Archive of Our Own

It takes a week after their most recent scenario for Dokja to wake up from his coma.

Joonghyuk is already racking his brain for a list of insults to throw at him as he’s heading to the hospital. It hadn’t even been a main scenario, for constellations’ sake. It was Dokja’s idea to participate together, since the reward had been a million coins.

“It wouldn’t hurt to make some extra coins, would it, Yoo Joonghyuk? Unless you’re afraid?”

Joonghyuk hates the way Dokja says his name. Like he knows everything about him. Like no one else would know him better than Dokja does. It’s arrogant of him, really; it makes Joonghyuk all weird inside, which pisses him off. 

“Focus on watching my back,” Joonghyuk had snarled as they walked into the hidden scenario together.

It had been easier than Joonghyuk expected. Much easier. Maybe that’s why when these weird rose-like flowers with sharp teeth and roots appeared out of nowhere and started attacking them, he realized why exactly the reward was so high. More so when the flowers shot this weird purple liquid at Dokja’s face, knocking him out like a light and forcing Joonghyuk to carry him throughout the rest of the scenario.

Joonghyuk scowls as he storms up the hospital in the Yoo Joonghyuk Complex. Stupid Kim Dokja. How had he been able to survive the previous main scenarios with the reaction time of a sloth?

“Yoo Joonghyuk!” Aileen Makerfield greets Joonghyuk right outside a door, presumably behind which Dokja lay. She plants her feet firmly on the ground but leans casually against the doorframe. “What are you doing here?”

Joonghyuk frowns. Unlike Dokja, he was not stupid— he knows when someone’s trying to hide something from him.

“Is he dead?” Joonghyuk demands.

Aileen shifts. “No.”

Joonghyuk activates his lie detector skill and senses nothing.

“Then step aside.”

“He’s not in a condition to meet anyone right now!”

Joonghyuk gestures vaguely in the air, knowing Aileen can’t see his scenario screen. “He texted me. I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Yoo Joonghyuk—”

Joonghyuk grapples for the door before Aileen can stop him, and he steps into the room. He immediately sees Dokja sitting upright on the bed, chatting animatedly with Jang Hayoung. Joonghyuk feels a sharp stab of relief in his chest upon the sight of Dokja, which dissipates almost immediately when the latter spots him.

“Ah, Joonghyuk!” Dokja’s voice is pleasant. “Just the man I wanted to see.”

“What is it?” Joonghyuk asks. “If this is about the coin rewards, I received the entire one million because your idiot ass passed out and I had to help you the rest of the way. If you want to complain about that, take it to the dokkaebis instead—”

“I want to get a divorce.”

Time stops. Joonghyuk stares at Dokja as the world around them falls apart. He’s vaguely aware of the system messages coming in, but he barely notices them. 

“You want to get a what?”

According to Aileen, Dokja’s memory has been modified.

“I wouldn’t say it’s memory loss, necessarily,” Aileen explains, steadily looking more nervous in front of Joonghyuk. “He remembers everything else, at least all the events in the revolution. Then he kept insisting that you’re his husband.” She fidgets again, grimacing. “I… apologize.”

Joonghyuk isn’t sure what Aileen was apologizing about, exactly. All he knew was that this was the last thing he needed right now, what with the time limit imposed on him to return to the main scenario as soon as possible. He rubs his wrists, where Hayoung and Aileen had grabbed him when he lunged at Dokja, thinking that the latter had been playing a prank on him. It wouldn’t have been the first time he pulled something like this, after all.

“Is it permanent?” Joonghyuk asks.

“I can confidently say no,” Aileen says. “I’ve been researching the species that infected him, and they are known to have temporary effects.”

“How long until he recovers?”

Aileen grimaces. “A week?”

A week. A week of Dokja believing that he and Joonghyuk are married. Joonghyuk has an odd feeling in his chest he couldn’t find a name for.

“The Demon King Selection is coming up soon,” Joonghyuk says. “We don’t have time for this. Can’t you find a cure?”

“I am a clock maker, not a doctor.”

Something moves in Joonghyuk’s pocket. He reaches in and pulls out the doll symbolizing the Demon-Like Judge of Fire.

[The constellation Demon-Like Judge of Fire has a proposition for you!]

