Chapter 51

EP 10 - The End of Winter (1)

I asked Gan Ji-yun.

"......Is the sky blue?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Dr. Tian, how does the sky look to you...?"

"......It's dark."

I placed my trembling hand on Gan Ji-yun's tiny head.

In an instant, the world changed.

Magic danced around, and the flow of the surroundings became naturally perceptible.

That's why I couldn't help but be shocked.

I could feel it, so naturally.

In the cloudy sky, a massive wave of magic was churning, like a whirlpool, as if it could sweep away this city.

* * *

"Th, th, th, that,"

I stammered, pointing at the sky. The scene was so grand and bizarre.

Eventually, I took a few steps back and tripped over Gan Ji's foot, falling backward.

"Oof!"

"Ouch!"

Gan Ji caught me.

"Phew, I almost hit my head."

"Why are you suddenly acting like this, Doctor?"

The sky I just saw was still lingering in my mind. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to calm down.

"Can't you see that?"

"Huh?"

"Ah, my mind. Of course, you can't see it......"

"......"

Gan Ji raised me with a disapproving look, but I hastily took out my phone and called someone.

[......Your data-]

Right, the government blocked my phone during the political fight.

"Mr. Gan Ji, can I borrow your phone?"

"Huh?"

"Quickly."

As soon as I got the phone, I quickly dialed the number. Having served him like the sky for four years, my fingers moved before my brain could remember the number.

The phone rang for a while.

I swallowed hard and waited anxiously.

Fortunately,

[Hmm. It feels like I'm cheating on someone since I'm hiding to take this call.]

"Mr. Yang!"

[We were with other councilors. What's up?]

I reached him.

*

We arrived at Yang Pansuk's house. To be precise, it was an apartment on the outskirts of Dongducheon that his second daughter secretly bought in a redevelopment area, which Yang Pansuk took over when he noticed.

Yang Il-ho, who parked the car, casually attached himself.

"Does this count as weekend pay?"

"I'll give you a severance package too."

"Oof......"

Since no one brought a car, I asked Yang Il-ho, who was lounging at home, to drive us.

We took the elevator to the 7th floor. We knocked on his door, but there was no sign of anyone being home.

"We arrived first. Mr. Yang is on his way, so let's wait a bit."

"Ah... So, should we go back to the car?"

"No."

Click.

Click, click, click, click.

Ding.

He picked the lock and gestured calmly.

"Please come in, even if it's humble."

"......"

How could I not know the password, having carried drunk old men on my back so many times? The password was the reverse of his granddaughter's birthday.

Il-ho and the Gans sat at the dining table, exchanging greetings after a long time,

while Gan Ji-yun lay on the fancy sofa, giggling and floating her brother in the air,

I quietly limped out to the balcony.

"......"

The world is dark.

It's a cold winter with a sky full of dark clouds.

I called again with the borrowed phone.

"Hey, sis. It's me. I borrowed a phone. Where are you now-"

[Sh, Shengwen? Hey, you bastard. How many years do you have left!?]

A terrifying voice with a Busan accent rained down like a machine gun.

"......Uncle-in-law?" [You...! You, damn, are you being loud in front of the camera? Hey?]

"Are you with sis? Where are you!?"

[How many years do you have left! Shit!]

"Ah! Where are you! Now!"

I heard Uncle-in-law urgently telling someone.

[Wh, where are you now?]

[We just got on the Yangyang Expressway.]

[It's Yangyang!]

"Where is Yangyang!"

[Hey, where is Yangyang?]

[Ah! Damn! Gangwon-do! You bastard!]

[It's, it's Gangwon-do!]

"......Oh. I'm going to go crazy."

I heard the voices of Yeo Doyeon and my aunt. They seemed to be driving up, saying it would shorten their lifespan.

I calmly advised.

"Turn back. It's dangerous."

[Hey! Damn! How many years do you have left!]

