On the walls of the ruined Yongsan District Office, several photos and letters were attached.

• Hwang Soon-myung (49 years old)
• Lee Tae-soo (54 years old)

Skipping past a few photos, Yeon-jun stopped where a picture of a woman with a bright smile was hung.

• Kyung Minjin (29 years old)

Placing a bowl of black bean noodles in front of the photo, Yeon-jun spoke.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

No response could be heard. Yet, Yeon-jun continued speaking.

“I’ve been busy. My brother came back, you know. You remember my brother, right? I showed you his picture a few times. He’s so good at cooking that I’ve been too busy to come here.”

“……”

“There’s someone named Park Yeon who came back with him, and he’s an interesting person. I think you would’ve really liked him if you had met him. And Seo-woo is…”

With a choked voice, Yeon-jun continued.

“He’s doing well. So well, in fact, that it’s almost concerning. So, you don’t have to worry.”

“That’s right. You don’t have to worry.”

Startled by the voice, Yeon-jun turned his head. Seo-jun was staring at the photo.

“This is my sister-in-law, right?”

“Huh? Oh… yeah.”

“I knew it. Lee Yeon-jun always had high standards.”

Yeon-jun wiped his tears with his sleeve and let out a small chuckle.

“I told you she was really pretty. But how did you end up here, brother?”

“I was eating black bean noodles when someone wrapped up the leftovers and said they had somewhere to go. So, I followed. But this place…”

Seo-jun looked around. Photos and letters were attached to the walls.

“It’s a bit different from what I remember.”

He had visited Yongsan District Office a few times before. However, the feeling was completely different from his memories.

“A lot of people died here.”

“I see.”

“……”

Staring at Kyung Minjin’s photo in silence, Yeon-jun finally spoke after a long pause.

“It was two years ago. A sealed channel inside the district office burst open. And it just so happened to be when Minjin was passing by.”

“……”

“The police analyzed the CCTV footage and said she could have escaped. But she didn’t. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because there was a daycare bus passing by. A bus full of kids, about the same age as Seo-woo, who didn’t know anything.”

“……”

“Monsters instinctively go after children first. She and a few others worked together to evacuate the kids. After getting the last child to safety, all she had to do was run….”

“……”

“She missed her chance. In the end, she never made it home.”

“And those people?”

Pointing at the photos on the wall, Seo-jun looked at him. Yeon-jun nodded.

“Yeah. They died along with Minjin while evacuating the children.”

“……”

“Yesterday, Mr. Ki came to the restaurant with his children. Seeing them reminded me of Minjin. The day before she died, she kept saying how much she wanted to eat black bean noodles.”

“Black bean noodles?”

“Yeah. And do you know what I said?”

“What?”

“‘Next time.’”

“……”

“I didn’t have any money. But I couldn’t bring myself to say it. My pride wouldn’t let me… so I just said, ‘Next time.’ After she died, those words kept haunting me. Even now…”

“You regret not buying her black bean noodles?”

“I regret it so much. Just how badly must she have wanted it to bring it up… and yet, I was too pathetic to even buy her a bowl…”

Seo-jun slumped down onto the ground. The dirt had turned into muddy puddles from the rain last night, soaking his pants. But he didn’t seem to care.

As he sat in the mud, he gazed up at the sky.

“The sky is so clear.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think those kids are looking at the same sky?”

“Huh?”

“The kids my sister-in-law saved. They must be looking at this same sky, right?”

“……”

“I’ve never seen her face before, but I believe this—if she were in the same situation again, she would have saved them all over again.”

Yeon-jun’s shoulders began to tremble.

“Don’t regret it. You did your best. You raised Seo-woo so well, all on your own.”

Maybe, deep down, this was what Yeon-jun had been longing to hear.

You did your best.

Don’t regret it.

The moment those words reached him, he cried like a child.

‘Death, huh…’

After sending Yeon-jun home, Seo-jun was on his way back to the restaurant. He could have teleported, but he felt like walking.

Many things passed by—ruined buildings, cars blackened by fire, fallen utility poles.

These could all be considered a form of death too, couldn’t they?

Seo-jun had witnessed countless deaths in his life. In the demon realm, dozens of his subordinates would die every day.

He thought he had become numb to it, but perhaps returning to Earth had reawakened his senses. For some reason, he felt an unfamiliar loneliness.

“Haa…”

Suddenly, he craved a cigarette. He had quit, half by choice and half by force, when he went to the demon realm.

He stopped by a store to check if they still had the brand he used to smoke. Fortunately, they did. The price, however, was nothing like before.

“One pack and a lighter, please.”

Handing over 50,000 won, he stepped out of the store. He didn’t really need the lighter, but he wanted to light one the way he used to.

He put a cigarette between his lips and lit it, inhaling deeply before exhaling.

“Cough, cough…!”

Why did I ever smoke this crap?

Grumbling, Seo-jun moved to toss the cigarette into a trash can. But just as he was about to—

His brow twitched.

Something familiar registered in his senses.

Then—

Bang!

With a deafening roar, flames erupted in the distance. Faint sirens could be heard.

“What the hell?”

