6. How to Send Off a Calamity
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar place. It wasn’t the old woman’s home, a cave-like dwelling shrouded in blackout curtains. Instead, I was in a bright white room, flooded with light.
I pushed aside the soft blanket and sat up. The silence around me felt unnaturally deep. I glanced around the excessively spacious room, but there was no one in sight. I was alone here.
“Father…? Vin?”
I called out to them, my voice unsteady, but there was no response. A sense of unease crept over me as I climbed out of bed, my bare feet meeting the cold marble floor. A shiver ran through me at the cool sensation.
I had no idea where I was, but if I wanted to find them, I had to leave this room. I carefully made my way to the door, making sure my footsteps were silent. Just as I reached for the handle, the doorknob, which had been still moments ago, suddenly rattled and turned.
The door swung open, and someone stepped inside. I tensed in readiness, my fists clenched in wary anticipation. But the moment I saw the face of the person entering, partially hidden by the door, the strength in my raised fist drained away.
“Father.”
“My child.”
Han Jae-hoon’s face twisted as if he were about to cry the moment he saw me standing there. He spread his arms wide and pulled me into a tight embrace. As I was enveloped in his familiar scent, I gently patted his broad back, which trembled as he held me.
“You collapsed so suddenly. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. As long as you’re alright, that’s all that matters.”
It was a reassurance meant for me, but just as much for himself. As if he needed to hear those words to believe them, he kept repeating them, his body trembling with relief.
After a moment, he took a deep breath, steadied himself, and finally let go of me. Up close, I could see that his eyes were red and swollen—he must have cried while I was unconscious. Seeing his raw, transparent sorrow made my chest tighten with emotion.
“You should rest a little longer. Why did you get up?”
“There was no one here…”
“My poor child, were you scared?”
Han Jae-hoon smiled warmly and stroked my hair. I had meant to say that I was only startled rather than frightened, but I bit my lip and stayed silent. If I was being honest, waking up in a strange place had scared me.
“You must be tired. Try to rest a bit more.”
“No, I’m fine.”
I was already fully awake, and the thought of lying in bed any longer felt pointless. As Han Jae-hoon kept asking if I should rest a little more, I fixed my gaze on him and finally voiced the question that had been lingering in my mind.
“Where are we?”
Han Jae-hoon hesitated. In truth, I had already figured out where we were. No matter how luxurious Sector 1 was, the only place with a room of this scale was the Sector Leader’s mansion.
“The Sector 1 Leader’s mansion.”
And my guess was right. I should probably be grateful that, despite our illegal entry and the fact that we were caught by the Sector 1 Leader himself, we weren’t thrown into a prison cell.
But the fact that we were staying here instead of returning to Sector 5 meant that the situation wasn’t exactly in our favor.
“We’ll be staying here for a while to take care of some matters.”
Sensing my unease, Han Jae-hoon quickly added that explanation. Were we staying here by choice, or were we being detained? Most likely the latter. But as always, Han Jae-hoon didn’t tell me anything.
Even though I was now an adult, he still treated me like a child, which left me feeling slightly bitter. But considering how often I had been collapsing lately, I could at least understand his desire to shield me from unnecessary shock.
“What about Vin?”
“I sent him on an errand. He should be back soon.”
Thankfully, it seemed Vin’s identity hadn’t been exposed. I had countless other questions, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask them when Han Jae-hoon already looked so exhausted.
He patted my back reassuringly before telling me to rest and leaving the room. The door clicked shut behind him, and I was left alone in this massive space, far larger than my room in Sector 5.
When will Vin be back?
Perched on the edge of the bed, I stared at the closed door. Han Jae-hoon had said Vin would be back soon, but how soon was soon supposed to be?
With nothing to do, I just kept staring at the door. The sheer whiteness of everything around me made it easy to zone out. Eventually, even shaking my head to clear my thoughts felt pointless, so I got off the bed and started pacing around the room.
The space was barren, with only a few sparse pieces of furniture. It felt needlessly vast—why make a room this big in the first place? Wandering idly, I eventually found myself standing in front of a massive window.
“Wow.”
A breath of pure admiration escaped me as I took in the view.
The mansion was encased in a transparent dome, and above it floated the Moon of Humanity, creating a breathtaking scene so grand that the word magnificent barely did it justice.
The moon, hanging high in the sky, was completely different from the one I saw in Sector 5. It was far more beautiful, far warmer.
