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Sangwon practically skipped his way into the airport as he and his two best friends Jiahao and Anxin made their way inside, suitcases in hand. They’ve been planning this trip for weeks; a vacation to China to visit Jiahao’s and Anxin’s families, and by golly gee was Sangwon excited, not just because he was getting one week away from corporation hell, but also because this would be the first time in his twenty-two years of living that he would be riding an airplane.
Jiahao and Anxin have had plenty of experience with flying in the air; they came from rich families and would regularly spend their vacations travelling and sightseeing all over the world. Sangwon, on the other hand, came from a humble upbringing and could never afford such luxuries. It was only thanks to his two best friends and their families’ generosity that he was able to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event.
The three of them made it through security with surprisingly no trouble, and before Sangwon knew it, he was entering the actual plane itself. Cold, artificial-smelling air greeted him as he took in his very cramped surroundings. Unfortunately, due to poor planning, Jiahao and Anxin were only able to purchase tickets for economy seats at the very back of the plane—very different from the first-class seats the two friends were used to. Sangwon didn’t mind though; it wasn’t like he had anything to compare with.
After shuffling through the other passengers, the three friends finally made it to their seats in Row 40 and began to store their luggage in the overhead compartment. It was then that Sangwon realized that he may or may not have overpacked for this trip; his carry-on suitcase was just barely under the 10 kilogram-limit, and his weak arms were not doing any favors for him as he struggled to even lift up his suitcase.
“Can you guys give me a hand here?” Sangwon complained to Jiahao and Anxin, who were currently making themselves comfortable in their middle and window seats respectively, small carry-on backpacks in hand.
Anxin glanced at Sangwon’s suitcase and shook his head. “I doubt that we’ll be able to lift it all the way up there even with our efforts combined.” Jiahao hummed in agreement.
Sangwon huffed. He was pretty sure his friends were lying; teamwork makes the dream work, and there’s no way they couldn’t lift the suitcase with their collective effort. Either that, or the three of them should really start going to the gym.
Luckily, his savior came in the form of a flight attendant. A very attractive flight attendant.
Sangwon has always had a bad habit of falling fast and hard, especially for beautiful men, but just one look at this flight attendant and the way that his shirt sleeves were rolled up to showcase his strong arms had him melting in a puddle. Without saying a word, the flight attendant lifted Sangwon’s suitcase with ease, slotting the baggage into the compartment before closing it shut and slapping on it twice to secure it.
Now that the flight attendant had his arms down, Sangwon could get a better view of his face, and the view did not disappoint. The man had long, cat-like eyes, dark hair that was a bit on the longer side, and plump lips. Sangwon was only a few centimeters shorter in height, if he had to guess, but the other man’s wider and stronger build made Sangwon feel small. In a submissive good way.
Realizing that Sangwon was just staring at the flight attendant in awe like a lovestruck idiot—which he wouldn’t deny he was—he quickly came back to his senses and managed to stutter out, “Thank you.” The flight attendant simply nodded and replied with a curt “Of course” before walking away to who-knows-where.
Sangwon finally settled into his seat right next to the aisle. He sighed dreamily—if Sangwon were a cartoon character, he would have hearts floating in the air around him by now.
Jiahao and Anxin took one glance at him and shook their heads, already in the know. This was going to be a long flight.
—
Unfortunately, Sangwon was ultimately still a newbie at this whole flying thing, and that inexperience came into light through the means of a seatbelt.
Realistically, buckling a seatbelt shouldn’t be the most difficult task in the world—Sangwon was a safe driver who buckled his seatbelt while in the car all the time! Yet here he was with a very tangled, knotted yet still unbuckled seatbelt sitting on his lap. He blamed the hot flight attendant for turning his brain into a mushy mess.
“Should we help him?” Anxin whispered to Jiahao as he watched Sangwon struggling from the comfort of his window seat.
Jiahao shook his head. “Nah, let him suffer. It builds character.”
