Archive of Our Own

Being one of the very few Hunters actively working under the government, Ryu Jaekwan was more than used to his days getting interrupted by alarms blaring for his attention. His nights, too. Really, he was never actually off the clock. He'd probably only be off the clock when he was dead, which could very well be the case if he found himself waken up in the middle of the night one more time.

Whether it was the sleep deprivation, the overwork, or himself that would get him, he didn't know at this point.

…More likely, it'd be none of those. He'd get waken up in the middle of the night due to some dungeon overflow and he'd go about his life. Not that he'd be entirely happy about it.

Given that he was also one of the country's sole S-Rank Hunters on top of being a government worker, he was dispatched quite often. There weren't many under the government who could deal with overflows from B-rank or higher dungeons, after all, other than himself and the few A-Rank Hunters under him.

At the very least, he could be grateful for the fact that the dungeon overflows became less frequent as time passed and the damned guilds figured out how to properly manage the dungeons registered under their names. It was the absolute bare minimum, but it was better than nothing.

Still, as a matter of course, there were a few that would manage to slip under the radar.

"Agent Bronze," someone said urgently, poking their head into his office where he was currently working on a report from the last dungeon overflow he'd taken care of. He felt his eye twitch slightly in irritation as he looked up from his computer. Irritation not towards the worker speaking to him, of course, but rather towards whomever hadn't been properly managing their dungeon or who'd allowed it to fall under the radar. "You're being dispatched."

Jaekwan tried not to let out a sigh. He stood from his chair and made his way over. "Guild or unowned?" he asked briskly.

"Guild. One of Daydream's. B-Rank."

Ah, yes. The Daydream Guild. One of South Korea's largest guilds, and one of Jaekwan's largest pains in his ass. Why can't they take care of their own messes? And why won't the goverment cut them off?

He knew why. Daydream had far too much power, more than whatever the government had. It'd been like that since the dungeons had appeared. The government could only be a government because the other large guilds were too busy competing with eachother to care about them.

In all reality, the government as it was was no more than someone trying to wrangle about five of the largest, excited dogs one had ever seen and failing quite miserably at doing so.

"How much time? Have evacuation procedures already begun?"

"Approximately thirty minutes, sir. Evacuation orders have been delivered but I doubt that they'll be completed by the time the break occurs."

Ah, just what he needed. That gave him just enough time to not make it before the dungeon actually broke.

"…Okay," he said after a short moment. "Prepare for civilian casualties. I'll be heading out first. Send in Agent Choi's team to follow."

"Yes, sir."

Jaekwan wasted no more time in leaving. Every second counted at this point, so it was imperative that he made his way over as soon as he possibly could. He made his way up to the roof, bracing himself upon the ledge and rocketing in the direction of where the dungeon break was supposed to be occurring.

One of the few things that he appreciated about the managed dungeons, at the very least, was the fact that the surrounding region tended to be far more desolate, even if the gate had spawned in the middle of the city. It made evacuation procedures far easier, reduced civilian casualties by great amounts. There wasn't anyone sane who wanted to live near one of the damn things, after all, especially when there was always a chance for the dungeon to overflow or break.

He felt the break before he saw it. Surges of mana spread out in every different direction, hitting his face like hot air. He clenched his jaw, opening his inventory and shoving his hand inside to retrieve his battle axe. He gripped it in front of him in both of his hands as he pushed himself to move faster.

It was at this particular dungeon break that Ryu Jaekwan first met Kim Soleum. He was the sole civilian in range, already surrounded by monsters ready to pounce at him and braced with his back to the wall.

The civilian had a deceptively calm look on his face, but Jaekwan could see the way he was trembling ever so slightly even from the rooftop he was running across when he spotted him. He skid to a stop, pivoting so that he could jump off of the rooftop.

What the hell is he doing here? Jaekwan thought as the wind rushed past him. Did he not get the evacuation order?

He tightly clenched the battle axe, twisting his torso midair in order to release a controlled attack, one that would clear out the monsters before them without causing the civilian any damage.

