Chapter Text
Chapter One
“Are you ready?”
The sudden break in the calm silence startled Minah. She hadn’t really been aware of her surroundings--she had been floating from place to place for the last forty-eight hours, and there really hadn’t been much time for her to really comprehend what was happening. She was still more than half convinced this was all a dream anyway. She had been going from conference room to conference room; she remembered being in a car a few times, but for how unfocused she had been, it was entirely possible that she was still in the same building she had been since she received the confirmation.
“Minah?” the voice said again. Slowly, Sojin’s concerned face became clear. “Are you ready?”
Minah nodded; it was about all she could do. She knew she looked ill, but there was no way she could keep up a face that showed no weakness or unpreparedness in private as well as public, and right now, her public image was all that mattered.
“Butterflies in your stomach?” Sojin asked, smiling perfectly. Sometimes it struck Minah just how much Sojin should have been in her situation, and now, she kind of wished it.
“More like elephants,” Minah groaned, standing up from her seat and brushing her pencil skirt off needlessly. She tried to give Sojin a smile, but based on Sojin’s grimace, she failed. pretty badly.
Sojin handed Minah a compact mirror. “Just remember, after this one, it’s over.”
“For now,” Minah sighed, checking her makeup in the compact. She looked tired, but hopefully people would be expecting that after the whirlwind that had been the last couple of days. “Do I get to sleep after this?” She asked it as a joke, but she couldn’t stop herself from being hopeful about the answer.
Sojin chuckled lightly. “Yes. After this, we’ll be spending the night in a hotel, then tomorrow, we go to your new home.”
Minah snapped the compact closed and looked at Sojin seriously. “Remind me why I did this again.”
“Because you want to change the world,” Sojin answered, just as serious, placing a hand on Minah’s shoulder. “And now you can.”
The door to the room burst open, breaking the mini-pep talk. Minah looked past the startled Sojin to see Hyeri in the doorway, panting slightly. “There you are!” she cried, fidgeting with her notepad. “We have a minute left!”
“Breathe, Hyeri,” Sojin responded, as calmly as anything. Turning back to Minah, she asked, “Are you ready?”
Minah could feel her lungs contracting. Suddenly all the air was gone. But she had to do this. She was born to do this. At least, she hoped she was. “Yes,” was the only thing she could think to say.
The hallway out of the conference room seemed too long and too short at the same time. She could see the lights at the end of it, prepared for her entrance. “Breathe, and read the prompter. Then, it’ll be over,” Sojin whispered to Minah as they walked, barely moving her lips. Hyeri walked in front of them, as she would be the first to speak.
All too soon, they were at the end of the hallway and Hyeri was walking up onto the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Hyeri began, her voice void of any of the nervous energy she had spoken with earlier. “The newly elected President of South Korea, Ms. Bang Minah.”
And then Minah’s legs were in motion, stepping carefully up to the podium, trying to not focus on the camera flashes as she settled at the front of the room, on a stage, in front of international reporters. “Thank you.” She took a breath. “Thank you everyone for coming. I know many people did not expect m--”
A crash from somewhere high up interrupted Minah’s rhythm, and suddenly, there really was no air in her lungs. Something--probably the podium, hit her just above the waist, and suddenly, she was falling, and everything was going black.