Before I left for the "Other" Korea, my mother would always mutter her prayers almost every part of the day. Whenever she was cooking, cleaning, or watching TV, I would always hear her begging to God to keep me safe. I could tell she was afraid; after all, I was going to a country nobody would even think twice about walking into.

I remember once when I was packing away the rest of my things into my suitcase, my mother brought in a fresh pile of clothes and laid them at the side of my bed. She stood there for a minute, looking at me as I struggled to put the last of the items in my bag. I looked up at her and saw a worried look on her face. 

"What's wrong, Umma?" I asked, analyzing her face. Each wrinkle on her face was full of concern. was quivering and worn out from the constant prayers. She sighed and looked down at my overstuffed suitcase.

"Do you really have to go? I mean, out of all the places in the world, why North Korea?"

My mother asked me this question numerous times in the past. To be honest, I still don't know why my youth group and I chose North Korea. However, the only thing I knew was that I wouldn't be welcomed over there. I would be considered an outsider, an enemy. 

"Umma, I already told you, I'll be fine!"

"How could you be so sure?"

"I just know, alright?" 

For the record, I knew I was going to be alright. I would be with people I knew along with 2 North Korea guides. Honestly, a South Korean cannot go wandering around a forbidden place by themself; My mother wasn't understanding that part. 

She then grabbed a hold of my suitcase and surprisingly shut it tight, zipping it up afterwards. My mother then stood back up and placed her hands on both of my shoulders and looked at me with her tired eyes.

"Just promise me that you'll be safe," She pleaded.
"Umma, please. You know that-"
"Please. Just for me."

I couldn't help but to pity her. She was worrying so much for nothing. I was only going to leave for a month. But then again, a month almost feels like forever- especially in a mother's eyes. My mother used to tell me that whenever I was gone for a week, it felt like a year without rain. She would tell me that she didn't have anyone to tell what she cooked or what she made. Honestly, my mother was lonely; I could tell.

"Alright, I promise." I scoffed, giving up.

My mother's face lit up like a dim candle and with her fragile hands, she grabbed my suitcase and lifted it off the floor.

"Load it into the car," She said softly. With one nod, I took the giant suitcase and managed to take it through the front door. I strolled down the driveway and stood next to the youth group's bus and read the words that were running across the vehicle in its bold color.
"ANYANG GYEONGGI-DO PRESBYTERIAN YOUTH GROUP."

With one sigh, I stepped inside the car and closed the door, still looking at my mother through the window. was moving rapidly as she said her prayers. I smiled softly at her and waved slowly through the window as I saw her wave back, smiling too. As the bus moved away, I couldn't keep my eyes off the house nor my mother (who was still standing there). I felt a little bit empty inside. It hurt to see her weak self alone.

Breaking the moment, my friend Taemin playfully punched my shoulder and began to holler wildly.
"You ready?!" He exclaimed. I snapped back into reality and smiled brightly, joining him with his yellings.
 "Hell yeah!" I responded. Along with Taemin and me, my other friends were chattering excitedly and singing along to the upbeat songs that blasted through the radio.

We all knew that this was going to be the last time we used our phones, listened to obnoxious music, used the internet, and any other thing that involves internet connection.

I was going to miss all of it.

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Thank you guys for subscribing! I'm sorry I wasn't able to update this soon enough- I work on this story only at school. This story was supposed to be much longer, but I'm going to leave that for the second chapter. This chapter is really really short LOL. Once again, thank you!