Away from the North

Chapter 15

We follow the guard to a nice office where the president, once again, is waiting for us. It's been about a month since the first shot was fired and we have been winning so far and have taken over North Korea's capital.
The government sent Jul's work a email and they apologized to Jul. Otherwise, we've all been bored out of our minds, playing video games and board games all day long.
I sit down on the couch next to Lilac and take her hand. I intertwine our fingers and she smiles up at me. We look at the president who seems to be thinking about something.
"Our country and North Korea are signing something to show they have given up the country. But what should we do about the people who live there right now?" He asks us, his head laying on his hands. I think for a moment about what needs to be done.
"You will probably have to reteach the people. The kids will be easier than the adults for sure. Fix the living conditions and the economy," I tell him. He nods and we talk for a while about the state of everything in North Korea. He tells us that it will be an estimated two year before the country is stable.
Jul adds in every once in a while, telling him about the ways that different people are treated and that people need to be taught what's okay to be. The president looks down at me and Lilac's intertwined hands when he says that.
"Yes. We are dating. It was a small part but still a reason why I decided to leave," I tell him. He nods and we keep talking for about an hour before a guard bursts into the room and says that there's an emergency meeting that the president needs to attend.
The president stands up and walks over to the guard at the door. He then stops and turns around to face us. The guard taps his shoulder but he waves them off.
"Thank you all for your help. You can go home tomorrow, and feel free to take anything you want from your apartment," he says. He then follows the guard to wherever his emergency meeting is at.
We walk out of the room and back up to our little apartment. I open the door for what will be the last time and we step in. I look around and sigh. We haven't been here that long but I'm really going to miss this apartment.
I walk into the bedroom and start piling clothes into bags, planning to wear a lot of them as they fit nicely and are really soft. I walk out of e room and see Jul taking the PlayStation 4 and the remotes. I raise and eyebrow and he shrugs as he continues unplugging it.
"They said we can take anything we want," he says. I see Dali grabbing a lot of the makeup from the bathrooms and Lilac writes down food that we should take home in a cooler tomorrow. I grab some of the dresses from Lilac's dresser and put them in bags as well as Dali's.
I grab a couple of the tuxedos that Jul wore and pack those away too. I grab all the bags and walk out of the apartment, putting the bags in the car. I walk back inside and ride the elevator. I walk into the apartment and see that Jul is now playing a couple of games on the phone that the government gave him..
I pull mine our and see that Lilac messages me not even a minute ago asking me to come to our bathroom. I walk inside the room and knock on the door.
"Come in!" She calls. I walk in and see her filling up bottles with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash from the shower. She looks over at me and smiles.
"Which scents do you want?" She asks pointing to the empty bottles sitting on the floor. I tell her strawberry and she nods, continuing to fill up the bottles. I walk into the other bathroom and see that Dali is doing the same thing for her and Jul.
I walk back into the living room and sit beside Jul, taking out my phone and scrolling through social media. The television changes stations, Jul has previously been using it as background noise. Dali and Lilac walk in and sit down beside us as the news starts.
"North Korea has given up It's country into the hands of us. The country will be taught differently so that they can adjust to new life," the news reporter says. The news cameras scan over North Korea for the first time in history.
I see the wrecked buildings and disgusting streets again. Dali and Lilac look over at us in shock. Jul didn't live in that filth but I had to and it wasn't very nice.
The reporter goes on to say the death toll and different things about the North. I go back to my phone which is blowing up about North Korea. I shake my head and play a word game on my phone, not even paying attention to the television.
"Yuku, look! We're on television!" Jul exclaims. It shows a picture of all of us standing together, me holding Lilac's hand and Jul holding Dali's. I remember that she never told us why we had to take that picture, just that it was mandatory.
"These hero's saved North Korea!" The news person says. Okay well don't give us all the credit. The soldiers did more than we did. They go on and then dedicate a bunch of the soldiers and I feel better about being called a hero.
Lilac leans her head against my arm as we sit and watch the news. Everything's going to be okay.