Areum's POV/1539 Words

"Areum, do you have everything ready?"

"Passport, plane ticket...and luggage is checked in. Yup, I'm all set." I smiled, and thanked my mom. I took at good look at her. She had black bags under her eyes, and her forehead was creased as if she was stressed.

A lot happened this year. After my mom found out about the incident, she immediately decided to send me to a college in Korea. And that was that. I did have a friend there going to college as well, so my mom decided Seoul was the perfect place to go. Eventually, after the series of arguments, I gave up and agreed. I, of course wasn't joyful about it still, but I knew my mom had gone through a lot when she found out. She was literally heart broken and attempted to check up on me every ten minutes. I broke her trust.

About 15 minutes later, and the goodbyes were said, I walked over to Naeun, my best friend. She looked up from her phone, and I could tell she had tears in her eyes. In fact, I was getting really teary as well. We most likely were never going to see each other again. In person at least.

I sighed, and wrapped my arms around her, tears now streaming down both of our faces.

"Lee Areum, I swear if you don't call me every week, I will board a plane to Korea myself, walk up to your dorm, and punch you in the face."

I laughed,"Geez Naeun, I will miss you too."

After I told her I was leaving for Korea, she literally cried for a week straight, and didn't talk to me. When she gave up in convincing me to stay, we both decided go to some of the best places in California. Disneyland, San Francisco, Knott's Berry Farm, the beach. Some of my favorite places in the U.S.

Like me, Naeun had a Korean heritage. My mom taught me Korean when I was younger which was pretty inconvenient considering we lived in America. I met Naeun in elementary school where I was having trouble with English. Naeun actually knew both, so she taught me basically everything she knew. Before I knew it, we became really close.

Naeun and I have been through thick and thin. I was there when her brother got into a car accident and was hospitalized for a month. She was there when I woke up to my mom in tears, and a missing parent. I was there when she won her medals for basketball, volleyball, tennis, really any sport. She was there when I needed appendix surgery. And now we are both here waiting for my flight that will separate us possibly forever.

AIR SEOUL, GATE 24, GROUP A, PLEASE REPORT TO THE BOARDING AREA. I REPEAT, AIR SEOUL, GATE 24, GROUP A. PLEASE REPORT TO THE BOARDING AREA.

I wiped my tears, and waved goodbye.

In about 13 hours, I am going to be living in a new home, school and life.

_______________________________

I walked through the tunnels leading to the Seoul airport. The flight wasn't the most comfortable, but who is ever comfortable unless you're in the first class? I could barely sleep, mainly because the guy next to me placed his head on my shoulder. It was a very bumpy ride so whenever I leaned my head against the plane walls, every bump would cause me to smack my head back. Fortunately, the loathsome ride was done, and all I needed to do was grab my luggage, find my friend, and head out!

"Areum, is that you?" I turned around, and saw an extremely familiar girl staring at me.

"Bomi! What they hec