Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

My name is Byul Ji-hye, and I am ten. 

I believe no further introduction is required. 

Two sentences. Just two. All I needed to present myself to the planet and its people. 

Short and Effective. It captured what I wanted to say easily -don’t bother me. To depict myself as a loner and not someone to socialize with. 

Introductions. They were the part of the act that could make people walk away disappointed or lead to them feeling intrigued. Wanting more. The performers were not just using introductions on a stage but in real life as well.

We are the actors, presenting ourselves to the world, and the audience, co-workers, friends, and family are watching the script unfold in front of their very eyes. 

The main character of the show. Each and every one of us. 

Some will walk away; it’s not the type of story they want to listen to. Others will join you. Egg you on, provide witty lines, take you to settings you haven’t explored yet. You may stand alone in your story. 

That it’s still a story in the cosmos. The script will end, the performance simply cannot go on. Humans cannot live indefinitely. The movie will be cut. 

So, how will you present yourself? What will the introduction to your act be? How will you charm your audience? With carefully spoken lines or rambling on without a care in the world? 

These were the questions I asked myself when it was time to tell people what kind of person I was. 

My audience usually was the students and teachers. Their reactions would vary. The most common ones were: dumbfounded, amused, or confused.

We need a script for our interactive performance now, no? An inner monologue should do. I had just the thing in mind. 

Really? Is that it?

Who the hell is this kid?

Ah, well I didn’t expect that to happen...perhaps this student is shy? 

Often, the students tried to ask me questions. My response would be to repeat the last line. I put that into the script since people kept insisting that I should indulge them with more entertainment. “Use more dialogue”, they say. 

This wasn’t their story, so I wasn’t going to let them sway the tale I wanted to tell. No matter if people watched or not, the film kept rolling. I was the scriptwriter, performer, and sometimes the spectator.

The next part of my act began.  Among the speechless crowd, I sat down at the back of the classroom and put on my headphones. Not paying attention to the guaranteed rumors and stares directed toward me.

With that, I had established that I was a character who didn’t care about what people said and someone to be left alone. 

My thoughts drifted off to something else. A couple of years ago, my beginning act would have been different. It would go something like this-

Byul Ji-hye. 

My name. It meant bright star. I had wondered why my parents named me that. Ji-Hye wasn’t either of my parents' last names, so they must have a good reason for that.

So, when I was five years old, I asked my parents. My mother was first. Peeking through her door, I heard voices seeping out through the crack. The curiosity got the best of me. I wasn’t allowed to go into my mother’s room, but...I slipped in, waiting quietly. 

Surely she wouldn’t mind if she was in the room as well? 

People flashed on her computer screen. Talking about sales and production issues. Whatever those things mean. I was aware enough to understand she was busy and shouldn’t bother her. 

The meeting droned on for hours. By that time, my head throbbed, swirling to understand what anything meant. There was no way it wasn’t important. 

Inflation?
 
Stocks??

Salespeople???

Huh????

My mother looked worse by the second. That smile of hers was so plastered on that for a second, I wondered if it even could be ripped off. It was so weird, seeing that side of my mom. She looked so..fake. 

Her eyes flickered to the corner of the room. She had spotted me. Oops…She didn’t say anything, just went back to the meeting. 

When it finally ended, my mother spoke. 

“Ji-hye, come here.” 

Her voice was calm and even. I would have taken it as a sign that she wasn’t angry but I hadn’t broken any of her rules before. So, how she would react to me breaking the rules, especially the one she was most adamant about, was a foreign concept to me. I was probably going to get in trouble either way. I trudge to my doom, resigned to my fate. She might ground me. I had heard of this thing called ‘grounding’ from my friends. It was when you were forced to be cooped up in your room. Your once cozy bed was now a prison. 

To my surprise, she simply opened her arms. I blinked. I stared at her. I expected to be yelled at, like my dad.

“Why are you pouting, child? I haven’t even said anything yet.”

I sighed, curling up in her lap like a cat. Her blond locks that were like gold spun threads brushed the top of my head. I look up at her face, searching for signs. Signs that showed she was furious. Only to find her smiling at me. She ruffled my hair. 

She...didn’t look mad. 

I hesitated. It was better for me to ask her to bring it up.“Am I in trouble?”  

The silence did nothing to ease my racing thoughts. 

“Not exactly, why did you come to my room?”

This would decide my fate. Whether I was stuck in a temporary prison cell or escaped with my freedom. 

“I wanted to ask you a question.” Best to be honest. I made mistakes before, but usually, if it was the first time and I owned up to it, I wouldn’t get in trouble. 

This counted as a mistake, right?

“You didn’t wait outside.” I wilted, like a dying dandelion. Not enough of a good excuse, it seemed. 

“I was curious, I’m I allowed to go into your room when you’re here?”

My mom tilted her head, considering it. Or pretended to. You never really know it with her. 

“Only if you ask before coming in, I’ll let it slide this time.”

Victorious!

My smugness must have shown on my face since my mom flicked my forehead. Hard. I rubbed my head, which soon turned red. 

“Ouch..” I didn’t complain. I was still in the wrong. 

“Don’t look so cocky, Ji-hye. Just because I forgive you this time doesn’t give you the right to act like you did nothing wrong. It’s rude.” She sighed, muttering something like ‘what am I going to do with this child?

“Sorry..”

I survived. I lived to tell the tale. I had narrowly escaped my disastrous fate. I raised my head.

 “What if it happens next time?”

With a deadpanned face, she said. “You‘ll be grounded.” 

My face paled, turning ghostly white. My freedom..gone?

My mother was forced to deal with a kid desperately pleading for her hypothetical punishment to be pardoned. 

She remained adamant. I wasn’t going to change her mind. Exhausted from my efforts, I fell asleep.
                __________________

“What was the question you wanted to ask me?” 

I barely made out what she was saying through my sleep-induced gaze. I forced myself to respond.

“Why did you name me bright star?” I dragged my head up to face her. Blinking. I could tell that wasn't what she expected me to ask, as her eyes widened slightly. 

“Ah, that…it’s because you're our little star, sweetie.”
She wrapped her arms around me, tightly. 

My mother was like the sun. Bright, radiant and blazing with emotion. That sun of mine could shine too brightly. Blinding me in the process.  That sun was usually a small flame instead. A gentle soul. Like those beautiful breezy days when the sun wasn’t so burning. 

Warm. 

“Why did daddy name me that? You said before that you two both agreed on the name” 

“Your father came up with the idea actually. The reason..he would want to tell you himself.”

My face fell, which that reminded me. I tried not to remember that fact. I didn’t complain a lot, but there was one thing that my parents couldn’t get me to stop talking about. 

“But dad doesn’t come home early..."

The corner of her lips twitched. 

Wait a minute..

I sat up immediately, then shook her hard.

“Dad is coming home. Early! Right? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Tell your father I said nothing.”  

Too late, I was already excited. 

                        __________________

The front door creaked open. A man stepped into the house only to get rammed into by a tiny child. My father. 

“Whoa, be careful. How did you-“ His eyes landed on my mother. Who was trying to hide the smile on her face. She was doing a terrible job. The surprise faded from his eyes. 

“You told her, didn’t you?” He looked like he had been personally betrayed. 

“She figured it out on her own. I had nothing to do with it.” 

His eyes narrowed, suspicious of my mother. He let it go. Probably because I kept tugging on his clothing.

“Daddy…” I had missed him a lot. I turned to look at my mother. If my mother was the sun, my father was the moon. Calm and quiet. He let his actions speak for themselves. When the sun was too bright, the moon would reflect it, softening the radiant light. Made it a bit more bearable. 

The moon wasn’t a bright star. He was subtle, a hidden presence. He still shone. Not burning hot like the sun, but soft. 

The Sun, the moon, and finally the little star. That was my family.

Without another word, he picked me up and took me to my room. Tucked me into bed. I opened my mouth to protest, but he spoke first. 

“You’re going to be tired tomorrow. So go to sleep.”

I wanted to argue, but I looked under his eyes. Deep, dark circles under his eye bags. He was exhausted. I knew it wasn’t fair, but I still wanted to spend time with him. 

Somehow, in some way, he always managed to spare a few minutes for me. Never complained about how I demanded he stay with me a bit longer when he looked terrible. I once woke up early only to find my dad sleeping with his head on my bed. I had always thought he left, since when I awoke, he was gone.

So instead, I decided to spare him the misery and just ask him the question. 

“Dad, why did you name me Byul Ji-hye?” 

“Your eyes.” 

…What did that have to do with anything? 

“My..eyes?” 

He turned me to face the mirror and pointed to my irises. 

In those pitch black voids, there were prickles of light speckled across them. Stars, in the vast sky. Those stars were drowning in space. 

“Oh.”

I never really looked that closely at my features. The compliment I got the most was about my eyes. I never understood why until now. I was used to people showering me with compliments about my looks. That’s all they saw, not a child. 

Your skin is like porcelain..

Your hair is so shiny and thick. 

I took a look at the mirror again. It was exhausting to hear it over and over again. My dad was staring at me. Again. Trying to figure out what I was thinking. I didn’t want to burden him, so I fell asleep.

Or tried to. 

                        __________________

Yes, that would be what that little girl would say. Her script was long and left no room for imagination. If I were to describe her with one word, it would be naive.  That girl's turn was over. That actor, I, had changed. So I took her off the stage. She was only here for a while. Only a small part of the performance. She had her own meaning but I didn't want to dwell on the past. She wasn’t a large part of the story I wanted to share. 

