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Daniel Howell, a twenty seven year old man, stepped off the plane with his best friend Philip Lester. As they made his way down the walkway into the South Korean Airport, both were frantically mentally rehearsing the few Korean greetings they memorized on the plane.
Stepping out of the walkway, the coast looked clear: no fans in sight. Maybe they could get to their hotel without embarrassing themselves after all! They took the escalator downstairs and waited for their luggage, Dan already on his phone connecting to the airport wifi and Phil nervously pacing and hoping they hadn’t lost his luggage.
Then they heard it.
“Dan! Aaaaaaaaaa! Phil!”
Slowly, they turned around and heard dozens of footsteps before they blurry crowd came into focus. About thirty South Korean fans had found them and were making a B-line for them.
“Just smile and nod, Phil,” Dan said through a clenched smile. “Ditch the greetings. If we embarrass ourselves on video we’ll never live it down.”
“Roger that,” Phil replied as he geared up his best grin.
“Phil, I love you!”
“Oh my God, they are so tall!”
“Dan, can I get a picture?!”
“Will you sign my book, please???”
“English. Of course they knew English,” Dan said as he mentally slapped himself on the forehead. “I’m so stupid!”
He glanced at Phil, who also wore an embarrassed look.
They signed autographs and posed for pictures for about thirty minutes, making sure everyone in line got their full attention. Then, they turned back to the now idle luggage carousel, and picked up their bags.
Headed towards the cab station, Phil said, “I guess we should have realized people here are more likely to be bilingual.”
“You’d think your degree in linguistics would have helped you there, braniac,” Dan teased.
“That’s not what linguistics is,” Phil teased back, “and you know it!”
At the cab station, they were assigned to a cab and politely asked for the Incheon hotel, then settled back into the back of the cab and let out a sigh.
They were exhausted. The thirteen hour flight from London to South Korea had been uneventful, yet tiring. They had watched three movies, listened to countless podcasts, napped, ate, then napped again. Fortunately, Phil had booked them into the seats that fold out into a bed, so they did not have to squeeze in for that entire time.
As they reached the hotel, the suddenly realized they had no Korean money to pay the driver. Fortunately, the cab was equipped with a card scanner, and Phil had his Visa card, so they were able to exit the cab with no drama.
Their hotel room was gorgeous, with a king sized bed that had a black and red canopy draped over it. The view was amazing, with the city sprawling out beneath them, lights glowing and twinkling in the twilight.
“Oh my God,” said Dan as he dropped his luggage onto the floor, “I’m so tired! I’m going to sleep for the next 20 hours.”
“No you’re not,” Phil corrected him, “because we need to get some room service first.”
“You order, I’ll just lay here and close my eyes,” Dan said as he flopped supine on the bed and folded his arms behind his head.
“Daniel,” Phil teased, “if you go to sleep, I’m eating all of your food.”
“Dan opened one eye, “You wouldn’t?”
“I would and you know it!” Phil replied with a smile.
“If you eat all of my food, I’m taking this entire bed as my own and you can sleep on our luggage.”
“Get up and let’s get some food!”
“Oh, alright,” Dan said, rolling to his side and propping his head on his hand. “What do they have?”
“Well, I’m not sure. It appears to be in Korean,” Phil said.
“Oh for God’s sake, Phil,” Dan said, “Turn the menu over for the English side.”
“Oh yeah!” Phil responded, “I see! Now, I think we should have the Korean barbecue, ‘Bulgogi’. I’ve heard it’s amazing. And a side salad. And some Hoeddeok for dessert! I can’t believe I get Korean pancakes!”
Dan just laughed. Leave it to Phil to find the pancakes.
Phil placed the order and Dan dozed off on the bed. He started up when the loud knock came at the door.
Phil signed for the order, then spread the food out on the table. Dan got up and pulled over a chair, and they both began to eat.
It was delicious. The plane food had been good, but this was simply exquisite.
“Is the show sold-out yet?” Dan asked with his mouth half full.
“Let me check,” Phil said, puling out his phone. “Yes! It is! Oh my gosh! We did it, Dan!”
Dan grinned. “This is great. We’re going to have the best time. After I sleep. For twenty hours.”
Phil rolled his eyes again. “Dan, you slept on the plane forever. Let’s go explore the city!”
“Ugh,” came Dan’s reply. “At least let me shower and change first.”
“Why do you get to go first?” Phil teased.
“Because I said it first?” Dan replied, logically.
“Well, then, you’ll have to beat me to it then,” Phil said as he bolted out of the chair and raced to the shower.
“No! Not fair!” Dan whined as he jumped up and started to run.
In the end, they shared the shower as they usually did in hotels.
On the streets of South Korea, Dan and Phil stood out like a sore thumb. Their height and their race caused several looks: not hostile, but rather openly curious, like, “Who are these Caucasian giants? Is there a circus in town that I didn’t hear about?!”
