Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

A song to accompany the fanfiction, listen out of your own preference; Minute by Minute (instrumental) - Penthouse

1. The weekend before the storm

To begin with, what even constitutes a human being? Kim Soleum chooses not to contemplate such philosophical topics, for if he does, his current situation will become a  cacophony of questions and ethics. 

On a weekend like this, where the sky has been rounding up clouds and food delivery time is doubled, Kim Soleum spins himself on a cheap, mesh chair. Watching out the window, the cascading ideas flooding his mind leaves him in a sluggish but thoughtful trance. Ending his trance with no new meaningful thoughts, he sits up, and decides to head towards the kitchen to fulfill his lunch cravings. 

Recalling this morning, the two had once again met for breakfast, both with the same dead expressions. Such expressions could only arise from a soured reaction, to the barely risen sun outside. 

It is the weekend, so why the hell were they both awake at 7 in the morning? The answer was simple. The forecaster should start taking tips from the dog that lives on the floor just below, as its strong, premonistic barking alerted them to the dreadfully wet weather before they could even turn on the tv. Allegedly. All it sounded like was annoying and persistent noise, so much so Saheon had marched out to hang a written complaint right after finishing breakfast. 

Since then, the other man hasn’t returned. It’s getting dangerous as the clock ticks towards lunch hour. Soleum fears what the other man might do if he’s wandered off for too long. Get in a fight? Lose his way to the apartment without gps? Steal candy from a toddler in a stroller? With the only umbrella in the house taken, he can’t be bothered to go out and look for him. His stomach is just as concerned, if not more, by the unknown condition of Baek Saheon.

It’s odd how just a few days ago, a fried egg or two would satiate him. Now all that remains here in this apartment is the dependency of a home cook worthy to be on M*sterchef.

Should he just boil some instant noodles? Ever since the Viper stole his kitchen (the shared responsibility was lost quickly), there’s been a minimal presence of junk food and ready-mades. Soleum often opens the cupboard, to be greeted with real ingredients, things which haven’t been in the wooden compartment since that time he worked a convenience store (during the university days, that can only be classified as hell). Shaking the remaining loose, noodle pieces into the boiling pot, he ponders how his life came to be this way. Some of last night’s roast pork is tossed into the pot, and for safe measure, one more instant noodle pack. 

They’re out of the first two packs of noodles, but all instant noodles are basically the same right..? The extra flavor packets are bound to bring a different richness to the soup. His phone alarm rings, cueing the completion of his gourmet meal. Taking the pot, he brazenly places it on the dinner table and grabs two sets of chopsticks.

At the same time, the front door swings open, doorknob slamming into the wall. Standing by the entrance is the brunet with a sour expression sitting on his gentle face (quite often). He, who so kindly decorates Soleum’s wall with scratches, appears quite winded. By the way, this place is a rental.

Plenty of grocery bags hang from both arms. He’s soaked from head to toe, but the bags are tied so tight, that not a drop has gotten to the groceries. 

“Where’s my umbrella?” 

“Your umbrella flew away with the wind, but I mean, if it snapped like that it was garbage anyway, so I bought you a new one. You like this kind of stuff, right supervisor?”

Flew away…? New…? No, weren’t you just clumsy? 

Soleum’s eyes followed down the umbrella rod within Saheon’s right hand, slowly taking in the newly acquired umbrella, in a spirited pink lined with bunnies dancing across the bottom rim. It’d be a dazzling form of mockery, if not for the entirely serious expression on the other man’s face. 

What is he going on about…? 

“..Thank you.” The dark-haired man cautiously walks over, taking the umbrella himself and placing it neatly back in the original’s spot. He is now unable to go out in the rain ever again, but it’s cute enough he suppose. Shame is a bit of a foreign concept these days though, having been to multiple events where the main attendees ages stop at 17. 

Then, to prevent the ire of this unpredictable character, he hurries to sort out the groceries while Saheon rushes to the bathroom. Every time he reaches into the plastic bag, a new, wretched vegetable comes out. What is this, the cooking channel? He carefully places the two bundles of grapes, in different colors, into the fridge. While it's health conscious to munch on fruit instead of chips, the vineyard is starting to miss their stock, Saheon. 

Although he knows the man would be beyond expectation, Soleum still finds him exceptionally silly. Besides the fact that he didn’t use the new umbrella he bought, he made sure to buy out the shop with Soleum’s card. Of which he opened a new account for, since someone with no identification has no way to go around, in this capitalist, modern world. 

