1 December 2000

It is a sunny yet ordinary day, where the rays fell on the leaves like bits of gold. In the university, this type of weather is just fit for one to go out and absorb the winter warmth. But, Naeun had been working hard in the library, walking around the book shelves. She flipped books after books about Korea's history for her project, while gazing at the winter sun, she could only let out a sigh.

She chose a seat near the window to revise, and watched the clear blue sky through the window, as it slowly turned into a pink sunset glow. The sun had set, and as she watched the golden Academic Building in the sunset, she suddenly thought of Eunji. This girl who had been waiting for love, should have her wish granted, in the dusk!

She thought of herself again, would that mysterious invisible man be sitting in a corner and watching her every move? She tried to be as natural as she could as she looked around the area, taking note of unfamiliar guys' actions. However, the reality before her eyes always causes her fantasy to turn into bits. Everyone is busy working with their heads lowered, with only her dreaming.

As if she is a bubble who had just been punctured, she randomly chose two books from the book rack and proceeded to borrow them, dejectedly. One of the books was "Korea's Historical Essence", and the other was "Looking Back At Korea's Social Culture And Industrial Development". If at this moment she can foresee what was going to happen that night, she would not have just casually borrowed two reference books.

She held the two books in her arms, which were as thick as dictionaries, and walked out of the library. Just then, her phone rang. She clumsily stuffed the books inside her bag and fished out her phone from the pocket of her trousers. At the sight of the caller ID, she knew Eunji called.

"Miss Jung, the timing is just right. I just left the library. How is your situation there?" Naeun asked her happily.

Who knows, Eunji on the other hand who had been silent started to sob.

"What happened? Don't scare me..." Naeun started to panic. Although they had been together for three years, but she had never see Eunji cry before. She is always the active type, and almost nothing could make her feel sad. Of course, except break ups.

"Naeun... Come quickly... The person he likes isn't me, I really feel like dying now!" Eunji cried agitatedly.

"Calm down first, I'm coming right away. Where are you?" As Naeun was saying that, her legs already began running towards the bus stop on their own.

"I am at the area around the fountain in the institution at the bottom of the mountain... Come quickly!" Eunji started to break down in tears.

"Wait for me there, I'm coming now." Naeun ended the call and continued running towards the bus stop, but when she had reached, she saw the bus packed with students going past her before her eyes.

The only problem of this school is that the students had to depend on the sparsely bus. She sighed, she is so not willing to spend twenty minutes to go down the mountain. But it seems that that is the only way now.

The sun had began to set into the mountains. The sunset glow had slowly faded away. She hurriedly walked along the side of the road down the mountain. After walking for for about five minutes, suddenly a silver sports car appeared beside her on the road. She looked at it for a few moments. This car looks familiar. And at that instant, the sports car stopped right beside her.

"Hey, do you want to take a ride?" A boy stretched out his head and asked, smiling.

Naeun turned around and focused on him. She could not help but exclaim, "It's a lamborghini again!"

A silver lamborghini is displayed right in front of her, with its streamline reflecting off a silver light under the setting sun. It seems like it could surpass all kinds of speed, and could cut through the universe anytime. She held her breath as she looked at the car, while recalling seeing a red lamborghini just yesterday, and seeing another silver lamborghini today. They are from the same series, same model, and the only thing that is different is the colour. Did the school organise a two-day auto show?

"So? Do you want to go down the mountain?" The boy saw her only looking at his car and repeated his question, as she did not seem to hear it.

"Oh." As if she had just woken up from a dream, she came back to reality. Just then, did she start to observe him. He was about the same age as him, his hair was cut very short, his face seemed to have been suntaned by the sun, his lips were raised up, and his eyes sparkled while staring at her. He is handsome, and he has a confident expression.

"No, thanks." Naeun rejected him politely. She could not possibly ride a stanger's car so easily.

She deliberately lowered her head and continued walking, but she noticed the car driving along beside her slowly, like it was 'walking' with her.

She stopped walking instantly, stared at the guy in the driver's seat blankly and asked, "Why are you following me?"

He stopped his car, stuck out his head and said, while smiling,"My name is Jang Dongwoo, studying third year in Physics. What is your name? Can we be friends?"

"I'm not used to making friends randomly on the street." She acted grim and continued walking.

When he saw her ignoring him and kept on walking, he shouted loudly behind her, "Hey! I saw you and your friend in a red lamborghini yesterday! Her surname is Jung, right?"

This topic finally worked, Naeun eventually turned her head and looked at him. Without another word, her expression is already asking him how he knew that.

"The lamborghinis we own are Korea's only two of the same type. According to what I know, the owner of the other lamborghini is the daughter of the Jung company." He looked delightful, like he was supposed to know everything.

"You wanted to know Miss Jung, isn't it?" Naeun raised her head and looked at him, suddenly realising his motive. He is not the first person who had wanted to know Eunji through her. Those boys in school who wanted to be friends with Eunji would always go to Naeun to ask what is Eunji's interest. To say the truth, she really disliked being a 'concrete slab'.

"Her?" He unexpectedly laughed coldly. Then, while his eyes reflected despise,"I had known her a long time ago.

