Nostomania

 “I didn’t know that once you’ve proven yourself useful to the wrong people, you’ll never be free again.” ― Steve Hamilton

GROUP CHAT (5 PEOPLE)

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH 2014

< YOU HAVE INVITED VEGETAE, BUBBLEGUM_GIRL, RELAXION AND SOOPERSTAR TO THE CHATROOM>

WHERE ARE YOU GIRLS?

I’M ALMOST THERE

7:53 PM

You walk through the street of Gangseo-gu with a smile as you wait for your friends’ reply. The weather is fine with the right amount of breeze, and the sound of the falling leaves fits right on the autumn feeling.

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

WAIT A BIT, I JUST TRANSFERRED TO LINE 4

RELAXION

I’M PROBABLY GONNA BE THERE AT THE SAME TIME AS BUBBLEGUM

VEGETAE

I’M GONNA BE A BIT LATE. YOU GUYS GO AHEAD.

I’LL CATCH UP LATER

A small rush of gratification gets to your heart, knowing that your friends are on their way for the meet up. You’re meeting some people for the first time that you’ve only known via social media, online.

2 HOURS EARLIER

Inside your apartment room in Gangnam, you were surfing the web, particularly trying to find something interesting to see. You weren’t in the mood to watch TV yet alone to phone a friend, you just had the mood to sit down and stare at your computer screen, while eating some snacks with banana milk.

You clicked some links, tabs, to fill your boredom, before you saw a post from your friend.

VEGETAE

Subject: WHO’S UP FOR CHICKEN AND BEER TONIGHT?

IT IS A NICE NIGHT OUT TONIGHT, ANYONE WHO’S INTERESTED, MEET ME AT 8 O’CLOCK  NEAR UNIVERSITY STREET. I WILL COVER THE BILL FOR UP TO 100.000 WON!

“Wah. Chicken and beer at 8? Not bad.” You began to think as another reply popped out.

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

CHECKEN AND BEAR? I AM DOWN! I WILL SHOWER AND LEAVE NOW

RELAXION

JUST TRY AND STOP ME HAHA

SOOPERSTAR

PERFECT TIMING!

I WAS JUST SITTING AROUND TRYING TO THINK OF WHAT TO DO TONIGHT.
I’LL BE THERE!

“Nice… looks like they’re all coming.”

Normally, you would have just ignored this kind of thing, but you were pretty bored, and you were curious as to how these girls you had known online looked like in person, in real life. You’ve known them for some weeks, so you decided to give it a try. They are nice and funny anyway.

PANG-PANG

I’M GOING TOO.

RELAXION

FOR NOW I WILL LEAVE MY KAKATALK ID INSTEAD OF MY PHONE NUMBER. ADD ME

VEGETAE

I JUST ADDED YOU

SEE MY MESSAGE??

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

HEY GIRLS ADD ME TOO ADD ME

You stop your steps as you reach the appointed place to meet. And then you start to think, you felt like you knew them pretty well online, but meeting them in person might be awkward at first. Honestly? It should be super awkward.

You sighed, rubbing your forehead, picturing how awkward it would really be. You laughed and let the time pass as you wait for further notice.

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

PANG-PANG….. WHERE ARE YOU?

I’M HERE

8:13 PM

You look around, glancing to the right and left side to find any clue of her whereabouts with a knack of excitement, imagining how this person would look like. Pretty? Tall, slender? Short, cute and lively? You think of how to greet her in the first place. Would a ‘Hi’ be okay?

 PANG-PANG

I AM AT THE PLACE WE SAID.

WEARING BLACK AND WHITE HOODIE WITH SKINNY JEANS.

“Oh, is that her…?”

You scan the place to find nothing but a glimpse of a person, wearing a green military jacket, a red thick scarf fully covering her neck, and a grey wool knitted hat. Her hair was long, wavy, you honestly thought she looked cute from the distance, until you found something odd and disturbing about the way the girl smiles at you.

As you stand there numb, thinking if it was one of your friends, the girl comes closer—20 feet away—your heart starts screaming that something is wrong.

You are close enough to see the girl in clear vision. She has that blank, creepy gaze on you as she approaches closer and closer. Her steps are slow paced, but is filled with something you aren’t able to decipher. Your anxiousness arouses, you begin to feel that your palms are cold.

“W-What the…?”

Move by anxiety, you start to walk away, avoiding close contact with the mysterious girl. Your heart is beating wildly, as you type chat to your friends. You can’t stop the scary thoughts from entering your mind.

PANG-PANG

THIS IS FREAKY.

I THOUGHT BUBBLEGUM_GIRL WAS A UNIVERSITY STUDENT?

BUT THERE’S THIS WEIRD-LOOKING GIRL COMING

RELAXION

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL IS A STUDENT LIKE US.

IT CAN’T BE HER… ARE YOU SURE YOU SAW THE RIGHT PERSON?

VEGETAE

STOP TRYING TO FREAK US OUT, PANG-PANG

HAHA

You mentally complain about the responses you receive from your friends. Do they have no sympathy at all? This isn’t a joke. That creepy girl earlier isn’t a joke. You pause from walking to turn around, checking if that girl is still nearby.

“This is weird. Something’s not right.”

Your mind is screaming for you to run away.

