Work Text:
After seeing the scenario window, the members of Kim Dokja's Company were on edge.
Why did they need to go to a grocery store for no reason? Did one of the constellations suggest it?
Sub Scenario
[Walmart Grocery Run]
Members of the nebula, 'Kim Dokja's Company' will be divided into pairs for shopping. Once finished, you may visit your companions if you wish. A fast food restaurant is available inside the Walmart for sustenance.
Category: Sub
Difficulty: B
Clear condition: Get all items on the list assigned to you.
Time limit: 2 days
Penalty for failure: Death
What the fuck was this scenario?!
When Dokja scrolled further, he was horrified.
There is a no weapons rule. Coins will not be used as a form of payment.
...Demon King of Salvation, your partner is Incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk.
Joonghyuk would probably kill him. Suddenly, everyone felt the weight of a card in their pockets. Probably to pay for the items, right?
[Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, is shedding tears of joy.]
[Constellation, Secretive Plotter, is grumbling about the scenario.]
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, wants to see violence between Incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk and Demon King of Salvation.]
[Constellation, Prisoner of the Golden Headband, is intrigued.]
Of course, the messages from the constellations weren't helping either. Dokja wished that the Star Stream had an option to mute notifications.
Joonghyuk glared at him from where he sat on the couch in the Industrial Complex's living room.
Dokja held back a sigh. He should start writing his will right about now.
Han Sooyoung looked at the scenario window in confusion. Then she smirked in a way that meant she had something to pester Dokja about.
"Dokja," she called.
He tried to ignore her, and failed miserably.
She laughed, and walked up to him. "Who's your partner?"
"Joonghyuk."
She cackled, and went off to seek out Sangah, who was her partner.
Dokja tried to gather the nebula members, but they were whisked away into the 'Walmart' before he could tell them. Surely they understand what to do, he hoped.
***
Joonghyuk let out a sigh. Fluorescent lights greeted them, and they stood on tiled floors. Dokja saw aisles that stretched all the way to the very right side of the building. Thankfully they had labels.
The squeaks of trolley wheels, chatter, the store's shitty music, and the occasional crying baby could be heard.
Dokja was dragged out of the middle by Yoo Joonghyuk, and they ended up in the 'Food and Produce' section.
"We can't use weapons," Joonghyuk said. He talked about something else before adding, "...Kim Dokja, are you even listening?"
"...What? I heard 'no weapons.'"
Joonghyuk sighed, and muttered something about squids and idiots.
Dokja tried to look at the list, but Joonghyuk beat him to it.
"We need...two cucumbers, a bag of potatoes, and five notebooks along with scissors and hair colour," Joonghyuk said with a frown on his face.
What the fuck. Dokja thought this scenario couldn't get any weirder.
Dokja suggested, "Let's get a trolley before we look at the list, please?" His patience was already thin from having to deal with Sooyoung.
Joonghyuk bristled, but Dokja already went to the exit of the Walmart for the trolley.
Once he came back, pushing the trolley, he looked at Joonghyuk with a raised eyebrow.
The latter huffed, and read from the list while Dokja grabbed the stuff.
***
"Dokja. You're going too slow," Joonghyuk complained.
"Fine, you push the trolley then," Dokja retorted.
They switched roles, and settled into it 'nicely.' Which involved bickering, complaining, and nearly hitting a lost child that looked like Gilyoung, but seemed suspicious.
***
Dokja struggled to keep up, and Joonghyuk matched his pace. They stopped near the men's clothes aisle, where a father and son could be seen deciding on something.
"Dokja. Do you want to go into the trolley?"
"What?! No, I'm—"
Joonghyuk carried him by the collar of his jacket, and gently placed him in so that he didn't break anything.
"...Fine," Dokja muttered. "Just dump me in the cart. Stupid sunfish bastard."
"I heard that."
Dokja huffed, and crossed his arms.
Some passers-by glanced at them, but then resumed with their shopping. The store's PA played some pop music, and Joonghyuk proceeded to use Dokja as an extension of the trolley.
"I'm going to look for the hair colour. Stay there."
"Wha—"
"No one will steal our trolley if you're inside," Joonghyuk explained. "No one in their right mind is kidnapping an adult human."
