14 Days of Winter: A Journal by Kim Hajoon

Day One: A Mistake in London

KIM HAJOON'S JOURNAL ENTRY:
SUN, DEC 13TH, 2020. 9:15 PM GMT.
London Heathrow Airport. International Arrivals.
Quarantine Registration Waiting Area.

Journal-nim... Twelve hours and fifteen minutes. My God. I'm still 21, but a flight that long seemed to age me by ten years already. My entire body's aching, from head to toe. One day I should try flying Business Class. When will I have the money, though?

I am writing this while waiting for my name to be called by the quarantine registration officer. Kekeke... They have a quarantine registration officer. We're living in crazy times, aren't we, Journal-nim? Let's hope I'll get called quickly.

In the meantime... Should I recount everything that happened since the plane touched down at precisely 8.30 pm? Ah, it's all the usual, really... I went out of the plane, got tested, returned negative (as expected), and queued at the immigration checkpoint. Now, that's where things get interesting.

As I was queueing on the line, keeping my physical distance from the man in front of me, when I saw a girl queueing in the other lane. She was... Well, let's just say she was the cutest girl I've ever seen in my life. She was so small, so petite, and although I can only see her eyes, I could immediately tell that... That facemask was hiding a really beautiful face.

She was traveling alone, by the looks of it, and she was holding a Korean passport. She's a fellow Korean, and she looks younger than me. Maybe she's a student. She dresses quite sharply too with colourful colours, so maybe a freshman in UAL? Maybe a Fashion Design major? Ah... Will I ever get to know her?

I pity her, though. She was trying her best to stay calm, but she was clearly agitated... Or nervous. It's normal. I was like her too when I first came here. It was really hard to leave Appa, Eomma, and my little sister Ha-na. I remember I cried a lot when I came here the first time, feeling so lonely.

But... That being said, I made friends pretty quickly, and I have been stuck with these three dudes for the past three years: Joseph, Ernest, and Ryan. Filipino, Singaporean, and Indonesian. All amazing designers, all stupidly fun. What a perfect group! I can't wait to meet those crackheads again in 10 days. Here's hoping that the cute girl can soon make friends like I did.

Speak of the devil... The girl has just entered the same waiting area. She's playing with her phone now, sitting a few rows behind me. Maybe she's telling her family back in Korea that she's arrived safely here. Should I approach her? No. Hang on. We're in the middle of a pandemic. We should keep our distance with each other.

Right. My name's being called. I'll write again after I reach the hotel. Gosh. I can't wait for a proper hot bath. Let's hope there's a bathtub in my hotel room. Am I being too much?

***

KIM HAJOON'S JOURNAL ENTRY:
SUN, DEC 13TH, 2020. 9:45 PM GMT.
Bus from Heathrow to London.
One hour drive.

I'm writing this from inside the bus that's taking me from Heathrow to the city, but... Something really strange just happened.

The officer at the airport called my name: "Kim Ha Joon, South Korea", and I presented myself. The officer checked my documents, and assigned me to be quarantined at The Savoy. The–frickin'–Savoy! I couldn't believe my luck and I was stunned. I guess these 10 days won't be as bad as I imagined it will be.

However, that wasn't the strange part. The strange part was when the officer said that I was lucky that I'm going to be quarantined together with my partner. That must be a mistake, right? I travelled here alone, and I'm single. Been single my whole life. Strange, right? Ah... He must be joking, or misspoke. It must have been a tiring day for him.