'Welcome to Korea' had to be the most exciting words Ava had ever heard. She was so hyped up and excited, she was tearing up. She had to try her hardest not to squeal out loud and embarrass herself.

As the plane started to empty of passengers, she was able to stand up and reach overhead for her carry-on suitcase.

She made her way out of the plane trying to watch where she was going because everyone else seemed to be in a hurry.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to one elderly woman when she accidentally bumped into her.

The woman stared at her for a few moments before nodding her head to her in acknowledgement, but didn't speak.

Was my accent that bad? She cringed at the thought. She sure hoped not because if it was, she was sunk.

Finally, she was out of the plane and inside the airport. She saw a sign directing to where international travelers must have their passports stamped and headed towards the line.

An hour later, she followed everyone else to where she thought the luggage area would be.

Before she got too far, she saw lots of people standing in a line holding up placards with names on them. She looked around for Mr. Jung who had told her he would be there to meet her and take her to the dorm building.

She spotted him and made her way towards him. When she was about ten feet away, he spotted her and broke into a smile.

"Welcome to Korea, Miss Richmond," he said in English, and bowed to her.

She decided to try out her Korean on him. "Thank you," she said and bowed also.

His smile this time was even bigger than before.

So maybe her accent was fine....maybe that woman was just having a bad day or just didn't want to talk. She mentally shrugged.

"Follow me, please," Mr. Jung said, and led her through the crowd.

He led her to the luggage carousels and waited till she spotted her two other suitcases and then grabbed them for her.

Outside, he walked up to a black van that waited at the curb. She had no idea how he was able to park there and not get a ticket but she didn't see any white papers stuck on the windshield like you might see at home.

He opened the side door and she climbed in. He put her luggage in the back and then climbed in up front beside the driver.

She looked around the van and wondered if this was how all the idols felt since vans seemed to be what they usually rode around in.

Thinking of idols brought to mind where she was headed and she broke out in a cold sweat.

She started to have a panic attack. I can't do this! Take me back! she silently screamed. She bit her lip and squeezed the armrest until her fingers hurt. She closed her eyes and tried to take a few silent deep breaths so the two men sitting up front wouldn't hear her and ask her what was wrong.

After a few minutes, she could breathe easier and finally let go of the armrest.

She turned her head and stared out the window. They were passing a lot of tall buildings she was sure she would want to see up close and take pictures of. By the time she went back home she should have enough photos for Travel It Up to be able to do an entire issue just on Seoul.

The thought of her job back home relaxed her and she continued to look around. Everything was so bright and new and exciting.

After an hour of driving, they turned down a quieter street. After a few miles, she saw a large building on her left.

The van slowed and turned in. They drove toward a dark entrance which ended up being an underground parking garage. They entered the garage and went down a couple levels before pulling into a space.

The two men got out. The driver went to the back and took out her luggage while Mr. Jung opened her door and helped her out.

The three made their way toward an elevator and they crammed inside. Her suitcases took up so much space, it didn't leave much for the three adults.

The doors closed and Mr. Jung pressed 15. Her breathing started to get shallow. She had claustrophobia and she couldn't handle being in small spaces. She forced herself to look up and watch the floor numbers light up as the elevator rose.

Finally, after what felt like an hour, 15 lit up and the doors opened. She stepped out first and took a deep breath. Thank God that was over. Any longer and she might've started getting dizzy.

Mr. Jung led the way down the hall. He stopped at 1524 and punched in some numbers into the keypad on the door. He stepped inside and stood holding the door for her to enter. He motioned to some slippers that were sitting on the floor and she hurriedly took off her shoes and slipped them on. Mr. Jung did the same and took her luggage from the driver. The driver left, closing the door behind him.

Ava walked farther inside the apartment. It was fully furnished which was a good thing since she sure hadn't packed furniture. She laughed to herself silently at that thought.

She walked past the living room into the kitchen area. Everything was spotless and there were lots of stainless steel appliances scattered around the room. She wasn't a four-star chef but she could cook well enough. She wouldn't starve while she was here. Of course, she wouldn't starve even if she couldn't cook. She could just go out and get some food from a stand or go to a restaurant.

She left the kitchen and found a bedroom. gaped open in shock. The entire room was decorated in hot pink. Her favorite color.

She spun around and looked to Mr. Jung who had followed her to the doorway with her suitcases.

He chuckled. "That article said hot pink was your favorite color too." He laughed this time while grinning from ear to ear. His smile reminded her of her brother Rhett and just for a second she got homesick again but she forced the feeling back and turned around to look at the room again.

The bed had a hardwood frame in a cherrywood color which she loved. The comforter on the bed was hot pink with tiny embroidered butterflies on it. She fell in love with it immediately.

On the wall facing the bed was a flat screen TV while to the side she saw a closet. Beside the closet door she saw another door and upon opening it, she discovered a bathroom with a shower, also with lots of hot pink touches.

She left the bathroom and went to the window she had seen when she'd first entered the room. It looked out on the back of the building and there was a large green area with benches and a stone path running through it. Scattered here and there were trees and flowering bushes as well as some flowers. The whole thing looked so peaceful she wanted to go out and just laze around.

She heard someone clear their throat and realized Mr. Jung had been waiting on her while she'd been exploring her room.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "Everything is just so beautiful."

"No problem, Miss Rich-"

"Please call me Ava," she interrupted quickly. "No one calls me Miss Richmond."

