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Yu Junghyuk detested parties like these. Drinking, cheering, dancing, and way too much shouting crowded the Complex.
There were still scenarios to be cleared, though with that came Constellations to please, so it was all really one big excuse to get blackout drunk and waste coins on a hangover cure in the morning. His eye twitched at the thought.
[A few constellations are watching you.]
He grit his teeth, arms folded tightly across his chest as he leaned on a wall far enough away to not be roped into the festivities.
Telling the Constellations to piss off would just fuel them more, so Junghyuk remained silent and brooding—according to both Sooyoung and Dokja, anyway. In his opinion, he did not 'brood', it was just how he naturally stood.
'You definitely do. What, did it come with your protagonist package at birth or something?' Dokja had teased.
Junghyuk's scowl deepened as the reader's voice echoed in his head. It didn't help that he could barely pick out his white coat in the crowds of somehow already drunk incarnations. He let out a quiet sigh. Where'd he run off to now?
—
"I think I'm gonna throw up."
Dokja bit back a gag as Sooyoung refilled his cup for the twentieth time that night. Well, the fifth, but still. By the second cup he already more than regretted agreeing to her bullshit, and he was certain that by the time he caught up to Sangah—who was literally drinking straight from her own bottle—he'd likely commit a crime.
"C'mon coward, no backing out now!" Sooyoung hissed at him. "Loser uhm…pays. For all this," she added with a gesture the growing amount of empty bottles on the table.
"I'm paying for it anyway!" Dokja snapped.
"Yeah, and I'll give you coins back for it if I somehow lose," she claimed.
"Liar," he scoffed.
"Says the conman!" Sooyoung retorted.
"Are you two sure you don't need to quit yet?" Sangah asked, somehow on a third bottle all on her own.
"No," Dokja groaned at the same time Sooyoung spat "Yes!"
"If you say so…" the brunette muttered with a smile.
"How are you even still going? 've been done…It's too much…" Hyunsung all but whimpered.
Heewon placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, the only one in their small group still sober. "It's not your fault. They can just handle alcohol better."
"Oh, no, I definitely can't," Sooyoung claimed despite her downing another cup of beer. "I'm running solely on spite righ'now."
"You already said you know you can't beat Sangah, so just quit already." Dokja sighed, pouring himself another drink.
"And miss out on the chance to see how much I can get you to drink in the process? Hell no!" Sooyoung nearly fell over trying to jab him in the shoulder. "Yourrr skill's cheating! So I gotta push it as much as possible!"
"I'll admit, I'm a little curious what your limit is too," Sangah sheepishly added. "With how little you drink, it's hard to tell."
My limit huh? If Dokja was being honest, he didn't think he had one. Even before the scenarios he wasn't a lightweight by any means, and with the added help of the Fourth Wall, he could probably drink forever and never get drunk. At this point he was just sick of the taste.
Sooyoung was right, his skill was cheating, but when you're Kim Dokja, you're used to finding loopholes.
This one kind of found me though, he mused to himself while finishing off his cup. Either way, this is a breeze.
[The Fourth Wall is staring at you.]
Shit.
Maybe he shouldn't have thought that…
—
Junghyuk opened his eyes, confused at the sudden increase in incoherent cheering that was coming from somewhere in the middle of the main crowd. What's going on now?
He sighed, suddenly glad he somehow managed to convince Jihye to keep an eye on the younger three kids. He wasn't sure why she wanted to drink in the first place, since most alcoholic beverages were subpar at best, but the least he could do was make her wait until she was actually old enough to drink.
Briefly, he wondered what they were up to, but his thoughts were cut off by a firework going off and assaulting other his eyes and the sky in a spray of brilliant orange light. He raised an eyebrow at it, his eyes still squinted in a glare.
Who the hell is launching those?
He huffed quietly at the notifications of Constellations giving their own opinions about them. With a roll of his eyes, he silenced them and looked away from the crowds.
Maybe I should check on Mia. Or go find some sub-scenario to clear until this dies down.
He could already hear Dokja's comments about his behavior in the morning.
'You're such a party pooper Junghyuk-ah,' he'd sigh. 'Are you allergic to fun?' he would add with that infuriating grin of his.