“A proposition?” Joonghyuk repeats. “Do you know where I can find the cure?”

A scenario notification pops up. Joonghyuk frowns and opens it.

[Hidden Scenario - Saving the Marriage!]

Category: Hidden

Difficulty Level: ???

Clear Conditions: Kim Dokja thinks that you are his husband and wants to file for divorce. You must reactivate your charms that won his heart and ensure that he no longer wants to do so.

Time Limit: 7 days

Compensation: 500,000 coins, and a husband OR a cure to Kim Dokja’s memory modifications

Failure: Death (to your dignity)

“Are you serious.” Joonghyuk deadpans.

[The constellation Demon-Like Judge of Fire emphasizes that this is a very important scenario!]

“How could this be more important than the Demon King Selection?”

[The constellation Demon-Like Judge of Fire doesn’t elaborate, but insists that it is indeed extremely important]

Joonghyuk sighs. “Fine. As long as we are no longer married by the end of the scenario.”

[The constellation Demon-Like Judge of Fire asks you if you’re sure you want that outcome]

“What is wrong with you?” Joonghyuk mutters, but he doesn’t push the subject.

A hidden scenario where he needs to convince Dokja, who thinks he’s married to him, that they should stay married. It shouldn’t be that difficult, right?

Dokja has somehow barricaded his door.

“Dokja!” Joonghyuk pounds the door with his fist, fascinated that it had somehow managed to stay in one piece. “Let me in!”

“You’ll beat me up if I let you in!” Dokja yells back.

“Since when did you care about that?” Joonghyuk knows that Dokja can counter him if he tries to hurt him. He’s a literal constellation now.

“I’ll let you in if you promise that we’ll get divorced!”

Joonghyuk opens his mouth to tell him that they’re not even married, for constellations’ sake, so they can’t even get divorced even if he wanted to, but then he remembers the hidden scenario. Joonghyuk stops himself just in time, clears his throat, and musters the most patient, sugary voice he can.

“Dokja, sweetie,” he says through gritted teeth. “I do not wish for us to get divorced. I want to improve our relationship, if you would allow me to understand what is wrong between us.”

His head is ringing with notifications from the Star Stream. He knows he must sound absolutely stupid right now, but he can’t care about that. Not with the scenario on the line.

Joonghyuk wonders if Dokja is ignoring him just as the door creaks open tentatively. Dokja peeks through the crack in the door, peering at Joonghyuk through narrowed eyes.

“Do you promise you won’t hurt me?”

“When have I ever hurt you?”

Dokja stares at him. “First time we met. You threw me into the Han River with the ichthyosaurs.”

Joonghyuk’s eyes flutter close briefly. Right. That. He did do that.

“I promise I won’t throw you into another river of ichthyosaurs.”

The door swings open a little wider. Dokja steps aside to allow Joonghyuk in.

“You look tired,” Joonghyuk says, taking in Dokja’s disheveled hair and wrinkled shirt.

“That’s because I spent all night looking for records of our marriage,” Dokja says. “I can’t find a single certificate or video.”

That’s because we were never married! Joonghyuk wanted to shout, but he held on valiantly.

“Babe,” Joonghyuk says, which kills him inside, but he remains strong, knowing this is necessary for him to succeed. “Can you tell me why you think we were married in the first place?”

Dokja frowns and crosses his arms. “You accepted my offer to become companions.”

“That’s… as collaborative partners. Equal fighters.”

“Why would we call each other companions? That’s such an intimate title for a professional partnership.”

“I don’t know! You were the one who insisted we were referred to as such!”

“And you agreed! Which means we must be married!”

Joonghyuk prepares to go off on his rant on how the title of companions isn’t evidence enough to justify their supposed relationship, but the Demon-Like Judge of Fire sends a persistent notification Joonghyuk can’t exactly ignore.

[The constellation Demon-Like Judge of Fire reminds you of the objectives of this scenario]

It’s for the scenario. It’s for the scenario.

“Kim Dokja,” Joonghyuk says.

Dokja’s face is pale. “If you think that referring to me with my full name would convince me that we weren’t married, then you’re sorely mistaken—”

“Lie in bed with me.”

Dokja’s face switches gears and blushes a furious pink instead. “What?”

