Chapter Six

 A soft series of tones sounded and SooYun slowly woke and pulled her sleep mask up. The lighting in the airplane compartment was a soft yellow and the distinct aroma of mint hung in the air. They were acclimating passengers to Korean time. She stretched and sat up. She was not sure how long she had slept, but she felt a bit more rested. Warren arrived and plopped down next to her, "Hey Reb, It's 6:30 am South Korean time and we're pretending it's the same time on board this airplane."

 "How are you feeling?" She asked by way of a greeting.

 "Okay, The doc from upstairs came and checked me over and pronounced me alive and kickin'." He answered and leaned in to nudge her shoulder with his, "Thanks."

 "Not a problem," she answered. "What's for breakfast?"

 "From what I can tell," Warren said craning his neck to see the carts that were being rolled out the galley, "It looks a lot like lunch."

 The flight attendant that was assigned to their section arrived with a cart bearing woven baskets of toiletries. "You may freshen up before being served your first meal of the day."

 Warren took his basket and headed off to the bathroom that was on the left side of the plane and SooYun took the bathroom on the right. Once inside she took a quick 'cat bath' and applied deodorant, moisturizer and brushed her hair, and put it up in a sleek bun. She came out ready to face the day. Her flight attendant took the basket away while another attendant tidied up her cubicle and served her green tea and a bowl of 'bibimbap' which consisted of rice, carrots, cucumber sliced in thin shreds, chopped lettuce, and a fried egg on top. On the side was a small dish with hot pepper sauce. On the tray were a fork, spoon, and a set of chopsticks. She had used chopsticks before and decided when she got to Korea she would continue to immerse herself in the culture as much as possible. She did not use much of the hot pepper sauce and just lightly dipped her cucumber and carrots in and munched, enjoying the different flavors. 

 Warren texted her. "Reb, I need your help." SooYun smiled, he needed to take his insulin. She went over and knocked lightly on the privacy panel he still had enclosing his cubicle. "You decent?" she called.

 "Never!" He growled back.

 She opened the panel and sat down on the bed mat. He had his medical kit open across his lap and he was staring angrily at the blood tester and finger sticker. Silently she took the tester and loaded a strip then set the finger sticker. He extended his hand and as she took his finger, he looked away. "It's 179."

 He looked back at her in amazement then down at the tester and the digital readout. "I didn't feel it!"

 "The sides of your fingers are better than the pads. Fewer nerve endings, so less pain." SooYun replied. "From this reading, how much insulin do you need?"

 He used his phone to calculate the dose, and then he twisted the insulin pen. He handed it to her. She took an alcohol packet and tore it open, and she nodded to his shirt, "Belly button or arm?"

 He grinned at her, "You just want to look at my abs, Reb."

 "Can hardly contain myself," SooYun quipped, and he chuckled and lifted his shirt up. She laid three fingers just above his belly button and glanced up at him. "If you inject in a straight line the area of where my fingers are, you won't feel the needle."

 "I can't wait to get my pump back!" Warren said then looked away as she swabbed the alcohol pad over the skin. She pinched the skin between her thumb and index finger and injected the dosage. He decided at the last minute not to look away but focused instead on her face. He would never tell her, but she was very pretty, and he liked that she did not look at him like an invalid. 

 "Done!" She declared swiping the alcohol pad over the injection site.

 "What's your plan for the day, Reb?" He asked her as he busied himself putting away his medical kit.

 "Probably write a bit and then I don't know about after that." She answered. 

 "You like board games?" he asked.

 "Depends," she answered. "I don't like Monopoly but anything else I'm --- game."

 Warren clucked his tongue at her, "Ha-ha! Trivial Pursuit?"

 "Sure," SooYun answered lightly, "My place or yours?"

 He pursed his lips in thought, "I'll come over to your place." 

 It was midday when Warren appeared with his tablet, and they sat with a small tray table between them and started a marathon match of the trivia game. SooYun knew a lot of useless trivia, but she was no match for Warren when it came to sports trivia. They ended up winning and losing several rounds to each other. 

 "You know," Warren said as he closed the game app on his tablet, "I 'Googled' you - the other you. You left a lot behind for this. Top agent in an advertising firm, you represented doctors, lawyers, musicians, and movie actors. You had to be pulling in a six or seven-figure salary. What happens if this gig doesn't work out?"

 "I was at the top of the food chain, and I was miserable," SooYun said. "I started writing classes and throwing myself into my art --- thinking that would make things better. It didn't. Getting an opportunity like this is more than I could have asked for. I'm going to a new world, discovering new places and people, learning something new, and getting personal mentoring from a successful movie and television mogul or at least a mentor who is a successful screenwriter. So, I have a writing job for about six to eight months and if I don't make the cut, I still consider myself very fortunate."

 "I guess we're all trying to find that thing that fills up that hole in heart," Warren said, he pulled at the fringe of bangs that fell over his eyes thoughtfully. "I got diagnosed two years ago and Grace went crazy, watching me, tethering me to a system that monitors me constantly. I can't even pee without her knowing about it!" he laughed then. "But as you saw, I need to be monitored. You brought me back from the brink. I'm not irresponsible but when I get the insulin pump, I'll be in control and Grace can go live her life and I can live mine!"

 "Did you ever tell your sister what you just told me?" SooYun asked.

 "It comes out sounding like I'm ungrateful," Warren replied. "So, I want to win a spot and I want to live life on my terms and if I can't be happy, I want to be satisfied that I've done everything I wanted to do before it's too late and I'm not left with regrets."

 "I suppose the other two entrants have the same thoughts," SooYun said. She let her gaze drift to a far point. "I wonder who they are?"

 "I found out," Warren said his voice tinged with smug knowledge. "You want to know?"

