Work Text:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a decent man must possess his own watch. As everybody knew, Kim Dokja became the president of the company a while ago. Thus, he should be wearing a fine watch so as to present the professionalism, aura, charisma, and demeanor of a leader of a company, which he instantly took care of.
He only bought one watch due to the high price.
However, he chose the most expensive one out of all.
On the first day of owning the watch, Kim Dokja discovered indulgence in the watch as fast as he could.
Though it was rather hard to give a precise description of it, the watch was certainly an SSS-ranked watch.
The exquisite, customized product from the Demon World was like the Patek Philippe of the Apocalypse though its decency and delicacy of a nobleman in distress didn’t quite fit its owner.
Kim Dokja observed the simple reserved design of the elegant dial and the delicate hands.
Later, he turned to observe himself in the mirror. He was in his casual wear, and there were dark circles around his eyes because he stayed up late reading novels.
Well, he had slept pretty soundly yesterday, but he still looked burned out today anyway.
How did that happen?
No, things can’t be like this. Having the thought in mind, Kim Dokja ordered a customized suit for the watch. At the very moment he put it on, he looked at himself in the mirror and felt like he had been upgraded.
Once the overall image of him was a born member of the elite, even a slight sign of weariness was the icing on the cake.
Kim Dokja posed in front of the mirror, which did look somehow like an accomplished young man. What fits a fine watch best IS a decent suit, indeed. And confidence.
Kim Dokja settled his front opening and collar and then looked at himself in the mirror again. Somehow, he seemed to become more handsome. Great.
He was 100% percent certain that he could bring out the best of the watch.
“Why does he just HAVE to wander around in the house like that?”
Han Sooyoung complained in a low voice. She was in a loose T-shirt and a pair of simple jeans, sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed while Kim Dokja was walking around in his suit, looking delicate. He even did his hair and applied facial moisturizer.
Consequently, looking from afar, Kim Dokja was indeed an accomplished young president.
Yoo Jonghyuk was sitting next to Han Sooyoung, reading a book. His outfit was also loungewear. He didn’t raise his head, didn’t respond to her either, as if he hadn’t heard her a bit.
“He’s not gonna go out today, is he?”
Han Sooyoung murmured to herself, very confused.
“He’s got a watch.”
Yoo Jonghyuk, as always, was a man of few words and responded in an uninterested tone.
Han Sooyoung scratched her head. It’s just a watch.
To her, it was a conceivable but incomprehensible concept that Kim Dokja had become weird because of a watch.
In her household, an expensive watch was no more than a mere accessory. Just a minor item that nobody needed to express his or her appreciation of it openly.
Perhaps he’s just excited due to its novelty. Therefore, she treated him as usual as though he hadn’t been acting odd in the slightest way.
However, she soon discovered that things weren’t that easy.
Every person of Kim Dokja’s Company noticed that their president had bought a watch.
Well, it was hard not to since Kim Dokja just happened to raise his arm, adjust his cuff, and take a look at his watch from time to time.
“Dokja Hyung looks happy.”
Watching Kim Dokja looking at his watch frequently, Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung moved close to each other and whispered.
“Ajussi’s at the age huh?”
Shin Yoosung stared at Kim Dokja in a somewhat hurting way, making Lee Gilyoung had no choice but to defend him, “Hyung’s happy. That’s the most important.”
Shin Yoosung nodded. Yes, it’s the only thing that matters. They didn’t share another word but ran to Kim Dokja simultaneously to play hide-and-seek with him.
“Ajussi, come look for us after 60 seconds!”
“Yeah Hyung, remember, wait for 60 seconds first!”
Though being that thick-headed, Kim Dokja could tell something was wrong.
Recently, there had been people frequently asking him about time.
“Morning, Dokja-ssi. What time is it?”
Lee Hyunsung got in the house. Judging from his slightly wet hair and T-shirt, apparently he had just returned from his morning training.
Kim Dokja took a glance at the dial and answered, “Seven fifteen.”
A somehow odd smile crept on Lee Hyunsung’s face. In the meantime, his sight moved from the dial to the whole watch, “Okay, thank you.”
Kim Dokja stared at Lee Hyunsung and then his watch.
An uncomfortable feeling suddenly struck him in the lightest way.
While they were both looking at the watch and smiling silently, Jung Heewon walked toward them from behind. She, too, finished her morning training and came with sweat. Jung Heewon spoke in a refreshing tone, “Oh, what time is it? Let me see it as well.”
The three people were standing together, looking at Kim Dokja’s watch.
Kim Dokja responded again, “Ah, it’s seven sixteen.”
The hands of the watch were ticking slowly and elegantly on the simple, graceful dial.
“Nice watch.”
Jung Heewon was also smiling.
Upon catching her words of compliment, Kim Dokja nodded, and then Lee Hyunsung nodded too. In the happy but somehow awkward atmosphere, Jung Heewon dragged Lee Hyunsung away and said, “We’ve already had breakfast. What about you, Boss?”
Kim Dokja was still looking fixedly at the dial when he answered as if he had just awakened from a dream.
“Oh, right. I’m going.”
When he entered the dining room, Yoo Sangah had already been sitting there for a while. She was drinking coffee whilst browsing some breaking news on the system panel.
She was wearing a customized beige business suit which showed just enough decency and class. Just sitting with her like this incredibly made Kim Dokja and his suit less odd.
