Chapter Text

Prelude

Ever since the world went to shit, Jung Heewon has gotten accustomed to dealing with a fresh horde of monsters every other day. Nobody really bothers to keep track of the days of the week anymore. Now, their days are demarcated with scenarios and creatures that should only belong in movies. 

She cuts down yet another monster just as it sprouts from one of the fallen leaves of that damn tree that has been a pain in their neck for the past hour. Behind her, Kim Dokja stays perched on the outcrop he had claimed for himself almost as soon as they had reached the scene. A glance out of the corner of her eye confirms that the man is still hunched over his phone, scrolling through it at such speed that there is no way Kim Dokja is actually reading anything with comprehension. 

“Ugh!” Lee Jihye groans, jerking her sword to dislodge the decapitated monster head stuck on its blade. “How long is this going to take?” She yells, directing an acerbic glare at the oblivious Kim Dokja. 

“Hyung, I’m tired,” says Lee Gilyoung. His tone sends a spike of concern through Jung Heewon, and she glances at him. The boy is swaying on his feet, a thin trail of blood trickling from his nose and mouth. Lee Hyunsung stepped in to shield him, letting the boy take a break. His attribute has proved very useful today, but it is clearly taking its toll. 

Kim Dokja finally looks up from his screen, and his eyes roam for a few moments to locate the boy. When he does, he tilts his head in a way they have learnt to be wary of. “Gilyoung-ah, come here,” he beckons, an arm held out, and returns to his ceaseless scrolling the second the boy makes contact. Jung Heewon doesn’t get much time to see Gilyoung settle in the space between Kim Dokja’s legs, but she knows the boy has found his place there. It is his favourite spot.

She can’t help but roll her eyes in exasperation when Shin Yoosung loudly declares her exhaustion as well. Damn brats, both of them. There was a time and place for these things. Kim Dokja was spoiling them. 

“Ah!” Kim Dokja exclaims several minutes later, and the group heaves a collective sigh of relief. 

“Yes, Dokja-ssi?” Yoo Sangah prompts eagerly. 

Kim Dokja doesn’t answer. Instead, he calls for Yoo Joonghyuk. The man, so far away that Jung Heewon can only make him out by his black coat, instantly makes his way to them in a single jump. Jung Heewon swears to herself that she could do that too, someday.

“Joonghyuk-ah,” Kim Dokja calls, and this time, their ensuing sighs of relief are even deeper because Kim Dokja is relaxed enough to be teasing. That can only mean that he is confident in his ability to get them out of this. While Jung Heewon wouldn’t go as far as to say that they depended on his schemes—they were a team, after all; everybody capable in their own way—only Kim Dokja could come up with the kind of things he does. 

Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk talk. The monsters don’t last another five minutes. 

⟬ Several constellations are congratulating you on your victory ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is greatly pleased by the explosive conclusion to your battle. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is clapping at your splendid teamwork. ⟭

⟬ 200 coins have been sponsored. ⟭

“Great job, everyone!” Kim Dokja smiles at them like a damn kindergarten teacher. Jung Heewon could easily snap him in half. She takes off her gore-covered jacket and throws it in his face, making him splutter and gag. She feels smug, watching him scramble to get it off him. 

⟬ The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is humming in amusement. ⟭

⟬ They would like to know if the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja' wants a present. They have some recommendations.  ⟭

At this, Kim Dokja startles, staring at the message with wide eyes. He blinks once, twice, and Jung Heewon watches with incredulity as a rosy blush spreads across his cheeks. What in the world?

“There’s no need for that,” Kim Dokja coughs politely, waving his hand a little like it would make the message dissolve into thin air. “Th-Thank you,” he tacks on, not sounding very sure of himself. 

“Hey! Why does he get a present? We’re the ones who did all the hard work!” Lee Jihye complains loudly. 

Han Sooyoung seems to have focused on a different matter in the statement. “A present? What for?” She peers at Kim Dokja sideways, her gaze heavy with suspicion. 

“No idea. Maybe they’re just feeling generous,” Kim Dokja shrugs. All eyes turn to Shin Yoosung, the only one among them who can consistently tell when Kim Dokja is lying. Shin Yoosung squints. They turn back on Kim Dokja, who is now walking faster. 

“Hey, don’t hold out on us, bastard!” Han Sooyoung points at him. “What’s got the constellations wanting to give you gifts all of a sudden? Share with the class. Don’t be greedy!” Isn’t that a bit rich, coming from her? Pun unintended. 

⟬ Several constellations are confused. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is smiling slyly. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is curious. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is tugging his hair inquisitively. ⟭

⟬ Several constellations want the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ to reveal his secret. ⟭

⟬ 500 coins have been sponsored. ⟭

Even Yoo Joonghyuk has now paused to survey Kim Dokja, who has his fists clenched in discomfort. “It’s nothing! Really! He’s just playing a prank on you guys!” Kim Dokja cries. ‘He’? Jung Heewon frowns. Does Kim Dokja know who the Secretive Plotter is? He never said, but she doubts anyone would be surprised. 

⦏ The incarnation ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’ has used the ‘Lie Detection’ skill. ⦐

⦏ Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are false. ⦐

Kim Dokja looks at Yoo Joonghyuk with disappointment. To no one’s surprise, Yoo Joonghyuk doesn’t seem affected by it at all. He levels Kim Dokja with a stare. 

“We are wasting time,” Kim Dokja declares, not that anyone is listening to him. The constellations have flooded the stream with several indirect messages. Jung Heewon can barely make out the real world with all the white and blue obscuring her vision. 

“Just tell us what it is,” She huffs, cocking her hip at the stubborn look on Kim Dokja’s face. “It can’t be that bad.”

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” Shin Yoosung says, wrapping herself around Kim Dokja’s arm.

“That’s right, hyung,” Lee Gilyoung says, wrapping himself around the other.

Behind them, Lee Jihye coughs and mutters, “Kiss-ass.” She gets a heavy hand on the shoulder in reprimand, and the girl pales significantly at the smile Yoo Sangah directs at her. 

The tension in Kim Dokja’s shoulders melts a little as he looks down at them. “Thank you,” he says, and turns to glare at the rest of them pointedly. Message received, yes. Acknowledged, maybe. Respected? No.

⟬ The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is whispering to the ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’. Their eyes shine with glee. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is gasping in shock. ⟭

Just like that, the constellations lose their shit again, and Jung Heewon resigns herself to seeing everything in shades of blue for the rest of today. 

“What is it, dammit?!” Han Sooyoung stomps her foot. Her constellation is throwing a similar tantrum in the Star Stream. Kim Dokja seems to have made a hasty escape, with the children possibly taken as his hostages. The Star Stream suddenly goes silent. Jung Heewon just knows that Kim Dokja has something to do with it. 

By the time they return to their current base, Kim Dokja has shielded himself with children, though Yoo Mia seems very begrudging about it. They split off in groups to clean themselves up and recongregate for brunch. Before anyone can think to ask him about it again, Kim Dokja announces that they should set off for an important Hidden Scenario before nightfall.

Jung Heewon is highly tempted to hold him up by the scruff and shake him. She couldn’t care less about why that constellation wants to give Kim Dokja a present all of a sudden. She just wants to sleep.

╳

⟬ A bounty scenario has occurred at the request of the constellations! ⟭

⦋ Bounty Scenario — Light a Candle! 

Difficulty: ???

Clear conditions: 1. A special day for the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ approaches. Several constellations wish that the participants treat ‘Kim Dokja’ in a manner that befits their comradeship. 

2. The scenario must be hidden from the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’.

Time Limit: 10 days.

Reward: 1,000 coins.

Failure: - ⦌

…Jung Heewon could only stare. What the fuck? Was it Kim Dokja’s birthday? How old is he anyway? It was his birthday ? Why didn’t they know? Sure, they didn’t really have the time to discuss personal matters, but Yoo Sangah likes keeping track of these things, and she hadn’t told any of them about this, which meant that she didn’t know either. Kim Dokja had managed to keep something from Yoo Sangah. Pigs were flying, probably.

Han Sooyoung burst in, zeroing in on her. She smirked. “You got it, too?”

“Yeah,” says Jung Heewon, eyeing the group behind the woman. It seems she was the only person Han Sooyoung hadn’t gotten to, barring Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja himself. Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung seem troubled, but the kids look almost excited. 

“A thousand coins each for being nice to Kim Dokja?” Han Sooyoung says, folding her arms across her chest. “Easiest money we could ever make, don’t you think?”

“It’s not about the money!” Several voices interject. Han Sooyoung rolls her eyes dismissively. 

Jung Heewon cocks a sceptical brow. Out of all of them, Han Sooyoung would likely face the most difficulty in completing this scenario. Second only to Yoo Joonghyuk, should he choose to participate. So Jung Heewon has no idea where the woman is getting this unfound confidence from. But it sure promised to be entertaining. 

“What are you thinking?” She asks, rising to her feet.

“We’ve gotta be careful about this,” Han Sooyoung says, shuffling everyone into the room. It quickly became cramped, but it was nothing they weren’t used to by now. “Keeping this scenario a secret from Kim Dokja is gonna be a big hurdle for some of you blabbermouths,” she says with a weighted look at several of them.

“I can do it! It’s basically a surprise birthday party for ahjussi,” Shin Yoosung juts her chin. 

“Yeah!” Lee Gilyoung nods. “We just need to get him a good present and find a nice spot for a party. And cake!”

“You think that’s a celebration befitting your comradeship?” Han Sooyoung questions, leaning close to them, “Are you sure ?” At this, the pair falter. Alright, that’s enough of that. 

“Cut it out,” Jung Heewon says, pulling the woman away from them. “Why don’t you tell us what you’ve got planned since you’re acting like you’ve already got this in the bag, hm?”

“Of course,” She preens. “Watch and learn, guys. Watch and learn.”

╳

They had, of course, forgotten about the scenario that Kim Dokja had set his sights on earlier today. While it may still be an excuse to get them to forget about what the Secretive Plotter had let slip, it was evident that there was still some significance to this side quest the man wished to take them on. The man mutters under his breath as he takes stock of his inventory. Yoo Jooghyuk is polishing his sword behind him, composed as ever. 

Both men seem set on this. They must know something the rest of them don’t; nothing new there. They often made decisions assuming that the rest of them were keeping pace with the silent conversations those two had. Han Sooyoung found it irritating, but if one asked Yoo Sangah, it is kind of endearing. They act like they despise each other, but they work so well together. 

Kim Dokja turns to Yoo Joonghyuk and asks, “Are you buying that, or should I?”

Yoo Joonghyuk looked at the man, unblinking, for a few seconds before resuming his task. Kim Dokja sighs, “Stingy bastard.”

Yoo Joonghyuk’s grip on his sword tightens, and Yoo Sangah moves to step between them and the children, just in case. Not because the men were reckless enough to harm them, really; it was the kids that were reckless enough to try and step in to protect their favoured guardian. 

“I have it,” Yoo Joonghyuk says through gritted teeth, glaring at Kim Dokja. 

“Oh,” The man blinks, turning on him again. “Well, why didn’t you say so?” He said, disgruntled. Yoo Joonghyuk glared harder, and Kim Dokja turned away, grumbling things under his breath that were probably unfavourable towards the other man. Then, they turn quiet as if the conversation had never happened. 

Yoo Sangah wonders how many such instances she might have missed. 

“So, where are we headed?” Jung Heewon asks, hefting a bag over her shoulder. 

“Mountains,” says Kim Dokja vaguely. “I’ll know it when I see it.”

Yoo Joonghyuk grunted. Yoo Sangah views it as doubt, but Kim Dokja huffs and looks at him, “Fine, then, by all means, be my guest.”

“ I’ll be your guest,” Han Sooyoung sticks in rather nonsensically. Yoo Sangah wonders if this is part of her plan. “This time, you two will follow my lead.” She huffed, waving the rest of them forward. Nobody except Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah obeyed. Yoo Sangah suspected that the man had only done it out of pity, like her. Han Sooyoung didn’t seem to notice, or if she did, she was ignoring it. “Come on.”

Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk share a look behind her back, then stride past her in tandem. It is only then that the rest of them move. 

As they travel, Yoo Sangah can’t help but glance at her ex-coworker every now and again. The man was so different now than he was before. He has shed his awkwardness and taken to the apocalypse like a fish to water, strange as the thought might be.

Yoo Sangah has learnt more about him in the past few months than she ever has in the years spent working at Minosoft. She probably shouldn’t be so surprised that she wasn’t aware of Kim Dokja’s birthday, but it still feels like a failure on her part. Yoo Sangah is probably one of the few people left to remember the Kim Dokja from before the apocalypse. And yet she doesn’t even know his birthday. Come to think of it, does she even know his favourite colour? Her thoughts skid to a halt. Does Kim Dokja have siblings? Where did he live? Goodness, does she even know which coffee he bought from the office canteen?

“Latte,” She sighs, resting a hand on her heart. 

“What was that, unnie?” Lee Jihye tilts her head at her. 

“Nothing,” Yoo Sangah says hurriedly. 

“Hey, Kim Dokja,” Han Sooyoung pipes, “You like reading, don’t you? How about I give you a sneak peek of my spin-off on the SSSSSS-Grade Infinite-”  

“You mean the one you plagiarised from-”

“I didn’t plagiarise it, damn it, you rat’s ass!” Han Sooyoung screeches, launching herself at the man, who ducks behind Yoo Joonghyuk.

“How many—Yeah! Get her, Master!—How many S’s was that?” Lee Jihye ponders aloud as they watch Yoo Joonghyuk peel Han Sooyoung away. Lee Hyunsung rushes to help. 

“Five, I think,” Lee Hyunsung says, compelled to answer, the good-natured man that he is. 

“No, it was six,” Yoo Mia corrects confidently. “Why would anyone need so many? It sounds so stupid.”

“That’s harsh,” Yoo Sangah scolds her mildly, holding her hack when the girl tries to move closer to cheer her brother on. She soon finds herself holding Lee Jihye as well. Thankfully, Jung Heewon has taken care of Kim Dokja’s pair of ducklings. 

