Chapter Text
“Welcome, Yoo Joonghyuk, and congratulations: you are dead!”
Yoo Joonghyuk woke up. Rather, he wished he had woken up. It didn’t matter how many times he closed his eyes; when they reopened, there was still that same man with a smug smile on his face staring back at him.
“Ah, another young man taken in the prime of his life.” The man sat behind a desk and shifted his position; from leaning against the desk with his chin in his hands, he now reclined in his chair and crossed one leg over the other, waving his foot from side to side. He placed a book in his lap and wistfully sighed. His tone was remorseful, but his expression was anything but. “Such a shame.”
Yoo Joonghyuk couldn’t quite believe it; just what kind of play had his manager pulled him into, because this had to be some sick kind of joke. A very elaborate one. From the moment Yoo Joonghyuk had opened his eyes, he had been standing in the middle of this room. It was a large room with case upon case of books lining the walls, pages were scattered over the floor, and the low, yellow lighting was bright enough to comfortably read but would ingrain a sense of sleepiness if one stayed for too long. Then there was the desk in front of him, large and ornate, and behind it, wearing a white shirt and black slacks, was the most obnoxious person he had ever met. Yoo Joonghyuk could tell despite only having heard a few words from the man.
“Who are you?” Yoo Joonghyuk demanded to know, his clenched fists betraying his anxiety. His eyes were narrow and fierce, and his lips were curled in an unconcealed snarl.
The man, retaining his theatrics, tilted his head and pointed at himself with a gloved hand.
“Who? Little old me?” He grinned. “Why, I’m Kim Dokja, master of the underworld.”
There was a momentary silence before Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed and then turned to walk away. The smile dropped from Kim Dokja’s face, and a hint of bewildered panic appeared in his eyes as he darted to his feet.
“Hey! Where are you going?!”
“Home.”
“Well, you won’t find it that way!” Kim Dokja called, calm returning to him as he reclined into his chair once more. “I would advise that you don’t open that door.”
Yoo Joonghyuk refused to entertain this strange man. He needed to get out of here, quick. After calling his little sister, Yoo Mia, to check up on her and finishing his day’s training, he had to throttle his manager for setting up this insane prank. He had a long day ahead of him. Yoo Joonghyuk marched over to the only door in the room, and, grasping the cold brass knob, he yanked it open. Although he had no idea where he was, Yoo Joonghyuk was still shocked when he opened the door. Rather than finding himself still in a building or exiting onto a busy street, Yoo Joonghyuk seemed to step into a brand new world.
Deep purple clouds swirled in the ominously dark sky; rackety structures that resembled buildings stood tall and towering, looking like they would fall over at any moment, and the roads were filled with what resembled people. Yoo Joonghyuk could only say the word ‘resembled’, as these creatures barely looked like people at all.
To describe a few, there were giant fish with arms and legs sprouting out of their bodies, a small glowing light guiding them from an antenna attached to their head; there were others where their bodies were that of a human, but their heads were that of a horse; and then there were the beings that most resembled humans. Their bodies, limbs, and heads were all present; it’s just that some of them were carrying their head in their hands… A closer look and others had wounds cut into their bodies, warm blood still flowing out. Some of them still had the weapon which caused the damage lodged firmly inside!
Suddenly, all eyes turned to look at him.
It was a highly disturbing and disconcerting experience, and Yoo Joonghyuk took a step back, letting the previously yanked-open door close with a loud slam. He stormed back into the room, his expression fierce, and he slammed his hands impatiently on the desk.
“Where are we?!”
Kim Dokja smiled at him.
“The underworld.”
This time, Yoo Joonghyuk believed him, but that only plunged him deeper into the depths of confusion.
“Why am I here?” He asked, his hands clenched so hard against the desktop that his forearms trembled.
Kim Dokja’s smile fell slightly, taking on a sympathetic tinge.
“I already told you, you’re dead.”
Yoo Joonghyuk’s lips twitched. His mouth opened, and, still dubious, it took some time before he could ask, “How did I die?”
Kim Dokja seemed to be waiting for this question. His dramatic gestures came back in full force, and he placed an elbow on his knee, resting his chin in his palm.
“What a sorrowful story! What a pitiful creature! To be run down by a vehicle as you were on your way home!” Kim Dokja wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, his voice choked with sobs. “Truck-kun claimed another victim. When will its evil ever end?!”
Yoo Joonghyuk was left speechless. There’s no way, right? He had heard some of his teammates who were into Japanese manga talking about the legend of Truck-kun… He couldn’t have been wiped out by such a rumour, could he? His disbelief poured involuntarily from his mouth.
“Are you serious?”
Kim Dokja stopped mid-performance and levelled a look at Yoo Joonghyuk before shrugging.
“Nope.” He admitted while laughing loudly. He clapped his hands until his laughter came to a sudden stop, and he looked at Yoo Joonghyuk again, his jovial attitude gone, replaced by unprecedented seriousness. “Except for you being dead.” He tapped the cover of the book he had retrieved from the floor and tacked on: “That’s an unfortunate fact.”
Yoo Joonghyuk swallowed this information. Even with everything he had witnessed so far, he couldn’t quite believe it. His throat ached, his head throbbed, and his lungs struggled to breathe.
“How did I really die?”
Kim Dokja placed the book back upon his lap and moved to a more formal seated position. He stared at Yoo Joonghyuk, barely concealing the pity he felt. This time, it was genuine.
