Boy Monster Chapter 3

“It would be wise to briefly memorize the modern historical events that the National Intelligence Service has successfully handled behind the scenes. Of the stars on the NIS’s memorial for fallen agents, four were likely added by Team Leader Jae Eunho. …Though he also did plenty of things the NIS didn’t order.”

1930s: Organized secret societies, raised funds for independence movements, supported righteous armed struggles

1940s: Conducted espionage against North Korea and the U.S. during the Korean War, provided security for the armistice agreement

1950s: Provided security for the Korea-U.S. Friendship and Trade Treaty

1960s: Suppressed the armed communist raid on the Blue House

1970s: Infiltrated as Japanese police to expose the masterminds behind the kidnapping of presidential candidate Kim Dae-jung, arrested and assassinated foreign spies dispatched to the 7.4 Inter-Korean Joint Statement

1980s: Assassinated all targets at the Koryo Hotel during the North-South separated families’ hometown visit, arrested the perpetrators and their backing organization in the KAL flight bombing

1990s: Arrested the cult behind the Odaeyang incident, preemptively arrested a terrorist group planning to bomb major Seoul tunnels

2000s: Conducted espionage in China, the U.S., and East Asia related to international financial speculation during the IMF crisis

2010s: Intensively arrested corporate crime syndicates involved in loan sharking, gambling, human trafficking, and contract killings, arrested Russian hacking organizations

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The mission records of the agent named Jae Eunho were all dangerous, with operations classified at the highest level of secrecy and importance. The attached field photos, including hotel elevator CCTV and the IMF’s U.S. headquarters, were solid evidence, and the face in every photo was the same, appearing to be of similar age.

“So, 37 Hwelju and 38 Yeonri. The numbers don’t match…”

Why did a seventeen-year-old boy try to seize the king’s power? And why did the Yeonri named Jae Eunho kill that boy and earn a curse? It was a history ripe for imagining a tragic love story.

“The last recorded Death Yeonri, Jae Eunho, had such exceptional resonance abilities that in the 20th century, they had to be controlled with pills or a certain dose of poison. A slight misstep, and he could have manipulated the minds of his superiors. What’s peculiar is that, perhaps due to an increasing ability to understand humans with each reincarnation, his resonance abilities have grown remarkably stronger…”

At that moment, vibrations and warning tones filled the lecture hall. It was a disaster alert text.

Emergency Disaster Alert

Public Safety Warning

[Gangnam District Office] 07.02

A fire broke out during electrical maintenance at the underground level of Coex Mall, Samseong Station.

Urban railway operations have been suspended, and an emergency evacuation of citizens within the station is underway.

Fire suppression efforts are in progress, and Samseong Station and Bongeunsa Station are temporarily closed.

Citizens in the vicinity are requested to avoid the area and evacuate safely.

14:27

“Hold on. What’s happening?”

The team leader rushed out of the lecture hall and returned with a training staff member. They intended to show the ongoing incident in real time.

“Think of this as a real operation and observe the situation. You’ll often work with S.E.T.U agents, so pay close attention.”

The lecture hall buzzed with activity. Senior intelligence officers moved back and forth, rapidly exchanging documents on tablet PCs until final confirmation was received. The screen lit up with a scene of police confronting drug cartel members.

Multiple CCTV feeds showed cartel members in suits, wielding weapons, and fleeing. They were scattering to various exits, intending to distract the police and ensure their leader’s safe escape. It was a breathless real-time situation. Having already killed an undercover officer, their clothes soaked in blood, they swung their knives at pursuing police without hesitation.

Citizens remaining in the subway station screamed and fled. One cartel member grabbed a nearby schoolgirl, initiating a hostage situation. A bloodstained blade pressed against her neck. The wild, unbridled look in the gangster’s eyes made everyone watching the screen hold their breath.

A man, clearly part of the same cartel, turned toward the hostage. His face grew increasingly grotesque, blending with another’s, before transforming into a company employee with a corporate ID badge around his neck. It was a First-Rank Wind Hwelju.

“Wow!”

The trainees let out loud gasps. The Wind Hwelju had disguised himself as a cartel member to capture their leader. Looking like a Yeouido stockbroker, the First-Rank Wind Hwelju extended his right hand.

A beaded sacred wooden rosary bracelet jangled under his shirt cuff. As the image of the Four Heavenly Kings flashed on the back of his hand, multiple firearms and weapons fell to the ground, and all nearby cartel members collapsed, prostrate. Bound by an invisible, powerful telekinetic force, they couldn’t move an inch.

Fortunately, the First-Rank Wind Hwelju wielded his telekinesis skillfully without needing a Yeonri’s control. While the police arrested the cartel members, he dashed to another exit, taking down the remaining members.

