Busan (5)
Busan (5)
Kkik-kkik-
A seagull flies through the clear sky.
The scent of the sea brushes the tip of my nose.
The rough wind grazes my skin.
Three days after the conversation in the interrogation room,
we have finally arrived in Busan.
The purpose of this trip to Busan is to search for the spy and the forces behind them.
However, if we act with that purpose openly, the enemy might hide, so our surface-level objective is disguised as a vacation.
A vacation granted to us for working hard every single day without rest to manage the Gates.
Shin Su-ah, Baek Yeon, Linnea, and even Haeryeong all came to Busan together.
Even though it's a disguise, fitting the goal of a vacation, our outfits are also simple.
Bright-colored dresses, wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses covering our eyes.
Our group looks, no matter who sees us or from where, exactly like people on vacation.
Shin Su-ah, taking a deep breath and inhaling the sea scent fully, slightly lowered her sunglasses and spoke.
"First, let's drop off our luggage and go eat."
"Sure. Where did you say the accommodations were again?"
"Choi Soo-young booked a hotel suite in advance for us."
"Is there no one to meet us?"
"We can't trust the Busan Association staff yet, so we didn't call for a greeting party. I know the address, and there's a vehicle in the parking lot, so we can just take that."
Baek Yeon leads the way out of the station.
Following her, we head to the parking lot and get into the pre-prepared vehicle.
Now, we just need to drop off our luggage at the accommodations, have a meal or something to relax, and then secretly begin our investigation at night when everyone is least attentive.
Just as everyone boarded the car and we were about to depart.
Kwaaaaaaang!!
With a massive explosion, the car we boarded blew up.
My consciousness slows, and flames rush in from all directions.
No magical power is felt, so it's just flames from an explosive device.
This level wouldn't injure me or most of the party, but Haeryeong is different.
Even an explosion that's trivial to me could hurt that still young and delicate child.
So, just as I was preparing a spell,
suddenly, a semi-transparent protective barrier spreads widely around us, pushing back the flames.
Following the magical energy felt from the barrier, I look to see a light emanating from Shin Su-ah's pocket.
"I brought it just in case, but I didn't think I'd have to use it so soon."
With a laugh that says it's absurd, Shin Su-ah pulls an object from her pocket.
What was inside was a brooch.
A diamond-shaped brooch with a green, grass-like decoration.
Shaking it to show it, Shin Su-ah said.
"It's an item I saved while entering a Gate last time. It's an item that defends against attacks below a certain level once a day."
"You had time to go get that?"
"Should I say I was lucky? There happened to be a Gate among the ones I manage that had this item, so it was easy to get."
I thought she might have been sneaking off to earn money during Gate management again, but it seems that wasn't the case.
Considering the items Shin Su-ah possesses, it was a reasonable suspicion.
Nodding at her words about being lucky, I maintain the barrier and swiftly exit the completely burned-out vehicle.
Since the explosion occurred right after we boarded, it's clear this bomb attack targeting us wasn't limited to just our vehicle; explosions occurred in several vehicles parked inside the parking lot, leaving the entire parking lot in chaos.
"Kyaaaah-!"
"Kuwaaak!! S-save me!!"
"Someone's here! Over here!!"
Screams from people caught in the terror could be heard from all corners of the parking lot.
Perhaps because it's a location with high foot traffic on a weekday afternoon? Just by what's visible, an uncountable number of people are begging for help with both hands.
In a situation where it's unknown if it's a one-time explosion or if there are other bombs or traps, ignoring them and leaving the area would be the wise decision, but my party members aren't cold-hearted enough to ignore people begging for help.
And our lives haven't been easy enough to be frightened by mere traps like this.
"Whoever did this, let's first save who we can."
"Ugh... What kind of mess is this, even on vacation."
"Wasn't the purpose of coming here originally not a vacation?"
"But if there hadn't been a terror attack, we could have rested until we started working, right?"
While voicing complaints and grievances, Shin Su-ah moved as swiftly as Linnea and Baek Yeon to rescue people.
I also assisted by using spells to suppress the fire.
From the middle, with the help of Awakened individuals presumed to be from the Association, we could tidy up the scene even faster.
Once the scene was roughly organized, a man wearing epaulets among the Awakened who seemed to be from the Association, looking of a higher rank than others, approached.
"Aigo, mah, thank you for the help. But what brings folks who should be in Seoul all the way here?"
Words that sound like someone who knows our identities.
