Dulce Periculum

1. Emergency Signal

"Do you stock the newest issue of Super with Lux on the cover?"

Peep. Yunho swiped the last item over the scanner. He nodded his head to the magazine stand left of the counter.

"It's at the top left," he replied, chuckling at an overjoyed gasp. A mother had come into the store with her little daughter and the girl's eyes sparkled when her mother picked up the magazine and placed it on the counter. With another peep, the scanner rang it for her. The striking pose of a young man with blonde hair modelling the newest high-end brand was snatched right up to be pressed against the girl's chest.

"Your total is 23,739 Won," Yunho told her while the girl eagerly flicked through the pages on the hunt for a poster to hang in her room.

"Who is your favourite esper, sir?" She asked Yunho when she picked up on his gaze and he hummed.

"Probably Lux," he replied, and she beamed at him. While she babbled about her findings to her mom, Yunho finished up their transaction and wished them a lovely day. He was about to continue stacking his shelves and go for his lunch break soon.

But none of that.

The woman just barely turned around with her hand on her daughter's shoulder to steer her outside, when a shrill cry pierced the air. Instantly, her hand flew to her bag while Yunho scrambled for his phone which vibrated on the counter with the same deafening noise, threatening to fling itself onto the ground.

The moment Yunho blinked at the glaring red warning message on the screen, the dull mumble of the TV in the corner blared the same information.

"Seoul security warning: A level B rift appeared in Yongsan district near Yonsei University. Evacuate the area immediately. Take shelter in designated areas and heed police instructions. Do not fight unless properly trained. Espers are dispatched."

"Shit." Yunho slipped his phone into his pocket and lunged over the counter. His two customers huddled in the corner as he dashed for the glass doors.

The streets outside were in mayhem. People ran for their lives, streaming towards the subway system and the university. Local police were on the move, directing them with speakers and bright flares. Everyone knew the protocol, so they left any other business.

Yunho yanked the door open as the first people rushed his way. The shelter symbol on the window promised safety and another four people made it inside in time before the ominous red glow across the roofs took over the sky.

After making sure no one else came to his store, Yunho slammed the door shut and wound its chain around the handles. He rushed past the panting people, trembling with the same adrenaline and fear.

"Everyone grab some snacks and get down into the bunker," he instructed them, and they hustled to comply. They clambered through the trapdoor behind the counter, the mother soothing her confused child. Probably her first rift out in public.

Yunho handed a man the emergency kit and shut off the TV and all the lights. Red bathed the skies with blood. An ominous hum came from a few streets down, shifting and crackling in the air.

The streets were abandoned. Dozens of people disappeared within minutes, and only drones whizzed through the air to check on the situation. The district would be sealed off with barricades, letting nothing out.

Yunho ducked into the bunker and sealed it. Downstairs was another TV and its pale hue flicked over the assembled strangers' tense faces as they watched the footage. While Yunho cleaned his glasses, their phones blared another report. Through the protective walls of the bunker, the noise would be inaudible. They were lucky it was only level B. Anything above, and this place wouldn't have been safe.