[ After having his trust betrayed once already, now he's leaving his situation to the kindness of his junior. What a guy.
A stack of paper forms sag over his arm, and briefly, Soleum glances down at his wrist. Could he… Well, perhaps, but it wouldn't be a pleasant experience fitting it in and pulling it out. All while keeping out of the public eye. It'd be simpler to continue heading toward the administrative office, where he could grovel for the senior agent's fourth-issued bicycle this month. ]
ohh look at you, such a good memory! yup I'm right there! I'll treat you to tteokbokki for the trouble haha
[Is he treating him or just craving it... Well, what's the difference.]
oh and bring some containment bags mine are stuffed to burst lol don't want to spill them on the street... hm but can you manage that? always ride safely!
[ After a few minutes of back-and-forth with the bureau's inventory specialist… ]
It's no trouble at all. I'll be fine.
[ So don't treat me to anything unnecessary like that goes unsaid. If Agent Choi really wanted to do him a favor, he'd avoid losing this bike. ]
Anything else besides the bags you need while I'm still in the office? Do you want a drink? You stuck your leftover coffee in the fridge from this morning.
[ There's also a case of beer in there, but that can't be in abidance with work policy. ]
Braun? He… doesn't want to wear anything like that.
[ There aren't any helmets small enough to fit the plushie's head, not without bending his fuzzy little ears. And even if there were any available, Braun would throw a fit the second he saw how gauche it looked on himself. ]
I'm sorry to break it to you, sir, but there's no real way to ride carefully if a grown man is sitting in the bicycle basket. So the kind agent at the check-out desk procured us a tandem bicycle. It's not speedy or as easy to maneuver, but we should be able to make do.
[ "With a sunbae like that, who needs enemies, huh? Don't worry, some of us are good here." That was what the agent said to Soleum before patting his shoulder and sliding the master lock to his newfound equipment. ]
[ It's not a calculated take down, but it is horribly meticulous.
His face is tilted forward throughout all of it. Listening impassively to the winding trail of Jaekwan's review of his activities, the hard stop between each sentence, as if he wants Soleum to follow along unhindered, without any question of where the facts start and end. The places where his voice strengthens with resolution, fills his head the way it did that one night when he was hovering over him, bearing down all his weight to pound into Soleum's hips.
There's a part of him that hates what his senior is saying. Rather than a list of accolades, it's like listening to a long stream of his various offenses. If he could have, he would have liked to never experience any of those things; if he could have, he would have been home by now. He didn't want to be at the Horizon Mountain Lodge, didn't want to have to watch teenagers die in their dreams in a story he wrote. Didn't want to cut his arm into pieces in exchange for a way out. He didn't want to see Jaekwan that way, either, on the brink between life and death. And he didn't want to come face to face with all the good he'd supposedly done as a direct result of the lies he told.
It meant that keeping up the act remained a necessity. It meant that enduring the way he has been continues to be the only way forward.
But still, Soleum should give him credit. ]
You've really watched over me quite a bit, haven't you…? [ A soft breath. Because it's true. Jaekwan is a good agent and a good person. The bureau is lucky to have him. ] Thank you.
[ Soleum chuckles weakly, as if at his own expense. Then extends a hand, reaching over to lightly pat down at his hairline — well, that's about as far up as he can go, anyway. ]
Maybe it's not one-sided, [ he relents, but only a half-step. ] But I'm no match against you two. I don't think I ever will be… If I go in, it should just be as we are.
[He's watched over... No, no - Jaekwan begins to frown heavier, ready to disagree, he's completely misconstrued what - ]
[But he goes still when Soleum's hand rises up and gently pats right above his forehead, smoothing down the short locks before retreating with words that he very nearly misses.]
["Maybe it's not one-sided." It's in response to their mutual protection of each other, the mutual respect and care they show one another. Isn't it?]
[Sometimes Agent Choi speaks like this, too, he thinks to himself. With words that are straightforward and related precisely to the topic at hand, and yet have two edges to them, one side sharp and the other soft. Soleum says he wants to enter that apartment as they are and Jaekwan has to stop himself from asking, 'When have we ever asked for anything else?']
