#𝐢.ㅤㅤ░ㅤㅤ♱ㅤㅤ──ㅤㅤ𝗆𝖺𝗌𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿ㅤ...

[d3tect]

⌞ * & ⌝ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎⤿‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎@metanoiacal ,‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎🥩‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎⦆ 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖉‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎[ ... ]‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎->‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎:‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ " you look like hell—juhyeok presses a cup to the black officer's hand "

‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎—‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎the cup presses against his hand not fully taking the cup at all he just let the weight settle into his palm as if its something foreign like it might spill if he moves too suddenly . not yet— he doesn’t look up at the man before him . for just a while he wasn't on the island for once just some concrete apartment just temporary housing , probably paid for by the organization , with no picture frames or many windows . it was a small room with an old air condition machine whining faintly throughout the space . but now ? the mask was off . jungsuk stared at the black shape of his reflection in the side of the tin cup and under his uniform , his ribs ache he’s not sure if it’s from the way he’s been sleeping or not sleeping or from the bruise under the vest that never really healed . he didn't really cared much about it . the officer lifts the cup slowly— smells like burnt coffee— he took a small sip . and what did the other say ? he looked like hell ? surely it was something he can't argue about now , he'd just laugh because he was most likely correct . he tilts the cup back and drinks away and it's bitter it scalds his tongue . ‘ would you like a pretty gold star now that you've noticed ? ’ it wasn't a mean tone but rather more sarcastic or playful — take it as you wish . he swirled the cup of coffee in his hand , ‘ i haven't got any proper sleep in ages . ’

[d3tect]

🗡 - from VIP! Ji-wan . probably nothing serious... right?

( reference pics of knife ... who brings one of those in their presence? oh yeah, the VIPs can basically do whatever they want~ )

what the fuck was this . . ? of all places in the facility - of all the persons in this facility , he ends up right here with them . knife in hand which was supposed to be used as a threat to him . just by the way her eyes looked through the gold pleated panther mask like she had some sense of control over him . his jaw clenched hardly however it was because of the knife being at his neck but who was holding it . a v.i.p of all of everything . these cheap plastic souled draped in false power and royalties , he'd dealt with them many times before enough to know how pathetic they were under all the masked lavishness . they were cowards with money . but this one ? she seemed like a handful , overly proud to play pretend with him in this moment but she needed to know that he still had authority and she's just a guest . ‘ put the knife down now . ’ the words scattered out from his lips calmly he didn't want to cause much of a problem . because was this because he denied her stupid little request earlier ? he wasn't too sure himself and if she was going to harm him just for it , he would make sure that's not going to happen .

[d3tect]

here is my very own interpretation of the officer's dynamic with guard 011 also known as kang no-eul.

while we do not get much information or genuine hints on why he’s actually saved her and why it's almost like a big deal to him ( kinda ) .

a little flash back ! he grew up in the north , raised by a mother who did everything she could to protect him and his sibling ( however I would not mention this part at all bc we ain't talking about why the sibling isn't mentioned here since it's not time for that 🤫 ) . in a country that gave them nothing in return . when her kidneys began to fail most likely due to chronic malnutrition / untreated hypertension or complications from contaminated water he was the one who figured it out first as jungsuk had his knowledge in medicine and health because in the north diagnosis means little to no treatment . and most treatment are reserved for the elite till the point he started to beg and barter about his mother’s condition yet in the end they still left .

as it is known that he had lost someone close to him because he couldn't have gotten a kidney

crossing the border wasn't the easiest thing .

north korean defectors go through china because it’s easier to disappear into the countryside and slowly travel out somewhere else but it can takes weeks or even months depending on where you need to go . jungsuk and his mother didn't cross through china but needed to be urgent and cross through the south and tried passing through the DMZ adjacent costal areas

they planned to cross the imjin river during wintertime knowing that the river would freeze up allowing them to cross by foot on the ice . it wasn’t the safest route but it was the quickest and at that point quick was all they had her condition was getting worse ; hands swelling , face pale , breath shorter by the day ,, they waited for a night with no moon dressed in thick layers they couldn’t afford to lose and the ice was cracking beneath their shoes thin in places but it held up in place , surprisingly . jungsuk lead the way walking ahead of her checking back every few steps to see if his mother was catching up but she was slow holding her side every now and then . the winter breeze was cold and it had only weaken her but they were just so close almost half way there to the other side . and shots were fired which his mother had caught , he tried to to grab onto her and just drag her across with him to the other side but she insisted — she gave him orders to leave her behind and live . “ don’t let them take both of us. ” so he ran away .

