We boarded the moving truck with a few of our belongings at the back, packed hastily in blue boxes that the production team had provided. 

“Since I am stuck in between, I look somewhat miserable…” Jae-rim oppa kidded, which made me laugh. 

He did make it a point to make me sit by the window, so I could have the seatbelt, while he sat beside the driver. 

“This humbles me,” he said, as we began to take out the candy that we’d made back at the house. 

“Try this first,” I told him, removing the garlic clove on a stick.  “This is yours.”

Obediently, my husband leaned in to take a bite while I warned him to eat a little, but he swallowed it whole and chewed.

“Because you fed me, the garlic tasted sweet.”

“Really?” I asked, busy with selecting what to feed him next.

“I love you, honey,” he murmured closely.

And the smell of garlic in the confined space that we were in wafted everywhere. I grimaced, my stomach doubling over.  I quickly chose a sweetened kiwi and offered it to him.  “Here, to rinse your mouth with.”

My husband would sneak skinship any way he could so he s an arm around me as I fed him the kiwi while he chewed on it purposefully, leaning on his back in comfort. 

We had the apple candy next, which proved to be a bit difficult to eat, actually.  Jae-rim oppa managed to get a bite on it on his side and offered it to me.  However, the apple kept bobbing so he bit the apple at the same time. 

I had to shut my eyes because our faces were so close to each other’s.

He was sneaky, but half the time, I think he wasn’t even aware of it.

“Is it good?” he asked, looking at me as I got a bite of sugar and apple. 

I nodded.  “It’s tasty.”

And for the next hour, my husband kept inhaling the candies that I made for him—including the ginger and garlic ones. 

“How many garlic did you skewer?” he asked incredulously.

I actually had no idea, but I was glad that he ate everything. 

As we were cleaning up, he sighed deeply.

“Oh, that garlic smell,” I scolded, hitting him on the arm affectionately.  “Don’t breathe out too deeply.”

He laughed and wondered what our new place would look like.

“It’s in front of the ocean,” I said, recalling from the online search we did at the house earlier.

“It was Han River,” Jae-rim oppa corrected me.  “And across it is North Korea.  The soldiers will protect us.”

I looked at the mission card again, trying to stay positive.  Within proximity of North Korea sounded so far away…  “A wide kitchen where it would be spacious even for 2 people to use…”

I gasped, suddenly horrified.  “Is it a field?  A field with clay pots?!”

We continued to read our new home’s extra features:  “A private estate where you don’t need to worry about noise pollution even if you wrestle for 24 hours…”

“That means that there’s no one around,” my husband rationalized, although it didn’t seem to make either of us feel any better.

“But we shouldn’t expect anything,” I acquiesced, since I operated that way.  “If we lower our expectations, when we reach there, we might find it quite good.”

“That’s right,” my husband agreed.

“That’s why we should lower our expectations.”

“It could be a dugout,” he guessed, which made me burst out laughing.

“That would be too cruel, a dugout…” I wailed, although I was dreading that possibility. 

“Let’s dream of hope,” he said, a weak attempt of the return of Sunflower Song.  “Like in a drama where rich people live… marbled floor… circular stairs connecting to the second floor… an island kitchen…”

He mentioned the island kitchen again.  He must really want that for his ideal home.

I had simpler wishes, though—one thing that we didn’t have in the house in Yeoksamdong.  “I wish we had a TV.”

“I wish we had a Jacuzzi,” my husband piped in, a bit more excited now.

It reminded me of my sitz bath.  “With some bubbles.”

“I just hope this dream doesn’t turn to bubble…” Jae-rim oppa said wistfully as we reached an intersection.

I hadn’t realized that I had rested my head on his shoulder while we both took a nap.  He had his hand in mine the whole time, as he was always protecting me, even when he was asleep.

I awoke some time later, and couldn’t see any buildings or any sign of civilization.  There were only trees and open fields and land.  I even saw mountains.  “What is this?  This is weird.”

Jae-rim oppa groggily opened his eyes and looked around, speechless either from drowsiness or the oddity of where we had been taken. 

Suddenly, we were in the Civilian Control Line where a couple of soldiers asked for our identification and inquired where we were going.

“O-our house,” I stammered, as I could also feel my husband’s embarrassment radiating towards me.  “In Si-Am-Li.”

Thankfully, we had passed the security check without any problems and were allowed to go on our way. 

How far away had they exiled us?

“I wish it was that type of house,” Jae-rim oppa said, pointing at a two-story normal looking single family residence that we just passed by.

“Ah, no, it can’t be that house.  The truck is still going,” I told him, although I wished he was right.

“In 250 meters, you will reach your destination,” the eerie voice from the GPS declared. 

“How could it be near?” Jae-rim oppa wondered, a bit irritated.  “All I see are greenhouses.  It can’t be a greenhouse, right?”

No, it couldn’t be.

“80… 78 meters remaining…” my husband anticipated, but sounding a little nervous. 

Down the road, we could see a few structures but with neglected timber, rusting railings and even dried up grass. 

“Is that it?” I asked, staring at an orange-colored roof. 

“It can’t be…” my husband and I said in unison, couldn’t believe our eyes.

What were they thinking???

I gripped his sleeve suddenly, seeing a definite sign almost blinding in the sun.  “Omo!  Oppa, there are our names there!”

“Where?”

“There!” I told him, pointing at the bronze plates that had been emblazoned with our names nailed to the mud wall of our new home.  “Kim So-eun, Song Jae-rim!”

~~~ To be continued…