"W-what...?" Jihyo said, shuddering a bit. "Sana...?"
"She's..." Miyeon passed out before she could even fully reply.
"Miyeon..? Hey!" Jihyo held her. "Minji, help us!"
"Jihyo-ssi, stand back. We got this. Nurses! Get her to the emergency bay, immediately! She has a grave injury on her left arm. It's not life-threatening, but an infection might start if we don't act quickly. Go, go, go, GO!" Minji replied as they hurriedly took Miyeon to the emergency area.
Zeke and Jihyo were left speechless as they looked at each other.
April 8, 2023, 10:22 pm, Minhyuk's Settlement, Daegu, South Korea.
Jihyo was on the medbay, standing next to where Miyeon was resting. Minji told them that her vital signs are okay now after a few hours of treatment, and the wound on her left arm has been sterilized and treated.
Jihyo observes the passed-out G-(IDLE) member for quite some time. For the first time in months, there's a fellow K-pop artist right in front of her.
Zeke slowly enters the medbay and shuts the door quietly. She looks at Jihyo standing right next to the resting Miyeon.
"How is she?" Zeke asks.
"She's okay now and will be waking up by tomorrow, probably. The wound on her arm is now healing as it should." Jihyo said as she soon fell silent.
Zeke looks at Jihyo. She looked disturbed and lost in thought.
"...you're thinking about what Miyeon said." Zeke suddenly spoke. "About Sana."
"Yeah," Jihyo replied. "I'm assuming Sana was with her when this whole catastrophe happened... and... the way she said that Sana needs help... she seems to be in trouble. But we don't even know the details..."
"I guess we'll have to wait 'til Miyeon wakes up to get more information, then," Zeke said.
Jihyo nodded. "Yeah. Let's give her the rest she needs. And we need our rest as well. It's been a long day... Come on..."
April 9, 2023, 5:14 am, Minhyuk's Settlement, Daegu, South Korea.
Jihyo slowly awakens to the sound of knocking on their makeshift apartment.
"Zeke-nim..? Jihyo-ssi...? Seojun-nim? Hello...?" A voice from outside said.
"Mhm...who could that be... yes...? Coming..." Jihyo stretches her arms, yawns, and slowly rises. She looks at Zeke and Seojun, who was sleeping soundly. Jihyo decides not to wake them up. She makes her way to the door and opens it as she was greeted by a nurse.
"Morning, Jihyo-ssi." the nurse said.
"Oh, hi... good morning..." Jihyo said. "What brings you here today...? Do you need anything...?" she asks.
"Miyeon-ssi is awake and outside. She wants to talk to you as soon as you're available..."
"Oh. Okay... tell her I'll be coming in a few minutes... just let me get ready. Thank you..." Jihyo said as the nurse nodded and left.
Jihyo then proceeds to wash her face and get properly dressed, and soon, goes out of the makeshift apartment. The nurse told her that Miyeon was near the medical area, so she heads there slowly but surely.
She soon sees Miyeon sitting outside the medical area, sipping some warm coffee. She looked better now compared before, her wound on her left arm now completely wrapped in bandages. She was also wearing comfortable, winter clothes that replaced her bloodied attire last night.
Miyeon soon looks at Jihyo and she stands and walks towards her.
"Jihyo-unnie..." Miyeon hugs Jihyo tightly. Jihyo hugs her back.
"I'm so glad you're safe too... Thank you for rescuing me..." Miyeon said as she began tearing up. Jihyo comforts her with pats on the back for a few minutes before pulling away.
"Hey... Miyeon. It's okay. Don't worry about it. Right now, you need to relax, okay? Take deep breaths... Try to calm yourself for a while... I'll just be here." Jihyo replied as Miyeon nodded and took time to compose herself.
"I'm good now..." Miyeon said as she wiped her tears.
"Okay. Now... can you tell me what happened to you? How did you get here?" Jihyo said as they sat down on the curb.
"Well... Sana-unnie and I.... we met after New Year's Day and we decided to go to Busan to explore the different places there. She said she wanted a day off away from the bustling city of Seoul, and she needed someone to accompany her, so... she called me."
"Mhm. And then?" Jihyo said.
