Chasing Seol

It was finally happening. 4 years, had it been? 4 years since a hooded woman showed up drenched at Tanya's father's clock shop with a gun. 4 years since she first considered the idea that she could actually die young and boring and in the middle of someone else's adventure. It took 4 years for Tanya to get an actual grip on her life, and a first date with the drenched woman, Seol.

She looked at her worn-out watch - the only thing that didn't match her fancy outfit, it had been 20 minutes since she arrived. Of course she arrived early. And of course, Seol could be running late. What mattered was that their running away days were over - and thank God for that. It was their time now. And it was okay if Seol showed up half an hour late. Maybe she was as nervous as Tanya was, although she knew better than anyone that being nervous wasn't in Seol's nature. Maybe she couldn't decide what to wear - not that Tanya cared. It was Seol she was head over heels for. No clothes could change that. Tanya looked at her watch one more time and then called the waiter. "A glass of Merlot, please." She wiped her hands on her dress and sat back, eyes on the door.

As she waited, her mind went back to the time they met, as it often did. It gave Tanya both, a sense of disbelief, and nostalgia. Four years ago when Tanya was still in University. The details of that night are blurry, but Tanya remembered sitting with her Physics guidebooks at the cash register of her father's clock shop. Fixing things was what she was good at. She could fix about anything, and she didn't mind volunteering to watch the shop if that meant extra pocket money.

That day, around an hour before closing time, Tanya heard shots and jumped. She looked outside the glass door but didn't see anything on the street. She then heard more commotion outside and another shot and then heard someone groan. She dunked behind the counter and put a hand tightly over her wrist, covering her watch. The sounds got louder, as if closer, but Tanya didn't dare open her eyes, and a minute later, there was silence.

Tanya slowly got up and turned around only to meet the tip of a gun and a woman soaked from head to toe. It wasn't raining outside but she was too scared to worry about why this gunwoman was wet. She noticed it wasn't all just water, when drops of red started to drip from the gunwoman's wrist. It was then that she noticed the expression on the woman's face. It wasn't dangerous. She was in pain. She had a cold expression, but for some reason, Tanya knew this woman wouldn't hurt her.

"You're bleeding."

"I need a place to hide. Scream and you're dead. And give me your phone."

Tanya handed her phone over.

"You're bleeding."

"Get moving." She pulled her out dragging her by the wrist till they reached the closet door, and ushered her in.

"Won't it look suspicious if I'm not at the counter and there are blood stains on the floor?"

"You're as good as dead if you're at the counter with blood stains on the floor."

"So if you brought me in with you, does that mean you won't hurt me?" Tanya looked at her and reached out towards the back of the room after locking the door.

The woman pointed her gun at Tanya and pulled her back. "Don't you dare try anything, because I will hurt you."

Tanya pointed at the first aid box and repeated "you're bleeding" and brought the first aid box down.

The woman sat down on one of the wooden boxes, with the gun still pointing at Tanya, just like her glare. "No. Funny. Business.", she said in a deep voice, taking off her coat and groaned as Tanya touched the wound. She out the bandages, the antiseptics and started working.

The woman took out Tanya's phone and dialled a number, breathing heavily.

"Seol here. Kunnil naasso. Neo eodiya?

Arasso. Keunde, na sigan eobseo, palli wa."

She put the phone away.

"You're Korean, Seol?"

"You're quite fearless." She put the gun right on Tanya's forehead which made Tanya suck in a breath. "Here's some advice. Don't be."

At that moment, the look on Seol's face changed. And Tanya felt scared.

But that was 4 years ago. So much had changed since then. Tanya got sucked up in a whirlwind adventure. She entered a world so far away from her own that being back here, in her city, in a restaurant she used to come to as a child, it felt like a dream.

She looked at her watch one more time, now worried. Should she call? Is she worried for no reason? For the past few years, every time Tanya or Seol worried about each other, it was always a life or death situation. Or a mutilation one. The thought of that one time in Incheon when she almost lost her legs still gave Tanya shudders. After all of that, it felt almost silly to worry about Seol being late for a date, but she couldn't shake off the fear.

The waiter put the glass of Merlot and Tanya picked it up. But just as she pulled the glass close to sip, she heard a gunshot. And then another. Her glass dropped on the floor, wine splashing over her clothes. People began to scream and run and hide under their tables, but Tanya stayed still, watching the door as a strong sense of déjà vu hit her. A minute later, a hooded woman ran in, soaked wet, although it wasn't raining outside. Seol shot in the air and yelled.

"It isn't safe to be here. Everybody out, NOW!"

Tanya looked at Seol confused, then worried and then her gaze shifted to the blood dripping down Seol's arm.

"You're bleeding." Tanya said, almost smiling, almost scared. But this time, not of Seol, for her.

"Let's get moving." Seol exclaimed almost laughing as Tanya picked up her stuff and they both ran towards the kitchen.