< Chapter 8. The Second Relic (3). >
5.
Bucheon European Ceramic museum.
The place was filled with expensive European porcelains.
The uninvited visitors were walking around the exhibits without permission while flashing their flashlight here and there.
“Oh, It’s Meissen.”
The person who would be the most dangerous person to let in there, Jang Sunghoon, gave an exclamation of surprise.
“Meissen? What is that?”
Ahn Sunmi asked her question right away as if she couldn’t stand the boredom of the silence.
“It’s one of the best porcelain brands from Europe. Like a Mercedes, if it were a car.”
“Is it expensive?”
“Very, that teacup set would be worth at least 5 million won[1].”
“That little set is over 5 million won?”
“It’s pretty cheap for that kind, actually. There are Meissen vases that are over 8,000[2] euros.”
Ahn Sunmi couldn’t do more than drop her jaw because of the prices.
“... Ridiculously expensive.”
“Well, wouldn’t it be the reason why there are thieves out there?”
“I’m curious, how can you figure out the porcelain brand name just by looking at it?”
At Ahn Sunmi’s question, Jang Sunghoon made a small smile.
“I could become a criminal because I was able to tell the difference. Ahh, I haven’t been caught yet so I’m not really a criminal.”
Jang Sunghoon, he’s very young. Not just young, he was a kid who hadn’t even graduated college.
The reason why he was able to commit crimes such as forging artworks, dealing stolen goods and smuggling was because he had a discerning eye and ability when looking at art.
A person without those abilities would not be able to forge one, and if unable to tell the authenticity of the stolen art wouldn’t be able to steal or smuggle one.
“But really, this kind of place has something like Napoleon’s champagne glass?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have brought you here for no reason. Someone I knew previously had tried to steal it befo…”
If it wasn’t something crime related, Jang Sunghoon wouldn’t have remembered about the glass.
“... You can search on the web about the related articles. Ah, you can’t use your phone now though.”
“Why would such a great thing be in a place like this…”
“It’s not that great. People do not really have much interest in Napoleon’s champagne glass.”
Jang Sunghoon turned his head because the conversation had stopped.
He could see Ahn Sunmi’s face had a serious look.
She must have felt something.
“This way.”
Jang Sunghoon and Kim Taehoon followed her lead to a glowing champagne glass inside a showcase.
“... Glad we came here.”
The crystal glass had gold decorations and looked expensive, but nothing seemed special about it. But on one side of the glass, it had the letter ‘N’, the symbol of a significant person in history. That symbol was what made the glass special.
The trace of Napoleon, the historical figure who greatly influenced human history, was right in front of them.
“I am also glad we are here.”
It was glowing by itself. It was even more priceless than prior to becoming a relic.
“This all happened because of me. Don’t forget.”
Kim Taehoon did not respond to Jang Sunghoon’s statement, instead, he picked up his smartphone and turned his camera on.
Click!
As soon as the picture was taken Kim Taehoon’s eyes were glued to the phone screen. Ahn Sunmi and Jang Sunghoon stood next to Kim Taehoon and also stared at the screen.
They could see the picture.
[Napoleon’s Golden Glass No.3]
Relic rank: 3Relic value: SpecialRelic effect: One of the six golden glasses that Napoleon used. In times of crisis, it produces champagne that will make you dream the crisis.The great tactician.
The secret of Emperor Napoleon who was able to foresee crises in the times of unpredictable and chaotic wars.
6.
Crackle!
Some of the Maek Clan’s soldiers were gathered in front of a bonfire attempting to get themselves warm. It was because the fear the werewolf left in them had yet to disappear.
If it weren’t for the fear, the cold weather wouldn’t have allowed them to leave the fire anyway.
There was only one guy who could stay away from the fire.
Swing!
The only person with ‘Energy’ power, Bhang Hyunwook was free from the fear and cold. He was swinging a metal pipe as if it were a baseball bat.
Swing!
His swings started to make frightening sounds as he managed to use his Energy properly.
‘Awesome.’
Bhang Hyunwook was also surprised at himself.
‘If I had this bat speed before the draft I could have filled in some blank checks from major league scouts…’
Bhang Hyunwook was daydreaming.
What if he had this power while he was in the high school league? How much attention would he have gotten?
But the end of that imagination wasn’t so sweet but all bitter.
Bhang Hyunwook made a deep sigh of steam out of his mouth.
“Sh*t.”
The swear word was like a period to his sweet imagination. Because inside Bhang Hyunwook’s mind all the other things that he had been avoiding surfaced.
First came the faces of his parents and friends. Another of his high school friend with whom he had a crush on, yet another was of the black smoke that was coming out of the distant apartments.
Those were the reasons Bhang Hyunwook was practicing his swings in this cold weather.
He didn’t have anything to do in the world that no longer had TV or smartphones to kill time, other than to spend time on his swings.
For him, the silence was a time for agony. That’s why he had to move his body, and why he was trying to have a conversation with someone on various topics.
“Ah, Lieutenant! May I ask you a question?”
Kim Suji, therefore, was a perfect target for Bhang Hyunwook since she was moving away from the bonfire.
Kim Suji nodded lightly to Bhang Hyunwook since she was able to get herself together, up to a certain point.
“You have met hyungnim[3] before, right?”
