Eunri had been surprised at Daehyun's choice of song on the piano back at the restaurant that day, but she didn't let it show. Something about Lee Daehyun kept reminding her about Alex, yet at the same time they were obviously two different people. From the way Daehyun dressed to the things he talked about—there was no way Alex would have known anything about Russian history—they couldn't possibly be the slightest bit related. Alex always whined about her History coursework being boring and would then be back at his guitar in a flash.

Something about Daehyun made her feel comfortable though. It was as if they had known each other for a long time, even though they had only just met. So she invited him out for breakfast the day after, and the day after that. Their conversations were light and breezy, and Daehyun would sometimes crack an odd joke that seemed completely out of character, yet not at the same time.

Eunri didn't know what to feel.

She had embarked on this trip around the world hoping that it would help her forget Alex, that it would help to lessen the pain. Yet somehow fate had arranged for her to meet this man who reminded her so much of him.

She put the last t-shirt neatly into her luggage and shut the lid.

It's alright Park Eunri, you won't be seeing him again.

She zipped up her luggage and headed out of the hotel room.

#

"This is the final call for passengers on flight JS105 to Prague. Please report to Gate A2 for boarding."

Alex handed his ticket over to the stewardess at the end of the arrow gate, and the stewardess smiled and pointed him in the direction of his seat.

He walked down the aisle looking for seat 36A—and for a certain someone. He found Eunri standing on tiptoes, trying to shove her luggage into the overhead compartment. Eunri wasn't a tall girl, so she always had to struggle to get sufficient height to reach the compartment—and even then it wasn't nearly enough. Her luggage case was wobbling dangerously overhead.

Alex squeezed past three other passengers reached out his hand just in time, pushing the silver case safely into the compartment.

"Thank you!" Eunri turned to him and said. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realised who it was. "Daehyun?"

Alex smiled. "Looks like we're headed the same way again? What are the odds of that?"

"Coincidence? I'm sure it was just a coincidence. Nothing to do with the fact that you peeked into her bag while she was in the bathroom and saw that she had a plane ticket to Prague," Daehyun muttered.

As usual, Alex ignored him.

"Are you in 36A?" Alex glanced over at her ticket, pretending it was the first time he was looking at it.

Eunri nodded.

"Well that makes it an even bigger coincidence!" He grinned and flashed his ticket in front of her. "I'm 36B."

He let her get in to her window seat before taking the seat by the aisle.

"That is really strange," Eunri mumbled as she buckled up her seat belt. "And you are heading to Prague because..."

"Meeting."

Alex sat down and took out the in-flight entertainment magazine and started flipping it casually, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about him heading to the same place as her—yet again—and ending up in the seat next door. It was good that Eunri wasn't paying attention because he was holding the magazine upside down.

"Your magazine is upside down. I've always known you're not that bright but this takes the cake."

Alex quickly flipped the magazine the right way up.

"You didn't mention that you were headed to Europe too," Eunri said. "Is this normal? Jet-setting around the globe for work?"

"Mmhmm. My work does take me places. Makes me miss home quite a bit, but what can I say? Duty calls."

"Lies. Utter bollocks."

Eunri nodded in acknowledgement, peering out of the aircraft window. They were rolling down the runway now in preparation for take-off. "Have you ever been to Prague? It's my first time. Quite looking forward to what it has to offer."

She turned around when there was no reply from Alex, only to find him gripping on to both hand rests with trembling hands. His eyes were also tightly shut and he was pressing himself against the backrest of the seat.

"Are you alright?"

Alex felt the gentle touch of her skin over his and he instinctively grabbed hold of her hand and held it tight. It was what he always did when they went on trips together. Eunri would hold his hand throughout the flight because she knew that he had a phobia of flying. It made him feel safer to know that she was right there next to him. He felt Eunri instinctively try to pull away, but then she seemed to change her mind. Her fingers relaxed, as did his.

"It's alright. It's only a plane. You're safe..." she said softly.

Familiar words. Words that she had repeated many times before, like a calming lullaby to soothe his nerves. Alex's heart settled back down in his chest. It was almost like they were back the way they used to be.

Almost.

#

When they touched down in Prague, Eunri picked up her bags and headed to the taxi stand. Seeing that she was about to disappear before his eyes yet again, Alex immediately ran up from behind and called out to her.

Eunri turned around to face him. "Yes?"

"U-u-uhhh..."

"Hurry up and spit it out."

"Thank you," he blurted out. "Thank you, for the flight."

Throughout the entire flight from St. Petersburg to Prague, Eunri had held on to Alex's hand and talked to him non-stop just to help calm him down. He didn't actually need her to keep talking to him because Daehyun was also constantly nagging in his mind, but he liked the sound of her voice. It seemed like it had been a long time since they were last on a plane together and Eunri was holding his hand and talking to him to make him forget about the flying. He was only sorry that the flight had been way too short.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Daehyun had been a great help throughout the flight. In order to keep up his disguise, he had to let Daehyun "talk" on his behalf for most of it. Whatever Eunri asked, he replied by repeating exactly what Daehyun answered in his mind. It was almost as if the entire conversation was a conversation between Eunri and Daehyun, and Alex was the messenger. He didn't mind though, as long as it meant that he got to speak to his girl.

"You're welcome. Must be tough for you to live with a fear of flying, especially when you need to travel so much." She beamed at him warmly. The taxi driver came out of the car to open the boot for her to put her luggage in.

"We should go for dinner some time! My treat. Just to say thank you," Alex said quickly. He had his fingers crossed between his back, hoping that she would say yes.

Eunri hesitated for a while, then she nodded her head. "Sure, why not? Here I'll give you my number." She opened her rucksack and fumbled for a piece of scrap paper, scribbling down her number on it and passing it over to Alex. "Why don't you give me a call when you're free? After you're done with work maybe."

The taxi driver shut the boot and got back into the driver's seat.

"I'll see you then?" Eunri waved at him and got into the vehicle. Once the passenger door was shut, the taxi zoomed off into the distance, disappearing into the distance.

"That went well. You got her number."

"I don't need it. I can memorise her number by heart."

"True. But now you can officially call her and not make me seem like a crazed stalker."

"You have a point there."

"Let's go to the hotel. I'm tired from entertaining your girlfriend on your behalf."

"Four Seasons?"

"Only the best. By the way, you need to send a couple of emails for me once we're at the hotel. There's this important client from New York that I'm expecting a reply from, and the company from London wants to—"

Alex wasn't listening anymore. He was too busy thinking about what he was going to do the next time he saw Eunri. His hand still gripping on to the scrap of paper with her phone number on it, he flagged down a taxi and headed towards the Four Seasons in Prague.

#