I shift in my seat for the thousandth times. Nothing seems to be comfortable to me. The more the time past, the more restless I became. I look out through the window to my right and stare at the clouds.
I am now on my way to see my ‘husband’. Pretty scary, huh? Especially when you don’t know who is it going to be. I look at my watch and my heart stops—well, it feels like it did. An hour to go before this plane lands in Korea.
I take a deep breath in and practise smiling. This is useless; I grunt in my thoughts and stand up. I make my way towards the toilet and stare at my reflection on the mirror.
“Hello, I'm Riley.” I say to my reflection and smile “What if he can’t speak English?! What am I supposed to do?”
I panic. Just don’t think about it, I convince myself. I clench my fist tight, as if telling myself to get a grip. A sigh loudly before exiting the toilet. I get back to my seat and pull out an earphone from my bag and put it in my phone. I play a random song and turn the volume up as high as it could go. Hopefully this will distract me.
Luckily for the other passengers, only I can hear this loud noise. I tap my fingers along with the beat of the music. It will be fine. I ensure myself as I nod confidently.
I pick up my luggage from the luggage pick-up and head outside. There, I see a lady holding a sign that says ‘Riley Park’. I make my way to her and smile politely.
“Hello, I'm Riley.” I inform.
Instantly, the lady bows and I do the same. Well, that feels strange. Never before in my life had I bowed as a greeting.
“I'm Hye Mi. Nice to meet you, Miss Park. Come this way.” she says, instructing me to follow her.
I follow her and we arrive at the parking lot. She stops at a car and knocks on the driver’s window. The driver gets out of the car and politely bows at me—which I do the same, before asking to put my luggage in the boot of the car. Without a word, I hand him my luggage.
“Thank you.” I say and smiling, showing my appreciation.
He smiles back and opens the door for me and Hye mi.
“Gamsahabnida,” Hye mi says and gestures for me to enter the car first.
Once all of us are in the car, the car starts to make its way out of the airport.
“You must be tired.” Hye Mi says, handing me a drink.
“Yes, I am very tired… thanks!” I thank her as I grab the drink from her hand “Do you know who my husband is?” I ask and feel my cheek starts to heat up.
She chuckles at the question and my face and eventually shakes her head. But a sly smile is plastered on her face.
“Haa~” I whine “you know who it is, don’t you?” I accuse and stomp my feet lightly.
“What? No?” she says, trying her hardest not to spill the bean.
I scrunch up my nose and give her a playful glare. It’s amazing how I can be friendly with her this quick. It’s not that I complain. This is better than us being all awkward!
“Your English is good.” I observe, giving her a compliment.
“I learn in English at university.” She explains, giving me a smile “you must be nervous, huh?”
I nod. Frowning a little bit as I play with the hem of my jacket. She reaches for my hands and squeezes it gently.
“It’s alright, you’ll be fine.” She ensure, punching the air “Fighting!”
