#gsgw

"young-looking" face ✅️

So Baek Saheon am I right? Haha....

Okay I've said before that Part 3 has shown quite a large realm of possibility for whats happened to the characters we love. Baek Saheons situation and mentality could have a major upgrade like Lee Gyeol. Or maybe he's doing horribly mentally and physically like Jin Nasol.

What I'm saying is that there is an extremly large realm of possibility for what Baek Saheon is like now and how he's changed. But I'll still make my own guesses for what he's like based on what I know of his character :3

We can see that Baek Saheons physical situation has improved. He is now a section chief and is representing headquarters. However I do not believe his mentality has improved. In fact I think its gotten worse.

Every time we see Baek Saheon after a period of time we can see his morals growing to be worse and worse. We can see that when he begins the story, attacking people isn't his initial instinct. We can see that he puts effort into helping others survive. And when he does see a way to escape through violence, he confirms who it is he needs to ask and even makes a comment that shows regret "Too bad".

Compare this to probably a year or two later when we meet him again in Ch300 smth as The Agent. And we can see how much his morals have fallen. He doesnt even reconsider violence. He doesnt even aknowledge it as smth wrong. He wants another camera, he sees a guy with a camera screaming for help and kicks the guy into a room where he'll probably die and takes his camera before locking him in. Without a regret or thought. It didnt even improve his survival that much. He just wanted the camera for The Agent.

So I think after 3 years Baek Saheons morals will have dropped to an even worse state. Smth more and more reminiscent of The Viper. Now what do I believe The Viper is like? Well theres a lot of theories out there but here's mine.

I think he's the opposite of Soleums Psychopath persona. While Soleums persona is all bark and no bite, The Viper will be all bite and no bark.

Soleum persona thrived off of words and intimidation. I think The Viper will work mostly based on action. I think he's quiet. I think he'd throw a person to their doom if it means he even gets a slight improvement in his situation. I believe he doesn't act overly intimidating. Doesn't sneer doesnt react. A polite but serious guy most of the time. His intimidating factor is based off of his actions. What will he do?

Now how do I believe he will react to Soleum? Well thats an even greater realm of possibilities so here' a theory that could very well be wrong but oh well.

At the end of Part 2 Baek Saheon seemed to be nearing the point where he would finally accept that Soleum and The Agent were one and ths same. In fact he seemed ready to talk about it, after the wish ticket fixed The Agent/Soleums form.

Except the Agent left.

So I believe he's regressed since then. I think as the years passed by he slowly began to convince himself that they were NOT the same person and were in fact, two different separate people. And I think he'll slowly forget the nuances of the two.

I think he'll forget everything good about Soleum. I think he'll brainwash himself into forgetting how he could trust Soleum, how he could depend on him. I think he'll remember Soleum only as this insane psychopathic superior in his past. Someone who wasn't even human.

But what about his opinion on The Agent? Well i don't have an exact theory for that because that really depends on what HE thinks happened at the end of Pt2. Does he think the others messed up the wish and killed The Agent? Does he think The Agent left him? Does he think he was tricked? Really depends.

Now back to Soleum who I have more concrete theories on.

Now what will his reaction to Soleum be? What will be Soleums reaction to him?

Soleum often tends to simplify Saheon as someone who can't grow or change. Soleum nearly always had a grasp on what made Saheon tick and how to control him. Its why he was so annoyed with Saheon as The Agent. Because Saheon wasn't reacting like he should. He could no longer control him. And Soleum slowly began to realize Saheon wasn't as simple as he thought.

So how will Soleum react to Saheon? We know Soleum has missed those he left behind but I don't think Saheon has been a big worry in his head. Yes he cared for Saheon but he didn't particularly like him. Not like he does for Hyunmoo Team 1 or Team D or J3 or the other rookies.

But I don't think Soleum will try the psychopath act. Not when Saheon has a position of power above him. The psychopath act only worked because Soleum was always equal to Saheon or above him. Now its Saheon in a position of power.

So I don't think Soleum will try anything. I think he'll keep his head low even if he is tempted. I don't think he'll use The Agent Persona either. Well actually... lemme get to that later.

However its extremely likely Soleum will still have some internal thought process on Saheon. And I think it'll be the usual thought process. Demeaning. Maybe he will also regress in his thought process and start to see Saheon as this more 2d forms. Make comments on how hes finally the Viper, finally a section chief, how he's such a psychopath, how he's crazy. I mean- Soleum would be seeing Saheon inspecting a literal labour camp. Doesn't bode well for Saheons morals.

However i do believe there will be an undercurrent of care or worry.

But anyways. How would Saheon react to Soleum? Well i think that fully depends on what he sees with his purple eyes. Will he see the classic aura of extreme danger and red? Or will he see smth else? I believe (considering the fact this is probably a different body) he will see smth else.

