The Palindrome: 3/?
The beggar lunged at her, and Yenny would have been lying to herself if she didn't think she was scared. She was beyond terrified, but the man in shadow looked near death, and she knew she was the only one around who could help him.
As her attacker jumped at her, she ducked and kicked up her elbow, hitting him in the chin. He groaned and she quickly slid her right leg between his two, hooking one that teetered on a heel. He tripped back, head contacting hard with the ground. She stepped back to ready herself again, but he was already out for the count, groaning and grabbing at his own bloodied head. He looked back at her with wide, bloodshot eyes, and then back at where Wooyoung's body would have lain in shadow...but it was already gone.
When she chanced her gaze the same way, she suddenly looked worried. He was weak, and shouldn't have left alone, not with this crazy man after him for who knows what.
The man rose, touching the back of his head. His hair was matted and his fingers were dirty, but he looked down at his fingers with relish. He stuck out his tongue and laved at it, shivering at the sensation that hit his tongue. He closed his eyes and let it slide slowly across the digits, only opening his eyes again to see a disgusted look on his challenger's face. The beggar laughed, sick and menacing and taunting, as he stared her down.
"What? ...don't like the sight of blood?"
Yenny rubbed her fingers nervously, but clenched them back into fists, not knowing what he'd do next. He laughed at her.
"Heh...you think you're so high and mighty. ...take the dosage. You won't think I'm so sick then. You'll turn just like me," he hobbled away, coughing and hacking up, "...everyone does at some point!"
She watched him go, and only let her hands relax when a slight breeze hit her.
"Wooyoung, " she whispered the name to herself and looked around frantically.
The volume of her calls grew as she peered around corners of various houses, hoping that he wouldn't have a run in with the beggar.
"Wooyoung! ...Wooyoung come out! Where did he go...Wooyoung!"
Just as she was running through the streets, the peculiar little boy popped into her view.
"I'm here!" he yelled.
His voice cracked slightly, and besides having a bit of dirt here and there on his face, he looked fine. A little scared, but fine. Yenny looked upon him sadly as she crouched.
"Don't ever do that again!"
"Sorry," he said, shifting the his back pack and flinching.
"Um, it's fine. ...hey, are you okay?"
She flipped from worried to angry and back to worried in the matter of a few seconds. He was still a child, she admitted, so she had to learn of patience.
"I'm okay."
Yenny peered at him like she didn't believe him, but stuck her hand out anyway.
"Come on."
"No. No I have to take you away from here."
"Wooyoung...I'm not leaving my home."
"What about the man from earlier? The one that attacked..."
His voice veered off. Not speaking to many people had its downfalls, including going from speaking comfortably with another to someone who didn't know of your forms. She almost picked up on it.
"What? ...how did you see him?" she asked, "...didn't you wander off?"
"I didn't wander off!"
That displeased adult stare was back on her face again, and again, he was apologizing.
"Sorry."
"You have terrible manners for a kid, you know that?"
"Okay sorry. Can we just...go?"
He put his hands up in the direction of the grasslands, of the far-off places she wanted to venture; then she turned back to the wooded and metallic place she called home. This kid obviously didn't grow up there, his attire was too vastly different from her or the others. He was going back to wherever he came from, and looked more than comfortable leaving a place that was so clean and ordered. Well, besides the run-in that she'd just had; but even that had been exhilarating. Dangerous, yes, but it made her feel frighteningly alive.
Maybe this was what Jinyoung spoke of when he told those stories of heroism, of using combat to save a life. She saved the other man back there, wherever he was now, and felt an amazing feeling when she saw that he'd been able to get away.
Then, she thought of her mother. The belittling woman would keep Yenny here, pounding into her thoughts of grandeur and a bright and steady future to come. Yenny never knew what she was talking about, only that she wanted no part of that world of take and take. Her mother was only generous in the compliments she paid the wealthy or the beautiful. Yenny didn't want part of it. Thoughts whistled through her head in the near dead of night, leaving her stock still in her reflection.
"Yenny! Hello?"
Wooyoung was snapping his fingers to switch her attention to him.
