Ch.8Chapter 8 – Police Station

Shin Jaehyuk, Kim Jaemin, and Jung Malsuk ran toward Gwanak Police Station. They hadn’t encountered any imps so far. Fortunately, it seemed that no hell gate had opened on the upper part of Gwanak Mountain.

People walking leisurely on the street gave strange looks to the three desperately running figures. Of course, Shin Jaehyuk didn’t stop to kindly explain that a hell gate had opened and a demon army had emerged from it.

He had neither the time nor the inclination, knowing people would likely treat him like a madman rather than believe him. Just as they were doing to Mrs. Jung Malsuk, who was shouting at the top of her lungs for people to run away.

Occasionally, people curiously observed the pitch-black silhouettes visible between buildings. From a distance, the hell gate looked like an awkward CGI superimposed on reality. A clumsy, unrealistic black sphere resembling a beginner’s first attempt at 3D modeling. People took out their phones to photograph the strange phenomenon.

‘That’s good. Electronic devices aren’t malfunctioning at this distance. That means the military should be able to deploy soon. The situation might be resolved faster than I expected.’

Shin Jaehyuk considered borrowing (or from that person’s perspective, snatching) a phone to call and warn his acquaintances. But he soon abandoned the plan when he realized he couldn’t remember their phone numbers.

The group ran and ran until they finally reached the police station. Police cars were leaving the station in succession, sirens blaring. They must have received reports about the situation.

‘Damn, they’ll struggle without proper weapons.’

The police station was quiet inside, with most personnel likely deployed to the scene. People sat in chairs with numbered tickets, peacefully watching TV news while waiting for their turn. It seemed the news hadn’t reached the broadcasting stations yet.

Shin Jaehyuk headed straight to the counter. People waiting in line complained when he approached the receptionist without taking a number. A chubby police officer came out from behind the counter to intervene.

“Sir, do you see the people waiting? Please take a number over there and wait your turn.”

“I’m police.”

Shin Jaehyuk showed his police badge from his pocket. It was the inspector ID he had prepared a few days ago to visit the chopstick murderer Kwak Taewoo. Jaehyuk silently praised his past self for not bothering to change clothes. The officer’s attitude immediately became respectful upon seeing the higher rank, though his eyes showed some suspicion at how young Jaehyuk looked for his position. Jaehyuk glanced at the officer’s nameplate.

“Officer Kim Jungsu. This is an emergency.”

“Yes, sir! Information Team Leader Kim Jungsu at your service. How can I help you, Inspector?”

“Black holes have suddenly appeared in the city with monsters emerging from them. You must have received reports about this? We need to contact the military immediately to deploy tanks and soldiers.”

“Ah, you mean the reports we just received? About wild animals appearing in groups and causing casualties? Probably wild boars. Thank you for coming to inform us personally.”

Kim Jungsu scratched his head and replied nonchalantly. Frustrated by this response, Jaehyuk shouted.

“No, not wild boars—monsters! Pull back your officers first. They can’t handle this. Issue a retreat order immediately. Right now!”

“Y-yes, sir?”

The waiting people began murmuring in confusion. Kim Jungsu stammered as he sent a radio message. Had it been properly conveyed?

“Uh, what’s going on? What did you say? Monsters?”

“Shit! Are we already too late?”

“Hey! Hey! Answer me properly! I’m sorry, sir. The radio connection was cut.”

‘How could it happen so quickly when they just left?’

Cold sweat ran down Jaehyuk’s back. Kim Jungsu, connecting the disturbing radio message with Jaehyuk’s words, looked at him with an anxious expression. He seemed to finally realize something serious was happening.

Right, now was the time to calmly assess the situation and think of countermeasures rather than getting angry. Suppressing his frustration, Jaehyuk asked:

“How many combat-ready personnel remain in the station?”

“Since we judged there were many wild boars… I mean monsters, all available field personnel have been deployed… Most of the remaining staff are administrative. The station chief is also away today, so you’re currently the highest-ranking officer here, Inspector.”

Being a fake police officer, Shin Jaehyuk couldn’t directly contact the military or mobilize police forces. His identity would be exposed immediately. Instead, he decided to contact a real police officer he knew.

“Contact Officer Cha Eunkyung, leader of the Second Team, Criminal Investigation Division, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. I need to use a computer and phone.”

When Jaehyuk mentioned a specific position and name, Kim Jungsu believed him and followed his orders. While Kim was calling Cha Eunkyung, Jaehyuk accessed the deep web from the police station computer. He logged into “Gehenna,” an illegal private request site, and left a message on Mr. B’s direct line.

‘Emergency. Seoul, Gwanak-gu, Bongcheon-dong, mass appearance of unidentified monsters. Requesting immediate assistance. Current location: Gwanak Police Station. Military deployment requested if possible.’

Mr. B should check the emergency contact network soon. With his subordinates infiltrated in key positions worldwide, Jaehyuk could expect positive results. Just as he hurriedly exited the deep web, an employee handed him the phone.

“Hello, this is Cha Eunkyung.”

“Noona! Where are you? Are you safe?”

“Is that Shin Jaehyuk? I’m at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Sajik-dong, Jongno-gu. Safe? What do you mean? And how are you using a police station phone?”

“That’s not important right now. Haven’t you received any reports? About monsters appearing?”