/ time line / 2009 — 2010 : crossing the border to going through the defector system and starting his new life in south korea .

now back to the present with no-eul . back in 2020 where she was selected as a player he saw her files and intervened quietly and reassigned her as a guard during the orientation .

and finding that she was from the north he wasn't going to make her lose that opportunity to live . ( because considering that her running away from N.K was hard and it was also hard for him as well , it's shocking to see that she actually managed to make it alive considering the chances of surviving is low when crossing borders and she had survived everything until now and being in the games , they were about to make that mean nothing .

[d3tect]

⌞ * & ⌝ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎⤿‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎@s4lesman ,‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎🥩‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎⦆ 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖉‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎[ ... ]‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎->‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎𝐡𝐨𝐭 ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎:‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ " for sender and receiver to share a heated kiss"

it was such a compulsion , a grotesque twitch within his soul . like picking at a fresh cut just to feel the pain again . jungsuk reached for him the way a fevered man reaches for the warmth of fire knowing it might burn him and still reach into the heat . everything in the moment had felt so far and foggy — he couldn't land a finger on what has possibly lead him to such thing ? but he knew , he had told himwelf anything like this would never happen again . that this was past this . . past him / it never was for him /

but the moment the door shut and the latter looked at him with that same exhausted arrogance that same mouth he's dreamt of ruining ; something inside of him came falling down like a avalanche , one by one , destroying itself like a gushing overflowing dam . the kiss was ruinous to him . their mouths didn’t align neatly at first and he was glad for it because there was no grace here just only the scrape of teeth , the collision of breath and most importantly the distressing familiarity of someone who once knew how to make you beg . and so his lips had parted making sure he consumed something before it had consumed him ( even tho it kind of already did ) the feeling of just his tongue only made it felt less of a kiss . his hands climbed higher one braced against the side of the salesman’s throat , thumb pressed just beneath his jaw pressing ever so delicately softly . but that didn't mattered didn’t care that he had to tilt his head just to taste him through different angles . didn’t care that he possibly felt humiliated for wanting it this much for this again . the same lips now parting so willingly beneath his . the same lips that told him those same sickening lies and words he hated .

it was like he wanted to erase every single one of those words out from his mouth and even his . the officer's body pressed into his’ with the other's back against the door with his body slotted on him . the officer's head slowly moved away , dragging his lips away from the salesman's with a sound that was so wet and more obscene than it should ever be . ‘ you're the worst thing that has ever happened to me . ’

[d3tect]

the smell is what had never left : concret , sweet , cooper — blood . no matter how many times they tried to bleach and clean it . he’d been doing laps around the floor all night long and even till the morning come . but orders must come first in a place like this . once you're in it , would you truly ever escape it ? it was a routine that just sticks and digs into you . he had heard there was a new worker added to the foundation he would've had to admit that he utmost didn't care at first to see them . but he had known their number , ( possibly their schedule as well ) . the officer was told to keep an eye on them and he would abide by those rules . she had little to no experience in anything — weapons especially , a major thing in this system . fighting as well , she was entirely inexperienced with these things . it had him in such deep thought on who was willing to protect this person when things goes bad ? because surely he won't and surely he hopes he doesn't . he had noticed her just before she had noticed him . he was almost near her with just a small turn of the head the dull glare of his black mask catching the overhead lights ; pink suit. no rank. one of the spared he thought . in a place like this mercy was had to ever be achieved because it was almost non-existent . infact it was probably the first time he's ever recalled something like this . maybe there were others he couldn't quite recall being spared but death was always right around the corner for those .

he was completely eyeing down her posture , the way she just carried herself as if she was unsure on what to do like a dog obeying it's owner . ‘ are you alright in there ? ’

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ @d3tect - get's a thing!

