#yes we bought plane tickets and a hotel room and rented a car before we knew if we would see the show

[wall-eye]

In less than 12 hours I'll know if our la trip is going to be critical role liveshow + freeday or just general LA things

[hanniiesuckle17]

Just For A Week

WARNINGS: Swearing, partial smut (Maybe but like not really but also like just gonna but it in for Tumblr’s algorithm), drinking

Summary: Seungmin and Y/n have been friends for years. Their schedules finally coincide and they decide to take a vacation for a week. However, it is a little too expensive for both of their wallets. Y/n finds a discount that is just perfect for them. The only thing is that they have to pretend to be married.

Genre: Romance, friends to lovers!au, fake marriage!au

“Are you serious??” I screamed into the phone. Hearing his laugh on the other end made me smile even wider. “Yeah! I’m off schedule all of next week.”

Seungmin was always busy as of late. There was always some variety show, practice, or tour that kept him occupied. I hadn’t seen my best friend in what felt like forever. My apartment didn’t feel normal if Seungmin wasn’t in it and rearranging my things constantly.

“We have to do something. This is never going to happen again.” I could hear him pulling out his laptop and his fingers tapping on the keys. “Let’s go on a trip. Just us. Like when we were younger!” My mind flashed back to Seungmin’s trainee days where we would get on a random train with $200 and spend a weekend somewhere fun and new. 

“I’m down.” Seungmin tapped some more and listed locations all around Korea. “I’d rather go to the beach, especially while it’s warm out.” He hummed in response and looked some more. “What about Jeju? There is a resort right on the beach. They have one room left…and two beds! Also, they are offering a discount!”

“Seungmin book the damn room before someone else does!” I said with a laugh. “And done!” Both of us cheered over the phone. We made plans and bought plane tickets for two days from now. It had been so long since I had seen Seungmin. We still texted a lot and there was the occasional facetime, but I still missed him. Even with all his quirks and weird slightly annoying antics. Happily, I threw clothes and swimsuits into my suitcase and begin to fantasize about my upcoming vacation with my best friend. 

The plane ride was uneventful. Seungmin and I met at the airport and a great reunion was made. We both slept on the plane and when we landed in Jeju, we immediately rented a car to take us to the hotel. Seungmin drove us to the beautiful resort and parked in the circular driveway as hotel staff came and retrieved out bags. As I stepped out of the car the sundress I was wearing blew slightly in the wind. Seungmin thanked the attendants and walked over to me with a smile. “A little swankier than our normal adventures isn’t it?” I joked as we walked inside.

The woman and the desk greeted us with a smile. “Hello, welcome to our wonderful hotel! Are you checking in?” Seungmin nodded and replied, “ Yes, the room should be under Kim Seungmin.” She tapped on her computer and a bright smile lifted her already high cheeks. “Wonderful. Here is your key card and congratulations you two!” 

“I’m sorry, what do you mean ‘congratulations’?” I asked. Seungmin looked confused as well. The woman’s smile faltered. “It says here your discount is for newlyweds. We are a very popular honeymoon destination. Was there a mistake-” 

“No! Thank you. My wife and I were just wondering that’s all.” Seungmin said latching an arm around my shoulder. I gave her a hopefully not too fake-looking smile. “We also have many tourist attractions near the campus perfect for young couples. Would you like a brochure for LoveIsland?”

“NO!” “NO!” 

We both exclaimed a little too loud. The lady looked shocked and very confused but slowly pulled the brochure back from on top of the counter. I cleared my throat and placed a hand on Seungmin’s chest. “What we mean is, we already have the planned itinerary the hotel sent and we really just want some time to relax in our room.” A small smile quirked up at the edge of her lips and I instantly regretted my choice of words. “Well, we hope you enjoy your stay. Dinner is served at eight. Please do not hesitate to ask us for anything at all. Your bags will be brought shortly.” 

Once Seungmin and I were a safe distance down the hall from the lobby our facade dropped. “What the hell, Seungmin?” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know! All I saw were the words discount!” I stared at him in disbelief. “Why did you agree with her? We are not married. That’s lying! This might be fraud!” 

“Y/n have you seen how expensive this place is? This gets us a discount on literally everything! Why can’t we just pretend for a week?” Seungmin stood in front of our door fiddling with the card. Just as the words left his mouth a couple maybe a year or two older than us walked out of the room next door. A snarky smirk latched itself onto the beautiful girl’s face as she clung to her husband’s arm. 

“Oh, trouble in paradise already?” She said in a silky smooth voice. “Hope the rest of your honeymoon goes better.” The man said. He looked like he came straight out of a Calvin Klein ad. With just a quick glance between each other, we had already agreed that these two were agreeably the worst people on the entire planet with huge sticks up their asses. Instantly I latched myself onto Seungmin’s arm and laid my head on his shoulder. 

“Don’t mind us. If we are too loud by the way, just knock on the door. We’ll try to keep it down, but no promises.” Seungmin said with a new air of confidence as he laced his fingers with mine. A shocked look plastered itself onto the couple’s face. “The same goes for you too.  We can also get pretty loud, so just knock.” With that, the man and woman strutted down the hall and towards the pool.

“Okay, now we have to sell this,” I said with a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know why but I really want to kick their ass,” Seungmin said through gritted teeth as he still stared down the hallway.  “I know right! We are a fake couple and we are totally already less fake than them. And better too!” “And better too!” Seungmin said in agreement as he opened the door to our hotel room. I froze at the sight.

“Why is there one bed?” Seungmin asked as he tossed his stuff onto the couch.

“I thought you said there were two beds?” 

“Yeah, it said double beds!” I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried not to scream.

“Min, did it say double beds…or a double bed?”

“A double bed. What’s the difference?” 

“Seungmin a double bed means that it is one bed! A bed that is double the size of a normal bed!” 

He looked at the bed in defeat. “Shit.” I sat down, the white comforter soft against my bare legs. “It’s fine we can share the bed.” The words came out more like a sigh. There was a silence that fell over the room. After a moment, I couldn’t help but laugh. Then Seungmin started laughing too. “This is a great way to start our vacation, isn’t?” I said through soft laughter. “Definitely will be memorable.”

I sighed and kicked off my shoes. “I’m gonna shower. Do you want to go swimming after?” With a smile, I nodded and grabbed my phone from my purse. Seungmin closed the door of the bathroom and I saw the light turn on from under the door. I walked over to the nightstand to plug in my phone until I realized I forgot my charger. Remembering some hotels put chargers in the drawers I opened it only to let out a scream a the contents. 

Seungmin burst through the bathroom door and ran to me on the other side of the bed. “What? What’s wrong?” I laughed and pointed to the drawer. “Sorry, it just shocked me.” Seungmin pulled open the drawer further to reveal an entire string of condoms branded with the hotel’s name as well as a bottle of lube and ironically a bible. “That’s funny in a twisted sort of way,” Seungmin said with a chuckle. 

A blush rushed to my cheeks when I realized in his hurry to make sure I was okay, Seungmin didn’t put his shirt back on and only stood bare-chested in his jeans. I had always known Seungmin was attractive, it was kind of a requirement for being an idol. But, it was astonishing and ironic that I was just now noticing the fact as he was standing in front of me- shirtless- and holding a string of condoms. 

Maybe it was just the fact that I hadn’t gotten laid since the beginning of university? Yeah. That made sense. Seungmin returned to his shower and I started unpacking. We spent the afternoon playing in the pool and relaxing on the pool deck. It was so nice to catch up with Seungmin and hear what he had been doing. Seungmin had called ahead and confirmed it was a private property and no press would be allowed on campus. 

“Okay, so what does our fake honeymoon package get us?” I asked flipping over onto my stomach so the sun could reach my back. Seungmin lounged on the beach chair next to me, his brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze. He pulled out his phone to answer my question.  

“We get a dinner experience with all the rest of the couples, several planned activities, spa package, and we have tickets to the Jeju music festival at the end of the week.” Seungmin scrolled more on his phone, reading something else on the hotel website. A young waiter came by carrying a tray of drinks. “Would you like one, beautiful?” He said leaning down and giving me a wink. My cheeks started to heat up as I gratefully took one of the Mai Tais. 

“Hey, chill. That’s my wife you’re flirting with!” Seungmin said standing up in front of the waiter. I tried to hide my shock at his reaction. “Sorry, dude! I didn’t see a ring. My bad!” The ring! Oh my god, we were so stupid. “Oh- I left it in the room, babe. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to lose it.” I interjected quickly, hoping to distract from the fact that Seungmin and I had no actual explanation for not wearing wedding bands.

The waiter stared as I wrapped my arm around Seungmin’s waist, drink in my other hand. “I apologize,” He said before walking off. Just when we thought we were out of the woods, “What was that commotion all about?” Walking up-of course looking like she came out of a Victoria’s Secret catalog- was the woman from before,  her husband trailing behind. “Oh, it was nothing! I left my ring on the nightstand so I wouldn’t lose it-” “And the cabana boy over there just started hitting on her. I took care of it. Seungmin wrapped his arms around my waist and moved behind me.

The lady scoffed before holding up her hand. “I would never take off my ring! It’s too precious.” She said smiling at her husband next to her. Her ring was huge and sparkled in the light. It had to cost at least $10,000. The woman herself was drowning in designer and expensive products. I mean she was wearing heels at the god damn swimming pool.

“I don’t think we have been properly introduced. My name is Kwon Si Hyun and this is my wife, Jin Ae.” She waved politely but that arrogant smirk was still stuck on bother her and her spouse’s face. The sight of it just made me want to smack her. Instead, I put on my nicest smile and my hand found Seungmin’s cheek resting on my shoulder. 

“I’m Y/n and this is my amazing husband, Kim Seungmin.” Seungmin smiled, but I could see he was just as disgusted as I was. “Kim Seungmin? Why is that so familiar?” The man asked shaking his head. Jin Ae’s face lit up. “Yah! You are an idol! From that group Stray something!” Seungmin’s grip tightened and he tried to hide his annoyance. “Yeah, Stray Kids.” 

She playfully smacked her husband’s broad chest. “I knew we should come back here! They are always saying celebrities stay here!” She eyed Seungmin up and down and instantly I felt very angry. “Yeah! Minnie is great! He is just so busy all the time so I am left by myself so much.” I turned around to face Seungmin and took his face in my hands. He glanced over at Si Hyun and Jin Ae briefly before smiling back at me.

“I know how that is! Running my company can be time-consuming, that’s why I take Jin Ae out so much like this.” Si Hyun gave her a playful smack on the ass before kissing her cheek making her squeal. Slowly Seungmin and I inched apart. Jin Ae grabbed my hands. “Kim Y/n, we should play while our husbands talk about business!” Before I could object she dragged me off to the other side of the pool towards the hot tub. I gave Seungmin a sorry look over my shoulder as I watched Si Hyun clap him on the back and hand him a beer.

Two hours later I slammed open the door of our hotel room. Seungmin let out a gasp from where he lay on the bed, dropping his phone. “Hey! Don’t scare me like that.” Seungmin had changed into jeans and a shirt and was playing on his phone, while I was standing cold in my bikini from sitting in the pool for hours. 

“I hate her.”

“I hate him.”

“I want to smack that fake tan and boob job right off her.”

“Be careful they’re right next door!” Seungmin said with a laugh. He tossed me a towel from the counter. Quickly drying off, I sat on the edge of the chair. “We need rings if we are gonna pull this off.” He nodded from the bed. “All Jin Ae would talk about was how she and I would make such great friends and how we should meet up and drink daiquiris when we get back to Seoul. She’ll take me shopping because my swimsuit is just so last season.” I said mocking her high pitched voice. 

I turned and walked to the dresser. I didn’t notice the way Seungmin’s eyes followed me as if just now realizing I was standing before him in a bikini and water still on my skin. “Okay well, I could find a pawn shop near here and get some rings?” I nodded pulling out a dress to wear for dinner. “If you leave now you have just enough time to make it back and change for dinner.” He shrugged. “What’s so important about dinner?”

“Another happy coincidence, “ I said dryly pulling some heels out of my bag- a pair that I had wanted to hopefully go clubbing in. “Jin Ae asked around and managed to get us switched to her table…for the rest of the week. apparently, we are now their partner couple. You know all those awesome activities. Thanks to that bitch we are doing it with them!” I said throwing the towel onto the bed. 

Seungmin walked over and took my hand. “Hey. We can still have fun okay? Anywhere I am with you I’ll have fun.” He looked at me sincerely and pulled me into a hug. “You’re the best, Min.” With a sigh, he pulled away and grabbed his keys and wallet. “Okay. I’m off to get us wedding rings! Wow. I never thought I’d say those words.” He laughed and exited the room leaving me an hour to get ready for dinner with the dreaded Kwons.

Dressed in a nice white dress that hugged my curves and my favorite pair of blue pumps I played with my earrings waiting for Seungmin in the lobby. He ran up to me, hair styled and his shirt was switched our for a dress shirt he had half-tucked. I couldn’t deny the fact he looked good. He eyed me up and down before handing me something. 

Opening my hand revealed a beautiful silver diamond ring. “Seungmin! This must have cost a fortune!” My eyes went wide as I tried to keep my voice down. I watched as Seungmin slipped a matching silver band onto his left hand. Seungmin smiled. “No, it’s okay! Think of it as a gift.” Seungmin took the ring from you and gently pushed it onto your ring finger on your left hand. 

“So, better half, you ready for an excruciatingly long dinner?” Seungmin said with a laugh, offering me his arm. “Only for you.” Together we ventured outside to the huge outdoor restaurant. The ceiling was covered with vines, plants, and dangling lanterns. The hostess greeted us with a bright smile. One that seemingly everyone in the hospitality industry had. Did they have a class for it or something? 

“Name?”

“Kim? Kim Seungmin.”

“Ah right here! If you and your wife would follow me this way to your table for the week.” 

Grabbing two menus, she led us through the beautiful restaurant and to our table in the middle of the floor. Not surprisingly, Kwon Si Hyun and Kwon Jin Ae were already seated and sipping on wine. “Don’t forget to smile,” Seungmin whispered through clenched teeth. Nodding I put on the absolute nicest smile  I could manage and waved to Jin Ae. Seungmin sat beside me and next to Si Hyun. The minute I sat down Jin Ae pulled my hand to look at my ring. 

“Yah Kim Seungmin! You have such classy taste. Maybe a little understated compared to mine, but who could compare to me!” She said with a snobby laugh. Seungmin took my other hand and laced his fingers with mine atop the table. Maybe it was the drive to prove we were better than this snobbish egotistical couple, but things like this with Seungmin were starting to become more natural and it made me wonder.

“Y/n is the only pretty one in my eyes,” Seungmin said looking at me. “Seungmin-ssi! Don’t you think I am pretty enough to be an idol?” Jin Ae said in her annoying voice. I struggled to hide my disdain, instead choosing to drain the glass of wine in front of me. 

Dinner was exhausting. Seungmin and I barely survived by glancing at each other as pretentious remarks were thrown back and forth between the other couple. After finally escaping their company Seungmin and I headed back to the room. “Oh my god, they are so terrible.” 

Seungmin laughed and opened the door. “Why did we agree to go clubbing with them tomorrow night again?” I sighed kicking off my shoes and throwing them somewhere near my bag. “Because I like clubbing and not even she can ruin that.” “You sure?” I glared and he laughed happily. “This isn’t so bad. It honestly isn’t that different from how we usually act.” He said changing into nightclothes. 

I shrugged thinking back on tonight. Did Seungmin really see no difference? Was I the only one who noticed? He hopped into bed and played on his phone while I changed. “I’m glad I’m on vacation with you though,” I said climbing onto the other side of the bed. “I missed you. I love the boys, but hanging our with you is different.” Why did that make my heart skip a beat? 

“Yeah, you too.”

“Goodnight,”

“Goodnight,”

Turning off the lights the both of us drifted off to sleep. The warm island breeze softly blew through the open window drifting over us like fairy dust. As if it was casting a spell over our eyes so that the next morning we would wake up seeing differently. Or at least one of us would. 

Seungmin and I took breakfast in the room the next morning. Not even we could deal with the chaotic mess that was the Kwon’s first thing in the morning. We played in our room and lounged on the patio. To be honest we were hiding from Jin Ae and Si Hyun. Seungmin and I sat in PJs and simply talked the whole day, something we hadn’t done in a while. The boys called to check in and I joined in on the video call. 

“Y/n! Jisung called out once my face appeared on the screen. I leaned over Seungmin’s shoulder to see all eight faces on his laptop. “Oh? Sungie? How are you guys?” Catching up with the boys was fun but I could see how Seungmin could easily get exhausted by them. 

As night grew closer I actually began to grow excited about going out. “Seungmin, which should I wear?” I said holding up two dresses. A faux hunter green velvet dress and the white dress from last night. “You know you’ll never hear the end of it from Jin Ae if you wear the same dress twice.” I sighed knowing he was right. Slipping on the tight dress, I fiddled with some earrings before finally deciding on a pair. “Why do girls take so long to get ready? I swear you take longer than Hyunjin.” 

“Really?”

“I take that back. No one takes longer than Hyunjin.”

Chuckling I finished applying some eyeliner and lip tint. “Whatever I wear Jin Ae will outshine me, so this will do.” I zipped up my shoes securing the three-inch chunky heeled boots to my feet. Seungmin looked me up and down his eyes widening slightly. “Don’t be silly you look great.” Seungmin stood in heavily ripped black jeans and a black button-down with some of the top buttons undone. He had rolled up his sleeves and for some reason, his ring was more noticeable. Maybe because I knew he never wore accessories.

Seungmin handed me my purse and grabbed his phone and wallet and then we headed to meet Jin Ae and Si Hyun at the club. Seungmin and I drove into the city and sang along to the music on the radio. We pulled up and heard the music from the club before even reaching the building. “Seungmin,” I said grabbing his arm, stopping him from exiting the car. “What?” I pulled open my bag and grabbed a piece of black fabric. 

“We aren’t at the hotel anymore. Someone could see you.” I pulled him back and gently placed the mask over his face. He stared at me while I tucked the fabric behind his ears. “Thank you,” For some reason, he didn’t pull away. At first, I was confused, but I quickly grew comfortable with how he was looking at me. Just as he was about to speak my phone rang. Sighing he pulled away and let me answer my phone. 

“Oh, Jin Ae?”

He looked over at me as we got out of the car and walked across the street to the club. “Yes, we are walking up now.” Aggressively pushing the end call button I turned to Seungmin. “She gave our name to the VIP bouncer, so we can just go in.” He nodded and walked up to the bouncer outside. “Name?” He said without looking up. “Here,” Seungmin said pulling out his driver’s license. The bouncer’s eyes went wide and he did a double-take. “Welcome, Mr. Kim! Please enjoy your night.” 