 "Hell yeah!" SooYun responded and Warren bent over in laughter. 

 "Bit of a tiger under that cool exterior, eh Reb?" 

 "So, who are they?" She demanded.

 Warren pulled his phone from his cargo pants pocket and thumbed it open. "Her name is Brittany Woods, she's from London, England. Her parents are working-class people. She has an older brother. Dad and brother work in demolition. Mom is a waitress of some kind. Brittany is basically a tart looking for a rich husband, but surprise, surprise – she has writing talent." He turned his phone around to show SooYun a picture of Brittany. He turned the phone back to face him again, "Next up, is Gustav Meyer, he's from Berlin, Germany. Not much on him, other than he's an only child and looks like he should be on a recruiting poster for some kind of youth corp." He turned the phone around again to show SooYun Meyer's photo. 

 She scowled disapprovingly at Warren. He returned her scowl, "Oh, I'm joking, Reb!"

 "You're evil, Warren." SooYun hissed at him. "Truly you are!"

 He scoffed at her and looked at Meyer's photo again and raised a mocking eyebrow at her. "So, there you have the four of us."

 "Guess we'll find out in the next thrilling episode," SooYun mimicked his radio announcer's voice. "Stay tuned!"

 He laughed. "I like you, Reb. I'm glad we're not going to be adversaries." He scrubbed his chin thoughtfully, "What do you know about the Director?" Warren asked.

 "Not much really," SooYun replied. "We've been communicating by email for over a year now. Honestly, I don't know him other than through email and chats. 

 Warren frowned in thought, "Hmm electronic pen pals."

 SooYun nodded. "Yeah, I suppose I could have been emailing and chatting to someone other than the Director."

 "Maybe," Warren said. "But it was Professor Jin who connected you two. So you were probably chatting with Director Jin."

 "What have you heard?" SooYun wanted to know.

 "Not a lot," Warren said. "I know he's got some kind of phobia, that or he just doesn't like anyone touching him or getting too close. He was married off by family arrangement about two and half years ago but is in the process of divorcing. He's a fairly young guy, somewhere around 35 or 36, and has built a hugely successful movie and television studio." 

 SooYun laughed. "You should work with a friend of mine," she told him. "He could probably use you in his detective offices."

 Lunch came and went and sometime in between the in-flight movie and SooYun writing in her art journal the announcement came they were inbound to land in Seoul Korea at the Incheon International Airport. Warren raised both arms into the air and gave a thumbs up. "We made it!"

 She returned the thumbs up and felt tremendous excitement well up in her. The plane landed, and they trundled along for what seemed like miles to finally come to a complete stop with the complement of flight attendants assembling next to their sections to help their charges disembark. The door seal hissed as it was cranked open. SooYun breathed in deeply and laughed because instead of the new aromas of a new country, it smelled like hot jet fuel and asphalt. She unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. 

 The flight attendant came up and bowed. "Come with me. You will need to wait in the VIP lounge before going through the checkpoint." 

 Warren wagged a finger at her, "You're going to have to undo that bun again, Reb." Before she could answer him he linked arms with her, and they left the plane to walk up the terminal corridor. She shivered as a blast of chilly air seeped into the tunnel. "What season is this?"

 "It's supposed to be springtime, but it feels like winter!" Warren declared. "This California boy is going to freeze his ass off!"

 "I thought it might be warmer. I only brought a hoodie in my carry-on, but I don't think that's going to be enough," SooYun said. They stepped into the terminal and were handed off to another attendant who had their carry-on luggage waiting for them. It was warmer in the lounge but not much! Warren scanned the people in the lounge and elbowed SooYun in the side, "There are the other two. They look about as frozen as we do."

 They walked over and SooYun introduced herself. Immediately Gustav rose to his feet and towered over her. "Nice to meet you, how was your flight?"

 "Incredibly long!" SooYun declared with a pleasant smile. "When did you arrive?"

 Gustav looked at the clock on the wall and nodded, "I've been about an hour."

 "I hope they didn't forget about us!" Brittany said, and looked at SooYun and Warren, "You don't think we've been abandoned, do you?"

 "No," SooYun replied. She looked around and saw a half dozen men and women of various nationalities waiting to be picked up or waiting to board other aircraft. Over near the large scenic window, there was a group of Korean travelers with "Go" boards set up and enjoying a lively game. Brittany sank deeper into her phone and Gustav and Warren drifted over to the far side of the lounge to look out at the airport activity. 

 One of the older women waved SooYun over, "You come and play!" she told SooYun. She nodded and drifted over to take her mind off the thought of being a permanent resident in the airport. Almost immediately SooYun and Mrs. Kim fell into a quick-paced match. Warren left Gustav at the railing to watch the match. SooYun was a methodical player, and the older woman kept a tough pace. SooYun had lost! She feigned exhaustion and the group all patted her back in consolation. "You nearly had me!" the woman told her. Gustav spotted activity and waved Warren over. SooYun looked at Brittany where she sat curled up with her phone. "I think Gustav's spotted something."

 Warren reached the rail first and leaned over to look out the large expanse of windows, "That looks like our caravan to me."

 Brittany came and stood next to him and looked out, "Where's the Director?" she pointed to one of the men standing on the sidewalk, "Do you think that's him?"

 "Nope," Warren responded and as a black Maserati rolled up behind the two SUVs, he nodded at it. "But I'll lay odds that whoever is driving that will be the Director!"

 As the four of them watched, the drivers of the two SUVs gathered around the two well-dressed men. Instructions were given and the drivers bowed respectfully to the man from the car. SooYun watched avidly! This was the "Director" she had been chatting online with and emailing on and off for the last eight months! She did not dare tell Warren that she was on a more personal level online with the Director. She really could not say that she knew the Director at all. They had been online friends but were now strangers!