Crossroads (1)
‘Oh no...!’
The anxiety had become reality. The warning light hadn’t gone out yet, but Go Cheon-su was already on his feet, striding down the aisle.
“What the hell are you doing? Sit down!”
A soldier seated near the aisle grabbed Go Cheon-su’s arm and shouted. Go Cheon-su seized the soldier’s arm, yanking it down as he spoke.
“Got a question.”
“Huh? What...”
“Where’s this plane headed?”
The soldier blinked in confusion at the question.
“What do you mean, where...”
“Won’t answer? Fine, I’m going.”
Go Cheon-su shook off the soldier’s hand and kept walking down the aisle. At the end, he pulled back the curtain to reveal a woman sitting there.
“...!”
She looked startled—the flight attendant he hadn’t noticed when boarding.
“Where’s this plane going?”
Go Cheon-su fired off the question without preamble. The attendant’s face filled with panic.
“You mean the destination?”
“Exactly that.”
Go Cheon-su had already confirmed it: the plane wasn’t heading south.
“Where the hell are we going?!”
“C-calm down.”
The attendant gestured at him placatingly.
“Sit down first. It’s dangerous.”
“Tell me that much, and I’ll sit. So spill.”
It wasn’t like he was asking for state secrets. Unless she was hiding something.
“Destination’s Jeju Island. Didn’t they tell you when you boarded...”
That was all he needed to hear. Go Cheon-su bolted toward the cockpit door and pounded on it.
“Captain! Captain...!”
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
Several nearby soldiers unbuckled and rushed over, grabbing him.
“Stop it!”
“What the hell’s your problem?!”
“Get back to your seat!”
Go Cheon-su yelled back as they dragged him away.
“Back to my seat? Do you even know where this plane’s headed...?”
Go Cheon-su’s scuffle with the soldiers turned the cabin into chaos.
“What’s going on?”
“He’s asking where the plane’s headed...”
“Isn’t it Jeju?”
Passengers peered out windows, faces etched with unease.
“Let go!”
Go Cheon-su wrenched his arm free from the soldiers and shouted.
“We need to know where we’re supposed to be going!”
“It’s Jeju, we told you!”
“Why are you making a scene?!”
Go Cheon-su scowled at the protesting soldiers.
“Making a scene? Is this plane definitely going to Jeju?!”
The wrong person in the cockpit could spell disaster. He had to figure out what was happening on this flight.
‘One wrong move, and we’re dead!’
If the plane crashed elsewhere, survival odds plummeted. The fallout from the commotion was secondary. The real issue was the uncertainty—no intel meant no plan.
“Ask the captain! What the hell are we doing right now?!”
Go Cheon-su hadn’t felt any turn since locking onto north. Even a gradual shift shouldn’t feel this seamless, not with his enhanced senses. If they weren’t going south, he needed the destination. For peace of mind.
“Ask the captain what...?”
Thud.
The plane jolted violently. The soldiers stumbled mid-grapple.
“Wh-what was that?”
“Turbulence?”
“Turbulence?”
Thud-thud-thud.
The shaking intensified wildly. Soldiers toppled everywhere.
“Ngh?!”
“What the—?”
“Aaaah!”
Screams erupted as Go Cheon-su gripped a nearby seat, holding steady.
“What the fu—...!”
Glancing out the window, he caught a fleeting glimpse of something.
Boom!
Another impact rocked the plane.
“Kyaaah!”
“Uwaaaah!”
Screams filled the air as Go Cheon-su bit his lip and bellowed.
“Hey, you guys know something! I saw it—tell me what it was!”
Pilot speaking! Unidentified monsters are pursuing us. Everyone stay seated and—
Boom.
The plane shuddered again. The pilot’s words cut off.
But the pilot wasn’t the problem. Go Cheon-su peered out the window again.
Insects. Monsters with thin wings and bodies slamming into the fuselage.
Crack!
The Maple Fly that hit didn’t recover—it spun like a top and plummeted.
Go Cheon-su swallowed hard.
“Damn it.”
Monsters in the sky too? The difficulty was way higher than expected.
“Couldn’t you guys have warned me not to board...!”
