Pop & Seoul

Chapter Three

~Here's a picture of Aera~

Bright light streams in through my window and the bright, Saturday morning sun beats down on my face. The sound of the city is like an alarm clock. Loud and alive, reminding me of new adventures. I roll over on my side, reaching for my phone on the side table. I pick up my phone and press the home button. My eyes pop open. What? It's only 6:35 in the morning? I thought I slept in. Well even if I did it's not like I'm doing anything special today. I sit up and stretch, analyzing my room. Hiro lays at the end of my bed, peacefully asleep. I smile at the old cat, bending over, scratching his head. He rolls around in the sheets and purrs. I laugh silently, being careful not to wake anyone up. I slip out of bed and head over to my desk. Flipping open my laptop I run my feet along the fluffy grey carpet underneath my chair. Opening the Instagram tab, I find Hanuel's page. She's been posting about school alot lately. I scroll through her page some more and look at some of her other posts. I see some of my other friends in her posts. We've all grown up since the last time we saw eachother. I sigh, shutting down my laptop, leaning back in my chair. Maybe I should go back to sleep, everyone won't be up for a while anyway. I walk back over to my bed, looking out the window once more. My eyes search the sky. I see a plane flying by and for some reason my mind runs back to Mr. Creep fast asleep on my shoulder. I feel my face heat up and butterflies begin fluttering around in my belly. Ugh! Forget about him Aera, he's just some random guy who just happened to be on the same flight as you. He doesn't matter. Stop getting all fuzzy when you think about him, I tell myself. Trying to erase my thoughts I curl back into bed and fall asleep once again.

I wake up to the sound of my phone buzzing and the smell of kimchi and rice. I get up slowly and look outside, squinting into the sun. It's busier outside compared to when I first woke up. I reach for my buzzing phone. It's Haneul! I quickly accept the call.

"Aera!" I hear her scream.

"Jeez what are you trying to do? Blow my ears off?" I ask sarcastically, still half asleep.

"Ha-ha very funny. Anyways, are you finally in Seoul?" She asks, and I can hear the antcipation in her voice.

"Nope!" I lie, "my flight got cancelled due to some kind of error on my plane ticket. So I'll be stuck in Daegu for a few more weeks maybe even months," I tell her.

"What! You're lying right? Oh, please tell me you're lying. It's so hard here without my best girlfriend. I don't know if I can live another day without you," she whines through the phone. I start to laugh in pure amusement.

"This isn't funny!" she shrieks, "this is very serious! I could die from seperation anxiety," she cries.

"Oh hush up you big baby! I'm at my aunt and uncle's house," I reassure her, still laughing.

"What?" She screams. I laugh harder. "Why didnt you tell me?" She asks.

"I was busy setting up my new room," I giggle.

"Oh right, I totally have to see what the new room looks like," she insists.

"Okay, okay. I'll talk to ajumma, she'll probably allow it," I reply. Then I ask, "what time is it by the way?"

"You idiot, dont you have a phone? Just check," she retorts with a small giggle.

"Oh yeah," I say, feeling like an idiot. "What the heck, It's already nine?" I ask. I slept until nine?

"Oh wow! It really is nine," Hanuel replies. "Oh my gosh Aera!" She gasps.

"What?" I ask her, slightly confused.

"You, me and Dohyun should go out on a little day trip today!" She squeals excitedly, "we could check out some of the hottest stores and hotspots for people our age. Oh, and we can go eat at a restaurant or something. What do you think?" She asks.