Today's Reading
Jeong-su stepped on the gas and left the three people behind. The old man stepped in front of the two women and extended his hand toward the orb. And then, just as with the others, he let out a scream as the orb pulled him into the darkness. Seeing the old man be devoured just feet from them, the old women also started screaming. Jeong-su exited the alley onto the main road and didn't look back.
CHAPTER TWO
CAR
When Jeong-su woke up, the first thing he looked at was his phone, which he had been holding on to tightly all night. Twelve-twelve p.m., and no missed calls nor any messages. He stretched his back and neck, which were stiff from sleeping in his car, and blinked several times trying to wake himself up.
He felt foolish for falling asleep while that black orb was still at large. He had spent the whole night nervously driving around the city trying to figure out where to go. When he finally parked his car, it was dusk and he was near his office. Tired from driving all night, he eventually fell asleep in the driver's seat.
Still half-conscious, he rubbed his eyes before noticing a woman walking by. She gave him an inconspicuous glance before continuing down the street. He let out a sigh. He was relieved by how normal the woman's behavior was. She looked as though she was on her way to lunch, like it was just another day. She didn't look like a person who knew there was a mysterious black orb wandering the streets of Seoul killing people.
Indeed, it was a sunny Monday afternoon, and the world seemed as peaceful as ever. But this didn't make sense to Jeong-su.
He had spent the whole night running for his life. As he drove around, he listened to the radio, expecting reports of the people-eating black orb. But they never came. He even made phone calls to his friends, but no one picked up or called him back. Because he had called everyone he knew, he was transfixed by the idea that the telephone lines were down because of the orb.
But he realized this wasn't the case when a few minutes later, he received a phone call from his mother. She asked why he had called so late last night.
"It was because of the fight you had with your father, wasn't it? Don't take it personally. He's been a bit irritable lately. He's always had a bit of a temper. You know that."
All Jeong-su could say was "Right, I get it."
Finally, he asked if she had seen anything strange recently.
"Anything strange? What do you mean?"
"It's nothing. Forget I mentioned it," he said as he hung up.
He continued to wait in his car, but there was no news of anything unusual. The world was going round, just like it always had, and it was only he who was in panic mode.
The day was starting to warm up. Jeong-su rolled up his windows to prevent the hot air from entering the car and turned on the air-conditioning. As he did this, he met eyes with himself in the side-view mirror. He sat there in silence and stared at his own face for a while.
Whenever he looked in the mirror, he was always met with a cheerful face. Indeed, Jeong-su liked how he looked. Everyone always commented on what a handsome man he was. Jeong-su was happy to be born with a face that made others want to be his friend. Not wanting to waste his good looks, he made a special effort to always smile. But because he had stayed up all night and feared for his life, he appeared weary and the area beneath his eyes looked hollow. How, he wondered, could one man's face change so much in the span of one night?
"Because I almost died," he answered himself.
The terror that Jeong-su felt as he ran from that black orb had changed his appearance. He could still hear the hair-raising screams of the people who had been absorbed into the black orb: his neighbor, that faceless woman, the woman who tripped, and the old man he left behind in the alley.
"They all must be dead."
But Jeong-su had made it out. He hadn't been killed. And yet something didn't add up. At least four people were now missing, if not dead. How could Seoul be so peaceful? And why was no one returning his calls? Jeong-su looked at his phone. He had no missed calls. Stranger yet, no one from work had contacted him. It was past noon, and he hadn't shown up at work. There was no way his boss hadn't called him.
Shouldn't they be asking each other why I'm so late? Why haven't my boss or clients called to ask where I am?
A travel program rerun from that weekend was playing on Jeong-su's GPS screen, which had TV service. The host was showcasing local restaurants just outside of Seoul, festivals from rural parts of the provinces, and popular pets.
Maybe they already destroyed the thing.
This excerpt is from the ebook edition.
On Monday, August 4 we begin the book The Emilie Adventures by Martha Wells.
...
