Doomsday

 

Doomsday

Translator: Isabelle Emerson

 

 

 

Prologue

 

 

“Then, I will end today’s lecture here. Next time…”

The boring afternoon lecture was finally over.

Sunghoon cleared off his desk in a tired manner.

It was already 5:30. Originally, the lecture was supposed to end at five, but the lecturer continued spewing on about useless things.

If he didn’t hurry, he would be late for his part-time job. He would have to eat at the convenience store too.

Sunghoon hurried out of the classroom.

The hallway was full of students. As he made his way through the crowd, someone tapped his back.

When he looked back, a junior with a soft impression was smiling broadly at him.

“Sunghoon, I’m going to have a drink with my friends. Do you want to join?”

Lee Minwoo.

He was a representative of the department because he had a generous and friendly personality. Although they weren’t very close, Sunghoon was grateful to him for taking care of him first like this sometimes.

“I have to go to my part-time job. Thank you, though.”

“Ah, you can’t help it then. See you next time.”

Sunghoon patted Minwoo on the shoulder and turned around again.

Sunghoon was 23 years old this year and had just returned to school after serving in the military last year. He studied in the business administration department of a not-so-famous university in Seoul.

On that subject, tuition fees were horribly expensive. The annual tuition fee was almost $8000.

His parents were paying for tuition, but that was their limit. Sung-hoon had to cover the cost of his studio apartment, school materials, and other living costs on his own. Therefore, Sung-hoon earned money through working part-time at a convenience store at night and tutoring on the weekends.

Bang! Bang!

“Hey! Kim Sunghoon! Do you have work again today?”

He had been walking for a while before he heard a car horn.

He turned around and found a man sticking his head out from the driver’s seat of a red sports car. His hair was bleached and he wore sunglasses, and his face looked just like a rat.

The moment he saw the man, Sunghoon furrowed his brow.

Park Kihyuk.

Since his father was a well-known plastic surgeon in Gangnam, he was free to enjoy campus life without worrying about money.

He himself didn’t have a lot of money nor was he particularly good at anything, but he often looked down on ordinary students like Sunghoon because of his parents.

Sunghoon tried to control his expression.

“I have to make money.”

“Tsk, you have to enjoy your life, man! Once you turn 30, you can’t play even if you want to!”

As Sunghoon was about to answer, he heard a soft running sound and a girl in a white dress approached him.

At first glance, she was quite a beauty.

Her long straight hair was silky and black while her large eyes shone brightly. Her long white legs exposed under the white dress caught Sunghoon’s eye.

She looked familiar somehow. He wasn’t sure exactly but figured he must have seen her around a few times.

He noticed the girl was going toward Kihyuk. As Sunghoon moved out of the way, the girl bowed as she passed him.

Kihyuk got out of his sports car and led the girl to the passenger seat with a triumphant look. He smiled at Sunghoon as he moved. Sunghoon hated that smile.

“Kihyuk, you brought your car? We’re going to be really late…”

“I don’t want my baby getting cold, so of course I brought it!”

As soon as the girl got inside, Kihyuk immediately started the car.

Sunghoon watched with envy.

Although Sunghoon didn’t know much about cars, he knew what the blue and white pinwheel emblem meant.

How much would he have to earn to be able to drive a car like that?

Sunghoon felt envious that all thanks to his parents Kihyuk was able to go to school without worrying, drive a fancy car at such a young age, and date the prettiest girl in school.

“He still goes around like that? What did he do now?”

As he stood there, he heard a familiar voice.

He knew who it was even without seeing his face.

Seong Kangjoo, his friend since high school. They were in the same class in their second and third years and became so close they even applied for the same university.

Actually, he was the only person that Sunghoon would actually call a friend.

Sunghoon smiled.

“The same thing as always. Why would he have changed?”

“Ha. You’re good at taking care of yourself. He has such a big mouth for someone born with a golden spoon who relies on his parents’ money.”

“He’s a golden spoon? Just leave him alone. He’ll die like that. He says that later on he’ll just become the office manager at his father’s hospital.”

“The girl next to him was Yerim, right?”

“Maybe? Her face was familiar, but I don’t know her.”

“You don’t know Yerim? Min Yerim?”

“No?”

“Tsk. You should be more interested in the school! She’s the prettiest freshman.”

A girl.

Sunghoon also wanted to be in a relationship, but he didn’t have the time or money. So, naturally, his interest in women declined.

Even if his perfect match appeared in front of him, he would never realize it. So, the time he spent alone was only growing longer.

The two started walking shoulder to shoulder.

Kangjoo spoke as they walked.

“I participate in undergraduate events sometimes. Aren’t you an outsider? No matter how you look at it, your social circle is too small.”

“Really? Is it necessary to date a lot of people? To be honest, I haven’t met many people in college who I would want to stay close to for the next ten years. I just live while doing what I have to do.” 

“Sure.”

What, it wasn’t a lie.

Usually, Sunghoon was the one to decide whether to make or break a relationship, and his personality was quite cold. However, if he liked a person, he could be incredibly considerate. If that weren’t the case, then even Kangjoo wouldn’t be close to him.

Truthfully, Kangjoo wasn’t someone who normally meddled in others’ relationships. Since he opened his eyes to reality and started working part-time, he felt that his social circle had narrowed.

“Aren’t you tired? You always stay up all night,” Sunghoon said softly as they walked slowly.