ㅤㅤ𝓣he second day on the job. Everything was so foreign to the newly appointed worker. The mask, the games, the pink jumpsuits- why pink in the first place? All she knew was that she was grateful that whoever spared her life- took the time to do so. There was the added fact that everyone knew her face, and what happened- luckily there was a sense of anonymity behind the masks and non-numbered uniforms. Eun merely did what she was told, followed orders and tried to understand the complex inner workings of how it ran to the best of her capabilities. It all seemed a little too surreal. As if she was in a dream— no, a nightmare. Luckily, or unluckily- she was deemed a floater. Helping out with various jobs wherever needed in preparation for the next batch of players after the last group's quick departure. In the midst of the sea of pink and teal, she wasn't expecting to see a person dressed in all black. They stood out. It made her heart skip a beat. Judging by the mask, they were still part of the staff. Regardless, she was drastically inferior to them. It felt strange having one on one time- Eun hoped that others would join shortly. At the moment, she stood awaiting orders if there was a way she could assist him in some way; but it would be hard to do with her heart pounding in her chest and her hands trembling like a leaf.

[d3tect]

⌞ * & ⌝ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎⤿‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎@s4lesman ,‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎🥩‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎⦆

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖉‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎[ ... ]‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎->‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎:‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ " the sender disobeys you and you swap their curious hand away "

‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎—‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎he didn’t want to be here really , not that he cared anyway work was work but right now ? not here not in this room at the moment . he’d been staring at a monitor for almost the past three hours . he was mid-sentence in a report , thumb skimming the side of a tablet, skimming through logs discrepancies in the guard patrol schedule feed from sector 4 . one of the players smuggling something under their uniform once again . and this mess never ends and it always rolls downhill — right to his goddamn desk . he was already biting down a headache when he heard it tiny little scrapes a movement that didn’t belong to him the officer didn’t look up it wasn't like he needed to when he was in the room with no one else other than the recruiter . he saw it out the corner of his peripheral vision , that hand of yours . it hovered too close to a drawer you shouldn’t even be near fingertips nosing at the seam like you were entitled to the contents inside so curious and casual like it was nothing . it made him look stupid . he looks so stupid !

‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ the officer drew out a hot breath his head dipping down for a moment as he made a move threading over to where the recruiter was his hand snapped out towards the latter and with a quick slap whap ! the older man slapped his wrist with his hand just hard enough to sting and prove a point so it really wasn't hard or gentle . ‘ stop fucking touching . ’ he stuck a finger out as his words came out quickly with a low tone . his voice didn't raise but stayed stern like every word was like a jab from a knife . his head turned towards the recruiter slowly as the mask caught the dull light from the lights in the room . you couldn’t see his eyes but you didn’t need to if anything he was clearly frowning underneath it staring hardly . ‘ I told you to stand over there . ’ his gloved hand pointed at last to the space by the wall . that same spot he told the recruiter to wait in ten minutes ago . not by the desk nor by him or even anywhere else . he was more than welcome to walk or sit anywhere around yes but touching things that didn't belong to him or have no business to do with him ? absolutely not . ‘ i said stay away from that stuff . touch my shit again and you're losing a hand . ’

[d3tect]

Send 🗡 to hold a blade to my muse's throat for their reaction! / no eul 👀

the blade kissed his throat , not deeply but enough to feel the sharpness of the poke from thr very tip of the blade . he could've felt the grip ; the way she held onto the knife as if she didn't know what move to make just yet cut or wait for him speak . the officer’s chest heaved up as he took a long breathe exhaling out . his eyes raised to meet hers , slow snd not definitely not rushed , like he had all the time in the world . he was smiling . a thin line spreads across his lips , what was there to even smile about ? was there an untold joked ? ‘ push higher. right beneath the jawline if you want. ’ the words rolled off his tongue smoothly as if his brain hadn't ran over the words properly making him blurt out whatever came out first in his mind . yet he knew what he was doing ; a test .