The attack landed with a loud, echoing boom. Dust exploded up from the ground, making it difficult to see, though he could still feel the monsters' mana dissipating in an indication that he'd successfully eliminated them. He also hit the ground around the same time, right in front of the civilian. He waited for a second, looking for any indications of life for a moment longer before finally turning to properly assess the civilian's condition, shifting his battle axe so he was now holding it in one hand.

The civilian gripped his arm when they made eye contact. The slight stench of blood hit Jaekwan's nose. Human blood, he immediately noted. He looked closer at the civilian's arm, noting the blood dripping down onto the floor from his hand. "You're injured," he pointed out, immediately feeling like an idiot for doing so because obviously he would have known that.

"It's just a scratch, it's fine," the civilian deflected immediately. "Thank you for saving my life."

Jaekwan narrowed his eyes slightly, taking in the rest of the civilian's appearance to look for any other injuries that weren't immediately noticeable. Miraculously, he seemed mostly uninjured save for that arm.

Otherwise, there were two things that immediately made themselves known to him. The first was the fact that, despite the man standing cautiously before him being pallid in the face, unbelievably sweaty, and dirty, he was still objectively attractive. Why that had been the first thing Jaekwan noticed, he didn't know. He didn't want to know.

The second thing was the badge dangling from his neck, red lanyard stark against his black suit. The badge had the civilian's picture on it as well as his name, which read Kim Soleum. More importantly was the company– or, rather, guild– that the badge was from. Daydream.

It wasn't uncommon for guilds to employ the unawakened. After all, there were still jobs within the guilds that could be undertaken by non-Hunters. Miscellaneous tasks that didn't involve actually entering (or even approaching) dungeons were often done by them, such as accounting work or recruiting new scouts for the guild. Tasks like that, which didn't involve any danger.

Daydream had been sketchy for as long as it had been around. They'd seldom outwardly done anything wrong, nothing that Jaekwan could actually charge them on, but based on previous track records… Well, he found it safe to say that they certainly weren't normal.

So, as a matter of course, he refused to believe that it was just coincidence that Kim Soleum, a Daydream employee, just so happened to be in the area of a Daydream-managed dungeon when it overfilled and broke.

And for as much as he'd love to stick around and ask questions, this was neither the time nor the place. They were still in a danger zone, there were still monsters around, Kim Soleum was still undoubtedly injured, and Jaekwan still needed to clear the damned dungeon. The first thing he needed to do was treat Kim Soleum and take him to a safe place.

"…I won't ask why you're here," he said reluctantly. He reached into his inventory once more to retrieve a small vial of a healing potion. "Give me your arm."

Kim Soleum stared at him.

"I need to treat that," Ryu Jaekwan deadpanned, pointing at his arm. "Will you at least let me do that?"

"I–" Kim Soleum opened his mouth and began a sentence before shutting it once more and nodding. He held out his arm to Jaekwan.

Jaekwan propped his battle axe up against the wall and gently grabbed one of Kim Soleum's hands, the injured one. He held the vial with his teeth for a moment so that he could roll up his sleeve and get a better look at the injury. Like Kim Soleum said, the injury was relatively minor. It was still oozing blood at a steady rate, but it wasn't like leaving it alone would kill him.

…Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. In such an environment, there was a chance of it getting infected if left untreated. Then the man would have an actually major problem on his hands.

Jaekwan took the vial out of his mouth, using his teeth to remove the cork and dropping it to the floor. "This might feel weird for a moment," he warned. He tilted the vial over the injury, slowly pouring the solution over the injury, making sure it was generously covered.

The effects were nearly instantaneous. The skin stitched itself back together, leaving nothing but a shiny scar and the blood as evidence that it was even there at all. Kim Soleum shivered slightly. Right, yes, that is always an odd sensation. Jaekwan himself had gotten injured often enough to where he'd long since gotten used to the odd sensation of his healing being suddenly accelerated to the point of it being perceptible.

For someone who'd seldom had the opportunity to use healing potions, he knew that the sensation would be nothing short of weird.

