Incheon International Airport, 6:32 PM. A sea of humanity whirs through the main terminal as people navigate their way to the multitude of gates lining the exterior. The sounds and sights of the terminal envelop a young man, complete with a doe-eyed complexion and a confused look on his face, as he tries to find the employee entrance for Korean Air.

“,” he murmured.

He continued walking up and down the main hallway, trying to find the entrance. After running throughout the terminal, he noticed in his peripheral vision a small group of flight attendants touting the same uniform as him walking into a small door at the side of the gate.

    “Perfect.”

    The man ran over to the door and scanned his lanyard into the system, unlocking the door. As he stepped inside, his senses were immediately overwhelmed as he tried to assess his surroundings. A young woman was busily tending the front counter where all of the flight attendants and captains were checking in and receiving their flight schedules for the day. The man, clearly standing out from the groups of young men chatting together, dejectedly made his way to the back of the line and waited for his turn to receive his assignment. A few minutes pass, and the man finally reached the front where the worker was located.

    “Name and ID number?” the woman prodded.

    “A-ah yes. My name is Jung Jaehyun, and my ID number is KA38526” the man stated.

    The woman began to type on her computer and printed out a small pink slip, handing it to Jaehyun.

    “You are on flight 358 heading to Sapporo-Chitose Airport departing at 9:53 PM.”

    Jaehyun nodded. Anticipation immediately set in, as this was his first official day as a flight attendant. He had taken the required training beforehand, so he could know and understand the regulations they must attend to while in the air. Procedures from his training began to swarm through his head as he attempted to remember everything that he had to do while on this flight.

    He was pulled out of his trancelike state upon hearing the woman at the counter begin to talk to him again.

    “I see it’s your first day here,” she said with a chuckle, “everything will be fine. The team that you’ve been assigned to is an amazing group, and I’m sure that they will treat you correctly.”

    Jaehyun blinked. “Wait, I’m assigned to a group? I thought that we rotated to wherever we were needed,” he questioned.

    The woman shook her head. “Currently we’re employing a system where flight attendants and pilots will travel together, so they can form stronger relationships and thus reflect in the way they present themselves and work on the flight.”

    Jaehyun nodded, taking in the information just thrown at him. “When will I get to meet this team? Are they all new like me?”

    “No, you and one other person are the only new flight attendants. Everyone else has had months to years of experience.” The woman noticed that Jaehyun seemed absent-minded and worried. “You will be fine, don’t worry! Like I said earlier, you’re with a good team who will look out for you. I’ll make sure that the head flight attendant will pair you up with a more senior flight attendant that will show you the ropes,” she winked.

    Jaehyun slowly nodded his head.

    “Good, now you will be having your flight briefing at 8:00 in room 32. Don’t be late, okay?”

    “I won’t,” he promised. The woman smiled at him.

    “I hope you have a great first day, Jaehyun! Good luck!” she exclaimed while she handed him the information about the flight. Jaehyun gave her an affirming nod and exited the queueing area.

    Reality began to kick in again as he realized that he was alone. Everyone seemed to know each other, and were chatting away as they waiting for their designated briefings. Jaehyun plopped down in a small recliner in the corner of the room and pulled out his phone, plugging in his headphones to listen to music. He picked out a calming track and put on the headphones, drowning out the wailing of conversations surrounding him.

--

    Jaehyun had never expected to be a flight attendant. Growing up, all he wanted to be was a doctor. He was smart, and had the grades in high school to get into a good university, but due to financial circumstances, college was not an option for him. Even when schools around Korea offered him scholarships to attend their institution, he reluctantly denied the opportunity to attend in favor of helping his parents meet ends need. He knew that if he did not stay, they would eventually go broke and be evicted from their apartment, so upon graduating high school, Jaehyun went right to work, taking on two full time jobs at a cafe and a hotel to keep his family economically alive.

    This continued for a year, with Jaehyun continuing to build resentment to the situation he was put in. He loved his parents to death, but because of their economic needs, Jaehyun was forced to live within a five-mile radius of their apartment. He wanted to see the world, do something real with his life, and working two jobs to meet end’s need was not cutting it. That was why upon hearing that Korean Air was hiring flight attendants, he immediately applied for the position. Having both the benefits of making money for his parents while traveling the world at the expense of his company was something dreamlike for him.

    Fast-forward three months later, numerous interviews and trainings later, and here he was, waiting for his first briefing. His eyes were closed, letting the music take over his mind when he felt the recliner bounce below him, shaking him. He open his eyes, startled, to see a young man sitting inches away from him, eyes wide open and a cheeky smile drawn on his face.

    “Hi! I saw you were on the same flight as me,” he stated while pointing to the flapping pink slip in Jaehyun’s hands, “and I wanted to meet you beforehand! My name is Doyoung, Kim Doyoung! What’s your name?”

    Jaehyun crinkled his nose, taken back by the berating questions and quizzical man in front of him who just woke him up from his slumber.

    “Jaehyun. Jung Jaehyun,” he retorted.

    “Nice to meet you Jaehyun! This is my first flight, I’m super nervous but excited!” Doyoung stammered.

