Episode 1: Prologue
An unbelievable incident occurred on just my second day at work.
I had started as a road manager for an entertainment agency, driving an 11-seater Carnival van.
In the passenger seat was my senior and team leader, Jeon Min-yong, while in the back were the three members of the girl group “Free Sense” and their stylist.
We were on our way to a military base in Gangwon Province for a morale-boosting event.
About two hours into the drive, the members, who had been practicing their songs, began to quiet down, and complaints started to surface.
“Ugh, I feel carsick…”
“My ears are all stuffy.”
“Yawn, and it’ll go away.”
We had been driving for about ten minutes on a narrow, winding two-lane road that twisted along the mountain ridge, so their discomfort was understandable.
The road was so curvy that I couldn’t keep my hands still on the wheel, but there was hardly any traffic.
I couldn’t even remember the last time I saw another vehicle, whether in the oncoming lane or ours.
“You’re a pretty good driver,”
Team Leader Jeon Min-yong said casually, praising my smooth cornering, honed from my time as a military driver and a designated driver.
But why did it sound like, ‘You’re only good at driving’?
I didn’t have much to say, considering I had messed up on my first day at work yesterday, with nothing particularly urgent to do.
And today, I was clumsy at the salon as well…
To the left was a cliff with a river flowing below.
To the right was a mountain, protected by a metal fence to prevent falling rocks.
As I rounded a right curve along the mountain, a red road sign flashed by.
<Frequent Accident Zone: Drive Slowly>
It was a common sign you’d see anywhere, but for some reason, it stuck in my mind.
The sense of déjà vu I felt wasn’t just because of the sign.
Even though this was my first time on this road, the scenery unfolding before me felt strangely familiar.
It wasn’t just the scenery.
The weather, the atmosphere, and every sensation from the driver’s seat felt eerily familiar, as if I could predict what was coming.
Wait a second.
Could this be…?
A creeping unease ran up my spine.
My suspicion turned to certainty when I saw another sign 20 meters ahead.
The left edge of the triangular “Falling Rocks” sign was severely bent.
If that was the case, I needed to stop the car.
Right now, before passing the falling rocks sign!
With no cars following us and my gut screaming that this wasn’t just déjà vu but a premonition, I slammed on the brakes while driving at about 50 km/h.
“Kyaaa!”
“Oh my gosh…!”
“Ahh…!”
It wasn’t enough to leave skid marks, but the members in the back, who hadn’t fastened their seatbelts, lurched forward, and one of them even fell off her seat onto the floor.
“What the hell? Why’d you stop?!”
Team Leader Jeon snapped at me irritably.
At that moment—
CRAAAASH!
From the blind spot around the right corner, a large truck roared into view, crossing the center line with a deafening engine sound.
The truck grazed our front bumper as it passed, then lost control, veered to one side, crashed into the guardrail, and tumbled down the cliff.
If I had stopped just one second later, the accident the police would’ve had to handle would have been at least twice as bad.
Team Leader Jeon’s irritated voice now trembled with shock.
“W-What… What was that? Did you see the truck coming?”
Uh… yeah, I saw it.
Not now, but last night.
On a YouTube channel I’m subscribed to…