- After you get out of the car, pretend to be on a call with a friend as you enter the department store.
As the man said, Yeojin pretended to be on a call with an acquaintance as he got out of the car.
“Oh, yeah. I’m doing well. We should get a drink sometime, right?”
Deliberately speaking loudly, he walked toward the department store entrance, pretending to be calm as before. He heard the sound of a car door closing—thunk—behind him. The gray car driver must have also parked somewhere and gotten out.
Soon, thud-thud-thud, the clear sound of the tailing pursuer’s dress shoes rang out behind Yeojin. There were two sets of footsteps. Glancing back with just his eyes, he saw two men walking behind him. It seemed there had been another guy in the passenger seat besides the driver he’d seen at the apartment parking lot.
- Go to the underground food section.
“Ah, I have some shopping to do, so I stopped by the department store. I’m hungry, so I’m going to eat first before shopping. What are you up to?”
He entered the building, took the escalator, and went up to the B1 floor where the food section was. Without hurrying, he leaned against the escalator and leisurely acted as if he was on a call with a friend.
When he entered the food section, it was bustling with people. The underground space vibrated with the smell of food. This was always a place overflowing with people.
- Dive into the crowd and look around as much as possible. While pretending to browse. Then head toward the food court. There’s a bathroom near the food court. And in the direction of the bathroom, there’s an employee entrance. Go through there and go up to ground level. I’ll call you again later.
“Okay. Let’s definitely meet up soon.”
After saying that, Yeojin hung up and wandered around the food section here and there. The men following Yeojin were so unusually large that even just walking quietly drew people’s attention. So they couldn’t act rashly even more.
He wandered around this store and that store, browsing, then headed toward the food court.
“Where’s the bathroom here?”
When he asked a food court employee, a kind answer came back. Walking with tense steps toward the bathroom, he saw the employee entrance just as he’d heard on the phone. Yeojin walked quickly toward the entrance. The men following also moved quickly. Just as Yeojin was about to open the door, employees happened to be coming out from inside, and he collided with them.
At the same time Yeojin’s body swayed, his shoulder was grabbed and yanked around.
“Dr. Min Yeojin, it would be best if you came along quietly.”
The man who grabbed and turned Yeojin’s shoulder muttered in a deep voice. At that moment, the shopping carts placed near Yeojin and the man suddenly made popping sounds—pop, pop—and burst one after another. Like they’d been hit by bombardment.
“Kyaaah!”
Screams rang out from here and there, and the shopping carts kept exploding—bang, bang. The peaceful department store food section became a scene of chaos in an instant.
“It’s a Transcendent!”
Amid the screams and noise, someone pointed sharply at the man gripping Yeojin’s shoulder and shouted.
“A Transcendent is attacking a civilian!”
“Call the police right now!”
People shouted one after another. Some screamed, some fled in terror, some took out their phones to take pictures and record videos. The man looked at the spectators and made excuses in confusion.
“Ah, I’m an SP Special Task Force member from the NSP. Please calm down.”
Just then, the food court kiosk machine exploded with perfect timing—bang. Kyaaah! Screams erupted again. Not missing that opportunity, Yeojin escaped from the man’s grip and flung open the employee entrance door.
“Min Yeojin!”
The man shouted a beat too late and tried to chase, but brave citizens seemed to have blocked his way.
“Are you really a government agent?”
“Show us your ID!”
Thanks to the citizens, Yeojin was able to safely run into the employee corridor. He passed through a long hallway, discovered the entrance through the break room where employees commuted, and was running up the stairs after bursting out the door when his phone rang again.
- Take bus 706.
Just then, bus 706 was approaching the stop across the street. There was no crosswalk, so Yeojin jaywalked. Cars honked—beep, beep—cursing and making a commotion.
He got cursed at, but he was able to safely board bus 706. Only after getting on the bus and flopping into the very back seat could he finally catch his breath.
“I’m dying.”
A groan escaped involuntarily. His breath had risen to his chin and beyond—it felt like his heart would burst out. He used to be confident in his stamina, but he didn’t know why his body had become so heavy. Just as the bus closed its doors and was about to depart, a passenger ran up and knocked on the door.
“I’m sorry.”
The passenger who barely got on the bus politely apologized to the bus driver. He was a young man in neat attire. Even though there were many empty seats, he walked all the way to the back and sat next to Yeojin.
“Dr. Min Yeojin, you’ve been through a lot.”
At the sound of his name being called, Yeojin was startled and looked at the man in the seat next to him. It was the voice of the man who’d been on the phone just before.
