Jackson stares at the Flight arrival and departure board, confused. Her flight number is there, the status says delayed, but it’s been delayed for five hours. And every time he looks at his blank text messages in his phone, his heart races even faster. Whenever he would call, the phone wouldn’t connect, which makes sense if her phone is on airplane mode. But where is she? Where is the entire plane?

He lifts his black hat up to scratch under his head, and then he makes sure his face mask is snug against his face. Gladly, no fans or staff had recognized him so far, but the more he stayed, the more of a possibility he could be found out, and then he’d have to leave. He walks to the information desk to ask the staff, for the millionth time, what was the deal?

The closer he got to the desk, the more he could hear whispers. Two women stood, heads low, whispers sharp. He stood right in front of them as he heard the bad news.

“It’s a plane crash,” she whispers.

“Excuse me!” 

The staff member’s head pops up, eyes wide. She opens and closes it without saying a thing, looking like a fish.  

“What did you say?” Jackson says harshly.

She quickly waves her hands to make him be quiet as she looks around at all the people waiting. “Nothing sir,” She smiles.

“No,” Jackson says, shaking his head. “I heard you. Now this plane has been delayed for five hours now, and no one has told us anything. My friend is on that plane, and I want to know what happened?”

“Sir, as soon as we have information, we will let you know. I promise you.”

“Goddamnit!”

The staff and other people jump up as he slams his hands down on the information desk. He’s too furious to pay attention to all the people staring at him. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials as he walks away.

“Hyung,” he says when his manager answers the phone, “her plane is still not here and no one is telling me what’s going on. I am about to pull off my hat and mask and get someone’s attention until they tell me what's going on.”

“No! No! Don’t do that, his manager says. “Look, I will get some information for you, just hold tight and I’m on my way.”

Jackson hangs up the phone and sits down, elbows on his knees and head hanging low. His heart is beating like crazy and he has this pit of rolling anxiety deep in his stomach. Something’s going on, and he doesn’t like it. 

Minutes tick by, and it feels like hours. Then an hour passes by and it feels like a lifetime for Jackson. 

Suddenly his phone rings, and he answers it without even looking at the number. “Yeoboseyo?”

“Jackson?”

He knows this voice. Instantly he shoots out of his chair and gives a deep bow before he can remember that he can’t see him through the phone. He sits down. “PD-nim,” He says to JYP.

“I found out what’s going on for you, but this favor isn't for free,” says JYP, “You need to make sure you continue to work hard, and you can’t let on to anything going on. That means no media, or fans finding out about you being there. If it gets out that an Idol was near there or that one was on the plane, take responsibility for it.”

“Algetsseumnida (I understand).”

“First, what’s going on with this girl? Is she your girlfriend?”

“Aniyo (no),” Jackson blurts. “Je chinguimnida. Bae-poo (my friend. Best friend).” His chest aches saying that, and he isn’t sure of that anymore. 

JYP sighs. “I allow you to be in a relationship, as long as you tell me, and we can keep it from being a scandal. Let me know if that changes.”

“Ye PD-nim (yes, PD-nim),” Jackson agrees.

“All they could tell me,” JYP explains, “is that there was a fire onboard the plane. They had to take an emergency landing in the pacific ocean near Japan. They’ve sent a rescue boat out to the last known location… I’m told that they’re still doing rescue and recovery.”

Jackson’s stomach flips. “Recovery? As in recovering bodies? Japan? That is two hours out from when her flight was supposed to get here. They’re still doing recovery?” Jackson’s breath comes in and out quickly and he gets light-headed. He sits back down in his seat, images of a wrecked plane swimming in his head. 

“Relax Jackson, breathe. I know it's a dire situation, but you have to remember it takes a while for Korea to negotiate a rescue boat from another country and the time a boat takes to get there. And they have to make sure they have everyone. Okay? We believe that she’s a strong girl and that she’ll make it through. Why don’t you come back to the company and relax?”

Jackson shakes his head over and over. “I can’t. I have to wait here.”

“Jackson, when she comes, she won't be coming to the airport, she’ll come on a boat and have to be taken to the hospital.”

“Then I’ll go there. I’ll go wherever she is, and I’ll wait for her.”

“Okay,” JYP sighs. “Okay. I’ll send a van and other things to make you comfortable. Just… try to stay out of sight. Okay?”

xxx

Three hours. It takes three hours more for her boat to come in and Jackson waits for her to walk through the doors, just like everyone else huddled around waiting to see their loved ones. The worst part for all of them is waiting to see if their loved ones will walk through that door on their own two feet or in a body bag. They hadn’t released the names of the dead yet because they wanted to personally inform the families. But Jackson shivered that there were dead, period.

Slowly, the people that were abroad Chrissy’s flight file in and Jackson’s heart beats wildly, as people burst out crying and hug their loved ones. Every face that he saw was marked with trauma. Bandages covered heads, blood ran down faces, and some were being carried into the building. Some people even walked with their heads down, right through the crowd and off by themselves. They probably didn’t have any family here since they were visiting or there for business. His heart went out to them, but he could only worry about one thing at a time. Jackson was glad he was here for Chrissy.

And there she was. Chrissy, with deep scratches on her face, and blood soaking her entire shirt. She wasn’t looking where she was going, and just limped through the crowd. 

“Chrissy,” Jackson calls out, but she doesn’t look up, just continues to limp. 

The crowd moves out of her way, and she limps forward. Jackson moves in her path, and she bumps into his chest without looking up still. 

“Chrissy,” he whispers.

She puts her arms around him and sobs. Her entire body shakes as she cries into his chest. Jackson’s heart breaks. Her knees buckle and Jackson wraps his arm around her to hold them both up. 

A lot of the people on the flight turn to look at her, and then they gather around her, in all forms of injuries and tears. Jackson looks up over the brim of his heart, to see all of their faces looking at Chrissy. 

A man with dried blood on his face and neck looks at Jackson. “geunyoga aniotttamyon, uri jung hwolssin do maneun saramdeuri jugosseul goeyo. Geunyoga je mokssumeul guhaessoyo (If it wasn’t for her, so much more of us would be dead. She saved my life).”

A little boy runs up and hugs her, and Chrissy just sobs even harder. The man pats Jackson on his shoulder and walks back to his family. A woman covered in black soot comes up. “joneun geunyoege jedaero gamsahal su itttorok gyesok yolrakago sipoyo (I would like to keep in touch with her so I could properly thank her).”

“Jodoyo (me too),” many people say. 

Soon Jackson has a handful of papers with numbers of people who want to reach out to Chrissy when things settle. He just nods as each person says a short thank you to Chrissy, who still has her arms around Jackson and her face in his chest. She’s no longer crying, but she looks exhausted as Jackson looks at her face. She barely smiles at each person who thanks her. 

Finally, only the family of the deceased remains, and Chrissy looks at Jackson, tears still in her eyes. “I couldn’t save them,” she whispers, “I couldn’t save them all.”

Jackson squeezes her to him, and she gasps at the sudden movement and pain.

“Mianhaeyo (I’m sorry),” he bends down to look her in the eyes. “Let’s go home.”