Author's Note: Here is the third and final part of Im Yong's monthly report. This was all going to be one match, but I got lazy and ran out of time. Anyway, I've dragged this on long enough. This season is going to end in two weeks. I don't know what I am going to do next week. I am debating on whether I want to kill off Qi or not. I am still dancing around with that. I will try to figure that out. For now, enjoy this week's match.
Match Thirty-Three: Night Shift III:
Im Yong has plenty of stories to share about his night shift patrol job. There are always going to be weird shit to be seen on these types of jobs. But something seems a bit… off. He was supposed to log everything that he sees. The following is everything he has seen in the last month.
This is part three of three.
21.
Mi-Soon and I are going to explore where the border between our houses used to be. There have been reports of activity lately. Mi-Soon isn't too comfortable with me going with her.
"Stay by me, okay?" she told me. I didn't argue. So far, listening to her has helped me to keep it together. But even she's worried about this mission.
We left about 0300 hours. Mi-Soon sat by me in the jeep. Ryu was driving. There were two more officers with us. We didn't speak the whole drive there. I kept my gun by my side.
We would be at the border by seven in the morning. We weren't given many details. Just that we were investigating strange activity near the former border. Mi-Soon held my hand.
"Are you okay?" I whispered. Mi-Soon made herself nod as she nodded.
"Yeah," she said.
"Everything okay back there?" Ryu asked over his shoulder.
"Yes," I said. "We're fine." He just turned back to the dark road.
22.
We set up camp. The checkpoint looked empty. I couldn't remember who was supposed to be here. Ryu filled in the details once reached our destination.
"We lost contact with Lieutenant Park," he said. "He and his men had vanished into thin air."
"So we are finding out what happened?" one of our comrades asked.
"Yes," Ryu said. We all looked at each other. So this was a search and rescue along with an investigation.
"How do we know they are alive?" one of our comrades asked.
"We don't," Ryu said. He opened the door and got out. We all followed behind. Mi-Soon squeezed my hand.
"Stay by me, okay?" she whispered. I nodded.
So began our mission.
23.
What exactly happened? I am still trying to figure that one out. Mi-Soon doesn't have an answer either. I will try my best to tell you what happened.
We went into the forest. He had to find the checkpoint, look at what was going on, report back, and get out. We didn't believe it was going to be simple. We just didn't know how bad it was going to be.
"Stay on the trail," Ryu told us.
"Yes!" we all say. And off we went. Everything started out fine at first. Not much was going on. To be honest, I don't know if the woods are creepier during the day or night. Mi-Soon wouldn't let go of my hand. We all split off into pairs. Of course, Mi-Soon stayed with me. This was the time for me to ask questions.
"Mi-Soon," I said.
"Hm?" she asked. My eyes shifted back and forth.
"What is really going on here?" I asked in a whisper. She glanced over at me.
"What do you mean?" she asked. I dropped my shoulders and sighed. How do I put this?
"What are we really looking for?" I asked. Her grip tightened around my hand.
"A dragon," she said in a low voice. I narrowed my eyes as I gave her a strange look.
"What?" I asked. I hoped that she was joking. The look on her face told me otherwise. I frowned as I noticed how she was looking at me.
"Oh…" I whispered. I looked down at my feet. Still, I had a feeling there was something else that she wasn't telling me.
"Mi-Soon," I said again.
"Please don't ask me any more questions," she said in a trembling voice. "I don't think I can explain it to you in words. You are just going to have to see it for yourself."
"Mi-Soon…"
"Please!" She took a breath. "Just trust me on this."
I closed my mouth. I squeezed her hand back. We walked further down the path.
24.
We weren't given much to work with. The higher-ups never told us specifically what we were looking for. We were just looking around blindly. Mi-Soon and I haven't been talking since I tried to find out the truth. She wouldn't even look at me. I didn't know what to say. I probably shouldn't question her. I need to trust her.
As we walked along, I noticed something off about the woods. At first, my eyes shifted back and forth.
"Why is it so quiet here?" I asked. Mi-Soon turned and looked at me. She took a listen for herself.
"You're right," she said. I put my hand to my gun. I looked around behind me. I don't like this.
"Stay by me," she said.
"Yes," I said, nodding. We walked further down the path. I kept looking behind me the whole time.
25.
I think around 0900 hours, our radios crackling on.
"Hello?" Mi-Soon asked. I leaned in for a listen. At first, all we heard was static.
"Hello?" she asked again. "Is there anybody there? Hello? Hello?" My radio crackled one too.
"Hello?" I asked. Through the static, a voice struggled to come through. My sister and I looked at each other.
"What the hell?" I mouthed. She shook her head. Then the radios went silent.
"What was that?" I asked. Mi-Soon couldn't give me an answer. I looked up when I thought I heard something.
"Can we just get going?" I asked.
"Right," she said. We started walking on the path again.
26.
I don't like this. It keeps getting worse with each step.
"Mi-Soon," I said.
"What is it?" she asked, not turning around.
"We haven't heard from anybody for a while," I said.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You think they are okay?"