Sangwon was still suffering by the time the pilot’s voice came on the loudspeaker. Something something this is your captain speaking, something something welcome to your flight from Seoul to Shanghai, something something we hope you enjoy your flight with Korean Air, Sangwon wasn’t really listening. What did make him perk up, however, was when the same hot flight attendant walked up to the front of the aisle as the pilot explained the emergency procedures, or something. All of a sudden, Sangwon dropped everything he was doing to give the man 200% of his attention. From his peripheral vision, he could see that none of the other passengers were really watching the flight attendant point out where the emergency exits on the plane were. Sangwon pouted. How dare these people ignore him? Safety was important!
Well, so was watching the flight attendant demonstrate how to put a life vest on. Sangwon sighed and rested his chin on his hand, smiling to himself—the flight attendant could make anything, even something as mundane as wearing an oxygen mask, just so damn cute.
After the demonstration was over and the pilot concluded his public service announcement, all of the flight attendants began to walk down the aisles, making sure that everyone’s seatbelts were fastened. Sangwon looked down at his pathetic attempt to buckle his seatbelt. Well, shoot.
He could practically feel the hot flight attendant’s very confused and concerned look as he reached the three friends’ row. That didn’t stop Sangwon from attempting to make a good first—or well, second—impression.
“Hey,” he said, fluttering his eyelashes as he looked up at the flight attendant.
The other man blinked. “How the hell did you get your seatbelt like this?”
Well, that wasn’t exactly the response Sangwon was looking for, but it was a start, he guessed. He could work with this.
“Does it matter?” Sangwon replied, pouting his lips. “Can you just fix it for me, please?”
The flight attendant sighed but knelt down on the floor. He began to attempt to unravel the seatbelt, and by some miracle, he managed to untangle it back to its original form and finally buckle it shut after a minute or so. Sangwon tried his best to ignore how the flight attendant’s large, veiny hands came dangerously close to his ****, for his own sanity.
Sangwon clasped his own hands together instead. “My hero!” he exclaimed sweetly; he was genuinely impressed.
The flight attendant nodded as he stood back up. “Try not to get it tangled again,” he replied.
“Wait!” Sangwon called out before the other man could leave. “What’s your name?”
The flight attendant looked around hesitantly. “Uh, I’m not sure if I’m allowed to tell you that here.”
“Please?” Sangwon begged while giving him his best puppy eyes. “The author of this fic and I can’t keep calling you ‘the flight attendant’ forever!”
The flight attendant furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “The author of what—you know what, nevermind. I’ll just say it to you.”
Before Sangwon could react, the flight attendant suddenly leaned down until his lips were right next to Sangwon’s ear.
“It’s Leo,” he whispered before disappearing once again to who-knows-where.
—
Soon after, the plane slowly started moving through the runway before picking up speed and finally taking off in the air. Sangwon couldn’t help but lean all the way over to the window to get a better view of the air—despite Jiahao’s complaints from the middle seat. He was awestruck with the sight of clouds and clouds and… clouds.
Okay, so the view did get boring after two minutes.
Sangwon sat back down on his seat in defeat, already bored. Sadly, Leo was currently nowhere in sight, so Sangwon didn’t even have any eye-candy to entertain himself. He looked around and saw that some of the other passengers managed to turn on their seat’s little TV screen. He turned back to his own screen in front of him, blank and empty.
He tried tapping on the screen at first—no response. He then tried tapping and pressing down—nada. Sangwon was also pretty sure he could see his two friends starting to judge him from his peripheral vision. Lastly, he tried scanning the surrounding area for a button that looked like it would turn the screen on—nothing, minus a little person icon on the ceiling directly above him.
Sangwon tapped his chin, pondering for a bit. Maybe this button will do the trick!
The bad news was that upon pressing the button, the TV screen still did not turn on. The good news was that Leo the hot flight attendant showed up instead.
For a moment, Sangwon just stared up at Leo blankly, mouth open but no words coming out. Of course, seeing the hot flight attendant was always a nice surprise, but Sangwon genuinely did not expect for there to be a Leo-summoning button on the plane.
“Hello, what seems to be the problem?” Leo asked, interrupting Sangwon’s awestruck wonder.
“Ah, yes, um…” Sangwon stammered in a loss of words. Crap, what did he need again? Oh, right. “I was having trouble turning the screen on,” he finally managed to say.
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Have you considered pressing the power button?” He said as he pointed to a small button right below the screen.
Sangwon blinked. Huh. How did he miss that? Must have disappeared from his field of vision.
