Fernweh

Chapter 4

They were all seated in the limousine with their carry-on luggage after they arrived at the Incheon International Airport. It had taken them about an hour getting out of the airport, after the baggage claim. The airport was elegant. They took a lot of pictures at the airport while Nikki tried to jot down some descriptive points of the airport, much to Melanie's annoyance.

They were enjoying the spacious interior of the limousine and capturing some candid moments of each other. They arrive at the Four Seasons Hotel, Seoul after a 50-minute journey in the limousine. As soon as they arrived, they were greeted by staff who were in traditional Korean attire. Nikki, fluent in Korean, greeted them and walked in. Parker, who had learned a bit of Korean over of the years and greeted them while Melanie and Riana just smiled politely. Their accommodation was a Sejong two-bedroom suite which overlooked the Sejong road, with Floor-to-Ceiling wraparound windows surrounding the living and dining area, making the suite brightly lit and gave it an airy and pleasant look. Both bedrooms were on opposite sides . It was decided between them that Parker and Nikki would be sharing a room while Riana and Melanie would be sharing a room. They made sure all their luggage was in place and assessed whether everything was in place around the two-bedroom suite before they fell asleep out of exhaustion.

It was a short nap. Parker was getting dressed up for the briefing about the runway in the conference room on the ground floor. She looked ready for the briefing clad in a comfy looking navy turtleneck top and cream shaded pencil skirt with a thigh-high slit and white sneakers. She had let her hair down and her shades further accentuated her toned features. She had left at about half-past five. Melanie, Riana and Nikki took a shower and got a change of clothes and were all set to go see all the luxuries offered by the Four Season's hotel. Melanie walked out first with Riana following her and Nikki locking the suite. Nikki felt that the hallway was more visible to her than the last time she walked the same path. She saw that there weren't more than 5 rooms on their floor, even though the elevator was quite a distance from their suite, which was somewhat in the middle of the floor. As they walked towards the elevator, they didn't notice any guests from the other suites. Everything looked clean and finished to perfection. The tables laid out in front of each suite covered with laces and on it was placed a vase with beautiful pleasant smelling white flowers. They were then on their way to the ground floor. The doorman opened the doors of the old fashioned elevator and they walked out into the foyer. Four men dressed in suits were walking towards the conference room, some staff members were carrying some trays into the conference and some were taking towels and refreshments out into the wide outdoor garden which was a large expanse of lush green field. There was a stack of magazines placed on the stand fixed to the wall. Melanie took out the pamphlet that read 'Four Season welcomes you...'.

While Melanie took her time reading the pamphlet, with Riana peering over, Nikki took another pamphlet and read it. There was the spa, sauna, gym, playroom, cycling track, swimming pool, the artificial lake,....

"Trekking trail", Riana muttered loudly, just when Nikki read the same. "Let's first go there.", Riana decided. "No.", Melanie disagreed, which was reasonable considering her wardrobe choice. She wore a red flared hem dress which came up to her knee, with clear sandals. Riana assessed Melanie's outfit and gave her a disapproving look. "Ok, then. You decide." Melanie didn't expect this from Riana. She was stunned for a moment, before she decided," Let's go look at the spa". Riana's annoyance was visible in her face but she didn't react. She always didn't. Nikki quickly curbed the Cold War by chiming in, "No, let's go to the Koi lake first."

The mood calmed a bit, and they were back to their chitter chatters. Nikki understood they brought out the child in each other. Squabbles, waves of laughter, fights, disagreements over small things. They believed those trivial things were the most significant things if even for an instant. It represented 'them'.