“And the award goes to... B.A.P!”
Loud, raucous cheers rose up from the audience as B.A.P jumped and shouted in joy, tears running down their faces. Yongguk stepped forward to accept the trophy while his group mates laughed and hugged the life out of each other under the blazing stage lights.
“Thank you, thank you everyone! Oh my god, this is just... wow, thank you so much!” Yongguk bowed 90 degrees, his dongsaengs quickly following suit.
“Congratulations! And now, a speech please,” the MC grinned, holding a microphone to Yongguk’s face.
“Ah... I would like to thank everyone at TS Entertainment for supporting us, our friends and family for cheering us on and I would like to thank my brothers for working so hard so that we can all achieve this award,” Yongguk said, his smile spreading from ear to ear.
“More importantly, I would like to thank the one person who... if it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be standing here in the first place.”
He looked at Himchan and Youngjae standing on his left, and at Junhong, Jongup and Daehyun on his right. They all looked back at him, sadness and pride in their eyes.
“If it wasn’t for her, we probably wouldn’t be alive either. If she hadn’t, by luck, been on the same flight as us the day our plane was hijacked, we probably wouldn’t be able to stand here, doing what we love, performing what we do best with all our hearts. So, I would like to give special thanks and dedicate this award to Choi Jin Ae, the girl who saved our lives and the other passengers of Flight KE927. Thank you so much, and we’ll never forget you. We’ll always be in debt to you. Thank you everyone!”
Yongguk passed the microphone back to the MC and together with B.A.P, he raised the trophy to the roars of the crowd.

Back in the company van, Yongguk stared out of the window as the night-time scenery whizzed by, the hum of the engine soothing to his ears. Himchan sat on his left, playing on his mobile phone while Youngjae, Daehyun, Jongup and Junhong sat behind him. Yongguk knew that it would be a while before everyone would finally calm down enough to sleep tonight. He wouldn’t blame them either; he was still hyped up from winning tonight’s award.

“Hyung, maybe we should pay a visit to her grave tomorrow?”
Yongguk looked away from the window while Himchan looked up from his mobile phone, his face passing in and out of the orange-tinted glow casted by the city lights.
“That sounds like a good idea. We all have a break tomorrow, why don’t we all go?” Jongup asked, peering around Daehyun’s seat. Yongguk looked back at Jongup and nodded.
“Yeah, sounds cool.”
“Awesome! It’s been a while since we last visited, right?” Junhong said.
Yongguk laughed. “Yeah, it’s been a while.”
“It still feels like yesterday when we first met her on the plane,” Youngjae said, resting his head on the window.
The rest of B.A.P hummed in agreement as Yongguk rested his head on the headrest, his memories of the day they first met Jin Ae playing on his mind.


“Twelve hours before we reach Rome. Twelve long friggin’--”
“Technically, it’s 11 and a half hours,” Youngjae interrupted Junhong from behind.
“I don’t care! It’s a long flight! A ridiculously long flight!” Junhong whined.
“More sleep for us--” Yongguk began before Himchan jumped in:
“You should get used to it; we’re gonna be travelling more long flights in the future if we continue to be successful. Look, Jongup’s sleeping already,” Himchan said from the seat behind Yongguk. Junhong peered around the seat in front of him to find Jongup snoring lightly, dead to the world.
“We haven’t even taken off yet!”
“And you’re complaining already!”
Yongguk smiled as Himchan and Junhong bickered, his body relaxing into the comfortable seat as the plane started moving for take-off. It’s a long flight, but I sure could get used to this if I continue to travel business-class... he thought as, with a loud roar, the powerful engines propelled the plane into the afternoon Seoul sky.

