Saving Grace [discontinued]

{chapter 10} - 방탄수년단

The rest of the flight was spent looking out at the picturesque clouds that almost blocked my view of the earth below. I knew we were above South Korea, and that we'd probably be passing over Seoul soon. I marveled at the densely populated cities that transitioned into beautifully textured mountains and forests. The winter snow made the entire country look as if there'd been powdered sugar lightly dusted over it. Eventually, I got so caught up in the view that I'd stopped counting down the minutes until our arrival.

My stomach was twisting and contorting in ways that didn't feel natural when the plane began its descent. I wasn't sure if it was nervousness, airsickness, or a combination of the two. Either way, I really wanted to barf. I quietly writhed in pain, not wanting to wake Sana whose head was still sleeping peacefully on my now sore shoulder. I couldn't describe the relief I got when the plane finally landed on the runway and came to a painfully drawn out stop.

I practically threw Sana's head off my shoulder before I removed my seatbelt and rolled out my shoulder. Sana yelped in pain before tiredly slapping at my coat sleeve and removing her own seatbelt. The airplane's microphone let out a muffled message before flight attendants started to come down the aisle to open the doors. I stared longingly out the window that was now dripping with a light winter rain. There was an unsettling feeling that lingered in the dark clouds that had once been light and fluffy. I brushed the sensation off, assuming it was just my inner restlessness from sitting for almost 14 hours on a plane.

Retrieving my backpack from its spot on the floor beneath my feet, I carefully stood up and helped a still-annoyed Sana lug our bulging suitcases out from the overhead compartment. I smiled at Talia, who returned an even bigger smile when she noticed what I was wearing. My puffy black coat had been zipped up until that moment, so my grey sweater dress and maroon leggings had been hidden from view.

"Glad to see you're taking my suggestions, seeing as I'll be a famous designer someday," Talia teased.

I laughed before pushing her playfully towards the front of the plane. When I reached the ramp to get off of the plane, I hesitated. I was about to step my black heeled-boot into the country I'd been dreaming of visiting since 6th grade. My hesitation didn't last longer than 3 seconds though, as the rest of the class was complaining about the lack of movement through the narrow hallway. I let my right foot stumble onto the tiled airport floor, before continuing at a normal pace out into the open airport. The smile on my face was so bright and genuine that I felt like I would never be able to get rid of it.

Once the entire class had gotten off of the plane, Professor Seung-Eun motioned for all of us to get into a clump for an announcement.
"Can I all get your attention please?" the professor spoke in Korean, smiling at her class of anxious students before returning to their native tongue. "Due to the plane's delay, the bus we scheduled has left already. Professor Dae-Won and I will schedule another to take us to the hotel, but while we are doing that, please stay within eyesight of the group and don't wander anywhere without taking someone else with you. We will call you back when the bus has arrived."

Rolling my suitcase over to a chair, I plopped down next to Sana and Talia while taking my phone out from my pocket. It was 2:55 p.m. I brushed a strand of my dark, curled hair behind my ear before breaking the awkward silence our trio had fallen into.

"Wow, that flight attendant wasn't kidding when they said the delay would be approximately 50 minutes," I chuckled. My hazel eyes met with Sana's and Talia's, who both wore confused expressions. "I guess you guys were asleep when that happened," I mumbled, turning my attention back to my phone.

The silence among us didn't last longer than a moment, as loud shrieks from nearby filled an entire region of the airport. I immediately stood up to look for the source of the noise, Sana and Talia trailing nervously behind. My heart was dropping to my stomach in shock while my brain was running through all of the worst-case scenarios. I forced myself to take a few restoring breaths before I stood on top of one of the chairs and peered over the sea of moving passersby, who seemed to be undisturbed, despite the noise that resonated in the airport's high ceilings.

A cluster that was mostly comprised of teenage girls was beginning to form around one of the airport terminals. Most of them were screeching words that I wouldn't be able to decipher even if I'd been fluent in Korean my whole life. Among the cluster, there were also what looked like... photographers? I squinted and leaned forward in an attempt to get a better look, almost falling off of the chair in the process. I stabilized myself on both Sana's and Talia's heads, who were repeatedly asking me what was going on. However, I was too busy trying to get a better look at the mob, so my brain tuned them out so that I could focus on the scene unfolding before me. I was finally able to catch a glimpse of... a sign? My drowsy eyes recognized that there were multiple people holding signs and pictures, but I couldn't read any of them because of the momentary flashes of light from the cameras.

The high-pitched squeals and shrieks increased in volume when figures started to come out of the terminal. They were tall and masculine, most of them wearing masks and beanies. There was an undeniable sense of familiarity to them. But then something changed. Something about the mob's screams. It was one phrase, repeated over and over. A phrase that had been in my dreams for years. A phrase that jump started my body into shock and made me lose any sense of composure I had before.

"BTS! BTS! BTS! BTS! BTS!"

All of a sudden, everything clicked. I gasped out loud, a scream following afterwards. I jumped off of the chair and snatched Sana's and Talia's wrists. Holding on to them with a death grip, I dragged their distressed bodies through the stream of people, earning curses and shouts from some people. Their anger was the last thing on my mind.

I would have physically facepalmed if I wasn't holding on to my two best friends with my shaking hands. I couldn't believe how stupid I was. The post on Twitter, the fanchants, the photographers. The universe might as well have put up a billboard in my face that said, "Bangtan is coming back from their tour today!" Then again, the whole experience didn't feel real. The fact that BTS, my idols, my role models of life, my everything, were standing less than 15 feet away from me was too much to bear.

I was overwhelmed, to say the least.

Sana and Talia were quickly able to figure out what was going on, despite my lack of communication with them. They were screaming, jumping, and helping me push my small form to the front of the crowd. I was successful.

I gripped the shaking metal gate with my gloved hands. It was the only barrier separating me from the 7 men who I adored with all my heart and soul. I watched as Hoseok and Jimin waved to the crowd with tired smiles on their faces. I was waving frantically back at them, jumping to try to make myself seem bigger. I couldn't decide who to look at. There was Yoongi, who was mostly looking down with crinkled eyes, a sign that he was smiling beneath his black mask. Then there was Namjoon and Taehyung, who were offering friendly grins to the screaming fans. There was Jin, who blew a dramatic hand kiss in our direction and caused a girl that was near me to faint.

Then, there was Jungkook.

Jungkook was scanning the crowd, trying to take in all of the faces that were desperate to see his. His weary charcoal eyes were sparkling with contentment as he looked at the overjoyed fans. As his ebony eyes skimmed over the crowd, they met my own. I refused to believe it. I told myself that I had imagined it. But I knew for certain that I had most definitely not imagined it when his eyes lingered on mine. We were locked in each other's gaze. I could see all of his emotions swirling in his deep eyes. I was pushed even farther into a state of shock when his eyes didn't leave, his body was left stationary for about another 20 seconds. I was ready to faint right then and there. However, I forced myself with every last bit of strength I had to stay conscious.

My decision to stay conscious ended up being the biggest regret of my life, because I was all too awake to hear the sound that came next. The sound that would haunt every nightmare and waking moment of my life to come.

A gunshot.

____________________

sorry im such a hoe and didnt update yesterday even when i said i would
also there's probably a heckin amount of grammar mistakes but i was tired when i wrote this so