Junghyuk's eye twitched, the reader's voice starting to fill his head. He shook his thoughts clear and stood from the wall. Clearly it was still too loud over here, so he started making his way even further from the party.
There was plenty of distance to put between it and him after all, so he just needed to walk far enough that it would stop bothering him. Maybe even somewhere he couldn't see or hear the fireworks anymore. Wishful thinking, he mentally hummed.
Eventually, when he couldn't hear the cheers or music, he found a new wall to lean on and sighed.
Finally, peace and quiet.
—
"Put that down—"
"Why's it an issue now?" He hugged it to his chest to avoid the hands trying to snatch it away. "This is her fault!"
"Don't blame me, asshole!" Sooyoung screeched.
"No, it's literally your fault!"
"Please, that's your tenth bottle!" Sangah begged.
"You've had four!" He spat back.
"Dokja, come—Where are you going?!"
"Ffuck you guys…I'm outta here…"
—
"…"
Something was wrong.
Junghyuk could feel it in his gut.
Something's always wrong. He sighed, pushing off the wall and placing a hand on the hilt of his sword. These damn parties…
Before he could start mentally cursing the very existence of alcohol and those foolish enough to over-indulge in it, stumbling footsteps caught his attention. They were slow, soft; whoever it was, was likely trying not to trip and bust their face open.
Junghyuk narrowed his eyes, cautiously approaching them. Probably some drunk, he guessed.
When he turned the corner, he paused, his face relaxing ever so slightly at the sight of the person in front of him.
Short black hair, white coat, gazing at the stars…
"Kim Dokja?" Junghyuk called as he took a few steps forward.
"Hm..?" The reader hummed as he turned to face the taller man. He carefully walked closer, tilting his head up with slight confusion.
"What are you doing out here?" Junghyuk questioned. He was certain he last saw Dokja heading towards the center of the party with a few of their other companions. How long ago was that anyway?
"…Hi," Dokja greeted.
Junghyuk blinked at him. "Hello. What are you doing?" he repeated.
"Oh. I dunno," Dokja mumbled.
Junghyuk examined the reader's face, a scowl growing on his own. "You have something on your chin," he said.
"'ts probably that nasty beer Sooyoung got," Dokja huffed before wiping it off with his sleeve. "Had too much…Had to prove a point."
The taller man sighed, the crease between his brows deepening. "Of course you did," he muttered.
The two stared at each other for a moment; Junghyuk trying to assess the damage on Dokja, while Dokja was trying to form a coherent thought.
He forgot when exactly he decided to go all in on Sooyoung's competition, but he knew he at least won, which meant that in the morning he was expecting a decently sized amount of coins from her as compensation for the trouble. Well, if he ended up remembering anyway. Right now this tall stranger seemed way more important than coins, even if he was waving a hand in front of Dokja's face.
"Hello?" Junghyuk asked.
"Hi!" Dokja beamed. He tilted his head at how taken aback the other man seemed by his smile. "Whassup?"
Junghyuk paused, blinking a few times in confusion. He's…
He quickly snapped himself out of his stupor, mentally cursing himself as he regained his composure. "How much did you drink?" he asked.
Dokja looked away for a moment, before holding his hands up to count. "Nnine. Ten..?"
Junghyuk scowled. "Cups?"
"Bottles," the reader corrected with a shake of his head that caused him to stumble over.
Begrudgingly, Junghyuk caught him. He tensed slightly when Dokja muttered something and put more of his weight on the taller man, but hooked Dokja's arm over his shoulder regardless.
"Thank you. Y'know, you're nice for a stranger," he said. "Pretty too," he added under his breath.
"I'm not a stranger, I'm your companion," Junghyuk snapped.
"I have a lotta companions," Dokja pointed out. He squinted up at the protagonist for a moment, before his eyes widened with realization. "Oh! Oh! Junghyuk-ah!"
The aforementioned man held back a sigh, but Dokja just smiled even wider, happier and more genuine than Junghyuk had ever seen. It was almost disturbing how happy he looked, but it was nice seeing him smile for real for once.
