Chapter Text
Seungkwan sighs, stares at his phone, and then sighs again.
He's gonna kill Vernon.
He checks the time once again and he groans as the cab enters the airport. He's glad the driver caught on to how desperately he needs to be in the airport ten minutes ago and he drives faster but still safely. He pays the driver as soon as he stops on the drop off area, both of them hurrying out as soon as they can, and he helps him with his bag on the trunk. Seungkwan bows to him as he walks back and he thanks the driver again. He hopes the tip he added was enough to show how grateful he is and he hurries inside. He scans the floor, panicking when he realizes he knows jack shit about airports, and then he scurries off to the information desk in the middle of the huge lobby and he takes a deep breath before asking where to go. The lady on the desk smiles at him, almost like she feels sorry for him.
You know that smile people have when they watch a dog fall on their face? That soft, sad kind of smile?
Yeah that.
She directs him to where to go, warning him that he's cutting it close, and he bows a couple of times before running off.
Go right, follow the signs for 'Departure' , and head for the security check. He does as he was told and he hurries as he takes off his jackets and his bag on the tray and he passes through the metal detector. He hurries up in gathering his stuff and he hurries off to the check in hall. Seungkwan lets out a relieved sigh as he sees just a couple of people lined up on the check in counter, and he runs up the front as the man in front walks away. He gives the man behind the counter his ticket and passport and feels a bit flustered as he smiles at his state. He does some stuff on the P.C. in front of him and smiles at Seungkwan.
"Head to boarding area ten. Just down this hall and the first left and keep going until you see the boarding gate. Have a great flight." He says, handing Seungkwan his boarding pass and passport and smiles. Seungkwan grabs for his stuff and bows, thanking him. He runs all the way to the boarding area and he gives them his boarding pass. They let him pass and Seungkwan sighs.
He takes his time walking down the corridor to the airplane and he smiles at the stewardess that welcomes him. She asks for his seat number and she helps him to his seat. She helps him with his bag as well, Seungkwan's glad he thought of using a smaller bag for his phone and stuff he needs for the flight, and he thanked her before taking his seat. He's in the middle seat on the right side of the plane and he silently prays that both his seatmates won't be coming at all. Vernon said that happens sometimes and Seungkwan remembers him saying before that once, he got into a flight where almost half of the seats empty.
With the thought of Vernon crossing his mind, he pulls out his phone and messages him while he still can.
Boo!
Not that I'm talking to you again
but i'm in the plane already.
VErnon
I SAID I WAS SORRY
Boo!
when i asked you what time i should get to the airport, i meant what would be the best time to leave my house
nOT WHAT TIME I SHOULD BE ARRIVING AT THE AIRPORT
VErnon
"don't worry about me too much i'm not an idiot. I can handle myself okay?"
Boo!
quoting me wont make me take you off my hit list
and just so you'll know how much gravity that holds i'm gonna say it in a way you would understand
"I thought you were bae. Turns out you're just fam. \m/"
VErnon
the one time you use a vine on me and you use it to break my heart?
Boo!
I'll message you when I'm on the air already
And it's not too late for me to book a room!
VErnon
my mom already planned out stuff to cook during your stay here
and she already made me clean the guest room please dont let my manual labor go to waste
Boo!
ur already giving me free tickets to whatever concert that is
i swear a hotel or something would be okay
VErnon
I KEEP TELLING YOU TO LISTEN TO HIM!
AND IT'S HIS FIRST SHOW ABROAD WE HAVE TO SEE HIM
I'm gonna ignore you now
have a safe flight !!
Seungkwan sighs at that and just then, someone clears their throat by the aisle.
"Uhm, i got the window seat." The guy said. Seungkwan eyes him up, clad in a black coat, a black hat, and black mask and, wow. He's huge.
"Oh, uhm, sorry." Seungkwan said, standing up. He walks out of their seats and let him take his seat first. Seungkwan watches him struggle in his way in and Seungkwan can't help but smile as he tries to squeeze himself in his seat. Seungkwan takes his seat and he pulls out his phone again. He takes a picture of his lap, showing his legs and the back of the seat in front of him, and posts it on his instagram story.
