Jieun’s POV

            My hands clenched my passport anxiously as I waited at the airport. I didn’t have an with me because I was sick of being swamped with work-related questions. The entire visit here was anything but a vacation, and shortly after coming here I regretted it. Despite my annoyance with work-related problems, I couldn’t fight the disturbance I felt as I sat here, waiting. Just a few days ago, there was a terrible airplane accident, and it happened to the flight I was originally scheduled for. My mind couldn’t wrap around the fact that I had just meekly avoided death. Still, the idea that I was so close terrifies me. I needed to get the word out that I was okay, but Yongguk’s cellphone had problems receiving long distance calls. After one ring the signal would just drop. All week I’ve been getting phone calls from various company officials and affiliates about my safety, but nothing from my dad. On the day of the accident, he didn’t even call to make sure I was alright. Perhaps he wished that I had died back then. Perhaps he’d rather have me dead than living a happy life apart from his ideals.

            I felt my cellphone in my pocket, not bothering to pull it out. The battery was running low so I turned it off. I was trying to enjoy a short break from rapid phone calls, yet, despite the silence in the waiting area, I didn’t feel peace. I could only assume that somehow, word had got out to Yongguk that I was fine so that he wouldn’t do anything rash, but that was something I could only hope. Many people in the company outside of the Vancouver chain don’t even know of his existence, let alone contact him about things such as these. I wanted the plane to come faster so that I could get back.

            Waiting here, with nothing to do but ponder my own thoughts, I began to think about the people who had been on that fatal flight—the innocent people who unjustly lost their lives. I should have been one of them. Was it just luck that I wasn’t? It was a regular flight, nothing A class, and there were kids and seniors who were coming back from visiting family. They parted ways without knowing that it would be their last goodbyes. I’d already cried my tears dry the day of that disaster, yet now I felt my eyes wetting with new tears.

            During my stay at the chain in Melbourne, I got to meet with a few guests who were waiting in the lobby or signing in. There was a young girl with her grandma waiting by the front doors, looking out for what I assumed to be a taxi, so I decided to say hi and ask about their stay. The two of them were lovely people who beamed with appreciation for life and family. I discovered that they too, came from Vancouver and were leaving back home that day—the same day I was scheduled to leave. They came urgently to visit a sick relative who was bedridden at a nearby hospital, and wanted to make the last few weeks of their relative’s life meaningful. They’d planned to stay a few weeks longer but that relative unexpectedly passed away early, and after the funeral service they decided it was time to leave. The way they willingly paused their busy lives at home to take time and money to cherish the last breaths of a loved one really stood out to me, and for a moment I wished that I was part of their family rather than mine. How blessed would I be, to have a grandma as loving as her, and a younger sister as cheerful as she? When their taxi came they left me, waving and smiling as if they’d known me for years though we’d only talked for no more than five minutes. It was only after that when news came that I still had a week left here and had to delay my flight back to Vancouver.

 At first I really dreaded it. I was sick of dealing with my cousin’s cheeky attitude, as she was head of the Melbourne chain and we’d been more or less rivals since young. I was sick of being disrespected by her subordinates at work and spoken to without professionalism during working hours. Customers at this chain in particularly would always complain about poor service and unfriendliness of staff. Though it didn’t seem like a large enough reason for the drop in revenue from this branch, I liked to pretend that it was. I made for myself all these excuses for why I didn’t want to be here anymore, but really, all I wanted was to just see Yongguk again. He made work bearable for me, and reminded me that we were all human and couldn’t do everything. How was he doing now?

I thought about the list of names and pictures posted online about the airplane accident that day, and saw the faces of the two lovely ladies I’d met in the Melbourne chain’s lobby. They couldn’t have avoided that flight. The grandmother had died in the accident and the young girl was severely injured. When I went to go visit her at the hospital, she couldn’t remember me. The doctors said she was suffering from some memory loss and couldn’t remember anything that happened recently leading up to the accident, and also contracted PTSD from such a traumatic event. I left her with a box of cookies and a stuffed bunny, and that was the last time I saw her. I wanted to cry, thinking back to all this, but I remembered one thing the young girl, Im Mina, told me.

“I don’t know who you are, yet you’re crying for me.” She was smiling though IV tubes were sticking in all her limbs, “But please don’t cry for me, because I’m still here. If you cry, cry for my grandma, because she can no longer be here anymore.” Mina’s tiny smile was fading slowly, yet her eyes radiated an appreciation for life, and gratitude that she had survived. She was so young, and so brave.

