𝖿𝖺𝗋 𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗒 - 𝖼.𝗒

♥︎♡ ! >﹏< 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭 !

"stay together, you guys." mr. smith, our middle aged, laid back, kinda strange but kinda amazing teacher calls to us as we trail behind him through the hustle and bustle of the airport.

our exchange group from berkshire, england all just took an eight hour flight to jfk airport, new york. all of us are tired out of our minds. a baby was crying practically the entire journey meaning we got no sleep what so ever. my best friend, daeun, and i also spent like seven hours watching movies which also probably didn't help with the sleep situation.

we're all following mr. smith while half asleep. we reach this security area i think, where there are people in glass boxes scanning our faces and taking hand prints, thumb prints, and each individual finger prints. 

daeun and i glance at each other. they do this in america? why? seems a little over the top compared to what we're used to. anyway, after all of that, we're in baggage claim. so most of us are sat on the floor or our suitcases, just waiting for the last few of us to get their luggage when jayden says he needs to go to the toilet.

so then all seven of us go to the toilet. not a nice experience - absolutely filthy. the water is so much higher than in uk, and the doors are so high up that you can see people's lower legs while they're in the stall. not the nicest experience. when i was washing my hands at the sink, i looked at my reflection.

i still had a messy bun from the flight which i pulled out so that my dark brown hair can cascade around my shoulders. my brown eyes are sort of bloodshot from the exhaustion but it's not too noticeable. i wasn't wearing any makeup, so my beauty marks were visible. i was also wearing sweatpants and a hoodie.

i was excited to be there - a whole month living with an american family. i hope i'm not going to regret this. judging from our experience in the airport so far, it doesn't really seem the nicest. me and the american family have been speaking on and off on a whatsapp group chat, and occasionally video calling to get to know each other a little better. they're a family of five. mom - siwoo, dad - sehun, eldest - yeonjun, middle child - juwon, and youngest - jihye. jihye definitely seemed the most excited to meet me. they were all really nice from what i've seen, except juwon has the tendency to bicker and be mean to jihye, and i also never actually met yeonjun. he never spoke and was never on any of the video calls. that made me feel a bit uneasy, but i'm still really grateful that they're inviting me into their home to be a part of their lives for a whole month.

after a little while, the seven of us are heading out into the main entrance of the airport.

"alright, see if you can spot your families, if not - you come straight back here to me, okay? don't want anyone wondering off." mr. smith says while rubbing his sleepy brown eyes. "we're all meeting at the school tomorrow at eight am, okay? your exchange students should take you to the reception so i won't be hard to find." he tells us.

daeun and i glance at each other - both nervous and excited. i feel sort of jittery and strange but i guess that's normal.

"best behaviours, you guys. get lots of rest. be nice. jayden, don't blow anything up." mr. smith said, causing a few murmurs of amusement. "see you all tomorrow bright and early." he smiles sarcastically, as none of us are particularly thrilled for an early morning. "ok, scat."

so we all disperse in various directions, daeun spots her family instantly. "oh my god, they're there." she says.

i smile to her encouragingly. "see you tomorrow. text me whenever you can." she says to me.

i nod, and she waves goodbye as she wonders towards them.

"chaewon! chaewon!" i hear a little voice calling. i glance the other way, noticing jihye is jumping up and down, holding a sign that says yang chaewon.

i smile and begin heading in their direction. 

she's wearing a small denim dress and yellow buckled shoes. she has jet black hair and a cute little fringe. her mom is standing behind her, waving at me, also with black hair. she's wearing red lipstick to match her shirt and her eyes are friendly and approachable. then the youngest son, juwon is grinning at me. he's got black hair and dark brown eyes that match his t-shirt.

when i'm a few metres from them, siwoo says "hello sweetheart!" meanwhile jihye drops the sign and runs to me, smacking into me with the most massive hug. i laugh, hugging her back.

"how was the flight?" siwoo asks, walking closer.

"it was good." i lie.

"get any sleep?" she questions.

"none." i say with a little chuckle, and she laughs in response.

"aww." she says. "don't worry, we'll get you home so you can get some good rest." she says, squeezing me in a hug. "you must be shattered." she says before turning to juwon. "juwon, aren't you going to say hello?" she asks him.

"hello." he smiles awkwardly. he's fourteen, so probably too embarrassed to talk to a sixteen year old girl he hasn't properly met.

"hi." i smile back at him.

then siwoo tells jihye to let go of me so i can walk. she takes my bag off from my shoulder and continues to talk as we head for the exit. "well, you've got your own room so hopefully you'll have no trouble sleeping." she says. "sehun snores sometimes but i'll just punch him to shut up." she says, making me chuckle. "he's working at the moment, and yeonjun is out - i think he said he'd be home late tonight."

i nod, trying to take it all in. i still don't even know what yeonjun looks like, he's never spoken to me online before.

"i'm sure jihye will show you around, and give you the chance to have a nap and unpack. we'll eat around seven to give you the chance to get some good rest. do you like pizza?"

"we're getting pizza?!" jihye asks excited.

"yes!" juwon says with a mini fist bump.

"yeah, pizza is fine." i smile. "thank you."

"so polite!" she says as we make it outside. i'm hit with the heat. wow. a lot hotter in america than the uk, that's for sure. i'm kinda regretting wearing sweatpants right now. i think i'm gonna explode.

we make it to the car and are on our way to their home. jihye is pointing out different land marks and spewing random facts as we go past different buildings.

"jihye, no one want to hear your word vomit." juwon says to her.

"juwon, play nice." siwoo warns.

"then by all means, carry on with the word vomit." he says sarcastically.

i smile slightly with amusement. "it's fine, i don't mind." i say, and she continues to speak at an extreme speed, making siwoo and i chuckle with amusement.

then we reach the house.