Chapter 103: Storm and Steel

High in the sky,

an American passenger plane flew at incredible speed, cutting through layers of thick clouds.

Inside the cockpit, the two pilots looked calm.

The captain glanced at the watch on his wrist.

“It’s already 3:00 PM… I didn’t even realize it.”

“Oh really? Then that means only two hours left before we land at Gimpo Airport in Seoul,”

the co-pilot replied.

“Hah… Hearing the name Gimpo Airport reminds me of something. A few months ago, that airport was attacked by a villain.”

“Oh really? Does that mean the airport was badly damaged?”

“No. They said a lot of tornadoes suddenly appeared, but they didn’t hit the airport itself. Only the outer area was affected.”

“Huh? Why?”

“How should I know? Ask the villain who created those tornadoes.”

Hearing that, the co-pilot burst into laughter.

“Sorry, sorry. I was just joking.”

He stood up from his seat.

“I’m going to the restroom for a moment.”

“Hmm, hurry up. I don’t want to be alone here.”

“Alright, alright~”

The co-pilot walked toward the cockpit door.

He opened it, stepped outside, and closed it behind him.

But the moment he looked forward—

He froze.

Standing in the aisle ahead of him were numerous villains.

They all wore red masks with a white wing symbol painted across the front.

Each of them carried firearms.

They were pointing their guns at the terrified passengers sitting in their seats.

The cabin was filled with fear.

Some people trembled.

Some quietly cried.

Others held their loved ones tightly.

Seeing that horrifying scene, the co-pilot immediately rushed into the nearest restroom and locked the door.

“Damn it! Who would have thought villains would sneak into the plane!”

Just as he muttered those words in frustration, loud kicks suddenly slammed against the door from the outside.

BAM!

“Hey! Come out! Now!”

“Ugh… Damn it… What should I do…”

The co-pilot looked around the cramped restroom desperately, trying to find any way to contact the heroes.

And then—

He noticed something.

A cellphone lying near the sink.

Without hesitation, he grabbed it and quickly dialed the emergency number.

Outside, the villain kept kicking the door again and again.

The door lock was already beginning to crack.

The co-pilot braced his body against the door, desperately trying to hold it shut while placing the phone against his ear.

“H-Hello! Yes! This is an emergency call from American Air Flight 927! We need help from the heroes immediately! Villains have infiltrated our plane!”

At that exact moment—

CRACK.

The door latch broke.

The next kick burst the door wide open.

The co-pilot was violently pushed backward and slammed onto the floor.

Standing in front of him was one of the villains wearing the red wing mask.

“Hey. Didn’t I tell you to open the door?”

the villain said coldly.

He raised his gun and pointed it directly at the co-pilot’s head.

“Originally, I didn’t intend to kill you. But since you’ve annoyed me… you’ll have to accept the consequences.”

The villain pulled the trigger.

BOOM—

The gunshot echoed inside the narrow hallway.

The co-pilot died instantly.

A bullet hole burned through his chest.

Blood slowly spread across the restroom floor.

The passengers who heard the gunshot became even more terrified.

A small child sitting beside his parents began crying uncontrollably.

No one dared to move.

No one dared to speak.

Every single person on that plane was now silently praying—

hoping that a hero would come and save them.

*At Yoo Jinhoo’s house*

The door of Donghyun’s bedroom slowly opened.

Donghyun stepped outside after finishing a long nap.

“Ugh… That was a really good sleep…”

He stretched his body lazily before walking toward the living room.

However, when he arrived there, he only saw Zofia.

She had just finished sweeping and was now sitting on the couch watching television.

“Uh… Miss Zofia? Where is everyone else? It’s rare for this place to feel this quiet.”

Hearing Donghyun’s voice, Zofia immediately turned toward him.

“A-ah… Well… they said they went out for a bit…”

“Is that so? Alright then.”

Donghyun replied casually without suspecting anything.

