teacher • kth

16: changes

"Namjoon's going to stay with Jungkook for now." Mr. Kim grunted, as he tied up the passed out man on his living room floor.

"You really got him, didn't you?" He chuckled, smiling warmly at me.

"I got scared he was gonna touch me." I admitted, making him nod with a grim expression on his face.

"We have another base in North Korea. We hide people there when things get too crazy."

"We'll stay there until things in here die down. It's too dangerous here for the time being, and there isn't much we can do other than be sitting ducks." He said, grabbing both our bags.

"How will we even get there?" I mumbled out, along with the millions of other questions I had.

"Come with me." He murmured, taking my hand and leading me back into his room.

Opening his closet door once again, he withdrew a large windbreaker, draping it over my shoulders.

"One second." He whispered, before turning around and rummaging through his dresser, clearly in search of something.

After a while, he withdrew a face mask, and a baseball cap.

"Put these on. Those guys have eyes everywhere." He ordered, gesturing to the unconscious man on the floor before doing the same and pulling on a hat.

I did what he said, slipping my arms through the sleeves of the jacket and pulling my hair into a ponytail.

-

"We're on a private jet. The flight won't be long. Get some rest." Mr. Kim said, handing me a blanket and neck pillow.

I nodded, spreading the blanket across my legs as I closed my eyes.

"Everest." His voice was gentle, for the first time that night.

I opened an eye, to see him standing across from the chair I sat in.

His arms were crossed as he gave me a warm smile.

"Thank you, for saving my ass back there." He said, shaking his head as he smiled at the ground.

"You've saved my life more than once, Mr. Kim." I countered, and he nodded.

"We'll consider it even then." He said, before settling down in the seat in front of my own.

As the plane started, and began to take off, I looked outside the window, watching as the streets of Seoul evaporated into the night air, hidden underneath the heavy clouds.

And my mind wandered off to everything I was leaving behind.

God knows how long we'd be gone for.

All my friends at school, Jungkook, my home, my favorite corner cafe.

Jimin.

I pushed everything away, before closing my eyes and going to sleep.

-

"Everest. We're here." I heard Mr. Kim's voice say, as someone shook my shoulder softly. 

Letting out a soft sigh, I opened my eyes.

Looking out the window, I could see the clear, blue skies, stretched across the horizon as the sun peeked out from behind fluffy clouds.

"It's beautiful." I murmured quietly, and Mr. Kim ducked his head, peering out the window with a look of disinterest on his face.

"I guess so." He said apathetically, as he grabbed our bags.

-

Mr. Kim was completely silent, as he drove the rental car through the rural roads.