2024 — Part VI
Jeong had just finished breakfast. Caviar was served, fresh sea bass, mandarins, some pineapple and a slice of toast with bread. The coffee was exquisite. He did not thank the waitress at his table, but he did examine her figure. She was a fine specimen of woman.
“Perhaps I could buy her as well?” he pondered as he studied her. She smiled nervously and cleared the table. The hotel restaurant was void of visitors, save for Jeong Choe. He had been ordered back from South Korea on urgent matters. His South Korean colleague, simply Lee, warned him: “Don’t go back Jeong” “You tell me that every time. I remember the last time you tried to smuggle me into the South. Whiskey might tempt me, but it isn’t that easy” Jeong laughed but Lee remained stern. “I am serious, Lee. I was in the past too,” he shrugged “but this time I implore you to stay here. We will assure for your family’s safety.” Jeong raised his hand for Lee to stop “No one can do that, Lee” “But Jeong we can this ti-“ “No one” “-me it is possible. We have experts” “No one, Jeong,” “…they would get in there and take them out, quickly. It has to be done” Jeong hit the table with his fist “Damn it, man! It is impossible!” Jeong sighed and took a sip of his coffee.
Jeong calmed down and adjusted his cuff links. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Anyway, I have to go back. See you another time” Jeong got up and left the restaurant and Lee simply replied, remaining seated “Good luck” and that was the last time they saw each other.
Now he sat in the hotel restaurant and the phone was silent. The restaurant, simply named “Kim’s Joy” was situated near the monolith of a hotel that was eventually finished with outside help — Chinese help. He could see it from his room whenever he looked out. It was only 9am so Jeong decided to go up to his room and call his superior for any information. In the hotel room his phone had no reception. It simply beeped the entire time. Maybe the electricity had failed?
He switched his lamp on and off and it seemed to work. He called the lobby. “My phone has no connection to outside,” he lamented and the man at the lobby indicated he would do his best to find out the problem and solve it. Jeong sat down and played a bit on his iPad, waiting for the lobby to call. An hour had passed quickly and he tried to call his superior. Still nothing.
Jeong called the lobby again “Well? What is going on? Where is the problem?” he complained. “I am sorry, sir, but there is not-“ the call was cut off. There was now a monotonous beeping sound coming from the phone. Jeong was furious. Did that cretin hang up on him? He put on his blazer and stormed out of his room. As he was halfway towards the elevator he heard a rumbling sound. Jeong almost fell over and supported himself on the wall as the entire ground moved beneath him.
An earthquake? How odd, he hasn’t experienced one since he was a child. He ran back to his room and supported himself in the doorway. As he looked out of the window he saw bright clouds in front of him and a large pillar of smoke. The pillar of smoke was rising from where the hotel was supposed to be. Suddenly, the ground was shaking more and large amounts of debris were being hurled out from the smoke pillar. Jeong could see the shockwave approaching and closed his eyes. The windows shattered immediately and sent splinters throughout the room, some into Jeong’s face. He screamed but his scream was muffled by the sound of the explosion. It was deafening as the entire hotel began to collapse. Jeong screamed the entire time.
When he woke up Jeong was surrounded by debris. He touched his legs and felt them. He wiggled his arms and felt it. There was light above him. He wiggled through some cracks and pushed a door away and reached outside. He stood on a pile of debris, dust was all around him and he too was plastered in dust. He rubbed his eyes and breathing hurt. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and tried to get off the rubble. He heard cries and screaming in the distance but could see no one. He took a few steps and noticed he was bleeding. A wound in his arm, something had pierced it. He examined and noticed a small piece of wood near his elbow. He decided to leave it in for now until he found a medic or doctor. But as he wandered the streets he noticed little to no people. There were fires everywhere and it was foggy and dust. Jeong walked onto the street. He heard a jeep approaching but saw it too late. He looked straight at the headlights as the military jeep rammed him at high speed. He hit the hood of the car and spun upwards in a spiral-like motion, landing on his head. He was knocked out immediately and was luckily not alive to witness a half-track rolling over his body from the armoured personel carrier behind the jeep, crushing him.
A bunker buster missile had been shot into the large hotel and hit an underground bunker where a nuclear warhead was hidden. It had triggered a nuclear warhead and Pyongyang was reduced to rubble. After Jeong had been run over, the leadership in the North tried to launch their nuclear warheads. They only had a handful and of the handful only 2 really worked, they figured.
Two were launched, one towards South Korea and one towards Japan. The one aimed for South Korea exploded on the launch site, killing the 430 soldiers and all the scientists on site, as well as the glorious leader and 21 generals. The rocket aimed for Japan erroneously took the wrong path and exploded 2km away from the launch site. No one was injured but the radiation effects were to kill those near the launch site in due time.
The invasion of North Korea had already begun.
