Layovers

Kyuhyun’s mother had always told him that he could meet the one anywhere, even in a crowded airport. He was skeptical until the day he met him, during a 10 hour layover at New York’s busiest airport.

The first time he saw him was at one of the food courts. Kyuhyun chewed on half-cooked fries, browsing a cheap tabloid magazine, while the handsome stranger sipped on a cup of coffee, reading the New York Times.

Kyuhyun felt something stir in his stomach and it wasn’t the fries. It was destiny, he convinced himself. It was destiny because, for one, the handsome stranger looked distinctly Korean, and for another, it wasn’t statistically improbable that they would both be on the same flight, back to Korea.

He was only given a few minutes to steal glances before the man stood up and left the food court. Today was the day Kyuhyun was going to take initiative. He stood up, as well, and followed the stranger to what appeared to be the air trains. He didn’t mind being his stalker; he could always blame it on his boredom, or the fact that even the back of the man’s head was painfully attractive.

Unfortunately, he lost him to the crowds. A mocking feeling of defeat slowly took over him and Kyuhyun found himself riding one of the air trains, anyway. Having lost his love interest, he decided to entertain himself by riding the trains aimlessly, from one terminal to another. A sudden fear of being targeted by airport security for “suspicious behavior” drove him to exit the train at a random terminal.

That was the second time he saw the handsome stranger. This time, however, it was up and close, almost too close. He was standing right in front of him and Kyuhyun would have reacted had he not received a smile from the stranger. That smile succeeded in gluing Kyuhyun to his spot on the train platform and no amount of nudging from other passersby could move him. He lost the man again to the crowds.

Kyuhyun finally convinced himself that maybe it was best not to see him again. The man was too