If You

Vacation

Emily was writing on her laptop next to Seungri's bed when there was a soft tap on the door. "Good morning," Jiyong called, entering the room. "How'd we sleep?"

Seungri rolled his eyes. "I'm not a kid, Jiyong," he reminded him. "I slept fine."

Jiyong smiled as he kissed Emily on the top of her head. "I have a surprise for you," he said, handing her an envelope. Emily closed her laptop and set it on a nearby table. "Is today a special occasion?" she asked, inspecting the envelope closely. Jiyong shook his head. "Just open it," he prodded.

Emily tore it open and pulled out two glossy tickets. "I don't..." she scanned them and her eyes widened. "These are tickets to Nashville," she whispered, looking up at him. "Am I...?"

"We," Jiyong corrected, leaning against the bed. "We're going to Nashville."

Emily let out a shriek and threw her arms around him. "I can't believe it!" she gasped. "This is the best surprise ever!"

Jiyong laughed. "I thought it would be," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "It's about time I met your family anyway."

Emily pulled back, tears on her cheeks. "When do we leave? she asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon. We'll spend a week there."

Emily hugged him again. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Next time we're all going," Seungri said decidedly. "You're just lucky I'm stuck here and can't stow away in a suitcase."

Emily laughed. "Next time," she promised. "I have to call my sister," she said, squeezing Jiyong's hand before leaving the room. As she dialed she felt another wave of excitement crash over her. I'm going home! she thought excitedly.

******

Emily could barely contain her excitement as the plane taxied up to the gate. We're here! she thought ecstatically. We're actually here!

They got off the plane and entered the familiar airport. It was fairly busy for a weekday, though not nearly as packed as the airport in Seoul. The buzzing conversations around her were trivial, but in English, which was surprisingly comforting.

"Interesting," Jiyong muttered.

"What?"

"I was just expecting more cowboy hats," Jiyong confessed.

Emily burst out laughing. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll see plenty," she promised, tucking her arm under his. They retrieved their bags and went up to the pickup area. Jiyong checked his watch. "What time did they say they would be here?"

"Emily!"

Emily turned around just in time for her sister to barrel into her. "Hey Mandie," she gasped. "Don't squeeze me to death."

Mandie let go just as their brother ran up. "Hey Em!" he said, picking her up and swinging her around. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Me either," she said breathlessly. "You can put me down now."

He set her down and she pushed her hair out of her face. "Mandie, Silas, this is Jiyong."

Jiyong bowed deeply. "It's nice to meet you," he said. Silas gripped his hand and shook it heartily. "Heard a lot about you," he said. "Nice to put a face to the name."

"That's a beautiful jacket," Mandie breathed, eyeing the patterned material. "Emily said you had wonderful taste."

"That's quite a compliment," he said, giving Emily a wink.