Work Text:
"What's your wish, Section Chief?"
Most Daydream Inc. employees knew not to ask that of the people around them. They all had their own reasons to be here, after all, and most of them weren't pleasant. No one would throw themselves and stay within a crazy company, especially on the Field Exploration Team, for no reason. Everyone had a wish that they wanted to fulfill.
Still, every now and again, there was one rookie that would come in and ask that question. Ryu Jaekwan would look at them and know that they wouldn't last very long. They hardly did. Still, by all means, he'd try to keep them safe anyway.
And still, he'd fail. He usually did.
"My dream?" Ryu Jaekwan repeated back, tilting his head slightly at the question before averting his gaze back to the report he was in the midst of doing. "I don't have one."
As per usual, he received an incredulous look that turned into something akin to understanding. The rookie standing before him nodded.
"Right, private stuff, it's alright if you don't want to share," he said. "My wish–"
And, quite frankly, Jaekwan didn't have it in him to care much about whatever this person's dream was. After all, the only ones who were actually willing to share whatever dreams they had were the vain ones with weak and selfish wishes. They weren't nearly desperate enough to last very long in this blasted company, soon to either resign long before they could secure enough points or disappear into a Darkness, contaminated or dead.
Jaekwan could tell, too, that his squad members weren't very appreciative of the inquisitive nature of their rookie, walls already high and guarded based on the sole question that he'd asked since entering the office. They knew, too, that this individual would not last long in their line of work. That, in and of itself, was dangerous. If your squad-mates didn't care enough about you to save you…
In any case, he hadn't lied. The few times that he was asked that question, he responded in the exact same way. He didn't have a wish. There were two types of responses that he received upon telling people this.
The first was much the same as the rookie's, who was still babbling on and on about whatever wish he wanted to pursue. They misunderstood and took it to mean that he simply didn't want to share. After all, even they knew of some of the desperation many people had in regards to their wish, and they knew how sensitive that kind of question was.
(Though, knowing that and having enough tact so as to not mention it were two different things, as Jaekwan had found out early on.)
The second was also akin to the rookie's, assuming they actually believed him: incredulity. What was the point in working for such a company if you had no use for the products they offered as incentives for the danger you're being put through?
Truthfully, he had a wish once, but that slipped out of his grasp before he even entered Daydream. Working at Daydream was… probably the closest he could get to that wish of his. Even if it wasn't exactly the same, even if he wasn't doing exactly as he wanted to. To him, Daydream was his Wish Potion, in a twisted sense.
Eventually, their new rookie seemed to get the memo that Jaekwan wasn't actually paying much attention to him, leaving to return to his desk. Jaekwan stared after him for a moment before turning his eyes away. No point in getting attached.
Maybe it was his curse to care, though, even if he didn't care entirely. Or, maybe, that was just what he told himself. He didn't like seeing people fall in front of him, and he always grew an accursed attachment to those under his care.
He wasn't surprised to see that rookie fall only two weeks later. Surprised, no, but he did find himself upset despite having seen many go in the same manner. This never gets easier.
"Chief, you really need to…" one of his squad-mates began before the other stopped him with a hand.
"Just leave it," she said, giving Jaekwan a sympathetic expression before turning back to the Assistant Manager. "He's more human than the rest of us. Just let him be."
Jaekwan watched their backs as they turned and walked off from him before sighing. I need some air.
Really, air was all that he had wanted. What he hadn't wanted was to blink and wind up in some maybe-unregistered Darkness with nothing but the clothes on his back and his mask, which he'd forgotten he was wearing. Not even his personal equipment or any other items he'd had had been transferred alongside him, something that he guessed was a unique characteristic of the Darkness.
Tiring. He'd just gotten out of one Darkness only to find himself in a completely different one. Not only that, but he didn't have any sort of guide or basis upon which to ensure his survival. Not that it'd be the first time, given he'd been a victim of the Research Team more often than not, but it still wasn't exactly the kind of situation he wanted to find himself in.
