TL: Skye
The heat was scorching. The air reeked of gunpowder.
I barely managed to gather my senses and open my eyes, only to see the Presidential Palace completely destroyed.
It was a sight that didn't feel real at all. Like I was trapped in a dream or something.
The moment of the explosion kept replaying in my head over and over.
"...sir."
The image of President Juan walking toward me. And behind him, Javier, clutching that black bag, fidgeting nervously.
Why?
"...Minister."
But why would he do this? What could possibly be worth all this?
Just as one thought led to another in an endless spiral.
Smack!
A stinging, burning pain spread across my cheek.
The one who slapped me was Isabella. She was pinned beneath me, completely unable to move. And to make matters worse, my hand was resting squarely on her chest.
"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, it was an emergency situation, I had no choice... Please, just don't press charges..."
"What are you talking about? You need to be directing the rescue operation!"
Her words snapped me back to reality. She was right. There could still be survivors inside the collapsed palace.
I jumped to my feet and shouted at the approaching Presidential Security Service.
"The banquet hall! There might be survivors in the banquet hall! Check there first!"
Of course, there could be more bombs. The parts still holding together could collapse and make things even more dangerous.
But none of that mattered right now. Getting survivors out as fast as possible was the priority.
"Isabella! Call the fire department! I'm going inside to check for people!"
"Are you insane?! Do you have any idea what's in there?"
"There's no one else! I have to help!"
"I said don't go!"
Ignoring Isabella's protests, I soaked my handkerchief in the fountain and ran into the Presidential Palace.
*
Crunch! Crash!
The debris crunched sharply beneath my feet.
The interior still radiated intense heat, filled with acrid smoke. The only light came from occasional rays of sunlight filtering through the gaps in the collapsed ceiling and walls.
'It should be around here somewhere.'
I tried to head straight for the banquet hall, but the familiar interior had been transformed beyond recognition, making it nearly impossible to find my way.
From what I could tell, turning left here should lead to the Cabinet meeting room, and going right should take me to the Presidential office.
But all I could see now was a massive chunk of concrete tilted at an angle, blocking the wall, and I had no idea which way to go.
'Where am I supposed to go.'
Time was running out. Even though it wasn't a completely enclosed space, surviving on just a wet handkerchief was pushing it.
As I frantically scanned my surroundings, I heard a very faint sound.
Hnnngh... nngh...
No doubt about it. That was a groan.
I moved toward the sound without hesitation.
I climbed over collapsed walls and pushed through piles of dust that had poured down from the ceiling until I spotted a staircase behind a wall, partially destroyed but still standing in one corner.
The sound was definitely coming from below.
"Is anyone in there?! Answer me!"
I screamed until my throat was raw, and a weak but unmistakable voice came from below.
"Help... me!"
I recognized that voice. It was definitely Paulo, the head chef of the Presidential Palace.
Which meant...
'The underground kitchen.'
I immediately descended the stairs.
"Ahh!"
The dust made it so dark that I missed a step and fell.
"Ugh."
I grabbed my throbbing ankle and turned on my phone's flashlight, revealing the entrance in complete chaos.
Clang!
I tried pushing the door right away, but something was blocking it and it wouldn't open.
'Come on, open.'
After wrestling with the metal door for what felt like forever, I finally managed to open it and get inside the kitchen.
I crawled through a narrow gap in the debris to find the head chef and his assistant cooks huddled together.
"Minister? How did you get down here..."
"That's not important right now... Are you hurt? Can you move?"
"I'm fine, but... the others..."
I looked further inside. Of the seven people there, four were lying unconscious with blood streaming from their heads.
It looked like they'd been hit by falling debris.
Even at a glance, they were seriously injured.
"Then those of us who can move will carry the injured. I'll take one of them."
The head chef thanked me through tears.
"For someone like us..."
"A person's life is a person's life. I'll clear what I can so we can get out, so hang tight."
I started clearing the debris as much as I could. Using a sturdy pot and a rod from the kitchen as a lever, I gradually pushed aside the chunks of concrete blocking our way until I finally created a space big enough for people to pass through.
"Alright, let's go! Push the injured through first."
They pushed the injured from the inside while I pulled them out.
Once all four critically injured people were out, the three with minor injuries helped me carry them.
After getting all seven survivors outside, I went back in once more.
The fact that they were alive meant there could be more survivors.
But.
"Damn it."
The more I searched, the more corpses I found. There was no more luck like before.
Just as I was reaching my physical limits, I noticed a place I'd never seen before.
An unfamiliar metal door. Based on its position, it should have been the Presidential bedroom, and the explosion must have revealed it.
'Was there always a place like this?'
Hoping someone might be inside, I kicked the door open with all my strength.
