Chapter Text
Kim Soleum slinks through the hallway, listening for footsteps or voices. Another work day, another darkness to explore.
It’s lower grade darkness set in a haunted hotel that preys on isolation to slowly wear you down. If you go in as a group, you’re usually swiftly pulled away from them, so it’s more economical as a solo mission in Daydream Inc.
Anyone you do meet should be avoided anyways. Phantom hotel guests are part of the haunting so don’t assume anyone is human. It’s almost like hide and seek, except if you’re caught, you’re chased till death…
Despite that, it’s a fairly mild darkness. If he’s quiet and follows the rules, he can check out with ease once he finds the skeleton key.
Still, alone while sneaking through empty rooms…no chance of running into a fellow employee…
It’s absolutely terrifying!
Kim Soleum takes small steps as he hugs the left wall. The old luxury hotel creaks with every breath.
Then, he hears it—
Sniffling from inside one of the rooms.
He pauses. Crying is not an emotion the hotel guests possess. They only exist as overly cheerful or angrily entitled when they’re not chasing you through the halls.
A human…?
It’s rare but possible to encounter others who aren’t monsters here. Maybe he’ll check, just in case. It’s a risk, but it would weigh on his conscience if he up and left someone in distress here.
Carefully, Soleum peeks in. In the corner, a young man with curly hair holds a hand over his mouth to stifle sobs. He’s wearing a uniform Soleum has become quite familiar with.
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau…!
“Ahh! Don’t hurt me!” The civil servant wails at the sight of him.
Soleum raises his hands. “I won’t. I’m not one of them, see?”
His deer mask is probably intimidating in its own right, but the agent brightens when he realizes Soleum is not dressed like a casual vacation-goer and speaks like a regular person.
“Y-you! You’re part of the Bureau!?” He says excitedly. “Oh, wait, I don’t know if I should say that out loud…”
“…”
Doesn’t this guy recognize his uniform…? He seems overly honest and unafraid of a heartless Daydream employee in front of him. Must be new around here.
Soleum could spin a lie again, but he doesn’t want the Agent Grapes persona to keep spreading. Better to avoid the question. “I know how to escape.”
The agent shoots to his feet immediately. “Really! Really, really!?”
He can’t just leave the poor newbie. He’ll lead him out or to his coworkers then make a swift escape before anyone realizes who helped him. “Stay quiet and stick close to me. If you hear anything, tap my shoulder, and I’ll do the same.”
They begin traversing through the gloomy corridors again. The way the guy shakes and shivers makes Soleum wonder how he passed the Bureau exam. Soleum might want to do the same, but he’s certainly not obvious about it.
“Are you new to this?”
The talkative agent looks bashful. “Well…I just got hired a few days ago in cleanup. The job took us a little outside of the city so we booked a hotel….”
And accidentally got stuck in a darkness.
What poor luck!
Soleum nods in sympathy, from one coward to another.
Moving with an extra person in an isolation darkness is much more difficult to navigate. They try to keep a low profile, but the darkness seems to notice that neither of them are alone anymore. Eyes watch them from cracks in the rooms, the walls, the paintings.
It’s inevitable that they are eventually found. When he feels tapping on his shoulders from the panicked agent, he knows the gig is up.
And once they’re caught, all they can do is run.
Soleum sends the agent ahead as the hotel guests begin to pursue, long claws stretching out to swipe at them. At the back, Soleum is forced to tank most of the damage when he draws their attention. He almost uses a Happy Maker but decides to push through the pain.
He just has to keep going! Ahh!
Claws rake through his suit to rip through his back, and Soleum stumbles.
“Sir!” The agent cries from ahead, seeing him weaken.
Adrenaline pumping through his panicked body keeps him standing, but the stumble loses him too much ground and he lags behind.
The guests lunge with gnashing teeth—
And are suddenly pulled away by a cord of braided rope. The guests are tossed aside, revealing the familiar man behind the save.
Agent Bronze—Ryu Jaekwan!
