ASTRAY- LEE KNOW

Chapter 2

Samara

present day

It's the day of the flight. I wake up early and get ready, taking an 'everything' shower before I check my packed bag to see if I've got everything. I text Leila and Baylee on our group chat, asking them whether they are ready. They respond, saying that they'll come to my house before we leave for the airport in the afternoon. 

For my airport outfit, I wear black baggy jeans and a cropped white t-shirt with a cool design that I don't know the meaning of (but for some reason I still like it...), and a black beanie, leaving my hair out under it. I wear my favourite necklace,  a gold-plated necklace with a small white crystal hanging from it, and wear a couple of gold-plated bracelets and rings to complete my outfit. I wear my most comfy trainers, black and white Nikes, and look at myself in the mirror, sighing as I finally finish getting ready. My phone pings a few times until I pick it up, and my friends say that they are almost at my house. I heave my full suitcase downstairs, while holding my handbag, and go into the kitchen, making myself a salad to eat so that I don't end up eating junk at the airport.  I'm a foodie, so it's going to take a lot of willpower to not eat anything at the airport while we wait for the boarding to begin, so I guess I'm going to make myself full now.

When my friends arrive, I'm ecstatic. I can't believe the time has finally come. The week before this day had been so slow, and school finally finished for the summer. Apparently it wasn't going to be too hot in Korea, but just the right temperature at around 22 degrees at an average. I say bye to my dad, hugging him and thanking him for what feels like the millionth time because he's the one who planned all of this, and I couldn't be more grateful.  We leave the house in our Uber, and take the 40 minute journey to the airport, while laughing and planning our stay in Seoul. I keep seeing these amazing videos of the Korean convenience stores online, and I mentally cannot comprehend that I'm going there in less than a day. 

Less than a day?

Wow.

My heart thumps inside my chest as we move through security and walk to our boarding gate, laughing while Baylee shows Leila and I the delectable pictures on the shared 'Korean Aesthetic'  Pinterest board us three had made ages ago, while wishing we were able to go to Korea. 

But suddenly, our conversations are stopped abruptly by a huge crowd moving towards a boarding gate. 

Our boarding gate.

All I can see is cameras, and a whole load of people surrounding a few men.

1,2...3,4,5..6,7...8 men wearing masks, surrounding by bodyguards holding bags and suitcases.

The 8 men...

they look Korean.

"No way...is that a K-pop group??", says Baylee, blinking in amazement.

"Wait...isn't it BTS or something...", asks Leila.

"Oh my god Leila, you're just saying that because the only K-pop group you know is BTS", I say, laughing.

"I think they are going on our flight...", says Baylee, slowly.

None of us are into K-pop, mainly because we have never listened to any songs...K-rap, hip-hop and RnB is our sort of thing. 

My friends start to speed up, interested in the idols. We enter the huge crowd of Korean people (and this is IN Sydney... maybe they were having a tour or something...?), and start getting pushed around by news reporters, many big cameras and bodyguards. I catch a glimpse of one of the members, staring at me. 

My breath catches in my throat.

He's not that tall, but he's...somewhat majestic.

With soft brown hair unstyled, wearing a black mask, a white t-shirt and black joggers, he's wearing a simple but comfortable airport outfit.