Torch (2)
[Could you say that one more time?]
"That's already the third time."
"I know, but... I still can't bring myself to believe it."
"The Torch is a person? Not some... drug, or a piece of equipment, or something like that?!"
"Yes."
I answered shortly and turned my eyes back toward the inside of the container.
There, in its very center, sat a girl dressed in a lab uniform. Her hair was a tangled mess, various monitoring patches clung to her arms, and near her ankles lay the broken remains of a set of restraints. I could see the marks where she'd somehow torn them off herself. The way she huddled into herself told me she was wary of me.
"She's a kid. I can't tell how old, but..."
"...You're joking, right?"
"I wish I were."
It had never once occurred to me that the Torch might take this form. When I'd been told she could amplify abilities, I'd imagined something like one of those drugs floating around the underworld. What I'd actually found was a person. And one who was still alive, at that.
The real problem started now.
Now that I'd found her, I couldn't exactly just leave her sitting here.
"What do we do with her?"
"Have you tried making contact?"
"No. For now I'm just observing. She seems pretty guarded."
"And her aggression?"
"Hard to say...? She's just been sitting quietly so far. Wary, yes — but nothing that feels threatening."
"Her ability..."
"No idea yet."
It was possible she was powerless. But a being locked inside a container like this — one that only opened after passing through an authentication system — with no powers at all? That made no sense. There'd be no reason to hide away someone truly powerless in a place like this.
"For now... talk her around however you have to, and bring her with you."
"I'm sorry?"
"If that's really the Torch, we need to secure her before anyone else does. And honestly speaking... whatever she is, leaving a kid in a state like that in there is dangerous. Besides..."
Lee Sejin paused for a beat, then added in a lower tone.
"If it were the Commander... she'd have taken her already."
"..."
I said nothing and looked down at the communicator.
I knew he was right. If it were the Commander, she wouldn't have hesitated for a second. Even if the girl turned out to be strange, the Commander would have just walked up smiling, held out a hand like it was nothing, and simply brought her out. She had one of those faces that looked harmless from the very first glance, after all.
The problem was... I wasn't that kind of person.
If I spoke to her, she might bolt. Then would I have to chase her down? What if she suddenly used her ability — would I have to fight her right here? And if she just kept staring without reacting at all, that was its own kind of problem too...
Either way, it was a hassle.
Still, I had to try...
All right. Let's give it a shot.
"Um..."
The moment the words left my mouth, the girl flinched and shrank backward on reflex. ...Right. Of course.
The mask.
I should take that off first. At the very least, I should be talking to her with a human face.
After removing it, I put on a somewhat awkward smile, crouched down, and brought myself to her eye level — as slowly as I could manage without seeming threatening.
"Hi."
I offered the greeting quietly. There was nothing special behind it. Just a way to open the conversation.
She didn't move a muscle. Only her eyes, clear and sharp, stayed fixed on me. But the wariness in them was definitely looser than it had been a moment ago.
"I don't know how long you've been in here..."
I took a breath and went on.
"If I told you I came to rescue you... would you believe me?"
"..."
Still silence. No words came.
"Do you have a name?"
I added, a little more carefully this time. The corner of her mouth twitched faintly, and then her lips parted.
"Yurim... I'm called Kang Yurim..."
It was a tiny voice — the kind of compressed, stifled pronunciation you hear from people who haven't spoken in a long time. Even so, the fact that she'd responded at all was real progress.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"..."
Kang Yurim didn't answer. She only shook her head, up and down.
Well, fine. Quiet was honestly better. Much easier to handle than a full-blown panic.
"It's safe outside right now—"
I had just started to speak when—
KWAAANG—!
A sound like tearing metal split the air. The floor shuddered almost imperceptibly, and the container wall rattled once.
"..."
Ugh... what the hell is she doing out there?
Kang Yurim flinched hard and hunched her shoulders.
"It's okay. That's one of ours. She's a bit noisy when she's fighting, but... she's not usually like that."
At those words, Kang Yurim looked up at me. There was still anxiety in her eyes, but she hadn't fallen apart.
"It's better if we leave now. If you stay in here much longer, it could actually get dangerous."
If the heroes or the Black Society came swarming because of all the noise outside, things would get complicated. And all the more so if word got out that this container had been opened.
I slowly extended my hand again — not quite touching, held at just the distance that left her the choice.
"Will you come with me?"
"Where... to?"
"Hmm... somewhere safer than here, at least."
Kang Yurim hesitated a moment, then asked once more.
"Are you... a hero?"
"Afraid not. But I can promise I won't hurt you."
At that, she gave a small nod. Did she actually understand...?
"That person... said heroes were the ones you mustn't follow. That if you followed them, you'd be sent right back..."
"That person...?"
"Before I came here... someone I talked with... that person..."
"..."
It was far too vague. I had no idea who she meant — but it was clearly something that mattered deeply to her.
"Was that person... someone you could trust?"
Kang Yurim hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod.
"Then I'm sure that person never wanted to see you locked up like this."
"..."
Kang Yurim slowly reached out her hand. At last, the very tips of her trembling fingers came to rest against my palm.
"Is that for real?"
Seo Eunha, sprawled across her bed, shot upright in a hurry.
"That's right — I only just heard myself."
"An engagement broke out on the Black Society's southern turf. It wasn't small. Could be internal infighting, or it could be another organization sticking its nose in."
