“Is she going to be alright?” Ji-min asked.
“I’ll do what I can. Our trucks are almost full, so we’ll return to the hospital next.” The woman injected something into Maddie’s arm that eased the suffering.
The convoy navigated an eight-lane road, strewn with twisted hulks of cars, thick branches, and chunks of building. They picked their way around the worst obstacles and bounced over the smaller ones. Maddie cried out in pain when their vehicle crawled over a downed light pole. The vehicles turned onto a four-lane street. The park was on their left, an eerie stand of twisted tree trunks, with leaves and smaller branches stripped clean. The buildings on their right were windowless. One was missing most of its western wall. They came to a road with a single lane in each direction. The structure they reached next was once a hospital. It was now a concrete frame with its windows blown out, exposed to the elements. A sea of tents covered the street, with banners labeling some as Korean Red Cross, OCHA, and United States Marine Corps. Volunteers from around the world staffed the tents, helping the helpless.
The world is coming together. To help us. A sea of good, responding to the plight of the needy. The North Korean soldiers topped off their supplies and prepared to resume their search. Ji-min strode up to the officer in charge and extended her hand.
He took it.
“Thank you,” she said.
The man nodded. His eyes held a spark she had never seen in a soldier. Purpose. Freedom. “Take care of yourself and your friend,” he said then climbed into the lead vehicle. Engines rumbled to life, and the rescuers rolled back into the shattered city.
“I will,” Ji-min said.
President Pak
Minister Pak strolled through a garden near the Mansudae Assembly Hall where the Supreme People’s Assembly would soon meet. The Colonel walked at his side.
“In just a few hours, you will be the provisional President of North Korea.” The Colonel tossed the rest of a cigarette into a pond next to their path. “I must admit I was unsure of your plan when you first approached me. Your execution was flawless.”
Minister Pak clasped the Colonel’s shoulder. Flawless, no, or you would be dead. But I need your loyalty in the months ahead. “Your execution was flawless as well,” Minister Pak said.
“Tell me. How was Dear Leader in his final moments?”
“Broken,” Minister Pak said.
“How did it feel? To be the one ending his life?”
“Necessary. Nothing more.”
“A week ago, I couldn’t imagine a world without him. What is it like to replace him?”
“I don’t need to be the face of power, as long as I can wield it.”
The Colonel chuckled. “You’re the face of power now.”
“That, too, is necessary. At least for now. So much will change, and I require the power of office to control it. The South lost a key harbor and now relies on our ports. The border’s open, and huge infrastructure investments are being made.”
“The UN is pushing for elections. How long can you maintain control?” the Colonel asked.
“Long enough. I’ll step back once I set things up the way I want them. Talk of unification is already underway. When that happens, I’ll be nothing more than a businessman in a thriving democracy.”
“A businessman who controls half of the Korean economy, no doubt.”
Minister Pak chucked. “A businessman who doesn’t fear his hard work being stripped on a whim, or his friends being killed.”
A pair of military guards in dress uniform approached and saluted. “Sir! The Assembly is ready to begin.”
The Colonel smiled. “Come on then. Let’s make you president.”
Faith
Ji-min looked out from what now passed for the first-class lounge at Incheon International Airport, in awe of the colossal aircraft landing and departing. The original airport buildings were destroyed in the explosion. It was a top priority to repair the facility, so aid could flow by air. Makeshift tents and temporary buildings stood near the mass of twisted steel that was once the international terminal.
“You’re sure about this?” Maddie asked. She sat in a wheelchair, her right arm tightly bandaged and an ice pack on her ribs.
“No,” Ji-min said. “But I trust you. I trust you understand the world better than I do and that you want what’s best for me.”
“That’s the least I can do. You saved my life.”
“I just did what anybody would do,” Ji-min said. At least, what anybody should do.
“I think her plane’s landing,” Maddie said. She pointed at a jet approaching the runway. It was tiny compared to the enormous planes that ferried in supplies around the clock.
The aircraft’s wheels hit the runway with a puff of smoke. It turned off and rolled to a stop meters from the departure tent. The words United States Air Force were emblazoned on its fuselage. The jet’s door folded out, transforming into a short staircase. A dark-haired girl in her late teens, wearing a straight gray skirt and conservative blouse, exited the aircraft.
“Sara!” Maddie said, a cautious smile on her lips.
