Heewon-ssi, is that-?" Hyunsung leans over toward the judge, asking his question under his breath in a whisper. He stops abruptly so Dokja glances behind him to see Heewon's face is pale and she is tensed up in her seat. He can also sort of see her hands shaking in her lap where she's trying to hide them.
Pursing his lips, Dokja clenches his own fists in his lap. He's frustrated he couldn't have done more for her. Heewon got her revenge, but it doesn't erase what was done to her. This must be hard for her, having these awful things replayed before her.
She deserves better than this.
"Don't look, Heewon-ssi." Dokja finally says, his voice stern as he looks her in her eyes. Her pupils are shaking, lips trembling. He is determined to make this better in any way he can. "You don't have to watch this."
He tries to soften his expression, giving her his nicest smile as he raises from his chair a bit to try and cover her view of the screen. That's all it takes for her to snap her head away to look at one of the walls instead. She covers her ears and curls up further in her chair.
Nodding, Dokja turns and sits back in the chair properly. He's now sitting slightly on Joonghyuk instead of squished up in the chair, but it's not really noticeable so he ignore it.
Joonghyuk notices just fine.
He turns around a shelving unit and sees a trembling woman lying on the ground, and she's not in good condition. Though she's wearing mask to try and slow the spread of the airborne poison, it isn't enough.
Dokja looks down at her in shock. 'There's someone who survived..?'
The woman looks up at him with a pleading gaze. "Help me... Please."
She's begging him. It makes him feel like he's going to throw up. It's too familiar of a sound, of a sight. There's a memory tugging at the edge of his thoughts and he packs it away quickly.
Between her torn clothes, the bruising marring her skin, and the dark splotches from the poison, she looks pitiful. However, her eyes are fierce despite the desperation and exhausted clearly seen in them.
[Exclusive skill 'The Fourth Wall' thickens.]
"Oh, Heewon-ssi..." Yoo Sangah almost starts a sentence, but she falls quiet after that. She sounds like she's sympathizing though, not wanting to continue the conversation from earlier. The theater is dead quiet now.
"You helped me." Heewon is the one to break the silence, the only acceptable person to do so. Her voice cracks once, but she doesn't let it dissuade her. She powers on like she always had. Her hands are no longer shaking when he looks back, they are closed in fists and her eyes are trained on him.
Dokja doesn't say anything, just gazing at her and waiting for her to say her piece. It's important that he refrains from interrupting. Even the kids don't say anything. Her voice is more solid this time around, no longer wavering. "You didn't have to-"
He's about to argue, a scowl crawling up his forehead. She doesn't even give him the chance. "But you did. I'll never forget that. I'll never forget how you helped me when I was only a liability."
Heewon's voice gets more and more stable, ending on a stern note as she nods solidly at him with a determined look on her face.
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' commends incarnation 'Kim Dokja' for his good deed.]
There is no good here. Dokja stubbornly looks back to the screen. He is not good.
A few moments later, Dokja has her held carefully on his back, and he runs down the sidewalk while still carrying the bags of food. Bodies are littered on the ground, decomposing and leaving all sorts of fluids among the rubble. He steps around it pointedly having to look closely because of the toxic haze obscuring his vision.
He thinks as quickly as he can, needing to get underground fast for her sake as well as his. 'Oksu station is already destroyed because it's above ground. The next closest underground station is... Geumho station!'
Dokja skids to a stop above the closest station exit, but it's gated shut.
He can't help but mentally curse at his awful luck. 'Shit, it's blocked. Then maybe the other side...'
Dokja has never been the most athletic of people, so he's out of breath and panting when a voice comes from over his shoulder.
"..four-" She coughs. "Exit number four-"
The woman's voice is weak, but it's clear she must have come from inside the station and would know where an open gate is located. He follows her directions instantly, rushing over to the aforementioned exit.
At exit four, some men are closing the gate when a thorn is suddenly stuck underneath before it can fully close.
"Wha- What the fuck?!" One of the guys says while backing away, not sure what to make of this new development.
"Open the door." Dokja doesn't have the time for this.
The men startle and yell at him from the other side, refusing to let him in even though he has a wounded person with him.
