Chapter Text
Agent Choi had gotten to the break room first today and lounged around as he waited for his two adorable hoobaes to soon come join him.
He looked over at the stack of paper work he still had to do for a moment, before choosing to look through his messages as K. Lee instead. There really hadn’t been anything all that useful recently so he lost interest fairly quickly. Really, the most he was looking out for was anything more on Soleum that he could use to prove he was a spy, and that everything they had was all a lie. It’d be… much easier that way at least.
Agent Bronze came in about ten minutes after Choi had first arrived, back stiff and neatly dressed for the day as always.
“Good morning Bronzie!” Agent Choi quickly changed the application on his phone to a cheap video game he recently installed.
Agent Bronze turned to him and bowed his head slightly as he wished him a good morning as well before turning to the unfinished stack of papers.
“… Agent…” Agent Bronze sighed as he walked over to collect some paper work to help out with, knowing full well what would happen next.
“Woah Bronzie!” Agent Choi jumped up and stopped Jaekwan from getting any closer to the stack of paper. “No need, no need. I’ll go do it all now so you can focus on your own work.” Choi winked at Jaekwan as he made sure his hooabe left the stack of papers alone.
One of Choi’s juniors threatening to do his work… worked like a charm every time to get this immature senior agent to finally do his paper work.
The two got to it, Choi occasionally bugging Bronze with small talk and annoying remarks in order to try and avoid actually doing his work. So long as Jaekwan thought he was at least starting his work, he’d leave the pile alone.
Time ticked by, and the work day was just about to officially start, but oddly enough, their youngest had yet to arrive. Which was odd, given that they’d sometimes find that he had gone to work at absurd times in the morning such as 2am.
How did they know…? Well… they weren’t claiming to not be guilty of occasionally arriving even earlier, or just not leaving the work place at all at times.
Agent Choi ticked his tongue in rhythm with the seconds handle as he stared up at the clock. “Wonder-when our-Grape-sie will get-here. Agent Choi punctuated each syllable.
Agent Bronze looked at the time on his computer screen and frowned. “Is he sick today?”
Of course, that was Agent Bronze trying to think positively, but Agent Choi could already see him starting to prepare to go check up on their hoobae.
Agent Choi jumped to his feet and quickly grabbed his equipment. There was always the possibility that it was something having to do with Soleum connections to Daydream that was holding him up today, and maybe this was selfish but, Choi preferred if Soleum really had been stopped by a disaster instead of the thought of his cute little junior trading off information to that cult of a company.
“Glad we both agree to check in on him, Bronzie.” He turned his head in Agent Bronze's direction as he walked towards the door.
Hmm, just a few seconds till the work day starts… He reached for the door handle when instead, the door swung open on its own, almost slamming into him.
He quickly dodged and jumped back to see Soleum who had arrived the second the work day started.
“Good morning Agents!” Kim Soleum gave a large, showman-like bow before he strided into the room and promptly sat down in front of his monitor. It was anything but the usual shy, polite way Soleum usually greeted his sunbaes and it took the two of them by surprise. It didn’t take some expert on Kim Soleum to realize that something was very wrong.
Soleum adjusted the chair so that it would face the two agents, and his smile seemed to widen as he patted his pink bunny plushie’s head in an almost soothing manner.
Choi saw Bronze clench his fist from the corner of his eye, and quickly gave him a signal to calm down a bit, or at least hide how he was feeling a bit more before turning back to Soleum.
He was sitting with his back perfectly straight and his left leg crossed over his right as he unnervingly watched the two agents who were recovering from his strange behavior.
Ah, he had to fix any suspicions Soleum may have of the two of them noticing his odd greeting.
“Good morning Grapsie~!” Agent Choi beamed as he happily waved in Soleum’s direction. “Seems like something happened this morning to put my beloved junior in such a good mood?” He leaned his hand against the top of the desk looking down at Soleum.