’huh… I can’t let Donghyun find out where they went…’

Zofia thought nervously.

She remembered what happened earlier.

Jinhoo had specifically told her not to tell Donghyun anything.

Donghyun walked into the kitchen to cook something.

Just then—

The sound of heavy rain suddenly poured outside.

Zofia glanced toward the window.

“Hm? Why did it suddenly start raining? It was sunny earlier.”

Even so, she returned her attention to the television.

Outside, the rain continued to grow heavier.

Then—

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning struck the sky.

The electricity inside the house instantly shut off.

“Eh!? What happened!? Ugh… I was just getting to the good part…”

Zofia grumbled irritably.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Donghyun was busy preparing food.

But the lights suddenly went out after the lightning strike.

“Huh? Ugh… Why does this always happen at moments like this?”

Donghyun sighed.

Since the lights were out, he carefully sliced a loaf of bread slowly so he wouldn’t accidentally cut his own fingers.

But then—

POP!

A sudden sound like a balloon bursting echoed from the living room.

Donghyun stopped cutting and looked toward the doorway.

“Huh? What was that sound?”

He walked toward the living room.

The room was completely dark.

He could barely see anything.

“Miss Zofia?”

He called out, but there was no response.

He glanced around.

“Ugh… It’s so dark…”

Then suddenly—

The lights turned back on.

The room was instantly illuminated.

Donghyun froze.

The living room was no longer empty.

Standing there were Jinhoo, So-ah, Elvera, Mira, Gae-in, Min-seo, and Zofia.

They were all facing him.

And at the exact same moment—

“Happy birthday, Donghyun!!”

They shouted together with bright smiles.

Donghyun stood there in shock.

But slowly, a warm smile appeared on his face.

“Thank you… Thank you everyone… Even though today isn’t my birthday but tomorrow… you still remembered me.”

Hearing that, everyone suddenly became awkward.

They had miscalculated the date.

An uncomfortable silence briefly filled the room.

After a while, Donghyun finished blowingout the candles on the slightly damaged birthday cake.

Jinhoo walked toward him with a gentle smile.

“Donghyun… I have a gift for you.”

“Huh?”

Jinhoo extended his hand.

Inside it was a black bracelet decorated with glowing green ornaments.

“Woah!! This looks amazing!! Thank you, hyung!!”

Without hesitation, Donghyun hugged Jinhoo tightly.

Jinhoo was startled by the sudden hug.

But he soon returned the embrace with a soft smile.

’happy birthday, Donghyun…’

*At the Korean Hero Association Headquarters*

“Miss Ji-hye! Please stop!”

A woman rushed toward Ji-hye with a worried expression.

“The weather is extremely dangerous! If you try to fly and rescue them right now, your life will be in danger too!”

Ji-hye was already wearing her hero uniform.

She looked calm but determined.

“I am an S-Rank hero. A little weather like this won’t stop me from saving people.”

“But—”

“Enough.”

Ji-hye cut her off firmly.

“I don’t want to hear any more complaints. I’m going to save the people on that plane.”

With that, Ji-hye quickly walked out of the room.

The woman who remained behind looked extremely worried.

“My god… This is really bad…”

She looked down at the tablet in her hands.

On the screen was a weather map showing the rainfall intensity across the region.

The storm system was massive.

The temperature had dropped drastically.

The reading showed that it could reach as low as 9°C.

The rain was unlike anything they had seen before.

Lightning continued striking across the sky.

The wind pressure readings were abnormal.

Even experienced meteorologists were struggling to explain the sudden storm.

The woman gripped the tablet tightly.

“Something about this storm feels wrong…”

She whispered to herself.

Outside the building, thunder roared across the sky.

The rain poured down harder and harder, as if the heavens themselves were shaking.

And somewhere far away—

High above the dark clouds—

A passenger plane continued flying toward Seoul.

Inside it were terrified civilians.

Armed villains.

And a crisis that was only beginning to unfold.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep