"I see," I sneered. "Well, I'm terribly sorry I've disappointed you that much, baby. You must have felt so ashamed being with me. We're done, Niklas, you and I. Have fun with Marja."
I rose from my seat and grabbed my bag, ready to leave.
Suddenly, Niklas lunged forward and seized my wrist in a painful grip.
"Kaija! Stop right there!" he shouted.
I scowled, trying to pull hand free, but his grip was too strong. I'd already given up on him so easily — offering to break up, letting him be with his dream girl whom he'd just praised so highly. What else did he even want?
"Let go of me!" I snapped.
My defiance only seemed to anger him further.
"I'm not done talking to you!" he yelled.
I hurriedly looked around for a waiter to ask for help. But before I could, a male voice came from behind me.
"Let go of her."
Niklas's furious gaze shifted past me toward the source of the voice.
I turned slightly toward where he was looking.
The eyes that met mine were green like polished emerald, and they belonged to a very familiar face.
Juho?
His name almost slipped from my mouth, but I was too stunned. I hadn't noticed he was in the café.
There were more than a thousand flight attendants in the airline, but Juho here was from my batch — only three years older than me. We'd come to the same interview, trained in the same class, sat through the same final exam. Yet ever since training ended, I'd never talked to him. Never flown with him once.
"This is a public place, buddy. It's not nice to scream at a lady or treat her like that," Juho said, his tone flat.
Niklas shot back angrily, "It's none of your fucking business!"
Still, Niklas's hand loosened around my wrist until he finally let go. It seemed my now ex-boyfriend still had some shame left in him. Reluctantly, he grabbed his backpack and headed for the door. But as he passed by, he didn't forget to shoot me a fierce look and spit out a final line — "We're not done yet, Kaija."
Once Niklas was gone, I exhaled sharply, thankful that I no longer had to deal with whatever grudge he was still holding toward me. Then I turned to Juho.
"Thank you so much, Juho. Sorry you had to witness something so… disturbing."
Juho gestured toward my wrist, his tone soft with concern. "You okay?"
"Oh, I'm okay. I should go."
I hurriedly turned toward the door.
"Wait! Miss!" someone suddenly called after me.
It was a waiter.
He awkwardly pointed at the table I'd just sat with Niklas. "Uh… your friend from earlier, he didn't pay yet."
I was completely speechless.
Even Juho was giving me a sorry look. "I can take care of that, you go," he said, pulling out his wallet.
"No, no, please!" I held both hands up. "I've troubled you enough."
I quickly paid for the drink and disappeared from that café, promising myself I'd never return to that place ever again.
As for why I didn't stay to properly thank my savior, or at least prolong the conversation... Well, I had a tiny, slightly awkward problem with Juho.
I found Juho attractive.
His soft black hair always fell carelessly to the sides of his face, like in one of those breathtaking movie scenes. He'd been the most supportive during training in this quiet, gentle way of his — holding doors, volunteering for the drills, helping others study exam materials.
All of those subtle details just somehow caught my eyes and strung my heart in ways that I wasn't even conscious of. But I was with Niklas back then, so I'd deliberately kept distance from Juho, exactly the way I'd escaped that café earlier. I only hoped Juho hadn't noticed me blushing the entire time.
That night, unlike all the typical romance dramas I'd seen, I somehow had the most peaceful sleep, even after breaking up with Niklas.
I felt as if I'd only become truly honest with myself about the whole relationship after it ended.
While I used to tell myself it was fine to endure long hours of painful sex with Niklas and pretend to enjoy the whole damn thing — the same way I'd endured his excessive smoking and gaming habits — I realized those were things I didn't even find remotely attractive.
Maybe that was why I got over him so quickly, so unnaturally. Maybe I should thank God that Niklas cheated on me.
I arrived at work that morning with the most proper makeup I'd ever managed to put on. Previously, no matter how hard I tried, my makeup always ended up looking like a work of abstract art. Better yet, I was assigned to the middle section with the Economy class. No more cranky VVIPs!
So I stood at my assigned doors, hand to my chest, bowing slightly with a gracious smile whenever a passenger passed by as they boarded the plane. Then I spotted a pregnant woman coming with an infant.
She was packed, literally — a huge backpack on her back, her baby strapped to her front, on top of her seven-month-ish belly, both hands carrying two more bags. As if that wasn't enough, the baby started crying.
I left my position and went to help her, putting up her backpack, then helping her into her seat. The baby still wouldn't stop crying, and he only seemed to get louder by the second.
Soon, some of the nearby passengers started looking visibly displeased at the noise. I decided to stay there and entertain the baby a bit longer.
"Come on, little angel, please stop crying," I begged, cradling him gently.
But no, he wouldn't. Even his own mother was helpless.
That was when I heard a drawling male voice shouting from behind me, his tone already heavy with anger.
"What the fuck is wrong with that baby? Can't you fucking put him to sleep? Seal his fucking mouth?"
I turned sharply. It was a man in his fifties, his face all red, probably from rage.
Great. Another crying baby.
"I'm very sorry, sir," I said. "The baby is feeling a bit uncomfortable. Please understa—"
"Understand my fucking ass! I'm not putting up with this screaming bullshit. I'm getting out of here."
Huh?! Out of here? This is a damn plane you're on now, dude, where are you gonna—
Before I could even finish my thought, the man lunged toward the emergency exit with the speed of light, his hand yanking the cover of the door handle open.
My soul left my body the moment I realized what he meant by getting out of here. The baby landed back into his mother's arms at once.
"NO! STOP! DON'T!" I screamed. "NOT THAT DOOR!"
I ran toward the man desperately, my heels slamming against the floor as all eyes in the cabin turned toward us.
"YOU CAN'T OPEN THAT DOOR!"