Chapter Text
That morning, Kim Dokja was dragged to a large dining table with many plated dishes waiting. All the members of their group gathered to eat at this one table, which was actually just 3 tables put together to create one table long enough to host their large party. As he climbed into his seat, Kim Dokja gazed in awe at the wonderful selection of food before him. There were colourful dishes of multiple different culinary cultures, with some foods he had only ever seen on television. Before Kim Dokja could choose what to eat though, a dish had already been placed right in front of his designated seat, as though telling him that he would have to eat that dish first before anything else. Savouring the delectable sight of the omelette as he raised it to his mouth, Kim Dokja hesitantly took a bite of the larger than average omelette on his plate as the others began digging in as well.
The warm and savoury flavour of the eggs immediately overflowed inside of Kim Dokja’s mouth on his first bite. The simple dish was somehow so flavourful and delicious that Kim Dokja immediately dropped all inhibitions and began devouring his breakfast. The adults, watching his enjoyment, laughed while telling him to slow down, or he might choke on his food. In his rush to inhale the rest of the omelette, Kim Dokja failed to notice the satisfied look on Yoo Joonghyuk’s face as he watched the child finish the food he made in seconds.
As Kim Dokja quickly finished his first dish, a new dish was immediately placed in front of him by Yoo Sangah, with a gentle smile insisting that he try it. This pattern continued whenever he was done with one dish, a new dish being given by a new party member, until Kim Dokja had practically eaten his body’s weight in food. A few dishes later and a couple pounds fatter, Kim Dokja rubbed his belly in satisfaction, letting out a tiny burp. This had been the best breakfast he had ever experienced, and wanting to express his appreciation, Kim Dokja looked up towards the party members, only to be surprised by their eagerly waiting looks. Before Kim Dokja could say a thing, he was overwhelmed by the passionate gazes of the adults as they asked him a question.
“So, which dish did you like the best?”
Startled by the apparent anticipation of his answer, Kim Dokja remained silent for a few moments, pondering what he should say. They had all been delicious, truly. Yoo Sangah’s kimchi fried rice, Lee Hyunsung’s congee, Jung Heewon’s dumplings, Kim Dokja almost couldn’t choose. Almost. He couldn’t explain why, but out of all the dishes given to him that morning, the one that had struck him the most and captivated his taste buds was the very first one he had tried. That omelette had been absolutely delectable, the memory of its deliciousness still lingering in Kim Dokja’s mind. The spot for number one was uncontested, so Kim Dokja answered truthfully, of course while indicating his enjoyment of all the other dishes. After answering, Kim Dokja was about to ask who had made the omelette with the goal of thanking that person, but the disappointed faces of the adults around him stole his attention as he heard a sentence being muttered grumpily.
“Of course it’s that guy’s…”
Jung Heewon had a defeated tone as she expressed her grief of being unable to snatch the title of Best Chef, her words said with overdramatic dismay. Kim Dokja was confused at her reactiom, prompting him to ask a question in order to find out what was so wrong about the person who made his omelettes.
“Huh? Who made the omelettes?”
“Why don’t you take a look at the guy himself?”
Jung Heewon pointed to a black figure in a pink apron, calmly eating his breakfast at the end of the table. As he looked in the direction of the pointed finger, Kim Dokja let out a short gasp, realizing that he had just tasted the legendary food cooked by MasterChef TM Yoo Joonghyuk himself, that he had only read about. However, before Kim Dokja could properly express his gratitude like he had planned to, the strange image of the man caused Kim Dokja’s words to die in his mouth. Kim Dokja had initially tried to ignore the comical sight when he first saw the man at the beginning of breakfast, feeling like he was looking at something he wasn’t allowed to see. Did Yoo Joonghyuk have that kind of hobby? Kim Dokja didn’t remember reading about it in the novel, but maybe that was just a characteristic that hadn’t been revealed by the author yet. Whatever the reason, Kim Dokja felt he could accept whatever shocking hobby Yoo Joonghyuk had, even if it was dressing in bright pink aprons.
