In an Instant

13: In which 20 is a lie for genocide, and 2 is a lie for extortion (34 - 35)

I LIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Sorry, I got kicked in the face by writer's block, and decided to spend the majority of my vacation slacking off instead of, like, writing.

Guess that's something I can do better than Cale huehuehue

I drop quite a lot of world-building this chap, so hopefully, you guys accept my HCs. And Angst, too, bc that's my ✨spice✨ now. Not as much as other chapters I think? It feels more lighthearted anyhow.

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"Is this real life?" Kim Rok Soo plaintively complains, "Or is this fiction? Such an opportune-" He grits out, "disruption of an important conversation surely cannot happen so coincidentally in real life?"

"For real," Cale* complains as well, "Is this literary creativity? Is the author simply inventing a plot device to generate unneeded suspense? Or is the author telling the truth and this actually happened and our life is a lie?"

He raises his voice a little bit, hoping to entice Choi Han into answering his question for him, all the while completely avoiding any direct communication with the man.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work.

Choi Han just stares at the screen blankly, face so unmoving that Cale*, a master at microexpressions, can't be sure if the teen-faced man did hear Cale* but had elected to ignore him, or if that guy was just staring into space.

And Cale* is definitely unwilling to personally find out.

"Hek!" Kim Rok Soo lets out a surprised squeak, eyes snapping to the side to stare accusingly at his younger counterpart.

Cale*, with his hands lying flat by his side, looks back innocently, no trace of the swiftness he must have employed to jab Kim Rok Soo on his side anywhere to be seen.

This little brat, Kim Rok Soo grumbles silently. Still, he magnanimously lets it slide, since a mischievous Cale* is better than a silent Cale*.

(Km Rok Soo is going to pay him back, sometime very soon.)

"Based on his non-reactions," Kim Rok Soo says, with the authority of a man who has known Choi Han* for over two decades and is utterly sick of it, "We can safely assume the author isn't bullshitting anyone here."

"Somehow," Cale* muses, quite impolitely, "I'm not sure if I'm more awed that you can answer that question for him, or more disturbed that you know him well enough to answer that question for him."

Kim Rok Soo's veins pop out.

"What are you implying, you little punk?" Kim Rok Soo smiles dangerously, "In the two decades of our acquaintances, I can count our interactions on one hand with fingers to spare. Hell, I'm not sure if any of our conversations exceeded 5 minutes!"

"Two decades?!" Cale* looks back at his older self, horrified, "Why in the name of Gods do I have to be acquainted with that- that-" He glances at Choi Han in the corner of his eyes, and swallows the word "peasant" back into his stomach, "-that man for two decades???"

Not letting Kim Rok Soo get in another word, Cale* continues: "And holy shit, but you even counted your interactions with him???"

'Are you that desperate?' Is what he doesn't say but is clearly implying.

Kim Rok Soo stares at the panicking Cale*, speechless in his indignity. He has never felt so wronged before. How the fuck does his younger self manage to connect all the wrong dots when the answer sheet is right fucking in front of him?