1 salt✅

Fateful Meeting

I walked into the air conditioned mall then let out a sigh of content. Today was too hot to be anywhere but in the A/C or deep underwater. The mall was full of teens, girls wearing the shortest skirts and shorts and the most cropped tops I had ever seen. I missed the more modest days. I walked over to a spot selling froyo and bought myself a mix of blueberry and strawberry.

I sat and savored each spoonful of froyo as I watched people walk past talking about future plans, things they bought, people they're romantically interested in. In this mall, it seemed as if things in the world were peaceful, protected from the gruesome things that went on outside of it. It was relaxing.

I got up to throw out my cup then felt the floor shake. I wasn't going to take chances and ducked underneath a table as the dull shaking became more violent. Screaming and disarray filled my ears as I kept my eyes shut, hoping everything would come to pass. The ground kept shaking, but I no longer heard the chaos. I slightly opened my eyes and saw the mall was empty. No sign of life anywhere. The ground eventually stopped shaking and stayed put in case of an aftershock.

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

After confirming it was safe to come out, I started checking the floor I was on for anyone. What made it strange was that nothing was destroyed. Wasn't it an earthquake? I checked behind the counter of a beauty supply store and saw someone cowering underneath it.

"Hey." I said softly as to not scare him. It had the opposite effect. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just as scared as you are. I'm just better at hiding it." I said as he tried hiding more.

"So I'm not alone... that's comforting in a way..." he said as he crawled out then stood up.

"I'm Lee Seoho. And you?" I asked as I extended my hand out to him.

"Sohn Dongju. Aspiring actor. I've been in a few movies and a tv show." he said proudly.

I stifled my laughter as I motioned for him to follow me out. He was pretty young, but it was interesting to see that he had his future within grasp.

"So, did you come here alone?" I asked him as we made our way downstairs.

"Came with a friend. We separated before the quake." he responded as we started checking stores.

"I wonder what happened to everyone." I said as I checked the back room of a clothing store.

"Who knows? Did you call 119?" asked Dongju as he sat on the checkout counter.

"Yeah. No one answered." I replied as I walked back over to him.

"That's concerning..." Dongju said as he followed me out.

We walked down the stairs once more then saw someone running around.

"Anyone here?" the person shouted as he frantically looked around.

"Yeah. Up here." I said waving from the stairs.

He looked at us and nearly burst into tears as he ran towards us.

"I'm not imagining you both, right?" he asked as he pulled on my face.

I pried his hands off then assured him we were definitely real. The amount of relief he felt was clearly present on his face.

"Mind telling us your name?" Dongju asked from behind me.

"Lee Keonhee. I'm a teacher. High school teacher." he said as he straightened up.

"Glad to meet you." I said as I patted his back. "Did you come alone?"

"Yeah. The other teachers excluded me from their annual getaway just because I was teacher of the month for 6 months straight. Can you believe how cruel that is?" Keonhee said with annoyance.

I could understand why they would, but Keonhee didn't seem like the type who'd brag about it and rub it in their faces. The guy nearly cried at the sight of a human.

"Hey, you never told us your profession, Seoho." Dongju quipped as we peeked into the stores on the ground floor.

"Oh, I'm part of the military." I said as I went behind a counter to sneak some food.

"Really?" Keonhee asked in surprise. "Well thanks for keeping our country safe."

"Hey, isn't what you're doing illegal? Yet you're supposed to uphold pride and justice." said Dongju as he watched me swipe food.

"No one will know. Unless you're going to play tattletale?" I replied.

"Hey, I think I saw something." Keonhee said as he rushed towards one of the restrooms.

We quickly followed behind him in hopes we found someone else. We filed in one by one and saw a man slapping his cheeks.

"Hey, you okay?" Keonhee asked as we slowly approached him.

"Now I'm imagining people? I've already lost my mind. Oh my god." he said as he covered his face.

"No, we're real. Here, pinch me." I said as I stuck out my arm.

He looked up and quietly stared at me. I started to feel weirded out as he kept looking at me.

"Um... sir?" I said as I moved my arm.

"Sorry, I..." he said before pinching my arm. Naturally, it hurt. "You're real..."

"Indeed. The more heads we have, the chances of us figuring this situation out rises." I said as I lifted him to his feet. "Do you mind telling us your name? Or something we can call you?"

"Yeo Hwanwoong, but everyone calls me Hwan." he said quietly as we left the restroom.

"Then I'll call you Hwan." I said with a smile.

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

We headed outside as there wasn't much else to search in the mall. The world outside was dead quiet. You could probably hear a pin drop in China. The sun beat down on us as we spread out to search the surrounding area. We ended up splitting into two separate groups. I checked inside cars as we walked down the block.

"You never told me your name." said Hwanwoong from my side.

"Oh, Lee Seoho. Nothing special." I replied as I peeked into a store.

"I think Seoho is a nice name." said Hwanwoong softly while looking around. "I wonder if it's just the four of us..."

I looked at Hwanwoong who seemed genuinely worried. I sighed as reality started hitting me at full force again. I shook my head as I needed to stay calm.

"Even if it's just the four of us, there could still be people in other countries." I said as we ducked into a store to cool off.

"Hopefully..." he replied before taking a seat on the floor.

I sat next to him as we basked in the cool air. I had at times wondered what it would be like if everyone in the world had disappeared and I was a survivor. Now that it's happened, it's scarier than I thought. How will the human race continue on if there was no one to mate with? Questions I never thought about before started to arise in my mind. I looked at Hwanwoong who seemed lost in thought as well.

"Hey, what's on your mind, Hwan?" I asked softly.

He hummed while rocking back and forth before answering.

"Is this the end of the world?" he answered before stopping his movements to look at me.

I looked away with a sigh. I didn't know what to say. Whatever was going on was real. This was our new reality.