Chapter Text
There was a hand on his neck. There was a hand on his neck. There was a hand on his neck. Therewasahandonhisneck—
“Come, now, Agent Choi, why must you look so scared? You’re not the one who is on the hook for this mess. It is Roe Deer, or rather Agent Grapes, who is the problematic child.”
Director Ho, this man who made even Kim Soleum quake in fear, was touching him.
Agent Choi felt bile in his throat as the man continued to stroke his scar, his fingertips soft despite the power he displayed. Agent Choi’s throat bobbed, and all Ho Yuwon did in response was press his thumb on it, stroking him mindlessly.
This man easily assessed Agent Choi’s prominent weakness. Were all Baekilmong people like this?
His weakness was hard to hide, so he didn’t. He had it on display. Most didn’t do anything but stare at it, wondering how he survived with such a wound.
He didn’t expect Ho Yuwon to pick up on the weakness so quickly. Even Kim Soleum had known, somehow, what place to strike that would make Agent Choi incapable of fighting back with confidence. He wanted to flee as Ho Yuwon’s fingernails bit into his skin, leaving crescent marks and thin lines.
Agent Choi wanted to thrash backward. He had the urge to run. He had been cornered—he was no better than prey when in front of Ho Yuwon. Yet, Agent Choi could not run. He was trapped in the backseat with Ho Yuwon’s fingers stroking his scar.
“You won’t tell anyone in the bureau who Kim Soleum truly is, will you?”
Agent Choi would, though, and he could not lie.
Kim Soleum had already tried to clear him, to convince Agent Choi not to say a word. But Kim Soleum was in the front seat now, his forehead a bloody mess. His eyes were closed, too, but his chest rose up and down.
Agent Choi had to stay hopeful that Ho Yuwon would not kill them both. It was his fault he didn’t sense Ho Yuwon—in the end, Kim Soleum was still a rookie even if he worked at Baekilmong before he entered the bureau.
“I—” Agent Choi cut off his words before he said something idiotic. Whether that was him telling the truth or telling a lie, he did not know.
Ho Yuwon’s fingers increased in pressure. Agent Choi’s muscles seized up, and his scar burned viciously. Agent Choi was being choked, and all it took was one hand. Ho Yuwon’s eyes were ablaze with mirth and knowledge. He knew too much.
“It doesn’t matter either way,” continued Ho Yuwon, oddly chipper and relaxed.
Suddenly, the man no longer seemed upset. He lessened the pressure, but did not move his hand. It stayed rooted on Agent Choi’s neck, like a chicken to its roost. Agent Choi almost wished he was in a Disaster so he could use his shoelaces to escape.
How could one man hold that amount of power? It was simple, really, when Agent Choi thought about it. Ho Yuwon was not simply a man, although he appeared to be one. He had powers—the ability to mark Kim Soleum for death in one month if his job of spying and stealing the necessary materials was not completed.
“The man known as Kim Soleum will come back to Baekilmong in the end. He was never meant to stay at the bureau.” Ho Yuwon’s voice was casual, as if he were talking about the blue sky or the white clouds.
Agent Choi knew who Kim Soleum was. He was aware that Kim Soleum was a Baekilmong agent from the moment he saw him, and heard his name from Agent Bronze’s mouth.
However, Ho Yuwon’s statement sounded more impactful, as if he knew something that Agent Choi was unaware of. Maybe he even knew something that Kim Soleum didn’t know either.
“Grapes will do what he must in order to live—”
“Do you think that someone with Kim Soleum’s ability to solve ghost stories will be released?” Ho Yuwon’s eyes sparkled, practically gleaming with some glee or hidden insight.
Agent Choi thought back to their disastrous rookie, who destroyed Disasters like it was easy, as if it was something natural for him to do. Had Kim Soleum not been a true Baekilmong rookie? Was he trained to do so well? Or was Ho Yuwon implying something else altogether?
“Kim Soleum will return to us, as he was always meant to do. You will despair along with everyone else at what Kim Soleum is.” It was a promise that made Agent Choi fear what was to come.
Ho Yuwon’s entire being felt like a callus against Agent Choi’s skin. He was rough around the edges and toughened with time. He was something that Agent Choi wanted to be rid of, but also needed like a crutch; otherwise, more harm would come.
