The 25th Word

“The 25th Word” contains thirteen short stories that range across the present, future and past. The stories travel through Seoul, Tokyo, Paris, Taipei, and Xi’an. Their settings stretch from the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor to an isolated island in ancient Greece, the Japanese archipelago and the coast of Taiwan. They span the twilight of the gods before the Common Era, World War II, the nuclear crisis, and the absurd government of 2063.

“One Second Early”

A yoga instructor discovers that, one second before she forms a thought, her new phone lights up. It is only one second, yet enough to change the world. She even begins to wonder “If everything is known in advance, does love still count as a choice?”

“Six Numbers”

After years apart, six college friends each choose a number. If even one of them is missing, nothing happens, and only when all six are present can an enormous change occur.

“The Jade of Bian He”

In Tokyo in 1964, a Japanese businessman arrives with the imperial jade seal that has been lost for two thousand years. People demand to know where he obtained the ancient relic. The Japanese man says: “From Qin Shi Huang himself.”

“The Endless Ski Run”

At a popular ski resort, a couple skis happily down a run that stretches on and on, until they gradually realize it has no end, only endless snow.

“The 25th Word”

Trapped in a dull and monotonous life, an office worker is drawn into the largest heist in history. To crack the case, he must also find twenty-four mnemonic words, along with the inexplicable twenty-fifth word.

“Grand Badge Day”

I remember the man who wore the Grand Badge, how we all loved him, how we wanted to give him everything.

“Starboard Quarter”

The sea holds many secrets. A man comes to the shore, where he finds a sweet encounter, though he once committed a crime no one knows about, both bound to the sea.

“Cindy and Lucy”

A lucky man follows the beach girl Cindy home, and unexpectedly meets Lucy, a black cat. In the middle of the night, the black cat turns into a woman.

“After the Movie”

After the movie ends, Yuma Sato walks with Misaki Takahashi, but an apocalyptic attack strikes inside a subway tunnel, and with no idea what is really happening, they can only walk home together.

“One-Eye Island”

The kind one-eyed giant Alcyon lives alone on an island, where a lost merchant ship arrives, and he helps the sailors escape, but they begin to harbor evil intentions.

“Authorized to Live”

In the future, a technology capable of curing cancer is developed, and that same technology can also destroy the world. The president, negotiating with the people over humanity’s future, puts the question to a vote.

“Castro's Woman”

Castro prepares, before the American military attacks, to launch nuclear missiles and destroy six major American cities. Marisol Rodríguez cares nothing about any of that, wanting only to know whether Castro ever loved her.

“I Am Not a Cat”

Erin Carter chooses to become a cat for a while, only to discover that another woman is temporarily using her body. The woman once loved her.