Chapter Text
“Hello?”
Seokmin’s voice shakes once the ringtone stops and the sound of air comes out of his phone’s speaker. His heart has been pounding on his chest since the day he decided to hide somewhere far from where he grew up in. Why him? Why now? It just seemed odd how he lost everything—his friends, his job, his apartment—in the same year. But suddenly regained a butt load—no, a fuck ton—of money from his parents who, mind, passed a long time ago. And what’s worse is that the lawyer who they instructed to tell him about it came around at a time when he was living with an aunt and an uncle who couldn’t keep their mouths shut.
And now, here he is in a random bathroom stall, calling a random number from a random advertisement.
“Hello, welcome to Second Life Granting Services! What second chance would you like to take?”
“Um, yes, hi.” he takes a deep breath. He can’t believe he’s about to say. “I would like to disappear please.”
“Disappear, Sir? Is that correct?”
He couldn’t believe what he said either. For someone who was always left behind or kicked out, leaving on his own accord is a foreign concept to Seokmin. At least, not until he found the necessity to do so. He also wished that he could’ve worded his request a little better. But disappearing had been on his mind for so long, that saying it to the operator was almost muscle memory. He rubs his palm on his face then rests it under his forehead. His head has felt heavy for days.
“Yes, yes. That’s correct.”
“Well, sir, about that request—” Right, he thought. What an absurd idea. This is probably just one of those errand-running companies that oversell themselves. Not some makeover fantasy agency. “You’d have to go to our office to work out the details. We’ll send you our address after this call.”
***
“Good morning, Joshuji!”
“Ugh, Jeonghan! Nothing is good this morning.”
Jisoo found himself glaring at his computer again. For the last six months, he has been staring at the draft of the resignation letter he wrote. Everyday, he swears he’s going to quit. But every day, the pile of papers on his desk gets taller and taller. But don’t get him wrong. He’s not a slacker. In fact, it’s everyone else except him and his office mates, Jeonghan and Seungcheol, that didn’t want to do their job properly. So orders kept getting sent back either for redoing or reviewing. That, and ever since the new marketing scheme was executed, the amount of people wishing to makeover their lives also grew.
Bathroom stalls, my ass.
“Ey, that again? How long have you been keeping that unsent? Be honest.”
“Six months,” Seungcheol answers Jeonghan for him. “He’s been wanting to quit for six months but never had the balls to.”
“Hey! You’re too harsh on him. Did you ever think that Joshuji just likes the job and if he quits, he’s gonna miss it? He’s gonna miss us?”
“He’s right, Hannie,” Jisoo finally speaks. “I just never have the balls to quit.”
He stands up to leave the two for his morning coffee. Before he got into Second Life, he swore he wouldn’t develop a caffeine addiction. A couple of years later, he’s in the office pantry, scouring the baskets and the cupboards for something that would keep him awake enough to endure everything that came with being a Granter. He doesn’t even remember why he applied for this tough luck of a job in the first place. Maybe it was the money. It did offer quite more than what he used to make as a school librarian. Except that a Librarian didn’t need to give fucks as much as a Granter is required to.
Our job is to give people the life that they want.
“Psh. What about the life that I want?” Jisoo mutters to himself while stirring his instant black coffee.
He then walks back to his office, and heaves a sigh after spotting the office secretary, Wonwoo, with freshly printed paperwork in his hands. Jisoo felt a phantom weight on his back. He wanted to collapse right then and there just so his coworkers send him to the hospital, and he could finally get some fucking rest. But weirdly enough, Wonwoo didn’t do his usual file and then leave routine. He stood there waiting for Jisoo to come over. What does he want? What is it this time? Why is he talking to Jeonghan and Seungcheol? It wasn’t unusual for the secretary to talk to a Granter longer than briefing them with paperwork. But it’s quite uncommon. Because it only happens either when the Granter is in trouble, or—
“Joshuji! You’ve been given a special mission!”
***
Seokmin had a different picture of the Second Life office in his head: a shabby old studio-type office above some convenience store downtown. Nowhere in his expectations would it be a whole building with floors that housed different departments, similar to the company who kicked his ass out of its premises months ago. But despite the overwhelming revolving glass door that greeted him at the entrance, he’s there now, taking charge of his own life. He stated his case to the lady at the lobby, and she rang someone on her little telephone before handing him a piece of paper with information on where he should go.
Execution department. Thirteenth floor. Ominous, but okay.
Soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Seokmin was greeted by a tall man with glasses. He then learned that this man’s name is Wonwoo, and that he was the secretary for the department that would help him disappear. Seokmin observes Wonwoo with eyes clouded with both curiosity and awe. Exactly what kind of establishment is Second Life that they were able to hire someone with this much poise and elegance? If he didn’t have any idea of what they offered, he would’ve mistaken it for a secret service agency. Maybe it is. Maybe they took him to their office to question where his parents got that much money. Maybe they were committing illegal crimes and were wanted by the Interpol, and now they expect his cooperation or else they’d detain him in a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
“Mr. Lee?” Wonwoo calls. He notices the smile on the man’s face. Or maybe I’m overreacting. “This is the Execution Department. Please take a seat in this waiting area while I connect you with a Granter that will assist you with your request.”
Seokmin nods. “T-Thanks. I’ll be right here.”
“Would you like anything? Coffee, tea, water?”
“Uhm, maybe water would be alright.”
“Alright, Sir. Please keep yourself comfortable in our office.”
“O-okay. Thank you…again.”
“No problem, Sir. Your request is our command.”
***
“Disappear? What the fuck does that even mean?”
In his time as a Granter for Second Life, Jisoo has taken on a variety of requests ranging from mundane to questionable. Whether it’s to give someone’s child a complete makeover or help people change their identities in the most legal of ways, Jisoo has taken them on. Because that’s his job. On one hand, he’s done it so well that he earned seniority perks that included his own space in the Execution floor away from those that came after him. On the other hand, the perks he earns aren’t enough to alleviate the fatigue that came with every task. Especially in what the company likes to call Special Missions where he finds his patience constantly tested, and not in a good way.
“Don’t look at me, Hong. Ask your client. He’s already in the waiting area.”
“Do the higher ups even know about this, Jeon? Besides, where are the other Granters? Why don’t you give this shit to them? You already know I’m about to—”
“They want you for the job. They don’t think your juniors are ready. Besides,” Wonwoo fixes his glasses before tossing the paperwork in front of Jisoo. “This seems big, Hong. Something only you can handle.”
“There it is. I guess I’m The Chosen One again. How fun.” Jisoo retorts sarcastically.
Wonwoo leaves without saying anything, which left Jisoo throwing himself on the couch in front of his desk. He rubs his temples while eyeing his co-workers. He could tell that they were avoiding his stares from the way their shoulders tensed after all that lecturing from the secretary. Special, my ass. Seniority my ass. Every day, he swears he’s going to quit. But every time he’s half an inch close to quitting and never showing himself in the office ever again, shit like this happens. And then, it hit him. Holy fucking shit, that’s it! With a smile on his face, Jisoo grabs the paper and walks out of his office to confront his client. When he passes by Wonwoo’s desk, he points to the baffled young man and yells:
“You’re the smartest fucking man, Wonwoo!”