Han Sooyoung is attacking the men with a small troupe of her avatars. Yoo Joonghyuk dismembered them without hesitation. Meanwhile, the roles of Kim Dokja and Lee Hyunsung seem to have reversed, with the bear-like man cowering behind his skinny friend while a rowdy avatar made lascivious comments about… disrobing. Yoo Sangah’s eye twitches. Really, one would think they’d be more mindful with young and impressionable children present. 

“Jung Heewon-ssi, could you take them for a moment?” She says primly, tightening her grip on the two girls, who look up at her nervously. That wouldn’t do. She gives them a reassuring smile. Lee Jihye grabs Yoo Mia’s hand, and they scurry behind Jung Heewon. Yoo Sangah appreciates their cooperation. Such lovely children. 

“Now,” She strides forward, “Han Sooyoung-ssi, please call your avatars back.” 

Han Sooyoung pauses in her harassment and slowly turns to face her. Yoo Sangah gives the woman her practiced corporate smile. All colour drains from Han Sooyoung’s face.

“Oh, fuck.”

“Language,” Yoo Sangah chides, smiling wider.

Han Sooyoung whimpers.

╳

Chapter Text

Chapter 1:

A Possible Comeback from Retired Fashion Designer: Han Sooyoung?

“Galacto needs to eat,” Lee Gilyoung announces, patting the giant blue centipede. Galacto chitters and veers to the right in search of prey now that he has given him permission to hunt. Dokja-hyung hums and puts a hand on Gilyoung’s shoulder. “What will he eat, Gilyoung-ah? Are there monsters over there?”

Galacto confirms the statement, so Lee Gilyoung relays the message to Dokja-hyung. “I see,” He says with a considering glint in his eye. He leans over Gilyoung’s shoulder, probably to get a better look at the area ahead, but Gilyoung seizes the opportunity to lie back against Dokja-hyung’s warmth. It’s not like anyone was watching, so Dokja-hyung couldn’t be embarrassed. 

“Ew, get that thing away from my Luna,” Shin Yoosung scowls, steering her wolf-like monster away from them. Ugh, she’s so lame. Gilyoung doesn’t know why Dokja-hyung likes her so much. A person who’s so disgusted by insects couldn’t possibly be worth his attention. “Luna says she could go on for a bit longer, but I guess if we’re taking a break anyway, she should get something to eat, too,” She says. 

“Then let them do their thing on their own,” Jung Heewon-noona grumbles, sliding off the wolf monster, “I’d like to be on solid ground again.”

Everyone has finished distributing their rations by the time he returns from giving Galacto instructions. Gilyoung can’t help but smile when he sees that Dokja-hyung has already set out portions for him (and Shin Yoosung, but that’s not important here). He scooches next to him and digs in. “Hyung,” He asks through a mouthful of food, suddenly remembering what Han Sooyoung had said earlier, “what’s your favourite story?”

Dokja-hyung blinks in surprise and turns to him, his left cheek still puffed with food, though he seems to have forgotten to chew. “Mh?” Once he swallows, he clears his throat and asks, “My favourite story?”

Dokja-hyung’s voice has become quiet. He does that sometimes. His words come out slower, like he wants to take his time with them and give each syllable more attention than usual. When Dokja-hyung talks about things like scenarios, he’s always quick and clipped in a manner that reminds Gilyoung of Yoo Joonghyuk. 

When it comes to what hyung deems important, he only says what he deems necessary. But Gilyoung thinks that the really important stuff only comes out when hyung is like this; tender and mellow. Slower and softer. Like the time Gilyoung had asked him if he was a god or the main character. Or when Gilyoung couldn’t sleep, and Dokja-hyung would pull him close and whisper survival lessons that would lull him to a peaceful rest. 

“Yeah,” Gilyoung nodded. “You like reading, don’t you?”

“I do,” Dokja-hyung murmured, quietly finishing the rest of his dinner. “My favourite story is…” He looks at him hesitantly, so Gilyoung leans forward and makes his eyes so wide that there’s no way Dokja-hyung could mistake it as anything but eagerness. “My favourite story is ◼◼.”

“Huh?” Gilyoung blinks. He heard it, of course, but… he hadn’t. He has no idea what the story is. It slips through his mind frustratingly fast, like trying to catch water with his fingers. Come on, there’s no way Dokja-hyung’s favourite story is something they need to hide! Those damn constellations are just being annoying. Gilyoung hates them. How was he supposed to get hyung a birthday gift if they won’t even let him know this?

Dokja-hyung sighs with a weary smile on his face that Gilyoung hates to see. “Ah, right. Sorry about that, Gilyoung-ah. Let’s see… my second favourite story would be,” He tapped his chin. “ Death to Dignity .”

‘Death to Dignity’, huh? Sounds cool. Gilyoung expected nothing less from Dokja-hyung. He leaned in closer. “What’s it about?”

“It’s nothing special, Gilyoung-ah. It just appealed to me at the time,” Dokja-hyung deflected, ruffling Gilyoung’s hair. “And I think Sangah-ssi would be against my talking about such a story to children.”

“I’m not that young!” He protested indignantly. Besides, they were living in the apocalypse! Surely, Yoo Sangah-noona wouldn’t be so unreasonable that she would stop hyung from discussing a dark novel. Gilyoung has watched horror movies, and he sees Sangah-noona kill monsters and people on a regular basis, so she doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on.

Dokja-hyung chuckles. “What brought this on, anyway?”

Right. Gilyoung was supposed to be subtle about this. He shrugs, “Just because.” At least he’s doing better than Han Sooyoung. They were supposed to be nice to Dokja-hyung, not try to claw his face off. He wondered if he could negotiate with the constellations to give her a penalty or disqualify her from the scenario. 

“Hyunsung-ssi, how are you feeling?” Dokja-hyung asks. Gilyoung is old enough not to pout at losing his interest, but the temptation is strong. Shin Yoosung isn’t resisting it, clearly. 

Lee Hyunsung smiles and gives him a thumbs-up. “Good as new, Dokja-ssi!” He says, rotating his healed shoulder to demonstrate his speedy recovery. “Joonghyuk-ssi was kind enough to give me one of his potions.”

“He was?” Dokja-hyung turns to the bastard in question, who ignores them. Gilyoung scowls at the man and wonders if he’ll be old enough to use worse insults for the man after his next birthday. Twelve is an important age, right? Old enough to maybe call Yoo Joonghyuk something more fitting. Like an ass. Or worse . Gilyoung glances at Heewon-noona and mentally compiles a list of coarse phrases she has used till now. When the time comes, Gilyoung will have his pick of the lot.

“So, what are we doing tomorrow?” Heewon-noona asks, unaware of Gilyoung’s stare. “You said something about a bamboo palace?”

Dokja-hyung squares his shoulders, abruptly alert once more, and Gilyoung resigns himself to the fact that he probably won’t get a chance to have an open conversation with him for a good long while. 

╳

“It is said that in another world, hundreds of years ago, there used to be a royal family by the name of Aphizwe,” Kim Dokja begins, and Han Sooyoung watches everyone settle in to listen to him. “Their king, Sonwu, was extremely talented and loved by all. He was a master swordsman and strategist; he had won his kingdom several wars out of duty, though he despised violence. A poet and artist by nature, but a ruler and warlord by circumstance.”

It was mildly alarming, but Han Sooyoung couldn’t bring herself to roll her eyes at Kim Dokja’s narration.

“The people slowly came to learn this side of him, too. After all, there was so much to find. Even the deepest soil grows damp with enough water and time. Sonwu rarely resorted to capital punishment. By no means was he lenient or too forgiving; he just wasn’t callous with human lives. For his wife, he-”

“Kim Dokja,” Yoo Joonghyuk cuts in. 

Kim Dokja’s jaw clicks shut, and he fixes the protagonist with a dirty look. Now, Han Sooyoung would never call herself an advocate for a guy with such terrible taste, but as an author, she had a certain obligation to stories even when the storyteller was terrible. 

So, she grumbles, “Stuck up son of a bitch,” while acting like she was simply picking at some food stuck in her teeth. Hey, maybe this could count as her being nice to Kim Dokja. She sneaks a peek at the Star Stream, but no rewards seem forthcoming. Damn.

“Anyway,” Kim Dokja huffs, squaring his shoulders with a recalcitrant cockiness that makes Yoo Joonghyuk blink in bemusement, “Bamboo was very precious in the land, at the time. The Aphizwe had about an acre of bamboo forest by their palace. Sonwu loved it dearly.”

Yoo Joonghyuk slowly crushes an emptied can of preserved food with one hand.

“When his daughter, Merisa, was betrothed to the handsome prince of a neighbouring kingdom,” Kim Dokja says through gritted teeth, “He wove a basket from the bamboo from the royal palace as a gift. A chaesang . The young royals stored many precious items in the chaesang , and it helped preserve them till today.”

“What items does it hold?” Lee Hyunsung asks. A good question. Han Sooyoung’s irritation mounts. Why on earth did Kim Dokja spout romantic nonsense about this Sonwu when he could have just said they were supposed to grab stuff from a basket and run? Ugh, no wonder he likes ‘ Ways of Survival’.

“As far as I’m aware, it holds the prince’s belt, Merisa’s ring, and a Firethorn bracelet,” Kim Dokja lists.

⟬ A constellation that likes jewellery is impressed by your knowledge. ⟭

Han Sooyoung groans internally. It had been so blissfully quiet so far. If the damn constellations wanted to butt in just before her sleep, they should at least compensate her for it. 

⟬ The constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ wonders if the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ plans to claim any of those items. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ thinks that items of such a florid nature are worthless. Swords and armour would be more beneficial. ⟭

⟬ A constellation that likes jewellery says that the ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is simply too unsophisticated to see the value such items hold. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ insists that searching for such baubles is a waste of time.  ⟭

⟬ Several constellations are watching the constellations bicker. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is awaiting the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’s answer. ⟭

Kim Dokja shrugs. Knowing him, he’d probably ignore them if he thought he might get away with it, but apparently, that wasn’t an option at the moment. “Maybe,” he says. “We’ll decide who claims them based on their traits. The items will be best suited for certain attributes that I might not have.”

What a boring answer. Why doesn't Kim Dokja say what he really means? Such as: I'll do what I want. Fuck you. That seems more like him. Better than this politically correct, ambiguous stuff.

Han Sooyoung scoffs. Compared to her, Kim Dokja is close to abhorrent when it comes to giving an audience what it wants, but even he should be able to do better than that. He must be distracted. Predictably, Kim Dokja soon suggests that they get some rest. 

The man still hadn’t put his phone away when Han Sooyoung finally slipped into a deep slumber. She doubts he went to sleep until much later. Even the blurriness of his features cannot mask the bags that have been growing under his eyes for the past few days. Not that Han Sooyoung cares. It just makes the man look uglier than usual, is all. If there is anything she is worried about, it’s her sensibilities. His ugliness might be contagious.

Somehow, through the nocturnal powers of two extremely possessive limpets, Kim Dokja is found sandwiched between his kids— yes , his kids; Kim Dokja is fooling no one but himself when he denies it—the next morning. 

╳

They reach the mountains just before noon. Thank fuck. Han Sooyoung hops off the chittering giant centipede with much vigour. Kim Dokja tasks them with finding a red waterfall, of all things. It’s Lee Hyunsung who finds it, and Han Sooyoung is extremely annoying because, for one, the waterfall is not nearly as big as she’d expected. And secondly, it isn’t the water itself that is red. There is some sort of red algae or whatever growing on the rocks beneath. 

“What now?” She scowls, crossing her arms impatiently. 

“Well, it’s-”

Yoo Joonghyuk pushes Kim Dokja into the water, abruptly cutting off the man’s explanation. Everyone rushes forward to gape at the water below, holding their breath uneasily. Kim Dokja doesn’t resurface. The party stares at the rippling surface for another minute.

“If he’s dead,” Shin Yoosung enunciates, slowly turning to the stoic protagonist with a gaze murderous enough to match his, “I will feed you to Luna.”

“And Galacto,” Lee Gilyoung adds thunderously before jumping into the water. 

Han Sooyoung cackles loudly and joins the kids. They’re the real life of this depressing party. She will write a novel with a crazy enough plot to suit their personalities. Then, when it becomes a bestseller, she will release ‘art’ of the main characters in an exorbitantly priced collector’s edition and live off the-

Han Sooyoung gets grass in her mouth. 

“I see you’ve finally found something suited to your palate, Sooyoung-ssi.” Kim Dokja doesn’t bother to hide that he is relishing this. What a bastard. Unfortunately, Yoo Sangah materialises before Han Sooyoung can flip him off. 

They’re in the middle of a field. A hilly field with unusually green grass and large wildflowers. Han Sooyoung pops a candy into her mouth and begins to wander. Correction: get a lay of the land. Scope the territory. 

She’d rather be far away from the group when Lee Hyunsung inevitably gets the idea to present Jung Heewon with some flowers. Their love is, frankly speaking, disgusting. That woman should have gone for a murderous dandere type, but the universe was determined to remind Han Sooyoung why she had given up on the real world and begun writing novels. People were hopeless. Some tropes should never be broken. 

“Let’s go,” Kim Dokja says so quietly that she knows he’s hoping she didn’t hear him. 

The palace looks plain as hell, so Han Sooyoung waltzes past Kim Dokja while he fanboys over the details like a loser. There are many in their little group to indulge him; Han Sooyoung is not one of them. She kicks down the first door she finds and begins examining every inch of the room in search of anything useful.

Mainly, the room has clothes. A lot of them. Enough for them to burst out of the closets in an avalanche of cotton, silk, and something that feels like wool, but not quite. She can’t figure out where the limbs would go and how the strings would be tied for half of them, but she elects to carry those pieces along too. Maybe it’s time to renew her short-lived passion for fashion. Ah, look at that, she rhymed. A true master of words. 

Han Sooyoung brightens as a thought occurs to her. If she’s such a good weaver of words, she must be a good weaver of cloth, too! It was meant to be! God, she has to write that gem down for future use. 

Maybe she’ll make Kim Dokja a birthday dress. A pretty, frilly little thing to make up for his bland face and personality. With bows everywhere. Kim Dokja better appreciate it because if he’s going to burden Han Sooyoung with this damn surprise birthday party bullshit, he should bear the consequences. 

