Seomin glanced out the window, her breath whisked away by the view below her. She watched the clouds crawl beside the plane for the fifth time, giving her a glimpse of California, according to the flight attendant. There was still half an hour left before they were to land. Seomin leaned her head back, afraid to fall asleep. She felt like this was a dream, a trick of imagination. She shook her head in hopes of shaking off the bad thoughts too.

“You should sleep,” a voice murmured beside her. Seomin turned to see Donghae with his eyes still closed. He had been asleep since the beginning of the flight and had chosen to skip dinner on the plane. She had also noticed the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes.

“I’d rather not,” she replied. He shrugged and his eyes fluttered open, a small yawn escaping from his mouth. Seomin took a sip of her juice when she felt a hand wrap around her own. She turned to see Donghae pulling her glass away and downing the rest of it. “Oh come on!” she whined, “Who said you could drink that?”

“I was thirsty.” He grinned at her as she growled in frustration. Seomin crossed her arms and tilted her head away from him towards the window. Donghae chewed his lip and tugged at his collar. “Eh, do you want me to order another?”

“No thanks.”

“Are you sure?”

I’m not thirsty anymore.” Truthfully, she was really thirsty.

She turned her back towards him. For a few minutes, there was silence and Seomin began to feel the effects of the past week’s preparations as her eyes drooped. As she was about to close her eyes, she felt arms slither around her waist. His arms crushed her into a hug and he murmured, “I’m sorry.” Her eyes shot open and she wiggled out of his grasp. She stared at his eyes, which emanated innocence. opened slightly, but quickly closed when she saw his mouth tremble. A smile erupted on his face and he teased, “Starting to fall for my charms now?”

“No,” Seomin said immediately and closed her eyes. She could hear him suppress his laughter. This guy is bipolar or something. Seomin breathed in and out, as she tried to regain her composure. She had to remain calm and not do anything rash. In her head, a line from a conversation with Hyeyoung the week before stood out: “He’s the bridge to what you want. Don’t smash him to pieces, or you will never get to your dream.” Hyeyoung, you always say the right thing. But why do I feel like I’m on a tightrope and not a bridge?

 She felt a nudge on her side. Seomin peeked to see Donghae motioning to put her seatbelt on. “We’re about to land.” He pointed to the seatbelt light above them before buckling himself in. Seomin followed suit and gripped the armrest as she felt the plane slowly dip downwards. She couldn’t decide if the takeoff or the landing felt worse.

As soon as they exited the plane, Seomin and Donghae slipped on their sunglasses. She didn’t want to take any chances with the press; one encounter was enough for her. Donghae guided her to the entrance where a small car waited for them. When they slipped inside and started to leave, Seomin admired the interior. The car reminded her of Hyeyoung’s car minus the New York décor.

“Mr. Lee, your manager sent you your schedules for the week,” the driver said as