Chapter 26: Blood Beneath the Chandelier

“…I think it’s terrorism. Most likely.”

Up until about half a century ago, it had been extremely common for criminal organizations from the lower districts to infiltrate the upper districts and carry out acts of terror.

However, once the government-affiliated Centers were established and ability users began operating in earnest, the rate of crimes related to criminal organizations dropped drastically.

These days, things like terrorism and nationwide panic had become incidents that existed only in history books.

And yet, terrorism.

In broad daylight like this, inside a crowded department store.

“Jaeyoon-ssi, the Center… they’ve contacted the Center, right?”

“I’m not sure. If internal communications haven’t been cut off, then it should be fine, but if not…”

My mind went blank.

Right now, the highest priority should have been civilian safety.

If only we at least knew the scale of the situation.

But instead of being in the Center’s control room, Choi Siram and I were trapped at the very site where the incident had occurred.

There was no telling where or how another attack might happen.

All I could feel was panic.

Tatatatata—

Kyaaaah—

Aaaagh—

The sound of indiscriminate gunfire erupted from somewhere nearby.

Adults and children alike were struck by the spraying bullets and collapsed onto the ground like stalks of barley cut down by a sickle.

The people trapped within the space froze completely in panic, unable to react to the sudden shooting.

“Everybody, hands up!”

A group of men wearing black masks shouted from the upper hall overlooking the fountain plaza.

A few people tried to disobey and flee, but that only resulted in them losing their lives to the hail of bullets.

“What a damn comfortable life you all have. While some people are getting their limbs torn off in war and starving until they go blind.”

The man speaking steadily into the loudspeaker sounded strangely familiar.

There was no way I wouldn’t recognize it.

His tone was almost identical to the speech of the people from the conflict zone where I had spent my childhood.

“…Must be nice.”

Like every impoverished region, the conflict zones had virtually no proper educational facilities.

The only institutions that existed were shelters, detention camps, and temporary Center contact stations.

As a result, illiteracy rates among the people there were extremely high.

They couldn’t write properly, nor could they even speak properly.

Their pronunciation was so clumsy that they stood out no matter where they went.

People even used to say you could identify someone’s origins just by the way their tongue rolled.

“f*cking disgusting.”

There were several mocking nicknames people from other regions used for refugees, but among them, “black-eyes” was especially humiliating.

The term combined the naturally darker complexions of refugees with a word meaning illiterate.

Back when I first began training, my pronunciation had been just as awkward as theirs.

But I hated being looked down on more than death itself, so I corrected it through relentless effort.

Bang— Bang—

Apparently swearing alone wasn’t enough to satisfy him, because the man pulled the trigger of his rifle and blasted several holes into the department store ceiling.

Each deafening gunshot made the civilians squeeze their eyes shut and groan in terror.

They all looked desperate for this nightmare to end as quickly as possible.

“We’re just grabbing the goods and leaving, so keep your mouths shut and stay still. Otherwise, we’ll chop every last one of you up and dump you into the river as fish feed.”

“Hey, we’re already short on time. Stop wasting it trying to scare them and come help over here.”

The men arguing among themselves soon disappeared, and other members of the organization who had apparently been waiting underground began guarding the hostages.

They shamelessly committed all sorts of vile acts, tormenting terrified children and beating elderly people who had wet themselves from fear.

“Hey, you there! What are you doing? Get down already!”

“Jaeyoon-ssi….”

In the end, Choi Siram and I were also noticed by one of the guards and taken hostage.

Given the circumstances, reckless resistance was impossible, so I crawled along the floor with both hands behind my head.

The cold muzzle pressing against the back of my skull sent chills down my spine.

“Hey, tie them properly. It’ll be a pain if something goes wrong.”

“I know what I’m doing, so shut up and mind your own business.”

Choi Siram and I were dragged near the fountain where the other hostages were gathered, our wrists tightly bound.

If it had only been ordinary rope, escaping might not have been too difficult.

But instead, they wrapped our wrists with thick, durable cord.

The sensation of blood circulation being cut off made me frown slightly, but complaining wasn’t exactly an option, so I merely bit down on the soft flesh inside my mouth.

Waaahhh—!

