POV: Park Jae Hyun

"Flight CX-109, headed to Illinois, this is your captain speaking, we're lined up for taking off. The control tower informed us that the weather is perfect for flying today. Have a great flight."

Why do they inform us of things like this? I wondered, looking out through the window. Any moment now, the runway would be clear and they would tear down the runway and skyrocket up. I let trepidation get the best of me and started sweating.I've done this before, I told myself as I dry my palms against my thighs. It's not scary at all.I remembered the first time I had flown. It was a trip to a southern Korean island. Usually, their family didn't do stuff like that but this time was special. As a little kid, I was sitting by the window seat and started crying as the airplane teased its way and inched closer and closer to the runway. My parents tried to reassure me that everything would be fine. It didn't make any difference until we finally took off and I looked down from the height. I was mesmerized. Even now, I could admit that looking down at the city and the clouds were the best part of the trip.Sheesh! Why am I remembering those now? I thought and snapped back into reality. We were lined up with the markings on the tarmac and we would take off any second. Then it happened. The engines roared and the hum vibrated the entire cabin. I was stapled into my seat as the plane tore down the runway at blistering speed. It happened so fast that before I could process anything, we were already tipping up and soaring. The plane banked hard to the left as it soared and I felt tension forming in my ears. The plane continued to gain altitude, and little by little, the city disappeared into white fluff.The flight was long and I can't remember how well I'd slept.It's an economy flight. I reminded myself. I can't expect it to be comfortable.That was right. Half of the flight, I spent worrying whether I'd be rude to ask the passenger in front to decrease their heavy backward-incline onto my seat. I couldn't do it myself so I asked a flight attendant to do it for me. That left me with six more hours. Mindlessly scrolling through the airplane catalog, I could find nothing entertaining. I turned off the screen and tried to sleep, before waking up again after a few minutes to eat. This whole cycle repeated another two times and before the third time, the captain announced our arrival.I looked out of the window and saw us slowly descend into the clouds. In a matter of minutes, the country landscape was visible. Farmlands stretched till the end. As we neared the airport though, cities started popping up. The plane gracefully approached the runway and landed smoothly before taxying into the gate.Illinois airport was not much better than the one I'd flown in from. I headed towards the gate after passing the airport security. They had made me throw away the Kimchi that my mom had given me in Korea itself so I didn't have to worry about attracting curious eyes towards me.As I approached the exit glass doors of the airport, I could see the beautiful orange and blue gradient evening sky. I looked at my watch which was still showing Korean time.I better change it. I thought and searched the walls for a clock. To my luck, there was a big flatscreen TV near the door which was advertizing lipsticks, and in a corner, the digital time was displayed. I took a glance and headed towards the door as I adjusted the time on my watch.Coming out through the door, I smelled the chilly Illinois air. It was free of pollution and smelled, well like air. I knocked on the glass of the taxi and the driver furrowed his eyes on seeing me but eventually waved his hands to get inside. The inside of the taxi was warm and smelled of cigarettes. The seats were hard, yet weirdly soft with the micro-fiber-like material."Where would you like to go?" The driver asked."Birchwood Academy," I replied. "Is it far?""Not much," The driver replied as he started the taxi. "We'll be there in about forty-five minutes."I give him a thankful nod, which I'm pretty sure he receives from the mirror he was looking at me on. The radio plays at a comfortable volume, not too loud to be a nuisance, while not too soft to cause the driver to speak with me. It serves me a good distraction as I watch the taxi slip out of the airport scenery and into more of a countryside one.