I turned on my phone, and the title of a novel popped up. A novel I was very familiar with. 

Omniscient Reader Viewpoint. 

Chapter Text

[This story is for just that one reader]

I stared at the words which hid the story behind them, a feeling of loss crawling its way up my throat. The lines on my phone screen were painfully familiar.

 How do you come with words to describe how you feel when a story ends? 

Dread?

Sadness?

Bittersweet?

The best way I could describe this feeling was a dull ache in my heart, constantly throbbing as if it was getting physically beaten. 

 I had finished this story a few weeks ago and it finally hit me. 

The journey was over and I..

I couldn’t accept this ending, it wasn’t justifiable for the characters. The message the author was sending was as clear as day-The reader must let go of the characters, but what of those said people were chasing after the readers themselves? 

Neither of these people-characters were happy. For a story meant as a love letter to the readers..it didn’t feel right to be that the characters would continue to suffer. 

At least that’s how I viewed it.

They were chasing a hopeless fantasy that was so close yet so far. 

It was unfinished, like a tangled web of thread that was knotted. Each told a different yet similar story but never connected. 

It was a thought that came to me so suddenly and, yet the more I pondered over it, the more I was convinced that I truly believed it. 
 
They wanted a happy ending. 

And I as well …

They were …Pathetic

I was getting emotional over some words on a page. So instead, I turned my attention to the roaring blur of a crowd. Any distraction from my thoughts was comforting. Adults, who were wrapped in their own problems. Some were crossing the street chatting mindlessly. Probably complaining about some insignificant issue in this mundane life of theirs.  

All of them were liars. Hypocrites. It was a wonder how the world managed to operate with how selfish humanity was. The words they spoke to unsuspecting naive children without any show of guilt were laughable at best. Those kids would learn to be just like them. Do what you need to survive, right? If you can call this fucking life worth living.  

Again, I did it again. No reason to get worked up.

Was it that hard to control my ever-spiraling thoughts? No, today was special. That was the reason why. Surely that was it. 

Han Chinjeol..

My guardian. I was going to visit him today. He wasn’t a parent, rather like a roommate instead, but even that wasn’t necessarily true. We hardly saw each other. It was one of the things I was adamant about. There was no point in keeping the pretenses with me. Being constantly monitored would only serve as a nuisance for both of us. He didn’t try to convince me otherwise. Instead, he suggested we meet each other each month. I knew the reason why. No matter how competent I was, he would always worry that something might happen.

 He was like that. Worrywart.
 To ease his worries, I accepted.  My phone buzzed. Unsurprisingly, it was Han Chinjeol. 

<Where are you?>

It had only been five minutes since I left the apartment and he was already asking me this. He really needs to stop overthinking so much.

<I am currently next to Chungmuro station. However, I will probably not be able to make it on time to meet you.>

I put my phone back, ignoring the multiple new messages. I wasn’t lying, it wasn’t likely I would see him. It wasn’t likely I would see him ever again. I was just withholding information. 

 How would he react to the news? He was going to find out any second now. I couldn’t break it to him myself. There wasn’t enough time. Even if I did, I doubted he would ever believe the supposed nonsense that did know.

Still, it left an unpleasant feeling in my stomach. It was a perfectly logical response yet the lingering ‘what ifs' refused to leave my brain. 

In the end, I give into looking at the messages. I didn’t know if it was a good idea but it would be the last thing he said to me. It deserved to be remembered. I looked back at my phone, only to find an unexpected surprise. 

This is..

A copy of WOS. The person who sent it to me was..TLS123.

I heard an explosion coming from the train station. People craned their heads to see. It didn’t take me long to figure out what was going on. 

I wasn’t given much more time to brood since a blue systematic screen popped up. 

[The free service of planetary system 8612 has been terminated]

[The main scenario has started]

Ah, I was wondering when the paid service would begin. 

Chapter Text

The train blew up.

 Or at least the tracks did. 

Perhaps it was a terrorist attack? 

Those were some of the things people were speculating about. Billboards were disconnected and cars were stopped. All of a sudden, a dome formed around Seoul. 

Seoul, for now, was completely isolated. If the people were trying their best not to panic, this surely pushed them to the brink. 

That didn’t stop people from “rationalizing” the situation. Terrorist attack? The imagination of humans truly had no bounds. It was amusing. Laughable even. Maybe it was just the desire to pretend everything was fine because humans did what they did best-complaining. Especially when they could find anything to put blame on. 

[The Channel -#BIR3642 is Open.]

[The constellations have entered.]

Wouldn’t you know it, a furry little creature with two horns happened to show up to cause even more ruckus. 

It was, according to the story, a Dokkabi. They had such a misleading appearance as well. It looked like something that you would buy for your child at the toy store, but they were far from the cutesy little cartoon characters that children would come to adore.

What was it Kim Dokja had said about them again? Or rather what Ways of Survival said about them

“With two small horns and wearing a small straw mat, the strange and fluffy creature was floating in the air.” 

“It was too strange to call it a fairy, too evil to call it an angle, and too tranquil to call it a demon”

“Thus it was called a Dokkabi”

Despite reading this story, it was still exciting for me. Experiencing the words float and spark as if it had really come to life. And it had come to life. The speckle around me was a great wonder. For a reader, this was both the greatest blessing and the worst torture. The childlike nature of mine once more flared to devour the sight. 

Well, it seemed like humans weren’t entirely hopeless. They clearly managed to figure out with those tiny brains of theirs that the creature in front of them was somehow correlated to all this. 

And that was all it took for them to start pointing fingers at the Dokkabi. As expected.

Disappointing. It would have been better to at least shut up. The best thing to do in this situation is to observe the situation and make an calculated choice. 

“Oi! You! I have an appointment today in a few minutes. I don’t have time for this.”

One complaint snowballed, creating a rippling wave of chaos spreading through the people. The once timid and fearful crowd had escalated into an angry mob, verbally harassing the Dokkabi. It wouldn’t end well.
Not for them. After all, no Dokkabi would ever let this slide. 

[“N-now, c-calm down. I can’t ha-ave you r-running amok..”] 

The Dokkabi snapped their fingers and the first person who complained had their head burst open. The others followed suit. Now the mob had disintegrated into a gory mess of blood and bones. 

Soon enough the streets were stained red. Body parts were littered all over the area. Some people were screaming. Others were crying. There were quite a couple of individuals who were just in shock, unable to speak. 

My reaction? I couldn’t really tell how I was feeling. It wasn’t fear, shock, or some other reaction. I felt like I was just staring at a bunch of insects dying.

A head rolled in my direction, which had split open to reveal all its contents. My pale pink lips tugged upward, a smile on my face. Not very noticeable but it was there. 

What a…gruesome sight

[“R-really, you hum-man’s don’t know h-how to be q-quiet."]  

After that, there was tense silence. Finally, it seemed that the humans 

[“Aa-h, m-much better. Now you I-incarnation m-must p-prove y-yourselves no?] 

It was pretty clear to see the confusion in people's eyes. They knew nothing about what would happen next. 

This dokkabi..He had a unique way of speaking. I was certain after looking at the channel name. 

#BIR3642. Biryu’s channel.

He was the only Dokkabi who stammered in  Omniscient Reader Viewpoint. Despite his nervous outer appearance, he is the cruelest Dokkabi in the novel. I expected to get some random Dokkabi. To think that he is here..it must mean Gong Plidu was nearby.

Biryu snapped his fingers once more. The blue screens flashed in front of the people. I soon got my own. 

+

[Main Scenario #1 -Proof of Value]

Category - Main 

Clear Condition- Kill one or more organisms

Time limit - 15 minutes

Compensation: 300 coins

Failure: Death

+

Biryu grinned and disappeared. 

[“Go-ood Luck!”]

Chapter Text

Humanity.

What a disgusting thing on this planet. An ugly stain on Earth's history. Once animalistic creatures had become competitive beings who would turn against each other at the slightest opportunity. Inherently selfish.

So, why wouldn’t they dirty their hands if it meant they would survive? Living things have and will betray one another before in dire times. Wasn’t this one of them?

To add to the quickly growing flames, Biryu didn’t give them a chance to think. 

[The time limit has been shortened to 5 minutes] 

Human beings have disappointed me repeatedly. This wouldn’t be the last time. 

Those flames rose high into the sky. 

The ground which was covered with body parts was soon joined by new ones. The number dwindled. There were around..80 left. A far cry from the 210 people in this section. 

They were worse than Kim Dokja’s train cart, carriage 3807. They had taken a while to come to terms with the terrible deed they must do, unlike this bunch. Predictable but how quickly they could just transition from “civil” people to raging monsters was disheartening to watch. Even for me. It reminded me of one of the one-off lines in the novel. 

“Haha~ there are some places that are quite fun, while other places haven’t started yet.”

Bihyung had said that. This must have been one of those places. I was shaken out of my thoughts when someone said something.

“It-t’s not my fault. I just want to survive!”

Out of all the pathetic justifications, that one stuck out to me the most. Yes, it was better to delude yourself into thinking that, this was the only way to live. At what cost? Living with the burden of guilt that could be suppressed. 

Guilt..I have shoved that down into the deepest part of my soul and ignored it for a long while. I was aware that my mindset was biased, to the point where it was just pure pessimism. If I didn’t..then what would become of me? They wronged me so severely, so how could I forgive them?

