"Where was he buried?" the old woman asked.
“Jeju Island. I was actually on my way there. I'm getting off the Gimpo Airport Station to catch my flight.”
"You already missed the Gimpo Station,” Carter said.
“W-what? I missed it?” she exclaimed and suddenly stood up. “No, I can’t miss it. I still have a flight for Jeju. I have to get off!”
"What are you doing? You can’t just make the train stop for you.” Carter held her elbow so she wouldn't lose her balance and maybe stopped her from doing something crazy like stopping the train.
"What time is your flight?" the old woman asked.
“Two-thirty. And I have to check-in before two o'clock,” said answered, her voice trembling. Just earlier she knew she had enough time to catch up with the check-in time at the counter.
Carter looked at his watch. "It's already ten minutes past two."
“W-what? W-wait! I need to go back. I might be able to catch my flight. How do I get back? ”
“Seoul Station is the next stop of this train,” Carter said. "You can't just go back."
“How far is Seoul Station from Gimpo Airport?” Cheska asked.
“Thirty-seven minutes. I don't think you’ll be able to make it to your flight. You’ll miss your plane.”
She grabbed Carter's arm. “No! No! No! This can’t be. My flight. How else am I gonna get to Jeju Island?”
CHESKA WAS STUNNED looking at her broken cellphone in Carter’s hand.
“Your cellphone is not working anymore. It seems to have given up. That brand also does not have a service center here in Korea. And since the LCD screen is broken, it's better to just buy a new phone.”
They were at the Angel.in.us Cafe in Seoul Station. They stayed there after they get off their train. She was weakening due to hunger and she could not think clearly. Her last meal was the morning before her flight from Manila.
Her miserable situations kept piling up. She had her flight delayed for two hours, and now she completely missed her connecting flight, and she also just lost her phone.
“I can't just change my phone. I need to get to Jeju Island first,” she whispered. She wouldn’t let anything ruin her plans. She needed to visit Doc Darryl’s grave.
“Just calm down. My son will take care of your flight. He’ll come up with something,” Manang Selina assured her. The old lady pushed the plate of sandwiches in front of Cheska. "Eat first. You’re looking pale. You might get sick if you skipped a meal. You traveled alone. No one will take care of you when you get sick, and you’re still in a foreign country.”
Cheska agreed and forced herself to eat something even though she had no appetite. Carter was looking for a flight for her on his cellphone with a frown. Now that she had eaten something already and was a little calmer, she was able to look at him more clearly. He really does look like Doc Darryl. What are the chances that she would meet someone who is exactly his replica? What does this mean?
And they were even both helping others who needed help. He was a bit irritating earlier but he still didn’t leave me.
She loved watching him - his every move, the way his forehead frowns, even the way his chest rise up and down as he breathed fascinated her. She felt like a fangirl who got used to admiring the picture of someone she adored. And that’s why she knew everything about him was important to her when she sees him in person, like she was stamping it in her memory. He was real. He was tangible.
Carter shook his head. “Sorry. Flights to Jeju are now fully booked and budget airlines flights will be available next week.”
“Next week? It’s that far?”
“Well, it’s peak season now so that is expected. But there are still some available flights from Korean Air…” And he showed her his cellphone for the price of the available flight that day and in the succeeding days.
“Four hundred thousand won? It's less than twenty thousand for a one-way flight. Too expensive.” Cheska was cringing at the price.
"And you could have done a lot and bought a lot here in Seoul with that amount,” Manang Selina said.
"Even I won’t go to Jeju with that kind of price for a plane ticket." Cheska felt like she was getting dizzy with the ticket price. She continued to look for cheaper flights but there were none.
“Is there any other way for me to get to Jeju from Seoul? But not that expensive?” Cheska asked and handed the cellphone back to Carter.
"You have to take a five-hour train to Busan and then take a ferry to Jeju-do,” he said while still searching on his phone. "But it's also fully booked and the price is…"