Chapter Text
[Congratulations! You have won a ticket for a 3 day 2 night trip aboard the Underworldly Cruise Liner!]
To redeem the tickets, please fill in your address below, and we will send the ticket to you!
—>>>redeem here<<<—
Baek Saheon moved his mouse to click the link that screamed “scam” and typed out the location of his company housing unit.
Screw these researchers for making him input his actual home address, now ghostly advertisement companies are going to cram his mailbox with creepy junkmail.
The ticket should turn up at his doorstep by tomorrow morning. If he was lucky, Kim Soleum would pick up the ticket, get sent into the darkness instead of him and hopefully die.
If not, he would be going on a very relaxing cruise getaway. Words couldn’t describe how badly he wanted to skip this assignment. Maybe if he sold the tickets online, he could not only get out of going for the cruise, but make a nice sum too… forget it. Daydream wants their essence.
Once Baek Saheon received a confirmation email that the ticket had been sent out for delivery, he moved on to write the pending reports for his previous darkness explorations.
There was that one about a haunted graveyard and that one concerning an old high school club room that wasn't supposed to exist and… that one.
For the thousandth time since that day, Baek Saheon picked at the black ring-like tattoo around his finger, trying to rub it off and failing miserably once again.
He still couldn’t bring himself to write that report. The higher-ups had been chasing him like debt collectors, but unfortunately for them, he was running 50 meters ahead with no intention of slowing down.
Ignoring the arguably most urgent document in his files, he moved his mouse to click on the one beside it and began to write his report on [the graveyard shift].
Those pesky ghosts, they tried all night to make him literally and figuratively dig his own grave. For some reason they kept insisting on getting a double grave. Who the hell would even want to share a grave with him? If he did, it would be because someone had dumped his body in an illegal mass grave.
By the time Baek Saheon sent the finished report to the researcher department, it was well past his clocking off time. Judging by the pitch black sky outside the window, he must have been at it for quite a long time. His line of sight slid down to the bottom right corner of his computer screen.
10:26
Damn, maybe a bit too long.
And he still has to enter a stupid darkness when he gets home.
If only the company would go bankrupt tonight…
After shutting down his computer, Baek Saheon stood up from his uncomfortable office chair, grimacing at the way his back cracked like a glowstick as he stretched the stiffness away.
The dim lights of the corridor guided him to the lift, brightening every so often as he passed by doors to offices of exhausted overtimers slaving away. The noise of their keys clacking echoed along the corridor, following him until he reached the landing.
His finger gently pressed the button. He lifted his head to stare at the numbers above the lift.
Of course it was on the ground floor. While the lift climbed at a snail's pace, the increasingly impatient man began fidgeting, the black band on his finger being an unfortunate victim once again.
‘Oh my god, it’s FINALLY here.’
Baek Saheon faced the door, ready to step in and leave this god forsakened place.
But the door never opened.
Puzzled, he glanced up again at the electronic sign above the lift. It was now a few floors above his.
“MOTHERFU—”
Ouch. Baek Saheon, subconsciously sensing that no one was around, kicked the poor trashcan next to the lift to vent his anger. The heavy and innocent trashcan, unwilling to submit to this unjust act of violence, returned the favour to Baek Saheon with a sharp pain in his foot.
Baek Saheon crouched down to the carpeted floor, instantly regretting his rash action.
God damnit, he really shouldn’t have done that.
A moment later, the lift doors slid open with a ‘ding’, and intense light poured out of the lift car and bore down on him like it was the Rapture.
Just as he was about to get up, an unfortunately familiar voice came from above his head.
“What are you doing down there? I know I’m your superior, but this is the 21st century, you don’t need to kneel before me.”
Baek Saheon instantly sprang up and glared at Kim Soleum.
“Unless… you’re into historical roleplay?”
Not even the gods could fathom how much Baek Saheon was restraining himself from punching the raised eyebrow off that guy’s face.
He stepped onto the lift, switching back to respectful colleague mode on instinct.
“No sir, I was just tying my shoelace.”
Kim Soleum stared at him with a face that said ‘likely story’.
“ ‘Sir’? Just drop the title at this point, half the company knows about us, but if that really is your thing…”
Can he just drop it??
“…no need to continue, si—.”
…
He really needs to get that habit out of his system.
After leaving the lift, the pair walked back to their shared housing unit side by side, hair tangling into a mess from the cold late night breeze blowing through the streets. By the time they got back to the building, there was not a sound apart from the buzzing of the fluorescent incandescent lights overhead that hadn’t been modernised, and the echoes of their footsteps in the desolate corridor.