In pondering the great number of things he has done for the fictional character, he feels a sudden wave of dissonance. What is their relationship..? Is he the legal guardian? Not a son but an adopted fictional character… he shudders at the thought. When the hypothetical magic portal to transport Saheon back didn’t open after a month, Soleum finally chose resignation. In an environment where he can’t get rid of a problem, he chooses to control it.

“You’re running out of shampoo.” Fresh droplets of water still sit on his head, but it seems the will to fill his stomach overtakes all other tasks.

“Then why didn’t you buy some?” Soleum crosses his arms over the table.

“I said you’re running out, it just isn’t empty yet. If you really want it, go to the store with me.” 

The black haired man inwardly clicks his tongue, thinking if another argument arises, they’ll never have lunch. After extending his mercy to Baek Saheon in his mind, he waves the other man over to eat. With his head lifted up like a dog, Saheon smells the air and then peeks over to the pot sitting on the table.

“What are you stalling for? Sit down.” 

He watches attentively as the inscrutable man hovers by the kitchen island, casting back and forth glances between the table, the fridge and the stove. By the time a decision is made, the noodles would already be past the preferred firmness. When he approaches the table, he has a bowl of rice and the full plate of last night’s side.

“You don’t find having rice and noodles a bit gluttonous?” Soleum mutters.

“Did you think three packs of instant noodles would satisfy two grown men?”

“No, it wouldn’t. Go cook one more.” 

“I can’t wait until you drop dead from all that unhealthy junk. Just have some rice.” 

“What was that?”

He settles for a quiet glare, for his reminder to Saheon to pipe down on his audacious behavior. Often to his surprise, Saheon does have a spirited, jumpy reaction to his whimful threats. Since his arrival to this ghost-less world, Soleum has been testing the limits of the Viper’s personality. Of course, it helps that the otherworldly items he brought with him, although tangible, are not actually functional. 

The brunet, unable to hide his own glare, looks to the side to reset his expression and responds with difficulty.

“Ahaha.. it’s nothing, supervisor.” 

As an attempt to show favor, he trudges over to the kitchen again. After meticulously checking the cabinet, Saheon eventually returns to the table with a tightly clenched fist and an additional empty bowl for the noodles. It was a shelf thoroughly emptied of the discount noodles in the instant variety.

After sitting down, a slew of complaints arrive, including one about not bringing an extra bowl. ‘Am I supposed to just eat from the pot like you?’ He bemoans. Isn’t it enough that Soleum placed chopsticks on the table? Overlooking the danger of reproducing a scene from a particular dog movie, this is what comes from a life of solitude. The idea of washing more than three dishes and utensils combined is foreign to him.

But like that, the two sit face to face at the small, round dining table under the sound of pattering raindrops. Barely finishing the lunch of lukewarm leftovers and soggy noodles, an ordinary day awaits them.

…Is what Kim Soleum would believe, had today not become a dangerous premonition of what would happen for the rest of the week. 

2. The clouds have yet to clear 

It’s the night of an uneventful day. The moonlight settles a gentle reflection on Soleum’s head. The rain barely subsided within the past hour, but the hovering clouds threaten to revive the torrent. He’s not moody enough to enjoy the rain for too long. For Soleum, who prefers noisy background noise unlike white noise or “asmr rain sounds for sleeping”, for it's distracting enough for his thoughts to fade away, he happily sinks into the TV broadcast in the background.

“A new body was reported on XX street, in front of X cafe following the pattern of killings from this past week…”

The channel that hosts a midnight rerun of hit magical girl series Twinkle St☆r Magic is, to the disdain of Kim Soleum, changed to the news broadcast by a certain, loitering individual using Soleum’s home pc. The local news broadcast has been extra grim lately. Not uncommon but still detestable, the most recent murders in the city are clearly a set of serial killings.

With his head feeling heavy, he leans deeply into his sofa’s armrest and lets the tv run off regardless of what's on. That cafe is awfully close to the office, so it seems to Soleum that overtime will be off the table for a while. But regardless of serial killers, overtime and a week without his favorite coffee, watching the faintly blinking living room light is making him drowsy.

That is, until a weight shifts at the end of his feet. 

“Hey, you’re hogging my bed.”

Having already changed into his brown pajamas, Baek Saheon slumps into the couch, leaning slightly over Soleum’s ankles. The other man spent the entire day seated at the computer looking for various things of varying importance. There was a brief period of time where he considered blocking off the wiki, but the other man has the right to know of all his fiction-ess. 

“Before you came, this entire place was my fortress.”

