[Breaking news. At approximately 3:00 p.m. yesterday, an act of terrorism committed by an Awakened occurred at OOO Supermarket.]
[The culprit has been identified as Kim Wigang.]
[Formerly a member of the Slasher Guild, he was expelled from the guild in November of last year……]
Beep―.
The television turned off.
Thanks to that, I could no longer watch the news I had been enjoying.
“……Sis, the TV.”
“No. You’ll end up traumatized.”
“I told you I’m fine.”
“Doesn’t matter. No.”
Slice, slice―.
With the television off, the hospital room became quiet, leaving only the faint sound of an apple being peeled.
“Here. Ah.”
“Ah…….”
Before putting it into my mouth—
I looked at the neatly carved rabbit-shaped slice of apple.
‘For someone whose job involves using a blade, she’s damn good at peeling apples.’
CRUNCH― Chew, chew.
“Ah…… This is suffocating.”
White Lotus Guild’s dedicated emergency room.
And not just any room.
A VIP room.
Despite being completely uninjured, I had been forcibly imprisoned here by Guild Master Baek Yulheon and my sister.
“Imprisoned, my ass! And who said you’re completely fine? You were standing in the middle of a fire. If you weren’t an Awakened, you would’ve already inhaled too much smoke and suffocated to death!”
“Hmm…….”
Admittedly, I had inhaled quite a lot of smoke while wandering around looking for an escape route.
Apparently still furious even after saying all that, my sister suddenly hurled the paring knife in her hand.
“Argh! If I ever run into that bastard outside, he’s dead!”
TING―! TONG―! CLANG―!
THUNK.
“……Eek.”
The paring knife flew through the air like a boomerang before embedding itself in the blanket beside my head.
“Tsk.”
My sister casually pulled the knife out of the blanket and resumed slicing the apple.
‘……If I stay here too long, Sis is going to kill me before any illness does.’
As I sighed and lamented my fate—
someone opened the door and entered.
“Oh, Sohyeon. You were already here?”
“……You’re late.”
“Uh, huh? Ah…… Sorry.”
Her voice was icy.
Baek Yulheon cautiously approached me and whispered,
“……Did something happen?”
“The news about the supermarket attack came on TV earlier. The moment she saw the culprit’s face, she started going crazy.”
“……Ah.”
Ahem.
Baek Yulheon cleared his throat quietly, then put on his usual friendly smile.
“How are you feeling, Sohyeok?”
“Well…… They said there’s nothing wrong with me besides inhaling some smoke.”
“That’s a relief!”
“Honestly, I don’t think anything’s wrong at all. I’m only trapped here because of Sis.”
Glare―.
I naturally turned my eyes away from the piercing stare.
“Come on, that’s not fair. According to Chae-rin, you even came face-to-face with the culprit. You’re incredibly lucky to have gotten away with only this much.”
“Hmm…… I suppose that’s true…….”
“Ha! Hyeon Chae-rin?”
The moment Baek Yulheon mentioned Hyeon Chae-rin—
my sister complained in an irritated tone.
“Why does Hyeon Chae-rin clamp her mouth shut only when I ask her questions?”
“……Maybe because no matter what she says, she feels like nothing good will come of it?”
“What?”
“Nothing…….”
‘Maybe try asking a little more gently.’
She interrogated people like she was conducting a criminal investigation.
Who would feel like answering?
Baek Yulheon laughed heartily.
“Haha! Still, thanks to Chae-rin, there weren’t any fatalities.”
“Well…… She did do a good job.”
“The Management Bureau should back off a little after this too. Sohyeok, you did us a huge favor!”
“Haha…… I didn’t really do anything.”
The OOO Supermarket Terrorist Attack.
Officially, the person who had subdued Kim Wigang was Hyeon Chae-rin.
It helped conceal my identity.
It also raised White Lotus’s prestige.
The culprit was subdued through Hyeon Chae-rin’s dramatic arrival!
That headline was far more effective.
‘She threw a fit and refused when we first suggested it, though…….’
Apparently, Hyeon Chae-rin was something of a perfectionist.
She absolutely hated receiving credit for something she had not personally done.