I smiled feeling the vibrations of the music and the bright colored lights flashing throughout the room. “You want a beer?” I yelled over the music. He nodded and I left his side to walk up to the bar. “Two beers!” I yelled to the bartender. He nodded and went to the other side to get them. Suddenly I felt a hand grabbing my ass. “Hey!” I yelled turning around. My eyes widened to see a very attractive man behind me, a handsome smile on his face. “Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else, but what’s your name?” 

He leaned against the bar and his hand brushed against my arm. Normally I would love this kind of attention from someone as hot as he was, but I could smell the alcohol on his breath and oddly my mind went back to Seungmin. “Listen, buddy. You can fuck off. I’m married.” I said holding up my hand and showing him the ring. He scoffed and took my hand. “Oh please! Girls these days are wearing rings like this all the time.” The bartender handed me my two beers, but the man stopped me from leaving. 

“Come on, baby stay a while.”

“I told you, I’m married.” 

“Really, where’s your husband? I don’t see him anywhere.”

Where was Seungmin? My eyes looked everywhere not seeing him. I tried to shrug off the guy’s grip but he wouldn’t let go. “Dude fuck off!” I yelled. “Come on, you lied about your husband! No one is even here!” He said getting too close for comfort.

“What are you talking about? I’m right here.”

The man turned around to see Seungmin, still wearing his mask. He honestly looked intimidating with his fists clenched and a glare piercing into the other man. “Really? You’re her husband? Man, your taste in men is shit. He can’t be.” Seungmin tugged me by the waist into his side. Before holding up his left hand. The man gulped as he looked at the silver ring glinting in the lights. He scoffed.

“Yeah, whatever. The bitch wasn’t that hot anyway.”

Seungmin took his beer and lifted his mask to take a swig. “Come on, we should meet up with Si Hyun.” Seungmin led me to the VIP lounge upstairs. His hand latched tightly onto mine, making sure I didn’t lose him in the crowd. The bouncer let us in and immediately Jin Ae waved to us from their table. 

Obviously, the both of them had started drinking long before we got there. “Y/n-ah! You are my dongsaeng now! You must call me Unnie!” She said draping herself all over me. “Yeah, of course, Unnie.” She poured us a shot of whatever liquor was on the table and handed it to me. Seungmin talked with Si Hyun as Jin Ae pounded shot after shot. I drank but only enough to get a little buzz going. 

“Hey, you two should do a love shot! Come on get the night started!” Si Hyun said with a bright grin. Jin Ae happily clapped along in agreement before pouring us two shots. “No, I’m driving tonight-” “Come on, Seungmin! Don’t be a downer!” Jin Ae whined. He looked at me briefly before picking up the shot. After linking arms, we were so much closer. Seungmin looked into my eyes before saying, “Cheers.” We both took the shot and heard loud cheers from the other couple. 

“Si Hyun, come dance with me! Y/n, you should come too!” She said pulling Seungmin and me out of our seats and drastically changing the topic in her drunken state. Si Hyun followed happily as Jin Ae dragged us to the VIP dance floor. We dance for hours and had a few more drinks. Soon we ended up back in the booth, Jin Ae and Si Hyun sucking each other’s faces off like some creatures out of the movie Alien. Seungmin, sat next to me his arm lazily draped behind me over the back of the booth. 

“Yah! We can’t be the only two kissing!” Si Hyun said suddenly, his words slurring. “Seungmin, kiss your woman. Show her you love her!” He let out a nervous laugh. “Hyung, we don’t normally do that type of stuff.” Jin Ae whined in her annoying voice. “What?! You don’t kiss?” 

“No! What he means is, we don’t usually kiss in public. We can get carried away to easily.” I interjected. They seemed content with my answer. “I certainly know what you mean there!” Her lips captured Si Hyun’s in a sloppy kiss, causing both Seungmin and me to cringe and roll our eyes. “Still! We are all friends here! No one cares if you get carried away! Fuck on the couch for all we care!” Jin Ae said over the music. 

The two of them looked at us expectantly, waiting for us to do as asked. Fuck, I couldn’t think of a way out. Seungmin desperately glanced at me, hoping I would think of something he hadn’t but I came up empty. “Fine, you want to see us kiss so badly?” Seungmin asked. I’m sure they couldn’t tell over the blaring bass but I heard Min’s voice shake as his arm came down to rest on my shoulder, pulling me closer to him so that our sides were pressed together. 

“Yes! Do it! I’m eager to see this uncontrollable passion Y/n says you have!” Jin Ae said wiggling her perfectly plucked eyebrows. God damn it. Why did I have to say that? Seungmin turned to me already a very short distance away. Gently I pulled down his mask revealing his face fully. His left hand came up to my cheek and he looked into my eyes. There was almost a silent question he was asking. It was one of the things I loved about Seungmin- that we could have entire conversations with just a simple look. 

My breath caught in my throat as I saw him move closer. Our eyes met briefly before I looked down at his lips. Why wasn’t he making the move? If he didn’t do it soon they might suspect something? Growing impatient, I closed my eyes and smashed my lips onto his closing the tiny distance. Seungmin hesitated to kiss me back but soon he took control. His hand slid down my body to rest on my thigh. The touch sent shivers down my spine. As he kissed me again he pulled part of my leg closer to him, pulling me almost into his lap. 

I had never thought kissing Seungmin would be like this. I had never thought about kissing Seungmin. His grip tightened on my thigh as he continued to press rough kisses on my lips. instinctively, my hand went to his jaw and traveled into his hair. He smiled against my lips and his thumb rubbed across the bare skin of my leg. His teeth snagged my bottom lip, pulling at it gently and muffled sound escaped my throat bringing me back to reality. I pulled away out of breath and looked at Seungmin. 

We had crossed a line. A sort of invisible line there was in every friendship between a boy and a girl. Kissing to convince them was one thing, but something felt different now about the way Seungmin was looking at me. “Y/n,” I turned to find once again Si Hyun and Jin Ae making out with full force. “Really? Are they that horny and self-obsessed?” I said sighing. I didn’t even worry about them hearing me. 

By the time it was three a.m, all four of us were slightly stumbling to our rooms- some more than others. Seungmin had an arm thrown casually over my shoulder and we watched as Si Hyun raced down the hall with a squealing Jin Ae on his back. I rolled my eyes and looked at Seungmin who scoffed. It always seemed like they were putting on a show for someone. 

“YAH! DONGSAENG!” Jin Ae screamed. “Unnie, be quiet! There are people sleeping!” I said putting on another fake smile, but she was too drunk to notice. “Shhhh! I expect you to fuck him good tonight! Right? Give your husband what he deserves!” She slurred. “I’m sure it won’t be as good as how well I’m going to fuck my Si Hyun, but do well!” She hung off of her husband like a wet curtain smiling with a crazy look in her eyes as she began to kiss all along the side of his neck.

“Seungmin! You use protection! You and me…we can’t have kids with our careers too early.” With one last clap on the shoulder, Si Hyun opened their door and they disappeared within the room. We walked into our room only to be met with a loud bang against our wall followed by some very lewd sounds. “Holy shit! Are our walls really that thin?” Seungmin quickly put a hand to my lips keeping me quiet. “What?” I mouthed to him. “They’re showing off! They are trying to prove they are better than us at you know….” He whispered.

“Fuck them. We can’t let them think that!”

“Are you really suggesting we-”

“Seungmin!” 

“Sorry, that’s what you were implying.”

I scoffed as Jin Ae loudly and dramatically called out Si Hyun’s name. “What should we do? They are probably listening.” Seungmin whispered. Suddenly an idea popped into my head. I walked closer to the wall and as loudly as I could manage I let out a strangled moan. “Ahhh Seungmin!” I looked over to see Seungmin frozen in place. A crimson blush flooded his cheeks and ears. The sight was almost as cute as it was funny.

“Wha- what ar- what are you doing?”

“Shhh! Just follow my lead.” 

He jumped as my hands pulled at the hem of his shirt. “Shhh Just trust me!” I said with a laugh. He let me pull the shirt over his head and push him over to the bed. Loud and overdramatic sounds were still coming from the room next to us. “Okay now grunt, really loud.” 

The sound he made sounded more like he was constipated and I did my best to hold back my laughter as I sat next to him on the bed. “No, like grunt, moan, sex noises. Come on!” He tried again but only slightly improved. “Come on Seungmin we have to make this convincing!” My hand flew across his cheek and he screamed in shock. I shoved Min’s shirt into his open mouth muffling the sound making it sound more like a moan. “See more like that!” 

“Ahhh Seungmin! Again!” I moaned. Seungmin arched a brow and took the shirt out of his mouth. “Shit, Y/n! Just like that!” He groaned loudly, a bright smile on his face as he tried not to laugh at the situation. “Oh fuck!” I whined, making Seungmin fall back onto the bed trying to keep in his laughter. “Quick get up on the bed!” I whispered. Seungmin stood on the bed with me and looked to me for what to do next. “Okay jump!” Both of us started jumping causing the headboard to bang against the wall. 

“Oh fuck! Harder, Min!” I screamed. I started jumping closer to the head of the bead so the sound would be louder. The sounds from their room started to dwindle until suddenly there was a loud combination of moans and strung together curse words. “Come on Seungmin we can last longer than that!” I whispered. “God-Y/n!” He moaned again, the sound becoming more natural. 

“Seungmin! Fuck I’m so close!” The two of you laughed as you continued to jump on the bed faster. I let out a strangled set of moans before a loud and high pitched whine at the end that could almost be a scream. “Keep jumping!” I whispered. He nodded and continued to groan and string together some dirty talk I didn’t know he had in him. 

“Fuck, you take me so well! Ahh!” I couldn’t help but giggle interrupting the moan I was previously imitating. Seungmin pressed a finger to his lips with a smile. “Okay, big finale. Just trust me, okay.” Seungmin nodded with a grin as he continued to jump. I stopped jumping and caught my breath. This was almost as much of a workout as actual sex. To seal the deal I gave Seungmin a hard and swift kick to the balls sending him crumpling over and letting out the perfect groan that to any ear would sound perfectly convincing.

I joined him in letting out another strangled moan. Seungmin lay on the bed, his hands between his legs. “I fucking hate you,” Seungmin whispered his voice considerably higher. “You love me,” Rushing over to the mini-fridge I grabbed a cold bottle of Coke and handed it to Seungmin who immediately placed it against his crotch. 

“If it helps, it sounded very convincing,” I said with a laugh. Seungmin glared at me from his spot on the bed. “Oh wait!” I said sitting up and grabbing Seungmin’s hand. “Pinch me!” I said. He pinched me very hard on the wrist. “Ah! Not there, you idiot!” Bringing his had up to my neck he nodded. He pinched the skin on my neck hard. “Again.”

His hand moved lower to just below my collar bone and he pinched hard there as well. I rushed to the bathroom and checked the marks. They were red, but not as convincing as the real deal. You could tell when you had a hickey. This didn’t look like one. With an aggravated sigh, I returned to the bedroom and pushed Seungmin onto his back. “Hold still. Mine don’t look real.” Seungmin froze in shock as I leaned over and pressed my lips to his neck, near his jaw. 

“Okay either move your head, or I’m getting on top of you,” I said when Seungmin lay frozen looking up at me, his head unmovable from looking straight forward. Rolling my eyes, I threw my leg over his waist and leaned back over so I could finish making it look real. My teeth must have grazed over a sensitive spot because my movement froze when Seungmin let out a tiny low toned moan. Choosing to ignore it, I moved down to his collar bone and shoulder leaving a couple of marks there too. 

I pulled away to see a blush covering Min’s ears. He simply looked at me, his lips parted slightly. It was then I noticed his hands and wandered to rest on my thighs. I don’t know what compelled me to say what I said next. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe it was the leftover alcohol still circling my system. 

“Now, you.”

“What?”

“Do you know how?”

His brows furrowed as he sat up. He was so close now that our noses softly bumped together. I couldn’t tell if he nodded, but Seungmin didn’t say anything. His stare flicked from my eyes to my lips before he leaned over and placed his lips just under my jaw. I could feel his teeth softly bite the skin there. A shiver went down my spine when I felt the cooling touch of his tongue soothe over the spot. My hands pressed against his bare chest as he moved to the other side of my neck. On instinct my body let my head roll back, giving his lips full access to my neck. 

A shaky breath escaped my open lips as his hands moved from my thighs to wrap around my waist, one of them coming up and around to just below the base of my neck. “Seungmin,” I whispered as the bites became open mouth kisses all along my skin. He stopped and let his lips drag up to my jaw. It was like every fiber of my being was standing at attention, waiting for what he would do next. 

I stared at him through hooded eyes, while his gaze never left my lips. After what seemed like an eternity his lips met mine in a soft and slow kiss. A sort of fog overtook my brain and my body went into autopilot. My hands moved to his neck and wrapped around him. Seungmin pushed me closer to his chest as his lips moved against mine. 

The blaring of a telephone broke us apart. My head started to spin. In some sort of a daze himself, Seungmin picked up the phone. “Yes?” He listened to the speaker intently and then his face visibly changed. “What’s wrong?” I asked, finally finding the courage to speak. He ignored me and continued to listen to the person on the other line.

Without warning, he got up from under me and walked towards the patio, but didn’t leave the room. I watched Seungmin with tired eyes and a slightly drunk mind as the lean muscles in his back shifted with his movement. Shaking my head I tried to push through the alcohol’s effect. 

“Okay, yes. Thank you.”

Seungmin turned back to you a stressed expression filling his face. “Min, what’s up?” He looked back over at me before sitting on the edge of the bed. “I can’t talk about it now.” Nodding I moved to give him more space. “Is there anything I can do?” He shook his head and laid back down on the bed. 

“No. I just want to sleep.”

I stayed silent and got up from the bed. Going to each light I turned it off and then quickly changed for bed. When I returned Seungmin was already under the covers and staring up at the ceiling. I wanted so badly to reach out and comfort him, but clearly, he didn’t want that. I climbed into bed and turned away from him to give him space. Maybe he would tell me in the morning.

A morning breeze once again blew through our open patio door. I turned to find Seungmin gone from his side of the bed. My ears picked up on the sound of the shower running. Sitting up, I clutched my head cursing my past self for drinking so much. Tequila shots were not a good idea. Memories from last night slowly crept to the surface of my mind. We went to the club. Seungmin saved me from that douche bag. We drank with the Kwons. We….kissed. 

We went back to the hotel. Jin Ae was a bitch. We had what could only be described as a fake sex-off. And Seungmin…kissed me. He kissed me. Like a real kiss. Not a fake one like at the club. That was a full on fucking make out session. I mean I was drunk. He was tipsy. It probably didn’t mean anything. Why did that thought disappoint me? 

Looking over I saw a glass of water on the nightstand as well as a bottle of ibuprofen. Smiling a took the pills Seungmin left me and pulled my phone out to look at the time. The door opened and Min walked out in shorts and a hoodie before. “Morning,” I said. He looked over and nodded at me before sitting at the table with his laptop. “Thanks for the medicine.” He shrugged his shoulders and continued typing, but I swore I saw the tiniest smile.

“Looks like breakfast is in a couple minutes.” Seungmin nodded again and continued to look at his laptop with a serious expression. Getting up and grabbing clothes from my suitcase I went into the bathroom to change. Immediately, my eyes landed on my neck and I almost screamed. Scattered across either side were dark hickeys all down my neck. 

“Hey, Seungmin!” I called out. “Yeah?” “Will you grab my concealer from my bag?” After some shuffling, Seungmin knocked on the door before entering. His eyes instantly went to my neck and stayed there while he handed me the makeup. “You’re covering them up? I though the whole point was to see them.” I turned back to the mirror just in time to miss Seungmin’s smirk as he looked at the dark marks he made all over your neck.

“I’m just gonna cover up this one.” He nodded and left the bathroom. I went about covering the biggest mark and then changing clothes before applying a little bit of makeup for the day. As I exited the bathroom Seungmin was getting off the phone with someone. “Y/n we need to talk.” Sitting on the bed, I nodded and looked back over to him. “Okay.”

“It’s about last night.”

I tried to hide the blush as the heat flooded every inch of my face. “What about last night?” I asked innocently. Just play dumb. I can always say April Fools if he asks me about it. Wait-fuck it’s not April. 

“There was a picture of us taken last night.”

“Last night?”

“Yeah at the club.”

He tossed me his phone, a page already pulled up to a very popular gossip blog.The picture clear as day showed Seungmin and I making out in the booth. It also hand a close up of my hand which was on his jaw. The ring sparkled in the colored lights. The headline read: Stray Kids Main Vocalist, Kim Seungmin Spotted With His Secret Wife At Jeju Club.

Scrolling down I saw more pictures of the two of us. In the club. Walking out with Si Hyun and Jin Ae. Even Seungmin opening the car door for me. More articles popped up in the recommended. Titles like: Seungmin’s Hidden Marriage, Seungmin’s Mystery Girl, STAY’s Response to Seungmin’s Secret Marriage.

“Oh my god,” I looked up to see Seungmin had started to wander outside. Probably giving me time to process the situation. His ringtone sounded in the room making me jump. Looking down I saw the stupidest picture of Jisung.

“Hello,”

“Y/n? Have you heard what’s going on? Are you okay? Wait why do you have Seungmin’s phone?”

“He stepped out for a minute. Yes, I saw the articles.”

“ARE YOU ACTUALLY MARRIED TO SEUNGMIN?”

His voice was so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. Rolling my eyes I brought the phone back to my ear. Running a hand through my hair I couldn’t help but chuckle at my friend. 

“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s kind of complicated.”

“Man, Y/n. I thought you and I were endgame. Way to betray me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Jisung and I were close friends. Sure we flirted sometimes but we both knew getting together would be a terrible idea. For much the same reason that Seungmin and I were now in trouble.

“But, really are you and Seungmin married?”

“No.”

“But you’ve kissed him?”

“….yes….”

“And you have a ring?”

“…..yes…”

“What more to marriage is there?”

“Well for one thing legal documents, dumbass.”

His laugh could be heard probably even without the phone. “So, it’s not real?” “No,” I then started to explain everything that had happened to us in the past few days. Even the part about last night. “You kicked Seungmin in the balls!” Now hearing it out loud it was pretty funny.

“But, seriously. The…other stuff…Do you like Seungmin?” Did I like Seungmin? I watched as he stood on the patio. He looked really stressed. My thoughts drifted to last night and the last couple of days. Did I really like Seungmin? Friends definitely didn’t do what we did last night. And they certainly didn’t act like how we were acting. But, it was all because of the fake marriage right? All for a discount? But, then again. I didn’t have to say I was married to that guy in the club. And Seungmin could’ve let that guy hit on me if he wanted to. 

“Are you dramatically rethinking the entirety of the last couple of days?”

“Shut up.”

“So, I’m taking that as a yes?”

