Chapter 22: The Ominous Calm

22.

Jungwon muttered, bewildered.

“No one… is moving,” they murmured.

Their words rang true. Moments ago, people had been scrambling in a panic, disoriented by the explosions and tremors. Yet, as soon as the announcement ended, an astonishing calm settled over them. It was too profound to be mere composure; they weren’t even opening their mouths, which felt unsettlingly strange.

Seeing Seokjoo nod, Jungwon immediately reached out to a yellow-masked figure nearby and spoke.

[Excuse me, sir. Can you hear me? Sir?]

However, the yellow-masked figure, who had been loudly chattering just moments before, now stood frozen in a daze, utterly silent. They were rigid, almost like a mannequin. A slow, subtle rise and fall of their chest indicated they were still breathing, but beyond that, there was no movement—so still, one might have believed them dead.

A shiver ran down Jungwon’s spine. It felt as if they had witnessed something forbidden, something that should not exist.

“Stop for a moment, Jungwon,” Seokjoo said calmly.

Seokjoo spoke with a collected demeanor. Jungwon, without turning, immediately froze their posture.

“Even if we don’t know exactly what’s happened, it’s not good if we’re the only ones moving while everyone else is frozen.”

“There was one CCTV camera on the ceiling, to the back left, one in the center, and one to the front right,” Jungwon replied instantly.

Seokjoo let out a small chuckle, asking if Jungwon always checked for cameras every time they entered a room. In an instant, with a resounding crash, fragments of the CCTV cameras clattered to the floor.

As soon as the unspoken signal to move was given, Jungwon seized the yellow-masked figure’s shoulders and shook them vigorously. Still, there was no response. Jungwon met their gaze; the eyes were a murky, clouded color, as if obscured by fog.

Jungwon had seen such eyes before. They quickly spun their head to look at Seokjoo, who was already moving around, inspecting the other people. Amidst the building’s relentless shaking, Jungwon stumbled, raising their voice.

“Kang Seokjoo! This person seems to have been brainwashed.”

“It’s the same for everyone else,” Seokjoo calmly retorted. “Their eyes are completely vacant.”

Seokjoo managed to maintain his composure, but Jungwon could not. Their rare tranquility shattered, replaced by a surge of anxiety.

‘What happened? Dozens of perfectly normal people suddenly brainwashed and frozen all at once?’

Feeling the trembling ground, Jungwon bit their lip. They desperately tried to make their mind work, though it felt sluggish, unlike its usual sharp self.

They had encountered psychic Espers with brainwashing abilities before. However, psychic powers were generally not very useful in anomalous phenomena sites, as the monsters that appeared during such events were immune to mental abilities.

Nevertheless, as an ability that could control people’s actions, it could be incredibly helpful in specific situations. Its applications, however, were somewhat limited.

For one, due to human rights concerns, Espers with this ability found it difficult to utilize their powers within state institutions. Jungwon had only ever seen two Espers with brainwashing capabilities in the agency, and they used their abilities in only one particular scenario.

That was when dealing with troublesome petitioners. They weren’t even part of the operational department but belonged to the complaints department. Petitioners causing a ruckus would meet them, their eyes would glaze over, they’d nod blankly, and then return home. For this, they were considered aces in their department, but in reality, very few people with such a powerful brainwashing ability would want to be stuck dealing with complaints.

Furthermore, these abilities were largely ineffective against higher-ranked Espers, and those who possessed them rarely revealed their powers openly because others were wary of potential mental manipulation. Of course, many also ended up joining terrorist organizations.

Regardless, the crucial questions now were ‘who,’ ‘how,’ and ‘why’ this had happened. No matter how potent a brainwashing ability, Jungwon had never witnessed anyone brainwash so many people at once. Initiating brainwashing typically required a specific action towards the target, most commonly ‘making eye contact,’ or sometimes ‘holding hands’ or ‘touching a part of the body’—actions difficult to perform on numerous individuals simultaneously.

“Kang Seokjoo, have you ever seen someone with an ability like this?”

“An ability like what?”

“An Esper who can brainwash this many people all at once, I mean.”

Seokjoo’s reply did not come as quickly as usual. Did this mean even he was losing his composure? Jungwon, already feeling a sense of urgency, grew impatient, though they couldn’t pinpoint why.