Dokja stared at his back as he went further away.
Joonghyuk crouched and searched among the rows of hair colour on the shelves.
It took him a long time of searching, and Dokja was getting bored.
No one paid attention to a grown man sitting in a shopping cart.
Dokja realized that the people of Walmart had definitely seen weirder things before.
He grumbled a bit, to which Joonghyuk replied, "The list is specific."
He let out a long-suffering sigh.
***
Joonghyuk finished getting the hair colour, and they decided to have lunch at the fast-food restaurant.
Dokja tried to get Joonghyuk to have one fry, but the man grimaced at it and put his hand up.
"Come on, you won't know if it's good or not!"
"I don't need to know."
"Why not?"
"I don't trust others' cooking."
Dokja scoffed. "Of course you don't."
"Only someone like you would do something so stupid," he replied, looking straight at Dokja.
His expression was neutral, which was the softest he could go.
"The bar for kindness with you is—" Dokja started.
"—Is the same as the bar for your intelligence, Dokja."
The sunfish bastard had the audacity to smirk and cross his arms.
Dokja opened his mouth, then closed it again when he couldn't find anything to say.
Instead, he flipped him off, and kept eating the salty fries dipped in ketchup. They were a little soggy, but beggars can't be choosers.
"Bastard," he muttered.
"Idiot," Joonghyuk retorted.
Of course Joonghyuk could hear his muttering. At least he couldn't hear Dokja's thoughts though. Those would be a complete disaster, worthy of a side-eye and multiple attempts to be as far away from Dokja as possible.
[Kim Dok ja is a fo ol.]
'Now is the time you decide to speak.'
[Yes.]
Dokja sighed internally, and moved on to eating his burger.
***
After lunch was done, the two of them searched for the next item, and even went so far as to ask an employee.
Except it was out of stock. So they went to the kitchen appliances section and got a white, ceramic mug with blue flower patterns on it.
Dokja pushed the trolley again, and Joonghyuk walked beside him as the lovingly-dubbed, 'people repellent.'
A short girl with a bob, and a purple hoodie, walked into that aisle then and waved.
Dokja knew his human people repellent wouldn't work against this individual, who was immune.
Sangah followed closely behind with the trolley empty. Did they get all their stuff already? It hasn't even been nightfall yet!
[Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, is wishing Incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk and Demon King of Salvation the best.]
[Constellation, Secretive Plotter, agrees with Incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk's remark about Demon King of Salvation's intelligence.]
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, wants Incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk to insult Demon King of Salvation further.]
Dokja's eye twitched at that comment.
"...Yes, I put him in the cart," Joonghyuk admitted shamelessly.
"Ok—I was forced to do that!" Dokja argued, but Sooyoung was too busy cackling to hear him. Sangah covered a smile with her palm.
"Dokja-ssi, did he really imply that you were stupid?" Sangah asked. "I thought he would've been more straightforward about it." She even had the audacity to look thoughtful.
Dokja's jaw dropped as indirect messages flooded in.
Sooyoung, who just recovered from her first fit of cackles burst into another one again.
"That was uncalled for," Dokja said.
"No—I'm not saying you're stupid," Sangah said, trying to amend her previous reply, "But I thought Joonghyuk-ssi is the type of person to directly tell someone about their stupidity."
"I mean, I guess it's a good thing," Sooyoung said after recovering. "He thinks you're worthy enough of subtle insults."
Dokja just remained silent. He was going to catch strays anyways.
Joonghyuk finally butted in. "His reading comprehension has increased."
"I—you know what, I'm going to take that as a compliment," Dokja muttered.
Sangah smiled apologetically.
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, likes seeing Demon King of Salvation suffer.]
Nobody was surprised about that.
[Constellation, Prisoner of the Golden Headband, is rolling on the floor laughing.]
Wow, even Sun Wukong was a traitor.
Dokja stood off to the side awkwardly as Joonghyuk made polite conversation with Sangah.
So the sunfish can be polite, he just refuses to be!
"No, we haven't tried to harm each other yet," Joonghyuk answered calmly.
Yet?! The hell did he mean yet?!
Dokja gave him a wary look.