With a half dozed expression, Kim Soleum throws his hands up in the air to point out the entire apartment, and then kicks Saheon in his dumb butt. With a hiccup, he drops rear-first to the hardwood floor with a thud, and finally finds the courage to spit out some outrageous words.

“Then should I just leave, supervisor? I’ll go and no one will clean the house and you’ll have to eat those convenience store meals again and I won’t be able to dry out the laundry tomorrow—“

“I’m too tired for this, just go and sleep in my bed.” The as-spoken, sleepy man closes his eyes, feigning a drift from consciousness.

“Okay, you mean that right? Don’t go back on your word, supervisor.” In a faint whisper, he hears a line spoken which makes Saheon seem closer to a child than a grown man. He’s already halfway to the room by then, a real excitement lingering in that voice of his. When the door finally clicks, Kim Soleum lifts his eyelids slowly. 

He didn’t have any intention of making the other man sleep on this old sofa for so long. But what should he do about this small space which can’t even fit a second mattress? Rubbing his back, he stands up with a groan and slacks over to the turned on computer screen. That guy is quite sloppy in many ways. For someone who actively tries to be sneaky, he sure wears his heart on his sleeve. Like the e-commerce store page loaded on various kitchen appliances. Does he badly desire a toaster?

It turns out even the Viper lives in mundanity. But before Soleum can properly turn off the computer, a report from the TV clearly enters his ears.

“Reports say the perpetrator mainly operates past sunset…”

And just like that, with a few quick clicks, the search history is revealed. To his dismay (as finding evidence of something is always exciting for at least a single moment), or rather more accurately, fortune, he finds nothing pointing to a body burial or murder methods. Well, he probably knew the latter one already.

In a small plot twist, it's entirely all too normal. For example, someone like Soleum would have searched every possible way he could return to his own world. The other man makes sure he knows how annoying having no ID or birth records are. Despite the vagueness surrounding the DER character backstories, he still must have some kind of person or place to return to. The idea of Baek Saheon leaving behind his home dimension, and becoming a (undetermined) permanent presence in his life (and world) swallows him with both a sense of unease and thrill. The mouse lightly selects the search history for him to scan carefully.

Tomato soup recipe

Tomato soup recipe

Nearest bakery

How to help someone recover from amnesia reddit

art classes free 

art classes cheap

New restaurant on ▇▇▇▇ street

food certification qualifications 

Tomato soup recipe

part time job listings

20-pack medical eyepatch for daily use

weather forcast

And then…

Watch out for serial killers. 

Searched 46 times. On the home computer he left on? It sure is a cheeky way of telling me to stay safe. Could it be that he’s just too embarrassed to say it to my face?  

Kim Soleum chuckles at the ‘clumsy’ attempt to warn him, and heads to the sofa with a lighter sleep.

3.1. A Rainy Day Noir

At the break of dawn, the foolish yet ambitious young man sits up with a wide yawn. Today once again, he’s hatched another plan to wedge himself into Kim Soleum’s life.

“Surely that guy saw it right? Haha! Now he’ll finally understand how it feels to receive those messages unprompted.” 

…is the first thing he thinks of when he awakens this morning. For the meek man who couldn’t muster the courage to send it in a perfect recreation, this fantasized result is exactly enough to satisfy him. Now, because he left an entire 46 searches of nonsense, he is completely unaware that Soleum scrolled up to see his other searches.

Without a moment to waste, he swiftly gets dressed, slips the fountain pen sitting on the dresser into his pocket and pats his naturally curly hair into place. 

Baek Saheon is a person who wakes up bright and early again, with no other purpose than to be alive for another day. Such early mornings are a habit developed back in those early Daydream days, where he’d arrive at work an hour early just to avoid Soleum. Now that Soleum’s face is almost a joy to see, one can theorize it’s simply because the body would unconsciously refuse the sofa once it had enough energy to get moving. 

To start the morning, he makes a breakfast plate portioned for two, lest he be evicted. The other man has never threatened to kick him out, but the QOL house service is a preemptive measure to save Saheon if his mercy ends. However, this hardly means his prickly personality won’t act up. The other day, Kim Soleum colorfully complained about the excessive use of tomato infused recipes. Baek Saheon told him that if they didn’t finish all of the tomatoes by this week, they’d go to waste. And when asked why he bought so many, he simply answered that there was a sale, laughing at the visible annoyance under his breath.