“It’s this way… no, wait, it’s definitely this way. Ah, damn, this palace is too symmetrical. Give me a minute, please…” Kim Dokja’s voice bounces down the hallways, followed by a tolerant silence. Then, a weary sigh. “I think we’ll have to split up.” Idiot.

She stows away the clothes and rejoins the sad little group still hovering by the entrance because of Kim Dokja’s horrible sense of direction. As she draws closer, bright spots of colour catch her eye, and she freezes mid-step. 

Jung Heewon has a big, vermillion flower in her hair that she keeps brushing under the pretence of tucking errant strands behind her ear. Lee Hyunsung’s cheeks match the flower, so it really is a couple look now. But that’s not all. 

Kim Dokja has two thick bouquets stuffed into the pockets of his so-called Infinite Dimension Space Coat, a chaotic blend of vivid carmine, soft pink, mellow purple, muted blue, and bright yellow. Han Sooyoung can feel her retinas screech in agony from the cruelty. At this rate, her eyes will go on strike. Out of self-preservation, she hurries to find something else to look at. 

Yoo Mia is wearing an aesthetically appealing flower crown that Yoo Joonghyuk looks inordinately proud of. Inspired, Lee Jihye is ineffectually attempting to make one, too. 

Han Sooyoung is thoroughly disgusted. Yet again, she finds herself wondering what on earth possessed her to decide to spend this apocalypse with them. As if the end of the world isn’t traumatic enough. 

She adds ‘masochist’ to her list of possible explanations, right under ‘delirium’ and ‘quarter-life crisis’.

╳

⦋ Bounty Scenario — Light a Candle! 

Difficulty: ???

Clear conditions: 1. A special day for the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ approaches. Several constellations wish that the participants treat ‘Kim Dokja’ in a manner that befits their comradeship. 

2. The scenario must be hidden from the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’.

Time Limit: 10 days

Reward: 1,000 coins

Failure: - ⦌

⦋ Time remaining: 9 days ⦌

Chapter Text

Chapter 2:

Hyunsung Borrows Knitting Needles from the Great Bamboo Palace of Aphizwe

In the end, they don’t need to split up. Shin Yoosung wouldn’t think to object to it since it saved her from being put in a position where she might have to separate from her ahjussi. 

And yet, her mood is sour. Because ahjussi is clearly eager to explore the Bamboo Palace in its entirety, but Yoo Joonghyuk thought he could just choke the air out of his lungs and threaten him into sticking to the mission. What a jerk! Shin Yoosung wants to see the palace, too! They’ve come all this way, and Luna is so tired, but this rude man wants them to get what they came for and leave immediately? Ugh!

Shin Yoosung glares at the man’s back. He is the worst. He’s probably the kind of tourist who would go to the Louvre and leave after seeing just the Mona Lisa. He’d go to Jeju only to spend five minutes at the beach, then return home. He probably reads just the ending of every novel and declares that he knows the entire story. 

What about Sonwu? His wife? His daughter? His handsome son-in-law? Did Sonwu’s people embrace his soft side, too? Or did they call him weak and bury him under their taunts and insults? What of the grandchildren? Ahjussi had hardly said anything about their story. All because of Yoo Joonghyuk.

Once again, her gaze lands on the ring of bruises on ahjussi’s neck. They were fading already, but ahjussi’s voice was hoarse now, and he had stopped speaking as soon as Yoo Joonghyuk took the lead. Shin Yoosung’s scowl deepens. 

“Jihye-unnie,” she says, tugging on Lee Jihye’s sleeve, “Do you still have that candy? I’m a bit hungry.”

“Oh, sure,” Lee Jihye says amicably, retrieving it from her backpack. She pours a small amount for herself before giving it to Yoosung. “Pass it around, okay? I’m sure everyone is in the mood for a snack.”

“Give me some first,” Yoo Mia demands. 

Yoo Mia is not so bad, but Yoosung does not feel particularly charitable at the moment, so she huffs and sticks her nose in the air. “Ask nicely.”

“Please,” Yoo Mia yells, snatching the packet from her. 

“Hey, you can’t-” Yoosung cuts herself off when she notices that Yoo Mia really didn’t take that much at all. There is no need for her to fight for the packet if the girl is responsible about it. Yoo Mia drops the packet back in her hand and resumes walking beside her at a sedate pace. 

Yoo Joonghyuk should learn a thing or two from his sister. 

She approaches the women next, since they’re the closest. “Candy?”

“No, thanks, kiddo.”

“Yes, please. Thank you, Yoosung-ah.” 

Lee Hyunsung also accepts some with a small smile and sincere thanks; his kindness makes her feel warm. Lee Hyunsung is a lovely man. Ahjussi should spend more time with him and the unnies. Not those rascals, Han Sooyoung and Yoo Joonghyuk. Ahjussi deserves better. 

Shin Yoosung spots Han Sooyoung practically drooling at the sight of candy. She is pretending—poorly—that she is above it, but it's clear as day to even someone as thickheaded as Lee Gilyoung. Yoosung walks past Han Sooyoung without offering her any. Lee Gilyoung intercepts her before she can reach ahjussi. Frustratingly, the boy seems to have anticipated her next move, but Yoosung won’t let that deter her. 

“Ahjussi! I brought you some candy,” Yoosung pipes, leaning past Lee Gilyoung while the boy tries to wrestle the packet out of her grip. “Hey, let go; you’ll drop it and then ahjussi won’t get to eat anything!” That gets him to back off, at least. Still, she bats him away for good measure.

“Ah, thank you, Yoosung-ah, but I’ll have to pass,” Ahjussi says, pushing her hand back gently. 

Not to be dramatic, but Shin Yoosung is devastated by this terrible turn of events. “Why?! Don’t you like sweets, ahjussi?”

“No, I do!” Ahjussi amends hurriedly, “I do, it’s just, um, I’m not in the mood?”

“Oh,” Yoosung pulls the packet to her chest despondently. Wait. “What kind of sweets do you like then, ahjussi?”

Ahjussi doesn’t seem to notice, but everyone behind them is now paying them attention. The adults are better at pretending to be busy amongst themselves, though, and since ahjussi doesn’t hear any lull in conversation, he isn’t on guard. They are still walking down the eastern hallway of the Bamboo Palace, with Yoo Joonghyuk leading the way and Han Sooyoung falling behind because she keeps entering other rooms to grab stuff. Jung Heewon-unnie and Lee Hyunsung are still talking to each other in shy tones; any other time, Yoosung would be enjoying their romance with an equally delighted Jihye-unnie, but not right now. 

Right now, Yoosung (and Gilyoung, that annoying bug) are staring at ahjussi, awaiting his answer. Behind them, Sangah-unnie is invested, too. Sangah-unnie had been very upset when she realised she didn’t know ahjussi’s birthday was coming up, and now she seemed determined to make up for it. Yoosung slipped a hand behind her back and gestured for the woman to back off. Her intentions might be good, but Yoosung called dibs on getting the birthday cake. 

Sangah-unnie was very nice to her, though. Yoosung might consider a collaboration. She’ll see.

“Well, I don’t like it when it’s too sweet,” Ahjussi scratched his cheek a little. “But I do have a sweet tooth if it makes sense. I prefer lighter desserts, mostly, but if I’m craving something richer, then I’d opt for dark chocolate. With fruits or something else to balance it out. But really, I’m no connoisseur. Even buying chocolates from the supermarket was an indulgence for most of my life.” 

He cuts himself off, then. Yoosung thinks he doesn’t entirely want to, but he makes himself stop anyway. Ahjussi is very tightlipped about his personal life. She knew that already, but she had never asked him questions that would ever put her on the receiving end of that. Now that she is, she finds it frustrating and… sad. She thought ahjussi liked them, trusted them. 

No, she is being too harsh on ahjussi. He is probably just introverted. Yoosung could understand that. They just need to make ahjussi feel comfortable around them. 

“So, like black forest cake?” Yoosung ponders. Behind her, she hears Lee Jihye gag. 

“Er. Yes, I suppose. Like black… forest… cake.”  Ahjussi says, blinking slowly. Yoosung can’t be sure, but he sounds a tad bewildered. Maybe he hadn’t expected her to get it right on the first try. Yoosung beams, tossing a smug look at Lee Gilyoung behind ahjussi’s back. 

“Oppa says we’re here!” Yoo Mia hollers from where she and her brother are standing, close to the end of the corridor. Yoo Joonghyuk is tapping a finger on the hilt of his sword and glaring at them impatiently. Lee Jihye bounds ahead to join them. 

Ahjussi’s expression closes off, and he picks up the pace. Shin Yoosung trots to keep up with him. 

The Bamboo Palace is a muted kind of lavish. It doesn’t have the pristine white walls and gilded furniture that Shin Yoosung had imagined. It doesn’t have anything of the kind at all, actually. There are glass windows on one side of the corridor and some closer to the ceiling for additional light. The entire palace seems to be trying to incorporate as much bamboo as it can. There are intricate blinds made of bamboo that cast shadows on the floor, depicting various stories. Many of the objects that are displayed on the carved pedestals lining the hallway are made of bamboo. 

There is a bamboo basket just… sitting there. Proudly. Shin Yoosung didn’t know whether to laugh or not. Bamboo was precious here; that much is evident. Ahjussi had said so earlier, but she hadn’t expected it to look like this. Most of these items wouldn’t even earn a second look back at home. 

As they approach, Shin Yoosung realises that it isn’t actually the end of the corridor. There is a sharp turn to the left, and an even longer path stretches out from there. Thank goodness their destination isn’t so deep inside the palace. Even if ahjussi weren’t in charge of navigation, they could have gotten lost. 

Yoo Joonghyuk kicks the door open, making fly into the room with a loud bang and clatter. “Tch. So disrespectful,” Ahjussi grumbles under his breath. Yoosung mentally agrees, then nods because a mental agreement feels insufficient. 

⟬ A new hidden scenario has arrived! ⟭

⟬ The incarnation ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’ receives the first discovery achievement! ⟭

Shin Yoosung glares at the man. Ahjussi should be getting that reward. They wouldn’t even be on this mission if it weren’t for him. Yoo Joonghyuk better share the rewards with ahjussi, or he will be sharing his bed with rats. She will make Luna poop on him. 

⦋ Hidden Scenario — Sonwu’s Lament

Difficulty: A

Clear conditions: Defeat Sonwu or bring peace to his damaged soul.

Time Limit: None

Reward: ??? 

Failure: Damage to Sonwu’s soul will result in death 

There are hidden pieces in this mission. ⦌

Beside her, she spots ahjussi clenching a hand into his coat. His mouth looks more wobbly than usual. Is he... excited? Anxiety crawls up her spine. Oh no .

╳

Kim Dokja sways on his toes by an infinitesimal amount before he steps into the room and enters the scenario. Lee Hyunsung swallows nervously. This doesn’t bode well for his peace of mind. 

“Just so we’re clear, we’re going with the second path.” Kim Dokja says, kicking Yoo Joonghyuk’s shin hard enough to break a normal person’s leg. Yoo Jonghyuk doesn’t even blink and unsheaths his sword to stab at Kim Dokja, who barely dodges. Hyunsung isn’t sure, but the man probably would have succeeded if he was really trying, so he forces himself not to freak out.

The room is spacious already, but once all of them are inside, the panels of bamboo flip and ripple. All at once, the space seems to expand and shrink at the same time until it swallows them and spits them out elsewhere. Lee Hyunsung feels nauseous, but he pushes past it. 

In front of them stands a man larger than himself, wearing rich robes of green and black. There is an unsheathed sword hanging by his hip, its breadth just under the width of Hyunsung’s palm, he thinks. It is sharp, clearly, and has an odd tinge to it that reminds Hyunsung of copper. The man has a large dagger strapped to his other leg.

“Cloud-shearing fabler, King Sonwu. It is an honour,” Kim Dokja bows. Lee Hyunsung follows suit, bending just enough that he can still keep an eye out for sudden movements. What on earth was that title? Cloud-shearing fabler? Could his sword cut through clouds? Was that threatening? Planes cut through clouds quite often and it had yet to spell doom for the world below. 

And fabler? That probably meant that he had many fables. Now, that felt threatening, alright. 

Yoo Joonghyuk has a hand on his sword. Before he can unsheath it, Kim Dokja bursts: “I am here to hear your story.” By the time he finishes his declaration, Yoo Joonghyuk has lunged across the barren field with his blade aimed at the king. King Sonwu turns into a torrent of thin, long leaves and rematerializes directly in front of Kim Dokja. 

King Sonwu smiles wryly. “Your companion seems to disagree.”

‘Companion’. The word is used without the weight it usually bears; King Sonwu seems unaware of the term’s significance. Kim Dokja’s breath hitches, and Hyunsung wouldn’t have heard it at all if he hadn’t jumped closer to protect the other man. However, spoken lightly or not, Kim Dokja still cannot deny the accuracy of those words. After all, Yoo Joonghyuk has claimed Kim Dokja as such, though his actions seldom reflect this.

“Yoo Joonghyuk is an idiot. Please ignore him, I implore you, your majesty.” Kim Dokja says, clearly itching to murder the man for nearly botching his plans so early in the game. 

King Sonwu hums. “It seems at least one of you knows their place. You do not wish to challenge me?”

“I mean, the other option means we have to be your therapists, and I don’t think any of us are qualified for that,” Han Sooyoung saunters to the front. “There are many crimes that are badass, medical malpractice is not one of them. Now, killing, I can do. I’m sure this bastard agrees,” She jerks her head to Yoo Joonghyuk, who is standing in place like a coiled snake.

King Sonwu’s eyes glint. “I see.”

“No, wait, hey! What do you idiots think you’re doing?” Kim Dokja hisses at the pair, enraged. “Don’t make this more complicated. Just let me handle it, you dim-witted, moronic-”

“Han Sooyoung-ssi, please rescind your words,” Yoo Sangah smiles amiably. Hyunsung can see a shiver climb up Han Sooyoung’s spine in response. “I would rather not partake in unnecessary violence.”

“Okay!” Han Sooyoung squeaks like she can’t help herself. Hyunsung extends his sympathies. 