First, he took in his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a square room made of concrete, each wall approximately three meters in width. Looking up revealed that the walls seemed to extend infinitely, though it was difficult to tell properly given how dark it was. On each of the four walls was a single door, each identical in appearance. Each door was made of solid, dark wood, a golden doorknob seeming to call his name.
Swings outward, Jaekwan thought, noting the lack of hinges on his end. It was the same for the rest of them, of course, all doors that swung open. They were flush with the floor in a manner that disallowed them from letting light pass through, if there was any on the other side, or peeking beneath. He cringed slightly, getting the distinct feeling that it would inevitably scrape against the floor if he tried to open it.
He stepped closer to each door, carefully examining for any inconsistencies, something that would tell him what could be on the other side. Scratches, maybe slight differences in temperature, anything that would yield to him some sort of hint. There were no such things, though he supposed he should have known better than to expect much. It wasn't like there was often any rhyme or reason to darknesses, in any case.
At the last door, though, there was something different. Just above the doorknob, in small, scratchy characters, was the word cooperate.
Cooperate? Jaekwan wondered, eyebrows furrowed as he carefully traced the word with his finger. With whom? Or what?
Somehow, he got the feeling he wouldn't be finding out any time soon if he stuck around. Given that this was the only door that was different in any manner… He reached forward to take hold of the doorknob, hesitating only for a moment longer before he twisted the knob and pushed through.
The door slammed shut behind him. He turned around, but found that the door was no longer there. I hope that won't be a problem, he thought. But there was no point in regretting anything at that point.
The room he entered looked similar to the first. It was set up in the same manner, at least, square with tall walls measuring approximately three meters in length, three doors facing him. This time, however, none of the doors had a doorknob and the hinges were now on his side, which allowed him no reliable way to try and enter without actually breaking the doors, an endeavor that had already proved to be fruitless.
He returned to the place he emerged from, tracing his hand on the wall. The wall was perfectly smoothed over, as though there'd never been an opening in the first place. Do I have to wait? he wondered, looking back at the other doors. But for what?
As if on cue, he heard the squeaking of hinges and the scratching of a door against the floor beneath. Jaekwan turned to the right door to face the new arrival just as the door disappeared from behind him.
The individual who stepped through appeared to be a rather unkept yet objectively attractive man, glasses resting awkwardly on his face as he stepped through the door almost unsurely. His dark hair covered a decent amount of his face, making it difficult to ascertain his exact expression. His most notable feature however, if Jaekwan had to choose one, was the deep blue jacket he wore.
A bureau agent. One he'd yet to meet.
It was inevitable in their line of work that one would occasionally encounter an agent from the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau. At an extremely rudimentary level, they did do the same things as each other. They entered Darknesses (or Disasters, if one was a bureau agent) and tried to make their way out. Their goals in the Darknesses were what diverged from one another.
Jaekwan always did his best to cooperate with the agents, even though their interests often conflicted. Unfortunately, when he typically encountered the agents, he was also in pursuit of his own goals for the company that he couldn't simply just give up on. This time, he had no such goals. He didn't even have his collector on his person.
Most of his coworkers didn't view the Agents in a very favorable light. It was in this sense that Jaekwan was sort of an oddball. He had a vague recollection of having been rescued inside of a Darkness once before by two agents, and his aspirations from then still made it difficult to view them in anything but a positive manner.
Right. I had a dream once.
He made eye contact with the Agent, whose eyes seemed to widen upon making eye contact with him. "A Daydream employee?" he asked. Which immediately struck Jaekwan as being odd, given that his encounters with agents were generally far more… hostile, right from the beginning.
He opened his mouth to respond, but the door across from the Agent pushed open before he could get the chance. Another agent stepped through, another one that Jaekwan hadn't yet encountered.
He seemed a lot more seasoned, though whether or not that was true wasn't something he could actually gauge. The first thing Jaekwan noticed was the large, jagged scar cutting across his neck. Though, truthfully, it was the only thing he had much time to notice.
