His Song

Seoul, South Korea

I lean my head against the plane window, watching as my hometown gets smaller and smaller. A quiet sigh pushes past my lips, and I turn to the empty seat next to me in thought. Should I be doing this right now? Of course I should. It's not like I'm leaving much behind anyway.

A young flight attendant smiles brightly, "Would you like anything to eat, ma'am?"

I shake my head no in response. She nods before pushing her cart down the aisle. There were only about five other passengers on the plane, not including the pilots and flight attendants. I put my earbuds back in my ears and listened to my favorite playlist. "Moonchild," by RM, starts playing, and I smile softly, slowly falling into a deep, much needed slumber.

~~°°••°°~~

"Ma'am? Could you buckle up, please? We'll be landing soon."

I nod groggily and fasten my seatbelt. Looking at the small screen in front of me, I watch as the little plane icon starts moving closer to a dot labeled, "Seoul."

My breath hitches in my throat when the plane begins to shake violently, my fingernails dig into the plastic armrests, and my feet lift up. The plane hits the runway, causing everything to bounce up, including myself. I let out a shaky breath and unlocked my phone, turning airplane mode off.

Dozens of notifications flood my phone, making it freeze up for a few seconds. Most of them are from Twitter, so I clicked on them first. They were mostly tweets and DM's from my internet friends. All of them wish me well for the journey ahead of me.

I couldn't help but smile as I replied to them all. I check my other notifications and slide my phone into my back pocket. It's time to exit, so I gather all of my things and make my way out of the plane.

The second I step into the airport, I'm bombarded with different scents and noises. I blink in amazement and spin around to see everything. There are people of all kinds everywhere, all of them running around in a frenzy. I smile to myself and make my way over to the luggage area.

I stand next to a girl my age. She has blue hair and the most beautiful amber toned skin I have ever seen. Her eyes are a light brown, and I catch myself staring at her for longer than I should.

I see my large suitcase coming down, so I quickly run over and drag it down. It falls over, and a loud bang rings throughout the airport. I look around in embarrassment, but no one seemed to notice nor care. The pretty girl from before laughs and helps me set my suitcase back up.

"Rough day, huh?" she asks

I smile awkwardly, "Yeah."

She looks down at my suitcase, eyeing my Koya luggage tag. "You like BTS? Is that why you're in Korea?"

"Yes, and no. I'm moving here because I needed new surroundings, K-Pop is just a bonus."

"Ah, me too. Life back home in America was beginning to feel too stuffy."

I nod my head, "I can relate to that."

"That's my suitcase right there, so I should get going. I wish you well on your journey!"

I give her a small wave, and she runs over to collect her belongings. I grab my own stuff and walk out to find a taxi.

~~°°••°°~~

Unpacking everything wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I didn't bring much with me as I knew I would most likely buy new stuff here. So, it only took me a couple of hours to unpack.

It's nine o'clock, but I've always heard that Seoul is still bustling at night. The Han River isn't too far from my apartment, and according to a travel vlogger on TikTok, it's even prettier at night. So, I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to go there for a little while.

I gather my stuff and walk down the street, listening to my playlist. My foot hits a pebble, causing it to fly through the air, and I watch as it lands in a small water puddle. It's a chilly night, and a soft breeze causes goosebumps to rise on my skin. The stars above shine bright, but I could just barely see them through the smog.

I turn into the large park and look around in awe. It's beautiful and looks like it was ripped straight out of a fairytale. I weave in between the young couples and trees, trying to find a quiet area to hide. There's a lone bench resting under a tree a little ways ahead, so I make my way over to it.

It's obvious this area of the park isn't visited often. Thick vines grow over the bench, and wildflowers sprout from the cracks in the sidewalk. I sit on the bench and stare at the water ahead of me. The lights from the city reflect off of the water, making it look even more lively.

The wind blows again, leaves swirl around me, and petals from the flowering tree above land in my hair. I close my eyes and let out a deep breath. It's much quieter over here, and the scent of the surrounding flowers brings a new sense of peace. I'm in complete bliss.

A deep voice pulls me out of my thoughts, I open my eyes to see someone standing in front of me.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

They let out a soft chuckle, "Sorry, I didn't realize you're a foreigner. I asked if you were okay?"

I nod, "I'm fine, and there's no need to speak in english. I can speak Korean."

His voice is muffled by his face mask, and it's too dark to see what he looks like. He points to the bench, "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Of course not," I respond in Korean.

He sits next to me, leaning his head back, "The weather's nice tonight."

"Yes, it is," I say quietly.

He sits up straight, "So how long have you been in Korea?"

"Around five hours," I answer.

He tilts his head. "Five hours? I imagine your flight was long. So, why aren't you sleeping?"

I shrug, "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to explore."

He goes to say something, but his phone starts ringing. He looks at the caller ID and frowns, "I'm sorry, I have to go, but maybe I'll see you around?"

I nod but realize he probably couldn't see,  "Have a good night."

"You too," he says, answering his phone as he walks away.

I'm intrigued by the man, but the possibilities of us meeting again are slim. Maybe I should've asked for his number, because at least then I would have someone here that I know. But, perhaps exchanging numbers with a man you just met in the park at night wouldn't be a good idea.

I give the river one last look before going back to my apartment.