The blindingly yellow light dimmed away
Cheol Gae (blinking): "Admiral…?"Gao Zhi (glancing sideways): "What?"
They both stared at the young man lying in the alley. His hoodie looked too clean, too stitched, too… modern.
Gao Zhi (walking up slowly): "Judging by your face, you look like you're from our region and not someone from the west."Stranger (sitting up, squinting): "What is this? Some kind of medieval show filming or something?"
Cheol Gae and Gao Zhi glanced at each other in confusion.Cheol Gae: "Medie… what?"Gao Zhi: "No one here knows that word."
The man looked around, his eyes darting between stone walls and people in layered robes and tunics. His jaw tensed, then he went quiet.
Gao Zhi: "Where exactly are you from?"The man paused, trying to process what he was hearing. Their speech was too formal, like Shakespeare with better posture.
Stranger (slowly): "I… I don't know what's going on. Can you guys help me?"
Cheol Gae stepped forward, suspicious.Cheol Gae: "You're too clean to be this confused."Gao Zhi: "He's disoriented. Look at him. We can't leave him here."
Later, in their cramped rented room, the three sat together . The room was modest—just some neatly folded clothes, a few books stacked on the floor, and one pot that doubled as everything.
The stranger sat stiffly on the stool. Gao Zhi poured him water. Cheol Gae sat across from him, arms crossed, staring like he was solving a mystery.
Gao Zhi: "You said you're not from this place. What do you remember?"Stranger: "I… I was walking in a city. Big buildings, lights, noise. I had my phone… and then this flash. Now I'm here."
Cheol Gae's face went pale with shock.Cheol Gae (whispering): "You're… you must be my great-grandancestor."Gao Zhi (face flat): rubbing his eyes and sighingCheol Gae: "My parents always talk about him! A man who would fall from the sky to guide our family!"Gao Zhi: "Cheol. He's younger than us."Cheol Gae: "my parents always talk about him and his greatness."
Gao Zhi turned back to the stranger, sighing deeply.
Gao Zhi: "Forget that. Try thinking. Your memories might have clues. Anything odd before the flash?"Stranger: "…Maybe. I… think I saw something glowing in the sky, just before it happened."Gao Zhi: "Strange."Cheol Gae: "Or the geat grand ancestor"Gao Zhi: "You seriously need to stop reading your aunt's dream diary."