‘ if you want to kill me so badly do it . stab the knife in me . ’ tilting his head just slightly into the knife . still not enough to pierce skin but just enough to let her feel that he wasn’t afraid . he wanted to test her — to see if she was able to do it .

🗡️ ( ♱ ) !

[d3tect]

⌞ * & ⌝ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎⤿‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎@h-a-unted ,‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎🥩‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎⦆ 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖉‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎[ ... ]‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎->‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥 ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎:‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ " inho stares at the black officer from across the room and beckons them to him "

‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎—‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ he was still peeling off bloodied gloves when the call came in . the gloves hit the trash he didn’t bother washing his hands just yet . there was still the smell of metal like—blood under his fingernails , but he’d gotten used to it throughout the years . moving with hurried steps on his way to the elevator with his arms folded to his chest as he endured the lift . it had gave him too much time to think something he tried not to do these days . the elevator's doors opened widely revealing himself as he stepped out now with his hands falling to his sides.

‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ the guard’s eyes caught the faint motion across the room his hand curling inward . the elevator doors had barely closed behind him when he started walking . eventually he stopped maybe three feet away ? it wasn't to close enough to be too seem eager but close enough that the faintest tension . and his gaze behind the mask finally met inho’s . there wasn't any greeting just yet only the slight nod of his head , the barest acknowledgment . he shifted slightly with his weight . what could his boss possibly want now ? ‘ is there a problem ? ’

[d3tect]

a heavy exhausted sigh escaped him , causing his shoulders to heave up . frustration in it's simplest form or maybe he was just too tired to deal with anything . he had only shook his head as a response to the younger guy's words — not that he'd correct but he did remember as well . it's not entirely his fault players sneak things in unreachable places or have possible connections with those within the game . his first thought was to ' kill them off ' but it wouldn't it have been to harsh to do so ? ( when had anything ever been fair ) he was never the kind to let things slide : not rules , not people , not his own fucking guilt . but he wasn’t the kind to hand out pity , either . . so when the recruiter called her that like she was some bleeding heart case and not a rulebreaker ‘ i don’t like you calling her that. ’ his voice was low almost a faint brittle like a little crack like if he kept talking it might fall apart into something else . he knew deep down he didn't have any business with her and god he hopes ur stays like that , but he'd say the recruiter is wrong . ‘ she made a choice that’s all it ever is in here , a choice so I gave it to her . ’ and he didn't have too . he didn’t even know why he was defending her but maybe he wasn’t , maybe it was just the principle of it . furthermore he didn’t care about her and truly he didn’t . he hopes it stays like that with just clean lines and easy distance because they is what he wishes for .

the officer paused for a long time like he was considering biting his own tongue off just to stop talking but instead , his hand lifted slow and reluctant to unhook the mask from his face , and then that suffocating black was off tossing it over to land on the table near by . his face was sharp around the edges from sleeplessness his jaw gritted like it didn’t know how to unclench marker with faint lines on his face . and a split at the corner of his lip still healing from god knows what . he grabbed a cigarette from the desk nect to him slipping a cigarette between his lips and lit it with a flick from a scratched metal lighter shielding the flame with his gloved hand out of old habit ; he took one long drag held it like it might burn through something and melt whatever is inside of him to exhaling a cloud like a sigh , ‘ are you jealous ? ’ two fingers went up to pinch the cigarette out of the way , smoke curling past his knuckles .

