By Zephyria 
“Standby in 5 minutes.”
The assistant next to Ha-jin shared the situation with the staff via radio. Ha-jin licked his parched lips and repeatedly jumped in place. Huff, ha, huff….
“I think you can go in now.”
The assistant opened the door of the transparent carriage, like something out of a fairy tale, and looked back at Ha-jin. Following his guidance, Ha-jin boarded the carriage, leaving behind the chaotic noise of the audience. It was the opening carriage that would appear as the red curtain was drawn.
―Before the show begins, please switch your cell phones to airplane mode. Food and drinks, except for water, are prohibited, and please refrain from moving around after the show begins….
The assistant poked his head in again before closing the carriage door.
“Oh, right, Ha-jin Hyung! I saw you left your phone on the floor of the storage, so I put it on top of the water bottle box.”
“Ah, uh, thanks. I’ll pick it up later.”
“Your younger brother called several times. Check it when you’re done. Anyway, fighting!”
Ha-jin nodded and awkwardly raised the corners of his lips. As the transparent carriage door closed, the anxiety he had been trying to ignore surged in. He clenched and unclenched his hands simultaneously, desperately stretching his stiff fingers. He muttered the opening lines he had memorized over and over, then closed his eyes.
Hello. I am Do Ha-jin, the magician who will be responsible for your time travel today….
All the lights went out. The bustling staff also disappeared at some point. Mi-so’s voice could be heard faintly from somewhere, but Ha-jin didn’t open his closed eyes and quietly calmed his nerves.
Thump, thump. The opening music, striking his heart, echoed in his ears. Assistant Jin-woo announced the opening of the magic show with witty remarks. He was a naturally good speaker. The audience’s laughter erupted as he ad-libbed something.
Ha-jin groped for the silver brooch his younger brother Jun-seok had given him and took a deep breath.
“Introducing, magician Do―Ha―!”
Before the words could even finish, the stage curtain that had been draped with red velvet was drawn. Ha-jin, who had been on the transparent carriage, opened his eyes with a determined look and stood up.
“Waaaaah―!!”
The applause sounded like tinnitus. Blood was rushing so much that his heart was throbbing. He couldn’t tell if it was because of the tension or because endorphins were rushing from excitement. The pin lights pouring onto the stage made his vision blurry.
At that moment, supporting actors holding large white cloths ran out. The carriage disappeared into the cloth in an instant and reappeared. It was less than two seconds. Ha-jin in the carriage had disappeared.
Wow! The audience exclaimed as if they had been attacked unexpectedly. The supporting actors who had disappeared offstage with the white cloth ran out again, stomping their feet. This time, the cloth brushed past the carriage as if to wrap around it once.
Inside the carriage that reappeared was a large teddy bear. Ha-jin, who they had expected to see, was nowhere to be found.
The audience, having confirmed the doll, tilted their heads with puzzled eyes. Murmur, murmur. While everyone was looking for the magician, a mischievous voice suddenly came from an unexpected place.
“Where are you looking? I’m here.”
At the same time, a pin light moved to the audience seats on the second floor. The audience’s gaze naturally turned upward toward the concentrated white light.
“I’m magician Do Ha-jin, nice to meet you!”
With a hearty opening line, Do Ha-jin bowed his head. Considering the physical distance, it was impossible to move in such a short time. People exclaimed once again at the magic that seemed like teleportation.
Mi-so, who had been waiting anxiously next to the screen under the stage, bit her lower lip with a touched expression.
While people were applauding, the pin lights went out and the theater went dark. Then, a recorded video was played on a large screen placed on the right side of the stage.
―The time I’m recording this video is 11:32 PM on May 26th.
It was just last night. Ha-jin smiled, showing the date and time on his phone screen. In the video, he was sitting on the bed in comfortable pajamas, acting nonchalantly.
―The reason I’m doing this is because there’s something I really want to say to the person in seat 23 in row A. Could you please unclasp your arms?
While people were puzzled, the screen switched to live. The camera was pointing exactly at seat 23 in row A. As the camera lens slowly moved upward, a foreigner was caught on camera, quickly unclasping his arms with a flustered expression. It was Jeffrey.
“Hahaha! Look at that guy’s face!”
“Wow, what is it?”
The audience was in an uproar, unable to believe Ha-jin’s recorded broadcast that seemed to predict the audience’s actions in advance. Laughter, admiration, and questions erupted from all over the theater.
“Isn’t that a plant?”
Someone shouted with a laugh, and the video that had stopped for a moment started playing again.
―Okay, then, person in seat 23 in row A. Could you tell me one card that comes to mind?
As he asked the question, a live screen was displayed in a split screen right next to the recorded video. Jeffrey, looking bewildered, was moving his mouth over the microphone he had received from a staff member.
“Um… Ahh… Heart A…?”
Ha-jin in the video, who had been putting his hand to his ear as if waiting for an answer, grinned. He immediately took out a card hidden in his chest pocket.
“Wow!! Amazing!!”
Someone shouted, and applause erupted from all over the audience. The card that Ha-jin took out in the video was the Heart A that Jeffrey had just said.
“Everyone, for your information, this is my first time meeting the person in seat 23 in row A.”
With a sly comment, Ha-jin appeared on stage again. He, who was clearly standing on the second floor, was now sitting in the transparent carriage, stroking the head of the teddy bear. Seeing him teleport again, people started to get up from their seats one by one.
On the screen was still Jeffrey, blinking as if he had seen a ghost. Eden chuckled as he watched the dumbfounded Jeffrey, and Jeong Byeol and Park Chun-beom clapped their hands, laughing.