And heres where I see a chance for Soleum to pull out The Agent persona. Really depends on his feelings towards Saheon and how useful he believes he can be.

Thats all I got. Ik I didnt say Saheons actual reaction to Soleum but tbh I have no clue. Really depends on what he believes happened to Soleum/The Agent. Saheons always been rather unpredictable unlike Soleum so its hard for me to make a guess. In my mind i got as far as he does smth like a double take when seeing Soleum. And thats as far as I got.

Will he ignore Soleum? Dismiss it when he sees the aura isnt the same while still having a feeling of uneasiness that Soleum draws on? Will he torment Soleum? Turn the tables and script and torture Soleum like he did to him? Will he react to Soleum with hope and caring? While still trying to pretend he doesnt care for him at all?

Will Soleum ignore him? Will Soleum use him to try and escape? Soleums easier to predict but it rlly depends on how useful he thinks Saheon will be and how much he cares for him.

I was talking to someone about Choi's plans that he had near the end of part 2 (you know, the insane ones) and they asked me "are you sure this isn't a romance"

Taking a break from fic reading to compile a fic rec list. I'm new here so I'm slowly going through the greatest hits. Probably gonna make another one in a couple of weeks?

Some of these are honestly popular enough they don't need further recs but this is more of me compiling my enjoyment.

Most of these are Choisol or agents focused cause that's the rabbit hole I fell into...

Character/Relationship Study

There's a lot of good choi character studies out there. He's a man worthy of being put under a microscope for sure.

Ryuchoi

close shave by blowmymind Choi asks Jaekwan to give him a shave after chapter 240/exiting sekwang. This is so pure, so tender and fraught. Really peak fic for me.

Choi

if you look in the mirror and don't like what you see by 52hz (nitilia) Choi character study about his scars. No spoilers.

KNOW THYSELF, KNOW THY ENEMY by aynchent Truthfic. I think there's some interesting existential terror in this one with Choi getting an inkling of the truth for ireum-nim.

biography of a spy by aneternalspring Choi putting KSE under a microscope is always just fun to read.

Baek Saheon

rawhide by aynchent KSE age regressed and Baek Saheon and Go Youngeon are also there. This is an earlier fic so we didn't get GYE's background yet, but the way it wrote her is still very compelling. The direction of BSH finding out KSE is afraid of him is an interesting point of canon-divergence. Very in-character BSH.

KSE

the one less traveled by by aneternalspring This is the best "KSE goes home" fic I've read so far. I think what I admire about it is how well it portrays the strong sense of longing mixed in with the trauma. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Tear your heart out Angst

imminence by 52hz (nitilia) Jaekwan POV in between the aftermath of Shopping Channel and the Trial. Both heartbreaking and heartwarming again... It's so sad but Jaekwan's love is so pure.

laying in the dirt by 52hz (nitilia), Ohnogodpls Choi during the 290 days in the cave. I was crying during work because of this.

Look, just read it, okay?

[try again.] by 52hz (nitilia) Choose your own KSE wish ticket adventure, interactive fic, Choisol. Honestly this one made me feel insane and I had to pace around the condo. You gotta go in blind. Just go in blind. It's an experience.

Smut

A Friend You Can't Leave by wyrvel Braunsol. Room you can't leave until you have sex. Honestly I didn't think KSE can fuck but this fic was so in-character it opened my eyes to a whole new world. Wow. KSE really can fuck, who knew. It's tagged with "wholesome if you don't squint" and that's so correct. Seven words: Braun doesn't know where to put it. (Why would he? They don't show that on prime-time TV.)

intervention by Frill Ryuchoi, omegaverse, alpha bottom choi, beta top Ryu Jaekwan This one's really indulgent but I have such a weak spot for omegaverse with alpha bottom. It's really sweet.

Baek Saheon is gonna watch a post-breach interview by the researcher and KSE had to stay in character to his currently dull persona. That's gonna give BSH an anneurysm again cause this guy is so full of shit. Who the fuck is this? Why the fuck is he behaving like this? Is this the same guy? Did he hit his head?

BSH try to kick the researcher out and there's gonna be back and forth because the researcher really wanna keep this golden goose. KSE might actually insist on staying because as horrible as this place is he's more scared of director cheong. He's gonna stubbornly keep his head down and once he's done he's heading for the bureau.

When BSH finally gets him alone he's gonna be like "drop the act" and KSE has no clue which persona he should present to BSH and he's too exhausted to craft a new one. Surprisingly, despite his wariness, he laughs in relief from seeing a familiar face and says "it's good to see you." This freaks BSH out a bit but when he sees how exhausted KSE is he'd feel conflicted.