Yongguk had never been out of the country before, so he was very excited when Natasha invited him to Yokohama. He thought that his first time flying would be fun and he thought so until he actually boarded the plane.

Then he realized it might just be the worst thing ever.

The good thing was that he was seated beside someone he knew and someone who was willing to hold his hand at that.

So how did that happen?

Yongguk went through customs without a single problem, killed some time scrolling on instagram while waiting to board the plane, and when he stood in the line, he thought he saw someone familiar. He couldn’t quite place it at first and, since he wasn’t a 100% sure, he let it be.
He knew things wouldn’t be good when he was settled in his seat. It seemed to hit him only then that he was essentially trapped in an aluminium cage that was going to be taking him 11 thousand meters into the air.

Yongguk became restless.

And then someone called his name.

It was the person he thought he’d saw in the line and now Yongguk was staring at the man, remembering how they knew each other.
Kim Himchan, a shop assistant at a record store Yongguk liked to visit. They even went out once, before one of Yongguk’s meltdowns where he pushed everyone away. They hadn’t spoken ever since.

And suddenly Yongguk felt even worse.

He glanced at the empty seat beside him.

“This is your seat isn’t it?”

Himchan glanced at his boarding pass. “Yeah, it’s my seat.”

Perfect. Yongguk would spent the next two hours trapped in an aluminium cage, 11 thousand meters in the air next to a person he went out with and blew off.

Perfect.

Thankfully enough, Himchan seemed to have recognized the situation as he was making no effort to start a conversation. He was reading one of the magazines that sat in front of each seat, completely ignoring Yongguk’s existence.
Yongguk was fine with this. Best way to deal with an awkward situation? Ignore it completely.

As take-off commenced, however, Yongguk’s heart started to race. He wasn’t scared of heights, no, but the whole experience was oddly stressful. He was gripping at the armrests, slowly starting to hyperventilate.

That was when Himchan put his magazine down, looking at Yongguk for the first time since they realized they’d be trapped together. Whether it was his uneven breathing or the fact that he was taking up the armrest between them that caught Himchan’s attention, Yongguk couldn’t tell.

But now he had Himchan’s attention which made him feel even more uncomfortable.

“Are you okay?” Himchan asked the simple question with such softness in his voice that Yongguk didn’t feel threatened by his attention anymore.

He returned the look and quickly shook his head.

“First time flying?”

Yongguk nodded.

“Breathe. What do you need?” Himchan spoke in the same gentle tone and Yongguk felt like his trembling wasn’t as bad as a second ago.
The plane started to speed up.

“To be out of here,” Yongguk muttered breathlessly.

“That’s not happening for another two hours,” Himchan reminded. “Breathe. It’s just a second when the plane leaves the ground,” he added, not taking his eyes off of Yongguk.

He felt that second. He felt it like a sting in his gut; his heart stopped for that second and then kept beating too quickly. Because the plane was still tilted and going up, up, up...

Himchan was hesitant, but he decided to take the risk. He carefully inserted his hand under Yongguk’s, detaching it from the armrest. He let Yongguk grip his hand even though it hurt a little.

It took Yongguk a moment to realize what was even happening. And when he did, he looked at Himchan with wide eyes, about to apologize, but Himchan was once again casually skimming through the magazine. Holding Yongguk’s hand.

He decided not to say anything, because despite everything, the touch was comforting.

Time seemed to pass slowly, but it didn’t take Himchan long to finish with all the magazines given and then he just stared out the window, turned away from Yongguk.

At that point Yongguk was no longer shaking, his heart had calmed down just a little, but he was still holding Himchan’s hand.

“I’m sorry I never called,” Yongguk said.

Himchan turned, glanced down at their intertwined hands, then up at Yongguk. “It’s fine. Not that I was expecting anything.”

Yongguk looked away, guilt weighing him down. “I had some... personal reasons for it. If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t call anyone in a while, not just you.”

Himchan’s gaze softened as he finally received an explanation. “That’s fine, really. I just... Well, you just left me hanging. That leaves room for a lot of assumptions.”

“I’m sorry,” Yongguk repeated.

“Water under the bridge,” Himchan said dismissively. His smile seemed genuine enough.

He then switched the subject to the safest topic and one the two of them often discussed – music. They ended up sharing Yongguk’s headphones and falling asleep leaning against each other. Even as they woke up they moved on from the odd proximity of their nap and kept chatting. Himchan often reminded Yongguk to breathe, never letting go of his hand.

When the seatbelt light switched on again, Himchan held Yongguk’s hand a bit tighter.

“It’s going to be a bit rocky, but that’s normal. You’ll feel the drop a few times and it’ll be a jolt when we first hit the ground,” he explained.

Yongguk was getting tense again, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been when it all first started.

Himchan had learned even earlier, when they’d first started talking in the record store that Yongguk wasn’t much of a talker, so he didn’t take the lack of responses to offense. He knew that he needed to distract Yongguk, which his talking was doing a good job at.

“I was thinking... I don’t mean to be too forward, but maybe we could meet up again? If your personal reasons aren’t resolved, I understand. I don’t want to pressure you.”

Yongguk his lips while thinking about it. “I suppose I do owe you that much.”

“You only owed me an explanation,” Himchan said, giving Yongguk’s hand a gentle squeeze. “As I said, no pressure.”

Yongguk played with Himchan’s hand, thinking further about it.

He liked Himchan. He was kind, patient and funny. And on top of all that he had a beautiful smile and was quite handsome. When they’d met on the plane earlier, his only fear was that his past actions would make the encounter horribly awkward. And it had been, in the beginning, but Himchan had managed to get them both over it.

Yongguk decided that going out with him (again) could be nothing but pleasant.

“I’ll call you,” he said at last.

Himchan smiled faintly. “How about this time I call you?”

Yongguk returned the smile, cheeks pink with embarrassment.

They kept chatting and Himchan managed to get Yongguk through the landing without him completely losing it. Himchan let him grip his hand as tightly as he needed, which helped Yongguk greatly.

They got off the plane together and collected their bags together.

“Is anyone picking you up?” Himchan asked.

Yongguk nodded. “My sister. She should be here already. You?”

“My friend, but we’ll meet outside.” He paused. “I’m glad we saw each other again, I really am. I’m glad things were cleared up.”

Yongguk bowed his head. “Again, I’m really sorry about that. But thank you for... today. For helping me. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Himchan then leaned in and gave Yongguk a quick side hug as well as a kiss on the cheek.

Not what he’d expected at all. Yongguk was unable to verbally respond to Himchan’s “see you later” and instead just waved.