Maybe Jisung was right. “I think so? Maybe… I don’t know. We’ve been friends for so long. I don’t really know if I can tell.” A sigh escaped my lips filling the empty room. Now my thoughts were running a a mile a minute through my head.

“Can I give you some advice?”

“Sure, why not.”

“If someone seriously wants to be a part of your life, they will seriously make an effort to be in it. No reasons. No excuses. Seungmin does that for you.”

The thought made me smile. Did Seungmin really care about me that much? Quickly I finished up the conversation and walked out onto the patio, joining Seungmin. “Jisung called.” He gave me a half assed smile before taking back his phone. “Come on. We should head to breakfast.” 

Perhaps it was the conversation with his hyung, but I couldn’t help but notice Seungmin’s hand on my back as we walked back inside to leave. The staff all smiled at us as we made our way back out to the restaurant. As usual Si Hyun and Jin Ae were seated at the table. Seungmin took my hand without warning as we approached the table. 

“Y/n! I had so much fun last night!” She said in her shrill voice. “Me too! I loved clubbing with you!” Seungmin tried not to laugh at how fake my voice sounded as we sat down. Lightly I elbowed his stomach and he regained his composure. He draped his arm behind my chair letting his fingers brush my arm when he saw the waiter from a few days ago walk up to our table.

“I’ll have a mimosa. My hangover is killing me.” Jin Ae said not even sparing the boy a second glance. Si Hyun ordered a black coffee and before I could speak, Seungmin ordered for me. “I’ll take an americano and she wants a chai latte with a glass of orange juice too.” Seungmin turned back to me with a surprised smile.

“You remember what I drink in the morning?” 

“Of course.”

“That’s so sweet,”

He smiled and leaned in to place a kiss on my lips. It shocked me at first, since I had been the one to initiate our “fake kisses”. He chuckled when he pulled away, seeing my face. “Yah, dongsaeng. That’s quite the love bite on your neck.” Jin Ae said with a smirk clearly pointing at my neck. 

“Yeah, we heard you guys last night. Didn’t know little Minnie was so rough in bed.” Si Hyun sent Seungmin a look and he scoffed before sipping on his water. “Ah, hyung. Let’s talk about something else.” He laughed and thanked the waiter as our drinks arrived. The conversation finally drifted away from last nights events and onto today’s schedule and ordering. 

Breakfast was delicious despite the company. Seungmin and I did our best to ignore them and spend time with each other. That was what we came here for in the first place. Right? This time it was Seungmin who threw us under the Kwon bus when he absentmindedly agreed to accompany them to the beach for something called the Couple Comp. 

The second we were out of eyesight I slapped his shoulder repeatedly making him laugh. “Hey! Stop!” “Seungmin what the fuck!”’ He laughed as he ran back to our hotel room with me right on his heels. “Why did you agree to go?” He opened the door and jumped back onto the bed. “Because I love the beach and you love kicking their ass. Well I also love kicking their ass, but I’m excited about the beach too.”

Rolling my eyes, I pulled a swimsuit out of my suitcase. “I thought we needed to figure out the whole photo thing.” Seungmin shrugged and pulled out his phone. “I called my manager this morning. We talked and figured something out. He said he will release a statement tonight after talking to the CEO.” Did they really fix things that quickly? I thought a scandal like this would be more….scandal-y? 

“So you aren’t getting kicked out because of me?” Seungmin shook his head with a laugh. The biggest sigh of relief left my chest and I jumped on top of him giving him the biggest hug. He laughed and hugged me back. “Yah, come on. We can celebrate this later. We have pretentious asses to kick.” 

“You’re completely correct. Let’s go.” 

Quickly we changed and raced down to the beach. Seungmin signed us into the contest and returned with two matching purple Hawaiian style shirts. "They said each couple had to wear these." He handed me mine and tossed his white t-shirt off to the side with my stuff. He slipped his arms through the shirt and then helped me put on mine. "At least you back won't get burned now." He said laughing.

Hand in hand we walked over to Jin Ae who was sipping on a margarita. Si Hyun was next to her sporting the same yellow Hawaiian shirt as his wife. Surrounded by other couples in brightly colored shirts we waited near a stage for further instruction. Seungmin and I talked just like old times. We joked and laughed. He told me funny stories about the boys, making time fly by faster in his company. 

By the time the MC stepped on stage, the sun was high in the sky and burning down on us. Seungmin stood behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist, acting a sunshade for me with his shadow.  

“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” The happy man said. “Are you guys ready to find out who the best couple is?” The crowd erupts into happy screams. Jin Ae blows my ear off next to me and Min cheers from behind me. “The first challenge we are going to do is for the men!” Everyone cheers once again as the MC starts to explain. The first competition was a relay race where the first twelve men moved on with their partners. 

We all walked over to the course where the men lined up. Jin Ae gave her husband a huge smack on the lips. With a smirk he tossed her the yellow shirt revealing a very...very...very toned torso. The kind of torso that sent cartoon hearts popping out of my eyes and sirens playing in my head. 

“Hey. You gonna wish me luck or not?” Seungmin said turning me to face him. There was a harsh look on his face and I noticed him shoot a glare at Si Hyun. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Good luck!” His face softened when he saw my bright smile. Without warning he kissed me, his hand dropping to my waist and his free hand tangling his fingers with mine. 

My heart skipped a beat. Closing my eyes I kissed him back resting my palm on his chest. My head started spinning when I felt his teeth pull on my bottom lip before Seungmin pulled away and kissed my cheek. “Hold this?” All I could do was stare Seungmin in the eye, frozen, as he removed the purple shirt and put it in my hands. 

Seungmin was slim but toned in all the right places. “Cheer for me, gorgeous?” He laughed at my frozen state and raised an eyebrow. “Y/n,” Shaking myself out of hot Seungmin world I nodded and smiled at him. He waved as he went to join the other guys. 

The relay was really challenging. The boys were doing a really tough relay race that ended with them swimming out to a platform, grabbing a flag and then swimming back to shore. I screamed at the top of my lungs as Seungmin grabbed our purple flag. Si Hyun was only a few yards ahead of him. Jin Ae cheered as her husband crossed the finish line. Seungmin followed soon after, running up to me out of breath. 

I wrapped my arms around him, not caring that he was still soaking wet. He gave a breathy sigh and weakly draped his arms around my waist. My fingers tangled in his hair and I held on tightly to his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t win.” 

“No! I’m proud of you, Min! I’ll kick her ass in the next round.” The boys dried off and the next challenge began. The remaining twelve girls got up onstage with the MC as he announced the next challenge. “For our wonderful ladies we have a beauty contest!” Jin Ae cheered next to me along with the other girls. I saw Seungmin and Si Hyun cheer and move up towards the front of the stage. 

The girls shed their shirts and begin parading around in their swimsuits for the judges. Seungmin gave me a thumbs up as I walked on stage in line with the other girls. I put on my biggest smile and tried not to think about the big ass omelette I had for breakfast. Of course Jin Ae was in front of me with her big boobs and freaking thigh gap. 

The judges deliberated and announced there was a tie for the first slot. They told two of the girls they were eliminated and went through the lineup until they got to me and Jin Ae. “The judges have determined there is a tie between these to beautiful ladies!” Everyone cheered as the MC walked over to us with the mic. “What’s your name?” The man said eyeing Jin Ae up and down. She grabbed the mic and waved to the audience. “Hello! I am Kwon Jin Ae! This is my dongsaeng but don’t think I’m going to go easy on her!” She cheered happily giving me the side eye. The audience cheered and some of them pulled out their phones. 

“What about you?” 

“Oh, I’m L/-- uh Kim Y/n. She may be my unnie but I about to kick her ass.” Seungmin cheered and I waved to him before handing the mic back to the man. “Okay these ladies are each going to pick a song and the best performance based on the crowd’s reaction wins!” The crowd cheers and my eyes light up. All those nights dancing in my living room with Seungmin or my roommate would finally pay off.

“What is your song choice, Jin Ae?” She thinks about it and then finally says. “I want to do Devil by CLC!” The crowd cheers and pulls out their phones once more as the MC motions me off the stage so she can perform. Seungmin latches on to me immediately. The music starts and Seungmin turns to me with a big smile and says, “Y/n you’ve got this in the bag.” I grin and turn back to watching her performance. She doesn’t do terribly. She only forgets a couple moves but makes up for it by jumping around and winking at the judges. She finishes and the crowd claps and cheers. Seungmin kisses my cheek and then sends me back up on stage. 

“How about that guys? What about you? You think you can do better than that?”

“Oh for sure. My husband would be disappointed in me if this is the challenge I failed at.” 

“So, what song are you picking?”

“Um...Let’s do Lip & Hip by HyunA.” 

The crowd cheers and the MC goes over to the stereos to queue up the song. The familiar tune comes on and I roll my hips like in the video and I hear the crowd go crazy. I just let my body do what it remembers and I focus on what Seungmin told me was the most important thing in a performance. Charisma. 

I just channeled being Queen HyunA and strutted across that stage and danced like I was one of her back up dancers. I rapped along to the song and made sure to hit every beat. As the chorus hit I dropped and danced along. The crowd went crazy and I saw Seungmin cheering like crazy with wide eyes. 

For the second chorus I didn’t have a partner so I just free styled and had fun with it. Seungmin cheered me on and filmed me on his phone. God, if only HyunA could see me fucking slaying this song. The last note played and I posed and smiled. The crowd cheered and Jin Ae joined me on stage a sway in her step. 

“Wow! What a performance! Who votes for Jin Ae?” The MC takes Jin Ae’s hand and the crowd cheers making her grin and do that fake humility thing everyone hates. “Who thinks Y/n did the best?” He takes my hand and the crowd erupts in noise. Everyone is screaming and cheering for me and I can’t help but laugh and blush. “It’s pretty clear who the winner of this challenge is. Congratulations, Kim Y/n you and your husband have a guaranteed spot in the next challenge!” I cheer and Seungmin runs up on stage and spins me around before pressing his lips to mine. 

I was too excited to even think about the fact that I kissed him back without hesitation. Everyone cheered and we moved on with the competition. Several challenges later it is just down to us and the mother fucking fake ass Kwons. The sun is setting and we have spent the entire day trying to prove that we are in fact the ultimate couple. How ironic.

The last challenge was called “How Well Do You Know Your Partner.” We went head to head answering questions about each other for points. They were ruthless. But we wanted it so bad. It was down to the final question. “Y/n. You are tied with the Kwons. If you get this question right, you and Seungmin win.”

I nodded clutching the whiteboard in my hands. Seungmin rested his hand on my knee next to me. A warm wind blew across the stage and the waves good be heard over the music they were playing.

“Y/n...What did Seungmin want to be as a kid?” 

“Oh I know this.” Seungmin laughed at me and wrote his answer on his whiteboard. “Y/n, what is your answer?” I flipped my board and said, “Seungmin wanted to be a professional baseball player. A pitcher if you want to be specific.”  The MC turns to Seungmin who flips his board to reveal his answer. 

“WOW! That is correct! Congratulations, Kim Seungmin and Kim Y/n! You are the best couple at Jeju Island’s Luxury Resort!” They give us weird graphic tees and a huge gift certificate. At the corner of my eye I see Jin Ae glaring over at the two of us as the rest of the crowd cheers. “Congratulations again! Now we have bonfire party for everyone on the beach so go have fun!” Everyone heads over to the beach and starts swimming and partying as the sun goes down. 

Seungmin and I wander off as the night goes on, beers in hand as we walk down the shoreline, firelight fading in the distance. “You know what I just realized?” He shook his head and took a swig from his bottle. “I haven’t checked my phone all day. I had so much fun just hanging out with you.” He laughed and slung an arm around my shoulder.

“Well, we are still trending if you were wondering.” I reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. “Why do guys’ swim trunks have pockets? That is so unfair.” Seungmin scoffed and looked at me as I put in his passcode. “Are you saying you could fit pockets in that tiny thing you’re wearing?” 

“That is irrelevant I want pockets.”

He laughed and looked up at the night sky while I scrolled through Twitter. He was right, we were still trending. STAY and other fans were going crazy over the photos. Apparently a couple people from the crowd had posted the video of me winning the contest with Seungmin. I laughed and read a tweet a loud to Seungmin.

“Seungmin’s girl is a boss ass bitch look at her dancing to HyunA! JYP cast her NOW!” Seungmin laughed and turned to me, stopping our little stroll. “I’m tired, you wanna sit?” Nodding, I kept looking at the responses on Twitter. Seungmin sat next to me his hair blowing softly in the wind. I was very aware of him watching me and laughing at me reactions to the posts. 

My brows furrow as I see a post from JYP Entertainment’s official page. I clicked on the post and read the statement.

Hello, this is JYP Entertainment. 

We would like to address the rumors about one of our idols, Kim Seungmin from Stray Kids. We appreciate your patience and hope you will continue to support Seungmin and his members. Yes, Kim Seungmin is in a relationship. He is not married to the person shown in the photos taken by Dispatch, though. 

We have been in contact with him while he is on his break. He has addressed this personally and would like to clarify that it is not a wedding ring, but a promise ring he gave as a gift. At this time we cannot release the name of the woman Kim Seungmin is seeing but we hope you can support Seungmin and his love for her.

“Seungmin, what is this?” He gently takes his phone back from me before reading the post. “It’s the statement addressing the rumors. Why?” Fully turning to Seungmin, I tried to read his expression in the dark. “Why? It says were dating. This could destroy your image! You could lose fans.”

He smirked and looked me up and down. “You haven’t said no.”

“What?”

“You haven’t said we aren’t dating.”

Blinking a few times, I just stared at him in the dark. Did he just say what I think he said? Did Seungmin....my best friend really just say that. That cocky little shit. He laughed at me and grabbed my hands, still holding the phone. “Seungmin, you prick! Is this your way of asking me out?” I said smacking his shoulder.

“You have to do it properly, you jerk!”

Laughing, he took his phone and slipped it back in his pocket. Giving me that signature smile of his that drove thousands of girls wild, including me, he took my hands in his and looked me in the eye. 

“Hey, Y/n L/n, will you go out with me?” 

“No.” 

“What?”

“Sorry I was just in it for the discount.”

Seungmin stared at me. I saw real disappointment flash across his face and he started to let go of my hands. “I’m just kidding! Of course!” Seungmin let out the biggest sigh his hands covering his face. “Y/n!” He yelled falling on his back. “That was so cruel!” I couldn’t help but laugh and lean over him to see the look on his face. He moved his hands and looked up at me with a smile on his lips. 

Reaching up he pulled me down to his lips. Seungmin smiled against my lips before he pulled away looking up at me. “Does this mean I can give you name to the press?” He asked, pushing a piece of hair away from my face.  “Only if you take me to the next HyunA concert and I get to cuddle with you in bed tonight.”

“I guess to the first one and the second one is a definite. Duh.” Laughing, I leaned down and pressed another kiss to his lips. “Now we can really kick the Kwons’ ass in couple world.” Seungmin played with my fingers and chuckled. “Didn’t we do that just now?” “Yeah, well that didn’t count.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, you better take us back for Valentine’s Day so we can beat Jin Ae and Si Hyun to the ground.”

“Not cause you want to spend time with me?”

“.....yeah...that too!”

Hope you all enjoyed! I apologize if there were spelling errors!

Requests are open!

Masterlist

[apenapaperandadoofus]

RFA BEACH TRIP PLEASE🌊☀️🌴🐚🌺🐬🐠🦀

YESYESYES (I tried something a little different today, so I hope you enjoy it!)

RFA BEACH TRIP!

Jumin had recently bought this island, that was famous because of their cats. Yes. Cat island. And so because Jumin is such a sweetheart he got everyone some plane tickets so they would head out for the island the next day!

At first, everyone except Saeyoung and V weren’t really up to the idea. But then, when you got so excited and said that it would be so fun to have a beach trip, they changed their minds pretty quickly!

And so, all of you woke up at about 4am, Jumin sent some cars to pick you all up and soon you were all in his private jet. V and Jumin were listening to some classical music and drinking some wine, Yoosung at first was looking around everywhere, since he had never been on a private jet before, but a few minutes later he fell asleep on his seat, next to Zen, who was complaining loudly to Jumin, about how waking up at this hour was stupid, and that he only agreed to go because you were going.

Jaehee was watching some of Zen´s DVD in the background, Saeyoung was loudly singing to some music (you joined him lmao) which made Saeran groan and put on his headphones at full volume, trying to ignore his way too energetic twin.

You smiled as you looked at everyone in the RFA. This would be so exciting!

After you all checked in in the hotel -the fanciest hotel you had ever been in- you all changed into your swimsuits and decided to meet up in a bit.

You all set up on the fancy beach, Jumin and V sitting on some chairs under a really big umbrella, meanwhile Jaehee was wearing a hat and walking around the beach, looking at Zen, who was teasing Yoosung into getting in the water. Saeyoung was building some sand cats, yes, sand cats and Saeran was standing awkwardly on the side, not really knowing what to do.

This was going to be awesome!

Zen:

After traumatizing Yoosung for a bit, Zen called you over to get into the ocean with him. You smiled and grabbed his hand, as the both of you walked along the water, happily chatting. “I have to admit, even though I can’t stand that jerk, this beach trip was pretty nice. We haven’t all gone out like this in a while.” He said, while looking at all the RFA members, a big smile in his face. But then he turned around and pulled you closer to him, running his hands up your sides. “Although it is making me a bit jealous that they all got to see you in your swimwear like this. You look amazing.” A seductive smirk appeared on his face and Zen kissed you, and you both stood there, holding each other.

Until a big fucking wave got you guys and everyone laughed at the both of you. “THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING ALL LOVEY DOVEY!” Yoosung yelled, and Zen glared at him. Apart from that the beach trip was awesome, and you enjoyed spending time with Zen!

Yoosung:

So, he wasn’t really a big fan of the ocean, but he liked the swimming pool! Yoosung and you had a swimming contest! And you ended up winning by a lot lmao. Afterwards you both made your way around the beach resort, admiring how fancy everything was.

Until you got lost. Yeah that wasn't good at all.

You both walked along for hours trying to find everyone else. And you didn’t succeed. At one point it had become night, and you were both back at the beach, holding each other’s hands. “I’m sorry Y/N. If I had just stayed with everyone we wouldn’t be in this predicament.” You shook your head and caressed Yoosung’s cheek. “It’s alright Yoosung. I had fun, to be honest! I love spending time with you.”

As Yoosung became red in the face, you saw a bright light and a loud bang followed right after. Fireworks!!! The two of you screamed happily and ran over to get a better view, and Yoosung wrapped his arm around you, giving you a forehead kiss.

It was absolutely adorable, and even though Saeyoung later teased the crap out of you two, you really enjoyed it!

Jaehee:

“Y/N? Are you alright? Why are you so red in the face, oh! Don’t tell me you have a fever! Let me check!”

