Chapter 5

EP 2 - The Red Han River's Psychic (2)

"Seungmun, no. Councilor Han. Come here."

I was poking the cheeks of the baby that Chanhwa, the sick man's wife, was holding, but I got up and ran over at Yang Pansuk's call. It had become a routine to automatically run when Yang Pansuk called "Seungmun." It's sad.

"The Ilsan Bridge has collapsed."

Shit.

The reason I thought it was shit wasn't because the bridge had collapsed.

Yang Pansuk sighed as he looked at the collapsed Ilsan Bridge, which had blocked the Han River.

"What do we do... We can't go by yacht."

"Head to the riverside, the riverside."

"Huh?"

"North, the riverside! Quickly to the right riverside!"

The monster is targeting people. To collapse a bridge, it needs to go down.

But why would the monster go down? There are many more people on the bridge. Therefore, the idea that the monster went down to the bridge and destroyed the pillars supporting it seemed a bit far-fetched.

Maybe it has intelligence, but that would be a problem too. The issue isn't that.

We've passed under many bridges, including the Yanghwa Bridge, and they were all fine. The problem is that the Ilsan Bridge is the outermost bridge.

It's possible that something came from the sea and entered the Han River, destroying the bridge.

In other words,

"There might be a monster in the water."

There was no time to explain. Yang Pansuk immediately headed north along the riverside at full speed.

That was a mistake.

The sudden increase in engine noise called out to the creature in the water.

-Boom!

A massive impact hit the yacht. The yacht was moving at full speed toward the northern riverside.

"What, what is this!"

"AAAAH!"

-Boom!

A stronger impact hit the yacht than before.

I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Swim in the direction the yacht is heading! We need to go that way!"

-Crunch!

The third impact sounded different. I knew without looking that the back of the yacht was destroyed.

Stay calm. If the attacks from behind gradually destroy the yacht, getting out through the side door now is a gamble.

I took out a fire extinguisher and threw it to my sister with all my strength.

"Sister! Use this to break the front of the yacht!"

Yeo Doyeon picked up the fire extinguisher and ran at full speed. She forcefully smashed the front windshield. I took off my suit to protect Yang Pansuk from the shards.

The yacht is close to the riverside.

"Get out through the front windshield!"

My sister and my aides followed my instructions and moved to the front of the yacht. In reality, it's a suicidal act. There's no other exit except the narrow front window.

So the students went out the side of the yacht. The families were at a loss and remained still.

-Creak!

The fourth impact caused two students to fall into the Han River. One who hadn't gone outside yet came back into the yacht, sobbing.

My sister and Yang Pansuk had already escaped through the front window of the yacht onto the deck, and Ilho was pushing Ihoe's buttocks from behind to help her escape.

The families were slowly moving to the front of the yacht.

-Boom!

The stern of the cabin was destroyed, and the monster's head was clearly visible. The yacht was on fire. People were frantically running to the front of the yacht. Damn, now it's my turn to go.

The monster is a 30-meter-long giant crocodile. It has six eyes, and its teeth are even sharper. And it's purple.

"AAAAH!"

And it shoots tentacles from its mouth. The sick man's young daughter was grabbed by the ankle.

Naturally, the sick man and I each grabbed one of the daughter's hands.

"Jiyun!"

"Daddy!"

It's a terrifying standoff.

The girl, caught by the tentacles from the monster's mouth.

And the father, holding her hand.

And me.

Looking back, the yacht had reached the riverside, and people were getting off onto the land.

In front of us, the giant crocodile had its mouth open. The tentacles from its mouth had grabbed the girl, and the sick man and I were barely holding onto her.

I'm a quick thinker.

If, if I let go of the girl's hand, the father and daughter will be dragged into the mouth together. While the monster is chewing them, I could escape.

It's a moment of hesitation.

I quickly ran forward, kicked the tentacle with my foot, and fell over.

The tentacle released, and the girl was embraced by the sick man.

The monster closed its mouth.

My foot was bitten.

"Seungmun!"

I heard Yeo Doyeon's scream. She broke the glass with her body and ran toward me.

But it's too late. The crocodile, with my foot in its mouth, went into the water.

*

I was rescued by Yeo Doyeon.

But I lost my leg.

While the crocodile was eating the remains of the yacht, Yeo Doyeon quickly grabbed me and escaped.

The crocodile tried to bite me again but only managed to tear off my empty clothing.

"Councilor Han!"

"Ah! Councilor!"

We barely made it to the riverside. The yacht was being dragged into the water right in front of us, and I was panting in Yeo Doyeon's arms.

"Is this my back? My chest?"

"Shut up...! You bastard...!"

She hugged me tightly. She buried her nose in my head and cried.

The sick man approached me, sobbing.

"Councilor...! Really, thank you...!"

He saw my empty left foot and fell to his knees.