"This place is already full! We don't need anyone else!"
Dokja just sighs, irritation bubbling up born from his lack of rest and reaching his limit of just how much bullshit he's willing to deal with. "That's not my problem."
'This is strange. They aren't taking anymore people because the place is full? Was there a development in the novel like that?' He thinks carefully, frowning around the
Grabbing the thorn and making full use of his upgraded stats, Kim Dokja uses it to lift the gate and get inside.
[You have entered the safety zone.]
"It is weird they didn't just let you in." Lee Jihye comments on the oddness, looking confused at the scene on the screen. She chews at her bottom lip, turning around to ask Heewon about it. "Was the station really that full? It must have been really hot with all of those people."
Heewon just stares at the teenager, taking a long moment to gather her words, and eventually answers in a grave tone. "The station wasn't full."
Confused, Jihye tries to gather exactly what that means, but Dokja explains it to her before this gets out of hand and she makes something up that is no where near what the answer actually is.
"Any new people in the station put the hierarchy of power into question. There were people there that wanted to stay in power and newcomers were unknowns they couldn't risk."
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' agrees with incarnation 'Kim Dokja's assessment]
His tone is just as serious as Heewon's was, not bothering to turn to meet the teenagers eyes. Joonghyuk next to him nods along with his words, giving his statement weight in Jihye's world.
That's so unfair.
Carefully, he lets the woman off his back and sits her down against the wall, offering the item to her when she gasps for breath.
"Put this in your mouth. This won't fully heal you, but it'll help for as long as it lasts."
The woman takes it gratefully, and starts using it to help her breathe. As she does so, Dokja observes her carefully while thinking a few things over. 'Was there an extra like this is the novel? If this was the original novel, then there would've been a high chance of her dying there. Should I look into this?'
His thoughts ae interrupted by the men's return as they shout, "There! It's him!"
A bright light falls over the two of them as the thugs' apparent leader approaches with a pissed-off expression on his face. He's backed by multiple people, all geared with assorted makeshift weapons.
The man demands to know who he is in what should probably be a fierce voice, but Dokja just looks thoroughly unimpressed while a window pops up. He doesn't even know why the random man is asking when the scenario requires everyone to get to an underground station or die.
[The Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband' frowns down at the uninvited guests.]
Still, he decides to humor them anyway. "Kim Dokja."
"Kim Dokja? That's your name?"
"Yes."
The lead thug gets angry and tries to act tough to intimidate the two of them. It's a pathetic attempt. There's no way that would work on him. "Who the hell is asking about that? I asked what kind of bastard you are?!"
One of the other men notices the woman beside Dokja and points her out in shock. "A-ah! That woman..!"
The lead thug notices her as well and makes a remark. "Huh, that's the girl from the minor group. Didn't she come back with you guys?"
"The- The thing is-" The other thug stutters through a reply with an awkward grin that clearly shows whoever was responsible was up to no good.
The lead thug realizes something and smirks. "Ah~ I see. So it's about That, isn't it? You little bastards should have gotten my permission first."
[Many Constellations are angry at the injustice.]
A wave of cringes flies across the people in the room. Yoo Sangah inhales a sharp gasp and Han Sooyoung sucks air in through her clenched teeth. The sunken atmosphere from earlier becomes even heavier as more of the truth is revealed.
Dokja knows exactly what happened. He's seen this situation before. He would have known even if Heewon herself hadn't eluded to it like she had. It's a pain to watch each and every one of the people in his group slowly understand exactly what this situation means.
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' calls for blood of the perpetrators.]
The kids are more ignorant, at the very least. But Gilyoung's eyes are more knowing than they should be and Jihye in grimacing in her seat. It's good for them to know, but Dokja feels bad that they have to know about it in the first place.
He assures himself that none of his companions will have to deal with such a disgusting concept ever again if he had anything to say about it. The women of the group have shuffled around a bit. Sooyoung is still sitting next to him but Sangah has switched with Hyunsung so she's closer to Heewon. They're whispering, so he imagines Sangah is comforting her.