You blushed even more as Jaehee placed the back of her hand in your forehead, and you nervously chuckled, gently pulling it away. “Uh. It’s alright Jaehee. I-I just got distracted for a bit haha, anyway! Look at those seashells!” You quickly made your way to the shore, trying to hide your flushed face. When you saw Jaehee in a very cute two piece swimsuit you felt as if you were about to die. How could she look so freaking hot yet adorable at the same time?! You were just speechless.

Jaehee slowly followed you and helped you picking up shells. You both laughed as Seven tackled Yoosung in the water, while Zen was screaming loudly at the both of them for getting his beautiful face wet!

Soon enough you and Jaehee had picked up enough shells, and you placed them in a little bucket. Then, Jaehee grabbed your hand and led you to the water, where you were both looking at the beautiful sunset. Everything was perfect.

Until you felt a splash of water hit your face. You dramatically gasped as Jaehee giggled, and splashed some more water in your face. Before you knew it, it had become a water battle between the two of you, and you enjoyed it greatly! Jaehee kept running around and giggling the whole time, even when you grabbed her by the waist and carried her up, spinning her around.

When you came home from the beach, you both took the seashells and made them into a frame, and you put your favorite picture of the two of you together.

She really enjoyed spending the whole time with you, and she would love to do it again!

Jumin:

When you came to the beach, you made your way to Jumin and sat beside him, while talking to him and V, who had a huge smile on his face.

“Thank you for the trip, Jumin. It’s been a while since all of us travelled like this, together. I never thought we’d go out again ever since Rika passed away. But now, thanks yo Y/N, we’re able to do this again.” You blushed and shyly smiled at V.

Jumin didn’t really like to go and swim in the ocean, but you two decided to build some sand castles, since apparently he had never done that before. It all started as an innocent competition, until Jumin literally started making blueprints and measured everything so his sandcastle could be perfect!

And it was :D

Afterwards, you both went to your room and you changed into some clothes that Jumin had bought you. He escorted you to a really fancy restaurant in the place, and he got seats near a balcony so you could look at the sea while you ate. It was absolutely beautiful, the wind rustling his hair a bit, and everytime he looked at you and smiled, god, was he trying to kill you?

At one point Jumin grabbed your hand and kissed it, looking at you with eyes full of love. 

¨Thanks to you we're able to go out like this now...you've done so much for us, and you don't understand how lucky I feel to be here with you, right now. I love you, Y/N.¨

You both had an amazing dinner, and after the trip Jumin would sometimes take some days off so you could go there again.

Saeyoung:

He was so thrilled to go to the beach with you and his brother!

Honestly, he had never felt so happy in his life!

Then you saw that there was a place where you could rent surfing boards! And holy crap you both had never ran so fast to a place before.

The two of you tried (and failed miserably) to surf. Saeyoung had actually gotten the hang of it pretty quickly, but you kept getting distracted!

He just looked so handsome with his hair all wet, and pulled back a bit so it wouldn’t get in his way. And when he surfed he looked so fucking good.

At one point you bit your lip, and when Saeyoung saw the way you were looking at him he led you to a nearby bathroom.

After the both of you and back, and played some pranks on Yoosung, you decided to go and....LOOK FOR THE CATS! That was honestly one of the only reasons why he agreed to wake up that early and everything!

You both made your way around the little town that was near Jumin’s resort, and you soon found cats everywhere. They were so fucking cute holy shit.

The rest of the trip you took a bunch of pictures, sometimes with the cats and sometimes with Saeran (who was acting as if he didn’t want to be here but he was having a hella good time.)

One night Saeyoung led you to the roof of the resort and kissed you.

¨I love you so much Y/N. Thank you for everything.¨

When you come back Saeyoung promised you that you will go on trips more often now, and he just can’t help but smile remembering the good things that happened.

Bonus:

“How many times did we tell you to NOT DO IT?!” Zen screamed.

“This is not how I thought I’d spend my time. I’m leaving to see how Elizabeth the third is doing.”

“No you don’t, you jerk! You have to stay here with the rest of us.”

“Lololol Yoosung I never thought you’d actually do it!”

“Luciel this is partially your fault too, you were the one who urged him to do it, so you’re to blame too. If you hadn’t thrown your food it wouldn’t have been this bad.” Jaehee glared at Luciel, and he quickly hid behind you.

“AGHHHH Y/N SAVE ME!! That gaze almost turned me to stone, brrr so scary!”

“It’s your fault you idiot. You should’ve realized by now that Yoosung is dumb enough to fall for those stupid tricks of yours. Besides you didn’t even tried to help him, you made things worse!”

“Aghhh! Not you too Saeran! My own brother!! Everyone is against me right now, hey V, help meeee!!!”

“Well Luciel....if you hadn’t even dared him to jump in there, we wouldn’t be here right now...so I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Jaehee on this one.” V laughed nervously.

“SEVEN I SWEAR IM NEVER FORGIVING YOU FOR THIS!” Yoosung yelled.

You may be wondering, what the hell happened?

Seven did.

Let me explain.

You were all eating lunch, when Seven dared Yoosung to go and jump into this little pond (that was made because of some rocks) to grab some crabs. It was going fine, until a whole bunch of them decided to go against Yoosung, and they started pinching him everywhere, so Yoosung quickly got out and started screaming.

Zen was about to help him, when Seven threw his sandwich at Yoosung while yelling YEET and NATURAL SELECTION DO YOUR THING, making some seagulls who were passing by, go and attack Yoosung.

Then Yoosung fell in a sand hole that you and Seven had made before near the shore, it was really deep, and when the crabs and seagull were finally off him, a fucking little octopus appeared and decided to latch onto Yoosung’s head.

Seven just laughed while Zen and Jaehee tried to get the octopus off, Jumin was sighing like a disappointed parent, and Saeran was actually smirking.

Meanwhile V had tried to go and help, but he went to the wrong place because...well he can’t see, so he was touching a palm tree while yelling for Yoosung.

And that’s how Yoosung became traumatized for life!

But it was honestly so funny lmao

Later when you’re all in the restaurant Seven orders some octopus on purpose to traumatize Yoosung even more.

And that’s why, kids, you should never go and pick up crabs because Seven dared you to.

[lilacmoon83]

Witness Protection

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 5: Surprises

Mary Margaret leaned against the door frame with a dreamy look, as she listened to her husband sing to their daughter. David had a gorgeous voice and it was very soothing to Emma. And very sexy to Mary Margaret. Their daughter had been fighting sleep tonight and had extorted three bedtime stories from her father and a lullaby. She teased him about how he was such putty in her tiny hands. And he couldn't disagree. She was anxious on that night though, for she had something very special to reveal to him. So when Emma finally fell asleep, she felt the butterflies in her stomach and she eagerly kissed him once they were downstairs and behind the curtain where their bed was.

"Wow...someone is frisky tonight," he purred, as their lips parted and she bit her bottom lip.

"I am…" she agreed, as she unbuttoned his shirt and smoothed her hands along his bare chest.

"There's a bottle chilling in the fridge. Why don't you go get it and maybe I'll be wearing less clothes when you get back," she purred back. He grinned and kissed her again, as he hurried to the kitchen. He grabbed two wine glasses and opened the fridge. But instead of finding wine, he found a bottle of sparkling pear cider.

"Hey...you haven't drank any of this since…" he said, as he thought about it and trailed off. He looked back at her, his face filled with awe and hope. She had changed out of her clothes and into a maternity nightgown that she wasn't filling out yet, but he recognized it too. She nodded. He set the bottle and glasses down, before running toward her and sweeping her into his arms. She giggled, as he kissed her passionately.

"How far along?" he asked, as he carried her to bed, while kissing her again.

"Mmm...well, I've only taken a pregnancy test, but I have all the symptoms. I'm going to get it confirmed tomorrow afternoon after lunch. I was hoping my handsome husband will join me," she replied. He grinned kissed her again.

"Oh, there is nothing that could keep me away, my darling," he said, as he lay her on the bed.

"I never imagined being as happy as you've made me," she gushed. He smiled.

"Me either...but let's see if I can make us even happier," he replied, as they melted into each other.

~*~

Weaver walked into Roni's bar late that evening. He knew she was getting ready to close, but they were friends and she never turned him or Rogers away, even after she flipped the closed sign.

"I haven't seen you look this bothered since Leopold Blanchard bought his way out of that conviction last year," Roni said, as she dried some glassware.

"I need a drink," he said and she complied by pouring him some brandy.

"What's going on?" she questioned, as he downed the liquid.

"I always track Blanchard's travel and his private jet touched down in Los Angeles earlier tonight," he replied.

"Okaaay...and that's bad why?" she asked.

"It's bad, because he wasn't on it. I just had it verified by one of my rat bastard moles," he replied with distaste.

"And can you trust this rat bastard?" Roni asked.

"Not really...but he's easily bought. Trust me, Smee is well paid and said that Leopold Blanchard wasn't on that plane," Weaver replied, as he put a stack of pages on the counter.

"But I think he was on this one," Weaver said, as he showed her the page.

"United flight to Portland, Maine...Leo White?" she asked in disbelief.

"He thinks this alias won't raise any red flags with me, but he was still foolish enough to fly business first class," Weaver replied.

"You're sure?" she asked with trepidation. He nodded.

"It's what my gut is telling me," he confirmed.

"Portland is only an hour or so from Storybrooke…" she feared, as she picked up the phone.

"Don't…" he said.

"What do you mean? We need to warn Mary and David!" she exclaimed.

"If we warn them...they'll run and Blanchard will just come back here once the trail goes cold. But...if we play this right, we can catch him once and for all," Weaver said. Her eyes widened.

"You want to use Mary and David as bait for him to slip up?" she asked in disbelief.

"I don't like it either, but we could take Leopold Blanchard out if we play this right. I've already called Rogers and we're leaving for Maine tonight," he said.

"Then you better buy another ticket, because I'm going with you," she said, as she did a shot. He smirked.

"Already did. Go pack," he said, as she went to do so.

~*~

Leopold's rental, a luxury model of course, slowly drove past a sign that said "Welcome to Storybrooke." His first impression was about what he expected. A small, recluse town that held none of the prestige and fine living that he knew in Seattle. He almost rolled his eyes and wondered how his daughter could be happy in such a Podunk spot. No skyscrapers, fine restaurants, or five-star hotels. The tallest building was a clocktower that didn't even work, judging by the time of eight-fifteen on the clock face. And there were a few generic eateries, including a diner, and one Inn of all things. It was incredibly disappointing that his daughter had settled for this, but he knew he had to play this right. If she saw him first, she'd run to her husband and they would be in the wind again, before he could blink. But if he could endear himself to her new friends, she couldn't reject him without making a spectacle.

He was almost certain that none of her new friends knew anything about her real past and any hostility toward him wouldn't make a lot of sense. Yes...it was high time that he and his daughter finally talked and he was certain this would make it happen. Only when the time was exactly right would he bring her and his granddaughter back under his control. And do away with her cop husband.

He started the morning by renting a room at the Inn and endearing himself to the elderly woman that owned it. He told her he was here to surprise his daughter and see his precious granddaughter. Widow Lucas was excited by such and invited him over to the diner, telling him that Margaret, her husband, and the baby were frequent customers. He agreed that it would be the perfect place for his "surprise".

~*~

Mary Margaret awoke that morning and realized she had slept in. But she wasn't worried, for it was Saturday and she was looking forward to spending the day with her baby. She turned over, finding her husband's spot empty, but he wasn't far and she spied him buttoning up his shirt.

"Good morning," she cooed. He smiled.

"Good morning to you too, beautiful," he replied, as he leaned down and kissed her tenderly.

"Early patrol?" she asked.

"Yeah, I promised Graham I would, but I'll meet you and Em for lunch at the diner. Then we'll go to the hospital for your appointment," he replied excitedly. She smiled.

"That sounds great," she agreed, as she heard Emma in the living room, as she laughed at the cartoon on television. It was one of the sweetest sounds in the world and soon they would have two of those precious sounds.

"She's eating her Cheerios and I've still got a few minutes if you want to shower quick," he said.

"Thanks baby," she said, as she got up and headed for the bathroom.

~*~

"I got here as soon as I could, but I still don't have a sitter that can stay with Alice for more than a few hours," Rogers said, as he burst into Roni's bar early that morning.

"It's okay...we'll bring her with us," Weaver responded.

"I can watch her when needed," Roni confirmed, as he saw a redhead, also with a toddler, behind the bar.

"You better be going if you're going to make your plane," Zelena urged, as she stood behind the bar.

"Thanks for doing this, Zelena," Roni said.

"No problem, sis...now go," she said, in annoyance.

"Bye bye Robin…" Roni said, as she kissed her niece and then took Alice from Rogers, while he proceeded to load their bags into Weaver's car, before they took off for the airport.

~*~

Mary Margaret pushed Emma in the stroller, along Main Street. She gave nods and returned friendly waves, as she passed people. She loved her new home and their quiet life. She loved walking down the street and how everyone knew her. Many stopped to dote on Emma a bit and exchange pleasantries. Honestly, Mary Margaret thought places like this only existed in Hallmark movies.

She stopped at a few shops, bought Emma a few things, as she was growing so fast and then quietly gushed over all the baby stuff. She had so much fun with it the first time around that she knew it would be the same this time.

But when she walked into the diner, reality slammed into her again and reminded her that this wasn't a movie and that her quiet life was really one in witness protection. And she had been found.

"Oh Margaret...you're here! Surprise!" Ruby and Granny exclaimed, as they gestured to her father, who sat calmly in a booth, sipping at some coffee. But she was anything but calm. There was a raging storm inside her and she plucked Emma up out of the stroller.

"What...what are you doing here?" she questioned. He smirked.

"Just visiting my beautiful daughter and my equally lovely granddaughter. Your wonderful friends were very excited to help me keep my surprise under wraps," he replied in an even tone. Mary Margaret looked at her friends and they looked excited for her. But then why wouldn't they? They really had no idea about her past and just who her father was, let alone what he had done.

"I got you a hot cocoa with cinnamon and I can fill Emma's sippy cup with milk if you want?" Red offered.

"Um...sure, thanks Ruby," Mary Margaret said, distractedly, as she handed her the sippy cup and shifted her daughter in her arms. Emma whimpered, as she sensed her mother's unease.

"Sit down, girl...and I'll get an order started for you. Will David be joining you?" Granny asked.

"Yes...David should be here any minute," Mary Margaret replied, as she looked her father in the eyes. Not aware of her stress, Granny bustled off to the kitchen, while Ruby returned with a sippy cup of milk for Emma, before leaving father and daughter to talk.

"How did you find us?" she demanded to know.

"It wasn't easy...this town isn't even on some maps. Which is why I'm sure your friend Captain Weaver chose it," Leopold replied.

"And what exactly are you trying to do by acting like you're some loving, doting father to my friends?" she hissed.

"I was those things, my dear...until you ran away and told the Police all those things about me," he responded.

"I told them the truth...that you are a monster and just being near you again makes my skin crawl," she hissed in return.

"Please Mary...I came to make amends,"

"Amends?!" she hissed.

"You tried to have my husband killed, on more than one occasion!" she continued, still speaking quietly enough so as not to cause a panic.

"But I came myself this time. I want to put this messy business between us to rest," Leopold claimed.

"I walked in on your killing someone and then you tried to assault me," she reminded.

"And I am asking for your forgiveness. I want to be in your life again...and my granddaughter's life as well," he stated. But she didn't buy it and got up from the table.

"Don't walk away from me, Mary...you and your husband will not make it very far if you run this time," he warned. And she looked at him in alarm.

"Have you done something to David?" she questioned, but she sighed in relief, as David walked into the diner at that moment.

"David…" she whimpered, as he saw her father sitting in the booth and his eyes widened. He was by her side in an instant and touched the handcuffs on his belt, just as Granny brought plates of food out.

"Here we are...lunch for this little family reunion. Enjoy," she said.

"Yes...let's sit down and have a family meal together. I assure you that you want to hear what I have to say," Leopold stated calmly. David looked at her and she nodded reluctantly to him, conveying everything to him with her expression. He put a hand on the small of her back and they slid into the booth across from him.

"If you're here to try and take my family from me, then you're in for one hell of a fight that I promise you'll lose," David stated firmly. Leopold smirked in amusement.

"I'm not here to take anything, Detective. Oh, I'm sorry...I guess it's Deputy now," the older man responded.

"Then why are you here?" David asked.

"To put this family back together," Leopold claimed. But neither of them bought that for a second, but they did know that simply running at this point would be ill advised. Leopold likely had people waiting for them to do so and in this instance, staying put was actually safer. No, they had to play this just right until he could contact Weaver and Rogers. And also very publicly. Their new friends had no idea what Leopold was really like and David sensed that the older man wanted to keep his past under wraps for now. That meant they would have to play nice too in order to keep this from escalating to a bad place. So that's what they would do...for now. No more running. This was their home and he was tired of this man looming over them. They would stand against him once and for all and by the end, he was determined that Leopold Blanchard would be going to prison for the rest of his life...

