I arrive at Gimpo like it’s the start of my big birthday adventure… except no one’s waiting for me.
No flowers, no surprise party, just me and my backpack, slightly wobbling from a pre-flight celebratory drink. Everyone else seems important. Me? I’m just a human-shaped placeholder for disappointment.
I put my things on the belt. Shoes off, laptop out, liquids out… the security guy sighs like he’s done this a million times. I sigh back, bonding silently over mutual annoyance. My bag beeps. Of course it does. I’m clearly a walking, beeping tragedy.
I shuffle to my gate, trying to look calm but actually tripping over my own feet. My boarding pass feels heavier than it should.
I imagine all the people on my “date” picturing themselves celebrating my birthday… and then I remember, there is no date. Just me, heroically solo.
I am boarding now
I find my seat, wrestle with my carry-on, and plop down.
Seatbelt fastened… wrong direction. Perfect. My birthday is already off to a winning start. I glance out the window. No one cares. Exactly as expected.
The plane welcomes me like it knows my tragic backstory already.
The engines roar. The plane moves.
I brace for the first bump of turbulence, because life seems to enjoy punishing me on this day. I look at the drink in my hand, it shivers like my soul. The plane lifts. I lift too, sort of.
The plane rises, I rise… slightly above ground, definitely below expectations
Each bump feels like the universe’s way of saying ‘Happy Birthday, loser.
Other passengers look calm
Its getting really shaky , I look like a cartoon character in a wind tunnel
I sip my warm water like a knight toasting to his own defeat
Touchdown! My flight ends, my self-pity continues.
No one is here to greet me… well, except my shadow, loyal as always
