#Side Story 08
Fortunately, no one had arrived in the briefing room yet. I sat in the seat closest to the door and started to tidy up the room briefly.
But it was just a habitual action of the youngest team member worried about being nitpicked. The originally clean briefing room had nothing to clean. After putting slightly displaced items back in their places, I endured the trembling silence of the empty space with my whole body.
About 20 minutes after I entered the briefing room, senior colleagues started to appear one by one. As I bowed deeply to greet them each time they arrived, an hour had passed before I knew it, and the briefing time was approaching. Luckily, there were no strange things to be nitpicked about this time. Feeling relieved inside, after finishing the cabin briefing, the joint briefing followed.
Seeing the captains wearing the same uniform as my brother reminded me of Saheon hyung for a moment, but I soon forgot about it, probably due to concentrating on work.
After finishing all the joint briefings, our team boarded the bus prepared in front of the company to move to Incheon Airport. As the only male flight attendant, I helped load all the seniors’ luggage before boarding the bus last.
The one who chose the seat next to me was a senior three classes above me, though younger in age. Since she was showing such a welcoming attitude, patting the seat next to her, I had to put aside Saheon hyung’s advice not to sit with an unfamiliar woman.
“Cheongmyeong-ssi. Over here!”
As I sat next to the senior who was patting the seat with a slightly flushed face, she spoke to me quite friendly. I sat down naturally next to her and gave an awkward smile.
“I heard from Jihyun unni. I heard you got caught by the Black purser.”
Instinctively realizing that the senior was talking about what happened a few days ago, I laughed awkwardly.
“Yes… Haha.”
“Oh my. Just think you had bad luck. I heard that purser is even worse because she just broke up with her boyfriend.”
Grateful for the senior’s words of comfort, I smiled slightly and replied.
“Thank you for your concern.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Ah, but Cheongmyeong-ssi. Your hair is sticking up here in the back.”
The senior’s hand gently touched the back of my neck. It seemed to be the hair that Saheon hyung had messed with in the car. I hastily pressed the back of my head with my palm. My hand overlapped with the senior’s.
“Ah, sorry… Thank you.”
I expressed both apology for our hands touching and gratitude for letting me know at the same time. The senior giggled and helped me fix my hair.
“Cheongmyeong-ssi. Your front hair is so neatly combed, but your back hair is like a bird’s nest. It’s cute.”
I heard giggling laughter from the side. When I turned, it was the purser and deputy purser.
“You two look good together.”
“No, purser. I have a boyfriend.”
“Eh, who? Cheongmyeong-ssi?”
I stared blankly at the purser and deputy purser. The senior sitting next to me kept denying it, not knowing what to do.
“It’s true, really.”
“Alright, I get it. Junior and senior assigned to EY together today, do well!”
It was then that I realized the purser was trying to set me up with the senior. Thinking of Saheon hyung, I answered firmly and as hyung had taught me:
“I, I…”
“Yes, Cheongmyeong-ssi. Do well.”
The standard answer Saheon hyung had forced – ‘I have someone I’m going to marry! We’ve been dating for 8 years! He’s the most handsome person in the world!’ – slipped away. I quietly closed my mouth. Looking to the side, I saw the senior blushing. A slight feeling of guilt towards Saheon hyung arose.
Usually, it’s the purser and the youngest flight attendant who take care of passengers at L2 (the left entrance of the plane, mostly for economy class – first and business use L1). As the youngest flight attendant, I was naturally assigned to the door.
“Welcome. We’ll make sure you have a comfortable flight to London.”
“KN907, checking your ticket and date. Thank you.”
While the purser was counting passenger heads, I was busy greeting and checking boarding passes. Then suddenly, a familiar boarding pass was presented.
It was a name KWON/SAHEON and seat 1A in first class. Why would someone using first class enter through the economy class bridge? After reading this unusual boarding pass, thinking the name was similar to hyung’s, I looked up.
“…Uh, hy…”
It was Saheon hyung, wearing a captain’s uniform that anyone could see. The purser also seemed a bit surprised but smoothly smiled it off.
“Thank you. I’ll show you this way.”
“I can go by myself. Thank you.”
Saheon hyung, making eye contact with me and giving a light smile, strode towards his seat. As he wasn’t a regular passenger but joining as deadheading, the purser didn’t seem to pay much attention.
