The Art of Wayfinding

Air-time

Drool. Jeanie had been in the kind of sleep that doesn't happen often enough. The kind that happens when you're so sick that your body shuts down and your mouth slacks open. Sleeping like a baby sounded sweeter, but in the end, it was really just drool. She closed her eyes. There was no pretending this away. He was not just cute, he had been so kind. 

"You're awake. We both know it...and you don't have to worry about dehydration from the looks of things. I've been using this cup to save as much as I could as proof for you," he lifted a cup a third full of water  Jeanie felt her face tint a shade of rose pink. She still hadn't released his arm, and she turned in his direction with a smile that she hoped was cute. His eyes were twinkling, and she could see he was not upset with her. "Do you need a cloth to wipe your face?" he asked. He hit the corner of his own mouth with a finger to show her where she needed to clean herself up. Song Ji Yeong chuckled at her shock and the swipe she made at her face. She had released his arm, and it gave him the opportunity to remove the suit coat.

Jeanie took the suit coat from him quickly and excused herself to use the restroom. "죄송합니다(joesonghamnida)." she bowed her head at him before making her way around him to the aisleway. Song Ji Yeong was surprised by the level of her apology and the swiftness of her actions. While they obviously hadn't known each other very long, she did appear to have moments that made her seem a bit bubble headed...so it seems that there was something to be said for first impressions. He returned to the work he was trying to finish on his laptop.

Song Ji Yeong wasn't completely sure how long it took to wash slobber from a suit coat, but Jeanie had been gone for a fair amount of time for him to notice her absence. He looked up the aisle toward the restrooms and behind them to those that were at the rear of the plane.  She was there, chatting with a mother and her toddler. The child had dropped a toy in the aisle and he watched her smile and pick it up. She would hand it to him, and he would drop it just to watch her pick it up again. The mother was laughing along with Jeanie as the boy tried once more to drop the toy. His mother patiently took the toy and told him that he couldn't continue the game. There was a bit of upset and Jeanie's face turned upside down in worry. She bent down beside their seats and covered her face with her hands, splitting her fingers as if spying on him. The child quieted and the mother seemed to appreciate the effort. A man came up the aisleway and nudged her to move. Jeanie stood and apologized, while the man just grunted past her and continued on his way to the restroom. She didn't seem to be bothered by it, and kindly shrugged her shoulders at the woman and her child and smiled excusing herself, and making her way to him and her seat. 

"Don't expect any miracles, but, I think I got it all," she grinned. He was suddenly a bit star struck by the mega watt white of her teeth. "Have I been interrupting your work?" she asked sliding into her seat. Song Ji Yeong gave her his full attention after closing the folder he had open on his laptop.

"It can wait," he smiled gently.  "I saw you with that mother and her little boy. Do you work with children?" he asked. Jeanie looked surprised. "Is that question too intrusive?" he asked apologetically.

"No, it's not that," she replied with a smirk, "Hmm. There's a way that we can make this a bit more entertaining. I think that I can guess what you do in five guesses. How many for you to guess mine?" she asked. "Winner gets..." she thought for a moment.

" A flick on the forehead. You've watched the dramas, I'm sure. A flick on the forehead seems quite appropriate in this situation. I can do it in three," he answered swiftly. Jeanie giggled. He was right.  It did seem like the right thing to do. " You guess first." He sat back and waited for her to begin. 

She thought for a moment. "You're a manager for two rising stars in the entertainment industry." He laughed and crossed his arms in an large x. "You're the owner of two large resorts, and are searching for a new property manager." He appeared shocked by the thoughtfulness of the job description. His arms again went up to form an x. "You're a...what are those things called?...a diplomat. You've just come back from the US and have to report back to the Blue House. He chuckled. This was a bit fun. His arms went into an x. "Cheese on a cracker...what exactly do you do, Mr. Song?" she pushed herself back into her seat. 

"Cheese on a cracker??" he repeated. She laughed heartily with a nod. Jeanie curled her legs up beside her wishing she had a blanket. 

"You are a cyber-security whiz for a large IT company who had to stop some hackers from stealing secrets from one of your  large customers."  He gave her thought some credibility, but still held up the arm x. Jeanie had to laugh. "It looks like I may end up having a red mark on my forehead for the remainder of this ride," she whispered. 

"One more chance," Song Ji Yeong reminded her. "Take your time," he closed his eyes as if preparing to take a nap. Jeanie sat in quiet contemplation for about fifteen minutes. Long enough that he did actually think about napping.

"Ok, you're aeronautic engineer searching for a crew for the space station." she laughed. He laughed with the x obvious.

"What?" he laughed. "Do I give off scientist vibes?" She shrugged her shoulders with a giggle.

"I have no idea what kind of vibes a scientist gives off. But you do look smart." she admitted. He nodded in agreement. He prepared his finger...and she prepared her forehead for a smacking. 

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," she  cringed as she pulled her bangs up and closed her eyes tightly. 

"Yeah. I really do." He flicked her expertly right between her eyebrows. She held her head with a laugh. "It feels a lot better when I watch it on television." He laughed with her.

 "Okay, now it's your turn..." she squinted her eyes at him. He smiled with a nod.

"Well, I almost got a freebie," he winked. "You're a street artist who draws those chalk drawings for cities to cover up eyesores." She loved his answer.

"Is that even a thing?! I would love that job! But...deng! Wrong answer." 

"You're an English major who thought that it would be easier to teach people from another country English than the ones that are already supposed to know the rules of it." The answer really made Jeanie laugh. He had a way of saying things that were great observations but also quite humorous. She shook her head negatively. 

"Your family friends owns a noraebang(karaoke bar) in Seoul and told you to come and run it for them while they went on vacation. You, being the free spirit that you are, decided that adventure starts now, and took them up on their offer." He did make her smile. 

"Isn't that a nice way of saying I'm jobless...and homeless?" she quipped with a wink. "Sorry to let you down, but I have both a job and a home, thank you very much," she held up an x. "I'm going to flick you and afterward, we can share what we really do. "Jeanie stretched her fingers.

He closed his eyes gently and she flicked him quite hard. "Ouch!" he surprised her with the outburst. "Remind me not to make you angry," he rubbed his forehead. "So, Miss MacKenzie, what is it that you do to make your way in the world?"