Electric Love {Minsung}

Chapter 17: Realizations

PART THREE

One thing Jisung knew for sure about Seungmin was that if there was something he didn't know, he would do everything in his power to find the answer. Or else he'd get frustrated and be in a bad mood. Right now, Seungmin was in a bad mood.

Around nine-thirty at night, his breakthrough came. He was lying on the couch in Jisung's front room, staring at the ceiling as Jisung paced from one side of the room to the other like a caged leopard.

"I just don't get it," Jisung said. "How did they know who I am? How did they know about our powers?"

Seungmin was quiet for another minute, then he suddenly sat up and shouted, "That's it!"

"What's it?"

He jumped up from the couch. "I've been trying to figure out why they came after you at all. You weren't looking for those records." Seungmin looked at him, his eyes wide with excitement. "It's because they don't care about the records."

"What do you mean?"

"They're not trying to hide the information about what their machine did. They're looking for the survivors. And when they found Minho, they found you!"

"I'm not following you."

"Look, these guys have all the records of every baby who survived. What if those other children all had powers like yours and Minho's? If they discovered that their machine gave those babies special powers, that could be worth trillions of won."

"That's a big 'if,'" he said.

"Is it? You said there were two others when it happened. You said one of them, Chris, even shocked your mom. So we know there's at least one other..." he spoke cautiously, "...mutant." After Seungmin was sure he wouldn't shock him, he continued. "The only people who were born at that hospital and survived, everyone we've come in contact with have had these electrical powers, so statistically, our hunch is pretty close to certain. There were seventeen that survived, according to the records. So maybe they're all electric."

Seungmin paused, the last piece of his puzzle still not fitting. Suddenly he clapped his hands. "It was a fake." Seungmin looked at him the way he did when he solved a difficult math problem. "The whole thing with the gunman was fake. It was a test."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because you don't pick up an electric eel without getting shocked. They first had to see what you could do. You said the man in the sunglasses appeared after you shocked the gunman, right?"

"That's right. And he said, 'Well done, Jisung.'" he stopped pacing. "He knew my name and what I did. And Bogum...."

"Who's Bogum?"

"He's the gunman. I remember thinking that he looked really nervous like he didn't want to be there. He was shaking like crazy. And his gun didn't even have bullets." He looked down. "But then why did they take my mom and not me?"

"Maybe they wanted to take both of you but didn't get the chance. You said you heard me coming, right?"

"Right."

"But they were gone by the time I returned. They must have run out of time. They already had your mother, so they took her and ran."

"Which means they're probably still looking for me."

"Not necessarily."

Jisung looked at his best friend, confused. "What do you mean? If their mission was to get me, then, of course, they'll come to try to get me."

"They don't have to. They have your mother. They know you'll come looking for them." He looked into his eyes. "Whoever took your mom took Minho. So if we can find one of them, we can find the other."

He suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Wait. I think I know where Minho is."

"Where?"

"The academy."

He ran into my bedroom and found the brochure Minho had given him from his locker. He brought it back out to the front room and spread it open on the counter. "Here. It's got to be the place. Or at least it's connected."

Seungmin looked at the brochure. "205 Hongdae, Seoul." He looked up. "I think you're right. I'm betting that the Elgen Academy is really just for kids with electrical powers."

Seungmin's logic made sense to him. Why else would they offer a scholarship to him when there were hundreds of kids with better grades? "You could be right," he said.

"Now what?" Seungmin asked.

"We tell the police," he said.

Seungmin shook his head. "No way. They'll never believe us."

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Think about it. Two teenagers walk into a police station and tell them that a secret agency is kidnapping moms and teenage dancers. They'd think we're nuts."

Hearing it like that did sound crazy. "But we have proof," Jisung said.

"No, we have a hunch and some articles on the Internet. They'll think we're crazy. And even if we somehow convinced them to look into it, this is a multibillion-dollar company. If they find anyone snooping around, they'll just move your mom and Minho to someplace else, and then we'll have nothing." Seungmin stood and began to pace. "We need to know more about our enemy. But it's not like they're going to have an Instagram profile. Where do we learn more?"

"Bogum, the gunman," he said.

"But he's in jail."

"Lieutenant Lim could get us to him."

"Why would he do that?"

"He said their first interrogation was worthless. Maybe I can convince him that I might be more effective." Jisung brought out the card Lieutenant Lim had given him. "I'm going to call him." He immediately went to the phone and dialed Lim's cell phone number.

A gruff voice answered. "This is Lim."

"Lieutenant Lim, this is Han Jisung."

"Jisung. What can I do for you?"

He had been so eager to call him that he had dialed without thinking about what he was going to say. "I, uh, just had a thought. You said you had spoken to the gunman, but he didn't say much."

"No, he was as tight as pantyhose on a hippo."

"I was wondering if maybe he would talk to me."

"You want to speak with Bogum?"

"Well, maybe seeing me might make him talk."

There was a long pause. "Frankly, we couldn't do much worse than we did with his last interrogation. Hold on, I'm going to call my partner. "May I call you back at this number?"

"Yes," he said. "Bye." He hung up the phone.

"What's up?" Seungmin asked. "Why did you hang up?"

"He wants to talk to his partner."

About ten minutes later, his phone rang. "Jisung, it's Lieutenant Lim."

"Yes, sir."

"I spoke with my partner. He thinks there's a chance it might work—a small chance, but worth trying. So if you're willing to face Bogum, let's go for it."

"Thank you, sir."

"What time are you available?"

"Any time is good. I'm not back to school yet."

"Then how about I pick you up in the morning."

"Yes, sir."

"I have your address on the police report. I'll come by around ten."

"I'll be ready. Thank you."

"Thank you, Jisung. We'll keep our fingers crossed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." He hung up and then turned to Seungmin. "We're in."

"Well done," Seungmin said. "You know, you could always just shock Bogum again."

"The man helped kidnap my mother. Whatever it takes," he said. "Whatever it takes."