DP Episode 24
by BrieDeep Pivot, Episode 24
â—ˆ Agile SAU â—ˆ
Jin Cheong-oh has sent an emergency alert to Kang Chae-won, Gil Tae-hee, Kim Sung-eon, and 26 others.
[A notification has been posted.]
[All SAU personnel, emergency deployment.
Location: Seoul, Zone 2, Mega Cinema, Yeonseon, My Park Mall map.url
Risk level: Class 1
Estimated gate opening time: 5:47 PM]
[Acknowledged.]
6:02 PM
[Confirmed]
6:02 PM
[OK]
6:02 PM
[Acknowledged.]
6:02 PM
[Confirmed]
6:02 PM
[Got it]
6:02 PM
[Confirmed]
[But I might be a little late.]
6:02 PM
[Take your time, Min-gyu, if you want your head to explode.]
6:03 PM
[Hyung,
Should I tie Min-gyu up for you?]
6:03 PM
[Confirmed]
6:03 PM
[No,
What do you want me to do if I’m in Haeundae right now?
Send a helicopter, then.]
6:04 PM
After sending the alert, the responses poured into Cheong-oh’s phone, which lay on the table. It soon began to ring loudly, displaying the name “Lieutenant Colonel Gwak Jin-cheol.”
With a clatter, Cheong-oh stumbled out while hopping on one leg to put on his pants.
“Where’s my bra?”
Seeing the name on the screen, he handed the bra hanging on a chair to someone.
“What, is it Lieutenant Colonel Gwak this time? What a mess.”
Young-gyo glanced at the phone while hurriedly picking up clothes from the floor. He hadn’t dried his hair properly after his shower, and drops of water dripped from his wet curls.
“Why isn’t Seo-joon checking his messages? That’s strange.”
Cheong-oh put on his T-shirt and tapped on the screen to scroll through the stacked messages. Despite repeatedly calling Seo-joon, the phone just kept ringing with no sign of him picking up. The only ones who hadn’t responded to his alert were Ji Seo-joon and Cha Yeon-woo.
“Young-gyo, can you grab my car keys on the couch?”
Reaching the entrance, Cheong-oh opened a location-tracking app to check on his team’s positions. Just as Young-gyo picked up the keys and approached him, he paused.
“Oh.”
“What?”
Young-gyo stopped halfway through slipping his shoes on and looked up.
“Ji Seo-joon and Cha Yeon-woo are together at that location right now.”
✽✽✽
Boom! Boom! The deafening noise reverberated as the theater walls’ soundproofing tore apart. Seo-joon instinctively shrank back, but strong arms wrapped around him. He watched the scene unfold beyond Yeon-woo’s embrace.
Creaking and groaning, the gate, initially the size of the screen, expanded with bizarre noises. It sounded like flesh tearing and bones twisting. Beyond the vast circular opening lay only deep darkness and eerie silence.
“Yeon-woo, evacuate the people… Ugh!”
Both Seo-joon and Yeon-woo were flung upward as the theater floor trembled like waves. Screams pierced the air.
Chairs, popcorn, and drinks were all sucked through the gaping hole. Those seated close to the screen were already in the same situation, while the remaining two-thirds of the audience scrambled for the emergency exits.
“Ugh….”
Seo-joon’s head hit something hard. It was Yeon-woo’s palm, preventing him from striking the sharp edge of the couple’s seat divider.
“Lieutenant! Are you okay?”
Yeon-woo was protecting Seo-joon’s head, but blood poured from his hand where it had been cut. Anger welled up in Seo-joon. Yeon-woo was stronger than most people but lacked any special abilities beyond that.
“I would survive even if my limbs were shattered, as long as you’re here.”
“Rescue teams will arrive soon. Evacuate with the others.”
Seo-joon pressed on Yeon-woo’s hand to stem the bleeding and reached for his phone with his other hand. Seeing Cheong-oh’s name on the screen, he tried to answer, but someone stumbling on the stairs yanked his arm, and the phone slipped out of his grasp, rolling down the steps.
As Yeon-woo helped the fallen to the exit, Seo-joon reached for the phone. Drawn unconsciously toward the gate while following the phone, he made eye contact with the gate.
“….”
The gate, surrounded by crimson organic material, was the embodiment of endless darkness. Though it didn’t have anything resembling an eye, Seo-joon felt like he was staring directly at it. He could tell that “it” was watching him.
The screams and crumbling buildings fell silent. Seo-joon stood motionless, forgetting about the phone as people pushed past him toward the exits, unaffected by his presence.
　　　.
A sound like high-pitched noise or an overwhelming roar made his ears ring. Although it wasn’t in any human language, he felt like “it” was calling to him.
â–¶ It is very threatening, yet very kind.
â–¶ It has no form.
â–¶ Yet it has form. Everywhere.
