Wheein hung her head low as she rhythmically tapped the heel of her feet against the airport floor. She slept for barely 3 hours the previous night and she hated morning flights. However, just when she was about to doze off, a low yet gentle female voice interrupted her soon-to-be-deep-slumber.

“Ms. Jung Wheein?”

Wheein snapped her head up, nodding at the source of the voice – her left – and curled her lips into a small smile.

“Aye, aye, I am.”

Wheein could hear the woman took a step closer to her before a faint string of mint – with a hint of lemon – tickled her nose. She hummed in approval, liking the pleasant scent.

“Apology for my lateness. My name is Moon Byulyi, and I’ll be assisting your needs until your flight takes off. May I see your passport and ticket?”

Wheein immediately scrambled through her handbag, her fingers tracing through the glass surface of her phone, the tangled string of her earphone, before finding the smooth leather of her passport holder. She took it out, stretching her hand toward Byulyi.

“Thank you,” the latter hummed, as Wheein could hear her flipping through the page of her passport. Three seconds passed by before Byulyi handed the passport back, which Wheein carefully put back in her handbag.

“Any baggage?”

Wheein shook her head. Her trip to New York would be a very short one, a wedding invitation from her closest cousin who had threatened to fly all the way to Seoul to strangle her to death if she didn’t show up.

“Alright, we’ll check you in first. You still have 45 minutes left so we don’t need to rush.”

And at that, Byulyi took Wheein’s hand carefully in hers, leading her toward the check-in counter across the airport hall.

Wheein wasn’t sure if she was surprised because it wasn’t lemon – it was citrus – or because of the comfort she found in the palm of the airport staff.

-----

Turned out they had much more than 45 minutes. Wheein and Byulyi sat at a coffee shop right across Wheein’s boarding gate, the announcement had just notified them about a one and a half hour delay. Wheein didn’t complain. She found herself an enjoyable companion and suddenly one and a half hour sounded slightly too brief.

“So you’re a pianist?” Byulyi asked for like, the third time. Wheein had to giggle, sensing the blatant amusement from her tone.

“Yes, Byulyi. I’m a pianist.”

Byulyi was beyond amazed. Probably because she was never a good friend with music instrument, or probably because-

“Is it because I’m blind? So you find it hard to believe?”

Byulyi sipped her latte carefully, feeling the slight guilt at her own thought.

“I don’t mean to offend you,” Byulyi replied apologetically. Two years as an airport staff made her deal with people with disabilities almost on a daily basis. She had met people with no legs, no hands, sometimes with neither, and she figured that majority of them were people with great virtues. People who were courageous enough to step out of their own boundaries to proudly present themselves to the world. People who traveled, with the same dream of exploring the wonders in other places. People who made her feel so little because of how cowardly she was compared to them. A fact that a blind woman played the piano professionally shouldn’t bemuse her anymore.

“Oh you don’t, no worries,” Wheein flashed a smile, waving her hand in the air.

She then cleared , taking a slow sip at her own latte before continuing, “I was on a hiatus for roughly a year, thinking I couldn’t do... this.”

Byulyi’s thumb absent-mindedly traced against the wet rim of the plastic cup, her attention focused on Wheein.

“But then again, what else can I do? All I’ve ever known is music. So yeah, here I am. Again.”

Byulyi curled her lips into a smile. Wheein’s story was all too familiar, hitting close to home, although not quite at the right place. But then again, it was because she wasn’t half as brave as Wheein. Probably would never be. Instead of facing her fear and coming back to the track she was once sure she was destined to be in, Byulyi chose to turn around and walk away, locking herself in her self-made confinement. In her defense, Byulyi had been too comfortable with the dark.

“So are you going to perform in New York?”

“Oh, no.” Wheein quickly shook her head. “I’m going to a cousin’s wedding.”

“But...” Wheein pursed her lips, remembering the promise she had made to her cousin. “He wants me to play in his wedding, so technically yeah, I’m going to perform.”

Byulyi took another sip of the latte as they fell into a comfortable silence.

“I’d love to see you perform someday.”

Wheein was slightly taken aback by the quiet wish Byulyi nonchalantly stated.

“Seoul Arts Center, next Saturday, 7 PM.”

This time, Byulyi was the one who was taken aback. She did not expect Wheein to invite her for real.

“Come if you can,” Wheein continued, a playful tone in her voice.

Byulyi already had the time and venue chanted in her head, making a promise to herself that she would spare one Saturday night for her very first piano concert experience.

-----

Byulyi escorted Wheein until she was safe in her seat, making sure her seatbelt was fastened and informed her there would be another staff in JFK Airport to assist her. Wheein mumbled a “thanks” and smiled. And Byulyi noticed how it reached her eyes.

When the weekend ended and Wheein had her flight back to Korea on Sunday night, she had secretly wished Byulyi would be the one assisting her again. But she wasn’t, because it was Byulyi’s day off and if Byulyi had known Wheein would be back on Sunday, she would probably beg for a change in her shift. And if her coworker asked her what for, she would probably make an excuse about a sudden change of plan, and not about a little fondness that was soon to grow, over a blind stranger she met in the airport.

So, Wheein politely smiled at the airport staff who was escorting her to the taxi and smelled nothing like mint and citrus. While Byulyi was three miles away, marking her calendar on Saturday.

“Seoul Arts Center. 7 PM.” She mumbled.

That night, both of them slept safe and soundly, completely oblivious to the plan Universe had arranged for both of them.