"And then, after our adventures, we were set for home. And that's when... this icy apocalypse happened. We passed out while the bombs kept falling, and the next thing we knew, we were taken in by a settlement just outside Busan."
Jihyo nodded as she continued to listen to her intently.
"We stayed there for a while. The leader helped us get back on our feet. Fed us, clothed us and taught us a lot of survival and combat skills. When we were finally ready, they gave us cars so that we could go home. But... Sana-unnie wanted to go here in Daegu, in the off-chance that she'll find you and Mina-unnie around first..."
"Sana... She knew we were here? And she... really thought of us even in this time...?" Jihyo's face softened.
"So we did. But then, as we arrived here... we got ambushed by a Koul'in, and we didn't stand a chance. I tried to drive faster, but the alien was quicker than us.... and some of us were captured. Sana-unnie... was one of them."
Miyeon slowly looks down, as Jihyo looks at her. She looks tired, pained, and her face was seemingly filled with guilt.
"I'm blaming myself for what happened," Miyeon spoke again, placing her hands on her face.
"Why...?" Jihyo asked in a soft voice, scooting closer to Miyeon as she rubs her back to comfort her.
"When I saw that Koul'in, I froze and got distracted, causing the car to flip... I... If I didn't get scared maybe I would've..."
"Hey... don't worry now, okay... It's alright, it's not your fault..." Jihyo just wrapped her arms around Miyeon, trying to comfort her further as they just hugged it out for a while.
It was only minutes of hugging, but to Miyeon, it felt like hours and hours of comfort. More importantly, it reminded her of how Sana comforted her during their stay back in Busan.
The warmth felt the same.
Miyeon slowly pulls away and wipes her tears.
"Thank you..." Miyeon said.
Jihyo smiles.
They soon see a nurse approaching the two.
"Miyeon-ssi, Jihyo-ssi, good morning. I would like to request Miyeon-ssi's check-up. We have to assess her arm again, it's not yet fully healed." The nurse said.
"Ah... yes. Thank you..." Miyeon said as she stands up slowly and turns to Jihyo. "I'll see you later, Jihyo-unnie."
Jihyo waves and smiles as Miyeon was taken back inside the medbay. Jihyo's smile soon faded as she gritted her teeth.
"You sick aliens... Why are you taking my friends...?"
April 12, 2023, 8:19 am, Minhyuk's Settlement, Daegu, South Korea.
"....so that's how it went down..." Hyungwon said, as Jihyo just finished telling him and Zeke what happened to Miyeon and Sana.
"Yeah. I'm honestly glad you found Miyeon safe, but Sana..." Jihyo replied. "I'm worried. I want to find her right this instant... But I don't know where she is... I fear that this will be another situation where I'm going to be stuck without any way to find her... Just like Mina..." Jihyo said as she looks down.
"Hmm. Wait... Hyungwon, you have recovered some Koul'on stuff from the bowling center, right? Maybe one of those items could help us find Sana and Mina?" Zeke asked.
"Oh! Zeke-nim, now that you mentioned it... I DO have some findings that would most likely be useful to our cause. Would you like to see?" Hyungwon asked.
Jihyo's face lights up.
"Definitely!" Jihyo replied. "Anything for Sana and Mina's immediate safety is welcome in my book... what are we waiting for, then? Let's go!"
They all walked toward his workshop immediately. Hyungwon went first, preparing all sorts of Koul'in tech they've recovered so far.
"Okay. So back to a month ago when we were clearing Dalseong Park after your battle with Vesper, I found this."
He brings out a huge shard of what seems to be otherworldly broken glass.
"What's that?" Jihyo asked.
"It's a fragment of Koul'in technology. Remains of what seems to be a mechanical contraption." Hyungwon replied. "While I was examining this piece, I've noticed a symbol on it."
Hyungwon then points to a symbol in the broken fragment. It looked like a spiral pattern, with a four-point star in the middle.
"Now, this symbol on this fragment I found meant nothing to me at first. But then... I saw the same symbol at the Dongsan Bowling Center, from this mechanical core we recovered after your fight with Shintel." Hyungwon said as he shows them the remains of the icy, mechanical core. It was round, blue in color, and it was already riddled with cracks. In the middle of it was the same four-point star symbol from the orb Hyungwon found in Dalseong Park.
