Just A Crush

Chapter One

Im Han-Bin

The flight took more energy from me than I anticipated, so despite the anxiety that riddles my body from the sudden move, I find myself nodding off as we wait for our luggage. In a way, I'm grateful for the exhaustion, since it makes me appear to be much calmer about the situation than I actually feel. The entire plane ride, I thought I might vomit at any moment, and my stomach was upset with nerves.

My mother keeps her arm looped through mine, her coffee brown eyes creased with the worry of her own as she continues to glance over her shoulder, examining each man who walks or loiters in our general vicinity. The dark circles beneath her eyes attest to her own exhaustion, though it looks like she is too on-edge to notice. Though I do not exhibit the same concern that she does, she reaches up to pat my hand consolingly, somehow knowing that it exists. 

"It will be alright," She murmurs in Korean, her voice smoothing over the nerves that I have forced down into my stomach.  "He won't be able to reach us here. Your uncle will take good care of us." 

I force a weak smile as she reaches to touch my cheek, her eyes brimming with tears. I can feel the tender skin beneath her gentle fingers from the bruise that my father gave me as a parting gift that serves as an unwelcome reminder of what we left behind. My own pain means nothing to me in comparison to that of my mother's, as she is covered in twice as many bumps and bruises beneath her parka and leopard print track pants.  

"I know, Eomma. We will be safe here," I notice that our luggage has finally arrived, so I step forward to pull them off of the conveyer belt. There are only four bags in total, two for each of us, since we could only pack the things that we could carry. One of the bags is much lighter than the others, filled with whatever keepsakes my mother insisted on taking with us and other things that she was able to pack before my father got home from work. 

My mother offers a small, hopeful smile as she takes her two bags from me, and we begin to wheel our belongings in and out of human traffic, towards the exit of the airport. " Your uncle said that he would be sending a car for us, so be sure to keep an eye out for someone holding a sign with our name on it." 

I stand on my toes as we continue walking, trying to scan the crowd for someone of that description. "Hey, Eomma? While we're in America, I think it would be best for you to speak English as much as possible, okay? You have to practice." 

She continues to search for the airport, only half-listening to my request. She responds in English, though, so I know that she heard me. "Ah, Okei." 

Since I was able to take English classes in school, I speak it much more fluently than she does. My mom only got to practice on the rare occasions that she was able to speak with or fly over to see my uncle, so she is not nearly as fluent as I am, though she is able to comprehend much of what people say to her. I'm concerned that is she does decide to go anywhere by herself here, that she might have a difficult time communicating if she doesn't practice with me.

I spot a man in a black suit and tie standing rigidly with a sign, scanning through the crowd. Our last name is printed neatly in English on the sign that he holds, so I lightly grab my mother's arm and point towards him. "There he is. Do you need help with any of your bags?" 

She is nearly run over by a large man as he rushes past us to catch his flight, but I manage to pull her closer to me and out of his way just in time. Since he doesn't even make an attempt to toss an apology over his shoulder, I spit a curse at him that he doesn't seem to hear over all of the noise that surrounds us.