Choongju, North Chungcheong Province, Republic of Korea

June 13th, 2022 (May 13th, 2022 Lunar Calendar), 94 Days until "D-Day"

Inspector Kim Kwon-joon walked into Konkuk University Hospital with a thick folder in his right hand. His subordinate, Senior Police Officer Lim Go-suk. walked beside him as they went through the revolving front doors and greeted the receptionists of the hospital. The hospital, which was one of the biggest hospitals in the city of Choongju, was surprisingly peaceful as they made their way to their 'person of interest.' As the two walked towards their destination, they quietly chatted with one another to review the information they had at hand.

"There's nothing in the database for his fingerprint. I ran his name through the city's records and there's only one "Ji Jong-eun" in Choongju, who is currently eleven years old. He wasn't reported missing either," Officer Lim mentioned as he adjusted his blue cap with the local police mascot stitched on the front. The two were wearing civilian clothing instead of their patrol uniforms, as they were planning on returning to the police station immediately after finishing their business at the hospital. "He had no I.D. or cellphone on him when he was hospitalized. None of the missing person reports matched his description. We even checked all the CCTV near the riverfront and he wasn't in any of them. An officer also checked the riverfront for the 'mysterious cave' that the victim mentioned, but nothing turned up from his search."

Inspector Kim was thirty five years old, and a police veteran of fourteen years to boot. Meanwhile, Officer Lim, one of the subordinates in Inspector Kim's team, was twenty six years old and was recently promoted to Senior Police Officer after serving in the police force for five years. As such, Officer Lim paid rapt attention to his sunbae while the older man was talking.

"And the victim is claiming that he is from the Joseon era," Inspector Kim chuckled, "At least, that's what you heard from him, right?"

"By sheer coincidence, yes. Thank God that I was at the hospital after escorting an ambulance. Otherwise, he might've escaped. I'm not sure if it's my place to say this, sunbae, but I think he might be an illegal immigrant."

The older officer stared his counterpart incredulously, "An illegal immigrant that can speak fluent Korean?"

The elevator door opened on the fifth floor and the two officers continued their chat as they walked down the hallway, "His Korean is perfect, but he doesn't recognize a lot of words and phrases that a native speaker would. Besides, he has a very odd accent."

"If anything, I would suspect he's a North Korean agent based on what you said. Though, I'm not sure why a North Korean infiltrator would be hundreds of kilometers from the DMZ and in a rural region. There's nothing important nearby," Inspector Kim replied, "Let's get back on track. Did his 'story' match up with historical evidence?"

Officer Lim nodded as he asked for the file in his senior's hand and flipped through the pages, "He claims he was a nobi, so his knowledge of significant historical events is almost nonexistent. However, the limited amount of knowledge he has about his surroundings during 'his time' is very accurate and precise. When I first met him, he asked if the current year was the 20th Year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, which was the year 1592 on the Gregorian Calendar. He mentioned a very large battle between Joseon soldiers and Japanese soldiers near Choongju, which would be the Battle of Choongju that occurred on June 7th of 1592 during the Imjin War, which matched the timeframe he claimed to live in. His timeline of the battle such as troop movements, engagements, and the results of the engagements are accurate as well. He refused to get into detail about his family, but he mentioned his 'master's' name: Ji Chung-cha. I requested some information from the Choongju Ji Clan and I discovered that Ji Chung-cha was a real yangban of the Choongju Ji Clan in the late 16th century. Though, he was supposedly killed by Japanese soldiers while he was fleeing to Seoul."

"That doesn't prove anything though. He could've searched that up on Naver beforehand."

"Still, it's peculiar. I'm not saying he's from the Joseon era like he claims, but that's a very specific detail that's hard to find. The Choongju Ji Clan had to comb through paper records to find Ji-Chung-cha's background, and none of them are public."

"It could've been his ancestor or something. His last name is Ji as well."

"True, but for some odd reason, I feel like his story is... true."

The pair saluted a uniformed officer that was guarding the mysterious patient's ward and entered the room after knocking on the door lightly. Ji Jong-eun, their person of interest, was laying down in his bed with his arms restrained onto the bed frame as a precaution. He was watching a TV that was placed on the opposite wall and an empty food tray sat on top of the patient's laps. The young man looked surprisingly calm as he turned his head to see his guests.

