"A new start is always exciting"
- Start | Gaho -
Y/N | Rouge Attack
All things considered, it was a fairly peaceful day. Despite it being the winter season, it was one of those rare sunny and warm days. People were out and about. Students were going home after their classes ended, talking excitedly about their favourite hero. Businessmen were gathered in restaurants having a drink or two and complaining about how the Rouge population seemed to surge in recent months.
The peaceful day seemed to translate into the Seoul National Library where you worked. It was one of the bigger libraries in the country. Since the library was located next door to the government building, government workers were the ones who frequented the location the most.
Since it was a slow day at the library, you had just finished doing all your tasks for the day. As you didn't have more tasks to do and there was hardly anyone at the library, your supervisor told you that you could take it easy and look after the front desk until the end of your shift. Naturally, you accepted the offer.
Since there were many electronic kiosks, not many people would come up to you to check out their books and to enquire about where certain books were located. So you decided to get some reading done for your university essay.
It only felt like you had just started reading when a person in front of you cleared his throat. You looked up from the book. You saw a plump, middle-aged man, with soft features. He was looking at you with a warm, somewhat nostalgic smile. You closed the book and gave him your full attention.
"What can I help you with today, sir?"
He didn't respond. Rather, he handed you a business card. You raised an eyebrow as you took the card from him. You read it.
Bang Sihyuk
Head of Korea's Enhanced Association
You looked back up to the man you now knew as Bang Sihyuk. You were confused. From studying law, you knew that Enhanced should not give out their identities so easily. If he was the Head of KEA, you knew that he would be an Enhanced himself.
"Did you want books on the abilities of Enhanced?" You asked trying to figure out why this man handed you a business card with no explanation.
"I'm here to recruit you, Miss Ahn," he said with a very calm voice, his smile never leaving his face.
You couldn't help but cock your eyebrow at the man. Surely he was mistaken. You weren't an Enhanced.
"I'm sorry, I think you might've mistaken me with someone else, I'm not an Enhanced." You smiled politely at the man.
"Ahn Y/N. 23 years old. Currently studying law at Seoul University. You are living alone as you were orphaned at a young age. You used to be raised by your grandmother on your mother's side until she passed away 3 years ago from a heart attack."
Your eyes grew wide as he started talking about your life in a very short, condensed version.
"That's you, isn't it?" He asked, his smile seemed to grow even wider.
You couldn't help but wonder how he knew all those things. It wasn't like you were hiding that information but you weren't proclaiming it to everyone you met. Hell, you didn't own a social media account. There was only one question that kept repeating in your head: How does he know all these things?
"Since you are studying law, you should know that all Enhanced has to be registered in the National Enhanced Database by the age of 18, correct?" He asked.
"Yes, but-"
"Well, you haven't registered yourself and you are far past the age of 18. Unless, of course, you were planning on becoming a Rouge."
"No, of course not. But-"
"Good. I'm sure we can bend the rules for you. Especially since you haven't done anything to alert PAC. I'm sure you had your own reasons for not registering-"
"If you could just let me speak!" You finally cut off the rambling man. He stopped and looked at you with a soft smile. You took it as a sign for you to speak. You took in a deep breath. "I'm not registered as an Enhanced, because I'm not an Enhanced. I mean, I would have known if I was."
For the first time, since you saw his smile falter into a curious look. You couldn't help but feel a little anxious. It was as if he knew a lot more about you than you did, and it was a feeling that you couldn't help but dislike.
"I'm afraid, I don't quite understand," he said with a slight frown.
'Yeah you and me both,' you thought you to yourself.
"I was certain that you were an Enhanced. Seeing as your parents were one," he said thoughtfully.
"Wait. My parents were Enhanced?" You asked. You didn't know your parents all that much. They passed away when you were only 5 years old. You couldn't even remember what they looked like. Your grandmother also didn't mention anything before she passed away either.
"Yes. I knew them well," he replied with a sad smile on his face. "They were probably the strongest and most compassionate Enhanced couple I've ever met."
"I don't understand..." your voice faltered.
"Why don't you come to our headquarters? We have an Enhanced who can see the abilities and limits of a person," he said after a few moments of silence between the two of you.
You contemplated on what to do. You thought that there was no way for you to be an Enhanced. If you were, the signs would have been there already.
"If you are, in fact, not an Enhanced, nothing will change. But if you are, we have a system to train you to be able to use your abilities safely. As you might be aware, the number of Rouges are increasing on a daily basis. As Enhanced are a part of a small percentage of people in Korea, we really need all the help we can get."
Lost in your thought, you look down at the business card that was in your hand.
"What's your ability?" You asked as you looked up.
"I am a seer."
"You see the future?" You asked, slightly impressed with his ability. "So do you see me heading to KEA today?"
He chuckled at my question. "Yes. I do."
"I see," you hummed at his response. "Wait, if you can see the future, you should be able to tell if I'm an Enhanced or not, right?"
"My ability to see the future is only a snapshot of what might occur. It's kind of like I see the events of the future as pictures, not clips," he explained.
You nodded. "Alright, Mr Bang. I might see you later today, or I might not. We'll see," you said with a sly smile.
Sihyuk let out a hearty laugh as he nodded. "I'll see you later on today, Miss Ahn. Oh, and do be careful on your way out of the building today."
