❝ and the world slows to a standstill ❞
quelle heure est-il? that's all soojoo can think as she watches hundreds of people push past each other in a flurry of grays, blacks, and whites; none of them care about who they knock down or trample in their path.
what time is it?
the question repeats itself over and over in her head along with the constant ringing in her ears. soojoo is standing in the opening of an alleyway, a few blocks away from where the crowd gathered to watch the raffle. she had been waiting for it to be over so everyone would disperse and she could resume her search for miyoung, but --
everything is chaos. people are running for their lives. buildings are falling, cars are out of control. but for some reason, soojoo feels stuck in time. it's like she's standing in one of those movie scenes where everything around her is running in slow motion and she can't move at all. her feet are glued to the ground she stands on, and it feels like she's forced to read the distress on every passerby's face as they run past her.
what time is it? she finally lifts her wrist to check her watch. the seconds hand seems to be stuck. she raises a tentative finger to tap it curiously, general confusion coloring her expression. it takes a few moments -- or so it seems -- for the hand to gradually unstick itself from its position and begin ticking again.
at this point, the screams come into full volume and soojoo is finally awakened. her face lifts to attention, eye dilating as blood begins to pump fast through her heart again. she needs to find miyoung.
miyoung. where is miyoung?
without thinking, she injects herself into the rushing crowd, and she's instantly pushed every which way. everything is a blur and she can't distinguish one thing from the next. all she can picture in her mind is miyoung. people are hitting her hard -- she can't keep her footing for more than a couple seconds -- but as long as she's moving, it doesn't matter.
"miyoung! where are you, miyoung?!" her voice can barely be heard over the other noises of disaster. "miyoung!" she continues yelling the name over and over again, until it almost turns into a screech, voice strained and mind stressed. she hits the side of a shop when she makes it to the other side of the street, and she loses her breath instantly. soojoo is close to sobbing by now; she's afraid of what might've already happened to her, and she's afraid she's already too late.
but as she continues to stumble along, using the walls of the storefronts to guide her against the current of the crowd, she can see a crumbled figure in the near distance.
"miyoung!"