First Class: an RM One-Shot

I eyed the huge furry face standing a foot away from my seat with mild surprise. Dogs were usually only allowed in the cabin of planes if they were small and could stay in their travel bags. This one was clearly not a toy dog and could easily weigh at least 40 kilos.

"This is my service dog Ace," the elderly lady clutching at his leash introduced her canine companion, who, to his credit, was calm and focused solely on the face of his furmom. "I have an anxiety disorder. I have a doctor's note."

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind at all." I smiled at both dog and human and watched politely as the lady struggled to settle down on the aisle seat. Ace' huge body was almost blocking all the other available space under and beside the seat, earning annoyed looks from other business class passengers.

The stewardess in the area was trying her best to appease the disgruntled and annoyed, and I could see she was almost hilariously at a loss.

"Do you wanna switch seats?" I offered to the woman, getting up. "Ace can snuggle against the window and I don't my sharing my foot space. He might get stepped on."

Ace' mom looked at me like I just offered her my kidney. "I would really appreciate that. I'm so sorry for bothering you!"

The stewardess flashed me a grateful smile. "Thank you so much, ma'am!"

We shuffled around to transfer, albeit with a little struggle and to my dismay, a lot of saliva. Ace perked up and decided I was a friend.

I folded my legs and raised my foot on tiptoes—I didn't have much choice with the dog's fluffy but solid tank of a body taking up pretty much the whole floor in front of me.

13 and a half hours of this. I internally sighed. But the dog was cute, and he's there for a reason. It wasn't going to kill me to be considerate.

Besides, it was a happy problem. It was my first solo vacation trip to Seoul and I'd been dreaming and daydreaming about it for months. I couldn't wait to see the sights and eat tons of good food. The thought brought a grin to my face, earning an adorable look from the furball resting his whole torso on my shins.

A felt a tap on my shoulder, and I glanced up to see the same stewardess from earlier with a smile on her pretty face. "Ma'am, we have one extra seat in first class, " she told me, gesturing towards the front area. "If you'd like, we can bump you up so you'll be more comfortable and Ace can have the extra space."

"Holy cow, really?" I couldn't believe my luck! I've never ridden first class.

The woman beside me beamed appreciatively. "That would be so great. And you've been so nice. You deserve it."

I wobbled out of my seat, careful not to trample on the service dog watching us peacefully from his spot. I grabbed my handcarry from the overhead bin and let the stewardess guide me to the very front of the plane.

I surveyed the area once I went through the curtains separating the sections. Whoa. There were only two huge seats per row, with so much leg room and bigger individual screens for entertainment. The chairs were definitely a lot more plush than the ones in business class.

I briefly looked up and thanked the universe. I was not about to question the streak of good luck that just got thrown my way.

The stewardess escorted me to the one vacant window seat, nodding to the steward to confirm that I was the last passenger for first class. She smiled and excused herself from the guy who was already seated on the aisle side.

He murmured a soft, "Okay," startling me with his deep voice.

"Ma'am?" the stewardess gestured for me to sit down.