A loud explosion jolted Yongguk out of his sleep, his blanket falling off. Cold air whistled into the cabin as dark blurry figures swooped into through the open cabin door, their faces masked. Yongguk rubbed the sleep hastily out of his eyes as the figures raised their guns and shouted in a foreign language, pointing their guns everywhere.
“Hyung, what’s happening?” Junhong asked, gripping the sleeve of his jacket.
“I don’t know,” Yongguk replied as he watched the six figures move around the cabin. Two went into the Economy class, two continued to shout and wave their guns around while another two went into the cockpit. Flight attendants were forced to move and sit in the aisle, while toilet doors were smashed open and people inside were forced to come out. More shouts could be heard, but Yongguk couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“Yongguk-hyung! What’s happening? Why are they here? What’s going on?” Daehyun asked from the seat in front of him, panic in his voice.
“I don’t know!”
One of the figures pushed the door of the cabin shut. An eerie silence settled over the passengers as the cabin door locked itself.
The shouts became more frantic and Yongguk realised it wasn’t English or Korean. As he watched, some of the passengers that he could see began to cry and shout back in Korean:
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t understand!”
“Please spare me! I don’t want to die!”
“What’s happening?”
One of the masked people came out of the cockpit and said something to another figure. The person nodded back in reply and began to move down the rows of seats, pointing his or her gun at each of the passengers while shouting something at them.
“Aaaahhh!! Please spare me!”
“I don’t understand!”
They all shook with tears running down their faces as they stared up the barrel of the gun. The person suddenly swung the gun into Jongup’s face and Yongguk’s heart stopped as the masked intruder shouted something at him. Jongup’s eyes widened as he frantically shook his head.
“Whoa! I don’t--”
Jongup was interrupted by a voice shouting from the Economy class. Yongguk turned to find a young Asian girl walking into the Business class with her hands on her head. She shouted something at the masked people in the same language that Yongguk didn’t understand. The masked figure moved his gun from Jongup’s face to point at the girl, who took a step back. A gun prodded her from behind and she stumbled forward, fear flashing across her face.
“What’s happening? Who is she?” Himchan asked, peering around Youngjae. Yongguk shook his head. “I don’t know!”

Himchan groaned as he lied down on the nearest bunk bed, worn out from tonight’s activities. Still, he couldn’t help but feel elated about the award that B.A.P won.
“I can’t believe we won...” Himchan mumbled.
“I KNOW RIGHT!?” Junhong jumped up, a huge grin on his face as he bounced over to Himchan.
“Wait, Junhong what are you doing--”
“I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE WE WON!” Junhong cheered as he took a flying leap to land on top of the bed... and on top of Himchan.
“AAARRGGHH!! GET OFF ME, YOU’RE SO HEAVY AND BIG!”
Junhong giggled as he crushed Himchan in a hug that left him gasping for air. He bounced off Himchan to attack the other B.A.P members with celebratory hugs. Himchan laughed as he heard Jongup yelp as Junhong crushed the second maknae with a hug when the poor boy walked through the bedroom door. Sighing, he leaned back in his pillow as adrenaline continued to course through his veins.
“Yongguk-hyung’s speech was good tonight, right? Short but sweet,” Jongup said as he watched Junhong mercilessly hug the life out of Youngjae with amusement. Himchan nodded in agreement.
“Junhong is way too big to be hugging everyone like this... doesn’t he know that his height makes his hugs feel more like a giant is trying to squeeze you?” Youngjae mumbled as he staggered away and collapsed on his bed, face down. Junhong had left the room, but they all could hear Daehyun yelling and laughing as he playfully tried to avoid Junhong’s hugs.
“We should buy some flowers or something before we get there,” Jongup said as he laid down on his bed.
Himchan nodded again as Daehyun lurched into the room, gasping. He leaned over to pant a bit when they heard Yongguk curse in English as Junhong initiated his final hug attack for the night.
“Good to know Yongguk-hyung still knows how to swear in another language,” Youngjae said, laughing. Jongup, Daehyun and Himchan grinned as they heard Yongguk begging Junhong to let him go.
“Speaking of different languages, remember how Jin Ae tricked the terrorists?” Himchan asked, looking at his dongsaengs. They all smiled and nodded.


