Work Text:
Now, Kim Soleum knows it’s unwise to make assumptions, especially in his line of work. It’s best to keep your head down and stay in your lane, but, well… there’s a point where it becomes so painfully obvious that it might be better to face reality instead.
Honestly, it’s Soleum’s own fault for going to work so early. He was sitting in the common area of their office space, waking himself up with company coffee, when Agent Choi and Agent Bronze walked in. After the usual greetings, Kim Soleum stayed to finish his coffee while his seniors went to their desks. Agent Bronze returned first, offering to keep him company as he reviewed his files, and naturally, Agent Choi followed suit. And before he knew it, the situation had ended up like this.
Soleum lifts his head reluctantly to see Agent Bronze and Agent Choi, his two dear seniors of the Black Tortoise Team 1, engaging in possibly the most obnoxious PDA he has had the unfortunate privilege of witnessing.
“Jaekwan-ah,” Agent Choi says, sitting playfully on the armrest of their office’s couch, both arms slung over Bronze’s shoulders. “What are you doing over here?”
Agent Bronze gives him a quick look then glances back at the documents in his hand. “Reading over the details for our next assignment.”
“Eh~ We’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow, though?”
“It’s best to be prepared in advance.”
Agent Choi, impossibly, gets even closer, their faces almost touching as he reads the file over his coworker’s shoulder. “Oh, this one, huh.” He grins, and Soleum can’t quite control his flinch when Agent Choi meets his eyes with a confident grin. “Leave it to your seniors, Grapes-ie, we’ve cleared this one once before.”
“The situation changes every–”
Agent Choi suddenly swings his legs over Bronze’s lap (Kim Soleum wrestles with every higher being he’s ever known to keep his face as unaffected as possible), effectively shutting him up. If Agent Choi leans any closer, he will literally be sitting in Ryu Jaekwan’s lap. Aren’t there any public decency rules in place at the Disaster Management Bureau?? Hello?? Human resources???
Agent Bronze frowns, but he doesn’t seem at all surprised at Agent Choi’s clingy behavior. Now it’s his turn to make eye contact with Kim Soleum, continuing, “As I was saying, the Disaster reports change every time, but they are predictable. We’ll guide you so you won’t have anything to worry about.”
Soleum smiles shakily. “Of course.”
“Still, it’s best for you to read up on the Disaster yourself.” Agent Bronze honest-to-god pats Agent Choi on the waist, and the latter, with a satisfied smile, hops off the couch and heads to his desk as if nothing ever happened. It takes an impossible amount of willpower for Soleum to maintain a sense of normalcy as Agent Bronze walks over and hands him the documents before, similarly, heading to his own desk.
Kim Soleum glances down at his now-empty mug of coffee. He briefly contemplates getting a glass full of alcohol instead.
He really doesn’t mean to be conscious of it.
Aside from that strangely overt display the other day, their team has been functioning as normal. But once the thought took root in his head, he’s started seeing their interactions in a new light. The two treat him exceptionally well as the rookie of their team, but now Soleum notices that they treat each other specially too. There’s the physical contact on Agent Choi’s side, of course, but somehow, things that he chalked up to Agent Bronze being considerate now seem like there’s some personal sentiment involved.
For all his seriousness, if Agent Choi makes a request of him, he’ll get it done. Sure, he’s like that with Soleum too, but it’s clear he got the habit from somewhere.
It doesn’t happen often since Agent Choi does his job well, but whenever he asks Agent Bronze to deliver a report or join him to see the Elder or even just get him a cup of coffee… well, after the sternness and gruffness, he’ll be ready with it in a moment. Just yesterday, a few of his coworkers from the Site Cleanup Unit asked him where Agent Choi was, only to tell them that the orders were for Agent Bronze. His sunbae had only grinned and told them he’ll pass them over, and left Soleum in a daze.
One of the cleanup members must have mistaken his expression for confusion because she smiles knowingly at him, nodding in the direction where Agent Choi just went. “Our seniors said ‘it’s easier to get Bronze-ssi to agree to something if his partner tells him first’.”
