MAY 9TH \\\ 7:00 AM

"WE HAVE NOW ARRIVED, STAY SAFE AND ENJOY YOUR TIME IN SOUTH KOREA."

renjun sighed as he followed the humid corridor leading to the exit of the airplane.

"why the hell did i decide to start my program in may?," the boy thought as he popped out his earbuds and shoved them messily down the pockets of his ripped black jeans.

as he struggled collecting his carry-ons filled with unnecessary items he probably could just buy in korea, renjun stopped at the entrance of the airport. he took a water break and pulled out his phone, only to discover millions of messages from justin, fan chengcheng, and of course, chenle who arrived in seoul a few weeks ago. there were also some from more friends from his school, his teachers, and his mom.

renjun rushed in line to get his passport and luggage checked to allow himself entry into the foreign country, but the one thing he dreaded was talking in korean. he hated the thought that he had to speak a different language to the strangers that speak the exact same language he barely knew.

he followed everyone else from his flight, not knowing what to do and thinking that following others would work just as well as knowing where he was going. renjun noticed that the airport was not as busy as he thought as it would be, at least until he reached to customs. there he saw crying babies, excited teenagers, frustrated business men, and tired couples who were all lining up in the set boundary that they had to be in. the boy slightly touched the black material that had the same material as a seat belt, letting it guide him through the massive crowd.

as renjun reached the front, anxiety spiked, with his mouth feeling dry, and an awkward silence between the young man (who was the person checking his luggage) in front of him and himself.

"uh, you're name is huang renjun right?" the man said in mandarin, renjun just nodded confusedly, "aw! hi, my name is qian kun and i'm a big fan of your work!"

renjun smiled at the taller man, relieved that he didn't have to speak hangul for now, "why thank you! may i ask how you know me?"

"first of all, you're really popular back home and in korea. but secondly, you're transferring to the school i help out at for their art center."

"oh, that's cool. i'd love to see your artwork soon."

kun just chuckled nervously, "nah, its not nearly as good as yours."

"c'mon, i bet you're really talented," renjun said encouragingly, taking out his electronics from his luggage and placing them in the bin on the conveyer belt.

"you're too nice," kun said, his smile wider with every passing second, "anyways, you're allowed to enter the country legally now."

"i hope i see you soon," renjun mentioned, "thank you, and i'm looking forward to see your work. please be considerate of my feelings too."

kun ruffled his hair and nodded, tending to the next person in line, saying bye with a wave of his hand.

two minutes later renjun was still thinking about the encounter, "do i really have fans that are that nice?" he mumbled to himself, feeling warm and smiley. to him, the love he gets just makes him want to keep working for the general public and those around him.

glancing around in the airport, he sees multiple restaurants that he's eaten ate so many times before (as he already visited south korea so many time), but a new restaurant popped up in the airport from the last time he came here.

"nana's soupery?" renjun thought to himself, "is that a word?" but nonetheless, the curious boy decided to drop in and was mildly surprised the beautiful interior.

it reminded him of chenle's mansion, a plant aesthetic but with a rugged, natural look to it. plants sprouted from here and there, with succulents positioned at places that almost look liked that they were meant to be there. the walls had words that related to 'natural', 'healthy', etc, making renjun relieved that he found this place. the menu as a panera-esqué place, there were different varieties of what food they had, making everyone included as much as possible.

one downside though, the boy realized that there was an annoyingly long line. as he waited he checked his messages, not surprised by the count of chenle's messages to him, which was well over the average lifespan of a human.

DOLPHIN PRESIDENT

ayo renjun

DAD ARE YOU DOING ALRIGHT

YOUR SON MISSES YOUUUU

rennnnnyyyyyy

junjun

junnieeeeee

renjun

do you love me

are you ridin

ok i'll shut up

BITCH I MISS YOU

BITCH IS YOU GOOD

uhM ARE YOU STILL ALIVE

ARE YOU OK

IM BOREEEEEED

I NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO

lol nvm jisung is back home

bye bitch! ily

read ✔️

but that was only a few messages of chenle's equivalent to hundreds of five paragraph essays sent in text. chenle is very dear to renjun, as they both became friends in elementary school and bonded over broken pocky sticks. being together was what mattered most to renjun, as chenle was his only escape to his rough childhood.

chengcheng also texted him, but not as much as chenle did.

CUTIE THAT KILLS

i love you

bitch

i ain't never gonna stop lovin you

bitch

jkjk renjunnnnn

are you doing ok bro?

i miss you like i missed eating during idol producer

and that's a lot of missing, trust me

my sister is going to korea tomorrow to film something lol

she wants to see you lmaoooo

^^biggest lie she's ever said in her whole life

and she's an actor

OK GN I LOVE YOU BYE

read ✔️

chengcheng's sister was renjun's role model for some reason, and his best friend just so happened to be her sibling, despite being like ten years older. renjun felt the tang of homesicknes, not being able to see chengcheng hurt like a dick, and it made the boy felt heartbroken. justin's messages were mediocre compared to the previous two who sent him what felt like endless strings of text.

MY SECOND SON

uhuh

listen boi

my first love story

lol you thot

make sure to not die on the plane dad

ok

bc i have never told you this

i love you even though you're an asshole

jk i've told you that more than i've said hi to you

ok dad be alright

i miss you alreadyyyyyyy

read✔️

renjun wanted to go back, he wanted to see chengcheng and his lameass jokes and he wanted to see justin just to listen to him complain about how much he hates his company. spending time with his favorite people, his teachers, fuck, even his mom who he didn't talk to at all with. but renjun can't do anything about it, he has to take the sadness in and start a new life in korea. even if that means leaving his most beloved.