The LED screen, if left on the same display for an extended period, will develop a residual image. My phone has deep, indelible ghostly remnants.
March 20, 2018, 8:24 PM.
I was in the midst of falling from the rooftop of a 60-story building.
"Swooosh..."
Even with my earphones in, the fierce sound of the wind struck my ears.
I forced my eyes open. Otherwise, I would die.
I adopted a track position and crashed straight to the ground.
Everything in front of me appeared too fast and faint.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!!"
My heart pounded intensely, but my mind was clearer than ever before.
"Clank!"
Claws came out of my gloves and shoes.
I adjusted my posture and leaped into the air once more.
"Twirl!"
In mid-air, I spun around and reached out toward the building wall in front of me.
"Crack!"
The concrete scraped roughly, and the glove's claws embedded itself in the wall.
I hung onto the wall, gazing at the cityscape.
The night view of this city, the Chungdong City, is pitch-black. Black buildings crowd everywhere, making the sky invisible. However, the faint blue neon mist and dazzling yellow lights illuminate the ground brightly 24 hours a day. On the ground, there were cars of mostly black and white colors and people wearing a rainbow of clothes gathered.
"Are you kidding? I just finished work, and now you're giving me more tasks?"
"Hey, person in the white clothes, give me a thousand won!"
"Wanna go to the PC cafe?"
"I'd do better than you even if I study, considering you're always losing."
The people here don't care about others. It's an era where meeting people through social media is more comfortable than talking to the person next to you. They only unite when harm comes back to them.
"Whoaaa…. Eeeek!!!"
At that moment, a loud noise echoed, and everyone's attention focused on one place. A lime-green supercar, ignoring traffic signals, was enjoying an unauthorized race.
"What are you looking at, losers!! You don't have cars like this, huh!? Hahaha..."
The supercar mocked the people and disappeared smoothly. People stared until the supercar vanished from sight, then each mumbled a disgruntled comment and scattered again.
"That's all vanity. They probably bought it with borrowed money." Even while thinking this way, they were likely jealous.
"Peaceful day again." I murmured.
"Peekaboo!"
"A call came in."
I turned on my phone.
In this chaotic city, I was a delivery driver. A so-called platform worker contracted and employed through the "QuickEats" app. There weren't many ways to earn money without dropping out of school, and I chose delivery.
"Recently, as the number of delivery orders increases, platform workers who aren't legally protected are on the rise..."
"I mean, we don't get any protection at all. We're not even regular employees, so they can cut us loose anytime..."
"Yesterday, got into an accident on a delivery motorcycle. Can't ask any questions, need to file a lawsuit."
"I don't mind them at all. But, no way if my bf's a delivery guy, lol."
The news pitied me, while social media dubbed me a highway outlaw. Their perspectives were entirely different, but they had one thing in common: no matter what they said, it was of no help to me.
Once, those words used to hurt me, but not anymore. What do I care what they think? I just need to do what I can do right now. My phone has deep, indelible ghostly remnants. That remnants are the call waiting screen of the delivery app. My unnoticed wounds have left such traces.
That day, just like that, I headed towards the fried chicken restaurant.
"I'm here for a delivery!"
And on that day, someone died right in front of me.
"Hey, I know who you are! You're the Chungdong City Maemi Man, aren't you!?"
(Maemi, 매미 means cicada in Korean.)
The chicken restaurant owner yelled as he saw me.
Maemi Man, a name that had stuck because I looked like a Maemi when I hung onto the wall with my gloves and shoe claws.
I don't know who spread it, but if that person ever gets caught by me, they're in for it.
"I'm not really fond of that name, but sure, I'm the Maemi Man. What can you do?"
I retorted curtly, and the owner's expression softened.
"Oh no, our daughter really likes you! We were hoping you'd deliver to our house sometime!"
"Thanks. But, tell your daughter to call me something other than Maemi Man."
"Yeah! Good luck with the deliveries, Maemi Man!"
