Chapter Text
It happened while Kim Dokja’s Company was preparing for a new scenario.
On a day no different from any other, the party members were up to their usual business. Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye were performing maintenance on their equipment, Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah, and Han Sooyoung were preparing the food supply, Kim Dokja was reading on his smartphone while watching the children, and Yoo Joonghyuk was off doing who knows what on his own again. This day that was as uneventful as a day in the scenarios could be, went on without much interruption. At least, until the sound of a system message was heard.
The notification was unexpected. The group hadn’t been doing anything out of the ordinary that would trigger any sort of scenario. As such, the surprise from the seemingly out of nowhere message caused all the party members to pause what they were doing and check out the notification in front of them.
“What is this?” Exclaimed Jung Heewon in a confused tone.
“Maybe a hidden scenario?” Replied Lee Hyunsung.
The initial confusion drew many questions from the mouths of the party members, with mumblings of annoyance and subdued curses causing Kim Dokja to briefly cover the ears of the children under his watch as he read over the contents of the scenario. This momentarily chaotic atmosphere continued until the party members gave up on voicing their grievances and instinctively turned to the one they had learned to rely on for answers since the start of their misfortune.
Several eyes simultaneously landed on Kim Dokja. Their expectant gaze showed that the party members were asking for an answer from the man that seemed to know everything, and who had guided them through the scenarios thus far. However, to the surprise of many, all the inquiring members got in response was a shrug from an equally confused young man. The fact that even their all knowing leader was unaware of the contents of the scenario was shocking, and a sense of dread slowly rose up in the hearts of the party members.
“What sort of scenario will we have to face? Are we ready? Will there be sacrifices?” Questions of this kind ran through the heads of all present. No matter how many scenarios the party went through, no matter how much stronger they got, there were always thoughts of fear and doubt plaguing the minds of the incarnations, like a tune that stuck and never left. A reminder that despite all their attempts to survive, any one of them could die at any time.
Perhaps notably, the question of sacrifice was especially prevalent in the minds of the party members, who were all terribly aware of the person that question was meant for.
The stress inducing person in question however, was busy rereading the scenario contents and racking his brain for memories of this strange scenario in his favourite novel. The scenario was… unique, to say the least. Kim Dokja suspected it to be the creation of some sick constellation looking to trouble the company with a silly task, no doubt. After all, what kind of scenario was this?
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[Hidden Scenario - Babysitting Time]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: E ~ ???
Clear Conditions: Take care of the party member that has turned into a child and ensure they survive the scenarios
Time Limit: 1 week
Compensation: 50,000 coins, an enhanced understanding of the transformed incarnation
Failure: The death of the transformed incarnation
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“What is the point of this scenario?”
“What the heck kind of compensation is an ‘enhanced understanding of the transformed incarnation’?”
“Which one of us is going to transform?”
“Well it can’t be Yoosung, ‘cause she’s already a child!”
“Hey! We’re the same age Gilyoung, stop acting like you’re older!”
Once again, the party members began voicing complaints and questions over the appearance of the sudden hidden scenario. There was no way to tell how serious the scenario would be, and since they hadn’t prepared anything special for it, they were all exceptionally nervous. As the party members were trying to understand their current situation, Kim Dokja remained silent and thoughtful. The group was already familiar with how Kim Dokja acted when he needed to plan for a scenario, so they left him to his own devices while trying to prepare in their own way.
Unfortunately, as per usual, the party members were not afforded a moment to get their bearings, as their planning and discussion was interrupted by the sight of the silent Kim Dokja suddenly collapsing. As Kim Dokja’s body fell, the surroundings grew quiet and the world seemed to stop and hold its breath.
A short, incredibly tense moment passed before the sound of Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung crying out in concern next to the fallen Kim Dokja interrupted the silence. The adults, broken out of their momentary shock, rushed towards their leader with expressions of apprehension, fear, and confusion on their faces. As the last person arrived where they were all gathered around, the unconscious Kim Dokja’s body, supported by Lee Hyunsung, suddenly began changing— or rather— shrinking.