Just the fact that Saheon hyung had boarded made my heart flutter. It was like seasoning added to a boring ordinary day. I welcomed passengers without hiding the smile trying to creep up on my lips. My voice tone had naturally risen.
“Thank you. We’ll be taking you to London.”
After frantically welcoming passengers and being informed by ground staff that all passengers had boarded, a sigh of relief came out naturally. While the purser and deputy purser counted heads once more, I returned to my assigned EY to prepare for takeoff.
Soon after, the announcement for the demo broadcast came. I went to my designated position and stood.
“Ladies and gentlemen, hello. Thank you sincerely for boarding our KN Airlines. This is flight KN907 to London.”
Bowing deeply with the greeting, I walked backward checking the overhead bins and whether passengers had fastened their seatbelts. The area I was in charge of wasn’t much, so the check was over in just a few steps. A group of high school girls sitting on the right whispered, covering their mouths.
“F***ing…”
“Wow, amazing. Look. He’s so handsome. Like an actor.”
“Doesn’t he look like an idol? Like he could do a bingsu commercial…”
I looked at the EY on the side. A pretty senior was smiling and responding. Thinking today’s students have good eyesight, I walked to the back galley and sat in the jump seat first.
Soon after, the senior also joined and sat next to me. As the senior was struggling with the shoulder strap after fastening the waist belt, I offered to help.
“Let me help you.”
“Oh my… Thank you.”
I held the belt on the side, waiting to help the senior fasten the seatbelt. The senior slightly blushed and slipped her arm through. After helping fasten the side belt that was hard to see, I smiled politely and fastened my own belt. The senior’s ears reddened a bit more.
***
The plane took off without any issues.
After the hectic meal service and beverage service passed, darkness settled in the cabin. As it was a long-distance flight, rest time was given among the crew. I was scheduled to rest during the first rest period, but I couldn’t go right away.
“Ah, Cheongmyeong-ssi. Before going to the bunker, could you go to Captain Kwon once? I heard a request while serving earlier, he said he left something with you.”
I raised my eyebrows at the unexpected news I heard from the purser as I was about to head to the bunker. Saheon hyung hadn’t left anything with me.
“Hyung… I mean, the captain?”
“Yes. Go quickly. Ah, no. We’ll be changing clothes, so come late.”
The purser threw a frivolous joke. I nodded vaguely with a smile. In my head, imagination about what Saheon hyung might have left was blooming hazily. But no particular item came to mind.
“What could it be…”
I muttered a meaningless, bland soliloquy as I passed through economy and business class to first class.
I vaguely remembered Saheon hyung’s seat was 1A. As I was quietly walking, looking only at the letters written on the overhead bin with the seat numbers, I felt someone firmly grab my buttocks, causing me to flinch and let out a small moan.
“Ah…!”
In that brief moment, a thousand thoughts crossed my mind. Was it sexual harassment? Or was it an older passenger calling me familiarly? I turned around startled, grabbing the hand that had grabbed my buttocks.
“…Hyung.”
The sound that escaped between my lips in dismay carried a feeling of relief. In the darkened cabin, I could see Saheon hyung grinning mischievously.
“You were surprised.”
“Your surprised face is cute too.”
“You shouldn’t do this at work.”
“Then is it okay when we’re not working?”
At Saheon hyung’s nonchalant question, I checked if there were other passengers in first class. Fortunately, there was only Saheon hyung. I nodded slightly, blushing. Saheon hyung made an ‘oh’ shape with his mouth.
Saheon hyung kneaded my skinny buttocks a few times with a playful touch, then lightly patted it. At this childish act, I blushed more and asked in a sulky voice.
“Wasn’t your seat 1A, hyung?”
“It was, but the charging port wasn’t working so I moved here.”
The cabin, quiet due to the night, hummed with a faint noise. Hyung’s voice, speaking softly through it, was charming.
“Sit here.”
Hyung tapped the edge of the seat that had been made into a bed. I looked around the cabin once more, even though I knew there were no passengers in first class. Sensing my worry, Saheon hyung offered words of assurance.
“The flight attendant in charge of first class just went to the business galley. They just left, so they won’t be back for a while.”
Feeling like I was committing a crime, I sat down gently where hyung had pointed, suppressing my pounding heart. The fluffy blanket felt nice.
“Let’s start with a kiss first.”
Saheon hyung whispered quietly. Doing this in a public place where anyone could see, and at work while wearing a uniform, felt thrillingly tense.