[twinklelightshorts]

Mean What You Mean (Colby Brock) - Part 5

Part 5:

"Hello and welcome back. I'm Josephine and today, I have to get ready for my Spring Break trip to Los Angeles. We leave in two days and neither Tucker nor I have even begun to pack. So, part of this video will be filmed in my room and the other part will be in his. Let's go." I turned and walked into my room. "So, this is my room. I actually have a bigger room than my parents because we tore down the wall between my original room and the office beside it. The office had a bathroom so now it's mine. So, I think I'm going to set up my camera and do a time lapse. I know some of you aren't a fan of it, but it's kind of my signature. So, here we go." I set up my camera and after pushing play, I pulled my suitcase out from under my bed. I began to pull outfits and undergarments and dropping them onto my bed. I skipped into my bathroom and bent down, looking under my sink for my extra toiletries. I frowned when I couldn't find the little bag I used when I traveled. My feet carried me to my camera and I looked into the lens. "I'm going to have to wait until I go to Tucker's to find the rest of my stuff, apparently. Some of it has gone missing and his house is the only other place I go." I went back to my suitcase and started folding the clothes and organizing everything I could. I put in a few accessories, including a couple of necklaces and a ring. When I felt I had as much as I could for now, I closed up the suitcase and put it on the floor next to my closet. I grabbed my camera and held it in front of me. "Now, I'm headed to Tucker's to pack his suitcase. His mother is home and she said I can just walk in. Let's go." I grabbed my tripod and headed next door. "Hi, love!" Maria called out. "Hi!" I joined her in the kitchen. "What are you doing here?" She asked. "I'm packing for our trip to LA. I'm filming it." "Oh! That sounds exciting." She tapped the table next to her. "Let's chat a minute." "Okay." I made sure my camera was off and sat down next to her. Maria smiled softly. "Tell me about this YouTube channel of yours. I know all about Instagram but now you make full length videos?" I nodded. "Mhm. A lot of my fans and followers on Instagram want to see me do lifestyle videos and vlogs. It's a bunch of time lapses, just like my Instagram videos, but it's been fun so far." "And Tucker is in them with you?" "Yeah. He asked to do it with me and I figured "why not?" y'know? We're always together." "So, this video is just you packing for your trip?" "Mostly. I add in little bits and pieces of what I do during the week too." I pursed my lips. "Do you want me to send you the link to my page?" "Um, sure. Do I have YouTube on my phone?" She asked. "I can check, if you want." "Okay." She handed me her phone that had been face down on the table. I looked through her apps and found it at the end. I opened it to make sure she was logged in. "I'll look it up for you so you can find it anytime." I told her. Once I found my page, I put it in front of her. I showed her the different tabs I had and how to make the videos full screen. "Oh, look at that picture!" She exclaimed, pointing to my header. "That's my baby and my other baby!" I smiled softly. "I wanted him in my header. I hope it was okay that I used that picture." "Of course it is! Oh, Jo." Maria grinned. "You really are like a daughter to me. I love how close you and Tucker are." "Me too, honestly. I'd be so lost without him." She hugged me gently. "Alright, go make your video before you make me cry." "Okay." I jumped up and then ran up the steps. I turned on my camera. "Okay, for those of you who don't know, I have my own room at Tucker's since I'm here all the time." I showed the room as I walked in. "His parents are the most amazing people I've ever met. Since Tucker's older sister doesn't live in Minnesota anymore, his mother re-did the painting and decorating to fit my style better. A lot of people ask me if Tucker and I have ever slept in the same bed. And we used to, but since we hit puberty, our parents separate us. We understand where they're coming from even though we'd never go there." I walked to the closet and pulled down a basket from the top shelf and set it on the bed. "Oh! Here is my travel bottles! I knew they were here." I grabbed the Ziploc bag they were in and took it out to the hallway. I dropped it on the floor. "That will remind me to actually take it with me." I stepped into Tucker's room and put the camera on myself. "Okay. I'm going to set up the camera and then start packing Tucker's bag." * "Dude, look, I understand packing my stuff but did you have to add it to your video?" Tucker groaned when we met up later. "Yes. It put more time on my video. My last one, when I got my hair done, was over ten minutes long and it got monetized! I'm actually making money from that video, Tuck." I explained. "Besides, now you're all packed." He smiled. "Well, thank you for that. I'm trying to work as much as possible so that you're not paying for everything when it was my idea." I looked over at him. "You know I don't mind paying." "I know, but I mind. I'm the guy." "Tuck, I don't see it that way and I wish you wouldn't either." "It's hard not to think about it that way. We're raised in a society where men are supposed to provide and pay for everything." He sighed. "Even my dad got on my case about making sure I have enough money for LA." "Our dads are similar in that aspect. My dad is only okay with me going because you paid for the tickets and the hotel." I put my feet up on the bed. "But I want to pay for meals and stuff, okay?" "Yeah, okay." Tuck nodded. "Deal." "Thank you." I nudged his leg with my foot. He nudged me back. "You're welcome." * I rubbed my eyes as I turned the camera on and set it up on the bathroom counter. I squatted down and looked into the lens. "Today is the day that Tucker and I leave for Los Angeles. It's very early and Tucker is still asleep." I let out a deep breath. "I guess I'll just get ready and then wake him up right before I'm done. I think he showered last night so it won't take him long. I'll see you in a bit." I showered quickly and got dressed and then set my camera up on the tripod and do my makeup. It was quick and easy since we'd be on a plan for three and a half hours. I did last minute packing and then decided it was time to wake Tucker. "Alright. Now we wake Tucker." I whispered as I walked into his room. I put the camera on his dresser and then went over to his bed. "Tuck. It's time to wake up." I said, shaking him gently. He groaned. "No." "Excuse you." "Jo, it's early, babes." "And who's fault is that? You bought the tickets. Now get up." I shook him again. Tucker sighed. "Five more minutes?" "No. I already gave you all the time I could. Your mom is going to be ready before you at this rate." He sat up. "You're ready?" "Mhm." "Okay. I'm up." He crawled off his bed and rushed to the bathroom. "I promise I won't get back in bed." He called out. "You better not." I grabbed my camera and walked back to my room. "Success." I grinned. "He's awake and now I can take my bag out to the car and make our coffees." I skipped down the steps, carrying my bag in one arm and my camera, tripod and purse in the other. "Hey, Maria." I greeted Tuck's mom. "Hello, dear." She kissed my cheek. "How did you sleep?" "Great." I held up my tripod. "Can I keep this here?" "Of course. Just set it next to the piano. The cats can't go in there." "Alrighty." I put my bag down and took my tripod to the lounge. As I turned to leave, a picture caught my eye. I went over to it and smiled softly. It was taken when Tucker was five and I was four. We'd been friends for six months and we were attached at the hip. We were holding hands while swinging. I didn't even realize this picture existed. "Jo?" I looked to the doorway as Tucker stepped in. "Hey." "Hey." He stood next to me. "I like that picture." "I didn't know it was a thing." I said honestly. "Really? It's been in here for awhile. Mom found it in a roll of film about the time we went to middle school." "Oh." "I'm sure she can get you a copy." I nodded. "I'd like that." He took my hand. "C'mon, we should get going." "Yeah, we should." *** "Passengers, welcome to Los Angeles, California. The current time is eight-twenty am and the temperature is sixty-nine degrees. We hope you enjoyed your flight and that your time on California is even better. Thank you for flying with United Airlines." I glanced at Tucker. "We're here." "We are." He pecked my cheek. "You ready?" I nodded. "Yes!" "Alright. After you." I grabbed our backpacks while Tucker grabbed our carry-ons. I held my camera in my hand and filmed at my waist as we left the plane and walked through the airport. We found the car rental places and called his mom so she could verify the reservation she got for us. Usually they're not supposed to let eighteen year olds rent cars, but Tucker's dad works for the company we went with. We got the keys and someone walked us out to the car. "Have a great trip." The worker waved at us and walked away. "Thank you!" Tucker called out. He looked over at me. "Okay, this is it." "Are you nervous?" I asked. "A little." I looked around while he put our bags in the car. "Can we get breakfast? I'm starved." "Sure. Then we should find our hotel and freshen up." "Sounds good to me." * Los Angeles looked straight out of one of my dreams. The palm trees and seas of people made it real though. "What do you think so far?" Tuck asked as we enjoyed breakfast at a cute cafe we found. I nodded. "I love it." He chuckled. "I knew you would, babes." "Yeah." I glanced over at him. "Do you like it here?" "I like it here with you." I felt my face flush. "Would you ever move here with me?" My best friend nodded. "I definitely would. I think that'd be so much fun." "Me too." "Let's finish up. I need to take a piss." "Ew." I muttered. "I hate that phrase."

***

Thanks again for reading this story. I’m really sorry the parts are so short and that it’s taking a bit. Don’t worry though, Colby shows up soon!

[42h-0-blog]

𝖃𝖊𝖓𝖔 / ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕦𝕖

“Stella!” a woman called

Stella gazed up from the novel she was reading and called to her name, “YES?”

“We’re leaving, honey!”

Stella hesitated to fold her book’s page corner, but quickly conceded. This was an emergency she’ll forgive herself for later. She folded the page’s corner delicately and dropped her book down on her bed, springing up and dashing downstairs from her room to meet her parents. 

“Here’s the debit card.” Stella’s mom said sternly while handing her a valuable rectangular piece of plastic. “Don’t drive the cars… not that you could without keys, but still, don’t even dream of it.”

“I know, Mom,” Stella groaned.

“Ut-ut-ut, I’m not done--” her mom said in her infamous cocky-tone, and with her chin up high, “NO unnecessary spending on this card or you’ll starve. Your budget is $20 a day. If you don’t spend anything all week, you’ll have $140 per week for grocery--”

“Don’t you have a flight to catch???” Stella interrupted, clearly becoming agitated. 

Her mother’s face softened and she opened her arms. She almost looked sad to go.

“I know, I’m stalling. Give me a hug, honey.” 

Stella embraced her mom and was more ‘being hugged’ than ‘hugging’. Her mom hugged her tightly for what felt like forever.

BEEEEEP! A car honk came from outside. Stella’s mom broke the hug first and quickly kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Make sure you answer our Skype calls!”, she shouted while gathering her keys and purse. “We’ll be back in 2 weeks!” 

Stella followed her mother to the door and waved to her father who had already began backing out the driveway. Her mother jogged skillfully in her high heel pumps to the passenger door, and seconds before the car sped off, she was in her seat and buckled. Stella felt a strange anxiety in her chest as she waved after the car until it disappeared into a spec. 

Stella peered down at the debit card while shuffling back into the house. She tossed the card on the counter and dragged her feet back upstairs into her room where she collapsed into her bed and curled under her sheets. Her sister should be coming home from high school soon. In just a few minutes, Stella had fallen asleep. 

Buzzzz--Ring, ring...Buzzzz--Ring, ring…Buzzzzz--Ring, ring… 

Stella raised her head from a textbook and glanced around the room. When did I sit at my desk? She wondered.

Buzzzz--Ring, ring… Stella glanced at the cellphone on her desk buzzing and swiped to accept. It was her mother.

“Honey, I forgot a suitcase, I’m on my way home. Come open the door for me, and fetch my suitcase from my room, please. HURRY! *click*”

Stella stuffed her phone into her pants pocket and scurried to her parent’s room. She saw the big, black suitcase laying on its back by the bedside, and she quickly stood it up, heffed it downstairs, unlocked the front door and kicked it down the porch stairs. Like clockwork, Stella’s sister dragged her feet onto the lawn and up the porch as the black Hyondai rental her parents rented swung into the driveway. Their dad stumbled out the car and whisked the suitcase up, “GIRLS! Want to come for the trip?” 

Stella opened her mouth incredulously, but before she could speak, Melody, her sister, chimed, “YES”, and grabbed Stella’s hand to drag her into the backseat of the car. Their dad tossed the suitcase into the trunk and locked the front door up.

Melody bounced in her seat, asking“What about clothes and stuff?”

“Your father and I will just buy you both new outfits there, but we figured 2 weeks was too long of a trip, and since we’re both gone, it would just be better to take you with us. Melody won’t miss too much since it’s the end of the school year, are you okay with it, Stella?”

Stella grunted. She didn’t have on real shoes. She didn’t even have her headphones on. This was actually stupid in her opinion. 

They got to the airport quickly, and Stella felt like an eyesore in a black hoodie, black sweatpants, and Homer Simpson house slippers. They bought new tickets, and surprisingly, they were able to find 2 seats near their parents. They checked in their luggage and while waiting for their flight, they bought Stella some new shoes. After grabbing some quick food, their plane called for boarding. 

Melody seemed the most excited. “I can’t believe we’re going to San Diego! This is a dream come true! Mom, can I get a bikini?” She said this to mom, but was glancing at their Dad. 

Their Dad blushed and glanced out the huge windows of the airport at the planes taking off. “Our girls are growing up so fast, huh, Maria?”

Maria. It was strange hearing their Dad call their mother Maria. He always said honey or sweety. Stella didn’t feel right. The anxiety in her was unbelievable by this point, and she dreaded stepping foot on the plane as she handed over the ticket to be checked and returned to her. Melody held Mom and Dad’s hand, and Mom reached to hold Stella’s hand. Startled, Stella looked down at the hand, then up at her mom. Unsure of this strange anxiety in her, she held her mom’s hand for comfort. She had never been in an airplane before, and neither had Melody. They found their seats and in about 30 minutes, and a few moments after that the flight attendant started the announcements. Melody and her Dad sat behind Stella and her mom. 

Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of our captain and the rest of the crew, I’d like to welcome you aboard Dolta Flight 303, with nonstop service to San Diego, California. Our flight time will be approximately three hours and thirty-three minutes, and we look forward to ensuring that your journey with us today is as pleasant and carefree as possible.

Stella listened keenly to the flight attendant, and squinted at another flight attendant giving some demonstration a few seats above.

Once the announcements were done and everyone was fastened in, the airplane engine began to growl to life, and then they were moving. Melody poked me from behind, “Are you readyyy, Stella?” She giggled. Stella’s anxiety didn’t subside. 

They began to move faster, and the images through her mother’s window sped past them. They heard a loud rev of another engine, and soon enough, Stella’s ears began to pop as the plane took flight. Chatting murmured throughout the cabin of the plane, and after about 15 minutes, the flight attendant spoke again to let everyone know they can walk around the plane. The seat belt light turned off, and everyone unbuckled themselves. Melody was the first to pop up and lean over the back of Stella’s seat. “Mom, what kind of hotel are we staying in?” 

“You’ll see, dear. Your father booked us a great little spot. While we’re working, you both will have plenty to do in the hotel--” DING!

The seat belt sign turned on again. The flight attendant spoke, “The captain has requested that we take our seats and fasten our seat belts, we’ll be experiencing some turbulence.”

Everyone groaned as they clicked their seat belts all throughout the cabin.

BOOM! 

The airplane shook violently. Stella’s head swiveled around to look at her father behind them. He looked weary, but smiled at Stella’s expression and mouthed, “It’s okay..” 

“What’s going on?” Melody asked alarmed. 

The plane began to rock and suddenly, the propeller next to Stella’s mother’s window exploded. The plane dipped sharply to the left, and they heard shrill screaming from all angles. Oxygen masks fell from above each seat, seat belts unbuckled everywhere, and safety jackets were already being yanked on. Stella’s mother, in a panic, pulled Stella’s oxygen mask from above her and pulled it over her face. She pulled her own over her face next. The flight attendant was talking as calmly as she could to calm the panicking crowd already pushing and shoving through the isles towards the emergency exits.

It suddenly felt hot. Very hot. Stella’s vision began to blur. She felt herself being shaken, but she couldn’t bring her thoughts together.

We’re going to die, was all Stella could think over and over.

She thought she heard a whistle. It wouldn’t stop. The whistle was screaming over her thoughts. She looked at the blurred silhouette of her mother shaking her. And suddenly, a bright light accompanied by a deafening boom shocked Stella.

Her eyes burst open and Stella stared at her room ceiling, panting. She gather her bed sheets around her neck and tried to slow down her beating heart by breathing slow, steady breaths. What the hell was that? 

She tried to remember as much of the dream as possible before reaching into her pocket for her phone to check the time. She was only asleep for an hour and a half. 

She hoisted herself out of bed and dragged herself to the kitchen to drink a glass of water, chasing away the images of her nightmare. 

Stella heard the front door shut and her sister appeared in the kitchen,

“You look like shit.” She chirped cheerfully. 

Stella grumbled, “you smell like shit,” before turning away to head back to her room.

“Mom and Dad left?” Melody asked while scanning the fridge.

“Yeah…” 

Images of Stella’s nightmare flashed in her memory again and she felt her agitation with her sister increase.

“Sweet, I’m going to have some friends over, okay?” Melody called to Stella who was now halfway up the stairs.

Stella grunted back, but she didn’t think Melody heard nor did she care. She slammed and locked her room door behind her, found her book and began to read.

About 8 hours later, the doorbell rang. Stella ignored it.

“Stella?” Melody called from downstairs.

Stella ignored her.

“STELLA, COME!” Melody called more alarmed now. Anxiety flooded Stella and she slammed her book shut, not bookmarking the page. She hurried downstairs to the front door. There on the sofa were Melody’s 2 friends from school, Jade and Thomas, but at the front door stood Melody and a strange, tall woman with a poker face in business attire. 

“Are you Stella Mane?” The woman asked.

“Yeah--” Stella peeped. She could feel everyone staring between her and the strange woman.

“May I speak to you both in private?” She asked, waving over Melody’s company.

Melody flinched and nodded to both her friends. They headed upstairs and although you heard a door shut, it was certain that they were eavesdropping.

“Melody Mane, Stella Mane, are you the children of John Mane and Maria Mane?”

The young girls gulped and nodded. Stella felt dread fill her entire being and tears began to gather quickly in her eyes.

The strange woman’s face softened for a brief moment before hardening again,

“Dolta Flight 303 headed to San Diego, CA from Philadelphia, PA experienced a technical issue during the flight. The aircraft unfortunately never made it to its destination.”

Stella’s tears spilled over, stinging her cheeks. They wouldn’t stop. She stared speechless as the woman confirmed her nightmare.

“The aircraft crashed in Ohio. No bodies have been recovered as of yet.”

𝕋𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕖𝕕...

𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢?

𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔!

₋４２Ｈ

[nedilynndominique]

Hong Kong (June 20-23, 2016)

I can’t believe that it’s almost been a year. I don’t want it to be a year just yet, I want the memories to be so vivid that it feels like it just happened a week ago. It was my first to travel outside of the country, and oh how I want to do it again and again. I want to learn about people, their culture, their food... All these landmarks... All these places that people create memories in. I only wish to be motivated enough to finally find a job and earn so much money that I can get to travel as much as I want. With that being said, here is my Hong Kong experience.

After my graduation and after Kuya finally finished his thesis, papa was happy enough to take is to Hong Kong. He paid for kuya, Layne, mama’s, and my airplane ticket, Disney ticket, and accommodations ticket. On that day, uncle Jay was home from Australia. It’s so weird to think, because uncle Jay went home last Christmas, and it just shows that this HK trip happened months and months ago. Anyway, uncle Jay was home and uncle Alvin and his kids were at home that day. Uncle Alvin is going to be driving us to the airport at... I can’t even remember, I think 1 in the morning. I didn’t get to sleep at all! We were so early that we lounged around and ate some snacks for a few hours. It was so weird! My last plane ride was during my 3rd year in High School, but our Cathay Pacific plane ride now was so much better, and so much comfortable. I sat beside mama, and I started taking videos of our experience then. Cathay had all the best music: from Charlie Puth to Demi Lovato! And also, I used the lavatory because papa told us to. Haha. So with zero sleep, I felt like I was floating by. We rode some sort of a train, rented a pocket WiFi, and looked for our travel agency guide, Randy. We were grouped with fellow Filipinos and a lot of Arab people. We were dropped of at our hotel- Rambler Garden Hotel, and mama talked to some Filipino people that already went to Hong Kong before. We waited SOOOO long to be checked in, that we roamed around at the basement level of the hotel to see a 7-11 store, the Park n Shop grocery,  We were supposed to go with them to Madaam Tussauds, and ride with them at the shuffle that the hotel provided, but we left our room too late. We decided to buy some snacks at 7-11, and then we rode a taxi (100 HK dollars for a 20-minute ride) to Tsim Sha Tsui. 

On our first day, we just roamed around and promised to return here on our free day. We bought some food at McDonald’s, yes! And then went back to the hotel- we had two rooms and Layne and I shared rooms, while kuya and mama shared another one. Since they get to keep the pocket WiFi, we stayed at their room up until before we slept.

