Chapter Text
“Come to think of it, we never tested Yoo Joonghyuk.”
Kim Dokja paused in his reading and glared at Han Sooyoung who was thinking to herself a few feet away. As he watched the ends of her lips curl up deviously, a foreboding sense of dread came over him. “What are you going on about now, you-”
Kim Dokja leapt to his feet but Han Sooyoung had already bolted off. That damn-! Testing Yoo Joonghyuk? On what?
They were a little ways away from the group, scavenging for resources while the others trained. Kim Dokja had taken a break and had sat down on the rubble to read TWSA while Han Sooyoung came up with another one of her elaborate bullshit ideas. Kim Dokja didn’t even bother trying to chase her and sighed in defeat as he watched her dash into Yoo Sangah’s arms, who received her in welcome surprise.
It’d been a while since he and his party had reunited again this time and they were all as lively as ever.
Jung Heewon was practicing her swordsmanship with the steel sword Lee Hyunsung. Lee Hyunsung had a faint blush on his cheeks and Jung Heewon was as playful as ever. His smile reached his eyes as he watched his sword and shield dance together in the purest comradeship. A small distance away from the pair, Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung, and Shin Yoosung were all bickering, as usual, pushing and shoving each other across the lush, green field. Yoo Sangah was babysitting the children and Han Sooyoung was beside her, casually flirting right in front of the children!
Still, Dokja couldn’t help but smile affectionately as he watched the peaceful scenery. His company, the one he had formed with his own hands, all seemed so happy. His heart pricked with warmth. It was really great to be back with the friends he loved most.
[The exclusive skill ‘Fourth Wall’ is shaking faintly!]
But then Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung paused in their training as Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah approached Jung Heewon. The children and Lee Jihye soon joined their conversation and after a few words, they all turned to Kim Dokja in the distance. They were all looking at him with strange expressions. What?
Jung Heewon slowly pulled out a familiar object.
Ah. Not this.
“Oh, Kim Dokja~!”
He felt dread pooling in his gut as Lee Jihye taunted. He slowly trudged to the camp until he was standing before his companions. “Why are we doing this again? I don’t think my affection has changed for anyone.”
He realized suddenly, too late. Han Sooyoung earlier said that Yoo Joonghyuk…
Kim Dokja lurched forward in panic, fingers flailing toward the Affection Reader, but Han Sooyoung was faster. She slipped the Affection Reader away from Jung Heewon and darted away just before Kim Dokja grabbed it.
Shit.
Han Sooyoung smirked, “I don’t like loose ends. ‘Kim Dokja will be killed by the one he loves most.’” Her grin spread and her eyes widened. “Well, who was that?”
Calming his heart, Kim Dokja smiled in his usual pleasant manner. “You all played a part in taking me down so my dearest company is the one I love most. Fuck you and your loose ends.”
Han Sooyoung didn’t let up, “Yeah, yeah, your tricks won’t work. It said you’ll be killed by the ‘one’ you love most, not ‘ones.’”
Jung Heewon smiled mischievously. “Yoo Joonghyuk was the last one to kill you.”
Paling, Kim Dokja weakly tried, “It’s a metaphor, you know, you can’t take those vague fates literally, it doesn’t literally mean one person-”
Jung Heewon swatted his head. "Don’t worry, we all support you!”
Lee Jihye nodded furiously, Yoo Sangah smiled reassuringly, even the kids agreed!
Scoffing with slight nervousness, Kim Dokja sweated, “Can't we leave this in the past? Why are we bringing this up again, and no less with that bastard? I’m sick of being paired up with that jerk.”
“Are you really though?” Han Sooyoung smirked.
[The constellation 'Demon-Like Judge of Fire’ squeals.]
[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is getting ready to tear his hair.]
[The constellation ‘Bald General of Justice’ is wiping his head.]
[10,000 coins have been sponsored.]
Dokja was disgusted. “Ah, come on! How do I prove that there’s absolutely nothing between me and that jerk?”
Lee Jihye butted in, “If there’s really nothing, then why are you so desperate not to do it?”
Shin Yoosung piped up, “Now’s a perfect time to prove whether there’s really nothing!”
He looked at his incarnation with betrayal. Shin Yoosung turned away in shame. “Well…!” Dokja was at a loss for words. “Anyone would be pissed to have to constantly defend themselves from being accused of loving someone like Yoo Joonghyuk!”
“Hey!” Lee Jihye frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with Master! Are you two having a lovers’ quarrel?”
Jung Heewon patted Lee Jihye’s arm reassuringly and smiled at Kim Dokja with a glint in her eye. “If you hate him so much, it wouldn’t hurt to see just how little affection you have for him.” Lee Hyunsung nodded beside her.
