Chapter 7: Cotton Candy and Cataclysm

“Doyoo Sunbae, please have this.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Doyoo paused, seeing the large cotton candy Cheongshin offered. Yet, as his previously somber eyes regained their light and sparkled with anticipation, he found himself unable to refuse. He took a bite of the fluffy treat.

“Is it good?”

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

“That’s a relief. Next time, let’s get ice cream.”

Cheongshin gestured towards an ice cream truck as he spoke. Doyoo glanced in the direction Cheongshin pointed, then turned his head to survey their surroundings.

Despite it being a weekday afternoon, the expansive park was bustling with people.

Some were jogging lightly, others spread out picnic mats to fully embrace the spring weather, and children played boisterously. Everyone was enjoying their day in their own way.

Doyoo watched the scene for a moment, lost in thought. It was both peaceful and dazzling.

“There are more people than I expected, aren’t there?”

“Indeed. But are you feeling better now?”

Cheongshin had brought him to this park, suggesting they get some fresh air. While it was an excellent spot for a stroll, Doyoo found it rather surprising.

According to the intelligence received from the Information Department today, Cheongshin’s records often indicated a disinclination towards crowded places.

In fact, all his hobbies were solitary activities, and despite his popularity, he rarely engaged in social events.

For such a person to suggest a walk in a bustling park, it was unexpected.

Doyoo wondered if he had misjudged Cheongshin, and began to devour his cotton candy.

The cotton candy was quite delicious, making him eat it at a rapid pace. Just as Doyoo felt a pang of regret at how quickly the treat vanished, Cheongshin, who had been watching him intently, spoke up.

“Would you like more?”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine. Besides, I wanted to see you eat more, Doyoo Sunbae.”

“Oh, really?”

Smiling brightly, Cheongshin took the empty stick from Doyoo’s hand and pressed his own portion of cotton candy into it. He had bought his own, yet hadn’t taken a single bite.

‘Does he dislike sweets, unexpectedly? Then why did he buy one for himself?’ Doyoo wondered, tearing into his second cotton candy with renewed vigor.

“Sunbae, why do you wear a mask?”

“Huh?”

“I noticed it yesterday too, but you look much better without your mask.”

“I-is that so…?”

‘This is disastrous,’ Doyoo thought to himself. At the cafe where they had revised the blueprints yesterday, he had only lifted his mask slightly to drink through a straw. However, at the traditional Korean restaurant they visited afterward, that wasn’t an option.

He had to remove his mask completely to eat. The same applied now.

Doyoo was acutely aware that his face was striking. Not just striking, but remarkably handsome.

This was no boast; it was precisely because of this face that he had been excluded from undercover investigations until now, with this mission being his very first infiltration.

“It’s just more comfortable to wear a mask…”

“Hmm, really? May I ask why?”

Cheongshin’s hand gently cupped Doyoo’s cheek, pulling him subtly closer. The moment Doyoo’s eyes widened at the sudden gesture, Cheongshin’s face drew near. Doyoo swallowed, his breath catching.

“I’m often told I’m pretty and handsome, but looking at you, Sunbae, I don’t feel that way at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I were as pretty, lovely, and handsome as you, Sunbae, wouldn’t you have already pinned me down and kissed me?”

“W-what did you say?”

“Because I want to do that to you, Sunbae. You’re just too beautiful.”

‘What did he just say?’ Doyoo’s movements froze abruptly.

Despite being accustomed to handling all sorts of situations, his mind simply stopped the moment he heard Cheongshin’s words. He couldn’t comprehend it. Was the language he had learned in this country different from the language Cheongshin spoke?

‘What exactly did he just say to me?’

“Ah, but now that I think about it, if you go around without your mask, pests might swarm you just like before. Just keep it on. Only take it off in front of me, Doyoo Sunbae.”

Smiling sweetly, Cheongshin lowered his hand. Doyoo, barely regaining his senses at the touch of his hand falling away, replayed Cheongshin’s words in his mind.

‘As pretty, lovely, and handsome as you, Sunbae.’ ‘You would have already pinned me down and kissed me…’

“You utterly insane ba—”

The meaning of Cheongshin’s words clicked, and an expletive involuntarily burst from Doyoo’s lips.

“Aargh, Uwaaaahhh!!!”

A tremendous scream, loud enough to make his head ring, pierced the air. Doyoo’s gaze instinctively snapped towards the source of the sound.

He saw a group of people who had been sitting on a picnic mat, chatting.

