New World

Chapter 3

Yeosang flipped the switch at the bottom of the board, the broadcast shutting down. Pushing off the desk he was leaning over, he stood upright and drew in a deep breath. The chances that this would work were slim, but you miss every shot you don't take, right?

He sighed, running his slender fingers through his chocolate brown hair, the strands of his bangs falling back around his face. He scanned the room, taking in the equipment inside the broadcasting booth. The switchboard sat in the center of the crescent shaped desk, dusted buried in between the various buttons and knobs. The microphone was mounted to an arm that extended to reach across the desk, a pop filter attached to it.

It was a surprise to see this room was still intact given the state of the rest of the building it was located in. Being closer to the capital where most of the impact was, the fallout traveled fast and leveled a lot of the surrounding areas. This area in Suwon was one of those.

Luckily, Yeosang had been home when the sirens went off. Normally he was at work. Actually, he practically lived at work. He was quiet and less sociable than his coworkers but he tried to make up for that by putting everything into his research. He prided himself on his work ethic. K.Q. Tech was one of the top rated facilities in the country that specialized in virology, working closely with the CDC to help produce the information used with treating and preventing illnesses. He had studied hard to get the degree he needed to even consider qualifying to work at K.Q. He wasn't going to slack simply because he actually made it in. This job was important to him as it made him feel like he made a difference in the world.

He had waited for what felt like eons in his shelter before he left. His family was back in Seoul, his parents and younger sister still living in his childhood home. His best friend, Jongho, was in Daegu which was a few hours from the southeastern coast. Jongho worked for the main brain of K.Q.Tech and had quickly climbed the corporate ladder with his vast intelligence, a feat Yeosang was impressed by but simultaneously jealous of.

He had started his way back to Seoul to find his family but came across the radio station on the way. Granted, his plan was a long shot but he hoped the station still sent out frequencies and that someone would hear. There had to be other survivors out there. Surely he wasn't the only one.

He scans the room one more time before exiting through the glass door behind him, grabbing the pack he had carried in with him as he leaves. He had enough food and water to make the trip to Seoul before he would need to find more.

He steps over rubble, glass crunching beneath his feet as he heads out of the building and back into the open world. He wasn't planning on straying far. He sent out the signal so he planned to stay just long enough to see if anyone within a few days trek would show up. After that, he had to move. If his family didn't show up here then he was going to find them.

After walking for a brief moment, he stops. The station is close enough to reach in a quick sprint if need be but he hadn't seen or heard of anything outside that would cause him to need to run for safety. Given the threat of war was always from the North, he assumed they would be working their way in to assess the damage and search for survivors at some point. What he didn’t understand was why they chose to destroy something they wanted in the first place.

Yeosang dropped his bag, picking up a brick from next to his feet. He needed to be able to tell time so he would have to makeshift a sundial. Without an indication of time, he felt the world slowed significantly and it wasn't something he could handle. His time underground with no clocks or personal contact was enough for him.

He walked a couple of steps before he placed the brick down vertically, the open area around him perfect for the light needed. Judging by the sun and the shadow cast on the ground, it was mid-morning. That gave him time to set up his tent and explore the area before dark.