4. Thawing (1) Heatwave

Two years ago, before the darkness descended, there was a record-breaking heatwave. In Seoul, temperatures soared above 43°C for over a month. It was the start of September. The number of deaths caused by the heatwave was continuously updated on TV screens. When the count crossed 10,000, massive power outages occurred almost daily. Simultaneous fires spread rapidly, engulfing each other, growing in size. The land cried out with disastrous crops, and the water with dreadful algae blooms. My phone was bombarded with disaster alerts from dawn till dusk, warning not to go outside and to drink plenty of water.

On one of those days, I got a call from my mother, In-sun.

"I have something to tell you, come to my house."

"No, it's too hot. I can't go anywhere; I don't have any gas in the car."

Additionally, I absolutely did not want to leave my house, where I could run the air conditioning 24/7 with an emergency generator.

"Just call a taxi or take a bus. Isn't there a bus service in that neighborhood?"

"You lived in this neighborhood too. Why act like you don't know? It's impossible to catch a taxi, and I'd die of heatstroke just trying to get to the bus. Just tell me over the phone."

I was surprised at myself for saying 'die' twice in a row. It was more of a literal statement than an exaggeration.

"How can I say something this important without seeing your face? Come right now."

Mom hung up the phone arbitrarily. It didn't matter. I had no intention of doing as she asked. If it was really something I needed to hear, she would call again. What could be so important that we needed to meet on days flashing red with heat alerts? I sat in my lab and turned down the air conditioner. Less than 10 minutes later, a text arrived from my mom.

'If not today, you'll never see me again.'

As always, when her words failed to persuade, she resorted to threats. A selfish mother who didn't care about her child's health, and a daughter over thirty whose heart still fluttered at her mother's words – the winner of this dynamic was a long-decided matter. I ended up going out, against the explicit warnings of the disaster alerts. If her words were just habitual threats, and I could see her face another day, I resolved never to listen to her again.

I passed three transmission towers to reach the bus stop. Despite using a parasol, my skin was scorched red, and the air was too hot to breathe. Sitting at the bus stop, I checked the display. The bus to Namyangju was 20 minutes away. Whether I would survive until then was uncertain.

Half dazed, I looked at the withered weeds between the pavement blocks. Then someone took the seat next to me.

"Do you live in this neighborhood? You look new here."

I squinted against the bright sunlight, looking at his face. A man in a neatly tailored black suit was leaning forward, smiling at me. It seemed suspicious. How could he endure this heat in such attire, or perhaps he wasn't human?

"Yes. I live here."

I turned away without fully realizing what I'd said. 10 minutes until the bus.

"Come learn to swim. I'm a swimming coach in the pool in the basement of that building. We have classes on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, mornings, afternoons, evenings. Just sign up whenever it's convenient for you."

The man pointed to the sports center building across the street. The third floor housed an indoor golf range, the second a fitness gym, and the first a sports equipment store. I hadn't known there was a pool in the basement.

"With no water around... swimming seems impossible."

I said, glancing at the sports center's neighboring field through barely open eyes due to sweat. The crops had all died, turned yellow. They seemed to be crying out in thirst. Sweat dripped from my face to my knees.

"Oh, our pool uses rainwater..."

"It would need to rain first."

"We have a good purification system. Once we fill it, we recycle the water..."

"Okay, I'll think about it. Aren't you hot?"

I interrupted him, asking what I was genuinely curious about.

"Very hot."

The man gave an awkward smile and fluttered his jacket. His shirt underneath was soaked with sweat. Indeed, no human could find this weather bearable. 4 minutes until the bus.

"If you join the beginner's class, we start with getting used to the water. In just a month, you'll be able to swim freestyle. Even those who didn't know how to float have completed 100m freestyle in six months."

"Okay."

I hoped he wouldn't say more. My indifferent response might hurt him, but I was on the brink of death. The man seemed to understand and paused for a moment before speaking again. 1 minute until the bus. Please.

"Swimming is about becoming free. Humans float in amniotic fluid before birth, then become walking, running beings after birth. But Earth isn't just made of land we can stand on; there's water we can't stand on - rivers, seas, swimming pools... When you learn to swim, you become a being that can move forward in water using your own strength. A truly free human who can walk and swim!"

"Alright, I understand."

As soon as he finished speaking, the bus I needed to take arrived. The man remained gentlemanly to the end, and I was disinterested to the end. I got on the bus, found a seat, and looked out the window. The man got up from the bench and nodded at me. I returned the gesture in the same manner. His pitch was probably a long-rehearsed one to recruit students, but his last words struck a chord with me. A human who can move forward in water! Maybe then I could escape the hallucinations that floated in blood.

After enduring the lukewarm bus with questionable air conditioning for over 50 minutes, I arrived in the luxurious residential area of Namyangju. Climbing the steep hill from the bus stop, my mother's house was at the highest point. The house, commissioned by a famous architect, looked like just a giant gray rectangle to me. I wondered why anyone would build such an expensive house on a slope, then realized - people living here never have to walk up this path. I looked back at the road I'd come up. Expensive, unique mansions lay sprawling, overlooking the Bukhan River.

*

My mother occasionally worked as a postnatal caregiver. But the year I started graduate school, she inherited a life free from labor thanks to my grandfather's estate. I had never met my grandfather, and my mother hadn't seen him since she was a child. In fact, even when she received the news of his death, she said, "If he chose to abandon his family, dying alone was only natural," and deliberately chose not to attend the funeral. However, she eventually met with lawyers and, as his only child, inherited all his wealth. My mother started proudly talking about him then. He was the CEO of a small company producing Personal Air Vehicles (PAVs), and a famous car company had bought it for a huge sum. She boasted he was my father. This made me despise her even more. The confidence that money gave to her already immature nature was revolting to me.

*

I tapped the visitor touchpad on the gate twice. Each time my hand was recognized, the pad lit up and emitted piano notes. Shortly after, the heavy door made of African blackwood, which my mother was so proud of, opened smoothly with a mechanical sound. As I entered the garden, my mother came out to greet me, smiling.

"Look at you, always listening to your mother."

Inside, the air conditioning filled the high-ceilinged mansion, a stark contrast to the outside. It felt like a completely different season.

"Give me some water, Mom. I feel like I'm dying."

I said as I walked into the sitting room next to the kitchen. Then I caught the eye of a strange middle-aged man. He was sitting in the middle of the table, looking at me with his head tilted. I quickly realized he was my mother's new boyfriend. I bowed my head in greeting first. The man nodded shallowly, maintaining a stern expression.