“You will try to keep Kim Soleum with you, but you will fail. He has priorities that do not include you, regardless of how much he may believe he loves you. Someone like him… It’s not worth tying your emotions together.”
Agent Choi knew that Ho Yuwon had implied it earlier, but he thought it was a tease or a comment to catch Kim Soleum off-guard. Did this inhuman predator truly believe that Kim Soleum felt affection for him? Agent Choi’s throat bobbed nervously, and maybe there was slight excitement as well.
Did a shiver of thrill go down his spine? Was he excited by the idea of Kim Soleum liking him? Agent Choi’s eyes widened as Ho Yuwon looked at him, unaware that his perspective had changed with a slight nudge.
He liked Kim Soleum despite everything he was put through. He didn’t mind the rookie, his hubae who showed up to work in the morning in freshly flat-ironed shirts. He thought it was charming the way Kim Soleum’s glasses would slowly slide off his nose, exposing more of his true eyes when he was too concentrated on paperwork to push them up.
He wanted to continue patting Kim Soleum on the shoulder and pulling him into half-hugs to goad him into laughter. He wanted to ruffle Kim Soleum’s fluffy dark locks and feel the hair between his fingers. He could try to memorize his expressions, his highs and his lows.
Agent Choi did not know that he had become fixated on Kim Soleum until now. He felt a gasp-like noise leave his mouth, and the realization made him energized.
Suddenly, he had a clear head. He sucked in a deep breath, glaring at Ho Yuwon with half-lidded eyes he hoped conveyed all of the hatred he held for him.
He breathed in through his nose, looking at Ho Yuwon, the person who wreaked havoc.
He was working things out with Kim Soleum, though it was partially a lie, as he was going to lock up Kim Soleum regardless, before Ho Yuwon showed up.
Kim Soleum’s blood filled the vehicle. It was metallic; the scent of copper and iron filled his nostrils. Agent Choi’s nose twitched as he ignored the way that Kim Soleum’s head lolled to the side in the passenger’s seat, passed out and unaware that Agent Choi was unsafe as he was now.
He forcefully lifted his gaze away from Kim Soleum. He looked at Ho Yuwon’s unnaturally bright eyes instead.
“Kim Soleum is an agent of the bureau,” refuted Agent Choi.
He was sure that he would somehow love every part of Kim Soleum, but he did not want to leave him. If Kim Soleum returned to Baekilmong, or he left this business entirely, then Agent Choi could not spend his days by Kim Soleum’s side. That was not doable at all, didn’t they know?
“Kim Soleum is part of my team,” continued Agent Choi, not backing down even as Ho Yuwon’s eyes turned dark and his fingernails pressed into his skin. “Kim Soleum is mine, not yours.”
Ho Yuwon did not seem upset. For some unfathomable reason, he was amused, his eyes lighting up. “I see.” He chuckled softly, almost half-heartedly. “You think you can control the desires he has? You could. He’s young.”
Agent Choi frowned, swallowing from the words, the tone.
Ryu Jaekwan was younger than Kim Soleum, though Ryu Jaekwan supposedly had more experience. Ryu Jaekwan was one of the good ones in this business, just as Agent Choi suspected Kim Soleum to be. Some people were born to help others, and both of his hubaes were like that. There was nothing else to say or give.
Agent Choi tried to be like them. He was a role-model even if he didn’t yearn to be. He was a survivor who coped badly. He still smoked on bad days, and even on good ones, he felt the urge to take out a lighter. But he had to trust that he would remain on the straight and narrow so that he could be someone worthy of the respect he had earned.
He exhaled, feeling shaky and off-beat. He was cold, too, like fear was sucking the warmth from his body. He met Ho Yuwon’s gaze, and felt only ire and hatred.
Kim Soleum only had a month left, supposedly. Agent Choi would fix that. He would make it all go away so they could continue living and working as a team.
He did not want the days of catching Ryu Jaekwan around the shoulders and tugging Kim Soleum toward him in a loose choke-hold to end. He wanted the bliss to last and be prolonged. He would never recover if it were to dissipate.
“Continue to grow attached,” said Ho Yuwon, his voice cold and detached despite the heat of his words. “Watch what will happen when he leaves you for a fickle dream that could never possibly come true.”
