Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Ever since that festival, so many years ago, Baek Saheon has lived by one word. Survive. Or if you were being particular, six words: Do anything you can to survive. It doesn’t matter if he has to lie, cheat, or steal his way out of danger, Saheon will do whatever it takes. He will give people the shorter end of the stick for his own benefit.

He will attack someone and push them out of the way so that they may be unable to take an opportunity from him. Saheon will give up his eye with open hands, easily, if it means the whole of his parts remains intact.

Truth be told, even before he had learned what a raging lunatic Kim Soleum was, Saheon disliked him. The man on the subway hoping to lead everyone to safety. What a fucking joke. In this world, no one would help you, no one would keep you out of danger without a great benefit to them. Helping the others on the train had to have served some kind of purpose to this strange man, Saheon just couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Regardless, the only things worth grabbing and getting hold of were ones you work for yourselves.

And he was right, god damn it, Saheon was right. The moment they arrived back to continue orientation, he was vindicated. Every single person who didn’t contribute to escaping the Darkness got obliterated. This is exactly what Saheon meant, salvation isn’t real, it’s a pretty package those who want to take advantage of you sell you.

So yeah, Saheon had hated Soleum from the start. He listened to Soleum’s little spiel of how to get off safely with disdain. And maybe in some small part he would never let free, longing too.

Why had no one like Soleum been there at Jisan, years ago, when his sister got taken? Why had no one stepped up to be her knight in shining armor? Had she not been worthy of salvation?

But these feelings are much more hazy and hard to name, so he shoves them back in the vault. Focuses on the burning hot disgust and indignation, on the rage at being cheated out of his eye all for the amusement of some psychopath.

He tries not to focus on why it bothers him so much.

Instead he thanks his lucky stars every day he’s blessed with not having to interact with the man. He’s had quite the streak recently, which is why he’s so devastated to find out it ends today.

Saheon blinks blankly at the leader of the F-squad, waiting for the words to be repeated. Maybe he had misheard—

“You will be joining an initiative to extract essence from one of the C-grade darknesses. They need several contributors to make the process as efficient as possible, but it’s better to send employees from different squads.”

“Ah, sir, could I ask why,” Saheon attempts to ask politely. The endless corporate expectation of deferring to your superiors grates on his nerves, but he’ll do it. For survival. At Daydream, where each bastard is crazier than the last, you can never be too careful.

For example, the way that lady— Yeongeun, he remembers with a distasteful thought (how could she be so blind to Soleum’s true colours)— was offered up for sacrifice by her Squad Leader without a second thought. Saheon isn’t too keen on getting on these people’s bad sides, even if it does mean lowering himself every so often. He just needs more power, more items, and he’ll never have to bow down to another human being again.

“The more others know about you in this Darkness, the more it impedes the ability to clear.” The leader of the F-squad’s voice is dry and monotonous. He doesn’t seem to give a shit whether Saheon returns from the task or not.

He glances to the side where Hoeun twiddles with whatever paperwork he’s currently focused on completing— hapless as always. Saheon barely holds back from rolling his eyes. 500, 000 wish points and he’s out of here.

Five hundred thousand points and maybe he can bring back— No, he shouldn’t entertain foolish thoughts. God only knows what happens when he spirals with those thoughts.

Not for the first time, Saheon thinks of Soleum with unrestrained envy. The way he’s tearing through the point system and will no doubt be out of the company within another year— Well, Saheon would choke before admitting it to be admirable.

He accepts the guide the leader is handing to him with a heightened sense of resolve. He isn’t going to be outdone by anyone else.

Saheon’s thoughts only briefly flicker to who would be participating in the Darkness alongside him. He doesn’t expend too many mental facilities on the notion because it doesn’t matter.

Regardless of whoever enters that Darkness alongside Baek Saheon, he will end up on top.

Soleum eyes the guide being given to him by the lizard section chief, mind already running a mile a minute at the minimal information given to him so far.

His mind combs through all mentions of darknesses involving large groups of people in the wiki. There was the Hungry Hangman, but of course it wouldn’t be that again. He stifles a sigh of frustration as nothing comes to mind.

“I will not be partaking in the Darkness.”

Soleum glances up from the guide he had just started to read. Already, the ghost story had begun to seem familiar, but he hadn’t yet reached that crucial burst of understanding, that Eureka yet.

“Is there a particular reason why?”

Sometimes Soleum grows exasperated at the way his boss seems to speak in riddles, but he usually doesn’t mind that much. Like now. He’s almost horrified to realize there is a growing familiarity and fondness that arises whenever Lee Jaheon speaks in these curt, vague sentences.

He zones back in just in time to hear the Squad Leader’s response, “Only one participant is allowed from each group.”

Soleum’s gaze is curious, but the man doesn’t continue further. He inhales deeply, is he really going to have to ask why it can’t be the Lizard Squad Leader instead of him? That’s incredibly rude.

Of course he won’t ask. Instead he puts his mind to work a little bit and figures the man had probably been instructed that Soleum had been selected. As for why that’s the case— Well, squad leaders are less expendable, aren’t they?

He nods at the Lizard Chief in lieu of a response and proceeds in reading. Ah, this story. Soleum eyes his cracked popsocket with frustration. He closes his eyes, trying to remember the contents of the record, knowing it would be sure to help more than Daydream's guide. It sort of works, he even manages to remember one of the records he had read.

He has several hours before he has to gather at the mentioned floor, thanks to the requirements of the ghost story.

Dark Exploration Record / Ghost Story

[Mind of a Child]

: A ghost story featured in < Dark Exploration Records >

: Daydream Inc. identification code - Qterw-C-2341

A liminal space constructed by the subconscious of a friend. Those who violate the rules of the space are forbidden from exit.

He remembers the way to enter this Darkness and winces slightly. A show and tell using keepsakes from their childhoods, really? Soleum doesn’t even have something he can bring. He had been transported from home with nothing but the clothes on his back and that merch box.

Soleum sighs, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration.

     - Is my good friend having some trouble?

No, that’s not it. If enough people were there sharing stories actually from their past, then it wouldn’t matter whether Soleum had something actually from his childhood to talk about. He would get pulled into the Darkness simply by being involved in the conversation.

The issue is what can he pretend is from his childhood?

     - Me! You can use me as a childhood doll. I believe I am quite suited for this role.

It wasn’t so bad of an idea. The issue is primarily if Saheon is involved in the group. He would know, no doubt, if Soleum were to pull out the good friend doll and parade it as a keepsake from his younger years.

Then again, who cares?

Wouldn’t it just further push the idea that he’s a psychopath? One that doesn’t even bother to partake in company directives properly? He decides then that it should be okay if he pulls Braun out and introduces him as a doll from childhood.

There’s another issue, though.

Exploration Record #03

Too immersed in speaking about their childhoods the whole night, the pair of siblings remained unaware of how late it had become.

As soon as the clock struck 3:33, the world became hazy around the two, slowly shifting until they were nowhere close to the family room they had been sitting in before.

The man looked around desperately, trying to find his sister. He searched through the empty rooms of their childhood home in despair, sometimes hearing a giggle here and there.

The longer he searched, the weirder the world became. More and more moments from their pasts slipped in, little conversations they had had, fights that had taken them weeks to resolve.

“You’re no good at hide and seek!” He heard the voice of a petulant child. He turned around in horror. There stood his younger sister, regressed several years in the past.

But alas, he had found her! They could leave together!

“Come on,” he tried gently grabbing her arm, but she yanked it away vigorously. The man tried again, “Don’t you want to go back home?”

“What are you talking about,” tears rushed to the young girl’s eyes, “I love it here! I want to stay here forever!”

She paused, eyes growing strange. The girl moved in between the man and the exit.

“Hey, you’ll stay, won’t you? Let’s play forever.”

Unsuccessful escape attempt.

Essentially, one of the participants of the conversation would be transformed to a version of them as a child. There had been much discourse about this on the wiki, so it had never been made clear on whether the chosen participant was actually de-aged to a certain level, a ghost mimicking that state was involved, or a certain ‘idea’ of the past was being projected.