“Oh. Thanks,” he replied. Well, he might look like a dumbass right now, but at least he now knew about the Leo-summoning button right above him.
Deciding to make the most out of this Leo interaction, Sangwon stared up at the flight attendant, drinking in every little detail of his face. Who knows when he’ll see Leo again after this flight? Sangwon was determined to etch Leo’s ethereal beauty into his memory with a permanent marker.
Leo looked around, slightly unsettled by Sangwon’s intense staring. “What are you looking at?”
“You,” Sangwon replied.
Leo blinked. “Right. Was there anything else you needed?”
Sangwon shook his head, his eyes never leaving Leo’s. “Nope, that was all!”
“Okay… I’m gonna go then.”
Sangwon couldn’t help but pout at the conversation ending so soon. “Okay. Goodbye, Leo.”
Leo gave him one last look, a look filled with confusion and a hint of something else… amusement, perhaps? “Goodbye, passenger 40C,” he said before walking away. Sangwon watched the flight attendant’s every step until he disappeared again to who-knows-where.
Once Leo was gone, Sangwon leaned back on his seat, sighing. “Man, who knew planes came equipped with a Leo-summoning button?” Sangwon said to himself.
Jiahao turned, a bewildered look on his face. “The what button?”
“You know, the Leo-summoning button,” Sangwon replied while pointing at the button with a little person icon above him. “I pressed it and the hot flight attendant showed up, ready for service.”
Now it was Anxin’s turn to judge. “You mean the flight attendant call button?” He said, raising an eyebrow.
“Is that what it’s called?” Sangwon asked.
“Yeah.”
“Oh.”
Well, they were the same thing in Sangwon’s book anyway. Leo-summoning button, hot flight attendant call button, potayto, potahto.
“You probably shouldn’t press it too much, though,” Jiahao added. “The flight attendants will get annoyed if you keep calling them for no good reason.”
Sangwon’s ears perked up upon hearing this new information. He most certainly didn’t want Leo to think that he was annoying. Sangwon will just have to find another way to get Leo’s attention during this two-hour flight.
—
While brainstorming ideas on how to make Leo fall head over heels in love with him, Sangwon got the sudden urge to use the restroom. Luckily, there was a lavatory right behind his seat—Jiahao and Anxin complained earlier about having to smell the stinky bathroom during the flight, but quite frankly, with the constant artificial air circulating inside the plane, Sangwon couldn’t smell a thing.
The good news was that there was an available toilet waiting just for him. The bad news was that the only thing standing between him and the toilet was a door he couldn’t figure out how to open. There wasn’t a door handle no matter where Sangwon looked. He tried pulling on the ledge, lifting it up from below, clawing his way open like a dog—he was getting desperate, alright?
A shadow loomed over him, and somehow, Sangwon knew exactly who it was before he even turned around.
“Hi, Leo,” Sangwon flirtatiously said as he twirled a strand of hair around his finger. He used his other arm to lean against the bathroom door… and nearly lost his balance as the doors pushed right open.
Leo raised an eyebrow. “I see you don’t need my help anymore,” he said with an entertained look on his face before turning around to leave.
Sangwon panicked at his Leo interaction practically ending before it even began. “Wait!” He called out.
Leo turned back around and tilted his head. “Yes?” He questioned, waiting for Sangwon to speak.
Sangwon’s mind scrambled to ask something, anything. “Do… Do you come here often?” He ended up saying.
Leo suddenly bursted into laughter, as if he was caught off-guard by the question. He probably was, considering how Sangwon was also caught off-guard by his own question as well.
“I actually don’t come here often,” Leo replied, entertaining Sangwon’s silly pick-up line. “I’ve only started working as a flight attendant two weeks ago, though I did have weeks of training before that.”
Sangwon raised his eyebrows at this newly-found Leo lore. “Two weeks? I would’ve never known. You’re pretty much already a professional.”
Leo glanced away, and maybe Sangwon was wearing rose-tinted glasses, but he swore he could see a blush on the other man’s face. “I wouldn’t say I’m on that level yet,” he rebutted.
Sangwon shook his head. “I’m positive you are. What other flight attendant would help poor little me untie his seatbelt, turn the TV screen on, and open the bathroom door before I accidentally figured out how to do it myself?”
