Forever - Book 3 in The Perfect Partner Trilogy

Chapter Sixteen

The days were dragging slowly for everyone involved. No word from the boys made life almost unbearable for Jenna and Sara. Other people in the company were used to this sort of thing, and no family was left unaffected by Korea's military policies. The girls took comfort in that the international ARMYs also felt their pain. Every day someone would leave an encouraging message on their social media. Sometimes it was cathartic, and other times it made the girls miss the boys even more, so they eventually would turn off their notifications and go back to it when they felt happier.

Jenna immersed herself in work. Trouble was riding the coattails of BTS' popularity, and they were already heading off on a world tour of their own. Actually, it was only the eastern hemisphere, but that included Australia, so they needed a translator. The company saved money by using Jenna, their in-house English coach. Sara would be allowed to go along as Jenna's assistant. So off they all went, spending the next two months traveling and participating in interviews, concerts, and helping wherever the boys needed help with English. It was simply exhausting, mentally and physically.

Finally, it was time to return home.

The plane bounced slightly along the runway at the Incheon International Airport. The sun was setting. Trouble and their crew were returning from concerts in Japan. Jenna and Sara weren't necessarily needed by Trouble to translate there, so they had some free time to do sightseeing and shopping.

Having never been to Japan, they both took full advantage of this rare opportunity. But unfortunately, they regretted that free time as they tried to pull their stuffed suitcases off the baggage claim belt.

"Here, let me get that." A friendly male voice approached them, pulling the luggage they pointed out to him from the moving belt.

Jenna was so glad to see a familiar face. She could have hugged him at that moment.

"Thank you, Manager-nim," Jenna said, smiling at their "manager." He had not traveled with them as they would always be with Trouble, and they had plenty of managers to cover the girls.

"What did you girls bring back?! All of Japan?" Without as much as a grunt, he laughed and hoisted both their suitcases in his arms and walked them out to the van.

Since Trouble had their own managers and crew, the girls were free to go home. They settled into their seats in the middle row of the van and sighed.

"I hear the tour went well! I saw some of the interviews you ladies helped with. Good job." The Manager glanced at them through the rearview mirror.

"Thanks, but it's going to be good to be home and in my own bed. Two months is a long time." Jenna smiled back at him through the mirror and looked out the window.

"Oh, Sara-ssi, I need to drop you off at the company building first. Director Kang said since you have less seniority than Jenna, you could do all the final reporting on the tour to her." He grinned as Sara's face, now wholly wilted.

"Whyyyy?" she whined as Jenna laughed.

"I can do it, Sara, it's okay," Jenna said, trying to console her friend.

"No, if she wants me, she'll get me. I'll do it. Can you give me all the paperwork and reports we worked on?"

"Yeah, I'll email them to you right now." Jenna pulled out her tablet and zipped the files over to Sara. "You should be all set. Oh, and make sure she knows that the one incident in the Philippines was due to managerial error, not Sebastian's fault. The final report makes Sebastian look bad, but you know we were both there, so make sure you put it into the proper context. Oh, and also -"

"Jenna, I got it," Sara laughed.

Jenna quickly covered her mouth as she yawned widely. "I'm sorry, Sara. Just trying to make sure everything is wrapped up nicely."