‘And she still firmly believes I’m the one who defeated him…….’
In the end, only after I spent dozens of minutes explaining all the ways this would benefit White Lotus—
did she reluctantly nod.
The Guild Master, my sister, and I had all agreed to say that Hyeon Chae-rin had defeated the culprit.
“Turn the news back on. Chae-rin should be doing her interview around now.”
“……Do it yourself.”
“Geez.”
Beep.
The previously barren hospital room suddenly filled with the sound of the television.
“Oh, there she is.”
Unlike the black outfit that had looked almost like a costume back then—
Hyeon Chae-rin was now dressed in perfectly ordinary clothes.
‘Looking at her like this, she just seems like a normal college student.’
She looked completely different from when I had seen her at the supermarket.
The news headline read:
‘The Miracle of Fifteen Minutes: Zero Casualties Despite the Threat of a Deranged Awakened.’
“Wow∼ Chae-rin looks great!”
“But her expression…….”
“Uh, hmm…….”
Baek Yulheon cheered enthusiastically, clearly delighted.
But my sister and I could tell.
‘She’s in a bad mood.’
“Sis…… That look…….”
“……Yeah.”
Her smile was so obviously fake.
Most people probably would not notice unless they looked closely—
but even a small vein was protruding on her forehead.
“Why does she look like that? She beat up the culprit and now she’s being interviewed. Shouldn’t she be happy?”
“……Right.”
The other two might not know.
But I had a pretty good idea.
‘She could tolerate the official announcement, but now she has to sit through an interview for something she didn’t even do. Of course she feels terrible.’
What a peculiar personality.
That was what I thought.
―Now for our next question! How were you able to arrive at the scene so quickly, and how exactly did you subdue the culprit? Everyone’s dying to know!
―……How I subdued him?
We had been talking about Hyeon Chae-rin only moments ago—
but quickly became absorbed in the news.
She paused for a moment at the reporter’s question.
―……Heh.
Then she let out a playful laugh and answered.
―I received a great deal of help from an ordinary civilian who happened to be inside the supermarket. Honestly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that person did ninety percent of the work.
―My, how modest! Now I’m really curious who this civilian was.
―Haha. I’d like to meet him again too, if I ever get the chance.
“Pfft……! Cough, cough!”
“S-Sohyeok! Are you okay!? Is it because of the smoke? Does your chest hurt?”
“Sohyeok! Nurse call! Hit the nurse call!”
‘I just choked…….’
It seemed that misunderstanding was not going to disappear anytime soon.
‘I’m glad Sohyeok seems fine.’
Leaving Jeong Sohyeon and Jeong Sohyeok behind in the hospital room—
Baek Yulheon excused himself, saying he had business to take care of.
The moment he stepped outside—
his expression turned cold.
“Yeah, it’s me. Did the results come back?”
―Yes. You can check them as soon as you arrive.
“I’ll be there within thirty minutes.”
Clunk.
Baek Yulheon got into the car.
Secretary Yoo, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, handed him a coffee.
“No, I’m fine. You drink it and stay awake.”
“I’ll make sure it’s still drinkable when we arrive.”
There was no further conversation.
The car pulled away.
“……Secretary Yoo, could you drive a little more gently?”
“I am driving gently.”
VROOOOM―.
SCREEECH!!
Secretary Yoo overtook the surrounding cars as though she were competing in Formula One.
Strangely enough—
the coffee sitting in the front remained perfectly still.
In the end, Baek Yulheon arrived ten minutes earlier than the expected thirty-minute journey.
“……Secretary Yoo. Next time, let’s just arrive on time…….”
“I’ll be going first.”
The car drove away.
Baek Yulheon sighed as he watched it disappear into the distance.
Then he quickly composed himself and turned toward the building before him.
‘Seoul Special Awakened Detention Center.’
Ever since Towers and Awakened began appearing around the world—
crimes committed by Awakened had naturally increased at an exponential rate.
Each time the problem grew, new institutions had been established in response.
The Awakened Management Bureau.
Specialized agencies for responding to Awakened-related incidents.
And Special Awakened Detention Centers.
The Awakened grew stronger by the day.
