Chapter Text
The relief Agent Choi and Bronze collectively felt with Kim Soleum’s release from his detention quickly vanished in face of the empty waiting room and the note left behind.
Just as the agents were realizing the implications of Soleum’s resignation, their visions blurred and they suddenly found that their surroundings had changed. Even the letter Choi was gripping so tightly had vanished from his hands as if it never existed.
“Huh?!”
”What the—“ Agent Choi began scanning the unfamiliar environment till he reached a conclusion. “A disaster?!”
While it was known that disasters could strike at any given moment, the timing of this one felt too cruel to be a coincidence…
“Shit! There’s no time for this nonsense. Grapes could still have been yet to escape and with us on his tail, we could’ve caught him!” Choi frustratedly spat out.
Although Kim Soleum’s time with Team Hyunmoo 1 was brief, he still managed to stubbornly worm his way into their hearts. Neither of them was willing to easily give him up yet, especially not knowing what his ‘home’ could entail. If he recklessly tried to bring back a home that no longer existed, who knows what the consequences could entail…It was imperative that they brought him back before any of that could happen, for Soleum’s own safety and everyone else’s as well.
Ryu Jaekwan understood his desperation for a home.
After all…
‘I was also like that once…’
But he foolishly believed that they found an understanding together while they spoke in the glass prison… He grimaced at the reminder of what they just read but still tried to remain rational. If they got killed in a disaster for being careless, there would be no coming back from that.
“Assuming Grapes didn’t even have enough time to get far away, wouldn’t he have been sucked into this disaster too? After all, we are here together. And either way, the most important thing right now is our survival.”
Trying to speak in a softer tone, Bronze pointed out “I know we are both worried about him, but we must focus first on safely exiting this disaster.”
Agent Choi paused at that statement and, seemingly to have calmed down a little, looked thoughtfully at Jaekwan.
”Haaa…you’re right. I’m so sorry you had to witness this sunbae’s pathetic display. “
His self deprecating remark made Jaekwan wince slightly but Choi pretended not to notice and continued on.
“When did you get so wise…haha. My judgement was indeed clouded for a second. It’s my job to firstly ensure the safety of my team over any personal matters. But I promise this lapse in judgment won’t happen again!”
And just like that, as if nothing had happened, Choi perked up and playfully ruffled Jaekwan’s hair. “Well there’s no time like the present! Let’s go exploring, figure out this disaster, and hopefully find our missing rookie~”
His ability to quickly compose himself was impressive and truly reflected that of an experienced agent. For all his playfulness and joking around, it was sometimes easy to forget that.
Now with newfound focus and determination, they began their search. The room they were standing in looked similar to a cinema. There were leather couches sprawled out horizontal, all facing what seemed like a giant black screen. Next to the screen though, pasted on the wall was a sheet on paper with text written on it. Just as Choi was about to get closer to the note to inspect it, a new commotion erupted.
On the opposite side of the room, three new people appeared, reminiscent of how the agents first entered.
Baek Saheon and Go Youngeun were both caught off guard with being abruptly teleported, then upon seeing each other, simultaneously let out a groan.
“Ugh why is it you…”
“Ha! Took the words right out of my mouth.”
Baek Saheon was already pissed before this. He should’ve been able to enjoy the disappearance of his roommate.
‘BUT NOOO!
Of course he can’t!’
Nothing ever goes to plan when it relates to that psychotic bastard. It was too good to be true anyway…Bake Saheon discovered that Kim Soleum was in fact…alive and even got hooked into sneaking information about the company to him.
Why’d he make a deal with the devil you may ask?
Because as much as he behaved like a complete psychopath, he was surprisingly reliable when it came to keeping his promises.
The real problem is that he can never satisfy him!! Wait— that sounded wrong. But his point still stands!!
He busted his ass to dig up that information and all he gets in return is a blank unimpressive stare!
Thankfully he accepted that stupid gossip about the researcher and security guard and was able to receive the item. Seriously…what the hell type of criteria is ‘fun!?’
