Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A letter, handwritten on lined paper, three-hole punched and torn out of a binder in haste, the lines smudged from moisture around the edges, with the faint hints of a coffee stain in the top right corner

Kim Myungjun, PhD
Department of Anatomy and Physiology
College of Zoology
Kyungsung University

To my most esteemed sunbae Kim Myungjun,

Please forgive my forwardness in reaching out to you uninvited, though we met at the National Evolutionary Science Conference two years ago and exchanged business cards, and you indicated that you appreciated my research in the area of evolutionary biology as it applies to Mantabungal Stegotetrabelodon and Gomphothere and how modern offshoots of these earlier proboscideans may have adapted to the tropical highlands of the Central Philippines, specifically Palawan. I remembered your kind and encouraging words about my research and your bright sunny smile, and your pretty, delicate hands as you presented me with your business card and, when I came upon the enclosed sample, I thought of you and your research and thus I write to request your assistance in identifying and interpreting the same.

I personally collected this sample, having observed it after interviewing some local residents of the Haidian District it’s near Beijing Normal University, where my younger brother was a student before he needed to withdraw temporarily due to nerves from seeing a jang— who had been hiking in the Yanshan Mountains and reported an encounter with a large creature they were unable to identify. Using the geolocation data from the photos the hikers took while they were on their hike, I traveled to the location where they had encountered the unknown specimen and collected multiple samples. Over the past few weeks I have worked with local biologists and zoologists and identified all but the enclosed sample as belonging to local fauna.

This sample contains individual fibers of mammal fur, strands between 10cm and 13cm in length. The majority of strands are devoid of melanin (white). Approximately 30% of stands are dominated by eumelanin (black). Several strands appear to contain nerve endings and may be analogous to what we call whiskers on most felines. While the distinct arrangement of the cuticular scales, cortex, and medulla of the hairs does not match the known patterns of identifiable species, the patterns are similar to what has previously been identified as an Amur Tiger, so one can reasonably argue that the specimen from which the sample came is also of a feline or feline-adjacent nature. The sample is also, clearly, bioluminescent, which correlates with the witness’s description of the encounter with the unknown specimen, as they indicated it “glowed”.

Given your expertise in comparative anatomy, I hope you can shed further light on the nature of the specimen the hikers observed.

Respectfully, and eagerly awaiting your reply

Lee Dongmin, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science
Sungkyunkwan University
Seoul (currently on sabbatical)

c/o Lee Donghyun, student
Beijing Normal University
Haidian, Beijing, China

P.S. What is the likelihood of you being able to travel to the field to observe the context in which the sample was collected and perhaps seek additional samples? and also maybe get some coffee together while we talk over our findings? I hope the weather in Busan is pleasant, and that you are in good health. and are still smiling your lovely smile.

P.P.S. I pray this sample and letter reach you undisturbed and properly preserved I’m not a Korean spy I swear

[Enclosure: six-inch glass vial with an airtight rubber stopper for a lid, carefully wrapped in bubble pack and taped thoroughly to prevent moisture from penetrating the packaging; vial containing mingled white and black individual fibers of coarse fur and some white strands resembling feline or canine or lupine or vulpine whiskers]

A sheet of cheap printer paper, creased as if folded and then refolded, containing the scribbled handwriting of Kim Myungjun. Notes line the margins of the letter.

Lee Dongmin, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science
Sungkyunkwan University
Seoul (currently on sabbatical)

c/o Lee Donghyun, student
Beijing Normal University
Haidian, Beijing, China

Dear Dongmin,

To Whom it May

Professor Lee Dongmin,

It is wonderful to hear from you! I do remember our meeting at the National Evolutionary Science Conference. Two years - I can’t believe it’s been that long! I am quite happy to hear that my words made such an impact that you can remember them after two years. I admit, I remember you as well, for your research is extraordinary. I’ve been keeping a very close eye on your publications as you are truly remarkable in your field. Some of your publications have inspired me to do more research into various topics, though I cannot dedicate enough time solely on my inspirations as I am currently working on classifying what might possibly be a new species of amolops - though I am growing more inclined to believe it might not be new, just previously discovered and then forgotten about, based on archival evidence. and I never expected to be researching frogs. Research on amphibians aside, I am very intrigued with what you have sent me, and I hope you can decipher my ramblings and thoughts.