Officer Lim shifted uncomfortably at Jong-eun's gaze, even though the patient seemed as though he was unable to recognize the officer. From what Inspector Kim had heard, Officer Kim wrestled the patient and pinned him onto the ground in the hospital lobby. The younger officer wasn't punished, but the superintendent was keeping a close eye on him due to 'assaulting a civilian' (which, in South Korea, was an issue that was taken very seriously). The inspector cleared his throat to cut the tension and bowed slightly, "Good to see you, Jong-eun ssi. I am Inspector Kim Kwon-joon from the Choongju Police Department..."

"You're a sue-yeong?" Jong-eun tensed up immediately and bowed his head deeper, his bedframe rattling lightly as he turned towards the direction of the officers, "I apologize, naheuree."

"He thinks all police officers are sue-yeong, for some reason. Apparently, Officer Cho has been talking to the patient during his breaks and informed him of what a kyunghwan does." Officer Lim whispered into his superior's ear, "He's 'learned' a bit about the 21st century, but his habits are still from the Joseon era."

Inspector Kim nodded and thanked his partner for the useful information, "There's no need to call me naheuree. Please, just address me as Inspector Kim."

"Yes, Inspector Kim nim."

"Right, so I want to review what happened to you on June 7th, the day you were admitted to the hospital. This is a formal interview, so please be as truthful as possible. We will not harm you or torture you, so you don't need to be so tense."

The patient eased his shoulders and recited everything he remembered of that night while Inspector Kim wrote it down in his small notebook. The story was similar to what the nurse told the police officers before: fled from the Battle of Choongju after Joseon's crushing defeat, attacked by Japanese soldiers (the patient called them yaman-in, which was old Joseon slang for Japanese people), abandoned by his companion as he was a nobi, witnessed a very bright ray of light being emitted from a cave, and stumbled into a strange gateway by accident after discovering the source of the light.

After the man finished, Officer Lim interjected himself into the conversation, "Do you think you can guide us to the cave?"

Jong-eun thought long and hard before giving his answer, "Maybe. I faintly remember walking for some time before collapsing near the river. I might be able to retrace my steps."

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"Didn't you mention that an officer already checked the surrounding areas for a cave?" Inspector Kim asked the senior police officer.

"He only checked the riverfront," Officer Lim whispered, "But back in 1592, the river would've been wider. Since then, a number of dams have been built on the Namhan River to control the river's water flow, which was necessary to expand the size of nearby cities and farms. So if my hunch is correct, then the cave is actually within Gyeomyongsang itself."

"You're really believing his story? I mean, time travel?"

"Still, it wouldn't hurt to verify his story. What if he's telling the truth?"

Inspector Kim sighed, "You're a bit naive, but sure. Call the rest of the team and tell them we're going on a field trip, and have one of them bring a drone..."

+++++

Ji Jong-eun looked at the nearby buildings in awe as the 'police car' he was in moved through the downtown area of the city of Choongju. His mind was unable to comprehend some of things he was seeing, but for the first time since he had 'jumped' into the future, he understood that he was no longer in Joseon. Instead he was in Daehanminguk, one of the successor states of Joseon (though, he still didn't understand why the former great kingdom of Joseon was now divided into two).

When 'Police Officer Cho,' his guard, talked to Jong-eun a day after his 'capture,' the young man from Joseon was obviously frigthened. He believed that he would be executed for his escape attempt or even worse, tortured and then executed. However, Officer Cho, despite being a yangban, spoke to him as though Jong-eun was his equal. At first, he was a bit confused when Jong-eun rambled about the Japanese invasion and 'traitors to Joseon.' However, Officer Cho caught on quickly and managed to show Jong-eun that he was no longer in the Joseon era. He accomplished this by showing Jong-eun something called a "TV" and turning on a history channel for him to watch.

