Chapter Text
Gwak Jaegang looked curiously across his office desk at Kim Soleum. Kim Soleum stared back, blithe expression at odds with the disciplinary meeting. "Well, a certain troublemaker looks happy."
Kim Soleum's smile grew wider, if that were even possible. "I had a great day today. That's all."
"A successful wish simulation, I see... Did the mirror hurt you?" Gwak Jaegang pointed at the cut on Kim Soleum's cheek.
Kim Soleum's eyes were fixed on the outstretched index finger. It took a few seconds for him to respond. "Ah, no, it was my own button."
The clock on the wall ticked. It was already 8:30 PM. Finally, Gwak Jaegang broke the silence with a sigh. "Not going to explain yourself, are you? Your Dream Collector shows that you left the cleanup guy behind and went off on your own. Seriously, Kim Soleum! This is grounds for disciplinary action." With a peculiar glint in his eye, he asked: “Do you have a strong aversion to sending colleagues into dangerous situations or something? You seemed to know Heowoon personally, after all.”
"...Do I?" Kim Soleum asked with a blank smile.
Gwak Jaegang's eye twitched. "Yes, you do. You were rookies together."
"Ahh, right. Yes, I remember him now."
Gwak Jaegang let out a laugh and leaned in closer. "Well, then why did you disobey the order to bring Heowoon along? This is some important data we're collecting, you know."
"Let me think..." A pause. "I told Heowoon about the Darkness at 12 PM. At 1 PM, I ate a sandwich. Then, I went in at 2 PM, which was 3 hours before I told Heowoon to meet me."
Strangely enough, he seemed to be spontaneously piecing together what had happened.
"I think... I wanted to get the Darkness over with. But it would've been inconvenient to reschedule with Heowoon." With this, Kim Soleum straightened up like somebody who had answered correctly in a job interview. His eyes had a sudden gleam to them. "Hey, can we get this meeting over with too? I had a children's cartoon I wanted to watch today."
Gwak Jaegang was kind of speechless. That was the worst excuse he had ever heard. "That's... To clarify, you ditched Heowoon so that you can watch children's cartoons sooner rather than later?"
"They're rather fascinating," Kim Soleum said, and didn't elaborate.
...Gwak Jaegang didn't really know what to say to that.
"I will accept the disciplinary decision with no complaint. Are we done here?"
"Yes, fine, we're done here." Gwak Jaegang had certainly seen everything he wanted to.
As Kim Soleum left the office of Research Team 1, Gwak Jaegang could hear him mutter in the hallway: "I thought disciplinary meetings were supposed to be more thrilling than that... ah, well! It was plenty interesting as it was. What other errands did I have today? Hmm..."
Gwak Jaegang leaned back on his chair, alone now that all the other employees had already gone home. Then, he slowly started laughing. "Actions speak louder than words, Kim Soleum. You can't hide your weakness from me. And children's cartoons? As if! Such a terrible lie..."
--
Pale and clammy, a bead of sweat trailed down Baek Saheon's neck from where he sat stiffly on the living room couch.
"I love green tea!" The 3D-animated girl in front of him held a teapot out, smiling. "What's your favorite drink?" A few seconds passed. "Wow! That’s so tasty!"
At the kitchen table, Kim Soleum raised an entire roasted chicken to his mouth as he stared intently at the TV. He was surrounded by an elaborate spread of dishes, including Baek Saheon's own dinner, which Kim Soleum had forcibly co-opted.
How did this happen?
--
One hour earlier:
"A change of heart? Haha, you can say that... Like I said, I had a great day today."
The sound of footsteps grew closer to the apartment. That voice... Baek Saheon instantly jerked up from where he was reclining on the couch. Dammit! Kim Soleum was back. As the lock on the door clicked, Baek Saheon picked up the remote control and frantically lowered the volume of the war drama he was watching.
Until the day he figures out how to off his lunatic roommate, Baek Saheon was willing to sacrifice his pride. Even if that meant spending half of his waking hours walking on eggshells. It was a good day if they mutually ignored each other. Sadly, that was not often the case.
Baek Saheon grit his teeth as he schooled his face and turned back to the TV screen.
"Ahh, I'm so excited. You haven't tried any of these either, have you, Braun? Well, maybe I could make a smoothie bath for you. What do you think?"
Oh God, he was talking to his pet demon? hallucination?? bunny keychain again.
