1
Their Kingdom Panorama
There were only a few words to describe her feelings that Sunday at 1 in the afternoon. The sun was glittering, blinding, and full of heat when she stepped outside. It made her wish that she had sunglasses with her. Though it may sound like an exaggeration she really felt as if she’d been locked up her entire life in an isolated building of mass torture. To be under the sun and to feel its rays full of heat made her feel fresh.
“What are you standing there for?” a voice broke her delusion. “Get out of here. If I ever see you in here again it’ll be when you’re here for life.”
Victoria turned around to see a guard in a heavy blue suit standing behind her. His shaved head made her dislike the sight of him but she smiled sweetly and waved.
“If you ever manage to get married do call me,” Victoria told them mumbled as she walked away, “ugly head.”
How long had she been locked up? She’d forgotten the duration of time so she approximated the time she’d been behind bar to 5 years and it was all because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Victoria really had no clue about who to blame because she’d lost contact with her crew after being secluded in a tiny room with another lady who had long thick black nails. But to get back on track she’d been on site during a drug trading session, drug trafficking to be exact. And she’d had no time to run because of a blind jerk who’d pushed her into a stock of water tanks where her feet had gotten stuck. Just reminiscing about it made her blood boil. But who cares because now she was out again.
Her grandmother who she’d been living with before the incident refused to visit her in jail and had died before she’d gotten out. Victoria hadn’t reflected much but to the therapist who often came to the state prison to talk she’d cried an act of guilt. She may have never been a smart person who passed classes with A’s but she was definitely a person of wisdom when it came down to rescuing herself. It reminded her of a time when she’d cheated her way out of being the initiator of a school fight.
The road was grey empty and she followed the yellow parallel marks on the ground hopping over each one with her feet. When she’d been released from jail the only personal items she had were the clothes she came in with and a few dollars she’d made while serving her time there. Patting the pocket of her blue jeans she looked about the blank fields of green grass swaying in the wind like humans. From afar she could make out small barns and homes.
Victoria’s grandma’s home had been an ugly small one. It had been the shape of a square with one bathroom, one kitchen, and one bedroom. She’d often had to sleep with her grandmother on the hard floor and had often complained about how disgusting the home was compared to the other students’ homes at school. She had honestly been embarrassed but now that she thought back it didn’t seem like such a big deal.
A loud roaring engine caught her attention before she swung her head back to catch sight of a red truck coming her way. To get into the heart of the city she ran toward the middle of the road and successfully hitched a ride with an old furry man smoking a cigar.
“Thank you!!!” Victoria screamed and bowed after the truck which had dropped her off on the busy street and drove off.
When it disappeared from sight Victoria waved her hand in the air before her. She swore the scent from the cigar still floated around her like an empty rain cloud. Turning around, however, Victoria was glad to see that the skyscrapers were still standing tall and that businesses were growing constantly. As a few girls walked by Victoria couldn’t help but stare after them. Their fashion was intense and their makeup fresh. Ahh…the envy she felt.
Buses, cars of all sorts, and taxis came and went. Taking a step forward Victoria walked around gazing at the cafes that had taken over old businesses and the people walking in and out of them. Admiration grabbed her when she stopped in front of a window display of a large dream home and a family beside it.
If she’d ever had the chance Victoria would have wanted rich parents, a large mansion-like home, a nice boyfriend, and brothers and sisters to play with. But reality, she turned to face the streets, was a complete hell. Nothing had ever been the way she wanted.
Her grandma refused to talk about her parents and disliked the only friends she found comfort from. Victoria had become to hate her grandmother a bit because of that but now that the woman was gone and had left her savings account to her Victoria didn’t quite feel like she deserved it. Wandering the streets she discovered a few families on an outing together which aroused a bit of jealousy in her.
While growing up she’d never been on a family outing. Her grandma had always been too busy working and paying bills that she only had enough time to scold Victoria and make her meals to fill her stomach. Victoria hated that about her grandma but that had been when she hadn’t had the heart to try to understand the woman. Now the thought of heading back to an empty home alone didn’t seem so welcoming.
/\_____/\
As clear as the sky was and as hot as the sun was he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it another day without eating something. His stomach growled and sweat was forming and falling from his head like a leaf full of rainwater. Wiping his sweat away with an arm he continued through the street pushing his way through the thick crowd. Body heat just made the weather worse and he knew he’d lose his temper if he didn’t get something into his stomach soon.
He suddenly regretted that he hadn’t gone to the company who’d chased him down the street for a magazine photo shoot. Receiving a few bucks might have done him some good.
A few feet ahead of him Donghae spotted a small table with three woman selling the kimbap they’d made just that morning.
“Kimbap! A dollar each!” they shouted one by one to the passersby.
Donghae’s ears pricked up and his attention only remained on them and the kimbap. Freezing in his spot underneath the hot sun Donghae found that very little people were around. The street to the side was full of people and it’d be easy to get lost within them considering he wasn’t at a giant height either. Without another thought he walked forward toward the short tanned woman in an old lady dress.