"Y'know, I shoulda known it was you," the reader slurred. "Too beautiful to be anyone else."
Junghyuk stiffened. "You're drunk."
"So what?" Dokja countered with a scowl. "You're still beautiful."
"Let's just find somewhere for you to sit down before you fall over and die," Junghyuk muttered through gritted teeth.
"Wow…You're so considerate." Dokja giggled.
The two fell silent as the taller man glanced around the area and started guiding them away from where he had secluded himself. Honestly he wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or impressed with Dokja. On the one hand, he had an insane tolerance for alcohol. Thanks to his skill maybe? On the other…
"Y'know," the reader eventually piped up when they came to a stop. "You scowl like an angry kitten."
Junghyuk glared down at him. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah, like that!" Dokja's smile returned as tiny giggles bubbled up from his throat. "May as well 'ave ears an' a tail. It's cute. You're so cute Junghyuk-ah."
He doesn't mean any of this. He's just drunk. Junghyuk thought it might be good to remind the shorter man of that fact, but quickly realized there was no point. Dokja seemed too focused on whatever he was muttering under his breath to listen to him.
So, for now, he ignored the quiet babbling and tried refocusing on where they were. The goal was to find a bench and shove some water down Dokja's throat to sober him up enough that he could walk home himself, but it was starting to look like someone had plucked every single seat out of the area and stashed them somewhere in the abyss.
Junghyuk's jaw tightened. It's fine. There's one around here somewhere. With a tense sigh, he continued practically dragging Dokja around in search of somewhere to sit. Of course, the reader was hardly making it easy for him; either by dragging his feet, or pressing more and more of his weight against Junghyuk's side. It got to a point where it would've been easier to toss Dokja over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but instead he just fixed how he was standing and kept his grip on the reader's arm(and waist) tight.
They eventually paused again as Junghyuk's eyes scanned the area, only for him to curse under his breath when he realized they were much closer to the main party than he wanted to be.
"Let's head back that way, maybe we'll find something over there," he informed the limp puddle of a man he called a companion.
"But 'm so sleepy. Can't you just carry me Junghyuk-ah?" Dokja practically whined.
"No." He hoisted Dokja up again—getting a groan in response as he begrudgingly stood on his own two feet—and turned them around. "You'll feel better when you sober up a bit," Junghyuk added after a moment.
The reader muttered a sharp 'Fine' before they continued on their way. For a brief moment he wondered how the others were fairing, but the thought was cut short when some small voice in his head argued that alone time with Junghyuk was much more important. He giggled quietly. Me an' Yu Junghyuk alllll alone.
He hummed as he added onto it, a traitorous Kittyhyuk… making its way to his mind.
"What now?" The protagonist grumbled.
Oops…said it out loud. "Just still thinking about it…"
Junghyuk hesitated, contemplating whether or not he actually wanted to know. "About what?"
"…Mew Junghyuk," Dokja whispered, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly.
The answer earned him another wide-eyed glare in response, which only fueled the mental image of the protagonist as a big grumpy kitty cat. Dokja just stared back, his smile wobbling and brows creased upward as he tried holding back a laugh.
"Nya," he deadpanned.
And then he broke.
Instantly the reader burst out laughing, his legs giving out completely as he practically fell onto Junghyuk with heaving lungs and likely the widest smile to ever cross his face. The protagonist merely stood there, stunned.
Now, being companions with Kim Dokja for this long had mostly desensitized Junghyuk to his antics.
A snarky comment here, a stupid suggestion there; there were many things that revolved through his head as The Stupidest Thing Kim Dokja Has Ever Said. This had just claimed the title, and he wondered if it would ever be replaced.
I'm not a cat, his instinctual reaction snapped.
This is the greatest sound to ever bless my ears, is what his stupid traitorous heart argued as Dokja continued laughing like he'd just heard the funniest joke in his life.
Tears had begun to prickle at the corners of his eyes by now, and with the way he was struggling to breathe, Junghyuk worried that the reader would pass out from a lack of oxygen. But he almost didn't want Dokja to stop.