Kim Suji again nodded without speaking. Bhang Hyunwook quickly put up his pinky and bent it and said.
“Then you guys were like this?”
Kim Suji did not understand what he meant right away, so she just stared at his pinky.
Bhang Hyunwook kindly added some explanation to it.
“Were you guys in a relationship before?”
“What an absurd thing to say!”
Kim Suji gasped and her face turned pale and added a quick comment.
“I saw him once before for a very brief time.”
“You mean in the military?”
“At the army headquarters. Very briefly. That’s all I have with him.”
“So he is from the military? That’s good. I thought he was some sort of hitman. A killer is cool but it’s better to have a soldier. He must be from the special forces right?”
“That…”
Kim Suji shut her mouth to Bhang Hyunwook’s question.
‘That part I cannot answer…’
She did not have the authority to answer his question. It was only Kim Taehoon that had the right to reveal that he was from the secret special forces that had no official records.
Bhang Hyunwook was not really curious about the questions that he was asking Kim Suji, nor was he trying to put her in a bad position. He only needed to spend time with someone about other matters than what he had on his mind.
So Bhang Hyunwook did not stop talking, and it seemed like nobody could stop him.
“Oh right, where can you get tanks and rocket launchers…”
But then Bhang Hyunwook shut up.
He had a rigid face and stared at a pack of people who were walking down the road, the road that he and the Maek Clan had cleared with a lot of effort.
Kim Suji was also looking at the same thing.
“Alert!”
It was the biggest shout Kim Suji could make right now.
“Alert!”
Again.
“Alert!”
“Alert!!!”
At her signal, one by one the soldiers who were near the fire grabbed their guns and started to move.
VRRRR!
The driving soldier quickly got in the truck and started it.
“Hop on!”
“Come up quick!”
The soldiers climbed up on the truck until only their eyes filled with nervousness and their gun muzzles could be seen.
Kim Suji was in the back of the truck as well.
The only person who did not get on the truck and just stayed on the ground was Bhang Hyunwook.
“Whoa!”
He was now the head of the pack and couldn’t hide behind the truck.
‘Bhang Hyunwook, don’t hesitate. Don’t hesitate because they are people. You have to handle them if it’s dangerous. You have to be in charge.’
It was people who were approaching, unlike monsters that he didn’t have to feel guilty after smashing their heads.
“Whoa!”
So Bhang Hyunwook who was getting ready for battle was constantly letting out steamy breaths of nervousness.
It was a sign of being nervous.
As time went by the distance between them got closer and they were able to see each other.
‘Normal people, they are other survivors.’
‘Sh*t, what are we gonna do?’
The soldiers were panicking a little after finding out that they were not monsters but survivors.
“So-, soldiers!”
“Soldiers?”
The moment they figured out that the people inside the truck were soldiers, the pack of people approaching the truck made odd faces rather than happy faces.
“We’re alive! Alive!”
“Haaaa!”
“Finally! We’re saved! The rescue is here!”
The scream out of happiness, the crying out of joy.
The people did not stop walking and screaming towards the truck as if they were on something.
Like zombies from a movie.
The soldiers panicked.
‘What? Why are they coming? Why!’
‘Do, do we have to shoot them? F*uck, shoot? Or don’t?’
If it were monsters they would already have their guns pointed at everyone who was approaching.
But they were humans. Unarmed civilians.
Your hearts would pound like crazy even thinking about pointing a gun at them.
“Stop approaching!”
Kim Suji was the same way. She could command her soldiers to fire towards monsters anytime, but facing the same situation against humans and making the cold decision to fire was not so easy.
“Stop approaching! We will fire if you get any closer!”
She yelled again in warning.
But the people did not stop walking towards the truck.
“We’re saved! We’re saved now!”
“Help me! Please, Seoul is now…”
“Haaa, haa!”
The praise to the life, the constant crying, the loud desperation, Kim Suji’s voice wasn’t able to warn them properly.
Her face turned rigid.
‘What should I do?’
Her brain started to freeze as well.
‘They are unarmed civilians.’
The thing that soldiers are told to do against the civilian is just one thing.
Don’t even sneeze at a civilian!
Kim Suji and the soldiers did not have any resource in their brain to comprehend the situation.
Bhang Hyunwook, who was not a soldier, was also startled.
‘Jesus, Joo Hayeon?’
Among the pack of people, an unforgettable face for Bhang Hyunwook was there.
‘What, what is she doing here?’
While everyone was frozen in doubts, the distance between people and the truck got closer.
It wasn’t a pretty scene. Something was about to happen.
Arrroooo!
Then the scene had a dark howling painted on it. The dark color on it.
It wasn’t a simple sound. It contained a very obvious power and hostility.
Gasp!
The people who were approaching the truck stopped at the howl.
Tata, tata!
After the howling, the gunshots made the civilians tremble out of fear.
“This is a warning.”
It was a warning.
“The person who takes one step closer will be shot to death without any further warning. I repeat again. The person who approaches the dump truck without permission will be shot without warning. Everyone sit down where you are or lay down on the ground.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the person who made the warning.
It was Kim Taehoon.
[1] About 4680 USD
[2] About 9900 USD
[3] Means older brother in Korean, Bhang Hyunwook uses it to refer Kim Taehoon