â–¶ It often overwhelms you at unexpected moments.
The man in the old interview video stared straight at the screen—or rather, directly at Seo-joon.
▶ What it desires is…
Yes,
　　　　that’s right,
It wants it,
　　I know it,
exactly what it wants.
“Lieutenant—!”
In that moment, Seo-joon’s body was abruptly pushed back. He fell to the ground and looked up at Yeon-woo, who was holding him close. His expression was one Seo-joon had never seen before.
“What… what are you doing?!”
Yeon-woo’s usually gentle face was now filled with shock and anger.
“…Yeon-woo?”
Focus returned to Seo-joon’s eyes, and he exhaled sharply. It felt strange, like he had been underwater for a long time and was finally able to breathe. He coughed violently, as if clearing water from his lungs.
“That was dangerous! What were you—ugh…”
Another tremor rippled through the theater. The floor buckled and rolled again, sending Yeon-woo into the air along with shattered debris, pulling him closer to the gate.
“Cha Yeon-woo!”
Seo-joon reached out desperately. His slender fingers darkened and extended. In an instant, Seo-joon’s entire arm swelled with explosive force.
Snap, crack. With a sound like twisting bones, the rapidly growing appendage firmly grasped Yeon-woo’s body. The charred, branch-like tendrils wrapped around him and pulled him away from the gate.
“Ugh!”
Yeon-woo groaned as he was thrown behind Seo-joon. His back hit the exposed floor, leaving him breathless from the impact.
“Get up. We need to leave.”
Seo-joon offered his hand to Yeon-woo, now white and clean as if the previous transformation had never happened. Taking Seo-joon’s hand, Yeon-woo ran toward the emergency exit.
Once out of the theater, the scene was even more chaotic. People from other screening rooms crowded the lobby, creating a scene of pandemonium.
People tumbled down the stopped escalators, and the ground swayed with each tremor.
Seo-joon and Yeon-woo hurried through the theater, checking restrooms and the innermost corners of screening rooms to ensure no one was left behind. Some volunteered to help guide people to the emergency stairs.
Seo-joon pulled a staff member cowering under the snack counter and directed them toward the emergency exit. Then he looked down at the school shirt draped over his shoulder.
“Your shirt’s all torn.”
Yeon-woo pointed to Seo-joon’s T-shirt, shredded around one shoulder due to the earlier transformation. Seo-joon intended to refuse, but silently slipped on Yeon-woo’s shirt.
A short megaphone siren echoed from the lower floor, along with a voice giving instructions. It seemed the rescue team had arrived quickly.
“Call Captain Jin.”
Somehow, Yeon-woo had picked up Seo-joon’s phone and handed it to him. Seo-joon almost scolded him for carrying someone else’s phone but answered the call instead.
“Hey, Captain Jin.”
From the restroom, Yeon-woo emerged with a crying child clinging to his side.
“We’re evacuating. The rescue team is here. The gate wave has struck six times, and the current expansion diameter is about 15 meters.”
“Can someone take this child?”
Yeon-woo called out, and a middle-aged woman fleeing with her daughter took the child in her arms.
“Got it. We’ll be on standby.”
Ending the short call, Seo-joon grabbed Yeon-woo’s arm. Within minutes, the eighth floor had become a wasteland.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to act like you have multiple lives?”
Seo-joon led him toward the emergency stairs.
“Your body isn’t different from an ordinary person with a bit more strength, Yeon-woo. Of course, you’d be sucked into the gate if you got too close! What were you thinking—”
“What were you thinking, Lieutenant?”
“…What?”
Seo-joon snapped his head around to look at Yeon-woo. Normally, Yeon-woo would already be apologizing or promising to be careful next time. But instead, Yeon-woo’s expression showed he was even angrier than Seo-joon.
“You were going to walk right into the gate.”
Opening the emergency exit, people who had been on the upper floors scrambled down the stairs. Luckily, the theater was near the top floor, and the levels above were just storage and some offices, so there weren’t many people.
The once-crowded emergency stairs quickly grew quiet. Seo-joon frowned and tilted his head.
“Me?”
He couldn’t help but laugh incredulously.
“Why would I be crazy enough to do that? I was just distracted by my phone for a moment—”
“You weren’t even thinking about your phone.”
Yeon-woo’s trembling voice cut off Seo-joon’s words. With a face unlike his usual self, he asked quietly, “Is this my fault? Was I just supposed to stand by and watch you head into the gate?”
Seo-joon’s annoyed expression slowly shifted.
“…I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I never went toward the gate, Yeon-woo.”
TLN: I might have made a mistake in the past chaps. Yeonwoo’s code name is aggie in korean which translate to babby. I was using kid cuz well it always translated to kid but my friend told me it was baby. So his codename is baby. Im so sorry. I really didn’t know…