An alarm clock buzzed off in the wee hours of the morning, awaking an all too familiar female with majestic red, curly hair, freshly dyed a few days ago. Meiqi tried her best to flutter her eyes open and put the alarm to a stop, checking the time on her phone after a few taps on the screen. It was 5:15a.m., the dark skies outside adding more to the truth.

Although her flight was scheduled to be five hours later, she was one to rise up early from her deep slumber. Surprisingly, during that hour, her ears caught the sound of notifications entering her phone like wildfire. She sat up on her bed, her legs covered with the fluffy, soft pink blanket Xiao and Xuan Yi gave her on her birthday, and unlocked her phone to allow her to check on the infamous group chat.

Sojung the Great: GIRLS, MEIQI IS ONLINE.
Pretty Dawon: Rise and shine, MeiMei! 
Pocket Girl Luda: We're going to miss you so much! ㅠ_ㅠ
Fab4Ever Soobin: Weekly video calls are a must. ><
Miss Meiqi: Thanks, girls! I'm going to miss you girls too. ;;
Vitamin JuJu: I want to cuddle you for the last time...
Youngster Yeonjung: Me too. It's going to be so different...
It's XiaoXiao: Don't worry. She'll return, beautiful as ever!
Queen Xuan: Don't forget to bring me Korean seaweed! They're love.
Princess Jiyeon: ...What time is it?
Hyunjung the Great Pt. 2: I have no idea... O_O
Cutie Dayoungie: EVERYONE IS AWAKE?!
All-Known Foodie Jinsook: Aren't we supposed to be leaving at 7?
Sojung the Great: We all take a LONG time to prepare...
Hyunjung the Great Pt. 2: I second that.
Hyunjung the Great Pt. 2: Did you just wake up, Meiqi?
Miss Meiqi: Yes. Haha. I have to shower anytime soon.
Miss Meiqi: ...Please don't tell me you girls spent the night sending memes here.
Vitamin JuJu: ...Uh oh.
Queen Xuan: ...WE'RE BUSTED.
All-Known Foodie Jinsook: How did she know...?
Fab4Ever Soobin: Investigator Meiqi on the loose! 
Pocket Girl Luda: She suits it. Imagine her in a detective coat...
Pretty Dawon: Hot.
Pretty Dawon: DAMN IT, I CLICKED SEND.
Youngster Yeonjung: Truth.
Princess Jiyeon: Meiqi is one y queen though. No doubt.
Miss Meiqi: Oh goodness... >_<
Miss Meiqi: I have to go shower now. Meet y'all at 7:30?
It's XiaoXiao: We'll be there! 
Vitamin JuJu: Go go, Meiqi! We'll totally see your hot self. Heh.
Pretty Dawon: Ahem. Juyeon-ah...

Meiqi couldn't help but to burst into a fistful of light chuckles, cheeks reddening due to the lovely compliments given by her closest friends, notifications flooding her screen once again. She never minded it, anyway, as long as she felt like the girls were accompanying her on every step of her journey. Tears started to brim in the corner of her eyes, the longing being too hard to bear.

"Don't cry, Meiqi... It's just twelve months. Stay strong," she comforted herself by whispering lowly under her breath while rising up from her bed. A moment for her to take a few deep breaths was needed, before she grabbed her towel from a nearby rack in the dark and led towards the door, twirling the knob to slowly pull the door open. 

Her eyes caught sight of a familiar picture plastered on her door, which was her with the rest of the twelve girls posing in gleeful poses at a picnic last March, celebrating Luda's birthday, taken with a selfie stick. It just happened to be spring break so, they took the chance to travel to her hometown back in South Korea, had a fun-filled road trip and ended up having a sleepover bash at Sojung's place, getting a big supply of ice cream from Jinsook's ice cream empire, owned by her family. 

Technically, this would be her second trip to the foreign land, but by her own, alone, with no one she ever knew in the past. Still, she remembered their encouraging words, them believing in her, them trusting her despite missing her terribly... and somehow, that meant the world to her. She is Meng Meiqi, and she won't let anything get to her.

She can be the best version of herself out there, right? Only time can tell.

"Tzuyu... Tzuyu-chan, wake up!" A young female with long, wavy brown hair whispered with a shout and began shaking her friend's body, trying to be gentle but ended up being a little bit rough due to the alarmness awakening up inside of her, especially when it was already 6:34a.m. Tzuyu would be leaving on a flight to Seoul later in the afternoon but Sana remembered upon something very important - an alarming problem indeed.

Their major problem here, was that the currently sleeping Tzuyu hadn't finished packing her clothes when it was supposed to be done yesterday but forgotten over multiple games of Monopoly. So, Minatozaki Sana just happened to be there to save miss Chou's life and entire fate, she presumed. Tzuyu shifted slightly in her sleep and continued to have her eyes closed, receiving a sigh from Sana.

"Chou Tzuyu, we have trouble here, young lady."

"T-Trouble? W-What trouble...?" Tzuyu mumbled as a reply, refusing to get up from her slumber whilst holding the blanket close to her chest.

Another sigh was exhaled out of the Japanese female's lips. "You haven't finished packing."

"I thought we already did that last night...?"

"No, you fell asleep on top of the board game at 12a.m. sharp, I cleaned everything up before tucking you in and cuddling you as we slept."

"Oh my gosh!" Tzuyu got up from her bed fast at the moment everything sunk in and rushed towards the switches on the left side of her bedroom door, switching the lights on. Sana immediately squinted her eyes in response but managed to spring into action by walking towards her in full speed and holding out the latter's backpack, which she found underneath a pile of clothes in her wardrobe.