I understand.
[Trust him, he does! Jaekwan can only handle Agent Choi because of years of practice and exposure. He has no illusions about this situation. No, apparently the two people putting the most strain on it are the ones between him right now. One in front of him, causing the red flush on his cheeks, and the one probably with his ear pointlessly pressed against the door, making this so much more stressful than it should be.]
[...Huu. He closes his eyes loosely. His forehead still feels warm.]
Soleum-ssi. [He's already accepted his terms and, due to his presence, will ensure that Agent Choi accepts them as well. He hopes that's clear. But he also hopes he's taking his own words seriously - that, the way they go in there should be exactly the same as they are right now. So he lays out an offer, opening his eyes to look at him seriously.] May I kiss you, before we go inside.
[ Believing he's gotten through to him by nothing short of a miracle, the next sigh Soleum breathes out is relieved. Tired, too, from overthinking the situation, replaying the same hopeless events leading up to this, forecasting the potential fallout from one wrong move on his end; the resolution was never going to be explosive, you don't need a nitrogen compound to be able to hurt someone, to have to use a touch of discretion and subtlety. It's something that takes time to learn how to navigate, time he feels sluicing up against the back of his neck like the wrong end of a guillotine, telling him he's almost up.
So he's grateful to be able borrow Jaekwan's cooperation.
That is, until he spins the tables on Soleum with a request so sweetly asked he has no idea what the proper reaction is. His surprise is slow-sinking, only visible in the instant widening in his eyes when the request fully, fully registers. His foot slides backward, the instinct to book it down the stairs right behind him within reach, but when is it not? If it were coming someone like Agent Choi, he'd consider it a last ditch effort to bend the muster of their agreed upon terms. From Jaekwan…
He can never tell, whether he's underestimating or overestimating him, or simply wrong on both accounts because his approximation of him is still in the works, swinging up and down on his barometer. Needing time to age and refine, as always. What does Soleum know about Ryu Jaekwan? ]
Sunbae-nim, that's…
[ Soleum isn't new to digging his heels in to defend his decisions. But this isn't that, is it? It's just a thing being asked for, like Jaekwan noticed he had a piece of candy in his pocket and he asked if he could try, and it's up to him to give in. Give it up. As he considers, the front of his teeth bites down at his bottom lip, and he's still gnawing, a moment later, when he nods back at him. ]
Only as long as you see this as the exception, not the rule.
[ He moves, a shadow creeping in at sunset, not too hurried, not too fussed about it, yet knowing exactly where he's going to land in front of Jaekwan. Where he's going to put his hands at the slip of his hip, neck outstretched as he kisses him — mouth warm, more than a little worked up and shaky, but trying to give him what he wants, all the same; Soleum, trying to take what he needs before he can't anymore. ]
[Thanks to the brief bite of indecision, Soleum's lips are warm and surprisingly soft. The kiss is short and simple, one that Jaekwan doesn't deepen or especially lean into or try to control in any way. His breath creeps against his tongue when they separate with a gentle puff. Jaekwan had initially leaned down to meet him when he saw Soleum begin to move but froze when his hands went to his hips. If he insists.]
[As he thought, the kiss told him a lot.]
...I'm sorry.
[It hasn't been long enough for regret or second-guessing to form, and Jaekwan is someone who is used to both of those sensations. The first sensation is his gut and it tells him the real situation every single time. Right now, he's trusted in it fully. Jaekwan leans down as if he might bow.]
But I asked to kiss you.
[Which is why he steals a second one, eyes slipping briefly closed as he presses their lips together once more. There's nothing forceful in his actions and nothing stopping Soleum from darting away, racing right back down the stairs and out into the night. But Jaekwan has a feeling about this, and it's that Soleum wouldn't think of it.]
[ Caught in the lie, the act, the wrong place at the wrong time. That's how it feels, knowing he's been obliged, knowing that his senior agent knew.