Jaekwan gave Kim Soleum one last glance-over. No injuries.

"I'm going to carry you to safety," Jaekwan said finally. He retrieved his weapon from where it was against the wall, shoving it into his inventory. Kim Soleum took a cautious step back, raising his hands.

"I don't think that's–"

"Do you think you could get out of here on your own?" Jaekwan deadpanned, cutting him off. Kim Soleum shut his mouth. "As a government agent, it's my duty to ensure that all civilians–"

"I get it," Kim Soleum said with a defeated sigh, seeming to have given up on fighting the issue. "Do what you need to."

Jaekwan fought the victorious smile off of his face. He approached Kim Soleum and carefully scooped him up from under his back and knees. Kim Soleum tensed immediately, throwing his arms around Jaekwan's neck as his feet left the floor.

"Hold on tight," he warned. Behind him, he could sense monsters trying to gather once more beyond the dust that still had yet to settle. He'd wasted too much time as it was. "And keep your mouth shut. I doubt you want to catch bugs in your mouth."

Kim Soleum nodded resolutely, the cue for Jaekwan to take off. He kicked up off the floor, sending them both up into the air where he landed on the rooftop. He took off from there, rushing them towards the nearest evacuation center.

The other man's arms wrapped around him tighter as he ducked his head into Jaekwan's chest, eyes squeezed shut. When they arrived at the evacuation center a few minutes later, he found himself almost feeling disappointed to put him back down on steady ground. Why is that, I wonder?

The trip must have disoriented him. He stumbled for a moment, so Jaekwan put his hands on his shoulders to steady him, one arm reaching behind the other's back so that he could offer his own body as support.

"Careful," he said, releasing his shoulders.

"Thank you," Kim Soleum said, starting to make his way into the center.

"Wait," Jaekwan called after him. The civilian paused, turning to give him an inquisitive look. He hesitated for a moment. "Could you wait for me here? I have some questions I need to ask you."

Kim Soleum stared at him for a moment, eyes widened in shock before his face smoothed over once more. "I can do that," he said.

Jaekwan nodded. "Thank you." With that, he left to go clear and close the dungeon once and for all. After all, it seemed like Daydream already had its hands full. There was no sense in keeping the dungeon open if it clearly wasn't being properly maintained.

…If he was questioned later, he could probably make up some excuse. Undoubtedly, it'd put his employers into something of a tough spot with the guild, but he simply did not have it in him to care enough.

Agent Choi's team finally caught up with him as he had cleared the region surrounding the dungeon gate of monsters. He stood before the gate, contemplating if it would actually be more of a pain to deal with Daydream's bullshit team or deal with the possibility of more Daydream gates overflowing because they, for some reason, seemed to not have enough people staffed to take care of all of them. The decision seemed obvious.

"Bronze-ie!" Agent Choi exclaimed, throwing an arm over Jaekwan's shoulder and pulling him down slightly so he could ruffle at his hair more easily. "Things seem to be going well. You hardly ever leave us with anything to do."

Jaekwan batted Choi's hand away. "Doesn't that work better for you?" he deadpanned. "There weren't many people around. You know how areas like this are."

Choi raised an eyebrow. "Many? You mean there was actually someone nearby?"

He nodded. "One unawakened. A Daydream employee."

Almost immediately, he could practically feel Choi's mood take a dip. Neither of them had been large fans of Daydream since its establishment, though the same was usually true for most of the Hunters employed under the government. "Of course," he muttered, removing his arm from Jaekwan's shoulder. "It's usually them, isn't it? What kind of reason would they have had for that?"

"I've not a clue. I didn't ask." Unfortunately, he'd had greater priorities at the time. "If I'm lucky, maybe he'll wait for me back at the evacuation center so I can ask him some questions."

"Definitely can't be a coincidence." Jaekwan nodded in agreement with that. "So? Guessing you're gonna go ahead and clear that? Close the dungeon off?" When he muttered a confirmation, Choi continued, "Well, I'll keep an eye out here, then. Make sure you didn't miss anything." He patted Jaekwan's shoulder, pushing him forward slightly. "Have fun."