Seeing the awkwardness of the situation, and possibly wary of whatever crazy thoughts Kim Dokja was having as he gazed at the other man, Yoo Sangah decided to address the elephant in the room.
“Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi… why are you still wearing the apron?”
“...”
“I forgot to take it off.”
Upon hearing the answer that they had all been anticipating, the sound of the party members trying to hold back their laughter could be heard as they thought of their stoic leader being so eager to have Kim Dokja try the dish he made for him that he had forgotten to take off the ridiculous garment he had been forced to wear. It was an uncharacteristic mistake of Yoo Joonghyuk to be so forgetful, but the party members could understand the emotion that caused such thoughtlessness. Seeing her chance now that the subject had been breached, Lee Jihye quickly brought out her phone from under the table and began taking multiple photos of the muscular man in an apron. Unfortunately, her mission to immortalize the image of Yoo Joonghyuk was halted with a threatening glare from the stone-faced man.
Later on in the day, Lee Jihye’s cry would be heard upon finding that her phone had mysteriously gone missing. Meanwhile, Kim Dokja, who now felt a strange relief knowing that Yoo Joonghyuk in fact did not have an apron-wearing hobby, spoke up to the man who was growing increasingly annoyed.
“Thank you for the food, it was delicious!”
“Mm.”
Acknowledging the thanks, Yoo Joonghyuk nodded at the child, resuming his unfinished food with seemingly no reaction. However, it was obvious to those watching that the dark aura around the man had dissipated into a slightly less dark aura after what Kim Dokja had said.
Once everyone at the dining table had finished eating, and the members began taking their dishes to the sink, Yoo Sangah approached the three children chatting in their seats with a proposition.
“Alright then, now that breakfast is over, would you guys like to play in the lounge?”
“Yes!”
***
The first time Kim Dokja was really able to confirm that the world of this dream was really the world of the novel he had read, was during the afternoon. After playing with the kids for an hour, Kim Dokja excused himself to go to the bathroom, assuring his friends that he could find the way himself. Unfortunately, what the other children were unaware of was Kim Dokja’s woefully terrible sense of direction, as they would have never let him go on his own otherwise. That was why, even after the children had given him explicit directions, Kim Dokja was now lost in the large and unfamiliar complex.
As he tried to make sense of where he was, Kim Dokja heard the familiar sound of voices coming from a room ahead. Approaching the room with the hopes of getting someone to guide him to his destination, Kim Dokja inched towards the door. However, before he could enter the room, Kim Dokja noticed something unusual. The door to the room, which was slightly open enough to peep inside and hear a conversation, somehow exuded a tense atmosphere. Kim Dokja realized that this was due to the fact that the room behind the door was entirely dark, no light slipping out of the crack in the door. Kim Dokja could sense that the adults in the room must have been engaging in a deep and serious discussion. Not sure of whether he should interrupt, but curiosity coaxing him to see what was beyond the door, Kim Dokja slowly approached the room. Through a crack in the door, Kim Dokja heard hushed arguing and tense voices, something very different from what he was used to hearing from these adults. Straining his ears to hear more, Kim Dokja was finally able to pick up fragments of sentences.
“The scenario… monster… dangerous.”
“We have to … he can’t fight… there’s nothing…”
“... Still 5 more…”
Kim Dokja was unable to make out anything specific before the door he had been leaning on was suddenly yanked open, and Kim Dokja felt himself losing balance and toppling forward. Bracing himself to greet the floor with his face, Kim Dokja tightly shut his eyes. However, upon impact, instead of the hard, cold floor, Kim Dokja felt his body leaning on a stiff yet soft surface. Placing his hands in front of him to steady himself straight, Kim Dokja finally opened his eyes, and looked up to see the silent expression of Yoo Joonghyuk’s face directly above him. Kim Dokja immediately yelped at the realization that the person who had opened the door was Yoo Joonghyuk, and he had fallen onto him after losing his balance. Kim Dokja felt incredibly embarrassed, cheeks quickly turning red, worried that his sudden interruption would annoy the older man. However, instead of any kind of reaction, Yoo Joonghyuk merely peered at the boy in silence, supposedly waiting for the boy to get off.
