It’s the start of a new week. Five weeks in Los Angeles, less than two weeks left until the concert opening and the first time in over a month putting their feet on South Korean ground. Julia is biting her lip when getting off the flight, not sure if she should smile or look worried, if she should be running or be careful of where she put her sandal-graced feet.

Her short hair was re-dyed blonde last week for their photo shoots and schedules, currently lazy falling down her eyes that are protected by a pair of bohemian sunglasses. Her hair and sunglasses works perfectly with the baggy jeans, a loose white tank top and patterned cardigan see-through. The hesitant footsteps speed up when seeing Maria’s long legs carrying her like a flying machine over the floor, as if she can’t get off the plane fast enough. Carolina has done her usual thing by letting her foot get stuck on an edge in the floor, causing her to fly forward a meter before being caught by Manager Park, the groaning manager for suddenly being pushed from behind – meaning Carolina fell on him.

“Thanks,” Carolina sounds relieved to have been saved from falling. Neither one fell on the floor, she seems to think he saved her, while Manager Park only felt someone pushing him.

“Doesn’t it feel like coming home?” Julia asks Emelia as the second long-legged lady is fastening her steps to walk past the pixie blonde one.

“You think?” Emelia’s lip twitches by the thought. “Not really. It’s more that we’re coming back after being away for a long time?”

“Hah, I think it feels like coming home,” Julia says, stuck on her opinion. She smiles when walking backwards, watching Manager Park pick up the bag Carolina dropped on the floor, kindly giving it to the lady whose blouse is as blue as the Pacific Ocean they said goodbye to the other night. “Hey, Carro, doesn’t it feel like coming home?”

Hannah is walking in the very back together with Manager Lim. She is lost in thought trying to remember how these 35 days in Los Angeles could pass by so quickly yet so slowly. It feels like forever since they were at Incheon airport last time yet somehow it doesn’t feel like they have spent that many days in the City of Angels. Without knowing it she is walking with two fingers holding on to Manager Lim’s t-shirt sleeve, to not get lost among the passengers heading through the airport like ants marching through corridors and spaces to reach their destination.

Being in Los Angeles has been a different experience for them all. Manager Lim was sick for a week, Manager Kim was sick for a few days after him, followed by Emelia and Carolina the last days in Los Angeles, but overall the whole experience of spending over a month in a different country practicing for the tour has been full of joy and emotions and in a simple expression; a rollercoaster ride. Hannah isn’t sure what to think of coming back. She has missed Seoul, everyone in it, but now when going through the airport, reading signs in Korean and hearing the different language of their surroundings she isn’t certain if she wants to come back to it yet. What would wait for her in LA, she knows for sure nothing, but what awaits in Seoul seems to be too much for her.

A cold hand is put on her fingers holding on to the sleeve, making Hannah look up to see Manager Lim’s face-expression. He isn’t looking at her but it is his hand firmly taking a hold of hers, holding it against his arm. He looks the brightest he has done all month. For him, he is home. Home where his family is, where his job and relatives all exist. He has been troubled and lost in Los Angeles for many reasons, so in Hannah’s point of view she thinks he finds it to be relieving to be back. Maybe he hopes everyone’s weird behaviour will stay in the city they left, and everything will go back to the insaneness he is used to.

Maria at the front takes a halt nearby the gate, as always. Her trim cutout dress in indigo and a babydoll silhouette makes her look both adorable and fierce in one way, maybe it is how tall her leg looks in the short dress, how she manages to still look great in white sneakers to the simple outfit. She turns around with a bright smile to look at everyone coming after her, other passengers pass by with just a glance at the summer dressed model.

“Can you hear it?” she asks, wrapping her arms around Manager Kim with her head leaned back, smiling. “Can you hear the voices from the other side?”

“Are you dying?” Emelia asks when stopping next to her, she imitates Maria’s way to say; “voices from the other side.”

“ off, pale face,” Maria mutters.

“Watch that language, ladies,” Manager Lim says when joining the small group. “Manager Kim will go first.”

Maria steps up to Hannah while they are told of the usual things to get through the last meters of the airport, slinking through Hannah and Manager Lim to put her right arm around Hannah’s left. Maria is in a great mood, completely different from when they left Los Angeles, her smile is really big.

“We’re going,” Maria tells Hannah as soon as they start moving, her steps are fast to be right behind Manager Kim, to be first out the gate.

