Between Earth and Elsewhere

“What the heck! My castle got destroyed!”

The little girl in overalls jutted out her lower lip, pouting.

“What do you mean ‘your’ castle? This sand belongs to everyone in the apartment complex,” Arin said. “So technically, any sandcastle made here is communal property. Right?”

“What are you even talking about?”

A boy digging nearby looked up at Arin. “But ma’am, why are you here?”

“Ma’am? I’m younger than I look, buddy!” Arin tapped his head with a twig.

“Don’t you go to school?”

“Why would I go to a place like that?” Arin shot back.

“Don’t you study?”

Arin sighed. “Come here, all of you.”

The children playing nearby gathered around her, faces curious.

“What do you think studying really is?” Arin asked, her expression serious.

The children tilted their heads.

“Studying doesn’t make you smarter—it makes you dumber.”

Her audience still looked puzzled.

“Think about it. School puts you all in one place, teaches you the same things. What happens then? Everyone starts thinking alike. Ask one person or another, they’ll give identical answers. Like if you ask someone ‘Banana?’ and then ask someone else ‘Banana?’—same answer every time. How boring is that?”

The kids started chanting playfully, “Banana? Banana?”

The group erupted into a chorus of banana-calling until Arin waved her hands. “Quiet, quiet! Now, want to know why they make you dumber?”

“Because being dumb is funny?”

“No, you silly goose. It’s because they want to turn you into underlings of the reptilians.”

A small hand shot up. “What’s a ‘nephilan’?”

“Not ‘nephilan’—rep-til-i-an. They’re creatures hiding among humans. They look like people but they’re actually… reptiles.”

“What are reptiles?”

“Like dinosaurs. You learned dinosaurs are extinct, right?”

The children nodded in unison.

“Well, that’s another reptilian lie. They’ve fooled humans into thinking they’re gone, but they’re actually here among us, secretly plotting to control humanity.”

The kids started to look a little scared.

Emboldened, Arin pressed on. “The reptilians trick you into thinking you can do anything when you grow up. But the reality? Adults just end up paying taxes, drowning in loans, and working endless hours. See, that’s how the reptilians like their humans—worn down and obedient. All part of their master plan to dominate Earth.”

“Wow…” A child whispered behind tiny fingers. “My mom and dad live exactly like that.”

“See? How else would I know about your parents’ lives?”

The kids exchanged wide-eyed glances, whispering among themselves.

“Hey!”

A small rock whizzed past Arin’s head. She whirled around, scowling.

A kid in a cap stood defiantly. “You’re lying! My brother says you’re just crazy! He says if you don’t study hard, you’re screwed!”

The children’s whispers shifted: “What does ‘screwed’ mean?”

“No, it’s true!” Arin jumped up. “I… I saw a reptilian myself!”

Cap Kid scoffed. “You said they’re dinosaurs. How’d you survive something that scary?”

“Because I’m stronger!” Arin blurted after a moment’s hesitation.

“Liar!”

“It’s true—I got cosmic energy from space!”

“That’s stupid.”

Flustered by the taunting, Arin glanced around wildly before marching toward the playground entrance. “Watch this.”

She grabbed the wooden “Daerim Playground” sign with its cheerful rainbow design. “I… can… pull… this… out…”

Her face reddened with effort.

The sign’s base began to wiggle, spraying sand everywhere as it loosened.

Arin’s eyes lit up in triumph, ready to prove her point. But as she leaned back with the momentum, she lost her balance. “Whoa…!”

Crash!

The playground fell dead silent. Even the cicadas seemed to hold their breath.

Arin stood frozen, sign in hand, eyes wide with shock. “A…alien…”

Yeomyung stood beside her.

Blood trickled down his forehead in two thin streams.

“Even alien blood… is red…” Arin murmured, dazed.

The children screamed and scattered in all directions.

“Arin Joo!”