“Well…” Leo scratched his head. “I guess you do make a point. I guess.”
“Of course I do!” Sangwon beamed, and to his delight, Leo smiled back.
“You’re an interesting guy,” Leo said, crossing his arms and nodding. “I hate to cut our conversation short, but there’s an auntie behind you who’s waiting in line.”
Sangwon turned around to see an old lady hunched over, hovering near the bathroom door. “Oh, I’m so sorry ma’am! You can go ahead,” Sangwon offered.
The lady waved her hand in dismissal. “Nonsense, nonsense, you were here first—you can go right ahead. Besides, I was entertaining myself seeing you two lovebirds dance and flock around each other.”
The two men blushed. “We’re, we’re not—” Sangwon stammered.
Leo cleared his throat. “I better get going. It was nice talking to you, uh…”
“Sangwon! My name is Sangwon,” Sangwon said. “You better not forget it!”
Leo smirked. “Oh, I definitely won’t,” he replied before walking away.
And if Sangwon was giggling and kicking his feet while on the toilet, well, that was only for him and the privacy of the bathroom stall to know.
Afterwards, Sangwon exited the lavatory and skipped his way back to his seat, still giddy from a successful Leo interaction.
“Guys! You’ll never guess what just happened,” Sangwon said to his friends.
“You ran into Leo while trying to open the bathroom door,” Jiahao answered without skipping a beat.
Sangwon gasped. Was his friend psychic? “Woah, how did you know?”
Anxin shook his head. “Our seats are right next to the bathroom, remember? I swear Jiahao and I could hear every word that came from your mouth, although we wish we couldn’t.”
Oh, right, Sangwon forgot about that part.
“Well, anyway,” Sangwon continued. “I really do think that he’s the One, guys.” He laid his hand over his chest, sighing. “I just feel like we really have a connection, you know?”
Jiahao raised an eyebrow. “No, I don’t, but good for you,” he replied as he turned his attention back to the movie he was watching, Anxin doing the same.
Sangwon replayed his Leo interaction in his mind over and over for a bit before taking out his cute little tote bag he brought with him and rummaging through his belongings until he found what he was looking for: the book he was currently in the process of reading. He flipped to the bookmarked page before a thought occurred.
“Guys,” he said, nudging Jiahao’s shoulder. “Do you think Leo will think that I’m nonchalant and mysterious if I read this book while he walks by?”
Anxin sighed. “Just let us watch the damn movie, please.”
—
Somewhere along the way, Sangwon ended up dozing off, and before he knew it, he was awoken by the sound of the captain announcing that the plane will be landing soon.
Upon the plane hitting the ground and Sangwon taking in the new surroundings outside, it finally hit him—they really made it to China. All those weeks of planning this vacation were about to finally pay off. Sangwon was figuratively bouncing in his seat while thinking about all the activities he and his friends have planned, from viewing all the typical tourist attractions to visiting Jiahao’s and Anxin’s families and childhood homes.
Of course, they had to exit the plane first, and of course, the three of them would be the very last ones to get out.
It was fine, though—Sangwon could wait. Patience was a virtue. He and his friends packed everything they could as they waited for the other passengers to slowly file out of the plane.
Finally, it was their turn to leave. Sangwon got up, stretched, and came face-to-face with the overhead compartments—oh, right. His carry-on suitcase.
Again, though, it was fine—surely getting a suitcase down was easier than getting it up, right?
Apparently, Sangwon was wrong as he attempted to pull down the suitcase, underestimated how heavy it was, and helplessly watched as gravity took over and dropped the suitcase directly onto his left foot.
“YEOUCH!” Sangwon yelped in pain, bouncing on his right foot as he lifted his injured left foot off the ground.
Jiahao’s and Anxin’s eyes widened in horror. “Shit, Sangwon, that didn’t look good.” Jiahao said, concerned.
“Let me take off your shoe,” Anxin said, pulling off Sangwon’s sneaker and sock. His left toe was already starting to swell and turn dark purple.
“It doesn’t look broken, but it still looks really bad; we should still call someone,” Anxin observed. “I’ll go get someone,” he said as he rushed off to look for help. Jiahao guided Sangwon to sit back down on his seat as they waited.