“It will be quicker if we kill him,” says Yoo Joonghyuk, hefting his sword once more. 

Hyunsung can practically hear Kim Dokja grinding his teeth. The man is radiating killing intent, and the fact that Hyunsung can see none of it in his body language is terrifying. “Fine,” Kim Dokja says tersely, the fight abruptly leaving him. Hyunsung jerks from the whiplash. 

Kim Dokha spins on his heel and storms away, “Do whatever the hell you want. As always.”

“Hyung? Where are you going?” Gilyoung trails after him, looking as lost as Hyunsung feels. Kim Dokja is too stubborn to give in this quickly. Something isn’t adding up here. 

A metal cauldron flies past Hyunsung and hits Kim Dokja square in the back.

“Ack! What the fuck?!” 

“Kim Dokja,” Yoo Joonghyuk scowls, pulling out another cauldron from his coat pocket and throwing it so fast that it whistles across the field and smacks the other man’s face. The cauldron wobbles and drops down Kim Dokja’s head, completely blocking the man’s view. Kim Dokja flails his arms blindly. 

Lee Jihye and Han Sooyoung are laughing. 

“Where are you going?” Yoo Joonghyuk demands. From his tone, it seems less out of concern and more on suspicion of foul-play. Which is fair, considering it’s Kim Dokja. 

“Away!” Kim Dokja yells, his voice echoing due to the cauldron. He scrambles to his feet and proceeds to struggle with the vessel. “From the disaster you’re bound to create. I won’t be surprised if you ◼◼ again. But what does it matter, right? Because you’ll be fine. You’ll just leave the rest of us to deal with your mess like a coward. You’re fucking pathetic, Yoo Joonghyuk, I hope you know that,” Kim Dokja snarls, bending in half as he tries to dislodge the cauldron from his head. He seems stuck. 

Han Sooyoung is banging her fist on the ground, tears leaking from her eyes. Even Heewon-ssi is giving in. At least her laugh is pretty. She sounds open and full of life, unlike Han Sooyoung, who seems to be having trouble breathing. 

“Hmph,” Yoo Joonghyuk huffs, striding over to Kim Dokja and ripping the cauldron off his head roughly. Kim Dokja topples backwards with a screech. He falls into an ungainly pile of limbs and stares at the sky in defeat.

“Fine. We will do it your way, Kim Dokja,” says Yoo Joonghyuk as he extends a hand to help the man up. Behind him, Han Sooyoung chokes. He ignores them. Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi does that quite often; only Kim Dokja seems to be, um, persistent enough to make it difficult for him.

“But if it doesn’t work, I take charge,” Yoo Jooghyuk says firmly, brooking no room for argument. He squeezes Kim Dokja’s hand until his fingers turn white. 

“Sure,” Kim Dokja grunts, the air around him sparking as he returns the death grip.

Han Sooyoung gasps loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. She has sprung to her feet and is pointing at Yoo Joonghyuk accusingly. “You lying, scheming, two-faced, son of a bitch!”

“Ooh, that’s a good one,” Gilyoung murmurs, seemingly unnoticed by all except Hyunsung. He eyes the boy warily. 

“Sooyoung-ssi-”

“This fucktard is in on it, too! He lied to us!” Han Sooyoung shrieks. “You slippery monkeyfucker, I’m onto you!”

“What on earth-?” Kim Dokja mutters in confusion. All at once, it clicks. Everyone springs into action. 

“It’s nothing, Dokja-ssi,” Hyunsung smiles, blocking Han Sooyoung with his body.

“Ignore that foul-mouthed ahjumma,” Shin Yoosung nods. 

“She is delirious,” Yoo Joonghyuk diagnoses flatly. All heads whip to him. Hyunsung frowns; to think the man was hiding his true intentions with Dokja-ssi this entire time. How dishonourable. Thank goodness they had caught him in time. God knows what he could have done to Kim Dokja. 

“I believe we have kept King Sonwu waiting,” Yoo Sangah interjects smoothly. Bless her, truly. 

Kim Dokja brightens up at that and struts ahead to talk to the king. As soon as he walks past her, Yoo Sangah spins to glare at Yoo Joonghyuk. She points at her eyes, then at the duplicitous man. That’s right. They’ll be keeping an eye on him from now on. 

“Bastard thought he could pull a fast one over me, huh?” Han Sooyoung growls, folding her arms across her chest. “Well, I’ll show him.”

“ I’ll show him,” says Shin Yoosung. Lee Gilyoung shoves her and declares the same. 

Lee Hyunsung gulps and eyes Kim Dokja, who is merrily conversing with King Sonwu about the art of basket-weaving or something. Now, Hyunsung likes the man, yes, but he isn’t sure if he’s willing to take on such… strong-minded people to win this. He sighs and acknowledges to himself that he probably won’t be the first among them to complete this bounty scenario. 

Well, that’s okay. It’s Dokja-ssi’s birthday, not a life-or-death competition. Hyunsung is just happy to treat the man with the care he deserves.

He looks to the side and finds Heewon-ssi looking at Yoo Joonghyuk with her hands on her hips, a fierce scowl on her face like she’s squaring him up for a fight. Hyunsung’s heart throbs at the fire in her eyes. So dreamy.

╳

⦋ Bounty Scenario — Light a Candle! 

Difficulty: ???

Clear conditions: 1. A special day for the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ approaches. Several constellations wish that the participants treat ‘Kim Dokja’ in a manner that befits their comradeship. 

2. The scenario must be hidden from the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’.

Time Limit: 10 days

Reward: 1,000 coins

Failure: - ⦌

⦋ Time remaining: 9 days ⦌

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Yoo Joonghyuk Fails At Poetry

King Sonwu is just as he had expected. Despite his age, he has the build of an ox and an air of discipline around him. He reminds Kim Dokja of his war veteran neighbour. His features are defined and well-worn. He is straight-backed with humble self-confidence. 

It is as if the sands of time have worn him just enough to let him glimmer. 

In the past, whenever a young Kim Dokja tried to picture an ideal grandfather, he would often think of King Sonwu. He always seemed like a man who would understand him. Kim Dokja thinks they would get along well. 

As they keep talking, Dokja finds Sonwu only cementing such thoughts. He wonders if the man is willing to adopt an incarnation of a different species. Kim Dokja will gladly accept. He might even retire with the man if-when the apocalypse is over. They could build a nice library in those lush mountains, perhaps.

“-and then cut it further into four parts so that I could make the flowers more intricate-” 

Kim Dokja is entranced. Not because he finds basket weaving particularly lucrative; it is King Sonwu. The man is lit up from within and seemingly baring himself to a stranger so easily. Of course, Sonwu could cut him in half before Kim Dokja can even think to attack him. Yoo Joonghyuk of the 566th regression had died at King Sonwu’s hands. Kim Dokja stands no chance. 

Hence, his plan to win the king over with his charms. 

To bring peace to Sonwu’s soul more or less equated to resolving his past trauma. Playing therapist, Han Sooyoung had guessed. She is wrong. Sonwu’s chosen method of coping is different.

“Oh, I’m sure Lady Merisa loved the carnations!” Kim Dokja nods eagerly, making his eyes large and, hopefully, shiny. 

Sonwu smiles widely. “She did! Takes after me, I always say, with her great appreciation for the beauty of this world. I hold my wife close to my heart, always, but my dear Beleris had firmly planted herself in the cold world of logic by the time we met. With Merisa, I could-”

Kim Dokja hums along at appropriate moments. He is invested in the man’s words, but half his attention is diverted to planning ahead. 

Yoo Joonghyuk hadn’t bothered to come here again until another five hundred regressions, when he finally amassed enough power to defeat Sonwu in battle. The protagonist hadn’t seen much point in pursuing lower-grade items. But the thing is, the things they will find in the Bamboo Palace will come in use much, much later. Items that will help get another item, which will eventually cause a domino effect that will get them through a scenario.

It was a path Yoo Joonghyuk had taken in his 1302th regression but hadn’t repeated later on, since he’d gotten what he wanted. While suggesting the mission yesterday, Kim Dokja had thought of this as a backup plan if nothing else. Now that he is here, he wonders.

“That sounds wonderful!” He beams when Sonwu concludes his detailed retelling of his first meeting with his wife. “A romance for the ages, truly.”

⟬ Several constellations are disturbed by your demeanour. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is repulsed by your grotesque expression. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ says that they will pay you 1000 coins to never make that face again. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ hits the constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’. ⟭

⟬ They insist that the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ looks endearing. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is frowning. ⟭

Kim Dokja clenches his jaw. These damn constellations are going to wreck his plan at this rate. As if the rowdy bunch still squabbling behind him aren’t bad enough. He glares discreetly at Han Sooyoung, who is screaming up a storm at an unaffected Yoo Joonghyuk. He has no idea what they’re going on about. Whatever it is, it’s bound to be stupid. Their fights seldom make sense. Kim Dokja isn’t going to bother trying to understand what set them off this time. 

“And then what happened, Your Majesty?” He asks, clasping his hands and smiling once more. 

Gilyoung has apparently decided that he must insert himself in the argument as well. Dokja bites his lip as the boy clambers over the protagonist’s tall form to yell in his ears. 

“I’m going to do it first! Don’t even think about going anywhere near hyung! Keep your filthy fingers far, far away from him! Oi, constellations! Can you hear me? Disqualify this bastard! He’s abusing hyung! And remove that banshee while you’re at it, too! Neither of you deserve- hey! Argh! Let go of me, you damn bastard!!” Gilyoung pounds his fists against whatever part of Yoo Joonghyuk he can reach. 

The man has grabbed Gilyoung by the ankle and is currently dangling him upside down. The fight slowly leaches out of Gilyoung until he hangs limply with his face rapidly turning red. Yoo Joonghyuk says something to him in low tones, but Kim Dokja can’t hear it because of King Sonwu.

“- So, shall we begin?”

“Pardon?” Kim Dokja blinks. But he hasn’t even gotten a chance to talk about the others, yet! “Uhm, so soon, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. I have seen everything I needed to,” he remarks, looking at the ongoing chaos with a twinkle in his eye. “I hope you will finish my scenario. I have enjoyed conversing with you, young man.”

“As have I, King Sonwu,” Kim Dokja bows his head. 

“Hm. You remind me of someone I used to know,” King Sonwu remarks, surveying him carefully. Bingo .

“Your Majesty?” Kim Dokja tries to act innocent. Internally, though, he is rejoicing. 

“It is nothing. Let the scenario commence,” Sonwu says with a wave of his hand. Kim Dokja can feel himself being ripped into thin slivers; it doesn’t hurt but it is an odd sensation, all the same. The others let out several exclamations as they, too, dissolve into threads. 

They are woven back whole soon enough. In a different place and time. 

The Battle of Sijoi unfurls before them and Kim Dokja’s senses are overwhelmed. The scent of blood, fervent warcries, ringing of metal against metal, and the movements , God. The chaos of the soldiers battling was enough to make him dizzy. Almost immediately, soldiers begin attacking them. Reflex kicks in, and Kim Dokja is glad to see his comrades react instantly. It is their competence that allows him the chance to survey the situation. 

Just as he remembers, the enemy soldiers wear blue while Sonwu’s men wear brown. Going by the ribbons on their arms, Lee Hyunsung plays the role of General Abas, and Jung Heewon plays General Nedise. That was alright; neither had significant dialogues in this scene. Their main job was to keep the enemy at bay while King Sonwu could have his mid-battle crisis. A few encouraging remarks here and there would suffice. 

Going by the details on her robes, Yoo Sangah is a member of the Thozi family. If she is this close to the king on the battlefield, she might have gotten the role of Wir Thozi. Duke Thozi had played a significant role later, when his duchy gained wealth from trading. He grew close to Sonwu in the future. Thozi had no role to play now, though. 

The kids haven’t been assigned any roles at all, which suits Kim Dokja just fine. King Sonwu is clearly so virtuous that he wouldn’t make children play a part in the war, scenario or not. Kim Dokja smiles.

“What the hell is this?!” Jung Heewon yells as soon as she has room to breathe. Around her lies a pile of fallen soldiers. 

“You bastard, stop standing there all smug and explain yourself!” Han Sooyoung hollers. She has created avatars to do the fighting for her while she struggles with her clothing. Kim Dokja’s smile falls. Sonwu chose her to play Fayza? The king either hates Han Sooyoung or he wants to see Kim Dokja suffer.

As if having Yoo Joonghyuk play the poet king isn’t bad enough. Kim Dokja has his work cut out for him. 

“We’re roleplaying,” Kim Dokja explains, trying not to feel disheartened. There are certainly worse combinations. He looks down at his sweet-potato-yellow robes and brushes his hands against the soft fabric. Jiamne. Sonwu’s closest companion. Present in nearly all the scenes to come. 

“Great!” Jung Heewon grunts, cutting down a man the size of a bear. “Why?!”

“To bring peace to Sonwu’s soul,” He replies simply. “Joonghyuk-ie, feeling any urges yet?”

“Now is not the time-” Han Sooyoung cuts in, looking deranged.

“No,” Yoo Joonghyuk denies, like a liar. 

⦏ The incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ has used the ‘Lie Detection’ skill. ⦐

⦏ Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are false. ⦐

“Heh,” Kim Dokja chuckles, crossing his arms. The kids look disturbed, either by the violence or the fact that they have been left alone, so he beckons them over and creates a protection circle with one of Jiamne’s spells. The kids don’t need it, but he does. Being a field medic doesn’t always guarantee safety. 

“Any second now, Yoo Joonghyuk will do as the scenario compels him to, and start speaking King Sonwu’s dialogues. He is the only one who has to strictly follow the script,” because King Sonwu is the one writing it, “The rest of us will receive prompts and such. Our job is to correct whatever King Sonwu feels went wrong during the real event.”

“Fantastic. What went wrong the first time?” Jung Heewon asks impatiently.

Kim Dokja shrugs. “I don’t know.” It’s not like Yoo Joonghuk had ever taken this route in any regression. Kim Dokja’s knowledge as of now it entirely reliant on the novel’s exposition. 

Right on cue, Yoo Joonghyuk blurts, “O, will this bloodshed never end?”