"Ava then," he agreed. "But only if you call me Minjun oppa."

She stared at him in awe. So his name was Minjun. He had never said what his first name was so she hadn't known. And call him oppa??! She practically squealed but silently of course. Here she was in Korea only a few hours and someone had already asked her to call him oppa!

She bowed slightly to him. "All right, " she smiled a little.

He nodded as if to say that was settled and he was glad.

"Now, " he continued. "Since it is only, " he stopped briefly to glance at his watch, "10:30 A.M, I am sure you are feeling jetlagged and would like some rest. " He glanced at her and saw her nod. "I will go and take care of some things. I will come back at 6:00 and take you to go and meet Monsta X. You all will have dinner together so you all can get acquainted."

"Nae, " she said.

"All right then, " Minjun said and made his way to the door. "Have a good rest."

She followed him out and watched as he opened the door to leave. He suddenly spun back around.

"Oh, yes. The door to your room doesn't have a key, it just has a pin code. The code is 0126. "

"Okay, thank you. " He turned and left and she heard the door click shut.

Now that she was by herself, she was feeling ready to drop from exhaustion.

She made her way to the bedroom and just dropped onto the bed and closed her eyes.

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~


 

Hours later, she awoke and sat up. She freaked out for a second when she remembered Minjun was supposed to come back at 6:00. She looked around and spotted a clock on the stand beside the bed. 4:04. She didn't yet have a phone so she hadn't set an alarm.

She breathed a relieved sigh and got up and went to find something nice to wear from her suitcase.

She realized she hadn't thought to unpack before she went to sleep. Oh, well. Nothing she could do about that now.

She found a white pair of jeans and paired it with a jade green silky top with a tank top underneath. The green top was very thin so she always wore another top below it.

After showering, she fixed her hair. Her hair was a mix with blonde, light brown and some red combined. It hung nearly to her waist and was curly. She loved the curls which she inherited from her dad. Her green eyes came from her mother and she often thought they were her best feature.

She pulled her her hair up into a ponytail. She never wore makeup. She didn't need it. Her complexion was a pretty olive color. It was the only testament to her Native American blood. Everything else- the dark hair, dark eyes- had seemed to fade after the four generations. Of course, her grandmother had not married another Native American and so on.....so really it was a no-brainer why she didn't have more of the characteristics.

She dressed finally and then decided to use some of the extra time to unpack some of her things.

At 5:45 she stopped her unpacking and went and sat on the couch. At exactly 6:00 she heard a knock and went to answer the door.

Minjun stood outside and smiled at her prompt answering of the door.

"Ready? " He was dressed up as well. He wore nicely pressed black pants with a button up long sleeved blue shirt. It complemented his dark hair and pale face perfectly.

"Nae," she said and slipped on her shoes and followed Minjun out the door.

He went back the way they had walked that morning from the elevator. They passed the elevator and continued on. After a couple minutes walk, he stopped at a door. She looked at the number. 1505.

 Minjun knocked and she took a deep breath because she had suddenly gotten lightheaded.

After about ten seconds the door was pulled open. Ava gulped and looked up to see who it was.

Shownu. He stared back without smiling. After a minute of the staring contest, he stepped back and Minjun motioned her to enter first.

There were more slippers by the door that Shownu waved his arm at so she took off her shoes and put a pair on.

Shownu had already walked away so she timidly followed him into what turned out to be the living room.

The room had two large couches and three armchairs scattered around which held the other members.

On the nearest couch, Minhyuk, Wonho and Hyungwon sat together. They stared at her too but didn't seem near as intimidating as Shownu had. They didn't really look welcoming either though.

She quickly bowed and introduced herself in Korean. "Hello, my name is Ava Richmond."

She looked up and caught Shownu's shocked expression. Apparently they hadn't realized she would be able to speak Korean. The shock didn't last long before a smirk crossed his face.

"When were you born?" Shownu asked her in Korean.

"March 4th, 1991, " she responded back, not missing a beat. When the smirk left his face, she chuckled to herself silently. You didn't think I was fluent, did you?

His expression this time was surprised and she knew why. She was a year older than him. Haha, she thought. I'm your noona. You better be respectful.

"Wow! You're our noona! " a voice half-shouted. She turned in the direction where the voice had come from.

Jooheon. He was sitting on the other couch on the other wall, along with Kihyun. He smiled at her so she smiled back.

She laughed lightly. "It seems so."

Jooheon got up and came to stand directly in front of her. He bowed and introduced himself. " Hello! I am Lee Jooheon. "

"Nice to meet you."

Kihyun stood up and introduced himself next. The three on the other couch must've realized they were being beaten in the introduction game because they all stood up as one and bowed together. Shownu finally remembered his manners and did the same.

That was six members. Where was the last one? She glanced around the living room before finally spotting the maknae.

He was sitting in one of the armchairs in the corner and she didn't know how she had missed him because he was looking at her and the glare directed at her was hot enough that she should've had holes in her clothes by now!

~~~~~~~

Yay!! 2nd part is finished!! I hope anyone reading this is liking it. I know it didn't end up having Monsta X in it a lot yet. Sorry :(

Speaking of them......did anyone notice the significance of Ava's pin to her room?? 0126 Changkyun's birthday!! He is my bias

In ten days  I am leaving for KCON NY and I am so happy to be able to go and see BTS and Day6....but now after finding out that Monsta X will be at KCON LA again, I am soooo disappointed because I can't make it to LA this year :(