When they got back to the unit, the doormat was empty.
Thank god, the only time he’s happy that delivery isn’t early. He can actually sleep tonight.
Baek Saheon ignored whatever the hell the other person was doing and walked past him. He just couldn’t be bothered. Once he slipped his work shoes off his feet and placed them on the rack near the door, he headed straight into the shower to wash all the stress from the day away down the drain.
His stomach growled at him for ignoring this basic human need, but he could deal with that tomorrow. Let’s just go to sleep instead…
The second his head hit the pillow, the lights in his brain went out and faint snoring filled the room.
***
Knock knock knock
Are those inconsiderate pieces of shit from upstairs at it again? They’ve already made love twice this week, can they be any louder?
Baek Saheon grabbed the first thing he reached from his bedside table and threw it at the ceiling. He didn’t know what it was, but it made a sound.
The noise stopped for a moment before being replaced by the sound of his door handle twisting open.
Turns out the knocking was coming from his door rather than the ceiling, but most importantly, he forgot to lock the door last night.
“Are you awake yet?”
…
That bastard is here to kill him
Baek Saheon squeezed his eyes shut and laid limp on his bed, pretending to be dead as if Kim Soleum was a bear in the woods.
The door knob twisted audibly before a pair of footsteps steadily approached his bed.
Don’t react, you’re asleep, don’t let him know you’re awake…
“OUF”
A heavy blunt force collided with his stomach. Baek Saheon’s eyes flew open immediately, forcing him to face his biggest fear. The man with jet black hair and an ominous red glint in his eyes was basically the personification of death itself, there was no way he was here with good intentions.
In favour of increasing his chances of being spared, he decided to bite back the stream of curses that wanted to gush out of his mouth.
Instead, he turned his attention to the weapon he had been oh so rudely “awakened” with.
A cardboard box that looked deceivingly light compared to its actual weight rested innocently on his stomach, which was still aching from the impact.
“There’s no return address, and the rest of the shipping details are unintelligible. I assumed you bought some cursed item off the salmon market, but the package is addressed to both of us. Care to explain?”
Package? He hadn’t ordered anything recently off any sketchy marketplace, except for his assignment, which was supposed to only come this mor…
…
The puzzle pieces in Baek Saheon’s mind fell into place. It was time for him to go to work again. He pulled his hand down his face in dread as he groaned at the thought of having to get out of bed for this stupid company.
Halfway through his display of reluctance, however, a realisation belatedly dug itself out from under the mush of ‘I don’t want to go to work’ and screamed at him.
Why was this package addressed to that guy as well?
Although he truly didn’t know why, his eyes subconsciously drifted to the black band of a tattoo wrapped around his roommate’s ring finger.
Shiiiitttt
It better not be because of that.
Noticing Kim Soleum’s hand reaching over to open the box, Baek Saheon frantically shot his own out and smacked the other’s away.
“Wait! Don’t open it. That’s my work assignment for today.”
He still wanted to at least eat breakfast before being sent on a cruise down the river Styx.
“You seem to really like bringing cursed items home, huh.”
Baek Saheon felt his face redden at the recollection. Please don’t bring up that damn murder lodge incident… how was he supposed to know that his ‘family heirloom’ was a cursed entry ticket into a darkness?
“Shut up, I’m getting ready for work.”
Picking up the box, Baek Saheon got out of bed and slipped on a pair of fluffy slippers before making his way to the kitchen.
Since he didn’t have to go into the office, he was going to take his own sweet time to get ready, delaying his entry as much as possible.
He took the meat-filled buns out of the fridge and let them steam while he took his time in the bathroom. Kim Soleum looked like he was ready to walk out the door, so he didn’t feel the need to rush.
In order to waste as much time as possible, he went ahead and did every self care activity he could think of. He did his entire facial ‘routine’ for the first time in months, cut his nails that had started to bother him recently, and even styled his hair a little. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so refreshed, so human.
With his hands tightening the tie around his neck, left the bathroom with the confidence of a man who was ready to take on the world.
A confidence that deflated the second he stepped foot in the kitchen.
Sitting at the tiny island at the centre of the room was the roommate that should have left 20 minutes ago, staring intently at the box, seemingly itching to know what was inside. His lightly narrowed eyes gave the impression that he was worried… no, he must be thinking about how his next fix of dopamine is in that box.
If he could just give the essence collector over to that adrenaline junkie, he’d kill two birds with one stone!