Either way: Too late to talk his way out once Jaekwan points out his misjudgment, too soon for it when he presses back into his mouth, polite about how much weight to nudge against his lips. He could have dodged; he whimpers, the sound vague, stolen away with his breath. There's a rapid jerk to his shoulders, hands skimmed up, grabbed into the sides of his shirt. Soleum doesn't need to hold the agent in place, but who knows where he might take himself without a fixed moor, what better senses he might succumb to. Before he realizes it, he's pushing in past what's polite, his lips parting in the movement, a kittenish suckle clinging to the reddest part of Jaekwan's mouth.
— and then suddenly, Soleum's shaking him off, disentangling. His face is on fire, lips freshly wet and bruised. He backs out of reach. ]
I'm sorry. We should stop. Or else I really can't come in.
[He doesn't move beyond the fixed post he's become, only bent to meet Soleum's comparable height, so there's no reason for Soleum to grasp him in turn. Again - as he thought. This is closer to his memory of that night. Not the standoffishness he's somewhat used to of his junior, but a little more enthusiasm, a little less holding back. His lips part and - that, he didn't expect, his own parting in acceptance of the deepening move, warmth burning his cheeks brighter...]
[And it ends. He's released. Moved away from. Jaekwan stares across at him, a step away from one another.]
That's all I asked for.
[In other words, it's Soleum's move. He can leave. He can stay. Or they can both go inside and act like nothing at all is happening. With the cards all laid out and both of them knowing what's in each other's hand, he doesn't think it's possible for the last option to happen.]
You're... my first hubae. [Don't comment on his enflamed face, currently as red as a cherry, please. There have been people under him before, sure, but not in their team. He's always been the youngest here.] So I do feel it's my duty to ensure you don't make the same kinds of mistakes I've made.
[Soleum is smart - Jaekwan knows he doesn't have to expand on what those mistakes were. He doesn't move to approach him or stop him from running off as he speaks. As always his face is serious and steady - aside from the heat on his cheeks and ears.]
The most important thing I have learned from Agent Choi is to follow your gut. I'd like to ask you to take that same lesson to heart.
[ Still disoriented, he glances back at Jaekwan as he speaks, a loose fist held just to the bottom of his mouth. It's solid advice — Agent Choi is tricky, almost more fox-like than the slyest director he knows. He's… also someone he worries about on a personal level, the same as Jaekwan. That's why he came, to settle matters on good terms, without folding on doing the best thing for everyone. Soleum has only ever wanted their relationship to be a kind, positive one.
So, whatever happens, it's a conversation he has to have. ]
You're a good sunbae, Jaekwan-nim.
[ If Soleum makes any mistakes from hereon, it will be because that's who he is and it's his mistake to make. Not because he had the wrong guidance. An apology very nearly stumbles out for being this kind of frustrating junior, but he keeps the words closed away to avoid another lecture about his good traits. Another steadying breath draws out, then his gaze is moving back behind Jaekwan at the door he'd been waiting beside. Agent Choi's housing unit. ]
I'll be stepping in with you, now, if you're ready. …Are you okay? [ Soleum reaches out toward him again, flattening down some of his hairs with his brushing. ] You don't look well. We should get you back inside — [ A soft self-exasperated haaah. ] I shouldn't have stressed you out. Here, let me take the box for now.
[ Whether or not Jaekwan allows it, they arrive back by Agent Choi's door within a few steps. Soleum sends a nervous look the senior's way, and then presses the doorbell. ]
[But Jaekwan doesn't stop him, despite the way he kind of wants to snatch his hand and yank him into a hug and maybe pat his head a little in return - no. He stands patiently as Soleum strokes down his hair and then allows him to approach the door down the hall.]
[He rings the bell while he's still a few steps away and Jaekwan notes,] It's unlocked. [Then reaches forward to grab the doorknob to push the door open...]
[...and smacks Agent Choi in the face who was holding the knob on the other side.]
Ow, owww... [He laughs, pulling the door open wider and motioning both of them inside.] Come in, hey! Oh, you brought us something? You're always so nice to us, Grapes!
