Urgent announcement... Here the tower

SK-741

The balance control system failed. The tower is about to fall in 42,622 seconds. All citizens are requested to evacuate immediately. Announcement again...

I pull back the curtains The light hurts the eyes. It takes a while to get used to it. The old window was dusty and blurred even more by the water vapor from the synthetic rain droplets. I stared at the chaos below, brushing back strands of raven black hair that kept falling out of view. For a moment, I felt cold before I realized that my body was completely unclothed.

I walked back to pick up my clothes and looked at the 16 year old girl on the bed who had thrown a blanket over her instead of clothing.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Ah, no, I've been awake for a while."

“Suddenly, this tower has actually been around for thousands of years.”

“...That's it.”

I picked up a shirt from last night to wear for the cold. Adjust the air conditioner to heater mode, walk to make coffee, the sounds of announcements, people's voices, and the sound of rain fill the atmosphere in the background. The water soon boiled. I poured it into two glasses, stirred it well, and brought it to the bed and handed it to her.

“Uh, thank you very much.”

“You don't have to be polite. We're about the same age, aren't we..."

She looked embarrassed for a moment. I smiled before sitting down at the end of the bed. Gazing at the swaying coffee steam and the haystack-colored hair that curved like long ocean waves covering her back. Looking at the soft lips blowing coffee Pictures from last night flowed in non-stop. We slept together for the first time.

And it will probably be the last time. In a city that is about to collapse

By the way, we don't even know each other's names yet.

Yes… with strangers too…

After drinking a whole cup of coffee She said she wanted to take another shower together and took my hand into the bathroom without waiting for an answer. While soaking in the tub We introduced ourselves. Let's start with me.

“My name is Mir, and you?”

“Layla… comes from the name of an artificial flower that was sold many years ago.”

“Hm, I've never heard that before. But the name is beautiful: Layla, Layla…”

“Oh, don't repeat it too many times.” Layla dunked herself in the bathtub. Can't see mouth But just from your eyes you can tell that you're smiling. Soaking in the tub after morning coffee in the rainy atmosphere with strangers… It's not a bad atmosphere at all, right?

After getting dressed Layla then said, “I will stay here. You can go with the others, Mir.”

I wiped my hair, pretending to think. We locked eyes for a moment. Not sure if it made us understand each other a little better or not.

“I don't want to go either,” I replied.

We met almost an hour after the first evacuation announcement. It was 2:00 p.m. and 15 minutes. The weather was overcast and rainy, just like now. It seems that the water hydrant malfunctioned causing the rain to stop falling. I went out to get lunch as usual. A little late, but it's not a problem. An announcement sounded as the first bite of spaghetti was placed in the mouth.

Every news agency spread the news. The internet became crowded in the blink of an eye. The transportation of information is chaotic to the utmost. Even now, I still can't believe that my first feeling after the announcement was, "Oh, so the world will end tomorrow?" as I scooped up my next bite of spaghetti. It was then that Leyla appeared.

“I want the special hamburger set, tuna salad, and jasmine tea,” she ordered through the order machine without any trouble. It was different from the others who were in a panic and confusion to the point of going crazy. At least this restaurant is automated. Therefore there was no problem until the service had to be stopped. I watched her walk around looking for a seat like a person with nothing to do.

From one corner to another Actually, there was a lot of empty space, but she just walked past it, probably making an appointment with a friend. I made an assumption. After all, she looked in my direction. I suddenly averted my eyes and hurriedly swallowed the spaghetti noodles. Wow, why did you come this way?

“Um, can I sit with you?”

“Eh, uh... ok, please.”

“Thank you.” She sat down across from me. Huh? What in the world could make you look past the hundreds of empty seats and sit with me? I tried to think, but was swept away by the scent of her hair.

“Well…” she said, “Sorry to bother you. I'm not good at sitting alone. It's like everyone around you is staring at you all the time,” she said shyly. It's like they're not used to looking at each other and talking.