The woman still looks weakened from the poison, but she seems incredibly wary of these men, and Dokja notices it. It's disappointing that such obvious villains are appearing, but even if it's cliche, people will use the apocalypse as an excuse to commit horrific crimes.
The men laugh amongst themselves and say that someone named Chulsoo should have been the first to have her.
'Chulsoo? Was there a character with that name? If I can't remember him, then that just means he isn't very important.' Dokja thinks as he observes them with a serious gaze.
The men stop talking amongst themselves and turn to address Dokja once more. "Hey, just hand over that girl... Huh? What's that?"
One of the others notices the other things Dokja brought and he points out the bags from the convenience store, and Dokja is immediately told to hand over the food as well so that he can leave with his life.
As fucking if. He was getting away with his life either way and he sure as hell wasn't handing over his new friend and the food he was able to gather. Eyeing the group, he debates with himself about the situation he's gotten himself into.
[The Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband' is pissed off at the thugs.]
Yeah, Dokja can't believe the audacity of these bastards either.
[the Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is furious at the injustice happening in front of her eyes.]
[At the constellations' request, a bounty scenario has been generated.]
The bounty scenario tells Dokja to get rid of the men delaying the storyline within 5 minutes. Crouching to settle the woman on the floor as softly as he can so as to not jostle her, Dokja stands with a grin, holding onto the thorn he used earlier. 'Not bad for me, but too bad for these losers.'
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is waiting for justice.]
"Ha, that shit thinks he got something..." Chulsoo remarks, clanging his brass knuckles together. Then, he slicks back his hair in a poor attempt to look cool. "If you don't scram now, I'm going to kill you."
"Ahjussi, please tell me you fucked them up." Jihye really needs to stop looking at him with such expectations. One day he's not going to be able to reach them.
"Of course Hyung does." Gilyoung scoffs at the teenager, a sour look on his face as he borderline glares at her. She glares back and both of them stick their tongues out at each other. Children.
"Please watch your language, Jihye-yah." He says instead of answering her, leaning over the protagonist to reach as far as he can so he's able to pat the kids head. She pouts at him, but leans into his hand anyway.
"But yeah, they didn't stand a chance." He takes back his hand and smugly answers her, a self-satisfied smile on his face. Those fuckers got what was coming to them.
In what is likely less than a matter of minutes, Chulsoo is brutally punched into the wall, and many other thugs now lie beat up on the ground surrounding Dokja. Of those who remain standing, some are wondering how he's still fine after getting hit, while others wonder if he secretly has a gangster background.
'The difference in stats like stamina, health, and agility make a huge difference in battles. My overall level is 33, while most of their stats are still in the single digits.'
"Crap, the bastard went for our legs so that we can't move!" One of the thugs wail, already on the ground and cradling his injured leg.
Dokja moves in front of Chulsoo once more, clearly looking down on him.
'Even if he's getting support from the constellations, he can't easily overcome the difference between him and me.'
Without wasting a moment, Dokja pulls up the man's profile.
|Name: Bang Cheolsoo
|Age: 34
|Constellation sponsor: Monarch of the Small
|Fries
|Personal attribute: Assault Force Captain
|(ordinary
|Exclusive skills: Dogfight lvl. 2, Bluff lvl. 2
|Stigma: Threat lvl. 1
|Overall stats: Stamina lvl. 6, Strength lvl. 7,
|Agility lvl. 6, Intelligence lvl. 2
|General evaluation: He was lucky to get a
|constellation sponsor. He has a tendency to
|overestimate his fighting skills.
Noticing his sponsor, Dokja immediately thinks the man is fucking stupid. 'Why did he choose this constellation?'
Suddenly, he notices something on the profile and speaks out loud. There's a vicious grin on his face. He knows what's going on now. "The Cheoldu group's Bang Cheolsoo?"
"What? You knew about that?" The man grits out, nearly spitting his words through clenched teeth.
'He is the shittiest bastard amongst the Geumho station group- wasn't he supposed to be killed by Yoo Joonghyuk..? Why is he still alive?'
Chulsoo, thinking he found a kindred spirit, says, "Oh ho! So you're also from That category? You've also killed your fair share of people, haven't you? No wonder I felt something similar from you."