"Ah! Turn back! Again!"

[The road is blocked, can't go! Damn! So, how many years-]

"Ah! Does a person's lifespan just fall off like that!"

[Hey! Bastard!]

"I don't even know how much lifespan I have left! It's just that the cells divide and age faster. No one knows what's going on, okay?"

[......So, what. Anyway.]

"It's roughly 10 years, but it could be more or less. Just, around that time."

For a moment, a noisy sound came from the other end of the phone. As I frowned and waited, a deflated voice of Uncle-in-law came through.

[......Oh, damn. Your aunt fainted.]

"Just turn back. Please."

[......When we meet, let's, what, have some Agujjim. At the usual place.]

"I can't go there; it's in the middle of Seoul."

[Ah, right.]

The call suddenly ended. He must have finished his business.

Uncle-in-law always hung up at odd times, drawing criticism from the family.

I chuckled. Just thinking about his small habits made me laugh.

I stared at the dark world expressionlessly for a moment.

"......Phew."

I wasn't sure if I did the right thing. Feeling uneasy, I rummaged through my pocket for a cigarette.

"Uncle......"

Gan Ji-yun, who had come out to the balcony, tugged at my pants.

"Don't be mad......"

"Ah, I'm not mad. I was just talking."

"Ugh..." Gan Ji-yun frowned, looking doubtful. Hmm. His childish tone and expression are ambiguous.

"Mom always says that too......"

"Ah, ah. That's just what adults say."

"Ji-yun will understand......"

"......Okay."

I patted Gan Ji-yun's back and sent him back inside.

I leaned on the railing again and awkwardly put the cigarette in my mouth.

Smoke rose.

"Cough! Hack!"

It stung my eyes.

"Sniff...! Cough...!"

The balcony door opened behind me.

"Why is someone who can't even smoke holding a cigarette?"

"Ah, Mr. Gan. Cough!"

Mr. Gan came out to the balcony and scolded me.

"Don't smoke. It's bad for you."

"......But, I won't live long anyway."

"Tsk, that's not a good thing to say."

Mr. Gan lit up and exhaled smoke.

"Phew...... Don't do this when you grow up, Doctor."

It was a playful joke, but it wasn't just a joke.

Among the people I know, Mr. Gan has probably seen the most of the world's ugliness. It was his job to find such things.

"......Thank you for treating me like a child."

"You're still a kid in your twenties, after all."

Mr. Gan chuckled and suddenly widened his eyes.

"But is it okay to do this at someone else's house? Especially a four-term councilor's...?"

"It's a bit late to say that now that you've already lit up."

Mr. Gan laughed awkwardly. I pointed to the fishing chair on the balcony and replied indifferently.

"Mr. Yang lives here alone, you know?"

"Yes."

"He used to sit in this chair, stand me up, and smoke while lecturing me. We'd look at the city lights of Dongducheon together......"

Mr. Gan nodded.

"Mr. Yang needed someone to talk to, didn't he?"

"No, this balcony is the smoking room."

I chuckled.

"Smoking on the balcony is romantic. That's why he didn't let residents on the 8th floor in."

"......Is the 8th floor Mr. Yang's too?"

"This is Mr. Yang's apartment."

"Wow......"

The apartment belonged to Yang Pansuk. From the 1st to the 8th floor. I spent time with Mr. Gan, telling him various stories.

"In the early to mid-20th century, his family was a large landowner in Honam......"

"Ah......"

*

Fifteen minutes later, Yang Pansuk arrived.

"What are these people with short lifespans fussing about...? I barely managed to turn down an invitation to a drinking party."

He meant he had turned down a request to attend an emergency meeting with other councilors whose political lives were also short.

"Thank you."

Yang Pansuk smiled bitterly, took off his shoes, and entered the house.

"As they say, the student surpasses the teacher. In the end, you're sending me off like this."

"Either way, we both have short lifespans, right?"

"We're in the position of waiting for the day we die together."