"Here you go, beautiful! Go and put in your clothes there before I shrink myself into a small, cute size and join you!"

"Honestly, I would love that. I really want you to keep me company."

"I know right. I can kiss you better that-" A whack on the shoulder interrupted her speech. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Stop talking about kissing me and help me pack, miss Minatozaki."

"You have the pinkest and most plump lips I have ever seen. How can I- Oww!"

Thus, the two ended up being in a playful fight that occurred from time to time, consisting of light but extremely gentle whacks and pinches on the sides, shoulders and thighs. Of course, Sana took advantage of the situation by trying to kiss the latter on the cheeks but Tzuyu readied herself by covering them with the sleeves of her over-sized sweater.

"We should definitely focus on packing, Sana-chan."

"Alright, alright. We totally should... And sugarplum?"

"Yeah, sweet squirrel?"

Sana took a few deep breaths, trying hard to hide the tears that were slowly rolling down her cheeks and cupped Tzuyu's cheeks with her hands firmly, her stare piercing deeply into the other's soul. She leaned in close and nuzzled her nose with hers, the words rolling out of her tongue making Tzuyu realize on how severe their temporary seperation was going to be.

"I'm going to miss you, times infinity, Chou Tzuyu. Please take good care of yourself, please don't skip your meals and please chat me whenever you can. Be a good girl out there, okay? Also, don't flirt with anyone, unless it's me or someone that matches up to our standards."

The last statement couldn't help but to make them let out a small laugh, but the taller, yet younger one pulled Sana into a big embrace and shed tears with her, having her head rested on hers while trying hard to muffle their cries but to no avail. Tzuyu had now known that travelling to Seoul, South Korea on her own was no easy challenge and a lot had been prepared for her by destiny itself, with that single ticket to the foreign land. 

Anything can change, with just one ticket. Anything that Tzuyu may not possible think of.

Hyunjung was in charge of driving the car Meiqi was currently settled in, it was no surprise at all. Sojung kept her company by telling her on the progress of her next composition, Dayoung, Xiao and Xuan Yi cheered Meiqi up by sharing funny stories they found online over a bag of potato chips, while Yeonjung and Jinsook were listening with full interest, laughing their butts off as well.

Meanwhile, the rest - Jiyeon, Luda, Dawon and Soobin, who coincidentally happened to be neighbours and stayed near to the closest Mc'Donalds building, were waiting for them with their awaiting orders... or possibly, digging into their delicious breakfasts. While making sure she kept her interest in the funny stories, Meiqi remembered upon saying goodbye to her parents earlier.

They had work to settle on so, they trusted Meiqi's group of friends to send her to the airport in the safest way possible. They were trying their hardest not to cry, farewell hugs were shared that early morning as her friends watched behind, not wanting to ruin the solemn moment. The thirteen girls all knew how Meiqi wanted to spend more time with her loving, doting parents, but work - oh, how much Meiqi loathed that word - happened to get in the way, seeing that her parents worked entirely hard to keep her in the college she's currently in.

Meiqi felt bad, really bad but her friends reassured her that it was not her fault. She wasn't at fault. And so, every now and then, her friends came by to keep her company, which is why she can burst into tears just at the mention of the connection she has with them. She is eternally grateful. 

The moment they reached the building, the four already reserving a table outside, the moment squeals and shouts were heard, the moment everything pieced together, was the moment that Meiqi knew she is never going to be alone.

Alone is never a word in her life dictionary, and it will never be. 

Tzuyu was having a hard time finishing her late breakfast after a couple of hours getting everything ready, from her money, clothes, accessories to first aid kits, manuals and hard-copied documents that were kept in top secret files. She felt entirely numb, upon the fact that she wasn't one hundred percent ready for the upcoming trip sinking in, thoughts coming in and out of her blank mind.

Her orbs scanned the kitchen table, as Sana was having an eager conversation with her father and brother, complimenting their pancakes to an extent where she showed two thumbs up in approval, them having their chests swell in pride. Her mother is usually the one in charge of meals whenever she isn't busy and sometimes, Tzuyu helps out, but the two males decided to experiment with food that day.

They questioned Tzuyu on her thoughts about Seoul, with Sana excitedly showing photos that her internet friends, dubbed as "the seven girls who are as supposedly gay as she is", took of, and saying phenomenal Korean phrases, in which Tzuyu easily caught on. The land was beautiful in print, but Tzuyu was more concerned of how it will be like to survive out there, in the real world.

Still, Sana kept reassuring her that her friends will take care of her, since the college she will temporary be in, will be the exact same as hers. With that being said, she had nothing to worry about. Tzuyu couldn't stop having waves of gratefulness for Sana, but the shaking fear inside of her heart was undeniable, despite her always being the courageous Chou. Courage was something she always had, but not now. 

The moment the afternoon skies greeted her, the moment she, her father, brother and Sana entered the convertible, the moment they made sure everything was checked from A to Z, was the moment that Tzuyu realized she was afraid.

A new word had been added into her life dictionary, and she feared it with all her might.

As they looked out of the window, in different countries, having different timezones, personalities and life stories, they had no idea they were going to collide one day, with the help of fate. Seeing airplanes setting off in the blue sky was something familiar indeed, but not the shaky, uneven feeling inside of their hearts. How were they going to cope up with the adventure waiting ahead?

This is when their story begins, kicking off to a whole new start.