Baek Saheon seriously considered it, before giving up entirely after a few seconds of thought. No way Kim Soleum would do his work for free. He’d only do it if it involves mentally torturing the poor one eyed man.
Ding
The timer conveniently went off, letting him forget about those uncomfortable thoughts and focus on the important stuff, the angry stomach he had been ignoring since last night.
Scalding hot steam burst forth the moment the lid was lifted, hitting his face with a wave of warmth, but it had a strangely relaxing effect despite the light sting.
Baek Saheon set the buns down onto the generically plain porcelain plate before settling down in the seat across from his colleague.
So long as no one minded the awkward silence that hung in the air, the scene might have resembled a slow but peaceful morning between two spou—
Caught off-guard by his own thoughts, Baek Saheon’s food nearly went down the wrong pipe, earning him a curious look from the other as he coughed like his lungs were about to shoot out of his mouth.
He refrained from eye contact for the rest of the meal.
Once the last bun disappeared down his throat, Baek Saheon got up to wash the dish and ready his equipment, reluctant to leave for this dreaded assignment.
Dream collector? Check. Emergency rations? Secure. Items?
His hand instinctively drew to where his pen used to be, only to belatedly remember that he had traded it away.
Whatever, he’s delayed this for long enough.
Afterreturning to the kitchen to retrieve the box, he did not fail to notice the man trailing behind as he brought it to the front door. Along the way, he picked up a tool to help him open it.
Once the pen knife had sliced the tape clean, the ticket was revealed.
Or should he say tickets?
Because sitting unassumingly in the centre of the small, and probably cursed, cardboard box, was two vintage tickets for that 3 day cruise down the river Styx.
As he lifted the tickets out of the box, a note slipped from between the thin but strangely heavy slips of paper. What could possibly be on that stupid note? Baek Saheon reached down for the note that had been faced down on the floor and flipped it to face himself once it was within his grasp.
Printed in a greeting card style, the note read:
Dear Mr Goat and Mr Roe Deer,
Upon receiving the wonderful news of your recent wedding, we here at the Underworldly Cruise Liner have decided to upgrade your ticket to our exclusive honeymoon package, completely free of charge. Thank you for choosing to travel with us!
This…
What the fuck is this.
Noticing Baek Saheon space out at the note, Kim Soleum gently snatched it out of his hand to find out what had gotten his man so dumbfounded.
Once he read it for himself, a sigh of relief escaped his lips before he folded the note and placed it back in Baek Saheon’s hands.
“I thought this would happen.”
Baek Saheon jumped out of his stupor at the revelation. Squinting in suspicion, he pressed his roommate further for details.
“What do you mean you thought this would happen??”
“Braun told me recently that this cruise company has been trying to get an ad space on an episode of his talk show, this is probably a ploy to get into his good books.”
He paused for a moment, expression shifting to that of a scammer who’d successfully gotten a billionaire’s bank account details.
“Unfortunately for them though, I am no longer a part of the Tuesday Talk Show.”
“The possibility crossed my mind when I saw the box this morning, so I checked your assignment, which coincided with my suspicion.”
“So.. what now? You can’t leave without ending up on that ship now that the box is open. Since you’re so sure, you’d have read the manual, right? Then you should know that the next door you open will lead to the docks.”
Faced with such skepticism, Kim Soleum merely scoffed at his partner as he pulled out his own dream collector.
“Of course I did. I called my section chief to postpone my original assignment and submitted the anomalous data to the research team. After that, I got reassigned to join you on your assignment, so I retrieved my collector before coming back to wake you.”
He paused, intentionally glancing at the clock on the wall.
“It’s been quite a while since the change was made, surely you’re aware of this?”
Right on cue, Baek Saheon felt a faint vibration in his trouser pocket.
The source? His cell phone.
The culprit? The Daydream’s second most irresponsible section chief, one step behind that research team lunatic.
Appearing as the only messages he had received all day, his section chief’s timely information greedily took up all the space on his homescreen.
‘Hey, Saheon, the research team said that you’re gonna be in a team with your “roommate” for today lolz’
‘Oops, I just realised you’re probably gone by now haha.’
…
Wow, thanks for the info.
Baek Saheon swiftly unlocked his phone, not to reply, but to block him instead.
With that, accepted his boss’ incompetence, settled the matter, and mentally prepared himself to be accompanied by an unwelcome presence for the next 3 days.
“Ignore that. Since you’ve prepared so far in advance, that means you’re ready to go right?”