Several gobsmacked eyes sweep to him. 

The veins on the protagonist’s face are bulging as if they are disgusted by the body they’re stuck with and desperately wish to escape. Not that Yoo Joonghyuk looks any better. Kim Dokja thinks the man wants to kill himself and start a new regression. 

But he can’t because he is being controlled by the narrative. Funny, that. A character playing a character. Kim Dokja hums, feeling a tickle in his throat, “What troubles you, my liege?” He asks with faux worry, affecting a frown on his face. 

“If you wish to not shed blood,” Han Sooyoung sputters, “I offer myself to act as your blade. After all, it is your kindness that I found alluring. Your strength in being gentle. If blood tarnishes your lustre, I shall bear every blemish in your stead.” 

Lee Jihye begins to cackle. Kim Dokja isn’t far behind.

“What the fuck,” Jung Heewon says, dropping her duel against the enemy general just to stare at them incredulously. 

“That’s so romantic,” observes Lee Hyunsung, conflicted by the prospect that Han Sooyoung might possess a single romantic bone in her body. The turmoil comes to an end soon enough, and the man lights up when he finds his answer. “Ah, is this the roleplaying you were talking about, Dokja-ssi?”

“Yep,” Kim Dokja confirms proudly. 

“This earth,” Yoo Joonghyuk grits, face contorted as though in physical pain, “ought to be soft with the enriching waters of our river, not drenched with the lifeblood of my people.”

“Oppa, what’s wrong with you?!” Yoo Mia cries, her expression a mix of horror and sadistic glee.

“He sounds daft,” Gilyoung exclaims, eyes shining. 

“Positively cuckoo,” Yoosung adds. 

They’re lucky they aren’t part of the scene right now, or Sonwu would have heard them and taken great offence. 

And so, the scene begins. 

King Sonwu bemoans the great loss of human life while the battle rages around him. Yoo Joonghyuk sheds a very unwilling tear at the thought of this battle going on for another day. He spouts moving poetry, delivered in the closest thing Yoo Joonghyuk can manage to a monotone while he’s angry, and Fayza throws herself at Sonwu with every other dialogue. 

Kim Dokja suspects this is the product of Sonwu’s biased memory. Fayza may have been in love with the king, but she was a warrior of the opposing kingdom. The real Fayza probably had more pressing matters to tend to than her desire to stroke Sonwu’s ego… and Sonwu in general, he supposes. Kim Dokja is immediately disgusted by his mind. 

Sonwu and Fayza only had slightly more chemistry than Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung do, if you ask him. In a way, Sonwu chose well.

While Sonwu was certainly uninterested, he was clearly flattered, going by these recollections. And Kim Dokja somehow doubts that Fayza would ever say anything even close to ‘I shall lay myself at your mercy, sire’ because, firstly: that’s disturbing, and secondly: it’s OOC. Fayza killed the Emperor’s advisor when she was twenty; she would’t be laying herself at anyone’s feet unless they killed her. 

Nevertheless, the scene continues. Kim Dokja does his part and convinces Sonwu to take charge and end this battle soon if he wishes to save the men that remain. In the past, Sonwu had bemoaned for several days until an enemy soldier had severely injured Jiamne. Upon seeing his servant and close confidant injured, he’d embraced bloodlust and taken up the sword once more. 

With Kim Dokja’s Jiamne cheering him on and ridding him of any guilt, Yoo Joonghyuk’s Sonwu vows to end the battle the very next day. 

The sun sets and attacks cease. Kim Dokja clicks his tongue in irritation. Just five more minutes and the scene could have been completed. “You just had to keep resisting your prompts, didn’t you?” He groused at Yoo Joonghyuk as he stomped past. 

“That was,” Lee Jihye wheezes, holding her aching cheeks, “the funniest thing I have ever seen. Master, you were- pfft - fantastic!”

“Hyung, I recorded the whole thing on your phone,” Gilyoung reports, looking up at him like he’s awaiting a reward. Kim Dokja snorts and ruffles his hair. Gilyoung preens. 

“Good thinking, Gilyoung-ah. I’ll make sure you get a share of the earnings,” Kim Dokja says, looping an arm around the boy’s neck. He quickly uploads it to the Star Stream and basks in the blue glow of notifications as money began to pour in. Ah, sweet capitalism. 

“Mia,” Yoo Joonghyuk says in a tone slightly higher than normal. Positively scandalised, by his standards. 

“But it’s funny,” Yoo Mia giggles, replaying the video. She peers up at him eagerly and points at the screen, “Look at your face here! Ha!”

“I’m going to go bleach my tongue,” Han Sooyoung announces, shrivelled up as if romancing Yoo Joonghyuk had sucked the soul out of her. “If you come back to find me dead, throw a party on my behalf.”

“If you want to die, I could just help you out,” Kim Dokja volunteers gleefully. This way, he’d even get her coins and items. Letting Han Sooyoung commit shame-driven suicide would be such a waste. 

Han Sooyoung flips him off and groans into her other hand. “ Fuckk , I’ve never heard such cringey dialogue in my life. Disgusting.”

Eventually, they locate their respective tents and separate to rest. As NPC’s, the kids don’t have designated tents for themselves, but splitting them comes easily. Yoo Mia naturally elects to sleep with her brother. Lee Jihye has long imprinted on Jung Heewon; the girl’s favourite adult, second to Yoo Joonghyuk only occasionally. So Lee Jihye heads to General Nedise’s tent.

Somehow, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung end up with him. Kim Dokja looks down at their eager faces and blinks. He isn’t sure why he hadn’t expected this, but he’s surprised nonetheless. “Come on, then. I’m a field medic, so my tent is probably close to where they keep the patients.” 

Hopefully, he wouldn’t be called to treat anyone. This is King Sonwu’s scenario, so it was doubtful that he would be aware of what Jiamne did while he was not around to see. After the exertion of keeping his laughter contained all day, Kim Dokja wanted a restful sleep. His sides were cramped, and his cheeks hurt in a manner he was very unfamiliar with. Despite the cauldrons to the head, Kim Dokja thought today had been very good. Watching Yoo Joonghyuk romance Han Sooyoung had more than made up for it, after all. 

The kids pulled three mattresses together while Kim Dokja secured food. They ate, Kim Dokja humming along while Yoosung and Gilyoung recounted the day’s events enthusiastically. It would be better if they wore themselves out before sleeping. It would significantly reduce his chances of getting kicked at night. 

They readied for bed, and Kim Dokja eased out of the layers of clothing until he was down to Jiamne’s plain white robe with matching pants. He had no idea how he would manage to sleep in a robe, but he’d rather not sleep shirtless and traumatise the children. This would have to make do. Hopefully, he won’t tangle himself up in this. 

“Hey, I’m sleeping on hyung’s left!” Gilyoung protests, grabbing Shin Yoosung by the back of her shirt and tossing her to the mattress on his right. Kim Dokja grimaces as the girl’s foot hits his thigh on the way. 

“Ugh! You’re such a brat!” Shin Yoosung growls, pushing hair out of her face. “Whatever. Ahjussi, would you like some water?”

“Hm?” Kim Dokja blinks. She asks him that every night, and he’s starting to think that it’s just a habit she picked up from before. The girl probably doesn’t even expect an answer, but Kim Dokja usually ends up replying on instinct. Self-control is low when one is seconds away from falling asleep, after all.

“Of course he wants water! He always drinks some before sleeping. How do you not know that yet?” Gilyoung rolls his eyes, aggressively tugging the blanket. 

“I know that!” Shin Yoosung replies with her own forceful tug. “It’s just polite to ask. Not that you’d know anything about politeness.”

Kim Dokja grabs the blanket before they can tear it apart and pretends their words haven’t left him reeling. It’s nothing. Those two just like being contrary. Nothing more to it.

“I know how to be polite! Look, I’ve even pulled the flap of the tent so that hyung can see the sky from down here!” Gilyoung lets go of the blanket to gesticulate at the glittering black sky outside. “Because I know that hyung sleeps better outdoors. Because I actually pay attention to hyung. Unlike you , who keeps yapping about her damn mutt-”

Kim Dokja inhales sharply. His grip on the blanket is frozen, fingers locked and knuckles going pale. The slice of nightscape visible above winks back at him. The kids keep arguing on either side of him. 

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with my Luna! Ahjussi likes her fluffy fur-”

“He didn’t like it. He was holding on for his life! Why do you think he switched to Galacto so quickly?”

“Your Galacto is so creepy that ahjussi is probably going to get nightmares-”

Kim Dokja stares at the bottle of water in Shin Yoosung’s hand. His gaze sweeps up to the stars again. Something swells in his chest painfully and Kim Dokja finds that it is difficult to breathe, all of a sudden. “Q-Quiet down,” He manages to choke, quelling the kids immediately. He tries to look calm as they murmur apologies and curl up on either side of him. 

He must not be doing as well as he thought. He can feel their eyes on him, even though they don’t seem to be looking at him directly. Kim Dokja closes his eyes and pretends to sleep, trying to breathe past whatever it is that is obstructing his airways. 

A hand curls into the loose fabric of his sleeve. Another clutches the hem of his robe. Kim Dokja’s pulse quickens, and he forces himself to recite Three Ways of Survival in his head with as much accuracy as possible. 

╳

Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung have to use all their willpower to control their reactions when identical notifications pop up before them. 

⟬ You have cleared the Bounty Scenario: Light a Candle! ⟭

⟬ You have earned 1,000 coins. ⟭

They exchange wide-eyed looks over Kim Dokja’s sleeping form and grin wildly. Come morning, they will argue over who came first, but for now, they sink back down and curl closer to Kim Dokja, soaking his warmth and listening to the rhythm of his breathing until it lulls them to sleep. 

╳

⦋ Bounty Scenario — Light a Candle! 

Difficulty: ???

Clear conditions: 1. A special day for the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ approaches. Several constellations wish that the participants treat ‘Kim Dokja’ in a manner that befits their comradeship. 

2. The scenario must be hidden from the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’.

Time Limit: 10 days

Reward: 1,000 coins

Failure: - ⦌

⦋ Time remaining: 8 days ⦌

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Yoo Sangah Discovers a Problem That Doesn’t Exist. She Also Finds a Solution for It.

The battle ends the next day. King Sonwu transfers them to the next scenario before Yoo Joonghyuk even gets a chance to break character. 

They rematerialise in the bamboo forest, but it looks just a bit different from what they had seen earlier. Bamboo creaks with the wind on their right. To their left is a trimmed hedge that gives off a fragrant scent with every breeze. 

The scent is potent yet calming. The closest equivalent that Yoo Sangah can think of is jasmine, but the smell itself is completely different. A field of pale lavender flowers stretches on beyond the hedge until it fades to grass and finally meets the banks of a river. Yoo Sangah considers herself a lover of literature, and though she wouldn’t be able to capture this place’s beauty with words herself, she is certain that she could read pages and pages of it. King Sonwu must have loved it. 

Yoo Joonghyuk stands at the head of their group, wearing clothes much more luxurious than last time. Kim Dokja is strolling close to him, only half a step behind. His character, Jiamne, is no longer wearing the rich yellow robes he had worn on the battlefield. Instead, he is wearing a finer set of soft white and blue that billows behind him gracefully. 

Yoo Sangah is dressed in rich clothing, too. It’s far too many layers for her taste, unused to the sensation of so much fabric rubbing against each other and her skin. Her shoes are thick and heavy, creating a distinct sound with each footstep. There were several rings adorned on her fingers. Right. She vaguely recalled Kim Dokja talking about her role, Duke Thozi. He must have gained wealth after the war that had just played out.

Weary from the battle, the group remains silent as they try to adapt to the sudden change of pace.

“Hey, I guess I got a role this time!” Lee Gilyoung observes excitedly, inspecting his new clothes. “What do I have to do, hyung? Do you know?”

“Not a clue!” Kim Dokja chimes, turning to face them. He takes in Gilyoung’s attire with a pleased look on his face. “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, though, Gilyoung-ah. Children didn’t play a major role in King Sonwu’s life. Unless they were his own, I guess.”

“I’m not worried!” Gilyoung protests.

“Of course not,” Kim Dokja chuckles. He then spins back around and continues walking ahead. 

Gilyoung smirks at Shin Yoosung and cocks his chin arrogantly. “I win this, too. Hah!”

Nobody else ever manages to anger the girl as quickly and consistently as he does. Shin Yoosung puffs up like a street cat in an alley fight. “This again! How many times should I tell you that I’m the one who got it first-”

“Hell no! It was obviously me first!”

“I’m the one who offered him water first, you stupid idiot! Stop denying it!”

Yoo Sangah lets it all in one ear and out the other. Their petty feuds happened multiple times in a day. Everyone had eventually learned to tune them out. 

Surprisingly, Han Sooyoung twitches and whips to them attentively. “What are you talking about?” She asks, eyes narrowed with heavy suspicion. “My moolah sense is tingling.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Yoo Mia points out. The arguing pair, however, is conspicuously silent. Instantly, Yoo Mia picks up on it and leans closer. “Oh? What’s this? Something you’d like to share with us? Hmm?”

Shin Yoosung leans away and Lee Gilyoung makes a show of pressing his lips together so tight that they turn pale. Something seems to go wrong, however, because the boy’s eyes bulge and cheeks puff out and continue to do so until Yoo Sangah worries that he might explode. 

“Pwah!” He bursts finally, heaving for breath. “Y-Your Majesty, the Queen is in labour!”

Yoo Joonghyuk straightens like a startled meerkat and whips his gaze to the gasping boy. The vein in his temple begins to throb again. Yoo Sangah is concerned about his blood pressure. This entire scenario has shed a spotlight on this possible medical issue of his. She wonders if the blood pressure is the cause of Yoo Joonghyuk’s temper or vice versa. Which came first?

“Ah,” Yoo Joonghyuk grits out, prompted by the script, no doubt. Next to him, Kim Dokja sways onto his toes in glee, hands clasped behind his back. “I see.”

“Shall we go, my lord?” Kim Dokja blinks innocently. “If we hurry now, we can reach the palace within a few minutes.”

