I sat on the cold, hard plastic of the bench. The sounds of  the busy airport filled my ears. As people passed by, I pulled my rolling suitcase closer. I checked my phone for the time, and frowned when I realized I still had about an hour until my plane left. I was going LA to visit my mom.

Suddenly, out of the blue, someone appeared. His face was covered in a mask of sorts, kind of like the ones that doctors wore, but black. His clothes were simple. Since most people in the US don't wear masks like that in airports, I assumed he was from China or something.

He motioned towards the seat next to me, as if asking if it was open, and when I nodded he sat heavily with a sigh. I couldn't see much of his face, but his eyes were tired. Maybe he had been traveling or gotten up early? His hair was a dark brown that parted in the middle. He looked a bit familiar? Maybe because he was Korean? My sister is obsessed with a band from there and I'm forced to look at their pictures all the time. I'd rather listen to music I can actually understand.

I assumed he was also going to LA because he was sitting at the gate. He didn't talk to me much. I kept stealing glances at him, trying to figure out who he looked like. Then, unexpectedly, he turned to me and said something.

Whatever he said was muffled, or in another language. "What?"  I asked.

He repeated what he had said slightly louder. "Hullo." It was hard to understand both because of his mask and because of his heavy accent.

"Hi..." I replied, because I didn't know what else to say.

"Kai in me duh." He looked at me, curiously and half warily. He seemed to think I recognized him.

"What? I don't understand." I was so confused, but now the mask made more sense. He was obviously not from here. Still, that wasn't Chinese he was speaking. Maybe Japanese?

He smiled a relieved smile, and I was even more confused than before. "I am, uh, Jongin," he said slowly.

Oh, that's what he was trying to say. Hmm, Jongin. Definitely foreign.

"Hi, um, I am Emily." I gave an awkward little half-wave. If possible, his smile got even bigger. He then turned away, returning to whatever he was doing before which I think was just staring at people. Apparently, our conversation was over.