Incheon Airport is crowded with arrivals and people waiting for loved ones, friends or colleagues, but the moment Hannah and Maria walks out behind Manager Kim, a cheer of others call their name.

“Oh my,” Maria whispers, even she is slightly taken back when seeing the cheering fans rushing forward from the corners, stopping on a distance but making enough noise and taken up enough space that others are quickly troubled by what is going on.

“MARIA!” a strong female voice roars above the others, then shouts out; “HANNAH! AAAH!”

Maria is smiling again, waving her hand in front of Hannah to those on their right. Screams are answering her waving and Maria leans closer to Hannah.

“Who would’ve guessed this could happen,” she comments, “in Korea, you know.”

“Not me,” Hannah mumbles, looking at Manager Kim’s back or legs to make sure she knows where to go.

“I mean, a few fans maybe, because we’ve been gone for so long, you know, but this much… Hi!” Maria greets some fans on the left, those that have approached a bit too close in hope to be able to hand over the bags of gifts they are holding out.

Just as Maria is about to accept one of the bags, Manager Park appears behind them to grab her wrist, making her miss the opportunity to grab the gift in the walking pace. Hannah missed it all, all she feels is Maria letting go of her arm. Maria gives Manager Park a glare before slinking past behind him, she smiles to the fans and apologizes before accepting the gift, asking if it’s for her.

“This is for you, this is for Hannah, please give it to her, you’re beautiful.” The fangirl is speaking quickly to get out everything she has to say before Maria leaves. Maria gives her another wave, waving to other fans screaming and wanting to get noticed too.

Manager Park is biting together the anger that she once again disobeyed him, but he keeps quiet about it now when Maria steps up to Hannah who had slowed her pace to not walk alone in the crowd. Maria joins up with her for them to walk together again, handing Hannah one of the gifts.

“Can you believe he just did that?” Maria mutters to Hannah.

Hannah doesn’t answer, she looks lightly in the gift bag she was given but she became off-guard when Maria had suddenly left her side, she wasn’t prepared for it, to be left alone in the crowd she hasn’t been in for over a month. She is engaged now, she has no idea how her Korean fans are reacting to it – or Korean antis. To have Maria’s arm linked with hers again, Hannah feels safe yet she is still a bit unstable, holding on a bit harder to Maria’s arm for her to not let go again. Not until they are outside.

With the ladies wearing dresses and summer outfits, Hannah’s late summer style is distressed loose jeans rolled up by the ankles and a short-sleeve star print t-shirt in white, her sneakers are outworn compared to the shiny new white sneakers Maria wears but Hannah’s are more comfortable, she is certain of it.

Stepping outside to face the humid late summer warmth with the sun shining through the clouds in the sky, it’s like stepping back into reality. The air should be the same as in LA, the degrees are pretty much the same too, yet it feels different here. Hannah feels it, and looking at Maria, she feels it to.

“Welcome back,” a fangirl leans out to say next to Maria, smiling up at the two ladies.

“Thank you!” Maria says, her voice a bit too loud but just because of that Hannah starts to smile.

“Do not yell at her,” Hannah jokes and Maria smiles back at her.

“I’m not yelling, I’m thanking,” she corrects the youngest, hearing the fans around them scream a bit over their conversation before the leader turning to the fangirl. “It’s great to be back, right?”

“You are still yelling,” Hannah quietly points out. A male fan on her right is holding his phone up, taking pictures or filming, but he laughs at Hannah’s words while Maria, on the other hand, turns to Hannah and raises her eyebrow.

“Then I’ll be yelling out of joy, baby,” Maria says and makes a grimace when trying to pretend she gets upset but that smile goes by it.

“Ladies,” Manager Kim turns around in front of them, holding out her arm for them to walk past her.

As they reach the van, Hannah’s pocket starts to vibrate. She takes out the phone while Maria jumps in and she reads on the display that it is a person she has not talked to in weeks.

“Maria,” Hannah whines when getting in the van, showing Maria the phone while getting in the seat behind her. “What should I do?”

The answer Maria gives is a sweep on the display and she bursts out;

“WASSUP PRETTY BOY!”

“Maria!” Hannah shouts and grabs the phone, hitting Maria on the shoulder with her other arm before leaning back with a laugh, putting the phone to her ear. The slide-door is wide open for the others to come inside, meaning someone might’ve heard Maria burst those words out.

