Ch.155Enemy of My Enemy (2)

“Dabin. Are you really going to stay like this?”

“Yes. I’ll keep doing this.”

“Ugh.”

Serim is hugging the radio tightly inside her clothes.

“It’s too cold.”

“It’ll be fine if you bear with it a little longer.”

The Global Occult Coalition.

A secret organization composed of psychics, wizards, reality benders, shamans, and others.

From the Foundation’s perspective, they’re “anomalous entities with intelligence” that should be contained.

However, they reject the Foundation’s containment and aim to build their own society behind the scenes of reality.

In other words, they’ve never been on good terms with the Foundation.

That would be even more true now that the Foundation has gone completely insane.

No matter how secretive they are, the Coalition wouldn’t just stand by and watch humanity being exterminated.

Since the Foundation has already declared war, the Coalition must be making moves as well.

The most notable example is the psychic communication network.

The Global Occult Coalition has a communication system that can contact all paranormal individuals.

Through this, the Coalition secures new members and protects young paranormal individuals from the Foundation’s containment measures.

This is exactly the contact I’m waiting for.

Normally, Serim would be able to detect the transmission without any special measures, but things are different now.

The Foundation must be interfering.

Static-

Crackle-

Noise flows from the powered-off radio.

A completely turned-off machine that shouldn’t make any sound.

Yet static comes out.

It means the Coalition’s contact is being disrupted by something.

So what should we do?

Just like holding up a phone when the connection is bad, we need a way to improve the signal reception.

My solution was to increase the area of skin contact between the radio and Serim.

The Coalition’s communications work through devices in contact with a paranormal individual’s body.

That’s why I asked Serim to hug the radio.

So it touches her bare skin under her clothes.

“Nngh.”

“Is it still cold?”

“No. The sound is vibrating, it tickles…”

“Just bear with it a little longer.”

Static-

Crackle-

There’s still only noise coming from the radio, but the contact will definitely come.

After all, in the future, it was the Global Occult Coalition that led refugees against the Foundation.

Meanwhile, Heo Yoon is wrapping a bandage around my ankle.

Without proper splints, she’s using chopsticks taped together as a makeshift one.

Snip.

Heo Yoon cuts the bandage with scissors.

“Done.”

This is all the treatment we can do here.

But even this is relatively good.

If Heo Yoon hadn’t been a nurse, we wouldn’t even have been able to wrap the bandage properly.

“There. All bandaged up.”

“Thank you, noona.”

“Come to think of it, it feels weird being called noona now? Maybe because you never saw me when I was a man? From what I’ve seen, you were a woman from the beginning, Dabin.”

“I guess so. Well…”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I gave a vague answer.

Better to change the subject.

I turned my attention to Seok Hyunmin beside me.

“Thanks for your hard work, hyung. Getting all the necessary things from around here. Must have been tough.”

“Yeah.”

“Haewon, you worked hard too. Getting all the necessary things from around here.”

Although we had luggage from the apartment, we were still short on supplies.

Ice. Bandages. Radio.

Seok Hyunmin and Jung Haewon deserved credit for bringing the necessary items.

“Yes, noona.”

“See? Jung Haewon calls me noona. You’re the only one addressing people backwards, you know?”

Heo Yoon doesn’t miss the opportunity to tease me again.

“Ahaha…”

“Try calling me unni. Un. Ni.”

“Ah. It’s too awkward, I can’t.”

“Dabin. What about me? You used to call me unni, didn’t you?”

This time Serim joins in on teasing me.

“Really? You called Serim unni? Why won’t you do it for me?”

“Ugh…”

Now Yoon Daju too.

“I should be called unni instead of oppa too.”

I’m surrounded by three women who are having fun teasing me.

“Dabin unni!”

“Call me unni too. Come on?”

“Dabin. Me too, unni.”

“Uuuuugh…”

I’m so embarrassed I could die.

They want me to say “unni”?

With my own mouth?

I did it with Serim before, but that was just going with the flow… I had no choice but to do it briefly.

Yes, just for a very brief moment.

I’m not ready to accept this yet.

Maybe after all this is over and a lot of time has passed.

But right now, I absolutely won’t do it. Absolutely not.

Static.

Crackle-crackle.

[“…to all para…individuals…”]

Just in time, the transmission connected.

“It’s working! Everyone, shh.”

The chatter immediately died down.

[“This broadcast is…using…in all languages of the world…”]

Riko, Robin, and Dan look at each other.

The deep male voice continued reading the announcement in the silence.

[“The Coalition is currently…activities. …case…through…moving… Due to…relationship with…”]

The signal still isn’t coming through properly.

I quickly urged Serim.

“Noona. The radio! Hug it tighter!”

“Got it!”

Serim hugs the radio tightly.

Not even thinking about covering her exposed skin under her clothes, Serim pressed herself against the radio as much as possible.

Thanks to that, the radio voice starts to come through more clearly.

[“The Coalition has decided to protect…against the Foundation.”]