Thus, the verdict was up in the air, and every exploration record featuring the story was slightly different in the details. Though, by far the most popular idea, basically the consensus was—

The ghost story would root through memories and come up with a version closely resembling real life. Temporarily, their mental state and capacity would be reduced to those years. Memories could be used but whatever was unclear would be filled in one way or another.

Which is why Daydream instructed only one person from each team to enter. The more you know each other, the easier it would be to reconstruct a world in which you’d want to stay forever.

The issue is that Soleum absolutely does not, under any circumstances, want to be the one transformed into a child. Not only would he be rendered practically unable to use his memorial pop-socket and phone— it would be terrifying.

     - Ah, but wouldn’t it be constructed to make you as safe as possible?

Well, that’s correct. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad considering his ideal world would be full of nothing related to horror?

     - That’s right, friend, you’re getting it now!

But still, he would like to be cloaked from the view of the ghost story. It was imperative that Soleum keep his wits intact. But with the way Braun was talking—

     - Do you not trust this Braun?

Soleum winces. What a tough spot he’s been put in. He fumbles around with the words in his head a bit. ‘I just don’t know if you’ll be interested in keeping me out of the spotlight.’ Boisterous laughter sounds from the doll.

     - You are quite right. I think it will be fine. My friend will not be in danger, unlike the Hungry Hangman. This Braun will also take quite good care of your child body.

What could he even say to convince Braun otherwise? That it would be more entertaining to the talk show host if Soleum didn’t get transformed into a child? Even he can’t come up with a convincing argument for that.

So he gives up reasoning with the doll for now and settles for praying to any god out there that he may be spared from getting chosen by the ghost story later that night. For now, he can settle in their dorm until 2:30 A.M, watching children’s shows as a pre-emptive sort of way of calming down.

It’s a small moment of peace before hours later when everything goes to shit.

Saheon’s gut already starts sinking when he’s at the doorway, putting on his shoes, and out of the corner of his eye he spots Soleum.

For a brief few seconds he’s able to delude himself that the man is up and out of his bedroom for a reason that is completely unrelated to the one he’s out for. That Soleum, as a psychopath does, is simply roaming around in the main space in some sort of perverse psychological torture method.

Alas, the man is fully dressed in work clothes, which already dashes his measly hopes of a normal Darkness clear. The man sits next to Saheon to put on his own loafers.

Soleum sends him one of his creepy-ass smiles, “Let’s go, then, shall we?”

Like hell! Saheon would get caught dead in his underwear before he willingly follows Soleum anywhere.

…

A few minutes later he's following the psychopath down the hallway. Not because he’s prone to listening to that guy or whatever, no! But because realistically being in Soleum’s good graces (if those existed) before they entered the Darkness was a good idea.

But this guy, even though he had talked about heading out together with Saheon, sped out the door as soon as he was done putting his shoes on.

Saheon has to scramble after him, almost forgetting to lock the door. Not that anyone would dare to mess with Kim Soleum, Daydream’s prodigy. Out of pettiness, Saheon insists, he deigns to walk behind Soleum instead of beside.

Give that man a chance to speak to him? As if. Although, he supposes, if Soleum cared for social norms, they wouldn’t be in the odd relationship they’re in right now. Annoyed beyond words, Saheon clenches the tie he’s brought for the ghost story in his hands.

He had looked at the hand-made bracelet on his nightstand for a long, long time before ignoring it and walking over to his closet to grab a tie from who knows when instead. Everyone else would be contributing to the entry, so it didn’t particularly matter whether the item he brings is really from his past or not.

Saheon looks at the ceiling of the elevator in a mix of apprehension and irritation as he gets in after Soleum. He bemoans the fact that he caught Soleum so early in the journey to the real company building and now has to spend this time next to him either stewing in silence or playing along with whatever weird-ass whim had overtaken the man this time.

Luckily, Soleum stays silent. That is, until they encounter Go Yeongeun at the building entrance. Then she joins the group, engaging in polite conversation with the bastard.

Saheon’s eye twitches as he watches the two of them talk about whatever inane discussion topic had come up this time. What is he, a third wheel? He eyes Yeongeun with no small amount of derision as she chatters away.

What kind of idiot is unable to see past Soleum’s mask of being a normal person and able to talk to him so calmly? Did she not see when he pulled out that eyeball and waved it at Saheon through the door? She had to have seen it. So did Jang Hoeun, another person inexplicably bewitched by Saheon’s room-mate.

Saheon listens with half his attention as they make their way towards the meeting room that had been instructed to them by their seniors. He can’t help but wonder what item Soleum had brought; what could possibly be sentimental to someone like him?

When Saheon finds out the answer, less than an hour later, he almost bursts into hysterical laughter.

Soleum holds up that pink bunny doll he seems to carry around everywhere nowadays, speaking with a slight smile, “I was given this by a family member when I was younger. I’ve been quite fond of this stuffed toy since then.”

No way Soleum would have actually brought something from his childhood! Bastards like him don’t have human notions of nostalgia and sentimentality!

What had the man called the doll again, Braun? The one he had spoken to and painted Saheon as a fool when he talked to Soleum about. He has the distinct urge to pull his eyepatch down and check on its halo, to assure himself he’s not crazy, maybe. But doing so would mean exposing an ability in front of all of these employees, letting them in on an advantage.

So he resolves to take a peek at its hypothetical halo another time. For now he just sends Soleum a narrow-eyed stare as the conversation moves on to the next person’s childhood.

‘I know what you’re doing,’ he thinks. ‘You can’t hide forever,’ Saheon is sure.

He couldn't care less about everyone else here, so he zones out until it’s his turn.

More accurately, given that he’s sitting next to Yeongeun, he listens as she talks about her childhood item. 

“A friend from college,” she says in a light yet firm tone, “said we’d drink this together when we graduated.”

In the woman’s hands is an unopened bottle of soju. He feels a brief flicker of curiosity. Given that she had applied to Daydream and gotten hired, she had to have graduated by now. And yet it’s still unopened. He notes the slight furrow in her brow and tense jaw with a clinical eye. Must have died then. Maybe it was a Darkness.

Whatever. Everyone’s like that, it’s nothing new. So he moves past the thought just as fast.

“I brought a tie, my mother bought this for me for my first day of high school.”

He speaks with a slight smile, putting on a sense of charm sure to place him low on his colleagues’ lists of who to watch their back around. That’s right, think nothing of Saheon. So if he ever chooses to strike, you don’t have a chance to defend yourself, to hurt him instead.

As more irrelevant employees go on to talk about some corny moment from their childhood or teenage years, the clock dutifully ticks forward.

Saheon’s eye flicks towards the analog clock hanging on the wall just as the second hand reaches 12. It’s 3:33. He stiffens, bracing himself as they all get pulled into the Darkness.

One second Yeongeun is in a room filled with many other company employees, along with Kim Soleum and that asshole that’s his roommate— Baek Saheon— and the next she’s in a great white expanse. 

She frowns a bit. Isn’t this Darkness supposed to be one of their child-self’s fantasy world? There’s absolutely nothing here. No, it’s worse than that. There’s also no one here. She swallows, throat seeming like its swelling shut in her anxiety.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” The words escape like a frog out of her mouth. 

For a moment no one answers. And then—

“Yes. This is Baek Saheon.”

Her eyes shut as she quietly groans. Of all people. Then she winces a bit, hopefully he didn’t hear that, not that she cares so much. It would just be a bit of a hassle to deal with. Alas, any companion is another brain that can help clear the Darkness in this case. Hopefully it isn’t so hard to convince whoever has been turned into a child to leave this place.

Although, on top of that they have to find a way out.

“Ah, this is Go Yeongeun, where are you?” She asks because despite being able to hear his voice loud and clear, the man is nowhere to be seen. She steps forward, but nothing changes around her. Still miles and miles of an endless blank canvas.

“Your voice seems to be coming from my left, I think.”

She was glad he had the common sense to put their animosity to the side for now. Though it would be immensely easier had Soleum been the one nearby. She freezes, the person who the Darkness had deaged, could it be— Well, hopefully not. He was probably just placed somewhere else, though wherever that somewhere was, remains to be seen.

Yeongeun moves towards her right, before pausing. How the hell is she supposed to know where his left is?

A little annoyed, Yeongeun speaks up again, “Actually, could you just keep speaking? I think that would be easier.”