‘Truly a madman.’
Internally grumbling, he was pondering on how he could use this newly acquired book to his advantage when he found himself face to face with the woman he thought was gone wearing a bureau uniform. This…is reality?!
…
…
…
‘WHAT THE FUCK?!’
“Do you two know each other?” Agent Choi who had been silently watching their exchange butt in.
‘Yes but I wish I never met that selfish fucking bastard!’ If only she could say that…
“Ah…not really. Before I joined, I was caught up in a dar— disaster and I um witnessed some of this man’s…unpleasant behavior. I really didn’t think I’d be unfortunate enough to meet him again.”
“You—!”
“Ah I see!” Agent Choi clapped his hands together and shot out a pleasant smile.
Choi didn’t believe her one bit. There were already suspicions that Soleum wasn’t the only spy that nasty fox planted within the bureau. Due to his network as ‘Lee Kangheon,’ he’s already heard about the two-faced rookie with an eyepatch and goat mask from the F Squad. If those two know each other, it’s highly likely she’s from Daydream and what she’s referring to may have been their orientation.
‘I don’t wanna be reminded of how that cult-like pharmaceutical company conducts orientations. How anyone can stand to work there is beyond me…especially someone like Grapes-ie’
Disregarding this train of thought, Choi focused back on the conversation.
“Well Agent Mint, it is good to see you are doing well!”
“Ah yes! You too!”
Agent Choi continued to exchange pleasantries with Go Youngeun, both completely ignoring Baek Saheon. Baek Saheon was a bit peeved at this but didn’t feel like drawing the agent's attention to himself. Unfortunately for him though, Agent Bronze’s hardened gaze was locked onto him.
‘This was the civilian who tried to sacrifice Grapes in Jisan Village as well as the guy from the lodge’
“Is there something on my face?” Baek Saheon shot the staring agent an annoyed glance.
“No.”
Agent Bronze turned around and started walking away. He didn’t care what he thought of him; there was no need to get involved with such a person.
“Bronze-ah, where are you heading off to?” Agent Choi called out.
“I’m gonna see if there’s more people here.”
“Okay!!”
“Ah there was one more person with us when I appeared here but…I’m not sure where he wandered off too…” Go Youngeun hesitantly spoke up.
“Thank you, that will be helpful to know.” Bronze nodded then walked away.
Feeling no need to continue pointless chatter, the three of them followed after the agent where they stumbled across a new group of three. It was Team Group D. Agent Choi recognized the blue-headed woman as the reporter Director Ho puppeteered in the village. With her was the man whose appearance he couldn’t forget. The lizard mask was a breed of handsome that bordered otherworldly, and he was also a man that Grapes seemed to trust. He didn’t recognize the last man but assumed they were all part of a squad at Daydream. Choi had mixed feelings about this.
“Hello! I’m Agent Choi and this is my partner Agent Bronze. How about we put our differences aside and cooperate to escape this ‘darkness!’” He gestured to Bronze then reached out to shake the lizard's hand.
“Yes.”
…
…
‘That’s it?’
Choi was baffled.
“Haha don’t mind our Section Chief Lizard! That’s just how he speaks. I’m Supervisor Badger, and this is our Assistant Manager Falcon!”
“Ah yes…”
“For some reason our youngest Roe didn’t arrive here with us so we’ve been looking for him!” The reporter exclaimed.
“Roe?!” Agent Bronze cut in.
‘Did he escape the waiting room to go back to Daydream?! But how could he have gotten back to Daydream so quickly…It doesn’t make sense.’
“Yup that’s him, our Roe Deer. Truth be told, we’ve been preparing to head into a different darkness together right before this so we should’ve all been teleported here.”
Eun Haje and Park Minseong, sensing everyone’s shock, looked around confused.
‘…Did we say something wrong?’