The shock had already hit. Bracing in the shaking cabin, Go Cheon-su exhaled heavily.
“Couldn’t give a heads-up at least...!”
Han Do-choe was probably the only one with that much affection, but he couldn’t hold back the gripe.
Vain hope. Maybe she thought surviving this would win over other viewers. Go Cheon-su rubbed his face.
“Bro, why you gotta say such stingy shit.”
It was true, though. Viewers didn’t hand out free Zen.
‘The truth stings even more, damn it.’
Numerically, Han Do-choe had more Zen left, but if it was their livelihood currency too, she might’ve burned through most helping him. So she had to throw him into the deep end, betting on his skills.
“Can’t argue if you believe in me.”
Go Cheon-su’s eyes widened at the manager’s words.
‘Crashing...?’
The manager had slipped key info while baiting the mission.
‘It’s gonna crash?’
No one else had said that much, but Han Do-choe must’ve picked Ulbu-jjimneun Jeongsin-byeongja as manager for these clutch drops. Thanks for that.
Go Cheon-su grabbed a soldier.
“Parachutes! Any on board?”
This was a passenger plane—unlikely due to fuel/weight, but worth checking.
“Parachutes? No way...”
He released the evasive soldier and clutched his head.
“We’re screwed!”
It had already happened, basically. Go Cheon-su swallowed, scanning around.
‘Still... okay for now?’
Shaken by impacts, but holding. He checked the window—no more Maple Flies.
‘That’s it...!’
One-hit kills. As long as the fuselage held, they were good short-term.
“Whew.”
Go Cheon-su slumped into his seat.
“False alarm, bros. Overreacted.”
Panic stemmed from no solid info. Now with data, no need to flail.
“No drink service? Throat’s dry now that I’m chill.”
“Oh, right!”
Go Cheon-su shot up again. The plane wasn’t southbound.
“One more question.”
He approached the attendant again.
“Ask where this plane’s headed. Urgent.”
She swallowed, nodding, then picked up the intercom near the cockpit door, spoke briefly, and turned back.
“Uh, they say it’s hard to answer right now.”
“Hard how? What’s that mean?”
“Sky south is swarming with those monsters. Other planes ahead radioed they were crashing...”
No easy breaks, huh.
“So where’s the new heading?”
“Nearest other airport.”
“What?”
Totally unexpected. Go Cheon-su had to ask.
“Other airport? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Not Jeju—where then?
“I-I don’t know exactly.”
The attendant seemed to read his mind.
“Captain thinks south airspace is blocked. That’s all I got...”
“I’ll ask myself.”
As Go Cheon-su reached for the intercom, she blocked him.
“Wait!”
“What?”
“Be satisfied with that. I told you on my own. Captain won’t tell passengers, whatever he decides.”
“Huh?”
Not telling passengers, but spilling to him?
“Hiding the destination and just flying?”
“Avoids panic. Told you ’cause you seem sharp—please drop it.”
Her eyes trembled. She was on edge too.
Go Cheon-su sighed.
“So there is a safe landing spot? Can’t just float around.”
“Well...”
“Gimme that much certainty.”
No 7.5 Division-style bullshit.
She hesitated, then nodded.
“That much, yes. Don’t worry too much.”
“For real?”
Go Cheon-su eyed the sealed cockpit door, then her.
“Yes, really.”
Her hollow gaze pleaded to stop. Message received.
“Got it.”
No point pushing; soldiers were calming folks, eyes on him now.
“Gimme a drink then.”
“Pardon?”
“Thirsty. Don’t know where they’re kept.”
Sensing his retreat, she brightened and fetched one.
“Back to your seat now. Keep what I said to yourself, please...”
“Don’t sweat it.”
He wouldn’t blab.
‘Just stirs shit up.’
No benefit if others knew they weren’t hitting Jeju straight—pure chaos.
“Hmm.”
People whispered as he sauntered back with a drink amid the fear.
“What the...?”
“Guess he is weird.”
Perfect cover—his earlier fuss chalked up to weirdo antics.
“Bros.”
Go Cheon-su sipped his drink, glancing at Heukgu beside him.
“Remember that mission the manager mentioned earlier?”