Even more frustrating is the extended delay until Saheon speaks up again, “No need. I managed to use yours.”

As he’s speaking, Yeongeun ignores his words and uses the noise to try and locate him. She discovers what he’s talking about as the words come out of his mouth.

“There’s a wall preventing me from coming any closer,” Saheon finishes off. Yeongeun taps the space in front of her, indeed meeting a solid substance. She feels the presence of her own breath bouncing off of the boundary.

“It’s the same for me too,” she mutters absentmindedly as she travels backwards to check. Sure enough, there’s a limit to how much she can travel backwards, too. A distance of about a metre and a half.

“I seem to be enclosed on both sides,” Yeongeun informs her companion, no longer quite so pissed off that they’re in the same place. Though he was quite self-serving, it currently serves him to interact with Yeongeun and find more about the space they’ve been transported to.

There’s some time, during which she assumes Saheon is checking the same, “Same here. And my left.”

Again with those arbitrary directions. His voice seems to be a bit further off when he speaks and Yeongeun realizes he’s moving away from her. She’s about to gripe and tell him they should travel together lest someone get separated, when she spots it.

Saheon pauses in whatever he was saying too, considering that his arm that had been tracing the wall in front of him as he moved right had now extended further, touching air. Meaning, that the wall ended there.

From where Yeongeun is standing, to her own left, some ways down the path that seems to be open (given that she hadn’t confirmed a wall in that direction), his hand is visible. That is, Yeongeun can see what she presumes to be Saheon’s arm just floating there, in space. The cut off is a clean straight line, and she surmises whatever is obstructing her view is one of the walls they had been observing.

Perfect, there seems to be white walls enclosing them in some space and the fun part is that unlike actual walls, they completely blend in with the rest of the space. She resigns herself to the absolute headache that escaping this place will be as she speaks again to Saheon.

“Try moving forward in the space your arm is, I think I can see you,” she raises her voice a bit this time, wanting to be sure the words will reach him.

Baek Saheon doesn’t respond, but he does as asked given that less than a second later the rest of his body comes into view. Yeongeun didn’t think she’d ever be relieved to see the man and curses the Darkness for bringing this moment into reality.

“So,” she begins awkwardly, now that it would be petty to default to their standard dynamic.

“I think we may be in some sort of labyrinth.” 

“I figured, with the way we’re enclosed in hallways,” Saheon sighs as he runs a hand through his curly hair.

Yeongeun grits her teeth. Of course the man has no such qualms. He moves past his rude comment just as quickly as it had exited his mouth.

“I wonder which bastard this space belongs to,” he mutters as he walks closer to her. Yeongeun just knows he’s rolling his eyes behind that goat mask of his. Which gives her the bright idea of doing the same. It seems she’s not been completely stripped of choice here.

Yeongeun looks around again and voices the thought she’s been having, “This emptiness reminds me of something else, though. It’s like when nothing is loading.”

“Yes?” Saheon’s tone is slightly irritated, which irks her, because she should be the one annoyed if anyone. The sentence wasn’t vague, he just spoke before she could explain further.

“I mean,” Yeongeun raps at the wall nearby her, “the space could be looking like this because the Darkness has nothing to work with.”

“Like the person has no memories of the past?” Saheon replies with a skeptical frown, but he doesn’t dismiss the notion entirely, for which she is mildly grateful. 

“More like, there is nothing that could possibly make them want to stay here.”

But was there anyone like that in this world? With no sort of desires that could lure them into spending eternity in the Darkness?

He nods, accepting the idea for the most part, “Okay, but even so. The guide says that people’s knowledge of each other could be used as information. The seniors tried to choose people from different groups, but we all know each other at least a little bit.”

“So you’re saying that… Soon enough, our notions of each other will be used to construct this place.”

He shrugs, “Maybe.”

As if speaking the situation into existence, the place around them begins to transform. No longer do they seem to be in a blank expanse. Instead the labyrinth becomes much more visible. Where white had used to go on and on, the walls are now made up of some sort of concrete. Dim lighting shines down upon them from above.

They are no longer in an invisible labyrinth, they are now in a warehouse labyrinth. How quaint.

“Is there anyone who would like this…” It doesn’t seem to be the kind of thing any normal human would be into.

Saheon notes their surroundings with a grimace, “I can think of one person.”

He uses the term ‘person’ very loosely. These days, Kim Soleum seems to be more and more like a Darkness. The rookie that climbs to the top immediately and will kill you if it so happens to amuse him.

Heh. Yeah that fits.

The brief blanket of silence is yanked off quite quickly as the sound of pounding footsteps gets louder and louder. Yeongeun and Saheon exchange a glance as a child comes into view. Is this it? Is this the subject of the Darkness?

“Ah! People!” The kid— a little boy— speaks with heavy breaths and a harried tone. He seems to have dashed all the way here.

He doesn’t bother to pause for introductions as he points down the hall in the direction he came from, directly across from where Saheon had turned into the space.

“There! Over there is a talking rabbit!” When Saheon looks closer, he realizes this kid looks terrified. The warehouse had reminded him of Soleum, but there’s no way this wimpy, twiggy child is the ruthless man he knows and loathes.

Yeongeun takes over the situation, speaking when she realizes Saheon has no intention of comforting the poor child, trembling and shaking in front of them.

“Don’t worry, we’re special agents, so you’ll be safe with us,” her first move is to reassure this kid. Even if she was purely interested in extracting information, calming the child down is important in order to do so.

“No, wouldn’t that be the Bureau,” Saheon mutters, earning another glare from Yeongeun. He luckily seems to have been out of earshot considering how the child is markedly less scared as he walks closer.

“It was a stuffed animal, but it kept saying weird things! So creepy.” The kid shivers, arms coming around him as he recalls the situation.

Saheon pauses, just now focusing on what he had been running away from. Hold on, a stuffed rabbit that talks.

“Kid.” He frowns at the child, who turns to him with wide eyes, “What’s your name?”

There was no way. It couldn’t be him, Saheon is sure, and yet—

“Kim Soleum…” He jumps, extending into a bow, before standing back up straight, “Right! How rude of me! What are your names?”

Yeongeun nods at the words, speaking before they even register, “Right, nice to meet you, Sol—” She freezes. “Did you just say your name is Soleum?”

He tilts his head, and Yeongeun feels a strong urge to pinch this child’s cheeks in spite of the situation they’re in, “Uh huh! I’m Soleum.”

“O-Oh.”

She purses her lips, trying to reconcile this fearful child with the Kim Soleum who cleared Darknesses like they were mere puzzles, without batting an eye. Ah, but Soleum— she winces internally, still finding the name weird— had asked her a question.

“I’m Go Yeongeun and this guy is Baek Saheon.” She gestures to the man as she introduces him.

Then, noting how much he seems to be trembling still, she adds on. “Ah, you can call me noona, and him hyung.”

The kid seems to be between 10 or 12, around. Allowing him to call them by those terms would hopefully help give him a sense of familiarity and allow him to be more comfortable.

He brightens up, “Ah, okay!”

But he seems to be too shy to use them just yet.

Saheon seems to still be examining the child with the same calculative gaze from earlier, prompting an eye roll. Can’t this guy give it a rest? When will he accept that Soleum was, at the very least, a better person than him? It’s clear with the way he can’t even let his guard down around a child.

But looking at Saheon reminds her that their Daydream masks can be quite— well, intimidating. She starts pulling her goral mask off, halted by Saheon’s grip on her wrist, which she roughly shakes off.

“The hell do you think you’re doing,” he whispers harshly. “You know the rules.”

Yeongeun ignores him to pull down her mask, this time making sure her eye roll is visible, “The Darkness affected by our perception of him, not his of us. In fact, if you were able to think a little harder maybe you’d realize this place is caused by your perception of him.”

She gestures around to the spooky atmosphere, which was indeed something Soleum would no doubt enjoy in Saheon’s opinion.

He frowns. Well. Saheon can’t deny that. He still refuses to take his own mask off, though, “Do what you want.”

Well, yes. Did she ever give the impression that she would follow along and listen blindly to his commands? She needs to work harder, then.

Yeongeun stiffens when her gaze returns to Soleum and his gaze is flickering between the two of them, seemingly deciphering their words. Right, if adult Soleum is a genius, it has to come from somewhere.