"Yeah." She didn't show so convinced with her own words. I pressed my lips together as I nodded. I kept my hand by my gun.
"Do you think we should go back?" I asked. Mi-Soon glanced over her shoulder. I went quiet. Probably shouldn't have asked. I was in the military now. I wasn't supposed to be afraid.
"How are you doing?" Mi-Soon asked.
"Huh?" I asked. She looked over her shoulder at me.
"I'm a bit scared," she said. I had a puzzled look on my face.
"What?" I asked.
"I don't want to lose you again," I said. She grabbed me by the hands. I noticed the look of desperation in her eyes.
"Mi-Soon…" I said. She shook her head. I pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay," I whispered. "I won't leave you." My sister looked up at me.
"You promise?" I asked.
"Yes," I said, dropping my shoulders. She buried her face in my chest.
"Thank you, brother," she whispered. I was about to speak when I heard something rustling in the bushes.
"What was that?" I asked. Mi-Soon shook her head as she looked at me. We held our guns to our sides.
"Let's go," she whispered. I held my breath as I followed behind.
27.
When did it get so dark out here? I tried to look around when I thought I hard footsteps behind us.
"Have you had any contact with the others yet?" I asked.
"Uh-uh," Mi-Soon said. Only her hand was keeping me close by. If we got lost, that would make things worse. The sounds around us became dull. I slowly drew in a breath. Did we even know where we were going now?
"Mi-Soon," I said.
"Uh-huh?" she asked.
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked. She didn't answer.
"We haven't heard from our comrades either," I said. Still no answer. My stomach turned. Oh boy…
Mi-Soon turned on her flashlight. I did so as well. We got a better look at the path. There was nothing but trees ahead. I held my breath.
"Do you think we should go back?" I asked. "I think we've strayed off the path. Maybe we should try and radio the others."
"We can't," she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked. Mi-Soon stopped in her tracks. She didn't turn around.
"The radio can't pick up a signal," she said.
"What?" I asked.
"I'm so sorry," Mi-Soon said.
"Well… do you know how to get back to the meeting spot?" I asked.
"I'm so sorry," she said again. I didn't believe what I was hearing. I struggled to say something at first.
"How long have we been lost?" I asked.
"I don't know," she said. I slammed my hand against my forehead.
"I don't believe this!" I shouted.
"I'm so sorry," Mi-Soon said again.
"Stop saying that," I said. I was about to say something else, but I had the following that we weren't alone anymore.
28.
"Hello?" I asked, looking around.
"What is it?" Mi-Soon asked.
"Shhh," I whispered. I had my hand to my gun.
"We know you're here!" I said. "Come out and show yourself!" I heard Mi-Soon whip out her own gun. Up until now, there has been no sounds or movement around us. I clicked my tongue.
"Im Yong…" Mi-Soon said.
"Shhh!" I said again. I took a step back. I clenched my teeth. I didn't like this.
"Where are you?!" I shouted. "Come out and show yourself!"
"Im Yong!" my sister yelled.
"What?!" I asked. I barely got the word out of my mouth.
Wham!
29.
It felt like everything around me was on fire.
I drew open my eyes. All I could see were walls of fire. I would be lying if I said that I didn't panic at first. But then I noticed that there was no heat to this fire. I looked around, confused. The fire didn't even touch my body. I looked down at my hands. I could see through my body.
I noticed that I wasn't alone.
"Hello?" I asked. I couldn't hear my voice. The sounds of the fire drowned it out. A pair of hands started to caress my body. I froze as sweat covered my body. I couldn't move. I glanced over my shoulder.
Those eyes.
The deep red made me think that I was staring into the pits of hell. Several more eyes opened up around us on the ceiling. I could hear my heart pounding to my ears. Her clutch around me grew tighter. (I don't know how I could tell it was a woman. I just knew.) I felt like I was choking. I thought my body was sinking into her. Was she going to suck me into her body?
Then she started speaking to me.
My body felt cold as I went stiff. Her words came through so clearly in my brain. I still remember everything that she said.
"You will all burn as you become a part of me. Each night as you sleep, I destroy the world."
My eyes widened. I wanted to scream out, but my throat was sinking into her open mouth. I shut my eyes as I thought that I was getting sucked in.
Suddenly, a hand reached down and pulled me upwards. It all happened so fast. I landed on the ground with a thud. When I looked up, Mi-Soon was looking down at me.
"Are you alright?" she asked. I lay on the ground panting and I nodded.
"Yeah," I said. She pulled me to my feet and had to walk me back to the meeting place. Only one of the other comrades was leaned up against the jeep with a giant stab wound in his abdomen. He tried to stop the bleeding. Mi-Soon treated his wounds as I radioed for help. Ryu and the rest of them have been missing since.
30.
It's worse than we thought. There is something in the country that is reacting to whatever is happening in Japan. From what I hear, things are getting worse over there. I can't get the words that woman said out of my head.
You will all burn as you become a part of me. Each night as you sleep, I destroy the world.
That has me really worried. I fear for the world. If anyone else reads this, I wish you nothing but luck with your survival.