“Dokja?!”
Beyond the hulking man blocking his way, Kim Dokja heard the voice of Lee Jihye, his presence clearly confusing the members inside the room. Kim Dokja, who was now being watched by many eyes, finally broke out of his embarrassed panic to frantically scramble off of Yoo Joonghyuk and straighten himself. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Kim Dokja looked back up at the protagonist in front of him, asking the first question that came to mind.
“H-how did you know I was behind the door?”
“I felt a presence. Is there something you need?”
“Ah- well…”
“Come in.”
As Kim Dokja was invited to enter the room, he realized that all of the group members aside from the children had been inside the room and were surrounding a table. Belatedly, Kim Dokja also realized that some of the members were now equipped with swords or weapons of some type, with the most notable thing being a familiar black sword fastened to Yoo Joonghyuk’s side. The sight of the equipment that was not present in the morning sparked an interest in Kim Dokja’s mind, as he deduced the topic that the group members had been discussing so seriously before he interrupted. Once Kim Dokja settled inside the room, all the adults placed their attention on him, expectantly waiting to hear the reason behind his eavesdropping activities. However, rather than staying true to the original goal of his venture, Kim Dokja found that his desire for the bathroom was replaced by the kindling of a burning question in his mind.
“Um… Are you guys going to fight monsters?”
“How did you know?”
“Well… I overheard you guys talking.”
Kim Dokja intentionally didn’t mention the fact that he was already aware of the kind of activities these people had to do in order to live. The setting of this world had slipped his mind, given the fact that his time in this dream had been so peaceful up until then, Kim Dokja had almost forgotten about what kind of story the world he was dreaming about was based on. Now that Kim Dokja recalled what the group before him had to do in their everyday life, Kim Dokja realized that there was a perfect opportunity for him to repay the kindness that they had shown him.
“I wanna help too!”
As the child’s desperate and unexpected announcement rang through the silent room, the adults looked at each other in shock at Kim Dokja’s quick acceptance of their situation and eagerness to join their fight. Yoo Sangah, intending to dissuade Kim Dokja from whatever ideas he had on participating in their battle, posed a gentle question at the now invigorated child who was staring at the group with sparkling eyes.
“Aren’t you scared of the monsters?”
The question seemed to cause the boy to waver in his conviction, eyes dropping for a moment as if he were pondering something in his mind. Yoo Sangah and the rest of the group thought that this meant the child would realize that fighting monsters was not exactly the safest task, and that it would be too dangerous for a small boy to do. Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed as the boy before them seemed to come to a conclusion, looking up with eyes that still held a bright passion within them.
“I am… But I want to fight with you guys and help!”
“You can’t.”
This time, it was Yoo Joonghyuk’s deep voice responding to and refusing Kim Dokja’s request. Kim Dokja felt a sense of ‘déjà vu’ from those words as he looked into the stern eyes of the man in front of him that seemed to say that his words were the law. The refusal from his idol made Kim Dokja’s determination drop a bit, but he remembered the vow he had made to himself earlier that morning, wanting to help out as much as he could and pay back everything these people had done for him. No matter if it was the protagonist refusing his request, Kim Dokja decided he would find a way to be helpful in the scenarios, even if he had to do it with collaboration. Just as Kim Dokja was about to protest and begin a repeat of the back and forth from the night before, a short woman spoke up in the silence.
“Hmm… It seems like nothing we say will convince you. But are you sure you’re up for it?”
