I stood on the side of the road, for what felt like the better part of an hour, just crying. Too many thoughts running through my head to have a stable idea, I started walking back towards the town. When I could finally see the town again, I noticed that it was awake now: people were out and about, dealing with their daily lives.

 They have no idea what just took place here…

Getting close to the first house in the town, my head started clearing up. I was still feeling: sad, angry, shocked, and confused, but I was able to keep them under tab for now. As I walked past the first house, I noticed an ahjumma sweeping her porch. She looked at me and then waved “Good morning.” The interaction surprised me and made my heart skip a beat. “Good morning” I responded, quickening my pace so that she couldn’t see me anymore.

“…be cautious of those around you…”

 The words of my father echoed in my mind.

 I decided to take the back streets to avoid any further interaction with people. Collecting my thoughts, I replayed the entire conversation that happened on the truck.

“…Quickly, you have to get inside the restaurant. Remember hide-and-seek...”

 With that seeming like my best option, I headed towards my family’s restaurant…

…Creeping from behind a wall I looked around.

There might be some people checking the restaurant.

 The coast clear, I left the wall that I was behind and ran behind another one that was directly across from the restaurant. I sat behind the wall and waited until I saw no-one from either side.

Running towards the front door of the restaurant, I realized that it was locked and I didn’t have the key on me. I smoothly turned and darted to the side of the restaurant and ended up behind it.

Hopefully no one saw me.

I remembered that there was a secret way in the restaurant, but I needed to get to the roof. Seeing some empty crates, I made a makeshift staircase along the back wall. It was only three steps, but there was a little nook in the wall that I would be able to use to pull myself up after I jumped.

I backed up and then ran towards the crates. Closing on them, I slowed a bit and put a spring in my step. I hopped: one…two… all three crates and was able to get enough lift to reach the ledge. I pulled myself up the nook and climbed up to the roof.

The only thing that was on the roof was a steam vent that leads into the kitchen. I walked over to the vent and carefully removed the top. The hole was easily big enough for someone of my size to go through. Dropping into the hole, I looked around the kitchen.

It was empty, but the smell of uncooked dough filled the air. It was a familiar scent.

Mmmm

Mornings usually started like this, but a few people were missing.

Mom... Dad…

 Tears began to line my eyes as this morning’s events hit me for a second time. I wanted to break down and cry again, but there were things I needed to do. Wiping my eyes, I slowly walked towards the pantry.

“Remember hide-and-seek. What does-” I cut myself off as another memory crept into my mind…

It was seven years ago: The day my father bought the restaurant. We were all exited about the restaurant so my father took us there to have our first meal in it. My mother, father, and brother did the cooking so Haeyeon and I had to find something to do in the meantime. She was only four at the time, so my sister loved to play hide-and-seek. Of course I was the seeker because kids love to find hiding spots.

I considered myself a master at it, but Haeyeon was nowhere to be found. I looked in all the cupboards, behind all the shelves, but she wasn’t in any of them. While searching in the pantry I randomly heard a giggle. I moved toward the direction of the giggle, but the only thing there was a wall. I took a closer look and noticed that the wall had a square lining from where it had been cut and put back on. I pushed the square in and found Haeyeon laughing, sitting in a little cubby within the wall. “How did you get in-” I was cut off by my father who walked in the room. “That’s a dangerous place to hide” he said looking at Haeyeon. “You two go set up the table, the food’s almost ready.” It surprised me that he wasn’t mad that we found the cubby, but actually grinned as we were walking out of the room. Since that day, the wall had been resealed, and I figured the cubby had been too, but now I think that cubby is still there.

Making my way into the pantry, I faced the wall that had been resealed. I began tapping around to see if any part of the wall was hollow, and as a matter of fact, there was. Looking around the room, I couldn’t find anything that could be used to break the wall.

Well, let’s see how strong you’ve gotten Kim Taeyeon.

 I took as step back and kicked the hollowed part of the wall with all of my force. It wasn’t effortless, but at the same time, the wall didn’t put up the resistance I thought it would.  Because of this, my foot went a little too far in the wall.

Ow!