[“That is all.”]

Nothing else came through after that.

All we could hear was the faint anomalous radio waves from the Foundation.

Not even static came from the powered-off radio anymore.

“Did anyone hear anything?”

When I asked, Seok Hyunmin shook his head.

“…I don’t know. Couldn’t hear anything.”

“Daju?”

“I couldn’t make out the important parts either.”

Serim looks at me anxiously.

“Dabin. What should we do…? Was I too late?”

“No. The broadcast won’t be just this once, so we’ll have another chance. We just need to hold out until then.”

“Until when? I don’t think we have much time.”

Heo Yoon gives a bitter smile.

Everyone sighs without prompting.

“Did you really not hear anything? What about the others?”

It seems Jung Haewon, Heo Yoon, and Yoon Daju didn’t hear anything more either.

Seok Hyunmin mutters regretfully.

“If only it weren’t for the movie.”

“Then we’d be exposed to the anomalous radio waves. This was the best option.”

“…You’re right. You’re right.”

Seok Hyunmin sighs deeply again.

He wiggles his fingers in the air.

“I want a cigarette. Anyone want to come smoke?”

As he says this, he pulls out cigarettes from his pocket.

He must have picked them up earlier when he went out to get supplies like the radio.

“Hey, Jung Haewon. Want to come smoke?”

“I’m a minor.”

“Right. I don’t want to go alone though.”

Seok Hyunmin must really want a cigarette, as he even resorts to short English phrases.

Just as he was about to call Dan with a “Hey,” it happened.

Static-crackle-

“Shh!”

Heo Yoon covered Seok Hyunmin’s mouth.

At the same time, Serim took off her top and lay down on the radio.

She was now in just her underwear.

But there was no time to look in that direction.

The Coalition’s broadcast started again immediately.

[“This broadcast repeats every 5 minutes.”]

Perhaps thanks to Serim’s efforts.

This time the voice came through crystal clear without any static.

A sense of relief spread throughout the theater.

[“To all wizards, reality benders, psychics, and paranormal individuals, we relay the following information.

This broadcast is transmitted in all languages of the world using the psychic network and ‘translation ability.’

Due to interference from various memes and anomalous radio waves transmitted by the Foundation, paranormal individuals listening to this broadcast are advised to keep the device as close to their body as possible.”]

[“We are the Global Occult Coalition.

We are the very existence of magic that has been excluded from reality and common sense.

We have stood against the Foundation from behind the scenes of reality for our freedom.”]

Magic.

The Coalition’s term for what the Foundation calls “anomalies.”

To be precise, it’s a difference in perspective on the same concept.

From the Foundation’s perspective, they are anomalies, irrational objects that must be contained.

From the Coalition’s perspective, they are magic, objects that must be liberated.

The long conflict between the two organizations will soon end.

Now that the Foundation has declared war and announced the end of humanity.

One of them must perish.

[“Now I will explain the current situation.

The Foundation, which has suppressed magic and confined magical beings, is now trying to annihilate humanity itself.

We do not know the reason.

We only know that there are countless victims.”]

The man’s voice became more resolute.

[“Against the Foundation, the Global Occult Coalition is currently conducting relief activities.

We will protect the lives of our comrades, magical beings, of course.

Furthermore, we will help evacuate all of humanity and intelligent beings.”]

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

But I didn’t expect them to be this friendly.

From the beginning, the Global Occult Coalition wanted to save all of humanity.

[“Of course, we have not forgotten the history of persecution.

Witch hunts. Confinement in mental institutions.

Magic has been oppressed in the name of common sense and normalcy.

But ultimately, we are one.

Although the Coalition is a secret organization operating behind the scenes of reality, we also aim for a reality where everyone lives together.

The Coalition will save everyone against the Foundation.”]

[“Refugees can move to safe zones by saying a specific number at phone booths.

The number is 3-5-1-2-9.

The number is updated every three broadcasts. Please continue to listen to the broadcast by keeping your communication device with you as much as possible. That is all.”]

Click.

The broadcast ended.

Everyone started preparing to leave without prompting.

Seok Hyunmin had already put his cigarettes away,

and Robin, Dan, and Riko were hurriedly packing their things.

“Let’s pack quickly too.”

I tried to get up quickly, but Heo Yoon pressed down on my shoulder to make me sit back down.

“Dabin, you stay put. I’ll pack everything.”

“But I…”

“Ankle.”

Heo Yoon’s casually thrown word left me speechless.

I didn’t realize I would be such a burden.

“Right. Has anyone seen a phone booth nearby?”

“…We won’t be able to find it through normal means.”

Phone booths aren’t that common these days.

No, they’ve almost disappeared completely. Especially in urban areas.

With smartphones being so widespread, there’s no need to maintain phone booths.

What the radio broadcast mentioned is something a bit different.

I felt somewhat relieved.

Finally, there was something I could do.

While helping a little with the packing, I continued.

“We’ll need to use anomaly observation.”