Keroessa, Capital of Io

Jupiter Moons

I sleep on the space jet for a long time, but I still wake up exhausted. I get up just in time to see Jupiter right outside the window. I try to sit down and take in the view, but my heart just isn’t in it. I should probably be amazed at the planet’s sheer size and its Great Red Spot. I should probably be describing everything in great detail. After all, this is something I’ve only read about in my high school astronomy textbook. It’s something most people can only see through a photo. I’m looking at it in person. It’s right in front of my face but I don’t feel anything. As I stare at the hazy atmosphere of the gas giant, I can’t help but wonder what Baekhyun and Minyoung would say if they were here with me.

It’s not hard to guess, though. I’m sure they’d be telling me I’m totally out of my mind.

We approach Io quickly, and I quickly double check that I have all my stuff in my bag before we start descending.

The moon looked very yellow from afar, but I can see that the surface is covered with blemishes of different colour. There are patches of orange, white, and black in some places. Volcanoes dot my vision, some spewing plumes and some not. I see the capital now. The city of Keroessa is under a blue, translucent dome. The tallest buildings are in the middle of the dome. I guess that’s downtown? Building height decreases in a uniform fashion radiating out from the center. It’s a strange sight to see.

More on that later, I guess.

As we descend, I tuck my feelings away and put myself into focus mode. I can’t afford to mess up now. I’ve come too far.

-

I passed through security without a hitch. The spaceport looked pretty similar to the one in Daegu, so I guess the (sort of) familiar environment helped keep my nerves at bay. It was different, though. There weren’t many human employees around. I just had to insert the fake ID card into a machine and fill out an electronic form that declared my arrival. I guess security here was so light because the security on Earth was so tight. I don’t dwell on it. I’m through, and that’s what matters.

By following signs, I find my way to the main lobby and try to look for a taxi driver or something to take me to Do Haeyoung’s apartment. I walk around but I can’t find anything. There aren’t any human workers in sight either, and it’s pretty empty here except for me. I wander mindlessly for a little bit because I’m not sure what I should do.

Finally, a man enters the lobby through the sliding doors. I quickly take my chance to approach him and ask for help.

“Hi, excuse me. Sorry to bother you, but how do I leave? I’m trying to get home.”

I regret my words as soon as he looks up and gives me a weird look.

“Sorry, what?”He replies in English.

Ohhhh okay. Right. I repeat myself the best I can in the other language. English was one of my better subjects in high school, at least.

He still looks confused, but he answers me anyway.

“Go outside and take an air pod.”

I don’t know what that is, but okay. I’ll be going outside and taking an air pod. I smile and nod because I’m scared if I ask any more questions I’ll seem even more strange and suspicious.

After I thank him, I notice that he gives me a strange stare again before heading off into the spaceport. I guess I do look a little scruffy. He was in a suit and tie after all.

I walk through the sliding doors and go outside. This is so weird. The sky is blue, but I know it’s artificial because I saw the dome when I was in the space jet. Everyone I see is impeccably dressed. Is that the norm here? I’m guessing it is. They all look like they work in an office building. No wonder that guy was giving me a weird look. The people are also from all kinds of different ethnic backgrounds. Never having left Daegu in my whole life, I’ve only ever been around Koreans. I want to walk around for a little bit, but I can’t let myself get distracted.

Big glass spheres line the edge of the sidewalk, and I assume these are the “air pods” the man was talking about. I see people getting into them and floating off, which is so weird but so damn amazing.

I go up to one and pull the door open. Once I’m inside, the door slides shut and a small holographic display comes up. I’m so amazed. This stuff is actually mind blowing.

“Good afternoon, ma’am. Please slide your identification card through the display and type in your destination on the keyboard.” A smooth, feminine voice says in English.

I slide the card through the light and type in Haeyoung’s address. This feels so weird. I’m typing with my fingers but I don’t feel anything. It’s just light.

The display disappears when I finish. There’s a slight hum and vibration and then the pod starts rising from the ground. It gains speed as it lifts off and soon I’m whizzing through the Ionian air. Forgetting about my situation for a moment, I whoop in delight and allow myself to enjoy the insanely tall buildings of Keroessa as I fly by. Some of them are made fully of glass. I can see office workers inside. I can see elevators moving up and down. Some buildings look like metal spirals. There’s a clock tower that looks like it’s made out of literal gold. I see a massive statue of an angel of some sort made of marble. Why is everything huge and a billion storeys tall? I whip out my crappy little camera from my bag and snap some shots. This is a whole different world.

-

Do Haeyoung doesn’t live downtown. Her apartment is pretty close to the military base though, which makes sense because her dad is a military official.

When I swipe her ID card to get inside, I feel a sudden pang of guilt. I can’t believe myself, but at the same time, I totally can. At this point, there’s no point in being caught up in how I feel about what I’m doing because I’m doing it anyways…

There’s no going back.

I set my bag down in her living room and start organizing my stuff. My plan is to eat something and then visit the military base. It probably shouldn’t be too hard because I’m Haeyoung, but I’m nervous anyways because I haven’t thought about what I’m going to do if I’m caught.