Agent Choi’s gut churned. Even though Ho Yuwon’s fingers were pressed to his scar, digging in with malice that Agent Choi knew was personal, he wasn’t as afraid as normal. His body was fearful, yes, but his mind was not. Ho Yuwon expected him to live and futilely lose against Kim Soleum’s will.
Agent Choi was not one to back down. He grinned up at Ho Yuwon, who had pinned him against the door and bashed his head against the window. His teeth gleamed, canines protruding as he thought of all of the ways he had gone against entities within Disasters he never expected to live after encountering.
“I’ll continue to live as a fool,” replied Agent Choi. He enjoyed it when Ho Yuwon’s eyes narrowed. “Fools don’t always stay foolish. We’re capable of being right.”
“A fool’s life is meant to end prematurely when he spouts nonsense like this.” The director said that, but his fingers did not tighten around Agent Choi’s throat. “I can’t wait to see what you become.”
Agent Choi knew that Ho Yuwon expected him to fall into despair, maybe even try to bargain with the gods for the future to change, but he didn’t know who Agent Choi was at his core. He did not give up or give in easily.
He would trust in Kim Soleum, the agent who wept over children and tried to save every last one of them, even if it meant coming to harm himself. He would believe in the bond they had created, even if it was partially built on falsity. He would talk to Kim Soleum, and beg if he had to, for him to live out his career with them at the bureau.
“I won’t bow down to your threats.”
“There was never that expectation.” Ho Yuwon tsked, and then, like it was never there, he removed his hand from Agent Choi’s neck.
Agent Choi wanted to lift his arm and cover his throat; he had to protect himself in his most vulnerable place. But he could not do so as Ho Yuwon eyed him with interest.
Why must he catch the attention of a nonhuman entity? Agent Choi wondered if this was how Kim Soleum felt day in and day out.
“You could hold Kim Soleum hostage, you could hold him prisoner.” Ho Yuwon spoke, paying half-attention to his words, as he fixed his appearance instead, replacing his handkerchief to be more precise in his pocket. “Those sorts of barriers will not stop Kim Soleum from returning to me.”
Agent Choi felt the words, you’re wrong, in his throat. He swallowed them away, forcing the bubbles down, popping them one at a time.
He may not know everything about Kim Soleum, but he had gotten to know him in a way that Ho Yuwon could never hope to do. He saw Kim Soleum’s despair, just as much as he saw his hope. He knew what Kim Soleum’s favorite churro flavor was and what snacks he craved at 2:34 P.M. when he skipped breakfast.
Agent Choi had to trust his hubae just this once, and if he must, help convince him to stay. Baekilmong was enthralling as always—cults were like that, Jaekwan-ah would say with annoyance—so they had to be careful.
If Agent Choi tried to convince his hubae, he was sure he could get Kim Soleum to see the truth.
There was no need for a Wish Potion when dreams could come true on their own. Agent Choi would just have to tell Kim Soleum that. The Wish Potion had to be what Ho Yuwon was holding over Kim Soleum’s head. That was the only thing strong enough to wilt rationality.
“You will eat your words,” declared Agent Choi.
He would find a way. He would have to. He couldn’t live with himself if Ryu Jaekwan, who saw the best in everyone who tugged at his heartstrings, became grief-stricken with the knowledge of who Agent Grapes was.
Agent Choi grinned as Ho Yuwon opened the car door with a click, his demeanor annoyed even through his nonchalance. Agent Choi was an annoying bastard; he knew that well, and it worked out for him in cases like this. He wanted to make Ho Yuwon slither across the floor, make him curl in on himself, as he could do nothing but admit that he was so terribly wrong.
The man disappeared in a swoosh, unbefitting of a deadly entity. Agent Choi heard the door close, and he instantly gasped for air. He rubbed his throat so that he could feel his pulse with his own hands.
He reminded himself that his neck was still there, that he was alive even if he shouldn’t be. He survived another day.
He wondered if he was serious about what he thought while his life was on the line. He had to be, no? His life was flashing through his eyes; his death was imminent, after all. It was only natural to let his mind wander to things of importance, and he had chosen to think about Kim Soleum and Ryu Jaekwan.
He sat up, ignoring the pain in his shoulders and the back of his head. This was nothing. He wasn’t truly wounded at all. Just surprised, and probably still in shock.