As Kim Soleum pushed the door open, plastic bags swung back and forwards on his arm. Groceries? Except... Baek Saheon knew for a fact that the freak only ever ate convenience store sandwiches. It had been a blessing to avoid negotiating fridge space with that psychopath, but that peace couldn't last forever.
Baek Saheon braced himself. But Kim Soleum didn't head towards the fridge. Instead, he set his haul on the kitchen table and started pulling things out. Gimbap. Chicken skewers. Gimbap again. A box of fried rice. Packaged mochi donuts. Gimbap again . Yonsei bread. Roasted Chicken. Raindrop cake. Caplico mini cones. Stir-fried noodles. Before long, the entire kitchen table was submerged.
And after opening the fridge door: "Hey, Baek Saheon. Are you going to eat this?"
Kim Soleum held up a container of seaweed soup.
"Uh," Baek Saheon said. "Yes, that's my dinner... I'll eat it later."
From Kim Soleum's blank expression, it was clear that that fact meant nothing to him. "Okay. Can I eat it?"
You already have a mountain of food, why would you want mine?!
But it was clear what Kim Soleum wanted to hear. "S..sure..."
"Great." Kim Soleum closed the fridge door without even a "thank you" and honest-to-God whistled as he set the miyeokguk on top of a precarious stack of box meals.
What was wrong with this bastard today? Baek Saheon should've expected mood swings from someone so mentally unstable, but Kim Soleum had never been like this before. As Kim Soleum stepped towards the living room, Baek Saheon did his best to inconspicuously get up and leave.
"Where are you going?" Kim Soleum asked, picking up the remote. Baek Saheon froze in his tracks. "Come on, keep me company."
Oh God. What was Kim Soleum about to do to him?
--
Currently:
"Now, now, Park Hayoon," a cartoon adult tutted as she tapped her slippers on the floor. "It's nice to share with your friends. Now what do you say, Kim Minsoo?"
"Thank you," a cartoon boy chorused, holding a piece of candy in his hand.
Baek Saheon didn't dare to move his neck as he stole a glance at Kim Soleum, who was vigorously drinking the seaweed soup. Surrounded by plastic packaging, he had devoured half of the items he brought back already.
"The world is so beautiful, Braun," Kim Soleum said suddenly, setting Baek Saheon's dinner down and picking up a donut. "I didn't know food tasted so good. And you have excellent recommendations, of course. We have to see about that soup bath sometimes."
The pink rabbit plushie he had placed on the table didn't move.
"Of course I'll add blood to it. Who do you think I am? Haha."
Baek Saheon was going to fucking piss himself. This freak had to be doing this on purpose-- it was clear now that Kim Soleum wanted to see him squirm. Why else keep Baek Saheon here for "company" while ignoring that he existed? Actually, Baek Saheon would prefer it if his roommate were only pretending to talk to the rabbit for the sake of creeping him out. What was more frightening was the alternative...
Baek Saheon shuddered.
"Are you enjoying the show, Baek Saheon?"
Dear God. Please let this man go back to ignoring him. Baek Saheon chose his words carefully. "It certainly has... a complex plot..."
On the screen, a girl burst into tears and ran away from the playground.
Kim Soleum shot him a look of pure derision. "This was made for children. It's so simple, a dog could get it."
Then why are we watching it!?
Despite his words, Kim Soleum remained riveted by the screen. "But it's compelling, isn't it?"
Baek Saheon's eye twitched. "What about it?"
"You can tell a lot about people from the way they treat children. People are so interesting." There was a hint of longing in Kim Soleum's voice. "Would you show this episode to a kid?"
"...I don't see... why not?"
All of a sudden, Kim Soleum's demeanor switched. "Why would you! It's trash! 'Sharing is caring?' Humans love to tell themselves pretty lies. Nobody gives things for free, you have to win it!" He seemed strangely agitated.
'Humans?!' Baek Saheon felt faint. "Well... what do you want, then? 'Nobody is kind, take everything by force?' Elementary school would be a mess...."
Kim Soleum was silent for a moment. "Maybe some people are kind."
At this, Baek Saheon looked over. Kim Soleum was staring down at a pen mark on his own hand. What a nutcase.
--
OMAKE:
bsh: how are you eating so much anyway
mirror kse: i'm eating for two ^_^
bsh: ...YOU'RE PREGNANT?
meanwhile, real-world kse: i've haven't eaten for three days but i'm not hungry?? must be a fluke