“What kind of book are you looking for?” She asked as she skimmed through one of the books.
“A fun book,” Hyunwoo replied. “Maybe a mystery or a love story?”
“Hmm, what about this one?” She passed him a medium sized book that didn’t look too difficult to read which was a fantasy novel set in a mystical version of Africa. “I’ll borrow it from you when you’re done if you are interested in it.”
“Hmmm,” He took the book back from her and read the description more closely, silently mouthing out the words as he read them on the back cover. “Okay, looks good.”
They took the book up to the counter and he paid, tossing in a bag of candy that appealed to him. He tucked the candy in the pocket of his hoodie and took the book back to where he had left his bag with Jihoon. By that point, most everyone had finished what they were doing and had gathered up to head to the gate. Jihoon passed out the boarding passes to all the members and everyone gathered up their bags and started for the gate. Claire brought up the rear, pulling her small carryon behind her as she followed the large group towards the gate. It was quite handy following a large group like this as they seemed to leave a nice and spacious path for her in their wake.
The gate was a bit of a walk but boarding started not long after they arrived and their first class was among the first to get on the plane. Being organized had its benefits and Claire was able to get on before most of the members since she had carefully kept her passport and ticket in the outside pocket of her bag. Claire hadn’t ever gotten the luxury of getting to fly in a seat like this before and was excited for the experience. Their seats were in the lower part of the plane, with three rows of ridiculously luxurious seats making up their section of the cabin. She checked her ticket, and took the right seat; a middle one that shared a partitioned wall with the seat next to it. Tucking her bag away, she got into her seat, pulling out the things she would need on the flight from her over-the-shoulder bag. Her tablet, headphones, and ebook reader were all tucked away in the pocket in front of her and she stowed the last of her baggage in the little nook she had below her screens. She looked over as the partition between the seats lowered to reveal a grinning Cheol on the other side.
“I traded with Minjun to get this seat,” He whispered conspiratorially.
“I see,” She whispered back, suppressing a giggle.
“At least I can see you during the flight,” He sighed, peering around to see where everyone else was seated. Jihoon was in the back corner of the cabin seated beside Kitae who was having an excited and animated conversation with him at the moment. In front of them were Jaejin and Minjun who seemed to be needling each other about...something, mostly to get a rise out of one another and succeeding. Directly behind Cheol and Claire were Changho and FX, happily chatting with the partition down between them, trying to decide if they were going to try out a game or watch a movie first, once they were in the air. Behind them were Wonjung and Seunghoon, both quietly absorbed in their books already.
Claire sat back down in her seat, surprised by the amount of privacy the seats allowed. They were almost enough to feel like they were alone, but not quite. The center seats had sliding partitions to the aisle that kept prying eyes at bay unless someone walked by their seats. The console between them was a little high, meant to give them both room on the flight and space, but mostly serving as a pestersome barrier for them, making it nearly impossible to discreetly touch or hold hands. Nothing is perfect, Claire reminded herself as she leaned on the armrest to chat with Cheol as they prepared for take off.
Soon they were in the air and the cabin was filled with the white noise of the engines. They decided to try watching something together, choosing the same movie and starting it at the same time on each of their screens. They chose a blockbuster superhero movie they had both missed in theaters due to their busy schedules. Leaning towards each other as much as the seats allowed, they sat with their arms lightly touching as they watched. The movie was fun and lasted until lunch time. Claire found the menu surprisingly overwhelming, with choices needing to be made about appetizers, salads, main courses, and even dessert. They picked out similar meals, opting for the western menu, but choosing different starters as both options sounded good and they were happy to share.
“You take me to the nicest places,” She joked in a hushed tone as he lifted a bite of food to her from his appetizers.
“Only the best for you,” He grinned, slipping the bite between her lips. A laugh bubbled up and she covered her mouth to make sure her food stayed where it was supposed to as she chewed. First class travel was fun but she would have taken the worst seat in economy if it meant she was sitting with him, holding hands...just being with him.
“I’m glad I got to come with you guys on the trip,” Her voice held an accepting melancholy in its tone. “It is the perfect goodbye.”
“Not goodbye,” He scolded lightly. “Never goodbye. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Maybe not goodbye,” She shrugged. “I’m sad I’ll be seeing less of you all after this. Without the lessons at the KXO offices I don’t know how I’ll get to see everyone. You’re so busy and, hopefully, I’ll be busy. I can’t just drop by the dorms like I used to…”
“You can still come by,” Cheol insisted. “And sometimes we can come to you...I’ll definitely come to you.”
“We’ll see,” She sighed. “We’ve come this far and it would be stupid to ruin things for you...and everyone else now. How much longer is your dating clause now?”
“I think it’s down to five months or so now,” He sighed. It was really starting to feel like a long time. “But when we get back it will be down to four.”
“We can just hope that the company is okay with it,” She tried to be positive. “At least I don’t think my job will be on the line anymore if you tell them after you are out of the no dating contract.”
