“Even the air smells different.”

It was the very first thought that Dara Park voiced out loud as she walked out of the airport. Her hand tightened around the slim handle of her enormous suitcase as she surveyed her homeland with wide eager eyes. It has exactly been 12 years, 7 months and 22 days since the whole Park family left and migrated to the Philippines. And as expected Korea changed. Everything around her seemed bigger and fancier than they were years ago. Towering buildings stood close to each other giving the newcomers the strange feeling of being swallowed alive. Flashing electronic billboards were placed high above the highway. And there seemed to have more vehicles zooming in and out of the freeway.

She inhaled. There was certain crispness in the air. Winter was just around the corner. Suddenly, nostalgia filled her senses as she stood there studying the people walking past her. The air in Busan, her hometown, smelled strongly of the ocean. Back in Busan she could hardly walk down the street without somebody pausing to greet her or just to tell her how big the freshly caught sea foods were. She would occasional help out several grandparents with the tasks. But Seoul was different then and it certainly is still different now.

City people are indeed different from provincial girls like her. They would never stop to greet strangers’ hello with a polite bow and bright smile. They would just walk past each other looking as though they were running late. This kind of behavior is probably an everyday occurrence in every country or rather in every city where everywhere is bustling with activities.

A girl with big geeky glasses stood beside her while muttering curses under her breath as she looked at the time on her digital watch. Dara slightly frowned when the red blinking numbers read 10:45 AM. She had forgotten that Korea is on a different time zone from the Philippines. She spun right round to look back at the sea of people going in and out of the airport. Maybe they have passed each other on the way out? She thought cranking her neck higher as she looked for her best friend slash cousin. They clearly agreed to meet outside the gates because it would easier that way.

“Where is she?” She wondered a little worried. “She haven’t forgotten..right?” A few minutes have passed before she suddenly remembered her phone. She then fished her handphone from the front pocket of her suitcase and turned it on. She fiddled with the buttons and listened to the voice message with a mixture of affection and exasperation.

“Ssantoki it’s Bomtaro. Welcome back to Korea! I expect that you are at the airport now looking for me with murder in mind. But because you love me deeply you will just take a deep breath and forgive your bestest best friend for not picking you up. He will arrive today and as the coordinator of their group I am not allowed to leave the premises except if it is about the coming of the apocalypse. You know how my boss’ mind works right? I really am sorry I couldn’t come and welcome you. But we will see each other later and spend the night talking and eating and watching the shows I know you missed. You have your money converted to won right? And you still have my address right? And please do not tell me that you have forgotten the code to my apartment because it would take me years before you-know-who will let us go home. Just grab a cab and go straight to my apartment. Be safe. I will see you soon and I love you Ssantoki.”

Just as what Bom have predicted she did take a deep breath, exhaled through and smiled. She was right, they will see each other later and Bom will love the goodies she bought for her. She placed her phone back into the pocket of her suitcase and called for a cab. One yellow cab stopped right in front of her. She opened the back door and asked for the driver to open the trunk. The driver smiled and went out of the car to help her with her suitcase. Dara bowed and smiled brightly at the balding cab driver. “Thank you ahjussi.”

As she sat on the backseat her heart began to flutter, to quicken and to swell until she could hardly breathe. She really was free! “Where to?” The driver asked as he slid back into his seat.

Right! The address. She smiled and reached into the front pocket of her jeans. She hurriedly uncrumpled the note and handed it to the driver a little embarrassed. When he nodded she leaned back on her seat with a relieved smile, the driver was able to read her horrible scrawl. And on top of that she was finally free from the evil clutches of her evil stepmother. For the first time in 10 years since the divorce of her parents she was grateful that her mother was able to take her siblings with her. Now all that was left to do was to find them.

She was thinking of possible places where her mother and siblings could be living when without warning the door to her right opened making her jump up in fright and bump her head on the ceiling of the cab. A hooded man with dark shades and white mask dropped himself on the space beside her. “YG Builing.” He said without paying any sort of attention to her.

Was she invisible?

She thought half annoyed half terrified. She was not sure on how to deal with this stranger. One thing was sure though he looked completely suspicious. His huge sunglasses and white mask covered almost his entire face and on top of that he was wearing a hood. Her imagination was already racing when the guy suddenly muttered something under his breath. She only caught killing and death and it was enough to make her fear for her life. She gulped a good amount of saliva as she tried hard not to panic. It was her first hour back in Seoul for crying out loud! Why can’t she have a break even for a second? How can this axe murderer enter the cab that she was already occupying? Her bad luck somehow managed to cling int