The party members held their breath in anticipation as their leader’s body was gradually reduced to the size of a young child, and the figure of their beloved saviour became unrecognizable. The transformed Kim Dokja looked to be around the same age as the other children. The child’s body was terribly thin, and he seemed to be shorter than what was expected of children at that age. His clothes became too big to fit him, his white coat completely covering his entire body. The party members all gazed in shock at the transformation, before noticing that the size of Kim Dokja’s body wasn’t the only thing to change.
A gasp was heard in the silence, but the party members were too distracted to note who had made the sound.
One by one, blooming bruises of brown and blue hues appeared and littered the child’s deathly pale skin all over his body. Some manifested with bandages, while others appeared to be fresh and yet to be attended to. The bandages appeared clumsy in their attempt to cover the wounds, as though the one wrapping them around had been inexperienced. One could say they looked like they’d been wrapped by a child.
The transformation took a minute to complete. Once finished, the party members were left with the sight of a tiny, sleeping Kim Dokja. Confused eyes gazed at the small, quietly resting face of their leader, and the party members all held bated breath, as if they didn’t want to wake the sleeping child.
The quiet moment was soon broken when the transformed boy in front of the party members slowly opened his eyes. The boy dazedly looked around himself, seemingly still half asleep, and began rubbing his eyes before yawning lazily. It was only when the child fully awoke did he notice the group standing around him. Like a mouse in the face of a lion, the child immediately froze in shock, eyes shaking greatly. His previous relaxed state seemed like a lie as he stared at the group in tense alertness. Finally, after a short eternity, a childishly high voice with a nervous tone spoke out in the silence.
“W-where am I?”
The party, still stunned at the sudden transformation of their leader, were late in realizing they needed to explain the situation. The first one to regain her senses and speak was Yoo Sangah.
“This- well, you’re in a dream.”
“Huh? Wh-”
Lee Gilyoung was prevented from speaking any further by Shin Yoosung slapping her hand over his mouth. The girl hurriedly shushed the confused boy, whispering to him to play along. After a moment of annoyance at the girl's actions, Lee Gilyoung’s eyes widened as he belatedly realized Yoo Sangah’s intentions, and hurriedly nodded to show his understanding. Out of all the party members, Shin Yoosung had been the quickest to catch on to Yoo Sangah’s plan. With her quick thinking, Yoo Sangah had decided on the spot that the best course of action was to pretend everything was a dream, rather than explain their confusing situation. After all, how could they tell an innocent child that they were from the future, where the world had ended and people were forced to kill to survive? The other party members belatedly realized Yoo Sangah’s intentions as well, and decided to play along.
“Really? Uh- then, who are you guys?” Kim Dokja asked in a wary voice while looking around.
As if waiting for the chance to redeem himself after being interrupted, Lee Gilyoung blurted some words with the utmost confidence.
“We’re your friends!”
“F-friends? This must really be a dream then.”
Kim Dokja had quietly muttered the last part, but the party members were all able to hear it clearly. Once again, they were reminded of their beloved leader's lack of self appreciation and inability to believe that others cared for him.
‘It seems like that trait of his was present since childhood.’
While the minds of the adults were occupied with this grim realization, Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung, taking advantage of the friend setting, began hounding Kim Dokja with questions on the topic of his age, his favourite pastime, his favourite insect, and more. The barrage of questions seemed to overwhelm the timid child, as he was unable to answer a thing and began shrinking into himself as though he was nervous interacting with those his age. The adults, aware of what would happen if Kim Dokja completely shut himself off from interacting with his supposed “friends”, quickly interrupted the rowdy children to give introductions.
The party kept the introductions brief, trying to act as friendly as possible in order to soothe the worries of the small boy in front of them. During their attempt, Han Sooyoung was the only one to notice the boy stiffening when Lee Jihye, Shin Yoosung, and Lee Hyunsung were introduced.
‘This brat. He’s already reading Ways of Survival at this age.’