"Dokja-ssi, you're not the same at all." Sangah tries to comfort him, reaching forward to rest a hand on his shoulder. He lets her even though the touch feels like it's burning through his skin. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think-
"Yeah! Ahjussi is so much better than those scumbags." Yoo Mia nods along, shoving her own opinion into the mix. Yoosoung nods along with her, turning her pleading gaze to Dokja as if her eyes alone could make him believe them.
This starts up a chorus of people around him assuring him that he isn't like what the bastards are saying, the kids are the loudest as they have started to yell over each other in a competition to see who can get Dokja to believe them more.This starts up a chorus of people around him assuring him that he isn't like what the bastards are saying, the kids are the loudest as they have started to yell over each other in a competition to see who can get Dokja to believe them more.
Gilyoung ends up being the loudest, caught up in a shouting match between him and Jihye. It's loud enough that he naturally filters out their squabbling.
Yoo Sangah's hand has removed itself from his shoulder, but Heewon had at some point leaned over him to try and get her opinion in through all of the chaos. Her body heat is back and soo is the burning feeling. He has become violently aware of how much the protagonist is touching him.
He is now violently ignoring it.
Dokja's eyes widen in surprise that slowly melts into a feral kind of anger.
Maybe.
Scenes flash by- the screen overlaying the events that have been happening so far in the scenarios over Dokja standing in front of the bastard. Dokja in the subway holding the container of bugs as people desperately reach for him. Dokja watching coldly as Namwoon dies. Formless people made up of accusatory eyes and arms grasping outwards.
I could have saved...
Namwoon accusing Dokja of liking the sight of chaos, a moment that had shaken him to the core.
...those people.
Everything around him starts to blur and it becomes hard to process anything in his sight as Dokja descends into panicked memories and-
[Exclusive skill 'Fourth wall' has negated the effect of the skill 'Bluff' from the character 'Bang Chelsoo'.]
Everything falls silent until there's the wet schlick sound of blood splattering on the wall/ Chulsoo's right arm is pinned to the wall using the thorn, causing him to scream out in pain. Dokja looks down on the bastard with cold eyes and a straight face. He tilts his head and grin maliciously at him.
"You're not in a situation where you can talk." Dokja purrs, his hand twisting the thorn stuck in the assholes arm.
[The Constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' is excited.]
[The Constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' has sponsored 100 coins.]
'Unfortunately for you, the 'Monarch of the Small Fries' is infamous for not even caring about his own incarnations.'
Kicking Chulsoo to the ground, Dokja muses to himself. 'I was originally going to leave him, but this changes things.'
[2 minutes until the scenario is over.]
'This constellation is a masochist that enjoys seeing is own incarnations get beat up.'
"Is that the kind of constellation you were talking about earlier, ahjussi?" Dokja looks over at Jihye who is sat leaning back in the recliner chair with her legs curled up underneath her. She no longer sounds as devastated about how some constellations view their incarnations at least.
He hums, one long note. She isn't wrong, these are sort of the type of constellations he was talking about. Just not quite. "Almost. This type wouldn't have a streamer contract. He just likes the violence against his own incarnations."
Joonghyuk pops up their chairs foot rest, shuffling around in the chair a little bit. It distracts Dokja while he tries to answer.
Sooyoung snorts at the oblivious rat, understanding exactly what the protagonist bastard is trying to do. A hard glare is turned her way at the noise and she knows that he knows she knows. This bastard is trying to get Dokja in his lap.
She lets him do as he pleases, not saying anything about it. Dokja will need his comfort character if this show is going to follow the mould it's created so far. Sooyoung doesn't appreciate getting glared at though.
The incapacitated thugs watch on in horror as the air is filled with the sounds of a one-sided beatdown.
[The Constellation 'Monarch of the Small Fries' is having a great time.]
Finally, one of the thugs begs for Dokja to stop and let Chulsoo go.
'Humans are weak, but why can such weak humans do something so violent? If it because the world is in chaos?'
Grasping by the front of his shirt, not caring about the blood pouring from his nose in such a familiar sight-
The scene fades to another, a greyed out overlay of a memory that blurs at the edges.
