8 ~ Something Doesn't Seem Right In Gangnam

Soo Min threw herself into my arms, hugging me tightly.

 

Gasp! Gasp!

 

"Can't breathe!!" As the air left my lungs, I yelled in pain.

 

"Oh, sorry! Sorry!" She apologized, releasing me from her grasp.

 

"Y-You're okay now, right?" She asked, looking concerned.

 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just surprised!" I replied, forcing a smile.

 

"—and then when we heard there was an S-rank gate in Gangnam, we need you, Seojin Oppa." Na Ri chimed in, "Since we knew that Minseok Hyung would be accompanying us, we are going to nail this mission no matter what!" she announced proudly.

 

It was no surprise that they would choose to wait on my decision, since I am the leader of our team. It was difficult to disagree with them, though. I mean, if they say so, then I have no choice but to agree. Even though I'd rather spend my days lazing around doing nothing, I couldn't deny that they were my team mates.

 

I couldn't also sit back and watch so many lives being lost, knowing that if I just acted faster, things wouldn't turn out like that.

 

I sighed once again as I thought about how much work I needed to do.

 

Our target was in a highly populated area, which meant that we'd need to act quick to get the job done. If we wanted to avoid casualties from a dungeon break, we needed to finish quickly, or else we'd have a lot of explaining to do.

 

"We have the strongest captain and the most talented teammates possible!" Hye Jin added, grinning.

 

"...and the best Guide in the world!" Soo Min finished.

 

I could see her make googly eyes at Minseok; from her expression, I could tell she was trying to get his attention.

 

"Hmm..." Minseok hummed, examining me carefully.

 

"What?" I asked him.

 

"Is it true what they say about you?" he asked, not taking his eyes off me.

 

"Huh?" I replied, confused by the question.

 

"They say that you are a monster feared by the actual monsters we deal with in battle." Minseok smirked, his eyes twinkling as he spoke.

 

"Let's get going, Soo Min; you know what comes next!" I said firmly, turning away from them. 

 

"Ah, yes." Soo Min nodded. "Are we all prepared?"

 

"Yes," Na Ri chimed in.

 

"Okay then, let's do this!" Soo Min exclaimed brightly.

 

She rubbed her palms together and drew a circle in the air with her fingers.

 

"Gangnam Station, here we come!" She said, making a mental picture of the station so that she could teleport us there.

 

*****

 

"Now is the time to show off your powers, Seojin Oppa!" Na Ri, encouraged.

 

"I don't want to." I spat, sitting on the bench in front of me as I stared at the S-rank gate.

 

It was in the middle of a park near the station, which was surrounded by tall buildings. The walls around the park were designed like an old building, with yellow bricks and a white door. We had arrived early because I didn't want to face the embarrassment of being videoed by the reporters or having our photo taken.

 

But, now that I was here, I wasn't too happy about the situation either.

 

"Come on, Oppa, you don't have to be embarrassed." Hye Jin patted my shoulder. "You're doing great!"

 

"That's not what I mean." I replied without looking at her. "There's something strange about the fact that there hasn't been a dungeon break even after nearly twelve hours. Something isn't right."

 

"Oh? What do you think it is?" Na Ri tilted her head.

 

"I'm not sure yet. But I feel we can handle it somehow."

 

"We'll be fine! Let's do our best for Minseok Hyung!" Soo Min said, clapping her hands together energetically.

 

"Yeah, let's do our best." Hye Jin smiled broadly.

 

"Let's go, Soo Min! It's time to show off!" Soo Min yelled to herself, waving her hand towards the gate.

 

"Ugh..." I groaned.

 

I knew that if we went through this gate, I would have to shut off my emotions. And I also knew that I couldn't afford to let myself lose control.

 

"You can do this!" Minseok's voice echoed in my mind. "Don't worry—you're strong enough!"

 

"So much for shutting off my feelings." I muttered under my breath as we walked through the gate.

 

The most important thing was to maintain the flow of energy within my body. If I lost focus, everything would go wrong.

 

"Okay, Soo Min, you've got this!" Soo Min said to herself. "Just stay calm and keep smiling!"

 

Soo Min seemed to have read my mind, and her words helped ease some of my tension.

 

"Hey, Oppa!" Na Ri called out as she walked up to me. "Why are you so tense today? You know we're going to be okay, right?"

 

"Of course...but I just don't like the feeling I get from this place," I replied.

 

Na Ri looked surprised. "Really? I thought you'd be used to it already, since you've been handling several gates like this in the past few days."

 

I nodded, but this wasn't just about getting used to it; there were other things bothering me today.

 

I could feel the mana around us getting stronger, which meant that our enemies were nearby. However, there was no sign of any monsters or traps, and that made me uneasy. The only reason I knew that something was amiss was because I could sense the presence of the enemy's manas.

 

This had never happened before, and I didn't think it was normal.

 

"I think we should take a detour here," I said quietly, after I had finished checking over all the equipment that I took with me.

 

"What do you mean?" Minseok responded.

 

"There's something strange happening in this gate. Like someone is manipulating the mana around us."

 

Minseok cocked his head curiously. "But there shouldn't be anyone except us here. Where is it coming from?"

 

I shook my head. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it's definitely not natural."

 

"Maybe it's just your imagination," Hye Jin said. "Or maybe you're just stressed because of how long it has taken to prepare for this mission. When you get really tense, sometimes you see things that aren't actually there."

 

She sounded confident, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was very wrong.

 

It was at this moment that the sound of footsteps resounded from behind us, and everyone turned to look. Just as we did, a familiar figure appeared from the darkness.