"There's nothing fun about this," Jaekwan said with a sigh. "I'll be back."

The last thing he saw before entering the dungeon was Agent Choi flashing him a thumbs-up.

When he re-emerged an hour later, the dungeon entrance closing behind him and disappearing into thin air, Agent Choi was still out there waiting for him alongside a few others from his team, though they'd all yet to gather back. It hadn't been a difficult clear, given that the dungeon was an entire two levels beneath his own rank, but it'd still been messy given that it'd been allowed to overpopulate so explosively.

He was covered head to toe in monster blood, the stench overwhelming his nose. He'd long since gotten used to it, but it still occasionally made his eyes water. It wasn't exactly a pleasant smell by any means. His jacket was also damaged, which made him frown. They wouldn't like him for requesting another one. He'd already heard enough reprimands for a lifetime.

…Maybe he could just repair it himself at this point. He might as well try. If he could find the time, that was.

"I think we've got things wrapped up here for the most part," Choi told him, scrunching his nose slightly as he approached. Jerk."Go find that civilian if you need to. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll still be there."

Jaekwan agreed readily. "If you're alright with that, then. I'll see you back at the bureau."

He would like to say that he was surprised to find that Kim Soleum had not, in fact, waited for his return. Unfortunately, he found that this was not the case. He was, however, disappointed, maybe more than he should have been in these circumstances. It was an odd sentiment, something misplaced.

He shook his head of it. He'd probably never see Kim Soleum again, but at the very least it probably wouldn't mark his last clash with Daydream.

…Or, at least, that's what he'd thought.

But his next encounter with the Daydream employee occurred a mere week later.

There had been two dungeon breaks within close proximity, both unowned dungeons that had somehow managed to slip past the bureau's shitty mana sensors. He'd been bugging them for months about working to get the damn things improved, but there'd been no such talk amongst the higher-ups of that ever happening.

Which was irritating.

The fact that both had been unowned and hadn't been reported in time meant, of course, that both just had to break in a relatively densely populated region. Thankfully, they'd been close enough to the bureau that Jaekwan was able to sense the breaks as soon as they happened.

Still, that didn't mean he was able to prevent casualties entirely.

He resisted the urge to retch as the scents of both monster and human blood mixed in his nose, the latter currently far more significant than the other. No matter how many times it happened, the experience never became easier. It never weighed any less on his mind.

It'd been… a constant source of sleepless nights for him.

He spent hours runnning around, trying to eliminate the monsters and escort surviving civilians to safety. It was a far more difficult job when there were people around, unlike the dungeon from the week prior. He didn't have enough time to stop and check on every last person's injury, so his job with them ended when he managed to drop them off in front of someone who didhave the time.

Then his eyes landed on him. Kim Soleum, this time in more casual wear, indicating that this time, at least, he wasn't on the clock… probably. And, just as their previous encounter had gone, the civilian was on his way to getting attacked by a monster sneaking up behind him.

Jaekwan swooped in the moment the monster pounced, simultaeneously grabbing Kim Soleum to pull him out of harm's way and slicing the monster clean in half with his battle axe.

"I didn't think we'd see each other again so soon," Jaekwan commented, catching his breath. He was really exhausted after all of this. More than that, he was just ready to crash. Maybe lay in his bed listlessly for a while. He attempted to wipe some of the blood off of his face with his sleeve, but he was pretty sure that all he'd managed to do was either wipe more blood onto his face or smudge it. "Do you find yourself in these situations often?"

Kim Soleum was pale, hands gripping onto Jaekwan's upper arms like his life depended on it. His eyes were very carefully trained onto Jaekwan's badge, as if looking anywhere else would cause him to pass out. Still, he somehow managed to keep both his voice and face calm and steady. "No," he said shortly. "I don't."

"Right," Jaekwan muttered skeptically. "I'll be escorting you to safety once more."

This time, Kim Soleum seemed to know better than to even try fighting it, simply allowing Jaekwan to scoop him up and haul him off. Once more, his eyes were squeezed shut for the entire duration of the trip.

