Convict Unit: Black Parade

After Iron Knight’s impromptu autograph session finally wound down, Jae-hee looked down at the signatures scrawled all over his new sweatshirt with a grimace. 

Getting an autograph was one thing, but this was overkill.

Watching him, the Archmage covered his mouth and chuckled softly. Instead of a signature, he offered Jae-hee his business card.

“Please, contact me if there’s anything I can help you with.”

“Whoa, thank you!”

Jae-hee grinned as he tucked the card into his pocket. He was thrilled to have made connections with such incredible people.

“You know,” Jae-hee said, “President San Kim’s name comes up so often, I just assumed he was one of the Five Heroes, too.”

“San Kim? Hah.” Ghost snorted. “That bastard was a B-Rank to begin with. By today’s standards, he wouldn’t even make C-Rank. His powers were crap, but he always insisted on grandstanding at the front lines. Drove me nuts.”

Iron Knight countered her criticism. “That’s why he’s a legend. He fought shoulder-to-shoulder with S-Ranks despite his lousy powers. It’s how he became Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces and, eventually, president. The man was born with guts.”

With the president now the topic of conversation, the mood naturally shifted to the current political climate.

“The way the world’s heading is just too damn suspicious,” Ghost grumbled, slurping up the glass noodles from her beef rib soup in a single, elegant motion of her chopsticks. “I mean, it’s always been suspicious, but things have gotten so weird lately that even I’m hearing about it, locked away on that ship.”

“What on earth is President San Kim thinking, pushing something like the Awakened Protection Act?” Jae-hee asked

“Exactly,” Iron Knight agreed. “Archmage, you’re an advisor to the Hunter Association and the opposition party leader. Can’t you do something to stop that bill?”

The Archmage could only offer a troubled smile.

“On top of that,” Ghost said, her eyes turning serious as she scanned their surroundings, “a new, unidentified villain organization has appeared.”

She lowered her voice. “They call themselves the ‘Crimson Poverty Front.’ Have you heard of them?”

“Not at all.”

“Never. What is it?”

The news hadn’t spread yet.

Ghost let out a low groan and explained. “I’m sure you both know Brain.”

“I know of him.”

“The famous crime consultant.”

“It’s the organization he leads… and they’re stealing Lord Cores.”

The mention of a notorious villain stealing Lord Cores wiped the smiles from Iron Knight’s and the Archmage’s faces.

“Lord Cores…?”

“What could they possibly be after?”

Ghost was about to recount her last encounter with him but stopped short. Brain’s words, spat like venom, echoed in her mind.

How you sacrificed a loved one to save the world.

Brain knew far too much about her past.

Someone here, at this very table, might be connected to him.

It’s possible…

Considering the remote possibility, Ghost decided not to say anything more. She deflected, claiming she didn’t know much else.

“Speaking of which, how are things at the Hunter Association? I hear it’s been chaotic lately.”

“Chaotic is an understatement,” the Archmage said with a bitter smile as the conversation turned to him.

The failure to manage the Gangnam Station Gate had cornered the Hunter Association in a matter of days. Cries for accountability erupted from all sides.

If things continued this way, they could be forced to relinquish control not only over the Gangnam area but over most of the territories that had long been defended by private Hunters and guilds.

For the Archmage, who had become a politician and the public face of the Association to protect Hunters’ rights, every day was an ordeal.

“The government and the Gate Defense Bureau have us in a chokehold. We’re on the verge of collapse. We’re holding on for now, but I think one more solid hit could finish us off.”

“But you’re the one holding the line, Archmage,” Iron Knight said.

“Haha.” The Archmage just laughed it off vaguely.

The meal ended, and the three old heroes and one young boy walked out to the restaurant’s entrance together.

“It was good seeing you all after so long.”

“You too. We should stay in touch, you restless souls.”

“Hmph. Pair of sentimental old fools…”

Listening to them, Jae-hee broke out in a cold sweat.

The scene was surreal—three people with the ageless looks of S-Rank Awakened chatting like seasoned old-timers.

Based on appearance alone, Ghost looked to be in her early twenties, the Archmage in his mid-twenties, and Iron Knight, who looked the oldest of the three, appeared to be in his forties.

But in reality, you’d have to add about thirty years to each of their faces to get their real age.

Then again, since the Gates opened, the average life expectancy in Korea had plummeted. It was no longer strange to be treated like a senior citizen starting from your fifties.

Still, it was both bizarre and hilarious to see these young faces acting so old.

The Archmage was heading to the National Assembly, and Iron Knight had business in the same area, so they decided to part ways there.

Iron Knight gestured from the driver’s seat of his Ford Mustang. “Come out more often, Ghost! And call!”

“You think I’m staying away because I want to…?”

The Archmage, settling into the passenger seat, gave them a warm, smiling glance. “Be sure to call if anything happens, Ghost. And you too, Boy. We’ll be there in a flash.”

“Thanks for the thought. Now get going.”

Vroooom!

The Ford Mustang let out a beastly roar and sped away, disappearing down the street.

Jae-hee waved after the fading figures of the old heroes, a wide grin on his face. “They all seem like really great people!”

“They’re all a bunch of sly, black-hearted old snakes. They knew you and I were prisoners, but they didn’t say a word, did they?”

“Isn’t that just them being considerate…?”

Ghost snorted and jutted her chin forward, taking the lead. “Let’s head back to the hotel. No more tight schedules. We can just relax and hit up some good restaurants.”

“Oh yeah!”

“On the way back… let’s try the bus.”