Naeun is shocked. His expression could be bright, but in the next moment, it could look so evil, like it was impossible to see through the 'haze'. 

"I really wanted to know you, but it seems like you don't have any interest in me, isn't it?" He acted frustrated and laughed bitterly, a face who is being misunderstood by someone.

"Yes, I have no interest in becoming friends with you!" Naeun said, categorically, hoping she can get rid of him as soon as possible. This person does not seem to have a good motive, although he said he knows Eunji, but it does not seem likely that he was Eunji's friend.

"Alright then! Goodbye!" His face darkened, probably being unhappy for being rejected. "But, I advise you not to be friends with her. Being friends with a person like that brings you no good."

He stuck his head back in and stepped hard on the accelerator. That car then drove away like a gush of wind, and within seconds it had disappeared around a corner.

Naeun trembled slightly while watching the silver lamborghini disappear from her sight. Had she met a prankster? Quickly, she shook her head, to prevent herself from thinking anymore. She is still in a hurry, so she quickened her pace and walked down the mountain.

When Naeun finally reached the fountain at the bottom of the mountain, the sky had already darkened, as shiny stars filled the night sky.

She could see an abjected figure a distance away from her. As if she was a stone statue, she sat at a bench beside the fountain without moving.

She walked towards her worriedly and called,"Eunji!"

Eunji turned her head slowly, and stood up immediately when she saw Naeun. She threw herself at her, and cried desolately.

Naeun hugged her lightly, like a mother protecting a child. She did not say anything and listened to her choking on her tears.

After a while, Eunji's shoulder stopped shaking. She had already vented all her grievance and sorrows. Naeun asked softly,"What happened?"

Eunji raised her head and looked at her. By then did Naeun notice that her eyes are swollen like two peaches.

"I dressed carefully today to meet him. He was so hesitant when he looked at me..." Eunji started relating her break up story to her slowly, "I asked what is it, and he stuttered while telling me that he understands my thoughtfulness, but he already had another close friend! I was so angry and embarrassed back then, and I wished I could hide myself... I asked him why did he tell me those cruel words, and he said in frustration that his friend didn't like me meeting him so frequently... He rejected me, and I was indeed heartbroken. But the thing that I hate most is his so called 'close friend' also came! That person drove the same type of lamborghini as me, and when he got down from the car, I realised that he was a male! He likes men, and he is Jang Dongwoo!"

Eunji was so agitated that her hands were moving around in the air crazily. Naeun gasped as 'silver lambrghini' and 'Jang Dongwoo' appeared in her mind. Is it a coincidence?

"That person is Jang Dongwoo? What kind of person is he?" Naeun looked straight at her.

"Jang Dongwoo...Aish... He... I don't know where to start from. Anyway he is the son of the estate business!" Eunji shook her head wildly, a bit hesitant.

"Oh my goodness, I lost to a man!" Eunji's sadness seemed to turn into resentment. She revealed her disgusted expression and continued,"Jang Dongwoo walked towards us when he stepped down from the car, and put his arm around Hoya's shoulders. He told me in triumph 'You should know what this means'. I frozed and looked at them. Hoya only looked down without saying anything, and later he got into the car with him!"

"Actually just now when I was walking down the hill, I met that Jang Dongwoo, and he even said he wanted to give me a drive, but I ignored him! He knows that I am your friend, and he knows you for a long time already. So actually he has been noticing you too." Naeun tilted her head slightly, still thinking,"Even the type of his sports car is the same as yours... He simply wanted to challenge you!" 

Eunji listened and suddenly, she turned like a chicken who had lost, and still couldn't stand back up from the bloody ground. No wonder she and Hoya still could not develop even after two years. She had finally known the truth, and it was so hard for her to accept.

"Stop being sad for this kind of person, let's go eat dinner, alright?" Naeun held Eunji's hand while trying to comfort her.

Eunji's heart turned empty. Naeun is the only one who could let her be practical again. She nodded her head lightly, and Naeun immediately pulled her away.

"My car is just parked nearby." Eunji said listlessly.

"You couldn't possibly drive in your present state. Let's hail a taxi." Naeun said worriedly.

"Nevermind, I also want to go for a spin. Don't worry, I won't speed." Eunji smiled bitterly.

Naeun did not want to go against her, she had enough today. "Alright then."

They walked along the rocky path towards where the car was parked. The night seemed to be unordinarily quiet.

After getting on the car, Naeun asked Eunji, "Where do you want to go?"

Eunji's face was melancholy. She sighed and said, "I haven't thought of it yet... Let's decide after getting out of the highway."

She started the engine, but suddenly, she turned her head towards Naeun and said, "Have you noticed that tonight's night sky is a bit unusual?"

Naeun did not get her point, so she shook her head. Is this one of the sentiments that people have after having a break up?

"Today is the most serious solar storm that hit the Earth for the past fifty years. At first, I should have stayed in the astrronomical society..." Eunji wondered, then she drove the car out of the carpark. "Now, I do not need to be the vice chairman anymore."

The car drove into the highway, and Eunji slowly increased the speed of the car. She needed a bit of speed to anesthesise herself. 