“Leave it be,” Yoo Joonghyuk says. His hand slices across the air between them in a blur. Yoo Sangah might be overreaching a bit, but the gesture might have been intended as a dismissive wave. In her humble opinion, though, it looked more like an attempt to behead Kim Dokja with his bare hand. Luckily, the man had stepped backwards in time. 

“A woman giving birth is a terrifying thing to see, Jiamne,” King Sonwu says. “Beleris in labour is a more horrifying prospect than if the last two wars were to happen on the same day. My presence will only serve to agitate her.” Yoo Joonghyuk utters every word like they are teeth being pulled from his mouth. 

“What the hell kind of logic is that?” Han Sooyoung grumbles under her breath. Before Yoo Sangah can reprimand her, she feels a tickle in the back of her throat. 

“Indeed, my lord.” She says. That is all. Admittedly, Yoo Sangah finds herself disappointed. She hopes she will get more dialogues later. Ah, but her role isn’t as strict as Yoo Joonghyuk’s. She has room to improvise. So she smiles and adds, “Although, she would certainly appreciate her husband’s company as she gives birth to your child.”

“Perhaps,” Yoo Joonghyuk grunts in a tone that could have been pensive. “But did you not faint when you watched the birth of your son? The grapevine tells me you swooned at the first sight of blood.”

Yoo Sangah is so baffled by the notion of getting spooked by a little blood that she forgets to speak. Kim Dokja catches onto it and comes to her rescue. 

“Duke Thozi certainly wouldn’t be the first,” He laughs lightly. “I’ve had to assist in quite a few deliveries, myself, and somehow, most husbands are terribly underprepared for it. But I’m sure you’ll fare better than them, my lord.”

Yoo Joonghyuk hums. Oh dear, has he finally managed to ignore a dialogue prompt? Yoo Sangah hopes this is not the case, else they’ll never be able to finish this scenario. 

“Nobody likes a husband that lounges about while the wife is in pain. A new life should be welcomed like the miracle it is!” Kim Dokja says, plucking a flower from a bush nearby. “The birth of your child is a momentous occasion, you know. The whole kingdom will be celebrating it. Surely you’d like to be at Her Majesty’s side? This could be the only time in your life to witness it.”

“And,” Yoo Sangah adds encouragingly, “if you ask me, it is the duty of the husband to do everything he can for his wife when she is in such a state. Marriage is a partnership, after all. And Your Majesties are the most admirable of them all.”

She and Kim Dokja continue to cajole Yoo Joonghyuk much the same way they used to cajole their HR manager into letting them leave the office at a more reasonable hour. Yoo Joonghyuk is compelled to dally a bit in a lyrical manner, every second of which the man seems to find extremely aggravating. Going by his expression, at least. Finally, the three of them (and the others) begin walking back to the Bamboo Palace, where the queen awaits. 

Han Sooyoung is the one put to the task of acting the part. “What?!” She screeches in outrage as she poofs into bed in a swirl of bamboo leaves. “Why can’t she do it?!” She yells, pointing at Jung Heewon. Jung Heewon smirks and folds her arms across her chest with a smug little shrug.

“I better get one of those treasures, Kim Dokja,” Han Sooyoung growls as she shuffles on the bed to get more comfortable. “I’m working overtime here, and they’re all such thankless jobs!” She yanks a blanket up to her chest and begins to scream. 

It quickly becomes apparent that King Sonwu doesn’t know the first thing about childbirth. All Han Sooyoung has to do is thrash about and scream at the top of her lungs for ten minutes before the script considers the matter done. All at once, the woman goes slack with sleep, and a baffled Yoo Mia appears in her lap with a puff of leaves.

“The fuck?” Jung Heewon mutters incredulously. Yoo Sangah mentally agrees. 

From the corner, Lee Hyunsung glances up from his knitting to acknowledge it. “Mhm.” He then returns to his knitting. Yoo Sangah squints at it. The yarn looks soft and fluffy. She wonders what he is making. It is in the early stages still, so it could be anything. It’s very pragmatic of Hyunsung-ssi to begin knitting now. Winter is approaching, after all, though she’s not sure if they will even feel its effect with the apocalypse going on. 

“She’s beautiful,” Yoo Joonghyuk growls tearfully, cradling Yoo Mia in his arms.

“Oppa,” The girl grimaces in equal parts sympathy and disgust. She reaches out and pats his cheek and the man’s expression crumples. His right eye loses a precious tear that trickles down to his chiselled jaw. Meanwhile, his sanity seems to ooze out of him at an equally excruciating pace. 

Yoo Joonghyuk’s King Sonwu continues to wax poetry about his daughter. Her skin, her eyes, her pudgy little baby-sized fingers and toes. Every cute little thing King Sonwu can think of, a lifetime of regret over not being there for his daughter’s birth, spilling over in verse after verse after verse. 

Each syllable seems to be a cross for Yoo Joonghyuk to bear. 

“Beautiful! So beautiful,” Kim Dokja smiles sadistically, holding a hand to his heart while Yoo Mia gags in her brother’s loving arms. 

“-And her soft, downy head, with the sweet smell of wespers-” Yoo Joonghyuk glares at Kim Dokja, dark eyes glimmering with murderous intent. 

“So touching,” Han Sooyoung cackles, recording the entire thing on the Star Stream. Her role complete, she has her limbs back under control and splayed gracelessly across the expensive silken sheets, a packet of chips cracked open and resting on her stomach. 

⟬ The constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is delighted. They think the incarnation ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’ will be a very good father! ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is laughing at incarnation ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’. ⟭

⟬ A constellation who likes fatherhood is very pleased. ⟭

⟬ 100 coins have been sponsored. ⟭

⟬ A constellation who likes poetry wants incarnation ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’ to know that they are switching to a different channel if this blasphemy continues. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ says they are dying of cringe. They claim that they will need therapy after this. The bill shall be sent to incarnation ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’. ⟭

Yoo Sangah sighs and makes herself comfortable next to Lee Hyunsung. Jung Heewon immediately pushes off from the wall she had been resting against and looks at her expectantly. Yoo Sangah sighs again, mentally this time, and shifts to make space for her. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but they’ve had worse. At least it seems like Dokja-ssi and Han Sooyoung won’t tire of this spectacle any time soon. Yoo Sangah is getting rather bored herself. She’s pretty sure King Sonwu recycled a few verses. 

She looks down at her rings. Duke Thozi must have been quite proud of the wealth he had earned later in life if he had been displaying them so openly all the time. The rings must be worth a lot, and the scenario had mentioned hidden pieces, had it not? Perhaps she would be allowed to take these with her. She could sell them off or trade them for something in the future. 

Yoo Sangah pauses halfway through storing them in her inventory. Wait a minute. This is exactly something Dokja-ssi would do. Has she been spending too much time with him? Well… She looks at the glittering jewels in consideration. Dokja-ssi would probably appreciate these; maybe this could be his birthday gift. With a decisive smile, she stores the rest of them away. 

⟬ You have acquired the Hidden item: Ring of Clarity! ⟭

Yoo Sangah blinks in surprise. Huh. How delightfully convenient. She merrily claps her hands together. Perfect. Now, all that is left is writing a heartfelt message in a birthday card for Dokja-ssi. She has been drafting it in her head for the past few days, but it still needs some work. She should be done with enough time to spare, though, so she isn’t worried. 

Yoo Joonghyuk’s throat has long gone dry, but King Sonwu doesn’t seem to care. Yoo Mia, bless the girl, is giving him sips of water between verses and dabbing sweat off his brow with an utterly exasperated look on her face. “Oppa, why do you do this to yourself,” She grouches, sprinkling some water in his face to cool off his rage. 

Kim Dokja, Lee Jihye, Shin Yoosung, and Lee Gilyoung have surrounded the pair and are currently trying to teach him some kind of game that involves a lot of clapping and chanting. Yoo Sangah might be wrong about this, but it might be the Frying Pan Game. 

“It looks like they’re sacrificing them,” Jung Heewon observes. 

Lee Hyunsung startles. He looks up to survey the room and huffs in amusement. His smile quickly vanishes, however, and he peers at the needles in his grip. “I nearly lost count,” he murmurs, going back to knitting. The furrow between his brows disappears after a few moments, and he continues his task with renewed calm. 

The second scene ends with a very disgusted Yoo Joonghyuk pressing a kiss on an equally disgusted (if not more) Yoo Mia’s cheek.

╳

“This might be the best scenario of my life,” Jung Heewon snickers as they make themselves comfortable in the now-empty royal chambers. She leans back against Lee Hyunsung’s arm and pops a few multicoloured grapes into her mouth. Lee Hyunsung fumbles his knitting needles, nearly stabbing one under his fingernail. However, he hardly seems to notice the pain and looks at Jung Heewon with starry eyes. 

“Aish, they should get their act together already,” Han Sooyoung hisses in open disgust while shovelling a mound of golden utensils into her inventory. She has been doing that for quite some time now. Yoo Sangah wonders how she hasn’t exceeded capacity yet. It truly is a wonder, she thinks as the other woman hauls an entire bejeweled cabinet into the blue void.

“I agree,” says Kim Dokja, not specifying whether he is responding to Jung Heewon or Han Sooyoung. Knowing him, it could be both. He has surrounded himself with the children, who are now teaching him yet another clapping game. 

Yoo Joonghyuk is also present in the circle, having hunkered down after Kim Dokja boasted of his hand-clapping prowess a little too loudly.

The man is seated between Yoo Mia and Kim Dokja since that configuration is the safest. Yoo Mia, of course, is safe by virtue of being his sister; he would never hurt her. Kim Dokja, because… actually, Yoo Sangah isn’t sure. The man’s stats are good, but not enough to withstand Yoo Joonghyuk. Should the man choose to harm him, Kim Dokja would surely be in danger. Perhaps this responsibility had fallen to him by default since he is the oldest in the circle. Yoo Sangah quietly extends her sympathies to him. 

“You lose,” Yoo Joonghyuk rumbles, his piercing gaze fixed on Kim Dokja. Yoo Sangah cannot read his expression, but Yoo Mia rolls his eyes behind her brother’s back. 

“Wha-? No, I don’t!” Dokja-ssi splutters, looking at his hands like they couldn’t possibly have betrayed him. Yoo Sangah hopes not, of course, but these things happen. “Don’t look at me like that, you sunfish bastard! I didn’t lose!”

“You did,” Lee Jihye says delightedly. “Go sit on the sofa of shame, ahjussi.”

“The-! Hey! You’re cheating! I didn’t miss the beat, I tell you! I didn’t!” Kim Dokja protests. “I bet you two are in cahoots since you’re student and master.”

“Kim Dokja,” Yoo Joonghyuk says, and Yoo Sangah detects a shift in his timbre but she cannot tell what it means, “Go.”

There’s no other way to look at it; Dokja-ssi is pouting. He huffs petulantly and makes his way to the boring side of the room. He kicks at the mahogany chest Han Sooyoung is pushing into her inventory and receives a string of expletives in response. He makes eye contact with Yoo Sangah then, so she smiles and waves him over.

He slumps next to her, accepting the offered plate with a dejected moue.  “There, there,” Yoo Sangah pats him, “You can always redeem yourself in the next round.”

“I suppose so,” Kim Dokja intones, shoving food in his mouth with dead eyes. 

“Come now, Dokja-ssi,” Yoo Sangah nudges his side, “You’ve been so cheerful today. You’ve been enjoying yourself, haven’t you?”

“I guess…”

“I haven’t seen you so happy in a long time,” She points out with a pleased smile. 

Shockingly, Kim Dokja smiles back, reserved as it is. “Yeah. I don’t know, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders today.”

“Is that so? Can I ask why?” She leans closer, intrigued. Kim Dokja mirrors her and whispers: “I am going to die soon.”

Yoo Sangah spans her spoon in half and promptly forgets how to breathe. “What?!” She nearly screeches in horror, barely lowering her volume in time. Kim Dokja smiles wider, and she is starting to suspect that it is driven by madness, not joy. 

“Yes, of cancer,” Dokja-ssi elaborates, clearly pleased with this diagnosis. Maybe Yoo Sangah is the one going mad. “Hopefully, I’ll live long enough to see the end of the scenarios, but if not… Oh, well, I want to be able to have fun while it lasts. When else am I going to get an opportunity like this, eh?”

“What?” Yoo Sangah asks, again. 

“I know, I know, seeing the end would be ideal, but,” Kim Dokja shrugs, “this is pretty good, too. I mean, look!” He gestures to Yoo Joonghyuk and the kids playing with near-identical looks of intense concentration on their faces. Yoo Sangah looks at them, then whirls back to Kim Dokja, who is somehow smiling even wider. “Who’d have thought I’d ever get to see that ? Really, I’ll die a happy man.”

“Dokja-ssi!” She gasps, holding him by the arms tightly, “Don’t say such things!”

“What? Oi, what’s going on?” Jung Heewon asks, perking up from Lee Hyunsung’s side. The man discreetly shakes out his arm, which must have gone numb by now. 

“Dokja-ssi has-!” Yoo Sangah stops herself. This was big news, bad news, but it was also personal . Dokja-ssi might not want anyone to know. In retrospect, he probably didn’t, given that he hadn’t told anyone yet and only disclosed it to her privately. “Dokja-ssi has decided to go on a vacation!” She blurts, releasing the man from her grasp for appearance’s sake. 

“Right now?!” Lee Jihye looks up from her spot on the sofa of shame. She looks at Dokja-ssi incredulously, “ You want a vacation?! Do you even know what that means?”

“Of course I do,” Dokja-ssi scowls, offended. Now that the grin has disappeared, he looks much more like himself. Yoo Sangah immediately reprimands herself for such thoughts. “And I never said I wanted a vacation- oof! ” Yoo Sangah pulls her elbow back to herself and looks away innocently while Kim Dokja rubs his aching side. 

“He says he wants a group vacation!” Yoo Sangah fills in. “And while I’m quite fond of the idea, I don’t think this is the right time to plan such a thing.”

“Yeah, didn’t you say that an important Main Scenario coming up?” Jung Heewon questions Kim Dokja, gaze accusatory. “When are we going to get time for a damn vacation?” She’s a tad too upset by this discussion, so Yoo Sangah files it away to inspect later. 