[He invites them into his apartment which is a nice enough size for a single person and has the exact same atmosphere as the Hyunmu 1 waiting room. It's cozy, warm, has a few random knick-knacks and things that probably have much too long of a story attached to them. A few work papers and binders are scattered around on a few surfaces and beside the couch and there are some clothes tossed haphazardly here and there. It's not a messy place but it's lived in. Has a lot of Choi touch to it. There's a couch on one side that looks like it's seen quite a bit of use. The exact location where this all started.]
Come and sit down - I got you that drink, if you want, but you don't have to! [Look at him, being so respectful of boundaries.]
Jaekwan-ie, here, I mixed it for you. [He hands Jaekwan a glass of alcohol, which he takes with a quiet thanks.] How was it? Grapes, did he bully you at all?
I disagree. The appeal of a persona like that is how understated they are.
[ Bland and common at first, but when you look at that person closely for the first time, notice what unexpected features set them apart, it's a shock to the senses. ]
In your usual element, you're already eye-catching. So the challenge is diminishing your presence while still drawing attention to your less noticeable qualities.
this is really confusing! lol do you understand this? will you help me later ^^
[He's given him like two complements in the span of an hour, this is worth the trouble. (And a good reason to slide past the neck comment without having to tackle it in detail!)]
[ Why does he need help using a printer? Is Agent Choi usually so awful with technology… Wait. ]
I can help you with connecting to the printer, but I won't be able to help you when Agent Bronze finds out you've been wasting paper on something like this.
[ Haaa. Is he being difficult on purpose? ]
Um… Agent Choi, you were my first choice to play the role, but I can ask someone else if you're not comfortable with what it entails.
[It's not wasting paper!! Bronze would be just as impressed by Grapes' kind words...]
[But it seems like sidestepping may have led him down the wrong road... No need to make him worry now. So he'll sidestep in the other direction.]
you really thought of me first? ^^
[After that.]
I'm sure I can act the part just fine! it's chilly now so I can wear a turtleneck without looking conspicuous
[Urghh... Whatever. He can power through. Time to sidestep.]
but the colors what I'm still curious about... if our Grapes wants to choose, I'll go along with what you think is best! you have the better eye for details don't you?
[ Of course, he would choose the one character with "salaryman" clearly dictated in his official description. It only makes sense.
But Choi isn't the only one who can sidestep. ]
It's not that…
In the manual, a series of witness accounts recorded the ghost acting more unpredictably around a civilian wearing his wedding ring. After he disappeared, only his ring finger was found at the place of his last sighting.
[ So please, Agent, understand why he would rather be cautious. That said. ]
The colors of the jacket and pants before weren't bad. If we pair it with a turtleneck, it shouldn't be mistaken for groom attire…
We can do something about your hair and add concealing makeup to any of your other visible scars.
[ Borrowing the assistance a dokkaebi could also do the trick, but for a Crutch-sanction disaster, it would be a waste of resources. ]
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You should take better care of your belongings, sir.
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omg don't make it sound like a habit
its not my fault this time the lock didn't fit around the tree so I just trusted in the kindness of civilians
[Brief pause.]
so lol umm
can you bring me one lol haha
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A stack of paper forms sag over his arm, and briefly, Soleum glances down at his wrist. Could he… Well, perhaps, but it wouldn't be a pleasant experience fitting it in and pulling it out. All while keeping out of the public eye. It'd be simpler to continue heading toward the administrative office, where he could grovel for the senior agent's fourth-issued bicycle this month. ]
You're still in the Itaewon area, aren't you?
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yup I'm right there!
I'll treat you to tteokbokki for the trouble haha
[Is he treating him or just craving it... Well, what's the difference.]
oh and bring some containment bags
mine are stuffed to burst lol
don't want to spill them on the street...
hm but can you manage that? always ride safely!
[Because, right, safety first.]
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It's no trouble at all. I'll be fine.
[ So don't treat me to anything unnecessary like that goes unsaid. If Agent Choi really wanted to do him a favor, he'd avoid losing this bike. ]
Anything else besides the bags you need while I'm still in the office? Do you want a drink? You stuck your leftover coffee in the fridge from this morning.
[ There's also a case of beer in there, but that can't be in abidance with work policy. ]
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no no you'd best be careful riding
on the way back you'll have to carry me in the basket lol
so there's got to be room for us both!