The agent blinks at him in surprise. Considering the last time they met Kim Soleum was dying on the floor of a cursed high school, it must be quite the shock.
But the urgency of the situation takes precedence. Bronze shouts. “Keep moving!”
“The exit—“ Soleum starts, and Bronze takes out a key. The skeleton key!
“I found it earlier. The others made it out already, Agent Celadon.”
“Ah!” The talkative man, Agent Celadon he supposes, tears up in relief as they dash to safety.
Armed with the key, it’s only a matter of running to the marked exit and closing the doors on the rabid hotel guests, ending the darkness.
They collapse at the exit, panting.
Ugh…
Two others in Bureau uniforms rush to meet them. “Are you all okay?” A woman with a neat hair bun asks.
“Sir, your back! He got hurt helping me escape,” Agent Celadon frets, pointing at Soleum.
Cold starts to seep in after the red-hot heat of the chase. His back feels wet and raw, hands shivering from the loss of adrenaline. Rather than showing vulnerability here, he stands straight. “It’s nothing, really.”
The agent’s face twists as she notices the mask Soleum wears. “A Daydream employee? Helped you?” She states with heavy skepticism.
The other agent next to her, a woman in a long coat, scoffs. “Not without an ulterior motive, I’m sure.”
Bronze pulls out gauze from a hidden pouch and gestures at Soleum. “I know him. Kim Soleum-ssi, turn around, let me see.”
The other agents look with surprise. “Agent Bronze…?”
There’s a stubborn tick in the man’s jaw, so Soleum resigns himself to being briefly unguarded in front of a bunch of Bureau agents. He’s on the verge of collapse anyways.
He doesn’t feel safe in this situation, but trusts that Agent Bronze is a man of respectable character. Soleum saved a fellow agent of his, so he will protect Soleum if only to settle a debt regardless of personal feelings.
Slowly, Bronze wraps up the slashes, far more gentle than Soleum expected.
He hears Agent Celadon whispering to his superior. “Um…what’s Daydream, Agent Hwangto?”
“Huh, you never heard of them? I thought they told you at orientation. Bunch of self-serving corporate dogs who don’t care about anything but the bottom line.” She glances at Soleum with pointed eyes.
Soleum for his part tries to avoid the conversation at all costs. This is already a bad position to be in, no need to make it worse. Nothing he says will be taken at face value anyways.
“He risked his life to save mine though!” Agent Celadon argues.
“Yeah, that’s not normal.”
“…He’s a good man,” Agent Bronze says. All of them, including Soleum, rear back in shock at that statement.
Agent, we might have had a temporary alliance, but isn’t this a bit much…?
Agent Bronze pats his shoulder as he finishes bandaging. “Stop putting yourself in danger.”
The cleanup team leader squints at Soleum with intrigue. “…Have you ever considered switching careers?”
Eh?
Agent Bronze does not object to this sudden job offer. In fact, he turns to face Soleum with a hopeful look.
Considering he himself had offered Soleum a position after the serial killer lodge darkness, it’s not that surprising. Still, that was offered long before Bronze knew of his sordid loyalties. Seriously!?
That was the second time Kim Soleum turned down a job offer from the Bureau.
It would be far from the last.
[Agent TalkTalk Anonymous Chatroom]
- Has anyone ever met a nice daydream employee?
- has anyone met a wasp that doesn’t sting lolol
- pretty sure they push babies into traffic for fun
- sum butterfly bastard tripped me ina endless pit one time FUCKER WHEN I CATCH UOU ITS OVER!11!!1
- cult fr
- Okay but did you hear about cleanup unit 3?? Agent there swears some daydream field tech saved his life
- Fake but okay
- d&r vouched for em too. team 1 that serious lookin fella whats his name
- wtf team 1 hates those guys baddd
- get in line
- No I heard this too!! It’s an employee in a deer mask! Rumor has it he took a wicked blow for that agent and nearly DIED!!
- Good riddance
- is he cute
- …I don’t know???