He knew Jung Heewon loved to tease him, but Lee Hyunsung too…!
[The constellation ‘Demon-Like Judge of Fire’ is chanting to test it.]
[10,000 coins have been sponsored.]
He restrained himself from glaring at Uriel.
To be honest, Kim Dokja had no idea how much he loved Yoo Joonghyuk and he didn’t really want to find out. There was a point, though. Yoo Joonghyuk had been the one to strike the final blow and kill him, realizing Kim Dokja’s fate, so wouldn’t that confirm that he loved Yoo Joonghyuk most?
“Ah, whatever! We’re wasting time, I don’t need your opinion anyway.” Han Sooyoung cried in exasperation and broke from the group with the Affection Reader. She ran off in the direction of a tent on the edge of the camp. As expected, that impatient stingy woman would never let Kim Dokja negotiate his way out of this.
“I’ll give you coins if you stop this bullshit!” He called out, following close behind. He laughed sardonically as he watched Han Sooyoung stumble a bit.
“…How much?”
[The constellation ‘Demon-Like Judge of Fire’ is furious!]
[The constellation ‘Demonic-Like Judge of Fire’ says she’ll give more coins than the constellation ‘Kim Dokja’!]
Han Sooyoung stuttered breathlessly, “I-I got 100,000 coins?"
Well, he didn’t plan to give Han Sooyoung his precious money anyway. Damn it, he could just imagine how much her ego inflated from that. As expected, Han Sooyoung soon gloated, “Haha, suck my dick Kim Dokja!”
He wouldn’t do that even if she had one.
Speaking of dicks, Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly appeared at the entrance of the tent in front of them. His usual constipated look furrowed even deeper when he saw the ridiculous sight. “Why are you two screaming about dicks and running around in circles again.”
Han Sooyoung skidded to a stop in front of Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja collided into her from the sudden stop. They both collapsed to the floor, earning them an extremely pissed-off expression from Yoo Joonghyuk.
Han Sooyoung got up first. “Oh dear great Supreme King, please demonstrate how deep your love for our Kim Dokja is.”
Yoo Junghyuk’s scowl contorted even further.
“Hey!” Kim Dokja stood quickly after and dusted off his pants. “This wasn’t my idea. Don’t listen to-“
“Okay.”
Kim Dokja fell back down.
Huh?
Huh????
Han Sooyoung looked needlessly pleased. "For real? Okay," She passed the Affection Reader to Yoo Joonghyuk. He was definitely pissed off, so why the hell would he…
The man stared down at the object in his hand for a moment before his grip tightened and the screen cracked. Han Sooyoung shouted and lunged toward the merciless bastard. “You motherfucker-”
Yoo Joonghyuk dodged her and she tumbled past onto the floor. "I have no intention to indulge in these meaningless jokes."
As expected, Yoo Joonghyuk was Yoo Joonghyuk. Han Sooyoung muttered out a string of curses beside Kim Dokja on the dirt, who sighed in relief. Kim Dokja scoffed at the dumbass and then teasingly grinned at Yoo Joonghyuk, "Relax, it's not like I'm in love with you or something,"
Yoo Joonghyuk's expression soured further. "Kim Dokja-"
At that moment, Han Sooyoung seemed to notice something and scrambled to Yoo Joonghyuk before any of them could react. She grasped Yoo Joonghyuk's hand and pressed it against the Affection Reader's button.
[The affection score of the constellation "Kim Dokja" towards the incarnation 'Yoo Joonghyuk' is 1864 points.]
Ah.
So it wasn't broken.
The rest of the group caught up and stared blankly between Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk.
“Is that even possible…?”
“1-1864 points? Wasn’t the highest score with the dress before 481?”
Kim Dokja wanted to die.
[The Fourth Wall is shaking strongly!]
Yoo Joonghyuk looked equally shocked. He dropped the damned Affection Reader and finally crushed it under his boot.
The indirect messages exploded too.
[The constellation ‘Demon-Like Judge of Fire’ is screaming!]
[The constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden
Headband' is rolling on the floor.]
[The constellation 'Bald General of Justice' has dropped his stick.]
…
[800,000 coins have been sponsored.]
He almost wanted to tease Han Sooyoung about who got more coins now.
The group’s shock soon turned into taunts and jokes.
“I knew it! Master and Dokja were lovers!”
“That was without the dress!”
“Make Yoo Joonghyuk wear the dress and let’s see it again!”
While the laughter and mockery surrounded him, Kim Dokja’s mind spiraled into a mess. Avoiding Yoo Joonghyuk’s murderous glare, Kim Dokja stared at the ground.