Pain blooms across his face with the impact of the incoming fist, a fuzzy feeling that curls up his nose and radiates in that area. He can feel blood slip down the back of his throat and he has to cough some of it up so he doesn't choke. The blood sprays from his mouth. His eyes water and his nose is going numb.
Those assholes broke his nose again.
Dokja is only kept up by the fist holding onto the blazer of his school uniform, his legs limb under him and he's nearly kneeling on the ground from how close he is to it. Another fist comes to hit him on the exact same spot and he can't really feel it anymore. The blood doesn't go down his throat, trickling out of his nose. It flows down to his lips either way.
He can taste it, almost. There's mostly the taste of ash on his tongue, but blood is always strong. He cringes when copper becomes the only flavor in his mouth. It's gross. His blood is gross.
They hand throws him into a desk nearby with a snicker. There's a decently large group around him, about six or so kids. Most of them are just standing by or keeping watch. It's not like the teachers would have done anything in the first place, but apparently they like to keep a certain image. Dokja doesn't get it.
The main perpetrator is no one new, Song Minwoo, the same person who's been doing this since middle school. He's sung this song and danced this dance before. It will be over before there's any actual damage done. They haven't dragged him to one of the alley ways yet, so this will be all they're willing to do.
He just lays on the floor with his eyes lowered. To resist is to get his ribs broken. To look them in their eyes will only get his nose punched again. It's better to just stay where he is.
The snickers die down quickly, a couple of bystanders groan. Minwoo scoffs, obviously getting bored of this. He grins and grabs Dokja by his hair to make the reader look him in the eyes. "You really are just a waste."
"Not even worth the effort." The bully groans, yanking Dokja down by his hair to smash his face into the floor. They've been focusing on his face since they found out no one will report the obvious violence on him. "Might as well just jump at this point."
He gets up and leaves, taking his weird posse with him. Dokja stays on the floor with his face down no matter how much it hurts to have his nose being squished. It takes a good long moment before he's willing to rise once more.
He sit up from where his face was against the floor, leaning back into the desk he had been thrown into. Blood trickles down from his nose and he slips his tongue out to lick it from his lips. He hates the taste of his own blood.
He slowly gets up, raising to his feet with slowly and staggering movements. He finds his bag, torn even more than usual, sat where they had thrown it against the wall. It's right under an open window. When he swallows thickly he can feel his throat catch from where they had their hands there earlier. It hurts. He ignores it.
Might as well jump at this point
Maybe he can finally make it stop hurting. Stepping up to the window, he stares out of it with dull eyes. The sun had started to set a while ago. It's a beautiful sight, something pretty for him to see last. He keeps looking out into the open air, a contemplative look on his face.
Suddenly, there is no one at the window. The sun is no longer in the sky, the stars are bright lights shining in the night. Outside, Dokja is walking awkwardly on the sidewalk, keeping his head down as he goes.
No matter that there shouldn't be any stars to see this far into the city.
-Dokja pulls him close and looks at him with a scary expression on his face. "Why did you do it?"
'Or is it because of instinct?'
Chulsoo is quiet a moment before he manages to reply weakly. "Fuck... Just kill me you son of a bitch. Fuck- Fuck this shitty world-"
'So that's how it is.' Dokja thinks after a moment.
'He didn't do it on instinct. He was messed up even before the chaos.'
He focuses on Chulsoo's beat up face, covered in blood and bruises. His own, younger, face is overlayed over it like the memory from before and he's disgusted by how similar they look.
'Just like me.'
Dokja stands up, musing on the man's words. 'The same... He might not be wrong.'
Notes:
Should be around 10,081 words
I hate shoes.
I'm giving Dokja the 'just like me fr' disease.
Dokja hates shoes. He's not wearing them. At all. He's going to be barefoot the entirety of this fic. From this point onward anytime he gets shoes in any clothing package he just doesn't wear them. I hate shoes with a burning passion. If walking around barefoot wouldn't get me glass in my feet I would not wear shoes ever again. I hate socks too.
It's not really going to change very much, but I just wanted you to know. It might just give me some more dialogue to write. That's all. I needed