Breaking down the intervention scene line by line from the agents/Haje's POV. My last post on this was pretty incoherent, so I wanted to do a more structured review. I also wanted to do this because I commonly see people interpret this scene as "KSE's heartfelt declaration of friendship worked, and the agents and Haje mostly backed off as a result of that," but that's not what happened. What actually happened was that Braun made a bunch of threats that scared them all shitless, and they gave up on attempting to rescue KSE, consistent with Bureau training to prioritize personal safety and discard rescue attempts in extreme danger. KSE is an unreliable narrator because he has really rose-tinted glasses on for Braun, and basically did not notice any of this. Let's go:
At the beginning, Agents Choi and Bronze are relatively haphazard about Braun. Remaining careful of him, as they would towards any unknown disaster, Choi feels confident enough that he can win in a fight that he mocks Braun directly.
“Ah, is this how you do it? Nice to meet you, children! I’m Brown!” [Good heavens.] “Agent.” Bronze Agent stopped Agent Choi, who was doing an impression of Brown, and snatched up the rabbit doll.
So, while they're taking proper precautions just in case Braun is more of a problem than they assume, like moving them to an offsite location and treating the plushie with basic dignity (setting it on a silk handkerchief, etc.), they definitely don't think it's anything they can't handle.
Like how Braun's quiz corner was labelled a D-grade due to how few deaths there were, and assuming the agents did some basic research before coming here, like googling reports of this "talk show" online, the agents would probably make the same kinds of assumptions. Braun's talk show procs contamination, and sometimes disappearances due contaminated audience members attempting to meet the show guests, but it's pretty rare that people die directly, so it's easy to assume that Braun is a D-C level threat.
Haje knows that Braun's more dangerous than that, and is likely the one who insisted that they take so many precautions, but we see that she only clarifies his true power level later on in this convo, so her explanation must have been pretty brief.
In any case, everyone's first red flag is that KSE is clearly panicking when he realizes Braun has been discovered, unable to just provide a straightforward explanation. If it were no big deal, he'd treat it that way, right?
‘Are they just probing?’ For now, I’ll try to brush it off appropriately…. “Grape, I can hear your brain working from here.” Damn.
The second red flag occurs while they're moving to the new location: still not providing any explanations, and in a situation where everyone realizes that the plushie is a dangerous disaster, KSE wordlessly tries to go pick it up.
No, I did hear exactly one sentence when I tried to pick up Brown. “Take your hands off.” Yes….
From the outside, it's already not looking good. KSE clearly has not just an attachment to the entity in the doll, but also some motivation for keeping that attachment a secret. The obvious first suspect for literally any reasonable person is contamination, but if that's the case, then it seems low-level. KSE can still be persuaded not to touch Brown, even if it makes him anxious, so he's not beyond reason... right?
I do want to note that, hilariously, KSE does fret over the way Braun is being transported, as though treating him like a VIP guest is the natural thing to do, and it's upsetting that they don't. I'm sure the agents can sense his anxiety, which is not helping his image at all.
They simply carried the doll very carefully and almost respectfully. Thanks to that, no disturbance caused by Brown occurred. Of course, it looked more like carefully moving some kind of cursed doll sealed in a temple rather than escorting a VIP guest….
So, in any case, they get to the safehouse and KSE is forced to sit down while the interrogation/intervention is put underway.
Deputy Manager is cursing at me with her eyes. She saw me working in a completely contaminated state on the late night talk show, and I’m quite afraid of what she must be thinking seeing me carry around a rabbit doll named after that talk show host….
It's straightforward enough what she's thinking here. Somewhere between concern and "why the FUCK are you still in contact with the thing that made us all think you were dead, do you know how worried we were". KSE is completely panicking, but Braun sees an opportunity, and advises him to just go ahead and clarify what his relationship with Braun is... especially how much of a "good friend" Braun is to him. Because KSE is panicking, trusts Braun, and should probably come clean anyway, he fully takes Braun up on this plan.
And here we get to red flag #3.
Brown is an existence like Tiger General. “…???” “What is this supposed to mean now.” I mean he’s a supernatural being I’m getting help from.
This is an incredibly obvious false equivalence. Tiger General, you see, does not actively kill people for fun.