"Okay... I get that they're identical, but... what does it mean?" Jihyo said as she scratched her head.
"To make it simple, these symbols mean that these mechanical items are some sort of teleportation devices that the Koul'in use to move around," Hyungwon said.
"Ah! I see now! You're saying that Vesper and Shintel both used these to get to their locations immediately?" Jihyo said.
Hyungwon nodded.
"That's a discovery indeed... but we can't use these orbs anymore, right? These two things are already broken..." Zeke said.
"True... but then I made another interesting discovery just two days ago," Hyungwon said as he kneels on the floor and brings out the cube bomb he recovered months before. He then opens the cube in front of Zeke and Jihyo, revealing the icy core in the middle. He then grabs his thick, heatproof gloves, wears them, and carries the icy core. He flips it over, revealing a four-point star symbol in it.
"Woah!" Jihyo exclaimed as her eyes widen. "So this cube isn't a bomb... it's a teleporter as well?!"
"Yes, Jihyo-ssi," Hyungwon replied. " Currently, based on my observations...there are two types of alien cubes are all around Daegu. Would you like me to explain it?"
"Yes, yes... please, explain it to us," Jihyo said.
"Okay. The first type of cube bomb is what I call the detonating-type. You know. The thing that explodes and sends freezing shockwaves all over. Those bombs do not have the four-point star symbol on them, and. The second one is this one right here... I call it the transport-type: a one-time use cube that Koul'ins use to get to wherever they need to be in a flash."
"I understand now," Jihyo said. "So if that's the case here, This thing makes everything easier, right? We'll just... use this transport cube... to teleport to where Sana is located? And potentially, Mina as well, right?"
"...Unfortunately, Jihyo-ssi, we can't. I've tried everything I know, but I still couldn't figure out to use this transport cube..." Hyungwon sighed. "It's still alien technology, after all, so I can only get a vague idea of how this cube works in its full capacity. And besides, even if we did know how to use this, it would be dangerous. We might end up in Koul'in territory, which doesn't sound real good if you ask me."
"Okay, so that's out of the picture... Hmm. Aha! Why don't we just use the cube to bring out a Koul'in?" Jihyo suggested.
"Huh? You're not suggesting that we bait and ambush a Koul'in for information regarding Sana's whereabouts, are you?" Zeke asked.
"Well, yes...?" Jihyo said.
"That's dangerous," Zeke replied.
"Yeah, it is, but... it's the only possible way we have for now." Jihyo said. "We can't go scouring the whole city of Daegu. We don't have the time, plus, we don't know what dangers are there beyond what we've explored, so..."
"A plausible plan. But how are we going to lure a Koul'in out of this transport cube, then, Jihyo-ssi?" Hyungwon asked.
"I haven't thought of this one, hold on... How about I just... dangle the Manifest in front of that cube 'til a Koul'in arrives?" Jihyo suggested as she smiled nervously.
"It's not going to work..." Zeke said. "If that was the sole reason of their appearance, then they would've come out of that cube a few months ago and ambushed us while they had the chance," Zeke said.
"Ugh... you're right..." Jihyo said as she frowned.
"And besides... Vesper was already on Dalseong Park when we arrived... so the presence of a Manifest being the reason for their sudden arrival is ruled out... There's got to be another motivation for them to appear like that..." He added.
Zeke tried to think harder, going from the Koul'in's behavior to their motivations, then the recent events.
The Koul'in's aggressiveness.
Their desire for immense power.
Their willingness to slaughter.
The locations in which they've arrived.
"Aggression... power... murder... conflict...
...conflict...
...they're drawn to conflict!"
Zeke's eyes widen at his realization.
"That's right. They must be. It's the only possible reason... Come to think of it... The huge fight between the settlers of Dalseong Park against an army of snowmen and Scrapers was enough for a Koul'in to appear... and the defeat of an unusual, powerful Scraper at the bowling center made a Koul'in appear as well... so that means..."
"...those Koul'ins might be drawn to intense conflict, and we should use their attraction to it as bait." Zeke suddenly said.
"Eh...?" Jihyo looks at Zeke. "What are you saying, Zeke?"
