Karma ━━ Jake Sim

𝟬𝟰 ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏⠀First Class Blues

She only really needed to say goodbye to one person, anyway.

It took the girl four days to come to grips with the situation, and another six to muster up the bravery to face it head-on - which meant breaking the news to her best friend. Leaving a phoneful of worried texts, missed calls and piled up voicemails over the week in her bedroom, Sujin snuck out of the house just two nights prior to hail an Uber downtown and throw pebbles at Heeseung's bedroom window. It was 3am, but she knew he'd be wide awake. He had to be.

What followed was a tough conversation - that much is for sure. One that ended in a tight hug that never felt quite right to pull away from.

Sujin could even swear she'd felt an unfamiliar burning in her eyes and the back of her throat that almost felt like... crying. And Heeseung's own deerlike features were knitted with sadness, and an overwhelming urge to protect the girl from the world around them.

It leaves a funny feeling in her stomach; when she stares over the neverending stretch of blue miles beneath her feet and remembers the promise they'd made to each other in eleventh grade to visit their home country together one day. It turns all the more sour as she spreads further into her seat, only to feel the emptiness of the one next to it.

Sujin shuts the blinds and tucks her knees into her chest.

The pilot makes an announcement over the sound system, temporarily pulling her from her daze: Beep. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have now passed the halfway point to our destination. We will be landing in approximately six hours at Incheon International Airport, 10:30am KST. Thank you for flying with us today." Beep.

This is going to be a long flight.

★

͏͏͏͏͏͏⠀⠀Eight hours, a handful of prissy flight attendants, three baggage checks and just about a hundred migraines later, Sujin finds herself standing before one of the many doors of the airport; the only thing left standing between her and her new life.

She's almost nose-to-nose with the glass, staring at her own reflection blankly. Not entirely sure what to do, she half-expects some invisible force to push her feet toward the pavement. Luckily she isn't given much of a choice as her phone rings adamantly in her bag, leading her back into the comfort - for lack of a better term - of the airport terminal.

Sujin fishes around her belongings for the buzzing object, rifling through stray phone cables and travel documents before finally pulling it out with a frustrated huff. The tension in her muscles visibly soften when she catches a glimpse of the caller ID, and the girl all but fumbles over her own fingers to press the green button flashing on the screen.

"Heeseung, thank God."

The boy's laugh sounds through the opposite end of the line, warm and familiar, "Miss you too, brat."

Sujin rolls her eyes at the nickname.

"How was the flight?"

Uncaring to the judgemental gazes of passers-by she attracts in doing so, the girl sits herself on the ground right by her small pile of suitcases, "Worst thirteen hours of my life, dude. No exaggeration."

"First class still wasn't good enough, huh?" Heeseung playfully jabs, "Sounds like you're already turning into your mom."

"Okay, ouch." Sujin grimaces, the thought of such a possibility sending a cold shiver up her spine, "Way to shoot a girl when she's down."