"Okay, first of all kid, you don't snap at me. I could kick your little butt if I want to so don't mess with me. ...I'm only going with you because Jinyoung asked me to. ...I hope he's okay."
"And-"
"And another thing! Don't call me Yenny. The name is Ye Eun. I don't know you, but we have to trust each other toward," she waved toward the grasslands, "wherever the hell it is you're suppose to take me. We're not friends, and only when we're friends, can you call me that. ...do you hear me?"
"...yes Yen-"
She glared at him, daring him to say anything further. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Ye Eun. ...can we go now?"
With one last look, she headed toward the grasslands. Wooyoung rolled his eyes and took off after her. If she was anything, she wasn't a person who liked to listen to direction from people she didn't like.
"...huh Jinyoung...I just met the girl...what did you get me into?"
Wooyoung shuffled to catch up with her steps, stretching and adjusting his pack again.
The blood was still coming out, in slower drips, but still. It drenched the shirt under his jacket, and almost began to seep through the jacket itself. Both animals nudged at him frantically, either wanting to escape or warn him of some impeding doom.
"Shhh!" he hushed.
"What was that Wooyoung?"
"Ah," he turned back to face Yenny, "...nothing."
He stared straight ahead, looking at long blades of grass that waved like a sea in the moonlight. It looked like it edged to forever. He didn't know if his wound would heal quick enough to faze anything else that could smell him, or her...and that thought shook him with fear to his very core.
---
"Doctor, that's the last. ...do you need any help sorting out tomorrow's lists?"
"No. I can do it myself."
"Alright. Goodnight sir."
His assistant picked up papers in her small side office. It adjoined the waiting room that Yenny had been in so many times. As she turned to leave, he called out, gaining her attention again.
"Wait!"
"Yes sir?"
"Please...move up Miss Park's appointment to tomorrow. ...I'd like to see her again."
"Which Miss Park?" she chuckled, "it is a common name-"
"Yenny. ...just her. To tomorrow morning."
"I can try, but it is late and-"
"Tomorrow morning."
She held no more qualms and made a phone call to the Park residence, hoping that the woman on the other line wouldn't be too bothered. Relief washed over her as a calm voice echoed on it. They spoke for a few moments, including Yenny's mother running up to get her and tell her the good news of the doctor needing to see her again.
Nothing.
"Well, thank you for your help," the assistant said.
She put the receiver down and called out for the physician.
"Sir...there's a bit of a problem."
"...what...problem?"
"She wasn't home sir. The mother is afraid she hasn't been home for the past several hours, and it is undetermined whether she'll return soon. Let's not be hasty and push the appointment for the next day-"
"But I wanted...tomorrow!"
He was shouting now, and scaring her.
"I...I just thought she would be free. She was suppose to be..."
"Sir? ...Dr. Lee?"
"It's alright. I'll find her."
She opened her mouth to speak, but he was already out the door.
---
Soo-Man wasn't a complicated man, at least that's what he told himself. He adored the girl since he met her, and couldn't bear to give her the 'miraculous' new medicine. It went unnoticed to the unwary eye, and in his small city, the perfection in an imperfect world, he tried to keep it that way.
"If eaten with vegetables, one can obtain the optimal health that they've always wanted!"
It was the slogan of his younger days; one that held promise of a brighter future. The warnings weren't there initially, the science wasn't finished, but it was distributed worldwide within months. Within the months to follow, slaughters became rampant. Blood. One taste of it, or any meat, led them to the want of more. After the dosages sat in you, you became like them one; the dwellers on the sands, the beggar in the street. The more you ate, the more warped you became, now an inhumane breed of man that fed on men.
He had such high hopes when he developed it with his two associates: the physicist, HyunSeok Yang, and the chemist, Jinyoung Park.
His perfect city was threatened once before...but not again. He couldn't risk it.
As he left the office and put on his jacket, he again felt the solid weight of a gun in his pocket. One bullet was missing, one now lodged in Jinyoung, struggling to get it out. As the latter fought with the offending bullet in his side, the former rushed back to the scene of the crime to finish what he started. He knew he had something to do with it. If his Yenny was missing, he thought, then the mystic had something to do with it.
