Taste | Changbin

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Stepping into the airport to go back to South Korea was a relief. Lennon's hair was hidden beneath a black beanie. Charcoal framed sunglasses sat on the bridge of her nose. An oversized hoodie hung off of her. To complete the look, she added a white face mask to cover her face. 

The band walked ahead in front of her. Keeping her head down, she ignored the flashes of lights from fans. Yelling floated around them. Most of the questions were shot towards Changbin. Like Lennon, he kept his head down and ignored them. 

She was thrilled when they arrived on the plane. They had reserved an odd number of seats, so someone would have to sit next to a stranger. She jumped at the chance, not wanting to risk sitting next to one of the members of the band. 

Since deciding to quit, she had been trying to distance herself from them as much as possible. They kept trying to get her to break. Han had apologized for his outburst, she just nodded, and walked away. Felix had gotten her a green tea and thought that maybe that would cause her to snap out of her daze, but it didn't. 

Chan and Changbin had yet to remind her that she was locked in her contract. Their manager hadn't even realized that something was going on. She only spoke to him when she had to. Most of the time, he was running things behind the scenes, so she didn't get to talk to him much. 

Climbing into the plane, she found herself in the back of it. Her seat was near the window and she was glad. When she wasn't entertaining herself, she'd be able to stare out of it. Getting lost in the deep blue sky and puffy marshmallow clouds. 

She pulled headphones out of her backpack, hooked them into her phone, placed them into her ears, and put on music. People were still boarding the plane, it'd take a bit before everyone was on and properly seated. The soft melody in her ears caused her to ease up. 

She hadn't slept much the past few nights. This morning, she hadn't even bothered to put on her normal makeup. She woke up, showered, changed into a pair of black jeans, and threw on a hoodie. Their bus had dropped them off at the airport. 

After JYP sent out an announcement about canceling the California dates, Texas fans realized that they were going back to South Korea. There was only one airport in the area, so they flocked there like sheep. One of the airport security guards said they had been there for hours. Some of the fans had shown up the previous night after the concert. 

Their tour was split into two parts. The first half was in the United States. The second half would focus on the areas around South Korea. Apparently, the band thought there would be more performances spread out across North America, but that wasn't their decision. JYP and his crew had picked the final destinations.

In a terrible way, Lennon was glad that the first part of the tour was ending. She had no idea what she was going to do when she got back to South Korea. It'd be late Friday evening when they got back. They didn't work on the weekends, so she'd probably just go to her apartment. 

Back home to her apartment, the thought of it thrilled her. She hadn't been there for weeks. It'd be nice to go back home and lay in her own bed. Take a shower in her own place and let herself completely relax.  

Shuffling caused her to glance over, she quickly paused her music. An older lady sat down next to her. She glanced over her shoulder and stared at Lennon. Anxiety spiked in her chest. She had taken off her face mask and sunglasses upon sitting down. She had pulled off the beanie and let her hair spill down her back. Did this lady know who she was? 

A smile spread across the lady's face to reveal straightened pearly white teeth. "I like your hair, it's pretty. Did you do that yourself?" 

She pulled out her headphones and shook her head. "Thank you. I wanted to, but I couldn't see the back of my head. I went to a salon and had it done professionally." 

"I wish I had the courage to do something wild like that with my hair. I'm sixty-eight, so I'm afraid that my wild and crazy days are over." 

"You're sixty-eight?" Lennon couldn't stop her jaw from dropping. "You look so young, it's incredible!" 

Hearty laughter bubbled up from the woman's chest. "Dear heavens, no! Gosh, I wish I could be young again. That's actually why I'm here, I'm going to visit my daughter, her husband, and their new baby. My daughter moved to South Korea a few years ago and she just had a baby. I've never met her, so I'm really excited to see them!"  

"That's so exciting. One of my friends just had a baby recently too! She actually let me keep an eye on her baby while she was staying at the hospital under observation. She was pretty cute. I'm sure you'll have a great time." 

The woman nodded, "I sure hope so. Video calls can only help so much. The distance has been hard, so I'm excited to be able to hug my daughter. I might hug her and never let her go." 

Lennon let out a laugh. For once, she was forced to socialize and she was yanked out of her negative headspace. It was nice to be able to talk to someone and not focus on the band. She forgot how good it felt to laugh. 

"Do you think a flight attendant will be here soon? I skipped out on breakfast and I'm starving." Her stomach let out a loud rumble to further prove her point. "Gosh, I'm so sorry." 

"Don't apologize, I'm sure the flight will start soon." 

As if right on cue, a static noise filled the air. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are now initiating take off. Please make sure you're seated and buckle your seat belts. Thank you for choosing to fly with Genesis Airlines." 

"Thank goodness! I was starting to get worried." The woman buckled the seat belt around her lap. 

Lennon already had hers' on. The plane rumbled to life beneath them. She closed her eyes as it began speeding down the runway to take off. This was the worst part for her. 

At least, she was by someone she felt like she could trust.