With not much else to do with them, he juices all the rest and packs it inside Soleum’s thermos, without his knowledge. The simple rolled omelettes, tofu soup and radish kimchi for this morning provides a layer of trust, before it gets shattered by the creamy tomato soup, with the 2 pitiful slices of bread inserted alongside for lunch. 

And finally, the main course…

“Hey, Manager Kim, your girlfriend makes good lunches, I’m jealous.” 

In the box is neatly separated tomato sauce using a heart shaped cutter like a moat, and within it is rice topped with omelets that must've been cooked this morning. ‘Have a good day at work ♡ 🍅’ is written on a post-it note ㅤwith a smooth consistency suspiciously similar to his usual pen. 

“No… I’m telling you it's a roommate. This is some kind of prank.” He groans, covering his forehead with his hand. 

As if ignoring his distorted face, his coworker continues mockingly. “My roommate cooks for me as well, she happens to be my wife.”

No fuck, it really is a roommate. Kim Soleum, who cultivated this lax company culture in his department, is now suffering the consequences through these slackers’ gossip. With sunken eyes, he drinks the soup. It's too late to lie about a tomato allergy, isn't it. Has he ever had such good soup with such a shitty expression before? Holding back the urge to launch a slew of ‘stern’ texts, he enters his perfect work mode instead, counting down the hours until it's over. 

Without any clients to coax today, he’s able to drown into the mindless paperwork, and come out of it in a daze. Ticking down to that final minute of work, he feels subtly relieved. That’s all until a single text arrives on his phone at the wrong time.

left keys at home, coming to you 

No f*ck, just wait at the door…! For the first time in a while, he clocked out so fast you’d believe there’s a tv broadcast he really needs to catch. His dress shoes slide across the ground with a squeak. No, there’s something more urgent to do. With a strong grip, he swings open the glass lobby doors, the current of the wind blowing onto his face. 

In front of him, snuggled into a thick coat and yellow rainboots, Baek Saheon with his slightly damp hair waits for him in front of the building. Gripping the pink umbrella like a lifeline against the pouring rapids, he finds the room to muster up words to slip through the rain.

“I bought you the 5th anniversary special edition dvd of your favorite season of Twinkle St☆r Magic.” He says with a twitch on his lip.

That’s right. There’s too many things wrong with this current moment. The leisurely steps of employees coming down from the elevators, the glistening pink umbrella, a man of a frail, innocent impression with a medical patch over his eye holding out a small, rectangular bag. The slight joy about the 5th anniversary special edition dvd.

He sees one of his coworkers approach him with an eyebrow raised.

“Manager Kim, about the company dinner tonight…” The female employee that sits across him politely tapped his shoulder. When she catches her breath, she looks up face to face to a man roughly their age. “Oh, your roommate?” 

“…yes. I apologize, it seems I have something to deal with tonight.” He responds curtly and politely, before gifting Saheon a face of disdain. 

In turn, the gentle looking man walks over and lightly tugs his sleeve. 

“Roommate? Is that all I am to you?” He says in his faux pitiful, frail voice.

“…”

“…”

“Manager Kim, it seems like I’m interrupting something. Take care, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” 

No! 

“It’s not what it looks… like…” 

With a simple nod and smile, she shakes open her umbrella and walks away without a care. Those terrible vultures, reduced to no more than high school students when gossip is involved, are going to have a field day with this one.

“Have you had your fun, Saheon?” Kim Soleum sighs, tucking his bag under his arm and joins into the umbrella shade. Since the death of his original one (cause of death: thrown into air), he frequently forgets to bring the new one with him.

“It was very fun, you should’ve seen the look on your face.” He responds with a slightly smug smile. 

The rainy season is soon to subside, so Kim Soleum can’t rationalize buying a second umbrella. Still, it would probably be better than both of them being half soaked. But regardless, with the little rain splattered on both their opposite shoulders, they walk the shortest route to the station.

“But Supervisor, I didn’t think you would talk about me.” He mutters quietly, looking down and hiding his expression. 

Isn’t it natural if you’re making such provocative lunches? Listening to the rain lift into a gentle platter against the concrete, Soleum finds himself unable to spit out his usual quip. Does he perhaps like it when other people confirm his existence? It’s getting difficult, even for Soleum, to think of him solely as fiction. He casts a glance in thought; a man he thought is so obvious is acting so strangely as always. In the first place, they don’t talk much so the silence isn’t so unusual. 

No wait. They do. Why would he think otherwise?

Kim Soleum slowly turns his head towards Saheon as they walk. Raindrops sit delicately on his eyelashes and his green eye stares ahead without a thought. What’s ahead is a typically popular street with various restaurants and cafes, but it seems with the rain, everyone has been staying home lately. 

