After a long week of stressful meetings in Seoul, I wanted only one thing: a quiet flight home. I had barely slept, spent days moving between offices, and finally finished a deal that had taken months to close. I booked a better seat weeks earlier because I knew I would be exhausted. But when I reached the gate, the airline staff gave me the news I had been hoping not to hear. The flight was overbooked, and my seat had been changed.
Instead of the comfortable seat I had paid for, I was sent to the back of economy, squeezed into a tight middle seat. I tried to stay calm as I boarded, placed my bag under the seat, adjusted my neck pillow, and closed my eyes. The cabin was already warm and noisy, and I told myself I just needed to get through the flight. Then, suddenly, something hit the back of my seat hard. I turned and saw a small boy behind me, swinging his legs and smiling like it was a game. His mother sat beside him, reading a magazine and paying no attention.