“There’s nothing I can do. But it’s a game room, so it’s alright. I can doze off from time to time. I sleep for about two hours before going to work in the evenings. And I study in my spare time. What about you?”

“I don’t get enough sleep. I only get about six hours. I have to do tutoring on weekends… but I’m grateful that there are part-time jobs available. I don’t even want to think about having to run around trying to find a job during vacations.”

“That’s true. Well, let’s grab a drink sometimes when we’re both free. I have to go now.”

“Ok. Be careful.”

It was exactly five minutes before six o’clock.

It was fortunate that the business department was near the main gate. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it on time.

“I’m here!”

“Oh, come in, come in. You’re a little late today.”

“My lecture went over by thirty minutes. I’ll be ready soon.”

“Ok. Ah, Changhee will also be a little late today. He’ll be here in about 30 minutes.”

“I see. He’s been doing that a lot lately.”

“He has.”

The store owner, who had been waiting for Sunghoon to arrive, soon left. Six o’clock was a busy time, but Sunghoon was the only clerk in the store. Sunhoon quickly organized the disheveled display stand and prepared to greet customers.

Most of the customers came to the store in the evening.

Customers who wanted to eat ramen, customers who wanted to buy cigarettes, customers who came to buy dinner, customers who came to buy health drinks for a company outing, even customers who were already drunk in the early evening.

Sunghoon was on duty from 6pm to midnight. There were so many customers today that he couldn’t even stop to eat dinner. It wasn’t until 10pm that he even had time to sit down.

He finally grabbed some discarded close-to-expiry foods and ate them to sooth his starving stomach. As his stomach became fuller, the tiredness from the day washed over him.

“Ha……”

He sighed.

Time passed in a daze. He surfed the internet on his computer and caught up on webtoons he enjoyed. Normally he would study during this time, but today he had given up as he was too worn out.

It was already midnight.

Half an hour went by horribly slow. It felt like 10 minutes had passed but when he checked the clock it had only been about 30 seconds. Sunghoon tried to pass the time by organizing shelves and cleaning things that didn’t need to be cleaned.

Ding!

At half past twelve the door burst open.

A male student around Sunghoon’s age came in, gasping for air.

“Sorry I’m late!”

“Get changed quickly, I want to go home.”

“Yes! Give me just a minute!”

Lee Changee was one year younger than Sunghoon. After greeting Sunghoon, he changed his clothes like lightning while Sunghoon prepared to go home.

Changhee had already set up two chairs and was prepared to doze off. Sunghoon smiled bitterly as he waved at him.

“Okay, see you later.”

“Get home safe!”

As he exited the store, Sunghoon was greeted by chilly weather.

It was only early March.

The last cold wave was especially intense today.

Sunghoon curled into himself, then adjusted his collar and started walking towards his studio.

It would have been nice if his apartment was close by, but for economic reasons he had chosen a place in a poor area. It was around a 30-minute walk from the convenience store to his apartment.

“It’s cold.”

He walked for about 20 minutes. By then, he could see his apartment building in the distance. It was a gloomy 5-story building, but it was a welcome sight while walking on the cold night road.

His pace quickened.

Then, suddenly, something strange caught his eye.

In the far distance of the black sky, he could see a strange purple hue. It slowly spread through the sky, like ink being dropped into a cup of water.

Little bursts of purple clumped together like clouds. In a flash, an ominous purple cloud began to bloom. Dark stains spread over every bend of the cloud, drawing attention toward it.

Sunghoon had never seen such a strange sight and found himself watching it with rapt attention. The purple cloud seemed to contain something magical. It seemed like his gaze was stuck on it.

Soon, the purple cloud covered the whole sky.

Sunghoon came to his senses.

“What the hell is that?”

Suddenly, he felt afraid.

“Is this some kind of terrorist attack?”

Korea was a country that was in a state of truce. However, it was possible that North Korea had suddenly gone mad and decided to commit terrorism. If that weren’t the case, what else could it be?

Sunghoon hurried into his apartment. His breathing and heartbeat seemed to be okay, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

There was a commotion all over the internet. Stories about the purple sky were being posted in real time.

However, there was no accurate information on what it was. Only rumors circulating about North Korean terrorism, the US testing new weapons, and even aliens. 

One thing was clear. It was not only Korea that was witnessing the purple sky. Not only domestic sites, but also international sites in China, Japan, and the US were posting articles and photos about the “purple sky”.

He was relieved that it didn’t seem to be a terrorist attack. He had been thinking of heading to an emergency shelter, but it seemed he didn’t have to.

Sunghoon surfed the internet for a while, fiddling with his laptop.

It was late, but he couldn’t sleep. He was too surprised by the sudden situation.

He didn’t go to bed until near dawn.

When Sunghoon fell asleep, the purple cloud was still expanding.

Five oceans and six continents.

Essentially the entire planet.

From space, the Earth no longer looked like a blue star.

It was now a gloomy purple star.

Strangely, the sunlight was still pouring down onto the Earth’s surface despite the purple cloud hogging the sky.

It was a truly bizarre scene.

That wasn’t all.

The day the purple clouds covered the Earth, all of humanity, all 7 billion people, had the same strange dream.

A dream about wandering alone in a maze and fighting monsters.

No one knew what it meant yet, but……

It was clear that the upcoming day, and the whole future, would be something different from what they knew.