Against Time

CIRCA 1939 AD

“Sangcheol!” Taehyung yelped at his friend who was reposing against the earthen wall, prompting him to immediately shot his eyes open— bewildered, “It’s not gonna work like this, man. Stand up and at least render your part, huh? We can’t slack off like this when it’s our land that will suffer—”

“Got you— I totally got you. Now, calm down. See, I’m back to doing the work!” Sangcheol exclaimed cheerfully as he resumed to shoveling the soil out, carving the cave perimeters into an almost even curve. A satiated smile became evident on Taehyung’s face watching that, and his friend couldn’t refrain himself from mirroring the expression too.

Taehyung and Sangcheol had known each other from school. Hailing from the same locality and accompanying each other enroute school had given them every reason to be the best partners in crime. As if that wasn’t good enough, both of them tended to be moved by the same kind of rationale majority of the times. Currently, it was shaping a secret meeting spot twenty feet beneath the ground, to get acquainted with more people who had the similar sort of blazing fires within them.

Taehyung’s desire to achieve his formidable quest—which many a times also unnerved him— had consumed much of his life’s purpose. He was blinded by the thirst of seeing his people free— to gather, get educated, speak in their native language and overthrow the oppressors— that his selflessness had eventually taken a toxic turn. All he ever considered worth discussing was coming up with plans that would help them proceeding a step forwards in that course.

He had undoubtedly become an embodiment of the word obsession.

Having the very thoughts whirl in his mind with an immeasurable velocity, Taehyung didn’t realize when he dragged himself too deep into the tunnel. The lamps that Sangcheol and him had illuminated to chase away the bland darkness were no longer visible to him either, and that was when he understood that he had indeed been digging away like a maniac.

With no light, and obviously no sense of direction.

Brooding that a minute’s rest wouldn’t hurt anyone, Taehyung slid his back against the muddy wall—settling himself on the rocky ground with grave discomfort. His hand reached for the beret hat atop his head, which he quickly removed whilst combing his another hand through his hair. Quite unusually though, he felt a tingling sensation on his fingertips in the meanwhile. The nerves traveled it down his spine, causing him to feel itchy on the back.

Taehyung instantly switched his position, and now it was his anterior profile which faced the earthen barrier. Inquisitive, he rested his palms on the surface which only made him undergo the same experience for one more time. Taehyung withdrew his contact with the wall in a spur, casting it a glance that brimmed with curiosity.

What happened to the underground all of a sudden?

He sporadically placed his hands everywhere except for the intriguing obstacle in front of him, though his disappointment only intensified when none of the sides gave off the vibration— even to the slightest. Taehyung was tempted by this new discovery of his, which must not be too great of a breakthrough— but was still remarkable for him. And hence he fetched his spade— which luckily had not gotten lost in the midst of perpetual murkiness— and began to scoop the mud out tirelessly.

Ample of cavity had been dug out by Taehyung in the process, which resultingly permitted an unconventional luminosity to intrude into his space. A dazzling white light obscured much of Taehyung’s range of vision, making his gait unsteady as he also tried to protect his eyes with his arms, to avoid them from getting affected. A strong gust of wind attempted at repelling him, but to no avail. Taehyung’s feet were firm on the path, and he didn’t look like someone who would be budged by adversities like such.

After trudging across for a few couple of minutes the swiftness of the wind blunted, and the brightness started to pale too. Taehyung’s gaze was once again met with a deepening blackness. However, a flickering beacon of light—literally— caught Taehyung’s attention, stirring him to rush towards the source of it.

He ran relentlessly, until it occurred to him that he was close enough to relax a bit. Taehyung slowed down his pace while he heaved and retrieved his lost breaths, before bumping into a door that just couldn’t have existed beforehand.

“Taehyung’s such a deceiver. To where did he go after yelling at me for lazing around? He for sure is dead meat if I end up finding him dozing off...” Sangcheol, if anything, was fuming like a steam vessel. For sure, he respected Taehyung a lot for being so persistent towards his goal, though that didn’t mean he could escape enduring the former’s wrath if he turned out to be one of those who didn’t apply the rules for everyone else, on themselves as well.

Not that Taehyung had ever acted like a jerk as described.

Sangcheol—while muttering some more cursings specifically meant for Taehyung— collected one of the lamps and motioned his steps towards the spot Taehyung must’ve been supposedly working at. Sangcheol was the more patient friend out of them two, and his ability to deal with the nerve-wracking situation so efficiently was substantiating the claim quite well. He could even go around for another hour, aimlessly wandering within the hollow as he looked for his dear friend. But much to his dismay, his super commendable quality was wearing off gradually.

Sangcheol sped up his strut out of frustration, ultimately winding up shouting Taehyung’s name in the hope that he would answer back. However, the only call he received was the resonance of his own— which must’ve collided with the walls and bounced back right at him. Sangcheol slammed his palm against his forehead, with eyes widening due to utmost horror.

“Did he perhaps... by any chance... did he get lost in the tunnels? Oh God, I’m so doomed!” Sangcheol shuddered, climbing out of the underground room on a whim. Teary-eyed, he raced towards the village to inform Taehyung’s mother about the apparent mishap. He had to do it before he proved to be too late to rectify the problem.

“Aunt, Taehyung has lost his way in the secret hid—er, some tunnels we went into to kill our time. I believe he’s stuck there. We need to hurry, or we might never be able to bring him back.”