Chapter Text
The microwave beeped. Coral caught it just in time with a press of her finger against the glass.
She hadn’t spoken yet this morning. Ena had, of course. Formally as always, but Coral hadn’t returned it with a greeting or even a nod.
Her throat was tight in a way that suggested wear. She stirred the rice porridge with stiff shoulders from having slept in a position that didn’t belong to her body. Behind her, Ena shuffled into the room with her blanket still draped over her shoulders.
Coral set down the bowl on the table without comment. She didn’t gesture, but Ena sat anyway.
“Your punctuality is commendable,” Ena said gently, folding her claws together in her lap. “Breakfast quotas have been met three days in a row. We’re eligible for a behavioral bonus.”
“보너스 없어.” (“There is no bonus.”) Coral murmured, finally.
“Then we’ll issue a complaint. Together.”
Coral looked at her. Then away and took a slow bite. Ena’s mouth quirked as though she were about to crack a joke, but instead she asked:
“…When does it happen?”
“뭐?” (“What?”)
“The evaluation. Or the…whatever they call it. Where someone knocks, and then you’re not allowed to speak to me the same way anymore.”
Coral placed her spoon down.
“그거…이미 시작됐어.” (“It already started.”)
The knock came three hours later.
Coral was halfway through clearing an email backlog when it sounded. Three sharp raps. She stood up, smoothed her blouse with the heel of her palm, and opened the door.
Froggy stood there, slouched with a clipboard under one arm and a grocery bag under the other. His usual swagger was absent.
“オス。” (“Yo.”) He didn’t make a show of barging in. “わりぃ、邪魔するつもりなかったけど。” (“Sorry. Wasn’t gonna bother you if you were busy.”)
Coral stepped back to let him in. She didn’t say anything. Froggy walked inside and placed the grocery bag on the table.
“ヤクルト。好きだったよな。” (“Yakult. You used to like these, right?”)
Coral glanced at the label. “요즘 안 마셔.” (“Not recently.”)
He nodded as if that answered something larger than the question.
Ena was nowhere in sight. Likely in the other room, asleep or pretending to be.
Froggy rubbed the back of his neck.
“エナちゃん…最近、ちょっと…” (“Ena-chan’s been a little…”)
Coral turned to look at him.
“…やばいかもしれない。” (“She might be getting worse.”)
“그건 나도 알아.” (“I know that too.”)
Froggy’s mouth tightened. He dropped into a chair and exhaled like it was stolen air.
“昨日、あの引き出しで何か探してた。何かわからんけど…引っかかったよ。” (“Yesterday, I saw her digging through the cabinet. Don’t know what for, but it gave me a weird feeling.”)
Coral didn’t sit.
Froggy tapped the clipboard once against the table. “で、これ。” (“And this.”)
She took it and read it. It was nothing urgent. Just a reminder to submit her internal handler logs before the quarter ticked over, but the tone was too friendly. It read like someone trying not to scare her before they pulled the rug out.
“あいつ、不安定すぎる。” (“She’s unstable.”) Froggy said suddenly, his voice too loud.
Coral froze.
“あの子…いい奴だけどな。だけど、任務ってのは…” (“She’s good, sure. But this mission—this whole assignment—”)
“과제 아니야. 그건 사람 이야기야.” (“It’s not an assignment. It’s a person.”) Coral cut in.
“助けようとしてんだよ、マジで！お前のことも心配してるんだよ！” (“I am trying to help, seriously! I’m worried about you too!”)
Coral turned fully to face him.
“보고하라고? 그게 너한테 ‘도움’이야?” (“You want me to report her? That’s what ‘help’ means to you?)
He raised his hand slightly, unsure if it was in defense or apology as she stepped closer.
“만약 Ena가 고장났다면—” (“If Ena’s broken—”) Her voice dropped. “나도 그래.” (“Then so am I.”)
She shoved the clipboard into his chest.
“그것도 배달해.” (“Go deliver that, too.”)
Froggy took it.
And then the window blew open.
The wind didn’t come from outside. The apartment window hadn’t been open. In fact, Coral had triple-locked it that morning. But still, something tore through the air like a pressure. Then—
“GOOOOD MORNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!!”
Coral’s head snapped to the source. Froggy dropped the clipboard. And from the hallway, he emerged.
His trenchcoat dragged behind him as his hands his and feet slapped on the tile with each dramatic stomp. His face, if it could be called that, was a crudely drawn emoticon on a piece of paper, taped neatly where eyes should have been. Today, it read:
> :D
Dratula had arrived.
“I SMELLED DYSFUNCTION! AND LUNCH!”
“なっ…あいつ本当に来たのか！？” (“No way—he actually showed up?!”) Froggy choked, stumbling backwards.
“YOU!” Dratula pointed at Coral, spinning once to amplify the gesture. “YOU ARE THE HANDLER OF FILE 2393! I HAVE DOCUMENTS TO BESTOW UPON YOU!”
“나 지금 일하는 중이야…” (“I’m working right now…”) Coral muttered without moving.
“YES! GOOD! MULTITASKING! I LOVE TO SEE FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN GOVERNMENT-APPROVED ESPIONAGE!”
