04 - Travelling

We kept on flying without our legendary host that was also my mother, Yoh Chihye.

Jieung-yong's behavior toward me has changed. since she jumped through the flying vehicle. He was too unbothered to even greet me in the morning, and when he took food out of the closet, he didn't give me anything anymore. I'm not saying I needed his help to feed myself. I knew how to use a closet, but I missed the courteous gesture. So I stood there, alone, thinking by myself. Not before long, I was starving for company, so I could clear out my head. Comrades should share jokes and laugh together. Comrades should help each other in times of strife. Instead, we weren't even aknowledging each other anymore, like enemies.

It wasn't my fault that she jumped ! She decided to do it, so she did it ! There were no reasons to blame me for the absence of Yoh Chihye.

I'd rather have him or anybody else make me forget my mom. Because I was the one suffering. My mom jumped without hesitation in a place that could and would murder her. She was going to get killed ! These thoughts would occur more often than not, so I was constantly crying it out, face against the door where she jumped. A very tiring activity.

Time was long. And I felt the agonizing poison of boredom strangling me. But soon, I would regret this very boredom. Three days passed like this before it happened.

As usual, I was looking at my mom's gift while I recollected my time spent with her. Her used pointe shoes were my only memory of her.

Against the door in front of me, Jieung-yong watched the sky becoming redder and redder. while motors roared as background music. He bit in his baguette with growing disgust. Eating the same thing everyday started to get on his nerves. Sometimes he glared at me for a bit before reasuming his meal.

A heaviness appeared in my chest. He was looking at me like that because I put my mother in danger. This sole thought made me shed tears.

Jieung-yong forced himself to close his eyelid and breathed in, "Fuck man, stop crying! If you wanted to save your mother that much, you should have jumped. What do you want in your fucking life? I don't understand your fucking priorities."

I wiped off a tear on my face, "I just wanted to get out of here, and live a better life without thinking of Korea's problem."

"You've acted like an egoist."

This insult in pelicular ignited a wrath I didn't know I had inside. I held on to my pointe shoes in order to keep my composure, "Since you love her that much, you should have jumped in our places."

Jieung-yong's blood colored his face, "That wasn't my job! No, that was yours. But if you choose these types of excuses, you don't deserve to be her son."

What he said touched me right in my heart. I had nothing more to say. We stayed in silence for a moment, both trying to regain our cool.

After seeing the state I was in, Jieung-yong's expression softened. He didn't apologize, but he cut part of his bread and threw it at me.

I ate it, taking it as a sign he didn't hate him, "Anyway, we're done with it. Past is the past. We can't go back to where we were, because we should be in France now. We are, aren't we, Miss?"

The pilot didn't respond. That was weird. She wasn't a talkative person, but at least she was answering when they were calling her. She never initiated the conversation, but she ended them. Today, no sound exited the pilot's place.

Worried, I came to the pilot's chair. It was empty.

"What the?"

In the hope of seeing her again, I pulled up my head. The Eiffel Tower bathed in the twilight's light. It was as if I stepped into a dream: a disappearing person and the Wonderland before me.

Was it real? I looked at the chair again. Still no one.

Jieung-yong came with me, "Where did she go? I hope she activated the automatic pilot at least."

A feeling of panic entered my soul. No, it's was okay. There surely was a logical explication to this. I touch my torso where my heart lied.

"It is now 18:06. The automatic pilot ending." A feminine voice said, sounding anything but human-like.

What did that mean? And where did that voice come?

It was at that moment Jieung-yong and I felt we fell.

Jieung-yong raced to the pilot's control platform and touched to every button, "Shit shit shit!"

He hit every shining button he could find. He hit a des one here, and à yellow one here. He aggravates and breaks another one here. What purpose is this served? That was making it worse, wasn't it? "You know how that works?" I asked him.

"No, but you have a better idea ?"

The responsibility of our lives lied upon my shoulders. We would die in a few minutes if I stay inactive. With instinct, I turned myself, "The closet."

There were parachutes in there.

The helicopter fell more and more, his nose facing the ground. It turned on itself like crazy. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. I grabbed the thing that made me stay inside the vehicle before and stepped on it.

It was fortunate that I could use my legs. I looked behind me. Paris was getting bigger.

Act, quick!

I jumped on the doorknob and turned it. The door let the gravity do the work. Tons if pan and water followed it's lead and fell ok me. Most of the food hit the door and broke it.

"Fuck! Be careful!" Jieung-yong shouted.

I excused myself internally from the mess I made.

Freed by the lack of food, the weapon began to fall.

When, finally, a parachute fell, I grabbed it and held it in my arms.

I fell near Jieung-yong. The baguettes made my fall softer.

"I've got a parachute." While touching them I noticed they were only one of them.

"What? Give it to me."

And let myself die here? No way. I held it tighter.

Jieung-yong took it anyway, "The Pilot only prepared three of them. Two were already used. She knew that before fleeing."

I moved my arms toward him, "Give it to me! Aren't me Chihye's son?"

"You? You're not even pretending to be." He put the jacket on and proceeded to jump.

No time to waste here. I took him by the waistline.

"You're heavy as fuck, get lost!" He said.

"Primo I'm only 141 lb, and secondo, it's your fault!"

The parachute kissed the lawn of a white building in the middle of others' abandoned-looking ones. The helicopter broke on one of them. Fortunately, we weren't inside.

We survived.

Since two people in one parachute were heavy and non-professional, we fell on the ground, adding more cuts to our bodies. I was painting the lawn with my blood. I needed to rest for at least a week.

The sounds of high heels footsteps came to us. The person wearing them was a shadow exiting the white building. A black shadow with perfectly combed hair, and no fold on their clothes.

The Pilot.

She watched us, smiling with her teeth showing. It was at that moment I understood why she never smiles with an open mouth before. It was because of her smile, the true one, held all the world's malice. It contained all the world's sadism and mental disturbance.

She scared the hell out of me. I remembered pissing on myself. I wanted to flee from North Korea, and here I am in the worst place. My limbs shook and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Come with me." She said.

Was she crazy? I'm not doing it. I'd rather die here. I would find someone or something there to help me.

"Why? We could call the police. And I'm not sure they would allow this kind of thing." Jieung-yong said.

Her gloomy smile widened, "They wouldn't allow two illegal immigrants either. You would Come back to your country. And I don't think you'd be welcomed with open arms." She chuckled and entered the building.

I looked at the landscape devoid of help. I wanted to walk in Paris so much, and now I was afraid of those who would bring me back home. I stood up despite my pain and my urge to sleep. I gave my hand to my comrade.

He refused it. Then we entered the building. It looked like it has been designed by a 4-year-old.