Well, there have been various incidents not long ago, and the duo of Baek Yeon and Shin Su-ah, who go around Gates as if taking a neighborhood stroll, are quite famous in the Awakened world.
One Dragon, one human mixed with Dragon, two humans in armor.
It's weirder not to know such a combination.
As soon as our identities were caught, we looked at each other.
'What are you going to do?'
'What do you mean? Now that things have turned out like this, we have to reveal it to some extent.'
'I thought so.'
'If we hide here, we might only invite unnecessary suspicion and make future activities troublesome.'
'Will they go that far?'
'That's just how the Association is.'
In an instant, after a wordless conversation with just our eyes, Baek Yeon stepped forward and spoke.
"You know the Association's manpower has been lacking recently, right?"
"You talk until your mouth gets sore, don't ya? Why state the obvious?"
The man answered with a slightly stern expression, as if asking why state the obvious.
Perhaps because there's too much work, a deep sense of fatigue was evident on the man's face.
"That's why we came to resolve a request secretly entrusted by the Association. But things got complicated the moment we arrived."
"Then this terror attack is also...?"
"Yes. I think it might have been prepared in advance upon hearing news of our arrival."
The man's face immediately twisted into a deep frown upon hearing that the terror attack, with a minimum estimated casualty count in the double digits, and all of them injured civilians, was targeting our party.
Of course, this terror attack isn't our fault.
But no matter if it's for the Association's work, a terror attack involving numerous civilians won't be viewed favorably.
Just before the man, showing clear displeasure, could open his mouth, Baek Yeon added.
"Regarding this operation, among the people at the Seoul Branch who know about it, everyone except the Branch Manager and the Deputy Chief of the Information Department have been captured and are under investigation."
"Then... you mean the information leaked from our side, and that's how this happened."
"That possibility is high."
"Hah..."
The number of staff at the Seoul Awakened Association Branch who know we came to Busan today is very few.
Excluding Branch Manager Gu Do-han and Deputy Chief Choi Soo-young, all staff who know our movements were primarily checked for spies through Baek Yeon and are also secretly under surveillance just in case that wasn't enough.
But a terror attack using explosives as soon as we arrive?
Preparing a terror attack requires time and manpower.
It means the information was passed on long before we departed, and manpower is needed to prepare, move, and install the bombs for the attack.
And there aren't that many groups with that level of manpower and authority.
The side with the highest probability is, of course, the Association.
It's only natural for Baek Yeon to suspect the Association.
The man, already troubled by the terror attack alone, let out a sigh with a complicated expression upon hearing us, the cause of the terror, point to the Association as the culprit, and spoke in a lowered voice as if warning.
"Those words... you'll have to take responsibility for them."
"If you have time for this, shouldn't you go back and check who prepared the terror attack, Deputy Branch Manager Park Gwang?"
"Hah, I'm really gonna go crazy. Boys, finish cleaning up and let's go back!"
"""Yes!!!"""
Finally learning the man's name.
Upon the words of Park Gwang, holding the position of Deputy Branch Manager no less, his subordinate Awakened hurriedly finished tidying up and prepared to return.
The fire and victims have all been handled; the remaining tasks are things the firefighters and police can handle.
The Awakened who gathered in an instant followed Deputy Branch Manager Park Gwang and left.
By the way, who would have thought someone even holding the position of Deputy Branch Manager would be doing field work like this.
As I watched Park Gwang's retreating figure, Baek Yeon asked.
"Are you curious about Park Gwang?"
"Naturally, I'm curious since someone holding a position like Deputy Branch Manager is doing field work."
"Hmm... Since others also seem curious, I'll explain while we move to the accommodations."
Boarding a new vehicle (apparently sent by Choi Soo-young) that I have no idea when was summoned, the party.
Baek Yeon, sitting in the driver's seat, drove towards the hotel, explaining everything she knew about Park Gwang, piece by piece.
Park Gwang.
A man who reached the position of Deputy Branch Manager solely through skill and experience.
He became an Awakened at the young age of early teens and was famous from the moment of his awakening for his high magical power.
However, because he gained fame at too young an age and lacked proper guardians, there were too many people around trying to use him.
Looking back now, it's admirable that despite possessing formidable magical power at a young age, he didn't use that power against the annoying people around him. However, it's said that Park Gwang, who kept accumulating and accumulating stress in his heart, released that stress in a different way.
After saying that far, Baek Yeon paused briefly, wondering if she should say this, then reluctantly opened her mouth.
"Around his second year of high school, he stole a fishing boat and ran away to the Pacific Ocean."
"What the?"