The new Agent cut across the room almost immediately, either not noticing or completely disregarding Jaekwan's existence in favor of approaching his coworker and slinging an arm over his shoulder.
"Grapes-ie!" he exclaimed, ignoring the protest the other let out. "Ah, I was worried we'd gotten totally separated for a moment. That wouldn't have been any good, would it have?" Jaekwan noted that down internally– Agent Grapes. It was then that the agent turned to address him with cold eyes and a clearly fake and hostile smile. "And who do we have here? A civilian?"
Ah, that was a reaction that he was more familiar with.
"Yes," Jaekwan said easily, knowing at this point that asking them to call him by his nickname with Daydream would be a fruitless endeavor. I'm not exactly on the clock right now, anyway.
The brown-haired agent narrowed his eyes at him slightly in suspicion, though his expression didn't change much otherwise. "You seem to work for that cursed company, am I wrong?"
Nobody would like someone who would willingly throw themselves into a Darkness for the sake of profit, Jaekwan thought reasonably. Hell, he didn't even like his own coworkers most of the time. Still, the hostility had a tendency on his nerves after a while.
"It doesn't matter," he said, adjusting his mask ever so slightly on his face. "I plan on cooperating."
The agent paused, the smile dropping from his face and turning into something more inquisitive. "You do?"
Jaekwan nodded. "I do."
The agent furrowed his eyebrows at him, as if trying to figure out a confusing puzzle. Maybe he thought Jaekwan had some underlying motives, but there were no such things. After a moment, the agent seemed to relax once more, arm dropping from the other's shoulders and that odd smile being plastered on his face once more. "Well, I can't argue against that, can I?"
Yes, he thought wryly. Please don't. Jaekwan wanted nothing more than to get out of here and return to his dorm.
It seemed, though, that the agent wasn't entirely done with his questioning. "I do have to ask, civilian. How did you find yourself here?" Jaekwan got the idea of what he was asking. He was probably wondering if this was a Darkness being "regulated" by Daydream, and if Jaekwan had been sent here under orders.
"I went outside," he said simply. "When I blinked, I was suddenly here."
Thankfully, he seemed to accept that as an answer, humming in acknowledgment of his words before turning to convene with the other agent. "Well, Grapes-ie? Recognize anything?"
Based on that alone, he could tell that the two agents before him had likely found themselves in here the exact same way he had. But what was with that odd line of questioning?
"I think so," "Agent Grapes" said, suddenly looking the slightest bit more confident than he had coming in. He turned to Jaekwan. "What should I address you as?"
Jaekwan's eyes widened. "…Bear," he said after a moment too long of hesitation. "Section Chief Bear."
"A Section Chief, hm?" the scarred agent said, eyes glittering in what seemed like amusement. "Seems like we've encountered quite the bigshot, huh?"
"…Right," Agent Grapes muttered, almost dismissively. The other agent pouted at the response. "By any chance, Section Chief Bear, was there a word on the door that you opened previously before entering into this room?"
Jaekwan nodded in confirmation. "Yes, just above the doorknob it said cooperate." Then, after a moment's pause, he asked, "Why do you ask?"
Agent Grapes seemed relieved by his words. "The objective of this Disaster changes depending on the individual who enters through the central door," he explained to the other two in the room, gesturing to Jaekwan. "It's…" He hummed. "It's difficult to explain. But this is a good sign."
The central door. Based on where the other two had entered in from, it was true that he was in the middle. He glanced across the room. The final door seemed to beckon him over. A doorknob that wasn't there before had now appeared, bright against the otherwise dreary surroundings.
"Seems pretty self-explanatory, doesn't it?" the other agent asked. "We just have to cooperate, right?" He gestured vaguely in Jaekwan's direction but didn't look at him. "We already have Section Chief Civilian's word–" Section Chief Civilian? "–so I imagine this should be pretty straightforward."
Agent Grapes adjusted his glasses, glancing warily towards the door. "We can hope so," he said, beginning to step towards it. When neither Jaekwan nor the other agent moved to follow, he turned back around to look at them with a questioning gaze. "Let's go."