Now wasn’t the time for my philosophical thoughts. I looked at the scenario requirements once more. 

Kill an organism. The original story requirements were slightly different. The smallest of changes could impact the outcome. After all, didn't Kim dokja deuce that he wasn’t going to die because the cost of failure wasn’t determined yet. Why was it different? If my speculations were right, then this change made things easier. Biryu surely knew this, but he wasn’t the type of character to give us a free pass. 

An organism is different from a living creature. Creature implies that it must be an animal of some sort. An organism was anything alive. I was on a street. Yes, there were people that were living but they weren’t the only things considered organisms that I could find. My eyes scanned the area. 

There.

In between the disaster, an innocent wilted weed in the grass. It was tilted downward as if it was closing its eyes to shield itself from the terrible scene that was occurring. A dandelion, one close to death's doorstep.

I should put it out of its misery. The deteriorating crowd didn’t notice the little girl suffocating the tiny weed before ripping it out of the ground. 

The dandelion lay limply in the hand. I almost felt bad. Even if it was going to die, it didn’t have the opportunity to fight back. Something had to live for me to survive. This has always applied to life. It should have been fine then. That was why the scenario was titled 'Proof of Value' because you needed to take someone's life to prove you value your life over theirs. Why was I thinking of this now? 

[The scenario conditions have been met!]

[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation.]

No matter, I would just wait for the scenario to pass over. Keep my head down and close my eyes to the madness. 
Who died or not didn’t concern me, so I wasn’t going to tell them that there was another way, another way to survive without killing one of their kind. I wasn’t Kim dokja. 

In life, I never liked being the center of attention. It was bothersome. Fake smiles and talking behind your back. It was draining. So I avoided interactions, or if it was necessary I would make it as short as possible. 

 It must have been the universe mocking me since somehow, despite my attempts, people kept getting in my way.  

By now I should have expected that this scenario wouldn’t be any different. 

“That kid.. get her.”

A woman's voice, seemingly in her twenties spoke. Was she talking about me? Sure enough, I saw a woman pointing her finger at me and people turning their eyes towards me. 

To their credit, they hesitated. The bare minimum. Oh wow, that is such an amazing achievement. They’re not total assholes after all. Why? Why me? I just couldn’t be left alone. 

Another voice cried out. 

“Their right! Killing that kid is the best chance of survival.”

Shit, this was not looking good for me. The woman now had a face of relief. This time I spotted the little boy hiding behind her leg. It was presumably, her son. He noticed me looking and immediately looked away. 

That hypocritical woman. I could guess why, her son would be safe if she turned the people’s attention to me. I was a child, I would be easy to kill. To the people, I was a harmless puppy. Who wouldn’t take that over some adults? 

The woman pitched in again, adding a justification. “She won’t make it. Why not make it easier for yourselves and kill the kid now?”

The dokkabi must find this quite boring. Biryu from my understanding would make us suffer the most. So the best way he could do so was by forcing people to make a decision now. 

[The time limit has been reduced to a minute]

The idea of killing that kid must be really appealing now.

Their eyes were filled with murderous intent. I was bombarded by hands, all trying to grab me. I was their last chance at living. 

I would have died. What an interesting thought. 

That is if I didn’t know how to fend for myself. Appearances could be deceiving. I, for one, knew that very well. 

“Damn it, why is she so fast?”

Just being a kid made me harder to catch. That and because they were all slow. Most adults didn’t work out and it showed. That and the fact that there was no one who awakened their attribute. So they were worthless, in the eyes of the star steam. 

I could have just dodged them until the timer went out, but they tried to kill me. 

Humanity

A disgusting thing. 

[ You have killed a living thing]

I could hear their bones snap.

“A-ah! Help me please anyone”

An ugly stain on Earth's history 

[100 coins have been earned as compensation]

Fresh deep red blood spilled and coated the road. 

“No, I want to live. You understand, right? I had no choice-“ 

[ You have killied a living thing]

[100 coins have been earned as compensation]

“Hey-y we can talk this out right?”

Inherently selfish. 

“Why should I?” The girl spoke. No malice, just a calm even tone as he stared into her dead pitch-black irises. There must be no soul between those eyes. 

He stammered. “Because-because”

A present, yes, a gift before the last one I would kill. I recognize them as the other person who convinced the crowd to kill me. They should have the honor. 

I was just like them. 

The girl smiled brightly, as radiant as the sun.  Just maybe there was something, anything, behind that monster.  For one moment, she looked like a normal kid. “You’re going to die anyway. You won’t make it. So..let me survive.”

I snapped the last insect’s head. Good riddance. 

There were twenty seconds left. There was one person left standing. They were in front of me. 

The boy whose mother had tried to kill me. He was hiding behind the trash can. Trembling. He was hiding from me. I looked down. The mother's dead body was on the floor. He must have seen me kill her. No wonder he was scared of me. The only kids who survived in Omniscient Reader Viewpoint were the ones who had the guts to commit terrible acts. This wasn’t one of them. I could tell. 

“I’ll give you the opportunity to kill me, but I won’t make it easy." If he was going to live he had to try his hardest. That was the only way I would accept dying in this kid's hands.

Silence. He couldn’t even look at me. To him, I was a monster. The time ticked by. Then, his head exploded. His time ran out.

I stared at the body of the kid. I couldn’t care less about the mother. This kid though..

Was I really better than his mom?

I let the wilted dandelion fall out of my grasp and onto the boy's body. His eyes closed as if to shield his eyes from this cruel reality. I stared at the blood on my hands. 

I felt…

Hollow.

I turned away from the scene and started walking away.  To greet me was a Dokkabi grinning at the sight of the gory sight. 

Biryu, he made me sick. 

[A large number of coins have been acquired! Do you want to check the coin usage tips?]

I ignored the message 

Chapter Text

[You have killed 86 living organisms]

[Kill history- one dandelion, 85 incarnations]

So I should have 6,050 coins

[Coins will be reduced for killing helpless organism(s)]

[You have a total of 6,050 coins]

[The Mass Murder achievement has been gained through extensive killing!]

I stopped at the golden grid-like barriers.

There was no way of climbing these walls since the walls appeared to stretch the sky and beyond. It seemed like the street blocks were divided by these barriers.

Gong Plidu must be around here somewhere, then. 

He was useful but Kim Dokja was going to recruit him later. He also was going to get people to join him. If I acted weak, he would tell me to get lost. If I acted like someone valuable but weak then. He would just use me. If I presented myself as someone strong, or even stronger than him he would avoid me. So the best decision was to avoid him for now. 

Didn’t he lose his family during the first scenario?

What was he like before?

The omniscient reader viewpoint never really went into Gong Plidu’s backstory. Now that I think about it, other than Kim Dokja. I didn’t see any of the characters' everyday lives or how they became the way that they were. In a way, they too were fodder for Kim Dokja, the main character. It was his dream, but I would think he would be at least curious about Yoo Joonghyuk's life before the scenarios.

Scenarios. 

This was a major turning point for all of humanity. Instead of pretending and deceiving people were also forced to commit cruel acts considered too sinful to commit. Like murder. Was it different? No, not really. All the scenarios did was take it too extreme. Nothing changed. The strong governed the weak and people were still incredibly toxic. No, no. The roles had changed. The president and corporate businesses had fallen down the ladder.

Everything was the same and yet it was completely different. It would explain why I was able to adapt so quickly. Even if I expected the scenarios, my experience would have been lacking. 

Gong Pildu, Kim dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk, Han Sooyoung. Everyone. All of them had changed due to the scenarios. Here I was not changed at all. Not from the scenarios. 

Since my worldview was so extremely negative, when the worst happened it was completely normal to me. My acts were based on my perspective, so the acts I took, such as nonchalantly killing a mass of people, would soon be normal. In short, I already knew this game but I had played on this difficulty for so long it was natural. Compared to the others who had it thrust level upon them, they would be worse than I was.  This was way above their level, and they were so used to the difficulty they were in. Oh, this game name..what should I call it? I knew the answer.

This game was called life. I was interrupted out of my thoughts. 

[“Hahaha! W-what an unexpected turn-on of e-events! W-wouldn’t you say so, c-constellations?] 

[Many constellations are appalled by your actions.]

Those constellations were probably from the nebula ‘Eden’. To call them hypocritical was an understatement. They were judging my actions, but they were helping to endorse the torture of the actors below their feet. They preach about the greater good yet they manipulate people into doing their bidding. In reality, Eden was just some power-hungry and cunning nebula just like the rest of them. 

Biryu. My hollow eyes locked onto the Dokkabi. 

He seemed.. nervous. 

What I hated the most was the advertising he was doing. He wasn’t even trying to hide it either. I could see as clear as day the replaying of the most “exciting” moments on the steaming screen. Like my murder masquerade was a movie that was being watched and I was the main character. For some reason, people tend to justify the protagonist and sympathize with them. What I did shouldn’t be excused. It couldn’t be helped that the street bunch was completely useless. As an incarnation at least. Some of them must have high-paying jobs..or connections. 

 I wasn’t wrong. They would die. Maybe not now, but most wouldn’t make it. So this was what it was like outside the main stage. Most were just not worth the constellation's time. In a story that the main cast, whenever the common folk were mentioned they seemed unimpressive.