Oh, now the mystery is clear, but... why did you choose to sit with me?

“I just saw you sitting alone. So I thought it would be easy to ask to sit with you.”

How can you read my mind? Wait, speaking like I'm an easy-going person sounds strange. “Come on, it's not a big deal.” I tried to choose my words carefully like the other party was a strange element that didn't know how to react. “Really? Let's introduce ourselves..."

“That's it!” She rushed over and grabbed my hand. The cutlery flew in different directions. “After this, would you please come with me?”

It seemed like time had stood still forever. The seconds stretched into minutes, then hours. When I came to my senses I was already nodding off. After eating, we went to many places together. How do you make it feel like you're dating? I found out her age when she said she was just starting high school, after all.

We ended up in my room. It all seemed like a bizarre dream. But it's true.

Urgent announcement... Here the tower

SK-741

The balance control system failed. The tower is about to fall in 31,254 seconds. All citizens are asked to evacuate immediately.

“Like a ghost town,” I said as we stood in the middle of a quiet plaza that a few hours ago was full of chaos. Now the only sounds were our footsteps. Accompanied by announcements and sounds of structures collapsing somewhere. The synthetic rain has stopped falling.

But the air was still so humid and cold that my body was wet. The road surface was covered with clear water, reflecting the cloudy sky. Cars parked in a mess Some cars still have their engines left on. Some collided and smashed. The security robot froze in its position, preparing to move the vehicle. Traffic is completely paralyzed.

The electrical system has probably stopped in many parts. All that's left is an announcement that goes unheard. At least we ignore it.

“Ah, I feel strangely hollow,” Leyla said with a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She snuggled into me. Acting like a purring kitten

“Where should we go?”

“Let's go to a high place?” Leyla looked up at the gray sky. I look at your face staring at the sky

“What about the observation tower? There shouldn't be anyone left in this tower right now.”

“That… must pay a high price to go up.”

“Yes, I also want to go up and take a look at it. It was even higher than the simulated cloud layer. You might even be able to see the real sky.”

“Haha, then we are the last customers.”

“It would be good to find something to eat.” I picked up my wallet and checked the money before realizing that I didn't need the money.

“Uh huh.”

We wandered through the alleys looking for some. (Or should we call it stealing...) The Last Supper before heading to the observation tower in the city center Now look at Layla's short-cut hair. I will always remember the stories you told me.

“Can I ask you something?” I said as I was leaving the room. Layla nodded so quietly that I hesitated to ask further. But there was no other choice. “Why don't you want to leave here?”

Leyla fell silent. She changed her position from wearing shoes to holding her knees. I felt like I was missing the point so I spoke first instead. “I… what should I say about evacuating from here? I don't know where I'm going to live. The other towers had similar surroundings but they were not the same as this one. not my address

They say you can only take as much stuff as you need, but for me, I want to move this whole room with me. Not just the room, but the entire building, the plaza, and the view that can be seen from the window every day. I'm not a good adaptable person, so I feel lonely. It's lonely and I can't tell.

It was as if I had nailed this room as my permanent home. When I first heard the announcement I wasn't shocked or frightened at all. It was more of a feeling of emptiness. Having to move somewhere without an anchor to feel stable. I can't imagine life after immigration in a good way.”

“That's why I decided to stay here.”

“Uh huh.”

“Probably strange.”

“No,” Leyla shook her head lightly.

I poured out all my feelings. Both felt embarrassed. And it's strange to tell stories like this to people who have just met them. But it was like the giant rock that was packed in her chest was completely disintegrated in the blink of an eye. However, Leyla avoided my eyes. Did I say something wrong? Or should we stop the conversation here? I thought so and stretched out my hand towards her who sat still like a statue.

“Shall we go to the plaza?” I asked.

Layla held my hand. Hesitantly stood up and said, “Okay, before I go, can you do something for me?”

