Chapter Text
J3 sat in a donut shop with a dozen donuts on the table in front of him. He stared blankly into space as he ate, but his jaw worked slowly in an attempt to savor the taste. Somehow, none of the donuts he bought ever tasted as good as the ones Kim Soleum used to give him. He was about to stand up and leave when the door opened, bell ringing, as two men in blue jackets walked in. J3 watched them warily as they approached. He recognized the one with the scar on his neck as someone connected to Kim Soleum. Apparently, they knew each other well enough for Soleum to barter his life in order to save the agent. Wearing a smile, the scarred agent spoke to him first. “Hello! I didn't expect to see a security guard of a cult company out and about in public."
"...Sometimes… we can go out… after dark…” J3 replied reluctantly.
"Hm. And? What are you doing here?”
J3 watched them suspiciously. There was no way the agents just "happened” to find him. They must have known he was here and ambushed him on purpose. They probably wanted to know more about Soleum, after their impromptu interrogation was interrupted earlier by [The Man in the Screen] darkness. “I… just wanted to eat donuts…”
The agent behind the scarred one narrowed his eyes in confusion. Like he couldn’t believe a Daydream Security Guard would do something as mundane as eating donuts. "Do you like donuts?”
"Yes… Roe Deer… used to buy them for me…”
He mentioned Kim Soleum to test their reaction, and the results were immediate. The scarred agent's eyes flashed with what looked like triumph as well as a strange mix of anger and sorrow. The agent behind him widened his eyes and sucked in a sharp intake of breath. "How do you know Roe Deer?”
"...We worked together… when someone went missing… he needed help… he's really nice…”
He couldn't help but add that last bit. Soleum was really, really nice. Nicer than anyone had ever been to J3 in an impossibly long time. The agents wore matching expressions of pride. “Of course. Our podo-ya/Grapes-ie is really a nice person."
Giving up on escaping, J3 sat back down, saying nothing as the agents sat across from him. He pulled his box of donuts closer, just in case they tried to help themselves to the sweets. They weren't for sharing. “We wanted to talk to you about him, actually. About Kim Soleum."
“..."
“You said he won his wish ticket. Do you know what happened after that? Or what he wished for?"
“...I know…. what happened after…. I… don't know what… he wished for… he told me… it was a wish… that could change… the world… those wishes sometimes… make people disappear… to another world…”
The agents frowned. J3 normally didn't talk so much. But he could tell these agents cared for Kim Soleum. And… Kim Soleum needed help. J3 couldn't help him alone, and so he decided to give the agents information. The scarred agent opened his mouth. "Home. He wished to go home.”
J3 stared at him for a long time. “...I see…”
Home. A place Kim Soleum was unable to reach. Somewhere he was willing to suffer a fate worse than death to return to. A wave of sadness came over him. J3 didn't have a home, and he didn't need one. But Kim Soleum must have felt its emptiness everyday like a physical wound. And now he could never return home. "Judging by your face, it didn't go so well?”
"I'm not sure… I thought he succeeded… but after six months… I saw him again… on the security team…"
The scarred agent let out a heavy sigh. The other one had a pained expression. The light overhead flickered(not a ghost story… or was it?). "The one with antlers in a black special security team uniform with a gas mask, right?”
J3 blinked in mild surprise. "Yes…"
“Did he get contaminated? What is his condition like?"
"I'm not sure… he said it was… the wish ticket… he signed a contract… with Director Cheong… he's with the special security team… permanently…"
After a short pause he added, “...He can't take the suit off… I'm not sure if it's… a restriction… or a protection against contamination… he's also… different… re-educated to become a good employee…”
A dark expression crossed the agents’ faces. “We'll get him out of there. That cult company isn't legally allowed to keep resigned employees prisoner."
J3 hesitated. “Well… he signed a contract… and he's technically classified as a darkness…”
The scarred agent leaned back in his seat, wearing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Hm. A jailbreak is sounding more appealing the more I think of it, isn't that right, Bronze?”
Agent Bronze meets J3’s eyes. "Will you help us?”
J3 nods slowly. "I… want to help him… he deserves to be happy…”
The scarred agent smiled again. This time, it reached his eyes. It made him seem younger. More joyful and more dangerous. They talked a little more, and J3 found the scarred agent was called Agent Choi. When they stood to leave, the agents bought J3 another dozen donuts. Putting the box in front of him, Agent Choi winked. "Share that with your team, yeah?”
They left, leaving the sound of ringing bells in their wake. J3 sat there for a while, staring at the new box of donuts. Maybe they were nicer than he thought. After all, they bought him donuts.