As they walked into the Myeong-dong area, they were overtaken by it’s sheer beauty. The stunning lights, the beautiful Cathedral, and the quaint shops and eateries were breathtaking. They spent three hours walking around and were recognized half a dozen times, events that brought them great joy.
The show was the next afternoon, so they called it a night early and headed back to the hotel on foot. After thirty minutes of walking, Phil finally said what Dan was thinking.
“We’re lost.”
“No we’re not,” Dan said. “I know exactly where we are.”
“Do you?” Phil said, pulling out his phone to get on Google Maps. “Because we’ve come this way before at least twice and I don’t think we passed this restaurant on our way here.”
Dan was nervous. They were out of the more touristy area and in more of a local region.
“We should ask for directions,” Phil suggested.
“No,” Dan insisted, “We’re fine. We’re just looping back to the hotel, that’s all. I’ve got a good sense of direction, you know that.”
Phil was silent for several blocks, then timidly said, “Dan, I really think that I should take the lead. I think we are just getting farther and farther away from the hotel.”
“No!” Dan said, stopping his gait abruptly. “I know what I’m doing! I don’t appreciate your doubting me!”
“Dan,” Phil began calmly, “I’m not doubting you. I just think we’re in over our heads. I’m tired, my feet hurt, and I just want to get back to the hotel. There aren’t even any taxis running where we are now.”
“You think I’m not tired?!” Dan snapped. People were starting to stare now. “We are in a foreign country, we just spent thirteen hours on a Goddamn plane, and you think you are the only one who is tired?!”
“I think I’m the only one with an ounce of sense left!” Phil retorted. “I am jet lagged, I am exhausted, and you are being stubborn like you always are.”
“Then you can just get back on your own then, if you’re so smart,” Dan said as he started walking quickly away.
“Dan!” Phil called out, but Dan was not slowing down and Phil decided he was not going to run to catch up.
Two hours later, Dan was hopelessly lost. His feet hurt, his legs hurt, and he was having a hard time seeing through the tears building up in his eyes.
He was not about to cry from fear, but rather from regret. He hated fighting with Phil. He hated being wrong. And he hated what he was about to do.
Hey he texted.
Hey came the quick reply.
I’m sorry
Me too
Dan let out a breath. Thank goodness Phil wasn’t holding a grudge.
Where are you?
If I knew that, I wouldn’t be lost
HA HA. VERY FUNNY
Turn on your finding friends app so we can at least find each other
Okay
Twenty agonizing minutes later, Dan saw Phil’s head looming atop the rest of the crowd as it approached him. His stomach did a slight flip. He felt relief and guilt like he hadn’t felt in a long time and teared up again.
“Hey!” Phil shouted when he spotted Dan.
“Hey!” Dan waved, desperate to not lose Phil again.
Phil began to jog towards Dan and Dan, without meaning to, jogged to meet him.
They stopped at an intersection, impatiently waiting for the traffic to pass.
Dan took a chance and simply darted across as soon as the light changed, earning him honks from the drivers on the road.
“I’m sorry,” he said, catching his breath.
“Dan! Don’t ever run across the street like that again!” Phil scolded, grasping his shoulders, “You could have gotten hit by a car!”
“Sorry,” he said again, softer this time.
Phil knew what he was really apologizing for, and pulled him in for a hug. “It’s okay, Bear,” he said. “Don’t leave me again, though, okay?”
“Okay,” Dan said, wiping the tear from his cheek before Phil could see it.
As they released their embrace, Phil caught site of Dan’s puffy eyes, but thoughtfully declined to comment on them. He knew Dan was sensitive about his crying, though Phil had told him dozens of times that he shouldn’t be.
“I think we should call Marianne,” Dan said.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Phil replied.
“It’s a good thing,” Dan said as he dialed, “that we bought data plans before we got here.”
“Hello?” Came a friendly female voice from the other end of the line.
“Marianne, this is Dan,” Dan began, and then hurriedly explained their situation.
Dan added her to the “Find My Friends” app, and within moments, she had pinpointed their location and promised to send a car for them.
“Just stay there,” she said. “Don’t move.”
“We won’t,” Dan said, relieved but also slightly embarrassed as he ended the call.
Phil looked around, “Look there’s a bench across the street. Let’s wait there, okay?”
“Good call,” Dan replied.
As they sat on the bench, they observed all of the people making their way through the cross walk.
“It’s like a mini-fashion show!” Phil said.
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Dan replied.
“Look at those jeans!” Phil said excitedly, “They look kind of like yours with the cut out knees!”
“I still think you should wear them. They’d look good on you.” Dan said.
“Yeah,” Phil said, doubtfully, “I don't have the confidence to pull it off. Maybe someday.”