(Note in the margin of the paper: ‘This is not a very well-thought out letter. Sorry.’)

I first want to focus on the bioluminescence of the sample you have given me. I had to read over your letter multiple times to ensure I understood correctly. and also because your handwriting is very pretty and I I assumed you simply meant biofluorescence. This would make sense, as it has been observed that domestic felines do tend to “glow” under UV lights – especially white-haired felines. And because the sample you have given me is majorly white in color, I tested its fluorescence. I am shocked to find that you were correct in your statement that it is bioluminescent. There is a chemical compound it shares in common with certain beetles (namely lampyridae, though I only know this due to some very unfortunate research I conducted with the university early in my career – they keep making me research bugs and I hate bugs). I am struggling to comprehend the fact that this is hair from a mammal and yet it has bioluminescent properties. I do not know of any bioluminescent mammals. Or I thought I did not, but the fact that it has similar patterns to an Amur Tiger did remind me of something I once found while searching through the archives at Kyungsung University. In the collections is a sample of mammal hair that was simply connected to the genus Panthera, though it could not be narrowed down to a distinct species. It was collected sometime in 2010, if my memory serves me correctly, and its location was somewhere in Busan. I did not have time to check the collections, as I was extremely eager to write back to you upon noticing these strange characteristics of your sample, but once I send this letter, I promise you that I will check the archives to compare the hairs. I do believe, though, based on the sample, we can see that it is indeed felidae family – it could possibly be some sort of tiger, maybe in the Panthera genus as the other sample, but I err on the side of caution sometimes. I think this sample needs a bit more caution, though I am hopeful it is something new and undiscovered. It will be much more exciting to name a new species of feline than it would be to discover (or rediscover) a random tree frog. A lot of people discover tree frogs, and there are so many more left to

(Note in the margins of the paper: If you quote me on anything, please let people know I like frogs. I’m not mad about the frogs. Not really.)

Sincerely,

Kim Myungjun, PhD

Department of Anatomy and Physiology

College of Zoology

Kyungsung University

P.S. I would love to find additional samples. I am unsure about traveling at the moment, until I finish up some of the research (and until I find the similar feline sample in our collections). But perhaps in a few weeks, if you are still in Beijing. The weather is great in Busan this time of year – is it the same in Beijing? Maybe you can show me around Thank you very much for thinking of me, by the way. I find this all utterly fascinating. And it is good to hear from you!

Chapter Text

A letter, handwritten on plain printer paper, crisp and clean, though the handwriting goes a bit slanted after a while, as there are no lines to guide the writer, and there are multiple crossings-out and a few cramped interlineations. The letter has been re-folded several times to ensure it would fit within the envelope, leaving a small concertina of creases. The signature at the bottom is a little smudged.

Professor Kim Myungjun, PhD
Department of Anatomy and Physiology
College of Zoology
Kyungsung University

Dear Professor Kim,

Two years is indeed a long time but not so long that I cannot remember every detail of your wide, sunny smile and your bright eyes and your golden-sweet voice and I am pleased that you still remember me and my work. I hope that it is not another two years before we meet again in person. but if all I can get is a meeting of the minds I will take it.

I am amazed overjoyed delighted thrilled humbled very pleased that you responded to my initial query and have deigned to assist me work with me partner with me collaborate with me in this mission quest academic endeavor. I appreciate your fine distinction between bioluminescence and biofluorescence. I understand that organisms that exhibit bioluminescence typically do so through luciferin and luciferase, and the sample I shared with you does not contain known variations of either substance, so your initial skepticism as to my assertion in my previous missive was totally understandable. Given my current circumstances living rough in a student apartment with my younger brother away from the usual resources of a fully-staffed and equipped university research department, I have been living on a wing and a prayer have used up what goodwill I have with local researchers who owe me favors unable to determine how the specimen from which the sample came is able to achieve bioluminescence. If you have access to reliable methods of chemical analysis to identify the nature and substance of the sample’s source of bioluminescence, that would be amazing fantastic so cool very helpful in our mutual endeavor indeed.

I am most intrigued by the mention of an archival sample at your institution that seemed familiar and possibly similar to the sample I sent you. I would be most interested in your further thoughts on that sample, if you are able to access it and study it, and am curious to know how it compares to our the sample which is the current focus of our study. That it was located back in 2010 when both of us were quite young and probably not engaged in our current field of study is quite remarkable. and more remarkable and impressive still is your remembering it.