"Cough, cough!"
Dust billowed up in a thick cloud.
'No one... here.'
Just as I was about to turn around.
'Hm?'
A heavy safe, smashed open by the impact, caught my eye.
Creeeeak.
As if drawn by some invisible force, I opened the safe door.
'What's... this? What is this?'
Inside a palm-sized metal case was a USB drive.
'No idea what it is, but if it was in a safe, it must be important.'
I grabbed the items and headed out of the Presidential Palace.
I was too exhausted to search any further.
Right on cue.
*
Weeeeeooooo!
Dozens of fire trucks were racing toward the Presidential Palace.
With San Marcos mobilizing every resource it had, the response to the explosion progressed rapidly.
Several pieces of construction equipment were deployed to gradually clear the debris from the palace, and hundreds of rescue workers and soldiers were dispatched to search for survivors.
Twenty hours after taking command of the entire operation.
I faced a devastating report.
Seventy-seven survivors. Sixty-three dead. And every single Cabinet minister, including the President and the Prime Minister, confirmed dead.
The bomb's location couldn't have been worse. There were two blast sites: the banquet hall where the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers had gathered, and directly behind the President as he was walking out to meet me. The President's body was too close to the epicenter to even be recovered.
"Haah..."
The deaths of the others didn't quite hit me.
After all, they weren't people I had any attachment to.
But Ian's death was different. He may have deceived me, but he was a friend who believed in me.
Still, there was no time to grieve.
"You need to pull yourself together. Now is not the time for this."
Isabella, who had disappeared earlier, returned looking immaculate and immediately started pushing me.
"But...?"
"You need to go to the broadcasting station right now."
"All of a sudden?"
"You need to inform the public about today's terrorist attack, how we'll respond, and how the government will be run going forward."
"Why would I...?"
"Because."
She sighed before answering.
"You've become the Acting President, Minister."
"What?"
"Acting President. You're the only Cabinet minister who survived."
"Ah..."
Right. I'm the only surviving member of the Cabinet.
By order of succession, the Speaker of the National Assembly should take over, but San Marcos currently has no National Assembly.
The late Sun King, Juan Marcos I, had dissolved it two years ago on grounds of corruption.
The congressmen had been so shamelessly corrupt that he made the decision with overwhelming public support.
"...Doesn't that only apply to San Marcos citizens?"
"Didn't you receive San Marcos citizenship, Minister?"
"Ian said it was honorary citizenship, so I accepted..."
"San Marcos doesn't have honorary citizenship. You became an actual citizen."
Why would they just turn someone into an illegal dual citizen without asking?
"There's no time to waste. You need to go to the broadcasting station immediately."
Isabella grabbed my wrist and pulled.
"...Can't you just make the announcement, Director?"
"You think that would work?"
Her eyes flashed dangerously.
'Isabella... you're scary...'
*
A short while later. I stood at the podium the broadcasting station had prepared, still wearing my shirt soaked in dirt and sweat.
The station had offered to lend me a change of clothes, but Isabella said keeping it this way would be more authentic, so I went as I was.
Gulp.
Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the address to the nation Isabella had handed me and began reading slowly.
"Beloved citizens of the Republic of San Marcos. I stand before you now, in the midst of indescribable grief and sorrow. Today, our founding father and head of state, President Juan Marcos, our young leader who was to guide us into the future, Prime Minister Ian Marcos, and all the Cabinet ministers who devoted themselves to our nation, have left us due to a barbaric terrorist attack."
The prose was remarkably elegant.
"However, we have not been given the luxury of time to mourn. This act of violence was not merely an assassination. It is an overt provocation intended to undermine the sovereignty of the Republic of San Marcos and plunge our nation into chaos."
Truthfully, I was so confused my head was pounding, but I stared into the camera as impassively as possible to avoid causing panic among the citizens.
"But I ask that you, the people, do not waver. San Marcos stands strong. The military and police have already issued emergency alerts across the entire nation and are taking every measure to maintain public order and secure the affected areas."
"We will uphold law and order and fight against all forces that dream of our nation's collapse. I pledge to protect the laws and constitutional spirit of the Republic of San Marcos, to honor the will of His Excellency the President, and to lead this nation without faltering."
"Finally, I issue a stern warning to those who orchestrated this heinous act of terror. Our government will mobilize every national resource to track down the masterminds and perpetrators of this atrocious crime and bring them before the bar of justice."
"As of this moment, by the authority vested in me as a Cabinet minister assuming presidential powers under Article 32, Section 4 of the Constitution, I hereby declare a national emergency and martial law for the Republic of San Marcos."
And so I became the first Korean to ever declare martial law in another country.
"Acting President, Yu-jin Choi."
At this point, I had no idea what was happening anymore...