The next day was a fun day! We went with a Filipino group to tour Victoria’s Harbour, a jewelry shop in Hong Kong- where a Filipino guy who speaks a different language would always hover around me!, a souvenir store (I think they tricked us because the food were really expensive there, but I got Carlos’ dad the Hopia that he liked, and the mirrors I bought were 4 for 100, when the store at our hotel sold mirrors for 7 for 100!!! I only found out about that later that night), and to this boat place- that mama decided we ride even if we spent 60 HK dollars per person and it was a short boat ride. It was still a good experience though! And, while showing us around, Randy made me stand up at the bus, and he called me beautiful, “ a future beauty queen”! Haha! I made sure that Carlos knows that. The best part was when we went to Hong Kong Ocean Park. Only 3 groups of people went there, alongside a Filipino couple who we got to talk to. :)  Ocean Park was loads of fun. We ate lunch even if the the food was expensive, at one of the stalls there. We road the cable car- and we were ALL scared, especially kuya. And we saw so many animals!!! The penguins and the pandas were the cutest of all. We weren’t able to watch the sea lion show though, but the sharks and the jellyfishes were really pretty. There were a lot of rides, too, but we didn’t ride any because we easily get dizzy. This was a really beautiful place, although it was very tiring because we walked around the entire day! At nighttime, we went to Park n Shop and 7-11 to  buy some more snacks! A 24-pc Ferrero pack was on sale for only 60 dollars at 7-11 so we loaded up on that, I bought 2. Layne bought 2. Mama bought 2. And kuya bought 3!!!

On our third day, we went to Hong Kong Disneyland for the entire day!!! It was so hot there! Mama bought a cap for herself, but it was so hot that I was getting grumpy, so she bought one, too. We took pictures a lot and tried to look for places that had air conditioners on- like the shops, where mama almost had a fight with a Chinese woman who cut to the front of the line, and the Lion King show (which was really beautiful!). Before that, we had lunch at the rocketship/spaceship-themed restaurant, and I ordered a two-piece chicken with rice. It wasn’t that good, but it was really expensive! We also went to take pictures with the Disney characters- we spent the entire day waiting in line for picture- I got a bad sunburn because the shirt was really tight! But we got to take pictures with Donald Duck, Zootopia characters, Sofia the First, and Mickey and Minnie. We got badly sun burnt for the Mickey and Minnie line because it was soooo long! For the Zootopia characters, we were originally in line for Chip and Dale, but the couple before us, the guy to be exact, decided to punch one of the mascots!!! The couple quickly left the scene and guards were suddenly all over the place looking for them. Anyway, we saw Pluto, Goofy, and Elsa, but didn’t get to take pictures with them. My dream was to meet the handsome Flynn Rider, but we never saw them. The Disney princesses, aside from Elsa, weren’t around the time that we visited. We joined the afternoon parade, and I felt like a Disney character being one of the people at the front. Lol. And then we had some overpriced snacks at the Disney Bakery- I had a chocolate croissant with crushed pistachios. We bought several drinks throughout the day, too, because it was extremely hot. I noticed my sun burn in the afternoon, and decided to change into a different, more loose shirt. It was a green sequins top that reminds me of the Little Mermaid. We walked around the entire day- and no, no rides yet again. (I will definitely try and ride some rides the next time, THERE IS A NEXT TIME, I go there). We watched the Disney Paint the Night parade at around 7:30, and mama again almost fought with an old woman that tried to steal our spots while waiting for the fireworks show. We then watched the Disney in the Stars fireworks show, and I greeted Carlos an early birthday in one of the videos I shot. I kept on sending him videos of the fireworks. By the way, the internet connection in Ocean Park and Disneyland was soooo fast! When it came to an end by 9 PM, we half heartedly went home. It was tiring, but I really enjoyed it. We were sooooo tired, but we still went down to buy snacks at Park n Shop. We bought these really delicious cherries, and a lot of different candies and snacks (Almond Roca for 2 for 10, Kinder, Snickers, and this mentos/chupa chups 40 pcs pack for only 11 dollars). I also bought these Oreo wafers at 7-11 for only 11 dollars! We ate at Cafe de Coral at the basement floor of the hotel that night. We were supposed to keep the WiFi that night because tomorrow was Carlos’ birthday and I wanted to greet him on midnight, but it turns out that we used up all of our 5 GB data. So Layne and kuya accompanied me to the lobby, so I can greet Carlos via Facetime. Hehe. That night also, Layne and I realized that the cleaners took our towels, so I had to call to get some towels, and panicked because we thought that we would be asked to pay for it- it was 100-200 dollars per towel! Fortunately, we weren’t asked to pay. 

Our last day was sad! First of all, I realized how dark I got! I hated my pictures with my black jacket on, because I was so dark!!! We returned to Tsim Sha Tsui after checking out at the hotel - we left our luggage there as well. We had lunch at KFC, it was soooo good, and the line was sooo long. We walked around a lot to look for kuya’s shoes, but he didn’t buy any. We looked at Giordano and another store, and the clothes were so inexpensive, because they had a sale around this time of the year- plus 10% discount on your birthday month and it was kuya’s birthday month. HAHA. So they bought a lot, and I bought Carlos a 60-dollar hat from Giordano! So we returned to look at the malls- we bought pasalubong face masks from one of the stores along the strip, and we went to H&M!!! nd we went inside a mall where Kuya bought a G-Shock watch.We returned to H&M and again, it was so inexpensive! Layne bought 2 shoes, and because I was a cheap girl, I only bought one boots- but it’ the best and it’s my favorite!, for 150 HK dollars. I bought a couple shirt for Carlos and I, too, for  60 HK dollars. We were getting late, and taxi drivers won’t stop for us- they don’t like tourists, mama panicked. We eventually had to ride a taxi cab that made us pay 200 dollars for the short trip- he was very rude. We arrived on time. Got to the airport, said goodbye to our WiFi, ate dinner at Cafe de Coral one last time because we still had coupons (coupons are from the travel agency) and walked around. We bought some Starbucks and a couple of Big Macs from McDonalds, before boarding at around 9 pm. Mama and Layne slept the entire ride, but I chose to watch Zootopia. Hehe. Note: We sat at the middle seat next to a Pinay this time, and kuya sat across us. This is where our trip ends. The best days and most memorable trip of my life so far. :) Uncle Jay and Uncle Alvin met us at the airport, and we were all so sleepy, I zonked out immediately. 

Hong Kong is such a beautiful and clean place, I would definitely want to return here someday soon! There were a lot of rude Chinese people, but I guess that comes with territory. Again, I love the place and the food and the culture that I got to experience here, and I hope to never forget all that has happened while I was here. 

Link to my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8_DfFr1gMY

[biofunmy]

4 Ways to Travel Better in 2020

As the Tripped Up columnist, I’ve fielded hundreds of emails about the ways in which Times readers have spent their time off, whether it’s for a 90th birthday trip or a family vacation with five children, and how things frustratingly went wrong. For the final column of the year, I took inspiration from several stories in my inbox to suggest four ways to travel smarter — and happier — in the decade to come.

Book directly

The Minnesota reader Kathleen canceled a Booking.com hotel reservation, only to realize the reservation had actually been made on another site — and that it wasn’t actually canceled. Jenny, a California reader, used Getaroom.com to book two nights at a Brooklyn hotel, paying $738 for the room itself and a nonrefundable $328 fee, which she was told that “we, the hotel supplier and/or the website you booked on, retain as part of the compensation for our and/or their services.”

Two other readers hit similar walls when they booked flights using online travel agencies: Cat, while trying to correct her name on a China Airlines ticket (via Expedia), and Marsha, while fighting for a refund for a canceled Hahn Air ticket (via Priceline).

For several reasons, booking directly is usually smart; for example, better rooms at hotels and the ability to choose seats in advance on flights. Although online travel agency pricing can be tempting, airlines and hotels will usually match those rates through programs like Marriott’s Best Rate Guarantee (which throws in a 25 discount and 5,000 Bonvoy points) and Delta’s Best Fare Guarantee (which ups the ante with a $100 voucher).

Above all, though, booking hotels and flights directly means you are only bound by one set of terms and conditions — meaning no additional fees from a third-party site. And should you need to make changes to your reservation, you won’t be jockeying for help from a middleman.

Organize your points, miles and credit cards

Jodi, an Arizona reader, asked how to get started in “the points game” — her terminology. I’ll refrain from using a Marie Kondo analogy here, but there’s no better time than New Year’s to organize some of the most powerful tools in your travel tool kit: your credit cards and loyalty programs.

I never book flights or hotels without first registering for the appropriate loyalty program. Points-earning potential aside, simply having an account can yield perks, including free Wi-Fi at certain hotels and sign-up bonuses (often in miles) on airlines. Miles are so easily transferred — to other airlines, to hotels, to other people — that even one-off flights on one-off airlines reap rewards.

Some people can’t deal with another login. I get that. That’s why I’m a fan of eWallet to store passwords and AwardWallet to track points.

Finally, take stock of your travel insurance, whether it’s embedded into credit card benefits or offered by an independent provider. As Paul, another reader, pointed out, these can change. In January, for instance, American Express will roll out new protections — meant to soften the blow of trip cancellations and delays — to some of its cards.

Mitigate bad hotel stays

Howard encountered bugs at a $561-a-night hotel in Israel. A microwave caught fire in Carole’s room in Miami Beach ($419 a night). Heck, last year I stayed at a much-gushed-about hotel in St. Kitts that disappointed on nearly every level, from food to stroller accessibility.

Scenarios like these are hard to resolve, but there are still ways to be proactive. Before booking, scan the hotel’s Instagram tag; real photos are more revealing than glossy marketing imagery. After something goes wrong, contact the manager, document the incident with photos and screen-grab written correspondence. Pressure the hotel on social media, tagging its handles. If you’ve booked your stay through a travel agent, ask them to parallel-track efforts.

Finally, raise a stink again at checkout in an effort to lower the final bill as much as possible. Several readers have asked whether there’s wisdom in disputing the credit card charge after the fact. The short answer: Yes, but it’s a real Hail Mary.

Understand value-fare plane tickets

Kelly purchased Basic Economy seats on an American Airlines flight that was moved up by three hours — an itinerary change that derailed her vacation plans.

“It strikes me as fundamentally unfair: I can’t change my flight because I bought a cheaper fare, but the airline can just switch me to a different flight and I have no recourse,” she emailed.

Basic economy tickets, generally the least expensive tickets on any flight, are to economy tickets just as a Gap Factory sweater is to a sweater from the regular Gap: They look and feel sort of the same, but you can’t deny the difference in price — and quality.

Most basic economy tickets are unchangeable, even for a fee. And because airlines (including American) reserve the right to change their departure times, Kelly landed squat in caveat emptor territory. I agree, though: fundamentally unfair.

An edition last month of Tripped Up, which addressed complaints against Europcar, inspired a flurry of reader reactions. Some sympathized; others, like Kristin F., shared divergent experiences. “I have rented from Europcar for 15 years,” she wrote in an email. “There was only one issue, which was taken care of quickly and politely. The people were so kind and helpful that I brought them chocolate when I returned my car.”

Sarah Firshein formerly held staff positions at Travel + Leisure and Vox Media, and has also contributed to Condé Nast Traveler, Bloomberg, Eater and other publications. If you need advice about a best-laid travel plan that went awry, send an email to travel@nytimes.com.

52 PLACES AND MUCH, MUCH MORE Follow our 52 Places traveler, Sebastian Modak, on Instagram as he travels the world, and discover more Travel coverage by following us on Twitter and Facebook. And sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter: Each week you’ll receive tips on traveling smarter, stories on hot destinations and access to photos from all over the world.

Sahred From Source link Fashion and Style

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[mrb-neiu-102]

Week 4 - Marc Maron - The First Marriage

I guess we can start at the end but it’s really the middle. Let’s just call it the really bad part. My second wife, Mishna, brought it to my attention that I had an anger problem. She didn’t say it like that. What she said was, “I’m leaving.”

Then she took her vagina and left.

I had it coming, I guess. I knew from the start that all I was doing was trying to hold on to her because she gave my life purpose and she was fucking stunning. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a person. Maybe if I had just relaxed, trusted myself, trusted her, didn’t freak out, everything would have been okay, but I am not capable of doing any of those things. We were fighting the odds from the beginning. When I met her I was a miserable drunk and she was just a kid. I was also married.

***

My first wife, Kim, was a nice woman. I loved her. I shouldn’t have married her. I did it because I didn’t know how to break up with her. I was too scared. It was too comfortable. She was a bit naive. I was a bit out of my mind. I thought that’s what marriage was rooted in: fear, comfort, and lies. The triumvirate. I had grown to believe that I would never be happy but if I at least were married I could rest my chaos on a firm emotional mattress, that marriage would make things okay, normal-ish. They weren’t. I felt like I was drowning in my bed.

I understood exactly what I was getting into with my first marriage. It was 1995. I was a thirty-two-year-old comic. When I met her, six years before we got married, I was just starting out. Comedians in their infancy are generally selfish, irresponsible, emotionally retarded, morally dubious, substance-addicted animals who live out of boxes and milk crates. They are plagued with feelings of failure and fraudulence. They are prone to fleeting fits of manic grandiosity and are completely dependent on the acceptance and approval of rooms full of strangers, strangers the comedian resents until he feels sufficiently loved and embraced.

Perhaps I am only speaking for myself here.

I was looking for something that would make sense of things. I didn’t know what. It was vague to me. I had an itchy soul.

My brother was getting married. He asked me to be the best man. I was all fucked-up on drugs at the time. I go to the wedding and it’s a big Jewish event. We’re all under the chuppah. My brother’s marrying this woman. She’s got a hot Jewish maid of honor who is giving me some heat. I’m looking at the bride-to-be through the haze of a cocaine and booze hangover and thinking to myself, “If she’s going to take my brother, I’m going to take her friend.” That’s sort of like love at first sight.

So I charmed her friend, aggressively. Fortunately for me, she lived in the same city, Boston. So within a few weeks, I’d moved my boxes into her apartment and terrorized her into loving me, sweetly. I was the black sheep, the brother failing rehab who had hung his hopes on a dream of show business, and was nothing but fucking trouble. Somehow, she found all of that very appealing. I was her ticket out of middle-class Jeweyness. She was my ticket back in.

I was with her for about six years before I asked her to marry me, which only means one thing: I shouldn’t have done it! If you wait six years to get engaged, you are on the fence. I should have known that. I should have known when I bought her a ring and proposed to her in front of the Phoenix airport. She got off a plane, she got in the car, I took out the ring, I said, “So you wanna break up or do this?” I’m paraphrasing, but it was something like that. And she agreed to marry me.

From the minute I got engaged to that woman I knew I shouldn’t have done it. I was not stable, I loved her but was not really in love with her, I was not a good man. I was just looking for something that would make me normal; make everything make sense. I figured: bourgeois, middle class, Jews. That should do it. Her dad was a psychiatrist. In retrospect he must not have been a very good one. I mean, he let her marry me. How did he misread the signs so badly? Or maybe I’m that good an actor.

As soon as I put that ring on her finger a switch was thrown. Rooms were being rented, bakers called, invitations sent out; family members were bickering and I might as well have been standing on a dock waving goodbye to a boat sailing off without me. Or maybe my body was on board, dead-eyed and vacant, but my mind was still on the dock, waving.

At first I thought we were going to get married on a mountain at sunset. But there were Jews involved, so that wasn’t going to happen. Her mother put the kibosh on that plan with one sentence: “Esther can’t make it up the hill.” There’s always an Esther and she’s not going up the hill.

The other switch that got thrown the moment I got engaged was the one in my head that dropped the needle into this groove: How the fuck did I get into this? Why am I in this? How do I get out of this? Right up to the day of our wedding I was thinking, “I can’t do this.”

As I got closer, the fantasy started to take shape: “What if I just walk out on the altar?” That would’ve been amazing.

Can you imagine if you were up on the altar and the rabbi said, “Do you take this woman?” and you said, “You know what, I don’t! HA HA HA!!!” What a cathartic, profound moment that would be. At that moment everyone you know in your life would think you were a fuckin’ asshole and you would be truly free. How often do you get that opportunity? “Yeah, fuck all of you!” You could just step out from under the chuppah, walk slowly past a crowd of stunned faces, climb onto a horse, ride to Mexico, and become a cowboy. That’s how real cowboys are made. Show up at a bar in Juarez and say, “Hola, amigo. What can I get for this ring?” Clink.

I didn’t do that. I married her. I married her for the wrong reason—because it was safe. I believed at that time that people got married when they had that moment, when they’re looking at themselves in the mirror and say, “Holy shit. I’m going to compromise my dreams, get fat, sick, old, and die. I kind of want to have someone around for that.” You don’t want to be sixty, fat, sick, and alone saying to your reflection, “Look at me. I’m a fat failure.” No, you kind of want someone around to say, “It’s okay, baby. You look great. Let’s go get some Tasti D-Lite, cowboy.” You’re thinking, “I’m not a cowboy. I missed that window. Ah, Mexico.”

We were living in Manhattan but when we got married we moved out to Astoria, Queens, to be married people.

Right away I started to bust out. I had a barrel of monkeys on my back. I liked cocaine, I liked pot, I liked drinking. I was trying to keep it all under control. I was married to a woman who wouldn’t tolerate it but it started to sneak up on me. I was going on the road hanging out with gypsies and freaks and pirates and I’d come back all sweaty and broken saying, “I don’t know. I think I caught the flu on the plane.” It was nuts.

Yes, pirates. Real pirates. I don’t know what your experience is, but if you’re on a three-day blow bender, you’re going to meet a pirate. At some point after you’ve been up for about seventy-six hours in a strange apartment or hotel room you’re going to hear yourself say to someone else in the room, “Dude, why is there a pirate here?” and that person is going to say, “Be cool. He brought the coke.” And you’re gonna say, “Okay, he’s cool, but does the talking parrot have to stay? Because I’m fucked-up, man. It’s freaking me out.”

“Marc, there’s no parrot. You have a drug problem.”

“That’s what the fucking parrot said! Are you two working together? Why don’t you both get the fuck out of here and I’ll talk to the pirate for six hours.”

***

I was starting to bring the drugs home. I was not a weekend cocaine user. I’d say I was more like a half-a-week cocaine user. It’s amazing how much you can rationalize when you’re on drugs. I could actually say to myself, “Look, I’m only doing blow Wednesday through Saturday” I didn’t think I had a problem. I thought I was completely under control. I thought, “I have parameters here. I have a schedule. It’s Wednesday through Saturday.” It took me a long time to realize, “Wednesday through Saturday? You know what, Marc? Regular people never do coke! It doesn’t even cross their minds.” I would get to the drug dealer’s house early because I thought if I started early I could be done with it by nine or ten and get on with my day. Like that ever worked. Have you ever heard anyone say, “No, no, I’m good. I’ve had enough blow. Time to get on with my day”?