He threw something toward her. It landed facedown dramatically: a letter, or maybe a flyer, stamped with multiple fake agency logos and one bold, unreadable phrase written in Comic Sans:
CLIENT ADJACENCY: TOO CLOSE FOR FANG COMPLIANCE
Ena appeared in the hallway holding the blanket over her shoulder. Her voice was crisp.
“Do I need to sign for that?”
“NO—BUT YOU MAY BLEED FOR IT!!”
“그만해.” (“Stop.”) Coral snapped.
Dratula froze in mid-pose with his arms akimbo and his paper face rotating. His icon changed:
> :o
“오늘은 안 해.” (“I’m not doing this today.”) Coral rubbed her temples.
Froggy grabbed Dratula by the arm. “お前、なんでここにいんだ！監査なんか聞いてねぇぞ！” (“Why the hell are you here?! No one said there was going to be an audit!”)
“I HAVE COME UNDER DIRECT ORDER FROM THE NIGHT COUNCIL—”
「夜の評議会なんて存在しねぇんだよ！！」 (“There is no Night Council!!”) Froggy shrieked.
Ena stepped forward. “Let him finish. I want to know what the Night Council thinks of my new blanket.”
Dratula turned to her and bowed. “Ena of the Floor Realm! You are—how do the mortals say—‘on thin ice.’ But I respect your madness.”
“Thanks. I wasn’t asking.”
Dratula hissed, whipping his coat around as if shielding himself from UV exposure.
“I SENSE HOSTILITY! PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR AN EVALUATION! NOW—TELL ME. WHEN WAS YOUR LAST UNAUTHORIZED FEELING?!”
“오늘 아침에.” (“This morning.”) Coral answered flatly.
Dratula’s paper slipped slightly askew.
“Ah.”
“바뀌었어?” (“That not on the form?”)
“IT IS NOW!” He bellowed, slapping a completely blank clipboard against the wall and scribbling something in Sharpie. “YOU ARE NOW UNDER MIDNIGHT WATCH! CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR HEARTS HAVE BEEN FLAGGED FOR RE-EVALUATION!”
「お前はここで働いてすらねぇだろうが！」 (“YOU DON’T EVEN WORK HERE!”) Froggy shouted.
“I WORK EVERYWHERE!” Dratula shouted back.
The emoticon changed:
> B(
He left the way he entered; with wind and cape and absolutely no coordination. A sound like thunder followed his exit, though the sky remained dry.
Froggy stood in stunned silence.
Ena returned to the hallway.
And Coral bent down and picked up the fake memo. She flipped it over and on the back was something different.
It was real paper. It had a code and a designation. Phase II.
She folded it and didn’t speak.
Froggy broke the silence.
“あいつが来るってことは…もう手遅れかもしれねぇ。” (“If they’re pulling in freaks like him…it might already be too late.”)
Coral glanced at him.
“그 말…보고서에 쓸 거야?” (“You gonna put that in your report?”)
Froggy looked down. “…いや。” (“…No.”)
He stepped toward the door, but before he left, he turned back.
“ごめん。” (“Sorry.”)
The door closed behind him.
The apartment didn’t move after that. Coral stood in the middle of it with the memo still clutched in one hand. Her thumb pressed into the fold crease like she could leave a permanent mark.
She didn’t bother throwing it away. She placed it under the bowl on the table.
In the bedroom, the light was off.
Coral stepped in and paused by the doorframe as her eyes adjusted. Ena was already in bed, but not under the blanket. Just on top of it, laying sideways with one leg draped off the mattress and her arms folded beneath her head.
Coral didn’t ask if she was okay. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed and began to unbutton her blouse.
Ena’s voice broke the quiet.
“So. That was new.”
Coral huffed. “그건…그냥 미친놈이야.” (“He’s just a lunatic.”)
“I liked him. He made the panic feel festive.”
Coral didn’t laugh, but her shoulder moved like maybe she had considered it.
Ena rolled over to face her. In the dark, her features were uneven, softened only slightly by the moonlight bleeding through the blinds.
“Do you think they’re replacing you? Because if they are, they picked someone really stupid. I mean, I get it. Vampires are flashy. But I think you’re harder to scare.”
“…그렇게 보이진 않아.” (“Doesn’t look like it.”)
“I didn’t say you weren’t scared. I said you’re harder to scare.”
Coral finally laid back beside her with her arms crossed over her stomach.
“그 편지 받았어.” (“I got that letter.”) She said. “진짜 편지. 오늘.” (“The real one. Today.”)
Ena didn’t ask to see it.
“Phase Two?”
“응.” (“Yeah.”)
“…I think they want to separate us.”
Coral closed her eyes.
“너무 늦었어.” (“They’re too late.”)
Ena moved over closer with her knee bumping Coral’s. The ceiling had a crack running above the far corner that Coral was staring at.
“If they take me…” Ena began to whisper. “I want you to tell them I was compliant. That I smiled. That I remembered to ask how your day was.”
Coral turned her head.
“난 거짓말 못해.” (“I can’t lie.”)
Ena exhaled a soft laugh. “Then tell them I tried.”
Coral reached out and found Ena’s wrist again. The contact didn’t fix anything. It didn’t promise anything, but they both knew the system would notice it.
Neither of them cared.