KSE is pretty well known for his chronic savior complex; if he can get away with saving people, he'll do so, craziness of the plan be damned. He's obviously someone who greatly values human life and balks at the idea of killing even when justified, much less senseless murder. So when KSE tries to defend Braun by comparing him to Tiger General, firstly, he makes it really, really obvious that he's trying to spin the situation, make justifications, convince them that Braun is not a problem and can be overlooked. But, secondly, it would register as insanely out-of-character. Deaths are uncommon surrounding Braun, but they definitely do still happen at all, which ought to be more than KSE should be okay with. Once more, the most obvious explanation is contamination, which is starting to seem more and more likely.
Actually, during that month I wasn’t simply missing, but was working in a supernatural phenomenon called the Late Night Talk Show. While there, I persuaded Brown, who is the Talk Show Host. As a result, Brown accepted my resignation request, and since then has been dwelling in the doll to help me during the process of exploring supernatural disasters… Just like. Just like how agents receive help from dokkaebi.
Also interesting: KSE lies about the timing of creating Good Friend here, claiming his partnership with Brown happened AFTER the talk show, when he'd already been seeing Brown since well before. If Haje saw the plushie at any point before KSE's disappearance, then she knows that he's lying, in which case, she has to assume that either KSE has been made to forget their initial meeting due to mental interference, or that the circumstances of their initial meeting are so incriminating, KSE is compelled to avoid the topic. Either way, not good.
But assuming they believe him, that's even more worrisome: it means that Braun kidnapped KSE unprovoked, indicating an unnatural attachment to KSE in particular. Ergo, there's no way he would just "be persuaded" into letting KSE go. There was definitely some sort of catch, and they already suspect contamination/mental coercion...
But still, the agents assume Braun isn't very powerful, so this argument almost works to convince them to let it slide. If Braun's only D-C, then they might be able to intimidate him into behaving, and KSE can keep his supernatural help.
Haje knows better, though.
“Is that so?” “That’s all lies. That bastard almost died in the talk show.” No!
“But you almost died because you used [Brown] wrong.” That was… Not dying but contamination
Contamination confirmed!!! 🎊🎉
So, the narrative that has now formed in the minds of the humans is this:
Braun became unreasonably attached to KSE and kidnapped him to employ him on the talk show. There, KSE was brainwashed/contaminated into staying for a month, but was eventually able to bargain for release. However, that mental coercion persists, and it's reasonable to assume that KSE was allowed to leave only because Braun still has a hold of him - as evidenced by the plushie.
KSE only further reinforces this theory when he starts opening up about how much Braun means to him. It's really funny because these are KSE's genuine, tearful, complicated feelings, but there's literally no way any of the humans will believe this to be true, because from their perspective, it really sounds like the rambling of a guy who's deeply contaminated and forced to attach positive emotions to Braun no matter what.
Just having a being that could be with me when I was isolated gave me strength. …It’s somewhat strange. I was clearly creating plausible sophistry to persuade them, but as I wrote it, I found myself feeling that this was somewhat sincere. I don’t mean to guarantee it’s not dangerous, or that I completely trust Brown. But I’m certain that things are definitely better now than before. And this was possible thanks to Deputy Manager, Team Leader, and Manager coming to find me even in the high-grade darkness. Thank you. “…” I think of Brown in this doll as my friend. At least, I think it’s okay to call it that now.
Like, Team D went in there explicitly to remove him from Braun's influence, and now he's thanking them for making it possible to keep being Braun's mindslave? KSE is truly just saying every wrong thing.
But this is also going to be the first time Choi and Bronze hear that Braun's darkness was high-grade. Before they can ask about that, however, Braun - seeing another opportunity - asks KSE for a favor.
[Could you do me a favor? As a friend, that is.] … I agreed. And after asking people for their understanding, I drew out black smoke and wrapped it around the desk. A space created by smoke that was part of a supernatural being. In the ghost story, the rabbit doll raised its body. “…!!” Good Friend dwelling in the rabbit doll looked around at each of the Disaster Management Bureau agents and Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, then politely bowed in greeting.
KSE frames this as being a very kind and friendly gesture on Braun's part, using words like "gentlemanly" and "obedient" and "polite" to describe his actions. So, I guess we know what KSE thinks of Braun. However, for everyone else at the table, Braun is making an explicit threat.
First of all, KSE gives very little warning before he creates a temporary ghost zone. "Ask them for their understanding" means he conveyed very little about what he was planning to do, given he has to write to communicate, very cumbersome. The humans here already suspect that he's still contaminated to the point of being subordinate to Braun, and he suddenly takes a scary, ghost story-esque action, plunging them into a temporary one.
Secondly, this is clearly a coordinated effort with Braun. But Braun communicates with KSE telepathically, so the agents have no way of knowing that Braun made a polite request, and KSE (oblivious) agreed - given the flow of the conversation so far, the much more reasonable assumption to make is that Braun either ordered KSE to do so, or that he can control KSE directly.