‘Partner’… Soleum thinks, mildly distressed.
He doesn’t quite want to return to the office, so he lingers outside, fiddling with his phone. To give himself an alibi if anyone asks, he sends Go Yeongeun an invite to dinner under the pretext of being sent to relax by his seniors. Unfortunately, it seems like she’s busy (though she does tell him that she’s more than willing to have dinner together another time), so he slinks back to his office and hopes he can act normal.
Agent Bronze looks at him up and down as he enters. “Are you feeling okay?”
Mission failed! Soleum shakes his head, trying to avoid meeting his eyes. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
Bronze doesn’t look satisfied with that answer. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
He’s so nice, Soleum thinks, heart squeezing. Agent Choi is a very lucky man.
“I’m good, thank you.”
Not even five minutes later, Agent Bronze drops by his desk with some sweets and a cup of coffee ‘as a pick me up’. If the coffee wasn’t so absolutely catered to Agent Choi’s taste (sugary, as opposed to Soleum’s preference for milk), he might have cried from appreciation.
It’s a rare moment when the whole team of Black Tortoise 1 goes on leave, per Agent Choi’s request. He was invited personally and it wasn’t like he had any other plans, but with his suspicions about his teammates’... relationship… he wasn’t sure why they didn’t just spend their leave together. Maybe they were just being polite in inviting him as well.
Now here he is, standing by the gates to an aquarium. Between the other suggestions of a theme park or going out of town (both of which Soleum absolutely refused), it had been the safest option. He catches sight of Agent Choi inside, and the latter greets him with a solid pat on his shoulder.
“Gra– er, Soleum-ah, glad you could make it!”
“Thank you for the invitation, Choi-sunbae.” He looks around, surprised to see the ever-punctual Agent Bronze wasn’t here yet.
“Ah, Jaekwan-ie went ahead to buy the tickets for us.”
So they did arrive here together!
After a few minutes of small talk, Agent Bronze returned with the tickets and they finally entered the aquarium. As it was a weekday morning, it wasn’t especially crowded, so they took their time in the exhibits. Agent Choi took a lot of pictures of him and Agent Bronze, and then dragged them outside to see the dolphin show, all but forcing Agent Bronze to sit in the splash zone. By a miraculous twist of fate, only Agent Choi’s seat ended up getting wet, and Soleum hurriedly bought him a penguin shirt from the gift shop before they could cause a scene. It was a bit too big since he bought it in a hurry, but Agent Choi only laughed it off and thanked him.
After wandering around for a bit more, they found an indoor cafeteria where they could have lunch.
“Go ahead and order,” Agent Bronze says, giving Soleum a small smile. “I’ll save the table for us.”
“Ah, okay,” Soleum says, following behind Agent Choi as they went towards the food stalls.
“Oh, I think Jaekwan-ie’s gonna like something from there.”
Soleum blinks. They had only been looking for barely a minute, and even Soleum didn’t know what he wanted to eat. Don’t tell me…
“Were you already looking for what sunbae would eat?”
Agent Choi grins. “You got me. You spend enough time with a person, and you start picking up what they like. I know Jaekwan-ie wants something fried when he’s in a good enough mood.” Then his smile colors with something a little too close to yearning, and Soleum quickly averts his eyes.
“Ah, of course, you’ve been partners for a long time.” He coughs. “I’m gonna… go order from over there.”
Thankfully, he pays no mind to Soleum’s awkward departure. “Okay, okay, see you later, Soleum-ah.”
He returns to the table with a modest bowl of ramyeon, which he didn’t really want but, well, he already told Agent Choi he would be ordering from there. As soon as he takes his seat across Agent Bronze, his other sunbae comes rushing in with a tray of fried chicken, rice bowls, and a few side dishes.
“Good choice,” Agent Bronze says, smiling. Agent Choi looks pleased as punch as he takes the seat next to him, bumping their shoulders together. Soleum doesn’t know if he wants to be happy for them or if he wants romance to die. His ramyeon somehow tastes twice as salty.