“To this extent… No, never.”

Jungwon immediately posed the next question, spurred by the hesitant answer.

“Is this even within the realm of an Esper’s abilities?”

“Honestly, it’s impossible for a single psychic Esper to use their ability on this scale,” he stated.

Since he wasn’t one to make rash assurances, if Seokjoo said it was impossible, then it likely was.

It was utterly baffling how the brainwashing had been initiated. To suggest someone had hidden among the non-awakened and done it was implausible, as there was no one present who fit that description. The only Esper aura Jungwon could sense in the room was Seokjoo’s. Even if they had grown too accustomed to Seokjoo’s aura to distinguish another, an Esper using their ability on dozens of people wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.

Jungwon stopped thinking and decided to act. They moved towards the door, almost running across the trembling floor, intending to check for escape routes. They also considered the possibility of needing to leave and call for help if necessary.

But then.

The door was locked.

“…Haa.”

Rattle, rattle. Jungwon shook the door repeatedly, just to be sure they weren’t mistaken, but it remained firmly shut. It was clearly locked from the outside.

The realization that the door was locked brought a strange calm to Jungwon’s mind. They had anticipated this possibility, but now it seemed almost certain: this was not a sudden attack by a terrorist group, but a meticulously planned situation. Why, though?

“Kang Seokjoo.”

“Yes, Jungwon.”

Jungwon couldn’t fathom what Seokjoo was thinking. Was he, in his own way, trying to find a solution to this predicament?

“Will the building collapse?”

“If it continues like this, yes. It won’t last much longer.”

“Are they insane?”

Jungwon muttered, incredulously.

That was truly the only thought that came to mind. ‘Are they insane?’

‘They would cause an incident like this here? The entire building might collapse. And a newly completed one, at that.’

‘Could this really be Taft’s doing? Or perhaps it truly is the work of a terrorist group, and the locked door is simply due to a malfunctioning alarm? What if all these brainwashed, unconscious people were victims of some unknown superpower wielded by the terrorists?’

Yet, it was far too quiet for that. They were told to evacuate according to the announcement, but no one had come to guide them. Jungwon waited a little longer, just in case, but the situation remained unchanged.

“Are you done thinking?”

Seokjoo asked. His voice felt strangely slow and calm, so much so that it made Jungwon feel even more uneasy. Jungwon frowned.

“Don’t you have any brilliant ideas?”

“Well… psychic abilities aren’t really my forte, so nothing comes to mind.”

Turning back, Jungwon noticed he wore an uncomfortable expression. The strange hint they’d detected in his voice hadn’t been wrong after all.

“Can we escape?”

“Just the two of us? Of course, we can.”

“…”

“Taking all those people with us, though, would frankly be impossible.”

Jungwon had, of course, considered slipping away quietly without causing a commotion. However, having worked for a state agency that prioritized civilian protection above all else, they simply couldn’t envision abandoning these people in such a perilous situation.

It was partly due to human guilt, but also fear of the repercussions. Even if these weren’t their own citizens, if they all died, it would undoubtedly mean a catastrophic failure of their mission. They might be stuck in a room writing a letter of explanation for an entire week. Moreover, with such an incident occurring at Taft’s new branch building, how could they possibly ignore it and leave?

Just then, Seokjoo spoke again.

“It’s going to get dangerous soon.”

“…Will it collapse soon?”

“I don’t know for sure, but that explosion earlier was likely an anomalous phenomenon.”

Seokjoo explained matter-of-factly. Jungwon had already roughly predicted it wasn’t an explosion caused by gunpowder. They hadn’t seen an anomalous phenomenon occur indoors before, so they had simply speculated it might be an Esper with explosive abilities.

“So, an anomalous phenomenon was triggered inside the building?”

“Exactly. The building is shaking now, likely due to an ability. We don’t know when they’ll decide to bring it down entirely.”

“…”

Jungwon fell silent, lost in thought.

The moment people fell silent was… after the announcement.

‘Does that mean, perhaps…’

It wasn’t a dramatic effect to support their thoughts, but just then, a deafening crash echoed! Dust and debris began to softly fall from the ceiling.

Jungwon shot to their feet.

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