BXBX NOVEL Chapter 343 (1)
Chapter 343 (1)
Chapter 343 Part 1
[California]
[LA]
A camera in the sky showed LA.
From the crowded beach to the people walking on the streets with palm trees, from the LA Dodgers stadium where a game was going on to the amusement park full of people, from the famous tourist attractions and more.
The camera showed the faces of people who were smiling as it circled around LA.
Then it zoomed in on one place.
It was a white and huge building.[Galleria Mall]
The people who entered the white building that looked like a diamond also had smiles on their faces.
[Northern Amusement Park]
The first place that the camera headed to was the northern amusement park.
The northern amusement park was half-covered by a ceiling.
The large rides were outside the ceiling, while the small rides that could operate even in rainy weather were inside the ceiling.
The camera showed the people who were walking around with smiles and the people who were screaming as they fell from the high gyro drop.
There were families who came with children and were having a leisurely time, and children who laughed out loud when they saw the mascots walking around.
“Ah! My balloon!”
A child lost his balloon and it floated up into the air.
The parent who squinted his eyes in the bright sunlight consoled the child with a sad face and headed to buy some ice cream.
The colorful balloon went up high into the blue sky.
[Eastern Movie Theater]
The camera moved from showing the families and couples who came to watch movies.
[Western Restaurant Area]
There were many families who were wondering where to go.
There was a child who was holding his dad’s hand and a couple who were discussing while looking at a list of restaurants.
“I want french fries!”
“What do you want to drink?”
Behind the mother who was ordering a drink for her child, there was a television screen.
The announcer on the television opened his mouth.
<International terrorist organization… secured new recruits…>
Peaceful LA.
It was news that no one cared about.
It seemed like something would happen soon in this peaceful scene that looked like someone’s daily life.
Song Yu-jung swallowed her saliva nervously.
The more peaceful it was, the more anxious she felt about the impending disaster.
[Southern Shopping Area]
The screen showed the southern gate of Galleria Mall.
Many people were coming in and out.
The camera followed the people and entered the southern gate.
In the noisy shopping area, there was a group that stood out especially.
They’re here!
Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na’s eyes sparkled when they saw the familiar yet unfamiliar people.
Kim Jong-ho, who became a neighborhood uncle wearing an orange hiking outfit, laughed cheerfully.
“Hahaha. So, you see. My son won first place in the national English speaking contest!”
“Grand prize. Grand prize. Honey.”
“That’s right. Grand prize!”
They felt like they were watching a Korean movie when they heard the Korean words that stuck in their ears.
The audience was immersed in Kim Jong-ho and the actors’ natural acting that looked like real life.
Behind that colorful group, there was a boy who was walking alone far away from them.
Lee Hyun-woo, a high school student who wore sunglasses that he bought online before coming to America for his first overseas trip, sighed deeply and moved away from the group timidly.
“Hyun-woo! Son!”
‘I don’t know these people.’ Lee Hyun-woo sighed again and walked toward his mom and dad.
“Why? Do you have to translate?”
“No. Dad has this thing called ‘body language’ so it’s okay!”
The audience chuckled at the dad’s funny gestures.
“…Just call me.”
Lee Hyun-woo said as he sniffed his nose after hearing his dad’s sincere words.
“Okay. Mom wants to go to England next time. Dad wants to go to Russia. I’ve always wanted to cross continents.”
Lee Hyun-woo laughed out loud at that. His dad smiled along with him and said,
“Have fun.”
“Yeah. You too.”
Lee Hyun-woo’s face had a smile as he watched his parents leave.
***
[Galleria Mall Security Room]
There were people who were busy looking at monitors in an office full of CCTV monitors.
The security team leader found something on one of the CCTV screens.
“That kid. He seems to have been standing there since earlier?”
“Maybe he’s lost? I’ll contact an employee right away.”
One of the security guards picked up a radio.
***
“Hi. I’m Cynthia. What’s your name?”
“…Ian Weaver.”
Cynthia Lindberg, an information desk employee at Galleria Mall, looked at Ian Weaver with a smile.
He didn’t cry or look anxious, so it seemed like he hadn’t been lost for long.
“I work here. Do you want to go over there with me until your parents come?”
Cynthia Lindberg’s words made Ian Weaver’s eyes roll.
-‘Stay here…’
A faint voice passed by the speaker.
It was a line that could be missed, but it was clearly shown in the subtitles and Song Yu-jung saw it for sure.
‘…What is that?’
On the screen, there was Ian Weaver who shook his head and Cynthia Lindberg who had a puzzled expression.
***
It was not a special thing for a child to get lost at Galleria Mall.
The child’s parents would come to the lost and found center soon.
The security team leader who was drinking coffee and watching the CCTV got up from his seat with a curious expression and headed to the monitor.
“…How long has that bag been there?”
Everyone got up from their seats and looked at the monitor.
The colorful and childish bag looked like just a lost item of a child.
“…I don’t know?”
There was a tense atmosphere in the security room.
It could be just an ordinary lost item, but…
“Go and check it out.”
“Yes.”
Some security guards went outside and contacted the other guards outside by radio.
The security team leader turned his eyes back to the monitor, watching the guards move quickly.
Things that he hadn’t noticed before started to appear, as if he was looking for a hidden picture.
Lost items of different shapes and sizes were placed in front of pillars or walls, as if they were waiting for something.
!
He realized it and was startled, and just as he was about to move,
Boom!
There was an explosion.
It was the south gate, where they had first found the lost item and went to inspect it.
***
Lee Hyun-woo wanted to choose a gift for his mom and dad that he had decided on before he left Korea, before going to the amusement park.
