"Road Not Taken." [Lee Know] HORROR

Chapter 3: Seo Changbin

[1 year ago]

(Somewhere in Serbia)

I climb out of the jeep and grab my backpack that has all of my equipment in it. I already see the news crew on standby. Tons of excavators were flooding the area. Who knew that there would be so many? I sure as hell didn't.

I sigh as I take a sip of my coffee, while my assistant gives me the run down of what is going on.
"So, they found this extremely odd object. Something we've never seen before!" She exclaimed while making gestures with her hands. I look at her with raised eyebrows. That intrigued me.
"Oh? What do you mean? No one could figure it out?"
She looked at me with a serious face. "No! The problem is that we can't exactly pinpoint the date. They haven't dug it out of the ground quite yet, but the top half of it is already showing. They were digging pretty deep when they came across it. They wanted me to call you."

I tilt my head to the side and down the rest of my coffee.
"Oh. Great! So now they are dumping it on me because those dumbasses don't have the proper skills?"
She scoffed and slapped me on the arm. "Minho! Come on, now. Don't be so mean." She laughed. I flashed her a wide smile.
"Sorry, don't mind me. I'm just cranky because I was called at four in the morning."
"Comes with the job. Now come on. I'll take you down to the site." She slapped me on the back which made me to jolt forward.
Aish! For someone so tiny, she sure had a powerful slap.
I follow her where she's going. On the walk over, I bow and greet other teams and paleontologists.

"Hello, Minho! You're here, huh?"

"G'morning. I'm here, yes. Barely." I sigh. The people smiled and called to me as I strolled by them. My assistant gawked at me every time someone would speak to me. I furrow my brows at her.
"What?"
"You're super popular these days." She teased. I roll my eyes like they were on a swivel.
"They're just being nice." I nudge her in the side then start jogging over to the head leader of this dig site.
"Hello! I'm Lee Minho. You called me here?"
The man I addressed turned around to look at me. He was tall, had dark skin and black hair. He stuck his hand out and grinned.
"Ah! Yes, Minho. I am Sergio Alotov. Nice to meet you. Yes, I had my people call you. I heard you were very good at what you do." He spoke in a thick native accent. He was definitely from around here. Luckily, I could understand him.

But thank God for my assistant and her knowledge of Serbian.

I laugh at his overly positive comment. "Oh, me? Nah. I just like my job. I'm not better than anyone else here." I smile softly. Sergio waved his hands, not taking no for an answer.
"No no! You are. Better than these idiots I hired. Trust me, I know your work."

"Well, that's very kind of you  sir." I take a deep bow which he was taken aback by.
"Oh, no need to be so formal! That is too kind, but it is not needed." He pat my shoulder a few times. I had secondhand embarrassment from that. I guess he wasn't used to Korean culture. I stood back up and cleared my throat.
"Ah, sorry. It's a habit."
"It's all good, Mr. Lee. Now, ready to see the item? Come this way." He stretched an arm out to point to the area we were headed. I nodded my head and walked alongside him to the dune where the item had been discovered. We used a ladder to get down to the ground level where the piece of history was located at. A few people were crouched down around it and studying it when we walked up. Sergio cleared his throat harshly and scared them.
"Move aside. This man is here to study it. You over there, stay here and help me dig it up. The others can shoo! Go take a break."
They all said something to Sergio that I couldn't understand. It was probably in their mother tongue. They shuffled away and up the ladder. They greeted me quietly when they passed. I happily smiled and waved at them as they did. While Sergio and the other man stayed to excavate the rest of the item, I hung back to set my backpack down and open it. I reach inside to pull out my notebook, tape recorder, and a pen. I began writing down my notes while I watched them, documenting everything about the area I could see from my vantage point. "What is it exactly?"
Sergio turned to look at me.
"It seems to be some sort of necklace."
I jot that down and voice record what I am hearing.
"A necklace, huh? What does it look like?"
"It's clear. Has a light orange sheen to it. On a leather woven string. I can't quite pinpoint the origins." He called out to me.