One can say the route is rather scenic, with the dim lights coming on for the approaching evening. After walking past this street, they’d take the small path between buildings for the shortcut. Although they live in the city, the street that had been lightly decorated with greenery, and the rhythmic rain makes Soleum feel immersed in nature. It might be a night to remember. However, it will become one for all of the wrong reasons.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!” 

A woman’s shrill scream fills the air.

3.2. Slash(er) Fiction

Despite the fact the sun has buried itself below the horizon, the two men have yet to return home. Staring blankly at the flickering street light outside, Baek Saheon wonders when the other man would be finished with his philanthropist act. Kim Soleum has been reassuring his coworker that she’s safe now, if there’s any problem give him a call, blah blah. Now approaching the 2nd hour of sitting in a police station waiting for someone to pick this woman up, Soleum finally says something stewing in his mind.

“What’s for dinner?“ Like it's the most important thing in the world. 

“Am I your personal chef?”

“Yes? What else would you be?” Like it’s an obvious thing. 

After Soleum pokes him on the forehead with his finger, a strong grumble of frustration leaks out. Anyways, even the woman whose face is a collection of dried tears chuckles at Soleum’s idiocy. Through her relentless chatter, they find out a few things about the situation. That shortcut today is a good path to reach the restaurant, for her company dinner (which Soleum had intended to skip). Unfortunately, that's very trackable behavior for a psycho killer. At that thought, he looks at tormentor number one of his life again, who used to predict everything he did and manipulated the situation to his liking. 

These serial killers just can't compare to the real thing, Saheon nods to himself. 

Soon, a family member of hers came to fetch her, not before she bowed and gave a million thanks of course. Kim Soleum, who shows his charitable social image as always, neatly sends her off and tells her to take it easy. The Saheon of today isn’t as foolish as the one of yesteryear though. The ‘real’ Soleum is that one, who is a regular amount kind and can’t ignore someone in danger. Like that agent.

The still unfortunate situation is that the killer can’t be identified. Office Lady 1, who only saw a shiny murder weapon and yellow raincoat, ran off immediately to the nearest people she could find. At the very least, they weren’t further pursued, so it seems this psycho only cuts people down one at a time. Killer evidently at large, even these two comfortably athletic men couldn’t risk going home unarmed (though Saheon is never unarmed). Choosing to take a taxi home instead, the pitter pattering of the renewed rain produces a more bitter sound than the ones against the umbrella the two had shared. 

Even though Baek Saheon finally feels in equal standing, no, feels in control, there are multiple uncrackable barriers standing between him and his agent. For once, there’s no other people to save—no extra people to care about. Other than the unending thickness to Soleum’s head, this dreary weather has given him little opportunity to do anything. What is this “anything”? It’s his super 100% guaranteed romance strategy operation. If, Kim Solem is to fall in love with him before all his memories return, won’t he be too attached to throw him away???!

Why is he so desperate? 

It all began back when the two first met, in the subway orientation… not that far back? Anyway, it’d be a little ridiculous if he hadn’t figured out his feelings for his savior after a year. Of course, the first six months had been spent wondering if the arrhythmia was from fear or attraction. That Agent = Kim Soleum? Then one day, when he was staring at the paper boat, now having gone dead silent, he thought simply, ‘Why should I be the only one thinking of him!? Shouldn’t he think about me too! So you’ll save someone’s life and then forget about them?’

But isn’t this truly his chance? Before anyone else can cement themselves into his way-too-soft heart (again), this man who is way too nice to everyone..! 

The rain will continue on in gloom for the rest of the week. Especially because of this rain, when Soleum’s not at work, he just stays in all weekend watching TV. 

“Hey, if you don’t come with me to the store, I’m going to buy tomatoes again.”

“Do whatever you want.” 

Seriously, he can’t stand tomatoes anymore either. And even if Soleum does go out…

“I’m taking the umbrella.”

“Where are you going?”

“Department store.”

“I could just go with you.”

“No.” 

What is he doing there that’s so important, huh? 

Baek Saheon laments the existence of serial killers. If there isn’t a serial killer, then that coworker wouldn’t have run to them. If that coworker didn’t run to them, she would’ve kept her own umbrella. If she still had her umbrella, Kim Soleum wouldn’t have handed theirs over to her, warmly telling her not to get sick. So he’d rather Saheon get rained on? Then again, he can understand the need to maintain a good employee image (a rationale Saheon feels much better about than the pure act of kindness).

