The Mark of the Pine Tree
Afternoon 9 PM, New Seoul Government Building Presidential Office.
Seon Ui-cheol lay on the sofa, taking a moment of rest. The gentle strains of classical music from the spinning LP record soothed his mind and body.
But his legs trembled uncontrollably, and his fingers drummed relentlessly on the armrest. Above all, his gaze refused to leave the sofa opposite him.
If his current state could be summed up in two words, it would be on edge. He was terribly on edge.
Even when he'd won the presidency by a razor-thin 2% margin, he'd greeted it with calm composure. Yet now he was shaking.
Fsssh.
The shadow draped beside the sofa rippled dramatically.
Seon Ui-cheol feigned nonchalance as he lifted his teacup.
"How did it go?"
"Impossible. The defenses are too tight."
Cheongsong thrust forward her burned arm. Her slender wrist was fully exposed.
Seon Ui-cheol slammed the cup down roughly and shouted.
"Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! You think I waited until this hour just to hear that from you?!"
Unlike his usual self, Seon Ui-cheol was losing his temper, but Cheongsong's response was firm.
"Impossible means impossible. Birds watch during the day, and the lighthouse glares all night. The moment we approach Yeouido, attacks come flying."
"Damn it!"
Seon Ui-cheol swallowed his anger with a gulp of tea. His heart yearned to charge into Yeouido right now, snap the necks of those villains, and seize the Cube—but he was powerless. God had granted him near-absolute political power, but no abilities.
In the end, the Pine Tree Unit was the limit of his hero forces for shadowy operations. And even they couldn't attempt infiltration into Yeouido.
Composing himself, Seon Ui-cheol asked,
"Was it that S-rank again?"
"Yes. The slightest gap, and it appears like a ghost to strike. It's particularly fixated on decapitation—must be the one who sent the box."
Seon Ui-cheol rubbed his own neck. The monster that had dumped a box of Pine Tree Unit members' heads on the government building rooftop had passed over his crown at speeds no one could detect.
Gwanggeom had swiftly intercepted, but the monster had casually blocked and escaped, they said.
"Ugh. Still no word from Gwanggeom?"
"No. Nothing yet. In secluded training, so no one knows when he'll emerge."
Seon Ui-cheol clicked his tongue.
"What is this, some wuxia novel? Secluded training in the 21st century."
"Wasn't it you who said reaching transcendence makes it worthwhile, Mr. President?"
Cheongsong retorted with disbelief.
Seon Ui-cheol mumbled, moistened his throat with tea, and said,
"I didn't expect no news for over a week. Look, Cheongsong, can't you just hit S-rank? You've been stuck at A-rank for six years now."
Cheongsong replied in an indignant tone.
"Do you think ability awakening is easy? Tens of thousands of heroes worldwide never rise above C-rank despite lifelong effort."
"Lee Seung-hyung jumped straight to S-rank."
Cheongsong's fist twitched up then down. Her hand, peeking from charred clothes, was pale and delicate enough for the phrase "jade fingers."
"Hwagwon's the anomaly. Flame mages reaching S-rank number fewer than ten in history. Whether from awakening backlash or not, he's still recuperating in the hospital with Snow Flower Princess."
"...So we can't even touch Yeouido. Sigh."
Seon Ui-cheol sighed deeply. Circumstantially, the Cube was surely in the hands of those vile villains. No trace of the S-rank monster at the National Assembly, and reports of villains welcoming the special envoy there—solid circumstantial evidence.
"No choice. We can only hope they don't grasp the Cube's true power. Cheongsong, preparations complete?"
"Yes. All ten heroes are sedated. Starting the branding in the research wing tonight—should take about a week."
Cheongsong traced her finger across her neck.
Seon Ui-cheol smiled with some relief.
"Good. They learned the truth, but we can't just kill them outright. Got to muzzle them. Thanks to you, I sleep soundly again tonight. Always grateful."
"......No problem."
Cheongsong turned away, seemingly embarrassed.
Seon Ui-cheol eyed her subtly and asked,
"Something wrong?"
"No. Just..."
Cheongsong paused.
"Do you truly wish for me to reach S-rank, Mr. President?"
"......Hah, been dwelling on that?"
Seon Ui-cheol chuckled heartily.
"Don't mind it. You said it yourself—S-rank is brutally hard. Can't be helped. No need to push."
"......."