"If it's another organization..."
"Nightfall. Unconfirmed — but right now, they're the most likely candidates."
"Absolutely not."
The answer was flat and immediate.
"You're still under disciplinary reflection. As far as the Association is concerned, that decision has never been rescinded. If you move now, it'll be logged as unauthorized conduct."
"The Association has decided to observe for the time being. Villain organizations tearing into each other — there's no reason for us to step in. That's the official line from upstairs."
"Let me request deployment. Right now."
"And you think that makes any sense?"
Men you could throw into prison by the dozen and still not feel justice had been done — and they wanted to just watch.
"I understand how you feel. But the more emotional you get about this, the worse it is for you. Act recklessly now and your position — your return — only slips further away."
"..."
Seo Eunha said nothing. She pressed her lips together tightly and lowered her gaze to the floor.
The Branch Manager paused, then added quietly.
"Stand by for now. If anything else comes in, I'll let you know."
With those words, the call cut off. What remained was silence.
Seo Eunha looked down slowly at the phone clenched in her hand.
"Wait, he says..."
She drew a long, deep breath. Then she threw off the blanket and got to her feet.
"Easier said than done."
Phone in hand, she pressed a single speed-dial number. After a few rings, the connect tone cut off and a familiar voice came through.
"Oh, Senior! It's been a while!"
"You haven't come back to duty yet, have you?"
A junior from the surveillance team — someone she'd known for years.
"That's right, still on suspension."
"Ugh, honestly, that whole thing is a crock, isn't it? Nobody inside the Association actually talks bad about you, Senior."
"The Association seems to see it differently."
"Well... I guess the higher-ups are busy playing politics again."
A brief pause in the conversation. Seo Eunha went straight to the point.
"...By any chance, has any material come in about this engagement that just broke out?"
"Oh — is that why you called?"
"Yeah."
"One sec..."
The clatter of a keyboard came through the receiver.
"Got it. Some footage from a scene camera. Not exactly an official channel, but..."
"Can you send me that video?"
"Senior... don't tell me you're going there yourself?"
Seo Eunha drew a short breath and answered.
"I don't want to forget... the reason I'm here in the first place."
It wasn't simply because of the job title of hero. Even without that name, the reason to go to that place would still remain. Some people might call it stubbornness. But it was precisely that stubbornness that had held the line at scenes that should have collapsed. And it was no different now.
"Well... you've always been like that, Senior."
A short laugh. "I'll send you the footage."
"Thanks. Wipe the log and hang up."
"Got it. Be careful out there, Senior."
The call ended, and a video arrived moments later. The noise of the scene, and then... one familiar figure.
Closer.
The masked man, checking something over as he stood there, flickered briefly across the screen. Seo Eunha narrowed her eyes at the display.
"...So he was there after all."
"So... that is our objective?"
Selene's gaze slid toward Kang Yurim, who was clutching my hand with both of hers and refusing to let go.
"Hmm... not quite what I was picturing. Not even remotely, actually..."
She quietly gave Kang Yurim another once-over. Sure enough... a far cry from what I'd expected. Nothing about her screamed dangerous experiment or uncontrollable threat. I still had no idea what her ability was, but there was no need to find out what exactly it did here and now. That could wait.
More pressing was...
I slowly looked around. The Black Society operatives lay sprawled across the ground. Some were half-buried in the wreckage; others lay unconscious with their bodies twisted at grotesque angles; and the executive I'd seen just moments ago had been reduced to a pulp of blood, unmoving.
"..."
I gently covered Kang Yurim's eyes with my palm. Not exactly the kind of scenery a young girl should be looking at.
"Don't you think you went a bit overboard?"
"Hehe... things sort of escalated, emotionally speaking. I mean, come on, Closer, you heard him too — all that trash he was saying about us."
She flashed a sheepish grin and shrugged. "More importantly... what are you going to do with her?"
"Take her with us, obviously. It'd feel wrong to just leave her here."
"Mmm~ got it. In that case, I'd like to head back and take a nap... all this moving around has me worn out."
Selene turned her head away, covering her mouth mid-yawn.
I looked down at Kang Yurim. She was still holding my hand in a death grip, silent. I'd tried slipping free a few times, but she was holding on so tightly that there was no getting loose.
"..."
How on earth had things come to this...
My grip on sanity was starting to pack its bags and leave home, when—
KWAANG—!
An explosive roar, followed by the sound of a wall coming down. One side of the wall caved in, and rubble came hissing down, hammering against the floor.
"...?"
I looked up. Selene lowered the hand she'd been yawning into and turned to look as well.
"Ah — looks like someone else has come to visit."
Through the gap in the freshly half-demolished wall, cutting through dust and light, a figure emerged. A golden halo catching the light. And a face I knew all too well.
No way...
"Valkyrie?"
Hold on — why is she here of all places? No — first things first. The mask.
I was hastily readjusting my mask and trying to get a handle on the situation when Valkyrie's voice rang out.
"Closer! What are you pulling this ti—"
Her words died mid-sentence as her eyes swept the surroundings. Operatives lying fallen or pulsed into bloody pulp across the floor. Selene, drenched in blood, staring straight at her. And me — masked, gripping the hand of a terrified little girl.
Wait a second, this framing looks really, really bad—
"You absolute piece of trash, I'm going to KILL youuuu!!"
...Son of a bitch.
Nothing ever goes my way.