Chapter Text
Kim Soleum placed the wish tickets in a storage locker in a discount phone store in Gangnam Station.
His nerves had been frayed the moment he realized he had to stick around in the disaster-ridden world to deliver the wish tickets to the two other spies remaining in the Disaster Management Bureau. Or rather, the one spy that would hopefully make the wish for the other who was indisposed.
Relief washed over him as he closed the locker. All the preparation was finished at last. He could finally go home.
His heart pounded loudly in his chest, ecstasy flooding his veins.
[The finale is about to begin!]
Yes.
Pulling his hood over his eyes again, he made his way to the cafe across from the discount phone store as surreptitiously as he could so he could send the email to Go Yeongeun.
But as he sat, sipping idly at his drink, thumbing his finger over the send button, a sense of dread came over him.
What would happen if he wished wrong? Who knew what the wish ticket would interpret the phrase ‘I wish to return to where I was the day before I joined Daydream Inc’?
Would he be placed into another impossible situation?
His grip tightened around his drink, squeezing and squeezing until the plastic nearly gave way, crunching loudly in the quiet cafe.
The part time worker shot him a sideways glance. Kim Soleum smiled apologetically, standing up to quickly dump his drink into the trash before seating himself back at the table.
[Oh dear! If my good friend is so worried, then why don’t we look for a contingency plan? Calm yourself, for there are ways to prepare adequately!]
…
Yes. He was panicking too much.
He breathed in and out, letting the pounding of his heart subside.
And as he calmed down, a plan began to form in the back of his mind.
After some cajoling, Kim Soleum successfully infiltrated the Disaster Management Bureau again with the help of Braun.
Slowly but surely, he made his way to the elevator, keeping his expression smooth and bored, his posture confident and self assured. It was best if he attracted the least amount of attention, even with the spotlight turned off so generously.
Scrolling on his phone, Kim Soleum waited naturally for someone to enter the elevator, following after them before the doors closed.
He settled himself into the corner, looking at the camera warily.
‘Will the camera see me?’
[Unfortunately, this Braun cannot control the footage of others’ shows!]
Yeah. That had been what he’d figured. Even so, hopefully no one was paying the closest attention to him. If they discovered him, it would likely be long after he left.
Still, a cold sweat gathered at his nape.
He stayed in the elevator until someone eventually called it to the floor where the Hyunmu 1 waiting room resided. Careful not to bump into the entering agent, Kim Soleum exited the elevator, and walked down the hall at a quick pace.
Nostalgia swept over him, a sneaking feeling of longing clouded his heart. Truly, the Bureau was a good workplace. If Kim Soleum didn’t need to return home, he likely would’ve worked as an agent for as long as he could.
Making sure no one was in the room or the hallway, Kim Soleum opened the door to the waiting room.
‘What in the…’
[Wow! What a mess!]
‘No, that’s a little much…’
But it was true. The usually neat and open room felt suffocating. Papers were strewn everywhere, items lying around when they should be stored securely. On the white board there were various documents pinned, some having to do with the laundromat disaster, others with the glass prison. There was a bullet point list of all the things Kim Soleum had said in his letter, with the inexplicable pieces of information circled and punctuated with an unhealthy amount of question marks.
‘Is all of this because of my disappearance?’
Guilt washed over him like a tidal wave. He had expected a certain amount of effort to be put into finding him, but this was just ridiculous. Were the two agents even sleeping?
While walking around all the papers on the floor, a certain one caught his eye.
Laying on Ryu Jaekwan’s desk was the only paper that looked pristine. He walked over cautiously, picking it up, only to find it was his own resignation letter.
Seeing it again only made him cringe. He quickly scanned the room again. The agents had gained all they could from his parting words. He quickly tucked the letter into his jacket pocket.
Then, kneeling next to the couch, Kim Soleum pried up one of the planks. Underneath laid a myriad of items, big and small, that Agent Choi had collected over the years.
[Oh, resorting to stealing? While that was not exactly what this Braun was imagining when I suggested making a contingency plan, I supposed it is entertaining enough.]