This child is probably also extremely intelligent, she would have to be careful on how they interact around him. 

“About this rabbit,” she smiles at him, pleased when he mirrors it, “could you tell us more?”

Before the boy can get a word out, Saheon speaks, “Better yet, you can just take us there.”

Soleum gapes, paling immediately at the words. “You want me to…”

He doesn’t even let the man reply before yelling, “Ah! No way! I’m not going back there, sorry hyung!”

Saheon grimaces, the word comes out as excessively wrong out of Soleum’s mouth. He feels like he’s getting hives at a single use, imagine if this kid gets used to it.

“We’ll be there with you,” Saheon crosses his arms, not looking forward to spending the next however long with this child, “We’ll walk in front too. Just take us there.”

There’s something he wanted to confirm and also something he wanted to do in order to prepare for the future. The only issue is that Soleum seems to be completely opposed to going back to whatever he had run away from.

Saheon supposes at the very least he can be happy that this means it shouldn’t be so hard to convince the child to escape the Darkness.

“No way,” Soleum shakes his head, “Sorry, but I’m not going back there. What if it tries speaking to me again?”

Okay. Great. Of course a child version of his roommate would be no easier to handle. Saheon rubs the middle of his forehead in frustration. At least Soleum seems to have de-aged to a point where his psychopathic tendencies haven’t manifested yet. It doesn’t quite make sense, but it’s the only explanation he can come up with for Soleum’s odd behaviour as a child.

The stubbornness tracks, but not the extreme fear. This kid is the epitome of ‘scaredy-cat’ if he’s ever seen it.

Yeongeun, fortunately, decides this isn’t something she should argue with him on because she actually speaks up in his favour.

“Saheon is right. We can get some more information and maybe find a way out of here. You want to leave here, right? Maybe you can give us directions to the doll.”

Soleum nods vigorously, almost tearing up, and Saheon barely refrains from ‘tsk’-ing at the difference in their treatment by the child.

“Okay… I’ll just tell you where to go, though.”

“Yes, that’s fine,” Saheon has grown more than a little impatient, “Just tell us. You don’t have to come with us if you’re scared.”

Yeah, fighting with a kid is insanely petty, but Saheon can’t help it. This might be the only win he’s gotten in recent memory. That is, if he’s ever won against Soleum.

“Not scared.” Saheon’s jaw drops at the statement, incredulous. Even Yeongeun has to stifle a laugh behind her hand. Woah, incredible.

“It’s a reasonable wariness to what could be a demon in that doll.” Soleum looks entirely too serious as he explains this to them.

Saheon’s eyebrows raise. ‘Wariness.’ Is that what they’re calling it nowadays?

“Sure,” he’s not sure what else would serve as a valid response to what the boy just said. “Reasonable wariness.”

The boy, satisfied with the affirmation grins, launching into instructions on how to reach the doll. It’s not a very long path, just turn into where he came from and walk all the way straight down.

At the very end of the hall, the doll will be lying on the floor. That is, unless someone had found it by the time they arrived. Or it got up and walked around. Yeongeun doesn’t voice this thought for fear of making the already jumpy boy more scared.

Saheon for his part is more than eager to make their way to the doll, already having his own suspicions on what, or rather ‘who,’ this doll was. Sure enough, when they reach the end of the corridor, there lies the doll Soleum could be seen carrying around constantly. The one he had called Braun.

“Isn’t that…” Yeongeun murmurs, as they stop a pace away from the object, still lying pitifully on the ground.

“The thing Soleum calls Braun, yeah.”

He ignores whatever Yeongeun says to him next. This is more important. Saheon inhales slightly, as he pulls his eyepatch down. He almost winces. An incredibly bright aura. And there’s no way Saheon is scared of this puny thing, which means it just inherently is that dangerous.

He grits its teeth. So it seems something actually is inhabiting the rabbit. Something that can still speak and communicate with Soleum, apparently, given that the boy had run away in distress.

Then, while Yeongeun is still giving him a weird look for his actions, he walks towards the doll and gingerly picks it up. Soleum will definitely owe him one after they successfully clear the Darkness. In fact, why stop there? If he takes care of Soleum’s child self and makes sure he’s well treated, wouldn’t the man be severely indebted?

Soleum may be many things, but he’s not someone who’d shirk on repaying a favour. That is, as long as he agrees that it’s a favour. 

‘That settles it,’ Saheon thinks with a little bit of a devious grin, ‘That little bastard will have the time of his life. He won’t even know what hit him.’

Yeongeun has long since given up on expecting anything normal from Baek Saheon, so when he ignores her warning against picking up the doll, she doesn’t try again.

Soleum will definitely be scared when they return with Bruan, but it would help in exiting this place, hopefully. 

She freezes when they turn around to see Soleum peeking from the end of the hallway. Upon being spotted, he jolts in alarm and darts out of view. A soft smile rises to Yeongeun’s face. How childlike.

Saheon remains oddly silent until they reach Soleum, who seems to be cowering against the farthest wall at where Yeongeun had spawned into the Darkness.

He stutters a bit as his gaze locks onto the pink doll in Saheon’s hand, “Hyung, why did you bring it with you?”

“Is this doll speaking to you?”

The boy nods timidly. “It’s calling me a friend.”

“Oh?” Yeongeun is curious about the personality of the entity that apparently travels with Soleum daily, “What’s it saying?”

Soleum looks away, “You don’t wanna know.”

Saheon’s brows raise in mild surprise. Then again, did he really expect whatever buddy Soleum had made and brought along with him everywhere to be benevolent? No, it’s more likely to be like those possessed, cursed dolls that keep on spawning more movies.

How hard is the memo— leave the cursed object alone— to understand? Then again, Saheon’s never understood horror movies or horror enthusiasts.

His gaze flickers around the space surrounding them. Creepy as ever. They should really start moving around, though, so he starts putting the doll in his pocket, pausing when the kid hesitantly speaks up.

“Um, hyung, I don’t think you should do that.”

“Is that so?” Saheon’s voice is deadpan, though less dry than first encountering the child. He figures he has to get used to treating child Soleum well so he is able to cash something in later.

Soleum nods, “He says he won’t like it there.”

The man notes the quick change in attitude, suspicious. Has this doll been contaminating Soleum? Then again, how much worse could the man possibly get?

“Ah… I can carry Braun with me.”

Yup. Definitely contaminated. He doesn’t quite care, though, so he hands the stuffed rabbit back over to Soleum with ease.

Yeongeun watches the interaction with concern; Soleum had been downright terrified of the doll a minute ago. What could it possibly have said to him to lower his guard so quickly? Is it taking advantage of the fact that he’s a child? The thought doesn’t sit right with Yeongeun at all. But then again, adult Soleum was so capable, and probably level headed and he chose to keep the doll around so what can she do?

“Let’s go, then.” Saheon is eager, as always, to get a move on.

“Don’t you think we should have some sort of strategy first?” She doesn’t want to bicker and argue in front of the child, worried it will give the impression that they’re unreliable, but heading out right away is such a rash decision.

“Well, what would you suggest,” Saheon bites out with crossed arms.

“There’s a strategy for solving mazes, you know?” She mirrors his pose, a spark almost visible in between their eyes. Yeongeun hates that she has to tilt her head upwards to make eye contact.

She can practically see Soleum vibrating where he stands so she gestures for him to speak, as he so clearly wants to.

“I know this! You run your hand along one side of the wall and walk until you reach the exit.”

He looks quite proud of his contribution. This lasts until Saheon spoils the mood, “You really think a Darkness will have a normal maze?”

Well, he does have a point. But he causes Soleum to deflate like a popped balloon and for this Yeongeun definitely will not forgive him. Except the man himself seems to realize his mistake because he crouches in front of Soleum to speak to him.

“Hey, this place will have more scary stuff, but if you stick with us, it’ll be okay.”

Soleum nods, listening to the man’s words intently.

“You want to escape together?” Saheon stiffly holds out a hand, as if waiting for a handshake.

The boy hesitates for a mere second before grinning, “Yup!” and smacking Saheon’s hand as a sort of high five, shaking it a second later and then holding a fist out, waiting for Saheon now.