Naturally, the government had been forced to respond just as quickly.
This Special Awakened Detention Center in particular was one of the most recent additions.
Ever since facilities like this appeared—
Awakened crimes and terrorist attacks targeting ordinary civilians had decreased drastically.
‘Why?’
He would soon see for himself.
“I’m Baek Yulheon, Guild Master of White Lotus.”
He raised both hands behind his head—
then slowly approached.
Weapons designed specifically for use against Awakened immediately locked onto him.
―Please wait a moment.
Several green lasers swept across Baek Yulheon’s body as though scanning him.
―Clear. You may proceed.
Hummm―.
Every system targeting Baek Yulheon powered down.
‘Seriously, my heart nearly stops every time I come here.’
Since this was a facility built to confine Awakened—
this level of security could hardly be called excessive.
This facility was specifically designed for Awakened around B-Rank.
Higher-level detention centers had been constructed on places such as Ulleungdo and Jeju Island—
locations disconnected from the mainland.
“Hyung! You got here quickly.”
“Let’s get inside first. My heart hurts.”
The moment Baek Yulheon entered the building—
a younger man he was close with immediately greeted him.
“Yugeon, is everything ready?”
“Yes. We received authorization and prepared everything, from anesthesia to the Emergency Restraint System. There shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Good. Well done.”
Kim Yugeon walked ahead of Baek Yulheon and opened a door.
“Let’s go in.”
“……All right.”
The moment they entered the room—
a huge pane of glass came into view.
The space looked almost like an operating room.
“Would you like to put on protective gear?”
“No need. You said he’s under anesthesia.”
“Well, you never know.”
Kim Yugeon began putting on the protective equipment hanging on the wall.
Baek Yulheon pressed closer to the glass and looked inside.
‘……That’s him.’
The person visible beyond the glass—
was none other than Kim Wigang.
The culprit behind the supermarket terrorist attack.
“I’m ready.”
“I’m going in first.”
HISSS!
White vapor leaked from a sealed door that looked like something out of a movie.
Then it opened.
“Wow…… He really is huge.”
“…….”
Baek Yulheon looked down at Kim Wigang, who lay unconscious under anesthesia.
There was only one reason he had come here.
Something Kim Yugeon, an employee of this facility, had told him bothered him.
“You’re certain about what you told me earlier, right?”
“Come on, Hyung. You came all the way here. Just look for yourself.”
Thump, thump.
Baek Yulheon approached Kim Wigang while clutching his pounding chest.
Perhaps because he was under anesthesia—
a white cloth had been draped over his face.
‘He looks like a corpse.’
Rustle―.
Baek Yulheon carefully pulled the cloth away.
“……!”
Flutter―.
The cloth slipped from his hand, drifted through the air, and landed at his feet.
The hand that had released it was trembling.
With Baek Yulheon unable to speak—
Kim Yugeon began explaining in his place.
“Hyeon Chae-rin mainly fights with her legs and a dagger. She uses her distinctive Acceleration ability to cut enemies down before they even have time to respond.”
“…….”
“From the outside, Kim Wigang has only one obvious injury. His jaw was twisted by an extremely powerful blow.”
“…….”
“As for the dagger, there isn’t a single cut anywhere. I wondered whether she might have injured him with a kick, but would you look at that? The examination says the damage was caused by a fist.”
“…….”
“Conclusion: Hyeon Chae-rin was not the one who defeated him.”
Baek Yulheon muttered quietly,
“……That isn’t what I came here to hear.”
“Ah! Sorry. Right, there was something much more important.”
Step, step.
Yugeon quickly approached Kim Wigang.
Then—
“Hyup.”
He lifted Kim Wigang’s chin.
“…….”
“Doesn’t this wound look familiar?”
Beneath Kim Wigang’s jaw—
there was a torn-looking injury surrounded by black scorch marks, almost as though he had been electrocuted.
“I’ve known you for how many years now, Hyung? One glance was enough for me to recognize it.”
“……Yeah. I think you’re right.”
That wound—
was unmistakably caused by Baek Yulheon’s ability.
“It’s identical to Wind-Thunder Fist Art.”