 I was nearly doing a split by the time my foot stopped, and it took me some time to clumsily get it out of the wall. When I finally got both of my feet on the ground again I noticed that near the edge of the hole I just punctured, there was the corner of what looked to be a square.

The cubby

I peeled off the rest of the wall that still covered the cubby and stepped back. It was the same as I remembered, but now there was a medium sized box in place of my sister. The box was old; I could tell because of the designs, but it was made of sturdy, spruce wood. I pulled the box out and instantly noticed that it was very heavy. I cleared a table and set the box down, ready find out its contents…

I took a second to look over the box and noticed that the only lock on it was to prevent it from randomly opening during movement. I stepped forward and leaned down to unlock the box. As I opened the box, a cloud of blue gas rose from it and filled the air. I coughed for a few seconds, but then I could feel my lungs adjusting to it. The gas dispersed moments later and I was finally able to see the contents of the box…

… In the box there were two old books, a folded sheet a paper, and a strange emblem made out of a metal I had never seen before. I put the emblem in my back pocket and opened up the books. They were impossible to read because the letters put together were gibberish, but they had to be important if they were in this box. I set the books down and unfolded the paper.

“Children, if any of you are reading this, take your siblings and go to the Hwang’s house immediately. Trust no one!”

 The handwriting was clearly my fathers, but there was more

“Also, do not attempt to put on the bracer until you talk to the Hwangs.”

Bracer?

I peered back into the box and noticed something that I had not seen earlier. It was a strange object that was easy to miss because most of it was the same color as the light blue lining of the box. The top of the object was plated with the same metal as the emblem I had put in my pocket. The bottom of the object had a screen like a cell phone, but it wasn’t . The lining and the inside of the object were soft to the touch and comfortable. I also noticed that the inside of the object had print that was the same shape of the emblem that I had just put in my pocket.

The object reminded me of what knights would wear around their forearms, but a lot more compact and high-tech.

A bracer…

Whatever this thing is, it looks important so I should take care of it.

I scrambled through the pantry and found an old bag that I had left there a while ago: Ironically, it was the same shade of blue as the bracer. I put the books and the bracer in the bag, but put the letter in my pocket. Tying the bag closed, I put it on my back and looked for something to eat. It had been hours since I had that single roll of kimbap and I was famished.

I was able to dig up some leftover kimchi and steamed fish from the day before; which I ate in the pantry. While eating I kept looking over the box; to see if there was anything I missed and because I was intrigued by it.

Something so strange just hidden in the restaurant.

 With no new details about the box, I finished my food and stood up; putting the bag on my back as I did.

What’s my next move?

 My father wants me to take care of Haeyeon, but she’s safer at school right now… I should see if I can get some clothes and food from the house, because we obviously need to leave town. We have a car for emergencies by the lake; I hope they haven’t found it.

Remembering the letter that my father wrote;

“Children, if any of you are reading this, take your siblings and go to the Hwang’s house immediately. Trust no one!”                                                                                                   

The Hwangs

They were the only good friends of our family and we hadn’t seen them in years. The last time we saw them was about a week after we got the restaurant. Since then my parents never took us to see them or really spoke about them. I remember overhearing them once: my mother told my father that the Hwang’s daughter, Tiffany, was going to spend some time in America.

Tiffany…

She was the youngest of the Hwang’s children and the one who I hung out with when we went to visit them. We were close, but I haven’t seen or spoken to her since the last day we were there…

She was upset because she had found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. I ended up convincing her to take me to his house and I threatened him until he started begging Tiffany for forgiveness.

Maybe I am a tomboy…

 Tiffany and I connected on a different level that night as we ended up talking about life until we both passed out. In the morning, it was time for my family to go home. I hesitated leaving because I wanted to tell Tiffany something; I didn’t know what, just something. I remember leaving that day looking forward to the next time we went to the Hwang’s: it never came.

Maybe she’s back home.

A smile crept on my face as I was able to find a thin string of hope to hold onto during my current situation…

Let’s go check the house.

As I was making my way to leave the pantry, I heard someone knocking on the restaurant’s front door. My heart skipped a beat, and my lungs tightened as I realized what this meant.

They’re here!