As her attacker jumped at her, she ducked and kicked up her elbow, hitting him in the chin. He groaned and she quickly slid her right leg between his two, hooking one that teetered on a heel. He tripped back, head contacting hard with the ground. She stepped back to ready herself again, but he was already out for the count, groaning and grabbing at his own bloodied head. He looked back at her with wide, bloodshot eyes, and then back at where Wooyoung's body would have lain in shadow...but it was already gone.
When she chanced her gaze the same way, she suddenly looked worried. He was weak, and shouldn't have left alone, not with this crazy man after him for who knows what.
The man rose, touching the back of his head. His hair was matted and his fingers were dirty, but he looked down at his fingers with relish. He stuck out his tongue and laved at it, shivering at the sensation that hit his tongue. He closed his eyes and let it slide slowly across the digits, only opening his eyes again to see a disgusted look on his challenger's face. The beggar laughed, sick and menacing and taunting, as he stared her down.
"What? ...don't like the sight of blood?"
Yenny rubbed her fingers nervously, but clenched them back into fists, not knowing what he'd do next. He laughed at her.
"Heh...you think you're so high and mighty. ...take the dosage. You won't think I'm so sick then. You'll turn just like me," he hobbled away, coughing and hacking up, "...everyone does at some point!"
She watched him go, and only let her hands relax when a slight breeze hit her.
"Wooyoung, " she whispered the name to herself and looked around frantically.
The volume of her calls grew as she peered around corners of various houses, hoping that he wouldn't have a run in with the beggar.
"Wooyoung! ...Wooyoung come out! Where did he go...Wooyoung!"
Just as she was running through the streets, the peculiar little boy popped into her view.
"I'm here!" he yelled.
His voice cracked slightly, and besides having a bit of dirt here and there on his face, he looked fine. A little scared, but fine. Yenny looked upon him sadly as she crouched.
"Don't ever do that again!"
"Sorry," he said, shifting the his back pack and flinching.
"Um, it's fine. ...hey, are you okay?"
She flipped from worried to angry and back to worried in the matter of a few seconds. He was still a child, she admitted, so she had to learn of patience.
"I'm okay."
Yenny peered at him like she didn't believe him, but stuck her hand out anyway.
"Come on."
"No. No I have to take you away from here."
"Wooyoung...I'm not leaving my home."
"What about the man from earlier? The one that attacked..."
His voice veered off. Not speaking to many people had its downfalls, including going from speaking comfortably with another to someone who didn't know of your forms. She almost picked up on it.
"What? ...how did you see him?" she asked, "...didn't you wander off?"
"I didn't wander off!"
That displeased adult stare was back on her face again, and again, he was apologizing.
"Sorry."
"You have terrible manners for a kid, you know that?"
"Okay sorry. Can we just...go?"
He put his hands up in the direction of the grasslands, of the far-off places she wanted to venture; then she turned back to the wooded and metallic place she called home. This kid obviously didn't grow up there, his attire was too vastly different from her or the others. He was going back to wherever he came from, and looked more than comfortable leaving a place that was so clean and ordered. Well, besides the run-in that she'd just had; but even that had been exhilarating. Dangerous, yes, but it made her feel frighteningly alive.
Maybe this was what Jinyoung spoke of when he told those stories of heroism, of using combat to save a life. She saved the other man back there, wherever he was now, and felt an amazing feeling when she saw that he'd been able to get away.
Then, she thought of her mother. The belittling woman would keep Yenny here, pounding into her thoughts of grandeur and a bright and steady future to come. Yenny never knew what she was talking about, only that she wanted no part of that world of take and take. Her mother was only generous in the compliments she paid the wealthy or the beautiful. Yenny didn't want part of it. Thoughts whistled through her head in the near dead of night, leaving her stock still in her reflection.
"Yenny! Hello?"
Wooyoung was snapping his fingers to switch her attention to him.
"Okay, first of all kid, you don't snap at me. I could kick your little butt if I want to so don't mess with me. ...I'm only going with you because Jinyoung asked me to. ...I hope he's okay."