However, they had families, people who might’ve cared. Even the sickest, sweetest lies brought comfort to people. Just because it filled me with hatred didn’t necessarily mean others did. That didn’t matter to the glorified stars in the sky. It made me sick. 

To them, they were just watching a couple of actors on stage. Endless possibilities and entertainment. This acting must be phenomenal. 

[A-a strong candidate, hm..though-h a bit lackin-ng in the entrain-nment department. No mat-tter.] He kept mumbling, floating back and forth. No doubt the Dokkabi was figuring out how to sell me off.

Would it be so much of a stretch to say that he didn’t think I would make it out alive? 

Biryu continued to float around. Trying his best to figure out how to tell my story best. By now, I guessed the reason why.

Biryu’s channel type was thrill seekers. Most of the humans in his care weren’t powerful enough for the constellation to sponsor them. Even then incarnation seekers would just leave the channel so in his predicament, having a channel of thrill seekers was better. With me, I wasn’t entertained at all. Well not at first impression. If I considered the constellations perspective. The blood bath after a while would just turn into a sad tragedy. So I had ruined some of his reputation. Good. It was petty but it didn't matter. If I could use it as a justification to myself that it was worth it then I would feed it to my pathetic self. 

Biryu completely disappeared from the original novel after his one interesting incarnation, Gong Pildu when he joined the Kim dokja's group, leading all of his subscribers to be transferred to Bihyung. 

I would expect him to lash out at me if the steam wasn’t still on. I could see his shoulder trembling in rage. How adorable..

I wasn’t a fool enough to delude myself into thinking he was innocent. This was more like me mocking him. Nothing was as important as views right? Most of the Dokkabi didn’t care as long as they were safe, so who cares about some stupid bugs?

It made sense to sell me off as an incarnation to a constellation. To thrill seekers I wasn’t spectacular but for an incarnation seekers, it was the complete opposite. They looked for strong actors and sponsored them. While my performance was terrible for acting, I was a great choice for an incarnation. I wouldn’t die so easily. I look up. Biryu had disappeared. Probably to prepare for the next scenario. 

Thinking of which…My attribute window. None of my skills had activated during the first scenario. I managed to make it out alive but without knowing my skills, it would be incredibly hard to apply them. In these scenarios skills were vital. So while the Dokkabi was gone, I decided to check. It was better to prepare now. 

<Open Attribute Window>
[Attribute window successfully opened!]

Name: Ji-Hye Byul

Constellation Support: none (5 constellations are interested in this person)

Attribute: Child Prodigy (legendary) 

I pursed my lip.

Exclusive Skills: Advanced Weapon Training Lv. 7, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 10(+2), Poker Face Lv. 8, Money Bags Lv. 4, Manipulation Lvl. 9, Quick Learner Lv. 6,....

The list seemed endless. Did I really have that many skills?

Stigma: none

Overall stats: Stamina Lv. 10(+18), Strength Lv. 10(+15), Agility Lv. 10(+21), Magic power Lv. 5

Overall evaluation: This incarnation has limitless potential and seems to be proficient in any subject. This individual is highly dangerous. Proceed with caution while interacting.]

This was..a bunch of exaggerated statements. 

Prodigy?

Wasn’t that one in millions? Sure I was somewhat smart, but nowhere near that level. Usually, your attributes are linked to what you're good at. Didn’t that mean I was either really good at something or just everything? The dokkabi bureau must have made a mistake. 

I could exploit this.

Yes, it would work in my favor. If this attribute worked like I thought it did then it would be very powerful. That was until the bureaucracy figured out their mistake. I could reap the benefits until then. 

Chapter Text

Biryu was back. 

“Was it necessary for you to return so quickly?” I needed him in a certain mood to obtain the things I needed. One of them was the Dokkabi shop. The items I could buy there could fuel my future plans. Pissing him off was a bonus. If it wasn’t for him. I might not have needed to kill those people. I could only guess that if he had his way, I would be dead. The first being I could target in the star stream was Biryu. For forcing me onto a stage I didn’t wish to be on, he would pay. 

He was part of the problem. Though in the story...what had happened after he disappeared? Omisscent reader viewpoint never answered this question. I couldn’t imagine him being treated nicely.

 Dokkabi’s..

Their whole life was committed to storytelling. It was structured as the foundation of their survival. An absolute necessity. If humans needed to drink and eat, Dokkabis had to create stories. For eternity, like a rock being eroded by water, over time, that would wear anyone down. Bit by bit, piece by piece. The stories would seem the same to them. Mundane. Pointless even. They would continue to try to live. Many of them bowed down and cowered in front of constellations. 

Were they any different than humans? I didn’t know, but I refused to feel empathetic towards them. I couldn’t stand human so why would I feel anything towards Dokkabis who looked down upon me like a bug. He still hadn’t spoken. 

Silence. That was...odd. Dokkabi were usually the ones filling the boring part of the story, had twisting it into something exciting. Since I was the quiet one, he was usually providing commentary. 

So, I nudged even more. 

“I bet you missed me.” Still nothing. Suspicious..

He turned off the channel and turned to stare at me as if I had something wrong.  I stared unflinching back right at him. I suppose now he was going to threaten me. Something about “ruining his channel”. His subscribers must be low. Gong Plidu was probably the only thing saving his reputation. Low-level Dokkabis were really loose-lipped. It was a pattern I noticed while reading omniscient reader viewpoint. I guessed it was because it was lack of experience. Maybe I could gain additional information from him. Instead of ranting about his frustration to me, he said something else. 

[“Y-you..,just what-t are you?”] He glared at me, or tried to. It came off as a childish pout instead.

“Pardon?” What was he talking about?

[“Yo-ou’re not recorded-d in the star-r steam.You-‘re t-too powerful to b-be a incarnation.”]

Not recorded? That would mean..I didn’t exist.

That would be an issue, but why had the Dokkabi’s kicked me out already if that was the case? I would be considered like the outer gods and the weenies, unable to be understood. If the star steam didn’t believe I didn’t exist, then I should have disappeared. So there must be something holding my existence up. 

I didn’t have enough information to explain my existence. If I told Biryu this, the Dokkabi’s would kick me out. If I stalled, he would take it to the higher-ups. I had to settle this now. What could I say? 

Too powerful to be an Incarnation..

That was if Biryu didn’t say the last sentence. He implied he only checked the incarnation list. My attributes window...yes, the system had made multiple mistakes. It seems like I got a returnee’s attributes instead. If we assumed I was an incarnation, then this wouldn’t make sense. 

So what if Star Stream recorded me not as an incarnation but something else instead? 

I could make him find the answer to his question.. 

I knew what to say. 

“That’s because I’m not an incarnation.”

[“W-what?”] 

“You haven’t figured it out by now?”I smiled. 

It was better to play it off. I didn’t have to say anything else. The ball had rolled. Biryu furiously scrolled through the lists. I knew my gamble paid off when his eyes widened astronomically. 

[“You-u’re a..r-returnee?”]

“Wasn’t it obvious?” I leaned back.  How should I act as a returnee? I could just act like myself. Or I could have fun and play a different role. Oh, I could pretend to be like the sunfish bastard. The stoic, emo, depressed man. 

That would be fun. 

Biryu started muttering again. 

[“A-alright, I h-have a p-proposition for you-u. T-this is a b-big deal you-u know.”] Was he talking about..

When my face didn’t change, he huffed. Bihyung said something. 

[“Yy-ou! Y-you’re h-hopeless!”] 

He sighed but snapped his fingers. 
[Sponsor Selection]

Please select your sponsor!

Your chosen sponsor will be your strong supporter!

Ah, I see what he did here. Sneaky little thing. I could see that small smile on his face. When he got me to “admit” that I was a returnee, the constellations probably heard. If the probability allowed it. He thought I had fallen into his trap. In reality, all he did was help me. I would be completely expelled from the scenarios, and unlike Kim Dokja I would probably not survive. The only way I could possibly survive was by becoming an outer god, but what were the chances of that?

I looked at the screen again. Strong supporter, huh?

Kim Dokja and I knew that this wasn’t really true, it was more like becoming a slave by an unfair contract. Especially if you have a terrible constellation. Some would step back to let their incarnations get tortured, while others controlled the humans like puppets on a string. 

Puppets on a string, like Yoo Joonghyuk. For Kim Dokja to live, the sunfish’s life had to be filled with tragedy. It didn’t start that way, but Kim Dokja slowly lost his memories as a person-constellation who loved stories; it was just like reading a story. It wasn’t real, since he wasn’t experiencing it. Yoo Joonghyuk hadn’t become a puppet overnight. The strings were attached slowly, and neither of them realize it. That, and because Kim Dokja could never fully grasp that his beloved protagonist has become real. That these “characters” were real. Due to these conditions and the lack of the reader's ability to understand that this wasn’t just a story, Yoo Joonghyuk became the oldest dream puppet.

To the unsuspecting incarnations, no matter how scared they were, would definitely take some comfort in these words. Someone who would help them make their lives just a bit easier. Most humans preferred sweet sugar-spun lies. Majority rules, so I was stuck with two-faced bastards in my life. Dokkabi’s were clever. They had to be. So after the first scenario, even the people who think would be stuck in this predicament-Either get help, or get stuck and die. Without a better option, they would accept. 

What pathetic fools, humans are..

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Biryu pacing impatiently in the air. He finally decided to say something. 

[“Oi-i, hurry up. I d-don’t have tim-me for th-his.”]