" Fuck . Fuck fuck fuck." Seungkwan hears his seatmate breathe out and Seungkwan scrolls through his instagram feed, pretending he can't hear him.
"Gyu." Someone says to Seungkwan's left. He turns and sees someone on the aisle by their row.
"Will you be okay?" The guy asks. Seungkwan ducks his head down, focusing on his phone exaggeratedly to make it obvious that he didn't want to intrude, and he keeps scrolling through his feed.
"I know you're ignoring me but I know you're not so hot about flying." The guy says and Seungkwan can feel the awkwardness suffocating him. He hears his seatmate scoff and Seungkwan wishes his seat can swallow him up whole.
A moment later, the guy on the aisle sighs, and walks away. Seungkwan feels himself let out a relieved breath and he digs for his earphones in his bag. He got them out just as the speaker tells them to buckle up and to turn of all their devices. Seungkwan's luck is really messing with him today and it's getting old real quick. He turns his phone off, puts it in his bag along with his earphones, and puts on his seatbelt. One good thing that Seungkwan did get today is that at least the aisle seat wasn't taken. He sighs, leans back on his seat, and closes his eyes.
He hears the stewardess talk on the speakers of the plane, aircraft safety and all that and Seungkwan listens intently. The life vest, the oxygen masks, everything seems so surreal. He's only seen this type of thing in movies and it's kind of funny how normal they are when you see it in real life. When everything was done, the stewardess disappears, goes to their seat probably, and Seungkwan feels excitement rush through him. He looks around, he stares out the window, and he can't help but smile.
Then he feels a huge hand on his, crushing his hand in a vice grip and Seungkwan yelps.
" Shit . I'm-" His seatmate pulls away his hand and Seungkwan lifts his hand and cradles it on his chest.
"I'm sorry." The guy said and Seungkwan turns to look at him. His eyes squeezed shut as he grips both arm rest tightly. His hat on his lap now and his black hair pushed back on his head. Seungkwan is a little bit annoyed but he can't help but find it a bit strange to see a huge guys whimpering from a plane moving but he just lets him be. The plane starts to ascend and he can hear his seatmate mutter "Fuck fuck fuck." softly and Seungkwan feels bad. He stares at his seatmate as they reach the sky and when the plane stabilizes, the seatbelt sign turns off. He unclips his and he turns to his seatmate again, still frozen on his death grip pose. Seungkwan had half a mind to take a photo but he thinks that's a bit too much. He smiles, clears his throat, and gently tapped on the back of the guy's hand. He flinches at the touch and Seungkwan smiles softly as the guy turns to look at him, his eyes shaking as he tries to take deep breaths.
"You can take your seatbelt off. I think the plane's safe for us to move about." Seungkwan offer and the guy smiles weakly at him. Then the guy sighs and Seungkwan sees his whole body shudder.
"Not a fan of flying?" Seungkwan asks and The guy laughs nervously.
"Not a fan of anything over ten feet tall, so no." The guy says and Seungkwan watches as he lifts his hand and they shake as he presses them on his lap.
"Okay, are you like, okay? Should i call for someone?" Seungkwan asks because the guy is sort of freaking him out.
"Uhm. No? I don't know? I feel like my lungs aren't moving and my heart's dropped to my balls and my balls are pushed up my throat. I don't- I can't... I can't breathe- " The guy presses his right palm on his chest and Seungkwan's hand moved to the guy's other hand before he can think about it.
"Okay. Hold your breath." Seungkwan says and the guy stares at him like he just ask him to hang his head out the window.
" WHAT?!" He asks out loud and Seungkwan shushes him, pulling down the cover for the window.
"Just do it! Do you want to die from brain damage in an airplane just cause your balls are blocking your throat?" Seungkwan asks and the guy in front of them lift his head up from his chair and turns to them. Seungkwan stares at him and raises an eyebrow.
"Can I help you?" Seungkwan snaps and the guy sits back down. He turns to his seatmate again and he finds him trying to catch his breath.
"Okay. What's your name?" Seungkwan asks and the guy stares.
