teacher • kth

16: changes

There was nothing to look at as we drove, sparing the vast forests that sported naked trees from the cold of the winter.

Small farms and homes were scattered along the narrow roads.

I let out a small squeal every time the car hit a bump, lifting me out of my seat momentarily.

North Korea looked like the country sides of South Korea.

Not much was terribly different.

"How much longer will it take?" I asked, laughing nervously at the road that seemed to never end.

I glanced at the clock on the dashboard of the car.

11:21.

He didn't even turn his head to answer. 

"6 minutes." He answered bluntly.

I gave an awkward nod, before turning my head to look out the window.

Like Mr. Kim had said, as soon as the clock hit 11:27, out of nowhere, large buildings began to emerge.

I watched with wide eyes, surprised to see men standing on the roofs of the buildings and completely surrounding them.

They were so small in comparison to the huge, sleek buildings that were scattered throughout the rural area.

Mr. Kim turned onto a road, driving towards the largest building in the center of everything.

It seemed far away, but after seconds, we were parked in the front of the building.

"Stay here for a second." He ordered, before unbuckling his seatbelt and turning the engine off.

I nodded, watching as he opened the door to meet a man who had emerged from the building.

I watched as the two of them hugged, before Mr. Kim pulled away and walked back to the car.

He opened my door, helping me down from the tall vehicle.

"Everest. Meet Jae. He's one of my oldest friends. We trained together at Seoul headquarters." Mr. Kim beamed.

"Are you joking? I'm this bastard's only friend." Jae joked, smiling kindly.

I smiled up at him. 

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Lee Everest." I held out my hand for him to shake.

"It's my pleasure." He winked, shaking my hand, before Mr. Kim punched his shoulder.

"Is everything ready?" He asked, and Jae turned to him with a sour expression on his face.

"Are you joking? Of course it is. You only bothered me about it the whole time you were on your way here." He said, groaning in pain when Mr. Kim delivered another swift punch to his shoulder.

"Everest. I'll grab our bags. Follow Jae." Mr. Kim said, before turning to me with red cheeks.

"Follow me, milady." Jae said, a corny smile on his face.

I let out a small laugh, before following him into the building.

The warm heater immediately warmed up my body, and I let out an audible sigh as I felt the hot air against my skin.

"I know. The heater is gonna be your best friend while you're here. The cold here is no joke." Jae said as he opened the door for me, stepping to the side to let me through.

"No kidding. Remind me to stay inside while I'm here." I laughed, hugging myself as I let out a shiver. 

"Welcome to your new home for the next few months."

He paused for dramatic effect, before turning and leaning down as he fumbled with the keypad. 

"Your fingerprint is in here, so you don't have to worry about carrying around keys or anything like that. The only people who can get in here are you, me and Taehyung." He explained, before standing up straight and opening the door.

It was much more spacious than I'd imagined. 

I was expecting a one-room studio ordeal.

But this place huge, and much more nicer than my old apartment back home.

I was shocked to see such modern technology in the middle of North Korea.

"This is amazing." I said, taking my hat off and setting it down on the white couch.

"Thank you. I put together the whole thing this morning." Jae smiled, looking around proudly.

"This morning?" I asked, wide eyes.

He chuckled, taking off his hat and mask to reveal a handsome face. 

He wiped imaginary sweat off his brow and shot me a dazzling smile.

"I might crash here tonight. The heater works a thousand times better." He joked.

Mr. Kim entered the apartment, setting our bags down on the ground 

He seemed even more shocked than me when he saw the studio. 

"You like?" Jae asked, smiling goofily as he watched Mr. Kim look around in amazement. 

"Yeah, this is awesome." Mr. Kim said, patting Jae's back.

"The guys helped me with it this morning." Jae said. 

"I'll get out of your hair, let you get settled in." He said, opening the door, before giving us a playful salute, and shutting the door.

-

"Let's get some sleep." Mr. Kim said, shutting the blinds for the floor to ceiling windows. 

They rolled shut, as I stretched, concerns flooding my mind.

I wondered how Jungkook was doing.

If Jimin had any idea what was happening.

"You better get some rest. You're starting training tomorrow." Mr. Kim said, making me look up in confusion.

"Training? For what?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

-

"Are you kidding? Do you even know how uncoordinated I am? I broke Jimin's nose in elementary school while trying to play frisbee with him. Frisbee! That's like, the least dangerous game ever! You throw around a plastic disc. I can't run either. I'm like 95% sure I have sports-induced asthma. I didn't even bring an inhaler-"

"Whoa." Mr. Kim stopped my rambling. 

He looked thoroughly amused.

"We're not training you for the Olympics, Everest. None of us expect for you to be the next James Bond." He joked, clearing his throat once he met my unamused gaze.

"But, in reality, I won't be here with you forever. I can't. There's gonna come a time where you're gonna have to live by yourself and protect yourself. The other girls I've been assigned to," He paused, looking down. 

I thought I caught a glimpse of fear and sadness in his eyes.

But when he looked up, it was gone, just as fast as it had came.

"They didn't believe in themselves. They were scared, and unwilling to be trained. They would have rather had us protect them. And I've lost someone because of that." The same look of sadness was in his eyes.

"And I won't make the same mistake twice."