Seo-jun turned and began walking toward the sound of the sirens.

There were several sealed gates in District 12.

One of the main ones was where the old Yongsan District Office stood. The next was near the residential area by Bogwang Elementary School.

The 12-K98 Gate was located in the residential area near Bogwang Elementary School.

The Channel Safety Team staff member, who had been focused on the monitor, suddenly cried out in shock at the wildly fluctuating numbers.

“Team leader! The readings for the 12-K98 Gate are abnormal!”

The team leader, who had just finished lunch and was stretching with a yawn, squinted and replied.

“Reboot it. Errors pop up sometimes.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s a reboot issue! The readings… the readings keep rising!”

The team leader heaved himself up and looked at the employee’s monitor. His expression hardened.

Just as the employee had said, the graphs displayed on the monitor were all abnormal. They were fluctuating wildly.

That could mean only one thing.

A precursor to the explosion of the sealed gate.

‘If the 12-K98 Gate explodes…’

Gulp.

The explosions of sealed channels and gates varied case by case. So, past incidents were used as references for estimation.

The 12-K98 Gate had been classified as an A-rank gate. That meant…

‘A monster horde might be summoned upon explosion…’

Damn it!

The team leader swallowed a curse and shouted.

“Get in touch with the Management Bureau immediately!”

“What emergency response level should we request?”

“The response level… Level 5. Request Level 5.”

“Requesting Level 5 emergency response!”

As the employee pressed the red buzzer next to the monitor and was about to pick up the receiver—

A warning message flashed across the monitor.

“Pull up the screen for the 12-K98 area!”

The employee manipulated the computer but then shook his head, his face turning pale.

“I-It’s not showing up…”

“Move.”

The team leader took over, but the result was the same. As he stood there, dumbfounded, the employee murmured.

“…I think it’s already exploded.”

For a moment, it felt like time had stopped.

But quick action was the only way to survive.

“Contact the Management Bureau with a Level 5 emergency request! Get in touch with the nearby military units to evacuate residents, and also—”

The Channel Safety Team wasn’t the only one receiving the alert. The relevant authorities in District 12 were also notified.

Park Joon-sik and his colleagues, who had been eating a late lunch at the cafeteria, quickly boarded the fire trucks.

They arrived at the scene quickly. It was pure chaos.

Residents and shop owners were evacuating, attack helicopters and drone units hovered overhead, armored vehicles from the military were deployed… and finally, agents from the Management Bureau.

A man in a suit, likely from the Bureau, approached Park Joon-sik.

“Who’s in charge here?”

“I am.”

“You arrived quickly.”

The suited man glanced at his wristwatch. Less than five minutes had passed since the Level 5 emergency request was issued.

Even considering the proximity of the local station, it was a swift response. However…

“Stand by.”

“What?”

“Wait until the Management Bureau has subdued the monsters.”

“But look at those flames!”

Park Joon-sik pointed at the scene.

The true terror of an exploding sealed channel and gate wasn’t just the monsters—it was also the fire.

Even a single monster was too much for an ordinary person to handle, and the explosion's ignition effect had triggered a raging fire. For civilians, this was nothing short of hell.

The flames were already spreading beyond the explosion site. Given that the area was residential, severe damage was expected.

“Even if you go in, there’s nothing you can do.”

“Nothing we can do? Don’t you see those people?”

On the rooftop of a multi-family house engulfed in flames, people were crying out for help.

“Do you see this?”

The suited man sighed and showed his laptop screen.

The ether readings were fluctuating abnormally.

“Monsters will be summoned soon. The number… could be in the thousands, or even tens of thousands.”

“…”

“So wait until the Management Bureau suppresses them. Once we step in, the situation will be resolved quickly.”

Suppressing that many monsters might take over a day. That meant everyone trapped inside would be dead.

‘Even if I can save just one person.’

Why had he become a firefighter? To save people. Not to turn his back on civilians in danger.

Park Joon-sik gathered his fellow firefighters, grabbed their equipment, and stepped beyond the police line.

The suited man stepped forward to warn them.

“Don’t interfere with the Bureau’s work. If you persist, we will formally file a complaint with the Disaster Management Agency.”

“Do as you please.”

Just as the suited man was about to use force to stop them, news broadcast vehicles arrived. From the vans, cameramen and reporters rushed out, capturing the unfolding events.

“The estimated blast radius of the 12-K98 Gate explosion is 150 meters, comparable to the Ulsan Gate incident four years ago…”

“Is the nightmare of Yongsan District being revived? This explosion is of an even higher grade than that incident…”

“Ah! Firefighters are now heading inside to rescue survivors!”

A reporter hurriedly ran over and thrust a microphone forward.

The suited man frowned and backed away as cameras closed in.

“Are you from the District 12 Fire Department?”

“Yes.”

“It looks like you’re about to enter the site. Is that correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“According to reports from the Management Bureau and the Channel Safety Team, a significant number of monsters have either already been summoned or are expected to appear due to the explosion. Even so…”

“We’re going in.”

With those words, Park Joon-sik crossed the police line. The cameraman captured his retreating figure, and the reporter added,

“Let us all pray that these heroes return safely.”