Yunkyong Kim

Medium: Blender

Spring 2022

 

Have you ever had a traumatic event that still follows you all your life? This one is something like that. In fact, it is more like a happening, in which the shock and surprise at the moment of the outbreak are unforgettable. It was a regular hot and humid day in a tropical region of Thailand. It happened in my house, which was a classic modern style wood interior studio. Beside my queen-sized bed, there is a wooden slide door that leads to the dressing room and the bathroom. That was my favorite area because there was a giant mirror where I could get a full view of my room and myself. As usual, I took a bath, came out of the dressing room, headed to my desk, and stayed up late to finish up some work. 3 am past midnight, the world was quiet, but I could still hear the sounds of insects buzzing amidst the palm trees outside the window. The more I lost concentration on my work, the more I could hear the buzzing sound, closer and much louder. I felt the need to get some sleep, so I got up and turned off the light. I crawled up the bed and under my blankets. I closed my eyes to fall asleep. 

It was really weird. The sound was too vivid, too real, and too close that I could almost feel it. I felt like I could see and grab the sound right before my eyes. I stretched my arm to the light switch above my head. Click. … Oh… Shit….

The room was black. Every inch of the space was filled with termites. I couldn’t even scream. Not just because I freaked out but also because it could fly inside my mouth any second the moment I opened my mouth. It was my survival instinct that made me run out the door. But I guess I didn’t lose my mind entirely to close the door afterward. I ran for life. I ran to my mom who was deep asleep. I couldn’t even articulate what a terrible scene I just witnessed. I dragged her out of her bed and to my room. Here it goes, the second round of freak out. 

The two of us spent the entire night spraying bottles of insect killer all around the room, and when they were all dead, the floor was flooded with dead bodies, like a boobytrap. We took a bag and broomed it all in. And that was it. We had a full bag of termites, all securely held inside it. It happens to be that the wood interior design was perfect for termites to subside, eat, and grow in. The entire pole between the room and the dressing room turns out to be hollow inside but filled with termites instead. Funny thing, my younger sister was dead asleep inside the same exact room, on that bed. She had no idea what just went through right outside the blanket she was covered in. Good for her for not having to witness it.