The woman, who had not said a word the entire time before, spoke as though she was willing to consider Kim Dokja’s words. While Kim Dokja nodded with great vigour, seeming to take those words as a potential for approval, the rest of the party members were alarmed at her words, unaware of what she was trying to do by giving the boy hope.
“Han Sooyoung-ssi!”
Yoo Sangah called Han Sooyoung’s name in warning, having a clue about her intentions but still not agreeing with what she was planning.
“What~? If the kid says he wants to fight, then what can we do about it? It’s not like the other kids aren’t fighting either. Besides, we have the mighty Yoo Joonghyuk on our side to protect him if anything goes wrong, right? Or can the ‘Supreme King’ not even protect a single child?”
The last comment was clearly meant as a jab towards Yoo Joonghyuk, who merely coldly glared at the cheeky woman in response. Yoo Sangah, who was sighing at the childish provocation, did not look pleased by the woman’s words.
“*Sigh* If you’re all so against it, then how about we have the kid train with us for a bit, and see if he has what it takes to fight? If he can’t endure the training and pass an evaluation, then he’ll just have to give up.”
Han Sooyoung’s tone sounded sure of herself, but the adults were wary of the thought of having such a small child fight. However, witnessing Kim Dokja’s stubbornness and eagerness, they thought it would be okay to give him a taste of what they had to do, with the hopes of discouraging the boy from participating. None of them believed that he could endure the training and pass whatever evaluation they set anyway.
“So kid, do you think you have what it takes?”
“Yes! I’ll definitely try my best!”
“That’s the spirit.”
With a new goal established, Kim Dokja switched the topic to his original reason for entering the room, asking for directions to the washroom. Lee Hyunsung volunteered to guide the boy, and as the rest of the group members began discussing who would be assigned the task of training Kim Dokja, and what kind of test they would use to evaluate him, Yoo Sangah pulled Han Sooyoung to the side for a scolding, an inexplicable emotion in the former’s eyes.
“Why’re you looking at me like that?”
“You know why.”
“What? Okay, I admit I might have gone too far, making the decision without consulting anyone first, but you know Kim Dokja! If he was so set on fighting, that guy would find a way to do it away from our sight and get himself injured. If we want to keep him safe while respecting his will, the best option is to make sure we can watch over him and keep him safe while he fights.”
“What happens if he gets injured?”
“Well, we have Lee Seolhwa, plus, do you really think that guy will let Kim Dokja get injured?”
Han Sooyoung thought that she had made a good point to defend herself, but Yoo Sangah merely stared at the woman, expression showing that she wasn’t convinced by the shorter woman’s excuses. Scratching her head in resignation, Han Sooyoung finally gave in to the woman’s cold gaze of disapproval.
“Fine! I’ll make sure the kid doesn’t get injured, okay? If anything happens to Kim Dokja, I’ll take responsibility.”
Satisfied by the response, Yoo Sangah relented her silent scolding with a small smile that signified her expectation that Han Sooyoung would keep to her words. After making sure that Han Sooyoung got the memo, Yoo Sangha moved away to enter into a discussion with Lee Seolhwa about extra precautions. Turning away, Han Sooyoung prayed that nothing bad would happen this week and that Kim Dokja wouldn’t get himself in trouble, lest she face the wrath of the ivory woman.
****
A few hours later, in the afternoon, Kim Dokja began his training with Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye.
It first began with an information session on general facts about their world situation, as well as a description of the trials that they would have to face in the upcoming scenario. Once the two trainers confirmed Kim Dokja’s willingness to participate even after hearing the scary details, they decided to choose a weapon for Kim Dokja to use. Surprisingly, Kim Dokja insisted that he use a sword, despite his small frame and weak strength. The boy seemed to be enamoured by a black sword that caught his eye when selecting weapons, the sword itself holding close resemblance to Yoo Joonghyuk’s sword. Once the weapon was chosen, Jung Heewon asked the boy to think of the words "Attributes Window", in order to see if he could check his own status, hoping that some of his adult version’s skills or stats would have transferred to the child.
