DP Episode 99
by BrieDeep Pivot, Episode 99
In the past, Seo-joon would have immediately sought out Hee-min. But since Viktor’s assassination attempt, he had noticed subtle changes.
Especially with Colonel Jin and Hee-min acting so suspiciously, he couldn’t ignore it. Both were notoriously bad liars.
“Song-hee.”
Song-hee, who was passing by, turned her head quickly to look at Seo-joon.
“Have you seen Dr. Kang?”
He pretended that he hadn’t seen Hee-min earlier that day.
“What? Didn’t you catch him earlier? Director Kang is at an external seminar today.”
“Um… When will he be back?”
“You should’ve come earlier. Unless there’s something urgent, he won’t return to the center today.”
“So, Hee-min’s lab is locked right now?”
Seo-joon furrowed his brow and scratched the back of his neck as if in distress.
“Oh no, what should I do?”
“What happened?”
“I left my tablet in his lab.”
“Do you need it right now?”
Without a word, Seo-joon looked at the ID card hanging around her neck. Following his gaze, Song-hee glanced down at the card and unconsciously removed it from her neck. Internal security measures mean little to insiders.
“I’m going back in later, so just leave it under the plant pot at the door.”
“Thanks.”
With a scrunch of her nose and a quick adjustment of her glasses, Song-hee disappeared at a hurried pace. Sorry, Song-hee… This is my fault, not yours for ignoring security. Seo-joon defended her in his mind as he headed toward the lab.
He easily opened the lab door with Song-hee’s ID card and stepped inside. This wasn’t the first time he’d been alone in the lab without its owner. But unlike before, this time, he didn’t have permission.
Where do I start?
After some thought, he turned on all the lab’s PCs. They had been left in power-saving mode, now asking for a four-digit PIN.
That’s easy enough.
- Seo-joon entered Hee-min’s mother’s birthday, which he knew well. One computer was locked with his father’s birthday and another with his grandmother’s. Thanks to Hee-min’s strong family values, all the computers quickly unlocked to welcome Seo-joon.
With all the security measures bypassed, Seo-joon sat down in front of the main holographic screen. Usually, this is where he manages everything…
The lab’s main PC had a security system much more complex than a simple four-digit PIN.
But with many years spent in and out of the lab with Hee-min, Seo-joon found it easier to navigate than older systems. After scanning Song-hee’s ID card, he input an identification number using a familiar algorithm.
Crackle. The massive holographic screen flickered blue. Seo-joon touched the magnifying glass icon Hee-min used for file searches, and the screen quickly shifted.
⌕ Eric Donovan│
No Results. The disappointing message appeared right away. Searching the number produced no results either, leaving Seo-joon frowning at the empty screen.
⌕ Eric D│
“Oh.”
He couldn’t help but voice his surprise. He had nearly given up but received 37 results for this partial name search. Most were documents citing sources or listing the author’s name, but one document caught Seo-joon’s attention.
…Seer Esper Awakening. ◈Eric Donovn, nationality: USA, age: estimated 27, found between 2000-2001 winter in Brooklyn…
Upon closer inspection, a typo in the full name was likely why it didn’t show up before. Seo-joon double-clicked on the file.
What’s this?
His gray eyes narrowed as he looked at the document’s opening lines. Russian Nameless Sergei Onopko, followed by a list of various other nationalities with unknown names and birth histories.
Seo-joon scanned the document quickly.
Found on December 24, 2000, in an entertainment district. Found around 2000 in a Paraty restaurant district. Found in December 2000, transported to a hospital after being discovered in a park. Between 2000-2001, found at a Brisbane city dump.
Temporarily unable to communicate. Permanent memory loss.
The people in the document, despite their different nationalities and names, all had remarkably similar backgrounds. Slowly scrolling down, Seo-joon reached the final part of the document.
◈ Ji Seo-joon
Nationality: South Korea
Age: Estimated 29
Found on December 24, 2000, beneath a church Christmas tree.
Unable to communicate for a day.
Unable to locate guardians due to permanent memory loss.
Formally adopted in April 2007.
Awakened as an esper after a backyard gate-opening accident at age 17.
◈ Eric Donovn
Nationality: USA
Age: Estimated 27
Found on Brooklyn Bridge during the holiday season in 2000-
The cursor blinked at the end of the incomplete document. Seo-joon stared at his own detailed history, which stood out against the vague information of the others.
Of course, it would be. This was the story he had shared with Hee-min personally.
With the initial data on Sergei Onopko, and including information on both himself and Eric Donovan, the conclusion was clear.
Hee-min is currently gathering birth records of No-Named individuals worldwide.
Even more peculiar was how strikingly similar the records of these Nameless individuals were.
Suddenly, his phone rang. The piercing sound shattered the silence, and Seo-joon’s heart sank as he stared at the unknown number.