“Exactly! Vacation? Pah! What’s the point of that? And don’t say mental health. Just suck it up, bitch, it’s the fucking apocalypse. Focus on getting stats and money. And clearing the scenarios,” Han Sooyoung rants, gesticulating angrily. “And money,” She adds. She has mentioned that already but nobody bothers to point it out to her. 

The group dissolves into discussion. It becomes clear that most of them long for a vacation but are painfully aware that it isn’t a possibility. The majority of the conversation is directed towards gently letting Kim Dokja down. Carefully bursting his bubble, so to speak. Kim Dokja’s face becomes unreadable, but Yoo Sangah can sense his irritation. 

“Where?” A voice cuts through the air. All heads turn to Yoo Joonghyuk, who only has eyes for Kim Dokja. 

“Where?” Kim Dokja echoes with a befuddled blink. Yoo Joonghyuk doesn’t reply, only shoving a hand into the pocket of his black coat as he strides towards the other man. Another one of their silent exchanges seem to occur, because Kim Dokja says, “I don’t know, Jeju? I’ve never been there.”

“Jeju? Hm,” Yoo Joonghyuk rumbles. The conversation seems to have ended as abruptly as it had begun. The rest of them look between the pair, feeling awkward. How long should they wait before they could resume telling Kim Dokja that going on a vacation might just be the craziest idea he has ever had?

Lee Jihye opens her mouth, “So-”

“Let’s go,” says Yoo Joonghyuk, and Yoo Sangah once again forgets how to function. 

“WHAT?!” Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung screech as one.

Han Sooyoung matches their anger, and the three of them whirl on Yoo Joonghyuk with scowls on their faces. Han Sooyoung grabs Yoo Jonghyuk by the coat and attempts to shake him (failing miserably), “Fuck off, you slimy, scheming, backstabbing, more-twisted-than-a-jalebi, son of a-”

“Oh,” Kim Dokja breathes softly, and Han Sooyoung chokes on her next words.

Yoo Sangah turns back to him and feels herself melting at the hope shining in Dokja-ssi’s blurry eyes. “Really?” He asks, his voice almost fragile, though he’s clearly trying to hide it. 

“Ah, shit,” Jung Heewon mutters under her breath, resigned to what was clearly about to happen. Yoo Sangah agrees; shit, indeed. It seems they will be squeezing in a vacation sometime between completing scenarios and surviving the apocalypse. All because Kim Dokja asked nicely. 

“Mn,” says Yoo Joonghyuk. “There are good items on Jeju,” he explains himself, fooling only Kim Dokja. He looks at the man a little longer, then swiftly spins on his heel, apparently done with the conversation. He calls for Yoo Mia over his shoulder, who rolls her eyes and runs to join her brother as they head outside in search of a place to sleep. 

“Well,” Shin Yoosung hums, sidling up to Dokja-ssi, “I bet Jeju will be fun! Good idea, ahjussi!” At this, the group choruses in agreement and begins to wind down for the day. 

Yoo Sangah hears Jung Heewon and Han Sooyoung speculating about the monsters they might encounter there. Lee Hyunsung joins in, contributing defensive measures such as ditches and poisonous moats to protect hypothetical sandcastles. None of them seem to realise the possibility of one of them falling into said moats, but Yoo Sangah finds herself too stunned to raise the issue. 

Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung end up, inevitably, at Kim Dokja’s side as he heads off in search of a bedroom for them. Yoo Sangah watches them leave and fights off the sudden urge to cry. Dokja-ssi has cancer, and nobody knows. 

“Constellation-nims,” She whispers into the night, curling into her blanket hours later. 

⟬ Several constellations are listening. ⟭

“Do any of you know how to kill cancer?” Yoo Sangah pleads. The Star Stream quickly fills up with responses. Her gaze sweeps through the white and blue, desperate for something she could use to save her friend from a terrible fate.

⟬ The constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is alarmed. ⟭

⟬ The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ asks why the incarnation ‘Yoo Sangah’ wants to know. ⟭

⟬ The nebula ‘Covert Eight Immortals’ is listening. ⟭

Yoo Sangah spends a long time talking, and by the end of it, she finds herself going to sleep with her mind at ease. She finally knows what she can do for Kim Dokja. 

╳

⦋ Bounty Scenario — Light a Candle! 

Difficulty: ???

Clear conditions: 1. A special day for the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ approaches. Several constellations wish that the participants treat ‘Kim Dokja’ in a manner that befits their comradeship. 

2. The scenario must be hidden from the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’.

Time Limit: 10 days

Reward: 1,000 coins

Failure: - ⦌

⦋ Time remaining: 7 days ⦌

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Oscar Nominee, Rising Star Lee Jihye

The next morning, the third and final Lament of Sonwu is revealed. Jung Heewon has opinions about it, but then again, she had opinions on the previous two Laments, too. Like, what on earth was that pregnancy scene? If King Sonwu doesn’t know what a pregnancy looks like, he shouldn’t have incorporated that scene at all. Han Sooyoung had only thrashed about and screamed for a while, and the ‘baby’ magically appeared. What bullshit.

But this…

“I thought I was supposed to be General Nedise,” She scowls, clawing at her new clothing. 

“You are,” Kim Dokja confirms. 

“What the fuck kind of general wears this to a banquet?” She yells, pointing at the complicated, overlapping bands of rough fabric that are wrapped tightly around her torso like that prickly, man-eating plant they’d found a week ago. 

“You look like a flower bud, unnie,” Lee Jihye says encouragingly. Then, she feels the need to specify, “A flower bud made of jute. A jute flower bud. A jute bud?”

“I think we get it,” Jung Heewon grits. Lee Jihye only laughs sheepishly and hides behind the large sleeves of her blue robe. Behind her, Lee Gilyoung is spinning around just to see his cape flutter. 

“Hyung, look! This is so cool, right?” He exclaims excitedly, demonstrating once again for the man. 

“Really cool!” Kim Dokja grins, patting the boy’s head awkwardly. Yoo Sangah, the angel that she is, is aiding the man in his attempt to take off his headpiece. They haven’t made any progress yet, but the pair seem oddly determined to figure it out. Jung Heewom thinks Yoo Sangah would be better off helping her get out of this sorry excuse of a gown. Or even just sitting beside Yoo Joonghyuk at the head of the banquet hall since she’s playing the role of the queen today.

Duke Thozi’s absence remains unexplained, but Yoo Sangah claims to have a strong intuition that the guy is off on a vacation with his family. Jung Heewon isn’t surprised that Yoo Sangah’s original character is just as nice as her. 

“I’m finally getting a role!” Lee Jihye exclaims for what must be the tenth time already. She trips over the long skirt of her formal dress in her haste to greet the guests. 

“Welcome, welcome!” She says, shaking hands with excessive enthusiasm, nearly dislocating several unsuspecting arms. “Welc- ack!” She coughs, choking on air. “That is,” She amends, expression smoothing over as Sonwu’s script takes control, “Thank you for gracing these halls with your presence.” The girl immediately makes a face at the dialogue.

Jung Heewon decides to let the kid struggle on her own, and turns away before any second-hand embarrassment could get to her. Her eyes search the hall for their most handsome and quiet party member. Lee Hyunsung is standing in the middle of a group of pretty women with the most alarmed look on his adorable face. Jung Heewon finds herself filled with sudden aggression and stomps her way to extricate him from the circle. 

“Thank you,” Hyunsung says, taking a relieved breath. “I’m not used to this sort of thing.”

“Mm,” Jung Heewon studies his attire passively. Objectively, the clothes are really quite beautiful. Strangely cut and woven together, nothing like Jung Heewon has seen before, but pretty nonetheless. Hyunsung, though, could not look more out of place wearing them. T-shirts and jeans suit him better. She catches the man looking at her and knows that he, too, is thinking along the same lines. It makes her smile bright enough to hurt her cheeks. Hyunsung smiles back, ears taking on a pink hue. 

“Greetings, General Nedise,” He blurts. Ah, the script again. Her chest twinges with disappointment.

Jung Heewon feels a prick at the back of her neck and bows her head. “Good evening, Gen-” Her lips begin to move on their own. It feels weird. “-Prince Colryn.” Huh? Wasn’t Hyunsung playing the role of a general like her? When did he suddenly become a prince? And why? She turns to Kim Dokja for an explanation, only to find him looking at them with an ominous, blank expression. Oh god, what now?

Kim Dokja looks away, gaze travelling to Yoo Sangah and Yoo Joonghyuk, the former having returned to her position at the throne. Lee Jihye walks towards them stiffly, forced by the script, no doubt. Hyunsung does the same, which implies something that Jung Heewon is not entirely comfortable with. Perhaps she is wrong. She leans her weight on one leg and decides to let the events unfold before jumping to any conclusions. 

Yoo Joonghyuk rises from his throne, and the hall falls silent. Almost. Gilyoung and Yoosung are bickering again, and King Sonwu has clearly chosen not to interfere. “Dear guests! I welcome you all!” Yoo Joonghyuk yells and spreads his arms with great aggression. Jung Heewon doesn’t feel welcomed at all. 

“Three years ago, the kingdom celebrated the matrimony of your princess, my dear daughter, Merisa.” At this, Lee Jihye curtsies—or something like it—and waves at them with a toothy grin.

“Lookin’ good, kid,” Han Sooyoung hollers from behind. She has once again ‘magnanimously’ volunteered to pillage the royal castle, her NPC costume now twice as heavy with all the jewellery she has lifted. Several bangles and bracelets clash together in disharmony as she cheers for their underaged princess, who is currently being forced to loop arms with the supposed Prince Colryn, i.e. Lee Hyunsung.

“Oh, I don’t like this,” Lee Jihye squirms, eyeing the tall man as she pats his arm. “No offence, oppa.”

“Why is he oppa when you still keep calling me ahjussi?!” Kim Dokja complains, leaning over the space between the king and queen’s throne to point at the girl.

“It’s not about the age; it’s the spirit ,” Lee Jihye harrumphs, turning her nose up at him. Han Sooyoung cackles.

“Now, now,” Yoo Sangah says with a smile, and the temperature of the banquet hall drops by several degrees. Jung Heewon shivers and focuses on her tiny cup of what seems to be strong alcohol. She drinks it and is supremely disappointed to find that it tastes like mouthwash. She turns her head to the side and spits it out. The spray flies straight through an NPC.

“And today,” Yoo Joonghyuk continues his speech after a long few minutes of struggling against the dialogue, “we are… celebrating this happy…” His teeth creak against each other. Heewon pities his dentist, really. “...couple once more.” Couple? Well, fuck, seems like King Sonwu chose to be a creep after all. Jung Heewon grimaces.

At this, Lee Jihye and Hyunsung gape at each other in horror and tear themselves apart before King Sonwu can make them do something worse. Yoo Sangah spreads her arms benevolently and finishes the dialogue for Yoo Joonghyuk—Sonwu must be getting impatient. “Princess Merisa is with ch-child!” Yoo Sangah announces as her voice breaks and her eyes widen in horror.

“NOOO!!!” Lee Jihye screeches, so thoroughly disgusted that she begins to pace and stomp and cringe all over the place like a dancing chicken. Honestly, Jung Heewon can sympathise. She, too, would react like this if anyone announced her fake pregnancy, and Lee Jihye is half her age. Fuck, this Sonwu guy’s a real whack job, isn’t he? Heewon shudders.

The crowd cheers, raising their glasses to the royal family. Lee Hyunsung seems like he's going to be sick. He looks at little Jihye, complexion pale, and staggers several steps back while shaking his head in firm denial. Oh, that poor man. 

“It should’ve been you,” comes Han Sooyoung’s voice right next to her ear. Jung Heewon startles and punches the woman in reflex. The avatar collapses. Across the banquet hall, Han Sooyoung casts a judgemental look her way. Obviously, Jung Heewon flips her off.

Lee Jihye hides under the buffet table for the rest of the scene, so it’s safe to assume that her role has already been fulfilled. Yoo Mia struts over just so she can point and laugh at the older girl. It’s not something she can ever picture Yoo Joonghyuk doing, but it seems to resemble him nonetheless. 

“Heewon-ssi,” Lee Hyunsung turns to her, distraught. God, she can’t imagine how traumatised he must be from this role. He’s far too pure for this. King Sonwu should’ve chosen her to play the prince in Hyunsung’s stead. At least that would’ve been less creepy. Jung Heewon sighs and walks over to console him. 

╳

“His casting choices could be better,” Shin Yoosung critiques as she helps herself to the hors d'oeuvres heaped on Kim Dokja’s plate. “Why would he choose Jihye-unnie when Heewon-unnie is right there? It makes no sense!”

“Mhm,” Kim Dokja nods wisely, taking a cautious sip of the mouthwash-liquor. It’s quite the challenge to fight against the instinctive urge to spit it out. He swallows, and his brain sends sirens wailing, screeching wrong-wrong-wrong , and conjures lovely imagery of him dying with minty froth in his mouth. Kim Dokja smacks his lips. Wonders if he’s going to get tipsy. Han Sooyoung has already crossed well into the ‘Wasted’ category.

He watches the woman climb atop the buffet table. The wood creaks, startling Lee Jihye, who is still taking refuge under it. Han Sooyoung doesn’t seem to notice that her feet are treading a surface much less stable than it is supposed to be. She stomps clean through an exotic arrangement of jelly-like dessert and stretches her arm to snag the shimmering ruby swan resting on the top of a tower of meaty appetizers. 

“I mean, really,” Shin Yoosung continues, “it was creepy enough when he made Yoo Mia play her brother’s daughter. The princess- the king- Aish, you know what I mean! It was weird! But fine, it was either her or me, and I guess you’d want the daughter to resemble at least one of her parents for some realism. But this? Hyunsung-oppa with Jihye-unnie ? Are you kidding me?”

“It’s disgusting,” Lee Gilyoung agrees, then bursts into sadistic laughter. “But her face! Ah, I should’ve recorded it. Her eyes were bigger than Galacto’s!”

