Chapter Text
Chapter 1:
Fog lightly covered the city streets as Eun Haje walked on the quiet streets with rain dampening the sounds of steps on concrete, raindrops falling upon the black umbrella she carried. Despite the people walking back and fro around her–all heading back home with evening coming–it all felt silent.
Pitter. Patter.
‘.So Roe acquired the wish token?’ Eun Haje inwardly muttered, heading to Daydream Inc for her next long term assignment.
In that rain, something quietly hummed akin to white noise.
Eun Haje continued to walk forward.
The humming soon grew louder.
Eun Haje continued to walk forward.
The humming cut through the melancholic rain and blared right inside her ear.
Eun Haje stopped.
One must know to never stop nor listen to any phenomenon, and continue. Yet what made her pause was a familiar face–Which should’ve been blaring alarms in her head already. Something compelled her to turn her head.
Kim Soleum was standing by a glowing white door, right beside a convenience store.
He had a neutral expression, a small empty smile on–not leaning on the door nor even relaxed shoulders. He simply stood there.
There was absurdity in seeing a coworker you knew who should’ve left a while back, standing right in a place you would rather see anything else but him. Eun Haje still could read the 2 for 1 promotion for soju cans plastered on the convenience store window. A reminder of normality and reality.
Eun Haje stared back–against her will–at the entity wearing Soleum’s face.
A corner of her mind though–truly did feel this was him. Kim Soleum—not the Daydream employee or Disaster Management Bureau agent. Just.. Kim Soleum.
She stood there, the umbrella shielding her from the rain, the quiet rain still continuing, even when ignorant passerbys walked in front, she could not avert her gaze from the entity.
And then Eun Haje’s foot moved forward—Towards the glowing door.
The rain continued, drowning out the chattering of the city.
As she approached the glowing door, the entity’s face started to glitch out, static cutting through before it raised its right hand and covered the glitching head with a white opaque veil.
Afterwards, it extended its hand out, beckoning to take it.
Eun Haje did not take it.
The entity lowered its hand before stepping backwards onto the side and gesturing for Eun Haje to enter.
This time Eun Haje’s foot did move forward. Her teeth inwardly gritting and brows slightly furrowed but she walked forward, and entered that glowing door.
The rain continued.
Pitter. Patter.
—
Park Minseong took a bite of the last jelly-filled donut in the box before leaving his shift.With a small smile he turned around to face J3–crumbs still on his hand and face—and waved.
“Mhmpf–See you later Senior.”
“...At least wipe the crumbs.” J3 leaned forward from his chair, slightly paused to realize it was empty..
“Ah, right.” Park Minseong licked his thumb, savoring what was supposed to be meant to be sweet.
“Wait did you eat the last one–”
Park Minseong stepped out and closed the door with the click, muffling J3’s complaints.
‘Maybe I should stop and buy another box later.’ Park Minseong inwardly mused.
There as he turned to go to the elevator, where it was supposed to be—was a glowing white door. Facing a familiar figure Park Minseong once believed to have been gone already with the wish token, led dissonance in him.
He stood there, standing in the middle of the frame, hands behind his back with a thin smile and empty eyes. Where there was once a small red glint was now pure void black. He still wore his office clothing but that pink bunny keychain he always carried was missing.
There he was, like the light at the end of a tunnel, in the worst possible place.
Obviously this was the basement floors where the Security guards patrolled and anomalies as common as water, but it was in Park’s own gut and instinct to fully believe this was Kim Soleum. That same junior he greeted on that fateful day and the same he sent his farewells to.
‘..Roe Deer..?’ Park Minseong inwardly muttered.
The entity? Roe? Slightly smiled at the moment and extended its hand outwardly. Silence in the form of nothingness was forced upon the ominous halls, Park Minseong could tell an alarm was being rung with the flashing red lights behind his back and nonetheless his gaze remained on Roe.
In the matter of seconds he soon lost the ability to see color–Almost as if the entity was doing everything to keep Park Minseong’s attention on his outstretched hand.
Something buzzed in his hand—the pager given by J3.
He walked forward.
‘Don’t tell me you went down the same ending I got.’ Park Minseong’s breath hitched as he slowly got closer.
Thoughts that shouldn’t occur, seeped in like ink, tainting his vision. He shouldn’t listen nor be affected by such anomalous activity nonetheless the empty gaze compelled him.
Roe’s figure glitched out, the same extended hand covered his face with an opaque veil.
The pager buzzed in his pocket, just as he moved, a familiar hand grabbed his wrist–there was silence but the smell of donuts lingered.
‘Senior-’
He fell into the door.
—
Baek Saheon grumbled as he stood in front of his apartment–where once were black dressing shoes on the shoe shelf—was empty. No muffled sounds of cartoons could be overheard. A hand written paper plastered on the door saying ‘For Rent’, alongside a phone number.
‘Well any roommate I have couldn’t possibly compete with that guy.’ Baek Saheon inwardly deadpanned.
His gaze lingered for a second before clicking his tongue and closed the door behind him.
Switching on the lights, he dropped the groceries on the kitchen counter, then took off the suffocating black blazer and tie off and placed it on the coat rack. Swapping for a far more comfortable fit of tank top and shorts, ignoring maybe how the shorts had a hello kitty pattern on it—It was on discount. Baek Saheon had no shame in that.
‘..The rain is really loud.’ Baek Saheon sighed, peeking out of his window before closing it.
He quickly made stir-fried vegetables and some scrambled eggs, throwing a leftover pack of noodles inside. As Baek Saheon was about to eat, he set the table up and went to the bathroom.
As he sat on the toilet, the familiar roommate came to mind.
‘...Why am I even thinking about that guy–He got his wish token and that’s it. Done and dusted.’ Baek Saheon groaned. “I should be mad if anything I could’ve saved her–”
Baek Saheon paused.
Fear struck his body.
“You freak– I’m taking a fucking shit here-” Baek Saheon shouted, quickly standing up and scrambling his hands around to pull his pants up and flushing the toilet. He kept his gaze while backing before hitting the tiled wall–the cold marble greeting his back.
There was a glowing white door. Right in his bathroom.
Standing barely a meter away was Kim Soleum– The same empty gaze he held and a calm smile he carried, madness bubbling underneath. He wore the same office clothing, stretching out his hand, as if nothing was amiss.
There were a lot of things Baek Saheon knew to expect from his unorthodox job but having to deal with an anomaly right in his bathroom was something training was never going to help with. Baek Saheon tried to fumble for his phone but realized it had dropped at the base of the toilet—right in front of the damned door.
‘..Fuck.’ Baek Saheon’s face paled.
He hurriedly reached for his eyepatch but froze midway–A gut feeling telling him he shouldn’t look. Something beyond his comprehension.
‘Body of mine stop moving towards that monster-!’ Baek Saheon screamed internally.
He took a step forward.
Sweat covered his back, and body shook as he felt compelled to walk forward–to take that extended hand. He still maintained eye contact, against his will.
As he was right in front of the door, the entity’s expression glitched like TV static and the same extended hand covered its face and an opaque veil then covered it.
‘..Hope the company finds my body–Gah who am I kidding.’
He entered the door.
—
Section Chief Lee Jaheon was closing up the office door before he turned around and was met with an entity resembling Roe Deer, though it did not wear the mask. The entity stood in front of a glowing white door.
It carried high levels of mental contamination in addition to reality distortion via ordinary presence.
As he raised his hand to his ear to inform the necessary parties of the anomaly—
The entity grabbed his wrist before pulling him into the door. As he was forcefully pulled in, TV static covered the entity’s expression, an opaque veil masked its expression.
He entered the door.
—
End of Chapter.