Much like the previous doors, this one disappeared from the moment they stepped into it. At the same time, Jaekwan felt something like invisible tethers grab hold of him, connecting him to the two agents.
"Interesting," the scarred agent (whose name he still didn't know) muttered.
"We probably shouldn't stray too far from each other," Agent Grapes said. Jaekwan, for one, was more than content to listen to that sound advice.
A long hallway stretched before them, not unlike the rooms that they'd just exited. Agent Grapes continued forth without waiting another beat, and Jaekwan trailed after. The other agent fell into step beside him.
He's probably wary of me. The agent would be able to better keep an eye on him from his side rather than from in front of him, after all.
Their footsteps echoed loudly in the large, quiet space. It was difficult to tell if anything fell before their path, so Jaekwan kept his guard up and prepared himself to move at any moment.
The tension between Jaekwan and the agent beside him was palpable, though if Agent Grapes ahead of them noticed anything, he didn't say a word. They continued down the path for quite some time, and after a while of nothing changing, the scarred agent finally opened his mouth to speak once more.
"So, Section Chief Civilian." I see the name is going to stick. "Why is it that you work for that damnable company? You all have your reasons, don't you?"
"Senior," Agent Grapes muttered in warning.
"I'm just wondering," the agent said defensively, pouting slightly. Jaekwan raised an eyebrow. "All of these guys have some reason or other. So, what's your wish, hm? And do you think that company of yours can really grant it?"
Jaekwan hummed. "I don't have a wish."
"I don't believe that for a second."
He let out a sigh. Suit yourself.
"Stop," Agent Grapes said suddenly, pausing in his tracks and holding out an arm to stop Jaekwan and the other agent as well. "Look ahead."
Jaekwan stepped forward to get a better look at whatever it was that Agent Grapes was seeing. At the same time, the scarred agent let out an appreciative whistle.
"I didn't think it meant cooperate this literally," he said. The path before them was blocked off by a tall wall, barely too high for any of them to be able to jump atop it within reason. "Seems like someone will have to boost the other two up."
"I can do that," Jaekwan volunteered. After all, it did seem as though he was the most physically capable one between the three of them. It wasn't like he'd have much issue with it.
"You'd ruin your precious suit for us?" The agent put a hand to his heart, acting like he was touched by the gesture. This suit gets ruined all the time. "How kind of you, Section Chief Civilian. In that case, I'll go up first, if you don't mind, Grapes-ie."
"Fine with me," Agent Grapes said easily.
The three of them approached the wall, in front of which Jaekwan bent to one knee, putting his hands behind him in the form of footholds. He felt the scarred agent's step on them and then step atop his shoulders, upon which Jaekwan adjusted his grip and stood, careful not to allow the agent to fall. Before long, the weight was lifted from his shoulders, and above him he saw the agent seeming to peer past the tall ledge.
"Seems like it's just more path!" he announced. "Come on up, Grapes-ie!"
Jaekwan repeated the process for the other agent. Once they were both up, he saw both of them waiting for them with their hands reaching down. I'm almost surprised they didn't decide to leave me behind, he thought wryly. But, once more, he supposed that they didn't exactly know the consequences of being separated from one another.
He took a few steps back to allow himself to get a better start, before jumping up and attempting to kick off of the wall to give himself a slight boost. He clapped his hands in the two left in offering for him, and the two agents pulled him up. The three of them toppled roughly onto the floor as Jaekwan was finally lifted over the edge.
"You're quite heavy, Section Chief Civilian," the scarred agent joked, standing and brushing himself off.
"I don't think that's something you should say to people, senior."
"What? Look at him, he's all pure muscle." He mimed knocking on Jaekwan's chest like a door, though his hand didn't actually make contact. "It's not an insult. If anything, I'd say it's a compliment."
"Can we just go?" Jaekwan asked tiredly.
