kicks ✓ || namgi || k.th

047: with you

chapter 47: with you
location: incheon detention center, south korea

"David James LaPostale." Kim Youngchul narrowed his eyes. "After so long, I would still recognize you anywhere."

"I would hope you would. Our fathers had us practically on a collision course. You were going to be my brother-in-law. It's too bad that never worked out. Looks like you're happy now, though, with a son who looks just like you." David's eyes flickered over to Namjoon, who looked clueless. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am David James LaPostale, once the future heir to the company, and Sara Dinah's younger brother. It's good to meet you, Namjoon. I have heard a lot about you."

Namjoon nodded. If he had been looking for a deus ex machina, this was it.

"This is ridiculous." Namjoon's father continued to block the door, ensuring nobody could get in. "You don't know what happened."

"Oh, I don't, now, do I? What's the sob story they fed you? That poor old Davie James got so scared without his big sister that he ditched out and became a singer? That his face was plastered over every teeny-bopper magazine in the 60's? And that he gave up owning the company because he was so, so sad? Because yes, that's exactly what happened, but there's way more to it than that. Being an idol gave me some perspective." David grinned, leaning against the now-wrecked orange van. "And I wouldn't have instantaneously traveled halfway across the world in a teleporting van if I wasn't going to use that perspective to my benefit."

"You are not in charge of LaPostale. I am not quite sure what you are trying to accomplish here."

"Oh, I'm still in the family. And I have been sent on behalf of Deborah LaPostale, my cousin, and her husband, who is the current CEO. They send their regards from New York City. It was hard enough getting here from Los Angeles. Did you know the range on these things is only supposed to be one thousand kilometers? Do you have any clue how long it took me to modify this thing to take me anywhere in the world? Good thing I spent so much time as a kid getting fluent in Korean. All the manuals you left behind weren't in English."

"You modified the van..." Namjoon's father looked behind David.

"There were seven. I managed to find this one. Your son found another one of them. And my sister disappeared in a third. My father left her for dead in the Allegheny Mountains. But she's not dead, is she?"

"No," Namjoon said, interrupting his father, who was about to speak. "Sara's not dead. Kind of a weird time traveler who keeps bouncing all over the place, but definitely not dead."

"That's preposterous," Namjoon's father went on, glaring at his son. "And you will stay quiet unless you are spoken to."

"Okay, so I'll speak to Namjoon, then." David wasn't here to play games. "Nobody ever told you about the Mikrokosmos Project, did they? Your father certainly didn't."

Namjoon shook his head. "The most I learned about it was from Sara, your sister."

"Sara is dead," Namjoon's father calmly reminded his son. "And there is no reason for anybody to learn about the Mikrokosmos Project. It is over."

"Oh, I doubt the people of Buan-gun believe that."

"Buan-gun." Namjoon's father suddenly looked stern. Namjoon had never seen his father show that face before.

David started pacing, now on a roll. "You see, dear sweet Namjoon, when you teleport anywhere, by using one of the vans or another method, you get blasted through an alternate dimension at light speed to where you're headed next. Sara got stuck in this dimension for forty years, although it seemed like the blink of an eye to her." He looked at Namjoon's father. "So yes, your ex-betrothed is still alive, and is Namjoon's age."