Convict Unit: Black Parade

“You have two choices.”

After a whirlwind of paperwork—signing consent forms and service contracts—Jae-hee was officially, and unceremoniously, inducted into the Black Parade.

Hae-eun, who had instructed him to now call her “Commander,” held up her index and middle fingers.

“First, you can head straight to prison and begin your sentence.”

“No, thanks…”

As Jae-hee shuddered, Hae-eun presented the second option. “Second, you can participate in a mission we’re preparing right now.”

“And that mission would be…?”

“A team of agents, just like you, is preparing for an assignment. You’d be deployed immediately.”

Hae-eun smiled faintly. “You’ll get to breathe some fresh air before heading to prison, and more importantly, you can earn ‘Paradise Credits.’”

“Paradise Credits? What are those?”

In response, Hae-eun produced a small coin from her coat and flipped it into the air.

“It’s a form of currency used inside our prison. You can use it to buy things you need, or…” She snatched the coin out of the air and grinned. “You can use it to shave time off your sentence.”

Understanding dawned on Jae-hee’s face. “Ahh,” he said. “So I complete missions, earn credits, and use them to buy a reduced sentence?”

“Exactly. You catch on fast.”

Hae-eun flicked the coin to Jae-hee, who caught it clumsily.

“And since this is your first mission, I’ll throw in a special hefty bonus. What do you say?”

“…”

Jae-hee hesitated for a moment before asking, “Commander, is the reason you came to see me…”

“Yes. I won’t hide it. I came to pick you up myself because your abilities will be useful for this mission.”

So there was a reason the warden and commander herself had conducted his interrogation.

“Of course, as I said, the choice is yours. You can rot safely in prison for three hundred years, or you can bust your ass on missions and get out a single day sooner.”

“…”

“You can even use the mission rewards to make your prison life a little more comfortable.”

As Jae-hee deliberated, Hae-eun’s voice became a low, persuasive hum.

“What’ll it be?”

Jae-hee swallowed hard. “That mission… is it very difficult?”

His question was a clear signal of his assent. A satisfied smile touched Hae-eun’s lips as she rose from her seat.

“Is anything in this world easy? Everyone struggles just to get by.”

She leaned on a cane, her leg seemingly injured. She led the way, limping slightly.

“Alright. Shall we go meet your new teammates?”

***

Jae-hee had assumed the building was a police station or a military base, given the interrogation room, but he was wrong. It was just some abandoned building.

And waiting right outside the exit was an airplane.

It was a large cargo plane, its white fuselage painted with the image of a soaring red bird and the words POST OFFICE emblazoned on its side.

“Post Office?”

Seeing Jae-hee’s confusion, Hae-eun explained.

“It’s our unit’s private transport, disguised as a mail plane. As promising as our Convict Unit is, we’re still an unofficial team in the government’s eyes. We have to operate behind the scenes.”

In a half-ruined Korea, only the powerful could afford to send and receive goods by air.

An unspoken rule had emerged, not just in Korea but across most of the world: you don’t touch the mail planes. The Black Parade exploited this loophole to the fullest.

“Aha…” Jae-hee muttered.

“Before the world fell, celebrities used to ride in private ambulances. Same principle.”

Limping toward the plane, Hae-eun suddenly stopped and turned back. “Oh, right. Have you ever flown before?”

“Uh, no…”

“Then take this. It’s for motion sickness. The ride gets pretty rough.”

Hae-eun handed him a small white pill.

While Jae-hee gratefully swallowed it, Hae-eun produced a black necklace. “And this is a body cam.”

“A body cam? The thing you stick on your body?”

“All Black Parade agents wear one during missions. We need to record what happens.”

“Riiight…”

Hae-eun personally fastened the choker-style necklace around Jae-hee’s neck. He was less than thrilled, but he stood still.

“All right, you’re ready for boarding. Let’s go.”

He followed her onto the transport. The spacious cargo hold had been retrofitted with seats, where several people were already waiting.

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

Hae-eun spread her arms as she approached them, gesturing toward Jae-hee.

“The final piece of our mission puzzle has arrived.”

Jae-hee’s cheerful “Hello, everyone…” died in his throat.

Every person in the seats was staring daggers at him.

They were a motley crew with menacing faces, and each wore the same body cam choker as him.

A young man with horn-rimmed glasses and a relatively milder appearance was the first to speak.

“This is the one? The fast one?”

“That’s him. An essential asset for this mission. I had him join the unit the moment he was arrested today.”

“Still, deploying him on a mission without any basic training… I’m constantly reminded of your tendency to bulldoze over procedure and protocol.”

“If I cared about procedure and protocol, would I be running a unit made of convicts like you? Our very existence is a middle finger to all that.”

After that curt retort, Hae-eun introduced the young man to Jae-hee.

“This is ‘Model Student.’ He’s the team leader for this mission.”

The man—Model Student—had neat hair, a sharp face, and a sturdy build. He let out a frustrated sigh.

“Oh,” Hae-eun added. “We don’t use real names in the Black Parade. Everyone goes by their callsign.”

“R-right…”

But why ‘Model Student’?

Seeing Jae-hee’s confused expression, Hae-eun smiled mischievously.

“He used to be a Hunter. Had his own guild, closed dozens of Gates, slaughtered hundreds of monsters. By all accounts, he was one of the good guys.”

Model Student’s face soured at the mention of his past, but Hae-eun continued, unfazed.

“His nickname back in his Hunter days was Model Student. Said he was a by-the-book kind of guy, always followed the rules.”

