17

    I bolted upright, gasping for breath. My shirt and shorts were damp with sweat. I looked around me and became very confused; I was still in my bedroom. To my left, Namjoon was picking up his clothes off the floor and getting dressed. Had the entire arrest been a bad dream? A nightmare? I ran my fingers through my hair. My scalp, too, was damp with sweat. I got up from my bed and stripped off my sweaty clothes, replacing them with fresh, clean ones. When I turned around, Namjoon was sitting on my bed, fidgeting with his fingers.

    “So we didn’t actually get arrested…” I said. Namjoon looked up at me.

    “What?” He asked, confused.

    “Nightmare.” I answered, sitting down next to him.

    “Oh. No wonder you kept tossing and turning.” Namjoon replied. “Pack a bag with some clothes and anything else you absolutely need.”

    “Why? What’s going on?” I asked.

    “We’re leaving. Now.” Namjoon said. My eyes widened.

    “Leaving? Where are we going?”

    “We’re crossing the border and leaving the country. I don’t want the police to catch us. This is the only thing we can do.” Namjoon explained. I nodded in response and walked over to my closet. On the top shelf, there was a backpack. I stuffed a day or two’s worth of clothes into it and then went over to my dresser. In the bottom of my underwear drawer I found the locked metal box I had hidden in there. I took it out and put in the combination. The latch opened, and I lifted the lid. Inside was cash- and a lot of it. Every time I came across some extra money, I would put it into that box in case of an emergency. I kept this habit up for years. I took the cash and stuffed it in a pocket of my backpack, knowing that Namjoon and I would need it. If we used credit cards, the police would be able to trace us.

    “I’m ready.” I said, swinging the backpack strap over my shoulder.

    “Okay, I need to stop at my house. And we need to hurry, Sungmin may have already told the police about us.” Namjoon replied, grabbing my arm and running down the stairs. We got into his Jeep and made our way to Namjoon’s house. The sun was just barely rising, and Namjoon hoped that his mother and sister would still be fast asleep. We pulled up to his place, and Namjoon went inside while I waited in the car. He came out shortly after with a backpack of his own and got back into