Go Youngeunand Baek Saheon couldn’t speak out without outing themselves as fellow Daydream employees. Go Youngeun especially couldn’t afford to blow her cover, but she couldn’t help the bewildered expression on her face.
Suddenly a Security Guard munching on donuts— who knows where he got them from— appeared walking up to them in her peripheral vision. His footsteps were unhurried, but he paused in front of Park Minseong and opened his mouth.
“You’re…no longer contaminated…”
“Huh?”
“Why… is that…”
“Are you mistaking me for someone else? I have never been contaminated?!”
…
“…ok”
The Security Guard grew silent except for the occasional munching of his donuts.
The confusion in the room grew even more. Then as if right on cue, waiting for this very moment, the star of the show teleported right in front of them all.
Kim Soleum.
You see, Kim Soleum's day had been going well up to this point— which should have been a red flag. He secured Ho Yuwon’s cooperation to end Sekwang Metropolitan City and knew what his next steps were. He was ready to enact his plan; it was simple. All he had to do was replace the unsuspecting researcher —temporarily of course— then smuggle out the Daydream device.
His goal of going home finally felt like it was coming into fruition. After the disaster with the wish potion, he had a hard time feeling hopeful or feeling anything really. He’d been trying so hard to get his human body back permanently and now that he had, things were looking up for him.
Yeah no.
This godforsaken nightmarish universe must have it out for him. All of Soleum’s plans were derailed the moment he felt himself being dragged into a darkness and opened his eyes to see everyone staring at him.
‘Why is this type of shit always happening to me?!’ He cried out internally.
“Did you all get teleported here as well?” Soleum finally spoke.
And as if a dam burst, everyone started speaking at the same time.
“Roe!”
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
“Grapes-ie!”
“Agent Grapes!”
“Grape-ssi!”
“Uh sir..?!”
“What’s..going on..”
“Roe you’re finally here!”
Kim Soleum was immediately overwhelmed. Electing to ignore the barrage of voices, he instead chose to discreetly glance around to see if he could recognize the darkness they were in.
And he did…
He was so screwed…
[Tales Unwoven]
A ghost story featured in <Dark Exploration Records>.
Daydream Inc. identification code - Qterw - E- ■■■
E-Class Darkness
A Darkness that features a viewing room and large screen. Viewers are selected through entertainment value and one person’s memories will appear on the screen through a novel-like format. The screen is said to function automatically on its own without any remote and any errors that may occur during the screening should be met like feigned ignorance. Information may be censored/witheld if the screen viewing is deemed to be more entertaining that way.
Violence is prohibited and may result in the disappearance of the individuals who partake in such. The most important rule is to entertain the viewers from the outside whose identities remain unknown. A satisfying reaction to the content of the selected individual will result in a safe departure back home, though memories of the time in the viewing may be reported as foggy and unclear.
Exploration record indicates a total of ■■ entries.
It was a typical ghost story meant to induce a strong reaction in the target viewers and provide entertainment. Although at first glance it doesn’t seem like there’s any specific criteria for being selected as the main subject on the screen, but it’s actually quite simple to deduce. The person selected would be the one whose story would be deemed the most entertaining. Usually the person in the group with the craziest life or has a lot to hide is the one who ends up selected. And he fits both categories!!
What are the chances someone here else suddenly got dropped in a ghost story world after living their own life in a regular world, knows the truth about this world, and has gone through what he did…
….absolutely none.
‘I’d rather be turned into 130666 again…’
There’s no way this will end well. Kim Soleum was sure of that. The only good news was that now he knew what darkness he was dealing with.
‘Ha.’
He first turned his attention towards to Lee Jaheon’s reptilian face, pretending to try and piece things together.
“Chief, this seems like a darkness with a movie like setting. Do you think we will have to watch something?”
“That is correct.” The lizard curtly nodded.
”Anything else to add?”
”Yes.”
”Please do.”
”Yes. Don’t worry. This is an E grade darkness registered under Daydream. It selects a person and displays some of their memories on that screen, while the rest of the group watches and reacts to it. The selection is random and it’s a relatively safe darkness, so there are usually no casualties.”
