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It all started on an average Saturday. Field agents were called in to enter a suspected A-Class Darkness.
Kim Soleum showed up to find Eun Haje waiting next to Jin Nasol and Kang Yihak. The three women were discussing the manual quietly, so as not to disturb the others in the room.
Waving a prosthetic hand in the air, Eun Haje flagged him over. Kim Soleum dutifully arrived, bowing his head in greeting.
None of them had their masks on yet, giving him time to appreciate seeing emotions across the facial expressions of his superiors.
Jin Nasol raised her eyebrows, appraising him.
Kang Yihak smiled at him, still thinking of him as a person with good abilities.
Eun Haje’s look was a touch softer. More familiar, too.
"Roe, this one seems up your alley." Eun Haje handed him a packet with a small smirk. "Not much is known about it, as per the usual with the higher-ups, but it's definitely got a weird gimmick to it."
Taking the packet, he read it over quickly. His mind was mostly filled with the thought that Eun Haje was doing well right now. He had been worried. Ever since Park Minseong had been contaminated, D-squad had felt incredibly off, wracked by bad luck.
Jin Nasol's lips ticked up to one side, as if she were holding back a fond smile. "Roe Deer-ssi has a tendency to do well in dangerous Darknesses, doesn't he?"
Her words weren't passive-aggressive like Kim Soleum might have once feared.
Jin Nasol was being kind to him, praising him for his hard work. It wasn't often that a high-level agent would say these things about him, so he appreciated it even if he was extremely anxious right now.
He recognized the Darkness they were entering immediately. The manual was concise in that way.
A timeloop. It was something pretty horrific, wasn't it?
It was a trope that was widely used across most genres. Who didn't like a good time loop movie or story? Kim Soleum had read enough of them as a mindless consumer that he understood how interesting the different tales and spins on the trope could be.
He had fears about this, though. His only worry was that, well, it was a time loop. Obvious, he knew, but it was still terrifying.
Kim Soleum thought he would not be good with time loops. Mainly because he knew that he would be unaware of the time loop. In fact, this could have been a time loop, but he just didn't know it yet.
The Darkness, Just Another Day, could have already been activated.
It was A-Class, just as Baekilmong suspected. A-Class Darknesses didn't earn their title easily. A time loop had been done before countless times, too. This one was just that special.
Only a couple of people within the Darkness would understand that a time loop was occurring. They had to find a way out of the Darkness themselves, or somehow convince the others around them that a time loop was active.
There were only two known ways to exit Just Another Day.
Kim Soleum didn't like being out of control. In most cases, he could figure out a ghost story and solve it once he learned enough information.
A time loop that he wasn't readily aware of made the situation tricky. He was nervous, feeling jittery even though he had no time to make coffee this morning before arriving at the company.
Kang Yihak didn't appear to hold the same sentiment. "I'm excited to enter it." She was practically beaming. "The hazard pay we're getting because of the possibility it's an A-Class..."
She was too far gone, aspirations of wealth fogging her mind. Not that Kim Soleum could judge much. He needed money just as Kang Yihak did, but didn't talk as much about it. The Alien Space Shop was taking quite a bit of his salary…
"We'll be fine," Eun Haje said, attempting to lift his mood. "We'll earn that hazard pay and then have a relaxing couple of days off."
Sweating, Kim Soleum gave Eun Haje a nervous glance. She was normally never this peppy. He reasoned that she wanted some downtime to relax. Hungry Hangman wasn't very far behind them. Perhaps some time off would be good for the soul.
He was going to ask if she was okay with being called in today of all days, but he didn't manage to.
Lee Jaheon arrived, his lizard features making it nearly impossible for Kim Soleum’s eyes to skip over him in a crowd.
He and Jin Nasol made eye contact for longer than socially accepted. Was Lee Jaheon asserting dominance? Kim Soleum knew that the two of them didn’t get along. However, Jin Nasol looked away first due to Lee Seonghae coming up to join their small group.
Lee Jaheon then turned to Eun Haje and Kim Soleum, pulling them a few steps out of the way.
Eun Haje's gaze narrowed. "What's wrong, chief?"
Lee Jaheon didn't speak. He just stared at his two subordinates, his red gaze honing in on Kim Soleum.
Kim Soleum rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. He wasn't sure how he felt about this sudden attention. Lee Jaheon was normally blunt, even if he didn't say more than a few words every day.
Lee Jaheon continued to stare relentlessly.
Kim Soleum twitched anxiously in response.
Eun Haje sighed, demanding in a rough, exhausted voice, "What is it?"
Lee Jaheon looked at her. His expression didn't change. His eyes remained unblinking. He not once offered an explanation.
Stupid lizard, just get on with it already. Kim Soleum was going to die on the spot from stress if not!
