Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Inside the heavily armored official vehicle, the president was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the passengers were Ian, the president’s daughter, and a man known as a national hero.

“Are you nervous?”

The man spoke quietly after noticing that Ian could not keep her neatly folded hands still on her lap. Ian met his eyes for a brief moment, then quickly lowered her gaze.

In this era, the influence and status of a soldier were immense, especially for an Awakened one. That influence only grew stronger when paired with the title of national hero. Jin Si-hyeon, who had attained the rank of colonel at the youngest age in history, currently enjoyed overwhelming public support. Even the fact that his father was the prime minister could not fully explain the scale of his popularity.

That someone like him had been specially assigned to accompany Ian on official duty today was notable in itself.

By nature, he was courteous and considerate. However, the presence he carried felt heavy, and his sharp eyes seemed capable of seeing straight through a person. The pressure they created made Ian uneasy.

It was not that she thought he was a bad person. Feeling uncomfortable was a separate matter entirely.

“I’ve never given a speech like this before.”

She had accompanied her father on official engagements many times, but this was the first time she was attending one alone. Of course, Colonel Jin Si-hyeon was still with her.

He was someone she could rely on, yet simply being in his presence made her tense. He was not someone she could truly relax around.

“I hope the First Lady recovers soon.”

It had been a long time since Ian had last seen her mother.

Her mother had always been frail, and Ian’s twin younger sister had inherited the same weakness. Since revealing the existence of a sickly sibling would bring no benefit, the public officially knew the president to have only one daughter, Ian.

“Thank you for your concern about my mother, Colonel.”

As always, Ian responded with a calm, polite smile that was gentle yet perfectly controlled. It was the demeanor she had been trained to maintain since childhood as the president’s daughter.

Soon, the vehicle arrived at the location where the official event would be held.

Since the emergence of contaminated entities had reduced the nation’s territory, many cities had disappeared entirely from the domestic map.

Although mandatory military service was still in effect, everyone knew that ordinary soldiers who were not Awakened faced the highest risk of dying in combat. Because of this, more people were choosing to give birth in secret, avoiding official birth registration and raising their children in hiding.

This tendency was especially strong in the city center, where the population had declined so sharply that government oversight barely reached it anymore.

Public resentment toward the current administration was already high, and forcing conscription under these conditions could easily spark riots. That was why Ian and Jin Si-hyeon had been sent here. Their presence was meant to encourage voluntary enlistment rather than impose it.

The heavy door of the armored vehicle, designed specifically for ballistic protection, swung open. Under Colonel Jin Si-hyeon’s escort and the close guard of security personnel, Ian moved toward the stage where she would give her speech. With no suitable indoor venue available and the need to reach as many people as possible, the decision had been made to hold the speech outdoors.

There was a clear reason the national hero, and the man admired by so many young people, had been brought along.

Jin Si-hyeon was a natural strategist, and the battles he led were known for having fewer casualties and injuries. Among soldiers, he was deeply trusted and respected. He was the strongest possible figure to inspire young people to volunteer.

“There are more people here than I expected.”

Because her father had been exposing her to the public more frequently, Ian now found herself standing alone in situations like this.

As she looked down at the crowd gathered below the stage, Ian spoke cautiously to Jin Si-hyeon.

He was not someone she felt comfortable around, but he was the only person beside her she could speak to in order to steady herself.

“Do you think they’ll really be persuaded just because I give a speech?”

“If they are not persuaded, will you run away?” he asked.

“….”

“You still have to do it. This is for the country.”

Jin Si-hyeon’s answer was rigid and unmistakably that of a soldier. Yet that very straightforwardness made Ian let out a small, dry laugh, easing her tension just a little.

The public’s trust and affection for Colonel Jin Si-hyeon ran deep. In contrast, the president’s daughter, who appeared to live comfortably while citizens struggled, was often viewed with resentment.

Even so, she had to do this. Not because it was for the nation, as Jin Si-hyeon had said, but because it was the task she had been given.

Ian was scheduled to speak first.

After reading the prepared script, she would introduce Colonel Jin Si-hyeon, who would then step forward to deliver his own address.

“Miss, it’s time.”

At the signal, Ian took a deep breath and stepped onto the carpet laid out across the open ground.

The script she had memorized the night before was set up in front of the microphone.

Ian lifted her head slightly and glanced at the people spread out before her, then lowered her gaze again out of habit.

She did not have the confidence to endure their harsh stares.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears, though she forced herself to ignore it. Swallowing hard, Ian gripped the microphone.

“Dear citizens, and the young people who are the future of this nation…”

Then everything happened in an instant.

“Ah…!”

A sharp pain struck, making her vision swim, and her head suddenly felt damp. A thick, sticky liquid ran down from her scalp.

“……”

It was a small stone.

The dull ache where it had struck spread across her face, accompanied by the metallic smell of blood as warm, sticky drops seeped down.

“You wicked bitch! My son was used as a human shield and died, and you dare show your face here!”

There was no need for a long explanation. Her son had died in the military, and seeing a speech encouraging voluntary enlistment had caused her rage to explode.

Whether the woman had thrown the stone on impulse after passing by, or had come prepared knowing a speech would be held here, no one could say.

“Protect the young lady!”

This was an era when soldiers wielded immense power and authority, but it was also an era that demanded lives in return. Ordinary soldiers, especially those who were not Awakened, were often used up and discarded like expendable tools.

The president’s security detail was made up not of men in black suits, but of heavily armed soldiers.

“Bring my son back! Bring him back!”

The middle-aged woman who had thrown the stone at Ian was quickly subdued. Yet the sight of her being pinned to the ground by armed soldiers, for no more than throwing a rock, did not bring relief.

Instead, it stirred guilt.

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt, so please, at least let her…”

Ian was about to ask them to release the woman, old enough to be her mother.

Then, at the worst possible moment—

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. Amid the chaos, it sounded almost like a small firecracker, easy to mistake for nothing more than noise.

That would have been the case if the bullet had not grazed past her ear, slicing a strand of her hair, before embedding itself in the wall.

Ian turned her head and saw the bullet lodged there. Then she looked back at the crowd, where people who sensed something far more dangerous than a grieving mother’s outburst were already screaming.

It was only a matter of seconds, yet that brief moment felt endlessly long.

“You need to take cover.”

A calm voice spoke above her head, unfazed by the chaos.

Jin Si-hyeon, who had come in uniform without full combat gear for the speech, drew a pistol from his pocket.

“It seems word of this event reached anarchist groups.”

At his command, the soldiers assigned to security scattered in perfect coordination.

“I’ll hold them off here. Get as far away as you can.”

“A alone? Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

Ian flinched when Jin Si-hyeon’s gaze met hers.

His eyes were cold, as if she had said something completely absurd.

“It’s better than you staying here, Miss.”

The meaning was clear. Her presence would only get in the way.

Even after hearing that, Ian could not bring herself to stay. Civilians standing below the stage had already been caught in the attack. Some were down, bleeding from gunshot wounds.

And yet she alone was being escorted to safety by soldiers.

That fact weighed heavily on her.

The woman who had shouted at her earlier came back to mind.

“You wicked bitch! My son was used as a human shield and died, and you dare show your face here!”

Her eyes, filled with hatred, burned vividly in Ian’s memory.

“Bring my son back! Bring him back!”

She had come here to give a speech asking others to risk their lives.

Yet, cowardly as it was, Ian wanted to live.