“f*ck, lady. Make your brat shut up already. Otherwise I’ll personally turn that mouth into a rag. It’s loud as hell.”

“I’m sorry. I-I’m so sorry….”

At that moment, a child resting in a woman’s arms suddenly burst into loud sobs.

The child’s face had turned bright red, and he repeatedly gagged between cries.

A large, heavily built man roared furiously that if the child didn’t quiet down immediately, he’d rip the child’s mouth apart himself.

If innocent casualties were going to be prevented, something needed to be done quickly.

But with the guards constantly circling the fountain area and keeping watch, I couldn’t move carelessly.

“Choi Siram-ssi.”

“Yes, Jaeyoon-ssi.”

“Could you check whether the pager in my back pocket received anything?”

“Ah, one moment.”

So I asked Choi Siram for help.

If the pager screen was flashing red, then it meant the Center was fully aware of what was happening here.

But if not, then somehow, we would need to contact the control room ourselves.

Truthfully, the latter seemed far more likely.

Nearly thirty minutes had already passed since the explosion, yet there was no sign of police confronting the terrorists outside.

There weren’t even attempts at negotiation.

‘What… what should I do….’

“Jaeyoon-ssi, sorry, but could you turn a little more this way? The pocket is deep, so I can’t see the screen properly.”

“Yes, understood.”

I raised my hips slightly to help him check the pager.

But the instant I did, one of the guards watching us locked eyes with me directly.

“Hey! You there. What the hell are you doing?”

The man pointed the rifle slung over his shoulder directly at us, glaring as though he would shoot us dead on the spot.

Cornered in an instant, I feigned innocence.

I also made sure to shield Choi Siram behind me first.

“…Nothing. My hips were just hurting a little.”

The moment I shook my head, the man grabbed my hair violently and yanked me forward.

“Jaeyoon-ssi!”

Choi Siram shouted sharply, but his voice dissolved into the cold air without leaving a trace.

Even through my clothes, the debris scraping across the floor felt as though it were peeling away my skin.

Smack—!

“Argh!”

For a moment, I thought I was going to die.

But suddenly, the man clutching my hair screamed and collapsed backward.

A sharp shard of glass had struck him squarely in the face.

Blood poured everywhere, making it impossible to distinguish where his philtrum ended and his lips began.

The sight stirred instinctive disgust inside me.

“Jaeyoon-ssi!”

Choi Siram, who had barely regained his balance, ran toward me while calling my name.

The one who had boldly kicked the shard of debris into the guard’s face was none other than Choi Siram himself.

As proof, the front of his dress shoe had caved inward completely, exposing the inside.

I briefly found myself wondering just how hard he must have kicked for processed leather to deform like that.

But only for a moment.

Enraged, the guard raised his gun directly toward Choi Siram.

His determination was absurdly persistent.

‘Even while doing all this, you still looked after Siramie. Our Yoonie has really grown up. That deserves praise. So Yoon-ah, if something like this happens again, you’ll protect Siramie too, right?’

“Ah….”

Everything before my eyes slowed down like a panorama.

‘Siramie’s body is really weak, you know.’

The lingering image of Kwon Yiyul acting unusually affectionate toward me surfaced in my mind, and before I realized it, I had already taken one step, then another, in front of Choi Siram.

Bang—!

“Ugh….”

A flash of light swept past me.

The shell casing rolled across the floor like a blooming flower.

My shoulder burned as though it had been scorched by fire, and soon after, the only jumper I owned darkened with spreading blood.

Beneath me, Choi Siram clutched the back of his head where he had struck the ground and let out a short groan.

The entire world felt like it was spinning.

‘It hurts….’

Why had I remembered Kwon Yiyul’s whisper at a time like this?

If I hadn’t recalled those words at that exact moment, I never would have stepped in front of Choi Siram and taken the bullet for him.

“Jaeyoon-ssi! Jaeyoon-ssi!”

But I was already accustomed to sacrificing myself.

Even if I were given another chance to choose between Choi Siram getting hurt or me getting hurt, I still wouldn’t change my decision.

If there was any silver lining, it was that the bullet hadn’t lodged into my shoulder.

It had only grazed past it.

“Ahh… ngh….”