After sullenly pretending to ignore the lovebirds in front of him (Soleum thinks he even catches Agent Choi sneaking the rest of his kimchi onto Agent Bronze’s plate when he finished his, what the hell) for what feels like the longest lunch of his life, they decide to continue their aquarium tour. Agent Choi, again, coerces them into taking pictures in front of every exhibit, and then drags them again to the penguin show where he takes a picture with the shirt Soleum bought for him (much to his embarrassment).
Sooner than he thinks, though, the day comes to an end, and they make their way to the exit in silence. Honestly, Soleum never thought he’d have this kind of experience after transmigrating into the world of Dark Exploration Records. He likes the people he’s met here. It’s a shame he’ll have to leave one day.
“Soleum-ah, did you have fun?” Agent Choi asks, cutting into his thoughts.
“Ah, yes, sunbae. I really enjoyed our day out.” And he means it, letting a smile stretch across his face without really thinking about it.
Agent Choi smiles widely, tugging on Agent Bronze’s sleeve. “Aw, look, our gloomy hoobae is smiling. We did a great job, huh, Jaekwan-ah?”
Please don’t ruin the moment with your flirting!
Thankfully, his other sunbae has a modicum of common sense, gently prying Agent Choi’s hand off him. “Glad to see you enjoyed yourself. By the way, for tomorrow’s job–”
“Hey! No work talk today, remember!”
“Ah,” Agent Bronze says, not particularly fazed. “Then, get home safe, Grapes. See you tomorrow.”
Soleum bows politely as they say their goodbyes, and they finally go their separate ways. The fulfillment and exhaustion of the day finally hits him as he enters his room, toeing off his shoes at the entrance. Still… it was quite fulfilling, all things considered.
He takes the keychain of a plush penguin out of his bag and stares at it wistfully. Agent Bronze had been the one to buy it for him, citing his fondness of Braun. It had been a little awkward to accept, but it is kinda cute now that he’s looking at it more closely.
He attaches it to his keyring and pats Braun’s figure, hoping he doesn’t get too offended.
Okay, honestly, it’s crazy that he even thought they were trying to be subtle.
The week after their outing, team morale was at an all time high. They were rescuing civilians left and right and never had to take overtime for their reports. It’s just a shame that the following Monday, Soleum had to walk into the office and see Agent Bronze wearing the very same penguin shirt that he had bought for Agent Choi.
Normally, he wouldn’t even have noticed! Agent Bronze, prim and proper as always, usually has his uniform zipped up. It’s just a shame that Agent Choi is currently pulling his jacket open, shoulders shaking with laughter. He doesn’t even want to know how they got to this point in the first place.
“Grapes-ie! Isn’t your sunbae just adorable?” He doesn’t even wait for an answer (not that Soleum had one), pulling out his phone and trying unsuccessfully to snap a photo. “I can’t believe you left with that on!”
Agent Bronze snatches the phone with one hand and throws it over his shoulder, and it bounces safely on the soft pillow on the couch. His other hand holds Agent Choi’s wrist in a bruising grip, barely able to conceal his annoyance. “Don’t pretend that you didn’t plan this. Deliberately delaying our schedule and then handing me this in the shower when we were already in a hurry?”
Please, Soleum thinks, closing his eyes, don’t tell me more about your private life.
“Eh? I just gave you a well-fitting shirt? Since it’s a bit too big for me, though you’re more than aware of that.”
Oh my god.
Soleum coughs into his hand, deciding that the mental distress he’s experiencing right now is worse than any contamination he’s had before. He takes the brief moment that the two stop fighting to escape to his desk where he can stay far away from all of that. What, have those two just gotten too used to being partners? Can they have a little more consideration for their hoobae, huh??
Sniffling, he checks on his phone when a notification comes in.
Go Yeongeun: Hi! My schedule freed up suddenly, so I’ll take you up on that dinner offer if that’s okay?
My saving grace!
Kim Soleum: Of course. Let me know when your shift ends and I’ll come pick you up.