“You make me insane, you know that?” he chuckled lowly as he leaned between the two front seats.
He held Kim Soleum’s head in his hands. The man was buckled in, his body held up by the strap. He drooped to the side, his head lolled on his shoulder as the blood dripped across his forehead. Agent Choi didn’t even see when Kim Soleum had been attacked. He just knew that it happened in a split second, and the next, Ho Yuwon was interrogating him.
Agent Choi grimaced as he felt Kim Soleum’s thready and weak pulse. He brushed back Kim Soleum’s blood-damp bangs to take a closer look at his injury. It was a minor injury, not as severe as it could have been, but it would require stitches. Head wounds bled a lot, he reminded himself.
“Hubaes should not cause their seonbaes so much stress.” He clicked his tongue, feigning annoyance when all he felt was concern.
He felt chagrined as he undid Kim Soleum’s belt and set him up against the seat so he wasn’t lopsided. Agent Choi felt like he was invading Kim Soleum’s privacy, but hadn’t he done that this entire time?
Agent Choi knew that Kim Soleum lived out of a motel. He didn’t know why, but then again, the bureau said that Kim Soleum’s background in general was spotty. It was like he didn’t exist. And Agent Choi didn’t want to say that it was likely a forged background to help Baekilmong assimilate into the bureau, but what if—
What if it was more than that?
Ho Yuwon was giving him hints. Agent Choi didn’t know why, but Ho Yuwon was confident that Kim Soleum would return to him no matter what. It was more than just the bond that was created between them during the one-month countdown to his death. Ho Yuwon held leverage—was it more than the Wish Potion?
But what did Kim Soleum yearn for more than his own safety? It had to be something like bringing the dead back to life, or rewriting history. Kim Soleum appeared to be a calm man when he was anything but. Agent Choi could see the unease when Kim Soleum was too panicked to hide it.
What could a man like that wish for over anything else? There were too many yet too few choices. Baekilmong was thought of as a cult-like organization. The bureau hated them, and the organization detested them in turn. It was how they worked.
Yet, Ho Yuwon let Agent Choi live. There had to be some merit in that. Kim Soleum was important to Baekilmong in a way Agent Choi had never seen or heard of before. Kim Soleum was supposed to be a random, unlucky rookie, but if he wasn’t—
Agent Choi had all the more reason to get Kim Soleum to stay. Was he justifying the need to convince Kim Soleum to stick to his side? Yes. He could not hide that. He did not want the days of riding bikes as a trio to fade into memories.
With Kim Soleum secure in his seat, Agent Choi exited the back, and then walked to Kim Soleum’s seat. He could see Kim Soleum’s peaceful, resting face through the window. He was still out, and Agent Choi could not officially report it.
No one he didn’t trust with his life could learn of Kim Soleum’s plight. Not yet, at least.
He then nodded to himself, and then pulled out his phone.
There was only one person he trusted to help him handle this situation. Ryu Jaekwan would eventually learn of this. Now that Kim Soleum’s life was on the line, it was a no-brainer that Ryu Jaekwan would want to help out.
Agent Choi pulled up his contacts as he stood against the door where Kim Soleum was safely hidden. He only hesitated for a moment before pressing down on Ryu Jaekwan’s name. The dial tone filled his ear, followed by a small ring.
“Hello? Disaster Management Bureau—”
“Jaekwan-ah, did you not even look at my contact information? Really, how am I supposed to feel about that?” Agent Choi found himself smiling despite the situation he was in.
“I was busy.” Ryu Jaekwan coughed, sounding embarrassed. “What can I help with?”
“I’m going to text you my location. Bring a med kit, but leave your badge behind.” Agent Choi hoped that he conveyed the meaning he was emphasizing.
Ryu Jaekwan fell silent. It was a tense pause that made Agent Choi’s headache come back all at once. He needed Ryu Jaekwan to understand that whatever happened was not black and white, as he usually tried to view the world. This was going to be a messy gray that left trails of blurry white and black in its wake.
“I’ll arrive soon.” It was short and choppy, straight to the point.
Agent Choi let out a breath as the phone call ended. Ryu Jaekwan understood, and he’d be here soon to help clean up this mess. Agent Choi’s fingers twitched as he felt the need to hold a cigarette. He even wished to be holding a knife and an apple, because at least then, it would be healthy.