “Thank you very much for attending my first recital. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be here too.”

“As for the first song that I will be playing now. I dedicated it to one person. He was just a stranger that I met two years ago.”

“That day, the flight to Vienna was delayed because of bad weather. I was very angry about that but unexpectedly, I met him in Incheon Airport. I approached him first. Apparently, he hated airport so much because of his past experience. His father was ill so he needs to go to London to visit him. I talked to him for more than two hours. He wanted to become a writer who inspired other people.” She continued.

“Anyway, it wasn’t because of his father or he is a famous writer now. It was because of his ownself. This is embarassing but I think I fell in love at the first sight. I don’t know where he is now but wherever you are, thank you for being with me that day and encouraged me to keep moving forward. This song is for you and it’s called ‘Unforgettable’.”

She began on playing the violin in cantabile—in smooth singing style. As she played the piece, all the memories with him was like a film playing on her mind. She swore to herself not to forget those beautiful memory with him, Jang Hyunseung. Even if it was just two hours conversation or he was only a stranger who she met in the airport, it didn’t matter anyway. The guy called Jang Hyunseung became one of the most important person in her life.

To be honest, she wanted to meet him again. Before the recital started, she cried the moment when she saw the first page of his novel ‘MY’. There was something written and it read: To Kim Hyuna, the violinist which I met in Incheon Airport two years ago on the first of December and became the first reader of ‘MY’. Thank you for talking with me that day. This story is dedicated to you.

After two years, he debuted as one of the best newbie writer in South Korea. The editor-in-chief was very happy about it and suggested a fansigning in Seoul. Hence, Jang Hyunseung’s first fansigning decided to be on the first of December.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of people who came to his fansigning. He never thought that three months after his debut as a writer could make him famous. No, he never expects that his book will be a best-seller. ‘MY’ was not the first novel that he wrote. In fact, he wrote a lot of manuscript draft and ninety percent of them were rejected by every publishers.

“Oppa, please accept my gift for you,” one of the fan said to him, while giving him a CD, “I heard that oppa likes Kim Hyuna’s music from your first interview in K-writers magazine. I hope that you haven’t buy the CD.”

His eyes widened when he looked at the CD. Kim Hyuna’s ‘RED’. It was her first debut album as a violinist. He bought the digital album via iTunes but he didn’t have time to buy the physical album from the music store. He was very busy because of his debut novel. Who would have knew that someone remembers his favorite musician and his inspiration? He thanked his fan for buying him the CD and shook hands with her.

The fansigning event ended with him taking a group picture with his fans. It was a great experience for him. After the MC finished the closing remark of the fansigning, he bowed to the fans and said goodbye to them. In the end of the day, his first fansigning was a success.

He left the place and asked his sister to pick him up. Not more than twenty minutes, a grey Toyota Camry arrived in the lobby. Without any hesitation, he got into the car.

“Oppa, you should have brought the car with you.” Geurim pouted.

Ah, he knew Geurim would say that to him. Years had passed and his sister, Jang Geurim, already had a job. It was a surprise yet also a good news for him and his parents.

“Oppa, can I ask you something?” she asked while driving the car.

“Hmm? What?” he murmured.

“You seem to be okay whenever we are travelling using airplane. What happened?”

“Really? I don’t know.”

He knew what happened to him and why suddenly became very comfortable going to the airport. It was because of her. Who else? Kim Hyuna was the one who changed him.

“I saw your interview in K-writers magazine. Since when did you like classical music?”

“Who knows? Two or three years ago, I guess?” he smirked.

He didn’t like classical music before. It was all because of her. That day when she played her violin in front of the passengers. He only asked for her opinion but instead, she was brave enough to show her talent in front of the world. He didn’t mean for her to play the violin. Of course, he remembered the kiss. It was a good memory for him.

He looked at the CD cover. Kim Hyuna looked beautiful with the tattoo on her back. The black and white theme made her look very elegant too. Is this the same Kim Hyuna that he met in the airport? Damn, she looked gorgeous. He then took the CD off and put it inside the CD player. He switched the song to the third track, ‘Unforgettable’. He smiled. He would never forget who she was nor the song called ‘Unforgettable’. The Kim Hyuna who saved him from living in the past. She was the one who taught him that there are still sweet dreams between nightmares.

That was the first and the last time they met. They knew each other’s names but never exchanged any contact number nor SNS. At the end, she didn’t know what happened to his father while he didn’t know the continuation of her journey becoming a violinist. But both of them knew that they succeeded to achieve their own goals.

They didn’t bother to find each other. They would rather become as the angels, watching over each other from the back. Although they had invisible red thread tied at each other’s finger. To them, they were just two strangers who met in the airport. Jang Hyunseung and Kim Hyuna. This is a story about them and how love at first sight could change them.

end.