__________________________

Don't forget to comment and vote if you enjoy!
__________________________

🐰

Your POV

Year 2109

"A girl, 13 years old, cut herself and died in her bathtub after an overdose of pills and medicine she found in the bathroom cabinet, mother found her too late."

My co-worker and team leader, Ko Dohyun, lists up.

"Why?" I ask dryly, looking at the transparent screen trying to read what it says but it's hard as the technology still hasn't found a way to invert the screen so the person on the other side would understand—or at least not cared to fix it.

Dohyun's eyes find mine and he raises his left eyebrow before leaning back in his chair.

"What?" I huff, standing up straight.

"Why do you sound so unbothered? It's almost been a year since your last mission."

"I'm not unbothered... I just won't feel pity towards a girl who committed suicide ages ago. Especially because when I'm back, she would never have done it anyway." I shrug.

"But you are a traveler, you can't—"

"Yeah, I am. I've done this multiple times before, and you know I can do it." I cross my arms, quite offended that my team leader seems to doubt me. I'm experienced, not a newbie.

"I do, but this job—"

"Is not like other jobs. Other jobs don't travel in time to prevent people from killing themselves. Some still works as veterinarians. I know Dohyun." I finish his sentence. It's always the same thing he tells me and the other travelers on our team. I know every word by heart by now.

I have worked at TravelTen for 5 years now, since I was 20. I became a traveler only approximately 1 year after I was hired, which I'm always told is very impressive, but I don't really think of it that highly.

My job as an employee is to keep track on documents. I organize them and find the needed information that is necessary for the certain client to be saved.

My job as a traveler is to travel back in time and prevent people from committing suicide.

Why?

Researchers have found that through time, the suicide rate is not only getting higher but also reducing the expanding of the world population. In the late 2080's the suicide rate was higher than ever and scientists called it a dangerous exponential wave that would destroy humanity.

Maybe they overreacted a bit, I'm no-one to tell, but in the early 2100's new technology was finally ready to be used for new purposes.

A certain man, Lee Kangdae, that is now my boss and CEO of TravelTen, established the company TravelTen with the motto of a better and happier world and with their employees gaining the title of being a time healer. The company would strive to find unreasoned suicides from the past, travel back in time and save victims from themselves. That way, the government wouldn't have to worry about the avoidable decreased world population.

In my years at TravelTen I have saved 6 people as a traveler and covered more than thousands of suicide documents that other travelers would need for their missions. 6 people within a bit more than 3 years of being a traveler is pretty good considering my short training.

Some people call us time healers. Other's think of us as maniacs consumed by the power of time travel, which they by the way think is crazy as well.

Even though we're in the year of 2109, some people still think my work is weird and many are against it. But to me, it's normal.

"So why did she end it?" I ask and lean forward again to try to decipher the inverted text.

Dohyun rolls his eyes before focusing back on his screen and reading further.

"Her father died recently, suicide too, and..."

"And...?" I repeat as Dohyun halts.

"And nothing, just her parents divorced and her father committed suicide." He explains and looks up from his screen.

I think about it briefly before turning around and walking to my desk. I open the drawers, finding my traveler watch which has been hidden away for long. As Dohyun said, my last mission was almost a year ago.

"Sad the girl had to go that soon. 13 years... her life hadn't even begun." Dohyun mumbles. I don't really pay attention to his mutter as I'm busy with putting on the watch properly.

"Don't you think?" His voice rises to gain my attention and it works as I look at him.

I nod, trying to seem sympathetic, but I always have trouble feeling bad for my clients knowing I am going to save them anyway. Why even care to feel sorry for them then. It's a waste of emotions.

There is no one to save me when I return home to my empty apartment every day. It's a lonely and silent house. I don't have many friends outside work, mostly because people don't want to be associated with a traveler.

If I knew this when I applied for my job, I might've chosen to not apply at all. That way my former friends probably would still be, but instead they chose to ignore me when I got the job. But that's in the past and really I feel good about myself. I'm better off on my own anyway.

"And you don't care." Dohyun sighs when he notices my watch that is already strapped tightly onto my wrist.

"Where am I going?" I ask as I fumble with my watch, trying to make it work again. It needs to scan my eyeball to unlock, but doesn't seem to scan it properly. After several tries it unlocks and a smile grows on my face.

"2046 it looks like." Dohyun says, "Actually here in Korea, she lives in Incheon."

"Here!?" I exclaim and my eyes widen slightly.

"Yeah, so you better control your attitude." Dohyun laughs after, knowing I have a problem with my attitude.

"But Korea back then was so old fashioned. I don't want to bow for everyone I pass on the street. The country is even divided into the south and north, how crazy is that!" I huff.

"Y/n, you're a traveler, you know what you signed up for." Dohyun reasons, making me pout my lips in displeasure.

I have never had a mission in the past Korea—I mean, South Korea. I was trained to know a lot about how to act in different societies and when I had my first lesson on both South and Noth Korea, I prayed for myself to never go back in time there. I like Korea as it is now.

"Fine, I'm ready." I say unwillingly, but the faster the better and the higher salary. I glare at Dohyun waiting for his acceptance to press the travel button.

He looks at his screen, not minding me anymore. The transparent screen however betrays him as I can see the video that is playing on it.

I fake a cough, catching his attention and motioning to my wrist where my traveler watch is ready to be used.

"Have you transferred the data?" I question as he doesn't register.

"Oh right." He says and quickly switches the page of the video to his actual work and the document that was now my mission.

It takes less than a minute for my wrist to light up with a green light, indicating that I'm ready to go.

A weird excitement fills my body. I don't know why, I haven't felt excited like this for a while. Maybe it's because I haven't time travelled in a year...

"Can I?" I question and show him my wrist.

He looks at me shortly and nods while mumbling something about having a safe trip, before he turns back to his computer, scrolling through the document.

I look at my watch briefly, letting my finger hover over the button for a few seconds.

I press down on the glass and an inaudible call for my name is heard, but I don't get to respond before everything around me disappears and I'm surrounded by darkness and noise.

🐰