“Mother.” The woman pulled dark aviator glasses from a pocket and set them on her face.
A middle-aged man with ebony skin and graying hair worked his way down the aircraft's staircase. He walked to Maddie with a slight limp and took her hand. “I’m glad you’re on the mend,” he said with a hint of a Nigerian accent. “I can’t tell you how worried I was.”
“Thank you for coming, Abel,” Maddie said.
Abel smiled. “Of course.” He turned to Ji-min. “This is the girl you called me about? Ji-min?”
Maddie nodded.
Ji-min extended a hand. “My pleasure, Dr. Okoye.”
Abel gave her a fatherly smile. “Please, call me Abel. The pleasure’s mine. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out earlier. When Maddie told me of your unique… cognitive ability, I made it a priority to bring you to the States.” Abel gestured toward the destroyed port district. “With the chaos, the best option was to come personally.” He smiled at Sara. “Why don’t you help your mother aboard?”
Sara’s eyes hardened. “Alright.” She pushed Maddie to the boarding stairs then supported her as she climbed up.
“Shall we?” Abel asked.
Ji-min shoved her hands into her pockets and stared at the floor.
“Are you okay?” Abel asked. “Worried about the flight?”
“No, Abel. The flight should be fine. I find it hard to leave my home when so many suffer. When there's so much work.”
Abel touched Ji-min’s shoulder. “The world has come together to help your country. You possess a unique gift, something previously unknown. The best place for you, and for science to understand your condition, is in the United States.”
Ji-min observed the golden halo around Abel. Truth.
#
The aircraft seat was the most luxurious furniture Ji-min had ever seen. It was covered in plush leather, and buttons allowed her to shape it how she wanted. It could even convert into a bed. Someone brought water and fresh grapes.
Abel came aboard. “We’re all set.” He strapped himself into a seat across the aisle from Ji-min.
The plane pushed back, and the engines spooled to life. It moved down the tarmac, past burned-out, overturned jumbo jets, and toward the runway. The turbines roared, and the plane gathered speed. Without warning, it pitched back. Ji-min grasped the arms of her seat. The buildings shrunk at a dizzying rate. They passed through a layer of scattered clouds, then she saw it. The city. This isn’t like the television pictures. The destruction. The loss. It’s horrific. She beheld the awesome scale of destruction. So many are dead, so many displaced. How can anyone be so evil?
Abel unbuckled and sat next to Ji-min. “Are you alright? I have your interests in mind. You know that, right? If you want to go back, I’ll turn this plane around. Say the word.”
Ji-min rested her hand on Abel’s arm. “I know.” She peered o
ut the window again. Another home. Shattered. Gone.
“Oh, here.” Abel pulled a white envelope from his bag. “A woman handed this to me after you were aboard. I asked if she wanted to see you, but she refused.”
Ji-min opened it and removed a sheet of dark-red paper emblazoned with golden ink. It read:
Dear Ji-min,
Terrible things happened in your life. You faced horrific hardship, yet kept your faith in humanity. You shared when you had nothing, rejected vengeance when it was yours to take, and absolved those who looked on as you froze in the street. If there is an angel here, it must be you.
I have faith in you. Faith that you will grow into an adult with real power to change the world.
- Unje
P.S. - If you love a stranger as you love yourself, you elevate the world.
Thank you for reading Ji-min, a TGWM Origin Story.
Ji-min returns in the near-future science fiction novel The Gods We Seek, the second book of The Gods series, where Unje’s true nature is also explored.
Sara Wells and Dr. Abel Okoye feature in The Gods We Make, the first book of The Gods and throughout the series.
If you enjoyed this novella, please consider leaving an online review. Connect with me for access to exclusive bonus chapters, to ask a question, and to receive important updates.
Many of the horrible things that befall Ji-min are inspired by the accounts of real North Korean escapees. Their government makes headlines for its bellicose behavior while the population’s suffering is at best a footnote. I chose this setting to raise awareness, a goal I can only meet with an outstanding book. I would like to thank the people who helped make this story the best it can be: Mark Abney, Alexander Blake, Jack Brown, Carol Dixon, Professor Suki Fisher, Marcelo Mills, Caitlin Prince, Lynn E. Reynolds, Richard Reynolds, and Chrys Tremththanmor.
If you enjoyed reading Ji-min, please suggest it to a friend.
Ji-min Page 9