"Well, we'll be going back to the Complex now," Sooyoung interrupted. "Have fun on your da—" Sangah put a hand over her mouth to shush her, and they went back.
Which left Joonghyuk and Dokja alone in the aisle.
"I think we're done for today," Dokja said. "Let's go pay now."
Joonghyuk nodded, and they went to the checkout together.
The cashier scanned their items one by one, and Dokja packed them all into the bags. They paid for everything with the black card, and all of the stuff disappeared. Probably sent back to the Complex, Dokja thought.
"Dokja," Joonghyuk started.
"What?"
He sighed instead of responding.
Dokja ignored it, and now they had to deal with the issue of sleeping arrangements.
Inside a Walmart.
Thankfully, Joonghyuk had the oh-so-amazing ability to sleep anywhere. Dokja thought that Joonghyuk could potentially sleep with his eyes open, and no one would notice.
And so, they ended up sleeping on armchairs in the furniture section.
***
Heewon and Hyunsung were doing much better than Dokja and Joonghyuk. For one, they were not on the verge of strangling each other, and two, they could actually find shit.
By lunchtime, they were done with their day's list. They ate at the fast food restaurant, had a conversation, and went to visit Dokja and Joonghyuk.
They were sleeping on two seperate armchairs when Heewon saw them, and Joonghyuk's expression was softer than it normally was.
He didn't smile or anything, but the tension in his face lessened, and his eyebrows weren't furrowed. He slept while sitting up, which should be a feat in of itself.
As for Dokja...he slept questionably. Somehow, he managed to lay his head on the armrest, while his legs dangled below the other one.
Heewon stared.
This, she realized, Is the duality of man.
Hyunsung looked confused and concerned for Dokja. He probably wanted to adjust his sleeping position to make it more comfortable, but he didn't know how.
"Did they... not grab pillows?" Heewon murmured to herself.
[Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, is squealing!]
Of course her sponsor was enjoying this more than she should.
[Constellation, Lily of Aquarius, is intrigued about this companionship.]
Uriel brought another Archangel into this?
[Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, is overjoyed with the companionship.]
Yep... leave it to Uriel to bring another one into her fantasy.
Heewon sighed, and let out a small huff of amusement.
Joonghyuk just had to wake up then.
"Ah, Joonghyuk-ssi! I wanted to get you some pillows but..." Hyunsung scratched the back of his head.
"It's fine." He nodded, and turned his attention to Dokja. "...Maybe get the pillows for him," he muttered.
Heewon was still trying to process how the fuck Dokja sleeps like that.
All that came out of her mouth was, "What the hell..."
Joonghyuk looked bewildered as well. His frown was one of confusion, and his eyebrows furrowed less.
"Maybe ask Dokja-ssi about it when he wakes up," Heewon said.
Hyunsung nodded, and went to find some pillows for Dokja.
Joonghyuk, ever the responsible one, (since when?) crouched beside Dokja and adjusted his head so it was more comfortable.
[Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, is overjoyed!]
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, wants more violence.]
[Constellation, Secretive Plotter, is mildly offended at Demon King of Salvation's sleeping position.]
Heewon read the message from her sponsor, and shook her head with a faint smile.
She watched Joonghyuk treat Dokja gently, wondering if he ever treated anyone else like this.
She was about to ask something, but he glared at her. She raised her hands in surrender, while thinking that Joonghyuk was oddly protective of Dokja. More than she was, and that was saying something.
Hyunsung came back with the pillows, and Joonghyuk snatched them for Dokja.
Again, he lifted Dokja's head gently, putting the pillow underneath. Then he grabbed another armchair, and put that one beside him.
[Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, says that she doesn't have words for how happy she is!]
[Constellation, Prisoner of the Golden Headband, is amused.]
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, is complaining that this is boring.]
The messages came in as usual, and yet there was no 'Secretive Plotter.'
Heewon, as usual, paid attention to Uriel's messages.
Even she couldn't help but smile warmly at the sight of Kim Dokja being treated so gently, when the man has little to no concern for himself.
Hyunsung and Heewon looked at each other, and they nodded.
Then they chose to go back to the Complex, refusing to tell Dokja about what happened. That idiot needs to figure it out for himself, Heewon thought.