One day I got to the coke dealer’s house in the late afternoon, before it was dark. I was the Early Bird Special guy. When I got there he was pulling down the shades and then there was a knock on the door. A short old Colombian man with a ponytail walked in. He handed my dealer a wad of tinfoil in exchange for some cash. He was the source. I said, “Let me do some of that!” My dealer said, “Okay, just a line.”

He opened the foil to reveal what seemed to be a jewel of blow. He flaked some off the rock into two lines. I snorted them. I felt a tingling behind my eyes that spread up through my brain like a wildfire of joy coursing through my nervous system. Apparently I had never felt the effects of pure cocaine. I said, “Holy shit! Why don’t you just sell that?” He said, “Because people would never leave me alone.” Then he crushed the gemstone and dumped it into a Baggie of last night’s stepped-on crud. It was heartbreaking.

My comedy career was stalled. Dramatically stalled. I was all bloated and sweaty and fucked-up. I was hosting segments on a local TV program on the Metro Channel, which I don’t think even exists anymore. It was awful. I would interview people on the street at a desk we would haul around the city. It was a “talk show on the street” segment. It was cute but like being dead but accepting it. I was married to a woman who had just added prenatal vitamins to our kitchen vitamin lineup. I was thinking, “That can’t happen.”

I’d surrendered. I’d given up. I would lie in bed blasted on coke with my heart exploding out of my chest, next to somebody sleeping comfortably, and I wanted to wake her up to tell her I was dying but I would’ve rather just died.

***

I thought that was the only way to get out of my situation. I wanted my heart to explode. I didn’t have the guts to leave her. I didn’t have the guts to be honest. I was fucked. My career was done. I was bitter.

Then a miracle happened, I guess you can call it a miracle. I’m going to go ahead and call it that even though it ended up the disaster with which I opened this chapter. But at the time it seemed like a miracle, a silver lining. Maybe it was just foil.

I’m at the Comedy Cellar in New York. I’m hanging out. I’m sweating. I’m talking to a few young comics. I’m probably having one of these conversations: “Well, I think if you really want to talk about the history of it, Pryor was really the first....” You know the rap. Holding court. And this woman comes up to me. This woman like a spirit, an apparition. I didn’t know who she was. What she was. But this six-foot-tall, spectacular-looking being walks up to me and says, “Hey, you’re Marc Maron, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I am,” I say, defensive but as charming as possible.

“What happened to you? You look like you’re going to die.”

“Huh? Yeah, well . . . what? I’m cool, I’m good. What do you mean? What’s the deal?”

“I’m just a big fan, and I don’t know, you look like you’re in trouble. If you want to get sober I can help you get sober.”

“What? You mean like meetings, AA and that kind of shit? Like the God thing? Are you a God person?”

“I can just point you in that direction.”

“Uh, okay,” I say.

In my mind I had no desire to get sober or even live, but every part of my mind and body wanted to be as close to her as possible, so I said, “Yeah. Hell yeah, I want to get sober. I need to get sober.” But in my mind all I was thinking was, “I’ll do anything with you. I’ll go anywhere. I’m going to follow you home now even if you don’t want me to follow you home.” And I did.

We walked thirty-five blocks. I smoked. We talked about cigarettes and about addiction and about comedy and about everything else. We got to her apartment. It was a walk-up on Forty-sixth Street. I’m in her living room smoking a joint, holding a Foster’s, and saying, “So, get me sober! Come on. What do you got?”

I start going to meetings, to lunch, to dinner, to wherever this perfect woman wanted to go. I fell in love as much as a newly sober, insane, angry bastard who was miserable and married could be in love, but I was in love, which meant I was going to hang every one of my hopes on this twenty-three-year-old girl. I was thirty-five.

Of course, I was married to another woman. That put a crimp in things a little bit. Courting is difficult when it has to be shrouded in mystery and secret pager codes. There was no texting then, just pagers. So we had numbers that meant, “I love you,” “I miss you,” “What are you doing?” I was running around the city, sweating and beeping.

Love is love and being in love is being in love. Wherever your loyalty is, whatever rules you think you won’t break in your life, sometimes you just can’t fight being in love. Some of the best memories of my life are moments like following her up the stairs of that Forty-sixth Street fourth-floor walk-up apartment. Watching her move up the stairs in a plaid skirt, watching her smoking cigarettes, and then laughing on her old couch, lying in her bed after we had sex and listening to her piss, feeling impressed and ecstatic, like, “Holy shit! Listen to that! It’s so powerful!” I told my friend Sam about my fascination with the power of her stream and he said it sounded like I was talking about a Thoroughbred horse. I think I was. I thought, “Maybe this is my chance to disrupt my bipolar Jew gene line.”

I didn’t know what to do. I’m in love with this woman, I’m married to this other woman, and I’m in trouble, so I call my two friends. That’s all I need, two. I need the main guy and the guy I go to when I drain the main guy.

The guys at that time were Sam, a bitter and brilliant writer, who was married and had just had a kid, and Dave, a comic and borderline sexual predator. I call Sam first and I say, “Dude, I’m in love. This is crazy. Things have been over with Kim and me for years. What should I do, man? This woman is perfect. I’m getting sober. It’s everything I wanted.” He says, “Man, you’re married. Be responsible. You made a commitment. Try to honor it. This thing will pass.” I say, “You know what, man? Take a day off.” Then I call Dave. “Hey, Dave! What’s going on? Take a break from pursuing eighteen-year-olds online and talk to me. I’m in love with this woman. She’s twenty-three and I’m married but I’m getting sober and I think it’s the right thing.” And Dave, thank God, says, “Ah, dude . . . you gotta go for it! What the fuck, man?! You only live once. This is it! This might be it!” And I’m like, “You’re right, man, thanks. I knew I could count on you.”

We all have the right to cherry-pick the advice given us in order to do exactly what we wanted to do in the first place.

As I said, courting is a little difficult when you’re married and when you’re newly sober and when the woman’s only twenty-three and you’re a dozen years older. I just know that in traditional courting this is not a conversation you should have after sex:

Me [yelling]: So, are we doing this, or what? Because I’m going to fucking leave her. Are we doing this? Do you fucking love me? Do you fucking love me? Are you taking me? Are we doing this?

Her [crying]: I don’t know!

Me [still yelling]: What the fuck!? Yes or no? Are we doing this?

Her: I guess so.

Me: Good enough. I’m on it.

If you don’t believe in magic, if you don’t believe that there are phrases, incantations, mantras, that can change the universe completely, literally change the entire course and trajectory of your life, even the objects in your periphery, you are wrong. There are. This is one of them: “Honey, I’m in love with someone else, and I’m having an affair with her.” Abracadabra! Locks are changed. Objects are moved and missing. You are dispatched into exile to a sublet on the Lower East Side, where you will remain alone, isolated, broken off from the world you knew. You deserve it. You have cut yourself off from a wife, a family, a future, your money. Everything.

But I had that girl. Yes. I had that girl. And she was enough.

We embark on this crazy thing, this girl and I. I’m getting sober. I’m going to meetings all the time. I’m writing a book. I’m doing a one-man show. Things are okay. I know some of you are thinking, “What about that other woman, you heartless fuck?” Yeah, what about her? She was a good person, I know. I felt like shit, but I had to do what I had to do. And some of you may think, “Well, you didn’t have to do that.” Well, yeah, I did. I did have to do that. It saved my life. I divorced that woman and married that girl and she eventually left me. Karma? Sure. She got me sober, though. I am still sober. I have her to thank for that.

I actually use sobriety to try to frame the pain of my second divorce. I was at the Comedy Cellar one night, miserable and in the middle of it. I was talking to the late Greg Giraldo, who was always struggling with drugs and alcohol. A struggle he eventually lost. I asked him how much money he had spent over the years on rehabs. He said, “About two hundred and fifty grand.”

My divorce cost me less than that. And I am still sober.

***

In the middle of my second divorce, from this once-magical woman, I was a broken man. I was fucked-up on all levels. I was on my way to my mother’s in Florida, which means I was in real trouble because she is really the last person I ever want to lean on. Not that she’s a bad person; she’s just a bit boundaryless and draining. I’m at the airport in Los Angeles. I’m walking through the terminal to my gate, trying to catch a 6 A.M. flight. Shattered. My duffel bag was even sad as it bounced off my butt as I walked. I was about four months into my separation from Mishna. I looked up from my drudging and that’s when I saw her: Kim and her new husband, standing with their luggage at the gate I was passing.

I think, “I can’t handle this. There’s no way” So I do that thing where you put your hand up over your forehead, look the other way, and think, “There, I’m invisible.”

I know she knows everything. Her best friend is my brother’s wife. She has to know all about the disaster that my life’s become. I get past the gate and I think I’m out of the woods but then I hear, “Marc!”

I turn around and there’s nine years of history running toward me with a very familiar gait. She gets to me and asks, concern in her eyes, “How are you doing?”

I explode in tears and uncontrollable blubbering. I cannot stop it. And without missing a beat, my first wife says, “Not so good, huh?”

I was so happy she had that moment. I deserved it, she deserved it. And the sick thing about me is that right after we had that exchange there was a part of me that thought, “So, are we good? Can I go with you now?”

 Works Cited

Maron, Marc. Attempting Normal, Spiegel and Grau, 2013, pp.19-28.

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I’ve noticed that the more I travel and the busier I become, the more impossible it becomes to keep up with my travels in real-time. Well, never fear monthly recap posts are here!

Pin Me!

This month I headed back to the US for a week of friends and family. First I stopped by Seattle for a few rainy days to see my parents, and then I was on to Napa Valley for my high school friend’s wedding!

May was also a month of moving. I moved out of my private office and into a public open office area (Which wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be). I also began the process of moving from my Andingmen apartment to my boyfriend Chris’ place, because surprise my landlord sold our apartment and kicked us all out.

Where I Went

I spent most of the month hanging out in Beijing, but for one week I flew to the US where I went home to Seattle and headed to Napa for a wedding. In Seattle, I mainly relaxed and did a million errands, but in Napa, I rode I hot air balloon over the wineries with Tinggly Experiences and attended the fanciest black tie wedding I’ve ever been to at Auberge du Soleil.

Unfortunately, I was a bit too hungover for wine tasting the next day, but I drank enough fancy wine at my friend’s wedding that I didn’t really feel like I was missing out.

The beautiful couple!

Posing with my wedding parasol!

Monthly Highlights

A lot of great things happened this month! Let’s go through my favorites.

A Beautiful Napa Wedding

Last month one of my best friends from high school married her college sweetheart in Napa, so I flew down from Beijing for the wedding. Fun fact: In the summer of 2013 I actually traveled to Tibet with her husband (without her!) having only met him once a few years prior. Weird, right?

A year or so later, they let me crash in their Palo Alto apartment while I was applying for a Chinese visa, and we visited the Napa Wineries together. It’s crazy to think that the next time I’d see them together would be at their Napa Wedding!

They were married at Auberge du Soleil, a stunning resort overlooking the Napa Wineries. This was my first “friend-wedding”, and I didn’t think I’d cry… but I did. After a tear-jerking ceremony, they had a great reception with food and wine pairings and a lot of dancing. I sat at a table with the bride’s cousins and high school friends and we all had a blast!

Let’s hope my future wedding is at least half as good as her’s was.

My friend and I waiting for the ceremony to start

We suffered through our heels together

Road Tripping with My High School Friend

Unfortunately, I didn’t get as much time with the bride as I would’ve liked, but I did get to bond with another high school friend who attended the wedding!

Living in China, I feel like it’s pretty hard to keep in touch with my friends from back home, especially my high school friends who now live all over the country! So this wedding was a perfect opportunity to spend some time with a friend I’ve barely seen since high school.

The two of us rented a car (a first for me!) and drove from San Francisco down to Napa Valley where we crashed at a Motel 6. Classy, I know. We had a great time getting ready for the wedding together and eating all the non-Chinese food I could get my hands on.

a beautiful sunrise flight

Floating in a Hot Air Balloon Over Napa Valley

While the wedding was incredible, floating over Napa’s wineries with my high school friend was a close second! While I wasn’t a huge fan of the 5 am wake-up call, the two of us threw on some warm clothes and hopped in the rental car to a parking lot in Yountville, twenty minutes north of our Napa motel.

I gazed in wonder as they filled up the hot air balloons around us. I had seen a hot air balloon up close once in my life before this moment and I barely remember it because I think I was roughly eight years old.

The sensation of flying in a hot air balloon was literally magical. You float along with the wind, so the air is surprisingly warm and calm. For one hour we watched as the sun rose and spread its golden light across the sky. We also lightly crash-landed into a golf-course pond and took off again without a hitch, our guide cackling at our gasps of surprise.

Afterward, my friend and I ran across the road to the famous Bouchon Bakery to stuff our faces with macarons and sip on crafted lattes. It was a perfect way to start the day before our friend’s wedding. Granted, we did have a pretty big nap in the afternoon… We needed it.

I was invited to check out this hot air balloon ride with my long-time friend and partner Tinggly, the ultimate gift-giving site for travelers. With Tinggly you can purchase an experience for a loved one that they can cash in anywhere in the world. Seriously, if you want to give an awesome gift to someone who doesn’t like “things”, this site is gold. I almost wish I could’ve taken my boyfriend along as a surprise, but this “friend date” was a blast as well.

[button url=”http://www.adventuresaroundasia.com/tinggly” label=”Check Out Tinggly’s Experiences!” size=”large” target=”_blank”]

Back in Seattle!

Spending Time at Home in Seattle

While this trip home was rushed and a bit rainy, it was a good one. First, I had the opportunity to see my parents and grandpa, who I hadn’t seen since Christmas. I ate all the Mexican food and stocked up on healthy quinoa and brown rice for my upcoming diet in June (more on that later). Seriously, Trader Joes is heaven.

While I was home I also had time to sit down with my mom to plan my parents’ trip to China this September! Both of my parents will be flying to Beijing where we’ll spend two weeks exploring my China home, along with Xi’an and Yunnan province. I’ll be sure to write out our itinerary and share it with all of you because it really is a perfect two-week China trip!

Finally, I had the chance to get some hiking boots at REI for all of my upcoming Great Wall trips (and hopefully a surprise long-term trek that isn’t set in stone yet so you’ll just have to wait!). Having read the book Wild not too long ago, I paid extra, extra attention to whether or not my toes hit the front of the boot when going downhill on the fake rock they have set up in the store. I don’t want to loose all my toenails like Reese Witherspoon.

Overall, I’m super happy with my Oboz boots, and I’m glad I bought them through REI because they have literally the world’s best warranty.

I forgot to take pictures…

Flying First Class!

While the long haul flight from Seattle to Beijing and back was nothing to rave about, I did have a chance to experience first class on the trip from Seattle to San Francisco!

This was my first time ever purchasing first class for myself, so I felt pretty fancy! Why did I buy a first class ticket? Well, when you factored in the price of checking a bag, it was only $40 more expensive to spring for first class. TREAT YO SELF.

On the plane, I drank one too many Bloody Marys and enjoyed my antipasto platter, while all the business travelers around me chugged coffee and worked away on their laptops. Sorry, not sorry.

I only wish the flight was more than two hours!

America! Why you so expensive??

Challenges

Life can’t always be perfect. Here were my least favorite moments of May 2017.

Why is America so Expensive???

For the past few years, my only time in the US has been lounging at home in Seattle, with the brief exception of crashing at my friend’s Palo Alto apartment for a weekend. What does this mean? It means I have very little experience traveling in the US.

Living in a place is much cheaper than traveling, and I was shocked by how expensive the US has become. Over $100 a night for a shitty hotel room at Motel 6? Seriously?! My Uber to In and Out and back was how much???

Living in Asia has its benefits, and us bloggers are definitely not lying about the cheap cost of living and travel. Why spend $100 a night for a motel in Napa when you can spend $30 a night for a beautiful boutique hotel in Dali? (Yes, my parents and I will be staying here in September.)

Travel bloggers NEVER get a vacation!

Blogging Overload

This trip home to the US was extremely busy, which meant I got a bit behind on my blogging. Seriously, I got back to China I realized I was responding to emails from 11 days prior. ELEVEN DAYS!!!

Many bloggers joke about how their inboxes are out of control, and I am no exception. But I usually pride myself on responding to emails within at least a few days. Well, after a busy week in the US, I arrived home to China, and then promptly suffered a mild heart attack.

My inbox was out of control. I hadn’t written a blog post in two weeks. I was behind on work at my college counseling job. I hadn’t even looked at any of the THREE paid courses I’m working on right now. AHHHHHH

Now at least I’ve kind of caught up on the emails…

Drama in the hutongs!

Apartment Drama

Throughout March and April, my roommates and I lived under the constant threat of expulsion. My landlord started showing the property to potential buyers and we had no idea what was going on. In early May we got the official news: You all need to be out by the end of June.

Of course, I wasn’t too bummed by this news because I was basically living in Chris’ apartment half the time anyway. I was tired of living in two different apartments, never having the right belt, dress, or my external hard drive when I needed it. So, I figured I’d wait out my lease until the end of June, moving my stuff to Chris’ apartment slowly over the course of a month.

In the last week of May, I received an update: they managed to postpone our move out day until the end of July!!!

JULY?! I had already agreed to start paying rent in June for Chris’ place, and now all of a sudden I need to come up with another month’s rent at my old apartment? You can’t just drop that on someone last minute. When you say I have to be out by June, I assume I need to be out by June, end of story.

My old room! (In my THINX period panties?)

When I said I wanted to be out by June, my roommate who I’m subletting from insisted I needed to find someone to cover the rent for July. This led to a mini passive-aggressive fight between the two of us, as I asserted that I didn’t think paying for an extra month’s rent was my responsibility, and she took days to respond to my texts.

How would I be able to find someone to sublet my apartment for just one month? How would I find the time to show my apartment to a bunch of people when I was basically living at Chris’ place?

But, within a few days, a friend of a friend dropped out of the sky and into my lap. He needed an apartment for 6 weeks and was set to leave Beijing two days before we had to be out of my apartment. Score!

So, I went from moving to Chris’ over the course of June to needing to be out of my apartment in the first week of June. At least I found someone to cover the rent?

Having a little too much fun on the wall

My Most Popular Post

The best post of May was definitely my story about hiking the Wild Wall! Remember last month when I talked about my Great Wall birthday adventure in an off-the-beaten-path section not officially open to tourists? Well in this post I told you the ENTIRE story, from hacking my way through overgrowth on the wall to the near-death experience I had trying to get off of it!

I also give some great advice about how to plan an off-the-beaten-path Great Wall adventure of your own, where you can enjoy the Great Wall with no tourists.