..If he wanted to, he could just create a scenario to laze around. 

He, however, frustratingly had a point, I couldn’t waste time. Time was a luxury I couldn’t afford, not anymore. Nobody in this world could.  It would be a deadly mistake. So I forced myself to look at the options. Time to see what the spectators above thought of my performance. Let’s hope I didn’t disappoint. I would hate to do so. 

[Advisor of Love and Beauty ]

[The Eldest One] 

[Savior of Corruption] 

[Maiden of the Golden Spinner]

[The Oldest Dream ]

So, it was time to deduce who these things were. The beings who cowardly hid behind the screens. Constellations. The ones who deluded themselves into believing they were living a luxury life. They were still stuck in the same hellhole as us. Just like the stupid corporate beings lived on this damn planet called earth. 

Most of these constellations weren’t mentioned in Omniscient Reader Viewpoint. Only two of them were mentioned in the novel, but even then, I was lucky with the info from Kim Dokja's unreliable narrating. For a reader, his narration is hideous. He wasn’t a writer, I knew that, but it would have been a better story if his perspective were a bit broader. I would blame it on the fact that the squid had breathed in ways of survival, like it was oxygen that his mind was heavily influenced by Yoo Joonghyuk.The sunfish was biased, thinking things with only on his experiences and nothing else. Who could blame him? Even so, with my overall literary knowledge, I should be able to figure them out.

[The Absolute Good constellations disproves the constellation ‘Savior of Corruption’ decision.]

[The Constellation ‘Scribe of heaven’ is warning the  ‘Savior of the Corruption’ that they will have a chat later]

Considering who that guy was, and how restrictive the nebula ‘Eden’ was, the reaction was expected. The savior of corruption was so ingrained into the stories of that stupid ideology of good and evil that Eden simply couldn’t let him go. That was why, unlike Uriel or Gabriel, he was on a tight leash. Metaron stepping in only proves that.

 If the oldest dream puppet was the sunfish, then the savior of corruption would be Eden’s. Metaron had constantly coaxed him to continue a war when the archangel had long realized it was meaningless. Telling him not to think about it. Since he was a constant presence in all his rebirths, I suspected he trusted him. Subconsciously. He listened to the idiotic preacher. 

How was that not a puppet? More of a puppet than Yoo Joonghyuk cause he didn’t listen to his constellation. 

Metaron, he was a gaslighting, manipulating, son of a bitch. 

Savior of corruption… known as Lucifer. The creator of the idea of evil. His modifier was fitting. Simply because he existed, sinful people did as well. Without evil, good wouldn’t exist. They were like two sides of the same coin. Without each other, it was useless and nothing. So he was always able to resurrect as long as Eden had existed. I still remember his introduction because it filled me with disgust. A wonderful way to showcase his personality in one shot, terrible constellation. 

“Lucifer turned around and started to move away. The heads of demon kings were hanging from his waist like fruit.”

[Head of Grand Duke Semida.]

[Head of Grand Duke Graphio.]

“Goosebumps covered my body. Some of the grand dukes were equivalent to lower-grade demon kings. Yet he hung their heads like they were toys”.

It was a great way to showcase what a filthy creature he was because it showed how arrogant he was. He was so arrogant that he made Yoo Joonghyuk look humble. Treating lower-grade demon kings like trophies. No archangel had the balls to do that except him. The devil was taunting them, baiting them into fighting him. Saying, “Look what I’ve done to your kind.”

Nobody deserved that kind of treatment, not even them.  Yoo Joonghyuk, who had every right to make them suffer, didn't do that. 

So why would he want to be my backer? He was a myth constellation, and they sure didn’t need any incarnations to spread their stories. They already reached the highest of the high. The one possibility I could think of was that  he was bored and wanted to toy with me. 

Still, no matter my opinion against him, I had to consider my options. If I choose him, he would give me his resurrection ability and egg on incarnation to kill me. No, no, he would probably do it himself. Just because he wasn’t satisfied. Killed over and over until I was a husk of myself, memories lost. If I were lucky, I would be hung on his waist and part of his ‘prized head collection’.  

Unfortunately, my mind was already thinking about the scenario. Another snippet of a possible performance. 

A platinum blond-haired man touched my face, smiling. 

Disgusting. 

 I felt disgusted as I watched him do whatever he pleased. I wanted to rip that smile on his face. Shred him to pieces, but I couldn't move, paralyzed. 

Nothing. I could do nothing but watch his every move. 

Nothing except glare at him with the hatred from the pits of my heart and every drop of my being 

His violet irises glinted with a sadistic pleasure. 

“Again, really, it’s hard to capture your head without you making such a face. You should be honored that I’m trying to display you at your most beautiful. For my incarnation after all..”

He paused and tilted my head up once more. 

“You're nothing special, really, you're just like the rest. Weak. Disappointing. So do me a favor and smile.” 

All he got was my unyielding glare. 

Next time, next time, I would surely kill this demon.  

How the hell did Metaron keep him in check? 

His smile widened, white teeth peeking out.

“Ah, well, that’s truly too bad. Be that way then."

He split my head open. 

…Sometimes, I wondered if my vivid imagination was a curse. That scene seemed a bit too familiar. It was-

No, no, not now. They are still watching. 

Lucifer. That fucking psychopath. Hell would freeze over before I would choose him as my constellation. No matter if he is, arguably, Eden's strongest player.

So I took a look at the others. Choosing a constellation as my backer would be advantageous. No matter how much I dislike them. In fact, it probably would bring their guard down, making them easier to ambush. 

[The Constellation ‘Advisor of Love and Beauty’ is admiring your looks]

[The Constellation 'Maiden of the Golden Spinner’ agrees with the constellation ‘Advisor of love and beauty’]

[Constellations who love attractive people admit that the incarnation ‘Byul Ji-hye’ is pretty]

Seriously? You too? 

I was sadly unable to escape the comments on my beauty. Even in the apocalypse. These constellations had a lot of loose screws. I should’ve expected the people who found entertainment in my suffering would have the priorities in the wrong place. Why the hell wasn’t Yoo Joonghyuk pestered about his looks in the novel? The constellations didn’t fear him like the incarnations did, so why did they spare him? Better him than me. 

It had given me a clue about who one of my constellations was. If she was, I thought she was, then her comment, and why she was possibly interested in me, made sense. 
Advisor of love and beauty...this was the term that often popped up in the stories about the Greek gods. Aphrodite. While she wasn't a major part of the story, she showed up once. The goddess of love and beauty was probably too obvious, and she changed it just a little. 
I don’t remember her sending any messages to the omniscient reader. She was just…there. So I didn't know much about her. Well, if I applied the logic behind the world-building of Orv hypothetically, I should know what she was like.

Stories make up constellations. It defines who they are. Concepts, ideas, philosophy...are these themes surrounding those beings. So from what I remember from Greek mythology..Aphrodite was someone who liked and meddling in mortal love and could go to lengths to make anyone she hated suffer her wrath. She was certainly cunning as well. All the Greek gods were smart in their own way, but the modern depiction of her was ditzy. So maybe she’s changed as well. 

[The Constellation ‘Advisor of Love and Beauty’ is admiring your looks]

…Did she choose me just because she thought I was pretty? I thought she went after beautiful men, not girls. Now that I think about it, did Yoo Joonghyuk have a choice to choose her? He fit the bill. He probably was her type, considering Ares. 

No doubt she would try to meddle with my nonexistent love life. I didn’t need that. While the connection between the nebula ‘Olympus’  could be useful, she would bring more trouble than it was worth. I might get backlash for this, but I would get it either way. There was another reason. A more personal and opinionated one.

Yoo Sangah..

While Eden kept their incarnations on a strict moral code, Olympus, like with their “heroes", treated them like their pawns. They used her to gain stories, and only chose her since they deemed Kim Dokja a threat, using her as a spy. When her stories fell apart, and she was on the brink of death. Not one, not one single message was sent about their grief or sadness over their incarnation. They did nothing but watch. Like the spectators they are. So I looked at the last options. 

[The Eldest One]
…

This modifier was so broad that there was no way I could guess who this was. I didn’t know anything about this constellation so I couldn’t possibly choose them. The risk was too high. I scrolled to the next option. 

[Maiden of the Golden Spinner]

Golden spinner..

The most well-known story featuring a golden spinner was Rumpelstiltskin. A German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. A short man who could spin straw into gold. It was about a miller who told the king about his daughter being able to turn straw into gold. This was a lie. However, the king believed it and put the miller's daughter in a cell with a bunch of straw bundles, ordering her to make him gold. The miller's daughter wept, and Rumpelstiltskin popped up and asked her what was wrong. She told her story. No matter the version of the story, one consistent thing was Rumpelstiltskin offering to help her if she gave him her firstborn. 

I never really liked that story's ending because in the end, the miller daughter didn’t keep her promise. I understood she was in a predicament but you don’t make promises like that with a random stranger who you know can somehow spin straw into gold and not keep it. 

The constellation wasn’t Rumpelstiltskin himself, but because it said maiden, it was the miller's daughter. I couldn’t see her being a powerful constellation. She was most likely a historical grade. That story was old as well, so it was losing power. There was only so much this constellation could do. Getting sponsored by her would be like putting water on a grease fire. Meaning it would make my situation worse. 
It was looking like I had very bad options. Either powerful and pricks or weak and probably dying out. 

[The Oldest Dream ]

I thought he only sponsored one incarnation... 

