the friendship code

\last moments in NYC/

Lee's P.o.V.:

As I entered the room, I was greeted by a bone-crushing hug.

L: "Ahn. I can't breathe."

A: "Oh. Sorry. I'm just glad as hell you're back. Where have you been? You can imagine how worried I was? Thought you were drowning in the Hudson River. Don't ever leave anywhere without telling me first. Is that clear?"

L: "Yeah, yeah. It's all right. Am here and unharmed. Not a bruise, not a scratch, not a scrape. And to answer your question about where I was. I was at Yashua's house. That's also where I met his niece. She is the cutest thing. But enough of that. Let's get packed. Tomorrow we're going back."

A: "You're right. I'm going to miss New York. Well then, shall we get started? Will take some time to get everything stowed with all our shopping we've done the last few days. Hopefully, we can stay within the weight limit."

While packing, Ahn told me what else happened at the studio after I left. That's how I found out about the conversation between her and RM. I then gave her a warning look. But she assured me that she had not revealed anything about me. I left that uncommented in the room. Later I told her about my second encounter with the two BTS members. Which immediately set her off, since J-Hope is her bias Accordingly, she couldn't understand why I reacted annoyed in that situation. Unfortunately, I don't share her passion. After a few minutes later, Ahn calmed down to quite say the least.

Once all the bags were packed, we grabbed a snack for dinner and went to bed. Tomorrow afternoon we are already heading back home. The next morning, the unloved alarm clock ended our last night in America. Ugh. Why does it always have to ring so early? But it all does not help. We have to go to the airport slowly but surely. The security checks in the States are much stricter than in other countries. This means that we have to check in at a minimum of one hour earlier than usual before departure. But before that, we have to get through the morning chaos in the subways. Especially in the morning, there are a lot of people. After breakfast and a small walk, we set off in the direction of the airport.

*Time skip at the airport*

Arriving at the airport, my phone suddenly rang. Well? Who is calling me now? Oh, Yashua.

L: "Hey, Yash! What's up?"

Y: "Hi, Amiga. Are you guys hanging out at the hotel yet?"

L: "Nah. Sorry, no. We're already at the airport. Why do you ask?"

Y: "Oh, too bad. Just wanted to ask if we could meet before departure if possible the trio of us. But that's already out of the question now anyway."

L: "Yes, maybe another time. Our plane takes off in four hours. And as far as I can see, the lines at the check-in counters are quite long. It's going to take us a while to get to the gate."

Y: "It's okay. Have a safe flight. Let me know when you land, okay?"

L: "Will do. Thanks again for everything."

Y: "No problem. I'll be happy to. See you later."

L: "Yeah. Ciao."

Y: "Bye."

With a sigh, I hung up. I would have loved to spend more time with Aaliyah and Yashua. I really enjoyed the short time together yesterday. Hopefully, we can see each other again soon.

Giving up our baggage went pretty quickly since we had already checked in online yesterday. Never again will I get my boarding pass at the counter. This is a very comfortable way to pick your seats and saves time at the counter. Another point why it is faster for us is that Ahn's uncle is a member of the board of Star Alliance. This allows us to fly business class or first class at a lower cost. This is a nice fit since we are traveling with a medium-sized dog who is allowed in the cabin with us due to his status as a service dog. Normally, Jojo would have to stay with my parents for the short trip, since traveling with an AmStaff is quite complicated and involves a lot of red tapes.

Shortly thereafter, we also passed through the security checkpoint to the gates without incident. Currently, we were looking for the lounge of Emirates Airlines to have a bite to eat. In the hotel, the breakfast was a bit sparse in the stress. We notice this now with full force, as our stomachs are grumbling violently and craving for food. In the time of stress, you don't notice that at all. It's a long way to get there. But in the end, we found the lounge. At the reception, our boarding passes were checked. Later we were taken to a separate area to spend the time until boarding without being disturbed. There is also a separate bar. Only at food, we are allowed to use the buffet of the other passengers in the lounge. But that does not bother us. To be honest, you can get used to the luxury. Nevertheless, enough rambling, now first eat something. We both feel very hungry. As soon as this was satisfied, we enjoyed the beautiful view of the runway. In the meantime, I went with Jojo to the visitor's terrace to have a better view. On the other hand, I had to keep Jojo as busy as possible for the long flight, so that he wouldn't make a fuss on the plane. The best way to do that was to let him run around and play.
When the start of boarding for our flight was called, we slowly made our way to the gate. Thankfully, this is close to the lunge. Although we have priority boarding, we had to wait a bit until we were granted access to the aircraft. On the aircraft itself, everything went smoothly. We were shown our seats. Without further ado, our carry-on luggage was stowed in the designated spots. Since we were flying business class, Jojo could sit comfortably with me in the feet area. I am glad that he is so relaxed in such situations. Otherwise, the whole thing would be much more of a mess. When we sat down on the seats, there was only the clacking of the overhead compartments and the rustling of the bags and jackets of the other passengers. My seat is right by the window. As usual, actually. Meanwhile, we were served welcome drinks. Ahn chose the orange juice. I, on the other hand, took a glass of non-carbonated water. After a few minutes, the last passengers had boarded and we were ready for pushback. On the way to the runway, the obligatory in-flight safety instruction video played on the monitors in front of us.
Then, finally. The pilot got the takeoff clearance and gave full engine power. A little later, we were already in the air. As a farewell to the Big Apple, the cockpit crew flew an extra loop over the city. A really nice gesture. As of now, there are eight hours of flight ahead of us. Enough time to relax and let the last days pass us to revenue.