Almost every second of the day, Kim Dokja had walls up. He guarded his emotions, gauged his own reactions. He kept himself in check; often by wearing that stupid cocky grin that Junghyuk both hated and loved. (Not that he'd ever admit the latter to anyone.)
Keep laughing, he thought. Keep smiling like you actually want to. Let me see how you truly feel for once.
He tightened his grip on Dokja's waist to keep him from completely toppling over as the reader clutched his stomach and tried to breathe. Junghyuk huffed out a quiet laugh of his own, but quickly mentally scolded himself.
He's like this because of the alcohol, he reminded himself as he finally found a bench to settle on to. He tried not to think about the implications of it taking ten bottles of booze to tear just one of the walls down, and instead ever so quietly swore he'd find a way to get Dokja to laugh like this when he was feeling like himself again.
"Just try to breathe," he said, the gentleness in his tone throwing him off.
The reader nodded at him, which caused him to blink rapidly to try and dispel his sudden dizziness from doing so. "'Sokay, 'm fine!" He swore.
Junghyuk just hummed as he guided Dokja down onto the bench. He was still annoyingly floppy, so the taller man settled in next to him; propping him up with a steady hand on his shoulder. "You sure about that?" He finally asked.
"…No," Dokja replied before giggling again. "But thank you. You're so nice. Well, right now 'nyway. You can be so mean Hyuk-ah. Don't like it," he pouted.
If you weren't so insufferable half the time then— Junghyuk cut himself off, opting to sigh instead. "Just drink some water."
"Don't have any," Dokja pointed out. "Silly Hyuk-ah," he whispered.
Right. The protagonist mentally scolded both of them as he opened up his inventory to grab a bottle. "Sorry. This should—Dokja, what are you doing?!"
Dokja, who had decided to climb into Junghyuk's lap, merely sighed as he wrapped his arms around the taller man's neck. "You're more comfy than the bench."
"Get. Off."
"Don't wanna."
"Kim Dokja."
"What's the matter?" The reader asked with a tilt of his head. "Comfier like this…an' you're strong enough to hold me. Hey, Junghyuk-ah, you should hold me more often."
"What?"
"Arms are so big…So nice…" Dokja giggled. "Your chest is soft too," he muttered while brushing his hand gently across the belt stretched over the protagonist's chest.
"I'm not asking," Junghyuk spat, begging the warmth settling at the top of his ears to not spread to his face.
"Pretty please?" Dokja asked, batting his eyelashes with pleading eyes. "You can punch me for it t'morrow or something."
Junghyuk fell silent. He wanted to snap at the reader, maybe shove him off and waterboard him until he could think clearly and stop messing around. But his thoughts were too DokjasinmylapDokjasinmylapDokjasknmylapDokjasinmylapDokjasinmylapDokjasinmylap to think.
Unfortunately, Dokja took this as a sign that it was perfectly fine to not only remain right where he was, but to settle in and nuzzle up against Junghyuk's neck, muttering a soft thanks as he did so.
This caused the protagonist to blue screen even more, and he was certain his face was flushed with a sickening color of red by now.
"Dokja…" he muttered, his hands hovering hesitantly over the reader's figure.
"Hm?" was his soft response. His eyes flickered open for a moment, a gentle smile on his face.
Junghyuk swallowed, his throat dry. "You—I—" He sighed. "Nevermind."
"Okay. Nnighty night Hyuk-ah," Dokja whispered before nuzzling closer to his neck and letting his eyes fall shut.
Junghyuk remained sitting there, stiff and hesitant as he listened to the reader's breathing slow. "…Goodnight, you fool."
He sighed, long and heavy, and eventually let himself relax slightly as well. There wasn't much he could do now anyway. Dokja, despite being completely knocked out, had a solid grip on Junghyuk: with one arm hugging his waist and his other hand holding the belt across his chest like a lifeline.
Paired with his slow, warm breath on Junghyuk's neck, the protagonist was finding it hard to want to move him.
It was finally, finally, just the two of them sitting in soft, comfortable silence. Junghyuk let one of his hands rest on the small of Dokja's back while he stared at how the shorter man's legs draped over his own.
A quiet voice in his mind dared call the scene domestic. He even almost smiled at the thought.