Finally, the last one. I was surprised that I got this constellation. That one. The most powerful and powerless god in this universe. 

Kim Dokja, the reader. He only chose Yoo Joonghyuk because he was his favorite character. The only reader of ways of survival, the only one cheering and getting angry at him for being a so-called idiot. Since the readers are the ones who make the writing exist, the protagonist of the story exists because of Kim Dokja. Of course, he was his constellation. The one who dreams was reality to these characters. It was now also mine. He probably dreamed of being the sunfish’s constellation. So it became true. Actually, that’s exactly what happened during the conclusions 

Why did he want to choose me? 

It didn’t make sense. I wasn’t the protagonist. I wasn’t Yoo Joonghyuk-

[Exclusive Skill ‘Perceptive Thinking Lv.10(+3) has activated!]

I suddenly thought back to some lines in omniscient reader viewpoint.

“[The number of survivors is quite high? The fellow in the next carriage was a nutter as well... It seems that things are quite interesting today.]”

That fellow was Yoo Joonghyuk. He had killed everyone in his carriage. 

Just like I had killed everyone in my area. Just because they got in my way. From an outsider's perspective, I was concerned ruthless, since the constellation would have picked up the fact that I simply didn’t have to kill them. 
I stared into the sky, the hypothetical stars reflecting back at me. I was looking, searching, for one. 

[Exclusive skill ‘Perceptive thinking Lv.10(+3) has deactivated.]

Even if he couldn’t hear me…

“I’m not him.”

The oldest dream wouldn’t answer me, he hardly even answered Yoo Joonghyuk. 

It was both flattering and insulting at the same time. Flattering because this was Kim Dokja's favorite character, to even come close to that was an honor. 

On the other hand..

How dare he compare me to the sunfish?! 

[Many constellations are curious about who the incarnation ‘Byul Ji-Hye is talking about’] 

Biryu stared at me like I was speaking a foreign language. 

[“W-what are going-g on about. Don’t te-ell me..”]

He clearly figured something out. He started laughing. Manically. It looked disturbing and out of place on his innocent black furry face.

[“O-oh, y-you’re funn-ny. Wh-hen d-did you have a sen-nse o-of humor? B-behind that s-stoic fac-ce of your-s? You r-really think the con-nstellations w-will listen to you-u. Wh-hat’s next? I-I get a sob s-story.”]

“It doesn't matter if they say nothing."

[“W-what?”] To a dokkaebi, my words must seem insane. They did everything to get results. They thrive on constellation reactions. If nobody said anything, they were nothing. They are nothing. That’s what they were scared of. To be unrecognizable. No wonder they tried so hard to please the constellations. 

“It doesn't matter if they say nothing because you said it. It still exists in the universe. And that’s enough. It doesn’t matter if they like what you say; you’ll regret making a story that your heart isn’t in. So, rather than keeping quiet and trying to impress people, say something you want to say. Or you’ll have a heavy heart.”
I had said that about me, but he might take it differently.

The story I was referring to was life. That was his purpose, life was stories to him. 
He stared at me.

 [“The w-world d-doesn’t w-work l-like that kid.”] 

He was being more serious. His tone was borderline dangerous. I clearly hit a nerve. He looked like he was about to kill me. 

“The world doesn’t care what you think; they never did. It’s impossible to please everyone. To survive, you think you need to do so. Maybe that’s true. But you can write some crappy stories and write about what you truly care about at the same time.”

He was silent for a long time. It was risky, but I definitely didn’t care. 

[“Do-o you-u have the-e personal attribute ‘Author’ along s-side with ‘R-returnee by ch-chance?”]

[The constellations are surprised by the incarnation ‘Byul Ji-hye poetic speech]

[1,000 coins have been sponsored!]

I had broken the script, the persona I was going for was ‘stoic, and wasn’t interesting.’ But it was my script and I was allowed to do whatever I wanted with it. 

Should I do this more to get coins? No, they didn’t deserve my beautiful lines. 

[The Constellation ‘???’ is staring at the incarnation ‘Byul Ji-Hye]

Before the oldest dream was known, his modifier was ‘???’. He...actually responded. I didn’t know what to think of it. Not a comment, but it was enough to know he was there. 

Biryu was in shock. 

[“Y-you..w-who the h-hell is that? And w-why d-do know this constellation?! And-d why are they r-responding?]
When I ignored him, he huffed. 

[“A-alright that’s enough-h.”]

He snapped his fingers, smiling. 

[There is one minute left to complete the sponsor selection!]

I think..I know what to choose now.

Chapter Text

+

[Main Scenario #1 -Proof of Value]

Category - Main 

Clear Condition- Kill one or more living organisms 

Time limit - 45 minutes

Compensation: 300 coins

Failure: Death

+

A blue screen popped up after that..thing killed their teacher. They hadn’t taken it seriously, and their teacher was the scapegoat for their mistakes. 

“A…Dokkabi?” One of the girls spoke. She hadn’t paid much attention to who was who in her night classes. She regretted it now, since she probably would understand the situation a bit better if she could ask them. It was doubtful that the girl would be willing to talk anymore due to plain fear. Was this thing mentioned in one of her classes? For once in her life, she wanted her teacher to be here and tell them what to do. That would have calmed her down. At least that was what she was telling herself.

Dokkabi, dokkabi. What was that creature? She knew absolutely nothing-

Wait, no, damn it, her other teacher told her something about Dokkabi’s. That one. The unpredictable one and the one who never seemed to give up on their opinions. They and their academic speeches about seemingly unimportant things never failed to make her fall asleep. That was, if they ever let her. She was forced to listen to them. Everyday. She could imagine what they would say. 

Dokkabi’s are Korean goblins and appear in multiple myths such as... blah, blah, blah. Hey, pay attention! They are known as mischievous creatures. However, that's not the full story. Dokkabi can be helpful at times. What I find most fascinating is that, unlike many mythical creatures, they aren’t bound to a particular stereotype. In a way that makes them more humane. Depending on the region, they can bring good luck or terrible tragedy. Blah, blah, blah…

Why hadn’t she listened to her teacher for once?

She looked down, blinking fast as if hoping, praying that the body would disappear. Their teacher... surely he wasn’t dead? Despite her efforts, it stayed there. Like it was mocking her. 

She stepped back, slowly at first. 

One, two, three. Soon enough, she and her black loafers were at the back of the classroom. Her back slid across the wall, and she sat on the floor. 

Lee Jhiye couldn’t deny it now. This was real. Horrifying, painstakingly real. 

The classroom was in a panic, girls shrieking and crying. They made no effort to save themselves. If that clear condition worked like she thought it would…

She couldn’t possibly kill one of her classmates. She just couldn’t. Some of these people were friends. 

Her classmates knew as well. They were doing anything but the one thing that would save them. 

“Let us out, please, just let us go..”

Eventually, they came to a consensus-just wait. Maybe the teacher's death was just a bluff. Surely they wouldn’t kill a bunch of high schoolers? There must be other staff nearby. 

The air was uneasy. She knew as she looked into that thing's eyes that there would be no mercy. It seemed like her teacher, surprisingly, was wrong about them. The shock faded into something else. Fury. They didn’t do anything to deserve this. All that bullshit that thing was spouting about how they had easy lives.

That thing knew nothing. Nothing about her classmates. Who was it to tell them what to do? 

What the hell was she doing? That thing-dokkabi was the problem. If she could get rid of it…

Feigning a braveness she simply did not have, Lee Jhiye spoke. 

“I don’t care about what bullcrap you're spitting is or your problems, it’s none of our business. So take it somewhere else.”

That thing-dokkabi used some weird sound filter. It was staticky, but it was getting smoother. It still felt like they were on a broadcast show. Somehow. 

It was surprised for a split second, but it faded away. Then it smiled.

[“Oh, you... Don’t you understand the situation you’re in? You, an insolent human? Going against me? Didn’t you see what happened to your teacher?”]

Her classmates flinched. 

At her silence, that fluffy creature continued, fueling their prideful nature. Every act, motion was dripping in arrogance. They stepped on the air as if it were glass. Skipping while humming before coming to a full stop at the dead body. They swirled around. If they were dancing among the chaos. Dramatic. They clasp their hands together. That smile had unsavory thoughts just waiting to bubble to the surface

How dare this insignificant creature try to uproot her authority? Haneul was already in a bad mood, and this is what she got? A bunch of ungrateful brats. She gave them extra time as well to adjust. The Bearu had sent her a high-ranking dokkabi to manage a beginner dokkabi scenario. 

Ridiculous! Absolutely baffling!

This was... not her day. Haneul could be creating actual stories. Crafting art. Instead, she was stuck with garbage. This was clearly an insult to her name. She grinned. No, no, she could turn this garbage into something spectacular. That was what she was good at. She shows those dokaabis. 

[“Unless..you want to end up like him as well, hm? Well I don’t normally engage in such unruly behavior, but my, you have certainly picked the wrong fight. Poor thing.”]

The girl fell silent, good. No one, especially not some teenagers, was going to undermine her authority. 

“Now, I cannot just let your quips go. There must be some punishment, yes?”]

She snapped her fingers

[The time limit has been shortened to ten minutes.] 

The room was filled with stifled complaints. One glare from the Dokkabi was all it took for everyone to be silenced. Nobody wanted to be the next “example”. 

Shit, it was over for her, wasn’t it? Lee Jhiye couldn’t think of a way out. She really didn't want to go like this..