“... Okay, what is it?”

Layla grabbed a strand of her own hair and said, “Please cut my hair.”

“Eh, I've never cut hair before. And there's a barber shop near here. Want to go check it out?”

“It's okay. Please cut it for me.”

I really can't figure out what she's thinking. We came back into the room. I brought a chair and placed it in front of the glass table. Then open the drawer to find the equipment. Hopefully regular scissors can cut it... Layla asked for help cutting it until it was shoulder length. I tensed my hand for a moment and then started trimming my hair.

“I'm heartbroken.”

“Eh,” I stopped my hand.

“Oh, continue. I'm… embarrassed.” She bowed her head.

“Ah, first of all, look up. I can't cut it like this.”

Leyla looked up. Then began to tell the story. “I don't have a boyfriend. When I say heartbroken, I mean with friends. They are my only friends. Saying we're close isn't that close, but at least I have a place to live. You exist in someone's eyes. Even if I become a topic of strange conversation

Sometimes sometimes I think that's about as happy as I can be. But one day They excluded me from the group. It's not as severe as bullying or saying bad things. But he just doesn't come talk to me anymore. Acting like I don't exist It's like there's a wall separating them.

And there's no way I can't cross it. The walls were completely sealed and I was left outside, alone.

“When I realized it again, I tried to commit suicide many times in many ways. Sometimes I would lie down and put a pillow over my nose until I couldn't breathe. When I see a medicine bottle, I like to imagine myself filling the entire medicine bottle into my mouth. But I've never done it. Sometimes he likes to go to high places and thinks that if he jumps down quickly, no one will catch him in time. But I've never tried it either, and I'm not brave enough.

I used to think that dying was easy, when in fact it was really that difficult.”

Layla stopped talking. I just don't know what to say in this situation. Time was interrupted and flowed slowly, with only the sound of the scissors snapping and the movement of hair falling onto the cold tile floor. There was the occasional sound of Leyla's breathing. Even though she tried to act in a way that wouldn't go unnoticed. But I see the reflection in the mirror

She's crying.

A spiral staircase leads to the top. A faint light shines down. The elevator has stopped working. There was no other way but to walk up.

“Will I be able to go up in time?” I looked at the watch I had brought with me, wondering. There were about 6 hours left before the tower collapsed. But the stairs seemed endless.

“If you run, you might be able to catch up.”

“I probably won't be able to…”

“Otherwise you have to turn off the gravity control system. But that is still impossible.”

“That's important. This tower isn't even high into space. The gravity control system is there to keep gravity constant throughout the tower. Even if it's closed, you'll probably only be able to jump higher.”

“Is there no other way?”

“Um… I can't think of anything.”

We walked and walked and walked, unable to discern any difference in where we were from just now. It's like walking in circles. We stopped to eat snacks along the way. Layla touched my hair so often that I felt a little guilty.

"Uh, I'm sorry I can't cut my hair very well."

Leyla looked between me, the snacks, and my hair and laughed. “I don't think too much about that. It just feels a little strange. This is the first time I've had short hair. Doesn't that seem strange?"

“What? I just came to ask here, haha.” I raised my hand and gently stroked Layla's hair.

After the break, we continued walking. There are signs indicating the height at regular intervals. Every time I saw the sign I would look down below. We were so high we couldn't see the ground. Even cities are transformed into miniature pieces like Lego bricks. The announcement said that there were almost 4 hours left. Yet, there was still no sign of them breaking through the clouds.

We are halfway between above and below. No side seems more real than the other. The couple became like an abstract painting. I held Leyla's hand tightly. For fear that she would want to jump. Or to prevent me from jumping in myself.

In the end, we gave up at this height. The elevator still hadn't even taken half of the entire trip. But there's no more time left in this tower. We ended our tour on one of the observation decks under a blanket of artificial clouds.

“Mir, look, it's snow.” Leyla ran towards a viewpoint filled with white mist falling through the clouds.

