The flight went pretty well and I spent most of the trip sleeping. The first class is really comfortable.
When I arrived in South Korea, after collecting my luggage I waited for my manager in a private room.
He stormed into the room.
-What's the matter? I asked
-I didn't expect this, but a lot of fans, journalists and paparazzi are waiting for you outside, he said worriedly.
-Oh, my God, I can't believe it! You told them I was coming back!
-No, I didn't! The information must have leaked out.
I started to worry, I wasn't prepared for this at all. I really didn't want to be noticed, I had planned to go incognito...
Shortly after, two bodyguards came and took me out of the room.
I was immediately greeted by a stream of people shouting from all sides, I couldn't even understand what they were saying, it's been so long since I heard Korean.
Several journalists with microphones and big cameras were present filming my arrival.
Through all the questions I was asked, only one caught my attention, it was a young lady who asked it, she was barely in her twenties and was looking me straight in the eyes, she said these words "Is it true that it is because of you that the ateez group has disbanded?"
This question echoed in my head over and over again. I looked her straight in the eyes, as if daring her to say those words, she caught my gaze and waited so expectantly for me to answer her question, the moment seemed long but actually lasted only a few seconds.
I was jostled by a security guard and consequently looked away from this young lady who had dared to ask the wrong question.
The rest of the way to the car was a blur, I kept hearing this question in my head.
When I arrived at the car that would take me to my hotel, a man came to open the door and invited me to get inside.
I took a deep breath, finally away from all this noise and all these cameras.
I looked at my manager sitting next to me and asked him:
-Where are Woo and Roxanne?
-In the back car, he answered.
I turned around and saw a second black car behind ours.
-It will follow us to the hotel, don't worry.
It's true that my two animals would never fit in the car with the two of us, there's clearly not enough room.
John told me that the hotel was more than an hour away, so I decided to sleep on the way.

***

I huffed with pleasure as I lay on my bed. It was so big and comfortable.
I saw in a corner of the room two animal baskets and realized that Woo and Roxanne still hadn't arrived.
I was a little worried before I decided to take a shower, I felt so dirty, I had to wash myself from this big day. I looked at my phone and saw that it was only nine o'clock, the time difference is really hard to bear.
As soon as I got out of my steamy shower, there was a knock on my door, a hotel employee was standing in front of me with a cage containing Woo and another containing Roxanne. I was really not happy to see my pets in a cage, I made a note in my head to send a message to my manager about it.
After closing the door, I hurried to open their cage. Roxanne immediately jumped on me while Woo calmly went to rest on my bed. His name doesn't suit him that much after all.
I caressed Roxanne all over while she rolled on the floor, she was very happy and I missed her during this long trip. Then I moved away from her, to see Woo who was already sleeping on the couch, poor guy I know he hates long trips, but it hurts my heart to leave him in Los Angeles. I started to pet him gently and he immediately started to purr, he's not a fan of petting or cuddling but I know he really appreciates it when he doesn't feel well or is uncomfortable.
After a little petting session, I grabbed my phone to look at the time, it was ten thirty. A notification arrived on my phone, I opened it immediately and saw that it was my manager who had sent me the schedule of songs for tomorrow night, I quickly opened the pdf file to discover the titles of the songs, I immediately spotted firework, the dance is really complicated I'll have to train not to be behind especially in front of Yunho and Mingi who are now specializing in the dance. I don't want to think about Mingi and even less to see him again.
I quickly sent a message to my manager to let him know that I was going to train, while asking him to call a car to take me to the rehearsal room.
Twenty minutes later a car was waiting for me in front of the hotel, I quickly got out and climbed into the car.
John had told me that the rehearsal building was the same for everyone and that I had a great chance of running into the others, I don't know if you can really call it a chance.
The building was really big and I'm sure the others have other things to do. Am I saying this to make myself feel better? Totally.
I d my way through the hallways, ready to run away in case one of the boys popped out of a room.
I quickly found a rehearsal room, hurried inside and locked it, I really don't want any of the members to get into the room while I'm there.
I opened the list of songs, I have firework, deja vu, wonderland, win, answer and the real to review, it's already a lot in one day since I haven't danced for six months. Moreover, it was written between brackets thanxx and inception, two more to revise, one is never too sure, I don't want to be caught off guard.
I quickly started to dance and was rather surprised to discover that I had a very good muscle memory, I remembered almost every dance without exception.
After having danced them all several times without fail, I allowed myself a pose.
I remembered seeing a food dispenser downstairs, maybe I could grab a protein bar.
As I walked down the stairs to the first floor, I heard a voice I could recognize in a thousand. Wooyoung's voice sounded loud and clear in the stairwell. I listened to see who he was talking to and heard another voice that I knew well, San's voice. Of course, San would have been with Wooyoung, those two are always together.
I hurried out of the stairwell and quickly hid in the first toilet I saw. I closed the door behind me and crossed my fingers that he wouldn't come in that hallway, let alone the bathroom.
After several minutes of waiting, I heard San's voice again and this time Wooyoung's piercing laugh. They passed the toilet and to my delight, they did not enter. I breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from my forehead. I know it's totally ridiculous but I really don't want to deal with them.
I waited another ten minutes or so before finally exiting the bathroom and returning to my training room. I grabbed my bags and hurried out of the building, my protein bar long forgotten.
I didn't bother to call a driver and quickly got into a cab, not wanting to spend another second near that building.
When I saw the building getting farther and farther away, the anxiety that had been building up all of a sudden started to subside.
I looked at my phone, it was four o'clock.
When I arrived at the hotel, I quickly took a shower and lay down on my bed. John will pick me up around six o'clock, so I have time to take a nap to recover from all this emotion. So I let myself fall into the comfort of my bed, Woo who was at the end of my bed, comes to lie right next to me, surely feeling my high stress and anxiety. I allowed myself to caress him gently before closing my eyes and joining the land of dreams.