A woman burst through the playground entrance. Arin turned to face her. The woman’s face drained of color as her eyes darted between the sign in Arin’s hand and Yeomyung’s bloodied forehead.

***

Outside the hospital, Yeomyung touched his forehead. Twenty stitches, the doctor had said.

He’d barely taken a few steps when someone grabbed him from behind. A man in a suit—the same one who’d brought them to the hospital with Arin’s younger sister.

“Let me drive you home.”

A chauffeur, Yeomyung thought. His earlier curiosity felt satisfied. Must be a wealthy family. So her parents do take care of her.

“I’ll just go on my own.”

“Wait…” The man caught his arm again. “I have something to tell you. And something to give you… Could you please get in the car?”

“Just say it here.”

“It’s… a bit awkward to do it here.”

“Then I’ll leave.”

Yeomyung pulled free. The man stood there, bewildered.

“Excuse me…”

Yeomyung kept walking.

“Let’s just talk for 10 minutes.”

He turned. Arin’s younger sister stood holding the car door, her voice polite but cold. “I can’t leave because of my sister. I won’t take much of your time.”

Yeomyung wasn’t curious about what she had to say—he just wanted to avoid getting further tangled with Arin. But these people clearly wouldn’t let up until he got in the car.

After a moment’s hesitation, he approached. The woman slipped back inside as he climbed in. The man remained outside, standing guard.

Arin’s face lit up like a child’s. “Seorin, I told you I met an alien! This is him! He’s the one who’ll take us to space. We can finally escape from the reptilians!”

“Be quiet.”

Seorin’s cold tone barely contained her irritation. Though she shared Arin’s features, her aloof expression and slightly fuller frame set them apart.

Before she could continue, Arin burst out, “I prayed every day to Lord Gandatubas for a sign, to be taken to space. And he sent this alien! I knew Lord Gandatubas would—”

“I said be quiet. You know what happens if I have to tell you a third time, right?”

Arin rolled her eyes but fell silent.

“I promised to be brief, so I’ll get straight to the point,” Seorin said. “As you can see, my sister is… unwell. Today was an unfortunate accident, and I’m sorry for that.” Her tone carried no trace of apology. “We’ve prepared compensation.”

She retrieved an envelope from the armrest compartment and handed it to Yeomyung. Her eyes stayed fixed on him as he peered inside, counting several 50,000 won bills—more than he’d expected.

“I’m sure you have health insurance, but we’d prefer to handle this privately. We’d appreciate your discretion regarding today’s incident—no social media posts, no forums. And naturally, no legal action or media involvement.”

Her request landed like a command, delivered with the smooth precision of someone who’d handled similar situations before.

“The alien will summon the Outer God,” Arin whispered. “Then we’ll be safe. We’ll leave Earth during the lunar eclipse. That’s the safest time. When the sun, Earth, and moon align perfectly…”

Yeomyung’s silence prompted Seorin to add, “This exceeds what insurance would cover. But understand—our family has both money and connections. If you break our agreement or attempt to leverage this situation, things could become… complicated for you.”

Silence stretched between them.

Yeomyung puzzled over the woman’s excessive caution. They seemed desperate to prevent something—though what, he couldn’t guess.

Not that he cared.

Arin’s soft humming filled the silence. “If the signal comes from outer space… The door to the moon will open. We’ll ride the hidden rocket and fly away, fly far into deep space. No worries, no fears, no fights in the unknown universe. Full of happiness, full of love, full of hope in the unknown universe.”

Yeomyung reopened the envelope and pulled out three 50,000 won bills. “This should be enough.”

Seorin’s expression turned uncertain.

“Your family covered today’s hospital bill,” Yeomyung explained. “I need two more treatments, so this covers those. It’s hot, so I’ll take taxis. Add medicine costs, plus a little extra since you called it compensation.”

Seorin studied him, searching for any hint of deception beneath his straightforward request.

Yeomyung met her gaze. “Can I leave now?”