Chapter Text
Viper slowly opened his eyes. He was blinded by a pale white light for a moment, but his sight quickly adjusted.
He looked around. He was at auditorium filled with people sitting on the most basic office chairs. In front of the rows of chairs was standing a middle-aged man, making a presentation.
"Ah, the orientation day. That's a little lame. I hoped that my return point would be earlier." he thought.
Baek Saheon looked to his left. He saw a handsome guy holding a strange looking box on his lap.
"God damn, this guy is hot", he thought. "I'll stike a conversation with him."
"Where did you get that?" he asked.
The mysterious stranger didn't answer. He seemed dazed.
Baek Saheon was stealing glances at him for a while.
"That guy, I don't remember him at all", he thought. "Was he someone who died early? Well, that's fine. I'll save him and seduce him later. It would such a waste of his looks if he dies today."
For a veteran like him, the deadly probational period is a piece of cake. He'll exit the darkness safely and save as many people as he feels like saving.
"In the past, I prioritized my survival because I was weak", he thought. "Now I can afford to have other priorities."
Soon, just as expected, they were thrown straight into the darkness. Baek Saheon found himself sitting on the train near the group of terrified strangers.
He scraped his memory for information. In his times as a Viper, he survived alone, sacrificing his eye. He discovered later that he didn't have to. There was a strategy to this urban legend, a simple a straightforward strategy. They just need to...
Baek Saheon got distracted. The new guy was surprisingly proactive - he tried to stop the fools who wanted to exit at the Sorrow station. He decided to chime in:
"Excuse me... I think this guy is right. We should observe the situation a little more..."
He made himself sound a little shy and meek. It would be natural for past him, who entered a darkness for the first time.
Together with the mysterious guy, they managed to dissuade a few people, but the two of them managed to slip away. They faced a gruesome fate. Baek Saheon tried his best not to laugh.
He continued to observe. The new guy was talking to a young woman about ghost stories.
Baek Saheon decided to take all of his attention for himself. He approached and told him his name.
The guy look shocked for some reason. Still, he quickly adjusted his expression.
He and the girl next to him introduced themselves.
"Kim Soleum? Finally, I know his name." thought Baek Saheon.
He continued to observe Kim Soleum.
The man was obviously stressed, but confident. He tried his best to stop people coming out at the stations he didn't approve and offered his own strategy.
Baek Saheon didn't approve saving those who didn't deserve to be saved... But he decided to land a hand.
He approached Kim Soleum, who was yelled at by other survivors.
Baek Saheon wore his best customer service smile.
"Oh, you people want to die so bad?" he said.
Everyone stared at him, horrified.
"Did you see these people who ran out of train without any plan? None of them survived. Wanna join?"
"Do you have a better plan, you piece of shit?!"
Their ire was redirected at Baek Saheon, just as he planned. The villain role suited him well.
He kept annoying the survivors until those, who exited at Rapture station, were killed.
Then he sat on his seat.
"Damn, I'm getting bored", he thought.He almost yawned.
To keep himself from falling asleep, he approached Kim Soleum and flattered him a little.
"Why did you provoke them?" asked Kim Soleum.
"I just saw you having a hard time..." Baek Saheon gave him an awkward smile. "Don't worry about me! I'm used to people being mean."
"If you say so..."
Baek Saheon wanted to talk more, but they had to prepare for the curved station.
It all passed quickly. Screams of agony didn't even bother him much.
And then... He heard the cursed announcement.
Baek Saheon grit his teeth.
"Anyone who has found the lost item should disembark at the next station, and hand over the lost item to the station employee."
He remembered this moment very well. He bashed another guy's eye and earned himself an awful reputation amongst rookies, and for what? It was all in vain. One mistake cost him many opportunities to form useful connections with more "morally upright" employees of Daydream. Of course, he isn't going to do it again. No, he'll even do the opposite.
Baek Saheon approached the group that talked about the possible targets. He said:
"I think we all should lie, actually."
Everyone in the group looked at him, including Kim Soleum.
"We don't know each other at all, right? One of us could be a psycho who'd try to rip your eye out."
"Who would do that?" one passenger laughed nervously.
"Me" thought Viper. "You all are lucky that I decided to clean up my act this time."
"He is right," said Kim Soleum. "Let's avoid unnecessary risks."
"But how one could even..." said the passenger.
"It's easier than it seems." Go Yeongeun joined the conversation. "You can do it... even with a phone."
This line completely killed the conversation. Even Baek Saheon got chills. How did she know?..
He calmed himself down and concentrated on his memories. He read the manual of this urban legend a few times, and he talked with many rookies who passed.
"The destination... right. It is something I haven't reached yet. Let's look for a suitable name..."
Kim Soleum seemed to come to the same conclusion. As the Serenity station approached, he urged everyone to come out.
Naturally, Baek Saheon helped him to persuade the passengers to earn some points.
They all left the station together and came back.
Baek Saheon didn't pay much attention to the award ceremony. As soon as it ended, he left to ask to be accommodated in the dormitory.
He didn't have many things, so he finished unpacking very soon. His tastes drastically changed for the last 20 years on this planet, so he had to throw out almost a third of his wardrobe. No more ugly colourful T-shirts for him. He is going to dress for his real age.
"My first few salaries will be spent on some proper suits, shirts and shoes," he thought. "Clothes make a man. Ah, and I should certainly buy a car."
Baek Saheon went to the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table to get some rest. He thought it would be a perfect place to greet his new roommate.
He might have sensed something, because soon, the door have opened. A familiar person showed up.
Baek Saheon's face lit up. How lucky! Seducing Kim Soleum might turn out to be easier then he thought.
"It's you! I'm really glad that you are my roommate. You were really cool today. You saved us all!"
Baek Saheon masterfully showed him sincerity of a naive puppy.
"It was really scary, but... I'm glad to be alive. I think this is something worth celebrating. Are you free this week? We could go somewhere together! Or, maybe, we could throw a housewarming party! What do you think?"
Kim Soleum looked at him with a heavy gaze, then sat down.
***
Kim Soleum noticed this guy trying to talk with him and watching him all the time, so he had some suspicions.
Baek Saheon confirmed his suspicions right away by offering him to throw a housewarming party or go out together to celebrate. Who the hell does this after such an awful work orientation? People died...
"He is a psycho. And gay. A gay psycho." thought Kim Soleum. He needed to somehow get Baek Saheon to leave him alone.
"I am NOT dating someone who is going to be named Viper, thank you very much."
And his best idea was...
Kim Soleum sat on the chair, propped his chin on his hands and gave Baek Saheon the most menacing look he could muster.
"Baek Saheon... I caught a certain vibe from you, so I have to tell you something."
Baek Saheon kept his cheerful smile.
"Hm?"
Kim Soleum said his next words sternly, like he was talking about a deadly disease:
"I... am severely homophobic!"