Outskirts of Havana, Cuba
In this small town far from the city center , everything was quiet, even in broad daylight. Dust swirled over the road, baked by the sun, disturbed only by the occasional passing of a worn out truck or bicycle, both weathered by time.
None of the tightly packed buildings lining the narrow road were in good condition. All of them had a terrible appearance, with peeling paint and deep cracks. Tangled electric cables clung to the walls like twisted vines, snaking past each window.
Only the faint echoes of the TV or radio sounds filtering through the permanently open windows served as a reminder that the building weren't abandoned.
Even the only apartment complex in the city wasn't spared. The walls and doors had weakened under the relentless heat, making it difficult to expect any soundproofing. You could feel the vibrations every time a neighbor opened or closed their door.
The wooden blinds had long lost their ability to shield the inside and now nearly blocked out the scorching sun. During the occasional rainstorms, even the blinds had rotted. There was no internet service let alone network coverage. It felt as though time had slowed to a crawl in this place.
The stifling nighttime humidity became unbearable as the sun rose, to the point where rubber sandals stuck to the pavement under the blazing heat. No one dared to go outside until the afternoon when the heat had subsided a bit. Around that time, on the third floor of the last house in the block, the normally silent front door opened with a creak.
An Asian man stepped out, moving his hand. A man cooling himself in the hallway, a woman hanging laundry, and an elderly man staring out of the window all paused, curiously observing the peculiar foreigner.
"Alright, I've finished showing you around the place where I'll be staying for a week, so how about we head out and explore the area for a bit? You see, the cool thing about this place is that the hallways are arranged in a pattern similar to the letter in Korean, with a courtyard
In the center. There were already many apartments of the style in Korean before, weren't there? If you look over here, you'll find the central staircase leading to the courtyard, and there's another set of stairs leading to outside at both ends of the hallway. Though I don't think there's an elevator here. I mean this apartment only has three floors anyway.
From here, you should be able to see the panoramic view of the city I showed you earlier through the window. It seems small, but there are a couple of stores and plenty of residential areas, though I must admit it's hard to navigate because there are no traffic signs or directions. It's still daylight, but there's hardly anyone walking around outside. It's incredibly hot in Cuba, so I guess everyone's jst staying indoors to rest. I mean, to be totally honest, I just stepped out, and i already want to go back inside. The air stifling it feels like I'm in a sauna. I heared this place gets a lot of showers."
The Asian man chatterd nonstop towards his camera. Judging by his attitude and behavior, he seems like a typical tourist. To be more precise, he was a vlogger sharing his life experience through his recordings.
"Honestly there's not much to show you guys around here. There's no special area or historical monument nearby, and most of the city is residential. It would've been great if there were at least more businesses, but I found a grand total of three restaurants. I couldn't find a decent cafe or a convenience store either. Though there is a supermarket over here. Should we check it out?"
After thoroughly scanning his surroundings with the camera, the man headed towards a nearby small store. Inside, cracked glass displays and a few counters contained a sparse selection of the groceries and miscellaneous items… barely twenty products in total.
The store owner tensed up, suspicious of the strange foreigner. Her daughter, who had been playing nearby, quickly hid behind her back. The Asian tourist continued nonchalantly, pointing his camera at them.
"This supermarket is probably the only one in the city. It's more like a neighborhood store so there's not much to choose from. They've got a few soft drinks, snacks, maybe some packs of tissues. Why don't we buy something since we're here"
The foreigner suddenly paused to wave belatedly at the shop owner's daughter.
"¡Hola!"
The little girl, hiding behind her mother, shyly smiled and responded with a soft "hello" in return. Even at first glance, her frail and fragile appearance was highlighted by the transparent tubes running to her nose. Meanwhile, the store owner's expression remained clouded with caution.
"I'll take that drink over there… No, not that one one. The orange one next to it."
The store owner kept grabbing the wrong drink despite his repeated attempts to correct her. The Asian tourist captured every moment unfolding with his camera.
"To be honest I've felt it since i arrived, but I find it really hard to communicate properly with the locals here. Most people seemed to understand English at the airport or in the city but elsewhere,it's difficult, even to buy a bottle of water. I wonder if it's because Cuba is mostly a communist country that English hasn't spread much around here.
According to a friend of mines, if you use a U.S mobile operator, you wont have coverage for your entire stay in the country. So I got myself a Cuban SIM card, but still have no coverag, haha. My plan is to enjoy quite peaceful week somewhere, but without internet access, there's not much you can do here. Anyway, if you ever plan to visit Cuba, I would definitely advise learning some Spanish in advance and not relying on having internet access during your stay."
The talkative tourist handed a dollar to the store owner. She accepted it with conflicted expression, although she seemed somewhat greatful. It appeared she didn't have enough money to give him change. With a indifferent gesture, the man let it slide and turned to leave..
"Gracias. Alright, here's the drink I just bought. The bottle's pretty warm. I'm not sure if you can tell by the light, but it's about 4PM. By now, it should be cooling off, but it's still scorching hot. There's not much to see around here, so I'm heading back home."
The tourist captured the city's panorama on his way back to the apartment, occasionally greeting residents he met along the way. Most responded with a smile, but some shot him dirt looks.
Unfazed the man continued with a smile. As soon as he reached the front door, he lock it and tossed the camera onto the floor. Then he approached the window and tore off the stifling mask from his face. Beneath it was revealed the face of
Kwon Taekjoo.
The boundless smile from moments before was nowhere to be found, now replaced by an expression of boredom and indifference. Kwon Taekjoo grabbed an apple rolling aimlessly across the table and stared outside the window. He glanced down to the store he had just visited. He hadn't delected anything suspicious… yet.
With a crunch, he bit into the apple and carefully surveyed the surrounding of the store. Four days had already past.