He glances over to Soleum, who’s fast asleep after both working and the serial killer ordeal. If Saheon is sitting next to him, then he’d be able to nudge Soleum’s head on his shoulder, or lean against him instead. But this is a taxi, where the middle seat divides them much like the heavenly river between lovers Niulang and Zhinü or the family feuds between the houses of Romeo and Juliet. Modern day tragedy states that a seatbelt makes it too tight to lean over, and also too obvious when he tries to reach over. So he simply sinks dully into his seat, clenching the little bag holding a gift that he feels all too sullen to give now. 

They make it home in one piece. As they enter through the door, Soleum asks without much though. 

“Why didn’t you take the key earlier when I offered?”

Saheon grumbles incoherently, and heads to the fridge. The foresight to stock up on some extra ingredients comes in handy. He tosses whatever the hell is in the fridge together. It tastes delicious.

But Saheon is not happy. Far from it. Clearly had things gone to plan, they would've enjoyed a heart-clenching (only for Saheon) scenic walk in the rain. Then, he’d spin a story about not having ingredients at home, trying a new place, and funneling them to the restaurant he had scoped out from the past few days of research. 

Yes, weighed down by a sense of failure wrought from a single unfortunate event, the sulking man insisted on using the bathroom first. Immediately after without a second thought, he jumps into Soleum’s bed face first and kicks his feet on the bed in frustration until he’s knocked out about 5 minutes later. 

The owner of the bed is, of course, standing with his arms crossed in the doorway.  Really, he’ll just kick the guy out of his bed tomorrow. But is he really that worn out from cooking as soon as they came home? Kim Soleum walks over to the occupied bed, observing the serene sleeping expression on the other man’s face. If only his personality matched a bit closer to that appearance. Carefully tugging the blanket from below him, Soleum lightly tosses it over Saheon, asleep still in his day clothes. 

“He was more whiny than usual, why does he get so worked up all on his own?” He muses to himself, sitting in his office chair just a few feet away. Using the borrowed time from that nap earlier, he types away at the work materials he has to prepare for tomorrow.

When dawn breaks, he fixes his face into place after a night spent on the wooden pillow. As he leans up, a brown coat loosely falls onto his chair from his shoulders. Maybe the other man woke up just a bit ago, he thinks, imagining a subtle warmth from the jacket. He thanks his muscle memory, having woken before work without a rush, and finds himself sitting at the dining table after a strangely quiet, morning routine. 

Light heat billows out from under the bowls covering the side dishes. Kim Soleum lightly compliments Saheon for the meal to himself, and then eats with a smile to himself. With disabled item functions, the law and a place without darkness, isn’t this just a regular, prickly guy? Even so, he backs down with just a slight amount of scolding, so Soleum lets him off easy too. After finishing the toast topped with a poached egg, he cleans the dishes off and leaves for work. 

…But this just isn’t right, he thinks as he looks at the empty umbrella holder, and the one-time use raincoat hung over it instead. They say the rain is heavy today, very heavy. Why did he have to enter the office like a soggy cat today..? Something similar happened yesterday as well, now that he recalls. He looks out the large windows, rain scattering all across the city without romance. It’s unbelievable that he thought the rain was pleasant yesterday. As he’s slumped at his desk, watching the rain and trying to ignore client emails for 5 minutes, someone walks up to him.

“Manager Kim, thank you so much yesterday. If you hadn’t been there yesterday… and just before my transfer too..!” She bows several times before facing Soleum, who’s a bit flustered from the formality. 

Why does it sound like your transfer is more important..? He sighs with a smile.

“I’m relieved you got home safe, Assistant Manager Lee.” 

“Please, don’t be so formal Manager Kim. I’m leaving the team soon anyway, so just use my name.” 

“...Alright Ms. Lee Yeonhwa, you seem more excited than usual.”

From behind her, she finally brings out a rectangular box. It appears to be a box of cookies or chocolates of some sort. “As my thanks. It’s just something small I bought in a rush, but I hope you can enjoy it with…” She looks around the office, and quietly leans in for a whisper. “Boyfriend. By the way, since when? You’ve been single for the past 2 years. He looks quite young, oh and a man?”

With a long sigh, he holds out a strained smile. “That is not the case. I am still single. Please save your curiosity for after your transfer.”

“Yes, yes manager.” She nods with some kind of knowing look, and walks past him to her own cubicle. For good measure, she peeks over her computer screen and gives him a thumbs up. Thanks. 