The "QuickEats" app gives bonuses to drivers who deliver faster and more. It was a policy controversial enough to be reported multiple times in the news. They said that as drivers deliver faster and more, safety takes a backseat. But the policy didn't go away in the end. I guess drivers need the money that badly. And for me, it's a policy I'm grateful for to the point it feels like a cheat code. You'll find out the reason why soon enough.
As soon as I left the chicken restaurant, I grabbed onto the wall next to me and climbed to the top.
"That apartment over there... they ordered from far away."
I set a timer.
"Shall we go?"
In an instant, I jumped into the air and leaped into the middle of the 16-lane road.
"The Maemi Man is leaping!"
"What's he trying to do!?"
I heard the sound of numerous camera shutters below, along with people calling out to me.
I grinned mid-air.
Well, they won't see my face anyway because of the mask!
"Thud!"
Landing on the roof of a passing truck on the road, I jumped again and landed on the hood of the car in front.
"Hey! You're damaging my car! Who are you?"
"Ah! Don't come this way! My car can't take it!!"
Whether the drivers yelled or not, I kept running towards my goal.
"Thud, thud, thud, thud..."
Finally, the target began to appear. A lime-green supercar involved in an unauthorized race up ahead!
"Hehe, come here!!"
I landed lightly on the supercar while shouting.
Soon, the car owner rolled down the window and shouted at me.
"Hey, you XX!! Do you know how much this costs!?"
"A person who engages in illegal tuning, even adding a muffler to an unlicensed race, shouldn't be saying anything, sir!"
"Get off!!!!"
"Eeek!!"
The car owner started zigzagging the steering wheel to shake me off.
"Wow! It won't work like that, sir!"
Other cars around us quickly distanced themselves as if in fear.
Meanwhile, the supercar roared ahead,
and thanks to that, I rapidly approached my destination.
"Thanks for the ride, sir! See you next time!"
I leaped off the supercar onto the side of a building.
The car owner seemed rather satisfied.
"Yahoo-!! Got rid of him! How's that for a lesson in manners? Huh? Ahh!!"
"Crash!!"
The lime-green supercar collided with a large tree, producing a tremendous crash.
Seeing police cars approaching behind, I quickly left the scene.
"Yeah, drive safely, indeed."
On that day, someone died in front of me again.
Not biologically dead, but socially dead.
I arrived at the destination apartment.
"Knock knock, chicken delivery here!"
I tapped on the window, and a person came out.
Yes, I primarily delivered through windows, not the main entrance.
Why wait for the elevator when I could climb walls?
Some people didn't like the invasion of their privacy, but most found it intriguing.
"Mom! Mom! Come see! It's the person I talked about on social media!"
The customer that day was a young child.
"Oh my, really! What was the name again?"
"It's the Maemi Man, Mom! MAEMI Man!"
Each word was etched in my heart, but since it was a child, I just smiled.
"Enjoy your meal, little guest!"
"Thank you, Maemi Man! See you next time!"
I leaped back into the air.
The timer read 5 minutes and 31 seconds.
A Grade 1 delivery bonus had been deposited into my account.
No matter what others said about me, I resolved to continue this life. Even the lofty news anchors and furious internet justice warriors order chicken, after all. I lived to the best of my abilities.
However, it seemed like the world wanted me to achieve more than just my ideals.
"Darling, it's entirely that jerk's fault for wrecking your car! I'm detained at the police station, so come and give a statement!"
"Well, even if it wasn't him, you would've eventually totaled that car yourself. You've already lost trust. Let's part ways cleanly here."
"Darling? What are you saying? Don't... don't leave me!!"
Click...
"Is the call finished, boss?"
"Yeah, this is the eighteenth breakup with a boyfriend. Pathetic guys, all of them."
"I see, boss. And here, I brought a photo of that mysterious man."
"Yeah, this guy, right? The one who did that on my car. Distribute his description to all our underlings, track him down, and bring him to me!"