"And-"
"And another thing! Don't call me Yenny. The name is Ye Eun. I don't know you, but we have to trust each other toward," she waved toward the grasslands, "wherever the hell it is you're suppose to take me. We're not friends, and only when we're friends, can you call me that. ...do you hear me?"
"...yes Yen-"
She glared at him, daring him to say anything further. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Ye Eun. ...can we go now?"
With one last look, she headed toward the grasslands. Wooyoung rolled his eyes and took off after her. If she was anything, she wasn't a person who liked to listen to direction from people she didn't like.
"...huh Jinyoung...I just met the girl...what did you get me into?"
Wooyoung shuffled to catch up with her steps, stretching and adjusting his pack again.
The blood was still coming out, in slower drips, but still. It drenched the shirt under his jacket, and almost began to seep through the jacket itself. Both animals nudged at him frantically, either wanting to escape or warn him of some impeding doom.
"Shhh!" he hushed.
"What was that Wooyoung?"
"Ah," he turned back to face Yenny, "...nothing."
He stared straight ahead, looking at long blades of grass that waved like a sea in the moonlight. It looked like it edged to forever. He didn't know if his wound would heal quick enough to faze anything else that could smell him, or her...and that thought shook him with fear to his very core.
---
"Doctor, that's the last. ...do you need any help sorting out tomorrow's lists?"
"No. I can do it myself."
"Alright. Goodnight sir."
His assistant picked up papers in her small side office. It adjoined the waiting room that Yenny had been in so many times. As she turned to leave, he called out, gaining her attention again.
"Wait!"
"Yes sir?"
"Please...move up Miss Park's appointment to tomorrow. ...I'd like to see her again."
"Which Miss Park?" she chuckled, "it is a common name-"
"Yenny. ...just her. To tomorrow morning."
"I can try, but it is late and-"
"Tomorrow morning."
She held no more qualms and made a phone call to the Park residence, hoping that the woman on the other line wouldn't be too bothered. Relief washed over her as a calm voice echoed on it. They spoke for a few moments, including Yenny's mother running up to get her and tell her the good news of the doctor needing to see her again.
Nothing.
"Well, thank you for your help," the assistant said.
She put the receiver down and called out for the physician.
"Sir...there's a bit of a problem."
"...what...problem?"
"She wasn't home sir. The mother is afraid she hasn't been home for the past several hours, and it is undetermined whether she'll return soon. Let's not be hasty and push the appointment for the next day-"
"But I wanted...tomorrow!"
He was shouting now, and scaring her.
"I...I just thought she would be free. She was suppose to be..."
"Sir? ...Dr. Lee?"
"It's alright. I'll find her."
She opened her mouth to speak, but he was already out the door.
---
Soo-Man wasn't a complicated man, at least that's what he told himself. He adored the girl since he met her, and couldn't bear to give her the 'miraculous' new medicine. It went unnoticed to the unwary eye, and in his small city, the perfection in an imperfect world, he tried to keep it that way.
"If eaten with vegetables, one can obtain the optimal health that they've always wanted!"
It was the slogan of his younger days; one that held promise of a brighter future. The warnings weren't there initially, the science wasn't finished, but it was distributed worldwide within months. Within the months to follow, slaughters became rampant. Blood. One taste of it, or any meat, led them to the want of more. After the dosages sat in you, you became like them one; the dwellers on the sands, the beggar in the street. The more you ate, the more warped you became, now an inhumane breed of man that fed on men.
He had such high hopes when he developed it with his two associates: the physicist, HyunSeok Yang, and the chemist, Jinyoung Park.
His perfect city was threatened once before...but not again. He couldn't risk it.
As he left the office and put on his jacket, he again felt the solid weight of a gun in his pocket. One bullet was missing, one now lodged in Jinyoung, struggling to get it out. As the latter fought with the offending bullet in his side, the former rushed back to the scene of the crime to finish what he started. He knew he had something to do with it. If his Yenny was missing, he thought, then the mystic had something to do with it.