He also seemed to have been far more prepared for the disorientation, only stumbling ever so slightly once Jaekwan set him down. Not nearly enough for him to feel the need to try and steady the other man.

"Thank you again, Agent," Kim Soleum said.

"I still have questions I need to ask you," Jaekwan said. "Will you disappear on me again?"

Kim Soleum averted his eyes in a clear admission of guilt. "I didn't intend to. I had other things to attend to urgently."

Bullshit, Jaekwan wanted to say. "You didn't answer my question, though," he pointed out.

"I will."

He really would have liked to say that he was surprised when Kim Soleum did not, in fact, wait for him. Why is he avoiding me? Is he worried about his job? His eye twitched. Surely there are more secure places to work than that guild. The bureau has positions for non-awakeners–

He shut the idea down. There was something dangerous about the direction his thoughts were moving in. Still, if he ever saw Kim Soleum again, maybe he'd make a suggestion…

Instead, once the situation was over with, he went home. He went home and he crashed onto his bed, trying to empty his brain of every thought, a fruitless endeavor. He could write a report tomorrow, but just for today, he wanted not to think.

Jaekwan didn't see Kim Soleum again until a month later, though that was still far sooner than he would have wanted or expected. Yet another dungeon break.

"We really have to stop meeting like this, Agent," Kim Soleum said this time, looking nauseous. Something that Jaekwan could undoubtedly agree with. The region hadn't even been the same as last time. What the hell was he doing here?

"I agree," Jaekwan deadpanned as he poured a healing potion onto the back of Kim Soleum's leg. He had to have been one of the most unlucky and lucky people alive at this point. Unlucky for having managed to find himself caught in three different dungeon breaks in just over a month, but lucky enough to have managed to get out of each with only minor injuries. "I'm starting to wonder if you walk into these things intentionally."

"I don't," he said defensively. "I don't know why I keep ending up in these situations."

Jaekwan hummed. "At this point, you might as well move closer to the bureau." He didn't know where the suggestion came from, but he quickly moved to justify it. "I mean, in the sense that the sensors over there are better equipped and we can usually catch a break before it happens…"

He heard a snort and froze in the middle of his sentence. "Maybe if you'd be willing to take me to work, Agent," Soleum said amusedly. "The commute from the bureau to Daydream would be awful."

Jaekwan felt his face heat up. Was it embarrassment he was feeling right now? "I–" He licked his lips, turning away to hide his probably flushed face. "I mean, well– Would you consider… switching jobs? There's a lot of opportunity there, you know, and it's safer, and–"

"I don't know if I can do that, Agent," he said, cutting Jaekwan off once more. He looked up to see the civilian smiling wryly. "I still have things I need to do there."

Jaekwan swallowed. What was with this odd sense of desperation for someone he'd only met three times? Someone he'd hardly interacted with at all before they'd parted ways? Someone who'd lied to him at least twice, no less? What was this?

"Would you at least be willing to consider it?" he asked carefully. "After you're finished with whatever you need to get done."

Kim Soleum seemed to consider the proposition for a moment, visibly turning it over in his head. "Okay," he said finally. "I'll consider it." And, really, that was all that Jaekwan wanted to hear. Even if it later turned out to be a lie. (Embarrassingly, he was really hoping that it wouldn't.)

Jaekwan nodded, standing. "…That's all I'll ask. I don't think you'll answer whatever other questions I have." At least Soleum had the conscience to look guilty about it. "You understand the procedure."

Soleum sighed, standing from the piece of rubble Jaekwan had forced him to sit on while he treated the man's leg. "Of course. Carry me to safety, Agent."

Jaekwan tried to ignore the way his heart fluttered at the words.

Agent Choi was leaning against the wall outside the bureau when he returned that day, clearly out for a smoke break if the cigarette between his fingers was any indication. The stench of smoke burned Jaekwan's nose.

Something odd must have shown on his face, because Agent Choi seemed to feel the need to bring it up. "Hm? Did something interesting happen while you were out, Bronze-ie?"