Himchan watched the masked figure, who seemed to be in charge, growl something at the girl as he moved his gun from Jongup’s face to aim at her head. The girl gulped and turned around to face the passengers in the Economy class:
“Is the Italian Prime Minister here?” she said, looking around. The passengers shook their heads as confusion flickered in their faces.
“What about here in the Business class?” she asked, turning to look around. Her gaze swept over Himchan’s side of the cabin before she froze and twitched her head towards B.A.P’s direction. Her eyes widened before she looked away, glancing towards the other side of the cabin, much to Himchan’s curiosity. Again, the passengers shook their heads.
“Why are you asking for the Italian Prime Minister?” a middle-aged woman with dyed hair asked, sitting across the aisle from B.A.P.
The girl repeated the question in the foreign language to the terrorist holding the gun to her head. The person answered something to her curtly before turning to the other masked people, shouting something. Himchan frowned as the person screamed, stomping his or her foot.
“Excuse me, miss? What is he or she saying?” Youngjae asked the girl. The girl turned with wide eyes, but before she could open , the leader whipped around and screamed something. The gun rose to point between Youngjae’s eyes and Himchan gasped, his heart hammering while the girl hastily said something to the leader. He watched as Youngjae gulped, his eyes never leaving the barrel of the gun. The girl and the leader talked for a bit -- the girl speaking in timid tones and the leader in harsh tones -- before she turned to the passengers.
“People, please don’t say anything or this man will shoot us,” she said, her face almost blank. Himchan stared at her expression before he noticed a small crease between her eyebrows. He suddenly realised that maybe she was trying to hide her fear and worry in order to not scare the passengers further.
“And please... trust me. Listen to what I say and do what I tell you to do because I’ll do my best to get us out of here. These men don’t know Korean -- they’re Italians and they’re looking for the Prime Minister--”
Himchan’s eyes widened with surprise while the man looked at her suspiciously, his gun switching from Youngjae’s head to her head. He barked something at the girl and she replied quickly, her hands still on her head. She must have said something, as Himchan watched the man’s eyebrows form an unmistakable scowl in the visible part of his face. The man said something and another person poked the girl from behind with his gun, prodding her towards the cockpit. She looked around nervously and Himchan caught her eyes. He was surprised to see a hint of determination as well as fear in her eyes, before she looked away and peered into the cockpit.
“Uh, can the pilots please come out of cockpit with hands on their heads?” the girl said.
Himchan attempted to inconspicuously peer over the seats as one pilot stepped out, his hand on his head.
“Shouldn’t there be two pilots, instead of just one?” Youngjae whispered to Himchan.
“I don’t know...” Himchan whispered back as he looked around. He stopped as his gaze landed on one man kneeling in the aisle. Is that...?
He wasn’t the only one who wondered about the number of pilots, as the leader looked around as well. Himchan saw the girl glancing around before spotting the kneeling man. She stared at him until he looked up and made eye-contact with her. Himchan noted how her face suddenly became more determined, and her shoulders pulled back slightly. Did she come up with an idea or something?
The leader turned to the girl and said something to her. The girl looked at the pilot who still stood with his hand on his head.
“He’s asking where is the other pilot, but I’m going to lie and say there is only one pilot onboard. Please trust me and just say there is no other pilot.”
The pilot looked at her incredulously. Himchan was sure everyone within earshot was staring at her too, himself included. She ignored everyone and stared back at the pilot.
“Uh, there’s no other pilot; it’s just me,” he said hesitantly.
She gave an imperceptible nod as she turned and, Himchan presumed, translated the answer for the lead terrorist.

Daehyun stared at the ceiling above his head, waiting for sleep to take over his body. He could tell that he wasn’t the only one awake as he could hear Youngjae turning over in his bed underneath and he could see Yongguk sitting up in his bunk bed out the corner of his eye.
“I can’t sleep...” Daehyun heard Himchan mumble from the bunk bed across from his.
“Is anyone even sleeping?” Yongguk laughed quietly.
“I can see Jongup and Junhong sleeping,” Youngjae whispered. Daehyun peered over the edge of his bunk bed to find the two maknaes completely knocked out in the bottom bunks.
“They must be pretty worn out,” Daehyun whispered.
“Well, yeah of course, Jongup was the one who danced the most out of all of us and Junhong is Junhong,” Himchan said.
The four oldest members laughed quietly. “He’s the youngest, that’s why,” Yongguk said.
“What time should we go to the grave tomorrow?” Youngjae asked.
“Maybe just before lunch? And we can buy some flowers and offerings along the way,” Yongguk said.
“Like what?”
“Food. Jin Ae had said that she loved fruits, right?” Yongguk asked, looking at Daehyun.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Because you were seated closest to her with Jongup when she passed away.”
Daehyun sighed sadly as he recalled how she had died.
“She liked watermelon, rockmelon and honeydew. Crazy about them, she said.”