“Jhiye..” She knew that voice; it was Bori. Her best friend. 

She turned around, smiling. She couldn’t show Bori that she was affected. She had to remain calm. Somehow. 

Analyze the situation, stop and think. Gather the facts before making your decisions. Jihye, you often make decisions based on only your emotions. This is a problem. Just think about what I said. 

As much as she hates to admit it, the weird teacher of hers was right. After all, she had acted on her emotions. That only led to their situation being worse.

She grinned at Bori. “Well, it seems like we don’t have to watch The Admiral: Roaring Currents after all.” 

Bori shot her a glare. 

“Why do you hate that movie so much?” 

Every year, on Bori's birthday, they would watch that movie. It was practically a tradition. 

She shrugged. “Cause it gets boring after a while. I never liked that movie to begin with.”

“It’s my birthday, so I get to choose. We’ve been over this!”

….

The silence she was barely avoiding came roaring back. The topic was on both of their minds and the tip of their tongues. They really were going to die. At least it was with someone she cared about. 

“Hey, Jhiye..before the timer ends..I want you to kill me.”

“What the fuck did you just say?” 

Bori stepped back. Shit, she was mad. Jhiye's tone was dripping with fury. She understood, her own reaction would be similar if the situation were flipped. She just.. didn’t want to see her friend die, and if one of them could live..

It wasn’t easy to say, she didn’t want to die. She could have just let them both die, Jhiye wouldn’t mind. Her sense of morality was strong, and no doubt that she would let them both die. Or kill someone else. She had the element of surprise. It would be so easy to choke someone to death here. But what would that make her?

Bori stared at her hands.

Blood stained them, and on the floor. It had stained the walls and splattered onto the window. Guts spilled, the pinkish, slimy intestines falling out of their respective bodies. Bones peeking out from the oozing out from putrid flesh now starting to rot. She had killed them all. 

At her feet was a girl, a student she was familiar with. No, no, no. She couldn’t have. She had killed everyone, including her own best friend.

Monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster, monster- 

“Bori, bori! What the hell is wrong with you? How can you ask that of me?”

Oh..it was just her imagination. Her hands were shaking. She willed them to halt. 

Why wouldn’t they stop? 

“We’re going to die anyway. You’re stronger than I, so you’re more likely to survive all this. Dying won’t do anything to stop this. And you..you want to stop this, don’t you?”

She wasn’t like Jihye, she followed the rules. She kept her mouth shut, no matter how sick the situation was. She didn’t say anything when their teacher died, but Jhiye did. Even in the face of death, she still tried to stand up for them. Stupid decision, surely. Stupid, but brave. 

“So, you should kill me.” 

Lee Jhiye's onyx irises dilated, furiously vibrating. She couldn’t believe what Bori was saying. How? How could she do that? 

This was just a stupid night class about ethics?! How did it turn out like this? 

“I can’t.” Drops fell down onto the floor between her shoes. Damn it, she was crying. 

Crybaby. A nickname that Bori had given her when they first met.

                 __________________

At the beginning of the new semester, a girl was sitting at her desk. Not talking to anyone, just keeping her head down. It was like she just appeared out of nowhere.

She kept seeing her everywhere. At lunch, in class, outside. She was the kind of kid that everyone would just know, but never talk about. Her eyes were dull, and heavy eye bags were a fashion statement for her. 
Bori was curious enough to go approach her. So, what was the ponytail’s problem?
Bori slammed her two hands down on the desk. Nothing. 

“Hey..what’s up?”

Again, she didn’t respond. Bori sat at the desk. Okay, tough one to crack. But they seemed pretty down. So maybe she could help them just a little? 

“So, are you not much of a talker or what?”

This time, Bori looked expectantly at her. 

…

Okay, well that didn’t work. Maybe she should just let her be. One more try. 

“You know it’s not polite to stay quiet when someone is trying to talk to you.”

The girl finally dragged her head up to look at her. Her eyelids were rimmed with red. Snort was smeared on her face, and her uniform was completely soaked. Almost immediately, she shot her head back down. Though she had enough time to scowl at her. Tears? 

“Hey, are you crying?”

She placed a hand on her arm. Almost immediately, the girl flinched, then turned Tigris into a springboard. Ok, no physical contact then. 

“Am not! I’m just..allergies. It sucks.” 

Bori might have believed her if the ponytail girl tone weren't so panicky and high. Strained as well as hoarse. Like she had been overexerting her voice. Just like little kids caught in the act. And it sounded like she was going to say something else. 

“What are you allergic to?”

“I-uh..” 

Seriously? At this point, it would have been better to admit it.

“You’re a real bad liar.” 

The lump miraculously once more spoke.

“Shut up.”

Ponytail didn’t want her to prod in business. Bori put her hands up. 

“Fine, we’ll go with your bullshit excuse. You keep your secrets, crybaby.”

She didn’t have to look back to know that the girl was probably muttering insults under her breath.

Lee Jhiye sighed, the stiff tension in her body released. That girl should have just let her alone. The tears continued to flow. Allergies, her ass. Even that bob cut girl could tell it was a sad excuse for a lie. She was better than this. Lee Jhiye wasn’t a crybaby. No, but this, this... moping had gone on for too long. And she didn’t understand why. 

She was fine, at least she thought she was. It was the same situation, same story. She should be used to it. Or maybe she was just sick of it. It would be understandable if it had happened today. But it happened years ago. 

A few days ago, with her back pressed against the wall, she was listening. They were at it again. She could just tell by the atmosphere earlier.

Like a damn routine she couldn’t escape. Clockwork. Her mom and dad were facing each other. Not a single word. A stiff standoff.

Lee Jihye glanced at her mom. 

Then dad.

Mom, dad, mom.  

Yeah..tonight was going to be an especially rough one. The more wound up and upright
they were, the aftermath would just get uglier. 

Her eyes landed on the counter. Messy usually meant..broken alcohol bottles would be found. Sure enough, Lee Jhiye spotted the glass shard spread across the kitchen. Tch, Typical.

 
She dropped her bags and immediately went up the stairs. She had to get away before they started. She picked up her headphones. She heard something smash. Better than the words she supposed. 

If blasting the music would distract her, then so be it. 

She forgot to charge her phone. Well shit. She had to return to reality again. She could barely make it out, but-

“You’ve never had time for us. Why the hell do you want us back in your life?” Her dad's voice penetrated the walls.

Could they at least try to keep it down? She searched the room for her charger. 

“What about you, you spend all your nights at the pub! What would our daughter say-“

She felt herself frowning. Sure, her dad might not be the best; heck, his habits were downright awful. Late night drinking, absent at random hours, and cursing at times. He was trying. Really trying. He even stopped drinking. Well, until today, though she was pretty sure he was doing it because of her mom. But at least he could look her in the face still after what had happened. 

“Our daughter?! You left her and me without any sort of explanation.” 

She closed her eyes, and the sharp sting shot through her chest. All she knew about her mother was her thin face and her dull eyes when she looked at her “child”. 

She was never enough. Not for her. It took a long time before she finally understood that. She tried, good grades, talking to her, getting things she likes. It never worked. The problem was her. It always had been. Her mom saw her dad, not her. A nuisance. That’s why she left. That’s why she divorced her dad without ever thinking about how she would have felt. 

Now, her mom had a shiny new life. She never looked back. Lee Jhiye and her dad were the dirty scum she only remembered occasionally to wipe off her past. 

Still, for some reason, she insisted that she come to her house once a week. 

It stung to see her new husband and their children. How happy she was without her. She never could bring out a smile from her the way her half-siblings could. 

It was routine, act like everything was fine. When in fact she was breaking into a million pieces. Then she had to move. All stability was lost. Before, nobody saw the leaks in her perfect facade. Now, all the ugliness was pouring out. 

She sighed, fidgeting with her hair. Bob-cut girl knew nothing about her. She would like to keep it that way. 

              __________________

                                                                                 “Jhiye! Think about it, we are all going to die in vain. But if one of us survives, it will be worth it.”

“My life doesn’t have a greater value than yours or anyone in this room. So why are you pushing this decision on me?” 

What would her teacher say?

Their glaze would fall upon them. A face familiar by their constant expression, never budging or changing-blank and cold. Still. Before, it was almost unbearable to look at. The atmosphere felt chilly upon their gaze, from which nothing seemed to escape.  As if the person were nearly faceless, like they couldn’t express feelings. Devoid of emotion. Studying. 

A pair of eyes constantly, constantly watching. What they were looking for she didn’t know.
The best way she could describe that abnormal, strange teacher was a still pool. 

Or a blank canvas. 

 An endless void, perhaps. 

While others painted by years upon years of experiences, such as hardship, joys, or emptiness, that one canvas remained blank.  Shockingly white. Not one smudge of color or mistake.

Those were the words that the teacher spoke when they spotted her that day. Outside of her school hours. As they were describing themself. Ironically, they were painting. Warm, soft, and golden hues of light streaming from the window. Lee Jhiye could never be able to speak like that. It was so..different, from the monotone voice tinged with a bit of boredom seeping through while they were teaching them. This time, it sounded like it came straight from a book. Art was pouring out of that mouth.

“Isn’t that how you think of me, Jhiye? A being without emotion?”

What the fuck. That was... scarily accurate. And why were they narrating what she was thinking? Well, not exactly how she was thinking, but it was pretty darn close.  

