SOG Ch 152

Seon Jae-chan and Park Yu-ram turned to look at each other simultaneously. It was a familiar sound. It was the same noise that occurred on the way here when Yu-ram got caught on a bag strap tangled with a corpse.

Worry was visibly etched on Yu-ram’s face. She quickly turned off her phone, and Jae-chan did the same. From the beginning, the autopsy room hadn’t had any lights on, and now that even the faint blue light had disappeared, the room was plunged into pitch-black silence.

Jae-chan gestured for the three people to gather. Although his vision wavered as his stability suddenly dropped, he had no choice but to use his ability to conceal them.

How long could they hold out? To conserve his ability as much as possible, he needed to time it well. As he habitually took a short breath, he realized something was off.

‘……?’

Jae-chan sensed something amiss. Surely not…. His fingers trembled in surprise. The fingers that should have become transparent were perfectly visible.

He couldn’t use his ability.

Meanwhile, the doorknob rattled, producing a rattling sound that struck his eardrums. It seemed like someone was feeling around the doorframe for a key. And then…

Click.

The sound of a firearm being loaded.

Damn it. A sigh involuntarily escaped Seon Jae-chan’s lips. He had to make a quick decision. There wasn’t even time to put Jung Hana back on the stretcher.

If that’s the case.

He immediately grabbed his mother and Yu-ram. Without even looking, he opened the innermost morgue and practically crammed the two in.

Seon Jae-chan remained alone beside the immobile Jung Hana. The autopsy room had a complex layout. Upon entering, there was a storage entrance for various chemicals directly in front, and turning left led to a long autopsy table. Jae-chan crouched in the corner of the storage wall, holding his breath.

He took out the pistol and magazine he had been carrying in his inside pocket. In the darkness, he checked only with the tip of his index finger knuckle and combined the magazine. He didn’t expect to use it so soon. His lips involuntarily tightened.

He tapped the slide to check if there was a round chambered. He aimed it at the door and focused on the sight.

Only three bullets.

He needed to concentrate without making any mistakes. The terrorists nowadays seemed to know how to pick locks, as the door’s gap widened easily. As expected, a silhouette holding a gun cautiously peeked through. It appeared that the person was an Esper as well, for they seemed to have spotted Jae-chan even in the darkness, and he could hear their labored breathing.

“If you’re holding a gun, we’re all equal, you son of a-“

Jae-chan turned his gun at that familiar voice.

“Esper Chae Seong-hwan?”

And the other party recognized him too.

“Guide Seon Jae-chan?”

Found you! Chae Seong-hwan whispered gleefully. Jae-chan felt relieved for a moment, but then tightened his grip on the gun again. It was because another person poked their small head out behind Chae Seong-hwan, who was keeping his rifle in a high-ready position. It was Gyeong Hye-in.

“I thought you were a terrorist because you had a gun! Where did you get it?”

Chae Seong-hwan’s voice continued in the meantime.

“I saw the GPS signal leading to this building, but it suddenly went dead.”

He had come here first, remembering that Investigator Kwon Joon-young and Seon Jae-chan had mentioned the autopsy room. Chae Seong-hwan sighed in relief, saying it was fortunate they met.

“But why do you keep aiming the gun?”

Chae Seong-hwan pointed to the still-aimed gun barrel, bewildered. Specifically, it was aimed at Gyeong Hye-in.

“Hey, won’t you put that creepy thing away?”

Gyeong Hye-in snapped in a harsh tone. Seon Jae-chan, debating whether or not to let his guard down, replied.

“I don’t trust anyone except my companions.”

The other party was someone who could potentially be related to Black Swan or the current terrorist situation.

“Hey, hey, what’s with the tension?”

Chae Seong-hwan thought Seon Jae-chan might be wary of Gyeong Hye-in because of the incident where he took a new drug called TZ. Gyeong Hye-in thought Seon Jae-chan might have a grudge against her for leaking information about his emotional two-timing to Go Woo-jin.

As each of their thoughts drifted in different directions, it was Seon Jae-chan who eventually took a step back. After all, A-rank Esper Chae Seong-hwan had joined them. Given his physical capabilities, there was no way he could be easily overpowered by Gyeong Hye-in.

‘Gyeong Hye-in might not be related to this incident.’

If she were a terrorist, there would be no reason for her to stick with Chae Seong-hwan and come all the way here. There was no important figure here either. Just as Jae-chan lowered his gun and reluctantly let his guard down…

“…Jae-chan, is it all over?”

Yu-ram’s trembling voice was heard. From beyond the tightly closed morgue.

“Can we come out? There’s something strange here…”

As Yu-ram’s unstable voice continued,

“Qu-quick! Open the door quickly…!”

His mother banged on the metal door. Click, click, the doorknob turned futilely as if they couldn’t open it from inside.

Jae-chan immediately ran and flung the door open. Yu-ram and his mother, pale as sheets, tumbled out as if falling. As he caught them, Jae-chan fixed his wide-eyed gaze into the darkness.

Towards the corpses that had been crammed into the narrow, enclosed space.

