"You'll have a better life there," they said.

"You can raise some money for your family," they said.

The counselors at the immigration-oriented office Han Geng had visited last week had said a lot of things.
Han Geng reckoned they were wrong about all of it. And he was pretty sure that the Korean man who made an attempt to guide him to a South Korean hotel felt the same way.

"I'm s-sorry … for c-causing you trouble," Han Geng managed to spit out in broken and slurred Korean. All he got in return was a brief nod.

Han Geng only had enough money to stay in the not-so-foreigner-friendly hotel for one night, so it was necessary for him to find a job as soon as possible. Unfortunately, his lack of Korean kept him out of most workplaces that were hiring and prevented him from responding to any advertisements. After attempting almost ten workplaces and being hung up on almost 15 times, Han Geng was hopeless. Upon returning to the hotel, he found his small amount of luggage in the lobby with a note left on top of it. Unable to read the note, Han Geng whipped out his pocket sized Chinese-Korean dictionary, going through the note word by word.

"You … a-are … un-a-able … to … pay for – Pay for what?! – one … night – Really?! – p-please … find … somewhere else to s-stay?" He stared at the note incredulously. He could swear he had counted his small amount of money correctly. He could swear he had enough to pay for one night. After paying the hotel almost all of his money out of politeness because of the trouble he felt he caused, Han Geng was out on the street in the rain, his luggage resting on the cold, damp ground. Employing a few choice swear words in Chinese, Han Geng began walking down the street, avoiding large puddles and people walking in the same direction.


Sunday service was Siwon's favorite time of the week. Everyone gathered together to praise God. He couldn't imagine anything better. Soon, that day's service came to a close with announcements.

"The construction is almost complete!" His words were met with claps and shouts from the small, but lively, congregation.

"We're just looking to fill in some small jobs, but for now we can do without them. So, if you or anyone you know is interested, there are contact forms all over the place!" The claps continued, causing Siwon's mouth to form a wide grin. This was without a doubt what he loved doing. As the congregation began exiting, Siwon shook each parishioner's hand, smiling as he did so. The small group of children began filing out, grinning up at Siwon. Siwon took the chance to ask the Sunday school teacher, Kim Ryeowook, how they had behaved this week.

"Oh, they behaved well, although some of them need to learn to keep their hands to themselves," Ryeowook smiled, obviously thinking of one child in particular. Siwon returned the grin, appreciating the positive behavior from the children.

"You must be doing a good job with them, then. I don't think I've heard one negative thing about those kids yet," Siwon laughed lightly, beginning to walk over to the sacristy with Ryeowook following closely behind.

"Siwon-sunbaenim?" they heard from the other side of the thin wall separating the sacristy from the rest of the church. Siwon poked his head around the corner to look at who was talking to him. Kyuhyun looked up from the organ when he saw Siwon's head poking out.

"I feel like there's something missing. No offense to you as the pastor, but I think we're missing something from the church…"

"No offense to you as the organist, but I think there was something missing from your playing today," Siwon retorted playfully. Kyuhyun grinned, standing up and packing up his small bag of his personal items. The three men began walking to the door, each of them silently wondering what the church could be missing.