“Don’t stare at me so much.”
The man still faced forward, only moving his mouth. Yeojin also quickly turned his head.
“You’re still the same, Doctor. You haven’t changed at all.”
“Sorry, but I don’t know who you are.”
“It’s natural that you don’t recognize me. I’m Yongsu. Donkatsu.”
Rather than the name Yongsu, hearing the nickname Donkatsu immediately brought back the memory. Donkatsu! He was a kid who was called that nickname because he was a giant over 100kg. As the man said, it was natural not to recognize him. The man in the seat next to him was a handsome man with a slender build. He couldn’t think of him as the same person as the Yongsu that Yeojin remembered at all.
“Are you really Yongsu? You’ve changed so much.”
“I lost weight like crazy and also borrowed a bit of medical help.”
That must mean he’d had plastic surgery. Instead of looking openly like before, he glanced sideways at the man. He could see the man’s ears were crushed like dumplings. It really was Han Yongsu. Yongsu had also done boxing before becoming a Transcendent, so his ear shape was different from others.
“You really are Yongsu? Hearing Sujin’s voice and seeing you like this too. I’m so happy to see you, really.”
“I’m really happy too. I’ve wanted to see you all this time, Doctor, but I didn’t know we’d meet like this.”
“That thing at the department store earlier, you did that?”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you use your ability because of the ability suppression chip? And how are you moving around so freely? Didn’t you go to the Jeju Island Quarantine Center?”
There were so many questions that he had no choice but to throw a barrage of them.
“I removed the suppression chip. And it’s also true that I went to the Jeju Island Quarantine Center, but I escaped with the help of Leader Park Wiyeol.”
Park Wiyeol. The one said to be the head of the Rebel group Earth. He’d heard he died at the Jeju Island Quarantine Center. All sorts of questions rose countless times to the tip of his throat, but Yeojin decided to listen for now.
“Quite a few detainees like me safely escaped from the Jeju Island Center and are moving around freely. After escaping from the Jeju Island Center, I immediately received surgery to remove the suppression chip, so I can use my ability freely.”
“So Yongsu, you’re saying you’re a Rebel?”
It was very cautious to throw the question, but Han Yongsu answered casually.
“Yes.”
Then was Yang Sujin also Earth? Had the Rebel forces already infiltrated inside the NSP? It was ironic that Yang Sujin, a Rebel, had been recruited to the Rebel Response Special Team. But that wasn’t what was important right now.
“So what about Haeju? Did you find Haeju?”
“No. I called right away using the number you entered when you registered on our organization’s cafe, but the power was off. We did track the location to identify Seo Haeju’s whereabouts. But Seo Haeju attacked us and fled.”
A sigh flowed from Yeojin’s mouth. To think Haeju had attacked the Earth people who went to get him and ran away.
“Why did he do that? I clearly told him to follow Earth. It wasn’t Haeju but the birds around Haeju that attacked, right? Those things recognized me as an enemy and attacked too.”
“No. Seo Haeju used his ability to attack us.”
“That’s strange. He’s not that kind of kid. He’s not a kid who would carelessly hurt others. He’s very gentle and kind.”
“You really don’t know anything about Seo Haeju, Doctor. You probably think the Seo Haeju family’s car accident last December was just a simple accident too.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Han Yongsu just laughed without answering.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll tell you later. The conclusion is that Seo Haeju fled and we need your help to find him.”
While the two were conversing, the bus arrived at the next stop and halted. The door opened, passengers got on, and the bus departed again. Suddenly, he felt a chill. It wasn’t just because of the cold wind seeping through the slightly open rear window gap.
Seo Haeju had attacked Earth members—had they really approached Haeju kindly? Had they been kind and gentle like Yeojin treated Haeju, yet Haeju still attacked?
The Seoul Center staff had assessed Seo Haeju as a highly aggressive kid. That was because they had first taken a coercive attitude toward Seo Haeju. Even when Haeju attacked the soldiers, if the soldiers had tried to transport Yeojin politely, he wouldn’t have gone that far. He went on a rampage because the soldiers used violence against Yeojin.
“You didn’t threaten Haeju first or anything, did you?”
“We didn’t make any particular threats. In preparation for a dangerous situation, we planned to spray tear gas first to put him to sleep and transport him. But even after inhaling the tear gas, Seo Haeju didn’t fall asleep and used his ability. We shot a tranquilizer gun as a second measure, but that also had no effect.”
Hearing this was outrageous.