[As for how that'll work, well, he'll leave that up to the shining rookie of the team to figure out.]
make sure grapes little pink friend has a helmet too lol
[Whatever that thing's name was.]
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[ There aren't any helmets small enough to fit the plushie's head, not without bending his fuzzy little ears. And even if there were any available, Braun would throw a fit the second he saw how gauche it looked on himself. ]
I'm sorry to break it to you, sir, but there's no real way to ride carefully if a grown man is sitting in the bicycle basket. So the kind agent at the check-out desk procured us a tandem bicycle. It's not speedy or as easy to maneuver, but we should be able to make do.
[ "With a sunbae like that, who needs enemies, huh? Don't worry, some of us are good here." That was what the agent said to Soleum before patting his shoulder and sliding the master lock to his newfound equipment. ]
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it's swelling up, damn, i'm at my limit
[ It's not a calculated take down, but it is horribly meticulous.
His face is tilted forward throughout all of it. Listening impassively to the winding trail of Jaekwan's review of his activities, the hard stop between each sentence, as if he wants Soleum to follow along unhindered, without any question of where the facts start and end. The places where his voice strengthens with resolution, fills his head the way it did that one night when he was hovering over him, bearing down all his weight to pound into Soleum's hips.
There's a part of him that hates what his senior is saying. Rather than a list of accolades, it's like listening to a long stream of his various offenses. If he could have, he would have liked to never experience any of those things; if he could have, he would have been home by now. He didn't want to be at the Horizon Mountain Lodge, didn't want to have to watch teenagers die in their dreams in a story he wrote. Didn't want to cut his arm into pieces in exchange for a way out. He didn't want to see Jaekwan that way, either, on the brink between life and death. And he didn't want to come face to face with all the good he'd supposedly done as a direct result of the lies he told.
It meant that keeping up the act remained a necessity. It meant that enduring the way he has been continues to be the only way forward.
But still, Soleum should give him credit. ]
You've really watched over me quite a bit, haven't you…? [ A soft breath. Because it's true. Jaekwan is a good agent and a good person. The bureau is lucky to have him. ] Thank you.
[ Soleum chuckles weakly, as if at his own expense. Then extends a hand, reaching over to lightly pat down at his hairline — well, that's about as far up as he can go, anyway. ]
Maybe it's not one-sided, [ he relents, but only a half-step. ] But I'm no match against you two. I don't think I ever will be… If I go in, it should just be as we are.
[ Nothing more or less than teammates. ]
i;m summingggggggggggggg!
[But he goes still when Soleum's hand rises up and gently pats right above his forehead, smoothing down the short locks before retreating with words that he very nearly misses.]
["Maybe it's not one-sided." It's in response to their mutual protection of each other, the mutual respect and care they show one another. Isn't it?]
[Sometimes Agent Choi speaks like this, too, he thinks to himself. With words that are straightforward and related precisely to the topic at hand, and yet have two edges to them, one side sharp and the other soft. Soleum says he wants to enter that apartment as they are and Jaekwan has to stop himself from asking, 'When have we ever asked for anything else?']
I understand.
[Trust him, he does! Jaekwan can only handle Agent Choi because of years of practice and exposure. He has no illusions about this situation. No, apparently the two people putting the most strain on it are the ones between him right now. One in front of him, causing the red flush on his cheeks, and the one probably with his ear pointlessly pressed against the door, making this so much more stressful than it should be.]
[...Huu. He closes his eyes loosely. His forehead still feels warm.]
Soleum-ssi. [He's already accepted his terms and, due to his presence, will ensure that Agent Choi accepts them as well. He hopes that's clear. But he also hopes he's taking his own words seriously - that, the way they go in there should be exactly the same as they are right now. So he lays out an offer, opening his eyes to look at him seriously.] May I kiss you, before we go inside.
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So he's grateful to be able borrow Jaekwan's cooperation.
