54 Episode 54 - Gimpo International Airport, Part I (2/2)
When he heard the answer, he opened his eyes.
”Did they really call me a dragon slayer?”
”I know the atmosphere is not a playful mood.”
”I must have killed a dragon. I'm not sure whether that's the dragon we think.” Kim's eyes were cold as he spoke.
The same was true of Jang. It couldn't be good.
'He killed the dragon, but he died. 'What the fuck are we supposed to then?'
Killing the dragon was a top priority for survival. The Kim Tae-hoon of the future cleared the assignment. But he ended up dead?
It was terrible. It was like watching a movie called Destination: no matter what you did, you couldn't avoid dying.
So, Kim did not dig deep into it. Even if he dug into the terrible thing, there would only be desperation left.
'A traitor.'
He focused on the word traitor. 'Traitor means that he believed them, or acted with them.'
'The meanings of an enemy and a traitor are definitely different. An enemy is just an enemy, and a traitor is the one who becomes an enemy among his colleagues.'
Kim had lived in a world where a traitor would soon be killed, and he never confused the two words.
'The traitor who was near me is Oh Se-bum, who stabbed me in the back.'
In addition, there were more clues that Kim had obtained.
”I saw a sword-”
Everything you see and hear could be a clue.
Of course, the weapon in the hands of the woman who called him a ”dragon slayer” was also an important clue.
”What shape?”
Soon after, Kim used a pocket notebook and a pen on his desk to draw a picture. It was a terrible job. It seemed impossible to guess what he was drawing.
The same was true of Jang. At first, he thought it was just the form of a sword. However, when Kim put a diamond-shaped pattern into the sword and finally eight worm-like letters into the sword, Jang changed his face. Soon after, Jang extended his hand.
”Pen, please.”
Kim handed over the pen and soon Jang drew a new sword on the new page.
”This is it. What kind of sword is this?” The sword was the sword Kim had seen in his dream.
”This sword is called the Sword of Goujian.” It was the Sword that Kim put in his wish list in his second dream.
Ahead of his second death, Kim told himself a wish list. It was like an order: to obtain the goods of the wish list, take all the means and methods whatever they are, or even kill the original owner if necessary.
”Whew.” Kim gave a long sigh.
He heard loud footsteps. Bang Hyun-wook's footsteps wanted to show off his presence.
'There's no time to rest.'
Kim recalled today's date with a short sigh.
February 28. Today was the last day of February.
3.
Gimpo International Airport...
It was now the quietest place in the world, where it had once been the noisiest place in South Korea, with planes taking off and landing without stopping. The planes lay like corpses covered in snow, and there was a white field of snow where animal footprints could hardly be found, as if to show that no one was on the broad runway.
The broken windows, the crumbled walls of the airport terminal, and the trace of animals which came to eat the remaining flesh of the broken bodies and departed, were the latest traces.
It was on March 3 that the silence, which had begun on December 31, broke.
Crowds dressed in black began to gather in the desolate airport terminal.
The gathered people immediately shook their hands or hugged to express their joy.
”It's been a long time.”
”I'm glad you're alive.”
It was the appearance of a man who immediately froze the friendly hours that began.
”Attention.”
As the man wearing a beret appeared, the cheerful atmosphere disappeared, and a solemn atmosphere began to set up like the blade of a sword.
The man who appeared looked to be in his mid-forties and gave a strong impression, with a square face and a beard around his mouth. He looked at each of them with tiger-like eyes.
”There is no Major Oh Se-bum and his team.”
The brief remark that came out soon put the crowd on edge. Everyone here made a promise to meet at a fixed date if they were still alive.
'Did Major Oh Se-bum's team fail?'
In other words, not being here meant not being alive.
Of course, everyone here was determined: they would not be afraid to die, but they would fight against death. Nevertheless, the reason why everyone was nervous was simple.
'Nonsense. What monster did they meet?'
'Were they in contact with something above a blue-grade monster?'
Major Oh Se-bum could never be killed, by the judgment of those who had prepared to die. He was so strong and clever.
A middle-aged man, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Dae-hyun, who was also wearing a beret, was well aware of that.
'If Major Oh died… If so, whatever we get in this operation will be a loss.'
Major Oh was a man who had the ability and talent to become a historical hero to save Korea. He could not have died. No, it shouldn't have happened.
'When we lost Daedongyeojido, it was a big loss. Had there been Daedongyeojido, we wouldn't have taken risks like this.'
Lieutenant Colonel Yoo shut his teeth hard, thinking of the past. Naturally, the congregation held a silence. Bowing in silence began for the dead.
Bang! It was a shot from the airport's runway that broke their silence. Everyone's eyes changed. They had the eyes of soldiers who could fight at any time.
Lieutenant Colonel Yoo did not do that. He was a man who had not relaxed since he had appeared, and who had planted everything that a soldier should have into his bones.
”Check and come back.”
When Lieutenant Colonel Yoo pointed out a team and gave an order, the team immediately moved to the spot where the gunfire was fired without even answering. It was not long before one came back and reported.
”A man with a white flag is on the runway. He describes himself as the head of the Mac Guild.”
It was a very difficult explanation: the gunfire came from the runway, a man was standing alone on the runway, he was holding a white flag, and finally, he was the head of the Mac Guild.
All that was not understood was not described. However, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo did not express any doubt about the facts, since he had seen a lot of irrational images of survivors in a world in which the system that was driving the world was completely destroyed. So, he wasn't surprised and didn't frown. There was no change in expression at all.
”What's his name?”
”It was Kim Tae-hoon.”
”Kim Tae-hoon?”
However, as soon as he heard the name, the expression of Lieutenant Colonel Yoo changed.
”Is he really Kim Tae-hoon?”
He looked surprised.