Because they have not at all clarified the nature of their communication, it's also the first confirmation anyone has that Braun communicates to KSE in a manner imperceptible to anyone else. Limitations like distance, clarity of communication, and KSE's ability to refuse are all up in the air.
And, within the ghost story space that KSE sets up, Braun is capable of manipulating reality. If he's able to make the plushie come to life and start moving, what else is he capable of? Pretty much the next thing Choi asks is, "how much damage could Braun have done to us just now?"
“You’re saying you’re ‘serving’ the Talk Show Host as a friend and borrowing its power?” …! Affirmative “How powerful of an existence is it?” “Powerful enough to turn a person to ash with a single finger flick.” …! “…Okay.” At Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je’s addition, a smile appeared on Agent Choi’s lips. Not in a positive sense. ‘That’s….’ It was a tense smile when facing a powerful supernatural disaster.
KSE remains cheerfully oblivious, but Braun has basically just bluffed at them that he's not only in control of KSE, but he's capable of using KSE as a weapon against them. Given that KSE gave them the information that Braun is a high-grade darkness, and Haje confirms it, this is a turning point for the agents.
The Bureau trains its agents to give up on rescue and prioritize survival when in the face of great danger. What they now believe the situation to be is this: KSE has been in a master-servant relationship with Braun for basically as long as they've known him, is too contaminated/brainwashed to realize that that's what's going on, and Braun both can and will use KSE to kill them if they displease Braun enough.
No wonder, then, that Choi immediately pivots to appeasement.
“Are there any other conditions for hosting it? I saw it making a hat-grabbing motion earlier, how about we get it a nice fedora.” [Oho.] [Mr. Noru. This one has quite good manners. Of course, considering their financial situation, it would be best not to expect too much from the quality of the gift!]
Now, this line of questioning buys the agents some time to regroup and think, but it also pretty chillingly reveals the extent of Braun's presence in KSE's mind. Prior to this, it could be assumed that Braun might only be able to convey general sentiments, and thus, if they put enough psychic distance between the two, they might be able to shake KSE free. But as the conversation continues, it becomes pretty obvious that their bond is... a bit deeper than that.
Agent Choi maintained an unreadable everyday expression and asked me. “So how was it when it stayed with us for half a year? We kept it in the Hyeonmu Team 1 waiting room.” …. I relayed Brown’s description. Not bad: ▶ Being placed on a cushion and occasionally helping the team leader ▶ Being told about Agent Grape’s tracking progress “Oh.” Not particularly pleasant: ▶ Pretending to feed it food ▶ Being referred to as Pink “Ah.” And…. Areas for improvement: The cushion material is excessively cheap “….”
Braun is also using this as an opportunity to intimidate them even further, revealing that he was fully cognizant of everything that happened around the Good Friend plush, down to the material of the cushion. This once more goes completely over KSE's head, because KSE just genuinely really likes Braun and this blinds him to Braun's more subtle nefariousness.
KSE is truly just. Oblivious.
Anyway, thanks to the doll cushion complaint, the atmosphere that was about to become completely tense relaxed a bit. ‘Is it because Brown didn’t cause any trouble for half a year in the form of Good Friend.’ That was definitely a good factor.
The mood isn't relaxing, everyone is just realizing how screwed they are and shifting into "appease the darkness by acting agreeable" mode. KSE is just on the side of the darkness for once, and doesn't have experience being the one getting appeased...
Choi, very bravely, does at least make the assumption that Braun would've attacked them already if he felt the desire to, so he decides to do some probing under the guise of friendly ribbing, trying to suss out Braun's motivations and the exact depths of KSE's brainwashing.
“…There were casualties at the talk show, right?” …. Yes. “So the host there isn’t a stylish person who knows how to live a vegan lifestyle like Tiger General.” I answered with difficulty. That’s correct. When it came to anything related to his broadcast, he didn’t give in easily. “…So you tried persuading him. Okay.”
At the very least, they've confirmed that KSE is provided free will, enough to question Braun, and his desire to save people is still genuine. In that case, they can assume that KSE would balk and try to fight back if actually ordered to harm them, so Choi feels brave enough to demand that Braun give them some assurance that he'll behave himself. Clearly, Braun's aim here isn't the agents; if it were, he already would've done something. Therefore, it's not a particularly egregious demand to make that Braun, essentially, continue acting the way he already has been.