That is, until he spins the tables on Soleum with a request so sweetly asked he has no idea what the proper reaction is. His surprise is slow-sinking, only visible in the instant widening in his eyes when the request fully, fully registers. His foot slides backward, the instinct to book it down the stairs right behind him within reach, but when is it not? If it were coming someone like Agent Choi, he'd consider it a last ditch effort to bend the muster of their agreed upon terms. From Jaekwan…
He can never tell, whether he's underestimating or overestimating him, or simply wrong on both accounts because his approximation of him is still in the works, swinging up and down on his barometer. Needing time to age and refine, as always. What does Soleum know about Ryu Jaekwan? ]
Sunbae-nim, that's…
[ Soleum isn't new to digging his heels in to defend his decisions. But this isn't that, is it? It's just a thing being asked for, like Jaekwan noticed he had a piece of candy in his pocket and he asked if he could try, and it's up to him to give in. Give it up. As he considers, the front of his teeth bites down at his bottom lip, and he's still gnawing, a moment later, when he nods back at him. ]
Only as long as you see this as the exception, not the rule.
[ He moves, a shadow creeping in at sunset, not too hurried, not too fussed about it, yet knowing exactly where he's going to land in front of Jaekwan. Where he's going to put his hands at the slip of his hip, neck outstretched as he kisses him — mouth warm, more than a little worked up and shaky, but trying to give him what he wants, all the same; Soleum, trying to take what he needs before he can't anymore. ]
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[As he thought, the kiss told him a lot.]
...I'm sorry.
[It hasn't been long enough for regret or second-guessing to form, and Jaekwan is someone who is used to both of those sensations. The first sensation is his gut and it tells him the real situation every single time. Right now, he's trusted in it fully. Jaekwan leans down as if he might bow.]
But I asked to kiss you.
[Which is why he steals a second one, eyes slipping briefly closed as he presses their lips together once more. There's nothing forceful in his actions and nothing stopping Soleum from darting away, racing right back down the stairs and out into the night. But Jaekwan has a feeling about this, and it's that Soleum wouldn't think of it.]
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Either way: Too late to talk his way out once Jaekwan points out his misjudgment, too soon for it when he presses back into his mouth, polite about how much weight to nudge against his lips. He could have dodged; he whimpers, the sound vague, stolen away with his breath. There's a rapid jerk to his shoulders, hands skimmed up, grabbed into the sides of his shirt. Soleum doesn't need to hold the agent in place, but who knows where he might take himself without a fixed moor, what better senses he might succumb to. Before he realizes it, he's pushing in past what's polite, his lips parting in the movement, a kittenish suckle clinging to the reddest part of Jaekwan's mouth.
— and then suddenly, Soleum's shaking him off, disentangling. His face is on fire, lips freshly wet and bruised. He backs out of reach. ]
I'm sorry. We should stop. Or else I really can't come in.
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[And it ends. He's released. Moved away from. Jaekwan stares across at him, a step away from one another.]
That's all I asked for.
[In other words, it's Soleum's move. He can leave. He can stay. Or they can both go inside and act like nothing at all is happening. With the cards all laid out and both of them knowing what's in each other's hand, he doesn't think it's possible for the last option to happen.]
You're... my first hubae. [Don't comment on his enflamed face, currently as red as a cherry, please. There have been people under him before, sure, but not in their team. He's always been the youngest here.] So I do feel it's my duty to ensure you don't make the same kinds of mistakes I've made.
[Soleum is smart - Jaekwan knows he doesn't have to expand on what those mistakes were. He doesn't move to approach him or stop him from running off as he speaks. As always his face is serious and steady - aside from the heat on his cheeks and ears.]
The most important thing I have learned from Agent Choi is to follow your gut. I'd like to ask you to take that same lesson to heart.
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So, whatever happens, it's a conversation he has to have. ]
You're a good sunbae, Jaekwan-nim.
[ If Soleum makes any mistakes from hereon, it will be because that's who he is and it's his mistake to make. Not because he had the wrong guidance. An apology very nearly stumbles out for being this kind of frustrating junior, but he keeps the words closed away to avoid another lecture about his good traits. Another steadying breath draws out, then his gaze is moving back behind Jaekwan at the door he'd been waiting beside. Agent Choi's housing unit. ]
I'll be stepping in with you, now, if you're ready. …Are you okay? [ Soleum reaches out toward him again, flattening down some of his hairs with his brushing. ] You don't look well. We should get you back inside — [ A soft self-exasperated haaah. ] I shouldn't have stressed you out. Here, let me take the box for now.