“I meant that we should relax on the bed together,” Joonghyuk says, keeping an eye on the system notifications. He is flooded with enough messages that could very well bug the entire Star Stream. “What did you think I was suggesting?”

Dokja waves him off, turning away as if doing so could hide the color on his cheeks. “Just— fine. Fine, let’s do it.”

As they’re lying on Dokja’s bed together, Joonghyuk wonders if he should have thought this through. It’s one of those small hospital beds that was really only meant to fit one person, so Joonghyuk had to pull Dokja close to him as he offered his arm as a pillow. It is one of the most uncomfortable positions Joonghyuk had the misfortune to put himself in, but when he feels Dokja relax against his body, he realizes this is probably the correct decision to make.

“Hey, Joonghyuk?”

Dokja’s voice is gentle, and Joonghyuk can’t identify what emotions are being conveyed there.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. But this isn’t changing my mind about the divorce.”

Joonghyuk sighs. “Alright.”

Eventually, they lie there long enough that Joonghyuk is beginning to lose all feeling in his arm. But he can hear Dokja snoring, his body moving against Joonghyuk’s, so peacefully that he doesn’t have the heart to push Dokja off of him. So Joonghyuk pulls Dokja closer to his chest, thinking about how this is only to solidify his victory in the scenario, and he himself begins to drift off to sleep.

On the second day, Joonghyuk decides to put his cooking skills to good use and whip up a feast for Dokja.

“I can’t eat any of this?” Hayoung whines, glaring at the elaborate spreads of abalone rice porridge, tteokbokki, and jjigae, with kimchi, oyster, and other side dishes. For non-traditional Korean dishes, Joonghyuk decides to go for cuisine from other parts of Earth, including omurice, pasta, curry, tacos, kebabs, burgers, moussaka, beef bourguignon, and meat dumplings.

“This is all for my husband, Kim Dokja,” Joonghyuk says.

Hayoung squints at Joonghyuk, as if he can’t tell if he was joking or being serious. “You said you guys weren’t married.”

“We’re—” Joonghyuk pauses. Would denying that he was actually married to Dokja doom his case in the scenario? Joonghyuk clears his throat and decides not to risk it.

“It was a misunderstanding,” he says instead. “We are truly, wonderfully, happily married.”

Hayoung snorts. “If you’re happily married, Dokja wouldn’t be filing for divorce this very instant.”

Joonghyuk frowns. “Is he—?”

“At the city hall.”

Joonghyuk storms out of Aileen’s workshop. He’s still wearing a pink apron he borrowed from Han Myungoh, but there’s enough wrath on his face that terrified onlookers left a wide berth around him as he marched into the city hall. Joonghyuk finds Dokja, grabs him by the collar, and drags him out of the hall, ignoring how much Dokja’s writhing under his grip.

“Joonghyuk, let me go—”

“We are not getting divorced today.”

“We are in an unhappy relationship! I’m doing both of us a favor!”

“Who said we’re in an unhappy relationship? I’m perfectly happy!”

“You’re shouting! And dragging me out of the city hall by my collar! This is abuse!”

Joonghyuk had half the mind to show Dokja what true abuse was, but he remembers what he’s doing all this for and releases his grip on Dokja’s collar. Dokja frantically scrambles to his feet, but he doesn’t run from Joonghyuk. He seems to have noticed that the latter wasn’t moving.

“Joonghyuk,” Dokja says.

“Why exactly do you want to get a divorce?” Joonghyuk asks. He tries to make his voice as desperately sad as he possibly can. “We got married for a reason, didn’t we?”

Dokja shifts nervously on his feet as he eyes the passersby, every one of them watching the two supposed husbands with confusion. “Joonghyuk, I don’t think we should discuss this matter out here—”

“You can’t be the one asking for the divorce. You’re the one who doesn’t call me babe anymore.”

“Not here!” Dokja is red-faced again as he shoves Joonghyuk forward and onto his feet.

It is only once they are back at the workshop that Dokja continues the conversation.

“You didn’t come to the seventy-third Demon Realm to find me,” Dokja mutters. He’s staring pointedly at Joonghyuk’s chest, specifically at the part of the apron that said, Kiss the chef! in bright rose lettering. His cheeks are still red. “You came here to become a Demon King yourself.”

