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The Ninth Scenario had left the industrial sector of Seoul looking like a graveyard of twisted steel and cracked concrete. Smoke still curled lazily toward the ash-choked sky, but Kim Dokja wasn't looking at the wreckage.
He was staring at the glowing blue window hovering in front of his face.
[Sub-Scenario: "The Crucible of Bonds" has been unlocked!]
[Description: Incarnations who declare an active 'Companionate Status' will receive a tier-scaled statistical synergy buff for the duration of the Tenth Scenario.]
{Level 1 (Basic Trust): +15% Movement Speed, +10% Attack Power
{Level 2 (Deep Affection): +50% Defense, +30% Health Recovery Rate
{Level 3 (Eternal Vow): +300% Attack Speed, +300% Health Recovery Rate, Nullifies Phase-1 Boss Defense
*Note: Buff scaling is automatically evaluated by the System based on the absolute emotional synchronization of both Incarnations.
Dokja’s eyes widened slightly.
Three hundred percent attack speed and health regen.
For a normal incarnation, those numbers were impressive. For Yoo Joonghyuk—a regressor whose raw combat output was already terrifying—a three-hundred-percent multiplier would make him virtually unstoppable against the upcoming Tenth Scenario boss. It was an absurdly broken exploit.
The only problem was the catch: genuine emotional synchronization.
"Hey, Joonghyuk," Dokja called out, turning toward the quiet figure standing a few paces away.
Yoo Joonghyuk was wiping down the blade of the Black Heavenly Demon Sword with a clean rag. He didn't look up, but his silence was an invitation for Dokja to speak—or at least an indication that he hadn't decided to strike him down yet.
"Look at this sub-scenario buff," Dokja said, marching over and tapping the floating text. "It’s a massive tactical oversight by the Bureau. If two Incarnations declare a romantic contract, the System grants an absurd stat force-multiplier for the next raid."
Joonghyuk didn't even pause his wiping motion. "No."
"Listen to the numbers first!" Dokja pressed, falling into his usual persuasive, lighthearted pitch tone. "A three-hundred-percent boost to your attack speed. You could clear the main vanguard wave in under five minutes. All we have to do is trigger the System's 'Companionate' flag."
Joonghyuk finally stopped, slowly turning his head to glare at Dokja with dark, unblinking eyes. "You want to fake a contract with me."
"It's not 'faking,' it's exploiting a mechanical loophole," Dokja corrected smoothly, folding his arms with a confident grin. "The System uses primitive biometric markers—heart rate, proximity, shared physical contact—to measure relationship status. We just need to play along with the parameters long enough to lock in the Level 3 buff before the boss fight tomorrow."
"Absurd," Joonghyuk grunted, turning back to his sword. "Find someone else."
"Who else?" Dokja countered, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Han Sooyoung would try to stab me in my sleep for the achievement points, and the kids are out of the question. You're the vanguard, Joonghyuk. You're the one who needs the attack speed multiplier. It's pure logic."
Joonghyuk went dead silent. For a long moment, the only sound was the wind howling through the broken concrete around them. Finally, with a heavy, irritated exhale, the regressor sheathed his sword with a sharp clack.
"If this interferes with the combat formation," Joonghyuk growled low in his throat, "I will kill you."
"Deal," Dokja smiled brightly.
By nightfall, the logic began to collapse.
They set up a temporary camp in the courtyard of an abandoned building. The rest of the company was scattered around the fire—Han Sooyoung eyeing them suspiciously, Lee Jihye whispering furiously to Jung Heewon about "Master’s bizarre sudden decisions"—while Dokja and Joonghyuk sat on a stone bench near the perimeter.
The System banner hovered above them, glowing a faint, disappointing shade of blue.
[Current Compatibility Rate: 45%]
[Current Buff Tier: Level 1]
Dokja stared at the numbers, his brow furrowing. "This makes no sense. We declared the status over two hours ago."
"The System requires proximity," Joonghyuk said flatly, sitting stiffly beside him, looking like a man awaiting an execution rather than a man participating in a buff exploit.
"Right," Dokja muttered. He shifted closer on the stone bench, his shoulder brushing against Joonghyuk's heavy dark coat.
A tiny ding sounded in Dokja's ear.
[Current Compatibility Rate: 52%]
"See?" Dokja said, trying to sound triumphant, though his voice sounded slightly tight. "It's working. We just need to increase the physical contact markers to trick the algorithm into registering higher intimacy."
Without thinking too much about it—treating it purely like pressing buttons in an online RPG—Dokja reached out and awkwardly grabbed Joonghyuk's left hand, lacing their fingers together.
Joonghyuk’s hand was larger, rough with calluses, and burning with a steady, grounding heat. The moment their skin met, Dokja felt a sudden, sharp spike in his own chest—a strange, fluttering panic that he immediately tried to push down into the dark corners of his mind.
[Current Compatibility Rate: 78%]
[Notice: Active statistical buffs are scaling.]
"There," Dokja said quickly, staring straight ahead at the ruined wall, refusing to look at their joined hands. "Eighty percent. If we hold this position for an hour, it should stabilize at Level 2."
Joonghyuk didn't pull away. But he didn't say anything either. His grip on Dokja’s hand was firm, calm, and utterly still.
Minutes stretched into an eternity. The campfire crackled in the distance. Dokja sat frozen, hyper-aware of every point of contact between them—the weight of Joonghyuk’s shoulder against his, the heat of his hand, the steady rhythm of his breathing.