“Hey!” Shin Yoosung attempts to scold him, making a swing at him that Kim Dokja quickly intercepts with his free hand. The girl looks up at him sheepishly and withdraws. Kim Dokja pats her head and rewards his ward’s good behaviour with another hors d'oeuvre. This is immediately met with Gilyoung’s sulky pout, and Kim Dokja only has the will to ignore it for 0.4 seconds before he caves and offers the boy one, too. 

He starts rearranging the food on his plate because it’s getting difficult to hold with the lopsided centre of mass. It was a precautionary measure, more than anything. The buzz from the mouthwash-liquor is kicking in. One more sip and, who knows, he might topple onto the protagonist’s rather substantial person and ruin his aura with foreign appetizers. 

Such a blunder would reduce his intimidation stat but raise his blood-thirst stat through the roof at the same time, and that is not something Kim Dokja isn’t willing to take. Unless he fully convinces himself that it’ll be funny enough to follow through with it.

The small part of him that clings to self-preservation attempts to distract him from going down that train of thought. He returns his attention to the conversation with the kids. “Given the circumstances, I suppose he thought Jihye was the best choice,” He says, hoping he didn’t slur his words. He stares at the tiny cup in his hand and quietly shoves it into Yoo Joonghyuk’s unsuspecting chest. Main Character Coolness™ helps him catch the cup immediately without any spillage, and Kim Dokja quickly returns his gaze to the children before the other man can direct his chilling glare at him. 

“Oh?” Shin Yoosung perks up, turning to him with intrigued eyes. “Do you know something that we don’t, again?”

Kim Dokja looks at Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon as the pair make their way around the banquet hall, immersed in their conversation, separate from the rest of the world. His keen sense for drama is certainly pinging. He smiles, “I suppose so. But it’s not that difficult to spot if you know what to look for.”

Sharp as ever, Yoosung and Gilyoung follow his gaze and observe the couple like a pair of hyper-alert kittens seeing humans for the first time. Kim Dokja pops another bite-sized appetizer in his mouth as he waits for them to draw their conclusions. It doesn’t take long for them to get there. 

“No way,” Gilyoung exclaims, the word drawn out near the end, coloured with delight. 

“Oh my god,” says Yoosung, tugging Kim Dokja’s coat in excitement. “Really? Really? Ah! I can’t wait , ahjussi!”

“Just like a TV show,” Gilyoung laughs, bouncing on his feet. Internally, Kim Dokja matches their eagerness. But he can’t afford to indulge in that sort of behaviour while standing right between Yoo Sangah and Yoo Joonghyuk, so he restrains himself. 

“I have to tell Yoo Mia,” Yoosung announces loudly, growing restless with the need to gossip. Kim Dokja holds her by the scruff, just in case.

“Hyung, d’you think I’ll have a better view if I stay near Lee Jihye?”

“Let’s find out!” Kim Dokja pipes, clapping the boy’s back and immediately regretting such a blatantly ‘ahjussi’ move. He corrects it with a brotherly ruffling of the hair. He’d rather not die now and have even Gilyoung calling him an old man in the eulogies. 

“Where are you going?” Yoo Joonghyuk demands, stopping Kim Dokja in place. The kids whip around to narrow their eyes at him. The protagonist should count himself lucky that Kim Dokja is as weak to stories as he is, because he’s currently too eager to watch the plot unfold to muster a suitable quantity of irritation towards Yoo Joonghyuk. 

“Two romance tropes in one scene, Joonghyuk-ah,” He explains like a happy-go-lucky kindergarten teacher. Or the main character in a children’s cartoon. “We need the best view for it.”

The protagonist only blinks in response, but Yoo Sangah catches on quickly. “Oh? Heewon-ssi and-? You really think so?” Her gaze drifts to the couple in question, and she lights up at the sight of them cosying up to each other on the balcony. She claps lightly and promptly declares that she would like to join them. 

Shin Yoosung is quick to clasp her hand and pull her into their little group. They descend the steps to the throne and head to the buffet table. Yoo Joonghyuk follows. Kim Dokja frowns at him, wondering what his intentions might be. 

He’s been difficult to read lately. It irks him. Maybe if this had been one of his later regressions... Yoo Joonghyuk returns his glare, and Kim Dokja is forced to look away because he doesn’t trust himself to successfully descend the stairs without watching his step. Close behind, the protagonist puffs a victorious breath and Kim Dokja immediately finds his annoyance spiking. 

He turns to make a jab at him, or something like that, anyway, but he’s interrupted by several loud gasps. Startled, he loses his footing but is quickly rescued thanks to the protagonist’s lightning-quick reflexes, which means that Kim Dokja is being held over the stairs by the back of his neck when everybody loses their mind over Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon kissing.

Kim Dokja feels his jaw drop. He also feels at least three vertebrae pop; being dangled by the neck does that, he figures. Neither is relevant in the face of the K-drama reenactment happening on the balcony. 

From somewhere under the table, Lee Jihye screams. 

╳

Her ship is sailing. Her ship is sailing!

It’s enough to make her completely forget about her fake pregnancy and also about the table she’s hiding under. Lee Jihye screams in incoherent excitement and jumps to her feet to fangirl about it, but the aforementioned table gets in her way, and she gets a bump on her head to show for it. It still doesn’t stop her screaming. “YESSS!” She whoops, sliding out so she can cheer properly. “Yes, yes, yes! Woohoo!”

“Finally!” Han Sooyoung groans in heavily exaggerated relief. Lee Jihye couldn’t care less. The only thing that might possibly distract her now would be if her favourite idol ship announced their engagement mid-concert and thoroughly kissed their love into each other while Lee Jihye went off the rails in more than one sense of the term.

“Thank god! Congratula-” Lee Jihye chokes on the word, and the unwelcome sensation of the script taking over her body returns. She feels her face attempt to twist into an expression of despair, but her excitement is too high to be overcome. “Nooo,” She wails, “My beloved, how could you betray me so?” She’s probably supposed to sound heartbroken about it but fuck that; she’s so happy she could die.

Then her words make the couple break apart, and Lee Jihye’s smile promptly disappears. What on earth are you doing? Keep kissing; it’s taken you long enough already. Don’t mind us! Is what she wants to say, but King Sonwu has other plans. 

“I thought you loved me! How could you let your gaze wander even when I am the one bearing your child?” Gross. Lee Jihye shudders and glares at her stomach in warning because if King Sonwu somehow gives her a pregnant belly, she really will find a way to kill that crazy bastard. As if these cringy dialogues aren’t bad enough, seriously. 

Heewon-unnie shields Hyunsung-oppa with her body and says, “His heart hasn’t belonged to you for years now, and you haven’t even noticed! Do you have even an inkling of his suffering? Because I do. I have shared the weight of his sorrows with him till today, and I will gladly do so until the day we die. He is my beloved, Princess Merisa, not yours.”

“Woah there, unnie, reel it in, seriously. Nobody’s gonna steal Hyunsung-oppa from you,” Lee Jihye mutters under her breath, taken aback by the woman’s impassioned speech. 

To be fair, Jung Heewon seems just as shocked by the weird words that just came out of her mouth. In reality, she’d probably just cuss her rival to tears and then beat the shit out of them. Or vice versa; Jihye isn’t sure. But this is so not her style it’s tragic. 

Han Sooyoung is already laughing her ass off. 

Lee Jihye would have done the same, but because she has to, she cries, “How dare you!”

In that moment, something clicks in her brain and the entire soap opera of a scenario finally starts to make sense. A love triangle. A cheating scandal. Forbidden romance. A jilted lover. And… baby-trapping? Maybe? Lee Jihye has come across the tag often, but she hasn’t read any fanfiction about it, so she isn’t sure about the last one. 

But still! This is one spicy hotpot of tropes that King Sonwu wants them to make. And Lee Jihye loves spice.

Thus, she takes a deep breath and fully immerses herself in her role. 

She puffs up her chest and points at Jung Heewon- nay, General Nedise . “I never thought you’d turn out to be a home-wrecker, General! You don’t deserve your title! Pthu!” 

The crowd of NPCs gasp in horror when she spits on the floor. Sangah-unnie gasps much louder than them, making Lee Jihye tone it down a bit. 

Well, she thought about doing it, anyway, until she sees Heewon-unnie suppressing a laugh. Hyunsung-oppa just continues to gape at everyone and everything like a silly guppy, but that isn’t relevant anymore. Lee Jihye’s going to lean into this. 

“I curse you, you damn Hyo Sun-like b- birch!” She quickly censors herself, under pressure from Yoo Sangah’s watchful eyes. “You stupid second female lead! I hope you strangle yourself in that- that weird jute dress! You look like a larva! And you!” She points at Lee Hyunsung, who jumps a foot in the air. 

Lee Jihye almost feels bad. But she doesn’t. Because Prince Whatever-His-Name-Is cheated on Merisa! The gall! The nerve! The audacity! Poor pregnant Princess Merisa is being humiliated on this special day because her husband is a good-for-nothing little cheater! An unfaithful nincompoop! An undeserving bastard who can’t keep his ding-dong in his pants! Hoo, Lee Jihye is mad .

“YOU!” Lee Jihye yells, much louder this time and ten times as angry.

“Ha,” Kim Dokja chirps with delight. It only serves to fuel her aggression into a full-blown inferno. 

“I’m gonna kill you! Cut you up in pieces with my beautiful sword,” She pulls it out of her inventory because why not, “and use your entrails to nourish my beautiful garden! And I’ll take over as queen of your stupid kingdom and raise my baby all by myself. And when they grow up, they’re gonna fight stinky-tuna-General-Nedise and chop her up in pieces, and then I’ll toss her in the ocean so that you’ll never see each other in the afterlife! And then I’ll curse you both to kill each other in your next life! And then , you’ll be reborn as mosquitoes and die a pathetic, miserable death on the wall of a maths classroom!”

The crowd gasps. Yoo Sangah gasps. “Wahh,” says Lee Gilyoung, so awed he forgets to add any inflexion to it.

“Oh my god, that was amazing,” Yoo Mia squeals.

“Jihye-unnie, you’re my hero,” declares Shin Yoosung with stars in her eyes. Lee Jihye smirks and points her sword at them with a suave wink. She decides she’ll sign their shirts later, provided they fawn an appropriate amount. Even Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung are cheering her on. Man, what a rush! Lee Jihye thinks she’s found her hidden passion.

Her skin prickles all of a sudden. Without warning, her arm swings to point the sword at the couple again. 

“My daughter,” Booms Yoo Joonghyuk, alarming her. She finds him a lot closer to the scene than she last remembers. The vein in his jaw has made an ominous reappearance. King Sonwu has taken over, clearly. “You have my blessing. Punish this unfaithful swine!”

“What?!” Lee Hyunsung cries, but Lee Jihye is already lunging at him with a deafening war cry. Because, really, why not? Cheating men must die, after all. Heewon-unnie taught her that. 

The woman in question looks at her with wide eyes as if she had never expected the plot to progress this way. Rookie mistake. As a teenager with a lot of free time and access to wi-fi, Lee Jihye is quite the expert in dramas, webtoons, and webnovels. So, really, a woman avenging herself by killing her cheating husband and his mistress is par for the course to her. It’s the best way to conclude a cheating arc, really. Lee Jihye is happy with King Sonwu’s directorial choice. Well, everything before this was as good as concentrated piss, but even a broken clock is right two times a day!

She brings her sword down on the cheaters with a roar, and Lee Hyunsung turns into knock-off Silver-Surfer, while Heewon-unnie whips out her own sword and, man , are they gonna duke it out right now? Lee Jihye is so ready. 

“Come on!!” She yells, aiming her blade at the woman, and the world bursts into a storm of bamboo leaves. Her organs lurch all over the place until she rematerialises back to where they’d first met King Sonwu.

“Well done!” The king applauds, slow but loud, with an amused twinkle in his eyes. Lee Jihye swallows and takes a step back, which is a totally normal reaction to being face-to-face with a man of his power and stature if you ask her. “I had planned to avenge my dear Merisa myself, but I find this to be a more satisfying ending. Good thinking, little one! Merisa would like you, I think.”

She doesn’t really care much about that because Han Sooyoung is bickering with Kim Dokja in the background for whatever reason. And they’re very loud and incoherent about it. Actually, she’s pretty sure at least one of them is drunk, which is terribly irresponsible of them but Jihye didn’t expect anything less.

King Sonwu is talking about his daughter and the prince’s affair, but Lee Jihye can’t take her eyes off the arguing pair until Yoo Joonghyuk throws an unruly Han Sooyoung across the field before she can start producing avatars. He then scoops Kim Dokja up so the man can cool down (or maybe sober up) in a corner. 

Sangah-unnie is picking at weeds growing from the cracks between tiles, muttering to herself with a grim expression. Jihye is starting to suspect that maybe she’s been a bit irresponsible today, too, and like- yeah, the world is definitely ending. Lee Jihye looks around for someone to look after the woman, but the lovey-dovey couple are… doing their thing. And the kids are busy with a mock-battle recreating Lee Jihye’s scene. Complete with sound effects and everything. 

⟬ Hidden Scenario: Sonwu’s Lament complete! ⟭

“Now, I suppose it’s time you received your rewards,” says King Sonwu.

“Rewards?” Han Sooyoung perks up, picking dirt and grass from her hair. She clenches her fists in a ‘Heck yeah!’ sort of way and scuttles over until she’s practically drooling on King Sonwu’s shoes. Lee Jihye can’t suppress a grimace but sticks close anyway. Eyes on the prize, of course. 

Kim Dokja abruptly stops smacking Yoo Joonghyuk’s chest and turns his attention to them, the man’s hand still on the, ahem, assets. Which is totally unnecessary but Jihye salutes her master’s progress in the courtship. At this rate, they might even get to hold hands before one of them dies. 

“Rewards?” asks Kim Dokja, unaware that Yoo Joonghyuk is making the exact same expression he is. 

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⦋ Bounty Scenario — Light a Candle! 

Difficulty: ???

Clear conditions:

1. A special day for the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ approaches. Several constellations wish that the participants treat ‘Kim Dokja’ in a manner that befits their comradeship.

2. The scenario must be hidden from the incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’.

Time Limit: 10 days

Reward: 1,000 coins

Failure: - ⦌

⦋ Time remaining: 6 days ⦌

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