“Maybe that’s one of my intentions, but I also wanted to look for you.”

“Are you sure? You told me you wanted me to return to Earth with you. But it was clearly a lie— you wanted to send me back to Earth by myself so you could claim all the glory of being the Demon King by yourself.”

“That’s not what I intended to do!”

Dokja squints at Joonghyuk. Joonghyuk can almost see tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. “You always hide secrets from me. You didn’t tell me… you didn’t tell me that you were the Punisher!”

Joonghyuk can sense the next flurry of system messages coming in. He wonders if it was too soon to begin another regression.

“Who told you that?”

“Nobody told me. I figured it out on my own.”

Joonghyuk decided that was a likely story, with Dokja being a little bit of an idiot when it comes to matters like this. But he gathers himself and composes the best response he can think of.

“I didn’t want you to know I could become a woman. I was worried you’d think less of me.”

Dokja blinks. “Why would I think less of you? Because you want to be a woman?”

“I don’t want to be a woman, I just can be a woman—”

“It doesn’t matter if you want to be a woman or not. I married you because you’re Yoo Joonghyuk, and I love you because of who you are, not what you look like.”

He said it with so much sincerity that Joonghyuk almost believed him. Against his better judgment, Joonghyuk can feel something inside of him softening.

“I’m sorry that I’ve been keeping secrets from you,” Joonghyuk says. “From now on, I will tell you everything.”

Dokja blinks. “Everything?”

Joonghyuk pauses. “Everything important.”

That answer seems to satisfy Dokja enough. “Okay.”

“Come on now.” Joonghyuk places his hand on Dokja’s shoulder before switching gears and moving it to his waist instead. He leads him into the dining area. “I cooked dinner for you.”

“You… what?”

“There’s a lot of food. We might have to share some with Aileen and the others, but you should take your pick first.”

“What did you make?”

“There’s kimchi and tteokbokki, but also omurice, curry, meat dumplings—”

“Dumplings?”

The joy on Dokja’s face makes Joonghyuk fuzzy inside. “Yes, dumplings.”

Dokja smiles at him. “Thank you, Joonghyuk. That’s very sweet of you.”

The fuzziness increases in intensity. Joonghyuk doesn’t have the heart to squash it out.

“There’s another reason I want to get divorced,” Dokja says on the third day.

“What is it?”

“We never go on dates.”

Joonghyuk stares. How exactly did Dokja expect to be taken out on dates when they’re fighting for their lives every day in the scenarios? He forces himself to focus.

“I apologize. It was a little difficult to take you out on a date when you were busy dying over and over, becoming the Demon King of Salvation, and getting yourself lost outside the Main Scenario.”

“I meant before that,” Dokja says. He’s pouting, the damn guy. “When we were dating.”

Joonghyuk wants to ask Dokja what he thought the timeline was. There was no way he thought they dated before the scenarios began— Joonghyuk didn’t even know of Dokja before the third regression, where he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. So in Dokja’s head, did they date during the first scenarios? As soon as they met? If so, when exactly did they get married? Right before he became the Demon King of Salvation? Right before Joonghyuk ran a sword through his chest?

No wonder Dokja thought getting a divorce was a good idea. What kind of person literally kills their husband, no matter the context?

But Dokja might cite Joonghyuk’s “lack of memory” as another reason for the divorce, so Joonghyuk ignores all his questions and extends his hand towards Dokja.

“Then let’s go on a date.”

Dokja stares at him. His mouth hangs open slightly as he does.

“R-right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

“Where— do you have anything planned?”

“Why don’t we go to the first Wuxia World? Isn’t there something you need over there?”

Dokja’s jaw seems to fall open even further. “I thought you’d— you had— didn’t you say—”

“You already have tickets to go there, don’t you?”

Almost like clockwork, Biyoo appears with a crackle, and another notification appears.

[Sub-Scenario - Wuxia Date]

Category: Sub

Difficulty Level: ???

Clear Conditions: Go on a date together in the 1st Wuxia World

Time Limit: 12 hours

Compensation: 100,000 coins

Failure: ???

Dokja stares at the notification, then back at Biyoo. “Are you serious?”

“Baat!” Biyoo responds.