Yang Pansuk shook hands with everyone in the house and then sat down on the sofa, looking tired.

"Now that everything is settled, it's not about politics......"

"I'm currently cut off from all the ministers. Is everything normal with the Seoul encirclement?"

"What are you saying? You turned them all into vegetables. The Minister of National Defense and the Martial Law Commander can't even enter the command post because they're afraid of being noticed. They've all been replaced by their close aides......"

"Is there no way to find out what's happening on the front lines?"

"Any close military friends?"

"Plenty in the afterlife."

"We'll meet soon enough."

"Rather, let's bet on who will go first between the two of us...?"

As I looked at him with a sullen expression, Yang Pansuk chuckled and waved his hand.

"I was just being a pain. Okay, let's stop joking around."

Yang Pansuk smiled gently as usual.

"......What's the serious matter?"

"There was a massive whirlpool of magic in the sky. Over the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Building. It was huge. Really, really huge."

"Then the guild would have already told the Ministry of Interior and Safety, right?"

"Only Ji-yun can see it."

"Well, Gan Ji-yun has always shown a bit of exceptional ability among psychics."

"Hmm." Yang Pansuk stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Are you suggesting we evacuate people?"

"A whirlpool. Isn't it a bit too visual? The magic is concentrated in one point."

"Is it a sign of a gate opening?"

"Maybe it's just a natural phenomenon, like high and low pressure. Even the clouds floating in the sky look like whirlpools when seen from satellite images."

"Let's hope it's not the case."

"Right."

"It's ambiguous......"

We didn't say it out loud, but we understood the political severity of the situation. If I said, "I don't know what it is, but a gate might open in Gyeonggi Province, or it might not," millions of refugees in northern Gyeonggi Province would need to evacuate immediately.

There were only two witnesses.

A kid and a politician.

It was natural to be criticized for trying to create a fear-mongering atmosphere by blaming the kid, and I could be accused of being a fraud on a massive scale, given the false narrative I was already dealing with.

Yang Pansuk hit the nail on the head.

"You're not doing this out of fear of criticism."

"I don't think they'll help."

"Right."

Evacuating refugees requires the help of law enforcement.

Of course, if I posted on social media, "A gate is opening in Gyeonggi Province!" millions would flee in a panic.

The problem is that, like a crowd stampede in a stadium, the road network would be paralyzed, and all kinds of traffic accidents would occur. The economy would also be affected by the fear.

Therefore, large-scale evacuations must be led by the police and the military.

"Will the government help if I say it?"

"That's why you called me."

"The situation is urgent. It might be a hassle, but Mr. Yang, could you-"

"Ah, right. What's there to hesitate about in this situation? I'll get the nearby division commanders to move. If the gate doesn't open, you'll have to take the heat."

"Thank you, Mr. Yang."

"It's a matter of the state, after all."

I sighed in relief and checked my wristwatch. It had been 1 hour and 47 minutes since the unusual situation was confirmed, and the initial response was complete.

"Phew...!"

Feeling proud that this was what a true politician should do, I smiled and plopped down on the sofa.

Yang Pansuk was in the kitchen, far away, inviting the Gan family to dinner.

"Since we're all here, why don't you stay for dinner?"

"Ah, is that okay...?"

"I used to eat at your place, didn't I? I have a lot of beef that came in as a New Year's gift, but I can't eat it well because of my toothache. You guys can finish it off."

"We'll eat it with gratitude!"

"But I have to leave now because I have to follow the order of our Councilor Han Seung-mun. It's ridiculous. Tell him to cook the meat. Make sure he cooks it well."

"Ah! Why are you leaving!"

"You've become lazy since you got your badge. Tsk. Losing your初心..."

I chuckled and looked at my phone. A call came in. It was Yeo Doyeon.

"Hey, sis."

[Damn...! Damn...!]

I shuddered.

[A monster is falling from the sky!]