As Cheongsong fell silent, Seon Ui-cheol hurriedly added,
"Don't go into some secluded training like Gwanggeom, alright? I can't do anything without you. You basically put me in this seat."
"...Understood."
Cheongsong bowed her head. She vanished into the shadows from her seated position.
Seon Ui-cheol silently drained the remaining tea.
"Tch."
The tea's aftertaste was bitter.
He closed his eyes, tuning into the music.
"That one's no good anymore either."
His soliloquy, unheard by any, dissolved into the air on the melody.
Cheonghwa-dan Hideout.
The Cube is somewhere in the Daejeon Research Complex.
My bombshell—truly a bombshell—left the executives speechless.
"Huh...."
"No, that's just..."
Except for Deok-bae, they all shared the same dumbfounded reaction.
Kim Ji-hwa shot up from his seat, yelling,
"If that's true, we should head there right now!"
"Calm down."
Ryu Cheon-seong raised a hand to restrain him. His glare at Ji-hwa held reproach, but the brief glance my way carried accusation.
"Listen, Leader. Do you know who's researching the Cube? You know how vast the Daejeon Research Complex is, right?"
"...No? But I have suspicions."
Ryu Cheon-seong paused at my words, then nodded.
"I see. Can't move without certainty, then."
I snapped my fingers in affirmation at his words. The others looked puzzled.
I explained simply for their sake.
"The labs are inside Gwanggeom's 'domain.' Step in, and he'll pounce."
"Ah."
"Gwanggeom...."
Everyone groaned in realization. The weight of that name was immense.
"So Daejeon is off-limits. Unless Gwanggeom leaves New Seoul. Which means we focus on our tasks here in Seoul."
"True. Seoul alone has mountains of issues piled up."
Ryu Cheon-seong chimed in. Perfect timing to wrap up.
"Yes. And look."
I pointed to my smartwatch. It was past 9 PM, nearing 10.
"We've all worked hard lately, right? Eased some burdens negotiating with the special envoy. Tomorrow's Saturday for once, so..."
Their faces brightened. They got the hint.
"Let's take the weekend easy? Sorry for keeping you late. Everyone, get some solid sleep. Cheonghwa-dan executives—dismissed!"
With that, the meeting ended.
Same time, New Seoul outskirts hotel.
"How long do we have to stay holed up here?!"
Lee Gi-seong pounded the door, demanding answers. The thuds shook the glass window toward the wall, but the guards outside stayed silent.
"Damn it!"
Lee Gi-seong kicked the door viciously. The steel dented under his shoe heel. Still, no response from outside.
"Huff, huff."
He calmed with deep breaths and slumped onto the bed.
From Anyang, loaded into vehicles, a brief photo op for reporters, then straight to this remote New Seoul hotel—they'd been shuttled without pause.
Rest up after weeks of hardship; stay the night, prepare for tomorrow.
The government had provided top-tier facilities out of consideration for the heroes, but to Lee Gi-seong, this room felt more like a prison than Yeouido's shabby ones.
No, it was a prison. They'd been re-imprisoned in New Seoul—not for surviving, but for learning a truth they shouldn't have.
"Seon Ui-cheol, that bastard...."
Lee Gi-seong muttered lowly.
Pine Tree Unit. Civilian massacres. Crimes no hero, no human, could tolerate.
But Lee Gi-seong lacked power. A weak C-rank hero, bitten by a hellhound in the Seoul reclamation op. Hero Wiki called him "righteous and dutiful, but talent lags"—a brutally honest assessment.
"If we just sit here..."
He rubbed his collarbone. Nothing yet, but by night's end, a sentence would be etched there.
The Pine Tree mark. He and the abducted heroes—innocent—would be branded as Pine Tree Unit slaves under Seon Ui-cheol.
Suddenly, a woman's coquettish, laughing voice echoed in his mind.
Ignore the truth and return to normalcy if you like. But next time we meet as Pine Tree Unit, we're enemies? Puhuhu.
"Damn, that's exactly what they said."
He'd been skeptical. Villainous sweet-talk, he'd thought.
But witnessing heroes slaughter civilians had planted seeds of doubt, which sprouted in this hotel isolation.
Cut off from outside contact. Just one night.
Knock knock.
A knock sounded. Lee Gi-seong straightened up hastily.
"Pardon the intrusion."
The heavy steel door opened, admitting a woman in a black suit. From head to toe in black, her chest badge read "Monster Countermeasures Division." No name.