How could this even happen? Sure, Kim Dokja had loved and admired Yoo Joonghyuk for over a decade, cheering him on and hating him at times, and sure, by namesake he was life and death companions with Yoo Joonghyuk, and sure, Yoo Joonghyuk became his sole friend for the long, long, lonely years of his life, and sure, Yoo Joonghyuk was his only reason to keep living and going on, and sure, he knew Yoo Joonghyuk better than anyone in the world, in this lifetime and the next and the next, and sure he always made sure that jerk was happy, and… wasn’t this sounding way too fucking romantic?
Kim Dokja shook his head vehemently. He wasn’t gay. There was no way. He hated handsome men the worst, how could he ever compare to a handsome man like Yoo Joonghyuk? Yoo Joonghyuk was going to kill him-
A calloused hand gripped Kim Dokja’s collar and forced him off the ground.
“What the fuck is this you bastard.”
Staring at him up close, Kim Dokja thought that Yoo Joonghyuk really was fucking handsome. It made him want to hit the bastard. As he kept gazing into Yoo Joonghyuk’s eyes wordlessly, the man got more pissed off and shifted his hand instead to wrap around Kim Dokja’s throat, holding him in a chokehold in the air with an expression that was more constipated than usual. How nostalgic.
"Speak."
Kim Dokja choked out, “It’s probably a mistake,” He suddenly realized. Affection didn’t have to mean love love, right? Maybe the score was so high because Yoo Joonghyuk was the only person Kim Dokja had ever really connected with in his whole life, the one he dedicated his whole life to reading about. His favorite protagonist. His first, his one and only friend. Obviously, he’d have a lot of affection for that kind of person.
“The score’s so high because you’re my best friend.”
Yoo Joonghyuk’s expression was unreadable. “Bullshit. I’m not your friend.”
Ouch. Kim Dokja rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Then you can be my best friend, or maybe even my platonic soulmate, how’s that?” Kim Dokja grinned and cocked an eyebrow, only half sarcastically.
Was it his imagination? Yoo Joonghyuk flinched and grimaced a little. Kim Dokja thought, What, he doesn’t want to be my platonic soulmate? What a cruel, lonely guy.
"Well," Kim Dokja pried at Yoo Joonghyuk's grip. He swore this guy must have a choking kink. "We're done here. Yoo Joonghyuk is my best friend, the end. Can you let go of me now?"
The guy didn't say anything and just blankly stared at Kim Dokja. "Hello?" No response. Fuck, was this guy getting his regression depression now? Out of nowhere? Shit, what was it now, was the idea of Kim Dokja appreciating him that repulsive?? Just what was that guy thinking? Then, the dumbass Kim Dokja remembered he had a skill he could use.
[Omniscient Reader 2nd POV activated]
—What do I do now?
—This idiot is so infuriating.
Kim Dokja glared at Yoo Joonghyuk. Who’s infuriating?
—He only thinks of me as a damn friend.
Huh. What does that mean.
Yoo Joonghyuk glared into Kim Dokja's eyes with a stiff, complicated expression.
—He knows he’s the reason I haven’t regressed yet. He’s the reason I’ve been trying so hard to live and see the◾️. With him.
—What kind of fucking bullshit is "platonic soulmate"? Can't the idiot be honest for once in his life, how can 1864 points be affection for just a friend.
[The exclusive skill, 'Fourth Wall’, is shaking!]
Hold on.
—But if he really doesn't feel the same as I do, then what can I do?
Holy fucking shit.
—If my ability to regress wasn't enough of a curse, I just had to fall in love with an idiot like this.
[The exclusive skill, 'Fourth Wall’, is shaking very hard!]
—That rat bastard, I sometimes get the feeling he’s reading my mind.
He must have seen Kim Dokja’s eyes shake.
—Should I just confess now? Or should I pull some random platonic soulmate shit like that bastard did? But if I do that, the opportunity for marriage is even slimmer.
M-MARRIAGE??
—But, I wasn't planning to ever tell him. If he rejects me, our company will get messed up. And if he rejects me, I don't know what I'll do with myself…
Yoo Joonghyuk’s expression became impossibly dark.
—I should just kill him right now, Kim Dokja you insufferable b-
Han Sooyoung couldn’t take it anymore. “Kiss already!”
“Han Sooyoung please shut up.”
“Shut up.”
Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk spoke at the same time.
Shiver me timbers, she thought. Rolling her eyes, she got the last word, “Okay, the lovers want to be alone!” And Han Sooyoung dragged the rest of the protesting company away.
Kim Dokja cautiously peeked back at Yoo Joonghyuk. He felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest.