Chapter 1[Part1]- Matrix Open

It was not yet noon and Jihyeok already felt as though he could faint from sheer fatigue. He managed to get on the train safely and get to his workplace safely though being unaware of his surroundings. He worked at IX Line Corp., a high tech company that was trying it's best to stay at the top of the market, as the assistant manager of the research, analysis and development department, but that position was just in name, he never really did anything accounting for. The manager treated him like the least of the least and so there were not many times in which he was opportune to shine his intellectual light; after all, will the big boss give him a raise because he was the most obedient lapdog and snack shuttle of the manager and who instead of bringing new designs or ideas and developing old designs, to suit the consumer needs more, only work on data configuration and then leaves it all for his colleagues to handle? The answer is 'no' because no profit making man would do that.

It wasn't as though Jihyeok used underhanded means to graduate and get a job as some of the rumours say; it's just that when he designed his first app, it was really too dazzling and the manager felt threatened. The manager scolded him for crossing the line and lectured him that an assistant shouldn't do those kinds of things and is only there to help the manager with whatever they need, underhandedly urging him to stop. Jihyeok of that time was confused; he had already managed to become an assistant within a full year of getting that job because of his work ethics and brilliancy in configuration, planning and development of data and information, why shouldn't he go as far as creating an amazing model that could shake the world if he could? Unconvinced, he tried to give it directly to the elders above his manager, but he was turned down an opportunity to talk to them because he didn't have the manager's seal. He unfortunately had to suck it up and remain at standstill while others progressed and, on rare occasions, others failed.

That was why he wasn't getting anywhere in his workplace and why he hated the place, but he couldn't do anything as he was sensible enough to know that it was his only source of income and only job he could find at that moment.

He sat down on his desk where a label read, 'ASSISTANT MANAGER – HAN JIHYEOK', and turned on his computer yawning. He opened an encrypted file and typed in the code, when it had been accessed he clicked on the command unit and started changing the inputs. He stayed up all night thinking again and again about it until he passed out, his normal routine to fall asleep.

"Han Jihyeok, what are you doing?" a voice interrupted his train of thought. He raised his head and saw his manager glaring at him form an adjacent desk. He was confused for a few seconds before saying, "Oh" He got up and made to walk away but stopped and bent again to save the changes on his computer and exit the file. Just as he had removed the file, a pen case made contact with his side before falling to the floor with its pens sprawled everywhere. "Hurry! And pick that up when you return!" his manager bellowed. He grit his teeth silently and bowed before leaving the room while some early co-workers looked at him from the side of their eyes with unease.

Jihyeok went to the café some few blocks down and when he had bought what his manager had told him to always buy, a sudden tremor shook the ground a little. The people around were startled and the street became rowdier with a lot of noise. Just as Jihyeok overcame his initial shock, another shook the ground, but this time with much more force so that people were thrown off balance. Some people started speculating in loud monologues, "An earthquake?" someone else asked, "Suddenly? Like this?" and another countered the stranger, "I-if it was an earthquake, wouldn't there have been a signal or at least a warning?!" others nodded and muttered in agreement when suddenly a much more violent quake happened and it didn't last for less than a minute this time. Some people became more convinced as they had heard the previous speculations of what happened being an earthquake and went into frenzy, "Earthquake! It's an earthquake!" a distant but loud voice screamed, "Take coverrrrr!" and so people being people started pushing around, trying to get to some kind of underground place or at least somewhere that could keep them from being smothered.

Jihyeok was pushed by a woman and fell on the floor. The snacks and drinks he bought were trampled upon which made him feel angry and upset if not anything else. He stood, shaking subtly in the process, because of the still shaking earth and tried to find a good place to hide. It was at that moment that the speakers by the roadside blared warnings and instructing people on what to do, that the sky opened. With a very strong gust of air, the clouds moved and a bright line shone through. The clouds that had moved to the side to form a large round circle-like opening, looked heavy and dark and a few lightning bolts flashed across every now and then. The heavy masses of clouds then started pouring down torrents of water, without a little 'pre-rain'. Jihyeok who had started making his way to his office, which co-workers and higher ranked people swarmed out of, looked up and suddenly fell into a trance-like state, making an obscene picture of a man who was oblivious to the surrounding chaos and was sure of his survival by not moving. Where the clouds had parted, the galaxy could be seen, even though it hadn't past noon. He was flabbergasted, seeing the stars from a parting in the clouds? Never had it been heard of! Talk more of being seen.

He stepped forward and raised his hand slightly before stopping himself and chuckling, 'Nah, I won't do something as stupid as reach for the stars' he thought amusingly, instead he took out his phone from his front pocket and took a picture, before lowering his phone and looking at the parting again, falling again into the trance. He snapped out of it suddenly, 'What was that? again?' he asked himself inwardly, furrowing his brows as some people were nudging shoulders with him. He didn't want to but out of curiosity of the ambiguous pictures he saw, he looked up once again and just as one of the stars shone brighter than the others, a building collapsed in front of him, causing a large gust of wind to blow his already wet hair to the side.

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Nakyung was one of the colleagues of Jihyeok that had succeeded. Because he didn't shine exceptionally bright as Jihyeok, his manager let him go to another department that was similar to theirs but more advanced. There, not surprisingly, he ended up working as a normal worker without anything that made him stand out particularly. When Nakyung managed o finally get out f the building, he ran south as opposed to others running north. This was because he saw Jihyeok through the office window going that way earlier. Nakyung knew the kind of person Jihyeok was, he worked under him for a while and he noticed that was a shut in who daydreamed often, was a pushover and was also bad at socializing. He knew that even if it seemed like he was underrating him, Jihyeok would be in a trance, especially after seeing that ever so beautiful parting in the sky, ignoring the earthquake and heavy rain that had already begun to fill the streets. After a bothersome weaving through of people, he saw just as he had expected the familiar brown suit from this morning and the mop of black hair, standing at one place, almost foolishly, and not moving. He also saw a lamp post that was bending in an angle; dangerously hovering over Jihyeok's hourglass, albeit without a ridiculously tiny waist and a bit bloated, figure. His whole senses screamed, 'DANGER' and he rushed forward and pulled the clueless boy backwards. The building that had fallen caused the ground to break and so the lamp post got disconnected completely from its base and fell directly where Jihyeok was standing.

"Jihyeok…!" Nakyung began but was cut off by the recipient of his actions, "Nakyung? What are you…?" Nakyung interrupted him back by pulling him vigorously towards the direction people were running towards. Jihyeok only said, "…Oh…" after remembering he had to run and every step he took was as though he was shouting to Hades, "My turn next!". He speechlessly followed the somewhat taller man, meanwhile Nakyung developed a tick mark after hearing Jihyeok's careless answer.