“Thank you Section Chief for the explanation.”
“Hey Grapes-ie, don’t ignore us!” Agent Choi spoke with an indignant tone.
“Ah sorry Agent Choi. I just need to figure out what disaster we are in so we can react accordingly.”
Agent Bronze looked like he wanted to say something but decided against it.
“You’re right, this takes priority. We can rehash what happened afterwards. Just don’t leave us all alone by ourselves next time! That was seriously cruel~”
“??? Huh?”
Soleum had no idea what he meant by that. He already apologized about what happened to Agent Bronz—Agent Bronze?!
…
‘Huhhhhh?!’
“Wait a minute Agent Bronze, how are you here??”
“What do you mean by that? I got transported here with Choi.”
“…How is that possible?” Soleum muttered.
“Grapes-ie what’s wrong?” Both Agents started looking at him worriedly.
Ignoring everyone's strange looks, Kim Soleum began examining everyone around him closely and began noticing discrepancies he hadn’t noticed earlier in his flustered state. Bronze, Assistant Manager Eun Haje, and Ms. Youngeun-ssi who should’ve all been stuck in Sekwang Metropolitan City, were now here. There’s no way a D grade darkness could’ve dragged them out from there. It’s impossible. There’s also Supervisor Park Minseong who seemed to be completely free of contamination, which also shouldn’t be possible…
“Supervisor your contamination…”
“My contamination? That sergeant over there tried to ask the same thing…”
‘Could it be?…’
“Roe, are you feeling alright? You seem a bit pale.”
Making up his mind, Soleum spoke again. “What was the last thing you remember before arriving here in Park Minseong-ssi?”
He looked caught off guard by the strange question but replied anyway.
“Haha..did you suddenly develop amnesia?” He let out a forced dry chuckle. “We were preparing to enter the Hungry Hangman B-rank darkness. You were given three days to prepare yourself. Do you remember now?”
‘?!
but that was—
Ah.
I see how it is now.’
Kim Soleum knew he had to just rip off the bandaid now…there is really no other way to put this. He let out a sigh and tried to speak evenly.
“I believe we are from different time periods. That happened a long time ago for me Supervisor.”
’I don't know how this is possible, but it’s the only explanation that makes sense.’
”?!”
”Different ti— Roe are you sure?!”
”Yes.”
”I see,” Agent Choi seemed to accept this truth the fastest.
‘So that’s why your reaction to seeing us again was so strange. For someone who just sneakily handed in their resignation letter, you sure seemed unfazed to see us at first.’
“So what’s going on in your timeline Grapes-ie!”
”Im not sure I can say… Hey Baek Saheon!”
”Ah yes…Sir?!” Caught off guard, he almost forgot to respond properly.
Baek Saheon’s mind was still reeling from the information.
‘Different timelines?! That’s madness!!
WHAT THE HELLL!’
Unfortunately for Baek Saheon, Kim Soleum could not care less about the mental hula hoops going on in his head.
”Answer properly so that I can understand. What was happening for you before this?”
“Um sir I just received that book from you. We chatted and you gave me it.”
He tried to be vague on purpose. There’s no way Baek Saheon was gonna admit in front of other Daydream employees that he traded out company rumors and secrets for it. He also didn’t trust those agents one bit nor Go Youngeon who was clearly parading around pretending to be one of them for reasons he couldn’t be bothered to care. The last thing he needed was to be caught up in some shady company secret and be executed for knowing too much!
”Hmm. I see..”
‘What the hell is up with that reaction?! That’s all you’ve got to say??’
Kim Soleum ignored the daggers Baek Saheon was shooting at him. As long as violence was prohibited here, Soleum was basically immune.
‘Ha. Take that you snake bastard!’