He gingerly presses a fist back. It seems the boy was engaging in some sort of juvenile friendship ritual, something Saheon would know absolutely nothing about.

And with that, they’re finally able to start escaping the Darkness in earnest. They walk in a line, hands pressed to the right wall. Saheon out in front, then Soleum, then Yeongeun holding up the rear.

Somewhere after their second turn, Soleum begins giggling slightly. While the sound is slightly off putting to Yeongeun, given their setting of a Darkness, she finds it to be adorable more than anything.

“Is something funny, Soleum-ah?” She asks lightheartedly.

“Haha. Braun said we look like a family.”

And suddenly nothing’s funny anymore. Saheon and Yeongeun both freeze. She can’t say much about his reaction, given that his back is to them, but she blanches. Holds back a gag, even.

As if sensing the awkward tension that’s settled, Soleum rushes to explain, “Ah! Not that you two are old enough to be my parents. He said it’s like one of those TV specials where an odd group of people comes together to become family.”

Ah, how adorably naive children were. Aptly sensing something was up and yet failing to accurately diagnose the origin of the tension.

“That’s… Nice.”

Wow, Saheon’s attempt at being kind truly is laughable. Not even two words of politeness and he sounds like he’s dying. But before Yeongeun can even think to make a dig at him, he freezes at the front, halting the rest of the line.

She doesn’t have to inquire to find out what the hold up is.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?” Soleum tugs the back of Saheon’s suit jacket lightly. He gulps before whispering again, “Is there… something there?”

Saheon nods, still silent. Out of curiosity, and also a healthy sense of self preservation, she peeks out past where Saheon’s body is obstructing the view of the corridor. A mime waits at the end of the turn.

Sensing something is up, Soleum too begins to move and see. She doesn’t quite know what possesses her, but before Yeongeun can even register the movement, her hand has shot out to pull him back.

It just doesn’t seem right. Regardless of how talented and capable their coworker was as an adult, this Soleum feels different. He feels too much like someone she needs to protect.

“Should we head back and take a turn instead, or should we continue?” Yeongeun asks, mindful of Soleum’s newfound aversion to horror.

“The whole point of this method is to follow the right wall from start to finish.”

Except Saheon still hasn’t moved an inch.

“So what’s stopping you?”

“... It’s nothing.” Saheon mumbles as he resumes their trek forwards. Soleum trembles, quite aware that there is something scary waiting for them up ahead, but he doesn’t protest at all. Honestly, that bothers Yeongeun more than it relieves her.

He stops again shortly after, though.

“What is it now?” Yeongeun’s tone is not quite terse, well aware of the instincts Saheon would have developed as a Daydream employee.

“It just moved.”

Her heart drops, just a bit.

“What?”

Saheon’s words come out slightly quicker now, “That mime, it just moved.”

“... Is it still moving?”

“No,” but as he takes another step forward, this time Yeongeun too sees it. 

She hesitates to voice the words in case they act as some twisted form of manifestation, but the idea is too obvious to ignore.

“Do you think…” She inhales deeply, “That it’s mirroring you?”

Saheon takes a step forward, watching, then a step back. Indeed, the mime, with an odd expression painted on, seems to echo the movements. Well, that’s confirmed. He doesn’t move again, probably considering what to do.

“Hyung,” a small hand tugs at Saheon’s jacket again, and this time he actually deigns to look back at Soleum. Yeongeun represses the instinctual jolt that comes at realizing that the mime too, turns its head.

“Yeah?”

“What if…” Soleum’s voice is loud for a second before he freezes and gestures for Saheon to bend so he can speak into the man’s ear instead. Is he scared the Darkness will hear? It isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Yeongeun can’t hear what he whispers into the man’s ear nervously, the volume too low for her as well, but she can see Saheon’s nod afterwards.

“Okay.”

She raises a brow. Well isn’t someone being oddly agreeable today?

Soleum turns around, perhaps to repeat the plan for her, but Saheon begins moving before the little boy can. He walks forward until the mime is a mere couple meters away. Soleum startles, wanting to explain but not wanting to be left behind either.

She pats his shoulder, “It’s okay.”

It’s not like she needs to know the details of the plan, if Saheon had just forged on like that. Soleum gives her a grim nod incongruous to his age before scrambling in pursuit. She walks behind them slowly, the noise of her shoes clicking resounding across the hallway.

Saheon, instead of moving closer, presses himself against the right wall. He moves in a way that the mime mimics his movement, pressed against the left wall. Its expression has shifted from that discomfiting grin to anger. That’s always a good sign.

Yeongeun and Soleum quickly follow suit, not eager to be in the range of the mime once Saheon turns so he’s facing it again and starts walking backwards. The plan is executed without a hitch. Once they turn into the next hallway, Yeongeun instructs Saheon to move while she checks out the mime’s placement in the previous hall. It no longer moves, the connection to Saheon appearing to be severed.

“Even if you were the first one it saw,” Yeongeun murmurs once they are back on track, “It’s odd that it only mirrored you.”

“Hm. I think it tracks.”

Soleum does seem to have a vested interest in making Saheon miserable, so why would a space created to make him enjoy himself be any different?

“What does that mean?”

Saheon refuses to answer. Yeongeun takes in more air in an attempt to relax. This was going to be a long few hours, if they were lucky enough to escape that quickly.

Soleum doesn’t know how he ended up in this place, or much of what he had been doing before even. He might have been playing with friends at the park? Such is his best guess, given that’s how he often spends his time after school, but he can’t be sure since he doesn’t actually have a memory of doing so from today.

But he had woken up here, in this blank space. There had been a pink rabbit with him, adorned with a bowtie. Soleum had thought it was a bit cute, that was, until it spoke. Although Braun explained the situation quite well and they were back to being best buddies, the initial fear had indeed been visceral.

Yeah, he doesn’t really want to go through that again.

     - Ah, Soleum, buddy, you don’t remember it, but don’t worry. I would never let you get hurt!

Soleum doesn’t quite remember making this friend, but hey, why not? Braun says they’ve gone on many exciting adventures together. And that he can even get Soleum on TV! Isn’t that cool?

So he’s excited to make it out and follow Braun up on that offer. That is, if they can make it past all of these terrifying monsters first.

He walks quietly in between the two adults, the nice people he had ran into after the false alarm he had earlier. The lady seems to be very kind, but that guy… There’s something not quite right about him.

Soleum hasn’t figured out what it is yet so he doesn’t quite shirk away from him for now. Instead he pays closer attention, eyes lingering on Saheon’s body movements. Notes what his first response to danger is and how he instinctively froze at first.

Yeah, Saheon-hyung doesn’t seem scared (Soleum maintains this as someone very well versed in fear), but he does seem excessively uncomfortable. Or on high alert. Maybe he’s overly cautious?

Well, he has the rest of their escape to figure out exactly what’s going on, so he doesn’t worry too much.

Smaller issues occur along the way, an off putting pair of child twins, a corridor that’s completely dark, and so on. Each time, without fail, Soleum hides completely behind Saheon-hyung. The kind lady seems to be more prone to helping and caring for him, but she’s behind them. Asking her to defend Soleum from the front as well while she already has to worry about whatever’s behind her is too much.

This is something he can take into his own hands.

Saheon-hyung has gone from tensing into a rock everytime Soleum so much as grazes against his back to barely registering the touch. Upon one of their long stretches of silence without encountering a monster, Soleum decides to speak.

This silence makes him a little uncomfortable.

“Do you guys know what you were doing before you ended up here?”

There’s a silence, similar to the one Soleum’s parents make before they decide they want to hide something from him.

“No clue,” the man trudging in front of him says.

Soleum frowns. “But you said, earlier, you were talking like you know what’s going on. You called it a ‘Darkness’.”

He rubs at his bare arms, trying to flatten the goosebumps that have erupted all along his arms. He trusts the pair, really, he does, but it’s something that’s been bothering Soleum.

The lady from behind pats his head gently and Soleum jolts, not having anticipated the touch.

“We do know more about this space, but it’s something for us as adults to worry about, okay? It’s our responsibility to make sure you’re safe and happy.”

Hm. Well. He does like not having to interact with anything scary. And the sense of security present from travelling between the two of them does wonders for his peace of mind.