Joonghyuk shrugs. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Dokja finally shuts his jaw. He nods. The face he’s making is a little pitiable— he looks a little sad rather than happy. Joonghyuk almost rolls his eyes in exasperation. What was he doing wrong?

When they arrive at the 1st Wuxia World, Joonghyuk wastes no time in taking Dokja to all the popular tourist spots. He takes Dokja to see the 100,000 Great Mountain Ranges and several martial arts schools, and he even buys him a keychain from the marketplace.

“It’s a small sword,” Joonghyuk says, holding up the accessory and passing it to Dokja.

Dokja stares. “Oh. Thank you.”

If Joonghyuk was doubtful earlier, he is definitely certain of Dokja’s lack of enthusiasm now. He grabs Dokja by the arm and drags him into an alleyway. Joonghyuk folds his arms and glares at Dokja until he gathers the courage to lock eyes with him.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Joonghyuk says. “What’s the matter with you? Why aren’t you enjoying yourself?”

Dokja looks annoyed at this confrontation. “Am I supposed to?”

“This is a date! You asked me to take you out on a date! So I did! And you’re still unhappy!”

“Of course I am!”

“Why? Do you want to fail the sub-scenario?”

Dokja jabs his finger at Joonghyuk at that. “That! That’s exactly it! You only took me out on this date because it’s a sub-scenario, and you’re afraid that if we fail, we’re going to die!”

Joonghyuk blinks. “That’s not what I— I told you I was going to take you out before Biyoo gave us the sub-scenario notification!”

“Baat?” The little dokkaebi appears by summons, tilting its little head at Joonghyuk inquisitively.

“You don’t do things unless I ask you to, Joonghyuk,” Dokja says. His voice sounds choked up now. Like he’s holding back tears. “This is why I think we should get divorced.”

For the love of— Joonghyuk inhales and exhales quickly in an attempt to rekindle his patience.

“Come with me,” he says. He grabs Dokja’s wrist before he can think the better of it, and yanks him out of the alleyway.

“Joonghyuk, let me go—”

“You say I don’t do things unless you ask me to. So for once, let me do something for you that you want me to do.”

“What do you even mean by that?”

Joonghyuk isn’t sure either, but he isn’t going to stop now. He jumps into the air and takes Dokja with him, so that they’re both zooming over the residents of the 1st Wuxia World, hopping over rooftops and stone streets as Joonghyuk leads Dokja to the corners of the city. He scales a rockface and sets Dokja gently onto the top. The sky has begun to set, sending the evening light cascading over their bodies. Dokja frowns at Joonghyuk as he settles next to him.

“What is this?”

“Shut up,” Joonghyuk answers. He points into the distance. “Look.”

The landscape begins to shift before their eyes. In the morning light, the 1st Wuxia World is full of color, filled with martial arts students and common folk alike. In the evening, most of the residents have returned to their homes, leaving the light of dusk to dance over the city so that the landscape looks like it’s gleaming gold.

“Wow,” Dokja says, at a loss for words for once.

Joonghyuk allows himself to indulge in the sight of Dokja being awestruck. It’s kind of uncommon to see him this way— Dokja always seems to know more than he should, for better or for worse. For once, Joonghyuk wanted to be the one to impress him.

“This is beautiful,” Dokja says, still not looking at Joonghyuk.

“I used to come up here sometimes during my training period with the Sky Breaking Sword Master,” Joonghyuk explains. He switches his gaze to the stars above. “During my second regression, I mean.”

“You can see the stars so clearly from up here.”

Joonghyuk stares up at where Dokja is pointing into the heavens. He squints disapprovingly.

“Yes,” he says drily. “Those damn constellations.”

He could have sworn he saw them twinkle, as if they were winking at him.

“We’re watching them right now,” Dokja says. He grins up at the stars, extending his hand towards them as if he’s attempting to broker peace. “I’d say we’re even.”

Joonghyuk decides now’s not the time to remind Dokja that he is also a constellation. Instead, he grabs the other’s hand and holds it close to his chest. Dokja stares at their intertwined hands as Joonghyuk brings them up to his mouth and kisses the back of Dokja’s hand.

“Yes,” Joonghyuk says. His voice is deeper than usual. “We’re even.”