The lead terrorist pointed at a man kneeling on the floor. Daehyun peered around Jongup and looked at the man who was dressed in a white shirt, black trousers and a black tie. He could see badges on his shoulders that separated pilots from civilians and he wondered how the girl was going to fool the terrorists into thinking that there is only one pilot.
His fears were realised when the leader eyed the man suspiciously. The leader pointed at the man and growled something to the girl. Daehyun watched the girl’s eyes flicker to other passengers on the flight.
“He’s asking whether you’re a pilot too, but please trust me and say no. You’re a flight attendant, not a pilot.”
“...No? I’m a... flight attendant...” the man said, sweating as he pointed at the real flight attendants. They all looked back at him fearfully.
Daehyun held his breath as the girl turned to the lead terrorist. She pointed to the man, and then at the other flight attendants. The masked man’s eyebrows lowered down even further on his face and he aimed his gun at her head. He said something as he pointed towards the badges on the other pilot’s shoulders with his free hands. She shook her head and pointed to the other flight attendants’ shoulders. Daehyun swivelled his head around to look at the flight attendants’ shoulders: there were similar markings, but not identical.
“Daehyun... you’re being kind of obvious...” Jongup whispered as he tugged Daehyun’s sleeve.
He looked away quickly and settled deeper into his seat, heart hammering in fear. Twisting his fingers in his hands, Daehyun could hear the leader talking to the girl in Italian. Finally, he heard her talk to the pilot:
“He wants you to continue taking us to Rome, but all radios must be turned off. No one is allowed to communicate with anyone outside the plane or he will shoot us. Is there any way you can alert authorities that we’ve been hijacked? Nod once for yes, twice for no. If yes, do it and alert them. If no, then change course or something. Make them contact us.”
Daehyun looked up and his heart dropped as the pilot nodded twice. He glanced at the girl who set in a grim line before talking to the Italian terrorist. Daehyun closed his eyes as the pilot stepped back into the cockpit with two armed men following. I hope we’ll be alright, he thought as he tried to stop his hands from shaking.
“Everyone, please listen to me. If you didn’t hear me before, we’ll continue to fly to Rome. The leader has told us to to stay silent for the rest of the flight. If we make any sound, he’ll get one of the terrorists to shoot us. But I will try to get us down safely without anyone getting harmed. I know what I’m doing sounds really risky and may put us all in danger, but please trust in me and try not to give anything away,” the girl said over the plane’s PA system.
Daehyun exchanged glances with Jongup as they both reached for each other’s hand and squeezed tightly.
This was going to be a long flight.

Two hours later, a cry jolted Daehyun out of his daze. He turned around to find a baby crying in the Economy class. We have a baby onboard? He stared as the mother tried to shush the baby, vaguely aware of the other B.A.P members mirroring his action.
, this isn’t good.
Despite the mother’s attempts to soothe the baby, his wails grew louder and louder until one of the terrorists guarding the Economy class snapped. He shouted something in Italian at the mother, aiming his gun at the mother. The mother frantically tried to shush the baby, tears running down her face but the baby continued to cry. The man shouted louder in a furious tone while the mother began to sob hysterically, rocking the baby back and forth. All the other passengers held their breaths as the man began to scream and grip his gun tighter. Out the corner of his eyes, Daehyun saw the girl stand up from her sitting position in the aisle and make her way over.

The baby wailed even louder than Daehyun thought possible and the man twitched. He aimed the gun at the baby’s head and the girl suddenly ran over, pushing the gun away just as the man pulled the trigger.
BANG.
Everyone screamed as blood oozed from the girl’s lower leg. Daehyun watched as the girl doubled over, biting her lips. She spoke to the man through clenched teeth and the man shouted back in reply, pointing at the baby. She snarled something in return before turning to the mother who continued to sob hysterically.
“Miss, please calm down. The baby can sense your emotions, so I need you to breathe. Come on, breathe with me. Breathe in... out... in... out... in... out...”
Daehyun began to involuntary breathe along with the girl as he watched the mother become calmer.
“In... out... in... out... there, that’s better. Now, tell me, what does the baby need? Does he need something to eat, changing of nappies, or...? How do you calm him down?” the girl asked softly.
The mother sniffled as she cradled the crying baby, who was already starting to quieten down. She bent over him, checking him over.
“I think he’s hungry,” she said as she continued to wipe the tears away from her face.
“Okay, do you have anything to feed him with?”
“Yes, I have a bottle of milk in my bag,” she said, pointing with her foot to a bag under her seat. The girl turned to the man and said something to him, pointing to the bag. He grunted something and she took it out and asked the nearest flight attendant to heat up the milk gently to a lukewarm temperature.

When the flight attendant returned with the bottle, the mother shook the warmed-up bottle and tested the temperature on the inside of her elbow before encouraging the baby to le. Daehyun stared as the baby immediately became quiet and the only sound that filled the compartment was the sound of the baby .
“How can a baby be hungry at a time like this...” Daehyun heard Yongguk mutter behind him.
Daehyun could only agree as he watched the girl stand up and limp back to the Business class cabin, the blood soaking her socks. The girl said something to the leader, who nodded in reply -- much to Daehyun’s surprise and curiosity. She sighed in relief before asking a flight attendant:
“May I have some towel or blanket to soak up the blood?”
The flight attendant nodded as Daehyun watched the girl struggle to sit on the floor, her back leaning against the wall in front of Jongup and Daehyun.
“Are you okay?” Jongup suddenly asked as she ripped the pant’s leg up to her knee.
“Huh? Oh... yeah I’m fine...” the girl said, looking up with surprise. Daehyun looked at her leg and recoiled as the pant leg peeled back to reveal a bloody gash.
“That... does not look ‘fine’ to me...” Jongup said as he stared at her leg.
“This is just a graze, the bullet’s gone through the floor.”
Daehyun could only nod vaguely as he watched the girl tend to her leg with surprising professionality.