ADTDK — Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hyun Yoon-jo had been on site, and yet he hadn’t managed to gather a single useful piece of information. The rampage-risk ability user had been on the seventh floor—the very floor he had already passed.

‘They said no one saw anything.’

Seo Yi-jeong clicked his tongue as he climbed the stairs.

‘Typical desk workers.’

Office employees are put through a basic fitness test when they join, but that’s nothing compared to ability users or specially trained personnel. Just in terms of physical capability, most of them were softer than tofu.

What was funny was how those same people often thought they were better than field agents. Maybe it was the hazard pay they received while working from the safety of a desk—perhaps it made them think they were something special.

It was rare to see office staff in the field. Seo had only seen it happen once since he joined PEC. Back then, nothing major happened on his end, but apparently the other agents had to deal with some nonsense. One office worker reportedly spent the whole time shaking and making useless calls to HQ, then, the moment the field team arrived, suddenly switched tones and scolded them for not coming sooner.

Compared to that, Hyun Yoon-jo wasn’t bad. He hadn’t been helpful, but at least he’d tried. The fact that he didn’t burst into tears and run away just from sensing Yi-jeong’s presence already earned him bonus points.

And—he had been kind of funny.

“Telling me to be careful…”

Just thinking about it made Yi-jeong chuckle. There was no way some freshly awakened rookie ability user would pose a threat to him.

And calling him “student”? That was hilarious, too. The guy was clearly young himself, yet he’d been trying to act like some middle-aged man.

Yi-jeong snorted again just as a call came through his comms.

—This is Camp. A-One, please report status.

“Camp” was the call sign used by Support Team A, which moved together with Field Response Team A. The support teams usually waited in proximity to the scene. Technically, their call signs included numbers, but since they rarely had to respond to multiple locations at once, people just referred to them as “Camp.”

“A-One” was Seo Yi-jeong’s own call sign. The number 1 had nothing to do with rank or seniority—it simply meant the previous holder had transferred, and Yi-jeong inherited the designation back when he was still a trainee.

As he followed a faint trace of presence, Yi-jeong responded.

“A-One. Closing in on target.”

The sound of breathing floated on the wind—rough, but rhythmic. Almost like someone asleep. Yi-jeong immediately guessed why.

“Target is currently presumed unconscious.”

Ability users who were inexperienced in controlling their powers often lost consciousness just before going into a rampage. Sometimes for as little as 15 minutes, sometimes up to 30.

The mechanism wasn’t fully understood. The most widely accepted theory was that the body, overwhelmed by unfamiliar sensations, processed them as pain and temporarily shut down consciousness to protect itself.

Either way, this was the golden window for stopping a rampage during awakening.

—Current time, 19:00. Be advised that the target may regain consciousness soon.

Unconscious awakeners were always safer than conscious ones. It was like rescuing someone who’d fallen into water—it was much easier when they weren’t thrashing.

Once they woke up, they wouldn’t lose consciousness again. They’d struggle to control themselves, and that’s when the rampage happened. Left unchecked, it could lead to a serious disaster.

In a small country like South Korea, quick containment was possible, so rampage incidents during awakening hadn’t occurred in quite some time. But in places like the U.S. or Canada, it was still a regular problem.

‘If only I could teleport, this would be a lot easier.’

Unfortunately, not a single ability user with teleportation had ever been discovered.

In fact, material-type abilities were basically just glorified psychokinesis. Most of the powers people imagined from fiction—teleportation, physical enhancement, rapid growth, super healing—were completely impossible.

Which is why the field response team still had to do everything the hard way, on foot.

“Approaching the target.”

Yi-jeong kicked open the bathroom door and dispersed the air lingering at his fingertips. Now he could hear the breathing without help from the wind.

“Sedative injection first…”

Yi-jeong paused mid-report.

The sound of breathing had changed slightly. It was speeding up. Now it was ragged, like someone gasping for air after nearly drowning.

—A-One, have you secured the target?

“…The target has regained consciousness. Moving to suppress.”

He couldn’t see the target’s face, but he didn’t need to. The target had already entered a rampage state. Water was gushing from the innermost bathroom stall.

It couldn’t be backflow. No one had ever heard of icy water backing up from a toilet.

“Seriously, why the hell did it have to be a bathroom?”

Yi-jeong summoned the wind.

—

With the sedated awakener slung over one shoulder and the other hand lifting the damp hem of his soaked shirt, Yi-jeong exited the building.

‘Soaked. Gross.’

Abilities couldn’t create something from nothing. What looked like wind was really just rapidly moved air, and fire or water came from manipulating existing elements in the atmosphere.

The water now clinging to Yi-jeong had also come from the air. In any other location, he might not have minded, but the fact it happened in a bathroom was unpleasant. He couldn’t stop imagining it included moisture evaporated from toilets and drains.

‘I’m going straight home.’

He decided the moment he returned, he’d head straight for the shower.

“That was fast.”

A voice, unfamiliar yet oddly familiar, rang out. With the area still under control, only police and support team members should be nearby. Who could it be?