“Yes.”
He answered tersely, feeling a little nervous, and listened closely to the voice on the other end.
“Ah, is this Lieutenant Ji Seo-joon?”
It was a slightly tense, middle-aged woman’s voice.
“Who is this?”
“Oh, it’s you! The business card got wet, and I couldn’t be sure of the number.”
“…”
“Oh, dear. How silly of me. It’s me, the owner of Yeon-woo’s boarding house.”
Ho ho ho ho, her laughter, tinged with embarrassment, was long. Seo-joon exhaled, finally relaxing after realizing who it was. His body, which had unknowingly tensed up, loosened.
“Yes, I remember. How have you been?”
He asked kindly. The woman laughed again.
“Oh, well… Actually, it’s about Yeon-woo. You said to contact you if we saw his father, right? He couldn’t get inside because the gate was replaced, but now he’s standing in front of the house waiting for Yeon-woo.”
“…”
Seo-joon checked the time. Yeon-woo’s school day was almost over.
“What should I do? Should I give him your contact information?”
“No.”
Opening his calendar to find a suitable schedule, Seo-joon continued.
“I’ll send you the date, time, and location via message. Tell Mr. Cha that I need to discuss Cha Yeon-woo’s salary and will require a bank account for him.”
“Oh, understood. So what should I do now? …Should I just call the police to have him removed?”
“Yes, do whatever is convenient for you. Just be sure to deliver my message.”
After ending the call, Seo-joon quickly messaged Choi Jung-sook. Then, he returned to the computer monitor to check the document information.
It had been last saved not long ago, indicating it was recently written.
With that confirmed, Seo-joon tidied up quickly. He closed the document, cleared the search history, and put the computer back into sleep mode in a seamless sequence.
Though the lab’s security wasn’t a difficult barrier for him to navigate, the situation still brought an unnecessary thrill.
…I’d have made a good spy.
Seo-joon thought idly as he switched off the lights and exited the lab. He carefully placed Song-hee’s ID card under the plant pot as requested and disappeared down the corridor.
Even when swamped with work, you should never be late to pick up your partner after school.
✽✽✽
“Lieutenant, do you like pudding?”
Seo-joon stopped as Yeon-woo’s voice called out to him. With arms resting on the cart handle, he watched Yeon-woo eyeing the colorful mango, apple, and grape puddings in the showcase.
The supermarket was bustling with people during the evening shopping rush. According to Seo-joon, it was “grocery shopping,” but to Yeon-woo, it was a “supermarket date.” Their cart was already half-filled with the ingredients Yeon-woo had picked.
“You must have a sweet tooth, Yeon-woo. Do you know how many snacks you’ve already put in the cart?”
“It’s not that… I just remember you enjoying the yuja tteok (dish) at the Korean restaurant. I think you’ll like the pudding too.”
Seo-joon chuckled.
“Go ahead, get the strawberry one.”
Yeon-woo snuck other flavors into the cart while keeping an eye on Seo-joon, who pretended not to notice and kept pushing the cart. They were interrupted by a voice calling out to them.
“Handsome nephew, try this. It’s good.”
The employee at the tasting booth handed Seo-joon a small paper cup of sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch), offering another to Yeon-woo.
“Goodness, today is my lucky day! Two handsome young men, a rare sight.”
Despite the employee’s enthusiastic persuasion, Seo-joon finally took a second cup, and ended up putting a 1+1 sujeonggwa set into the cart. He placed the generously bundled set into the cart and resumed pushing, sipping from the paper cup.
Though Eric Donovan’s message and the confidential documents weighed heavily on his mind, being beside Yeon-woo loosened his thoughts, making him feel almost blissfully unaware.
Should I talk to Eric Donovan or press Hee-min first?
…Why not both?
As he sorted through these complicated thoughts, a small chuckle echoed beside him. Seo-joon turned to see Yeon-woo smiling warmly.
“What are you laughing about now?”
“Do you know?”
“What?”
Yeon-woo took the paper cup from Seo-joon’s hand.
“You have a habit of chewing the rim and flattening it.”
Seo-joon glanced at the cup, noticing the paper chewed and splayed out. He had never realized he had this habit.
“…You should have told me earlier.”
I would have fixed it. He took the cup back, feeling slightly embarrassed. Yeon-woo quickly snatched it back, teasing him playfully.
“I love that habit of yours, so keep it.”
“…Ha.”
Despite his mischievous partner’s cheeky remark, Seo-joon couldn’t help but smile. If he could laugh so easily despite Eric Donovan and Hee-min, perhaps he was truly smitten, hopelessly so.
A silly thought crossed his mind about abandoning all the complicated matters and escaping to an island with his “baby.” Perhaps he had lost his sanity for good.