“Ah… Okay.” Soleum mumbles, not entirely satisfied, yet okay with the answer.

He focuses on the movement of his feet forward.

The next hour goes a lot better. They don’t encounter more monsters. Soleum starts speaking to fill the silence and while Saheon-hyung is annoyed by the questions at first, he grows too tired to be difficult and begins answering normally in an attempt to get through them quicker.

“So hyung, noona, do you guys have any siblings?”

Saheon-hyung doesn’t answer like before. He doesn’t even brush Soleum off. Instead his clenched fists are directly within Soleum’s line of vision, given that he’s been looking down in an attempt to avoid monster sightings.

Now that he thinks about it, Yeongeun-noona has also been quiet. Did Soleum say something weird?

The duo have been saved from whatever answer they had been unwilling to give by the sight in front of him. 

There, down the hallway they had just turned into, is an elevator. Soleum’s heart drops. He had thought they could eventually escape by following one wall. He didn’t realize it was possible for the labyrinth to have multiple floors.

What in the world are they going to do now?

Yeongeun-noona steps out from behind Soleum and moves closer to the elevator, examining it. Without the cover at the rear, he chooses to turn around and keep an eye on wherever they came from.

“Uh.”

Saheon-hyung looks at him after the involuntary noise, one that got caught up in his throat. Thanks to this, he doesn’t even have to voice the recent development that’s got his heart dropping again.

The turns behind them have all disappeared, now leaving only a dead end behind.

“It seems we have no choice but to use the lift,” Yeongeun-noona murmurs, having caught onto what had caused the abrupt shift in mood.

“Up or down,” Saheon-hyung voices the thought out loud, unable to discern what direction they should be going in.

Yeongeun hums in response, “Where do you think we should go, Soleum-ah?”

Ah? Him? Why is he deciding? He’s probably the least qualified one there. Saheon-hyung seems to agree, because when Soleum tentatively suggests going up, he presses the downwards button.

Yeongeun-noona’s brow furrows, “What are you doing?”

“The Darkness wants him to stay,” he shrugs, “Then shouldn’t we be doing the opposite of his gut?”

She shakes her head, “But if he was inclined to stay here already, though, why would it even need to try and keep him here? If it’s trying to get him to stay here through external measures, then his gut should lead him to the exit.”

While the two are conversing, Braun speaks to Soleum again.

     - Buddy, these two would be good on TV together, wouldn’t they? They’ve got the chemistry needed for any duet.

Would they, though? Yeongeun-noona doesn’t seem to like Saheon-hyung all that much. It feels like they’re only tolerating each other for Soleum’s sake, even. He doesn’t like that.

Saheon-hyung purses his lips before agreeing reluctantly, “I guess that makes sense. Let’s go up, then, kid.”

He presses the up button as well, not that it would do anything.

The door opens and a ferocious wolf comes bounding out. Soleum jumps in shock, barely having a second to scream before Saheon-hyung tackles it. The man looks up, eye honing in on Yeongeun-noona.

“Do something.”

He’s incapacitated with the way it rolls and fights, trying to escape his grip. Saheon grits his teeth. The hell was he doing? He should have swiftly moved out of the way and pressed against the wall, allowing it to go after the kid.

The item he’ll get after all of this probably won’t even be worth it. Saheon curses his decision making process. 

It isn’t long before Yeongeun pulls out a dagger (does she just carry that around?) and drives it into the wolf's skull from the top. Saheon is mildly impressed, it would take a lot of strength to break through the bone, though perhaps adrenaline was doing her a favour.

It twitches with a few more movements before going limp. She waits a few breaths before pulling the weapon out, enabling Saheon to get up off it and brush his hands on his pants. Miraculously, the doors still haven’t closed.

They wordlessly file in. Soleum doesn’t know what he’d say even if there was an opportunity to do so. 

‘Thank you for saving my life?’ Maybe?

Saheon-hyung grunts when the doors shut, “Press a button.”

Soleum ponders the question seriously, what is his heart telling him? That he doesn’t belong here and should escape, mostly, but aside from that… He doesn’t feel a particular longing. So Soleum considers the options. The elevator goes higher three floors and lower two. He already feels like nothing good would come of going down, only monsters lurk in basements after all, so that was out of the question.

Hm. Well, shouldn’t the top, if any of them were to have one, have an exit? Sometimes buildings would have roof access. It’s possible.

He gingerly reaches out to press the number. Behind him, he can feel some shifting. Soleum gets it. 4. Talk about unlucky. But they don’t say anything to him, trusting his judgement for a reason that’s a mystery to the child.

He hums as the lift shoots up. Despite all the horrors Soleum finds that standing like this, between the comforting warmth of the two adults, is not so bad.

Saheon feels like he’s been doing a pretty good job of keeping the little bastard happy and healthy. That slight grin hasn’t been wiped off the kid’s mouth since they’d seen that axe murderer (he knows exactly why that’s in this labyrinth), save for maybe the scare with the wolf.

Maybe that’s why Soleum’s hand brushes against his own slightly, as if he wants to grasp it but doesn’t quite have the courage to. Saheon winces, pulling it away. It’s uncomfortable. This Soleum is too similar to the Saheon from before that specific festival.

When Saheon’s eyes flick down back to the kid, he notes that Soleum has pulled his arm tight against his side, as if scared of intruding into Saheon’s space. His other hand is encased tightly in Yeongeun’s, though.

Clearly she had accepted the offer. Tch. What’s the point of kissing up to a child? There’s no guarantee Soleum will even remember this when they leave.

Of course this also poses a problem for Saheon, who hopes to reap the rewards of treating the man well. But, the difference is Soleum’s survival alone should be evidence Saheon took care of him.

His gaze returns to the elevator door in front of them, eye narrowed in fierce determination. So far the danger they’ve encountered hasn’t been customary of a C-grade darkness. Saheon pauses. Then again, there isn’t supposed to be any ‘danger,’ at all. The difficulty in clearing comes from convincing your friend to escape a world perfectly suited for them.

And yet, Soleum doesn’t want to be here a bit. Saheon can only hope that doesn’t change as they make their way closer and closer to the exit.

“Saheon.” Yeongeun whispers to him above Soleum’s head just as the doors open. He ignores her, temporarily, in favour of making sure the pathway is empty in front of them and stepping out.

“What is it?” Saheon’s eye is still scanning the surroundings for any monsters.

“Shouldn’t we have seen others by now?”

“Shit, probably.” The thought is only concerning because of what may have gotten rid of them, rather their disappearance itself.

He’s more flabbergasted by the sight in front of them, though. It’s no longer a maze. It now resembles a hotel more closely, hallway lined with numbered doors on both sides until some distant end. Saheon thinks he might see the faint glow of an ‘EXIT’ sign.

“Others?” The kid’s meek voice pipes up.

Saheon sighs, ripping his laser focus to glance at the boy, “We were with a number of others before coming here.”

“Oh.” He has this expression like he’s thinking very hard and Saheon has half a mind to tell Soleum not to hurt himself trying, but Soleum speaks up first, “Maybe they were on these other floors?”

Hm. Very possible. And a good reminder not to underestimate this kid, even if he’s seemingly harmless. He’s still Kim Soleum; a scorpion cannot change its nature. Even if it does the scorpion the favour of carrying him across the river, the frog will get stung in the end.

He knows this, and yet. It’s strangely difficult to ignore the earnest gaze of the boy. Snap out of it! No way he was going to lower his guard down. ‘Do anything you can to survive,’ Saheon reminds himself.

…

But taking care of this kid, acting human towards him, is necessary for survival, Saheon justifies. It’s a difficult position to be in. He despises children, feels revolted by their inherent vulnerability and helplessness. But he still lets Soleum’s unoccupied hand move to clutch the back of his jacket as they advance further into the hallway.

“Soleum-ah,” Yeongeun says from somewhere outside his vision.

“What do you think, should we enter one of these rooms or should we head for that exit sign?”

He stays silent, waiting for the answer and then wishing he didn’t when it comes out.

“That room,” Saheon looks towards where Soleum is pointing. Room 444.

…

Like hell! He pries the boy’s grip off his suit jacket, careful not to break any fingers at the very least, and stomps towards the exit.

“Are you serious?” Yeongeun calls out from behind.

