Taste | Changbin

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lennon dropped herself in her seat and placed her hands over her face. The weeks had passed by quickly, the relationship with every member of Stray Kids grew, besides Changbin. He was still set on ignoring her every time she did his makeup. She had accepted it, they weren't going to be friends, that was that. 

"Are you okay?" A voice asked. 

Lennon dropped her hands and looked over. Han had sat down next to her. She shook her head before she began to speak. "I've been on a plane before, but I hate them. I hate heights; I hate all of it. I hate the feeling of rising into the air. I hate when my ears pop as we take off. I hate planes so much." 

"I'm not a huge fan of planes either. However, since traveling is a necessity for this job, I've learned a few things. Take one of these, this helps with your ears popping." 

He reached into a small pocket of a black backpack. It didn't take long before he handed her a pack of gum. She grabbed a piece and handed the pack back to him. 

"Do you want to be able to see outside while we're up in the air?" 

"Not really." 

She froze as he leaned over her body. "Sorry, let me just get this." He yanked the shade down for the window. The light disappeared and caused the two of them to have a slightly darkened area. "Is that better?" He sat back up in his own chair. 

"Yeah, thanks for that. I was starting to get nervous about it. I didn't know you could pull the shade down. I spent my last flight trying not to get a glimpse of the sky." 

Han chuckled. "I was like that the first few times I was on a plane. You end up getting used to it, but it takes a while. Aviation is one of the safest ways to travel. Nothing bad will happen, I promise." 

"Unfortunately, that doesn't make me feel any better." 

"I know, but it was worth a shot. You can play a movie on this screen and sometimes that helps." He tapped the screen that was on the back of the seat in front of her. "There's a variety of movies to pick from. Usually, I try to find a comedy or action movie. I love horror movies, but a plane isn't really the place for them. I tried once and I almost gave a flight attendant a heart attack because I yelped at a jump scare." 

"Seriously?" 

"Yeah, she came rushing over. She was panicking and wanted to know if I was okay. I had to tell her that it was because I was watching a horror movie. I ended up turning it off after that because I was mortified. Plus, I was afraid it was going to happen again." 

"I think I'm just going to take a nap or something, but thanks for telling me. I didn't use the TV last time because I didn't know how to use it. I was afraid I was going to mess it up." 

"You couldn't mess it up, even if you wanted to. It tells you exactly how to use it and everything. Plus, you don't have to pay for most of the movies and that's an added bonus." 

"Do you happen to know how long this flight is going to be?" 

"Fourteen hours, I think." 

"Fourteen hours! We're going to be trapped on this plane for fourteen hours?" Lennon dropped her head against the headrest and slid down in her seat. "Fourteen hours with nothing exciting to do. I should have brought a book!" 

"Well, think of it this way, we have fourteen hours to get to know each other better. We can watch a movie or two or five if you're up for it. We can watch multiple TikToks or we can watch YouTube videos on our phones. They have Wi-Fi here, you know?" 

"I know, I just don't like the idea of being stuck on a plane for fourteen hours. I like moving around and being able to do things. I have a short attention span." 

"Well, it could be worse," Han shrugged. "At least, you're not seated next to Changbin. I think he's further in the back next to Chan. The two of them were going to work on some new music." 

"Suddenly, this isn't so bad. I'm glad we get to sit next to each other. The only thing we have to be worried about is being loud. Do you think your manager would separate us if we couldn't shut up?" 

"Without a doubt, absolutely." 

Lennon crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess we should probably keep it down then." Han went silent. The corners of his mouth started to tilt up into a smile. Lennon bit down on her lip to try and keep her laugh inside. 

Han couldn't stop himself. Laughter instantly bubbled up inside his chest. He threw a hand over his mouth to muffle it. 

"Han, it's not funny," Lennon's voice wavered. "We're not supposed to be lau-" A voice crack cut her off. This sent Han into more laughter. She cleared her throat and continued, "we're not supposed to be laughing. This is a very serious matter." 

Han sucked in a deep breath and glanced over at her again. The moment their eyes met, Lennon busted into a fit of giggles. She tried to shush him, but this only caused her to laugh harder. There was nothing funny about the situation and yet they couldn't stop themselves from laughing. 

"What are you two giggling at?" A voice came from above them. 

Han looked up to see Felix standing over their seats. An amused smile sat on his face. The flight hadn't taken off yet. People were still boarding the plane. He was paired with Hyunjin behind their seats. 

Lennon sucked in a fresh breath of air, "it's nothing." 

"It's something," Felix insisted. 

Han reached over and lightly whacked Lennon's arm. She lightly hit him back and the two of them fell into more laughter. Hyunjin stood up beside Felix and glanced down at the giggling pair. "Is this going to go on the whole flight?" 

Lennon and Han couldn't breathe. They let their quiet giggles respond. Felix shook his head and sat back in his seat. Hyunjin joined him with furrowed eyebrows. "What's going on with the two of them? Are we missing something?" 

Upon hearing this, Han crumpled in his seat. His body shook with silent laughter as he bent over towards the floor. Lennon's hand curled over her mouth. She shoved her hand against her lips trying to keep the laughter inside. 

"I wish I knew, mate. I wish I knew," Felix responded.