Meanwhile, footage from Bongeunsa Station showed the exploits of an ordinary-looking college student, an Earth Hwelju, carrying a backpack. The Earth Hwelju temporarily altered the dimensions of the station’s walls and floors, trapping the criminals in a loop. As his rosary emitted a strong light, intersections and staircases repeated endlessly, thwarting their escape.

“Uh… what?”

The problem was another Hwelju. The Fire Hwelju, who had been healing an injured officer in Coex Mall, lost control after overusing his abilities.

The Fire Hwelju, regenerating the wounds of an officer stabbed by a weapon, staggered to his feet. With pupils dilated as wide as his irises, his gestures triggered explosions throughout the corridor.

Mall windows shattered, and sparks ignited clothing, causing flames to erupt. The fire grew amid thick dust. For some reason, the Fire Hwelju’s Yeonri was refusing to resonate.

[Urgent]

Fire Hwelju Second Rank Out of Control

S.E.T.U Team Leader Jae Eunho Summoned Immediately

The team leader stepped down from the podium, offering a final explanation.

“That’s what a Hwelju looks like when their power goes out of control without a Yeonri’s guidance.”

“Isn’t this an emergency?”

“It is.”

Witnessing the chaos, citizens fled while pulling out their smartphones. The First-Rank Wind Hwelju shouted urgently into a remote radio.

— Requesting Team Leader Jae Eunho, urgently!

— Connecting to Team Leader Jae Eunho!

The situation in the S.E.T.U headquarters control room at the NIS was also broadcast live to the lecture hall. A headquarters staff member made a secret communication call. The dial tone cut off quickly, and a man’s voice rang out.

— I’m unable to take your call right now, so you’re being connected to an automated response. Hello, this is Jae Eunho, Team Leader of the S.E.T.U Special Task Force.

The polished voice, like a podcast DJ’s, was smooth and resonant. Oddly, the background music for the automated response was crackling old LP music.

In this urgent moment, a melancholic ballad, the kind heard in a 1920s colonial-era Seoul café, echoed through the speakers. The trainees fell silent, stunned. The First-Rank Wind Hwelju on the screen looked equally incredulous.

— The song you just heard was <hymn of death> by Yoon Sim-deok. Released in 1926 by Korea’s first soprano, Yoon Sim-deok, who also wrote the lyrics, this song carries the backdrop of a tragic love that even death couldn’t part. It can be considered Korea’s first hit pop song. Her voice, singing of the era’s pain and unattainable love, is both heartrending and tender, as if understanding our suffering. I hope it’s helped ease your tension even a little…

Unable to hold back, the team leader scowled.

“What’s with the music podcast?”

— You must be quite inconvenienced to have reached this direct line. For quality improvement, all calls are recorded. Please be reminded that by making this call, you should be prepared for your memories to be overtaken by hallucinations before deployment.

Hoping the connection had succeeded, the rookie trainees listened intently to the low, gentle voice.

— By the way, the weather’s clear today. With low fine dust levels, you might even see the daytime moon. Oh, did you know there’s a total lunar eclipse on September 8 this year? A total lunar eclipse is one of three types of lunar eclipses, where the moon is completely…

“Who’s he mocking? Is he screwing with us?”

The team leader finally snapped in irritation. The NIS command grew frantic.

— Has this been relayed to the Ministry of Defense? What about the deputy security chief? Find someone who can connect the direct line and call them!

— Please! Haven’t we located Team Leader Jae Eunho yet? The cartel leader hasn’t been caught, so where is he and what’s he doing?

— We’re in trouble. Even with the servers blocked, it’s spreading through personal messengers.

Videos of the Fire Hwelju’s rampage were spreading rapidly across various SNS platforms. A trainee, anxiously tapping the desk, shouted.

“Can’t we send a special forces unit instead of Team Leader Jae Eunho to stop the rampage?”

“No way.”

The team leader, roughly rubbing his eyes, responded.

“At this stage, ordinary abilities can’t handle the situation.”

A computer tracking Jae Eunho’s whereabouts displayed CCTV footage from the National Museum of Korea. The man was pacing the exhibit hall with long strides.

His sturdy yet naturally refined and slender physique, contrasted by a pale face against a black suit and tie, was far from the rugged image of a special forces leader. He exuded an intellectual charm fitting for an NIS intelligence officer. The calm gaze behind thin rectangular glasses was hard to read, its depth and emotion inscrutable. His appearance matched the voice of the automated response DJ.

A Yeonri cursed with eternal reincarnation for killing the Death Hwelju.

His clear face seemed ill-suited to such a title. The dissonance sent chills through the rookie trainees, leaving them speechless.

The man calmly looked up at the CCTV, adjusting his glasses. The finger sliding up the bridge of his nose was his middle finger.