Highway to Another Dimension || Skz

Chapter 1: Launch

As usual, the Sacred Wildlife Zoo was brimming with people. It was a weekend, so many families had the brilliant idea of coming to the zoo. Honestly, it wasn't that bad for the employees. Though there was a continuous stream of guests entering, it was at a slow pace. And with the new director of the guests' management, Chan, all the employees were happy with their jobs and the methodology of how they dealt with so many people. However, one thing that they weren't prepared for was an overly-enthusiastic young man who seemed to come with an intention to visit every exhibit within 3 hours, which the workers quickly realized once they saw him rushing from an exhibit to another, a flurry of leaves and dust left flying in his wake.

After a 4-hour train ride to the zoo, Hyunjin was more than ready to step off and walk and forget that the action of sitting down existed. Shaking his head, his blond hair flying from side to side, he peered through the window at the city. He grabbed a hair tie to tie his shoulder length hair in a loose ponytail underneath his hat. Though the train wasn't crowded and snacks were available, Hyunjin didn't get up once and stayed in his seat the entire ride. On the way, he took a light nap and didn't move at all, and as a result, he had a slight cramp. So when he got off the train, he appreciated being able to walk around on his two feet.

He glanced at his phone and saw that there were no messages from his newly made friend (acquaintance?) Kim Seungmin. Hyunjin frowned. He had noticed Seungmin walking near his apartment the past week, seeming deep in thought and slightly tired. To cheer him up, Hyunjin decided to invite Seungmin with him for a trip to the zoo. Seungmin agreed and seemed excited for the day, and even told Hyunjin that he'd arrive at 12 at the zoo.

However, it was 1 o'clock, and there were no messages from Seungmin. Hyunjin was slightly frustrated but shrugged it off, and thought that perhaps Seungmin had already arrived and messaged him, but it didn't come through. He decided that he would go to the zoo, and then choose the next course of action.

He stepped through the gates of the zoo, gripping the straps of his backpack. The sun was shining, reflecting on the surface of the water in the nearby bear pens. Hyunjin's smile grew wider as he spotted a sign that said "Llamas." Ever since he was a child, he always felt safe around llamas. Maybe it was their elegant aura, or perhaps their charming soft wool. Either way, Hyunjin was euphoric, and he had to make sure that everyone around him knew that as well.

"Oh my god??! Llamas!! I have to take a photo of them when I get to the exhibit and send it to Seungmin!!" Hyunjin babbled, which caused some onlookers to look coldly at him. He wasn't bothered in the slightest and went on his way to the exhibit. Nothing could ruin his feeling of elation! But he still had to find Seungmin.

He was so excited that he didn't give a second thought to the conversation he had when he was at the ticket booth.

20 minutes earlier:

Hyunjin felt that he had spent far too much time than necessary trying to find the way to the zoo. You'd think that a tourist attraction would have more publicity to its name, but it wasn't the case. There were no signs or magazines or anything that mentioned the existence of it.

As Hyunjin continued to walk around, his head buried in the map he printed out at home, he was forced to come to a stop in front of a road that forked into multiple paths. Hyunjin, already tired from all the occurrences of the day, decided to flip a coin and choose a path that way.
Heads for right, tails for left. The coin flipped in the air and unceremoniously dropped into a patch of grass. Hyunjin picked it up. Tails. As a result, he walked through the left-most path, and within moments he found himself at the front gates of the parking lot of the zoo. A large sign spelled out its name in muted neon colors: The Sacred Wildlife Zoo.

"Huh? This is the zoo? How come I couldn't find it when I had the map with me, but the moment I start choosing paths randomly, I find it?" Hyunjin wondered out loud, scratching his head. He decided that if life was like this forever, he would never study for a test in the future since his choice-making skills seemed to be unearthly.

By the time he walked to the ticket booth, he had an uneasy feeling but ignored it. He had come all this way to the zoo and he wouldn't leave simply because he felt a bit nervous. The station was like any other zoo's ticket booth, but the lack of workers seemed off to Hyunjin.

"Hello! Will you be booking here, or are you here to confirm an online booking?" an amiable voice reached Hyunjin's ears, and he immediately turned around to see a sweet middle-aged woman with the most vibrantly colorful and interestingly shaped earrings he'd ever seen.

"Uh, yes, I'm here to confirm an online booking," Hyunjin replied, nodding and giving the lady a slight smile.

"Okay, so here's this slip. Keep it with you, and don't lose it. Okay? Show it on your way out at the end of the day," she said, emphasizing the point of not losing it. "And before I forget, my name is Amaya! If you have any questions you can ask around for me, since I patrol around quite a bit," she said chuckling.

"Oh, thanks, but I'm not leaving today. I'll be staying at the hotel on the zoo site," Hyunjin explained. Amaya's smile faded a bit, but she quickly covered it up with a forced aura of cheeriness and nodded.

"Ohh, I see. Well, I hope you have fun."

For someone who was telling someone to have fun, her tone surely did not show it, and Hyunjin was confused, and the same uneasiness flooded up again.

"Um, Amaya, why are yo—"

Amaya glanced behind her shoulder and smiled and waved rapidly at some unknown entity. "I said, go have fun! Don't be worried" she reiterated, which didn't help Hyunjin with his growing suspicions. He didn't want to be a nuisance, so he hesitantly raised his hand and gave a shaky wave to Amaya, who returned it enthusiastically, seeming to have returned to her old self again.

Hyunjin turned around and brought his hand to his face to shield him from the sun, which was peeking out from the clouds. Though it was just a day (and overnight stay) at the zoo, he had a feeling it would last much longer than that. 

A/N: first written 1-30-22 (9:15 p.m.)