The day proceeds as usual. Is a wonderful sentence for the inner monologue of someone living an ordinary life. He’s diligently dozing off at his desk,  When the phone in his pocket begins to vibrate, he figures it might be a call from his parents or brother. 

Baek Saheon 📞 

“Excuse me, I have to take this call. It might take than necessary so if anyone asks…”longer 

“It’s 10 minutes until closing, just go Manager.” Without even looking, his coworker waves him off over the computer screen. 

The moment he’s out those doors, he accepts the call. 

“Supervisor, I ran into the serial killer on the way here.” 

???

“I’m hiding behind the bins in the alleyway, but there’s nowhere else to go so I might need some help.”

?????

“Call the cops, not me! I’m on the way!” He yells in a whisper.

Fuuuuuck.

“When has calling authorities ever helped me? You’re the only one worth relying on here.” 

Forgetting about this morally-bankrupt character’s nature, he really is forced to take matters into his own hands. Did he think he’d be arrested instead? Echoing through the empty halls, the dress shoes land on the ground with unsteady rhythms. He quickly switches to call for the police, reporting the location with bold accuracy. Since he has to switch calls, he decides to believe a major character from the DER would be able to handle a serial killer. For example, in Qterw-C-106, he iconically dodges a sandworm’s gaping maw by jumping sideways against a team member and firing a midair shot of his signature item onto the person while they were being eaten, exploding both. Huh, is that supposed to be a good thing? Anyway, if he uses that, he’ll probably be arrested for terrorism so that total advantage for him drops back to the average human being. 

Bursting out the doors, the rain makes a proper beating on his body. The clouds formed above close off all sunlight, making him feel more dreadful. His breath is heaving with his non-stop run. It’s a spot within a 5 minute walk, so Soleum running at full speed can probably get there in just 2. He can figure out what to do when he gets there; he thinks as he pushes past the slowly forming rush hour crowd on the main street. When he finally reaches that familiar side street, nothing appears amiss. But in a small alley just past 4 buildings, there must be a brutal showdown happening. He can almost imagine… 

Without any clue of what awaits him he enters through the alley.  Grabbing his workbag by its straps, he’s prepared to swing it like a mace. In just a small walk through this quiet street on grayed out tiles, the only audible sound is the rain pittering and heavy breaths that he can’t decipher belonging to who. With knowledge that the law will be here within the next 2-3 minutes, all he has to do is make sure of Baek Saheon’s safety and buy some time. 

Is what he would think if he isn’t watching Saheon exhibiting actions reminiscent of a jungle animal. He arrives, thinking of all sorts of ways to somehow rescue the man from his corner, only to witness venom in the eyes of said man looking down while hanging from a railing. Before he can even shout out to Saheon to not jump, the large man in a yellow raincoat finally turns to his direction. 

He jumps.

The semi-translucent umbrella swings in a pink arc, scattering water and arriving just below the neck of the victim, as his insane roommate makes him a cushion for his landing. The tight grip on the lumber axe is released on impact and spins across the ground to Soleum’s feet from the rain.

‘Oh my god he’s going to kill a man!’ 

Baek Saheon, who finally finds time to relax, looks at Kim Soleum expectantly. When the two of them make eye contact, they realize there’s something they have to discuss after this. For now however, his green eye is glancing at the axe that is out of the killer’s reach. “Why, huff, won’t you go down!” Amidst the choking, he kicks into the serial killer’s gut repeatedly. The man who’s restrained tightly only lets out groans. 

Following that signal, Kim Soleum swiftly grabs the axe away. With his entire being soaked in water, everything felt unbelievably heavy. A thunk sounds from the axe as he feels his muscles weaken and holds it to the ground. A knife is peeking out of the pockets of that thug. Whether it is mere fortune or the opponent’s stupidity, the yellow raincoat is flailing so intensely he struggles to retrieve it. A small thundering is heard, a flicker of light casts from behind Kim Soleum. The ugly killer, who couldn’t help but look up when the thunder sounded, saw an unbelievable sight. 

Dark hair slicks down over his forehead with a deathly cold expression sitting on that face. A visible breath leaves from his parted lips. The blade from the axe is scratching against the floor as he approaches with heavy gaits. 

Scrrrrrrrrrr..stttttsssss

As the thunder flashes again, an almost red tint fills the office worker’s pupils like the devil. Aren’t those lips curling upwards? Such thoughts are of the asphyxiated serial killer who is slowly losing his mind. 

