Boundaries --> Yoonmin

Chapter 1

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard flight 337 to New York. We are preparing for takeoff, so please check that your tray tables are closed and your seats are in the upright position. Thank you for choosing to fly with Korea Airlines; we will be in the air shortly."

As the pilot finished his speech, I released a long sigh from fatigue and took a moment to look around the plane.

The large variety of people on airplanes always captivated me; I found it strange how so many different people could all be heading toward the same destination, as if that one similarity inexplicably bonded us together.

Two rows down from my seat, a young boy looked scared out of his mind. His face was contorted into an expression of pain, his hands clenched together with his mother's, like she would be the only way to live through the terror of flying for the first time.

I wanted to roll my eyes at his anxiety. There was no reason to be afraid; airplanes were designed and engineered to be the safest they could possibly be, not to mention the plane had already been examined and cleared of all safety violations in preparation for takeoff.

Glancing further to the back of the plane, I noticed an elderly couple sitting with their hands intertwined, smiling at each other and laughing at what seemed to be a secret joke.

A smile crept onto my face as I realized that they were living proof of love's ability to prevail through physical and mental deterioration.

I hope to be like that some day.

I continued to analyze other passengers on the plane until I finally looked upon the people seated in my own row.

To my left sat my younger brother, tapping his fingers impatiently on the armrest between us.

He glanced over at my mother next to him and shook his head in irritation. "We've been sitting here for almost thirty minutes now. Are we ever going to leave?" he said, his voice laced with annoyance.

My mother shared an exasperated look with my father, who was sitting to the right of her, and began to fan herself with a magazine from the pouch in front of her.

"No need to get so worked up, Jihyun," she replied. "I'm sure we'll be leaving any minute now." As if on cue, the plane began to move, picking up speed. "Oh, thank God," I heard her mutter under her breath.

We were finally leaving to go on a two-week family vacation to New York that we'd been planning since last spring, and my mother was particularly excited about getting out of the country to experience something new and refreshing.

After the plane was officially in the air, my brother pulled out his Nintendo DS and earphones, successfully shutting everyone out and escaping into his own world. My father nodded off to sleep, and my mother busied herself with the food menu, presumably searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth.

And so, I sat in silence, taking in my surroundings and listening to the steady rhythm of the plane's engine beneath my feet.

Two hours into the flight, we seemed to have hit a rough patch of turbulence. I leaned over my family to peer out the window and was frightened by the cold darkness of the clouds outside. A flash of lightning appeared, and I flinched, leaning back into my seat. The plane shook heavily, and I clasped the armrests beside me.

Jihyun took out one of his earphones and looked at our parents, a slightly panicked expression on his face. "What's going on? Why is the plane shaking so much?"

My dad simply waved off his concern, nestling further into his headrest. "Just a small storm, that's all," he said amidst a yawn.

My mother nodded her head in agreement, now searching through the movie selection on the plane. "No need to worry, 'hon."

Despite their lack of worry, the air of uneasiness surrounding my brother never seemed to fade. He was silent for a few seconds until he admitted, "I just wish hyung was here with us. At least then I wouldn't be the only one freaking out." At this, I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, waving my hand in front of Jihyun's face. "I'm right here, idiot." But he didn't seem to notice me, instead looking straight through me to our mom.

She sighed. "Me too, sweetie. But you saw how sick he was this morning. A 103 degree fever! Jimin will just have to fly to New York in a couple of days when he's feeling better."

Again, I felt lost about this conversation. What fever is she talking about? I'm totally fine.

I groaned in frustration and gestured to myself. "Will you guys please stop ignoring me? I'm right here. Jimin is right here, sitting next to you on the plane right now!"

But nobody heard me, not did they even glance at me.

Ignoring the extreme turbulence, I unbuckled my seatbelt and walked over to a couple of flight attendants sitting at the back of the plane. "Excuse me, do you know how much longer this storm will last? I'm just growing a bit uncomfortable from all this shaking." Neither of them looked up at me, acting as if I wasn't there at all.

"Is it really that bad?" One said in surprise and horror. "What are we supposed to tell the passengers? Is it even safe to--"

"Excuse me," I said again, interrupting the woman. But she continued to talk without even a glance in my direction. I shook my head and walked back to my seat, an uneasy feeling settling in. Something was definitely wong. Why wasn't anyone noticing me?

And within one moment, everything changed.

Suddenly, I wasn't inside the plane anymore. Instead, I was outside, watching from amongst the clouds.

What the hell?

Before I had time to think about how I had gotten there, the tail of the airplane caught fire, causing the body to erupt into violent shakes. I gasped and felt the unmistakable grip of fear begin to take over my body.

Within the next minute, the engine failed and the wings were consumed by a blazing fire. The plane started to nosedive into the land below me at a startling speed, my family still trapped inside.

I screamed as the plane's body ultimately fell past the clouds and into the dark abyss.

•
• • •
•

I woke up in the guest bedroom of my aunt's house panting, tears streaming down my face. Sweat covered my forehead, presumably from the summer Seoul heat enveloping me.

There was no need to try and figure out what had just happened,  because I already knew--it was the same dream I'd been having for the past several days.

"Why?" I whispered, my voice still hoarse from the flu I'd come down with a week and a half ago.

The same flu that had prevented me from going to New York with my family.

"Why me?" I asked again. Scenes of the recent crash, audio clips of the news reports danced around my mind like a waltz that could kill.

"Mom, Dad, Jihyun--" my lips trembled as my head collapsed into my hands, trying to keep myself from completely breaking down. "I miss you."