Soleum smiled up at him and with a rich, booming voice so un-befitting of the Soleum he had come to know Soleum replied, “Hmm, while since you asked, I actually woke up in quite the sour mood today finding myself laying down on a hard, cheap bed in a motel room far from fit to be a place for life.”
… Eh?
Agent Choi froze for a bit, unable to understand what Soleum had just said.
It wasn’t about the state of the room he was in, or the fact that he was living from motel room to motel room. It was just… Soleum? Actually noticing how bad his places of residence were? Not only that but complaining about it???
Looking over his shoulder, Soleum's words seemed to have hit Ryu Jaekwan even harder. It made sense since he probably didn’t know about Soleum's housing situation.
“Aigoo~ well, if waking up in a dirty motel room bothers you that much, there's always the free housing provided by the Bureau, you know.” Was all Choi could think to respond with.
“Agent Grapes…” Jaekwan had snapped out of it it seemed, and he had walked over to the opposite side of the desk to face Soleum. “Please remember to take care of yourself. An agent's health is of utmost importance. If you’re struggling, please, tell us.” Jaekwan sternly scolded Soleum, but Choi could tell how his voice and words became more desperate towards the end.
Jaekwan really cared about Soleum, another reason for Choi to delude himself into thinking that this clearly contaminated man in front of him was not a spy for Daydream.
Instead, Soleum let out an exaggerated sigh, yet again, so unlike the Soleum they knew. “Thank you! I very much appreciate your offer but I must decline. Of course I would be living in nicer places if only this job paid better, but I have another way of getting some extra money without much hassle.”
Ah, from Daydream? “Hmm~? Where from? If it’s so easy how come you haven't yet?”
Soleum shook his head as he looked back down at his bunny plush tucked away in his breast pocket. “Hahh, I fear I would have to ask my friend.” He paused for a bit before resuming as if someone else had spoken to him. “Hah! But I hear apparently you wouldn’t like where I’d get that money from. I don’t think there’s any harm in borrowing money from a good friend of mine though, right, friend?”
Was he talking about getting money from Daydream? A friend who happened to be a higher up?
Agent Choi eyed the rabbit doll. For some reason, Soleum seemed to be talking more to the bunny plush than to either Bronze of him. He couldn’t possibly be hinting at borrowing money from the entity that possessed that doll… right?
There was always just so much mystery surrounding Kim Soleum, and finally, those mysteries were now getting in the way of Bronze and Choi helping Soleum out.
He thought about asking Soleum about why he was talking to his pink rabbit doll, but on second thought, it was better to question Soleum on that after detaining him somehow.
Of course, he could just use the glass prison right now. Actually, Choi had every reason to but… He turned to look at Agent Bronze who was still talking to Soleum about taking care of himself, and that there was no shame in borrowing money from a trusted person when needed.
Aigoo, this was getting nowhere. He had to talk to Bronzie privately, and somehow make sure Soleum doesn’t leave the room.
“Hmm~ Grapsie? Mind if I take Bronzie out today to grab us some drinks? I fear I’ll have to take him up on his offer to lend you some money for you. Hahh, I’ve been buying too much recently.” He made sure to look as genuine as possible, while flashing Bronze a look that said to just go along with it.
“Why of course! If you don’t mind, I would prefer a lime and salt spritz today.” Soleum leaned back into his chair, hands on his lap.
Uh… “Your wish is my command!” whatever that may be. He turned back towards Jaekwan.
Agent Bronze acted well and let out an annoyed sigh. “It was meant for Agent Grapes, but I suppose I can pay for today's drinks. Let’s go.” He jerked his head in the direction of the door, with a mildly concerned yet annoyed look on his face.
“Right behind you! Hey Grapsie, hold up the fort for us while we’re gone.”
“Why of course! I might even help fix up this rather… quaint break room of ours.” Soleum scanned the room in disapproval as he said that.