The arms holding the axe lift upward with a momentum that looks to swing. Trembling so hard, the knife in the raincoat pocket finally falls out and away from reach. Kim Soleum flashes him a smile. 

“Don’t worry, it will all be over soon.” 

Between his heavy breaths, a kind of heaving which sounds like laughter leaks. Red and blue flashes like rave lights. The axe comes down from the air. 

“Aaaaaaaaahhh!” 

Two screams sound out. Two? Behind the trembling thug with an expression pale as the moon, the man with a gentle impression also shares that expression. Kim Soleum finds himself flustered. What's this kind of reaction coming from someone who came to help him? Unbeknownst to him, the other man recalls a previous encounter eerily reminiscent of this. 

As the eyes of the man after being strangled and shocked to fainting rolls over, Kim Soleum’s eyes return to a normal panicked state. Distant sirens are blaring in the distance.

“If you call me, what am I supposed to do!!! Just stay hidden!” He dives right up to where Saheon is laying against the wall, looking down at the man in a wreck.

“It’s fine, won’t you always come get me when I’m in trouble?” Soleum himself is 

“I don’t know about that other Kim Soleum you knew, but I’m just a normal office worker!”

“Then why are you here?”

He can’t answer.

He retrieves the umbrella on the ground, opens it and takes a seat on the criminal’s body besides Baek Saheon. With one hand holding the umbrella to shield the rain, the other is used to wipe his face up and down. From both ends of the alley, several policemen enter. Let’s let the law do the work… With dull eyes, he watches the parting clouds reveal an orange-tinted sky. Yesterday’s rough crinkled brown coat and hair are so soaked, even those curls are being stamped down. He must look equally disheveled, looking at the scuffs on those neat dress shoes. That dewy light finds itself gleaming on the remaining drops of rain among their bodies. 

“I commend your efforts, but next time, please just wait until the police arrive.” 

Soleum turns to the officer who approached him. He appears to be a man of great stature, but has subtly kind eyes with his stern expression. Taking the hand offered, Soleum stands up and closes the umbrella. 

“Ah… yes. Sorry officer.” 

Since it seems that Saheon is still out of his mind, he has to explain the situation. It seems he’s been aggressively brushing off anyone trying to talk to him. Considering his precarious existence in this world, it makes a little sense. Watching the man neatly write down the information and neatly guiding the team for the arrest, Soleum feels relieved at his competence.

“Thank you for your cooperation. That seems like everything. I recommend leaving before the news broadcast arrives.” 

“Thank you officer.” 

When he turns to fetch Baek Saheon, who’s hiding in the corner, he clicks his tongue. Seriously, don’t cause trouble for officials. It is as they're leaving, that he finally speaks after 10 minutes of silence. Hanging onto Soleum’s suit jacket like he’d collapse, he seems to be losing his mind again. With a pale expression of surprise, he stutters out strangely. 

“Uh, is your name Ryu Jaekwan?” 

“Do you know me?” The officer responds with narrowed eyes.

“Ahaha… I just overheard your name earlier. We’ll be leaving thanks—”

He lightly shoves Soleum’s shoulders ahead, as if in a hurry to leave. Soleum loosely agrees with not wanting to be on TV for something so strange. But he thinks quietly that he’d never go through an incident like this again. Little does he know, Baek Saheon isn’t known as the Viper, survival specialist for no reason. The rain is forecasted to end tonight; he remembers as he watches the setting sun, a tickling warmth lingering on his face. 

The Viper is troublesome today, once again, he smiles wearily.

Epilogue 1. Please leave wet belongings at the front

“Let’s grab dinner, Baek Saheon.”

“Alright…” Even though Kim Soleum offers first, he isn’t slightly comfortable with the information he just learned.

Why does Ryu Jaekwan exist here? He clearly seems different here. A terrifying hypothesis enters his mind. Does a version of himself exist here as well? The known saying about doppelgangers crosses his mind. It could even be that Kim Soleum is an entirely different person. But everyone was saying he needed to return somewhere right? Before he can even process the sight in front of his eyes, he’s already been dragged to that new traditional restaurant which opened this week. The one he has been eyeing all week. 

“You wanted to eat here right? I think I need some good soup after all that.” 

With a sullen nod, he finally feels like his heart is heating up. 

It’s a somewhat busy place, but perhaps because of the commotion nearby, everyone has left this place alone during dinner hour. The hostess is standing there with a lazy expression until these two (soaked animals, a cat and dog) men arrive. 

“Ah, please leave your jackets at the front.” 

Sorry.