When Minjoo gets to her seat there’s a child sitting in the seat beside her.

“Hi!” she immediately turns her attention to the older woman, “I’m Jiheon and I’m flying alone today.”

“H-hello…” Minjoo stammers as she takes a seat beside her. Minjoo isn’t sure about what to do with this information, if anything she was hoping for a quiet plane ride. She already had enough on her mind without having to think of the minor sitting beside her.

“I’m going home to see my rabbit Marshmallow.”

Minjoo tries to keep up the pleasantries. She finds out that Jiheon is six and three quarters and she was travelling back to Korea alone to visit her grandmother and also her pet rabbit that they had to leave behind when they moved. She quietens down once the flight attendants begin their demonstrations about the safety procedures. Once it’s over Minjoo notes that Jiheon has been holding onto her wrist tightly whilst taking deep breaths.

“Hey are you ok?” Minjoo leans over to see tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m scared…”

“Hey-hey, what are you scared about?” Minjoo isn’t sure what to do.

“I don’t like flying, I’ve never flown by myself before, I want to go home…” Jiheon’s voice starts increasing in volume and Minjoo panics as she notes wandering eyes land on her. The last thing she wants right now is for someone to think that she was abusing the poor kid when she wasn’t. Quickly she hits the button above her head, calling for the flight attendant who comes rushing over. Minjoo figures she must’ve been looking already considering how fast she reacted.

“Can I help you with anything?” Minjoo reads her name tag, Kim Chaewon.

“I think she’s really nervous,” Minjoo looks at the flight attendant who immediately lowers herself down to meet Jiheon’s eyes and reaches for her hands.

“You’re Jiheon right?” Chaewon asks. The girl nods her head, “It’s your first time flying alone right?” Chaewon asks her a bunch of questions that seem trivial but Jiheon’s not screaming anymore so that’s already enough of an improvement.

Minjoo can feel the anxiety melting off of her now that Chaewon was there taking care of Jiheon.

“It’s fine to be nervous, but you don’t have to be…”

“It’s just all of the things about the oxygen masks falling down, the life vest, I don’t remember what position to get into if something happens to the plane…” the young girl starts going off on a tangent and Minjoo can hear the hysteria in her voice. “What happens if we have to land on the water? I can’t swim! I’m too young to die.”

Minjoo wonders what kind of six year old talks like this. She’s certain that her vocabulary wasn’t as vast nor was her thought processes as developed as a child of that age.

“Flight attendants please get ready for take-off.” The captain's voice crackles through the intercom and Jiheon’s grip on the both of them tightens, small hands curling around their wrists on either side of her.

The plane had been driving around the tarmac getting ready for take off as the other flight attendant moved to their designated seats. Chaewon smiles and sits down in the empty seat to Jiheon’s right and buckles up her seat belt. She reaches out to Jiheon’s head to soothe her. “It’s going to be fine, situations like that rarely ever happen. But if it does you’ll have your life vest on you, and I’ll be there to catch you right at the bottom of the slide.”

“S-slide?”

“Oh yeah! It’s this really cool giant inflatable slide you get to slide down. It’s actually really fun!”

“Have you gone down it before?”

“Of course I have!” Minjoo tenses and Chaewon immediately clarifies, “For training! You have nothing to worry about Jiheon-ah. The pilots are my friends and they’re one of the best we have.”

The plane engine roars louder as it begins to pick up speed on the tarmac which doesn’t go unnoticed by the bright-eyed six year old who starts crying over the sound. “Jiheon-ah it’s ok.” She tries to soothe her but it does little but Minjoo notices how she doesn’t waver as the child cries.

“So what do you do...?”

“Minjoo,” she introduces herself. Jiheon looks over at the other woman and wipes her eyes furiously, “I’m a pianist, I travel the world to perform for some really important people.”

“Who do you perform for? Anyone famous?” Jiheon’s immediately distracted by the thought that the tears cease immediately.

“Not anyone you’d be interested in kiddo.”

“Who’s the most famous person you’ve performed in front of?”

“Well the President for one, last time I pl-”

“What music do you play?” Jiheon’s already bored but of course a six year old wouldn’t care about the President of Korea.

“Uhmm, well anything so long as I have the sheet music but mostly classical.”

“Can you play EXO’s music? I like them!” Jiheon straightens up and looks at her with the roundest eyes.

“What’s your favourite song?”

“Tempo!”

Minjoo scratches her chin, “I’m not sure I know that one. I’m sorry…” she doesn’t miss the disappointment on Jiheon’s face when she breaks it to her.

Maybe she should’ve lied.

“Are you going back to Korea for a performance as well?” Chaewon asks. Minjoo purses her lips and nods her head. “Anyone famous?” the flight attendant maintains eye contact with her, the smile never leaves her face which Minjoo suspects has to do with her training. How can someone be so happy all the time.

“Not telling,” Minjoo winks at Jiheon as she presses a finger to her lips, “It’s a secret.”

“Pwetty pwease!” Jiheon begs and grabs onto Minjoo’s arm. She laughs nervously.

“It’s for my friend who’s getting married.”

“Is she famous?”

“She was pretty famous on our university campus,” Minjoo lets out a snort. The joke goes over Jiheon’s head but isn’t missed by Chaewon. Minjoo clears at the lackluster reaction, “No, she’s not...” her voice trails off, cheeks turning a rosy hue.

“That’s not fun,” Jiheon huffs and crosses her arm this time.