Now, I understood why the people of Sector 1 worshipped the moon. It truly was the perfect gift that Shining had bestowed upon humanity.
Of course, Han Jae-hoon always dismissed the Moon of Humanity as nothing more than a giant, useless fluorescent light that devoured electricity.
“Seo-yul hyung.”
I had been so mesmerized by the moon that I hadn’t even noticed someone entering the room.
At the sound of a familiar voice, I turned around—and before I could react, Vin rushed over and pulled me into a tight embrace.
The intoxicating scent that surrounded him made my head go light for a moment before I steadied myself. His fragrance melted the stiffness in my body, his presence grounding me.
“You’re okay now, right?”
“Yeah, I’m okay now.”
“Thank goodness.”
As Vin let out a sigh of relief, I patted his back—only to suddenly notice something strange. The strands of hair tickling my neck weren’t black. They were his natural deep red.
I immediately pushed against his shoulders, forcing him to step back. He blinked at me in surprise, not understanding why I had shoved him away. Sure enough, the glasses that were supposed to hide his distinctive eyes were missing as well.
“Why aren’t you wearing your wig and glasses?”
“Well, that’s…”
“What if someone sees you?! I told you—you cannot let anyone here find out you’re a Shining!”
This was the Sector 1 Leader’s mansion. If anything, we should have been on even higher alert. Of all places, this was full of Shining, and yet here he was, walking around with his true appearance on full display. But unlike me, who was already spiraling into panic, Vin looked utterly unbothered.
“It’s fine now. They already found out.”
“…What?”
For a second, I thought I had misheard him. He had just said something incredibly serious, yet he was grinning as if it were nothing. It took me a moment to process his words.
And the moment I did, frustration surged up inside me. Without thinking, I smacked his shoulder with all my strength. Vin let out a small yelp of pain, but even as he winced, he was still smiling.
“If I had known this would happen, I should’ve sent you back to Sector 5.”
“No, it’s really okay.”
“This is all my fault. I was the one who brought you—”
“Seo-yul hyung!”
Vin suddenly raised his voice, cutting me off. Startled, I snapped my mouth shut. His face had twisted for a brief moment, but then he exhaled a long sigh, his expression smoothing over as he smiled at me again.
“Seriously, you don’t have to worry. What you’re afraid of won’t happen.”
“How do you even know what I’m afraid of?”
“You’re worried that I’ll be in danger, right? Don’t be, Seo-yul hyung. We’ll all be fine.”
His crimson eyes were filled with unwavering certainty. As he kept reassuring me that nothing would go wrong, he leaned in, lightly bumping his forehead against mine before whispering,
“I’m a Shining, remember?”
***
The conference hall was filled with people—a rare sight outside of scheduled meetings.
They were the elders of Sector 1, all of whom had rushed here upon hearing the news. A new Shining had appeared just days ago.
Up until now, no Shining had ever returned to Sector 1 after being ‘handled’ by the Sector Leader. But for the first time, one had successfully made their way back.
According to witnesses, this Shining had the most vivid coloring of any in existence. Their Shining blood ran deeper and purer than any other.
“The Sector Leader is unusually late today.”
“It does seem that way. He’s always been late, but today is particularly bad.”
The elders murmured among themselves, glancing at the empty seat of the Sector Leader. It wasn’t unusual for him to disregard meeting times, but today was an extreme case. There hadn’t even been a single update on his whereabouts—so much so that some wondered if he intended to show up at all.
“Has the Sector Leader still not arrived?”
Eventually, the elders, having lost their patience, voiced their frustration. The aide could only repeat the same rehearsed response over and over—that he would be here soon.
More time dragged on. Then, at last, the Sector 1 Leader finally appeared in the meeting hall, looking as if he had just woken up. His expression was drowsy, his movements sluggish. Unlike the elders, who were dressed in formal attire, the man wore a loose shirt that left his broad chest exposed.
The elders, already standing, swallowed their rising irritation and bowed deeply.
Luis casually glanced around the room before letting out a loud yawn and taking his seat. His still-sleepy eyes blinked lazily as he noticed that the elders remained standing. They were waiting, as protocol dictated, since they could not sit until the Sector Leader permitted it.
“You may all sit.”
With a dismissive wave of his hand, as if already tired of the formality, Luis granted permission. Only then did the elders finally take their seats.
And so, the long-overdue meeting, now running several hours behind schedule, finally began.
