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# Chapter 1: An Unfortunate Fate
Despite the early hour, Incheon Airport was packed with people.
Countless travelers were moving around, dragging large suitcases behind them.
Some were meeting their families, lovers, or friends, while others were parting ways with them.
Some were smiling, while others were shedding tears.
Some waved their hands, while others exchanged embraces filled with regret at having to part.
I wished I could share emotions like that too.
The emotions I had been desperately trying to ignore began slowly rising from within my chest.
I felt bitter, with a little regret mixed in. And I was also a little angry.
I was currently on my way to the United States to study abroad.
But unlike the many people saying their goodbyes before departure, I hadn't told either my friends or my family that I was going abroad to study.
Should I have at least left them a phone call or even a text message?
The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I soon shook my head.
Knowing my parents' personalities, especially my mother, there was no way she would have simply stayed still. She would have done everything in her power to stop me from leaving the country.
They were good people and wonderful parents.
But even they had one major flaw.
They were superstitious, especially to the point of blindly believing what shamans told them.
Apparently, I was absolutely forbidden from going abroad.
Because of something a shaman had supposedly told them years ago, I hadn't even been able to travel overseas, let alone study abroad.
If they found out that I was at Incheon Airport right now, they would probably do anything they could to stop me from leaving.
They might even report me to the police, claiming that I had left a suicide note saying I was going overseas to kill myself.
“What does some shaman know anyway?”
My mood soured for no reason.
Sigh.
I let out a small sigh and headed toward the ticketing counter when someone lightly tapped me on the shoulder.
Confused, I turned around and found an elderly man with completely white hair standing there and looking at me.
Did he have something to say to me?
I looked at him for several seconds, wondering about that.
The old man gave a hearty chuckle and stroked his long beard, which reached all the way down to his neck.
“I've been waiting for you for a very long time. According to what was destined, you should have made your move three years ago already, but you're terribly late. This is why an obstacle should never be allowed to interfere.”
“…Excuse me?”
He seemed to be talking to me, but I couldn't understand a single thing he was saying.
I was about to turn back toward the ticketing counter when the old man suddenly stretched out his arm, grabbed my hand firmly, and said,
“I'm simply saying that I'm glad we finally met like this. Heh heh.”
“Ah, yes… Nice to meet you too. But I'm actually a little busy right now.”
“Of course. You're busy. With a new life waiting right before your eyes, how could your heart not be in a hurry? But shouldn't you take care of what needs to be done before you leave?”
I genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.
Had I somehow gotten caught by one of those airport fortune-telling scams?
“It was nice meeting you. Take care, and I'll be going now…”
I gave him a polite greeting and tried to go on my way.
At the same time, I attempted to pull my hand free from his grasp, but apparently the old man had already anticipated that I would do exactly that.
He tightened his grip around my hand and refused to let go.
I was utterly dumbfounded and pulled my hand again, but the result was the same. I was in a terrible hurry, so what on earth was this…
“Born in the Year of the Metal Snake, in the Jeongju month, on the Jeongchuk day. Choi Eun-ho.”
“Huh?”
“It's good to have met you.”
The old man finally released the hand he seemed determined never to let go of.
Then he even patted my shoulder several times.
There was a strange, unfamiliar smile on the old man's lips, one that somehow didn't suit him at all.
“Go well. I hope we'll have another chance to meet someday.”
“Ah, yes…”
I didn't know what that was about, but at least I was finally free.
As I avoided the old man and headed to the ticketing counter, handing over my passport, his appearance from moments ago lingered in my mind.
The Year of the Metal Snake, the Jeongju month… the Jeongchuk day?
Was he some kind of shaman?
I was already suffering because a shaman had prevented me from traveling overseas even once, and now I had somehow encountered another person like that at the airport.
Despite the unpleasant feeling it left me with, I finished checking in and headed toward the departure gate.
And only after I finally boarded the plane and took the seat I had purchased could I—
“…Phew. It should be okay now, right?”
—feel relieved.
I had successfully boarded the plane.
Now I didn't have to worry about being dragged off the plane anymore.
All I had to do was sit back comfortably and wait to fly across the Pacific Ocean to the United States.
“Hehehe.”
As I watched the long, straight runway stretching out beyond the window, I couldn't help but let out a satisfied laugh.
The land of freedom.
The melting pot of races.
The center of the world's most advanced academic fields.
America was waiting for me.
---
It was my first time ever riding on an airplane.
I couldn't take my eyes off the scenery spread out beyond the window.
The plane flew westward around Yeongjongdo, where Incheon Airport was located, passed Songdo, then flew eastward across the Korean Peninsula.
The dense forest of skyscrapers disappeared, as did the Taebaek Mountains covered in trees, and now the endlessly vast Pacific Ocean stretched out beneath us.
The sky was blue, the sun was shining brilliantly as always, and the ocean was simply beautiful.
And then, right beside me, came the sound of fireworks going bang—
followed by flames shooting out from beneath the aircraft's engine…
Fire?
Fire?!
“Uh, uhh?”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Fire! It's on fire! The engine's caught fire!”
People began screaming.
Some were calling for the flight attendants while pointing outside the window and shouting.
Amid all that chaos, I swallowed hard and gulped down the remaining water in my cup.
I could feel my heart pounding like crazy.
At the same time, the voice of the shaman suddenly resurfaced in my mind, clearer than ever.
‘You absolutely must not let that child go abroad. Do you understand, Mother?’
Unlike ordinary shamans, that person had given off an intensely intellectual impression. Their eyes had been sharp, and their hair had been neatly combed back and tied.
Back then, I had simply thought they were someone pretending to be gifted and making up whatever they could.
But was this why…?
Had they realized that something like this would happen if I went abroad and warned my mother because of it?
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. Due to an emergency situation, we will be making an emergency return to Obihiro Airport in Hokkaido, the nearest airport. I repeat, due to an emergency situation…”
“Please remain calm! Take the life vest located under your seat, place it over your head, and then grab the handles…”
Along with the captain's announcement, the flight attendants were shouting themselves hoarse.
Cries and screams erupted from every direction, along with people asking where the life vests were and others demanding to know what on earth was happening.
With a dazed expression, I took out the life vest the flight attendants had mentioned and put it on, all while staring at the engine burning outside the window.
I didn't think I was going to survive.
This was a gifted shaman who had realized years ago that an accident like this would happen if I tried to go abroad and had warned my mother.
Someone like that wouldn't have given such a serious warning just because I might have a near-death experience.
“Ha…”
Should I leave a will?
With trembling hands, I took out my phone.
There was no signal, but if I at least left some final words here, perhaps my parents might see them someday.
Just as I opened the memo app and was about to write my will—
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion erupted from the burning engine.
At the same time—
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
—I felt the airplane suddenly drop.
Through the window, I could see the broken-off wings of the airplane moving farther away, while the positions of the blue sky and the ocean kept shifting as everything spun around and around.
“Brace for impact! Press your body firmly against the seat in front of you!”
Hearing the flight attendant's voice as she did her best until the very end, I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth.
Mom. Dad.
I'm sorry.
Your unfilial son is going ahead first.