Jaekwan scrunched his nose. "Those aren't good for you, senior," he said, almost reflexively.

Choi huffed. "I don't think anything will happen," he said. Still, despite his words, he put the cigarette out and discarded it in the ashtray nearby. "Well? Did something happen? You've got this odd look on your face."

Jaekwan took a moment to stare past the glass doors of the bureau, observing the workers moving around before he returned his attention to Choi, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. For a moment, he pictured that Soleum was one of the ones working inside. "…I saw that Daydream employee again," he said.

Despite the fact that Jaekwan had only met Kim Soleum three whole times and that there were certainly other Daydream employees that he had met with more frequently, Choi seeemed to understand the exact one he was talking about. "Ah, that one, hm? The one who told you to your face two times that he'd wait around for you and proceeded to leave?"

"It sounds bad when you say it like that, senior," Jaekwan muttered, almost defensively.

Choi stared at him. "Because it is bad, Bronze-ie."

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He's… not wrong. He had no real reason to like Soleum, but there was just something that drew him to the other man. Something he couldn't exactly put his finger on. Whatever it was, though, Choi seemed to figure out the situation, eyes widening in some sort of realization before his expression smoothed over.

His senior pat him on the shoulder encouragingly. "Well, suit yourself, Bronze-ie." What does that mean? "I wish you the best of luck. He seems like a tough one."

What do you mean?

The next time he encountered Kim Soleum, it was not in the middle of a dungeon break for once. Rather, it was a time when Jaekwan was "off the clock," though that mostly just meant he wasn't currently at the agency. Of course, they would still contact him if any emergencies arose, which happened… often. More often than they should have.

One of the things that he appreciated about working under the government as opposed to working for any of the guilds was that his face was not televised as often as other S-Rank Hunters' were. He was sure that they were fine with the attention, but Jaekwan liked to have some sense of normalcy every now and again.

On this particular day, Jaekwan found himself in a coffee shop, carefully nursing the drink in his hands as he people-watched from the inside. It was nice, he thought, to see people still living despite the shitshow the world had turned into a few years ago with the emergence of the dungeons.

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there. Still, after quite some time had passed, he noticed that someone had paused next to his table. "Do you mind if I sit here, Agent?"

Jaekwan would recognize that voice anywhere, even if he'd seldom heard it. He turned to the owner of it, staring incredulously for a moment too long. Kim Soleum's expression grew slightly awkward. "Feel free," he finally said, finally finding his words once more.

The awkward expression dropped from Soleum's face then, replaced by something more akin to relief. He slid into the seat opposite him, carrying his own cup. "I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you," he said. "I just saw you, and I figured I'd stop for a short chat. Show you that I'm not always getting injured."

Jaekwan smiled amusedly. "It's good to see." If nothing else, he was glad that Soleum was comfortable enough with him to approach him in public. There weren't many people that were like that with him. It warmed his heart. "And it's good to see you. I'm glad you decided to stop by." It seemed like the only other person who would speak casually with him was Agent Choi.

And for as much as he enjoyed Choi's presence, he was just… very Choi. This was a change of pace that Jaekwan needed.

They ended up staying there for a while longer than a short chat. Neither of them seemed to be particularly talkative, so most of their time was spent in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

Eventually, though, one of them had to leave. Soleum's phone buzzed from where it was face-down on the table. He picked it up, reading whatever it was with a furrowed brow before he frowned slightly. Then with an apologetic look, he spoke. "Sorry, Agent. This is important."

Jaekwan tried not to make his disappointment apparent. "That's alright." Rather, he was surprised that he hadn't been interrupted at any point, so maybe this was better than he could have wished for. "Ah, but…" He grabbed one of the napkins from the table before fishing a pen from his pocket and scribbling his number down. He passed the napkin to Soleum. "Keep in contact?"

Soleum stared at the napkin in shock for a moment. "…Right. I'll do that."