Lee Jaheon shook his head, turning back toward Kim Soleum. Only then did Kim Soleum realize that Lee Jaheon wasn't looking at him, exactly, but the Good Friend Doll in his pocket.
"Chief...?"
He was weirded out now. Did Lee Jaheon know? How did he know? Braun only spoke to him. Right? Braun's voice appeared in his head. There was no way that Lee Jaheon heard it as well.
Lee Jaheon lifted his red gaze to focus on Kim Soleum's face. After a moment too long, he concluded, "You haven't been warned."
"... No."
"We are in a time loop."
That's trusty Chief Lizard in action. He was sharp; no blunt weapons to be found. He said it as it was. No room to argue. No further explanations. Just a simple statement.
Eun Haje coughed, surprised that Lee Jaheon would break the news to them like that. "I see," she murmured a few seconds later. "How can we help?"
Lee Jaheon let out a small huff of air from his nostrils. Resigned, he said, "The host."
Dammit. Kim Soleum hoped Lee Jaheon was referring to the host, instead of the host.
His stomach had dropped the moment Lee Jaheon spoke. His eyes glazed over to Kim Soleum expectantly as Eun Haje looked between them in confusion.
Kim Soleum's lips twitched into an uncomfortable smile. "You mean...?"
He wanted to be wrong. Please, let him be wrong. ‘The host’ could refer to so many different people or situations. It didn’t have to be Braun.
"The host is also aware of the time loop. We've been... working together."
"I see." In truth, Kim Soleum did not.
Braun wasn't supposed to be strong enough to do such a thing. In fact, Braun hadn't spoken all day. Kim Soleum assumed Braun was just busy or didn't want to speak. He had wronged the television host in some way, he thought.
A time loop being the cause of it… That might as well happen. Kim Soleum had put up with much worse.
"We were close to breaking the loop last time," Lee Jaheon continued, as it to reassure his team members that they weren’t going to be trapped in the ghost story for much longer.
Kim Soleum and Eun Haje reacted positively, knowing that Lee Jaheon wouldn't say that unless it were true.
"I will not be entering the Darkness,” Chief Lizard added, sullying all of Kim Soleum’s trust in him.
That seemed... wrong. Dumb, even.
Lee Jaheon noticed Kim Soleum's disbelief. He explained, "We've worked out multiple ways to solve this. You need to believe in me."
Fuck, why was Lee Jaheon looking at him like that?
Kim Soleum never suspected that Lee Jaheon knew how to tug on his heartstrings, but he was. It was only because Chief Lizard was such a reliable boss that Kim Soleum's argument never left his lips.
"Alright." He'd trust in Lee Jaheon... and Braun.
He still didn't trust that the two of them got along well. They must have only worked together because they had no other option. Time loops made adversaries work together, he supposed.
Lee Jaheon patted him on the shoulder, and then turned to Eun Haje. "Please look after the others in the Darkness. I'll return later."
Wait, what? Kim Soleum wanted to scream. Was he going to be alone with Lee Jaheon and Braun? How was that fair? Eun Haje, his life line... Don't go!
Eun Haje either didn't notice, or ignored him because orders were orders, because she agreed to the terms. "I'll see you later."
She left, but not without already patting Kim Soleum on the shoulder.
Those affectionate actions did not make him feel better, by the way. It made him feel worse, actually. C'mon, what was that, huh? Kim Soleum didn't want falsities! He wanted to have an ally by his side! Eun Haje…!
Kim Soleum looked up at Lee Jaheon, holding back tears. The chief looked down at him. Braun did not make a peep.
"This is cruel," Kim Soleum said, because if nothing else, he needed that to be known.
"This is how the world works," Lee Jaheon replied with no sympathy.
They left Baekilmong behind. Kim Soleum didn't weep, though he would have liked to. He simply stuck it out, internally dreading whatever was to come.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He despised this feeling. He didn't know what was going on. How come he couldn't have been chosen by the Darkness to be one of the few people who remembered!?
It was uncomfortable not to have the knowledge of the other timelines that existed within the Darkness.
"Deep, calming breaths," Lee Jaheon said, his voice so soft and soothing that Kim Soleum became more upset.
He was truly irked by this situation. Did he have an issue with control? He was aware that he liked knowing what was going on, but this felt excessive, even for him.
"The host must be upset," Lee Jaheon murmured.
Kim Soleum sweat dropped at the casual mention. So Braun and Lee Jaheon truly knew each other...
Hah. Kim Soleum was never going to get a break. Things were always going to spiral out of his control. The concept that he had any control to begin with since coming to this world was laughable.
Lee Jaheon added, his voice louder, as if he was goading Braun, "He must be moping."
– I am not moping!
Jerking back in shock, Kim Soleum nearly tripped. Lee Jaheon caught him before it could go further. He was stuck looking up at Chief Lizard as Braun spoke to them.
– I was resting. There is a difference, you incompetent lizard!
