“Is she here yet?” Taehyun stuck his head out of the flight deck. He glanced at his partner. “I’m going to check on everyone else.” 

The pilot leaned his body against a wall of the plane as he made small talk with the attendants. “Did you meet her yet?”

Mari, the head of the staff, nodded. “I did,” she said. “She’s pretty quiet, just like I’ve heard. She didn’t say much the entire time but I can tell something’s on her mind. Have you guys met? You must’ve, right? You’re her pilot, after—”

Taehyun shook his head. “I’ve only seen pictures of her, though there aren’t that many,” he noticed. “I was a bit surprised. They say she worked on her first project in her early twenties and according to the internet, she’s 28. She’s pretty famous, yeah? But I still don’t know much about her.”

“She is,” Mari agreed. “She just keeps a low profile, I suppose.” 

“I read a few things—”

Mari pressed her lips into a firm line. “Taehyun…” She lowered her voice. This wasn’t the first time they’d worked together as pilot and head attendant. Mari had been in the flight industry for as long as she could remember and she’d practically watched the man grow up. “Don’t assume things about people you don’t know.”

“Auntie Mari—”

“Your father took a huge risk in giving this job to you. Behave like a professional, would you?” Mari shook her head and quickly freed her hands as she waved them in the air. “Ah, her manager is coming!” 

Jina approached the middle-aged woman apologetically. “I’m sorry, Sora’s taking a phone call. It might take longer than expected.” 

Mari brushed it off. “It’s fine,” she smiled. “Taehyun says we will make it to France on-time as long as we leave within the next three hours.”

“Oh, can I meet him?” 

Taehyun slipped out from behind the curtains. “I heard my name?” he grinned and bowed. “Nice to meet you. I’m Taehyun. Park Taehyun.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Jina greeted the handsome young man giddily before reaching out to Mari. “Can we have a talk?”  

Taehyun stood at one end of the aircraft and gazed at the women on the other end, wondering what they were talking about. Is there something wrong with Sora? he thought. 

***

“I’m sure CEO Park has already discussed this with you guys but as you may or may not know, Sora has a fear of flying. She’s never been fond of it and she’s been like that ever since I met her as a teen,” Jina began. “I’m not exactly sure of the reason but it may be due to an event that happened during her childhood. She hasn’t been too vocal about it and I can only imagine what could’ve happened.”

“I thought something was up in the air,” Mari nodded. “I can promise you that nothing will be leaked out to the public. My staff are very reliable and they know the consequences of breaking company rules. We keep all the information about our clients confidential.”

“One more thing.” Jina pointed to the kitchen area of the jet. “I know you guys have been preparing meals for us but you don’t have to do anything for Sora. I forgot to mention earlier so I apologize if you guys have been working extra hard for her. Sora doesn’t stay awake throughout flights,” she explained. “Even on public flights, she sits with our bodyguards and sleeps through the entire thing.”

Mari gasped. “The flight from Tokyo to London is a long one. Will she be alright without any food or water until then?”

“She…” Jina frowned. “Sora takes a sleeping pill right as she boards the plane, and ideally, it will work right before we take off. Sometimes it doesn’t and she has trouble falling asleep. She holds onto her arms so hard that she leaves nail marks on her skin.” 

Mari nodded in understanding. “I’ll go welcome her.”

Mari greeted Sora with a warm smile and open arms. “Welcome to Haneul Airlines, my dear.” She put a comforting hold on her and held a hand out. “Are you ready?”

Sora had a tight grip on her phone as she walked across the bridge and into the jet. The interior looked nothing like a plane did. She raised an eyebrow and stared.

Jina, who was sitting in one of the seats, flung her eye mask off when Sora approached. “Like it?”

“It’s different,” Sora whispered.

“It’s nothing like a plane, isn’t it wonderful?”

The interior was homey and spacious but still gave off a cozy vibe. The walls were a regal red and black with gold decorations instead of a pasty white. And rather than windows that lined every seat, Sora noticed that only certain seats had windows. There were only 7 seats in all and even a couch in the back.

Mari had the rest of her crew greet her before sitting her down. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Sora put her seatbelt on and slowly clenched her fists together.