“How much is this?” Donghae asked picking up a few.
“Oh! Young man! Would you like some?” she questioned the wrinkles underneath her eyes clearly visible.
Without answering Donghae dashed toward the crowd holding onto the kimbap as if he were holding onto dear life.
“Yah! Yah! Come back here you punk!!”
“Thief! Thief! Thief! Somebody help!!”
/\_____/\
Victoria came to a pause and turned around when she noticed people stopping in their tracks curious about what was going on. The screams “Thief!” were certainly making an impact. She watched as a man wearing a light green jacket burst out from nowhere and dash down the street.
“Someone!! Catch him!!” a woman in a pink dress stopped out of breath.
She was heaving so hard that Victoria thought the woman would suddenly collapse on the road. As soon as she thought that she immediately imagined her grandma collapsing alone in the house and while waiting for help she slowly died alone.
How pitiful, a voice within her conscience rung.
Victoria quickly turned to glance down the street and could make out the green jacket floating in the wind. On impulse she dashed after him feeling her loose hair fly in the wind. It felt like her feet were moving faster than her mind before she realized that she was catching up to him.
During the chase she hadn’t kept track of how far they’d ran but by the time that she was directly behind him the tall buildings had disappeared along with the crowd. Large trees full of blooming green leaves loomed over them as they ran across a green lawn empty of weeds and flowers. Reaching a hand out she swiped it down in an attempt to grab a hold of him but missed.
“Yah! You! Stop! You rascal!” Victoria urged the words out of .
She caught his eyes as he quickly turned back to look at how close she was to him. He had striking features that caught her attention but the thought became loose when she finally got a hold of his hood.
“Got you!” she shouted pulling him back.
He pushed himself forward in the struggle and in an instant Victoria was just holding onto his jacket.
“Aish!!” she yelled shoving his jacket onto the ground. “Didn’t you hear the grandma tell you to stop?!”
Victoria forced her legs to move a little faster and was glad that she’d often worked out during her jail period. Lunging forward she wrapped her arms around him and tackled the stranger to the ground. He struggled uselessly underneath her and swiveled his head around.
“What do you want?!” he questioned.
“Return what you stole and apologize to that grandma.” she ordered sitting on top of him.
“Grandma?” he repeated. “Ok, ok.”
He half turned around and handed out the kimbap to her. Victoria almost grabbed it before he threw her off after she’d stopped putting her weight on him.
“Yah!!” she screamed.
“Never!” he shouted running further down the lawn and further into the mass of green.
Biting her lower lip Victoria jumped forward throwing him to the ground and lunged her arm to right, to the left, back to the right, and back to the left to grab the kimbap from him.
“Why you…” she started before he quickly unwrapped the kimbap and stuck it into his mouth. “Spit that back out!”
She shot her hands forward to take the kimbap away but he hid it underneath him and chewed away at what was in his mouth. Unsure of why he was being so stubborn Victoria grabbed his shoulders and forced him to turn over and sat on top of him.
“Give me that!” she demanded reaching for the kimbap but this time he stuck it into his shirt.
“Why…doesn’t this position turn you on?” he asked with a small smirk.
Victoria glanced down at him and quickly grabbed the collar of his white shirt. “You…” she began but was cut off when a piercing scream made the birds in the trees fly away.
The two of them quickly looked up and around in search of the owner’s voice and finally took in their surroundings. They’d entered a large courtyard with a few different trees growing here and there looking like they’d been carefully looked after. A fancy fountain stood to the far right with a long bush sculptured into a horse standing nearby. Thick shrubs and a garden of colorful flowers lined the area in masses. Fancy brown chairs, umbrellas, and glass tables had been scattered all over to resemble that of a celebratory atmosphere.
Getting off him Victoria pulled Donghae up by the collar and dragged him over to a few waist-height bushes.
“What are you doing? Can’t you let go of me first?” Donghae questioned.
“Shhhh!!” Victoria hushed crouching low behind the green bushes.
“Please! Please!!” a man in a black suit with a red tie pleaded as he lie on the ground.
It wasn’t long before they saw a pool of red on the ground that was coming from a stab wound the man had received from the person standing above him. The sun was too blinding that Victoria couldn’t look up long enough to identify the man’s face. She heard Donghae gasp behind her.
“Do you think I’ll spare your life? You know way too much about me,” the man from above told in a serious manner. “I’m really sorry that I have to do this but I can’t let you go anymore.”
“I…I won’t tell anyone. I promise to keep my mouth shut. I’ll get you that necklace, I’ll do anything you ask of me. I won’t let So Rae or her family know about this…” his voice went raspy as the man above set his foot onto his throat.
Donghae and Victoria’s eyes grew wide in shock when a gunshot echoed into the air.
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