Don't go. You don't know where you're headed to. You're in for trouble and desolation if you don't listen to me.

The more this voice tries to pull me back to the stale little town I've been living in all my life, the more I want to leave it behind. Too many painful memories, too little happiness, too much pointless gossip. This is not what I want anymore.

Don't go. If you go, you're screwed. You don't know what's outside your little town. Please, Hyunjoo, stay here.

The voice tries to pull me into staying back, but I just can't. I need to start a new life, and I can't do it here, where chances of stepping out of my comfort zone are basically equivalent to zero.

I need to go. Now.

***

After apparently endless days on the road, I'm feeling lonely. When I thought that I needed to leave my old hometown to discover new places, the last thing I expected to encounter was emptiness. Hundreds, even thousands miles of nothing. No vegetation, no buildings, not even water.

Nothing.

I told you so, Hyunjoo. You could've been safe if you stayed in your hometown.

This is not time for playing safe. If I have to take a risk, I'll take it. There's no more hiding or running away at all. I had to find where this huge land of nothing ends and get out of it as soon as possible. You may think I'm crazy, but I actually have a plan.

I need to try and sort out the coordinates, study a possible route (preferably one that does not include going back home) and check that I have everything I need to survive for the day.

That is, until a mysterious grey skinned figure appears out of nowhere and starts walking around me. Maybe he or she wants to be my friend, or maybe it's just an excuse to analyze me.

Before I can even introduce myself or ask any questions, the mysterious figure says, "Welcome to our home, human. You are Chang Hyunjoo, right?"

I nod. He (or she) continues. "Good. You can call me Heedo. I'm going to take you to the President's palace."

The President, he says? Does this mean that I've just trespassed an alien territory? Does it indeed mean that I'm talking to an alien?

I guess I'll have to follow Heedo to find answers.

[401 words]