.
.
.
Incheon Airport was packed with people early in the morning.
Many people were holding cameras and taking their seats at the entrance, seemingly waiting for someone.
At that moment, a black van appeared in front of the airport, and as if the person they had been waiting for had arrived, everyone stood up and prepared their cameras.
Seungcheol got off the bus and struck a familiar pose, standing there as if waiting for someone.
"Have you been waiting?"
"You're coming early, you punk... friends^^"
"There's a camera. Be careful haha"
"Why don't my friends ever come home early? lol"
"Is that a compliment? Thank you."
"Ha..you died on the plane.."
"Did you bring all the invitations?"
"I've been to LA, but this is my first time in Paris..."
"But it says there are 5 Koreans here..."
As I entered the airport, my mind wandering, I was hit by a familiar, yet strong, perfume scent. Everyone seemed to have smelled it, and a chilling sensation made them turn around.
"Brothers~"
"Ah...I didn't expect that..."
"Did you guys also get an invitation to this Global Celebrity Ball?? Wow, this is so exciting!"
People around me say it's a sponsor or something, but no matter what
Top actress Kim Ji-yeon also received an invitation.
I met Seungcheol in a movie and I saw Jisoo at a movie premiere because she was in charge of the OST for that movie.
Jeonghan, who didn't like Jiyeon Kim that much, wanted to tell her to be quiet because it was annoying, but he was worried about the surrounding cameras, so he decided to avoid them as much as possible.
"Jeonghan oppa! This is our first meeting, right? Haha"
"...yes"
"Hey, take it easy~ I've seen a lot of your dramas, movies, and commercials! You've been in a lot of works, right?"
"..."
“You started out as a child actor, but you’ve been doing it for a really long time?”
"..."
"Have you seen the picture I took?"
"hey"
"...yes?"
"As you said, I'm a huge senior, and it's our first time meeting, and I think it's incredibly rude to be babbling like this on our first meeting."
"..."
"Please use honorifics and address each other properly."
"...yes"
But in the end, Jeong-heon burst out and walked away from Ji-yeon with his friends.
When Seungcheol told me to think about the camera and say that I was being too harsh, it was only then that I remembered that things would get complicated later.
"...I don't know."
"Don't you think there are more cameras today?"
"That's right. Three top actors, plus Hong Ji-soo, a pianist, composer, and singer."
"That's right. You said there were five people, but who is the other one?"
"I'll see you later on the plane."
It was only after entering the airport lounge that I was able to free myself from the reporters.
Jiyeon, perhaps concerned about what happened earlier, went towards them holding four cups of coffee.
"I'm sorry about earlier, senior..."
"It's okay. I also made mistakes because I couldn't control myself."
"I bought you each a drink as a token of my apology. Can I join you here and talk about my hard work?"
"That's..."
"Okay. Let's do that."
Seungcheol stopped Jeonghan, who was about to say no, and told him to sit down.
Seungcheol told Jeonghan that there were a lot of people here too.
"They said there were five people, but who could be the first one?"
"There are actors and singers so far...so maybe a model..."
"If you're a model... Kim Min-gyu?"
"That could be possible.."
While they were trying to guess who it was, their respective managers announced that it was time for their flight and ushered them onto the plane. While checking their tickets, someone passed by and Jisoo smelled a faint scent. However, the scent quickly disappeared.
The plane seemed completely empty. People were taking turns finding their seats.
"It looks like Yoon Jeong-han and I are sitting together... Hong Ji-soo, where is your seat?"
"I think I'm a little further behind."
"Since you're my manager, should we sit together?"
"No...my brother is sitting in front of me."
Jisoo said goodbye, explaining that she was seated further back, and walked further back. The further she went, the more she smelled the subtle scent she'd smelled earlier. The refreshing yet soft scent of lavender mixed with the scent of the forest, creating a pleasantly mysterious aroma. As she walked back, the woman next to her, who had that same scent, sat down already, wearing AirPods and working on her laptop. She didn't even turn around, seemingly oblivious to her presence, just staring at her laptop.
"Oh my! Oppa. I'm next to you! Haha"
Although they were in different rows, Jiyeon's scent was obscured by the strong perfume she wore, as she sat right next to her. In fact, the strong perfume only gave her a headache. Jiyeon, perhaps aware of this, was jumping around in excitement. Jisoo, her image as a caring angel, simply reciprocated her excitement. Perhaps sensing the commotion next to her, the woman turned to look.
"...?"
"...Oh, hello."
The woman gave a brief nod and looked away again. Jisoo, embarrassed by the sight, sat down.
A few minutes later, the pilot came out, seemingly to say goodbye before the flight. I expected him to assure everyone of a safe flight and then leave. But unexpectedly, the pilot, along with the flight attendants, approached Jisoo and spoke to the woman sitting next to him.
"Hello, I'm the pilot of this plane. We will strive for a comfortable flight."
(Hello. I am the pilot of this plane. We will do our best to ensure a comfortable flight.)
"Thank you."
(thank you)
Jisoo wondered how great the woman sitting next to him was that the pilot was greeting her separately, but he quickly gave up when he saw the woman returning to focusing on her laptop.
"Oppa, oppa! Is this your first time going to Paris?"
"Ah... yeah"
"I've been there twice and I really like it!"
As Jiyeon leaned towards Jisoo, the scent of perfume grew stronger, and the woman's expression began to distort, as if she could sense it.
Jiyeon, oblivious, continued talking to Jisoo. Then the woman turned her head and spoke.
