SOG Ch 146

Jae-chan, who was already at the Emergency Guiding Center for an early shift, glanced at the electronic calendar clock on the wall.

February 7th, 7:49 AM.

It had been quite some time since he was assigned to District 5. He was nearing two weeks of work and entering the third week of assisting Kwon Joon-young. It was also the day before his birthday. Who would have thought he’d hear about a serial killer being so close on the eve of his birthday?

-All victims have records of secretly entering and exiting the Center. There’s apparently a hidden entrance in the basement of Research Building 2. And… all victims seem to be unregistered Espers.

All the victims being unregistered Espers? That seemed unlikely. While Jae-chan brushed his hair back in frustration, Investigator Kwon’s voice continued.

-I’ll come to the Center tonight. Help me out. The investigation hasn’t been officially approved yet due to some bureaucratic procedure.

Kwon Jun-young muttered discontentedly. Jae-chan rubbed his stiff neck, realizing he was in for another late night.

“Understood. I’ll call you back.”

After ending the call, Jae-chan quickly surveyed the situation outside the Center through the front window. It was somewhat bustling outside. A group of Espers who had just gathered at the center were boarding a Bureau vehicle, preparing to head to the incident scene.

There had been a major incident in the early morning. Around 7 AM today, a chain collision occurred on Highway 80, which connects Districts 3 and 5. Poor visibility due to fog and black ice on the road had led to this disaster.

Although the rescue authorities needed to control both sides of the highway, the fog had not yet lifted, so Esper support was required on-site.

Among the departing Espers was Jae-chan’s mother, dressed in her work uniform. 

“…”

Originally, the position arranged by his aunt was an office job, but his mother had insisted she didn’t want to just sit idly anymore. Instead, she hoped to be part of the Esper team.

As a result, the District 5 Esper Bureau had suddenly taken in a once-famous A-class Esper as a trainee. Jae-chan, without taking his eyes off the window, ended the call.

‘She’s probably not used to large-scale operations yet.’

Did she really have to go? As the worry crept in, the MPV carrying his mother set off. Jae-chan forced himself to look away from the lingering, murky fog that had swallowed up dozens of vehicles.

The fog would clear once the sun rose. His mother would return safely as well.

“Yawn…Is it Investigator Kwon Joon-young again?” 

Chae Seong-hwan asked, sitting on an empty bed with sleepy eyes.

Seong-hwan had been following Jae-chan’s schedule for four days since Woo-jin left. Despite his initial confidence, he now looked visibly exhausted.

‘Just take a break, even for a moment. Please?’

Cha Seong-hwan swallowed his complaints. For some reason, Seon Jae-chan hadn’t taken a single day off. Never mind the continuous work shifts, whether it was overnight or morning, as soon as his shift ended, he’d be running around all over with that investigator, Kwon Jun-young or whatever his name was, who had just called. Just the other night, they broke into the back door of a dusty-smelling hair salon under the pretext of some investigation.

Seong-hwan was amazed at Jae-chan’s stamina. Despite being 20 years younger, how could he have more endurance than an Esper? While Seong-hwan had become like a deflated balloon in just a few days, Seon Jae-chan only looked slightly thinner, with his face and body lines becoming a bit more delicate. Even his slightly bloodshot eyes added to his mystique.

That level of stamina was nearly on par with an Esper in their prime 20s. Despite looking like a gentle young master, where on earth had he picked up those skills, crude as they were, to be mimicking a special agent?

‘I should have known from the start when he took that drug at the hot dog place.’

If he had known his protection target would frequently be crossing the boundaries of danger Districts, he would have charged more. 

All of this regret and frustration likely stemmed from his physical exhaustion. Feeling the kind of fatigue that could even sour his personality, Chae Seong-hwan had no choice but to get up from his seat.

“I’m going to sleep in one of the guiding rooms.”

No matter how much he valued money, he needed to take a break.

“Don’t you dare go anywhere without me. Wake me up even if you have to kick me in the ribs, okay?”

Exhausted and mentally strained, Chae Seong-hwan left with a somewhat aggressive request.

At the same time, Jae-chan’s phone rang again. If Chae Seong-hwan had seen it, he would have remarked on another unusual caller.

[United Freedom Alliance]

It was a call from Team Leader Choi Si-eun from the Alliance’s business department, who was in charge of communicating with Jae-chan. Jae-chan had been in contact with the Alliance to ensure proper punishment for Seon Eun-soo and his two associates.

“Hello,” Jae-chan answered calmly, but soon exclaimed, “What?”

