Far from home|KTH

Home?

Emma slept uneasily in her plane seat until the early morning hours. The 11 hour flight was coming to an end and her adventure was just about to begin.

Namjoon barely slept in the seat next to her. His height made it nearly impossible to get comfortable in a seat like this, not to even mention sleeping in one. He looked out of the window as they were approaching Los Angeles. This was a moment he knew Emma didn't want to miss. It was her first touch down in her home country in 7 years.

He gently shook her and was shortly met by her sleepy eyes and mess hair.

" What is it?", she asked still half asleep.

"Look out", he urged her, nodding lightly to the window.

Emma tuned her head and sat up in her seat. That was a sight she had dreamed about for years, and now that it was there in front of her, it kind of felt like a distant dream. The feeling was hard to explain.

She stared out of the window in silence, a strange feeling of calmness and excitement taking over her slowly. Weirdly she instantly felt like home, even though Los Angeles wasn't her home town.

Namjoon grabbed her hand in his, it was the kind of relationship they had for years. Best friends, never lovers. The opportunity was never presented to them since she was always in a relationship from the day they met. He was excited to be on this journey with her, excited to see what she could be without Jin's protective wings over her. He didn't dislike Jin, he just thought she could do better. Surely there was someone out there who would bring out the light in her. Jin just felt like her older protective brother.

"Hey guys, are you seeing what I'm seeing? We have almost arrived!", Vanessa said from the seats behind them.

"Yeah we are", Namjoon answered her. "Is Suga awake or is he missing this as usual?", he asked with a chuckle. 

Vanessa laughed.

"What do you think?", she replied.

Of course he was asleep. Something about airplanes made him sleepy. He would be off to dream land the second his behind hit the seat.

The three of them looked out of the window as the plane made its final approach and landed safely on the grounds of LA.

Suga finally regained consciousness .

"Oh, are we here already?", he asked in a sleepy tone.

"Already?", Vanessa asked with a laugh. "Dude, you slept through the whole flight".

"Oh, great", he replied.

The group of friends gathered their things and left the aircraft with a mix of fear, nervousness and excitement. These were the first steps towards the unknown for all of them. Neither of them knew what to expect, they just knew that everything was new. It was a refreshing feeling compared to the boredom of their daily lives. It didn't feel like work, it felt like a trip of a lifetime with friends.

The car ride to the house in The valley was  anything but quiet. Lively chatter filled the air, all of them eagerly looking out of the window. These views were definitely different to those of Seoul, it was like they were sightseeing. It was hard to believe this was now home.

Home. Such a funny concept. What did that word even mean?

The car finally stopped outside of a gate to a large one floor villa. The rest of them followed Namjoon's long strides through the gate to a green garden and a pool area.

"Wow, what the hell", Emma scoffed. "Seriously guys, are you seeing this?".

"Yes indeed we are", Suga replied, just as amazed as her.

"Are we really at the right house?", Vanessa asked as she walked around the pool.

"Hell yeah we are", Namjoon yelled and jumped in the pool fully clothed, continuing his joyous screaming in the pool.

The rest of them couldn't resist  the urge to follow his lead and jumped in one by one, their screams filling the yard.

"Welcome to LA!",Namjoon screamed.

"What a welcome. This is different from the tiny apartments in Seoul for sure. And look at the weather!", Vanessa continued, still in disbelief.

They eventually dragged themselves out of the pool and continued the house tour in wet clothes, dripping all over the floors. All of the bedrooms were large and light, with sliding doors to the garden or pool area. The house had a big living area in the middle with a large living room and kitchen area.

"I could easily get used to this", Suga said after they all had the chance to change and get comfortable in the living room.

"Me too, who wouldn't?", Namjoon replied with a pleased smile and a can of cold beer in his hand.

"Cheers guys! Here's to hard work, success , good friends and great times!", Vanessa said, raising her tall glass of gin and tonic.

"Cheers!", they all replied.

"How are we going to get any work done in an environment like this, guys?", Emma asked. "This is never going to feel like work, it's going to feel like a 6 months long vacation".

"Yeah I know. Let's just enjoy it and do our best. I'm sure it will feel more like work once Jimin, J-hope and JK arrive", Namjoon answered.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about them", Vanessa said with a giggle. "They are the reason we are here, we should thank them, seriously".

"Yup. Cheers to those three amazingly talented brats", Suga said, once again raising his beer can to the sky.

"To J3, let's work hard so they have great success so we can stay here longer!", Vanessa said with a bright smile. "Hey, You two are going to have your hands full once they land on US soil", she continued and pointed at Emma and Namjoon."I'm so glad I'm not in the management team".

"Ok PR queen. But don't forget that you are the one who has to cover up all the scandals they will cause when they misbehave", Emma replied and gained a pleased chuckle from Namjoon.

Vanessa shook her head.

"I forgot about that part. Then make sure they don't cause any drama", she replied.

"To a drama free stay!", Emma said and raised her glass again.

Later that day yet lag kicked in and the house went quiet.

Emma was sleeping peacefully on her bed, not a worry in her mind. Her phone buzzed silently next to her. So far she managed to get so lost in her new environment , she had forgotten to tell Jin she made it there in one piece. Not one call, not one text, it didn't even cross her mind.