Chapter 1

 

  My name is Mindy Kim, and my family and I are on vacation for the first time in a while! The last time we went on a vacation together was when Dad, Julie, and I visited Dad’s family in Korea. That was a long time ago, before my little brother, Charlie, was born, and even before Dad and Julie got married!

  But unlike before, this time we aren’t just staying with my dad’s family in Korea. Instead, after spending a few days with my relatives, we’re flying on another, smaller plane to Jeju, an island south of the main peninsula.

  It’s my first time going to Jeju Island. I am so excited! It’s also been a while since our family’s gone on vacation, so I hope this trip will be super special.

  Once we boarded the plane to Jeju, Julie sat in the window seat with Charlie on her lap. I sat in the middle, and finally Dad took the aisle seat.

  “How did Jeju form again, Mindy?” Dad asked after we’d settled into our seats.

  To prepare for our trip, I’d read tons and tons of books about the island. I took a big breath and confidently said, “It was made by underwater volcanoes that erupted two million years ago! There are more than three hundred and sixty extinct volcanoes on the island, but the biggest one, Hallasan, makes up most of the island.”

  From where he sat in Julie’s arms, Charlie squealed like I’d said the coolest thing ever.

  I beamed. I knew he couldn’t understand me yet, but his reaction still made me happy.

  “Wow, you really read up on everything, huh?” Julie asked. “Good job, Mindy! And what are you most excited about seeing during this trip?”

  “I can’t wait to see Hallasan itself!” I exclaimed.

  There aren’t any mountains where we live in Florida, so I was excited to see the biggest mountain in South Korea!

  “Well, we’re definitely going to be able to see Mount Halla during this trip,” replied Dad, using Hallasan’s English name. San means “mountain” in Korean, so Hallasan is Mount Halla! “We have a whole day reserved for it at the end of our trip.”

  “Saving the best for last!” I exclaimed.

  Just thinking about seeing Hallasan with my family made me feel really excited. This was going to be the best trip ever!

  The plane took off. Our flight was only an hour long, which was even shorter than the almost-two-hour flight we’d had to take from Orlando to Atlanta so we could get on our plane to Korea. But I was still so happy, I bounced up and down in my seat. It was my first time traveling this far south in Korea!

  I was also glad that so far Julie and Dad hadn’t fought during this entire trip. I’m not sure why, but back home, Julie and Dad have been arguing more than usual. I secretly think it’s because of Charlie. A lot of times, my little brother does bad things like pull Julie’s hair or fling food around instead of eating it like he’s supposed to. And he still sometimes doesn’t sleep all the way through the night. He always puts my parents in a bad mood!

  But maybe it’s also just because Julie and Dad are super busy and tired. Whatever the reason, thankfully, the change of scenery was helping! Or at least it was so far. When we were traveling from America to Korea, Charlie slept most of the way, so it had been pretty okay. The flight to Jeju wasn’t that bad either!

  But then we hit some turbulence.

  Compared to the planes we took to Seoul, the one to Jeju was tiny, and we really felt every bump. I was a little scared, but Julie let me lean toward her so I could see a little bit of the outside world below. There were a lot of mountains and greenery that I’d never seen before. It was all so pretty!

  I spotted cute little islands down below, and trying to guess if people lived on those small chunks of land made the turbulence seem less scary.

  The plane lurched again. Charlie started making a fuss. In almost no time at all, he was having a full-blown meltdown! He cried loudly and tried to break free from Julie’s lap.

  Julie patted Charlie’s back. “It’s okay, bǎo bǎo,” she said, calling him the Mandarin word for “baby.” “It’ll be over soon.”

  But then Charlie started screaming!

  The other passengers around us turned to stare. It was so embarrassing!

  “Charlie!” Dad said, waving around Mr. Llama, Charlie’s favorite stuffed toy. “Look! Isn’t this so cute? It’s Mr. Llama!”

 

   

 

“Yeah!” I grabbed the other end of Mr. Llama and pulled it. “He’s so soft and cute, see?”

  I rubbed the llama against my cheek and then put it against Charlie’s.

  But instead of stopping, Charlie cried even more!

  Julie bounced her knees up and down and quietly sang to him, trying to get him to stop.

  But it was no use.

  “Please stop crying, Charlie!” I hissed.

  I pulled on Mr. Llama, and at that moment, Dad let go. It went flying across the plane!

  “No!” Dad and I yelled.

  The people who weren’t staring at us before were looking at us now. It was like my worst nightmare had come true!

  Luckily, the flight attendant came and picked up the llama. She didn’t look too happy, though.

  Dad apologized to her in Korean. She gave us a tight grin and handed the llama back to Charlie. And, miraculously enough, he stopped crying! Whew!

  Our adventure was just beginning, and it was already off to a bumpy start!