Did whatever disaster that had contaminated Soleum to this extent seriously just get him to insult the break room? That little fucker.
Agent Choi smiled as he gently closed the door then quickly turned towards Bronze and let out an over dramatic sigh. He knew Agent Bronze could probably see through his acting but, even if it made him feel just a bit better, Choi would continue being this way.
“What could our cute little hoobae have gotten caught up in this time.” Choi had his eyes closed while he let his head droop as he shook it.
Jaekwan grimaced for a second before letting his face fall back into a neutral expression and let out a sigh. “We’ll have to lure him out to a place where we can treat his contamination and figure out what happened.” He brought his hand up to his temples in annoyance and worry before looking back at the door to the breakroom.
“There seemed to be something up with his rabbit doll as well, he seemed to be talking to it.”
Bronse nodded in agreement. “Whatever disaster has affected Agent Grapes seemed to have some sort of effect on the doll as well.”
“What if the disaster entity entered that doll and is now talking to him from there.” Choi half joked around. Bronze didn’t seem to take it as a joke, and instead seemed to agree with Choi’s guess.
Choi looked back at the door as well and hesitated on what he was about to say. “Jaekwanie… the safest option would be to use the glass prison marble to transport him. We risk him running away if we simply lure him out by normal means.”
Fear and suspicion flitted across Jaekwan’s face as he took in what Choi said. But there was no denying that Choi had a good point. He clenched his fists and furrowed his brow as he gave in to Choi’s reasoning with one condition.
“We’ll use the prison marble as a last resort measure in the case that he starts running or becomes hostile. Otherwise we’ll do this as peacefully as possible.”
That was good enough. Choi eyed the door again, it still hadn’t opened. Agent Grapes was still inside. He looked back towards Bronze and smiled. “Then we’ll take that approach. What, should we tell him we got called in by some higher ups? That would give us a good excuse to bring him over to the glass pools.”
Bronze nodded in response and the two of them headed back towards the door.
“We’re back Grapsie~! We ended up getting a call so we weren't able to get the drink you wanted-” Agent Choi cheerfully swung the door open only to find the room empty.
“Hmmm, Grapsie? There's no need to hide, you know.” He tucked his hand into his pocket and reached for the glass marble as he walked into the room, Bronze close behind him.
Sorry Jaekwan… Seems that Soleum is already giving problems the second we’ve walked back in.
The door never opened, so unless Soleum had been turned into a ghost, he should still be inside. Was it invisibility?
He carefully scanned over the floor and furniture looking for any indents or foot prints. “Aww come on Grapsie. We seriously got to go, give me a hint at least?” He strained his ears for any sound but the Sound of Soleum passing by him never came.
Choi, keeping an eye out for where Soleum could be hiding, called out to Jaekwan. “Bronze, close the door. It seems our cute little junior can go invisible.”
But when Bronze turned back around to close the door, he had found it already closed. His expression soured with worry, “Agent Choi, the doors already closed on its own. Likely hood is… that Agent Grapes slipped past us. He caught on.”
Choi looked up at the door and gave a weak chuckle, “Ha… it seems so…”
“We have to try and find him while he's still in the building, let’s get going as fast as possible.” Agent Choi ran past Jaekwan and swung open the door, taking the lead. Jaekwan caught up as the two of them ran towards the exit, looking for hints to Soleum’s whereabouts, though less thorough.
A wave of fresh air hit them as they stepped out onto the grass and took a look around.
“Lets try looking around the building. We’ll have to call backup if we still can’t find him” Agent Choi started running towards one of the other exits, Bronze in tow.
“Agent! There!” After running around a bit, Bronze spotted Soleum walking away from one of the back exits. He was trying to cross at an intersection but had been stopped by the light.
Soleum calmly turned his head with a gentlemanly smile on his face, before snapping his fingers and going invisible again a few beats after.
But that didn’t matter, they could see the way other people moved around the invisible mass that was currently Kim Soleum. And he didn’t seem to be going all that fast.
