⇀ pass it on ↽ 『dagda / soojung』
secrecy is the duality of the mind - to be a social creature and take the bindings of the mind to heart. these things confuse dagda, confuse him in the sense of him not being human, instead being the perfect machine to do out with the will of a much more secretive mind. it was the first time his boss raised his hand at the android, and dagda hoped it was the last time, although he couldn’t help but accept that it was his fault. his systems compute only the limits of the environment and what he has offered to him - the kill was easy. the disposal? not so much. back alleyways only hold so much of a hiding place, and the stench of garbage and rotting food can only cover up a murder for a certain amount of time. this one didn’t go so well, and dagda admits he was sloppy. but was he? no, he would say, not sloppy. just panicky. still, that is not something he feels often, and when his cheek hit the wooden floor of his owner’s office, he felt that he could have avoided everything.
deal with this mess. those were the last words spoken to him by the angry crime lord. most would be terrified to have to deal with him, but dagda knows that he will come around, even if this incident never leaves his mind. he will not apologize, it’s not what he does, and dagda will accept the silent statuary acceptance of returning to his post. it is that simple. but is it? dagda sits out on the cafe patio, his head hung low in thought and his eyes trained on the steaming coffee in front of him. deal with the mess - he follows instructions well, but this one confused his systems. how should he deal? dagda is naturally versatile and always has something up his sleeve, but the conundrum of not causing more anger on his owner’s part, as well as not allowing the situation to spiral out of control, pulls at his processor and he can’t help but go with his first instinct.
the woman was inquisitive, he’ll give her that. when the body had been found, dagda thought she must have been a hawk sitting on the streetlights, swooping down as soon as the stench of death hit the air. of course, what else should he expect from a news reporter? still, this one carried an air around her that pulled his attention her way, and when he had called her wanting to speak about the inquiry of some evidence in the matter, he had been surprised at just how her words alone captivated him. the meeting was to be set between the two at exactly 11:30, right when the heat of the day hit and the smell of food enticed every passerby in the market. dagda suspected the both of them had come prepared - him with the folly of lies of the matter stored in his mind, and her with the novelty of questions she was willing to throw at him, yet when he arrived on the dot the last thing he would have expected for someone so eager was for her to be late.
it was now 11:50, judging by the clock on the back wall of the café and also his internal timekeeper, and he had been sitting staring at the placement for two in front of him. he felt no embarrassment or anger towards the situation - only annoyance at how he felt let down in a sorts. he didn’t necessarily want to be here, rather he would have loved to give her fake details and send her in the opposite direction, but of course the woman wouldn’t have wanted that. he would be surprised if she didn’t show up with an entire camera crew either.
the coffee sat untouched in front of him, the steam having long dissipated into the wind and the temperature having dropped to lukewarm. he doesn’t drink it, or rather he can’t, yet every once and a while (to keep up appearances) he brings the cup to his lips and fakes swallowing the coffee. no one would know the difference at first glance, unless they looked rather closely afterwards at the fact that the level of drink hadn’t changed in the past 20 minutes. part of dagda wants to just get up and leave, calling the reporter later and giving her whatever details he can manage before ending the entire situation, but just as his fingers grab onto the white napkin placed across his lap, he hears the echo of heels across the sidewalk and part of him knows she just arrived. looking up, his gaze unwavering with a calm look in his eye, he watches the female figure enter the space, and quite unexpectedly, he smiles.