- I gotta meet this guy. Might try to piss him off just causeee lolll
- Chat is this true
- mr deer first ethical daydream employee confirmed??
- thats an oxymoron…
“Jeez, do these agents have anything better to do than yap about ridiculous hypotheticals?”
“…”
“I mean, seriously, if someone in my team was talking about a so-called friendly Daydream employee, I should be the first to know.”
“…”
Sharp eyes narrow at the quiet man nervously sweating in the Hyunmoo-1 waiting room. “What exactly happened in that last disaster, Jaekwan-ah?”
The next time he encounters other agents, he’s with Lee Jaheon in an arcade cabinet darkness. It’s a very gamified darkness that only requires you to finish the game to escape, so it’s not overly complicated. Still, it’s an arcade cabinet meant to cheat players out of coins to continue, so the difficulty is ramped up to an obnoxiously high degree.
Section Chief Lee Jaheon is here as the muscle—the warrior-type in the adventure-style game boasting eight action-packed levels. Kim Soleum lags behind as the squishy mage, occasionally hurling balls of magic at slime monsters.
It’s actually kind of fun. The cartoony pixilated monsters help detach from the horror.
They’re only really here to maintain this darkness instead of harvesting, so it should be fairly easy.
Of course, that’s when trouble appears.
Coincidentally, he was warned that this darkness is a hot-spot for Bureau agents because kids frequently get swept up in it and need to be saved. Thus—
“Ooo, look at this! A couple of lone employees crashing our game, how fun!”
Two agents crest over a pixilated hill. One is a woman carrying a baseball bat, and the other…
There’s a distinctive scar on his neck.
A memory prickles in the back of his mind. Where does that look familiar from?
Surprisingly though, a flash of recognition also lingers in the scarred agent’s gaze when he sees Soleum.
The agent smiles. “You really thought you lot could sneak in without a word?”
The other agent gasps at the sight of them, but not in fear or disgust. Almost—excitement?
Soleum frowns. “There’s multiple entry points, it’s not that unusual…”
Lee Jaheon steps forward. “We are not here to interfere with Disaster Management Bureau business. We will continue.”
These agents seem especially talkative today. “Aw, lame. Look, I’ll be blunt: We’re on a rescue mission for a young child. Seen one?”
“No.”
“Hmm, alright. Well, there’s only one way out of this game, sooo we’re all going the same direction anyways. Haha!”
This guy…
“…Can we call a truce?” Soleum whispers to his Section Chief. He did that last time on his solo mission, but it seemed a bit unorthodox.
“Yes. Rarely.” Lee Jaheon says. “Do not trust them.”
Soleum nods. He’s already wary. “Alright. Can we agree to a temporary truce until the end of the game?” He holds out a hand to shake, and the scarred employee shakes it with a firm grip.
“Sure! You can just call me Agent Choi.”
The lightbulb in his head flickers on. An almost giddy rush runs through him at the name. One of the earliest named characters of the wiki, in the flesh? It almost feels like meeting a celebrity.
The other agent waves. “I’m Agent Janggu! It’s so good to meet you Deer-ssi!”
Both agents were totally focused on him and not the far more experienced Section Chief Lizard. Their sparking eyes were a little too intense as they lingered.
Lee Jaheon takes the lead along with Agent Janggu while the two other mage types stick behind. Overly-friendly in a manner that sets his teeth on edge, Choi pats him on the back.
“Let’s do good work today, Mr. Civilian.”
“…”
Right.
Then, much quieter, Choi murmurs. “I hope Agent Bronze was right about you. You’ve been quite the talk lately.”
“…!”
A shiver runs down his spine.
Just what exactly is being said about him…!?
The mission goes great for the first few levels. In level five, Soleum finds the missing child, a young boy who immediately grabs his leg and refuses to let go.
Awkwardly, Soleum tries to soothe the kid. Choi helps, while Agent Janggu and Section Chief Lee Jaheon guard them from oncoming threats.
Luckily the kid is fine, so all that’s left is pushing through the last levels.
