Chapter 8

EP 2 - The Psychic by the Red Han River (5)

Without anyone to stop him, Gan Jiyun lunged forward.

“Dad...!”

Even after seeing someone crushed just hours ago, blood is still terrifying.

The blood vessels emerging between the knife wounds somehow make my spine chill.

The situation unfolded in an instant. The masked man stabbed the victim with a kitchen knife and trampled on him.

The bastard looked around the room and muttered.

“Ah, damn. Why are there so many...”

He grabbed Gan Jiyun, who was crying while holding the fallen victim.

“Brat, if you don’t want to see him die, bring me the money, the money.”

Qian Hulan fell to the floor with a dazed look, and Yang Yilho approached the intruder with a trembling hand holding a kitchen knife.

“Hey, a, a! D, don’t just stand there!”

“Shitty little punk, can’t even hold a knife properly. Shut up and bring the money.”

“Dad! Dad...! Dad, get up!”

No one could speak.

“Hey, brat. Aren’t you going to shut up? What are you all standing around for? Do you, Seoul kids, not even have money?”

This was because all sorts of objects were floating around Gan Jiyun, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

“What the hell!”

The intruder was momentarily taken aback. I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Jiyun! Lift them!”

Gan Jiyun let out a cry that was almost a scream, and in an instant, fire extinguishers, flower pots, shoes, umbrellas, and everything around her flew in random directions.

- Bang!

The intruder was pushed to the side and hit his head against the wall. There was no need to give further commands.

- Crack!

Yeo Doyeon, who had rushed over in an instant, kneed the intruder in the temple. The intruder fell to the side, losing his grip on the kitchen knife.

Yeo Doyeon mounted the intruder and delivered indiscriminate punches to his face, a level of violence that made the onlookers shudder.

Qian Hulan, who had collapsed on the floor, crawled over to the victim and burst into tears. The victim, with blood-stained hands, touched Qian Hulan’s cheek.

“Hulan...”

“Hospital, 119...! Damn! There’s no 119...! We need to get to the hospital...!”

Qian Hulan was trying to stop the blood flowing from the deep wounds with both hands, but it seemed futile. The floor was already stained red.

Yeo Doyeon continued to punch the intruder, and Yang Panshui frowned, assessing the situation like I was.

Yang Yilho had fallen to the floor with the kitchen knife, and Yi Hojeong was frantically searching the house for a first aid kit.

Only the cries of a newborn baby echoed through the house.

Then, a miracle happened.

A white light flickered at Qian Hulan’s fingertips.

“...Huh?”

The victim got up from his seat, bewildered, and Qian Hulan fainted.

*

“Phew... What about Qian Hulan and the victim?”

“I wiped them down with wet wipes and laid them down.”

“I’m just asking because I have a leg injury and keep asking you to do things.”

“No, it’s fine, sir...”

Yang Yilho bowed his head dejectedly and went to comfort the baby, which Yi Hojeong was holding. The victim’s face was pale from blood loss, and Qian Hulan had fainted for some reason.

The house was filled with the smell of blood. Even though they had been wiped down with wet wipes, the shock of the moment was deeply etched in our minds along with the scent of blood.

Yang Panshui slumped into the seat next to me.

“He had a dragon tattoo on his arm. He must have been a scumbag from the start.”

“...What?”

“I mean the body.”

“...Did you dispose of the body?”

“I went to Vietnam, but I didn’t avoid combat. I had some experience with bodies when the Viet Cong ambushed the rear. Anyway, I threw the body out the apartment window; some monster will eat it.”

The intruder was dead. Perhaps his brain was twisted by Gan Jiyun’s telekinesis, or maybe his head was crushed by Yeo Doyeon’s punches.

I didn’t see the body, but it was probably the latter. He had hit the intruder so savagely that the face was unrecognizable.

Yeo Doyeon, who knew this, was in the bathroom, vomiting and not coming out. I covered my face and sighed. That was all I could do.

“...It’s a shame I have a leg injury.”

“Everyone has a role to play. To put it bluntly, if you hadn’t made that judgment, we would all have died last night.”

“...But it’s still a shame.”

“Hey, does that mean I should be ashamed of being old?”

Yang Panshui took out his phone.

“I charged it because there was a charger. Do you use an iPhone?”

“Yes.”

“I’m done, so go plug it in.”

“Thank you.”

“Saying ‘thank you’ is just a habit as your executive secretary, right?”

I nodded silently.

“We each have our roles, and we just need to be faithful to them. That’s how society works.”

“...I understand.”

“There’s a lot to teach a new politician. Look at this.”

He showed me his phone’s contact list, which scrolled down with thousands of numbers.