“I think it was more dust from the landslide. Don't inhale it.”

“Mirny is not in a romantic mood at all,” Leyla scowled and looked back from the observation tower.

"Blame each other... Ah, there's still some sandwiches and tea left. Come eat before time runs out.”

“Ah, okay, but how much time is left?”

“Let me look at the watch first, eh?” The watch disappeared. Did I forget it somewhere? No, the last time I looked at it I put it in my bag.

“Is something wrong?”

“It looks like the watch has fallen off somewhere. Sorry, I can't tell the time.” I felt so bad. Even though it seems like it's just a small matter, at least there's still an announcement from time to time. Layla seemed to notice. She leaned against me and held my hand.

“It's okay. You can listen to the announcement. Let's hurry up and eat before the time runs out.”

We sat down to slowly eat our last convenience meal. Watching the dust fall on the ground and listening to the sound of the end approaching. I drank the tea in large gulps to clear out the distractions in my mind. But it still goes around Unable to escape

“... Hey Leyla, are we doing this correctly?” I started to worry. It has always been like this since the past. I tend to be 100 percent confident at the beginning, and then it trickles down to almost nothing when it's time to actually take action. I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten this high without you, but now

Height and time compressed me into the present situation. Soon, this tower would fall, the world would end, we would all die, lost in the rubble, never knowing if we would be remembered or left behind. Found it or not? At most, it may be just one of a small list of missing persons. A sudden darkness flooded his mind, like his eyes were blinded for a moment. before feeling a pressure on Leyla's hand.

“Hey Layla, can I be the one to ask?” I asked. She just nodded.

“Please hold my hand until the end of time.”

“I thought I was going to do that anyway…” she replied.

Urgent announcement... Here the tower

SK-741

The balance control system failed. The tower is about to fall in 281 seconds. All citizens are asked to evacuate immediately.

A tremor woke us up from our trance. The observation tower tilted in response to the announcement. There were loud explosions coming from many places. The main structure of the tower is collapsing. The spiral staircase could not withstand the shock and fell apart into pieces. Falling down below I hurriedly pulled Leyla's hand out to the observation deck.

The scene ahead was even more bizarre than the city from above. Towers that once stood tall Now it curled and waved like Layla's hair. and exploded into a giant hollow. Sparks of light pierced through the clouds like machine gun bullets.

The enormous structure slowly tilted towards him. The gravity control system has stopped working. Our bodies rose high off the ground. The world suddenly seemed turned upside down. Top, bottom, left, and right become just abstract objects that cannot be differentiated. The sound of metal scraping and concrete hitting each other was deafening. Artificial bird tries hard to find its way out before being crushed by falling concrete. I hugged Leyla tightly.

The whole world lost control. Move quickly towards the end in the next second A giant hollow moved through our bodies.

The howling sound of the wind replaced it. I slowly opened my eyes. Countless sparks of light hurt my eyes at first. After adjusting The whole picture was visible to the eye. It is a vast expanse of space. The light shines from millions of stars. I shed tears without realizing it.

“Mir, do you see that sky?” Leyla asked excitedly.

"Oh, I'm looking."

Space embraces the entire world like a mother embraces her child. Meteors moved from one side of the ocean to the other as if greeting the sky. Space is so vast while we are tiny specks of dust. They are just tiny cogs that help drive a giant machine.

The world slowly shattered into pieces like a jigsaw puzzle falling to the ground. The whole structure of the tower buildings History, civilization, memory and our bodies. Everything will melt into a memorial left for someone to find one day. We held each other's hands tightly as if we wouldn't let anything tear us apart.

“Can't see any other towers.”

“It must be very far from here.”

“That's it.”

“If we meet again Will you remember each other?”

“Sounds like fate… But that kind of thing is good too.”

“Yes.”

“The sky is so beautiful.”

“Um, very beautiful.”