SOG Ch 64

The apprentices mentioned Seon Jae-chan’s non-stop running around and said that they had never known Seon Jae-chan to be so fanatically obsessed with the Jungle Family.

“I understand Sunbae-nim. You guys have all seen the Jungle Family comics, right? The tiger is really cute.”

Nam Hae-sol said.

Currently, she and the apprentices were in the back area, behind the bars, where visitors did not go. It was a poor working environment, but it was unavoidable for the safety of the Guides. They performed wide-area guiding behind the bars every day before the veterinarian arrived to calm the carnivores.

In the midst of the contented purring of the carnivores satisfied with the guiding, Nam Hae-sol cheerfully chatted about the episode of a balding tiger. Han Myeong-gyu and Song Se-in remained silent behind their tightly worn masks, and Choi Kang-man, who had finally stopped gagging from the pungent smell unique to carnivores, reacted helplessly with a sallow face.

“Yeah… Let’s see if even real tigers cute like them.”

At the same time.

Of course, Seon Jae-chan was experiencing the Jungle Family 4D theater. He looked up and listened to the now very familiar viewing precautions given by the flamingo.

“Are you in charge of the Jungle Family?”

It had been one week since stamping had been done every day at Universal Park. Seon Jae-chan, who sat in the back seat on purpose, spoke to a male employee who was handing out 3D glasses.

“Yes, that’s right.”

In response to a meaningless question, the employee with a jungle monkey doll tied around his neck responded for service purposes. Seon Jae-chan asked in a whisper.

“Aren’t there too many kids on this ride? It’s noisy.”

Unlike other theme parks, Jungle Family had no age restrictions and was particularly popular with family visitors. Right now, the loud voice of a boy shouting, “Octopus! It’s an octopus!” could be heard.

“Yes. Kids love it because it’s noisy.”

The employee smiled and gave a casual response. However, his eyes were slightly furrowed. No matter how many customers there were, after a week of visits, the employee could only remember Seon Jae-chan. Seon Jae-chan smiled at the employee’s gaze that seemed to ask, ‘Why do you keep coming here if it’s so noisy?’

“I can’t ride roller coasters. It’s nice to be able to ride it even if it’s fake.”

Seon Jae-chan, who had previously undergone free-fall training, lied without hesitation. The employee nodded vaguely as if in agreement, then looked at Seon Jae-chan with an ambiguous gaze before walking away.

Due to the incredibly long wait times for the attraction, it was already approaching sunset by the time Seon Jae-chan had experienced the attraction a few more times.

Only then did Seon Jae-chan leave the theater. As Universal Park, which had more customers as a result of its reopening, was also open at night, the crowds on the streets did not appear to have decreased. Seon Jae-chan leaned diagonally in the photo zone and returned his gaze to the theater. The gloomy light of the dark scarlet sun seemed to cast a shadow on the large character structures decorated on the roof.

He was lost in thought as he looked up at the stuffed big smile of the jungle family with a warm or perhaps mocking smile.

Casualties and fatalities… mixed with children…

He could shut down the hostage situation entirely.

But if he did that, he would gain nothing.

The conclusion of the heavy conflicts that sometimes struck was always the same. He adjusted his attire and walked away from the overly cheerful character structures without hesitation.

He visited the souvenir shop. From the doll display, he chose a grumpy tiger, freshwater octopus, jewel fish, and a tall flamingo, all of which were friends of the Jungle Family. He also bought several pendant jaguars with attractive body shapes.

Then he sent a message to Gyeong Chang-hyun.

[Do you have time?]

As the guy who always carried his phone, he received a reply from Chang-hyun right away.

[What’s up?]

[I have something to give you. I’ll be at your place later.]

The jaguar-shaped pendant necklace swung around Seon Jae-chan’s finger. 

After that, Gyeong Chang-hyun vented his frustration with the apprentices of Team 1, who had suddenly been assigned to him. Seon Jae-chan tried his best to console him through text, then continued to walk at a leisurely pace.

By the time the text message was finished, the apprentices of Team 2 arrived at the decaying Safari Valley.

“Sunbae, when will you come? Damn it, when will Sunbae come!”

It was when Jae-chan went to the area near the employee lounge, carrying stuffed animals. A rough voice was heard. It was Song Se-in’s voice, which became harsh when she was tired.

“Here. It’s a bonus.”

Seon Jae-chan opened the door and threw the doll to the apprentices who had worked hard.

