‘Don’t forget this container as well! This one has your favourite, beef stew! And this one container has all the medicine. Whenever you feel weak, you have a fever, you have a headache, you have gastro, you feel constipated- ’

‘Okay Ma, I get the gist of it, thank you.’ His mother opens his suitcase outside the check-in area of Korea Airlines, and the people behind him start to tut impatiently. She tries to squeeze in a few more containers, mostly labelled ‘brownies’, ‘muffins’ and ‘cookies’. ‘Just a bit moreee, I can make it fit.’ Even the airline staff who are waiting for the luggage to be weighed for check-in sigh impatiently. His mother looks up at them and the passengers behind, ‘Tut and sigh all you want folks, but my son comes back home to Toronto once a year and I’m going to make sure he has enough food to last til the next time he comes back. So if anyone has a problem with that, let me know and we can take this outside!’

The young man takes off his sunglasses and places them on his blond hair, apologising to the passengers behind and airline staff for his mother’s abrasiveness. She’s one of hell of woman, his mum, and if there’s one thing she loves more than speaking her mind, it’s her children. ‘Ma, it’s getting late now!’ He watches as she tries to fit the beef stew in his carry on. ‘Thanks so much for the food Ma, but remember I told you- the airports now confiscate most food items, especially meat and liquids, for international flights. They’ll probably throw it out when we go through customs so I’d rather you take that back home and eat it well. Okay?’ His mother unwillingly accepts defeat and allows him to check in his suitcases. While he places the luggage on the conveyer, she immediately goes to the airline staff that’s attending to their check-in. ‘He can’t eat seafood so nothing fishy around him, okay?! I’m watching you! Make sure you give him the biggest meal on deck, not your normal airplane sizes okay- he’s such a tall boy, he needs a lot of energy!’

He finishes up and sends the staff an apologetic look, mouthing ‘sorry’, as they tenderly assure his mother that he will be looked after. His mother’s mobile rings and she walks a few metres away to answer it. The young man takes this opportunity to quickly finish the check-in process and is done by the time she comes back. ‘I’m so so sorry son, Kayla said Kaden flooded the bathroom and she’s freaking out. I have to go back home now,’ his mother says sadly. She gives him a tight hug and even though her head barely reaches his shoulders, she still attempts to pat his hair. ‘Take care of yourself son, I know you’re a big superstar over there, but don’t forget that you’re human as well, okay? I know your job feeds the household, but don’t for a second hesitate to come back home if it gets too much. We are just a phone call away.’ He lets her pat his head one final time, enjoying the moment as much as he can because he knows he’s going to miss this, miss her, miss home back in Korea. ‘Thanks for everything Ma.  I’ll come back soon, I promise! You go ahead now, our house is becoming a water theme park as we speak!’ She laughs and gives her son a final hug. ‘Message me when you land Kris!’ she exclaims as she runs for a cab. He watches as she enters the cab, waving at her until she is far into the distance. With a deep sigh, he heads back into the airport, through to the departure gates. It’ll be at least one year before he gets to see his family again. He puts on his sunglasses as he lines up for the security check. Glancing at his watch, it’s been four minutes since he last saw her. Finishing the security check, he takes comfort in the fact he’s four minutes closer to being reunited with her again.