Make It Right / V KTH / Suga MYG / BTS Completed

Going Home

Yoongi pushes the door open to the flat and is met by hungry friends who take the bags from us. Tae gives me a kiss.

"I missed you," he says brushing a stray hair from my forehead. I'm so happy to see him. The feeling I get from him is so different than any feeling I ever had with Rob or anyone else. I stare at him a little too long and he looks at me wondering what I'm thinking.

"I am so happy to see you," I offer, kissing him on the cheek as I step aside to open the patio door. I put down a table cloth and the bags are emptied to be shared among us. They sit around the table and I bring out drinks for everyone. I put a speaker out and let Yoongi find music on his phone.

I sit among them, watching them interact, sharing food and stories, teasing and smiling. It is a family, a happy one. I'm not used to being part of that, and I marvel at it. Yoongi feeds Tae something tasty and I watch them together. I feel better about going to London with them, despite what Yoongi happened to say earlier. I know that he will do what's best for us, and for Tae and he will be a good hyung. I smile pleased, feeling very fortunate to be able to be part of this.

Several hours later I am carrying my suitcase and camera bag across a tarmac toward a private jet, following after Yoongi and Taehyung. We said goodbye to his bandmates who were heading back to the hotel and more promotional appearances.

I've only been on a private jet when I was shooting music videos, and never as an actual passenger, but this is their own plane. They're both comfortable with it, and it feels like a home away from home for them. I sit across from them both, taking the champagne offered, remembering to only have one glass tonight. I'm hoping we will be able to sleep on the flight, even though we will arrive in London at 3am and have many hours yet to sleep.

It's important to me to share the East End of London with them because I feel as though they may have only explored the West End. I want to show them my part of the city. I think back to my first ever visit to the city when I was in High School. My friend and I took a Jack the Ripper walking tour and we were being lead around a scary dark area, that looked not unlike the area from 1880's as the actor in costume described it.

We were both feeling the intensity of the atmosphere when we looked over and saw a woman, alone, carrying her suitcase up to her door. She turned and looked at us, strangely curious, and she seemed very normal and unafraid of living in such a scary, dangerous place alone. Then we saw a small group of young people heading out to a club and we left the tour and followed them.

Once we saw the real truth of the area, what it was like for the people who lived and worked there, it changed for me. We ended up at a local pub "Pride of Spitalfields". It had been there for decades and hadn't changed. It was cozy and full of regulars who welcomed us warmly. We stayed until well after midnight and on our way back to our West End hotel, I realized that it was the place I wanted to live.

My friend went back to California and on to college, and I continued to come back to London and go to grime shows and art shows and the local pub, all the while planning to live there one day. When I moved to the area finally, it was easier to get work on videos and it was easier to be allowed in to private clubs and shows to document the grime music scene. I was still a foreigner, but they recognized I was authentic and allowed me to have access I wouldn't have been given if I had stayed in New York.

Tae moves to sit beside me and rests his head on my shoulder. "Can I sleep until we get to your house?" he asks. I smile and kiss the top of his head. Yoongi sits across from us, watching as Tae closes his eyes.

"What was the most secret show you were ever at?" he asks me, wanting to know more about the underground scene in East London.

I settle in to talk to him about my experiences, happy to share. Tae drifts off to sleep and I pull the blanket up over him as I continue to answer questions for Yoongi. A few hours of flight time have past and I'm feeling sleepy. I put my bare feet up on the seat next to Yoongi and he reaches over and strokes my feet softly as we talk. His touch is soothing and feels innocent and I drift off to sleep.