Moonlit Shadows

Arrivals

Jaci was now standing outside of the international airport in Daegu, trying to establish what day it was. She would probably be wondering that for a while. Professor Fenton had arranged for a hotel stay for her first night in Korea, with plans to train, then bus to her final destination.

Her destination was Blood Mountain and it was purposely not listed on global maps. However, due to the wealth of information on the internet and Professor North's research, Jaci knew exactly where she was heading.

And that was to bed.

Her flight had arrived in Korea just as the day was breaking. But Jaci had been unable to sleep on the flight. She was too filled with excitement and nerves.

A car pulled up to the curb, the back passenger door and trunk opening simultaneously. A smiling man, looking to be somewhere in his mid-fifties, leaned down and smiled. "Ride?"

Jaci looked at him and nodded, fishing the address of her hotel out of her pocket. She handed it to him and he nodded.

Throwing her large suitcase and carryon into the trunk of the car, she wearily slid into the back seat, trying to stay alert, just in case the driver proved to be of a nefarious sort.

***

About an hour later, Jaci was sprawled out like a starfish on the fluffy white linens of her three star hotel bed. She stared up at the plain white ceiling, listening to the city outside her window come to life as the day kicked into full swing.

First things first - text Professor Fenton.

Professor! I made it! Flight was great. I'm settled into the hotel. This is only a three star!? It's like a five star at home! I'll text you tomorrow.

He responded quicker than Jaci expected.

Good to hear. Don't sleep. It makes the jet lag worse. Do some site seeing or something. Be safe.

Jaci smiled. Professor Fenton was definitely like a dad. She always thought it was strange a handsome guy like him was perpetually, and seemingly contentedly, single.

"Stay awake, he says. Go have fun, he says," she groans, pushing herself up off the bed. Maybe a shower would reinvigorate her.

Thierry minutes later, she felt intense regrets about choosing the shower. She was more exhausted than before. Probably should have made it a cooler shower.

The bed was calling to her like a siren of the seas, luring her ever closer until she was buried in its warmth, snoozing her way through her first official day in Korea.

***

Regrets.

It might just become the theme of her entire trip.

Jaci had so many regrets.

She was now trying to stay awake on a bus that looked like it's prime had been about fifty years earlier. She jostled along with a dozen or so nonplused citizens. The rocking of the bus was lulling her to sleep, right before a pretentious pothole would jolt her awake.

The previous night, she had spent wide awake after a nine hour nap after her flight. Her days and nights were now screwed up and she groaned inwardly at the thought of correcting the issue.

As the bus chugged along, Jaci listened to the conversations around her. When Jaci had decided to pursue this mystery years ago, she had made it a personal mission to learn Korean and had done so with little difficulty. She may not be completely fluent, but she could understand anything that didn't deal with medical or industrial jargon.