Within a day, Jong-eun was no longer as fearful as before, though he was still confused about his situation. As a nobi, he was unable to read or write, but the speech coming from the 'spiritual black box' (as Jong-eun liked to call it) was comprehensible enough for him to understand what the voices were saying. The accents that were used by the voices of the spiritual black box were odd, but then again, everyone that he had met so far had odd accents and used strange phrases and words. He soon discovered the reasons behind the accents and the spiritual black box that showed moving pictures and voices; he was in 'the period of his grandchildren's grandchildren.' In this current era, Joseon was merely a dynasty that was mentioned in the history books. The current year was 2022 (whatever that meant) and the Joseon dynasty came to an end over a hundred years ago, which was a mind-boggling fact for him. While Jong-eun's mind refused the reality of the situation at first, the spiritual black box and Officer Cho made it abundantly clear that he had done the impossible.

He had traveled to the future. A very far and foreign future. He learned the word for it from his guard: sigan yeo-heng. And he was absolutely certain it was due to his desperate prayers to his ancestors that he managed to jump into the safety of the future. In this era, Korea was strong. Divided, but strong enough to defend itself from foreign powers (such as the wae-nom). Small, but rich and thriving. He could see the wealth this nation had from the massive buildings, the fast-moving 'cars' on the roads, and the wealthy-looking clothes that every person wore. He was still learning about the future, but even he was able to see that Joseon, or 'Korea,' was much richer than it had been during the Joseon dynasty.

"What is that?" Jong-eun asked the officer who was driving in the front. His hands were bound by a metal instrument, but it wasn't painful and he was far too focused on staring at the scenery.

"That's a church," The yangban, whose name was 'Officer Lim,' answered, "It's a place where Christians go to worship."

"What's a Christian?"

This time, it was 'Inspector Kim' that answered his question, "A follower of a religion that originated in Israel. If I remember correctly, Christianity was still legal in Japan, but was banned in Joseon during your time period."

The officer said 'from your time period' as if he was biting back a scoff. But Jong-eun was too distracted too notice, "What's that?"

"That would be a bus, Jong-eun ssi. It's something people use to travel around the city. Think of it as a long car that can hold dozens of people," Officer Lim replied.

Jong-eun enthusiastically nodded as he watched a few civilians enter the bus through the front and exit through the back. The green metal beast was three times longer than the police car and looked exciting, "Can I ride one?"

"Maybe after we confirm your identity and story."

And the ride continued with Inspector Kim staying silent and Officer Lim all of Jong-eun's questions. By the time the car arrived in Gyeomyongsang, Jong-eun felt a bit more confident about his knowledge of the 'modern world.' Though, he still didn't understand what a 'coffee shop' or a 'PC Bang' was. As he exited the police car, he stretched his legs as Inspector Kim watched him like a hawk nearby. Meanwhile, four other officers from two separate cars joined them and quielty waited for Inspector Kim to give out orders. As Jong-eun suspected, it seemed as though Inspector Kim was probably the city's most senior sue-yeong, or maybe even a regional one.

"Do you have the drone?" Inspector Kim asked one of his subordinates.

The sue-yeong in question, who was a woman of all people (Jong-eun didn't dare to mention this, as all of them were of higher standing them him), pulled out some sort of metal machine and held it gently, "As you requested, sir."

"Alright. If we can really find this cave and the 'gateway,' then we'll send the drone through the gateway. For now, let's focus on finding the cave first. Jong-eun ssi, lead the way."

Surprisingly, the group found the cave within an hour. Officer Lim suggested that they search the areas around Gyeomyongsang and Jong-eun managed to recall the path he took to the riverfront. The entrance of the cave looked exactly as Jong-eun remembered and after they traveled through the length of the cave, they found the strange gateway that Jong-eun mentioned numerous times before.

"Shibal," Inspector Kim muttered as he examined the portal, "He was telling the truth?"

"It looks just like a Stargate," Officer Lim said as he marveled over the alien structure, "It literally looks like a Stargate!"

The others looked just as surprised as they inspected the machine and glanced at Jong-eun, who was standing in front of them. A few minutes after processing the sight in front of them, Inspector Kim ordered the female sue-yeong to send the 'drone' through the portal.

The moment the 'drone' touched the hazy surface between the metal ring, it disappeared. And within two days, the report of the "Stargate Portal" was on the president's desk and was classified as a national security risk (with all the people involved in the discovery of the portal sworn to absolute secrecy)...