I do hope you continue to have good weather in Busan. The weather here in Beijing is much improved, though the summer monsoons will be swift to arrive. Should you find the time and resources to visit me make a field excursion to this locale for a chance to see each other further research, I shall be more than glad to show you the best places to get coffee and good food and this one very cute bookshop host you and help you maintain your bearings in this very large and busy city.

Thank you again for your further consideration and collaboration. and for writing me back and helping me stay sane.

Your handwriting is so cute

Most respectfully,

Lee Dongmin, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science
Sungkyunkwan University
Seoul (currently on sabbatical)

c/o Lee Donghyun, student
Beijing Normal University
Haidian, Beijing, China

P.S. Enclosed are photos of the location where I obtained the sample, for your reference, as well as some notes as to the general climate of the area this time of year, and the weather conditions on the day I located the sample, and the few days preceding the discovery. thank heavens for weather.com. I hope this additional information is of use and is illuminating for you.

Enclosures: a printout from weather.com for the weather in Beijing, China for one week, and three photos of what looks like mountain forest, with handwritten notations on the back: Forest and shrub habitat primarily, the dominant biome being temperate deciduous and mixed forest. Mixed in with the poorly-lit and poorly-shot photos of the forest is a single photo of a man drinking coffee. Written on the back of the photo in different handwriting from the rest of the letter and the other photos are the words, ‘My hyung, Lee Dongmin. So handsome, isn’t he?’

The letter has been written on lined paper torn from what appears to be a small notebook. The edges are frayed and the letter takes up three pages of paper, due to the size. The folds are uneven and are wrapped around several printed, glossy photos, as if protecting the photos from being scratched. The handwriting begins neat though delves into excitable scribbles here and there.

Lee Dongmin, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science
Sungkyunkwan University
Seoul (currently on sabbatical)

c/o Lee Donghyun, student
Beijing Normal University
Haidian, Beijing, China

Dear Professor Lee,

I apologize for how long it took me to send this letter! I was wrapping up my current frog-related research while working on uncovering the mystery behind our shared samples, and visiting the 2010 sample location. I don’t think I have uncovered anything except more questions, but I’m determined to further explore the strange creature. it needs a name

But how could I forget you of course i remember you I would never I would like to meet in person again, preferably before another two years have passed, so we can discuss the strange creature. and so I can see yo

You are correct that this is not luciferin, which really threw me for a loop. Something I had not considered prior is that, even before studying the chemical compounds, I should have known luciferin was not involved. Organisms that produce bioluminescence are typically not producing white-colored light, unless the luciferin is dimmer. Due to this sample’s ability to produce a white-colored bioluminescence with an unknown enzyme, we might have uncovered something new, something no one else has uncovered before. Of course, because luciferins are the only chemical compound known to cause bioluminescence, it SHOULD be a known luciferin - yet, it is not. To add to the insanity mystery of it all, I tested the 2010 sample as well and was shocked to find it retains its bioluminescence. There should not be bioluminescence on such an old sample, as there has not been the opportunity for a chemical reaction to arise; and, yet, it definitely turns white when exposed to oxygen and observed in the dark. It, too, shares the same enzyme as your sample, which leads me to believe it is a new organism, one that has not yet been classified. But based on your description, how the hell did it go unnoticed for so long? It is a large mammal and it glows white, but somehow we have the only two samples of this creature (that we know of). I am going to write to a few colleagues scattered across the country in an attempt to see if they might know more, for I feel slightly at a loss. Unless this is the Korean version of Bigfoot, just less of a giant ape and more of a glowing tiger

I have attached a computer model of the unknown enzyme, along with my own drawings of its structure. I have also attempted to draw this strange creature, though this drawing is not at all up to my usual standards – it is also difficult to depict a white glow, but I did my best. I have also visited the site where the 2010 sample was found and have taken several photos. I am in most of them, for in some I had to point to show exact locations, and in others I was simply not paying attention and my cameraman did not ask me to vacate the premises so he could photograph the area. I think I look really good and somewhat cute I am also not able to send you the 2010 sample, so I have attached several photographs of this.

Sincerely,

Professor Kim Myungjun, PhD
Department of Anatomy and Physiology
College of Zoology
Kyungsung University

P.S. I have finished my own research and have an upcoming break in several months - perhaps this would make a good time to visit? I will need to find lodging Regardless of when I visit, I look forward to meeting hearing from you!