In her ear she can hear the lovely laugh of an old friend probably enjoying Maria’s loud greeting better than any greeting Hannah could ever give.

“Wassup pretty girl!” FT Island’s Lee Honggi laughs on the line, hearing his voice is like a choir in church. “Are you in Seoul now, are you back?”

“We’re about to leave the airport,” Hannah answers, grimacing when Maria turns around in her seat to look at her.

“Is he coming to the concert? Ask him if he wants to come to the concert,” Maria whispers, patting the backseat. She glances to the side when Julia comes in. “Tell him to come, Hannah.”

“Maria wants to know if you want to come to our concert in two weeks,” Hannah mentions on the phone, leaning towards the window to hear him and not the ladies taking their seats.

“Ah, so it’s Maria who wants me to come?” he asks in an amused tone.

35 days in Los Angeles, maybe 40 days since she last spoke to Honggi, but indeed, his voice is great to listen to. “I want you to come, you’re invited, so … come if you want,” Hannah tells him, glancing at Carolina who sits down next to her in the back.

“I’ll come, I promise. But I’m not calling about the concert – it’s been ages since we saw each other-”

“We saw each other last month,” Hannah laughs.

“Are you busy tonight?”

“Um…” Hannah says before putting the phone to her chest to ask those in the van; “Am I busy tonight?”

“No,” Maria answers.

“You have practice,” Manager Park says before he closes the slide door.

Five ladies gapes at him.

“We are NOT working today,” Emelia comments and looks at Manager Lim at the passenger seat in front of her. “Tell me he’s kidding?”

“He is not joking,” Manager Lim answers, “We’re going to see Yong Hyun now then you’re going home before there is practice at the agency.”

“He is joking,” Emelia nods, not liking the answer.

Hannah turns back to the phone call. “I can’t tonight. What about tomorrow?”

“I can’t tomorrow…” Honggi sounds like he is pouting.

“Um… Can you meet late tonight then? I don’t know when I’m done-”

“Call me anytime and I’ll come,” Honggi interrupts her, “I got to go now but definitely call me, alright?”

“I’ll call,” Hannah answers.

Hanging up, she looks at the phone. She is impressed he called just now. Her phone is always off when flying, she turns it back on after landing so maybe he has been calling a few times without getting through or he just has the best timing.

“Was it Jonghyun?” Carolina quietly asks, moving against Hannah’s arm as if a romantic call was just made. Hannah looks surprised though.

“No…”

“It was Honggi,” Maria is fast to say, shining brightly. “You’re meeting him tonight?”

Hannah nods, biting her lip as she checks her phone, seeing she has received a few text messages.

“You’re not meeting Jonghyun then? Your fiancé.” Emelia chuckles at her own words.

“He’s working,” Hannah answers. She has talked to him already, not after landing so she writes him a text to let him know they have landed; she talked to him earlier in the week.

It’s enough about boys, as the ladies are more interested in their schedule, why are they working when they are finally back home?

It doesn’t matter what they say or for how long they argue during the drive to Seoul, in the end they get off at Yong Hyun’s studio, the stylist who came back to Korea yesterday.

For three hours they are in the garage he uses as studio, a place full of clothes and a place they for three hours try on the results of 35 days in Los Angeles and a year of planning. After three hours, Hannah is sitting on the floor in the corner of a dressing-room. It’s more of a shower based on the walls and floor with a curtain covering it, and it is also the only space where she can be on the phone without being interrupted by anyone. They use it as a phone booth, a fun joke between them unless they step outside to call. She had tried to call Jonghyun, but he didn’t pick up – he hasn’t answered in two hours – but Kyungho kindly answered her call and seemed overjoyed to hear from her.

Now she sits quietly in the corner, wearing her own clothes and her eyelids have fallen. She is tired on trying clothes, she was tired after the first twenty minutes of it and now she is waiting for the others to be done so they can go to the next thing.

After being away all these weeks they still haven’t been home, they haven’t met their pets or Julia’s mom or even seen if the house is still standing. Hannah wants to go home and cuddle with her kitten Tiger, she is reconsidering meeting Honggi because she is tired but she knows she wants to meet him.

“Give me a smile, cry-baby,” Emelia chuckles.

Out of nowhere she is squatting down next to the curtain, Hannah hadn’t noticed her come but she does hear the clicking of the camera.

“What are you doing?” Hannah whines and holds up her hands to cover her tired face.