“Do you really want to know?”
From the fact Kim Dokja asked, Yoo Joonghyuk knew that it wouldn’t be anything good. He nodded his head anyway.
Kim Dokja threw the book onto the desk and sighed.
“You were overworked.”
Yoo Joonghyuk couldn’t quite accept the answer, but Kim Dokja continued anyway.
“From a young age you took full care of your baby sister. You sacrificed your education, your social life, and your future. Your parents first abandoned you and then died. Any financial benefits from their deaths were swallowed by family you had never met. Then, at eighteen, you thought life was turning around. But you were conned into an unfair and unreasonable contract to become a professional gamer. You worked more hours than you slept and were paid less than the housecleaner. Even though you were exhausted, living purely off determination and energy drinks, you spared every minute of your weekend to travel three hours to visit Yoo Mia, who you had housed with an elderly neighbour until you could afford to terminate your contract. And then you died. Because you were exhausted. You just keeled over and died.”
Kim Dokja paused, then dealt the final blow with a wry smile.
“How does it feel, Yoo Joonghyuk? You were only one first-place prize away from affording your termination fee.”
Yoo Joonghyuk was plunged into the murky depths of his living life, and all he could hear was static. Was he really so pathetic? Just a few years of hard work pushed his body over the edge? He wasn’t ready yet; he wasn’t ready to die. He still had—!
“Mia!”
“Don’t worry.” Kim Dokja waved away Yoo Joonghyuk’s wide-eyed stare. “She’s safe. Your elderly neighbour still has some life in them; they’ll be able to look after her for a little while longer.”
It was the smallest solace. Yoo Joonghyuk released the tension he was holding, but he still felt stiff. Mia may be safe and well looked after now, and he had made sure to prepare for the inevitable and sign all of his fortune over to her—not that he actually expected the worst to happen so soon. At least Yoo Mia would still have a roof over her head and food to fill her tummy. But it wouldn’t last forever.
“I need to go back.”
“Hm?” Kim Dokja didn’t quite hear Yoo Joonghyuk’s mumbles, and when he heard the next question, it was his turn to be speechless.
“I need to go back.” Yoo Joonghyuk stated, louder this time, and he looked directly at the master of the underworld. “How do I get out of here?”
“There’s only one way for you to go, Yoo Joonghyuk.” Kim Dokja said and pointed behind the other man. “Through that door.”
Yoo Joonghyuk, despite his resilience, still felt a shudder when he recalled those creatures he had seen. He remembered their eyes, eyes that thirsted for human flesh.
“I’m not going through that door.”
“No, not that one.” Kim Dokja chuckled and clicked his fingers; the whole room momentarily shook. “That one.”
Glancing behind him, Yoo Joonghyuk discovered a new, almost identical door had appeared, although this one had a silver gilded door handle instead of brass. He saw Kim Dokja nod at him as if in encouragement, and he walked towards it, taking a deep breath before he swung it open.
As soon as the door opened, Yoo Joonghyuk was blinded by a searing white light. He slammed the door shut and turned to glare at the master of this room. The latter laughed and grinned.
“Don’t worry, it’s supposed to look like that. You’ll be fine if you just walk right in.”
Yoo Joonghyuk was suspicious. Who wouldn’t be? This shady man hadn’t exactly filled him with confidence.
“Where will it take me?” He asked, stumping Kim Dokja yet again.
At this, Kim Dokja actually paused. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know where the door led, but the answer was one which Yoo Joonghyuk definitely wouldn’t like. He hesitated, and Yoo Joonghyuk watched every second of it, one eyebrow inching higher.
“It… takes you to the land of the dead.” Kim Dokja confessed, and, as expected, Yoo Joonghyuk replied, “That’s not where I want to go.”
Kim Dokja rubbed his eyes with his palm and sighed. Where Yoo Joonghyuk wanted to go, he fully understood, but it’s not a place one can just choose to return to.
“It’s impossible to go back there.” He said, beginning to stack books on his desk to keep himself distracted from the man opposite him. Yoo Joonghyuk’s scowl was growing deeper by the second, and his intimidating aura radiated out in aggressive waves. Oblivious, Kim Dokja continued. “Besides, the land of the dead is great! No work, no responsibilities, no worries; you can eat and play and drink and do whatever you want. You can even fall in lov—!”
Before Kim Dokja could finish his persuasive sales pitch, the stacked books on his desk were swept to the floor with a crashing bang. The collar of his white shirt was crumpled in strong fists, the strength of them undeniable, and his face was brought within an inch of Yoo Joonghyuk's. He came face-to-face with Yoo Joonghyuk’s deep and dark stare, and Kim Dokja trembled. Yet, even with such a face just inches away from his own, Kim Dokja stuck to his guns.
“It really isn’t possible! You can’t go ba…” The hands strangling his shirt tightened as Kim Dokja was pulled further over the desk. He had no doubt that Yoo Joonghyuk would commit further atrocious acts of violence, and, quite frankly, Kim Dokja wasn’t as reluctant to share the information as he appeared. Grabbing onto Yoo Joonghyuk’s hands in an attempt to pry him off, Kim Dokja only succeeded when he finally confessed.
“Okay, okay! Once a year there’s a door!” Kim Dokja said and rubbed his throat now that he had been released. He frowned while straightening his wrinkled collar and grumbled despite his annoyance. “Go through that door and it will take you back.”