"Do you want to listen to the radio?" Naeun noticed the dead silence in the car, so she suggested to listen to the radio to lighten the atmosphere.

"Anything." Eunji looked forward and replied dully.

Just as Naeun was reaching out her right arm to turn on the radio, suddenly, the car following behind them pressed the horn twice.

They did not even have the time to turn and see what is going on, and the car had caught up beside them.

When the both of them saw it, they froze. That was a silver lamborghini. Its Jang Dongwoo!

Dongwoo smiled and waved to them, weirdly. Suddenly, he showed Eunji a thumbs-up sign, followed by turning it the other way round, and he laughed, contented. He sped up and overtook them! He is obviously challenging them!

When Eunji saw his sudden appearance, she was shocked. But after seeing his thumbs-down sign and his winning smile, unknowingly her anger rose. He stole her man, and now he even dared to scoff at her! He's totally frenzied!

"Naeun! Did you see that? What does he mean by that? What kind of a person is he to try to challenge me!" Eunji is so angry that she is going crazy. She seemed to lose her mind and started shouting at Naeun without even turning her head.

With flaming eyes, she glared forward. With all her might, she stepped, and the red lamborghini became a fire dragon that seemed to be "flying" on the highway. 

"Ah!" Naeun shouted in terror. She held the window sill tightly. Her face became pale white, and she tried to use her scream to stop Eunji,"Don't chase him! Be careful!"

But only anger filled Eunji's eyes and she turned a deaf ear. She stepped on the accelerator recklessly, chasing Jang Dongwoo's sports car at the front. Instantly, the highway became a speedway. The two lamborghinis transformed into fire dragons and silver dragons respectively, a life-and-death rush had just started!

At the moment when Eunji reached Jang Dongwoo, a strange thing happened! The lights in the whole highway went out, and the night sky suddenly became very bright. Red and green northern lights unexpectedly appeared in the black night, as if a nuclear explosion had just taken place.

She immediately stepped on the brakes, but the brakes appeared not to be working! As if there was a hugh magnet attracting them, the car sped forward, uncontrolled! At that moment, the high-voltage transmission lines had a small explosion, forming an electromagnetic field across the highway!

The car sped towards the field at its maximum speed...

Both of them screamed "Ah!" at the same time. That field swallowed the both of them, together with the car! That strong force formed a huge rotation oscillation. The space around them has been severely distorted, a total descent. The cells in both of their bodies seemed to be teared apart, causing them to scream in pain. But even their screams were swallowd into the darkness!

They are been into the time tunnel caused by the electromagnetic storm, into an abyss of darkness...

At Naeun's home, her parents stood beside the window, raising up their heads to look at the mysterious and magnificent aurora. There was still some orange-red glow left. Time seemed to have stopped in the sky.

"Is there an explosion? Why did the whole night sky turn so red and green?" Naeun's mother stared worriedly, and asked her husband beside her, "Could it be a terrorist attack?"

"I...have never seen such a beautiful night sky before..." He was totally captivated by it. His eyes twinkled with excitement, as if he had just seen a rare sight which could only happen once in a century.

"You still have have the mood to admire it?" She turned her head and looked at him, and asked,"Did your daughter call back home?"

"Oh, she just called half an hour ago, and said that she is not coming back to eat dinner." He suddenly remembered and told her.

"Why didn't you say so earlier? I have already cooked for three people!" Her face darkened, "You will eat overnight rice tomorrow!"

At that very moment, the television suddenly stopped showing a drama. Instead, a special piece of news was broadcasted. The news reporter read out the news in a serious yet nervous tone,"Right now is a special news report. Tonight at 8.05pm, a serious solar storm occured. the sunspot had exploded into solar flares. Enormous clouds with particles, together with high radioactive substances, is charging towards the earth at a speed of 800 million kilometres per hour. It hit the earth's magnetic field, resulting in a strong electromagnetic burst and aurora.

In the Asian region, a rare aurora was seen, and the satellites in some countries are not working. North-east of Seoul, including Busan and Daegu, there is a power failure. The high-voltage transmission lines at the highway near the sewage treatment plant, also appeared to have a short-circuit. The highway service is temporarily down.

In addition, during the geomagnetic outbreak, there is a number of drivers that called the police, saying that a car was seen speeding forward, but it disappeared. The police is still investigating, and could not conclude anything for the time being..."

Phew! Finally finished rushing through this chapter today, really need to learn how to cut the chapter short. o.o Anyway, just to clarify some things...

1) I'm not trying to say that they are gay or anything, I just don't want to use a female character. Anyway, you will understand as the story progresses... :)

2) I know a lot of you will not be able to understand all those "scientific" things that I have written, but please bare with it. TTOTT I know I have been reading too many scientific fantasy books (or whatever you call them). >.<

3) Please pardon me again, as I do not know a lot about Korea's history and stuffs, so correct me if I wrote anything wrong. ^^

4) I'm so sorry! I know I promised to update in two weeks but in the end I took two months. :O I know I'm such a bad author... D: I will try to update more often. XO

As you can see, the story is going into the exciting part, the other main characters are going to appear in the next chapter! :D So stay tuned! And thanks for subsribing! :P