***
With Sangah and Sooyoung, there were some rough edges, but it was resolved in the end of the first day.
"Sangah! I lost the card," Sooyoung said.
Sangah held back a sigh as she gently asked, "Do you remember where you were before you lost it?"
"Somewhere near...the gardening tools aisle? It might be under a shelf somewhere."
"Sooyoung-ssi, with all due respect, I am not looking under a shelf for your card," Sangah replied sternly, pushing the trolley.
Jihye and the kids chose to visit next. They were grouped into a trio, since the nebula had an odd number of members.
"Where's hyung?" Gilyoung asked.
"Hyung isn't here in this... Walmart, you moron," Yoosung retorted.
"Kids, stop fighting," Jihye said with the tiredness of a middle-aged office worker. This girl was in highschool, for fuck's sake! Is this what babysitting does to you? Sooyoung wondered.
"Sorry," they said in unison, but it was clear they didn't mean it.
Sangah had told Jihye about Sooyoung losing her card, and she sighed.
The kids were bickering about something else, and that was more entertaining, so Sooyoung watched that instead.
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, is thriving off of your misery!]
"Shut up, you stupid Black Flame Dragon," Sooyoung muttered.
"How did ahjussi lose that?" Gilyoung asked.
Sooyoung listened more intently.
"I don't know!" Yoosung replied, crossing her arms.
"Oh, come on! You can't just say he lost that without an explanation!"
"What did Dokja lose?" Sooyoung asked.
"Your lollipop," Yoosung deadpanned.
"The one I gave him."
Yoosung nodded.
"How did he lose that?"
"Surely you'd know, Sooyoung-ssi," Sangah said.
"Why would I know?!"
"It's the same way you lost your card. I feel like you lost some of your brain along with it, but I suppose retrieving it is a lost cause," Sangah murmured.
Sooyoung's jaw dropped, with Jihye dropping a bouncy ball, and the kids looked at each other, then back at Sangah.
Messages were flooding in from the constellations, and they felt surprised, shocked, betrayed, and happy, jn the case of her sponsor.
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, wants Incarnation Yoo Sangah to keep insulting Incarnation Han Sooyoung!]
[Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, feels betrayed.]
[Constellation, Queen of the Darkest Spring, is amused.]
[Constellation, Prisoner of the Golden Headband, is cackling!]
[Constellation, Lily of Aquarius, is shocked!]
Sooyoung felt betrayed. Sangah had the audacity to look apologetic, but the damage was done.
"I...don't know what happened there, is it a scenario penalty or...?"
Jihye had a slack jaw, while the kids gave Sangah a side-eye. They didn't know she could be this savage, after all.
"Sooyoung-eonni, I'll save you from becoming dinner at Master's hands!" Jihye cried. "I don't think even ice can deal with that burn..."
Sooyoung promptly shut up, for once. Since when were the kids in on this as well?!
"That was uncalled for," she retorted.
The conversation then devolved into more concerning topics after Yoosung asked if cooked human meat would be similar to the beasts they have.
"Ahem, uh, Yoosung-ah, don't ask those questions," Sangah said, trying to de-escalate the situation.
Sooyoung could only hope that her group members didn't resort to cannibalism. Well, Heewon, Hyunsung, Sangah and her would be the last to go. Which said very concerning things about Joonghyuk and Dokja. Maybe it was for the best that they weren't here, Sooyoung thought.
"Jihye-yah, shouldn't you be going back to the complex?"
She looked like she had a 'eureka' moment, and then she grabbed the kids, going back to the Complex to leave Sangah and Sooyoung alone.
"Well...that was fun," Sooyoung remarked sarcastically. Sangah shook her head as she murmured something about telling Dokja and Joonghyuk to watch their language around the kids.
Sooyoung suddenly had an idea, and she grabbed the trolley. Sangah followed closely behind, and she put in everything on the list.
"We're gonna go torment Kim Dokja," Sooyoung said with a grin. Sangah sighed, but complied nonetheless.
***
"Joonghyuk?" Dokja asked, stirring from his sleep.
Joonghyuk seemed to be contemplating something as he sat on the edge of the armchair with his elbows on his knees, head bowed.
