A Trip of a Lifetime

The Arrival

For most of your adult life you've dreamed of taking a trip to Seoul, South Korea. You've always wanted to experience the culture, and just the thought of being in a foreign land has intrigued you for a long time. Finally, your dream was coming true! You were able to save enough money to plan the trip of a lifetime and you could not wait to get that chance to explore Seoul.

The day has come, you packed your bags days in advance just out of sheer excitement... You get an Uber to take you to the airport, you had to be there by 9AM, you were running a little late but managed to make it in time to check your bags, get through security and speed walk to your departure gate.

As you board the plane it becomes all surreal. "I can't believe I'm going to South Korea. This is incredible." you think to yourself.

As the plane prepares for take off, you feel the butterflies in your stomach because you've always hated flying so even with the excitement, today was no different.


It's going to be a nearly 15 hour flight from Scranton, PA to Seoul, South Korea. You want to take a nap but you're just too overwhelmed and giddy to even close your eyes. The smile on your face looks so menacing but you mean well. The passenger beside you seems a little concerned by your behavior but he maintains his composure.

You decide that you might as well grab your smartphone, turn on the airplane mode, and listen to some tunes.

You swipe through your song list and land on 'Idol' by BTS. It's blasting through your earbuds and you can't help but shake your booty in your seat. The passenger beside you has their eye shades on so you feel less embarrassed dancing. Once 'Idol' has ended, it goes to the next song on the track list-- It's 'Mic Drop' (Remix), it gets you hyped. "How am I ever supposed to go to sleep now?"

But eventually as the BTS hits keep coming your eyes get heavier and eventually you're out like a light.

The next thing you know, the flight attendant is waking you up, you jump from being startled and you realize you've landed. You've made it to South Korea in one piece. Thank God.

You get up from your seat to grab your bag from the overhead bin and then make your way off the plane straight to the baggage claim area.


When you get there you notice a group of young girls all gathered in this one section of the airport. You don't think much of it until you realize that's where you need to exit but it's completely blocked by whomever is there. You grab your bag and head over to where all the commotion is. You're trying to figure out how to get through all the girls but are stopped by security. He holds you back and asks "Where are you going?" You look at him with a stern expression and say, "I'm just trying to get through so I can catch my ride and go to my hotel. I'm tired dude!" He responds, "Well, I'm sorry. You're going to have to wait. The guys will be done here in a moment. We won't keep you waiting much longer." "What guys? Who's here?" You look over his shoulder and see a few young guys who happen to look like Jungkook and Min Yoongi but you brush it off and say, "Nah, there's no way that's them." So you back off and just take a seat in the lobby area until things clear up.

Five minutes later and it looks as if the doorway is starting to clear. Meanwhile, you look around the airport and notice the other exits. You roll your eyes and smack yourself on the head. You get up from your seat and head toward the other exit door and hallelujah, you made it outside! Just in time because your Uber driver just arrived so you were able to get out of there immediately and head to your hotel. The drive was so wonderful... seeing all the beautiful sights. The colors, the architecture, the stores, restaurants-- It was all just so awesome and unbelievable. It was a 10 minute drive that felt like a lifetime and you were so happy to arrive at the hotel which was located in downtown Seoul. You made sure to do some thorough research of good hotels in the downtown area before booking the trip. This was a 5-star hotel that you managed to book at half price thanks to that nifty Hotels.com app. Promo codes are bae. Hahaha.

Anyway, the Uber driver helped you with your bags and advised you to have a wonderful trip and wished many blessings upon you. Which you were absolutely grateful for. You left him a nice tip for his troubles and he thanked you kindly. Once inside the hotel, you immediately notice the decor. It's so bright and beautiful. From the paintings on the wall, to the plants, to the furniture... everything is just so amazing. Much better than expected. You walk up to the front desk to check-in. Before you could open your mouth the front desk clerk says, "Oh, you must be Y/N! Welcome. Please sign-in and I'll get you your room key." You look with amazement that she even knew who you were before you could say a word. "That's great customer service." You thought.

She hands you your room key with a welcoming smile and says, "Enjoy your stay with us." You give a polite smile and a gentle wave as you walk off to the elevator.

While standing at the elevator, you hear a group of footsteps coming through the doors of the hotel lobby. You turn to your left to glance at who's coming in. You see guys dressed in black slacks and polo shirts and turn back toward the elevator when the bell dings. The doors open and you step on.

As the doors begin to close in front of you, someone rushes over and a hand catches the doors before they close. You hear someone say, "Hold the elevator please!" and you quickly press the button to automatically open the doors again. You look to see who's getting on and once again it's one of those guys who was dressed in the black slacks and polo shirt who stepped on first.

He looks at you, smiles and motions for others to hop on. You see who he's motioning to and your jaw drops. You cannot believe your eyes. Taehyung, Jin, and J-Hope step on. The other four members are taking the other elevator. You try not to stare but you can't help but to catch a glimpse of them out of the corner of your eye.

You noticed that the security guard didn't press a number for their floor and you think to yourself, "Here's my chance to say something." You slowly look up at the security guard and ask, "What floor do you guys need?" Taehyung looks at you and smiles. He cuts the security guard off before he could speak and says, "We're going to the same floor."

You look at him, and your cheeks turn red. You smile and say, "Oh, okay." You shyly turn away and stare at the doors. You can see the reflection of Taehyung in the shinny glass-like surroundings and see that he's still staring at you. You're blushing even more. He's sees that and starts to smile again.


You think to yourself, "When is this elevator going to reach our floor?! I'm going to pass out if I don't get out of here!" Finally, the elevator dings, and you all reach your floor.

The security guard allows you to step off first. You smile and say, "Thank you." Taehyung, Jin and J-Hope all smile and bow to you as you leave. You bow to them as well and wave goodbye. Once you're all off the elevator, you walk in opposite directions. You're on one end while they're on the other.

Taehyung turns back to look at you as they're all walking down the hallway and he sees you standing in front of your room door trying to use your key. He tells the guys that he'll be right back and jogs over to you. You don't notice him until he's about five steps away from you. Your eyes stretch and you're thinking, "Oh my goodness, what is happening right now? Why is he running over to me? Did I drop something?" He gives you his big pearly white smile and asks, "Do you need help unlocking your door? I know these key cards can be tricky some times."

You stutter for a moment but then regain composure and say, "Uh, yes! Um, thank you. That'd be great. I always have trouble with these types of keys because I always miss the green light. So annoying." He reaches out his hand, you glance at it and hand him the key card. You watch his every move starting from his facial expressions all the way to the tips of his fingers. He sticks the card in the slot and viola, your door is open. He hands you the key card and says, "Here you go. If you ever have trouble again, I'm in room 25 with Jin. If he or I are around, don't hesitate to ask either one of us for help."

You smile from ear to ear and say, "Thank you for your help." He says, "You're welcome." And starts to walk away. "By the way--" he says, "--what's your name?" Shocked, you say, "Oh! I'm sorry, I'm Y/N. Pleasure to meet you." You reach your hand out for a formal handshake. He slowly walks back over to you with this sexy look in his eyes, grabs the back of your hand and kisses it while looking deep into your soul.


You clasp your imaginary pearls around your neck and try not to melt in his hand.


He gives a sly but cute smirk and walks away. You head into your room, close the door behind you, walk over to your bed and collapse. You cannot believe what just happened and you just got to Seoul less than an hour ago! "If this is what day one is like, who knows how the rest of the trip is going to be!"