Moving on, he continued to question everyone to see where in the timeline they were. All of D-Squad was from before the Hangman darkness. Baek Saheon and Youngeon seemed to be around the same timeline from after the Mermaid Tomb darkness. Sergeant J3 is from the time of their last meetup when he received the wish potion and was saying goodbye. As for Team Hyunmoo 1…
He had a feeling he already knew where in the timeline they were based on how they’ve been reacting this whole time…he just got to confirm it. He had been avoiding this conversation. Thinking about happened made him feel somewhat guilty even though he knew he did what he had to do.
Before he even opened his mouth, apologies on the tip of his tongue..
Choi spoke up for him. “Haaa you can already tell, can’t you..wow! Look Bronze-ah isn’t our Grapes so smart!” Even though his tone tried to remain cheerful, both of their sunken faces said it all.
“I’m—“
”Don’t worry, like I said earlier, I’m sure we’ll talk about it later! Surely we’ll meet again! Let’s cut this interrogation and focus on this disaster.!”
Kim Soleum didn’t have the heart to say that the next time they’ll meet, he’ll be something else entirely. Instead, he just nodded and played along. It seemed they both couldn’t be honest with each other.
He walked towards the screen and pivoted towards the wall to read the note. Even though he already knew the contents from the wiki, it was better to read it out loud so everyone was aware.
Rules of the Cinema:
1. Violence will be punished.
2. Once the show, please remain seated unless you’re instructed otherwise
3. React to screen to the best of your abilities
D■■D■DDON’T B■E BORING■■
And with that, as soon as he finished reading, the screen in front of them all began flickering to life.
”Well you all heard the rules! Let’s get seated!” Agent Choi exclaimed.
Everyone rushed to sit down, unwilling to find out the consequences of what would happen should they remain standing. The two agents sat together on one couch. Agent Choi patted alongside themselves for Soleum to join but he couldn’t bring himself to join them. Instead he next with the D Squad on another coach. J3 plopped on a separate couch by himself, seeming to be satisfied as long as he had his donuts— seriously where did he get those from— and continued eating. Seeing as there was only one remaining couch left, Baek Saheon and Go Youngeon reluctantly sat together as neither of them wanted to be alone. They both figured if push comes to shove, they could try and sacrifice each other.
The couches, despite looking like they were made of leather, felt nothing like the material. It was as if the darkness could only mimic what couches looked like but not how they felt like. It was just another reminder that they were indeed in a ghost story.
The strangest part was that regardless of where anyone sat, the screen looked as if you were facing it directly, as if ensuring you wouldn’t miss its contents.
Then as if the screen was impatient from all the waiting, a countdown began.
”Ooo Roe, what do you think will happen once the countdown is over, hopefully nothing bad~” Eun Haje teasingly spoke.
’WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE THIS IS A NORMAL CINEMA?! Oh my god…save me!’
Soleum was feeling too much dread to muster a reply…he felt like he was about to pass out.
3
2
1
[Selecting POV]
‘Aaaaaaa
Please no!
Please not me!’
Kim Soleum could only internally scream and beg in the depths of his mind.
[Selected Subject: K I M S O L E U M]
’………!
………………goddamnit.’
“Oh?” A curious voice rang out. It was Park Minseong. “Are we gonna learn more about our beloved Roe Deer?” He spot a grin towards me grinned as he spoke.
”Ooo this will be exciting!” Agent Choi cheerfully pipped in.
All he could do was watch in horror as everyone got excited at the prospect of seeing more of his life.
”Relax a little Roe. It isn’t healthy anyway to keep everything tucked away to yourself like you do. It may do you some good to share what’s on your mind!”
’That would be true…
IF ALL MY SECRETS WERE HARMLESS AND NOT CONTAINING THE HORRIFYING FATE OF THIS WORLD!!!
Oh my goddd…why is this my luck..!!’
He was getting close to hyperventilating. Just because he was leaving this world soon, that didn't mean he wanted to retraumatize all his colleagues with his knowledge…
[Loading Looky Mart]
‘OH MY GODDDDDD’