As they walked toward a nearby bus stop, Ghost glanced at Jae-hee. “Don’t tell me this is your first time on a bus, too.”

“Hey, even I’m not that sheltered.”

They didn’t have to wait long before a bus heading toward their hotel arrived. Jae-hee marveled at the sight of it pulling up right on schedule—a scene you’d never witness in the provinces where he’d lived, where the infrastructure was shot to hell.

After paying the fare in cash, the two of them found a pair of empty seats at the very back and sat down side-by-side.

As the bus started moving, Jae-hee’s eyes widened in admiration.

“Wow, Seoul buses are on another level! It’s so smooth…!”

Ghost stared at him.

Jae-hee blinked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing… I was just thinking you’re like a puppy on its first-ever walk.”

No matter what she asked him to do or what she fed him, he’d wag his tail and bounce around with joy. He was exactly like a puppy.

Jae-hee waved his hands, vehemently denying it. “I-I told you, I’m not into that kind of thing!”

“No, not… not that conversation from before… Ugh, never mind.” Ghost shook her head slightly. “Get some rest. It’ll be about a thirty-minute ride.”

“Okay… Huh?”

Just as Jae-hee was about to lean back and relax as instructed, his gaze drifted forward.

In the seats directly ahead of them, and in the one next to the driver, four people—a group of men and women—were slowly pulling something from their pockets and covering their faces.

The objects looked strangely familiar, and a moment later, Jae-hee realized what they were.

An essential item for thieves and robbers.

Balaclavas, covering everything but the eyes and mouth.

“Nobody move!” the four hijackers shouted in unison. They were Awakened, and each brandished a menacing, gleaming blade of Gate Gear.

“This bus is now being commandeered by our guild, the Hunter Innovation Society!”

“Stay quiet if you don’t want to die!”

The tip of a blade was already pressed against the bus driver’s neck.

The driver trembled, passengers screamed, and the robbers barked orders, forcing everyone into submission.

Jae-hee, who had been watching the scene unfold in a daze, finally spoke in a small voice. “Master.”

“What.”

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “This is my first time being on a hijacked bus…!”

Ghost shot him a look of utter disbelief and replied under her breath.

“Me too, for fuck’s sake.”

***

The hijacked bus veered off its route and began to race recklessly through the streets.

The hostage passengers were all herded to the back, where two of the robbers stood guard. The other two kept their eyes on the driver.

“We’re going to the Blue House!” the man who appeared to be their leader shouted, the blade still at the driver’s throat. “We’re going to meet President San Kim!”

“Okay!”

“Let’s do this!”

The other robbers cheered him on enthusiastically.

Genuinely curious, Jae-hee cautiously raised his hand. “Excuse me…”

“What is it! Hostages don’t talk!”

“Why are we going to the Blue House? I mean, I’ve always wanted to see it myself, but…”

The leader scoffed, then, as if he’d been waiting for the question, answered graciously. “We were once ordinary Hunters. The hardworking, salt-of-the-earth kind who diligently closed Gates and slew monsters.”

“I see.”

“We did nothing but risk our lives at our jobs, and what happens? President San Kim introduces a bill to put a leash on us!”

He was talking about the Awakened Protection Act.

Jae-hee glanced at Ghost. “This topic is pretty hot right now.”

“Hot? It’s a goddamn inferno, isn’t it…?”

The robbers continued their tirade.

“We voted for him because he was a Hunter, and this is how he repays us? By oppressing his own kind?”

“What is he thinking, pulling a stunt like this…!”

“The Awakened Protection Act is no different from putting handcuffs on our wrists and bomb collars on our necks!”

Handcuffs and bomb collars.

The two convicts, who were, in fact, wearing both, exchanged an awkward glance.

“We condemn this unilateral bill! We will demand that President San Kim repeal it.”

Jae-hee asked carefully, “By holding us hostage?”

“That’s right!”

“Isn’t that something Villains do…?”

“Shut up! We are fighting for a greater cause!”

Agitated at being called a Villain, the leader strode toward Jae-hee. “Don’t you ever call us Villains again—”

His words caught in his throat. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of Jae-hee and Ghost.

“You… wait. On your wrists… are those… Awakening Inhibitors?!”

“Huh?”

“And that thing on your neck—that’s a bomb collar for suppressing the Awakened!”

Jae-hee gave a hesitant nod. It was true, after all.

But the robbers had clearly interpreted it differently.

“Those vicious government bastards! The bill hasn’t even passed yet, and they’re already oppressing the Awakened?!”

“They said it was just a trial run near the Geoje Island Gate! They’ve already brought them to Seoul?!”

“Uh…”

Jae-hee wanted to tell them the truth, but he was at a loss. Explaining that they were prisoners on a day pass was a complicated, headache-inducing story.

“Well, we have a, uh, pretty good reason for wearing these—”

He was trying his best to explain when, with a sudden movement, the robber leader grabbed both of Jae-hee’s hands.

He stared at Jae-hee, his eyes welling with tears, and nodded with profound understanding.

“I get it. You must have been so wronged, so hurt, so scared.”

“…”

“I promise. We will save you.”

Jae-hee slowly nodded back, a strangely moved expression on his face.

“I’m counting on you, Mr. Robber bro…!”

“My hostage brother…!”

The two embraced.

“…The hell are you playing along for?”

Watching this whole spectacle, an utterly dumbfounded Ghost pressed a hand to her forehead.

Vroooooom!

The hijacked bus blew through every red light, hurtling down the road without a care in the world.