“Tell me about it,” Minjoo leans in and whispers into Jiheon’s ear and nudges her slightly. Jiheon giggles, her grip loosening on both of their hands but still firmly holding onto them.

“She’s so lucky to have such an experienced pianist as you playing at her wedding then.”

It’s not long before they’re in the air and Jiheon’s a lot calmer now that the plane isn’t shaking like it’s going to collapse in on them. The seat belt lights turn off and Minjoo lets out the breath she hadn’t realised she had been holding since take off. Minjoo looks down at the small red prints around her wrist and back over to Chaewon who was leaning closer to Jiheon.

“I’ve got to go to the toilet now!” Jiheon whispers to her, demeanour suddenly different to how she was twenty minutes ago as Chaewon helps her unbuckle her seatbelt.

“Do you need me to accompany you?”

“No, I’m old enough thank you,” Jiheon quickly rushes off leaving Minjoo and Chaewon sitting alone bewildered and laughing.

‘Thank you’ she says to Chaewon but she’s not sure if she hears it over the sound of the plane engine.

+

The hotel that they’ve booked is a grand one.

From what Yujin’s told her, the likes of Song Joongki and Jeon Jihyun have all had their weddings here. Not like she was anyone special though. It’s mostly because Wonyoung came from a wealthy family and her parents were insistent on a grand wedding. Otherwise knowing Yujin she would’ve happily walked into the courthouse and signed a marriage certificate. That or maybe get married at her favourite burger joint.

Minjoo wanders through the giant lobby, observing the sky high ceilings that surrounded her. Her feet echoed in the grand building despite the amount of people in the lobby around her. “Kim Minjoo!” she feels the impact before she can register an appropriate response.

Yujin wraps her arms around her arms, pulling her into a bone crushing hug. “I’ve missed you so much,” she says through gritted teeth whilst lowering her back down onto the floor.

“I think you just reset my spine,” Minjoo laughs and tries to wriggle free from her embrace.

Yujin hasn’t changed much since she’s known her. She’s still got the same round, bright eyes, brilliant smile, except her usual shoulder length hair is now just about halfway down her back. Her fashion sense is still simple - oversized hoodie, skinny leg jeans, black cap and white sneakers to finish off. Still she wouldn’t be Yujin if she didn’t look go no matter what she wore.

Wonyoung is standing behind her, baseball cap covering her eyes but Minjoo can see the wide grin on her face. “Nice to see you again. Glad you could join us,” Wonyoung hugs her warmly, wrapping both arms around her.

“Ah well, when you leave me fifty messages, spam my e-mail and then threaten to physically me here I realised saying yes was the easiest option.”

“You should’ve kept resisting, Wonyoung would’ve sent a private jet to haul your back here.”

Wonyoung snorts, “The things I would do to make this one happy. You don’t understand how adamant she was in making sure that you were here for our special day.”

Yujin nods her head rapidly in agreement, leaning into Wonyoung and taking her hand. Minjoo knows all too well that all it takes is for Yujin to pout or smile and the world bends in favour of her. She can’t imagine Wonyoung being all that different.

“Ah, you shouldn't have…” Minjoo says behind a forced smile and nudges Yujin. Minjoo wants to ask her why she was so adamant in having her there. Why she couldn’t have left her just in her own bubble, far away from here but it’s like Yujin reads her mind.

“What kind of wedding would it be without my best friend?”

“Had to turn down a job in the states for this but how often do your friends get married right?” she mumbles under her breath.

“Alright, alright. We’ll write you a cheque for your time, Miss Kim.” Yujin rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, having heard her remark. “You could at least be more enthusiastic about how much you miss us. It’s been a year at least since we last saw each other.”

“But only a week since we last spoke over the phone,” Minjoo grins which only earns her a slap on the shoulder from Yujin. “I’m just kidding!”

It’s the nerves talking. It’s causing her to speak her mind too candidly, which made her seem quite blunt. To the many that didn’t know her, this can come off as unpleasant to be around. Not Yujin though. She knew by now how Minjoo talked, she understood Minjoo’s intentions. All that mattered was that Minjoo was here for the wedding.

“Yujin-ah, Wonyoung-ah, the minister is here and she wants to talk with you.” They all look up at the older woman Minjoo recognises as Yujin’s mother. She waves to the older woman who smiles curtly back at the familiar face.

“Sorry…” Yujin turns around and reaches for her hand to comfort her but Minjoo pulls away and places her hand on Yujin’s shoulder gently.

“What for? Go get ready for your big day. I’m going to check in and rest up. The flight was a bit crazy.”

“Tell me more about it later, yeah! I’ll come find you, ok?”

Minjoo nods and waves, watching as Yujin chases Wonyoung across the lobby. Yujin loops her arm around Wonyoung’s shoulder and drags her along behind her and they’re running head first like children behind her mother. There’s a flurry of laughter that disappears with Yujin and Wonyoung and it doesn’t take long before the loneliness settles in again.

+

Minjoo settles down in the hotel bar, despite the fact that she hasn't had dinner yet.

The small bowl of olives they serve should suffice if anything. Otherwise it’s hard to muster up an appetite given the circumstances she had found herself in so it was better to just simply drink the night away. Plus you get drunk faster if you haven’t eaten - past experiences have taught her this. She orders a cocktail first - Sakura’s wish - a gin mixed with orange and cherry blossoms.

She stares at the petals floating in the drink floating around the ice as she swirls it with her straw. In a trance Minjoo lets the fatigue of the day consume her. She’s not entirely sure how much time passes when she realises that someone’s talking to her.