“I’m staying awake, what else? You understand that we have practice after this, right? Unbelievable. Now smile to the camera or I’ll upload it on the blog. Come on, come on.”

Hannah puts down her hands, she is sitting tailor, and she gives her silliest smile with closed eyes and the corners of is pulled widely to obey Emelia’s command. Emelia chuckles but takes the picture before she crawls in to sit next to Hannah. A bit too close, but Emelia leans on Hannah and shows the picture she took.

“Bill called,” Emelia mentions, quickly going through the pictures she has been taking the past few days. Hannah nods, she heard Emelia being on the phone earlier. “He said he misses me.”

The smile in her voice is cute, she misses him too. They have met a few times during the last two weeks in Los Angeles, mostly night dates without anyone knowing (meaning their whole crew knew) and they have apparently decided to stay in touch, whether it is through dating or just friends Hannah hasn’t understood.

“He said he wants to meet me next time I’m in Los Angeles,” Emelia continues to say, “Which is in the end of October, I told him, so he’s waiting for me to call once I’m back there.”

“He’s coming to the concert?” Hannah mumbles.

“The one in LA; he said he’ll come, he already have tickets.” She giggles. Emelia giggles. It makes Hannah smile, happy for her friend.

“YA!” Maria’s voice is heard from somewhere else. “LET’S GET GOING!”

“Yes, finally,” Emelia groans and is getting up on her feet with the big camera in one hand. “They better let us eat something. That poor salad did nothing for me.”

They head to the agency for a roundup meeting with some of the crew to go through what has been decided abroad, when sitting down the ladies have brought McDonald’s with them, they have bought it for everyone so it’s fair for everyone to eat during the meeting. They go through the music, the current set list, the outfits they are thinking of and have just tried, things they have filmed, everything that has to do about the world tour.

It would be easy to let it go with that, after a few hours on the meeting to clear everything up and to know what they will have to do for the upcoming two weeks. It’s a long meeting, it is longer than three hours and it is indeed the worst way to spend an evening after spending over 13 hours on a plane, three hours trying clothes and currently four hours at a meeting. It is a lot to go through and since the concert is only two weeks (less than two weeks) away, there is a lot to go through. The current set list isn’t even done. It feels like being back at the start of the summer when preparing the arena tour in Japan, when only days were left before the opening concert and they still hadn’t decided on the set list. For some reason they are more relaxed now, they ladies are, or they are too tired from travelling that they just want to head home and sleep in their own bed.

“At least we’re getting to sleep in tomorrow,” Maria points out when washing her hands in the bathroom during the last toilet break. It’s after ten in the evening, making them all yawn every half minute.

Hannah nods, already done but waiting for Maria to finish up. She is standing with her phone again, texting Honggi. She has finally talked to Jonghyun too, who called during the meeting a few hours ago so she called back during a break. Now she is texting Honggi to tell him that her meeting doesn’t end as late as she thought. She has kept thinking of cancelling to meet up with him tonight because she do want to go home, to sleep in her bed, to cuddle with Tiger and all their other pets, to just be home for a bit, but she hasn’t had the heart to change the plans with him so she has decided to go anyway.

“I must admit it felt weird coming home,” Maria continues to say, drying her hands and checking her mirror-reflection. “But that feeling went away pretty fast, right? Because we jump straight into work like always it’s like no possible way to feel weird… I’m still a bit off from the flight, I admit, so if I don’t remember tonight’s meeting they can’t really blame me.”

The youngest nods in agreement, putting away her phone when they leave the bathroom.

“Anna wants to meet up, by the way,” Maria suddenly mentions and throws her hand on Hannah’s arm. “She is coming back from Japan on … well, this week someday: I told her she can come along to the party we’re having on Friday to celebrate Pete and Daekyon’s birthdays, it will be fun.”

“She is underage though,” Hannah mentions.

“Right… It can’t be that fun then,” Maria remembers and grimaces a bit. “We can eat dinner or whatever then, who cares what we do, right? I just want to see her pretty little face and hear how she is doing. I heard from Taemin that she mentioned us in an interview with some Japanese magazine saying that she feels the closest to you and me because we can communicate the easiest.”

“The easiest,” Hannah smiles and Maria nods.

“Mixing a bunch of languages and still understanding each other,” Maria explains the meaning of it. She seems amused by it. “I find it cute.”

It is cute, Hannah admits. Ana is their junior and like a little sister to the whole SM Town family, she is a strong young girl who is probably one of