“You’re really kind, Mr. Employee. You’re great at calming him.”
“Um, yeah…” Soleum tried to pass the kid off to Choi at one point, but he wouldn’t let go. Soleum just tries to follow parenting techniques he sees in children’s cartoons as a guideline. It seems to be working well.
Choi leans in a little too close. “You know, you would make a great agent at the Bureau.“
Not again! “…Thanks.”
“I’m serious! You would!” Choi exclaims. “This is a serious job offer.”
“I’m not interested, thank you,” Soleum says firmly. Sir, his boss is right there…
“Why not? Could it be…you’re under a crummy contract? We could totally break it. Trust me, that and our new employee benefits are nothing to sneeze at. There’s former employee protections in place for you, too. Guaranteed safety from retaliation, just launched this month!”
Soleum stares at Choi in utter bafflement.
This can’t be the Agent Choi he knew from the wiki, can it? He’s a star pupil of the agency, firmly upholding selfless beliefs and despising those who oppose it (read, Daydream Inc.). Now he’s acting overly chummy to an enemy employee.
But the persistence matches all too well…
Thankfully a roving group of fire elemental monsters attack and distract them from this uncomfortable topic.
As Chief Lizard and Agent Janggu tear apart the monsters, Soleum just wants the darkness to end as quickly as possible. Get him away from these guys, now!
He really spoke too soon.
In level eight, the final boss appears. It’s some sort of large fire serpent that spits lava and crushes bones.
Soleum, with his extensive wiki knowledge, knows that striking the boss’ weak point will grant them bonus points. Beating the high score of the game is the best way to farm a higher grade dream essence. If he’s already here for maintenance, why not?
So, he encourages everyone to strike at the top-most spine with everything they got.
Incidentally, when you strike at an enemy weak point with an overpowered lizard alien, an overeager bat-wielding agent, and an overexcited everything Choi—
Well, the arcade cabinet can’t handle calculating the total score, and instead decides to eject them from the machine with the kid before proceeding to self-destruct.
“…”
The agents laugh themselves sick.
“Ahaha! The most efficient employee we’ve ever seen! Total destruction of a disaster!”
Kim Soleum bows his head and internally screams.
“…Section Chief, will this go on the record…?”
“Yes.”
This was really not what he meant to do…!
[Agent TalkTalk Anonymous Chatroom]
- nah that deer guy is cool i kinda love him
- ew
- dont come crying to us when he backstabs u
- Did you hear Mr. Roe Deer totally wrecked the wizard arcade cabinet beyond repair LOOOOL
- WOW!!! YAY!!^^
- ill be honest i kinda liked that disaster
- yikes
- sooo many people died in there im glad that things busted
- Department heads are seriously saying this guy increases survival rates by like 90 percent
- mythical roe deer good luck charm
- holy hell i thought sunbaes were messing with me is there really a good daydream employee?
- Chat is this true
- whats a guy w a heart o gold wasting away n that soulless hunk o junk company for?
- chasing empty promises
- i bet hes not even getting paid….
- Wake up deer-nim the bureau needs you!!
- Maybe he’s trapped?? An unwilling hire??
- omg
- I heard d&r is frothing at the mouth to poach him. Choi’s pacing. He had that crazy smile yall know the one
- hate that
- bruh once a corpo always a corpo he aint gonna change
- I can fix him^^
Soleum has the rare day off and decides to visit the popular coffee shop by his shared apartment. It’s more expensive than his usual place but has cute pastries, so he decides to indulge a little.
It has been a strange few weeks. Much more frequently than normal, the darknesses he’s been sent into held an inordinate amount of Bureau agents.
Very friendly agents. But only to him, for some reason.
But with that also comes the offers.
– Are you quitting sometime soon Mr. Deer?
– Ohmygod it’s Roe Deer-nim! Hi! Are you happy at your job? …Really?
– The Bureau just started offering a new hire bonus this month, you should take advantage.
Once, he even got a love letter for some reason?
