30| TWIN TALES
The grass's lush blades were stroked by a gentle spring breeze. From the clear skies, the sun shone down onto the planet. The rows of blue plastic chairs were naturally shaded by the enormous old oak tree. Likewise, the decked-out veranda. It was a perfect place for a wedding.
The visitors started to vacate the home's dining room. The savoury was still being nibbled on by some. The majority were still talking as they sat down.
Ahyun nervously picked at her dress, her fingers twitching with unease. The room was filled with anticipation and excitement. It was the day she had dreamt of her whole life – her wedding day. Standing in front of the mirror, she examined every detail of her gown. Its silky white colour gave off an elegant appearance and enhanced her perfect blond curls.
As she observed the patterns of swirls and abstract designs that flashed a shiny silver under the lighting, doubt began to creep into her mind. Her heart raced, and she questioned her choice. "Does this dress look alright?" Ahyun asked, "Because I want the wedding to be perfect."
"Yes, yes. How many times do I have to tell you? You look fantastic! Now hurry up. The wedding is one hour away." Her mother gently pushed Ahyun back into the changing room. She reluctantly began to get dressed in the strapless dress.
"Where is Jin?" Ahyun's mother elbowed Tobias, asking him to fetch the groom. And Tobias and Sejin were the supposed best men.
Seojin had been missing for some time now, and Ahyun's mother was getting anxious, a very Asian problem. The wedding was starting soon, and she needed everything to be perfect. Her only daughter was getting married.
Tobias hurriedly nodded and ran outside to look for him. He was supposed to be in his room, ready. Where could he even go?
He retraced his steps back to Seojin's room, hoping to find him waiting there. But to his dismay, the room was empty. Panic started to set in as Tobias realized he had only left the room for a few minutes to attend to the guests. Where could Jin have gone in such a short amount of time?
Without wasting another second, Tobias ventured into the corridor, hoping to catch a glimpse of Seojin somewhere. As he turned a corner, he nearly collided face-on with the man of the day – Seojin himself. Relief washed over Tobias as he took in Jin's dishevelled appearance and flushed cheeks.
"Where-"
"I will be back soon Tobi, just, Sejin needs me."
And suddenly, without a moment of hesitation, he departed, leaving behind any doubts or reservations. Despite Tobias's incessant calls, everything became a hazy blur that Sejin could no longer distinguish.
Sejin needed him.
...
The only thing stopping his hands from trembling was his white-knuckle hold on the steering wheel.
I hope he's all right.
The squealing brakes at the stoplight forced him to slow down. Seojin looked at the time; it had been twenty minutes since the phone call. The sky was awash with clouds, dark, bluish-grey clouds. There was already a steady stream of rain coming down, and as Jin got out of his car, the sky was dark like an apocalyptic disaster. The scenario was thick and so were his thoughts as he quickly let his mind fall into his fists. His hasty footsteps manoeuvred him towards the big gate, number thirteen, rusty and crooked with fading time.
The laboratory stood as a gloomy shell of its former glory, its exterior scarred and blackened by the force of the blast. Broken glass littered the ground like pieces of lost dreams, glimmering in the pale moonlight.
Was it really the thriving Harvard University?
Sejin's call had been very faint, static, broken, and all the bits Seojin had heard over the time were of loud crashes, burns, and pleas. But the words that were clearly inscribed in his brain were 'Gate number thirteen.' A few hours later, he was supposed to be at the altar marrying the love of his life with Sejin, his brother by his side and suddenly everything turned insane.
If a train had just run through Jin's world, it could not have made him fall any harder or hurt him more.
There he stood, his feet quivering uncontrollably, unable to keep pace with the thunderous beats of his heart. His mind raced, thoughts spilling over like a torrential downpour. The gate seemingly stretched to infinite lengths, resembled a haunting mirage that eluded his every step. No matter how much ground he covered, it stubbornly remained out of reach, playing a cruel trick on him.
The wind, with its wild gusts, tousled his hair, while his heart pounded relentlessly against his chest, setting his lungs ablaze. His legs, drained of all energy, pleaded for respite, refusing to carry him any further. But fear propelled him forward. To halt, in such treacherous circumstances, was simply not an option. This was an experience no man should ever endure—a nightmare unfolding before his very eyes.
Walls lay crumbled, exposing the intricate web of wires and pipes that once powered the laboratory. The damage reached far beyond the physical, causing irreversible chaos to the scientific endeavours that had once taken place within its cold, sterile halls.
And yet, strengthened by his determination, he trudged on, undeterred. Seojin mustered every ounce of courage within him, defying the odds stacked against him. For that entity, that ghastly presence, was an abomination that simply had no right to exist in this world.