"Dokja..."
"What?"
"Your sleeping position was horrendous."
"...And?"
"Seolhwa might need to check your spine," Joonghyuk said calmly. As if he didn't just insult Dokja's posture.
"First of all, I am not someone who can sleep anywhere like you—" Dokja started.
"Appearances are terribly misleading then," Joonghyuk said dryly.
Wow, not even 20 minutes after he woke up.
"Let's just get everything on the list," Dokja muttered. Obviously, he was very sour about the insult, and decided to push the trolley slowly out of spite.
***
Dokja and Joonghyuk were the last pair to arrive at the Complex, since they were missing one item on the first day. Otherwise, they probably would've been the first ones back.
Gilyoung and Yoosung hugged Dokja tightly upon return, while the former glared at Joonghyuk.
"Did that sooty bastard hurt you, hyung?"
"Gilyoung-ah, language."
Joonghyuk looked mildly offended. Dokja didn't even know he was capable of being 'mild' at all.
Gilyoung looked at him intently, waiting for an answer.
"No, he did not. Although he did insult my posture," Dokja added.
Gilyoung glared at Joonghyuk.
The latter's lips twitched upwards at the childish rivalry that Gilyoung seemed very intent on continuing. He then polished his Black Heavenly Demon Sword further, because according to him, 'it might've collected dust.' After two days.
Dokja smiled, and offered the members of the nebula a hug.
He held his arms out, and the kids immediately tried to take advantage of it again, until Jihye grabbed them by their collars to pull them back.
Sangah hugged Dokja first, making it short but sweet. She was warm, Dokja noted.
Heewon took the hug next, slapping his shoulder.
"Payback," she said.
Dokja kind of agreed that he deserved it.
Hyunsung gave the biggest bear hug known to mankind, and said, "I will never lose my cartridge again."
Dokja had to tell him to let go because he could barely breathe.
Seolhwa declined the hug, while Gong Pildu said he didn't need a hug from the likes of him.
Hayoung reluctantly accepted, but she was still in denial about the whole 'Demon King of Salvation = Kim Dokja' situation.
Finally, the last three that haven't been hugged yet were Jihye, Joonghyuk, and Han Sooyoung.
Jihye accepted the hug, and slapped Dokja's other shoulder. "Too bad Heewon-eonni did it first," she said.
His smile became strained.
"Joonghyuk, do you want a hug?" He asked.
"No."
Wow, soft much?
Dokja crossed his arms when he got to Sooyoung.
"If I have to," he deadpanned.
He held his arm out, and Sooyoung took the hug. The second she hugged tightly, his instincts kicked in, telling him something was going to happen.
And Sooyoung slapped Dokja's back. Hard.
"You bastard!"
Sooyoung smirked, and went off to God-knows-where.
Dokja sat on the sofa, watching Joonghyuk polish his sword.
After a while, Joonghyuk walked up to the sofa, and ordered Dokja to move.
"What? Why?" He immediately went on the defensive.
"Move, Kim Dokja."
"Fine, sunfish bastard."
Joonghyuk's eye twitched. He shoved Dokja to the middle of the sofa, when he had been on the right side before.
"...That offer you made earlier," Joonghyuk started.
"Oh, the hugs?"
He nodded in response. "Is it still valid?"
Dokja felt heat rush to his face. "...Yeah, why?"
Joonghyuk stood up, and offered Dokja a hand. He took it.
The first thing Dokja noticed was the sudden warmth. Before, he felt like he was warm enough to survive, but this warmth made anything else seem cold. It was like comparing a dying spark to a raging wildfire.
Since when did Joonghyuk become so warm?
The latter's arms were wrapped tightly around Dokja, and he buried his face into his shoulder.
Joonghyuk let out a deep, ragged breath.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, with constant messages from Uriel, but they ignored it. The hugs were something that both of them needed, desperately.
Dokja returned the hug hesitantly at first, but then held on tightly as he remembered all the memories he had made with his favourite protagonist. In a way, this hug was like Dokja's 'thank you' to Joonghyuk.
Then Joonghyuk left, making Dokja feel like he was in a block of ice once the cold came biting at him again.
The definition of warmth, to him, was changed permanently.