“Yeah, see,” He agreed. “Not goodbye and it has some real upsides. And Yejun knows about us, so he’ll understand if he sees us together now and again.”
“It’s...nice to have someone else on our side, isn’t it?” She said happily. “He seems like a really great guy.”
“He is, I think,” Cheol had to admit, though he hadn’t been sure about him when they first met.
“He reminds me a little of you, ya know,” She pointed out, giving him a little elbow across the divider.
“Really?” He was a little surprised to hear that.
“Mmmm,” She explained. “He really cares about the members of his group, he writes their songs and lyrics, he apparently has a terrible sleep schedule…” She gave him a meaningful look that made him squirm slightly. “He seems kind, if a little strict sometimes. Yeah I think you two have a lot in common.”
“All good things, huh?” He grinned at her.
“Mmm at least mostly good,” She agreed.
“What, is it the sleep thing?” He huffed. “It’s the sleep thing, isn’t it? Well you know what helps with that, right? Having you to put me to bed.”
“Ah-ha,” She pretended it was a brilliant revelation. “I’ll be sure to recommend it to Yejun next time I see him.”
“No, nuh-uh,” Cheol shook his head adamantly. “He can get his own girlfriend to do that for him.”
“Of course,” She laughed. They continued chatting over their food, taking a long while to finish it, then they settled down to another movie. Dinner came and went and soon the cabin lights dimmed so that people could sleep more easily if they wanted to. With a little less than half the flight remaining, most of the members were getting ready to sleep. It was the calm before the storm for them. Best to sleep while they could. Cheol peeked back at Jihoon in the back row. He was sleeping peacefully, propped against the aisle side of his cubby. The flight attendants had already come around handing out complimentary amenities kits and in flight pyjamas. Jihoon, along with a few of the other members, had hopped up immediately to change and wash up. Now he was happily sleeping
, having been up earlier than anyone else in the group to make sure everything went smoothly.
Claire and Cheol went to the bathroom to change and brush their teeth and generally wind down their day. The pyjamas were hilariously long on Claire, which was no real surprise with her diminutive height. She held the extra fabric up like a 19th century skirt as she scooted back to her seat, trying not to trip or generally come across as an idiot as she giggled at herself. Sliding the partition to her seat open, she was surprised and delighted to find a guest had snuck in before she had gotten back. Cheol had fully reclined her seat and was now stretched out against the far side of the bed it became. He was holding the blanket up, inviting her to join him beneath it. Taking the invitation, she slipped in and closed the partition behind her.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to be in my seat,” She whispered as she scooted her butt into the cradle of his lap and let him wrap them both in the thin airline blanket.
“I know,” He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent and the remnants of the perfume he had bought her. “I’m not tired yet. I just want to hold you for a few minutes before I go back to my side.”
“I miss you, too.” She sighed, resting her head on his arm. He gave her a few soft feathery kisses on the back of her neck before he took a deep breath and pulled her more tightly against him and closed his eyes.
“Hey, get up,” Changho hissed, poking at Cheol’s shoulder. “Jihoon is going to see you idiots.”
Cheol cracked his eyes open in the still dim cabin. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep there with her, but it was always so comfortable, he couldn’t resist it. Groggily, he pulled himself up and crawled over the divider between the seats back to his own. Claire gave his arm a pat and kissed the knuckles of one hand before she rolled over and covered herself with the blanket more fully. He reclined his seat and curled up to go back to sleep. It was colder sleeping alone, he thought to himself.
***
By the time the lights in the cabin were raised to get everyone ready to have breakfast, Claire had been up for an hour or so, having slept fitfully since Cheol moved in the middle of the night. She felt a little jet lagged but excited about getting to see New York again. Roz was here and she had called her to give her their broad schedule in the hopes that she would be able to find some time to see her friend while she was there. They would be in the area for a little under two weeks between the two concerts, their A-Con appearance, and the side filming they would be doing for their reality show. After that they would move to the next city on the tour.
Their time in the city, while full, in some ways was less hectic than their normal schedule. Practice would be reduced to stage practices rather than hours a day. Interviews would take up more time as would some prep time for them, but since they had been preparing for many of the things they would be covering, it was mostly refreshing things and making sure that everyone would understand the questions well enough to wing it if they needed. Of course Cheol and FX would be there, but they had been doing really well at letting the other members struggle a little without automatically jumping in.
Two days were reserved for NYC adventures they would turn into part of the newest season of their reality show. This time they were going to visit a couple of museums and see more of the city in general. Everyone had something on their list of things they wanted to see personally and they had been promised at least one day where they could shop, wander, and just generally have fun without commitments.
They exited the arrivals area to a crowd of cameras, fans, and security. Claire purposely trailed behind a few meters to stay off the radar of the cameras and fans. It would be easier by far if everyone just assumed she was a random passenger who happened to be on the same plane. The bus in the parking garage would be out of the glare of the cameras for security reasons so she could slip in there without drawing any eyes. Rows of fans lined the walkway with signs for the band or their favorite members, shouting for the attention of the members so they could get a picture of their favorite looking in their direction.