“We’ll be watching continuously. You heard that well, didn’t you, Mr. Brown?” I realized. This definitely wasn’t ‘Okay, since Brown is a friend, you can stay together.’ ‘They just think it might go to hell if they separate us….’ When left alone, it was ‘basically’ friendly, but they were keeping it close because they were afraid it might escalate into a major disaster if they scratched the wrong way.
You only just realized that now, Noru? 😭😭😭
Braun also agrees that this is a reasonable ask. However, since he doesn't want the agents to start getting any uppity ideas, like that he's actually intimidated by them, he decides to leave with a couple warning shots - which, yet again, go completely over KSE's head.
First, he points out that he's been hearing allllll about Bronze's drama this whole time, and one can assume, everyone else's. He reminds them of this fact to point out that he knows a lot of their personal information, easily enough to put them in major danger by passing it along to the right darkness. He hides it behind two lighthearted, joking "corrections", so KSE doesn't notice that it's a veiled threat (KSE is just so used to Braun being entirely up in his business that he forgets that this is DEEPLY INVASIVE AND ABNORMAL for everyone else).
It can be confirmed by oath that he did not reveal the Bronze Agent’s concerns he heard in the waiting room to anyone, and will not use them as broadcast material in the future without the party’s permission.
And second, under the guise of being pettily offended over KSE's comparison of him to the Tiger General, Braun directly tells Choi that he's stronger than Tiger General. He would win that fight, so don't even think about it.
Do not be misled by Noru’s remarks attempting to treat a rough, old zoo tiger on the same level as a legendary host with culture, eloquence, and charm. (This description is Brown’s personal opinion and does not match 130666’s impression.)
And KSE...
The atmosphere seemed a bit better than before.
Girl come on 😭😭😭😭😭😭
So, final tally by the end of that conversation:
Kim Soleum is a lost cause and rescue attempts have been aborted for the forseeable future.
Braun is the boss of him.
Braun is kind of the boss of all of us.
It's still unclear exactly what Braun is getting out of all of this, but at least he won't attack unprovoked. He might even be made useful/compliant if the problem threatens KSE's safety, since that's obviously what Braun cares about.
I'm sure that, as soon as they leave KSE's line of sight, everyone's shoulders sag as it's revealed how profoundly maddening this whole situation is from their perspectives. While it's at least been confirmed that KSE's kind nature and free will are mostly intact, he's obviously under Braun's thumb, and has been for so long that there's pretty much nothing any of them could've done to prevent it.
Their options are also very limited: they need A+ level fighting force at bare minimum, and it'll be difficult to persuade KSE it's for his own good, because Braun clearly got to him while he was most vulnerable (friendless KSE at the Bureau interview 😭). Even if his brainwashing is minimal (and that's a big if), he actually does think of Braun as his rock. His anchor. His right hand arm. Man. His silly rabbit. And that's going to be even harder to shake him out of now that they have to be cautious about being too open with him, because Braun is always listening.
At the very least, I don't think they'll give up without a fight, and now that they know KSE/Braun are listening, any planning they do to separate the two will happen completely offscreen. So I wouldn't be surprised for that to come back as a plot point later on.
Really, the actual problem here is KSE himself, like this man's rose-tinted glasses are so thick they're opaque. It's honestly worse that Braun is keeping his psychological influence to the bare minimum, because that means that this was all pure KSE, down to thanking Haje for her first intervention because it let him and Braun get back together, this time with something in the approximate shape of boundaries. He's just genuinely so enamored with Braun that he cannot be trusted to objectively judge Braun's actions. Unstoppable manipulator meets immovable enabler...............
Then part 3 rolls around and Kim Soleum STILL has the forsaken plushie and then the realization very slowly seeps into everyone's minds that maybe, somehow, against all odds, Kim Soleum is genuinely attached to Braun? Haha. No way. Right? Kim Soleum. KIM SOLEUM. THAT'S THE GUY YOU TRUST YOURSELF WITH WHOLEHEARTEDLY ???
And then Soleum justifies it with "No no, I understand how dangerous Braun is. I don't FULLY trust him, because he absolutely can kidnap me if given the chance, learnt that one the hard way, but I got it now!! I have it under control, trust me."
And then the worse truth is that Kim Soleum DOES have it under control, because Braun lets him. Kim Soleum is the one in charge of this reality breaking friendship for the most part, and everybody has to sit there and deal with the consequences because the only one allowed to dominate Braun is Soleum himself.
It really might be better if Kim Soleum is just deeply contaminated than... Whatever this is.
