Episode 9
#5 Black Market (3)
The procedure to remove the ID tag was over before I knew it.
Piece of cake!
I wiped the cold sweat off my forehead and told myself that, trying to keep it together.
My neck felt weird, all light. It'd been a while. Dr. Geum, holding my ID tag, was looking at me like he was waiting for something.
What's he want?
He looked disappointed by my poker face, and Dr. Geum grumbled.
"Everyone else freaks out when they get their leash off. They practically kiss my feet thanking me."
"Sorry I didn't give you a better show."
"Whatever."
He says 'whatever,' but he looks totally bummed. Weird dude.
"Dosan sent you, huh? Who are you with?"
How'd he know that? The jammer should've made cell phones useless.
Like he read my mind, Dr. Geum pulled out something that looked like a smartphone.
"You think I wouldn't be ready for a signal jammer? I do this for a living."
So he heard all my BS. And he still did the procedure, no problem. He saw I was thrown, and kept talking.
"Spit it out. Where'd you hear that name? Or I'm activating this tag. I can get away, but you? You'll be screwed, a fugitive."
I was trapped. He'd played me. Taking off the tag was all part of the plan. If I ran, he'd just turn it back on, and I'd be hunted.
And I'd be nobody.
"You don't even know my ability, and you're threatening me?"
I stalled.
Dr. Geum's eyes went wide.
"If you were really dangerous, you'd be a Hunter, not wearing this tag."
Shit. He's right.
My ability wasn't anything special, really.
Still, I could take this wimp. I didn't just slack off at the academy.
But taking him down wouldn't get me anywhere. Making enemies of him and Baek Dosan would be worse.
No choice. I had to use 「lies」.
Even mental powers aren't foolproof. Strong minds can resist. I had to do this right.
Other Awakened can train all the time, but mental types have to hide their powers. So, we get rusty.
I was the same. But Seol Rokjin changed that, treating me like a dog.
I focused, pulling my power in.
A see-through lock appeared in front of me, only I could see it.
Mental types have to visualize their power. But most can't.
Other powers, you just know how to use them. Mental stuff is all invisible.
It took me forever to figure out what my power looked like.
This wasn't like the system's status window. This was mine, my senses made visible.
It wasn't perfect, but like I said, I'd practiced. A lot.
The lock was ordinary looking.
It depended on the cylinders inside, but it didn't look too hard.
Click. First one down.
My words were the key, sliding into the lock.
I said, real confident.
"I saw Baek Dosan, with my ability."
Dr. Geum's eyebrows shot up.
"Saw what?"
I took a breath.
Lying is tricky.
It's not like Seol Rokjin's brainwashing. My lies only work if they believe them. He can tell anyone to 'die,' I can't. But someone depressed, already halfway there... I can nudge them with a lie about a 'better world.'
Tell them what they want to hear, what they can believe, and lies are stronger than brainwashing.
Dr. Geum hates being bored. He's waiting for something big.
So, maybe... No, it will work.
"My talent? Precognition. I see the future."
"The future?"
Dr. Geum's eyes bugged out. Only one other Awakened had precog.
Gerick Dosmann, dead now. He was a 9-star, just for his ability, even though he never cleared a gate.
Precog was that big of a deal.
"If that's true, the government would be all over you."
"The government thinks it's just prediction, two seconds max."
"You hid it?"
"It wasn't fully developed back then, is more like it."
Powers can show up late. So believe me.
Click. Another one down. That was his first wall crumbling.
"You saw this? In the future?"
"It's not that easy. I just... saw it. Future Baek Dosan, and you."
And it's true. I did meet them in my 'future.' Seol Rokjin had a lot of people's futures locked down, like mine. Baek Dosan was one.
I had a mental block that stopped Seol Rokjin's brainwashing. Baek Dosan wasn't so lucky. He was totally under his control, a puppet.
Dr. Geum kept saying to him, 'You're not yourself! This isn't you!'
But it didn't do any good. Baek Dosan just ignored him, treated his best friend like dirt.
Then, Dr. Geum just vanished.
I don't know if Seol Rokjin killed him or he just left, but he was gone from the black market.
I didn't want that future.
I looked at Dr. Geum.
"I know you two are friends. And if things go like this, you're going to lose him."
Dr. Geum sucked in a breath. He acts all casual, but Baek Dosan is his friend, a real one.
That's why he'd risk everything to try and shake some sense into him.
"Tell me. What did you see?"
He was dead serious. I shrugged.
"Seol Rokjin and Chief Baek are going to get mixed up soon."
Dr. Geum looked like he couldn't believe it. Seol Rokjin, the anti-Awakened guy, and Baek Dosan, a black market boss? No way.
"Tell him to watch out for shipments through Yeongjong Island."
Click. Another one. Yeongjong Island. That was key.
"So, this future you saw..."
"That's where he becomes Seol Rokjin's lapdog."
Dr. Geum grabbed my shirt, all worked up.
"His dog?!"
"What else do you call someone who does whatever they're told? Die? Lick his boots? That's what he'll be."
My face was hard, too. I wasn't planning on saying this much, but I might as well lay it all out.
"Baek Dosan will do anything Seol Rokjin says. He'll throw away everything he's worked for, everything he believes in."
"Like what?"
"Human trafficking, body mods, killing anyone who gets in the way, civilians... the works."
"He'll really go that low?"
I shrugged. He didn't have to believe me, but it was true. Future Baek Dosan did all that.
"It's your call, Doc, but I've told you everything."
He was still staring off into space, so I said.
"So, you gonna report me?"
Dr. Geum messed with the tag, then shook his head.
"Why would I?"
"Then let's settle up. What do I owe you?"
Dr. Geum looked at me like I was crazy.
"Settle up? You're trying to ditch me?"
"Better than skipping out, right?"
"Damn it, forget the money. If you're right... this is payment enough."
"You sure? What if I'm lying?"
It was all a lie. He wasn't completely convinced yet.
"Yeah, it's crazy. A precog just shows up? Seol Rokjin? It's more likely Baek Dosan sent you to mess with me."
But he was listening, not kicking me out.
"But... I don't know. Something about you, I believe it."
Click. That was it.
He was buying it.
He believed me. All of it.
Okay, time to get out of here before he changes his mind.
"So, I'm good to go?"
"Here, take this."
Dr. Geum tossed me an ID.
He said he only had week-long temps. This was a real, government-certified Awakened ID.
Lee Seungjun.
I blinked at the name.
"Dead guy, illegal gate raid. No family, no one to miss him."
"You said you only had temps?"
"Of course I lied. Wouldn't give a real ID to some shady guy. You lucked out meeting me."
Real IDs are rare. Even my old ID, Kang Isin, wasn't certified. You need gate clears, volunteer work... a lot.
No idea how his ID ended up here, but score!
I was grinning like an idiot, and Dr. Geum handed me something else. The GPS from my old tag.
"I can jam the signal for a while, but we need a believable 'end.' Toss it in the ocean, make it look like suicide. Somewhere they won't look for a body."
Right. Kang Isin needed an ending. Smart. I nodded and took it.
Dr. Geum asked.
"One question."
"What?"
"So, what are you gonna do with this power?"
Knowing the future. What I'm gonna do.
"Maybe save the world, I don't know."
Dr. Geum stared at me for a second, then burst out laughing, slapping me on the back.
"Ha! Good one! Okay, get outta here."
I'm serious.
Damn.
