3. The Teleporter (3) He

I quickly removed my hand from the teleporter.

"It's me, Hee-jae."

It was Do-hyeon, the swimming coach. Why was he here all of a sudden? Our swimming lesson was scheduled for tomorrow. "Yes, just a moment!" I responded, quickly taking off the jumper, shoes, and mask I had just put on and leaving them in the kitchen corner. I hurried to open the door.

"What brings you here, Coach?"

"I just wanted to see you."

Do-hyeon spoke with a peculiar smile lifting the corners of his mouth. I was inwardly surprised by his directness and averted my gaze. He continued.

"But why is your car like that? The window is shattered..."I pulled him by the arm into the house and closed the front door behind us, worried about the possibility of sirens.

"I had parked it briefly at the park, and someone smashed it with a hammer."

"With a hammer? Are you hurt? Did the glass not fly everywhere? Nothing else happened?"Do-hyeon looked me over as he spoke.

"I'm fine. I left quickly, so nothing else happened."

In times like these, a broken car window hardly counted as 'something happening'.

"That's good to hear. I've heard there are people going around doing violent stuff like that. They say not to park in public parking lots... I'll go fix it for you. Give me your car keys."

He extended his hand towards me.

"No, it's fine. It can be fixed later. It's hard to find a repair shop now."

"I know a place. If I go, they'll fix it. You can't do anything in this town without a car."

"Then, I'll come with you."

"No. It's dangerous, stay here, Hee-jae."Why was he going to such lengths for me? If sirens went off while he was at the repair shop, it could get dangerous...

"It's okay, just give me the keys."

Do-hyeon, as if reading my mind, waved his hand impatiently. I couldn't keep refusing him. I fetched the car keys from the shoe cabinet drawer and handed them to him. Do-hyeon left the house with the same smile he had when he arrived.I went to the window and saw my car and his SUV parked side by side. My broken car soon started up and left our yard, heading onto the road. The thick snow crunched under its tires.

If times were as before, I might have refused help to the very end. Accepting kindness from others felt like admitting my own inadequacy, wounding my pride. Moreover, unsolicited kindness often felt dangerously suspicious.

But as the world began to be shrouded in darkness, many things came to light. Violence, looting, hollow bravado, petty responsibility, easily swayed anger, hunger that kneels to everything, and everyone who ends up dying without others. I've witnessed that willingly accepting and giving help is essential to avoid the complete collapse of what it means to live.

So, accepting Do-hyeon's help was about preserving something more important than my pride.I breathed on the window. White steam fogged up against the dark, snow-covered yard. I wiped it away with my palm. If only I could clear away all this dirty snow like this, I thought, wishing his drive to be safe.Leaving for Chicago would wait until Do-hyeon safely returned to my house, and then back to his own. But suddenly, a chill ran through me, raising goosebumps. I stepped back from the window.

I belatedly realized the teleporter was missing. I had definitely brought it downstairs... I went back to the second floor, to the closet where the teleporter had been. But only the empty box was there – of course, I had taken the teleporter downstairs.

I retraced my steps, moving along the path I had taken inside the house. Let's replay. I had gone to the front door at the sound of Do-hyeon knocking, opened it for him to come in, talked in the middle of the living room, and handed him the car keys. So, since he arrived, I hadn't touched the teleporter.

What happened? I searched the entire house again, but couldn't find it. I really didn't want to think this, but suspicion began to fall on Do-hyeon. He wouldn't know what the teleporter was for, nor how to use it. Why would he steal it? But then again, Sun-woo also didn't know what it was for when he first picked it up. Yet, he figured it out. My heart started pounding.

If Do-hyeon had taken the teleporter, when could he have hidden it? He had been talking with me the whole time. If he had hidden and taken it, I couldn't have missed it. My anxious gaze wandered, and then an important scene came to mind. I had gone to the shoe cabinet to get the car keys...

Could it have been then?

A sweat broke out on my back.