"Please, explain further, Zeke-nim," Hyungwon said.
"U-Uhm, what I meant is, I think the Kou'lin are drawn into areas with sudden, massive conflicts. The reasons are vague, but I think it's because they think a Manifest wielder is present. If we try to do something... Like... for example, defeat a lot of their snowmen in a single area, then we might be able to draw one out?"
"....Wow. I never thought of that before. Great, shall we go with that, then?" Jihyo asked.
"I'll check on the Daegu map and the photos we took of the recent Koul'in hotspots to see if we could execute such a plan. Hold on..." Hyungwon said as he brings out his tablet. He fiddles with it for quite some time as Zeke and Jihyo patiently waited.
"Bingo," Hyungwon exclaimed. "Here."
"A baseball stadium...?" Jihyo said.
"Yes. We were supposed to salvage baseball bats here to be crafted as weapons... but..."
Hyungwon shows them the snow-covered stadium, riddled with loads of blue, crystalline cubes. Zeke and Jihyo's eyes widen.
"So... the whole baseball field... is one huge snowman trap?!" Jihyo exclaims in surprise.
"Yes," Hyungwon replied. "An open space with lots of snowmen, lots of hiding ground on the bench areas... It would be a good place to ambush a Koul'in. I mean, who wouldn't be concerned if you see fifty of your creatures get whacked all of the sudden, right?"
"That's true... but can we really handle that many snowmen?" Jihyo asked.
"Don't worry. My men and I will tag along with you this time and assist you in every way possible," Hyungwon replied. "After all, we did intend to gather supplies and weapons there before, if not for the huge pile of snowmen traps littered around the area. With you two around, it could now be possible."
"Oooooh, so this means we get to see Hyungwon in action for the first time!" Zeke said.
"Oh, that's right! I've always wanted to know how Hyungwon does things as an expedition leader." Jihyo replied. "I'm pretty excited, to be honest. He might be a great combatant, I'd love to see him do some moves."
"Ah, well..." Hyungwon was flustered as he scratched his head. "Don't have high hopes about me, though. I only instruct my team to do average things... and my combat abilities are just average too, so... I'm afraid I'm not much of help later on, other than setting the cube for the ambush..."
"Look... you may not be a wielder, but you're our trusty, smart, and talented mechanic!" Jihyo exclaimed. "We can't tinker machines and solve these alien stuff without you. You're clearly 10x better than I am at dealing with technology!"
"Yeah, imagine being better at something than the Park Jihyo. It's something to be proud of!" Zeke said. "Just look at me. My talent of being taller is better than hers!"
"CORREC-- Hey!" Jihyo frowned as she glares at Zeke.
"What? It's facts." Zeke laughed. "You're 5"4. And I'm 5"5. So... you're shorter than me."
"I know you're a bit taller, but you aren't tall, you know, like, REALLY tall. So don't act like it! Hmph!" Jihyo said as she does an eyeroll.
Zeke and Hyungwon laughs. Jihyo soon brings out a giggle soon after.
"Anyway... going back... I just want to say that you're better at these kinds of talents than I do, Hyungwon. Take pride in that thought and have a little bit more confidence in yourself, okay?" Jihyo smiled.
"Same sentiments here, Hyungwon." Zeke nods in agreement as he smiles as well.
"..." Hyungwon was at loss for words as his mouth slightly opens.
"Now, Zeke and I have go and prepare for this mission. Thank you for your hard work, and let's do our best later! See you, Hyungwon! Ppyong!~" Jihyo said as she rushed off.
"Well, I'm off too, Hyungwon. I'll be relying on you, alright? Catch you later." Zeke said as he follows Jihyo back to their makeshift apartment to ready up.
Hyungwon was left alone in his workshop, trying to process what they said about him. Words and sentences that he never recieved from others, apart from his sister, Minji, and their settlement leader, Minhyuk.
"...You're clearly 100x better than I am at dealing with technology."
"...imagine being greater at something than the Park Jihyo. It's something to be proud of!"
"....take pride in that thought and have a little bit more confidence in yourself, okay?"
Hyungwon smiles as he packs up and goes out to prepare as well.
"You guys..."