His notifications must be blowing up again, but Joonghyuk pays them no mind. Instead, he keeps himself focused on Dokja’s eyes, which don’t look away from Joonghyuk’s face once.

“We don’t live together,” is the fourth reason Dokja gives Joonghyuk on the fourth day.

“It’s hard to live together if the main scenarios keep us moving,” Joonghyuk explains. He’s a little more patient than usual— perhaps this hidden scenario is serving him well in the area of personal growth and development.

“But isn’t that what married couples should have? A residence of our own somewhere, for us to come back to?”

Joonghyuk reaches for Dokja’s hand. Dokja doesn’t pull away again, not even as Joonghyuk starts rubbing circles in his palm.

“Then when we return to Earth, let’s buy a house together.”

They’re sitting on a bench outside Aileen’s clock shop. Dokja glances back at Joonghyuk at this statement. His gaze is calculating, like he’s discerning whether Joonghyuk was being serious.

“Under both our names,” Joonghyuk says. “As husbands.”

“Husbands,” Dokja repeats. A light blush dusts his cheeks. “Husbands.”

Joonghyuk can feel something akin to embarrassment creeping up his own body. But to his surprise, it didn’t feel like shame. It was a kind of shyness instead, one that made him want to shrink timidly inside himself, to humble himself before Dokja.

“Husbands,” Joonghyuk says. He’s surprised at the fact that the word doesn’t make him cringe.

“What’s your fifth reason?”

“What?”

“For divorcing me. So far, you’ve claimed that I’m mean, I keep secrets from you, I don’t take you out on dates, and we don’t live together. What other reasons do you have for wanting us to split up?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll come up with something.”

So he says. So he says, but Joonghyuk and Dokja end up spending the entire day at home, playing video games together on the smartphones Aileen built for them. They relish the twenty-four hours of not worrying about scenarios or fighting for their lives, and enjoy their time together instead.

“Dokja?” Joonghyuk asks at the end of their gaming session, as they watch the sun begin to set outside the window. He is immediately reminded of their minor excursion out to the 1st Wuxia World, where he had stared into Dokja’s eyes and thought they held the whole universe inside of them.

“Yeah?” Dokja hums. He’s lying on Joonghyuk’s lap, his eyes fluttering closed. He looks so comfortable; Joonghyuk doesn’t have the heart to move him off.

“Never mind,” Joonghyuk says softly. He caresses Dokja’s head. “Go back to sleep.”

He had wanted to ask Dokja if he had found the fifth reason. If he still wanted the divorce. But for some reason, Joonghyuk doesn’t want to ask him that. For some reason, he is afraid of the answer.

“I’ve come up with another reason,” Dokja says after he corners Joonghyuk in the workshop downstairs.

“What is it?” Joonghyuk asks. He tries to keep his voice as monotone as possible.

“We haven’t been intimate with one another in a very long time.”

Joonghyuk stares. Dokja stares back. Neither of them backs down.

“What,” Joonghyuk says. He’s given up hiding his emotions— the exasperation in his tone is as clear as day.

“What?” Dokja asks. His tone is full of confusion. “Am I not being clear about what I’m referring to?”

Joonghyuk pauses. If he were being honest, he thought this topic would be brought up sooner. Dokja had thought they were married, after all. Intimacy is something that naturally blossoms between two people who are tied together, is it not? So it’s natural for Dokja to have assumed that they had done it. Perfectly natural.

And yet. Joonghyuk can feel himself flushing at the thought of them being intimate to any degree. Sure, he’d kissed the back of Dokja’s hand when they were at the 1st Wuxia World, and he’d caressed the top of his head in a way that might suggest a deeper relationship, but… actually sleeping together? That’s a line Joonghyuk isn’t sure he should cross.

Dokja seems to be reading his mind, because he glances downward in disappointment.

“You don’t want to sleep with me,” he says. “You think I’m ugly.”

Joonghyuk frowns. “Who said you’re ugly?”

“That’s why you don’t want to sleep with me.”

Joonghyuk braves a glance at the Star Stream notifications. He’s been avoiding them for the last two days because he knows most of it is likely the same fifty constellations freaking out about his scenario, but now he’s desperate for guidance.