Later that night, in the corner of a hole-in-the-wall samgyupsal restaurant down the street from the bureau, Soleum pours shot after shot of soju as he recounts the horrors he experienced over his work at the bureau, none of which were related to the Disasters at all. Go Yeongeun, like the angel she is, pats his arm as she swaps out his soju for water (not that Soleum gets drunk easily anyway) and listens to his rants without judgment. When he walks her back to her place, she tells him “fighting!” and he genuinely feels his soul get lighter.
The next morning, Agent Choi swings an arm over his shoulder, whistling.
“Oh my, Grapes-ie, you look refreshed this morning. Does that have anything to do with that young lady you walked home with last night, hmm?”
Soleum finds himself smiling at the memory before abruptly shifting back into his poker face. Can’t have them suspecting our relationship too much.
Well, it might have been a little too late for that. Agent Choi freezes upon seeing his face, and exchanges a look of disbelief with Agent Bronze. Whatever. Soleum is immune to their strange telepathy today. He walks to his desk and gets to work with their latest report with absolute peace of mind, humming the song on the radio from last night’s dinner.
That last incident, unfortunately, drew some attention towards Go Yeongeun, so they mutually agreed not to meet each other near their workplace for a while. Today, though, it’s a coincidence that the two of them ended up seeing each other after their work days ended. Soleum had just exited the elevator and saw her waiting by the gate, so he decided to greet her as usual.
“Oh, hello! I’m just waiting out the rain,” she says, maintaining a polite but friendly tone. Really, Soleum can’t help but admire how tactful she is in times like this.
Dutifully, Soleum plays his part as the polite gentleman. “I have an umbrella. We can share if you’d like.”
Go Yeongeun gives him a small, brilliant smile. “When the rain lightens up, I’ll take you up on that.” They stare at each other in silence, relishing in the comfortable atmosphere until Go Yeongeun’s eyes shift to a spot behind Soleum, lighting up with recognition.
“Oh, that’s one of your… Agent Choi, if I’m not mistaken?”
Kim Soleum turns slowly to see Agent Choi across from them, looking at them with a friendly (but also strained?) smile. They bow in greeting, and he gives them a wave of acknowledgement before tucking his hands in his pockets.
“He’s probably waiting for Agent Bronze,” Soleum finds himself muttering.
Go Yeongeun giggles. “I think it’s nice that they’re so close.”
Honestly, Soleum thinks that she thinks that he’s reading into things, but she hadn’t pointed it out for his sake. The rain continues to pour, and the two engage in some more idle chatter regarding their work days. Then, from the corner of his eye, he catches Agent Choi turn around and, like a car crash, he can’t quite tear his eyes away from the sight of Agent Bronze walking up to him, slipping an onyx ring on his finger like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
What. The. Fuck?
Soleum looks away. And then looks back and oh, Agent Choi is looking at it with a satisfied expression, then holds up Agent Bronze’s hand and right there is a perfect match, not that it’s really registering anymore. He can’t believe he had to witness that even outside of work hours. He thought he was free.
Go Yeongeun tugs on his sleeve, bringing him back to his senses. Her smile looks a tinge amused now and she tilts her head to the street. “The sky’s clearing up. Let’s go?”
“...Yes.”
He opens up the umbrella and they walk under it together in the direction of Go Yeongeun’s place. He really doesn’t want to be thinking about it, but the scene replays in his mind the whole walk there. His companion doesn’t seem to mind, content to maintain the silence, and sooner than either of them realize, they’ve reached their destination.
“Thank you for walking me home, Soleum-ssi.”
“You’re welcome, Yeongeun-ssi.”
She smiles at him again, and in an unexpected move, signals him to lean forward. When he does, she flicks him on the forehead, and he only stares dumbly at her and she pulls something out of her pocket.
“Sorry, you looked so concerned the whole way here. I’m just going to say… it’s not really what you think, hm?”
She takes out a necklace… with the same design as the rings his sunbaes had exchanged.
“...”
Ah.
“...Have a good night, Soleum-ssi. Text me when you get home.”
He feels a little bit stupid now.
“Surprise!”
Soleum has extremely mixed feelings about the item being presented to him right now but accepts it anyway, murmuring a “thank you”.