At least, until sounds from the still mildly raging party finally caught his ear again, disrupting the peace and quiet. He glared in its direction, his eye twitching in annoyance. Before his brain could start cursing everyone's existence for ruining the moment, he decided instead to hook his arms carefully under Dokja's legs and lift him into his arms.
The reader mumbled something in his sleep—that vaguely sounded like Junghyuk's name—before sinking into the protagonist's chest and sighing contently.
The corners of Junghyuk's mouth twitched upward slightly. "It's okay," he found himself muttering as he rested a hand on the back of Dokja's head. "Just rest."
Once he was sure that he wouldn't wake up—which didn't take long since Junghyuk was certain Dokja had drank enough to put himself into a coma—he started swiftly making his way back the compound. The crowds of people were easy enough to avoid, and they finally stopped launching fireworks, so by the time Junghyuk slipped into Dokja's room, the reader was still fast asleep.
He breathed out a quiet sigh of relief before carefully taking off Dokja's shoes and setting him onto the bed. He paused when the shorter man stirred for a brief moment, and exhaled through his nose when Dokja settled back down.
Junghyuk carefully brought up the covers and tucked Dokja in as a shiver ran through him. Must be colder without my body heat, the protagonist hummed in his head.
He quickly pushed aside all additional thoughts that came with that observation as he stood, arguably like a creep, over the sleeping figure with a disgustingly fond look in his eyes. After placing a quick peck on Dokja's forehead, he snuck out of the room.
—
So, morning was officially the worst time of day.
Everything was too bright, too loud, too agonizing to add on top of the throbbing migraine bouncing around in Dokja's head. The worst part? He wasn't even out of bed yet. Just terrorized by a bunch of inssessent blue notifications buzzing around his face like a swarm of malicious bees.
[Constellation, Demonic Judge of Fire, is giggling maniacally.]
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, asks if you slept well.]
[Constellation, God of Naval Warfare, is stifling a laugh.]
Constellation this said that, Constellation whoever did whatever. Pop up after pop up offended his vision in a glowing bright blue light that never seemed more unnecessary.
Dokja glared at all of them.
No wonder Junghyuk finds them so insufferable.
[The Fourth Wall is smiling at you.]
Fuck you.
[The Fourth Wall shakes its head.]
You don't even have a head, what the hell are you shaking at me?
['Stupid Kim Dokja regrets what he did last night.']
Obviously.
['Stupid Kim Dokja isn't going to call his super amazing life saving skill a loophole anymore.']
Yeah, sure, whatever. Hold on, is that why you—
[Personal skill, The Fourth Wall, has been reactivated!]
Instantly his head cleared. The sleep clinging to the bottom of his eyes was gone, along with the god awful headache that was practically trying to kill him. The notifications were the same, normal blue as always, and suddenly felt immensely less offensive. If Dokja were a little dumber, he'd almost be happy to see them now.
Yeah right. He huffed out a quiet laugh. Maybe some of them, but…
He shook his head, finally sitting up and stretching since there was less risk of it making his head spin. His main question was, how'd he get here? Last he could remember he was still in the fray of the main crowd with Sooyoung and Sangah while Heewon was trying desperately to perform damage control between them.
Now he was…here, in his room, snuggly tucked in with his shoes place neatly by the side of his bed.
Did someone carry me back? Heewon maybe? He sighed, deciding it didn't really matter. He got back safely, and now he could track Sooyoung down and get his money back.
Maybe I should scold her for proposing that stupid contest in the first place, he mused, thinking back to when she ran over shortly after the giant celebration had started up.
'C'mon! You, me, Sangah, and Hyunsung!'
'Why Hyunsung..?'
'Because it's way funnier than just the three of us, duh.'
'You just want someone who's guaranteed to tap out before you.'
Dokja sighed as he stood, then straightened out some of the wrinkles in his coat and headed to breakfast. Or, lunch, apparently, since it was already fifteen past noon and everyone else had started their day hours ago.
"How long was I asleep for..?" he asked Seolhwa, who seemed to be one of the only ones uneffected by the night prior.