unfortunately , no threat can truly deter the recruiter . he's never heard a phrase scarier than ' you're a disappointment ' , so the man's harsh words only draw a crooked smile on his lips . one leg thrown over the other , a palm pressed snugly down the black sheets as body leans backward . relaxed , unbothered by the troubles of being second in command . thanks to the frontman and the vips , yejun was better off as a maskless persuader , a lovely siren . or whatever , he can talk his way out of every situation but he doubts his companion could survive letting an object getting sneaked into the games . yejun's eyes glance down at the device once again , despite not seeing anything , he tilts his head . thoughtful , dealing with it as if it's his own problem . or pretends to ─ he's past the point of caring about the older one like that . they both are . ‘ remember that marine guy i recruited to be a triangle last year ? he saw his brother in the games and gave her a fucking knife .. tsk . ‘ his brows raise when he looks down to fix his tie . the tie that worths the masked bastard's life . ‘ i'm saying you should watch your soldiers , not the players . they pretty much have no control over what happens here . ‘ he might be the only one the recruiter shows the audacity to speak his mind with , others only got his sweet obedience and silence . after a while , he waves his hand dismissively , and takes another sip from his whiskey . ‘ number eleven , for example . your favorite little thing .. she's so boring . ‘ not his type . bitterness boils in his blood , he doesn't look very friendly anymore despite having a small smile on his lips . the target is right in front of his eyes and he refuses to see it , idiot . is there a deeper feeling hidden beneath his cold heart ? the thought is almost humorous to him , not pleasant either . he has no names to give it .

[d3tect]

‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎—‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎he’d have to get him those stars , there was one thing his mind never really stopped . even when he’s off-duty , even when the uniform’s off , the gun’s in the drawer and there’s no screaming or sirens or blood sometimes it drifts to old things like people he doesn’t speak to or names he doesn’t remember but can still describe their faces ,, other times it’s just noise dull and anxious noises . maybe that’s just the trade-off when you work in an underground operation built on fear and debt and slaughter and rest isn’t something your body trusts anymore he shifts the cup between his hands it’s cooled down a bit now . he drinks again he doesn’t grimace nor does he compliment it either he just drinks like it’s a punishment he earned . ‘ i’ll work on it if I can , ’ he says it with the same tone he uses when someone tells him to take it easy and it's not a promise he can't keep promises because they never work out . the corner of his mouth twitches and he lifts his gaze just slightly , not quite meeting the other man’s eyes at all ‘ contemplative ? it's just a little dissociation ... its nothing serious . ’

‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ " serious " and works in a place that kills money hungry and innocent people while running an organ marketing scheme at the same time . . he has no idea when things can go south . and it could happen right now . ‘ listen , I'll just fix my insomnia problem and I should be fine and not go around looking like a zombie . ’ but he had no idea how to .

[d3tect]

‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎there’s no thought left in the space between them right now it was only impulse as well as the pressure on the edge of his back teeth he’s chewing the inside of his cheek hard enough it might bleed . the scrape of the whiskey bottle had already pissed him off like background noise in a room that was supposed to be his ; he was drinking his whiskey . he’s not even looking at the screen anymore — his hand’s still on the screen , thumb stilled mid-scroll, but he hasn’t read the last few lines . ‘ y'know , you're not fucking invited in here, ’ he didn't even know why he allowed him to enter in for the past few minutes — he says flatly, tone dropping just enough to feel off he was not even angry but it was more like a disappointment that’s turned septic he lifts his head slowly like it hurts to move . the mask tilts toward the bed . his damn bed and of course the recruiter just had to make a stupid comment — just like he always did . ‘ if you’re looking for something to bitch about maybe try the mirror not my sheets . . they're fine I always change and wash them , ’ he steps back — not a retreat, just a reset like putting himself somewhere he can think again without doing something that’d get blood on the sheets they’re already arguing about . his boots drag just a little against the floor . enough to sound heavier than normal as he makes his way back toward the desk. a sharp scuff of the chair legs against the tiles as he sinks back into it . i told you to stand over there. now you’re pouring drinks and sitting on my bed like it’s your fucking hotel . .

‘ who told you that you can drink that ? ’ it was almost like he really was talking to a stubborn dog or maybe a wall — the recruiter rarely ever listens to him or even at all . and the officer ? he was close to knocking him out unconscious and dragging him out by his tie . ‘ they get stripped down to skin and bone before they're even conscious. if something slips through, it's because someone let it or . . they’re getting smarter . ’