But maybe he’s not that desperate. Most of the advice he received was unfortunately straightforward and clearly self-indulgent— they all wanted to see him and Dokja sleep together. He doesn’t even understand Uriel’s notifications; they’re filled with jargon he can’t decipher. He speed-reads through the notifications, hoping to find something, anything that could help him out of this situation—

He pauses. The answer clicks in his head, and his body moves before he can think his actions through.

“Joonghyuk? Are you even listening to me—”

Joonghyuk grabs Dokja by the collar and kisses him.

He’s not sure what propels him to do it, not exactly. He can only think about how much he had wanted to kiss Dokja at that moment, how he wanted to cheer him up and assure him that no, he’s not ugly, he’s one of the most beautiful people in the world and that in truth Joonghyuk is overjoyed that Dokja thinks they’re married, and that he was disappointed at learning that Dokja had wanted a divorce, and that the thought of them sleeping together makes Joonghyuk embarrassed but also brings him so much joy because maybe, just maybe, despite everything they’d done to each other, Joonghyuk might be in l—

Dokja shoves Joonghyuk away. He looks at him like they’re strangers.

“Dokja?” Joonghyuk asks. For once, he sounds afraid.

Dokja doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns tail and runs away before Joonghyuk can stop him.

“Joonghyuk, are you busy?”

“What is it?” He snaps at Aileen, and he feels bad about it immediately when she recoils. Joonghyuk rubs his eyes, sure that there are eye bags beneath them from tossing and turning all night. He hasn’t seen Dokja since yesterday.

“I apologize,” Aileen says, taking a step back. “If this isn’t the right time…”

“No, it’s fine,” Joonghyuk shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. What is it?”

“I found the cure to Dokja’s ailment.”

Joonghyuk blinks. He is stunned at the lack of enthusiasm he feels. “You… you found it?”

“Yes. It’s quite simple, really.” Aileen shifts in place and scratches the back of her head. “It’s a little… awkward, however.”

“Just get to the point.”

“Right. Well. You know how he thinks you’re both married?”

Joonghyuk’s heart hurt. The fact that it isn’t true is more agonizing than he cares to admit. “Yes.”

“The only way to cure him is if you kiss him.”

Joonghyuk stares. “Excuse me?”

“I know it sounds odd,” Aileen says. “It may have something to do with the fact that you were with him when the flowers attacked him. Of course, I understand it could be extremely awkward, especially if Dokja retains his memory of everything he did and said while his memory was modified—”

“Wait. He remembers?”

“The flower’s poison has the same mind-numbing effects as alcohol, and like I said, its mental effects aren’t permanent. So if my hypothesis is correct—”

Joonghyuk doesn’t wait to listen to the rest of Aileen’s sentence.

Joonghyuk finds Dokja in the 1st Wuxia World, at the top of the mountain where they had watched the sunset.

“KIM DOKJA,” Joonghyuk barks.

 Dokja flinches like a scared animal as Joonghyuk lands, denting the stone beneath his feet.

“Joonghyuk!” Dokja laughs nervously, taking a step back when Joonghyuk steps forward. “I didn’t— I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I brought you here. This is my spot.”

“Well, yes. I meant that I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.”

Joonghyuk pauses. There are equally dark eye bags beneath Dokja’s eyes.

“Do you remember that I kissed you yesterday?” Joonghyuk asks.

Dokja flinches, and his face returns to the pink-red hue Joonghyuk has grown fondly accustomed to. “Yes.”

“Do you remember everything that happened before that?” Joonghyuk gestures to their surroundings. “Do you remember the night we came up here?”

“Yes—”

“Do you remember waking up from your coma and telling me that you wanted to get a divorce?”

“Yes, I remember everything!” Dokja bellows, the sound sending the ground vibrating. “You don’t have to repeat everything; the flower didn’t make me forget, it just made me stupid.”

“Made you stupid?”

Dokja runs his hands over his face. “We’re not married. You’re right. As much as I had wanted it…” He turns away, still blushing furiously. “It’s not real. It hadn’t happened. I made things extremely awkward between us. I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean, as much as you had wanted it?”

