Once A Year

2019

September 9, 2019, before the Meeting 11:00pm

Kora's father was furious on her going home on a late time. "Why the f*ck did you come in so late huh!!?" his father grabbed her by her uniform on her shoulder. "I-i'm sorry, dad I-" he punched her, she cried loudly to capture the neighbour's attention. "Oh ok!! You want to be taught again don'tchu!!?" He brought her to the basement with full of kitchen knives. "Let's put a little decoration on your knees" her father said. "No, please. No no no!!!! Please!!! Please stop ahhhh!!! Please no!!!!"

Ken was excited to see her again. Now that they are both 16 years old. He was so excited. He tried to talk to her but he felt pain and fear. "That's what she's feeling? Ow!!" He felt a cut on both his legs. "Kora!!? Kora!!" He screamed

On the following days he was worried on what might've happened to her. He kept contacting her but he still feels pain, now on his face.

September 14, 2019 7:30pm

She started to talk to him at night after those days.

"Ke-Ken?"

"Kora!!! How are you? Are you hurt!!? Please tell me!!"

They were both sitting on the floor on the side of their rooms. To Kora, her room was bloody. He can feel her, she was cold.

"I-I don't wanna live anymore" Kora said

"No! Don't you say that!!! We are almost gonna meet and that's what you're gonna say!??"

"My dad kept hitting me since the day I was late to go home. He first cut both my legs saying 'don't be late' and second he punched me in the face and third he locked me up here at our basement" Kora said. She cried and of course, Ken could feel her

"Hey... It's okay, it's gonna be okay"

They were beside each other. Kora leaned her head on Ken's shoulder. "Don't worry... Tomorrow I might give you something, if.. That's even possible"

"Hehe... I'd like that" she hugged him telepathically. Ken could feel it, he hugged back to comfort her. "I wish you could be here with me." Kora sai

"I am" Ken replied

"I might not be able to see you, but I can feel you. I know I can't be there with you, but I can still stay with you"

Ken realized she was not in her room. She was on the basement. So he said:

"I'll stay on this floor to keep you company"

September 15, 2019 6:00am

It was the day of their meeting. Ken woke up on his floor. He didn't felt her on that day.

Kora was let go by her father. She was terrified of his abusive attitude. Its worsening through the passing years. She was mad when her mother wasn't there, to keep her company. Her mom disappeared when she didn't come back from abroad on Korea. She didn't know if she's still alive. Instead of Kora being mad, she realized all those years that she was worried about her.

Ken got to school same as Kora. They both walked together. While they were talking.

"What's going on with you and your dad now?"

"He let me go. I'm gonna tell you more later at our Meeting"

"Ok, take care, Kora"

Kora cried with joy and hope. She realized Ken was always there for her. He never lets her go.

Ken reached the campus he can't see his friends anywhere but he saw a girl coming to him.

She gave him a letter saying "I love you". Ken was suprprised and shocked. He knew that girl was flirting with her. He threw the letter in the trashcan. He can see the girl's hungry eyes and waved at him like it was nothing. He turned back and saw his friends. He then ran to them to get away from the girl.

It was 3:00pm and that girl waved at him again 10 feet apart. He ignored her and just went home.

He tried to forget about that flirty girl back at the campus. He prepared for the Meeting and his dad was in the front door.

Japanese

"Ken, I have to tell you something. Something I haven't told you 4 years ago."

"O-okay, what is it?"

"You saw that green lines that appeared 4 years ago right?"

"Yes I did why?"

"Well, 4 years ago.... We had a project called Phylix. We had a blue print that identifies the machine as a portal to another world. We thought we had had a slight miscalculation. Turns out that the project my colleague, Andrew and I has been compromised."

"Wait, wait a project!? About going to other universes?"

"Yes, the lines on the sky that everyone saw, it came from the lab. When we tried to turn on the machine it was malfunctioning. Andrew said he could turn it off. He told me to run, I listened. I almost died that night. We saw the body of my colleague, it was burnt. If I could put myself on to his place.. I would do it. I wish I was the one who died that night."

"I-I heard about that news, back then but why would you build such a thing!!? When it could be devastating!!?"

"Because back then we had no money!! We were running out of food, and time!! I had to do that project so that the money prize can be our last hope!! I just wanted to be a good father"

"You are! All my life. And you don't have to prove anything."

"Thank you, son."

"Shall I continue?" His father asked

"Yes, please"

"So after the accident. I realized 2 years ago that it was not just an explosion. It connected universes"

"Wait what!?"

"It-It connected two people from different worlds. I began to locate the radiation that is popping up on this world to the other one. I called the CIA to locate this individual to tell them what he or she saw on that other dimension."

Ken was terrified he said to his father:

"Then what? You'll have him or her as a tool!?"

"No.. I'm trying to save him"

"But... But why?"

"Beacuse they are the ones whose gonna turn him or her as a tool. As an engine to make my machine work."

Ken felt nervousness and he knew he had to tell it to his father.

"Da-dad.."

"Yes, son?"

"I-I'm the individual"