[Enchanted Ring]
A piece of jewelry embedded with the symbol of a certain ghost story. Can restrain supernatural entities for a period of time depending on the quality of the material. May have different effects depending on the type of jewelry fashioned.
If the symbol is engraved wrong or damaged in any way, side effects may include nausea, confusion, and visual hallucinations in extreme cases. It is advised to take the ring off or destroy it as soon as symptoms emerge.
“Aw, you don’t look very shocked,” Agent Choi says, patting his shoulder. “That girlfriend of yours probably spoiled the surprise, huh? You two were so sweet, sharing an umbrella together last night.”
“I’m not interested in Yeongeun-ssi like that,” Soleum says, keeping the ring in his pocket. Now that he has a closer look, his sunbaes were wearing their rings on their middle fingers. Honestly, now he thinks Go Yeongeun might have been right, and he was simply making up their relationship in his head. Maybe Agent Choi and Agent Bronze are just… weirdly close friends. Not that he has any friends to compare to, now that he thinks about it.
Man, he’s a loser.
“You’re not, huh?” Agent Choi says, leaning closer, and it gives Soleum an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu. “Do you prefer men, then? We don’t judge.”
“I don’t have any preferences.” He doesn’t remember experiencing attraction in his life, actually. It’s a little annoying that he’s going to have to police his interactions with Yeongeun-ssi moving forward, though, if it’s only going to invite questions like this. He hopes she’s not experiencing the same kind of invasive questioning on her end.
“You know, this technically falls under sexual harassment.” Thank you, Agent Bronze.
“My bad, my bad.” Agent Choi straightens up, placing his hands on his hips. “Anyway, just for context, these items were created in bulk for the bureau and everyone got one of these to help out with our jobs. It’s not very powerful but it can help in a pinch, so choose when you use it wisely.”
“I see. Thank you again.”
Agent Choi is still staring at him, and so he stares back, tilting his head in confusion. Somehow, that gets him to snap out of it, abruptly looking away. Agent Bronze, who had been silently observing the whole exchange, coughs into his fist.
“Choi. A word.”
“Aigoo~ What did I do this time?”
Agent Bronze exhales sharply and takes him outside, leaving Soleum to wonder– no! He isn’t going to speculate on them anymore. He returns to his desk and receives the newest rescue alert on Black Tortoise 1’s behalf, briefing over the details before his sunbaes come back.
“Aren’t you getting a bit too obvious?”
Choi blinks. “That’s what you pulled me aside for?”
“You’ve been staring at him too much recently. Don’t you think he might start to notice?”
“Eh~ I mean, did you see that head tilt he did? He’s just too adorable. You agree, don’t you?” He steps closer, lowering his voice. “You like him just as much as I do.”
Jaekwan looks away, but his non-response is basically agreement, and Choi only smiles victoriously.
“For all his smarts in the Disasters, though, he’s kind of oblivious. I know we’re not exactly a normal work environment but he’s gotta realize there’s something different.”
His partner crosses his arms. “He came from a stranger workplace than most, so he might not have a metric for ‘normal’ in the first place… probably.”
Choi smirks. “My, sounds like you did quite the background check.” Not that I wasn’t already aware.
Jaekwan frowns, and ah, that serious expression of his is fun to mess with too. He steps closer and reaches a hand up to smooth out his frown lines out of habit, but miscalculates and ends up tripping forward, catching himself on the wall against which Jaekwan was leaning. It’s a good thing that Jaekwan hardly bats an eye anymore when he invades his personal space, or else he might have gotten smacked out of existence.
Suddenly, the sound of a quickly closing door catches their attention; it must have been Grapes-ie who went back out to check on them and, for some reason, went back inside immediately…
Wait.
From an outside perspective, isn’t their position quite scandalous?
“Hold on,” he says, backing away from the wall, suddenly acutely aware of how broad Jaekwan’s shoulders are and how their legs brushed together. “Do you think… we’ve been sending the wrong message?”
Jaekwan only stares at him. “...”
Agent Choi laughs humorlessly, pressing the palm of his hand to his forehead. “...Oblivious, the lot of them.”