"Longer than most of anyone else," she answered with a small shrug. "Did you sleep well at least?"
"I think so," Dokja replied, an eyebrow lifted in confusion. He…really did.
Usually his quality of sleep was subpar at best, and worse than a low effort straight omegaverse romance webnovel at worst. It couldn't have been the alcohol, right? he wondered. No, it definitely wasn't that. He nearly laughed at himself for considering it.
He vaguely remembered his pillow feeling softer when he laid down—then was confused on how that memory even surfaced—but his train of thought was interruptted by a jab to his shoulder, followed by Sooyoung jeering "Well look who's finally up! I thought you died or something."
"I'm surprised you didn't," he taunted back. "Last I remember, you fell flat on your ass and cursed out some random guy for standing too close."
"Says the one that was clutching a bottle of booze like an infant," she snapped. Before she could add onto it though, a wicked smile spread across her face as she nudged Dokja with her elbow and started waving frantically. "Yo! Junghyuk!"
The protagonist, who Dokja assumed was the one who put together the large, impressive lunch spread everyone was picking from, glanced over at the two of them with one of his typical scowls.
Dokja couldn't help but smile and offer a small wave. At the sight of him, though, Junghyuk stiffened and turned on his heel before storming off. Dokja stared after him, puzzled. "What's his deal?"
"Dunno," Sooyoung claimed with an all too knowing grin.
"Liar," he scoffed.
Oh well, he thought. Junghyuk ignoring him wasn't exactly out of the ordinary. Well, avoiding, but still. Neither was new, so the reader didn't pay it much attention. There were plenty of other things to do, like watching the kids as they "sparred"(resolving their argument that turned mildly violent), or trying to help Hyunsung bounce back after he had been mercilessly roped into their drinking contest the night prior.
"I'm sorry about that," Dokja said as he slid the taller man some drink Heewon said Junghyuk made.
"It's fine, it's not your fault," Hyunsung replied as he took the cup.
Later the reader also managed to get his coins from Sooyoung, however begrudgingly spiteful she was about it.
"I still think you cheated," she claimed while making the transfer. "And now you're robbing me in broad daylight when you don't even need these!"
"I really didn't," Dokja answered with a very pleased smile. "And how would you know? Maybe I'm saving up to spend them on something nice for everyone."
"How charitable." Sooyoung rolled her eyes.
The two slipped into their usual kind of bickering, but out of the corner of his eye the reader could've sworn he saw a certain someone's black coat hurry away. Weird, he thought, especially when a few notifications from Uriel rolled in so fast he couldn't even read them.
"What's up with you today?" he asked the archangel.
[Constellation, Demonic Judge of Fire, is startled!]
[Constellation, Demonic Judge of Fire, apologizes sheepishly.]
"What's going on?" Sooyoung chimed in.
"Not sure," Dokja answered with a shrug. "The Constellations have been acting weird since I woke up."
"Maybe they're just not used to seeing you get shitfaced like that," Sooyoung teased. "Or something else is up. Doesn't matter, they're always weird," she added, oddly dismissive.
Dokja found it odd as he rolled his eyes at her, but nodded and dismissed the notifications for now. "Guess so," he hummed.
—
[You have 4,398,287 unread notifications!]
[ Would you like to: Open or Ignore? ]
"…"
Junghyuk sighed.
[Notifications ignored.]
—
"Oppa, I need help with this," earned a quiet "On my way."
"Master, check this out!" was answered with a firm nod before he made his way over to look.
Hell, even Gilyoung calling him the usual names just got a sigh in response before he helped correct the boy's posture with precision that in return he was quietly, and very begrudingly, thanked for.
So.
Dokja was certain that he was being actively avoided.
Yu Junghyuk avoiding the group was, like mentioned earlier, relatively normal. At most he would disappear to go clear some random sub-scenario for a day or two before coming back and acting in his usual standoffish manner.
But he wasn't leaving this time, and he wasn't avoiding anyone else.
He sparred with the kids, spoke with Seolhwa and Sangah, however brief it may have been, and he still rolled up his sleeves and prepared to start on dinner for everyone at the same time he did everyday.
