touch of nature ＊ JIYOO

1. "The Start of Everything"

"Mr Jung, is it the threat that I'm thinking of that you're talking about..?" Yunseok asked perplexed, slowly walking up to his window to check what was happening and caressing his daughter's head while she hugged his leg for protection.

He got no answer from the man. Yunseok almost disconnected the call, until he heard commotion happening and a deep, male voice panting. Gunshots and loud screams were heard from the call's background, worrying Yunseok. Soon the person holding his senior's phone cursed under his breath while trying to find a decent hiding spot. The voice was very familiar to Yunseok - it was his co-worker and closest friend, Kim Daemin.

"Daemin? What the- Are you okay? What's going on?" Yunseok choked up after hearing his friend's panting, wondering what he could be running from.

"Our SYM vaccine.. it makes us immune to their infection, but not their weapons.. Only obsidian can kill it Yunseok, get your kid and get out of this city!" Daemin said in panic, making Yunseok more worried than he already was.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Yunseok questioned, not understanding why Daemin would inform him about the 'virus' now of all times. "J-Just listen! It's exactly what we found in the research. The thing is immune to all kinds of material, but not obsidian. Remember that, please!" The man from the phone said desperately.

Yunseok's daughter recognized the voice and decided to act smart, so she quickly rushed to grab a pen and paper to write down the information they received. The father looked at his daughter in admiration, thanking her with his eyes and caressing her head.

"Daemin, what's going on? What is 'it' supposed to be? How does it look like?" Yunseok tried to act composed, making Daemin chuckle because he knew his friend too well.

Even though the place he must've been in was nowhere near safe enough, Daemin still tried to give his best friend as much information as possible before he was in even more danger than now.

"I.. I don't know what it is exactly, but I know that he was behind it all. We were right all along.. It can't be killed by guns or grenades. The military tried, but it just heals itself and doesn't die." Daemin truthfully answered, making Yunseok and his daughter stare at eachother in shock.

Daemin suddenly coughed, sighing and typing sounds being heard afterwards. Yunseok then received an attached file document with an added message to it, saying:

"I'm infected and this was all the information I got for now. If I start coughing more, hang up the call immediately and run to safety, away from the city or the country before it's too late. Don't worry, all of our information for the future is safe and sound."

Yunseok opened the file, reading everything and showing it to his daughter to write down on the piece of paper. Thankfully, the girl had eidetic memory and easily managed to remember the text and write it down with just a single look.

Daemin suddenly started running and panting again, grabbing the attention of the two. Daemin knew he wouldn't survive for long so he had locked himself inside a room. He coughed again, this time sounding more chesty than before.

"I don't have long left, so listen carefully Yunseok. I saw it's full form. That thing is a green and black looking fungal parasitic symbiont. The vaccine you created a month ago is the only one that can give humans immunity to it's infection." The guy cleared his throat, grunting at the uncomfortable feeling within his body. "But, I have a feeling that a vaccine isn't needed for you to be immune to it.. You can possibly be a host in partial control, but the chances of that happening is.. *sigh* one in a damn million." Daemin said in a hurry, sounding more worried than before.

"I know you might find it weird that I know all of this, but I saw it with my own eyes and.. it's so much stronger than I expected. An unbeatable '¹'micropredator. Believe me, I know that what I'm saying is-" Daemin started coughing profusely after pausing mid sentence, making Yunseok call-out his name a few times to get a response out of him.