SOOPERSTAR

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

PANG-PANG

SOMETHING JUST SEEMS WEIRD.

THAT GIRL KEEPS STARING AT ME AND FOLLOWING ME.

You take a hasty step forward, thinking of a place where you could possibly wait safely. The moon is up there in the sky, some people walk past you and you are stuck with nowhere to go.

SOOPERSTAR

ALRIGHT THE JOKE IS OVER, WE’RE NOT SCARED

HAHA

RELAXION

JUST GET INSIDE SOMEWHERE!

I WILL BE THERE SOON

PANG-PANG

HEY BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

ARE YOU HOLDING ANYTHING? WHAT OUTFIT ARE YOU WEARING?

I NEED TO KNOW

I’M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW :(

A depressing and agitating feeling arises from the bad thoughts of what’s going to happen are clouding your mind. You find yourself  hiding in an underground parking lot of a small condo nearby.

Huffing, you face-palmed, trying to calm yourself. You keep telling yourself that everything is going to be alright. You can encounter weird and creepy persons everyday, every night. Tonight is just not your lucky night.

As much as you try to ease your mind, your heart is still nagging with an intense feeling of despair. Like something bad is coming, like it is going to be the end for you.

Despair sprays over your face, your hands are sweating. You are too careful to let a heavy breath out—you feel like you’re inflating a balloon—you can’t let the air out; instead, you keep blowing more in, tightening the tension until it looks like the balloon is going to pop at any second.

Then blow in more. And more.

Until you can hardly stand it.

You lean against the steel bumper of a car.  A sedan, dark and silent—that you can hear the sound of your heartbeat. You blink hard, inhale, and look around. Your sweat drops silently as you squint to see the entrance.

RELAXION

PANG-PANG

WHERE ARE YOU?

I’M HERE

You are panting hard as you glance over the screen, thinking if you should phone a family. But wouldn’t they think you’re just pulling a prank call? When you tell them that you’re hiding in a parking lot while waiting for your friends to come?

Your mind is in chaos.

RELAXION

HURRY UP AND TELL ME….. WHERE ARE YOU?

You tremble as you type your reply:

PANG-PANG

I DON’T KNOW

I JUST RAN INTO THIS UNDERGROUND PARKING LOT

NEAR A CONDO

OMG T_T

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

AH, THERE. I’M COMING

Before you have a chance to think, a small sound around the basement stirs your heart into mixed emotions. In one hand you are trembling in fear and agony, but at the same time you can’t help but think that it could be another person, a normal person who just passed by. Maybe you can ask for help, or a ride home.

A sound suddenly came from behind the car you’ve been hiding, so piercing that your teeth gritted in fear.

You are in peril.

As much as you wanted to scream, you held it tightly, for this is a matter of life and death—your guts are telling you, one noise and you’re going to be dead. You squeezed your hands tightly, praying for your own life, your own safety.

You can still hear the footsteps and the sound of steel grinding the floor.

A loud, good smack of steel striking your head forced you down, kneeling on the floor. Whimpering in pain, you try to remember what just happened. You are crying in pain and you can smell the blood running down your back and your collarbone. Thick, wet.

You sink down, half crouching, unable to bear the pain. You can see a pair of legs from your peripheral vision. You catch the green military color you have once seen before.

It was that girl.

You gasp in pain as your phone slips through your fingers and hits to the floor. A spinning side-kick is directed to your face, forcing you to roll aside.

Eyes half-opened, you’re finally able to see the figure you’ve avoided before. She was wearing a smile, one that could be the scariest one you’ve ever seen. A satisfying smile to see you all messed up and in pain like this.

You try launching your body forward, bellowing in anger like you have strength left, ignoring the searing pain in your head.

She gives you another loud smack on your forehead, that pushes you back, hitting the car like a soulless being. The raw smell of dirt and oil fills your head. It gets harder and harder to breathe. The light on top the parking lot catches your attention—it gets smaller, and smaller. You can’t feel the pain anymore. Your body is numb and cold.

You feel blood escaping your lips as your eyes roll up to see your phone not far from you. The beeps of the KaTalk keep on spamming your inbox.

You feel that this is going to be the end of you.

The girl kneels before she gives you a good-bye hit. And then, finally, you went completely still.

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

SUCCESS.

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

SUCCESS!

RELAXION

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH

VEGETAE

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

SOOPERSTAR

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH

The sound of your kakaotalk keeps on echoing, as you slowly feel light-headed, your vision darkens, and you finally realize that you’re laying on the cold floor, helpless, almost breathless.

VEGETAE

THIS GIRL IS SMARTER THAN THE OTHER ONES

RELAXION

I WAS ALMOST THERE!

WHY DIDN’T YOU WAIT FOR ME!

BUBBLEGUM_GIRL

ANYWAY, WE DID IT

YOU WERE TOO LATE OK

You give one final thought of someone you hold dear in your life, wishing you could have been given time to rewind back and do the right thing. Too late, it is too late. You know you aren’t going to survive in more than a minute. You know your heart’s going to stop anytime soon. And you know how much of a big mistake you just made. You wanted to go back home. Back to your small and comfortable apartment, having your time alone.

Your body won’t move anymore.

You wanted to cry so bad, but you can’t open your eyes anymore.

“It doesn’t cost anything to pay attention.” –Scott Cherney

To be continued...