Last month I also published a post about an incredible new water filtration bag from DayOne Response. While this bag is great for long-term trekkers, etc. it’s best for disaster relief, providing clean water to those who need it most. Why? It’s reusable, lays flat, and can filter enough water for an entire family in just 30 minutes.

DayOne Response is actually a finalist in the Chivas Venture competition for non-profit funding and I really hope they win! Unfortunately, voting has already closed, but you can always support them by sponsoring a bag for a family in need.

Best Instagram

My best Instagrams of the month were all from my Great Wall adventure this April! This first shot was taken when I first spotted the beautiful lake through a Great Wall tower.

Don’t usually break the square, but I had to for this one! . After hours of hiking on a crumbling, overgrown wall, @aussieontheroad and I stumbled on this view of Huanghuacheng below. . While this wall is a bit dangerous 😨😳 it was worth it for this view!!

A post shared by Richelle (@adventuresaroundasia) on May 11, 2017 at 8:03pm PDT

This second photo was taken on the way down. Just look at that view!!

Want to explore a section of the Great Wall not officially open to tourists? 🌸🌺Ever dreamed of having the wall all to yourself? . My latest post on adventuresaroundasia.com shows you how!! . Pay a villager $1 USD for the privilege of hiking a stunning, off the beaten path stretch of Great Wall literally NO ONE visits. ☀️Trust me, it’ll be worth it!

A post shared by Richelle (@adventuresaroundasia) on May 30, 2017 at 8:16pm PDT

Finally, I decided to make a second Instagram account, just for fun. I thought this new account would be a great way to connect with my friends and post photos in real-time without worrying about editing them in Lightroom or how they look in my Instagram grid (#ThingsBloggersWorryAbout). If you want to see some fun, behind-the-scenes photos that aren’t edited to perfection, come check it out @RichelleInAsia 

Song of the Month

This month I’ve been listening to John Legend’s Surefire. I’m obsessed with this music video about acceptance featuring a young romance between a Muslim girl and an illegal migrant boy from Mexico. Enjoy!

What I’m Reading

This month I read Oryx and Crake, the first book in a series by Margaret Atwood. After reading the Handmaid’s Tale, Chris suggested I read Atwood’s dystopian series that Atwood likes to call “speculative fiction” rather than science fiction because of course, everything she writes could feasibly happen in the near future.

In this book, Snowman, once known as Jimmy, struggles to survive in a world where he may or may not be the last human. In the aftermath of a world-wide plague, Snowman both protects and despises a new, genetically engineered humanoid species known as the Children of Crake, while he laments his lost best friend, the love of his life, and everything that went so terribly wrong.

I also literally just found out that this series is being made into a tv show on HBO. I’M SO EXCITED! Seriously, if you like the Handmaid’s Tale you’ll love this.

[button url=”http://amzn.to/2rTxDqY” label=”Download it on Kindle!” size=”large” target=”_blank”]

Best Blog Posts of May

What are my favorite posts from May? Check ’em out!

Taking Mom Overseas: Our First Mother-Daughter Trip – The Sweetest Way

I loved hearing about Leah’s trip with her mom to Greece. From their rocky past relationship to their experience wandering around Greece in the offseason, this was such a great read. I can only hope my trip showing my parents around China this fall will be as good!

Falling in Love with Northern Norway – Young Adventuress

This post makes me want to get a new blog theme so I can display full-width photos… and buy a better camera… and go to Norway.

Orangutans!

Orangutan Trekking in Sumatra – Aussie on the Road

I still haven’t written at length about my experience orangutan trekking in Bukit Lawang, but thankfully my boyfriend is literally the quickest writer on planet Earth and has been cranking out stories about our trip. Read along as he details that time we were chased through the jungle by an angry orangutan.

Cultural Clash: Why I and Many Others Will Gladly Serve Our Husband’s Food First – The Blog Abroad

I’ll be the first to admit, as a white non-Southern American, the idea of needing to serve my husband’s food first at a party before serving myself was kind of alien to me. It’s hard not to jump to conclusions that any woman who acts in this way is repressed. But from the quotes of women from all over the world Gloria collected, you can see that the answer is a bit more complicated.

None of this!

What’s Next for June 2017!

I have so many things going on in June! Firstly, I’ll be heading to a coworker’s wedding in Fushun, Liaoning province where I will be celebrating amongst 500 people! Second, I’ll also be moving into Chris’ apartment, which will be a nice change from having my stuff scattered across Beijing. I’ll also be welcoming (FINALLY) our third foreign counselor at my college counseling job… It only took them a year and five months to find someone.

Finally, I’ll be embarking on the test of a lifetime: and incredibly strict 1-month diet. In June I’ll be giving up alcohol, sugar, and simple carbs in China. Wish me luck!

This Beijing Life: Month 21 This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.  I’ve noticed that the more I travel and the busier I become, the more impossible it becomes to keep up with my travels in real-time.

[roadscholarsglobal-blog]

How to turn a travel nightmare into an adventure

Any worldshooler will tell you that there is always the best of intentions and nothing but excitement and careful planning that goes into any excursion,. near or far. Every once in a while, something happens, Whether it is an illness, theft, accident, death, or natural disaster....life does not stop because we are travelling. There are many precautions we can take to ensure that we are as insured and prepared if the worse- case scenario becomes an unwelcome reality. Unfortunately, there are just some things that are completely out of our control. What then?

In our case, we were just about to embark on our long journey from Vancouver, Canada to Orlando, Florida to meet my parents and brother for what we had hoped would be our epic family vacation to Disney World. It had taken me two years of saving and a  season  of renting our fifth wheel camper out on Airbnb to amass the funds needed for the trip. Since my mom had announced it was her "dream to go to DisneyWorld with my grandchildren ", , while on another trip to Seattle, I had started working my plan. Yes, Disneyland was closer to us (  we had already had a previous vacation together there) , but apparently Disneyworld is where it had to be. I was determined to honour Mom and make that wish come true . Planning and paying for this trip was no small feat , as we homeschool and work off a one job income.  My husband was also in his first year of transitioning into real estate- which was already daunting , financially speaking. The trip itself is a 7 hour journey with a layover in Chicago or Dallas/Ft.Worth. I was terrified to bring a one year old on two planes for such an extended period of time, so I compensated by going crazy  spending weeks creating things for him to do on the plane ( a la Pinterest and silhouette cameo ofcourse ).

Lesson 1: ALWAYS listen to your gut.

On the day before we were supposed take off, we heard the nail biting news... Hurricane Matthew was about to hit Florida. As the news of the storm became more of an escalated threat, the feeling in my gut told me what I did not want to be true...our flight would be cancelled, and therefore our trip. Nooooooo.   My uncle's timeshare penthouse that he had arranged for us was already paid . That and the physical park tickets I bought online were non- returnable.( Ok, sure. I could have sold them online, but you get the point. I had to go for the Hail Mary!)

Lesson 2: Be CALM, but act quickly.

I raced to the phone and called the Airlines.  It was time to play Let's Make A Deal. I used my most charming, down to earth, and kind voice I could muster in my anxious state. I asked if our flights could be detoured to Atlanta. We would wait it out there a couple of days and then rent a car and drive to Orlando. The flights were not cancelled yet, but the nice  airline rep on the phone knew that verdict was looming. I was praying the entire time I was on hold. Thankfully, the airline agreed. Happy and relieved does not begin to describe my state of being at that point in time! Hallelujah!

Now, I had to try to cancel our hotel in Orlando. Since we were traveling so far, I thought it would be nice to arrive a couple days early and rest up until my parents arrived and we moved into the timeshare for the week. I was able to cancel it due to the exceptional circumstance. Then, I had to call the car rental place and change our reservation for the vehicle. Done. Whew!

Lesson 3: Social Media is not all evil.

But..wait! Where would we stay in Atlanta? I did something I never did before. I asked my friends on Facebook. Does anyone know of someone who would be willing to put up a family of misplaced Hurricane Mathew refugees? In all honesty, I expected nothing. It was closer to a joke than anything. To my surprise a classmate of mine from 20 years ago commented that she might. Just the fact that a Canadian classmate had an acquaintance that lived in the Atlanta area was impressive. Apparently, a pilot from Kennesaw County was one of the best men at her wedding. He happened to have a gigantic house that he now lived in alone. He was happy to take us in. Did I mention I love Southerners? We are eternally grateful to all parties involved.

Lesson 4: You must have a credit card with ample room on it to rent a vehicle.

When we arrived, all we wanted was to rent a car and go meet our host. He was located in Kennesaw, so it was going to be a drive. My kids were understandably beginning to melt down in the rental car line. This is when my husband decided to reveal that he intended to pay cash for the rental vehicle. Um....no. Apparently he knew this , but had a strategy. His strategy included claiming that a representative on the phone said he could use cash for the rental. He was certainly adamant, but I knew he was fibbing. He was willing to die with the lie and if we ever wanted to get out of the Atlanta airport, I had to interject.

Side note: My husband is actually a lovely and trustworthy person, We all make mistakes. This post is about lessons learned, not throwing dearest under the bus .

Lesson 5: You always catch more flies with honey! If you make a mistake, be honest and humble. People usually respond positively and are more apt to help.

His strategy needed revamping. I pulled him aside. After I admitted his mistake, we decided to go back to the car rental counter representative , tell her the truth , apologize and explain our predicament. Then, we asked if she could please suggest another way. She was very understanding and helpful. She suggested a different rental company that asked for a smaller deposit. My husband did some quick credit card maneuvering and in the end it worked out.

How did the trip turn out?? It was actually better then we had originally planned. My husband and kids had never been to the Atlanta area. I am from the south originally (Boca Raton, Florida) and at times.. desperately miss it. I was so happy to be in Georgia. I have always loved it there. Our host was exceptionally congenial. When we arrived at almost midnight with a hungry and jet lagged crew, he welcomed us with that Southern hospitality that is so renowned. My husband and I could not believe how we had been blessed. We actually looked at each other and started laughing as we were walking up to the front door. Was this for real?? This house was literally plucked from our dreams.

Final Lesson: We can't always control what happens. The best we can do is choose to be positive and make the best of the circumstances we face. It is a great life lesson to model for our kids , as well. Life is much more fun when we see it as an adventure!

The next two days were so fun. We were able to enjoy breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It had been years since I tasted those fried apples...yummmm. We decided to spend the majority of our time at Stone Mountain. It is glorious! It had changed so much since I had been there with my own family twenty years ago, I could hardly recognize it. So much for families to do. My boys adored it. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the historical plantation. If you are in the Atlanta area...you HAVE to go there. Something for everyone. We finished the day off with a suggestion for BBQ . Fox Bros. !!! Best we have ever tasted. Hands down. All in all we can unequivocally say that what started out as a travel nightmare became a great stroke of luck for our family. One of our favorite adventures so far!

Understandably, not all travel nightmares work out this well. This is not about being dismissive to others experiences that did not work out or were down right tragic. This set of life lessons are what I derived from this specific trip. I will be sure to share others as they will surely come.

If you have examples of your own of travel nightmares that turned out well (or not). Please tell us about them in the comments, along with the accompanying life lessons. Can't wait to hear from you!

[sunkissis]

I still can’t believe we went to the most beautiful country in the world. Last spring I heard of an airline called Wow Airlines. They were starting nonstop service from LAX to Reykjavik and there was a special sale in October for $99 one way fares. At first I was skeptical. I read some horror stories on Facebook about Wow having issues with flights leaving on time but then again, at that low rate, it wouldn’t bother me. To be fair, those delays were due to weather and no airline can control bad flying conditions. Let me disclosure, our fare was $99 per person flying to Reykjavik, but our return fare was $189. This didn’t include meals, and if we wanted to bring additional luggage, it cost $58.99 per bag, per flight. I knew there was no way I could go anywhere with just a carry on with a maximum weight of 22 pounds so I would definitely have to pay for our luggage. If we wanted to pre-select our seats in advance, that cost $12.99 per person per flight. So when I priced the entire fare with all those extras the cost for the three of us came to $1,300. That still is less than ONE  plane ticket we paid for our trip to Europe back in 2014. This was a deal I couldn’t resist.

They also don’t have any in-flight entertainment (TV Screens) but that helps keep costs low and there are plugs for your devices. They also rent out iPads with movies and games loaded on them. We bought a few sandwiches and of course we bribed our flight attendants with candy so we got unlimited free drinks! When I bought the tickets, it felt like a just say yes and figure out the rest later moment. I wasn’t even sure about our itinerary and was concerned with our lack of a warm wardrobe but I booked the flight nonetheless!

I knew we didn’t have any warm clothes for the trip so I took advantage of the spring clearance sales and bought heavy coats and hiking boots for all three of us. Nordstrom Rack was the perfect sources to find 70% off North Face boots and jackets. I also recommend picking up some Hot Hands from Amazon. I was so happy I had these during our long hikes in the rain.

Here’s the best part…I didn’t have to pay for our accommodations. Last year I joined a house swap website called Love Home Swap. At first I wasn’t sure about having strangers stay in our house but after a few people stayed in our house while we were out of town for a weekend, I realized it wasn’t an issue. Since I listed our house we have had over 50 requests to swap with people from all over the world. It’s such an easy process, you search for the city you want to swap in, then you can filter by neighborhood, the size of house and you look through who is available to swap on your dates. There are three different ways to swap. You can do a direct swap, which means you go to the person’s house and they come to yours. Or you can swap for points, which means you can go to the person’s house but you use your points so they don’t have to stay at your house. They can then use those points to stay in your house at a another time or use their points for another house. The last option is a traditional cash rental which is similar to Airbnb. We ended up using our points because the person who we swapped with owns a house in Reykjavik, but she lives in Portland, Oregon. I became friends with her on Facebook so we could get to know each other first.  I wanted a more authentic Icelandic experience so it was helpful to find a house. We saved so much money and stayed in a lovely three bedroom house in Reykjavik for a week!

I would say it’s definitely better to stay in a house than a hotel in Iceland. Let me also say that I didn’t find a diverse selection of rentals in Reykjavik on Airbnb. A majority of the rentals were apartments that were Ikea furnished and looked like a typical Los Angeles boring apartment. Due to the surge in tourism (thanks to the cheap airfare) most hotels are booked up to a year in advance. Personally I don’t enjoy being around hordes of American tourists while I’m on vacation. I found it more pleasant to have a house with our own kitchen to cook in, we were able to wash our clothes and it was heaven sleeping in our own beds and having two bathrooms. Most Icelandic hotels are small and expensive but if you are looking for a hotel in Iceland, I do have an excellent recommendation but I’ll get into that later.

So once I covered where we were staying, next I needed to figure out what to do. Lucky for me I have a few friends who have traveled to Iceland so it was easy to put together an itinerary. I also follow When in Iceland  on Instagram so their photos were a huge source of inspiration. I must say “Takk” (thank you in Icelandic) to my sweet friend Christina, who sent me her itinerary so I had an inside source of great places to stay, see and eat. Her photos are mesmerizing! I really crammed a lot of places into our six day trip.

Here is a list of my Must See & Do:

The Blue Lagoon

Admittedly this is Iceland’s biggest tourist attraction but a must see wonder. You must book tickets well in advance and I recommend going early or late due to the heavy crowds. We booked the Comfort Package for 9 am when they open. It wasn’t terribly crowded but the women’s changing room was packed. The best thing about the lagoon, once you get used to the smell of sulfur is the space is huge so you can swim away and have a whole section to yourself. Don’t worry about the weather. We went in October and even though it was forty degrees outside the water is set at 100 degrees year round.

The shipwreck museum/Hopsnes Lighthouse in Grindavik

Our flight arrived at 4 am and if you are flying into Reykjavik on Wow airlines, so will yours. However, I was happy for the early start because by the time we took the shuttle to pick up our rental car and stopped for an early morning meal, it was already 7 am. We had some time to kill before the Blue Lagoon opened so we drove into the town of Grindavik. It was so surreal seeing the sheep everywhere you look. We also were in awe watching the strong waves of the Atlantic ocean crash into the rocky beaches. There is a cute lighthouse that we stopped at for some photos and I gotta say it was worth the brutally cold winds to get the shots.

Icelandic horseback riding

There is an interesting fact about Icelandic horses, they are the only breed of horse in the entire country. There is a law saying that if an Icelandic horse leaves the country it is not permitted to return. They are committed to keeping the Icelandic horse breed pure. We booked a private two hour tour and it was the highlight of our trip. I cannot emphasize enough that you have to ride an Icelandic horse during your stay.

Þingvellir National Park

Thingvellir is an absolute must-see! The park is enormous so anywhere you choose to go, you will find waterfalls, endless nature hikes. The park is about five times the size of Griffith Park so it would take days to see everything. The most popular attractions are listed here. Most of the filming of Game of Thrones is located here. We would drive around and pull over every time we saw a picturesque spot. You can purchase day passes at the entrance.

Southern Iceland/Vik

Iceland has an unique and diverse landscape. On the southern side of Iceland is a small town called Vik. It is home to the black sandy beach and a cliff called Reynisfjara/Reynisdrangar rock formations. This is the best viewing point during Puffin season. We just missed puffin season but it was still worth a visit because during low tide you can climb the incredible basalt columns. Be sure to hurry and book your trip because the town of Vik is endangered by local volcano Katla that is over due to erupt by ninety nine years!

  Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Not too far away from Vik is the magical glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón. Depending on the time of year you visit you will find the bluest icebergs you have ever seen. Be careful when driving on the Ring Road, there are one lane bridges that gave us a heart attack playing chicken with the on-coming traffic.

Downtown Reykjavik

The city of Reykjavik is similar to Los Angeles but more colorful. There are trendy restaurants, bars and coffeeshops. Alcohol is terribly expensive. Parking can be tricky but not as bad as a Saturday night in West Hollywood. A good place to begin a city tour is at Hallgrimskirkja Church which is in walking distance to Laugavegur street. There you will find gift shops, restaurants and the infamous (random) Chuck Norris Grill. It’s the Icelandic equivalent to the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. You keep walking and soon you will end up at the harbor where you will find the iconic Sólfar (Sun Voyager sculpture).

So there you have it, my top must see locations in Iceland. Now, I have barely scratched the surface of this vast and unbelievable place. Thus I say, do you own research. There are some things we couldn’t do with the kid in tow that I would love to do on our next trip. For instance, scuba diving at the continental divide and riding a snowmobile. I suggest going during the fall. Prices are lower and you have a better chance of booking a cool rental in September or October. The summer months means 24 hours of sunlight and music festivals but means you won’t have a true Iceland experience due to the crowds. The weather was cold enough to wear a coat but not miserably cold. I hope to catch some snow on our next trip.

Book your flight today before prices…gain altitude!!!

Wow! Our Trip to Iceland I still can't believe we went to the most beautiful country in the world. Last spring I heard of an airline called…