One of them suddenly stood up, screaming, and began clawing at their own face.

Not only their companions, but also the surrounding park-goers stared blankly, startled by the sudden disturbance.

The man, scratching his face, neck, and chest, appeared to be in immense agony. Handprints marred his contorted face, and blood began to flow. Just as one of his companions, roused from shock, tried to grab the man’s hands to stop him—

“Hiiiek!”

“Kyaaaah!”

In the blink of an eye, the man’s body withered, and he vomited black blood. His companions shrieked, scrambling away from him. Since everyone’s attention had been drawn to the scene, other onlookers also swallowed their screams, horrified.

Thud.

Then, the man’s eyes rolled back, turning pure white, and he collapsed onto the picnic mat.

“Someone call an ambulance, an ambulance!”

“A person—!”

“Aaaaargh!!”

New screams erupted. They belonged to the companions who had distanced themselves from the dead man. Just like the man before them, they began to writhe in agony. And in an instant, they too met the exact same fate.

As five people simultaneously collapsed with identical symptoms, even those who had managed to stifle their screams now shrieked, scattering in a panicked flight.

Doyoo pressed his lips into a firm line, pulled out his phone, and was about to dial for an ambulance. He then intended to immediately report the incident to Kardan’s civilian reporting agency.

“No, don’t! Don’t do it!”

The phone slipped from Doyoo’s hand. His eyes wide, he froze momentarily at the sight unfolding before him. Not only the people on the picnic mat, but also those screaming and fleeing, one by one, exhibited the same symptoms and collapsed to the ground. It felt utterly surreal, like watching a movie.

“Run! Run! It’s a plague!”

Someone shrieked. Hearing that cry, those paralyzed by fear also snapped out of it, screaming as they began to sprint out of the park. Roused by the commotion, Doyoo rose to his feet and reached for the wristwatch he was wearing.

He was concerned about Cheongshin being right beside him, but if this was a magical phenomenon, he might be able to stop it.

As Doyoo manipulated his wristwatch, he felt the sharp prick of a needle piercing his skin beneath the device. The liquid injected from the needle entered his body, and as if on cue, his physical senses began to shift.

Doyoo was not a mage, yet his mana sensitivity surpassed that of most sorcerers.

Because his eyes perceived a world entirely different from ordinary people, he usually had to suppress this ability with medication. Now, however, he had injected a drug that instantly nullified the effects of that suppressive medicine.

Slowly, his vision began to transform. A world shimmering with waves of magical energy, like a curtain of light draped over his blue eyes, gradually filled his sight.

“What in the world is that…!”

Immediately after his vision fully changed, Doyoo gasped in horror. Amidst the bright light enveloping his surroundings, an ominous, colossal magical energy, imbued with a deep black hue, was moving. It swirled as if chasing the fleeing people.

Its movements seemed almost sentient.

As the black magical energy consumed a person, changes occurred within their body. Doyoo vividly witnessed the mana inside the perfectly healthy individual being forcibly siphoned away.

Once all their mana was absorbed, the person’s body instantly withered, they vomited black blood, and collapsed. Thus, the black magical energy grew even larger, moving on to seek its next victim.

Strangely, however, those who had frozen in terror or fainted from the shocking spectacle were completely untouched by the flow of magical energy, even though they were nearby. It targeted only those who were running.

‘What is it? What’s the difference?’ Doyoo pondered, racking his brain until a headache threatened to bloom, desperately searching for the ‘difference.’

Then, he suddenly looked at Cheongshin. He had only glanced casually, realizing that the mage was standing silently, making no move to help the people.

The moment he saw Cheongshin’s profile, Doyoo’s eyes widened in shock. Cheongshin was smiling. It wasn’t a nervous laugh to escape reality from panic or fear, but a genuine smile, his eyes sparkling with interest as he watched the unfolding chaos.

Their eyes met.

“This is quite interesting, Sunbae.”

“Interesting…?”

“It’s my first time seeing this form of magic in person, you see. As much as I’d like to keep watching, your expression tells me you want to stop it. Am I right?”

His tone was filled with utter certainty, as if he knew he would never be a victim in this situation. Doyoo, aghast, retorted with a bewildered voice.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Just as I thought. Then, please wait here for a moment.”

Before Doyoo could even reply, Cheongshin walked away. Casually stepping past the withered, blackened bodies, he raised his hand towards the people scrambling towards the park entrance.

At that very instant, all sound vanished.