They continued down the path. By now, Jaekwan was happy to feel that there seemed to be less tension between them, though that could have been because maintaining that simply consumed far too much mental energy. More than they could really afford to spend in a Darkness, anyway.
This time, it was Agent Grapes that spoke. "If you don't have a wish, Section Chief Bear, then why do you work for them?"
At the very least, the question seemed to come from a place of genuine curiosity rather than being an attempt to ridicule him or his choice to work under Daydream. Still, it was something of a more personal question, one that Jaekwan didn't feel entirely inclined to answer. Especially not when it was a Bureau Agent asking him the question.
"I settled," Jaekwan said simply. Next to him, he heard the scarred agent hum in interest. Thankfully, neither of them pressed him for any more details.
The next few sections consisted of much of the same stuff as the last, some sort of obstacle wherein they'd have to cooperate in some manner in order to continue. For the points in between, Jaekwan mostly listened to Grapes and the scarred agent banter with each other, occasionally being brought into the conversation himself, although much of the talking was done on the part of the scarred agent.
Truthfully, it pained him. Because after spending a while with the two agents, he found that he didn't mind their company. More than that, he found himself almost enjoying it despite the dire situation.
Maybe in another life, in another timeline…
He cut the thought off. There was no point in getting attached. They would leave this Darkness and return to being enemies, though that was generously assuming that they'd even live long enough to see each other once more.
…Still, he couldn't help but feel some odd sort of connection between them. A sense of familiarity, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Hmm?" The scarred agent, whose name he'd learned by now was Agent Choi, hummed. "You seem down, Section Chief Civilian."
Right. Another thing he'd learned was that Agent Choi was stupidly observant. Jaekwan had been pretty certain that his nothing about his demeanor had changed, but the agent had sniffed out a dip in his mood like a dog.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself over," Jaekwan said.
Agent Choi hummed again, not seeming entirely convinced. Still, he didn't press any further. It wasn't like this was exactly the right time or place for that kind of thing. Instead, he asked, "Are we sure we're really going anywhere, Grapes-ie? To be honest, it seems almost as though the path is repeating."
Agent Grapes stopped ahead of them, furrowing a brow and seeming to chew slightly on his lip. "I'm… not sure. We've been walking for quite a long time with nothing happening." He hummed, no longer chewing on his lip. "Maybe the interpretation of the prompt was wrong…" He turned to Jaekwan, scrutinizing him. "You're sure of what it said?"
"Yes," Jaekwan said.
"Then maybe it's waiting for some other sort of condition to open the exit…" Agent Grapes trailed off, still looking Jaekwan up and down to an almost uncomfortable degree. He recalled the agent's earlier words about the objective of the Darkness being dependent on the individual who entered through the central door. Is it something I'm doing wrong?
"Cooperation requires some degree of trust, doesn't it?" Agent Choi said thoughtfully, cupping a chin as he scrutinized Jaekwan with just as much intensity. "Why don't you take that mask off, Section Chief Civilian?"
Jaekwan gently brought his hand to the edge of his mask. The suggestion made him somewhat uncomfortable, but he also found that he couldn't argue much against in in the interest of getting somewhere. After all, they'd spent hours now going around in what seemed like circles. He thumbed it for a moment in thought before making up his mind, gently removing it from his face.
Agent Choi whistled. "Wow. He's quite handsome, isn't he, Grapes-ie?" Jaekwan shifted uncomfortably as the agent came close to inspect his features.
"Senior," Agent Grapes reprimanded slightly. Agent Choi backed off, raising his hands in surrender. Grapes sighed. "Let's continue for a while longer. Maybe something will have changed."
Truthfully, nothing did. They continued to go around many of the same obstacles for what seemed like another half hour. Cooperate. Jaekwan turned the word over in his head as they continued along the looping path, but no matter how hard he thought about it he still couldn't help but draw a blank on what the Darkness might want from them.