Unfortunately, to the surprise of all three people, Kim Dokja was unable to view his attributes window. The two trainers found the revelation to be puzzling, but dismissed it with the thought that it was due to the fact that this child Kim Dokja didn’t originally exist in that state in their current world. Kim Dokja as well was slightly disappointed at the fact that he apparently had no attributes window, his hopes of having a cool skill or powerful strength dashed.
Since Kim Dokja seemingly had no special skill or buffed stats to help him fight, Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye both thought that there was no way he would be able to pass their training and participate, but they nevertheless continued in their training in order to respect Kim Dokja’s commitment.
The first part of training began with stamina training, and then practising sword slashes and footwork. Kim Dokja was told that he would be evaluated on whether he was fit to participate in their fight the next day. The ridiculously short period of time he had to learn anything worried Kim Dokja, but he was determined to try his best and show his worth to these people.
After a few hours of training, a very exhausted Kim Dokja laid flat on the ground panting. The small boy was not used to physical activity that didn’t involve violence upon himself, so his weak body easily became tired with their training. Still, Kim Dokja insisted on continuing after taking short breaks, diligently learning how to hold a sword until calluses appeared on his hands. As Kim Dokja was currently undergoing one of his breaks, collapsed on the ground and looking up at the sky, a shadow suddenly loomed over him, blocking out the sun from his view. The owner of the shadow was a short woman, the one who had suggested his training, and who he remembered to have introduced herself as… Han… Han Youngsoo? The woman whose name he wasn’t sure of crouched down next to Kim Dokja, lowering her face to talk to him.
“Why do you want to fight so bad, kid?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I know Lee Jihye already told you that we’d protect you.”
“But… I want to be useful!”
“Is that so…”
Kim Dokja was sort of wary of this unknown woman. She was one of the people in his dream that wasn’t part of the novel, which meant she was a very confusing existence to Kim Dokja. The question of why people he had never met or even seen before were in his dream had been on his mind the first day, but he decided to not worry about it since they all treated him so well. However, this woman in particular seemed to act differently than all the rest. She was more laid back than anyone else, and rather than treat him like a child, this woman treated Kim Dokja in a more friendly yet rowdy way, unafraid to get closer to him and talk to him without pretense. In some ways, the familiarity was off putting, but in other ways, Kim Dokja appreciated the way she treated him. Unlike the other adults who seemed to hold some reserve around him, she acted like a kind of overfamiliar big sister. Kim Dokja thought that he didn’t hate this woman, strange as she was, and he felt a strange sense of camaraderie around her.
“By the way, my name’s Han Sooyoung, y’know?”
“I know, you introduced yourself yesterday.”
In fact, Kim Dokja did not know, but there was no way he would mention that. Either way, Kim Dokja was glad the woman had introduced herself again first, without him having to suffer the embarrassment of asking for her name again.
“Did I? Well you better not forget it, okay?”
Yep. There was definitely no way Kim Dokja would ever let this woman know that he had already forgotten her name once. In an attempt to hide his awkwardness due to the embarrassing secret, Kim Dokja tried responding cheekily to her words.
“Why? Are you famous?”
“Well… You could say I am~”
Kim Dokja quirked an eyebrow at the teasing woman. Her words didn’t sound very trustworthy, but before he could question the validity of her statement, Han Sooyoung adopted a serious tone as she asked a question that caused Kim Dokja to freeze up.
“You know that this is the world of the novel you read right?”
“H-huh? How did you know?”
“That’s ‘cause I’m a god, obviously.”
“Wait- Really?”
Kim Dokja peered at Han Sooyoung with eyes so innocent and pure as he looked at the self-proclaimed god, that even someone like Han Sooyoung felt shame for trying to fool him.
“Well, no, not really- but I’m basically like a god.”