You nodded mindlessly as you thought about what he said when the realization struck you. He told you to be careful on your way out from work. Before you could ask what he meant by that, he was already gone. He was certainly a strange man. You looked down at the business card that was still in your hand and let out a sigh. To believe or not to believe, that was the million-dollar question. You were always a cautious person, you didn't trust easily. After all, people lie.
"What's so special about that card?" A voice caused you to jump.
Hand on your chest, you turned to look at the source of the voice. It was Yoon Bomi, a co-worker and a friend of yours. She giggled at your reaction.
"I can see why Changseob oppa likes to scare you so much," she said, amused.
"Shut up Bomi," you said playfully rolling your eyes.
"But seriously, why are you looking at the card as if it holds the answers to life?" Bomi asked looking over your shoulder.
"Well, I'm just wondering if I should go to the headquarters or not," you said honestly. Bomi frowned as she looked at you. You looked at her, confused. "What?"
"Are you okay? Do you feel sick?" She asked as she put her hand to your forehead, feeling your temperature.
"I'm completely fine," you rolled your eyes. Now she was looking at you as if you just grew another head. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Y/N-ah, I love you and I care for you, so don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need to see a doctor. You're hallucinating."
"What? What are you going on about?"
"Y/N-ah, there's nothing written on the card," Bomi said blankly.
"Come again?" It was as if she pulled the rug from under you.
"That card you're holding, it's empty. There aren't any words," she said pointing to the business card in your hand.
"What do you mean, there's nothing on the card? The guy's name and the company are written in gold letters," you said pushing the card closer to Bomi's eyes.
"There's nothing there," she said fully concerned for you.
"I don't understand," you whispered as you examined the business card once more.
"Maybe you're just tired and stressed. I know how worried you are about finishing your essay," Bomi said patting your shoulder trying to comfort you.
"Maybe..." You said quietly, your eyes not leaving the business card.
"I'll talk to Mrs Kim. I'm sure she'll let you go home a little early since -"
A loud explosion cut Bomi's sentence off. The explosion caused the library to shake. There was crying from the children who were in the library.
"Since what? Since we're going to die?" You asked Bomi who glared at you before standing up. "What? It was just a joke! You get the patrons out of the library and I'll make sure we don't have any stragglers."
Bomi nodded. "Everyone follow me to the emergency exit! Please stay calm!" Bomi announced.
You quickly got up from where you were seated and started running around the library. Normally, you would have been reprimanded by the act, but in a life and death situation, no one cared. You looked through all the individual rooms, bathrooms, and in the secluded area of the library to make sure there were no stragglers.
Once you were absolutely certain that you weren't forgetting anyone in the building. You quickly made your way to the emergency exit that was the furthest away from the government building. When you opened the door, the bright light hit you. You squinted at the light but exited the building.
The streets were filled with chaos. People were running for their lives, screaming. You looked towards the government building. 14 Enhanced were fighting against a group of Rouges. You could easily tell who the Enhanced were. All 14 of them were wearing a black suit and they had a mask that was covering the lower part of their face.
The Rouges were easier to identify. They were sporting an all-black look. No other colours were present. They had hoods that covered their hair as well as a black mask that covered the upper part of their face.
The only thing that took you for a loop was the fact that the Rouges seemed to be working together. You had never heard of a Rouge group before.
As you watched the Enhanced fight the group of Rouges, you knew for sure that Mr Bang was spewing utter nonsense to you. You were definitely not an Enhanced. You turned to look for Bomi. You saw her across the street, waving at you. You ran in her direction as fast as you could.
"Y/N-ah!" Bomi let out a scream. Her scream was one of horror.
You looked behind you and your body just stopped moving as you looked in horror. A large chunk of rubble was flying right for you. How that happened was anybody's guess, but all you knew was that you were going to become a pancake.
"J-hope!" You heard a voice yell out.
You braced yourself for the impact. Your hands instinctively coming up to shield your face.
But nothing. You didn't feel anything.
"What the hell?" You heard a muffled voice that was laced with confusion.
You slowly and carefully opened your eyes. Much to your surprise, there was a purple field of energy that was enveloping you in a dome-like shape. You looked around in shock. Your hands still held in the air in front of you.
The chunk of rubble was somehow behind you, almost like it was trying to hide you from the onlookers.
In front of you stood an Enhanced. He was looking at you with wide eyes. He was unable to comprehend what just happened. He raced over to get you to safety but the field of energy protected you before he could get to you. Moreover, he ran into the dome of energy and was bounced off with force. He quickly recovered and moved closer to examine the strange ability.
On closer inspection, you saw that the Enhanced in front of you was wearing a black suit with a silver and purple band around their right bicep area. The mask was black but with a band of white and purple on the left side, with a yellow lion in the middle. He had bright red hair.
Knowing that an Enhanced was there your arms relaxed. The purple field of energy around you disappeared.
"How did you do that?" He asked. "Are you an Enhanced too?" You looked at him in confusion. That was the last thing you expected him to say.
You were expecting a 'hey are you okay?' or 'you're safe now'. But his question. You didn't see it coming.
"Didn't you do that?" You asked. He shook his head 'no'. Your eyes widen when he shook his head. You looked down at your hands. "Did I do that?"
☆
KEA = Korea's Enhanced Association. Pronounced as "KEY"
PAC = Protection Agency of Civilians
NED = National Enhanced Database
Enhanced = a person with special abilities
Rouge = an Enhanced who is wanted by PAC