As they walked, Agent Grapes had occasionally spoken of other instances of the Darkness. How he had gotten all of this information, Jaekwan didn't know. Grapes didn't elaborate, and Agent Choi seemed too used to it by now. It seemed almost as though the younger agent just had an odd amount of information on hand as it was.
In a separate instance where the "prompt," as Grapes generously put it, was "defeat," the entire trio that had entered had been later found deceased outside of the Darkness in various states of disarray. In an instance using the prompt "betray," one individual had gotten out by sacrificing his two companions.
As Choi had stated, it did seem straightforward.
So what, exactly, were they doing wrong?
"–too upright to be in a company like that," Choi said, shaking Jaekwan out of his thoughts. "Section Chief Civilian, did you ever consider joining the Bureau? I really think you might fit there more than that company."
Jaekwan smiled wryly. I'd thought that too.
Agent Choi seemed to study him closely for a moment, even as they were walking. "…You tried before, didn't you?"
He was silent for a few seconds too long, too much time for him to have any chance of denying it. "I did," he said finally.
"So you settled for Daydream because you couldn't enter the Bureau?" he asked bluntly. Jaekwan nodded in confirmation, figuring at this point that he might as well just tell the truth. "Why did you want to enter the Bureau?"
"I was saved by a few agents when I was in high school," Jaekwan said, keeping his gaze carefully forward, focusing on the back of Agent Grapes's head. "I wanted to save people, too."
Choi hummed, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, damn it. Grapes-ie, let's stop for a moment." Agent Grapes obediently stopped, looking at the two of them with a confused look. Jaekwan watched Choi look through his pockets with a tongue sticking out in concentration. Finally, he seemed to land on something, a small slip of paper. "If you're still interested, contact me." He slipped the paper into Jaekwan's chest pocket. "I could probably, mm, well, it's not exactly ethical, but I could probably pull some strings somehow."
Jaekwan looked at the agent with a stunned expression, conflicting feelings flaring up in his chest. A sense of deep resignation, a part of him that had long since given up on his wish. Alongside that, a small flicker of hope, small, pitiful, and nearly painful in nature. Don't do this to me.
Despite himself, he muttered, "I'd… like that."
Jaekwan blinked, and suddenly found himself outside of the Daydream building once more. He squinted his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden light in his eyes. What?
It took him a few moments to register what, exactly, had just happened. Somehow, it looked exactly the same as it had been when he entered the Darkness. Maybe no time had passed at all outside of it. It wasn't like that was unheard of, anyway– Darknesses usually existed outside of the boundaries of normalcy.
Still, it almost felt like that whole thing hadn't happened at all. All of the physical exhaustion he'd felt was gone, the whole situation trying to fade out of his memory like a distant dream. Still, he grabbed onto the memories, hanging onto them with an iron tight grip.
He swallowed thickly, bringing a hand to his chest pocket and reaching inside. His fingers found their target, and he retrieved a small slip of paper. Just like the one Agent Choi had pressed into his pocket just moments prior. Scribbled inside was a phone number.
Jaekwan pulled out his phone, inserting the number into his contacts and opening the messages. He sent one simple text, a greeting.
A few moments later, his phone buzzed as he received a text in return.
"Oh? This must be Section Chief Civilian! You seem to have made it out safely, hm?"
He stared at the text for an embarrassingly long time, mind racing at a thousand miles an hour. The flicker of hope in his chest that had so carefully been put out by his time at Daydream began to light itself once more, filling his chest with a warm feeling.
"Ah, Grapes-ie says hi, by the way."
Jaekwan allowed himself a small smile in spite of everything that had happened in the day, sending off a final text before putting his phone in his pocket and taking a deep breath of the crisp air. Somehow, in a way that he couldn't put his finger on, it felt like something had shifted.
Like his course, which had long since diverged from its original path, was finally being corrected.
He turned back to the Daydream building, looking up at it for a moment. Still have work to do, he thought dimly. He still needed to write a report about the earlier Darkness, the first one he'd entered for the day. This one, though, he carefully decided that he'd keep to himself.
Maybe I really should retire from this company.