Affection | Jenlisa

Delay [M]

The airport is a wonderful place, a gateway to travel, adventure, luxury, romance, and fun. And birthdays are a time to celebrate and be happy for the existence of a person. And so, combine the two and a person at the airport on their birthday should really have a smile on their face. Right?

That is not the case for the gorgeous face of my girlfriend, Jennie Kim. Today is her twenty-five birthday. She is at Incheon International Airport with me, and she is not happy right now. To explain this, let's rewind a bit. Two months, to be exact.

Getting a birthday gift that someone else will like is hard. The fact that Jennie is the love of my life doesn't lessen the pressure one bit. And when my girlfriend is a businesswoman rich enough to buy damn near anything she could possibly want, it just gets that much harder to find a good gift, let alone the perfect one.

That brings us back to two months in advance, when I started to look for birthday gifts. A couple of weeks passed. Nothing on the endless shopping websites and apps. I tried going out to physical malls and stores. Nope, nothing for my girlfriend and I also had to avoid the horde of salespeople trying to get me to buy everything from phones to cosmetics. But I eventually did think of something that felt like a good gift.

I knew that my girlfriend had been stressed at work lately, and so I finally decided on a short holiday overseas. I had to tell Jennie early of course, since she would need to apply for leave from work. I quickly bought two business class tickets for a flight to Bali on her birthday and got ourselves a surprisingly cheap villa with a private pool there for a few days.

The night I told Jennie of my plans for her birthday, she was so happy she ended up rewarding me by pulling me with her into the shower and the two of us stayed there for the next couple of hours. She really liked the idea of a vacation together. She got her leave from work and that brings us back to the airport.

Our flight to Bali was delayed by three hours. It wasn't a huge amount of time. But Jennie was annoyed at the delay, and it was incredibly obvious.

Now, people normally stare at us in public. Not because we are a lesbian couple, but because Jennie is the closest thing to the perfect face most people will ever see. Cat eyes, fair skin, long sharp nose, small face, long smooth dark hair. She ticks all the boxes. It's not surprising that the gaze of men and women would automatically be drawn to her. This time though, it isn't just her beauty that is attracting attention. Jennie dressed simply today but is a vision of beauty in her black pants and top anyway.

We are sitting on a bench outside immigration, Jennie with her arms folded over her dark grey jacket and her black heels tapping impatiently on the floor. And while my girlfriend isn't kicking up a noisy fuss, she radiates an aura like dark thunder. Which is why I get a few curious stares as most people seem to somehow keep a wide berth from the bench we are on as they pass by.

"So...we have some time to kill. Do you maybe want to get a bite somewhere? Or maybe a drink? Tea?" I gently poke at her side, trying to distract her or otherwise make her a little less irritated. Her answer has me just a little taken aback.

"I need to release some stress."

I've heard that phrase many times before. I intimately know what Jennie means by it. But I've only ever heard it said in our house or in a hotel room. Not in the departure hall of Incheon International Airport.

"Here? In the airport? But where-"

But there was no arguing with my girlfriend once her mind was made up. She needs to vent, and so she will. Jennie stands up and stalks off, and I immediately take off after her. I follow her for a few minutes as she looks for the most isolated restroom she can possibly find.