When questioned by Daydream Inc., Kim Soleum reiterated that he really truly didn’t know why agent and employee clashes were becoming increasingly common water cooler talk. He was told to keep an eye on it, but otherwise no further investigation was pursued.
Ugh. He needs a break from it all.
Soleum quietly waits in line, trying to decide between the bunny-shaped scone or the frog-shaped donut, when an arm drapes over his shoulders.
“Mr. Civilian! What a surprise!” A cheery voice greets. A terribly familiar voice. Not today… he pleads to the universe.
Slowly, he turns his head to see a man with a bright youthful grin.
“…Agent-nim,” Soleum stiffly greets.
“Aw, we’re off the clock, aren’t we? Let’s be more casual. Call me sunbae!”
…He will not be doing that, thank you.
“Agent Choi-nim. Hello. What are you here for?”
“Breakfast! What a coincidence to run into you, Soleum-ah. You usually visit the cheaper one down the block.”
The not-so-subtle hint that this is a manufactured encounter does not go over Soleum’s head. He internally sobs at the targeted harassment.
Still, they are both off work right now, so surely a government agent wouldn’t try anything funny. Right?
Well. That doesn’t mean he can relax, far from it.
Agent Choi is a very mysterious figure to him, and hard to read. Worse, he’s impossible to shake off and far too perceptive.
Choi keenly notices the pastries Soleum has mentally picked out. “You sure like cute stuff,” he says, gesturing to the pink plush always with him.
He didn’t want to leave Braun behind even if he was just going to a coffee shop. Just having him here gives Soleum the courage to go on. Idly, he wonders what Braun thinks about these awkward encounters. He should ask his friend, or rant to him a little.
Choi buys both pastries for him.
Soleum has no choice but to sit with him as a matter of social courtesy. He at least gets to choose the table and picks the window—bright, airy, and in sight of multiple exits. He tries to act like he’s not backed into a corner and quietly eats his breakfast.
The Bureau agent swirls his coffee and stares at him as if he were a bug under a microscope. “So, how have you been?”
Oh god. Small talk. “Fine.”
“Haven’t seen you since that last disaster, the one you wrecked? Just want to make sure it went over well at your company. They weren’t too happy, I bet.”
“That’s confidential. But I’m fine, like I said.” This is social torture.
Nails tap the table rhythmically. “Agent Bronze was talking about you too. You were hurt last time he saw you, and my hoobae was worried sick! Let me tell him some good news, please.”
Unconsciously, he rolls his shoulders back. Soleum had not done much about the claw marks. He cleaned them the best he could on his back alone, and after a while they stopped hurting. Sick leave was only granted if he was grievously injured or ill, and he felt fine. “I’m healed now.”
Choi continues to study him. “I bet that company didn’t even give you any leave for it, huh? It was probably still an open wound when you were in that arcade disaster…”
Soleum sets his hands down. Despite his best efforts to stonewall, Choi is clearly gleaning some information. “Choi-nim, let’s skip the formalities. What do you want? Why are you really here?”
The man sighs. “I really did come here with honest intentions. But the heart of the matter is this.”
From his pocket, the agent slides over a glossy pamphlet to Soleum.
Why YOU should join our agency today! Apply within!
…It’s a Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau advertisement.
“Hear me out!” Choi exclaims as Soleum prepares to speak. “I know a couple other agents have already mentioned you as a good candidate, but you wouldn’t believe it if it came from them. So here, tada! An official job offer! One of a kind!”
“…is this standard hiring procedure for the Bureau?”
“Haha, no way. This was just printed this month! The higher ups revamped the whole thing. Even has some personal touches.”
Soleum flips it open to the first page. There, front and center, a cutesy-drawn salaryman in a deer mask explains all of the wonderful benefits offered from this opportunity.
It’s almost comical. What is his life.
Soleum slowly shuts the booklet. “Do you even have the authority to make this sort of offer?”
“As the head of Hyunmoo-1 Dispatch and Rescue, I took initiative.”