With a curt nod, Kim Soleum took the lead and made his way to the door. His hand rested on the door handle as he turned to address the other once more.
“Obviously readier than you.”
...this little shi—
Before his face could even contort in anger, the front door was pushed open, allowing a flurry of different sensations to rush in and envelope him.
A cool breeze weaved through his hair in gentle breaths as it whispered unintelligible nonsense into his ears. The salty tang of the sea drifted along with it as did the sounds of the port workers rushing about as preparations for departure were in full swing.
The sunlight, however, barely made it an inch past the frame, indicating that the timing at the port more or less aligned with theirs, around noon.
Kim Soleum, with his ever present eagerness to find twisted thrill, strode head first through the door so bright it was almost blinding
Once on the other side, he spun back to face the dark entrance of the housing unit and held his right hand up, face glowing under the sun as the left held the door open.
Baek Saheon took a moment for his eye to process the sight before his brain began commentating.
What the hell is this guy doing? He resembles a fawn experiencing a sunny day for the first time, and since when was this psychopath capable of looking so gentle?
Must be the lighting.
“Need a hand, my lady?”
Baek Saheon swatted his hand away as he stepped through the door, evidently annoyed by the teasing.
What he failed to notice, though, was the slightly lowered step on the other side of the door frame.
When the floor Baek Saheon expected never reached his foot, his body went into an instinctual scramble as his balance disappeared before his brain could react.
Shock couldn’t save him from the cold, hard floor that would greet him in about a second. His arms flew forwards to cushion the impact, but the surface he expected to hit never came.
Instead, his body collided against a wall of fabric and warmth. A pair of arms gently supported his unbalanced body as his entire weight rested on the person before him.
Once his brain had caught on to the fact that concrete wasn’t supposed to be soft, Baek Saheon noticed that his face was buried in someone’s chest. No sooner than when he came to this realisation did he push himself away from the other.
His colleague chuckled lightly at his embarrassment, a soft an airy sound that Baek Saheon had never even imagined was possible from a maniac like him. The light blush that dusted his cheeks must have hit that dopamine receptor in that guy’s brain or something, otherwise why would he be staring down at him with such a funny look.
Lifting his head to gift his saviour a shameful glare, Baek Saheon’s abdomen panged with some unknown feeling.
“So you’re aiming for my heart now, was my hand that day not enough?”
Butterflies? No, it must be his gut twisting in rage, like a viper caught in a wildcat’s maw.
He’s got to work extra hard these next few days to make sure his mentally unstable coworker doesn't murder him while he’s asleep.
A quick eye-dagger was sent his coworker’s way to make sure he noticed how Baek Saheon felt about the teasing. He turned back to that cursed door to take note of its defining features and location, since they would need to find it again to return.
The door was not rough, but not smooth either. Bumpy white paint coated the surface as it tried to blend in with the wall of the warehouse. A shiny metal sign engraved with the words “supply closet” hung from a nail loosly embedded into the door.
“Wow, congrats on coming out of the closet. Though, I think last week was enough of a revelation.”
…this bitch! Just because they’re married doesn’t mean he’s g—
…
Now that he thought about it, that argument did not sound convincing at all.
Collecting himself and walking away like nothing happened, Baek Saheon began to search for their ship. The human landing cushion shook his head in amusement and followed his partner, barely a step behind.
Their destination was quite apparent. Considering how big a cruise ship was, it was obvious that the terminal could only afford to accommodate one large ship at a time, and since this terminal only had one dock, it was safe to assume that the giant boat currently being loaded with cargo and guests was theirs.
Joining the queue of passengers getting ready to board, Baek Saheon actually took the time to observe the other passengers for the first time since arriving at the port.
At first glance, they all seemed like rich, upperclass travellers. Gentlemen in suits of high-end fabric stood next to ladies donning long flowy dresses and flamboyant hats, glittering jewellery adorning every exposed patch of skin.
A truly an exorbitant display of wealth, he would have assumed that this darkness was targeting rich civillians if it weren’t for oddities revealing cracks in the facade.
That man over there had a long pointy tail swishing about as he conversed with a lady who had bright purple spines growing out of her back. The lady in front of them was staring at him through about a dozen eyes peering out of her backless dress, and her friend’s skin was blue as a corpse that had just died from hypothermia. Huh, maybe she thought a cruise to a tropical getaway would defrost her body and treat her stiffness. Luckily for her, this boat is headed for hell.
It seemed this cruise was more for rich darknesses to get away rather than catching humans. Out of all the guests he had observed, he could count the number of humans in the vicinity on one hand, excluding the two of them.