The moment he turned his head, Yi-jeong was slightly surprised.

‘He didn’t leave.’

It was Hyun Yoon-jo. He’d assumed the guy had left long ago. What was he still doing here?

“Ah, want some of this? Someone from Support gave it to me.”

Hyun Yoon-jo pointed to a Support team car and offered a small bag of tangerine-flavored jelly candies. It was a snack currently trending among Support team members. Yi-jeong had never been offered any before.

He almost reached out unconsciously but stopped himself. He hadn’t even washed his hands.

“Why are you still here?”

Despite the blunt tone, Hyun Yoon-jo didn’t seem offended.

“Well, I was already here, so I thought I’d stay until things wrapped up.”

“…Why bother?”

“I don’t know. No real reason. Maybe I was just worried?”

Hyun Yoon-jo smiled as he popped a jelly candy into his mouth. His smile looked entirely natural, as if his lips were made to curl up that way.

For the first time, Yi-jeong really looked at Hyun Yoon-jo.

He was quite good-looking. Tall, with a lean frame. He had a pleasant expression—most people would find him likeable at first sight.

Yi-jeong wasn’t like most people. Whenever others liked something, he started off suspicious. He knew his personality didn’t earn him many friends, but he didn’t care. As long as he did his job, what people said didn’t matter.

Narrowing his eyes, Yi-jeong looked down at Hyun Yoon-jo.

“Do you want something from me?”

“Not really. Oh—wait.”

Just as he was about to say no, Hyun Yoon-jo seemed to think of something. Yi-jeong didn’t press; he just watched in silence as Yoon-jo hesitated, then asked with a sheepish smile,

“If you’re heading back to the office, would you mind if I caught a ride?”

“What?”

“I live in the company housing too. Doesn’t the entire field team live there? We’re going the same way, so it’d be nice to go together.”

Unbelievable. Not only had he stuck around after the emergency alert instead of fleeing, but now he was asking for a carpool.

“I asked the Support folks, but they said they’ve got too much gear. I realized even if they had room, it’d be weird. That person—you’re taking them with the Support team, right?”

Yoon-jo gestured toward the unconscious person slung over Yi-jeong’s shoulder. Only then did Yi-jeong remember he was still carrying someone.

“Seo Yi-jeong, right? I heard he’s transferring separately. No room in that vehicle?”

He smiled like someone who’d never been told “no” in his life. That rubbed Yi-jeong the wrong way, and he responded curtly.

“Nope.”

Yi-jeong left Hyun Yoon-jo standing and loaded the awakener into the Support team’s transport vehicle, then got into his own car. Just before departing, a Support team member tapped on the window. Yi-jeong rolled it down and the man leaned in to ask,

“You good to drive?”

After heavy use of abilities, it was common to remain in a heightened emotional state. It wasn’t a side effect of the ability itself, but rather the aftermath of intense activity—like the adrenaline rush after a heated sports match.

Driving in that state was dangerous, so sometimes Support staff would take the wheel instead.

“Yeah.”

Today’s mission hadn’t been difficult. There was nothing to get worked up over. Just wet clothes that felt gross.

The Support member nodded without pressing further and stepped back.

Yi-jeong rolled up the window and started the car. With the controlled road still cleared, even making a U-turn was easy.

Hyun Yoon-jo was still standing in the same spot where they’d spoken earlier. As Yi-jeong passed, he noticed there was no longer a smile on Yoon-jo’s face. He just stood there, silently watching the car disappear.

‘Annoying.’

∞ ∞ ∞

ChatGPT said:
“See? I told you it wouldn’t work.”

At Kim Min-jae’s comment as he approached from Support Team A, Yoon-jo gave an awkward laugh.

“I wasn’t seriously thinking about carpooling. Just thought it’d be nice, that’s all.”

“Did you really stay because you were worried?”

Kim Min-jae casually reached in and grabbed one of the jellies. Since he was the original owner of the bag anyway, Yoon-jo handed it over without a word.

Was it really because he was worried? Seo Yi-jeong was the most famous ability user in South Korea. Unless he got hurt by someone else, it was hard to imagine him ever being in danger himself.

Even so, it lingered on Yoon-jo’s mind. Even if they hadn’t gotten around to eating, it was still a place they had both been, even briefly. He had just wanted to see for himself that everything had wrapped up without incident.

Yoon-jo didn’t answer, just shrugged his shoulders, and Kim Min-jae interpreted it however he wanted.

“You’re kind. Just like I heard—seems like you’re a real people person.”

“Sorry?”

“Oh no, I’m not teasing you. I’d just heard rumors. That there’s someone in the safety education team who’s really popular. That’s you, right?”

“I wouldn’t go that far…”

Yoon-jo glanced around and pulled out his phone. 7:32 PM. If he didn’t get moving now, dinner would turn into a midnight snack.

“I’ll head out first.”

“Okay, take care. See you next time!”

Though it was their first time meeting, Kim Min-jae waved cheerfully. Yoon-jo returned the gesture out of politeness and started walking toward the nearest subway station.