Chapter Text
Time and time again, Choi thinks back to when he discovered Kim Soleum in that decrepit, suspicious laboratory. The latter wore an attire that seemed to have turned him into something that was no longer human. The bubble of doubt he always had as soon as the rookie employee of that scheming company suddenly became a member of their team popped at that moment.
But after having witnessed the integrity Kim Soleum held despite having been a Daydream employee, Choi held a little hope that the man would betray the ill ways of his company and leave them to join him and Ryu Jaekwan back in the Bureau for good.
However, he had no idea how much his decision of putting him through due process would result in a downward spiral of events. Before they knew it, things had escalated beyond repair.
And right before matters started to look bright, Kim Soleum left without a word.
“...Haah,” A heavy sigh left Choi's lips. “...Still no news from that side?”
Ryu Jaekwan, who sat across from him at the table, shook his head in dismay.
The two had been doing their darndest into searching for Kim Soleum, yet no traces of the man were left. It's as if they were looking for a needle in a haystack–a needle that was just imaginary in the first place. Life that seemed like it was just a passing wind, but his time with them caused a storm in their hearts.
The devastation they felt upon finding the items and reading the letter their youngest had left them was still very much vivid, despite a month that had passed since then.
‘What did we miss?’
‘Where else should we look?’
Thoughts as such swirled inside the two agents’ heads, so much so that they were losing sleep. Others in the Bureau have begun putting the two with how more and more exhausted their appearances look at each passing day.
And so, some senior agents have taken the liberty of giving all sorts of tasks to the two, in hopes of distracting them from their increasingly depressing mood.
One senior agent from the Field Investigation Unit, who had been in charge in the aftermath of the incident in Jisan Village even asked the two to help them confirm the leads they had found about the village’s connection to a cult, with the excuse that Kim Soleum could be involved with it in some way. It didn’t matter if that really was the case or not, at least it'll keep them occupied for a while, he thought.
With that, the two had entered the steep woods close by to the village and sweeped everything on sight, checking if anything was related to their lead.
Apparently, an organizational figure that refers to itself as the Luminous Church held similar beliefs to the inhabitants of Jisan. Through various research, the investigation unit had found that these devotees revere a being they refer to as “Lord Ireum”.
A deity called a literal name. Who wouldn't have their interest piqued? What could have been the reason for this?
In any case, the two agents' wondered what possibly could have Kim Soleum got to do with this suspicious church, oblivious to the intention of the senior agent that asked for their assistance.
Choi stopped in his tracks as he tilted his head towards the gloomy sky.
“It's getting late. We should continue this early tomorrow.”
“...Yes.”
The two decided to call it a day and began trekking back to their bicycles they had left at the foot of the hill. But before they reached there, Choi noticed a moving figure in the distance from his side. With careful and discreet observation, he realized that it seemed to be watching only him.
“...Bronze.”
His junior turned around at his call.
“You can go ahead first. I have some unfinished business around here, so I'll see you tomorrow.”
“...Alright, sir. Please be careful.”
Ryu Jaekwan continued his trek, leaving his senior alone somewhere in these dark woods. Choi frowned as he watched the other's back getting smaller as he walked farther.
If it were the usual, he would've questioned his senior a bit more about where he was going to make sure he wasn't really up to no good. But now, it was like Jaekwan couldn't afford to exert any more energy towards anything other than their missions and searching for Kim Soleum.
Choi clicked his tongue. “We’ve become a mess.”
All because of one person.
Still, now was not the time for more rumination, as he had to confront someone–or something–that had been following him. Just as he had turned to scout for the figure’s current position, a smiling face of an old man wearing an attire akin to that of a woodworker, was right up his face.
“!!!”
With haste, Choi took multiple steps back in order to keep distance from the stranger.
Then, the old man muttered something under his breath, which sent chills down his back.
‘...Do I know this person? How did he know about my name?’
If he had to be honest, he didn't remember when and where he had last mentioned his full real name to someone else before. And if he had to take an estimate, it would be around the time after the use for codenames had been implemented, which was already quite a handful of years.
And yet, this unknown old man knew it like it was a matter of fact.
The increasingly suspicious elder opened his mouth once again. “You have lived way past than you were supposed to be.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“That child had inadvertently saved you and ruined your destined end.”
The words the old man spoke of with his eeriie smile disturbed Choi. With his heart pounding as if it's about to burst out of his chest, he continued to question the meaning of the words he’d been told.
“...Who is this child you're talking about?”
“Mm, that child named Kim Soleum.”
!!
“I was especially fond of his creativeness, yet to see him continue desperately suffering like that in this world, I could only heed his plea to return home.”
Home.
The same word that Kim Soleum had told him that night.
– I want to go home.
In this entire month that he had been missing, has he been in his home all this time?
Not only that, the old man had also said that he was the one to send him home.
“Who…who exactly are you?”
Now, he couldn't help but ask.
“You came here in search of my pitiful believers, no?”
“...!”
“And you were also trying to find that child through them.”
Choi froze in shock as the realization that a supposed 'deity' was right in front of him began to set in.
“As such, I offer you a choice, oh named one.”
A deal with a supposed god.
“I will let you meet that child. In return, fulfill your delayed fate with your own body.”