The Forbidden Fruit
I massaged my temples with one hand, trying to rein in my irritation, when Yu Seong spoke up cautiously.
“Why? Is Steel making a move?”
“No. The weak one is moving.”
“Then isn’t that an easy job?”
“I wish it were that simple. And while it’s weaker than Steel, it’s not actually weak.”
On the contrary, because it didn’t rely on raw power, it could be even more troublesome. That made it all the more dangerous and cunning.
“It’s a person. There are signs that a new hallucinogen made using catalysts… a new type of drug, is about to make landfall in Seoul.”
“Drugs?”
My head started to throb. What were drugs, exactly? They granted humans pleasures they could never experience in a lifetime, creating an insatiable craving while destroying the body—an absolutely forbidden realm. Because anyone could reach it without restrictions, they were incredibly dangerous.
It wasn’t a lie. The reason drugs were hard to obtain was because the law and public authority prohibited them. But what if those laws didn’t exist? What if that public authority was so busy dealing with monsters that it couldn’t spare attention for anything else?
“…I’m not entirely sure, but wouldn’t it be better if we caught more monsters and left the police—who’d finally have some breathing room—to handle it?”
“Yes, that’s how it usually works.”
Usually, yes. But this wasn’t usual.
“However, if there are Awakened on their side, the story changes a little.”
Modern weapons didn’t become completely useless like they did against certain territorial spirits, but Awakened who came from the game could usually withstand rifle fire. I knew this because I’d seen it when law enforcement tried to subdue criminal Awakened—they used rifles. If those people charged while enduring the bullets, even a special forces unit would be like a person tied in front of a speeding dump truck.
So what was the solution? When asymmetric power appeared, you needed Awakened of your own to balance the scales.
“According to the information, the ones operating on the outskirts of South Chungcheong are trying to move up to Seoul. From there to Incheon, then Incheon to Seoul. Prototypes are already circulating in Incheon, so we have to catch them in the early stages.”
If we didn’t, the collapse of public order would become reality.
“Huh? There’s a photo.”
A photograph was tucked inside the letter. The moment I saw the subject of the photo, an uncontrollable surge of irritation and shock made my grip tighten on the parts of the letter I wasn’t holding. My lower lip curled in, and my upper teeth pressed down hard on it.
“Yu Seong, can you watch the store and Dohwa for a bit?”
-Creak.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, the Chief of Staff raised a hand to stop me, finished his phone call, then looked my way.
“Please, have a seat. I put you on the schedule because I figured you’d come right away.”
No wonder. I had walked quickly, but no one had tried to stop me at all.
“Since you already knew the situation was serious enough that I’d come running immediately, this conversation should go quickly.”
I placed the photograph on the table as I spoke. The fruit captured in the image was a berry-tomato-sized specimen with a near-black purple shell and a green stem.
Dream-Soul Play Fruit.
The greatest sweetness bestowed by Changcheon Amgui, and a taboo for all mortals. The other heavenly gods hadn’t forbidden it for nothing. Because of its curse, it could not bear fruit beneath the sun—yet to bear fruit, it required sunlight. A contradiction. That was why it was so rare.
And why it was equally dangerous.
In the game, this had gone beyond a simple drug problem and had even been used in acts of terror. And the problem was—
“Why was this photographed by the sea? In broad daylight, no less. Unless…”
“It’s not what you’re thinking. A trustworthy friend took the photo. That’s why he sent it via black messenger pigeon—I wanted to ask for your advice.”
Something that should not exist beneath the sky had been captured on film.
“There are two possibilities. Either a fully ripened Play Fruit was placed there, or the curse of the heavenly gods hasn’t reached this world yet, allowing it to bear fruit even under the sun. Since you’ve ruled out the former, it must be the latter.”
If that was the case, it was truly dangerous. We wouldn’t be talking about kindergarten or whatever—we’d need to start looking at evacuation plans immediately.
“In other words… it also means that Jogwangshin’s curse hasn’t reached Earth yet… At the very least, it doesn’t seem like Jogwangshin himself is present.”
It was a hopeful guess. After all, if a god truly existed, there was no guarantee it would only bring good to humanity.
“Lady Dowol, I heard you aren’t hunting monsters until March.”
“That’s right. I have a student, and I need to prepare to send Dohwa to kindergarten.”
Which was exactly why I couldn’t allow drugs to circulate on the streets. No—something even more horrific than that.
“The fact that you’re telling me this… I can take it as a request, correct?”
“Yes. It’s an arrest warrant with all administrative procedures and paperwork omitted. Depending on the situation, lethal force without warning may also be authorized.”