He had the impression that he had been running for as long as he could remember. His sore feet were covered in scars and muck by now, and breathing wounded his chest. But he didn't care. He had fallen, hurt his toes, scraped his feet, but that wasn't a matter of concern.
Seojin stood in the pouring rain, the wind howling around him, oblivious to the concerned face that watched him from behind closed windows. He looked like a man on the edge of insanity, with his bloodied and torn clothes, and the gash on his forehead weeping pathetically. But he knew better. He would happily die if it would save his brother.
The area was deserted, with destructive remains at bay, broken; it was in ruins. Trash was spread around like jam on bread; rubble from former buildings were scattered in uneven patterns; machines were overturned with the skeletons of unlucky experimentees inside; venomous green fumes were making their way up the sky. Trees were hollow and dead, fallen down in the dust with barely any bark left.
What had happened at this place?
His mind retaliated while the rusty gates felt crooked beneath the skin of his fingers as he grasped the edges pushing them apart. The hinges were rusted, and he could feel the metal give way in his hand, but he didn't care.
For what it looked like, the gates hadn't been used in the last few years, and the rain and mist had somehow ladled up in heaps and bloodied the iron closures. But it wasn't wet. It was simply dirty and damp.
Why did Sejin mention the way that was never used? Why didn't any help arrive?
Limiting the chaos in his brain, Jin quickened his steps, calling for his brother, "Sejin!"
With the crowding silence empowering the possibilities, he ran through the emerging smog, his hand draped over his nose and mouth, the other brushing away the ends of lingering fumes. And it took him a few minutes to find the crooked shack of an entrance to the underground laboratory. He didn't think twice about his decision once he stepped in, his hands gripping the ends of the big flat contraption blocking the door and pushing it away with all his might.
Determined to do what he could, Seojin stepped cautiously into the debris-strewn interior. The once organized rows of tables, laden with cutting-edge equipment and beakers filled with bubbling concoctions, were now unrecognizable. The air was heavy with the scent of destruction, an ode to the loss of scientific progress.
In a corner, a tattered lab coat clung to a hook, a remnant of the dedicated individuals who had once walked these corridors and something twisted inside him. It felt as if his heart would leap out of his mouth, his fingers trembling at the intense breakage, the sweat dribbling down the side of his forehead. The part was dislocated; it tilted to one side as if it had been broken into pieces. And he picked up the pieces, gathering him right next to him, one at a time.
And when all of it fell on the ground, he hurried inside and slammed the door behind him. Once inside and away from the smog, he felt a little less suffocated, but there stood the long, dark tunnel. His mind replayed all the fears he had hidden in the dark corners of his mind—the what-ifs that always hovered over his head, worrying him night and day.
"Sejin!" He quickly fished out the end of his phone, turning the only source of light on.
For his brother, he kept reminding himself as his fumbled steps took him far more into the untamed darkness. A slight moan echoed through the dark and muffled echoes of voices far away from him.
"Sejin? Sejin, is that you?"
His voice echoed in the depths of the darkness as he spun around, desperately searching for the source of the sound. His eyes shone against the shadows that played hide and seek with the illumination of the little flashlight in his hand. But there was no sign of any movement in the dimness surrounding the small circle of light. Slowly but surely, the light faded until it was just a puddle of warm yellow light illuminating the dark around him.
"Sejin!... Sejin!" He called out again, his voice fading into the darkness as he made his way toward the voice calling out to him in the darkness. "Sejin? Where are you?" Still, there was no reply coming from the shadows. He held his phone high above his head, shining the light in all directions before letting it drop to the floor with a thud. As he fell to his knees and reached down for the phone, he saw a glimmer of light reflecting off something metallic on the ground in front of him.
With the scrutinising dip of his eye, his body curved in an attempt to catch a hold of the object. A dark chuckle seemed to echo all around him, a sinister shape taking form in each shadow he had passed; a strangled sob as it started down another side of the lab and backpedalled in the other direction. All the while, his eyes looped the image of a high wall, copious amounts of blood splattered around, with long scratches just the perfect height and size for a human decorating the lower half.
Jin remained unaffected, stoic, his eyes stung in a ward of mist as he observed the figure bluntly retreating all the way to him. A grin still stretched over his face widened as the figure dragged the sharp object across the cement floor, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
The tip of a pink tongue darted out to wet the chapped lips as a sound of ecstasy escaped his lips.
___________
You will soon uncover the real twin paradox; why Jin is stuck in a time he doesn't belong to... Why the world he thought real, was frozen.
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