Chapter Text
An empty subway...
That's all I remember.
What happened again..?
-
"What the hell is wrong with you today!?"
The thin blanket shielding me from the awful cold was mercilessly yanked off of me. I curled up, almost as if I could protect myself that way.
"You are really a nuisance. Kim Dokja, wake up! Do you want to be late for class?"
I... recognize that voice. I haven't heard it in ages, but there is no way in hell I would ever forget that cold and antagonistic voice.
"Auntie..?" I rubbed my eyes as I got up from bed.
"What? Did your useless brain stop working completely? I won't drive you if you miss the subway, don't even think about it."
"I... I am sorry." My feet touched the cold floor, as they scrambled to find the slippers... only to remember that I never had slippers. Right. They never got me any. Wasn't it a bit cruel considering the weather? And why was the window wide open!?
Complaining had no use. I saw my aunt walk out of the room with a scoff and finally headed to the bathroom. Before that, I made sure to close the window.
As I brushed my teeth, I saw the reflection of a young boy staring back at me. He was thin, pale, had sunken cheeks and deep eye bags. His face was slightly bruised, indicating that he must have taken a good beating a few days ago... and on top of it all, he looked way too young for his age.
"Huh..?" And as realization dawned upon me, I could see the boys- My reflection's eyes widen.
"What the hell!?" That was not right. That was not right. No, everything about the situation was horribly wrong.
"Why am I here!? What the hell happened to the scen-"
Scenarios... don't...
Don't tell me I just had a very long fever dream.
...
Just as I was about to completely sink in my desperation, a familiar blue screen popped up. A blue screen I usually despised with all my being. Right now, however, I was immensely grateful to see it.
[Hidden subscenario has arrived.]
<Subscenario: Daily Lives of High School Boys
Difficulty: B
Clear Condition: Relive your High School Days to the fullest
Time Limit: a month
Reward: Healed inner Teen, Home
Failure: Death.
+
I blinked twice, making sure that my eyes were not playing any tricks on me. Now, this... this was worse than the apocalypse taking place outside of this scenario space.
So much for being grateful.
Right, the scenarios! I felt like a strong gush of wind hit me, and the pages in my head were flipping too fast for me to comprehend their content.
Why was I here?
What was the Subscenario about?
And what happened last..?
...
Think, Kim Dokja, think.
If I remember correctly, we successfully cleared Journey of the West and defeated Secretive Plotter... The four outer gods, and then... were we preparing for the final scenario?
No matter how much I tried to think about it, there was a huge blank. Pages were torn out, with the last few crumbled beyond reading condition.
But that must be it. Knowing myself, I must have taken the group to clear up some last hidden scenarios. We needed to be fully prepared, after all. There was no time to rest. How I ended up running in such a bothersome and useless subscenario, though, was beyond me.
I pinched my cheek, just to make sure that this was not a bad dream. It wasn't.
So what does this mean for my companions? Was I alone here? And if they were here, what happened to the ones that were not part of the past of this world..?
[Relive your High School Days to the fullest.]
What kind of goal was that even!? And how would I ever be able to accomplish that... with my circumstances.
"This is awful." I sighed.
Whatever. The best I can do right now is go to class and figure things out from there.
-
-
-
I got used to the constant gaze of the constellations much quicker than most of my companions. I didn't just get used to them but utilized them quickly to my advantage. There was one simple reason.
"It's him, isn't it?"
"Oh, poor boy. Look at the state he is in."
"His mother abandoned him, what else do you expect."
I have been under the masses' gaze long ago. Back then, it felt awful. Right now, I felt nothing. Well, okay, I will admit that I did not like the way they were talking about my mother, given that I now knew the truth of that matter. But this was a subscenario. An artificial space recreating my past. What good would it do to scream at them?
I opted to ignore it all.
This all was long ago. Whatever was happening here should have no impact on me.
I finally arrived at the gates of my old high school. It looked as shabby as I remembered. People were walking past me, with some treating me like a ghost, and others quietly snickering amongst themselves as they pointed toward me. I am not deaf nor blind, mind you.
"Here we go..." I muttered to myself.
...
Go where!?
My name is Kim Dokja, I am 28 years old- No. I was 28 years old. Now I am... I lost track. But what matters is one thing! I do not know how to enjoy your High School Days to the fullest. I am simply too old for this.
I thought of ways to cope with this awful situation, Ways I coped when I was this young, and all I could recall was how I told myself over and over again that I am Yoo Joonghyuk. I quietly chuckled to myself, knowing that if I did this now he would beat me up.
A group of girls gave me a weird look, but I ignored it. I decided to just walk to class for now.
-
-
-
So... class was canceled. Someone should have told me maybe. Not in the mood to stay in a room with a few other people I should have long forgotten, I decided to take a stroll outside.
All kinds of thoughts were racing in my head, yet at the same time, I could barely fathom a single one of them.
"God damn it-" in my frustration, I picked up a pebble and tossed it aside. There is only so much a weak teenager's rage can accomplish.
"Ouch." Or, maybe you can also end up hitting someone with that pebble on accident.
"Ah- Fuck- My bad! I am so so sorry-" prepared to go on my fours because I was not in the mood for a beating, I rushed over to the guy that got hit.
He was sitting with his back facing me on a bench, so I decided to walk around it to see him. Maybe if he saw my sad pathetic face, he would have some mercy.
"Please forgive-"
But I realized quickly... that this was the one man that would never show any mercy.
"Me..."
But I would have never thought that I would be so goddamn happy to see his frowning face.
"Oh my god, I thought I ended up here all alone. I can't believe I am saying this, but I am glad to see you!"