But anytime Dokja so much as breathed near him he sharply turned on his heel and stormed off.
His waves and nods were glared at. Anytime he called out to the protagonist it fell on deaf ears, and the closest he got to any kind of recognition was a quiet huff before he turned and practically ran away.
However, he also banned Sooyoung from the kitchen after she snuck in and made some comment that Dokja was certain she was going to be strangled for, even if he couldn't hear what she actually said. Then they both got a death glare when she came over to Dokja giggling about whatever it was she provoked Junghyuk with.
"You know that he's in range of like, four different types of knives in there, right?" the reader asked, questioning her self preservation.
"Oh please, if he wanted to stab me he would have," she countered with a roll of her eyes and a very poorly hidden snicker.
Dokja stole a glance at the taller man, an eyebrow raised. "You sure about that..?" he wondered as he watched Junghyuk chop radishes with the rage he only showed to the worst of his enemies. Maybe Sooyoung finally made the list, he mused.
She just waved dismissively. "Yeah, totally," she said. "Probably just mad about last night," she added.
Dokja blinked at her. "What happened last night? He's not that upset about the party, is he?"
Everything fell eerily quiet. Even the wind seemed to pause for a moment, before Dokja's inbox flooded with notifications from Uriel and Sooyoung practically fell over from laughing. The reader knew better than to expect an answer from her now, so he just sighed and walked away. Nothing good comes from a cackle like that.
"N-no wait!" she gasped out. "Come back!"
Dokja just glanced over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out at her before continuing on his way. Unfortunately for him, his catty friend managed to recover enough to chase him down, however heaving her breath may have been.
"Dude, please don't tell me you don't remember anything from last night," she pleaded with a horrifingly malicious grin on her face.
"So, I don't know if you remember the part where I downed ten bottles of cheap, shitty beer—" the reader started, deadpan.
[Constellation, Queen of the Darkest Spring, chokes on her drink.]
[Constellation, Demonic Judge of Fire, screams.]
[Constellation, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, is rolling on the floor laughing.]
Sooyoung's smile widened.
—
Something was wrong.
Of course, something was always wrong, but that didn't mean Junghyuk's eye was twitching any less.
"Oppa," Mia called from her spot at the stove where he'd stationed her to watch over the simmering vegetables.
He glanced over at her, trying to keep his tone even. "What?"
"You cut through the board," she replied with a motion to the meat he was cutting.
Junghyuk looked back down at his work, and sure enough there was a clean split down the middle of the wooden cutting board. He paused, forced himself to breathe for a moment, and then started inspecting the chicken for any splinters.
"…Are you okay?" Mia asked. "You've been acting weirder than usual."
"I'm fine," Junghyuk lied.
His younger sister cast a doubtful side-eye at him, but said nothing as she returned to watching the stove.
The protagonist held back a sigh. Technically there was something wrong, and it was that he couldn't stop thinking about the night prior, especially since a certain black-haired woman decided to saunter into the kitchen and make remarks about how Dokja had clung to him. Warmth crept up his neck as he recalled the reader's smile, his laugh, the way his eyes glittered. The way he had mumbled 'Junghyuk-ah' kept echoing in his head on repeat.
Insufferable fool. He cursed under his breath despite the reader being who knows where and unable to hear his complaints. And I say who knows but let's be honest, Junghyuk does.
Kim Dokja was twelve meters away and nine steps to the left from where Junghyuk was preparing dinner.
His attention was properly directed toward the reader when he heard a distressed screech from his direction. "WHAT?!"
The exclamation was followed by Sooyoung's hysterical laugh, and Junghyuk watched as she doubled over onto the floor while Dokja buried his face in his hands and groaned something that sounded like he was cursing the universe.
The protagonist briefly wondered if it was because Dokja's face was flushed, and enjoyed the mental image that came along with his musing, but he was startled when he realized Dokja was now staring at him in abject horror.
Sooyoung managed to keep prattling on between her cackling, which only seemed to further the reader's pure mortification.
"What's happening?" Mia asked.
"No idea," Junghyuk replied curtly. But if it has anything to do with what she was saying earlier…
His eyebrow twitched. That damn witch.