"Hey. Be quiet."
(Please be quiet over there)
"Ah...sorry..."
"And your perfume is so strong that my head hurts. Can you change your sit with your member?"
(And your perfume is so strong that it gives me a headache. Could you swap seats with your group?)
"What are you saying?"
"Ah... Jiyeon... I want to move to a different seat?"
"Huh? I don't like it... No!"
Jisoo, who was surprised twice by the fact that she could speak English as well as French, asked Jiyeon to interpret for her. This was because Jisoo had studied abroad in the US when she was young and was fluent in English.
At that time, Jiyeon's manager stopped by to check on the situation.
"Jiyeon...why are you so angry?"
"Brother. This person asked me to switch seats because he's having a hard time because of the perfume..."
"Ah... Jiyeon, let's switch seats."
"Oh, why... I have a good seat..."
" If she doesn't want to change the sit, I'll change.where is your sit?"
(If that woman doesn't want to change, I'll change it. Where is your seat?)
"No!...."
(No!...)
Without realizing it, he shouted at the woman who said she was moving.
Everyone looked at Jisoo.
"...Jiyeon, let's just switch seats. What if I say something rude? Haha..."
"Ugh...yes..."
Eventually, Jiyeon changed places and Jisoo finally started to have something to talk about with the woman.
"I...I...hello?"
"...."
"....hello?"
"..Hello,Do you have anything to say?"
(Do you have anything to say?)
"Uh...No.sorry"
The woman didn't say anything even after Jiyeon left, as if she didn't really want to talk, and she gave short answers to Jisoo's questions.
"...Can I ask your name?"
(...may I ask your name?)
"Floria"
(Floria)
"I'm Joshua. Actually, my Korean name is Jisu-hong"
(My name is Joshua. My Korean name is Hong Ji-soo.)
"..."
"..."
He didn't respond at all and just stared at his laptop.
I thought she was going to say something else, but when she didn't say anything, Jisoo fidgeted and fidgeted. She still had a lot to ask, but if she asked any more, she'd feel like she'd be forced to change places. The woman sighed and spoke.
"I'm Korean too."
"...?"
"My name is Eunhyang Lee. My Korean name."
"ah..."
"Are there any more questions you want to ask? Let's get this over with."
"Are you...the person who received the invitation?"
"yes"
"What are you doing?"
"I'm a steer."
"ah...."
Jisoo, who had found the source of the scent, smiled, saying that she finally understood.
Then, for a moment, silence fell again. Jisoo glanced at Eunhyang's face, which seemed familiar.
"What's on my face?"
"Oh, no... because it's a familiar face..."
"What do you do?"
"I...it's complicated...I'm a pianist, a composer, and a singer."
"I think Hong Ji-soo came to our company's launch party."
"yes...?"
"Adela. Don't you remember?"
Adela is a world-renowned perfume company and it is also the company that Jisoo attended at the launch party.
Jisoo remembered Eunhyang's face as she explained the scent of the new perfume.
"Then, could it be... that Adela's head perfumer is Eunhyang?"
"yes."
“Did you make the one you just planted?”
"yes"
"Wow... the scent is so good... I could smell it from the moment I got on the plane..."
"...it's a one-of-a-kind scent."
"Really??"
"Phew... Oh, I'm sorry."
Eunhyang burst into laughter, perhaps amused by Jisoo's reaction. As the atmosphere relaxed from the beginning, Jisoo's mood also brightened.
"How old are you, Eunhyang?"
"It's 25."
"You're my younger sibling?"
"is it so?"
"...."
"What? Do you want me to call you oppa?"
"No, no! That's not it.."
"Then?"
"Should I...let go?"
"Yes, that's right."
Eunhyang's reaction was so calm that her nervous words seemed insignificant. Their awkward yet enjoyable conversation continued. Then, Jeonghan remembered the book he had lent Jisoo in the lounge before boarding the plane.
"Ah...my book"
"Why? Did you leave something behind?"
"Uh. Hong Ji-soo has my book."
Jeonghan got up from his seat and walked to the back seat.
Just as Jisoo's one-sided conversation was about to end, Jeonghan and Eunhyang, who had come to Jisoo's place, ran into each other.
"Then you too...Yoon Jeonghan?"
"...?"
"...Oh. You have my book."
"Oh, right. Wait, I put it in my bag."
As Jisoo stood up and took a book out of her bag, Jeonghan greeted Eunhyang. Just like with Jisoo, Eunhyang gave a quick eye greeting. The only difference was that she was more reserved. She didn't even look at each other properly.
"Here...ah...this is Eunhyang Lee, one of the five people written on the invitation."
"...going"
"What? Why don't you at least say hello?"
"..."
Eunhyang blankly stared blankly, as if something had just occurred to her. Only when Jisoo spoke did she respond.
Jeonghan scolded his friend, saying that it was probably because he was originally shy, but Eunhyang said that was not the case.
"Why? Have you ever met Yoon Jung-han?"
"...no"
"But why is that..."
"Excuse me. I have to finish this by today..."
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"No. Let's talk about it later."
Eunhyang decided to just keep Jeonghan in her memories.
"..I'm the only one who remembers.."
"huh?"
"Oh, no... nothing..."
.
.
.
"? what's the matter"
"No... I'm just... kind of used to it."
"what"
"...No, nothing.."
"....It's so annoying when you say things like that and then don't do them?"
"I know. Let's go to sleep now."
"...Erai"
*Floria: Flowers in full bloom...
Adela: noble, elegant