It was Yoo Joonghyuk. Albeit younger, it was most certainly him. He was glaring daggers in my direction, but still! That meant I wasn't here all alone.
"This is strange... you never got to be a High School student. I am impressed with this scenario- No, wait! I am not. It's awful, how did we get here!? What happened!? We-"
But before I could finish the sentence, Yoo Joonghyuk shot up from his seat.
"Yoo Joonghyuk..?" And for what seemed to be an eternity, he was just staring me down....towering over my much smaller frame.
"Hey, what's your-" and then, he turned heels and walked away...
Don't tell me...
Don't tell me he doesn't remember me!?
"Hey- Wait-" but he didn't.
...
Ah.
It makes sense. Yoo Joonghyuk has no past to remember. Maybe the scenario messed him up like that.
How stupid.
My eyes were now fixed on my muddy shoes. If he doesn't remember me, I should just reintroduce myself, right?
But...
Who was I even to Yoo Joonghyuk if not his sole reader? What can I even do to get him to speak to me?
The Kim Dokja he met on the subway was a cunning man that was a variable he has never encountered in his past regressions. Of course, that piqued his interest.
The Kim Dokja standing in front of him right now... was nothing more than a feeble and ratpoor boy. One too insignificant to even be angry at.
...
That damn bastard.
-
-
-
So turns out that that damn bastard had a new skill I have never heard of before. It's called "evaporating in thin air". I have been looking for him the entire day, I even skipped classes for the entire day.... but no matter where I looked, he was gone. With the backyard being the last place I checked, I decided to give up and get out of there.
"Maybe I am delusional." I sighed to myself, feeling utterly defeated.
Whatever. This is just a subscenario. Whatever happens here, should have no impact on-
"Did you think you could hide from us by skipping class?"
Me...
Another voice I recognized all too well, even if I would rather not.
"Hey, Kim Dokja. Turn around, you bastard."
Song Minwoo, and his stupid minions.
"What if I don't want to?" And idiotic as I was, I had to give a snarky reply.
"Oh, brave now? Did you learn that from your pathetic novel?" Still attacking me for reading, wasn't he..?
"I took a break from reading. Felt a bit burnt out. Seeing you behave like an ape seems more entertaining."
Song Minwoo's smug look was quickly replaced by one of sheer rage. What a fragile ego he had.
"You little-"
Thud
And as expected, the only way he could ever counter was with force. I toppled backward and hit the ground with my butt. It wasn't as classy as when Yoo Joonghyuk did it, Song Minwoo's punches were just pathetic.
"Hah-"
"What the hell are you laughing about!?"
"I was thinking... that your punch hurts way less than I remember."
Instead of verbally responding, he gestured for his minions to grab me. They held me up, and I took one hit after the other.
And strangely, I didn't even care much. Sure, it hurt. It hurt like hell, but nothing compared to all the beatings I took from Yoo Joonghyuk.
And besides, this was a subscenario. Whatever happens here, should not impact me.
...
I just hope he gets bored of this soon. I don't like the taste of blood.
"Still haven't learned your lesson?"
"Why don't you pick someone your own size for once," I said with hot liquid dripping from my nose.
"Seems like you haven't." Song Minwoo was ready to strike another punch, but before his fist could connect with my face, a shadow that seemed to be traveling faster than the speed of sound appeared behind him.
"What th-"
Crash
And before he could even finish his sentence, it sent him flying across the backyard.
I am sure I heard a bone crack there...
The dust caused by the almost comedic supersonic speed cleared up, revealing the shadow to be a boy actually. A boy wearing the same uniform as us... Right now, I couldn't help but think how black was truly the only color that would ever suit him.
Or maybe pink.
"I agree. Pick someone your own size." He declared in a cool protagonist manner. Damn it. He just had to sweep in, save me, and look cool. Of course.
Song Minwoo's minions didn't even hope to fight that monster of a human being, they let go of me and immediately bolted. Feeling too weak to keep standing, I just sunk to my knees.
I could see an unconscious Song Minwoo from the corner of my eye. I hope... he is still breathing?
"Kim Dokja, what the hell are you doing," Yoo Joonghyuk asked... no, that was no question. It was a threat.
"So you do remember me."
"Why should I not?"
"I don't know, you just walked away maybe!?" What the hell was his previous behavior about then!?
"I didn't. I told you to follow me."
...
"That is your way of telling someone to follow you!?"
I had it with that man. Even as a supposedly 17-18-year-old, he was unbearable. How will he survive that scenario!?
"You... just get up." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me up with too much force for the state I was in. Typical.
"OUCH-"
"I-"
"Fuck, you need to learn how to control your strength. And by the way, you say your cool sentence before knocking someone out. He didn't even hear you!"
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes thinned as he said, "I didn't need him to hear me."
"Who were you saying that crap for, then!?"
"...you?"
...
...
...
I want to go home.
"So, why are we-" But before I could even ask the most crucial question, we were cut off once again.
"Th-that's him, Teacher!" Both of Song Minwoo's minions were now cowardly hiding behind a teacher as they were pointing an accusing finger at Yoo Joonghyuk.
"What the hell happened here!?" The teacher asked as he stormed over to us. I could see Yoo Joonghyuk getting ready to strike another punch, and as I was fearing the worst because you can't just punch a teacher, light sparks of probability surrounded him, making him immediately retreat.
I was never more grateful for those sparks...
But of course, they had to be followed by that nuisance of a blue screen popping up in front of me and Yoo Joonghyuk.
[Scenario Penalty: Detention.]
...
Detention..?
Detention.....?
"You two, Detention for the entire semester!"
Wait, why me too!?