“I can’t even believe it myself. Do you think I could have done anything with this phone just ‘yesterday’?”

I didn’t bother to answer.

“I could do anything. But what about now?”

“...”

“It’s dead. I could call the Minister of National Defense and ask for a helicopter, but look at this.”

He seemed to be using the fact that the phone didn’t work to teach me that human abilities are determined by social relationships, as he tried to call the Minister of National Defense.

-Ring

“!”

“It’s, it’s getting a signal!”

But the Minister of National Defense didn’t answer. So,

“C, can you give me the Deputy Minister’s number...?”

“Why wouldn’t I have it...!”

We sat on the sofa, smiling confidently, and dialed the number.

- The line is busy, and the call is being directed to voicemail...

“Fine!”

“Haaa...!”

Yang Panshui, tearing his nails, left a message for him. In the midst of this, he was typing slowly, one character at a time, like an old man, which made me want to snatch the phone and write it for him.

- Deputy Minister, this is Yang Panshui. I’m in Paju now.

“Where are we?”

“Hey! Yilho! Hojeong! Find the address! Wake up the victim!”

“Where are we?”

“Just write it!”

- Deputy Minister, this is Yang Panshui. I’m in Paju now, but can you send some soldiers?

“What are you doing?!”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Give it to me!”

- Deputy Minister, this is Yang Panshui. I’m in Paju, Songpodong, GS Jai 1st complex, 103-702. Can you send soldiers to rescue us? There are nine civilians, including National Assembly member Han Seungmoon, and one civilian who has been stabbed. It’s fine if the members can be rescued later, but please send a helicopter.

Sent.

“Haaa...!”

“What a great message!”

“Two members! An injured civilian! That’s the key!”

“But the last sentence is a bit off...”

“Would you leave two members to die? Besides, if this message leaks to the media later, what will happen? It’s insurance! Insurance!”

“I see!”

There are people hiding in apartments, and if the military is called to save the members, it could become a scandal later.

“Member, let’s say the victim recovered after sending this message!”

“Yeah, yeah... Anyway, the psychic ability can be proven by Gan Jiyun.”

Yi Hojeong came out of the room, curious about what was happening. She rubbed her eyes, looking tired, and looked at us.

“What’s going on, members?”

“Yang member called the Deputy Minister of National Defense!”

“Wooaaah!”

Yi Hojeong ran into the room, shouting.

“He contacted the National Defense Ministry!”

“What, what!? Really?”

“Yaaaah! We’re saved! We’re saved!!”

I looked at Yang Panshui, feeling a sudden surge of anxiety.

“What if they don’t come to rescue us?”

“Don’t say such negative things.”

“What if we get a message like, ‘Evacuate Paju immediately’...”

“Do you not know that ‘unlikely’ things can happen?”

Ding. A cute message notification sound rang out. We looked at the message with wide eyes.

- We currently lack available helicopters.

“T-T-T-!”

Yang Panshui, cursing for the first time, raised his hand to hit me, but then,

- Are you in a safe place right now?

He stopped mid-reply to the Deputy Minister’s message and handed me the phone. I quickly took it.

- We cannot use the road and are on the 7th floor of an apartment. We were attacked by an intruder just now, but we are in a relatively safe place. We have a home with food and water, so we can wait.

Just as I was about to press the send button, Yang Panshui grabbed my wrist.

“What if we forget to mention the injured person...!”

“Oh, right.”

- The patient’s wound is stitched, but he lacks blood. There’s a risk of infection from the stab wound.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to complain about being hurt when hundreds of people are dying every minute. If I were in charge...”

“You’re right.”

- The patient’s wound is stitched, and he lacks a bit of blood. He’s lying down, but otherwise, he’s fine. We don’t want to interfere with the military’s operations, so please make the appropriate decision.

We sent the message and naturally held each other’s hands. The two members with badges held hands and prayed, and the two secretaries watched them with pity, but what did it matter now?

The response arrived two minutes later.

- We will send a transport helicopter to the roof of the specified apartment in about 9 hours, around 6 AM. We apologize for the delay.

“Yaaaah!”

“It’s fine...!”

Yang Panshui and I hugged and jumped around.

When it comes to life, nothing else matters.

*

“Is it really...!”

“Aaah...! Huh...!”

The victim and Qian Hulan, who had been in a coma, showed their joy in their own ways. I asked the pale victim.

“Are you okay?”

“...I feel like I’m just a burden to you, member.”

“Can you stand?”

“I’m a bit dizzy, but I’m fine.”

I had almost died from blood loss in a car accident, so I knew how dire the victim’s condition was.

But he seemed to understand that this wasn’t the time to complain.

Gan Jiyun, who had woken up unharmed, cried and smeared her father’s T-shirt with tears