"My name's Seungkwan. I'm actually from Jeju. I live in Busan for work and I'm meeting my best friend in L.A." Seungkwan says and the guy stares at him as his breathing starts to even out.
"I, uh... Gyu. I'm Gyu." The guy says and Seungkwan smiles.
"Well, Gyu, what are you doing in L.A.? Sightseeing? Surfing? You kind of look like a surfer but i guess you'd start crying if the wave's too high up." Seungkwan says and the guy scoffs at him.
"I don't like heights okay. People are supposed to be afraid of things that are dangerous!" The guy exclaims and Seungkwan laughs.
"Planes are safe, Gyu." Seungkwan says and Gyu stares at him with wild eyes.
"We're in a metal box flying over the ocean . I've never felt any less safe than I do right fucking now!" Gyu says and Seungkwan laughs again.
"Stop laughing at me! I'm in the middle of an actual crisis!" Gyu whines and Seungkwan clears his throat.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just funny that you'd willingly fly if you hate it this much." Seungkwan says and Gyu sighs.
"I'm doing this for work. I wanted to say no and if i could drive to L.A., I would." he said and Seungkwan nods.
"And my manager can't even appreciate that! He knows I'm scared shitless with heights! I can't even look down at the ground floor when I'm on the second floor of the mall! How did he think I'd react to flying in a fucking plane!?" Gyu rants and Seungkwan nods, he rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand and Gyu sighs.
"Is he the one earlier?" Seungkwan ask and Gyu nods.
"Well, he did seem worried." Seungkwan offers but Gyu scowls.
"He has no right to be worried when he put me in such an uncomfortable situation. He knew I hate heights!" Seungkan hates his brain for thinking about that one video Vernon had sent him a while ago and he nods sympathetically at Gyu.
"You could fire him?" Seungkwan offers and Gyu's eyes turns soft and... sad? He looks like a, well, like a kicked puppy. He's only seen this kind of look on Vernon when he's genuinely upset about something and Seungkwan immediately regrets it.
"I can't fire Cheol, he's like my older brother. He's taken care of us, of me, since I was eighteen. I wouldn't know what to do without him." He says, staring at Seungkwan's eyes. Seungkwan nods.
"Sorry. I'm just going with the flow here. So you still adore him but you want to kill him for putting you in the metal box that is currently flying over the ocean?" Seungkwan asks and Gyu nods. Seungkwan can't help but laugh out loud at that and Gyu stares at him.
"What?" Seungkwan asks and the guy shakes his head softly.
"Are you okay now? Are your balls where they're supposed to be?" Seungkwan asks and the guy flushes from under his mask before nodding.
"Can you breathe now?" Seungkwan asks and Gyu nods.
"Thank you. Really, thank you." The guy said and Seungkwan smiles at him.
"That's alright. It's my first time in a plane, too, so thank you for making it memorable." Seungkwan jokes and the guy nods. He looks around, turning back and seeing if anyone up front was looking, before he leans forward to Seungkwan.
"Okay, you're really cool so I'm gonna tell you a little secret." Seungkwan stares. He prays he didn't just calm down a terrorist in a plane right before they hijack it.
The guy then puts his hat on and takes off his mask. He looks up at Seungkwan and Seungkwan watches as he... does nothing.
"Okay... Uhm. What's the secret?" Seungkwan asks and Gyu stares at him with a now shocked expression.
"You don't..?" Gyu trails off and Seungkwan tilts his head, confused.
"What?" Seungkwan ask and Gyu smiles. Shakes his head, and sighs.
"The secret is that my manager's paying so if you want anything for the duration of our flight, it's on me." Gyu says and Seungkwan smiles.
"Are you serious? Are you, like, a model or something? If I asked you to sign like, a tissue paper, how much could I charge for one?" Seungkwan jokes and Gyu laughs out loud.
Just then, a stewardess walks by their aisle and asks if they need anything. Before Seungkwan could answer, Gyu reaches for his hand and asks if they have chocolate and non-alcoholic wine. Seungkwan stares back at Gyu and he smiles at him before asking for two glasses.