Her teacher turned to the painting, a…flower of some sort. It wasn’t a common one, so Lee Jhiye didn’t know the name it. What she did know was that it was dipped in blood. 

“Though I find it surprising you consider me a teacher. I’m just a high school tutor.” 

It wasn’t a question, but it was a statement. They just knew. She didn’t know why they were so confident that they were right.  They weren’t wrong but... how did they know that?

She opened her mouth.

“You’re a... better teacher than them.”

It had just spilled out; the words had been on the tip of her tongue for a long time. She wondered if she had said the wrong thing as her teacher’s hand stilled, their grip on the brush loosening. 

They turned around to her flushed face. Well, it was true! Once again, their gaze, oh, all so knowing, penetrated her soul. She wouldn’t be able to hide anything from this kid.

“I wouldn’t say that if I were you. Those teachers of yours have many years of experience.  I’m hardly in their range of caliber.”

Was that, no, a hint of amusement flicking in those eyes? Lee Jhiye didn’t speak. Her throat tightened painfully. Frozen.

Sure, her “real” teachers might have more experience, they might have gotten a degree and taken years to study, but..

They never believed in her.

They never understood. All they saw were those failing marks and the troublemaker. Never asked why. Always judging, with those scornful looks. 

Maybe the real reason she was so uncomfortable with this intriguing tutor was because somehow she knew that this teacher knew and understood more than they let on. Maybe even her parents' divorce. Hell, their words describing how she was thinking were proof of that.

Despite this, they never said anything, never mocked her. Even when she acted up during their lesson, they never gave up on her when the others did. Just a perceptive stare and a strict and sharp voice telling her to take a break and come back when she was ready to learn. The kind of teacher notices and hears the little things about their students-such as learning they got sick and getting them cough drops or making them soup.  

She wasn’t used to that. 

She turned to walk away. She had already embarrassed herself enough. She didn’t trust herself not to do it again. 

Her teacher, understanding their conversation was over, turned to finish the painting.  She was almost out the door when they spoke again.

“Jhiye, not all problems have easy solutions. You might have to make choices that are hard. Everyone approaches problems differently. You won’t make decisions the way I do, but they are your own. So I ask you to choose the ones you believe are right. But you might have more options than you think.”

And there they go again. Rambling about stuff she couldn’t understand had nothing of importance right now.

“...Can I go now?”She had to leave before this became a 67-page speech. 

“One more thing, you’re more than enough, Jhiye.”

They turned to bore their eyes on the back of her head. Always, Always seemingly knowing too much.

“…” 

She left before she had to say anything. 

To someone else, those words would be strange. She sat on the pavement, the tears threatening to spill.  But to Lee Jhiye, someone who wanted so desperately to make her mother happy, to make her proud, but failing every time, so much so that she thought something was wrong with her. Like it was her fault. Those words were a lot more than strange. So much more…

“No.” Lee Jhiye's tone was firm. She was going to die like everyone in this room. So be it. The cost of her living wasn’t worth it. She looked at her, trying to mimic her teacher's gaze-unyielding. She wasn’t sure she got it right, since they seemed to do it so effortlessly. No doubt she was ruining the look terribly. It had to be dull and blank, like nothing would convince her to change the decision she just made. Bori opened her mouth, then closed it. Her friend slumped dejectedly. They only had 2 minutes left. 

Gather the facts before making your decisions…

Well, all she had was this stupid blue screen, taunting her, about a scenario that she couldn’t care less about. She couldn’t change anything. Like her mother, no matter what, she would only gaze at her with those resentful eyes. And that dokkabi wasn’t going to tell them shit. Her eyes landed on the scenario conditions. Kill an organism. Organism. Ugh, she bet that teacher said something about them again..

An organism is defined as anything that is living or, in better terms, something that has the characteristics of life such as reproduction, respiration, and growth..

Again, that was pretty useless. Oh.  

How much of an idiot was she for not realizing that they could kill something non-human? It was not likely they would find something that wasn’t a human-

An insect cage, filled with grasshoppers. That’s right. Her teacher brought them before they- before they resigned. And insisted she take care of them.

Keeping pets around develops good traits such as discipline, caring, and most of all, patience.

She wasn’t sure why they hadn’t gotten a hamster or even a pet rat instead for the students to look after.  Those beady black enlarged eyes were uncomfortable to look at. It wasn’t endearing but the students followed their teachers' last, admittedly bizarre, wish. 

Then again, when has that teacher ever not been weird? 

Somehow, the teacher already seemed to have a weird foresight as well. After all, a lot of their “wisdom” was useful today. 

She stared at the cage, and the bugs stared right back. 

Her voice was hoarse, light, so light that she wondered if Bori heard it. That sound of relieved hopefulness.

“We..can survive.” 

“What, now?”

Lee Jhiye dashed to reach the box, leaving her friend probably confused. They had no time to waste. 

[The scenario conditions have been met!]

[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation.]

In her hand lay a crushed grasshopper, a bit of blood staining her fingers. 

They could make it, she laughed. A laugh that was pained, grasping out from the tightness of her chest. Hysterical. It wasn't out of happiness; rather, the suppressed panic was pouring out. Her teacher said it was a defense mechanism, the mind offsetting the shock or distress, delaying the emotions until the mind felt it was safe to do so. 

No. Not yet. Bori’s life and the others were still in danger. The students were looking at her now. The smart ones would have figured it out soon. 

She threw the cage in Bori’s direction. The bugs scattered in multiple directions when..

[“Oh dear, tsk tsk…so disappointing that an intriguing turn of events must be cut off so abruptly. But I can’t break the rules. That simply will not do.”]

A light, teasing tone paired with an innocent smile planted on a smug dokkabi face.

Undread filled the pit of her stomach. She had a bad feeling about this. Especially if that thing was cheerful. 

[You have exceeded the time limit!]

[Proceeding with checkout.]

She was too late. Blood splattered on the walls. Heads rolled. A unanimous noise of bodies falling to the floor. Crushed like a bug in her hands. 

More blood stained her hands. If she had been any quicker…

No, if she just kept her mouth shut, they’d have more time. It was her fault

Lee Jhiye had killed them all. By her ignorance.

Bori was one of the last ones to go. At first, it seemed she tried to scour for one of the grasshoppers. Then she paused and smiled at her. Resigned to her fate. 

“Please live, for both of us, Jhiye-

And another one fell dead to the floor. 

It wasn’t the only thing. Something died inside of her as well. 

How was she supposed to react to that?

She stood up. Before crashing down on her knees. She finally managed to scramble up to the dead body of her friend. 

The naive part of her wanted to pretend this was a dream. A nightmare.

The rational one said to suck it up to the reality that she was in. 

She touched her face, tilting it to the side. The skin was cold. 

So many contradictory feelings. A sharp heat raged in her chest. Angry that Bori had given up on them and left her-

She left her. To deal with this. This guilt. This guilt, this agony, this pain. She had let go so easily, even as much as suggesting she should kill her. Her lips trembled. Did she not understand how cruel and hurtful this was? How appalling her reasoning was. How hypocritical and selfish it was. To ask her to do that. It was a violation of their friendship. 

A betrayal. She didn’t even apologize. It wasn’t fair. Why was she the one holding the burden? Bori didn’t try hard enough. She didn’t know if that hurt the most. 

There was also a faint sadness. The anger was currently at the forefront of it all. All those years of knowing this insufferable and joyous girl had led to this. Her death. A girl who had a lot ahead of her. Cut just like that. She didn’t get to say goodbye. Just gone. 

It was maddening. It was awful. 

Disbelief. Surely she wasn’t gone. No, Bori couldn’t have gone this quickly. Not by a stupid Dokkabi. Just because she didn’t kill someone? Because she didn’t have enough time? Because Lee Jihye wasn’t fast enough? Because of her? It wasn’t something that any of them were capable of doing. It would shake them morally.

Look what you’ve done. You’ll never be enough. Ever. This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t messed up. 

She bowed her head over the body. Shaking. She couldn’t cry, not now. She wouldn’t give that Dokkabi the satisfaction. 

                       __________________

The people at the train station were all fixated on the staticky blue screen. Glitching every few seconds. Sickly entranced. Like their lives depended on it.

Kim Dokja was just one of them. Another Yoo Sangah. The man wasn’t fazed in the slightest. He knew what was likely to happen. A stark contrast from the fidgeting woman beside him. 

It displayed a group of girls in a classroom. Anxious and worried. Unsure of their fates and what was going on.

He sighed. Well, they were just unlucky, he supposed. The screen flickered to the next scene.

[You have exceeded the time limit!]

[Proceeding with checkout.]

Kim Dokja shut his eyes. Just because he knew what was going to happen didn’t make it any less disturbing. He heard the nearby gasps. Yoo Sangah grasped his arms tightly. If she kept this up, he would lose all circulation in his arm. 

“Sangah..er, could you-“ Damn his awkward talking skills.  

She quickly removed her hand. 

“Sorry, I just..” 

Her pale, pain-stricken face spoke all the words she needed. 

He focused on the scene again. A girl hovering over a dead body. She was hiding her face. He could infer the rest.

The girl seemed to have killed her. Like usual, since she always kills her. 

[The survivor of Channel #HAN23515 is..Jhiye Lee]

He frowned. First Hyeonseong, now Jihye?

Was that how Jihye normally introduced in the novel? Lying on her presumably friend's body?