Chapter 87
“I’ve found the locations where the signals are being transmitted.”
Seo Yoo-jin frowned as she brushed aside her graying hair.
“But it’s still a bit difficult to pinpoint the exact locations.”
Shin Hae-jun nodded his head. Puffing on a cigarette, he asked.
“Why?”
“Because the frequencies are being broadcast nationwide.”
Seo Yoo-jin was usually not very expressive, making it hard to guess her emotions, but now she had a visibly frustrated look on her face. She seemed angry at herself for not being able to fully utilize her skills and advantage in information warfare. Realizing her emotions were boiling over, she let out a sigh to calm herself down before focusing back on Shin Hae-jun.
“Look. The red marks indicate where the radio signals are being detected. There are over 50 such locations.”
“Wow.”
The map she showed was of the entire country, densely dotted with red marks. Shin Hae-jun let out a short exclamation upon seeing it, then raised his eyebrows and uncrossed his legs. After taking the last puff of his burnt-out cigarette, he tossed it away with a clack and leaned forward, uncrossing his legs again.
“In this case, there are two possibilities.”
Raising his index and middle fingers, he folded down his index finger first.
“The first is, as our Ahyeon mentioned, simply broadcasting radio nationwide to provide hope to the survivors.”
With his bizarrely long middle finger standing upright, almost offensively, Shin Hae-jun tapped its tip as he spoke.
“Second, they could be planning something with this radio broadcast.”
Habin, who had been staring intently at Shin Hae-jun, responded.
“I’ll go with the second option.”
Seo Yoo-jin nodded in agreement with Oh Habin’s words.
“Now, we need to think about this.”
Shin Hae-jun stretched his legs and crossed his arms.
“What could this ‘something’ they’re planning be?”
The contemplation didn’t last long. In such a case, where they’ve created a channel for communication among themselves, there was only one plausible plan that came to mind.
A coup d’état.
Well, it wasn’t hard to understand. There were individuals who harbored resentment toward the current government. The people’s hearts turned against the government, or rather the current military regime, ever since they blew up the bridges over the Han River. If someone suggested going down to Gangnam and blowing up the government offices and military headquarters, everyone would wholeheartedly shout ‘Yes, we will!’
Of course, those in the shelter, those who could receive protection from the government, would do their best to appease the military and demonstrate obedience. But those who weren’t affiliated with the shelter wanted to overthrow the military.
So Shin Hae-jun wondered. What would happen if they allowed those planning a coup d’état to enter the shelter? Would they choose to carry out the coup d’état, or would they choose the path of entering the shelter and submitting?
Shin Hae-jun thought they would choose the latter, which made them look all the more pathetic and stupid to him.
“Anyway, this is a jackpot.”
Considering how sharp and somewhat sensitive the Commander has been lately about everything, he would definitely be pleased if they brought this to him. Just as Shin Hae-jun was about to order the paperwork to be prepared for the report, Yoo-jin interjected.
“But there’s something strange here.”
Pointing at the map, she added.
“Take a look at this.”
Using a red pen, she connected the dots, and as Shin Hae-jun watched the map transform from one-dimensional to two-dimensional under her strokes, initially thinking nothing of it, he suddenly furrowed his brow at the bizarre completed shape. No way. No way…..
“If you connect the red marks with lines, it forms quite an interesting picture. It could be a mere coincidence, but…my instinct tells me this was done intentionally.”
“Spread it out.”
Though Yoo-jin felt Shin Hae-jun’s voice sounded strange, she stepped back with Oh Habin, and they each grabbed one end of the map. Shwip—the large map unfurled completely.
It’s just a trivial map. In other words, simply a basic map showing the regions of South Korea.
“…….”
But Shin Hae-jun’s gaze upon the map was unsteadily trembling, and his eyes even seemed to be reddening at a glance.
“General?”
Seo Yoo-jin called out to Shin Hae-jun with a somewhat worried tone, but he ignored her words, covering his face with his shaking hands. He was hyperventilating. His breath was so rapid that it made him dizzy. Shin Hae-jun struggled to utter a single word.
“Radio.”
“Yes?”
“Radio. Turn it on. Let the voice come out.”
Surprised by his sudden request after staring at the map, Habin froze, not moving. Shin Hae-jun shouted loudly.
“Hurry!”
“Ah, yes!”
Startled by his shout, Habin ran and played the recorded radio broadcast. A voice flowed out—gentle and affectionate. If you listened casually, it seemed vaguely nostalgic. So Shin Hae-jun could do nothing but sink down.
“General!”
“Are you alright?”
Seo Yoo-jin and Oh Habin rushed over to support Shin Hae-jun, but he couldn’t get up easily.
No way.
It can’t be.
No way.
But…..
[Ah! Today I’ll play my favorite song for you all. It’s called “Particles” by the Icelandic musician Olafur Arnalds.]
Yes, this song.
The song Shin Hae-jun and he had listened to together. The song Shin Hae-jun said he liked, and he said he came to like it too.
[They’re pulling me down on my chest
Latching on, coloring all of my flesh
Quietly, you hover over me…….]
A song he hadn’t listened to even once since they parted ways, or more precisely, since confirming his death.
[While listening to it, one might think it describes a state of depression. But, actually, I don’t just see it that way. Revealing a state of depression itself is quite remarkable.]
The voice, now unmistakably ‘his’, continues to flow out.
[Say goodnight……
I cry
Already down
And I try…….]
I’m crying, I’m already down, I try. But it feels like wasting…
[These days must be really tough, right? Various emotions might darken your hearts, and you might feel like your efforts are in vain. But every time, remember that we are filling the world, which is black and white, with colors, and those colors will be as beautiful as a rainbow.]
Shin Hae-jun squeezed his eyes shut tightly. The voice sounded razor-sharp, viciously piercing like thorns and spikes, as if it could tear his ears apart.
[Survive today as well. Because I will survive too.]
He’s alive.
Shin Hae-jun muttered, recalling the friend he had killed with his own hands long ago.
🕂
As soon as I opened the warehouse door, I was startled by what I saw. It was something that would rarely surprise me.
“Ha.”
I couldn’t hold back a burst of hollow laughter.
And then,
“Haha! Hahaha!”
I grabbed my stomach and started laughing. It wasn’t forced laughter; it was genuinely funny. It’s hilarious. What was Park Ahjusshi thinking? Oh, it’s really funny. No, it’s not funny that he did this and then died. It’s infuriating and sad!
The room was filled with weapons.
What’s so strange and funny about Park Ahjussi, the arms dealer, having weapons?
All the weapons here were stolen from US military bases!
“What, how, does this make, haha.”
I ran my hand through my hair in frustration, tilting my head back and forth.
The variety of weapons was astonishing. From basic firearms to grenade launchers and even chemical weapons.
What could he possibly want with so many weapons?
“No way…”
For a moment, I could feel a chilling sensation running down my spine.
Gathering weapons and people.
In a situation like this…
“…a coup d’état.”
Right then.
Click.
The cold muzzle of a gun touched the back of my head.
🕂
Thank you for reading! ♡