A grinning face reflecting a bizarre shadow. The cold stench of death. Like a pile of blankets forcibly stuffed and now collapsing, or like a heap of mannequins suddenly losing their balance, the corpses with holes in their chests tumbled out.

*

At the same time, at the temporary headquarters set up in the Western Office of District 5.

Han Tae-hoon, who was the first to arrive at the scene among the key command personnel designated by the President’s order, met with the team leaders from the Central Management Headquarters of District 1 who had moved ahead by helicopter.

“This is Lee Hyo-hee, the newly appointed leader of Esper Team 4.”

Gong Yoon-jin, the leader of Esper Team 1, introduced the Team 4 leader to Han Tae-hoon. Han Tae-hoon had been on a business trip as the Director of the Guide Bureau until this afternoon, and Lee Hyo-hee had only been appointed as team leader three days ago, so they went through a brief greeting procedure.

The District 1 team leaders had been dispatched to the scene first as soon as the report of a “shooting spree” came in. As it became known that a significant number of the terrorists were Espers from District 5, all personnel related to District 5 were excluded from the operation, and urgent reinforcements were needed instead.

‘They’re also the most suitable personnel for the current situation.’

Han Tae-hoon recalled the District 1 Espers he had seen on the way to the conference room. Thanks to the anti-terrorism training implemented since last summer, they seemed familiar with equipment checks. Although Han Tae-hoon himself had adopted this training method, he felt strange when he suddenly remembered the person who had first proposed that training method.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Seon Jae-chan recently.

It was a waste to be concerned about the recent situation of a mere early twenty-something kid, and a detached Guide without a proper family background at that, but he wondered if he should have paid a little more attention.

“Here, Team Leader Jin Dae-ho has also arrived.”

Meanwhile, Gong Yoon-jin continued with the introductions. Han Tae-hoon shook hands with Jin Dae-ho, who had become remarkably innocent-looking over the past year.

“It’s been a while.”

Most of the E-SOF unit members, who were the most necessary personnel for the current situation, had been on a mission until just a few hours ago, so it seemed that only Team Leader Jin, who hadn’t accompanied them to Zone Z, had arrived first.

After the brief greetings were concluded, Team Leader Gong Yoon-jin stood in front of the screen board.

“I’ll brief you on the current situation. Currently, everything from National Road 80 to the District 5 Ability Management Headquarters and Nuclear Power Plant is under control, and nearby residents have been ordered to evacuate-.”

Han Tae-hoon interrupted Team Leader Gong’s speech.

“There’s been a command to change the operation. The infiltration operation has been temporarily suspended.”

“Pardon?”

Gong Yoon-jin’s eyes flickered briefly.

“What do you mean by temporary suspension? Until when?”

“The higher-ups will issue instructions as soon as possible.”

“So, are we supposed to just sit back and do nothing until then?”

“Unfortunately, it’s for the sake of greater public safety.”

As Han Tae-hoon scanned the tense faces of the team leaders and emphasized once more that this was by the President’s order, the closed door opened and a figure who shouldn’t be here entered.

It was Go Woo-jin, dressed in a dark blue combat uniform. Han Tae-hoon’s eyes narrowed as he met the gaze that was as always seemingly calm yet pitch-black.

“…”

Meanwhile, Jin Dae-ho glanced at Go Woo-jin, who was officially his subordinate. He wasn’t sure how Go Woo-jin would react to the news of the operation being suspended.

Go Woo-jin, despite having just finished an operation, had packed his equipment more quickly than anyone else upon hearing the news of the situation, and had arrived in District 5 immediately using a private helicopter. He had been about to rush recklessly into the middle of the shooting scene after hearing the news. Jin Dae-ho had barely managed to hold him back, with the help of the youngest team member, Hwang Guk-hyun, who had received the news after Go Woo-jin.

According to Hwang Guk-hyun, Go Woo-jin’s pair guide happened to be isolated in the District 5 center. The reason Jin Dae-ho had lost track of Go Woo-jin just now was because some investigator had come looking for him. Kwon Joon-young or something. He had delivered a floor plan of the building and left, saying he knew Go Woo-jin’s pair Guide, which prompted Go Woo-jin to follow him.

“…”

And as Jin Dae-ho had expected, Go Woo-jin was struggling to steady his breathing after hearing about the temporary suspension of the operation.

It felt like a heavy metal was weighing down on his chest. The situation was becoming increasingly frustrating.

The counter-terrorism strategy had changed since the Universal Park incident. Increased shooting training, pre-positioning of snipers, and dynamic movements were all part of the shift to ensure terrorists did not gain the upper hand. Traditionally, military orders had leaned more towards quick suppression rather than the safety of hostages, so the new policy naturally blended in.

But now the military was handing over the initiative to the terrorists.

Woo-jin hid his hardened gaze under his fallen hair. He recalled the thick-faced President whom he had been guarding until just half a day ago, who had given this order. His jaw tightened, and the muscles in his face bulged.

“Did you hear? We’re going to stand by.”

Detecting an ominous air based on past experience, Jin Dae-ho whispered as if trying to preemptively placate him. Go Woo-jin had never defied his orders in the presence of outsiders, but it was still a moment of careful observation.