“Esper Seon Eun-soo has gone missing.”

The plan to recall Seon Eun-soo to his home country had fallen through. He had disappeared.

“The local police say he was last seen on the outskirts of Rust County. No passport usage has been detected, but would he use his own passport in this situation?”

Team Leader Choi muttered despondently.

What came to Jae-chan’s mind was Woo-jin’s warning. Woo-jin had sensed something off about Seon Eun-soo from his photo, but he never imagined Seon Eun-soo would actually escape.

‘It must have been quite difficult to break through Woo-jin’s precautions…’

After agreeing to share any new information, Jae-chan ended the call with the Alliance.

Frowning, Jae-chan gazed out the emergency center window at the still hazy landscape. 

For some reason, the fog showed no signs of dissipating. Usually, it would disappear after sunrise, but this thick, cloudy fog still clung stubbornly, as if mocking the accident scene.

Perhaps that’s why, before Jae-chan could organize his thoughts about Seon Eun-soo or shake off his worry about his mother, another unexpected situation arose.

“Everyone gather here!”

A Tempo Red alert was issued.

“Divide into teams! Quickly!”

The head of the District 5 emergency center, who had activated the emergency alert, hurriedly called the guides together. The keen-eyed apprentices, who had been working almost constantly in the same space as Seon Jae-chan recently, rushed to his side. It was the same trainee who had managed to procure the teeth-grinding splinter.

“The Esper team got caught in some kind of explosion while controlling traffic! They say it was a fireworks explosion!”

One of the 90 vehicles in the pile-up was a truck loaded with fireworks, which had all exploded at once.

“Judging by the scale of the explosion, it seems like there were several tons of them on board. The fire itself wasn’t a big deal due to the moisture, but the Esper team just happened to be nearby when it happened.”

To make matters worse, news came in that the vehicle carrying the Espers had also crashed in the fog.

In any case, Guides needed to go to the hospital immediately. “Load the Amplers too!” the emergency center director ordered, and people scrambled to comply. Equipment was loaded onto ambulances. People were divided between those going to the hospital and those staying at the emergency center. More than half of the staff hurriedly boarded ambulances and hastily procured operations bureau vehicles.

Jae-chan was among those who stayed behind at the center. He had volunteered for this. Dozens of Guides left like an ebbing tide. Even after the group of siren-wailing vehicles departed, Jae-chan felt dazed, as if the warning sounds were still ringing in his ears.

If he went to the hospital and encountered his injured mother…

As his initially racing heartbeat settled, his blood ran cold. Perhaps because his mother resembled his aunt, he felt that if he saw his injured mother, he wouldn’t be able to work normally.

She’ll be fine, right? Jae-chan, now drenched in cold sweat, rubbed the back of his neck and, along with the remaining Guides, retrieved more Ampler units from the storage room.

“Hey, Jae-chan…”

Soon after, Guides who weren’t originally scheduled to work today began arriving at the Center. Even Yu-ram, who usually worked in the research team and rarely set foot in the Guide Department, came to the emergency center to help out.

She looked utterly exhausted. Her glasses were smudged and unwashed, and her eyes behind them were filled with weary frustration. Jae-chan quickly pulled out a sandwich he had saved for lunch.

“Wow, this is my first meal since last night. I just went to the bathroom for the first time today. I swear, if this keeps up, I’m going to end up with a bladder infection…”

She pulled a curtain around an empty bed for some privacy and half-tearfully devoured the sandwich. Jae-chan brought her some water from the dispenser, saying, “You’ve worked hard.”

He had been hearing complaints from Yu-ram daily. She was currently overwhelmed with double her usual workload because her senior researchers had all taken sick leave at once.

“Thanks… But isn’t this really a new form of harassment?! How can people all get sick at the same time…!”

After venting for a while, Park Yu-ram finally regained her composure after finishing the sandwich. Feeling the sugar circulate through her veins and her mouth moisten, Yu-ram thanked her friend for listening to her complaints and peeked out from behind the curtain. She glanced around.

“What’s going on here? Well, the fog in this area is terrible. I hope no one got hurt.”

Nodding at Yu-ram’s murmuring, Seon Jae-chan felt the blood slowly return to his stiff shoulder muscles. Talking with a friend about mundane things brought him a sense of calm.

However, as his tension eased, something unexpected caught his eye.

While Tempo Red was still in effect and off-duty Guides continued to arrive at the emergency center, and among them was a face he never expected to see.

It was Gyeong Hye-in, neatly dressed in her guide uniform.