"Thank you...! You saved our Jiyun...!"

I mumbled in a daze.

"Sister."

"What?"

"From now on, don't say my leg was lost in a traffic accident. Say it was bitten off by a crocodile in the Han River."

Her bear hug turned into a chokehold.

"Choke! Choke! AAAH!"

"......Die, you bastard."

Jiyun was dazed in her mother's arms, and the sick man finally realized my leg was originally disabled and regained his smile.

Yang Pansuk, with a half-dead look, was lying down and unbuttoning his tie, while Yang Ilho and Ihoe were passionately kissing.

Only one student, who had lost two friends, was staring blankly at the red Han River. He was the only friend I didn't know the name of.

......I suddenly thought.

When Yeo Doyeon rescued me, her movements were more like a monster's than a human's.

*

"......The sun is setting. Let's move quickly."

I can't walk now because my left foot is gone below the ankle.

My sister and the sick man helped me.

Occasional moans could be heard from the collapsed bridge, but we were no longer the kind of people who could pay attention to such things.

We were covered in the sticky mud of the Han River and entered a nearby abandoned factory, drenched and in a mess.

It was probably a factory until this afternoon, but from now on, it's an abandoned factory.

Yang Pansuk groaned at the factory door.

"Oh, it's locked."

It's time to test a hypothesis.

"Sister. Try to break that lock with your hands."

"......Do you want to die?"

"No, really."

Yeo Doyeon always understood my mood well. Knowing I was serious, she picked up the lock with a slightly hesitant look.

-Creak!

"Wow!"

"Snap!"

"Phew...!"

"Whoa!?"

"Damn."

All kinds of exclamations flew out. The last "damn" was Yeo Doyeon's own exclamation.

"I'll explain later. Let's go in first."

The sunset was gradually fading. We entered the abandoned factory.

*

Fortunately, this factory produced fabric, and we could find warm blankets.

Everyone was shivering from the cold, especially the sick man's youngest son, who was in a slightly worrying condition as a newborn.

Councilor Yang Pansuk. Yeo Doyeon. Yang Ilho. Ihoe.

The sick man, his wife, daughter, and son.

The student who lost two friends.

This was our group, and I was the implicit leader, proven by my judgment and self-sacrifice. The sick man, representing the families, cautiously asked me.

"Would it be okay to start a fire...?"

The fire might attract monsters, but if we spend the night shivering like this, the newborn might die, and most of us would catch a cold.

"......Ilho, Ihoe. Let's block all the gaps where light can escape with the scraps of fabric scattered around here. Sister, help too."

"Ah, thank you...!"

"Do you have a lighter, Mr. Sick Man?"

The sick man, apparently a smoker, searched his body and said he must have dropped it earlier.

Right. Yang Pansuk was the smoker.

"Councilor, do you have a lighter...?"

"I don't carry a lighter... I always have someone light my cigarettes."

Right. This old man always had someone light his cigarettes for him.

"Oh, right."

I took out a lighter from my inner pocket.

"Why do you still have it?"

"I forgot to return it..."

"Are you not going to light my cigarettes anymore?"

"I'll keep it from now on."

The situation was serious, but we managed to laugh a little.

Only the student who lost his friends was sitting quietly in a corner.

*

"Thanks to you, Councilor, we've saved our lives several times today."

"Ah, Councilor? My term hasn't even started yet..."

"Still, you're an elected official. By the way, was today your first day?"

"How did it end up like this..."

We were warming ourselves around the fire like a campfire.

"......Brother, what do you think?"

Yang Ilho asked with a worried look, but

"How would I know?"

That was all I could say.

"......Sister."

"......"

"Sister."

"Yes."

Yeo Doyeon had been in a serious state since she broke the lock with her hands.

"Before the crocodile dragged me in, you broke the glass with your body, right?"

"......"

"Are you hurt?"

This was both a concern and implied something else.

"......No."

"I think you didn't move at human speed back then."

"I know."

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn. It wasn't as if we were suddenly turning a normal person into a monster, but there was a hint of unease in our eyes.

"It's just a baseless theory. Given that monsters fell from the sky, talking about plausibility seems pointless."

"......"

"To save your brother, did you, you know, change in some way?"

No one spoke, and only the sound of the fire burning could be heard.

"Since a monster fell, it's possible for a person to become stronger."

"......"

"Anyway, that's what I think."

It was a heartfelt conversation between sister and brother, but I had already decided it was a fact.

No one will reject Yeo Doyeon. Rejecting her means not following my lead. It's a minor point, but I warned them.

It was a baseless story, but the reason I said it was simple.

Honestly.

I also feel like something has changed in me.

I didn't panic in front of the monster's mouth and instantly kicked the tentacle, neutralizing it. And I pulled my foot out.

When the powerful Yeo Doyeon hugged me, my bones didn't break, and I was fine.

This isn't something a human can do.