“Miss, are you alright?” An unfamiliar voice asked me. When I looked up, I saw that he was holding a tissue in front of me with a friendly smile. I sniffed twice and then took it, wiping my eyes dry, though they’d tear up again within seconds. My crying was probably concerning him and I knew I should stop, but for some reason I couldn’t. The young man sat down beside me with his legs crossed, silently waiting for me to calm my tears. He had a whole packet of tissues ready in his hands for me, and I was thankful for that.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, feeling guilt that I was probably distracting him from whatever he was supposed to be doing, “I’m fine, really.” He shook his head at me and handed me the rest of the tissues.

“We’re waiting for the same flight, aren’t we? Just cry until you feel better.” He paused and then finished with an introduction, “My name is Yoo Youngjae by the way.” Yoo Youngjae. His name didn’t ring any bells, and I was certain he was a stranger. He didn’t know who I was, he didn’t know where I came from, and he doesn’t know about my terrible life. He’s just a stranger, giving his acts of kindness to those who needed it. Yoo Youngjae. The world needed more people like him—people like him and Yongguk whose every action emitted compassion and love for other people.

“Thank you,” I managed to breathe through my sobs. He just sat there beside me, keeping me company as I cried. There was nothing that felt awkward or uncomfortable with him being there, it just felt nice to not be alone. It felt nice to be with someone who didn’t see me as II am with my family background and title, or judge me for being a chaebol’s daughter. He reminded me too much of Yongguk.

“Oppa! Is this a friend of yours?” A little girl with big brown eyes and a small pony tail at the top of her head tied like a sprout ran up to us and jumped into Youngjae’s arms. He smiled and chuckled,

“Yes, she’s a new friend. Sunhwa, say hi.” She looked up at me curiously as I quickly wiped the rest of my tears with my sleeves and smiled.

“This is my younger sister.” He introduced. Her eyes widened as she stared at me, and exclaimed,

“Ooh… Unnie… You’re really pretty!” Her innocent honesty made me blush and I brushed her long, black hair back and pat her gently on the head.

“Unnie what’s your name?” she asked. It was only then I realized I hadn’t introduced myself. I was flustered by my own rudeness and quickly replied,

“Song Jieun,” with a wide smile. It had been so long since I felt this genuinely happy and at peace. Sunhwa was definitely a little angel, easily making everyone’s hearts fill with giddiness. They, too, like Mina must have a beautiful family. So perfect families like this really do exist… I’d lost hope in that long ago and assumed that only in fairytales was this possible. My trip to Australia taught me more than administration and company management, but it taught me about how big the world really is, and how little I know about people and life.

The entire plane ride was a joy. Youngjae invited me to sit with him and Sunhwa for the duration of the ride, and they spent the majority of it playfully picking on each other like friendly siblings did. Near the last hour of the ride, Sunhwa started insisting that I date her brother.

“Sunhwa, shh! Your Jieun unnie is really pretty, she probably already has a boyfriend back home.” He didn’t seem hurt by his own assumptions, but embarrassed by his younger sister’s straightforwardness.

“Aw, really?” Sunhwa’s expression filled with disappointment, and then she decided, “Unnie your boyfriend is probably better than my brother anyway. Please tell us about him!” She ended it off with a warm smile. There really was no end to a little girl’s curious mind.

“Well, to start, he’s a very kind-hearted person just like Youngjae.” I could see Youngjae trying to hide his blushing face as I indirectly complimented him. “He’s very tall and handsome, and fun to talk to…” I found my face reddening as I thought about Yongguk. Sunhwa’s cold hands touched my face then.

“You must really love him, Unnie.” She giggled, warming her hands against my cheeks. It was so obvious, even a little girl could tell. I really do love him.

A/N: Finally you get to hear from Jieun's side ^^ No, she's not dead... but most of you probably guessed that LOL. Sorry if it's a little confusing with the flash backs, but I think the back story really helps to deliver the kind of character Jieun is. She's really sensitive and emotionally fragile, and what she values the most about herself and other people is compassion. I decided to give you all a Youngjae cameo as a treat  (And Sunhwa as his little sister because she's so cute). Youngjae was actually requested as a character by one of my readers months ago, and I was more than happy to comply. So here you go ^^ I hope you enjoy this half-filler-like chapter! If you're enjoying this fic, please press the "vote up" button?^^ I'll be updating more!