A Sound from the Moon

Two

My flight got delayed to 10:35 am. So I have time to visit my mother one last time. I didn't get to hear her voice. She was sound asleep. I only got to memorize each part of her face before I left. I tried to remember her as alive as she used to be before cancer. I barely remember her like that.

SM Entertainment paid for my flight. I've only been to Seoul once when I was ten years old. My parents grew up there and I remember being very amused by everything. I wanted to stay. But we came back to San Francisco and a year later, my mother found out she had cancer. I haven't traveled since.

If I'm not wrong, I remember being extremely tiring after the flight. I hated being on the airplane. I think I puked the last time I went to Seoul. I was sick that whole first week.

But this time, I take a deep breath and get on that plane. It's a twelve hour flight, so I made sure to bring a book and downloaded music. I squeeze my way through the narrow aisles of people trying to set their luggage on top of them or under their seats. I find my seat and smile when I see that I got the seat by the window. I remember my only favorite part of traveling was seeing the large sky surround us through a small window. This time, I see the sun set and rise over transparent clouds.

The man next to me begins to snore after five hours of being here. I roll my eyes at the annoying sound and put on my earphones for the hundredth time. I think I may be able to finish this book once the flight is over.

My stomach begins to remind me how much it hates to travel by the eighth hour. I begin to move around in my seat and tell myself that there's only four hours left.

I have to push myself out into the aisle to stretch my calves. My bottom is so soar by the time I use the restroom. Their food is disgusting. Did SM choose the worst airline for me?

By the last hour, my stomach can't handle it anymore. I run to the restroom and puke out the disgusting food I ate hours before. Finally, landing is about to initiate and I hold on tight to the seat handles. I close my eyes when the strong shaking begins as we lower to the ground. My insides turn again and I hold in the nausea.

I practically push through with my handbag tight to my chest as I run to the front to escape this suffocating place. I could practically kiss the ground when I finally step into the airport. Instead, I run to the nearest bathroom and puke one last time.

I check the time on my phone when I tiredly wait for my luggage. I change the time and see that it's 2:45 pm. I look at the large wall of glass showing off a bright sky of blue. I let out a tired sigh and look back for my luggage getting slid in. I take a strong hold of my luggage and tiredly walk to the area where arrivals do their last check out. Then I reach for their electrical stairs to escape this place once and for all.

The moment I set off the electrical stairs, I see a man dressed in a suit holding up a sign saying: Kim Yerim.

Yerim? The last time someone called me that was my father.

I let out a sigh and walk up to the blank-faced man. He asks for my ID and is satisfied with the one I give him. He doesn't say another word as he takes my luggage and leads me out to a long black car. I suddenly realize that this is it. It's just starting. Fame. Training. The spotlight.

I hesitate before going into the black car. I look out the window as we drive past the airport. There's no going back now.

Seoul has changed in the past eight years. It's become more industrial and modern. It's much more populated as well. I wonder what other things is there to discover here. If I wasn't so tired, I'd tell the driver to take me to the nearest marketplace or something.

Instead, I'm taken to an apartment complex. It's not near the busiest part of the city I think. There's small restaurants and stores nearby. It looks welcoming. At this point, I don't care if I'm in the creepiest neighborhood in Seoul. I just want a bed and real food.