Not even thirty seconds went by before Anxin was rushing back with someone in tow. Sangwon gasped when that someone turned out to be Leo, who was carrying a first-aid kit. Well, this was not how he wanted to look in front of the hottest man in the world, but what else could he do? Hop off the plane?
Without saying a word, Leo kneeled down beside Sangwon and held his injured foot in his hands, accessing the damage. Under better circumstances, Sangwon probably would’ve made some sort of Cinderella and Prince Charming joke, but he was in too much pain to really think straight.
“Your toe is really bruised, but thankfully it isn’t broken,” Leo said. “I’m gonna have to put an ice pack on it and let it rest for a while, though.” He turned to Jiahao and Anxin. “You guys should go wait by the gate; take Sangwon’s suitcase with you too. I’ll take care of him.”
Jiahao and Anxin raised their eyebrows at Leo’s last sentence but obeyed, packing all three of their belongings before exiting the plane.
Leo took out an ice pack from the first-aid kit and carefully put it on Sangwon’s bruised toe. Sangwon winced from the cold, but endured it as some of the pain from the bruising slowly alleviated.
“This wasn’t how I expected my first flight to go,” Sangwon joked, trying to break the tense atmosphere.
Leo chuckled in disbelief. “I’m just glad that you didn’t end up breaking your toe—I’d hate for your first day of vacation to be spent at the hospital.”
Sangwon hummed. “I’m glad, too. Besides, if I broke my toe, I wouldn’t have the cutest flight attendant tending to me right now.”
Leo’s ears turned red, and Sangwon beamed. He made the hot flight attendant blush! Hooray!
They sat in comfortable silence, Leo shifting the ice pack every once in a while. “So,” Sangwon spoke again. “What is it like to be a flight attendant?”
Leo hummed. “It’s alright. It’s a lot of traveling and long working hours, of course, but when I’m off-duty I can just chill in my apartment in Seoul.”
“Really? I live in Seoul too!” Sangwon exclaimed, delighted to learn that Leo resided in the same city as him.
“That’s cool, I actually haven’t been living in Seoul for long. I moved there shortly before I started my training as a flight attendant,” Leo replied.
Sangwon perked up at this new lore, and the cogs in his brain were quickly turning. “Well, I lived there for pretty much my entire life, so I’m really familiar with the city,” Sangwon said before taking a deep breath. “After my vacation is over, would you like to explore Seoul with me sometime?”
Leo jerked his head up, eyes wide. For a moment, Sangwon thought that he may have made a mistake, until eventually Leo responded. “Alright,” he said, nodding.
Now it was Sangwon’s turn to widen his eyes. “Wait, seriously? You’re not pulling my leg?”
“Nope,” Leo replied. “You’re funny, interesting, and very pretty. I’d love to get to know you better. And besides, you owe me for all the times I saved your butt while in this plane,” he added playfully.
Sangwon couldn’t help the big, goofy grin that formed on his face. “It’s a deal!” He exclaimed, nodding his head vigorously.
Leo grinned. “It’s a date, you mean.”
Sangwon paused, cheeks heating up as he processed Leo’s words, before giggling. “It’s a date,” he agreed.
Leo nodded, still smiling. “Alright, I think your toe has been iced and rested enough for now,” he said, standing up. “You really shouldn’t put pressure on it, though—you’re gonna need someone to hold onto while you walk for a few days. Make sure to regularly ice it, too.”
The flight attendant took Sangwon’s hands, pulling him up. “I’ll help you, in the meantime,” he added.
Sangwon blushed as he held onto Leo tightly. Their build difference was especially apparent in this position, and it had his heart doing somersaults and cartwheels in his chest. Still, they managed to finally exit the plane, with Sangwon hopping on his right foot and Leo keeping his grip on Sangwon firmly so that he didn’t fall.
Jiahao and Anxin were waiting by the gate as expected, and Leo relayed his instructions for Sangwon’s injured toe to them before finally bidding the three of them farewell. Of course, not before he and Sangwon exchanged numbers.
Sangwon was still on cloud nine by the time he and his friends checked out and exited the airport. Maybe dropping your suitcase onto your foot had its benefits after all.