‘Just say you don’t like it…’
Rummaging through the hole in the floor, Kim Soleum eventually pulled out a pair of items; one a necklace with a small gem at the end and the other a flat crystal that glowed softly.
[You Will Return]
An item created due to the obsessive desire for one’s loved one to stay with them forever. After the length of two days, the wearer of the necklace will return to the location of the crystal. This effect will be negated if the necklace is not being worn after this amount of time. Please don’t remove the necklace please please pleasepleaseplease—
In other words, it was the perfect item to save him if he ended up in trouble.
‘Sorry agents, hopefully my items from before are enough to pay you back.’
Resisting the urge to smile, he placed the items in his pockets, carefully setting the wooden board where it was before.
Just as he was about to stand up—
Bang!
The door slammed open, revealing a disheveled Agent Choi and Agent Bronze.
“Close the door, Bronze.”
No, really, what was going on?!
Slowly, Kim Soleum stood up, retreating to a corner of the room. Sweat poured down his back.
[Don’t worry, friend! The spotlight will never shine on you so long as your good friend wishes it to stay away! Of course, there is the occasional guest who strives to see what is not illuminated. Sometimes they succeed. Why some people try to look beyond the curtain when the real show is lit up for them is truly beyond me!]
In other words, it was entirely possible that they could find him.
Fuck.
Agent Choi walked forward at a snail’s pace, dragging his eyes across every inch of the room, leaving Agent Bronze at the door, as if to guard any intruders from coming in.
Or rather, any intruders from coming out.
Dread filled his bones. Did they find him out?
“Grapes-ie, we know you’re there.”
Kim Soleum clamped his hands around his mouth, desperately keeping any loud breaths concealed behind his fingers.
The civil servant walked around the couch to look at the plank, perfectly in place.
“Did you come back to steal your items back? If you would just come out, I’d give them willingly~” Contrary to his friendly tone, the agent’s eyes remained as cold as ice. “So come on out, okay? I promise we won’t hurt you.”
Ducking behind a pile of reports, Kim Soleum thought hard about his options.
With Agent Bronze at the door, there was no way he could slip out unnoticed. But on the other hand, if he stayed here, Agent Choi would definitely end up finding him.
Carefully, he went through the items in his pockets. [You Will Return] and…
His resignation letter.
As quietly as possible, he folded the letter.
He waited until both Bronze and Choi were looking in a different direction, then…
Swish…
The paper landed nearly soundlessly next to Agent Choi’s desk.
If it were any other people, it probably would’ve gone unnoticed. But both of the agents’ necks snapped around, eyes falling on the stilling object.
Agent Choi rushed forward, Agent Bronze close on his heels. And in their confusion, Kim Soleum ran out from behind the stack of papers and sprinted to the door. Just as he grasped the door knob to wrest it open, Agent Choi’s hand landed on his shoulder.
A shudder ran through his body. Even though he wanted nothing but to collapse in fear, he regained his strength, pulling the door open, trying to shake off Agent Choi’s hand.
“I’m sorry, but that trick isn’t enough to fool me, Grapes-ie. Let’s have a talk, okay?”
But he wouldn’t let go.
‘Why can he see me?!’
[Isn’t this an interesting turn of events! A guest has successfully pulled aside the curtain and revealed that which lies in darkness!]
Fingers dug tighter into his collar.
Gritting his teeth, Kim Soleum collected the items into his hands and let the agent pull on him until his jacket came off.
Using Agent Choi’s moment of shock, he slammed the door behind him, booking it to the stairwell door.
“Damn it!”
The door burst open nearly instantly, but still, it gave enough time for an adrenaline powered Kim Soleum to make it to the staircase, taking the steps three at a time.
‘Braun!’
The feeling of exposure faded away again, allowing him to burst into the lobby with nothing but a few eyes flicking onto him for a second.
Moving his legs as fast as he could, he exited the Bureau building, not looking back even when Agent Bronze and Agent Choi emerged, yelling at the other agents to catch him.
Grabbing a random, unlocked bike from outside, Kim Soleum fled from the Disaster Management Bureau, once and for all.