“Suit yourself.” He responds over his shoulder without skipping a beat, “If you’re so keen on becoming another unsuccessful escape attempt, by all means, go ahead.”

Yeongeun clenches her fists. Always something new with this guy.

“Is he… I mean, is hyung always like this?” Soleum whispers to her.

She tilts her head, curious as to what the child’s evaluation of the man is. “Like what?”

“Ah.”

His eyes flicker down towards the doll in his t-shirt pocket, as if listening.

“He’s a bit defensive.”

Yeongeun snickers into her hand, oh this was gold. Ah, but they really don’t have time to waste around here.

“Do you want to head in, then?” She jiggles the boy’s hand a bit in sync with the question.

He shakes his head slowly, “Mm. I think we should wait here. We could lose Saheon-hyung if we close the door while he’s still outside.”

That could be a good thing, though… Yeongeun doesn’t end up having time to convince Soleum about this fact or opening him up to this possibility because Saheon trudges back with a constipated expression mere moments later.

“Whatever.”

“What happened?” She asks with more than a little glee, “Do tell us.”

Saheon huffs, but obliges, “Hallway just kept on going, the exit wouldn’t get any closer.”

“Let’s go, kid. Follow.” He barrels on before anyone (Yeongeun) can get a word in edgewise.

She raises a brow, having expected Saheon to push Soleum to the front and force him to lead. Except the growing tremble of his shoulders is perhaps too visible to ignore. Is the man growing something resembling sympathy? Baek Saheon? Yeongeun dismisses the thought.

Upon pushing open the door to the room Soleum had pointed out, room 444, there is nothing immediately out of the ordinary. It’s decorated exactly like how a hotel would look like. Of course, the moment they step in further the door shoots behind them with a loud click. But that’s not what occupies her mind.

Why a hotel of all things? In fact, in the first place, why a maze? The floor they had initially been in, despite being labelled as the ground floor, had been reminiscent of what you would expect to see in the underground floors of a building.

Hm. These would have to be things connected to Soleum and his subconscious, no doubt, but given that Soleum is currently incapacitated it isn’t like they can just ask him.

It drives Yeongeun mad, almost, the amount of little details and errors she’s noticed along the way. Not to mention the way the child version of Soleum has been acting. Even now he refuses to make it past further than the entrance of the hotel suite, despite no obvious indications that there’s something amok in the room.

He moves only when the two adults spread further across the suite. Somewhere in here is the key to escaping. Rather, somewhere in here should be a path to the outside, but they had been exploring the mind-numbing maze for so long they almost feel like the same thing, the key to freedom.

The three of them dutifully examine everything contained in the hotel with laser focus. Knicknacks upon knicknacks, a couple books scattered across the desk, a TV that’s still set to a specific channel.

It looks like it’s still in use.

Yeongeun isn’t easily spooked, but she almost shivers at the thought. No one had been there when they first entered, but it doesn’t mean it’s no longer possible for someone to barge in all upset that the trio had invaded their hotel room. As for what kind of entity is staying in room 444, she doesn’t want to find out.

But the more Yeongeun roots through things, the more she realizes. There’s locks and puzzles, but there are also clues.

“It’s like an escape room,” she mumbles. Soleum perks up, excited at the thought; he watches with rapt attention as Yeongeun quickly sets to assembling all the clues she’s found so far on the bed.

He’s about to rush to her side to join in on the fun before the voice of Saheon-hyung distracts him.

“Hey.” The call is loud enough to catch Soleum’s attention, but still quiet enough to leave Yeongeun engrossed in her devices.

Soleum turns to the man. He’s crouched in front of the nightstand to the side of one of the queen beds. It’s an older style, with a drawer on top and cupboard on the bottom. The door of which is currently thrown open, Saheon in front of it and dutifully inspecting the interior.

“Put your arm in here.”

Soleum blanches, all of the blood immediately draining out of his face. He doesn’t want to do that! His hand goes to clutch at the stuffed rabbit in his shirt, terrified.

Saheon rolls his eyes from behind his mask at the clear disapproval before putting his own arm into the space, “See, I’m doing it too.”

The kid chews his lip a bit before responding, “Okay…” He does something with his fist that Saheon can’t quite make out before dutifully doing as told. Thankfully, nothing bites out at Soleum’s arm, except…

He almost falls while extending his arm forward. There’s no back to this cabinet? Saheon backs out, allowing Soleum to pat around in his curiosity.

“Do you think you can check how far it goes?” Saheon is not forcing himself to fit into that space unless it’s a guaranteed exit. But Soleum looks like there’s about a million things he’d rather do before that.

He sighs. This won’t work. Saheon has to find another way to convince Soleum, without just shoving him in (though that’s his first instinct). Something that won’t get Saheon in trouble should the man actually remember what went on in the Darkness. Their arms have both retracted, by now.

As he’s pondering, the kid speaks.

“Are,” he swallows, “Are you not scared at all, right now?”

Saheon crosses his arms, “Not really. This much is routine.”

“How?” Soleum leans in too close and the man almost falls flat on his ass in an attempt to scramble out of the kid’s area of attack.

“What do you mean, how, it’s not scary.”

Yeah, maybe he’s affording the kid too little credit, given all they had come across until this point. But maybe not. Saheon had already learned the way of the world and the immutable laws by his age, after all.

“Then how do you combat your fear?”

“What?” Saheon’s brows draw up on his face. “I just told you, I’m not scared.”

“Not by the monsters, no,” Soleum shakes his head, “But something’s been scaring you, hyung. I’ve been watching you too.”

God, had he seriously let himself think, even for a second, that this kid would be normal despite being a younger version of Soleum?

“You’re tense, alert, in a way Yeongeun-noona isn’t. But you work in the same place.”

That’s right, something bounds after Saheon, chases him night after night with the enthusiasm of a hound out for blood. It nips at his heels and causes his blood to coagulate. The fear of death. It drives Saheon mad, every second spent assessing for new and possible threats.

He’s in a constant state of alarm, heartbeat ever-high, similar to the way your very DNA can change from stress.

But, hey, isn’t everyone afraid of dying?

Wouldn’t anybody do whatever it takes to survive?

He can’t fathom the thought that it may not be true. So he levels the child in front of him with a serious gaze and throws his words from earlier back at Soleum.

“It’s just reasonable wariness.”

Soleum stares at him for uncomfortably long. He doesn’t shirk away from the gaze, absentmindedly noting that Yeongeun is still tearing through the puzzles, not even noticing they haven’t lifted a finger to help.

The kid tilts his head, “Can I tell you a secret, hyung?”

What the hell, why not? It could end up being something he can throw back in the man’s face later on. Soleum gestures for Saheon to come closer and once more he lends the child his ear.

“You know,” he lifts his hand to demonstrate whatever he’s instructing Saheon to do, “When I get really scared I put my thumb across my palm like this and I squeeze my fingers around it.”

He shows Saheon the end result, which looks like the clenched fist he seemed to have seen earlier.

“It helps me remember the monsters aren’t real.”

Saheon doesn’t even know how to respond to that. How would that help? The monsters are real. In this world of Darknesses and Disasters, your worst fears will always come to life. He pities this child that has a notion that things might ever be different.

Then again, is that why Soleum is able to enter Darknesses like that and act so arrogantly? Because he got rid of his fear when he was younger? Was it worth it, though, if it ends up turning you into a psychopath?

“I found a key.” Yeongeun’s voice appears, startling them both out of their wits. Though, while Soleum falls back flat on his butt, Saheon’s eyes merely widen.

She continues on, “I’ve gone through all the puzzles and this is all it leads to.”

“Ah! Already! I wanted to help…” Soleum pouts, then, as if realizing there’s a bigger issue, “Sorry, noona!”

She smiles as she shakes her head, “No, don’t be, you’re not the one that should have been helping anyway.”

Yeongeun throws Saheon a dirty look but it slides straight off him, more than immune to hateful stares and hissed insults at this point. 

“We think there might be some sort of passageway in this cupboard.”

“Oh,” she moves a little closer to inspect, frowning at the inky darkness, “Why haven’t you checked by now?”

“Soleum was too scared to.” Saheon immediately sells him out.

Yeongeun raises a brow, “And you couldn’t?”

