Baki quietly set his cup down on the table.
Night was seeping in through the gaps in the windows. The three of them were the only ones left in the café.
"I'm going to Busan."
Seongji didn't answer right away. He looked down at his cup for a moment, then raised his head. "Alone?"
"Yeah."
Seongji was quiet for a moment. He already knew Kitae was moving toward Busan. He also knew that Baki wasn't the kind of person who could sit still and wait. "Alright. Leave the rest to me."
Baki nodded.
Reporter Kim looked at the two of them. She had been covering this world for many years, had seen all kinds of people and all kinds of silence. But this kind of silence still struck her as strange. Nothing had been said, and yet everything had already been decided.
---
By the time night had fully fallen, the inside of the warehouse was even darker than before.
Daniel arrived first. Then Hudson, then Vin Jin. A little while later Vasco pushed the door open and stepped inside, sweeping the room with a glance. "Little Daniel, you call us out of nowhere, what's going on?"
"Sit down first," Daniel said. "I'll talk when everyone's here."
Zack came in last. Jacket on, both hands in his pockets. He sat down and took a single look at the table. Jay Hong was already in the corner, sitting as quietly as a stone.
Daniel stood up.
"Let's hear from Hudson first."
Hudson crossed his arms and began to speak. Taesoo Ma had gone to Daegu four days ago, and there had been no contact since. The king of Daegu had vanished. So had the king of Suwon. When he finished, the warehouse went quiet.
That was when Zack spoke. His voice was lower than usual. "The old monk... The king of Daegu. I also have been trying to contact him. So he's really missing..."
Everyone looked at him.
Vasco slowly uncrossed his arms. "We have to save them."
"We will," Daniel said. "But first, we have to understand why did they go missing."
Jay said nothing. He just stared at the table. His gaze rested on Daniel's face for a single second, then pulled away.
Daniel spoke slowly. "I think I know who's behind this."
---
Flashback
It had happened the night before.
Daniel was walking home when his phone vibrated. He stopped and looked at the screen.
Jake Kim.
He stared at the name for a second. Jake didn't call without a reason. Daniel answered.
"Where are you right now?"
"At the park.."
"Stay there. I'm coming to you."
---
Jake appeared ten minutes later. Plain jacket. Both hands in his pockets. On the surface he looked no different from usual. But the way he was standing was different. Like he was holding something down.
They found a bench far from the crowd and sat down side by side.
Jake looked out at the street for a while. Then he spoke.
"I have an older brother. I only found out recently."
Daniel said nothing and waited.
"Kitae Kim. Gapryong's son. Different mother." Jake's jaw tightened slightly. "Gapryong never acknowledged him. Not once."
"Where is he now?" Daniel asked.
"He's come back to Korea." Jake looked directly at Daniel. "He says he's going to reignite the era of the 0th generation." He paused for a moment. "He killed all my other siblings."
Daniel received those words in silence.
"He will be going to Busan," Jake continued. "I have heard that the King of Busan is Gapryong's disciple. For Kitae, that alone is enough." He leaned forward slightly. "I have to get into Busan before Kitae does. Warn them. Build an alliance. I can't do it alone."
"You need Allied's strength," Daniel said.
"Yeah."
Daniel looked out at the street. A couple walked past, laughing and talking about something. A delivery motorbike threaded its way between parked cars. The world went on as it always had, as though nothing in it had changed at all.
"Recently few 1st generation Kings have gone missing," Daniel said. "Could it be his work?"
"It's him. I'm sure." Not a moment's hesitation.
Daniel sat with that in silence for a while, turning it over in his mind.
Then he looked at Jake. "Alright."
Something in Jake's face came loose. Not quite relief. But close to it.
"I will inform the others," Daniel said.
---
Present
Daniel finished speaking.
The silence lasted for a while.
Zack was the first to open his mouth. "One person took Daegu, Ansan, and Suwon, all of it?" A short, dry laugh escaped him. "That's actually true?"
"It's true," Daniel said. Not a trace of expression.
Throughout Daniel's account Zack had been staring at the table. Now he raised both hands to cover his face and slowly lowered them. Something in his eyes had changed. A quiet anger. The kind that had no need to make itself heard. "I'm bringing the old monk back. No matter what."
Hudson crossed his arms and gave a single nod.
Daniel looked at both of them in turn. Then he placed both hands flat on the table. "Then we have to go to Busan first. Before Kitae does."