[ Whether or not Jaekwan allows it, they arrive back by Agent Choi's door within a few steps. Soleum sends a nervous look the senior's way, and then presses the doorbell. ]
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[But Jaekwan doesn't stop him, despite the way he kind of wants to snatch his hand and yank him into a hug and maybe pat his head a little in return - no. He stands patiently as Soleum strokes down his hair and then allows him to approach the door down the hall.]
[He rings the bell while he's still a few steps away and Jaekwan notes,] It's unlocked. [Then reaches forward to grab the doorknob to push the door open...]
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Ow, owww... [He laughs, pulling the door open wider and motioning both of them inside.] Come in, hey! Oh, you brought us something? You're always so nice to us, Grapes!
[He invites them into his apartment which is a nice enough size for a single person and has the exact same atmosphere as the Hyunmu 1 waiting room. It's cozy, warm, has a few random knick-knacks and things that probably have much too long of a story attached to them. A few work papers and binders are scattered around on a few surfaces and beside the couch and there are some clothes tossed haphazardly here and there. It's not a messy place but it's lived in. Has a lot of Choi touch to it. There's a couch on one side that looks like it's seen quite a bit of use. The exact location where this all started.]
Come and sit down - I got you that drink, if you want, but you don't have to! [Look at him, being so respectful of boundaries.]
Jaekwan-ie, here, I mixed it for you. [He hands Jaekwan a glass of alcohol, which he takes with a quiet thanks.] How was it? Grapes, did he bully you at all?
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puts this here... crai
[ Yes. The answer is yes. It would suit him. But he can't just say that. ]
Ah, my mistake… You're right. A salary worker would never wear this to the office.
I'll continue searching, sir.
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hmm, this isn't about using normal logic, is it?
if the spirit is drawn to a handsome salaryman wearing glasses... you'd want something that stands out
and a white suit would stand out!
but... do you think I'd look handsome enough for them in it, Grapes? ^^
[Complement him.]
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[ Bland and common at first, but when you look at that person closely for the first time, notice what unexpected features set them apart, it's a shock to the senses. ]
In your usual element, you're already eye-catching. So the challenge is diminishing your presence while still drawing attention to your less noticeable qualities.
…We'll probably have to cover up your neck, sir.
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this is really confusing! lol do you understand this? will you help me later ^^
[He's given him like two complements in the span of an hour, this is worth the trouble. (And a good reason to slide past the neck comment without having to tackle it in detail!)]
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I can help you with connecting to the printer, but I won't be able to help you when Agent Bronze finds out you've been wasting paper on something like this.
[ Haaa. Is he being difficult on purpose? ]
Um… Agent Choi, you were my first choice to play the role, but I can ask someone else if you're not comfortable with what it entails.
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[But it seems like sidestepping may have led him down the wrong road... No need to make him worry now. So he'll sidestep in the other direction.]
you really thought of me first? ^^
[After that.]
I'm sure I can act the part just fine! it's chilly now so I can wear a turtleneck without looking conspicuous
[Urghh... Whatever. He can power through. Time to sidestep.]
but the colors what I'm still curious about... if our Grapes wants to choose, I'll go along with what you think is best! you have the better eye for details don't you?
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But Choi isn't the only one who can sidestep. ]
It's not that…
In the manual, a series of witness accounts recorded the ghost acting more unpredictably around a civilian wearing his wedding ring. After he disappeared, only his ring finger was found at the place of his last sighting.
[ So please, Agent, understand why he would rather be cautious. That said. ]
The colors of the jacket and pants before weren't bad. If we pair it with a turtleneck, it shouldn't be mistaken for groom attire…
We can do something about your hair and add concealing makeup to any of your other visible scars.
[ Borrowing the assistance a dokkaebi could also do the trick, but for a Crutch-sanction disaster, it would be a waste of resources. ]
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