However, a person with a job and a person without a job were seated at the table and having breakfast together. This image was still as peculiar as it could be, but that was what Kim Dokja’s Company was like anyway.
Kim Dokja tore open a pack of cereals and soaked them in the milk. His action was so careless that a little milk dripped on the wristband, which made him hastily take some tissue to wipe it away.
Meanwhile, Yoo Sangah witnessed the whole scene through the transparent system panel. A smile crept on her lips.
“Dokja-ssi,” she said, “What time is it?”
“Seven twenty-three.”
Kim Dokja gazed at her honey-like eyes and responded.
“Thanks,” Yoo Sangah wiped the corners of her mouth and answered politely, “I should get going. Enjoy your breakfast!”
She stood up and walked past the dining table. Kim Dokja watched her leave and then continued eating his cereal.
Nevertheless, something was not right.
She was reading the news…. Didn’t the panel show time on the bottom right corner of it?
Kim Dokja’s indulgence in the watch was forcibly ended by an accident.
On the day of the incident, he drove to Lee Jihye’s school to pick her up, and then they confronted a minor terror attack.
Ferraghini was made of anti-magic materials, so it could react instantly and activate its shields.
Fortunately, Ferragini only missed one stray bullet, and the bullet didn’t hurt him.
Well, unfortunately, it hit the middle of the dial.
After Lee Jihye defeated all the terrorists with her bamboo sword, she managed to make her way through the scene and came to Kim Dokja with her backpack resting on her back. Kim Dokja was staring at the remains of the watch with his head down. The broken watch was lying on his palm. Except the fragments of the dial, every piece that consisted of the watch was still fixed together.
“Ajussi, are you okay?”
Lee Jihye was stunned by the sorrow and stiffness his facial expression showed.
Kim Dokja shook his head, “No, nothing.”
But this only made Lee Jihye even more panicked, so she had a quick check on him and confirmed that there was not even a slight wound on him, which gave her a sense of relief. At this moment, she finally got to have her sight on the broken watch in Kim Dokja’s hands.
“Looks cool. What a pity.”
Kim Dokja disappointedly nodded and said a number, which gave Lee Jihye a fright.
“It’s worth it?”
“Uh huh.”
Kim Dokja’s face looked pale. Lee Jihye’s, too, became as pale as his.
They were like two pieces of paper facing each other. On their way home, Kim Dokja said no word, so later, in a serious tone, Lee Jihye suggested claiming damages.
Kim Dokja grinned reluctantly because the worst part was that he was over the moon when he got the watch so he didn’t even insure it.
Kim Dokja’s loss of his beloved watch was soon known by everyone.
He had consulted Aileen, who responded that it was hardly possible to get a full repair, so he placed the remains inside its box. This was very devastating. He had just got his dreamy watch, and he had just picked Lee Jihye up and they were going home. How could such a tragedy happen right after such two happy events like these? How could it?
However, Kim Dokja managed to pretend like nothing major had happened in front of Lee Jihye. For the whole weekend, he looked absolutely normal, just like how he was, but after Lee Jihye went back to school, he began to live his life with the ghost-like weak appearance.
He refused to wear his suit and do his hair as though he had lost all his interests in life.
Therefore, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung “handled” the gang who damaged his beloved watch (with legal methods, of course). Kim Dokja seemed grateful for it. He did, but there was still no light in his eyes.
“Is the watch his Horcrux or something?”
Han Sooyoung witnessed the unusually melancholy Kim Dokja and said with much surprise.
“Well, he looks somehow pitiful. To be honest, maybe we should buy a new one for him.”
On the other side of the sofa, Yoo Jonghyuk was reading another book, giving no response.
One day, Kim Dokja woke up on the sofa and noticed that the kids had drawn watches on his wrists.
Both Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung had drawn one for him, so now he had two priceless watches on his wrists.
They even left some adorable notes beside him.
“Cheer up, Hyung! I’ll give one new to you!”
“Ajussi, I’ll give you a better one! Don’t be sad.”
Kim Dokja turned to look at his wrists where he did have things to wear, and then he smiled.
It seemed like he really wasn’t that depressed anymore.
As for the third watch Kim Dokja received, it was a total surprise for him.
On the morning of the incident, he was rubbing his eyes when he went to sign for a parcel. Surprisingly, the parcel was his. The black box seemed to be something from the upper class. The ribbon was also tied in a very meticulous way.
It can’t be a trick, right?
Kim Dokja doubted whether it was something dangerous, so he tested it with multiple ways, and they all provided the same result: It was not dangerous at all. When he finally tore the package away and opened the box, he saw a basically identical watch lying on the velvet in the middle of the box.
Kim Dokja rubbed his eyes again because he could not believe it. So it’s not a trick?
Kim Dokja took the watch in the most careful way he could and placed it on his wrist. The length of the wristband matched his wrist precisely.
It was just like his beloved watch coming back to him.
Inside the box, there was also a card left. There were no names on it. Only a note was written.
“Live in the moment.”
Kim Dokja rubbed the surprising gift gently while reading the words.
The hands on the dial were ticking with the same pace as his heartbeat.
Kim Dokja thought he knew who had sent him this new watch.
He turned to walk back upstairs and put on his suit again. He later went to the living room.
Yoo Jonghyuk was sitting on the sofa. He seemed to have planted himself there recently.
“Jonghyuk-ah,” he said.
Yoo Jonghyuk raised his head and looked at him with absolute disinterest.
Smiling, Kim Dokja asked, “Don’t you want to know what time it is?”