DP Episode 87

Deep Pivot Episode 87

“You’re here.”

Seo-joon entered the gated and barricaded site and nodded in response to a soldier’s salute as he passed by. The area was bustling with people collecting samples from the scattered aberration corpses or packing them in sacks for incineration.

“Where’s Colonel Jin?”

“He’s over there.”

A soldier led him to one of the makeshift tents before stepping away. The scene Seo-joon had arrived at after being summoned suddenly on a Sunday afternoon was an open gate on a reconstruction site at the outskirts of the city.

Fortunately, it was an abandoned wasteland that had been dug up long ago, so the danger level was low. The gate was small, and the aberrations that emerged were just slimes. This meant the SAU didn’t have to be dispatched.

Still not entirely sure why he was called to this nearly finished site, Seo-joon approached Colonel Jin and saluted.

“Colonel Jin, I’ve arrived.”

“Oh, Lieutenant Ji. Welcome.”

Colonel Jin motioned for him to sit. Seo-joon took the offered seat and looked around at the busy people before asking, “Why did you call for me?”

“Hold on a moment.”

Seated across from him, Colonel Jin signaled for the people in the tent to leave. Seo-joon watched them exit, curious about why they needed privacy.

Once the tent was completely quiet, Colonel Jin finally spoke.

“It’s nothing too serious, but Director Kang said he needs a gate sample.”

“A gate sample?”

The gate itself, a circular organic structure that seemed to writhe as if it were alive.

Collecting gate samples is straightforward: just take a small piece of the organic material forming the circle. However, the gate pulls in any object that gets too close, so expensive specialized equipment is required.

NASA owns the necessary specialized equipment, which must be borrowed with permission, but transporting it alone incurs high costs.

“They could request the needed samples through IGTS.”

Since South Korea established a joint research institution with NASA, they’ve never collected gate samples domestically. Whenever samples were required, IGTS would always provide them.

“Well, Director Kang must want to verify something personally. I don’t know the details either.”

Colonel Jin looked down slightly, averting his gaze.

There is another way to collect gate samples without NASA’s equipment—a privilege only non-named countries enjoy.

“Lieutenant Ji, you’re in good condition, right? Do you know how to collect the sample?”

“Yes, well… I’ve done it before.”

Seo-joon nodded compliantly. In truth, it wasn’t too difficult a task.

“Should I call in your assigned guide? Maybe it’s best to summon them ahead of time.”

Seo-joon smiled and shook his head.

“No need. It’s not a job that requires immediate guidance.”

He couldn’t bring himself to mention that the guide was already waiting in a parked car just outside the site.

As Seo-joon prepared his equipment, he sensed Colonel Jin’s gaze on him and looked up. The colonel’s face briefly betrayed an inscrutable expression, which vanished when their eyes met.

Seo-joon looked at him curiously. He didn’t seem to be in the best spirits, possibly due to some concern.

“I’ll be back.”

Colonel Jin nodded with a complicated expression.

“…Alright, I’m counting on you.”

Stepping out of the tent, Seo-joon was guided to the gate by the colonel’s assistant sergeant, who primarily handled paperwork since he wasn’t an esper. The assistant sergeant appeared slightly nervous as he addressed Seo-joon.

“I’ve never seen anyone collect a gate sample before.”

“It’s been almost ten years since I last did this.”

Seo-joon replied with a reassuring smile, prompting a careful question from the sergeant.

“…Is it dangerous?”

“Well, it’ll sting a little, but no need to worry.”

As they spoke, the gate came into view. The circular portal, about Seo-joon’s height, seemed to be preparing to disappear, its darkness rippling in silence after releasing all the aberrations within.

“I can’t go any further.”

The assistant sergeant halted at the red barricade, prompting a nod from Seo-joon as he crossed over. He suddenly paused, removing his gloves and wrist guards to hand them over.

“But regulations say you must wear the equipment—”

“They’ll just get damaged anyway.”

Holding Seo-joon’s gear in his hands, the assistant sergeant watched his retreating figure. Having never seen a non-named individual’s abilities in action due to his limited field experience, he was finally going to witness one from a distance.

How will he change? Colonel Jin described it as alien-like. The only aliens he could imagine were the monsters from the ’90s movie series of the same name.

But how would such a form collect a gate sample?

The question lingered as Seo-joon stood a cautious distance from the gate, extending one arm. Wow, he looks like a wizard. The assistant sergeant watched, captivated.

Crack! A dark, organic tendril shot forth from Seo-joon’s charred arm, slicing through the air. Dozens of thorn-covered nerve strands wriggled and latched onto the gate.

The assistant sergeant gaped, unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacle.

Ah, that’s why they call it alien-like.

Alien, extraterrestrial being, or monster—these were the only words that could describe this visual.

As something intruded, the gate began to tremble violently. It contracted, then swelled repeatedly, pulling at Seo-joon’s arm. The slender nerve strands snapped and tore.

The tentacles that broke free of the gate soon snapped back into place, leaving Seo-joon swaying slightly from the recoil. He flicked his bleeding arm in the air.

Ugh… The assistant sergeant winced. It looked very painful, not just a little. Beneath the torn skin, black nerve strands squirmed, piecing together the shredded tissue.

Seo-joon placed something into a vacuum-sealed bag with his bloodied hand, and the assistant sergeant opened a cooler. The blood-stained bag went inside. Seeing it up close, he thought the renowned gate sample looked underwhelming, resembling either some internal organ or an animal’s skinned carcass. He quickly closed the box with a grimace.

“A towel.”

Seo-joon reached out, and the assistant sergeant handed over a towel. Glancing down at his blood-covered arm, Seo-joon looked around, as if in a bind.

“Is there anywhere I can wash this off?”

“Ah, there’s no running water nearby, but this will have to do.”

The assistant sergeant uncapped a bottle of water and poured it over Seo-joon’s arm. As the blood washed away, his arm was nearly healed, with only faint scratches remaining. Ouch… That must have hurt. The assistant sergeant winced involuntarily.

“…….”

Lost in thought, he watched Seo-joon carefully wipe the blood off his arm with the towel. Misinterpreting his gaze, Seo-joon awkwardly smiled as he rolled down his sleeve.

“I’m worried my partner will fret.”

“Ah.”

The assistant sergeant nodded with a smile. It truly is all about looks. Even as a non-named esper, it seems like you can date without any problems if you’re handsome.

If I were his girlfriend, no matter how good-looking he was, I wouldn’t want to date a monster like that. Maybe she doesn’t know much about non-named espers.

“…….”

From now on, when someone says “alien,” the first thing that’ll come to mind isn’t a creature from a movie but the mass of tentacles he’d just seen.

✽✽✽

Seo-joon returned to the tent and handed the cooler to Colonel Jin.

“Sample collection complete.”

Colonel Jin nodded repeatedly with an overly bright expression.

“Ah, yes. Good work, Lieutenant Ji.”

He watched Seo-joon unfasten his protective gear, then cautiously asked, “Are you ready to head back?”

“…Well, there’s one more thing that needs to be done.”

Seo-joon looked at Colonel Jin, puzzled. The colonel avoided eye contact and took a hasty sip of his Americano. His restless demeanor was noticeable, prompting Seo-joon to smile faintly as he asked,

“What is it?”

“Well, Director Kang has one more request.”

Colonel Jin’s lips twitched as he offered a somewhat awkward smile.