He seemed to have turned and continued down on the sidewalk, in which Agent Choi and Bronze continued towards. They were forced to slow down in order not to stir pedestrians, but they still continued to walk as fast as they could.
“Watch out in case he makes a turn, but I doubt he would truly lose us. He seems to be taunting us and leading us somewhere, keep your guard up Bronzie.” Agent Bronze was too focused on his surroundings to respond properly, but he let Choi know that he heard him.
Eventually, they found themselves being led into a back alley by an old theatre. Soleum was most definitely taunting them as they chased after him, occasionally appearing for a few seconds in order to help guide them.
“Grapsie~, come one we’re tired now, this isn’t as much fun anymore. Please show yourself now?” Choi reached into his pocket for the glass marble while he tried his best to listen for footsteps. Agent Bronze was behind him, their backs facing together.
“Agent Grapes, please come on out. If you need us to do something for you, we’ll be more than happy to.” Agent Bronze called out right after as Choi gripped the-
…
gripped the…
His fingers clamped around the air in his empty pocket.
Haa, I see how it is… Well! Good thing I have backups-!
Agent Choi reached for one of the cuffs he carried on himself. While they weren’t as good as the glass marble when it came to Soleum, they’d have to do, except…
Those were also gone.
He tried his best not to show his surprise as he checked all his other spots, all empty.
“Agent Choi… are you also missing some things?” It seemed Soleum had done the same thing to Agent Bronze already as well. Invisibility was seriously annoying to deal with. They should have heard him at least…
“Same with me. Seems our Grapsie has all our stuff?” Agent Choi looked around, but again, couldn’t find any trace of Soleum around them.
Flick
Choi whipped his head around as the sound of many lights turning on at once came from behind him.
“We should be careful, Agent.” Agent Bronze nodded his head in the direction of the old theater doors which had just opened up. Despite the door being open and the sound of the lights turning on, the inside was still entirely pitch black.
That’s probably the disaster that contaminated Soleum. And now it had lured them here as well…
“Of course Bronzie~ Let’s keep our guards up. This is most likely the disaster that contaminated Agent Grapes. Seems like it wants us too.” Agent Choi straightened his legs and hips before walking towards the entrance.
Aigoo~ entering an unknown disaster empty handed. Choi would, of course, keep his hoobaes as safe as possible, even at the cost of his own life.
He ushered Agent Bronze behind him, he then responded with a frown but followed suit anyway.
The theater was dark, and seemingly empty as they hadn’t bumped into anything yet-
“Carful Bronzie, there’s something here.”
Spoke too soon, Choi bumped into something that sprouted from the ground with a smooth top surface. A type of table, or counter…
“Hold onto my hand, I’ll guide us through.” Agent Choi stuck one of his hands out behind him and Bronze gripped it as Choi continued feeling his way around things.
A table… some stools… ah! Something hot… walls… another door…
Agent Choi grabbed the handle and slowly pushed the door open. He felt around to make sure he wasn’t about to bump into anything or fall into an infinite void.
He stepped through the room, Agent Bronze still holding on to his hand behind him.
Thud
Thud
Thud
They were blinded as three different spot lights turned on.
Two down on them, and one on the man standing in front of them who now seemed to be basking in the light.
“My, dramatic confrontations like this will always be such a classic way to end a chase much like the one we just had.”
Soleum, who had somehow changed into a more formal suit and bowtie smiled at them from what seemed to be some sort of edge. He then bowed, a lot more slower and controlled than the one he first gave them this morning, before straightening his back out again.
“How very wonderful that you two Agents would decide to join me on stage! Let’s all do our best to put on the best performance we can for our audience! Hmmm, but most of all, me. I am a VIP after all!”
The face Soleum was making now… it was an odd way to describe a human face… but if Choi had to, he looked as if he was flashing a smiley face emoji.