Jun was able to eventually report in for duty. He found Mr. Kim at the main entrance, welcoming his staff. Later in the day, Jun discovered why; more than half of his coworkers were either missing or unable to resume their posts.
Worse, some of their clients became unreachable causing all work for them to come to a halt or simply be terminated. Most of Jun's active clients were suddenly gone. He spent most of the day checking the internet for any new information.
He found a group called #Superwatch that used their wide subscriber base to track super activity across the nation. #Superwatch reported damage, fighting, kidnapping and anything else newsworthy. Many commenters worried the members of #Superwatch would eventually earn the ire of the Supers, which they did, however, the core members of #Superwatch themselves were Supers who worried little about their wellbeing.
Jun tried Rin's number several more times over the day, growing more worried as each time he couldn't reach her at all. Even on social media, Rin was completely offline, something unusual to be sure.
The lack of staff made the office feel claustrophobic. Everyone present understood the reason their colleagues missed work was not a healthy one. They worried deeply, in their hearts, about the fates of those in particular they liked. Jun could relate as well, however, the person he most appreciated in the office was Mr. Kim himself.
During his lunch break, Jun took some time and found a still open fast-food restaurant; a Tasty Burger location. He wanted to try another circulation, but he knew what happened after he did so he wanted to at least prepare some food before he attempted it.
As he waited in line to place an order, Jun thought back to his early morning and froze. After he had made a circulation this morning, he had immediately tried again and it felt like fire in his veins. Jun wasn't wealthy, and wasting a large amount of money on fast food could really affect his monthly financial plans.
With no choice, he snuck out of the line and headed for the restroom. He sat on the toilet and focused. As soon as he dragged his inner constellation, he felt the same burning sensation as earlier. He quickly stopped his attempt. Sweat was already forming across his brow and chest.
That was painful, but… not as bad as this morning. … … I'll have to wait in between circulations. I can't just rush though this, can I.
Jun rested a bit before leaving. He casually, yet quickly walked out of the restaurant, refusing to make eye-contact with anyone. Once he was back in the office, did he realize he was actually hungry and had failed to get anything for him to eat.
The rest of the work day dragged on slowly after that. Jun was able to make a few designs to complete some projects, but with most of their clientele unresponsive there was no one to turn the finished work over to. For now, everyone did as little work as possible, while waiting out the clock.
Before they left, Mr. Kim called everyone together for an impromptu meeting. There, he reminded everyone to stay safe; to avoid Supers and to come in to work the next day. He bade them goodnight after that.
Jun was now free, so he made his way to the train station.
He took a route to avoid Lightcore's territory as much as possible. Along the way, Jun watched as the situation in the city grew more dire.
The Supers were seizing territory. They gathered gangs of regular hoodlums and used them as guards, tax collectors and general servants. These in turn harassed citizens relentlessly; beatings, theft, kidnappings, all had suddenly made a surge under the reign of these Supers.
They marked their territories with colorful banners or sigils denoting their Super Masters. So far, it seemed there were fewer benevolent Supers compared to the aggressive ones.
Jun reached the entrance to the underground train station. Above his head there was a banner flying, it depicted a silver metal cog with an iron fist at its center on a field of white.
Jun groaned as he stepped into a line of people who were paying a fee at the entrance. The gang had set up a makeshift barrier, funneling all who wanted to use the train through a single point where they taxed them 200 won to enter the train station. It caused tremendous backlog of foot-traffic as people were already shoving, pushing and skipping the lines in order to get to the front. The gangs didn't mind; occasionally laughing when someone got into a fight or shoving match.
Jun paid his fee, making his way down the steps into the train station.
Inside, thankfully not much had changed. There, he still had to get a ticket before boarding the train. The gangs didn't bother operating inside, as most of their tax was collected from people who wanted to enter or exit the train station.
Ít's only a matter of time until they make their way inside. They're ruining this city and it hasn't even been a month.