Dokja cringes at the look on Joonghyuk’s face. “Don’t look at me like that. I know you had a hidden scenario to convince me not to get the divorce.” He throws his hands into the air. “And the funniest thing is, I didn’t even want it either! I want to stay married to you! I want to be with you for the rest of my darned life in this Star Stream! But I know that’s not what you want, so I hadn’t wanted to tell you this—”

“When did I ever say I wanted the divorce?”

Dokja blinks. “Huh?”

“Did I ever, in the last six days, express that I want the divorce?”

“You… you only said and did the things you did because you had that hidden scenario—”

“You were the only one who wanted the divorce.”

“Because in my mind, we were unhappy! You were unhappy!”

“I am not unhappy.”

Joonghyuk grabs Dokja’s hand and places it firmly against his chest. Dokja almost tries to pull away, but then he pauses.

“Joonghyuk,” he says. He sounds amazed. “Your heart is beating so fast.”

“Yes,” Joonghyuk says. “It is.”

Dokja looks up at Joonghyuk slowly. The realization dawns on him.

“You like me,” he says.

Joonghyuk shrugs. “I do.”

“You want to stay married to me. You genuinely want to stop me from getting the divorce.”

“I suppose.”

“You still want to own a house with me?”

“We can live in it together. And with the rest of Kim Dokja’s company, if you’d like.”

“And you want to sleep with me. That’s why you kissed me.”

Joonghyuk blinks. His heart beats traitorously against Dokja’s hand, and the latter laughs brightly.

“You’re in love with me!”

Joonghyuk wants to hide. The constellations can’t see him like this. “Shut it—”

“Joonghyuk,” Dokja says, his voice gravely serious now. He keeps his eyes locked on Joonghyuk’s. “Do you want to officially tie the knot?”

The regressor blinks. In all the chaos, in all the misunderstandings, he had forgotten that despite everything, he and Dokja aren’t officially married.

“Let’s do it,” Joonghyuk says without missing a beat. “Right now.”

“Right—?”

Joonghyuk pulls Dokja in by his arm and catches him in another kiss. Dokja makes a surprised sound that sends shivers down Joonghyuk’s spine, and he pulls Dokja closer to him. Joonghyuk is only interrupted by the incessant sounds of the Star Stream notifications, one of which he pulls up in annoyance.

[The constellation Demon-Like Judge of Fire is beaming proudly at you!]

“Oh, shut it, Uriel,” Joonghyuk huffs.

Dokja throws his head back in glee. “Yoo Joonghyuk. We’re not married just because we kissed.”

“Who dictates that?” Joonghyuk demands, pulling Dokja even closer. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip and his eyes darken. “I’d say we had… tied the knot.”

Dokja slaps his palm over his face and drags it downward, synchronizing it with his groan. “Oh, constellations. I think the flower cursed you stupid, too.”

“It wasn’t the flower,” Joonghyuk says, brushing his lips over Dokja’s nose. “Just you.”

He doesn’t give Dokja time to formulate a response before he jumps into the evening sun, making his way back to the 73rd Demon Realm, where they’ll prepare for the Demon King Selection and eventually return home to the rest of the company.

[Hidden Scenario - Saving the Marriage! has been completed]

[500,000 coins have been acquired as compensation]

[A husband has been acquired as compensation]

A week earlier…

“Joonghyuk, duck!”

“There is no need for you to tell me that,” Joonghyuk says, deftly avoiding a rose before slicing it in half.

Dokja frowns at the flowers. There’s something familiar about this species, even though Dokja’s sure he hasn’t seen them before. He scans his memory of TWSA, hoping to find a clue.

Then it clicks.

Oh.

Dokja steals a furtive glance at Joonghyuk. Was it worth losing a million coins to pull this stunt? To find out how he’d react if Dokja’s memory were modified and he believed that they were married to one another? Even if he’s completely incapacitated, Joonghyuk would be able to carry them through the rest of the scenario. At least he’d receive the whole million coins as compensation.

But then again. What is there to lose? Whether or not he will be cured or forever be ailed by this misunderstanding, surely Joonghyuk will do everything in his power to help him. They are companions, after all.

Dokja brightens. He turns to the flowers and raises his arms high.

“Dokja?” Joonghyuk’s voice is tinged with confusion. “What the hell are you do—”

Dokja’s world fades to black as he is hit in the face with the flower’s poison.