He looked back from time to time to check on his mom and dad, and laughed at his dad’s attempt to speak English.
“Welcome.”
“Here…”
Then,
Boom!!
A loud noise burst out.
Lee Hyun-woo, the staff, and the people nearby were startled and stopped moving without realizing it.
“…Is it an earthquake?”
“No. This is…”
There was no shaking of the ground like an earthquake.
The products on display were still on the shelves.
But he felt a slight vibration.
Someone swallowed hard.
“…It’s an explosion.”
A peaceful everyday life.
A happy moment.
No one imagined that a bomb attack would happen.
Boom!!
The audience flinched at the explosion sound that rattled the speakers.
The screen showed the entrance of the south gate collapsing.
People screamed and shouted in panic.
Smoke rose up, and the entrance began to collapse, perhaps because of the pillars that flew away by the force of the bomb.
The fire station and the police station received reports and vehicles rushed out at once.
The sirens made their hearts uneasy.
And,
Boom!
The supermarket opposite to Galleria Mall was engulfed in an explosion.
Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na covered their mouths in shock.
The audience also gasped for breath.
The cars parked in the parking lot were broken by the debris that flew out of the supermarket.
A man with a desperate expression jumped out of the car. A faint broadcast came out of the radio of the broken car.
[We demand … release immediately …]
[We have … as hostages …]
Boom!
LA Dodgers Stadium exploded.
Boom!
The amusement park exploded.
The man who was watching it with a bewildered expression in his car heard a rough voice from his radio.
[We say it again.]
The voice became clearer.
[We have ‘LA’ as our hostage.]
Crazy…!
Song Yu-jung stared at the screen with a stiff face.
LA seen from the sky was covered with dark smoke everywhere.
She couldn’t tell where the bombs were installed from here to there.
***
The camera showed vehicles moving hastily from the sky amid bomb attacks everywhere.
Fire trucks and police cars that looked like small toys moved busily to save people.
Song Yu-jung swallowed dryly.
She felt uneasy about the cars that scattered in all directions, as if going to one place wouldn’t be enough to feel safe.
The camera returned to Galleria Mall again.
People who didn’t know anything about the outside situation were quickly moving away from the south gate.
There were people in the parking lot of Galleria Mall who were crying and looking at their families, friends, or lovers who couldn’t get out of the building.
A woman holding her daughter looked at Galleria Mall with a blank face.
Smoke rose up.
The debris of the building was tangled up in a mess.
Boom!
Lee Hyun-woo came to his senses at the sound and started heading towards his mom and dad.
Song Yu-jung clasped her hands together.
She felt sorry for Lee Hyun-woo, who was going in the opposite direction of the evacuating people, but she understood him.
[Everyone, please get away from the south gate …!]
“Ho, honey. Where’s Hyun-woo? Our Hyun-woo?”
“It’s okay. The amusement park is north of here. Let’s get out first …!”
Then.
They saw their son coming alone through the fleeing crowd.
Their son, who was sobbing like a lost child and coming towards them, smiled brightly when he met their eyes.
Their hearts sank rather than relieved at their son’s relieved smile.
No…!
There was a silent scream from the audience seats.
They understood but felt suffocated.
“Lee Hyun-woo!!”
His dad shouted with a fierce face.
Lee Hyun-woo flinched at his dad’s scream. But his feet didn’t stop moving towards them.
Something big fell from the ceiling.
It blocked their way.
The mother, who felt like it would crush Hyun-woo at any moment, screamed like a scream.
“Hyun-woo! Don’t come this way! Go back!!”
“Uh, mom …”
“Lee Hyun-woo! Hurry up and get away! Go!”
He grabbed his mom’s hand, which was trying to let go of his hand, and shouted.
His dad’s hand was also trembling with sweat.
“Lee Hyun-woo! Go! Don’t come this way!”
There was a scream.
The falling speed was not good.
“Go–!”
Rumble!
With a terrible noise, the parents’ faces, which were red with tears, were completely hidden by the collapsed pillar.
Lee Hyun-woo’s breath was cut off by the stone that blocked his way completely.
The audience also stopped breathing.
They couldn’t hear any sound from the screen showing the collapsing scene.
They couldn’t hear the sound of stones falling or people screaming.
It seemed like time had stopped with Lee Hyun-woo.
His face turned pale as if all the blood had drained from his body.
“Uh, mom … Dad!”
Lee Hyun-woo shouted only for his mom and dad, and started digging out the stones.
He didn’t even know that his nails were broken by the rough stone pieces and kept digging out the stones.
Red bloodstains remained on the white wall, as if they were his despair.
No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No …!
They felt sorry for him and couldn’t take their eyes off him.
They heard a sobbing sound somewhere.
The red handprints left marks on their hearts.
Thump thump.
Their hearts beat fast.
It seemed like their hearts were beating with Lee Hyun-woo’s anxiety.
When they were all drawn to Lee Hyun-woo,
“Hey! Wake up!!”
A voice that woke them up was heard.
Then, there was a hand that grabbed Lee Hyun-woo’s shoulder.
He gasped at the rough and hot hand.
His heart beat fast, very fast, with a thin hope.
“Ahh,”
“We have to get out of here!”
It wasn’t his dad.
Lee Hyun-woo’s heart stopped at the face of a black man he didn’t know.
***
Jackson Miller, who lifted up Lee Hyun-woo who had suddenly lost consciousness, moved along the path where the light came in.
The explosions seemed to have subsided.
“…I think I said something wrong.”
He spat out, feeling the heavy weight behind him.
He didn’t think deeply because it was too urgent.
He didn’t think that an Asian boy who looked like a tourist would be alone in Galleria Mall.