The silence between them grew thicker, heavier, until Dokja felt like he was drowning in it. His heart was beating completely out of rhythm, hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
It's just a stat boost, Dokja reminded himself fiercely. It's just a game. A trick. He's doing this for the scenario, and I'm doing this to keep us alive.
He looked up at the floating blue screen to check the progress.
[Current Compatibility Rate: 82%]
[Warning: Discrepancies detected between physiological markers and active cognitive denial.]
Dokja’s stomach dropped.
Cognitive denial?
The blue light began to flicker, pulsing with a faint, agitated red border.
[Current Compatibility Rate: 79%]
[Current Compatibility Rate: 74%]
"What..." Dokja muttered, his composure cracking. "Why is it dropping?"
"You're glaring at the screen again, Kim Dokja."
Joonghyuk’s voice was lower now, a deep rumble that vibrated right through Dokja’s arm.
"I'm not glaring," Dokja lied, his chest tightening as he tried to pull his mind back under control. "I'm analyzing the algorithm. The Star Stream’s system architecture is famously outdated when it comes to emotional metrics. It's using archaic parameters."
Joonghyuk turned his head, his dark eyes locking onto Dokja’s pale face in the dim light. "It’s a stat boost. Nothing more."
"Exactly," Dokja said, forcing a bright, entirely fake smile as he tried to pull his hand back to break the connection and clear his head. "Exactly! A three-hundred-percent increase... we just need to recalibrate..."
Joonghyuk’s fingers tightened around his wrist, preventing him from pulling away.
"Kim Dokja," Joonghyuk said softly, watching the blue screen flicker furiously above them. "Your heart rate is spiking."
And in that moment, as the System began to flag his frantic attempts to deny his own feelings, Dokja realized he had walked straight into a trap of his own design—and there was no strategy in the world that could talk his way out of it.
“It’s residual stamina drain,” Dokja lied, pulling at his wrist to break the hold, wanting nothing more than to put ten feet of distance between them before the system read his mind out loud. “From the patrol earlier. I need to walk it off. If we drop below seventy, we lose the health regeneration multiplier, and—”
Joonghyuk didn’t let go. His fingers tightened just enough to anchor Dokja in place.
“You proposed this,” Joonghyuk said, his tone dangerously calm. “You said it was a calculated strategy.”
“It is a calculated strategy!” Dokja’s composure fractured, his voice cracking slightly as the panic he’d been suppressing finally broke through. He glared at the red warning text flashing above them. “Look at this! The system is trying to force an emotional narrative onto a simple transaction! It’s absurd!”
“Then why are you trying to run away?”
"Because you're sitting there staring at me like I'm supposed to make a grand speech!" Dokja snapped, his breath coming in short, uneven hitches. He stopped pulling against Joonghyuk’s grip, his shoulders slumping as the sheer weight of his own exhaustion caught up to him. "I know how this looks to you, Joonghyuk. I know I'm infuriating. I know I'm just an anomaly who keeps dragging you into ridiculous schemes."
He looked down at the dirt, unable to meet the regressor's eyes.
"You don't have to keep playing along," Dokja whispered, his usual sharp sarcasm completely gone. "If the System is going to throw a fit because we aren't... whatever it expects us to be, then forget it. Dissolve the contract. I'll find another way to clear the Tenth Scenario tomorrow. I always do. You don't have to pretend for my sake."
Silence fell over the ruined courtyard.
Dokja braced himself for the sharp, cold bite of Joonghyuk’s voice. He waited for the harsh rejection, the dismissive grunt, the immediate release of his hand. He prepared himself to retreat back into his books, his numbers, and his lonely, solitary role as the reader of this world.
Instead, Joonghyuk’s hand shifted.
His grip didn't loosen; his fingers adjusted, lacing firmly, deliberately through Dokja’s, pulling their palm-to-palm contact tighter than before.
Dokja’s breath caught in his throat. He looked up, startled.
Yoo Joonghyuk was watching him. There was no anger in his dark eyes. No disgust, no annoyance. There was only an intense, quiet certainty that made Dokja’s chest ache.
"Kim Dokja," Joonghyuk said, his voice deep and steady. "Look at the screen."
Dokja’s eyes darted involuntarily upward.
The red warning banners were gone. The harsh cyan glow had smoothed out into a deep, radiant gold that cast a warm light over the concrete steps.
[Current Compatibility Rate: 100%]
[The Star Stream has verified the absolute sincerity of both Incarnations.]
[Maximum System Buffs Applied: "Eternal Vow" status achieved.]
Dokja stared at the golden numbers, his mind completely blanking out.
"One hundred..." Dokja swallowed hard, his logic completely failing him. "That... that requires absolute mutual sincerity. The System won't trigger Level 3 unless both..."
He trailed off, his eyes slowly dropping back down to meet Joonghyuk’s gaze.
Joonghyuk didn't pull away. He leaned in slightly, closing the small gap between them, his thumb tracing a quiet, grounding circle over the back of Dokja’s hand.
"I don't care about the stats," Joonghyuk said softly, his voice stripping away every last layer of defense Dokja had ever built. "And I was never pretending."
Dokja opened his mouth to say something—a witty brush-off, a clever deflection, anything—but the words died in his throat. For the first time since the scenarios had begun, Kim Dokja didn't try to calculate his next move. He just sat in the quiet golden light, letting himself be held.