    Jaehyun was taken back. “Wait, you’re new?”

    Doyoung looked back at him quizzically. “Yeah I am, why?” he wondered.

    “Oh, it’s just that our crew only has two new flight attendants, and I guess we found each other,” Jaehyun chuckled. Doyoung flashed his cheeky smile back at him.

    “I guess that’s the case!” Doyoung replied.

    The two of them chatted for a while, discussing how they found the job, their background, and more. Time seemed to fly as they continued to talk, Jaehyun noted, and before they knew it, it was 7:55 PM, five minutes before their scheduled briefing.

    Doyoung was quick to notice this, suggesting that they head over to the briefing room. “We should get there a few minutes early to give off a good first impression!”

    The two scanned their lanyards, opening a door in the back of the room that led to multiple small conference rooms. They located the one with the number 32 printed on it and opened the door. In there waiting for them was a tall man, hunching over the conference table, studying stacks of papers that were scattered around. He looked up at the two of them, before standing fully up and walking over to them with a smile.

    “Look at who we have here! You must be the two new flight attendants,” the tall man retorted.

    Jaehyun nodded. He looked over at Doyoung, who was staring right at the man with a nervous stare.

    “Um, my name is Jaehyun and this is Doyoung,” Jaehyun stated, taking control of the situation, “and we are glad to be apart of this crew.”

    The man smiled back at him. “My name is Youngho, but you can call me Johnny. I’m the head flight attendant for this plane. Any questions or concerns you have can come right to me.”

    The two boys nodded in unison. “Have a seat,” Johnny beckoned, “the other flight attendants and captains should be here soon enough.”

    Minutes passed as the conference room slowly began to be filled with crew members and eventually captains. Once all of the chairs in the conference room were full, one of the captains stood up and headed to the front of the room.

    “Hello guys, and welcome to the briefing for flight 358 with service to Sapporo. As you guys should know by now, this is the crew that you guys will be flying with for the time being, so get friendly with each other,” he said with a wink. “My name is Junmyeon and I will be the captain for this Boeing 777-300 plane. We gathered this group together because you all have talents, seen by your work ethic or your resumes. This plane will be flying all over Asia, Europe, and North America, so we needed the best to man this flight.

    Jaehyun was confused. If that was the case, why was he here?

    Junmyeon continued his monologue. “Since you guys will be flying together for quite some time, let’s get some introductions going. Can everyone go around the room and state their name and how long they’ve been working for Korean Air? We’ll start with you,” he stated while pointing to a man with platinum hair.

    The introductions began, with names whirring around Jaehyun’s head as he tried to remember all of his fellow crew members. There was Taeyong, Hansol, Taeil, wait was it Taemoon? He attempted to recollect all of the names thrown at him when he was suddenly brought out of his thoughts by Junmyeon calling to him.

    “It’s your time to introduce yourself,” he stated.

    Jaehyun looked up. . He was caught looking absent-minded. What a great first impression to the captain. “My name is Jung Jaehyun, and I’m actually new to Korean Air,” he stated.

    People started to murmur and look at him, shocked by the fact that he was new and picked to be on this crew. Nonetheless, the introductions continued until all of the crew was introduced.

    “Great,” Junmyeon stated, “now that that’s done, I’m going to have Johnny assign the flight attendants positions for today’s service. Please note that there will be moderate turbulence around 45 minutes out of the airport, so don’t commence drink and food services until that has passed for the safety of the passengers”.

    Everybody nodded. “Great! Let’s have a great flight guys!” he said while standing up. All of the flight attendants bowed to him as he and the assistant pilots walked out of the door.

    Once they left, Johnny asserted control of the room. “Okay, I’m going to be assigning positions for everyone. Since this is an international flight to Japan, how many of you can speak Japanese?” he questioned. A few raised their hands, including Doyoung.

    “How about English?” Johnny asked. Jaehyun and some other flight attendants raised their hands. Johnny took note of these people, scribbling notes onto a sheet of paper before looking back up to the flight attendants.

    “I am for now pairing you guys up with people who speak Japanese or English to make it easier for you. Once you hear your name called, pair up with your partner and start heading to the plane for inspection and preparation for loading and takeoff.”

    He then began to read off pairs of flight attendants and their assigned positions. Doyoung ending up being paired up with Johnny, much to Doyoung’s surprise, and the other remaining flight attendants soon also began to be paired together. The numbers dwindled until there were only two flight attendants left - Jaehyun and a man across the table, staring right at him.

    “Jaehyun,” Johnny called, “you will be paired up with Yuta servicing seats F through K from row 40 to 49 in Economy.” He set down the clipboard and beckoned Doyoung to follow him out of the room and to the plane.

    Jaehyun stood up and headed to the (incredibly attractive) man, still staring at him. He bowed at him, introducing himself once more. The man in front of him merely continued his gaze at Jaehyun.
    “Well,” he said, “let’s get going.”

--

A/N

Hello guys! I hope you enjoy the first chapter of the story! I'm hoping to flush it out with multiple chapters and an expanding plot! Please look out for it!