“What’s this?”

Immediately, Song Se-in looked surprised and asked. He had intended on taking it back and giving it to the kids passing by if they swore or complained about them, but it seemed like they secretly liked it.

“You didn’t pick this one because it looked like us, right?”

Choi Kang-man, who was tall and had a chubby face, asked as he grabbed the freshwater octopus with an equally attractive chubby body.

“Then why are you grabbing an octopus?”

Song Se-in asked instead. She was holding the jewel fish, known for its dual personality, despite its shimmering scales. Kang-man replied,

“I think octopuses in this series are the cutest. Do you know that your freshwater octopus can’t exist in reality?”

“Are you trying to look like Nam Hae-sol?”

Han Myeong-gyu, who was happily holding a pink flamingo doll with long, fluttery eyelashes in his arms, asked dissatisfiedly.

At that moment, Nam Hae-sol was blushing bright red with a tiger doll in her arms. Han Myeong-gyu responded to the emotion that was clearly revealed, saying, “That’s why people from District 4 are tacky.” He muttered sarcastically, but Nam Hae-sol didn’t seem to mind what Myeong-gyu Han said.

Since Han Myeong-gyu immediately looked like he got over it, Seon Jae-chan decided to just pretend not to hear. His purpose was not to trample on Han Myeong-gyu, but for Nam Hae-sol to get along well among them.

It was a day when Seon Jae-chan was enjoying the 4D attraction every day, and the apprentices were getting used to guiding the wild beasts.

Bang-!

Friday, June 11th. 17:36.

A sharp gunshot echoed through the Jungle Family Theater at Universal Park.

It was the restart of the tragic, or rather, the ‘had been’ happened, hostage situation that had taken place over two days.

*

At first, most of the audience didn’t realize what was happening.

– Don’t bother our animal friends!

Fortunately, this happened to be the scene where the Jungle Family was facing the poachers’ ambush. Some people clutched their ringing ears, their faces showing disbelief, thinking, ‘Wow, do gunshots sound this realistic? My eardrums are going to burst.’

The moment the unidentified men wearing black beanies suddenly rushed toward the screen, most of the audience still looked puzzled. Perhaps it was because of the uniqueness of the theme park. They sat comfortably, thinking it might be some new event they hadn’t heard of before.

Bang!

When the gunshots rang out, the atmosphere changed instantly.

The fired bullets hit the screen, distorting the display of the attraction.

Aaargh! Following the belated realization of the situation, screams echoed through the theater. Then, bang! bang! The sounds of gunfire continued to resonate. Bullets were embedded into the ceiling above, featuring tropical plants. The audience couldn’t even take off their 3D glasses and hurriedly covered their heads, crouching under their seats.

Meanwhile, at that time.

Seon Jae-chan was entering the building. He activated his ‘concealment’ mode.

He happened to be standing in line when the gunshot rang out. It was natural that there was a higher probability of a hostage situation occurring during the waiting time, which could be as long as two hours, rather than the 7 minutes that were required to experience the ride.

‘I wanted to minimize the use of my abilities…’

He hoped it would happen while he was in the theater, but the odds were against him. It couldn’t be helped. He took advantage of the commotion and huddled close to the corner. He used his concealment ability in the blind spots of the cameras he had already identified.

“Everyone evacuate! Evacuate!”

The attendants pointed outside. Anxiety took hold, and people who had been waiting in line started running out in a panic. Jae-chan, still concealed, moved through the crowd. He used the staff-only passage he had identified beforehand to move against the flow of people.

Bang! The sound of gunshots suddenly became closer. It was as if he would be hit by the bullets at any moment, and he began to take cover with a protective posture.

He needed to provoke Han Tae-hoon by any means necessary. Trying to navigate through this chaos alone was not enough.

Finally, he reached the entrance.

Fortunately, the criminals were busy controlling the hallway, so the door was open. Jae-chan rushed through the gap between the two armed criminals. He seamlessly blended into the theater and quickly found an empty seat while assessing the number of the criminals.

‘Two at the entrance, two at the exit, and six in front of the screen.’

Considering the menacing people that were coming and going among the audience as well—

‘A total of seventeen.’

As he kept an eye on the criminals, he hid among the confused citizens in the back. He activated his concealment mode again, disappearing from sight. Nobody noticed Jae-chan, as everyone was too absorbed in their own fear and confusion.