Wordlessly, Han Sooyoung made a mental note to talk to Kim Dokja in private later on. After the introductions were over and Kim Dokja seemed to have accepted his “dream”, the onslaught of questions that had been previously halted, restarted. Shin Yoosung eagerly took the opportunity to ask Kim Dokja his age again, to which he replied that he was 12. Immediately, both Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung lit up upon hearing the fact, as if noticing a golden opportunity, and loudly declared in unison.
“Then you can call me hyung/noona!”
Yoo Sangah was about to scold the children for taking advantage of the situation and acting out of line, but before she could, Kim Dokja shocked everyone by responding enthusiastically.
“Ok! Then hyung and noona can call me Dokja!”
Shocked at the positive response of the previously closed off Dokja, the adults couldn’t help but pause their thoughts on what to do next. On the other hand, the newly dubbed hyung and noona were elated at the quick response, with cheeky grins plastered on their faces. Never one to take things too seriously, Han Sooyoung burst out laughing at the absurdity of Kim Dokja’s innocent words, promising that she’d tell adult Kim Dokja all about Kim Dokja Jr’s antics. Even the other adults were amused by the change in positions and honorifics, and Yoo Sangah eventually sighed in resignation and chuckled as well, deciding it was fine to let it go.
In the back of the minds of the people witnessing this bizarre turn of events, they all secretly hoped Kim Dokja wouldn’t remember anything when he turned back.
“Wait a second.”
Lee Jihye, who had been mostly silent until that point, interrupted the rare moment of warmth to voice a concern that had escaped the minds of everyone there, albeit by no fault of their own.
“Where’s master?”
As if waiting for his cue, a rustling of leaves was heard before the missing, and very much forgotten Yoo Joonghyuk made his entrance.
***
Yoo Joonghyuk was in the middle of collecting a hidden piece when he saw the system message pop up. At first, he paid it no mind, choosing to focus on the task at hand. Yoo Joonghyuk believed, although he would never admit it, that whatever the new scenario contained, the group’s infuriating leader would be able to handle it. He would just have to come back in time to make sure Kim Dokja wouldn’t pull any of his suicidal shenanigans, that’s all. With this thought in mind, Yoo Joonghyuk had planned to ignore the scenario, but his instincts made him check its contents just in case. After all, Kim Dokja may be well prepared and capable, but he wasn’t omniscient. A little precaution couldn’t hurt.
Contrary to his initially uncaring attitude though, the instant Yoo Joonghyuk had finished reading through the contents of the scenario, an ominous sense of foreboding slowly dawned on him.
‘Don’t tell me…’
Without taking even a second to stop and think, Yoo Joonghyuk abandoned what he had been doing and hastily headed back to where the party members were gathered. Only one thought was running through Yoo Jonghyuk’s head as he traveled quickly.
‘Kim Dokja…That rat bastard.’
Soon enough, Yoo Joonghyuk had reached the site where the company was gathered around a small figure. The company members, as well as what Yoo Joonghyuk belatedly realized was an unknown person, all looked towards him as he made his way to the group.
As he got close enough to see more, Yoo Joonghyuk stared at the unfamiliar child, studying the bruises and thin frame of the boy. Some questions surfaced in his thoughts on the origin of the injuries, but he paid them no mind, choosing to remain cautious of the potential threat before him. Finally, as Yoo Joonghyuk locked eyes with the boy, the brooding man was instantly aware of the identity of the small child in front of him. As an emotion similar to shock overcame the man for a brief moment, Yoo Joonghyuk’s gaze hardened. However, in a magnificent juxtaposition to Yoo Joonghyuk, the boy merely stared back at the man with eyes full of curiosity and interest.
Then, once Yoo Joonghyuk had finally joined the group and directly faced the child- no, Kim Dokja, the latter’s eyes lit up with recognition, excitement, and… awe? As Yoo Joonghyuk stood in front of the boy, trying to decipher the strange look in the child’s eyes and his even stranger facial expressions, Kim Dokja spoke out in a tone that was almost gleeful.
“Um… Are you Yoo Joonghyuk?”