Braun had quite a mouth on him. Kim Soleum couldn't recall Braun speaking like this to someone else before. Not even in Hungry Hangman, when Braun had been chosen, did he ever act like this.
– I was trying to find the best way to break the news to Roe Deer-ssi. That is all. Do not blow this out of proportion.
Lee Jaheon blithely replied, "You were moping because the time loop is ending."
What the fuck was going on? Wasn't the point to end the time loop? Why on Earth would Braun be upset that it was ending?
– Ah... Friend, you picked up on that?
Kim Soleum was about to throttle a certain pink bunny plush if it didn't explain things properly.
– It's just... I've gotten to know a lot about you through this process. Who wouldn't be upset about losing out on this chance to learn more?
He did not believe that for a moment. Braun was being too open. If he truly was finding out more about Kim Soleum, Braun wouldn't spill the beans instantly.
Lee Jaheon wanted to move on, to continue walking down the street, but Kim Soleum rooted his feet in place. Red eyes fell to him, not surprised or annoyed, just tired.
With folded arms, Kim Soleum demanded, “What is going on here?”
He never expected Braun and Lee Jaheon to team up, even if it was a time-related incident. He also never thought that he would be left out of the loop. They were purposely leading him on. Why? What for?
– I have nothing to hide.
A liar. A liar now lived in Kim Soleum’s suit pocket.
Lee Jaheon put up a wall, similarly to Braun. “I do not know what you are implying.”
These two… They learned how to collude with each other.
It was disgusting. Off-putting. It left a bitter yet sour taste in Kim Soleum’s mouth. He hoped they fucked up and the time loop continued so he forgot this conversation.
Kim Soleum put his foot down. “Either you tell me what is going on, or I give Braun to you.”
Lee Jaheon’s face twitched. He was irked by the idea. “I…”
– Don’t you dare, insolent lizard!
“The thing is…” Lee Jaheon took a breath. “You asked for us to work together. We did.”
– Roe Deer-ssi was the start of it all!
“We found a way out of the time loop.”
– It’s rather simple, all things considered.
“We have to deactivate the host.”
– The host being me, of course.
“I will kill the host.”
– You will not! Roe Deer-ssi would be incorrigibly upset if you did.
“You will… be purifying the host. It’s a ritual you’ve spoken about in other loops.”
– And then the time loop will be over. There you have it, Roe Deer-ssi. It’s as simple as that.
Kim Soleum was partially confused still, but he understood parts of it. The Darkness chose Braun as the host for the time loop. The two ways to escape the time loop was to have everyone never enter the Darkness in the first place, or to deactivate the host completely.
Usually, it would mean killing the host. Braun, however, was a ghost entity.
There must have been a different way to succeed in deactivating the host. That’s the ritual they mentioned.
“What do I need to do?” Kim Soleum asked.
– Roe Deer-ssi said he’ll only perform the ritual if we behave. Sniffles. I think we’ve done good. We haven’t killed one another, friend! Not once!
Kim Soleum had no idea of a ritual. His past self definitely lied. Therefore, the ritual was just a way to make Lee Jaheon not kill Braun. However, if he promised to perform the ritual if Braun behaved, only one thing came to mind.
He took Braun out of his pocket. The host spoke quickly, asking for Kim Soleum to be gentle. Kim Soleum ignored it, and started to tear at the cotton doll.
Lee Jaheon didn’t blink as Kim Soleum tore open the Good Friend Doll.
In the middle of a street, the doll fell to the sidewalk. An entity arose instead. Large and towering. Broad shoulders and no face aside from a television screen. It fizzled to life, the entity’s hands raised up to turn the dials until an emote appeared across the dark screen.
[This is… unexpected.]
Kim Soleum trembled, so he hid it the best he could, but Braun looked down at him knowingly. Braun’s energy in his true form was daunting. Was it like this when they first met? Or did Braun continue to grow strong…?
Lee Jaheon blinked, put off by this situation. “That’s it?”
The time loop should technically be over now. Kim Soleum destroyed the Good Friend Doll, which was the host, instead of destroying the entity inside the doll.
“I think so.” Kim Soleum could not be 100% certain.
Lee Jaheon dismissed Kim Soleum uncertainty. He turned back to Baekilmong.
“What is he doing?” Kim Soleum murmured.
Braun offered up a bizarre consolation prize. His fingers were heavy on Kim Soleum’s shoulder. Everyone was patting him there. Did he seem that desperate for affection?
[Stocks.]
‘I’m sorry, what?’ Kim Soleum blinked, but this was still reality.
[We know how the stocks will change today. The lizard wants to make money.]
Kim Soleum’s first thought was not what the fuck. It was not huh? It wasn’t even why is Chief Lizard buying stocks?
It was: should I ask Lee Jaheon to tell Kang Yihak his suggestions?