“Pardon me, but that sounds insane.”
It wasn’t the kind of thing one should say to the Presidential Chief of Staff, but what he was suggesting wasn’t something that should come from his mouth either.
“If I hadn’t seen the report on the Play Fruit, and if His Excellency hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t be doing this. You all know, don’t you? That this fruit can be used as a biochemical weapon.”
I did. If a thick fog were infused with a massive amount of Dream-Soul Play Fruit juice, it could intoxicate every human inside it. And if someone infiltrated during that time and attacked—even just once—the intoxicated victims would be unable to tell friend from foe and would slaughter one another.
If that spread through Seoul…
“We have to stop it. Even if it means killing every single ringleader and displaying their heads as a warning.”
“…First, I’d like to clarify that this request is not included in our ‘deal.’”
“There’s a contract on the very last page.”
I checked the contract. The compensation was satisfactory… In simple terms, it guaranteed me a degree of freedom of action, included grim clauses like authorization for lethal force, and the other pages listed the personal information of the criminals.
But the most important thing was missing.
“Among them, who is the Awakened?”
“Probably an outsider. It seems they’ve made contact with a relatively weak violent organization. Other groups aiming for the Play Fruit are also expected to gather.”
“So all I need to know is that there will be many hostile Awakened.”
I had a feeling this would turn into a brutal, bloody fight.
“Today’s meal was wonderful, Miss Su-kyung.”
It wasn’t the simple ration packs that were normally distributed, but a proper restaurant meal. The height of luxury.
‘He’s handsome and capable, but…’
Yet Kim Su-kyung couldn’t truly enjoy the Awakened man’s kindness. People whispered about women who dated Awakened—especially when the Awakened was a man and the woman was an ordinary person. They said the woman was just clinging to him for survival.
“I should have mentioned this sooner… My job has finally stabilized. I’ll be able to return to work soon.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful news.”
The neatly dressed Awakened man seemed pleased. But from Kim Su-kyung’s perspective, it was hard to tell whether he was genuinely happy or just saying the words.
“So I think I should head back today. There’s… a lot I need to prepare.”
The smile on Lee Ho-cheol’s face—the Awakened man—faded into disappointment. Even someone completely oblivious could tell this was a signal that she wanted to stop seeing him.
“…I see. Then I’ll escort you home. It’s getting dark, and it’s dangerous to walk alone.”
“…”
Lee Ho-cheol looked at her with an expression that practically begged her not to refuse this one thing, but Kim Su-kyung remained silent.
-Boom!
-Rumble rumble rumble.
“Kyaa!”
Right then, a magnitude 3 earthquake shook Seoul for a full minute. Kim Su-kyung let out a sharp scream at the unfamiliar tremor and lost her balance for a moment, but Lee Ho-cheol caught her and kept her from falling. It was the most intense physical contact they’d had since they met.
“Are you alright?”
“…Thank you.”
Kim Su-kyung thanked him, but the awkward atmosphere returned as she quickly pulled away from his touch. Still, Lee Ho-cheol didn’t want to lose the chance, so he tried to continue the conversation.
“Earthquakes have been frequent lately. They say it’s happening all over the world, and in the worst-hit areas, new terrain is rising up.”
“New… terrain? Then, could Seoul…?”
“Ah, no! That only happens with magnitude 9 or higher mega-earthquakes. Seoul is perfectly safe!”
‘…Am I an idiot?’
Fear bloomed in Kim Su-kyung’s eyes, and Lee Ho-cheol immediately regretted bringing up the absolute worst possible conversation topic. In the end, he couldn’t say another word to her until he had escorted her all the way home.
“It’s been two months. I’m so glad to see all of you again.”
She didn’t talk about family. Someone might have died, or they might have become an Awakened and gone off to fight. So she held back as much as possible. Instead, she was simply grateful to see the people in front of her once more.
“But… all the flowers have died.”
Kim Su-kyung looked at the flowerbed visible through the window. While everyone had been focused on their own survival, the flowerbed had withered away.
“Ah, about that—I have something good. I was going to order flowers from the florist, but instead I received this. I heard the person who gave it to me obtained a magic that lets you grow plants.”
“Magic?”
“…Or was it a talisman? Anyway, it makes flowers bloom quickly and then keeps them fresh. That’s all it does, apparently.”
The director smiled as he pulled a wooden plaque from his pocket. Green-tinted Chinese characters were carved into it. Kim Su-kyung wondered how such a convenient object could exist, but compared to magic that created fireballs, making flowers bloom seemed… incredibly simple.
She cleared away the dead flowers, planted new seeds, and pushed the wooden plaque into the soil beside them.