“Well, no, I don’t want to risk getting stuck for no reason,” his eyes fall upon Yeongeun’s slimmer shoulders as he speaks, “Oh, but you could easily fit.”

She rolls her eyes, reluctantly pulling a flashlight out of her pocket. The duo watching’s jaws drop, almost in sync.

“You had that this whole time?” It would have saved him the trouble of trying to force Soleum into it.

“No, it was behind one of the puzzles.”

No one speaks further as she shines a light across the inside. The cabinet extends for a few meters inside, ending with what seems like another door, though locked.

“Ah. Must be what the key is for,” Yeongeun murmurs.

“I feel…” Their gazes turn to Soleum when the kid starts speaking out of the blue, “I feel like the exit might be through there.”

Perfect.

“But.” Saheon’s heart stops a little bit at that word.

“Do we have to leave?”

They exchange glances immediately. Saheon wants to scream and rip his hair out. Really, this close to the end, does Soleum really have to pull this? He doesn’t even know if the kid knows they physically can’t leave without him, but he has no intention in offering the weakness up.

Yeongeun seems out of depth for the first time since entering and Saheon almost has to pinch himself not to feel too smug. Serves her right for trusting this creepy child.

“What do you mean, Soleum-ah?”

He looks embarrassed as he looks down, “Just, ah… It’s been fun walking around with you guys. I can’t remember much, but I feel like… I was really lonely.”

Yeongeun’s eyes soften, “If it’s just that, then there’s no need to worry, Soleum-ah. We’re friends, we can still hang out.”

“Why do I feel like that’s not the truth,” Soleum says the words hesitantly, as if afraid to offend. His eyes are trained on Saheon as he speaks.

Yeongeun nudges him, “Go on, assure him. You’re the untrustworthy one, after all.”

Well, he can’t particularly refute that. Such is obvious by the way he feels no qualm in immediately lying.

“I promise,” Saheon smiles, almost tasting freedom on his tongue, “We can stay friends once we leave.”

Something in Soleum’s eyes tells him that the kid doesn’t believe him. His gaze flickers once again to that stupid rabbit before back to Saheon.

“Okay.”

Wait, what? Had the rabbit, Braun, said something to agree with him, then? He doesn’t intend on looking a gift horse in the mouth, though, so he takes the key from Yeongeun while she’s still distracted.

“Hey!” She realizes it’s no point, though, and now that the exit is so close the fight all but drains out of her. “Whatever.”

She gestures for Soleum to crawl in front of her, still intent on enclosing him in a cocoon of safety.

They trudge down the small passage in a line, reminiscent of their exploration of the labyrinth. As Saheon hears the hastened breaths of the child behind him, he recognizes that Soleum is still scared.

He can’t believe the brief thought that escapes his iron tight mental fortress as he makes the final step out of the Darkness.

‘I might miss this little shit. Just a bit.’

Soleum’s mind is a haze after exiting; for some time, he can’t even surmise where he is. Then it hits him. All around are the Daydream agents, who have also exited the space. They seem to be talking about being able to escape despite doing nothing for a few hours. The situation starts to become quite clear.

‘Braun.’

     - Yes, friend?

‘Was I the one to be transformed into a child in that Darkness?’ He counts a couple beats before the unfortunate reply comes back.

     - Why, yes! You were quite the charmer too, everyone thought you were a cute child.

If he had a nickel for every time he got called a child by a Darkness… Well, it would only be two, but the point remains. Before he can ponder this fact any more, Braun delivers some more awful news.

     - You won’t believe who your companions were! It would have made for the kind of special that would achieve a viewership rate of 20 percent! Minimum!

That description doesn’t bode well for him, because as far as he could tell, the employees entering with him had been relatively normal people. In fact the only ones he had known by name… His gut sinks. 

‘Braun.’

     - It seems you already know.

He can’t get the sound of laughter out of his head. But the thought was truly terrifying, being a child around Baek Saheon. How had that guy even let Soleum go while he was vulnerable? Maybe because it would be something like killing the golden goose?

But, then again, wouldn’t it have been a benefit to Saheon to get rid of him as the prospective next top rookie? Ah. Right, he can’t believe he had almost forgotten the condition for escaping the Darkness. It had to have been him that made his way through the exit. This also allows for everyone to escape at once, but nevertheless, it meant he was indispensable.

“Soleum.”

A voice jolts him out of his thoughts. It’s Go Yeongeun. Is it just him, or has her gaze changed a bit? Soleum swallows, what exactly happened in there?

“Let’s go for a drink later.”

Soleum’s jaw drops, baffled even further now. “Ah, sure.”

But well, she’s perhaps the one normal person he knows at this company. While J3 is kind, under no circumstances can he be considered normal.

And with that, she’s off.

     - Haha, I told you that you were quite charismatic, my good friend.

But this much? What next, Saheon will come up to him and repent for being such a bad person his whole life? He shivers at the thought, hoping he didn’t send some message to the universe to work at making it a reality.

He resolves to text her later and set a time for actually hanging out together and drinking. It was an odd feeling. As much as Soleum likes Yeongeun, the thought of growing attached to this world… It practically makes his neck break out into hives.

Still… He can’t help but wonder exactly what had gone down in that Darkness.

     - Do you not remember what you promised me, then, Mr. Roe Deer?

Soleum freezes. Now, what was this? He grits his teeth, trying to buy time for now. ‘Hm, I seem to be missing my memories from the Darkness. It’s coming back in bits and pieces.’

     - I will wait, dutifully, then!

Yes, please do. He tries not to feel too relieved at the acquiescence, all too aware of Braun’s ever watchful eyes.

     - Let’s watch plenty of cartoons then, in the meantime!

Ah, right. They had completed their nightly routine before heading out, but Soleum doesn’t mind going another round, immensely spooked by the twilight zone it seems like he’s stepped into.

The researchers collect their Dream Essence, pleased by the successful clear. Well, the alternative would be losing around a dozen employees, so it seems right. Soon enough, they’re free and Soleum can finally, finally head back to the dormitories and maybe catch some rest.

Of course, things can only go well for so long because Saheon just so happens to fall into step alongside him as they exit the building.

Great. Yeah right, ‘coincidence.’ Clearly something had also gone down between the two of them because the man has this sharp grin as he walks by Soleum’s side.

“Sir.”

Soleum is already creeped out as hell, given that it’s still dark out; the liminal space had been divorced from time, as well. So now he walks down this desolate road in between the building right next to the craziest man he knows.

Where were all the other people? Had they all decided to stay back at the building? No, rather, in Soleum’s hastiness to reach the dorm he had taken a shortcut scarcely used.

Great, Soleum curses himself more than a little as he can feel the warmth from Saheon’s body on his left and cool air from the ivy-covered wall at his right. No escape.

“What is it,” Soleum speaks with a drawl, attempting desperately to remain in character.

“You know how I took such great care of you—”

Soleum interrupts him, stopping in place now that he’s gotten a sense of what the man is up to, “I don’t remember anything.”

“What?”

Saheon has stopped walking too, starting to grow infuriated by the words that the other man has just uttered.

“I don’t even remember turning into a child,” Soleum shrugs, leaning on the wall in an attempt to appear casual whilst he gets his bearings, “so how am I supposed to trust what you’re saying as the truth?”

Saheon lunges into Soleum’s space and he has to reflexively press himself against the wall, even with his dopamine-freak persona. It’s okay, it’s a natural human reaction.

“Isn’t the fact that you came out unscathed enough?” His eye is wide open, crazed.

Soleum tries his best to appear unbothered, “Is it? You wouldn’t have escaped either, if you killed me.”

Saheon curses, punching the wall beside Soleum’s head, “Fuck!”

Try as he might to act like someone he’s not, old habits die hard. As he forces his upper body into a slow blink, not even flinching from the sudden movement, down below his hands clench into his way of forming fists particular to when he was scared.

Saheon’s eyes flicker down at the movement and Soleum instinctually releases them. It’s okay, it’s okay, it could be taken as a sign of anger—

“Holy shit,” a laugh escapes Saheon’s lips and he covers his mouth with the back of his hand, in disbelief. Soleum sends a bored look his way, but it’s like the world has faded to just him and that clenched fist.

‘This bastard’s fucking afraid of me.’