Then again, that one getting his tickets checked has eyes so bulging out of their sockets that they look like they’re about to pop out, not to mention a suspiciously uncoordinated manner of walking. He’s got to be either high as the clouds or a zombie rotting away in his hot and stuffy designer suit.
It wasn’t long before he lost interest in observing these obviously supernatural passengers around him, and instead turned his gaze towards the sea.
The way the water shimmered as the light hit the waves, coming towards him from the vast, endless expanse of sea. There was nothing on the horizon, not even another ship. The repetitive clashing of water against concrete unintentionally calmed his mind, as if he really was about to embark on a wonderful vacation across the sea.
Alright, enough of that. His attention shifted towards the cruise. An impressive 18 deck ship towered above them like an immovable monolith, unwavering in the face of rough seas. Countless windows lined the exterior, teasing them with a glimpse into the luxury richer travellers would be experiencing, leaving the poor, who probably spent their entire life’s savings on a ticket,to feel the burn of jealousy.
Well that dampened his mood. He got in for free anyway, with a room upgrade in exchange for a potential advertisement deal with that TV head. He’ll leave Kim Soleum to deal with that, but by the sounds of things he probably isn’t going to bother.
What was this darkness’ rating again?
D?
If the only bad thing about this assignment is Kim Soleum and the creepy guests, then maybe he can tolerate his roommate and ignore the rest of the passengers, and have a nice mental break from the horrible corporate culture at Daydream.
Still, with this ‘honeymoon package’, he was most likely going to have to share a room with that psycho, because honestly, what kind of honeymoon deal puts the couple in different roo—
Shut the fuck up!
The point is, the two of them sleep in different rooms, and there is nothing between them, even if everything the supernatural world acts otherwise.
The sleeping problem is going to be super inconvenient, but thats a problem for later—
“What are you looking at?”
Shit
He had been so out of it that he hadn’t realised when his gaze drifted to the subject of his thoughts. Flushing a little at being caught staring, Baek Saheon quickly tore his gaze away and hid his uncomfortably warm face.
“I’m bored of waiting.”
“What’s the rush? don’t you enjoy playing line simulator? How about this, you stay in the queue while I go and stretch my legs, sounds good?”
He wouldn’t dare!
Just as he was about to retort though, an inspector, with an expression so stone cold it could have been extracted from under the ice, outstretched a hand to them and spoke the most nonchalant voice he had ever heard, lacking tone even more than a kid in middle school who pretended to be cool.
“Tickets.”
In the time it took Baek Saheon’s mind to drift from cloud to cloud, they had apparently made a great amount of progress in the queue.
He rummaged through his pockets for the tickets from the box, eventually producing two semi-crumpled slips of colourful paper.
Handing his own ticket over first, the weight of the strangely heavy paper disappeared from his grasp, leaving the other feather-light ticket behind on his palm.
Wait, so only his ticket was heavy as a rock?
What the hell was up with that?
The inspector brought the paper to his face, squinting at the tiny print on the surface.
“Mr goat?”
“Yes.”
Tossing his ticket up and down like a ball as he assessed the weight, the inspector’s stationary lips slowly creeped into an unsettling smile.
“Heh, naughty one aren’t you. Welcome aboard.”
The inspector stepped aside and aimed his arms at the door, letting Baek Saheon enter. Before he did though, he passed Kim Soleum’s ticket to its rightful owner.
Watching his partner turn around to wait on the other side of the entrance and return his gaze with an impatient eye, Kim Soleum dropped his ticket into the hands of the inspector.
That man, bracing for a heavy impact, wasn’t prepared for a stray gust of wind to blow it off his palm.
A mixture of panic and shock struck the guy as he scrambled to catch the thing before it flew into the sea below.
After chasing the slip for about 3 meters, he tried his best to compose himself, still recovering from adrenaline. Straightening his uniform and fixing his hair, the inspector apologised to his wide-eyed guest.
“Sorry about that, Mr Roe Deer. I’ve never encountered such a light ticket throughout the past ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ years I’ve worked here. What brings you to hell?”
“Well, I came to accompany my darling for a trip.”
“I can’t let him have all the fun without me.”
And there he is, that fanatic adrenaline junkie.
“I see! Welcome aboard, and enjoy your stay. Oh yeah, your room keys.”
After handing over a pair of cards, the inspector tipped his hat and moved aside to let Kim Soleum walk through, where he joined his colleague in the lobby
“I hope you two have a lovely time here.”