Ha-jin, who had drawn attention with misdirection, opened the carriage door and slowly stepped onto the floor. Standing in the center of the stage, he opened the show with his signature pose, a finger snap. The thumb and middle finger of his right hand slid against each other, and a cheerful sound erupted.
Snap!
“Hello. I am Do Ha-jin, the magician who will be responsible for your time travel today.”
Someone whistled, and people stood up from their seats, applauding thunderously. It was truly a successful opening.
Mi-so watched Ha-jin’s situation from under the stage. Ha-jin, surprisingly, didn’t change his expression and continued the opening lines he had prepared. However, his left hand hidden behind his back seemed to be in a slightly different situation.
Mi-so, catching the trembling fingertips of Ha-jin, who was shaking like an aspen tree, bit her lip tightly. She muttered to herself, looking at Ha-jin, who was struggling to maintain a poker face.
“It’s okay, Do Ha-jin. You can do it.”
At that moment, Mi-so heard a faint noise in her ear. It was a decibel that was difficult to notice unless you listened closely. It was as if she was submerged in the deep sea, listening to the voices far beyond the surface of the water…. It seemed to be noise coming from outside the building, not the lobby. What is it?
Mi-so kept her eyes fixed on Ha-jin on the stage and slowly moved to the side door where staff members came and went. The female usher standing by the emergency exit was also tilting her head as if something was wrong. Thin screams and thick shouts sounded like hallucinations.
“Is there another event scheduled here? I know that only our show is in Hall B at this time.”
Mi-so asked in a whisper, and the usher nodded.
“Yes, the show you’re using in Hall B is the only one.”
The clear screams suddenly stopped. At that moment, a suspenseful sound effect, like the main theme song of the movie 『Mission Impossible』, filled the theater. As the music escalated, Mi-so looked anxiously back and forth between Ha-jin on the stage and the entrance door.
Ha-jin stood in the center of the stage. He swallowed hard and spread out the cards stuck between his fingers. After drawing attention with light hand magic, he was about to explain the theme of this performance in earnest.
“Everyone. If you were given a magical ability to travel through time…, where would you….”
At that moment, Ha-jin felt dizzy and composed himself. As the lines were cut off, faint question marks floated above the faces of the audience who had been concentrating. Ha-jin, who had closed his eyes tightly and opened them, shook his head as if trying to regain his senses. He distracted people by vanishing the cards as a habit.
“Where would you like to travel in time?”
The several cards that Ha-jin was holding disappeared in an instant. He rolled up his suit jacket and dress shirt as if to show that there was nothing in his sleeves.
“Would you like to go to the past?”
Then he clasped his hands together as if praying and separated them. In the blink of an eye, a figure embodying a child appeared in his hand.
“Or the world before you were born.”
When he clenched the figure and opened his hand again, a fairly large dinosaur doll popped out this time. Ha-jin, who was playfully bouncing the dinosaur doll on his palm, swallowed hard.
Heat was rising from his lower abdomen. He could feel his back and neck turning red. It was not a good sign. A drop of sweat ran down his temple.
“Or, it could be the near future.”
The dinosaur that had been jumping into the air disappeared in an instant. This time, what landed on his palm was a long stick cane. It was a smooth switch. He tapped the hard brown cane on the stage like an old man.
People held their breath as they watched Ha-jin continuously pull out various objects while standing on stage with his bare body and no table. Everyone was about to open their mouths at the unbelievable magic-like hand skills, like CG in a movie.
At the timing when he should have been saying his lines, Ha-jin’s lips were stuck together. He couldn’t think of anything, like a person whose mind was empty. As the music escalated, he could feel his heart rate gradually increasing.
Instead of saying the next line, Ha-jin reflexively took out an eye patch from his pocket. It was the minimum safety device to relieve tension even for a moment. Ignoring his trembling hands, he covered his eyes with the black eye patch to block his vision.
People who noticed Ha-jin’s intention to do magic without seeing the front erupted in cheers full of anticipation.
Mi-so, who was standing by the side door, widened her eyes in surprise at Ha-jin’s sudden action. She picked up the radio she had on her waist and adjusted the channel.
“Assistant Jin-woo? Was there an eye patch performance in the program?”
Beep―
“…Assistant?”
Beep―
“Jin-woo?”
The signal clearly went through, but there was no answer. Mi-so sighed and rubbed her forehead. Looking again, the assistant, who should have been standing guard on the opposite side, was nowhere to be seen. Did he go to the bathroom or something? Just as she was about to swallow the rising annoyance and look back at the stage,
Chijijik―
Suddenly, a receiving sound rang from the radio.
Chiji, jijijik….
―Mi, Manager… Outside, chijijik―… escape….
The reception was not good, as if there was interference. Mi-so belatedly put her ear close to the radio.
“What are you saying? I can’t hear you, say it again.”
―…Run away, Ji… that… video… chijijik―
“Jin-woo, where are you?”
―Chijik, chik….
“Lee Jin-woo?”
The reception was soon cut off. Mi-so stared blankly at the radio for a moment and bit her lower lip without realizing it. Something felt strange.
As her intuition sensed a danger signal, her mouth became parched. She turned her body to check the outside situation and approached the side door. The usher suddenly stood in front of Mi-so, blocking her.
“What are you….”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can go out now.”
“Excuse me?”
“The sound is getting closer, there’s something strange outside….”
Thump―!! Kukung―!!
At that moment, a heavy impact sound echoed from the side door. Mi-so reflexively crumpled the cue sheet she was holding. Her wide eyes slowly turned to the side door. At the same time, a scream that seemed to tear her ears apart struck her eardrums beyond the radio.
―Shit, don’t open the door! Door―!! Lock the door!!!
Before she could even recognize the meaning, goosebumps ran down her spine. The chilling shouts were clearly echoing from beyond the door.