Han Sooyoung was so irked by the pitiful admittance of her in fact ungodly humanness, forced by her own hand mind you, that she quickly added the last part as a reassurance to her ego.
“Anyway, you shouldn’t tell anyone that this is the world of that novel.”
“Why?”
“Why? Well obviously because letting them know they’re characters in a novel would make them go crazy, and you wouldn’t want that, right?”
“Yeah…”
Kim Dokja guiltily looked away as he thought of the fact that he already revealed the truth to Yoo Joonghyuk the day before. But, the protagonist didn’t seem to have much of a reaction, so it should be fine so long as he doesn’t tell anyone else, right? Noticing the child’s reluctance to listen to her advice, Han Sooyoung decided to employ a special tactic.
“Pinky promise that you won’t tell anyone?”
Kim Dokja’s eyes widened at the suggestion, a pinky promise being a foreign thing he had only seen other children doing with each other. For some reason, the idea of sharing a pinky promise with this woman excited him, as though he would be part of some kind of special secret deal, so he eagerly accepted, lacing his pinky around the woman’s. At his action, Han Sooyoung grinned widely, reaching into her pocket to take something out.
“Here’s a lollipop, because you’re such a good kid.”
Kim Dokja gazed in confusion at the spontaneous action of the strange yet comfortable woman. Briefly, he thought of the commercial he saw on television once telling him to never accept candy from a stranger, but Kim Dokja thought that since this was merely a dream, it wouldn't hurt to accept. As he accepted the offering, cradling the lollipop in his hands, Kim Dokja tentatively popped the candy into his mouth. At the sudden sour taste that greeted his taste buds, Kim Dokja flinched, glaring at the woman. What kind of candy was this?
“Haha, it’s great, right? I love that one, it always catches people by surprise.”
At the woman’s apparent glee from his displeasure from her gift, Kim Dokja felt perplexed. This lady had a strange attitude, and an even stranger eccentricity, yet, Kim Dokja did not feel annoyed by her. In fact, her presence was sort of soothing, as though she was the only one that he could truly feel connected to in this dream. Kim Dokja thought that this could be because she also knew about the existence of the novel, although Kim Dokja did not know what to make of that fact. Perhaps his brain had created a person in his dream that knew of the novel as well, in order to give him someone he could relate to and confide in? That didn't seem so far-fetched, given that his dream was already weird enough. However, Kim Dokja wasn’t sure if that fact was a good or bad thing, given the woman’s unpredictable personality. What he was sure about though, was that even the new people in his dream who weren’t originally characters were also nice people. How lucky he was to meet them.
As Kim Dokja cautiously sucked on the lemon lollipop while deep in thought, Han Sooyoung observed the boy, her face lighting up when a thought seemed to surface in her mind.
“By the way, have you seen your attributes window yet?”
“No. I tried to check it earlier, but I couldn’t see anything. I guess I don’t have one.”
“Is that so… hmmm. Well, I can only say don’t be so quick to assume. Who knows, you may have some kind of hidden power and you just don’t know it.”
“Huh? How can that be?”
“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see if anything comes up on the evaluation tomorrow.”
Appearing to have said all that she had come to Kim Dokja to say, Han Sooyoung stood up and stretched, complaining about old bones or something of the like. Turning around to leave, Han Sooyoung took a few steps before suddenly turning back towards Kim Dokja as though she had just recalled something she had forgotten to say.
“I almost forgot. Good luck with your training! Make sure not to overexert yourself, otherwise some very scary people will be coming at me with death threats.”
Han Sooyoong’s tone was lighthearted, but the intent and worry behind her words was very much true. Kim Dokja didn’t know this, but Han Sooyoung was risking her neck to give him this chance to participate, given how overprotective the other party members were. The child in question, however, was unaware of the grave truth in her words, merely interpreting the words to be playful encouragement. As Han Sooyoung left, Kim Dokja used his newly restored energy and motivation to begin his training once again. He was going to impress everyone tomorrow.