He watched Soleum's figure retreat until it was completely out of sight. Even then, he continued to peer in that direction for a few moments longer than he cared to admit. Now that he was gone, something just felt empty about the space across from him.

Jaekwan finally reached the same conclusion that Choi must have days ago. He put his head into his hands, taking a deep, steadying breath and hoping that his face would just cool down soon. Ah, I see what this feeling is.

He gave up on that endeavor, instead letting out a low groan. Really? For a guy you've met four whole times?

Still, when he received a text later that night, he couldn't help the smile that made its way onto his face, the warmth that spread in his chest.

Jaekwan didn't see Soleum for almost two months afterwards. Still, they exchanged the occasional text, so at the very least he knew that the other was alive. He hadn't somehow managed to get himself caught up in a dungeon break that Jaekwan, for some reason or other, wasn't able to reach.

But then he went radio silent for a week. And then two.

He did not freak out. That was not something that he'd do. He did not freak out about the fact that his texts were being left on delivered, not even seen. And he most certainly did not freak out about the fact that his calls immediately bounced back without being allowed to ring, something about the caller being unavailable.

No, he did not freak out at all.

"Calm down," Agent Choi told him. "That guy is like a cockroach. I'm sure he's fine."

Jaekwan didn't know how to feel about Soleum being compared to a cockroach, but it didn't exactly do much to soothe his nerves. "People like to kill cockroaches, senior," he pointed out.

Choi blinked at him. "You're saying you think someone is out to get him?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "I'm just pretty sure that the first time I found him couldn't have been a coincidence, and I'm really wishing I'd looked more into it."

"…Don't beat yourself up over it, Bronze-ie," his senior said after a few moments of silence. "Listen, I know it's not what you want to hear right now, but there's no point in thinking about the things that could have been." He patted Jaekwan on the shoulder a few times reassuringly. "At this point, you just have to hope that he's alright, okay?"

He appreciated that Choi wasn't joking around with him this once. "You're right." He leaned back in his chair, squinting at the fluorescent lights above them for a moment as though they would clear his head. "Thank you, senior."

Choi nodded. His tone returned to its usual lighthearted one. "Of course, of course! Rely on this trustworthy senior of yours whenever you need to, alright?"

So Jaekwan waited. He waited, but he most certainly did not stop worrying. Every time he went out, be it to quell a dungeon break or just to go home, he kept his eye out, thinking that maybe he'd spot him. Maybe he'd be in the faces of people at the evacuation centers, maybe he'd be on his way to getting attacked by another monster. Maybe he'd just be somewhere out on the street, and maybe if Jaekwan waited at that spot where they'd met at the cafe then maybe Kim Soleum would find his way back to him.

…

Kim Soleum did find his way back. In an unexpected manner, no less.

It'd been the middle of the night a little over a month after his initial disappearance. It was storming heavily outside, an already ominous sign. Jaekwan had been asleep when the knock came to his door, but given how frantic it was, it woke him up rather quickly.

He made his way to the door. There was a faint sense of mana right outside, which made him wary. Still, in spite of that, he opened the door.

Just outside, breathing heavily as he slumped against the doorframe, was Kim Soleum. Kim Soleum, who was exuding the same energy as an awakened at this very moment. Jaekwan bit back a curse, quickly swooping Soleum into his arms and bringing him inside, closing the door with his foot.

The awakening process for Hunters was seldom a pleasant one. While the conditions weren't entirely certain, it was generally something painful that triggered the awakening. From the looks of it, it was no different for Kim Soleum. He was covered head to toe in wounds, some miniscule and some much more significant. More than that, he looked absolutely exhausted. Just where had he been?

What had happened to Kim Soleum?

"Sorry, Agent," Soleum said weakly. "Didn't mean to drop in on you like this. You were… the first one I thought of."

"Don't apologize for that," Jaekwan muttered. He had a sudden thought– How did he know where to find me? Jaekwan had never shared his address with Soleum, so in theory there shouldn't have been any way for him to know where he lived. He brushed the thought off, however. It was something he could decidedly worry about later, when the man in his arms wasn't looking about ready to expire at any moment.

