October 30, 2022

The road was packed with people who were there to watch a concert that was being held at an intersection. The three of us were just trying to get to the other side of town but a line of policemen were blocking the way. We tried to explain to them that we were just passing through and weren’t here for the concert. Running out of patience, we eventually pushed through the line and crowd onto the near-empty boulevard.

One of the guards continued following me as we made our way to the underground shopping mall down the road. While I was on the descending escalator, he asked if I was I was a Korean college freshman. He went on a rant about how the immature youth were no longer well-read, aimless, and occupied by media. I told him that I had graduated long ago and that I culturally felt more aligned to America if anything.

The day was getting dark as we approached a large diorama under the streetlamp. Apparently it was a full-sized display detailing the accounts of African Americans involved in nuclear research programs. There was also a board game on display based around the same events. I wondered whether it actually had unique game mechanics tailor made for the game or if it was just a theme wrapped around an already existing one.

I turned around to ask the guard that was still tailing me why we were stopped at the concert earlier. He told me that my friend had personally ordered to not let us (including himself) through the crowd. “Oh shit”, I thought, “that means he had time traveled.”