The Timing of Escape (4)
I succeeded in explaining the situation to my parents and temporarily leaving Cream with them. Although I felt bad about being separated from Cream due to unavoidable reasons, there was no other choice. It wasn’t a situation where I could leave her at a cat hotel, and it was clear that taking Cream along would cause her more stress.
The good thing was that Cream was somewhat familiar with my parents. Except for me, or more precisely, me and Sa Hae-geon, my parents were the only living beings Cream acknowledged. Of course, the problem was that she acted very prickly towards my parents, but…
Thinking about it, it was strange and fascinating that Cream liked and followed Hae-geon more than my parents. Was he naturally the type that animals follow well? Well, although he looks like a fox, he acts like a large dog, so he must get along well with animals.
Sometimes, I might remember the eccentricities Hae-geon would pull off with his harmless face. Although it was baffling, I didn’t dislike or find him bothersome.
Even though it was a weekday afternoon, the terminal was bustling with people. Were they all taking winter vacations and going on trips? Seeing people gathered in groups with their suitcases and luggage made me feel envious. How nice it would be if I were on my way to somewhere fun like those people.
I clutched the impulsively purchased ticket to Gapyeong and lingered in front of the door leading to the boarding platform. There were about thirty minutes left until boarding time, but the situation visible through the transparent glass doors was strange. The bodies of several large buses were swaying back and forth.
The people gathered to board the buses, like me, were in a commotion.
“Oh my, oh my!”
“Why is it like that? What’s happening?”
“Mom, look at that! The buses are dancing! They must be excited!”
“What? What kind of wind is blowing like that? I didn’t hear anything about a typhoon coming…”
“Hey, what’s that? Is it that, you know, whirlwind or something? You know, they say whirlwinds happen a lot around the Central Center! Isn’t that it? This is near the Central Center too…”
“What? It’s been quiet all this time, why is it acting up again all of a sudden?”
I couldn’t help but flinch at the word “whirlwind” that came from their mouths. Why today of all days… I wondered if bus operations would even be possible. I kept checking the situation outside anxiously, but contrary to my hopes, the shaking of the bus bodies didn’t subside.
Instead, the situation was getting more and more serious. Even the street trees that had been holding up were now starting to sway as if they might be uprooted at any moment. People’s anxiety was also growing.
“Are they going to cancel the operations at this rate? What on earth is going on…”
Behind the worried mutterings, I heard agitated voices of people.
“Why on earth are they doing this? If they have something against the Central Center, they should confront them directly, why do they keep inconveniencing innocent citizens!”
“What is the Ability Department doing instead of catching and locking up these guys?”
“Ugh! It’s such a waste of our taxes, really. Are they taking us hostage or what?”
“Aish… Aren’t the buildings going to collapse at this rate? If the Ability Department doesn’t come out, shouldn’t the Central Center step in?”
“Damn it… Can someone call the Central Center?”
“Why don’t you do it yourself, mister? My goodness, in a situation like this, you should think about doing it yourself. I’m already busy making calls, do you think I don’t have hands or feet?”
“Hey, are you talking to me?”
“Well, is there anyone else here telling others to make phone calls?”
As everyone was on edge due to tension and anxiety, arguments were breaking out everywhere. There were people trying to break up fights, people egging them on, and people busy making phone calls in corners – the inside of the terminal was in utter chaos. In this pandemonium, I could only stare blankly outside.
‘Are they really going to cancel operations? No way…’
But there’s a reason for the saying “There’s no such thing as ‘no way’.” Just as I thought I heard a crackling noise, an announcement was broadcast throughout the terminal building.
– This is an announcement from Seoul Central Terminal. Due to sudden whirlwinds, all scheduled operations for today have been temporarily suspended. We ask for your understanding.
…What? Everyone, including myself, looked dejected at the announcement. Unable to believe the situation, I just kept staring beyond the glass doors. At that moment, I saw a silhouette on the rooftop of an 8-story building across from the terminal.
Someone was sitting on the railing of the building’s rooftop, looking down at the terminal. Although I couldn’t be certain due to the height and the sudden worsening of weather conditions due to the whirlwinds, the figure looked quite familiar.
‘…Shin Woo-jun?’
If my eyes, my intuition weren’t wrong, the person on the building’s rooftop was undoubtedly Shin Woo-jun. He had appeared in Seosan, Chungnam not long ago, had he returned to Seoul? Even if he came back, why at the Central Terminal of all places… My head hurt from the increasingly tangled situation. I broke out in a cold sweat, worried that Hae-geon might catch me before I even left Seoul.
The whirlwinds gradually intensified. The landscaped trees that had only been swaying at first now began to stagger, exposing their roots. The outside was turning into a miserable sight. Even the cars that had been moving slowly like slugs had long since stopped.
“So, they say it’s definitely the work of Shin… what was it? Anyway, this Shin something?”
“Shin something? Ah! You know, that… Shin Woo-jun? That’s what they’re saying, but who knows. The Ability Department is still quiet, so it could be the work of other Espers.”
“Hmm, if it’s not Shin Woo-jun, it doesn’t make sense no matter how you think about it. Anyway, we should be able to live in peace.”
The citizens’ complaints continued. And I strongly sympathized with them. Especially on a day like today. To make matters worse, even the terminal building was shaking in the strong wind. At this rate, the suspension of operations would clearly not remain just ‘temporary’. If that happened, my plan to leave Seoul would be in vain.
Should I contact my parents now? Maybe it would be better to go to the family home first and think of another plan. It was at that moment, as I turned my back on the glass doors that were irritating just to look at and was deliberating with my hand tightly gripping the phone in my pocket.
Someone appeared in my sight.
“…”
It was Sa Hae-geon, with a desperate and sorrowful face.
‘…I’m done for.’
With reddened eyes, he ran towards me urgently as soon as he spotted me. As Hae-geon got closer, I could clearly see that his handsome face was stained with tears. With the realization that my short-lived escape was coming to an end like this, ironically, guilt filled my mind. Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, why did I feel this sense of guilt?
And is it really necessary for Hae-geon, a grown adult, to come running while crying like this just because I left home? Hae-geon sprinted towards my arms, not caring at all about the gazes of people around. Finally, his large and solid body embraced me tightly, as if swallowing me whole.
A groan escaped involuntarily as I collided with the tall Hae-geon.
“Ugh…”
Hae-geon, who would normally have asked if I was okay and apologized, must have been really angry as he said nothing and just tightened his arms around me. Feeling like I might suffocate if this continued, I patted his chest.
“Can’t… breathe. I can’t… breathe, Hae-geon.”
Not having the courage to face Hae-geon directly, I desperately lowered my gaze and waited for his response. After several minutes of waiting patiently for him to spout words of resentment or anything, what finally escaped from between his tightly clenched teeth was neither resentment, nor irritation, nor complaint.
“…Huh, uh.”
It was a sob. The moment I heard that sound, I instantly felt like I was trash that couldn’t even be recycled.
“Hae-geon?”
I tried to comfort him by patting his back, but he wouldn’t stop crying easily. On the contrary, the more I tried to console him, the more he burrowed into my arms, constricting my breath. Hae-geon tightened his arms around me even more, to the point where I thought he might be trying to take revenge this way.
Like a child unwilling to let go of a precious being, he cried while holding me tightly. The solid arms wrapped around my body like a snare were trembling slightly.