“Claire-Bear!” A female voice shouted from the crowd. Claire turned her head and caught sight of a familiar face poking out from behind a fan sign for her decorated with a couple of old pictures of her and the sign holder.
“Roz!” Claire nearly shreaked, running with her bags into the line of people to greet her friend. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have work?”
“I took off a couple of hours to come and greet you,” Her friend said, gripping her in a tight hug as if she feared she would disappear if she didn’t hold her tight enough. “Oh my god, only you could get off a fifteen hour flight and look fresher than I do after a week of vacation. You look so good, babe. Do you have time for lunch with me today?”
“I don’t know,” Claire said as she tried to mentally recall the schedule for the day. “I can at least come see you after we are all done for the day. It might be late, though, is that okay?”
“Anytime,” She insisted, touching her friend's face affectionately. “Whenever you are free this week come by...bring friends...oh I have missed you like crazy.”
“Okay,” Claire pulled back, giving her friend's hands a final squeeze. “I’ll send you a message when I can, yeah?”
“Okay,” Roz nodded, almost tearful. “I love you, hun.” Claire waved and jogged to catch up to the group before they left. She found them packing away their things in the back of one of the two vans parked near the exit into the garage. A few eyes met her as she approached, looking somewhat relieved to see her. Hyunwoo jogged up to her, having already put his things away, taking her by the shoulders and giving her a chastising look.
“Claire-nim, you can’t run off like that,” He told her, for all the world looking like a worried older brother. “I thought we might have lost you.”
“My friend came to see me,” She told him excitedly. “I had to say hi to her. It's been a while since I last saw her.”
“Just be careful,” He said as he helped her with her bags. “Sometimes people can be a little crazy.”
“I promise,” She made an X with her fingertip over her heart. Cheol grabbed her gently by the arm, his lips drawn slightly tight as he led her to a corner seat in the back of the bus, taking the seat beside hers.
“You gave me a heart attack when I turned around and you weren’t there,” He told her quietly, his hand gripping hers between them, hidden behind the pile of his coat. “You can’t wander off like that.”
“I’m sorry,” She responded in a hushed tone. “Roz came to greet me, I had to say hello. I didn’t stay to talk to her for long, but she came all the way here. I had to stop.”
“No, I mean,” He sighed. “I’m glad she came to see you but...you just have to be careful. I can’t lose you here.”
“Don’t worry I know New York well,” She reassured him. “I went to school here with Roz, remember. I can find you even if something were to happen.”
“It isn’t just that I am afraid of you getting lost in a crowd or something,” He explained tensely. “Our fans are great, but sometimes people get stupid when it comes to being around us.”
“I know,” She nodded. “I don’t go out in public with you often but I’ve still seen how people can be around you guys. I don’t think anyone even knew I was with you guys.”
“Maybe, just…please be careful,” His hand squeezed hers tightly, his thumb rubbing over the ridges of her knuckles. She nodded, feeling guilty and torn over her loyalties. Of course she had to be careful, they all did, and she was working on keeping herself off the radar as much as she could. The members had been filtering in, taking the seats around them and dutifully pretending they didn’t notice the slightly tense, quiet conversation they had been having.
With everyone on board, they started for the hotel, naturally getting stuck in midday NYC traffic, moving at a snail’s pace through the skyscraper valleys of Manhattan. They arrived at the hotel, a fancy highrise hotel not far
from Central Park. Everyone gathered up their things and headed into the lobby where Jihoon passed out room assignments and keys. The members were paired up except for Kitae who, again, was put with Jihoon. Cheol was sharing his room with Changho, which worked well for them both. Claire was given a smaller single room as the odd person out, really the odd woman out as there were only two other women who were in the entourage. They usually roomed together so it made sense for her to be given the single room.
Everyone took their things up to their rooms and unpacked the things they would need for the day. Jihoon confirmed that they would have a few hours at the hotel to eat and relax before their first commitments. They had a few interviews with music magazines. There was less pressure with the print interviews as translators could work as intermediaries for the members. The accompanying photoshoot would hopefully be something interesting for the members and was also going to be attended by the interviewer to give them some creative input on the mood that should be captured for the article.
Claire cleared it with Jihoon before she invited Roz to come by and join her for lunch in her hotel room. She greeted her friend in the hotel lobby to take her up to her room with her as all the elevators needed keys to get you onto the floors with hotel rooms, a security measure that was one of the reasons the location was chosen by KXO. Roz was giddy to be inside the fancy hotel, a place that neither she nor Claire would have imagined they would be spending time in when they were attending their university classes.
“Wow,” Her friend gaped as they entered her room. “I am underdressed to breathe in this place.”
“I know,” Claire agreed with a pleased groan. “You should have been on the plane. My meals have never had that many courses before.”
“I want to say I’m jealous,” Roz sighed, as she took a seat in one of the armchairs at the side of the room. “But I’m really just so happy for you. If anyone I know has to be upgrading to this life and dating some superstar, I’m glad it's you.”
The Tutor Page 35