“Ah, yes. We’ve been getting quite a few reports suddenly. Something about monsters emerging from black spheres. We haven’t figured out what’s happening yet, but we’ve sent some officers to the scene, so we’ll know soon. I think it’s probably just wild animals.”

“No, they’re not wild animals—they’re real monsters. Demons from hell gates.”

“Demons? Are you jok—”

“I’m not joking. Contact the military immediately for deployment. This is serious. People are dying as we speak. If you doubt me, check the nearby CCTV footage. The cameras right next to the spheres are probably broken, but those a bit farther away should be working.”

“What…?”

Cha Eunkyung was clearly confused, caught between the incredible content and Jaehyuk’s serious tone.

“…Alright. It’s all unbelievable, but I’ll trust you. Because it’s you saying it.”

“…!”

Jaehyuk was touched again by how much she trusted him. He repeated his urgent request before hanging up, then called his assistant, Lee Yujin.

***

Lee Yujin is a hacker. A 23-year-old genius studying Computer Science at Seoul National University. She began teaching herself hacking at age 10 and has studied it for about 13 years. She takes pride in her exceptional skills, even by her own assessment.

She frequently visited internet communities, where she encountered a role-player with the nickname “MasterPaladin” who had maintained a cult leader persona for over 10 years. She became curious about this eccentric person’s real identity.

She had the ability to uncover it. Being a quite capable hacker, it took her less than 30 minutes to hack the site and trace “MasterPaladin’s” IP address. Filled with anticipation, she headed to the location indicated by the IP…

It was a trap. She should have questioned why the security was significantly stronger than an average home PC. Driven by competitive spirit, she twisted her way through the security, but the other party seemed to notice the intruder’s presence.

The opponent was an extremely skilled hacker. Much better than herself. Self-taught in hacking, she wasn’t familiar with information warfare between hackers. She had infiltrated to uncover personal information, but instead experienced her computer being hacked in return—a first for her.

Before she could react, her personal information fell into the opponent’s hands. Her computer became unresponsive. Neither keyboard nor mouse inputs worked. Even pressing the power button didn’t shut down the computer.

Just as she was about to resort to the final measure—forcibly unplugging the power—a notepad opened on her monitor. Korean text was being typed from somewhere across the internet. The other party was communicating with her.

‘You’re quite capable. Let’s work together on something.’

Fortunately, the opponent showed positive interest in the intruder who had attempted to hack his computer. Her skill in breaking through his security had apparently impressed him. She knew this offer was extremely generous. She had no right to refuse, as the other party held all her information.

The job he proposed involved illegal hacking requests. Fortunately, nothing involving serious crimes. Rather, they were relatively “righteous” tasks like investigating suspicious organizations or uncovering drug trafficking routes of criminal organizations.

The compensation was quite satisfactory. Earning more than a semester’s tuition per request was too much for a college student to refuse. Thus, their strange partnership continued.

One day, the other party formally proposed that she become his assistant. After careful consideration, Yujin made her decision. Having observed his behavior for a year, she found him quite righteous and reasonable for someone working in the deep web. With the substantial compensation, there was no reason to refuse. She accepted his proposal. His response was, ‘Let’s meet in person.’ He said he would come to her.

Yujin waited for him at a cafe near her school. At the appointed time, a handsome man entered. Unlike his nickname “MasterPaladin,” he was quite thin. Yujin had expected someone older given his 10+ years in online communities, but he appeared to be around her age. They introduced themselves. He called himself Shin Jaehyuk.

He was more ordinary and reasonable than she had expected, but his skills were anything but ordinary. He said he was surprised to find someone capable of breaking through his backup computer’s security. Just as Yujin became interested in him, he became interested in her.

Yujin was shocked to learn that the heavily secured system was his hobby PC, not his professional one. They chatted and found many common interests—both were immersed in internet communities and loved hacking.

Yujin and Jaehyuk got along well. Out of respect for his hacking skills, Yujin called him “senior,” and he called her his assistant. They signed a contract and officially became partners—Jaehyuk as the principal and Yujin as the agent. Yujin assisted with the requests Jaehyuk received. This relationship had continued for over two years.

***

Today, Yujin was spending time browsing internet communities in her department’s computer lab. Around 3 PM, strange photos began appearing—pictures of black spheres taken from a distance. At first, she thought they were photoshopped, but photos from different angles kept coming. For some reason, there were no close-up shots. These photos became a hot topic across various online forums.

Yujin grew curious. Could she get attention by posting close-up photos? The hacker immediately acted on her curiosity by hacking into CCTV cameras in the area where the spheres had been spotted.

She soon realized that all nearby CCTV cameras were non-operational. This was definitely not a normal situation.

‘This is strange…’

She hacked into CCTV cameras farther away. These were working, showing shocking footage of green creatures attacking people.

“Ugh…”

What is this? Is it real? What’s happening? Is it a prank?

The footage continued playing amid her shock and confusion. The strange creatures were spreading. It was like a movie scene. But her reason told her this was reality. She needed to alert people and warn them. She quickly uploaded the footage to online communities, warning anyone in the area to flee immediately.

The response was disappointing. People seemed to think it was fake. Her pleas were met with downvotes and insulting comments. As she was trying to convince the netizens…

Her phone rang. An unknown number appeared on the screen. Somehow, she felt it was related to this situation. She answered instinctively.

“Hello?”

“Ah, thank goodness! The call went through. It’s me, Assistant.”