Taylor was her name and in her tenth year of living, life was hard. Her mother was American who somehow ended up in Korea on her sixteenth birthday and accidentally got pregnant with a drunken local boy. After Taylor was born into the world, she was brought up in a world filled with tobacco’s smoke and the smell of liquor. The constant screams and fights were her everyday’s life and she had gotten used to it.

Even so, there were bad nights – worse than the other – where their parents would fight to the extent of hitting everything in the house including their own daughter. When that happened, Taylor would walk up to the roof of their six storied apartment to sit on an old bench by the edge of the rooftop.

She would stare at the dark city all night by herself. But that night was different. There was a girl sitting on Taylor’s bench with dark jacket and a hoodie.

“Hey, that’s my spot,” said Taylor.

The girl turned around and looked at Taylor. Her face was pale white and dark eyes like starless night. She was definitely older than Taylor – at least ten times older – but her face was so childlike and she was so petite that even in a middle of the night, Taylor did not feel any fear inside of her.

“You…,” Taylor immediately recognized who was sitting on her bench when she saw a bear badge on the arm of the girl’s jacket. “You’re the Ungnyeo!”

The girl then put her finger on her lips. “Ssh.”

Taylor ran to the bench and looked at the girl’s face in awe. “No one believes me that you exist!”

“Quiet and sit down.”

Taylor hopped on the bench, still looking at the girl’s face.

“Enough, Kid, stop staring at me.”

“You’re real.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

“Ungnyeo…,” said Taylor with such amazement.

“Taeyeon.”

“What?”

“Call me Taeyeon.”

“Is that your superhero name?”

“No. That’s my real name.”

“What are you doing- unf!”

Taeyeon put her hand on Taylor’s mouth before she could finish her sentence and then she leaned forward, looking down the street.

“Fwat?”

“Quiet down,” Taeyeon hissed.

Taylor looked down below and found a couple was strolling along under the street lamps. “Fwo war dey?”

Taeyeon narrowed her eyes. “That’s Tiffany….”

The girl on the street was laughing heartily and hitting the guy on the arm happily. Then, she sat on a bench while the guy bought two cups of warm soju from a small traditional food stall by the side of the street. When the guy returned to her, they sat and chatted intimately while holding on to the warm liquor.

Taeyeon hardened her jaws in anger.

“Fwo iz zze?”

Taeyeon leaned back on the bench and crossed her arms. “The one that should have been mine.”

Taylor watched Taeyeon’s expression turned sour. “You like her?”

Taeyeon took a second before answering. “No.”

“Then why are you watching them from up here?”

A beep from Taeyeon’s cut the conversation short and the older girl stood up. She looked at Taylor with a very serious face. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course!” Taylor chirped. “Anything for the Ungnyeo.”

“It’s Taeyeon!” Taeyeon hissed again. “Listen, can you keep an eye on them real close? I have to go for a bit but I’ll be back soon and when I do, tell me everything, and I mean everything, that they do. Okay?”

“Roger!” Taylor made a salute pose.

Taeyeon nodded and left to the opposite direction of the rooftop and stood by the edge.

“Hey! Can you really fly?” asked Taylor.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes. “No,” then the older girl stepped down the roof.

Taylor jumped from her bench and ran to the other end of the roof. She looked down to the pavement. Taeyeon had landed safely on the ground and ran across the street with her hands on the pocket of her jacket like that six story drop was nothing.

The ten year old girl jumped up in excitement and even clapped her hands. “Ungnyeo! Ungnyeo! Oh, wait,” Taylor stopped jumping and returned to the bench, “I need to watch the girl. Oh, no!”

When Taylor looked at the bench at the road in front of her apartment, the couple had gone away.

**

“I have a bad feeling about this,” said Choi Kiduk as he threw a huge and heavy crate to the truck.

He was at a warehouse in the South Yeohwa Industrial Park with his seven friends doing what they called ‘a monthly business.’ The job description was to load sealed crates from the capital into the truck that would be waiting for them when they come. It was simple and easy but not without risk. Not knowing what was inside the crate always made Kiduk uneasy and in constant worry. What if the crates had dead bodies in them? Or even nuclear?

“Just shut up and get this,” said his friend.

They had been hauling crates over crates for an hour and Kiduk was looking at the last one. “My mom said that my horoscope is bad tonight, man, I want to go home.”

“Don’t be such a baby and help lift this-.”

A loud bang heard from the entrance of the warehouse and when Kiduk turned to the noise, he screamed in fear.

The head of the truck was crushed. The driver of the truck left the vehicle in a hurry in horror. On top of the truck was a girl in black jacket and a bear badge on her arm.

“It’s the Ungnyeo!” Kiduk’s friend screamed and ran into the warehouse.

The rest of the group scattered as well, running for their lives. Kiduk stood up and ran behind his friend deeper into the warehouse.

“I told you! I told you!”

“Just run!”

A crate went through a window and broke a part of the wall. The debris blocked their way and Kiduk had to turn around. The wall behind him crumbled like a wrecking ball just hit it as hard as it could.

“No! No!” Kidu fell on the ground again and reeled back hugging his friend.

From the destroyed wall, the girl walked to their direction.

“We surrender! Don’t hurt us!” said Kiduk’s friend.

The girl nodded. “Tie yourself up,” said the girl and she tossed two plastic cuffs.

“I should’ve listened to my mom!” Kiduk said in tears.

“Sush! The Ungnyeo could hear you!”

The girl stomped the floor in anger. “It’s Taeyeon! Kim Taeyeon!”

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