That probably means he doesn't. Did the higher ups really make this, or did just Choi…?
“…”
“Page three describes the benefits package, by the way.”
Really not interested! “I didn’t think the Bureau was so lacking for applicants that it had to resort to employee poaching.”
Choi hums. “We’re willing to take a risk. Someone with your talent is wasted in that trashcan corporation.”
“I’m not going to sell you secrets from Daydream Inc.”
“Keep them! We don’t care about that.” Choi leans in. “You have a real knack for keeping people alive. For genuinely wanting to save people. That’s what my team is all about, helping the most for the greatest amount of good.”
Soleum remains impassive. He might respect what the Bureau does, even being a fan of them on the wiki forum, but there’s no future for him there. It can’t do what Daydream Inc. can for him.
They both know what holds him back, so he’s honest. “There is something I want that only my company can promise. I can’t accept anything else. I’m sorry.”
Choi narrows his eyes. “It’s a scam, you know.”
“It’s not.”
“You’re going to get hurt.”
He clenches his fist under the table. “I’m willing to take that risk.”
“…” Choi tilts his head. “You’re scared.”
Soleum’s breath hitches. No. What did Soleum let slip? How…?
“Every time I see you, you’re terrified, yet you still go back.”
“…”
“I can only guess at what you’re so afraid of, but…it really infuriates me. I can’t stand it. I feel like a hoobae of mine is being taken advantage of in that awful place, and I can’t do a thing to stop it.”
That voice sounds genuinely bothered, as if he truly worries. The worst part is Soleum can’t tell if it’s an act or not.
Of course he’s scared. Darkness or disaster, Daydream or Bureau, he’ll be terrified regardless! Nobody was supposed to see that side of him though.
He doesn’t know what caused Agent Choi to become so fixated on him, but it’s increasingly clear this conversation is not shifting in Soleum’s favor.
Is he that useful to the Bureau? Or does Choi have some personal attachment to him?
He doesn’t know. What does he see? Stop looking at him like that. Stop!
“Please stop assuming things you don’t understand. You don’t know me,” Soleum presses.
“…” Then, the cheerful smile returns. “Haha, maybe so. Hey, I heard you gave an agent name to Bronze. How cute! Agent Grapes—Can I call you Grapes?”
The sudden conversation shift spins his head. “…I’m not—“
Choi presses his hands together in a pleading manner. “Grapes-ie, we are very sincere in our offer. Please consider it.”
The conversation grates, frustrating him. This Agent Choi is far too good at pushing for answers. For some reason, his temper is fired up by this conversation, unbalancing him.
“…I’m sorry, but that is not good enough for me,” Soleum grits. “I refuse. Goodbye.”
With a clatter of the chair, he stands to leave.
Agent Choi keeps smiling at him. A blue light shines in his eyes, knowing. Soleum tries to not look like he’s running away, but he feels those eyes on his back for hours.
Somehow, the pamphlet ended up leaving with him, as he discovered many blocks away. Despite it being only a few sheets of paper, it weighs heavy in his pocket.
He finally takes it out at his apartment, throwing it on the counter. The impact flips itself open to page three.
At the bottom, scrawled in ink, is a handwritten message and a phone number. I can help you. xxxx-xxxx
“…”
Doubtful.
It feels like contraband to own this piece of government propaganda. Does Daydream have a non-compete agreement? He doesn’t want to find out and endanger his points for working with the other side…
He has to get rid of this, right now.
Baek Saheon leaves his room, hoping to grab something from the fridge before his roommate notices.
He heard him return, but that was a while ago, and now the apartment is silent. Hopefully that lunatic went to bed.
…Wait, why does he smell smoke?
Saheon turns the corner into the dark kitchen and freezes.
Hunched over the sink, Kim Soleum holds a match under a booklet and sets it ablaze. Fire dances in his pupils as he watches it burn.
Baek Saheon silently backs away and shuts himself back in his room, hoping his presence went unnoticed.
That goddamn psycho…!