Instead, he moved swiftly through his apartment, careful not to jostle Soleum with any major movements. He made his way back to his bedroom, where he gently placed him down on his bed. He turned to leave so that he could maybe find something to help soothe his pain, but he was quickly stopped by a weak tug at his sleeve.

"Stay," Soleum said. "Please."

Jaekwan glanced back towards his bedroom door for a moment before turning back to Soleum. "Okay," he said. "I won't leave."

He reached into his inventory, pulling out a healing potion. A different type, this time, significantly more expensive than the ones he usually used. It had to be ingested through the mouth, but it worked on the entire body as opposed to one region. He unscrewed the cap, discarding that part and holding the opening up to Soleum's mouth.

Even in his likely-delirious state, he seemed to get the memo. He opened his mouth, greedily taking in the potion. The effects were nearly instant, wounds healing over and leaving just the remnants of what was once there. Distantly, Jaekwan acknowledged the fact that he'd probably never be able to get the bloodstains out of his bedding, but that wasn't something he'd pin on Soleum.

Now he just looked like he was fighting consciousness. There wasn't much more pain in his expression with all the wounds gone, but Jaekwan severely doubted that he was comfortable in any manner. "Go to sleep," he muttered. "I'll be here when you wake up."

Soleum spent the next three days in and out of consciousness, fighting a nasty fever that might have been the result of the rain. Maybe it was the result of something else, but it wasn't as though Jaekwan would be getting any answers about anything from the sick man.

Jaekwan spent those three days either rushing around to do work for the bureau or trying to nurse Soleum back to health. That being said, he seldom found himself sleeping for those days, and if anyone noticed that he was more exhausted than usual, they didn't say anything.

Except for Agent Choi, of course, who asked him about it on the second day.

"He came back," Jaekwan said when Choi asked him if anything was up with him. Choi's demeanor almost immediately shifted. "Showed up at my apartment. Not sure how he made it there or from where with the condition he was in, but he crashed pretty much as soon as I opened the door."

"So that's why you've been so…" He trailed off before letting out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Let me help for a day, alright Bronze-ie? You look about ready to drop dead."

He couldn't argue against that, especially not when it was extremely accurate to how he was feeling. The emotional turmoil combined with the sleep deprivation certainly hadn't done him any favors. He nodded in assent, and when their work hours were over, the other Agent followed him home.

The moment they stepped into his apartment, Choi immediately waved him off to the couch, insisting that he should get some rest. "I've got it covered. Don't you worry about a thing. I'll wake you if anything happens." He didn't leave any room for argument, so Jaekwan just didn't bother trying to argue. He made his way towards the couch, knocking out as soon as he hit the cushions.

When he eventually awoke a few hours later, feeling much better than before, he went to go check up on the two.

"Nothing's happened," Choi said with a light shrug. There was a slight glint in his eyes that said otherwise, but Jaekwan chose not to question it. At the very least, he knew his senior wouldn't do anything detrimental to him. "Hungry? I can make something."

In any event, Soleum's fever broke on the evening of the third day after he showed up at Jaekwan's apartment.

"Sorry," Soleum apologized again.

"Don't apologize," Jaekwan repeated for what must have been the umpteenth time. "Rather, I'm glad you came to me. What happened?"

Jaekwan didn't like the haunted look that came over Soleum's face. The other man closed his eyes for a moment. "…Stuff," he said after a couple moments of silence. Jaekwan immediately knew better than to press the issue. "But, ah… I'm unemployed."

"You're unemployed," Jaekwan repeated dumbly. Soleum nodded, looking away with what seemed to be embarrassment to some degree. "…My offer is still open, you know."

"Are you sure?" Soleum asked. "I don't want to be a bother."

Jaekwan smiled. Suddenly, he found himself grateful for all the strange encounters he'd had with Soleum. Hell, he even found himself somewhat grateful for Daydream being such a shitty guild, else he might have never met the man before him. Still, he thought, I really need to do something about that…

"We'd love to have you," Jaekwan said. I'd love to have you with us.