I hope your brother is well.

Attached are several photographs. One is of Myungjun dressed in dark jeans and a tight t-shirt, pointing at a bush and smiling at the camera. There are two others similar, but with Myungjun crouched closer to the location and gesturing with a stretched arm towards the bush. A few pictures are close-ups of the bush, one with Myungjun standing at a distance and looking pensively at something else, as if unaware he had been inadvertently photographed. There are two pictures of the 2010 sample with its label (“Unknown Specimen”) and one of Myungjun holding the vial of the specimen - scribbled on the back of this picture is one sentence: “I am reciprocating.” Also attached is a picture of both specimens side by side in their respective vials, a computer print-out of the luciferin structure, and Myungjun’s own sketches - one of the mystery enzyme structure and one of the mystery enzyme model. Each of these have been labeled as “Lee Dongmin’s Enzyme.” There is also a rough sketch made out of colored pencils of a white, stripeless tiger with a white glow surrounding it - this has been labeled “Mystery Creature, Unnamed.”

Chapter Text

Written on heavy linen paper with what appears to be a fountain pen, as a few of the words are water-smudged and the ink has run, but the writing is steady and sure and careful; however, there are some interlineations written with a ballpoint pen and in different handwriting, the same handwriting as on the back of the photo of Lee Dongmin enclosed in the previous letter

Kim Myungjun, PhD
Department of Anatomy and Physiology
College of Zoology
Kyungsung University

Dear Professor Kim,

Your letter arrived in perfectly good time. ^He really means ‘I checked the mailbox desperately every day; the boomer equivalent of constant checking my phone for a text from my crush’ I appreciate the effort you went through in revisiting the collection site of the 2010 sample and the additional documentation you sent to better provide context to the 2010 sample and your research. ^And the photos. You do look really cute. Hyung said so as soon as he saw your picture. He has it up on the wall in his room

Also, the diagram of the previously unknown variety of luciferin and luciferase — not a kind already seen in fish, insects, fungi, or dinoflagellate — is very illuminating (pun not intended). ^pun definitely intended; he laughed to himself as he wrote it and hopes it will make you smile so please tell him it did Additionally, your hand-produced molecular structure diagram is most impressive. ^Hyung thinks being an artist is very sexy and romantic so please send more drawings even if they’re not science-related The detail is most clarifying, and the colors you used are very helpful. I had to dust off my undergraduate knowledge of biochemistry, but I am quite convinced that you have identified a new luciferin — or a substance entirely different from it. (To gently clarify: luciferin is not a specific substance but a name given to a class of substances that enables bioluminescence.) ^He does mean it very gently. He’s so worried you won’t like him.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of your discovery is not that the 2010 sample still fluoresces, but that your sample confirms what is already shown in my sample: that a land vertebrate mammal of some unknown type is capable of bioluminescence. Finding additional samples to confirm this very surprising and unusual finding is vital to our research, so I will return to the discovery site as soon as I can. If you could conduct further testing on the samples (to the extent possible without totally destroying them) to confirm that bioluminescence occurs in the sample rather than on a foreign substance on the sample, that would greatly contribute to our understanding of the specimen.

As to your suggestion of a name for the creature (your theoretical depiction of which, while currently quite rudimentary, is well-imagined and most excellently rendered), perhaps we should call it the bright white quadruped for now? ^In case you’re wondering, he definitely thinks you should use the hanja for bright that’s the same one in your name, professor-nim I am deeply flattered that you would name the new luciferin after me, but in the end I am sure we will have to settle on a name more in line with existing taxonomy.

Belatedly, congratulations upon completing your frog-related research. I look forward to reading your new articles and findings once they are published. ^He means collecting them. He has a whole binder of lovingly-kept and annotated printouts of all your previous publications. If you are willing and able, my brother and I would be more than glad to host you for some field research here in Beijing. ^He means he wants to spend time with you in person in definitely date-like circumstances that he will be too shy to call a date I believe we will have better luck in locating further samples and related samples if we have multiple researchers working together, so I am most grateful for your continued collaborative efforts in this matter.