Lee Gi-seong tensed instinctively. She pushed, and the door sealed shut.
Late night, isolated hotel room, man and woman alone. He swallowed hard.
She smirked.
"C-rank hero Agent Lee Gi-seong. Sorry for the late hour. Preparations are ready—time to move."
"...Where to?"
Lee Gi-seong eyed her up and down—not lecherously (though her figure was fine), but to check for mana residue.
None. She wasn't an ability user.
He sighed inwardly in relief.
She replied kindly,
"To check for dimension gate aftereffects at Daejeon Research Complex. Even closed, residues might linger, right?"
"Ah, yes."
Makes sense, Lee Gi-seong thought. An inexplicable unease crept up.
Silence. Only the clock ticked.
She glanced at her smartwatch, scanned the room. Her eyes landed on the table's meal tray.
"No dinner?"
Porridge, soup, supplements. Consideration for long-fasting heroes.
Lee Gi-seong made an embarrassed excuse.
"I don't like liquids much..."
He avoided her gaze. Her stare pierced like a drill.
"Haa."
Her deep sigh shook his heart—pity for a picky hero, laced with faint irritation.
She tapped her smartwatch.
"Causing trouble at the last minute."
Bang!
The steel door burst open. Black-suited men with sunglasses stormed in, necks scarved.
"...!"
Lee Gi-seong jolted up, kicking his chair. But the suits pinned him to his knees faster.
Weak mana pulsed from their gloved hands on his shoulders.
The woman tugged her tie down, unbuttoning her top shirt. At her collarbone's end, the Pine Tree mark peeked out.
"What?!"
No mana at all.
She smirked at his shocked eyes.
"Curious? Too bad, not telling."
She drew a tiny syringe—like for dolls—from her pocket. Purple liquid swirled inside.
"Sleep a bit and wake up. Everything will be different. Sigh, why fuss over food and make trouble."
Poke.
The needle pierced his neck. With a sense of mana evaporating, Lee Gi-seong lost consciousness.
♪♬
The now-empty hotel room. A tiny canary hidden in the ceiling slipped out the window, flying leisurely to the rooftop.
Vrrr.
The night breeze was cold. A pretty half-moon hung in the sky.
Step, step.
Footsteps echoed in the dark. I greeted him warmly at the rooftop railing.
"Sharp instincts. Thought you might not notice."
"You said no B-rank or below as executives? So I can't dismiss."
Right. Still C-rank Deok-bae wasn't an executive.
He'd caught the implication in my last words and come alone.
Executives dismissed. Deok-bae was just a grunt sitting there by tenure.
"A-rank instincts, huh? Thanks to the spirit stone?"
"Skip it. Get to the point. ...You're going, right?"
I nodded.
Deok-bae pressed his temple, pained.
I patted his shoulder with a grin.
"Just a quick recon. Got it?"
"Without mentioning Daejeon with Gwanggeom. Sigh. Can you even beat Gwanggeom?"
"Beat him?"
I pointed to the ground.
"No one on this Earth can take me 1v1 solo."
"Curious about your baseless confidence source, but say you can beat Gwanggeom even 1%. Then what after?"
"After?"
At my question, Deok-bae nodded.
"Japan and China gonna sit idle? Round Table dispatches to New Seoul the moment Gwanggeom falls."
"Japan unknown, but China likely."
Hwagwon hospitalized, Snow Flower Princess training after her humiliating loss to me. Gwanggeom aside, their prestige was dented.
If Gwanggeom died now, Korea's hero forces would halve—not exaggeration.
"Those Chinese were camped off the West Sea during the gates too."
And Japan and China would swallow Korea whole. The chaotic world wouldn't spare the tiny Far East nation.
Deok-bae crossed his arms, uneasy.
"We said avoid worst-case."
"Fine. We can handle two then."
"Who? Cheon Ga-eul?"
I shook my head.
"My kin."
"...That spirit? Hey, wait. Gwanggeom and spirits connected?"
"Obviously. Ah, signal."
Mana waves pulsed from the distant south.
I stood on the railing, dusting my hands.
"If anyone's looking, say Phoenix went nightclubbing."
Whoosh.
My vision tinged blue. Brief vertigo, then eyes open on the hotel rooftop where the mini-phoenix hid.
I'd transferred via the mini-phoenix attached to Lee Gi-seong.
Vrooom!
Lee Gi-seong and the heroes sped away in roaring engines.
I quietly descended the rooftop, vanishing into the woods.