“Aha…”

“But after a few unsavory incidents, his guild was disbanded, and he was arrested. Now he’s busting his ass here to get out early.”

Model Student growled under his breath. “I think that’s enough, Commander.”

“Ooh, so scary when he’s mad.” Hae-eun waved a dismissive hand. “Anyway, he’s your team leader. He’ll be running this mission. Since you’re new to how things work, boy, just stick close to him.”

Jae-hee gave an awkward bow. “It’s… a pleasure to be working with you.”

Though his expression was full of worry, Model Student nodded back.

“…Right. Same to you.”

His callsign was Model Student, and he actually seemed like a decent guy. Jae-hee mentally gave him a positive review.

Hae-eun then introduced the rest of the team.

“This one’s ‘Miss Hellth.’”

The muscular woman introduced as Miss Hellth shot Jae-hee a sideways glance, her expression less than pleased.

She was built larger than most adult men, with muscles that could scare off a bear. Her red hair, braided in cornrows, was striking.

“And while the muscles are impressive, the nickname is really because of her weapon. That crimson spear is her weapon of choice.”

In Miss Hellth’s veiny hands was a blood-red spear that looked to be at least two meters long.

It clicked for Jae-hee. “Wait. Not Miss Health, like a fitness nut… but Miss Hellth, as in Hell Spear?”

“You catch on quick! That’s it!”

As Jae-hee recoiled at the sheer tackiness of the naming sense, Hae-eun chuckled.

“Most callsigns around here are like that. The point is to be able to tell who’s who the moment you hear the name.”

“But still, the taste is just…”

“Punk.” Miss Hellth cut in, her voice a low growl. “Sounds like you got a problem with my callsign.”

“N-no, ma’am… So sorry…”

Clicking her tongue, Miss Hellth gestured to the man beside her. “That old guy’s is even more ridiculous. Go laugh at him.”

“Huh?” Jae-hee looked over and saw a balding man in a trench coat looking around nervously.

“This is ‘Flight Risk,’” Hae-eun explained.

“At the ripe old age of fifty, he Awakened the power of flight—then immediately dove headfirst into a life of crime. A literal and legal flight risk, if you will.”

“Ah… so that’s why he’s called Flight Risk...”

“He used to fly around and flash people on the street from under his trench coat. Well, he’s that kind of creep.”

“…”

“Since he only ever commits such filthy but minor crimes, his sentences are short. He gets arrested, does one mission, and gets right back out. Then he’s back to his air-flashing show. Quite the consistent criminal.”

Flight Risk scratched his balding head sheepishly as he listened to his introduction. 

He gave Jae-hee an awkward wave. “H-hey, kiddo. Hee hee.”

“Oh! Hello, sir…”

He was definitely weird, but at least he said hello.

He can’t be that bad of a person… Or maybe just a little…?

“And finally, over here.” Hae-eun turned to the last person, who was crouched in the corner of the cargo hold. “Is ‘Ghost Hag.’”

“…”

It was a woman with disheveled white hair so long it dragged on the floor.

Her face was completely obscured by the messy strands. Dressed in what looked like rags, she remained hunched in the shadows, perfectly still, without even glancing their way.

Hae-eun didn’t offer any further details about Ghost, and the other team members didn’t so much as look in her direction.

They’re all acting like they’ve seen a real ghost…

Jae-hee was curious, but the unspoken consensus to ignore her was so strong that he didn’t dare ask.

“That makes five of you, including our boy here. This is the Black Parade team for this mission.”

As Hae-eun concluded the introductions, Model Student asked, “What about the new kid? What should we call him?”

“Hmm… Boy, you have a nickname?”

He didn’t.

His thief friends had all sorts of grandiose nicknames like Phantom Thief, Lupin, Robin Hood, or Ali Baba, but Jae-hee had never been given a proper one.

It made sense. He was, after all, just a petty thief.

“What kind of fancy callsign does a rookie on his first mission need?” Miss Hellth grumbled.

Hae-eun nodded. “Then let’s just call him ‘Boy’ for now.”

Jae-hee the Boy.

It sounded just as pathetic as he felt. He chewed his lip in dissatisfaction.

“For the record,” Hae-eun added with a grin, “Boy ended up here after getting tangled up in one of Brain’s schemes. I know there’s plenty of bad blood with Brain in this room, so be nice to the poor kid.”

At the mention of that name, the atmosphere shifted.

The looks of annoyance he’d been getting were instantly replaced with something akin to pity, as if he were a stray puppy they’d found on the street.

“That fucker Brain is using little kids now?”

“There have to be hundreds of inmates in our prison who ended up there because of that lightbulb-headed asswipe.”

Miss Hellth and Model Student ground their teeth in unison.

Jae-hee glanced around nervously. “Looks like everyone here has a history with Brain…?”

“Hee hee, I don’t think there’s a soul here who hasn’t been screwed over by him. Probably even old Ghost over there—” Flight Risk broke off mid-snicker, glancing at Ghost.

“…”

From between the strands of her white hair, Ghost flashed a pair of piercing blue eyes before shutting them again.

Flight Risk shuddered and pulled his trench coat tighter. “Yikes, better watch what I say. Hee hee…”

And so the team was assembled. Five members for this mission: Model Student, Miss Hellth, Flight Risk, Ghost, and Boy.

As they all sat in a circle, Hae-eun began the mission briefing.

“The name of this mission is ‘Operation Rescue the Patissier.’”

Click. A beam projector installed on the ceiling of the cargo hold switched on.

“The mission location is…”

A map flickered to life on the wall.

Hae-eun extended her cane and tapped its center.

“The city overrun by zombies—Daejeon.”