Hoping to hear from you soon, ^he means ‘see you soon’

Lee Dongmin
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science
Sungkyunkwan University
Seoul (currently on sabbatical)

c/o Lee Donghyun, student
Beijing Normal University
Haidian, Beijing, China

P.S. What do you mean, you’re reciprocating? Though I do appreciate the multiplicity of photos sent for scientific clarification

Another post-script in the second handwriting:

P.P.S. Attached is a list of cute cafes that are great date venues, and also some nice but reasonably-priced restaurants that serve good sushi and seafood. Hyung says when you met two years ago you mentioned you like seafood. Also attached is a list of hyung’s favorite snacks from home that he can’t find here. If you brought them he’d love you forever. Also enclosed is another photo of hyung for your consideration.

Enclosure: Polaroid of Lee Dongmin, wearing a comfortable university hoodie, sitting at his desk, wearing wire-framed glasses and writing with an expensive-looking fountain pen

The letter is written on green stationary with what seems to be a ballpoint pen with neat handwriting, save for the random scratches and additions to the margins here and there. At the bottom of the letter is a cute, hand-drawn creature with writing above it that says “bright white quadruped.”

Lee Dongmin, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science
Sungkyunkwan University
Seoul

c/o Lee Donghyun, student
Beijing Normal University
Haidian, Beijing, China

Dear Lee Dongmin,

I am happy my letter arrived quickly, and I hope this one arrives just as quickly! I wrote it as soon as I received the letter (after I finished some more testing of the samples, of course, as per your request). Did you enjoy my pictures? I can take some more for you, if you’d like! Tell me what you need and I will deliver in pursuit of scientific truth because I love helping you out with this.

Your illuminating pun really made me laugh tell your brother thanks and I hope to hear more puns from you in the future. If I have discovered a new luciferin, I think that will be much more impressive than discovering new tree frogs (there are so many types of tree frogs, but a creature that glows in the dark? That’s much more uncommon). While I have waited impatiently for your letter, I have been researching other types of luciferin, or organisms that emit bioluminescence. If I was a less skeptical man, I would be certain that you have actually discovered some sort of supernatural creature. As a man of science, I wish to remain grounded to reality and understand that new and unusual creatures do sometimes come about, having remained undiscovered for centuries – but I also don’t want to discount aliens ghost cats supernatural beings whatever this might actually be, if it is something different.

But onto my research, before I get too off-topic! I did my best to isolate the samples from any sort of contamination. I have extracted dirt particles (I will be testing those later, to see if perhaps the locations these creatures inhabit perhaps have some sort of strange luciferin attached to them, as now I’m wondering if perhaps location is more important than initially thought – though if this were the case, we would certainly see other organisms in these locations exhibit bioluminescence and we do not so maybe this would be useless research – but I’m rambling a bit) and anything else that is inconsequential to our actual samples and have determined that the luciferin is directly from the samples themselves.

Our friend, the Bright White Quadruped, is an interesting creature, and the luciferin that I shall call the Lee Luciferin (until we are able to establish a different, more accurate name), shall surely be the discoveries of the year – if not this century! And I believe you need to take most of the credit for this. If not for your curiosity regarding the story you initially heard, we would have never been able to connect these two samples together – we would have never been able to discover a new creature to begin with! And I am proud to have been here to assist you in this amazing discovery. Yay Professor Lee!

I thank you very much for your congratulations, and when I receive word that my article has been published, I will forward it to you. Though, would it be better to read it out to you in person? I am very interested in coming to see you the sample’s location and to conduct more research…and to see you. I have plenty of vacation time saved up – just say the word, and I can come up there. Like you said, having more researchers will give us better luck. It’s possible we might be able to spot sight of the Bright White Quadruped if we visit the location again. And after all that research, I think we’ll both be very hungry, so maybe we should go out to eat some seafood. Could you take me to a nice seafood restaurant? I would be forever happy if you did.

I’m attaching my phone number. Let me know when I can come visit. I’ll pack my bags once I hear from you.

Kim Myungjun, PhD
Department of Anatomy and Physiology
College of Zoology
Kyungsung University

P.S. Ask your brother. He’s been a bit devious. Also, tell him thanks one more time. Never mind, I’ll tell him when I come.

Attached is Kim Myungjun’s cell phone number, along with a bubble and an exclamation of CALL ME! inside that bubble. On the back of the letter is another drawing of the glowing tiger, but with two chibi humans riding on its back. Above the drawing is the text “The Two Coolest Researchers Riding the Bright White Quadruped.”