Thoughts of joining the likes of Magicster, of fighting the good fight against evil oppression floated across his mind. Jun sighed then banished those thoughts. He was no hero. He was sure he knew right from wrong, but stepping up to a bully was something he had never really done in his life. Even during his foster care days, Jun excelled in avoiding trouble. He would wake up before dawn to bathe so as to avoid the bigger boys; at school, he made sure to never stray too close to the bullies whenever they claimed territory, Jun ensured he avoided those locations, always working an extra step to ensure trouble couldn't find him.
He wondered if he would have to fight someday.
Or maybe, I'll just have to keep paying these fees? If they're the new authority, isn't it right to obey?
These thoughts gave Jun complicated feelings. He was only distracted when it was finally his turn to pay for a ticket. He paid and moved to wait for the train. He realized it was running late, something that rarely ever happened before.
He tried Rin's number and it was still offline. Jun's worry only grew.
The train ride was awful. The compartments filled up rapidly and to over-capacity. Jun didn't bother with a seat and stood, pressed between a mother and a businessman.
Worse still, there was a petite woman with a megaphone who spouted several bible verses proclaiming the end of the world and the fact that Supers were demons in disguise. Many people yelled at her to shut up but she refused to stop, and kept going until someone hit her from behind with a bottle, smashing it over her body. She cowered on the floor when threatened further, so quiet returned to the compartment. The quiet became oppressive, with only the sound of the train thundering in everyone's ears.
At the end of the journey, Jun found that this station didn't yet have collectors at its entrance.
From here, he remembered his way to Rin's place so he began to jog.
Jun realized that even his neighborhood was significantly healthier than this. Most of the buildings he saw were cracked, broken with loose bricks strewn around them or holes, ranging from small to wide enough to fit a person.
There was a long shallow trench dug deep in the road, running half the length of an entire street, it looked like something had crashed into the road and torn it up. Most of the buildings appeared to be without electricity even. Jun spotted rising camp fire smoke coming from the roofs of several buildings.
He slowed to watch a gang of youths spray graffiti over a largely intact wall. The image read; Hail Gavik!
Jun sighed. Another Super posing as a lord of a territory. This one though seemed more interested in chaos than amassing funds as there were very few collectors around the few service locations Jun spotted.
As he walked, he spotted more messages proclaiming the greatness of Gavik. He raised his eyebrow when he read; PRAISE THE BEAUTY OF GAVIK!
He turned a corner to reach Rin's apartment building finally.
"No!" he screamed and rushed forward.
Half of the building was collapsed rubble slumped to the side of the building. There were still lit embers smoking softly in the evening light.
Jun looked around confused. There were too few people here. Whatever happened was not recent.
Rin, No, no no no no no
He spotted a dirt covered teen coming from around the rubble, who had clearly been digging through the collapse in search of valuables.
Jun snapped at the teen, "Hey you! What happened here?"
The teen, spooked by his yelling turned and ran.
Jun moved faster than he had ever moved before. Catching up before the teen could clear a few paces. He grabbed the filthy hoody the teen wore and pulled them back. The teen swung suddenly, a sharp kitchen knife flying directly for his thigh.
Jun felt his heart race. He forgot to simply shift out of the way as he was now physically superior, instead, he spread his palm wide and felt his power rush out through it.
The blade tip struck an invisible barrier, rebounding instead of piercing his thigh, throwing the teen backward.
Jun was stunned for a moment. He realized something was different about how he had used his ability this time. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, promising himself to look into it later, for now, he gave chase to the teen who had begun to climb over a wall stack of non-functioning heavy home appliances.
As he approached the wall stack, Jun had an idea. He focused, drawing out his power, but concentrating it at his feet. As he jumped, he attempted to use his ability to thrust himself higher so he could clear the stack in a neat, fancy leap.
In his mind, Jun assumed he could lift his body as he jumped, allowing him to soar over the obstacle. It was a severe miscalculation. As he moved, the lift pulled his feet from under him, dragging them over his head causing the back of his head to slam into the pavement. His ability had dragged his feet in an upward diagonal arc crashing his back into the stacked pile of appliances. The sudden hit to the head immediately knocked him out.
Jun was out cold.