Thread by @chuncao0803

#joongdok

[Incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk has received a penalty for failing the sub-scenario.]

[Incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk will fall in love temporarily with the first person you lay eyes on.
Duration: 24 hours
The penalty shall take place immediately.]

Yjh stared at the

notifications in disbelief. He was just clearing a sub-scenario with other members of KimCom because a certain stupid squid insisted that the sub-scenario contained a material that would be useful in the next main scenario. It was relatively uneventful until he got distracted and

failed to kill the monster that the system assigned him to. Great, now he was stuck with this stupid penalty.

“Master, are you alright? It says that you receive a penalty!”

Ljh rushed to his side, looking for any signs of abnormalities. Before his eyes could meet hers, yjh

quickly ripped off a part of his shirt, wrapping his eyes with the makeshift blindfold. No thanks, he didn’t want to get in jail for laying a hand on a minor.

“I’m fine.”

He reassured her. One couldn’t die because of love, right?

“Yeah the bastard should be fine, but ahahaha

what kind of penalty is that? Sounds like something coming straight out of a novel.”

Hsy’s insufferable laughter entered his ears. This woman… If his eyes were still available, he would make sure to send her his deathliest glare.

“Hmm, what if I untie your blindfold, you

bastard? Should be fun~”

Yjh sensed hsy’s presence behind him. He immediately reached up to where his blindfold was sitting, slapping the woman’s hand away.

“Scram.”

“Haha, I’m just kidding though. It’s not fun seeing that stupid Kim Dokja mopping around like a dried squid so

there’s no way I would do that.”

“What does Kim Dokja have to do with this?“

Yjh didn’t understand why hsy suddenly brought the squid’s name up. Kdj was busy plotting one of his stupid plans, so he didn’t join the sub-scenario this time. He even had the audacity to say:

“It’s none of your business.” to yjh before disappearing without a trace. During the sub-scenario, he couldn’t stop thinking about that stupid squid and whether he was doing something dangerous again. Maybe that’s also one of the reasons why yjh got distracted during the fight.

“Oh come on- Fuck, I couldn’t watch you idiots anymore. The two of you look like you would make out-”

“Han Sooyoung, language!”

Just when hsy was about to say something indecent that was definitely not G-rated for the kids, ysa cut her off. She then shot the other woman a hard

glare before turning to yjh.

“Whatever the case, I think you should go to Seolhwa-ssi for a checkup. Shall we head back now?”

“…”

“Ok.”

After a moment of silence, he finally agreed. While the penalty appeared to inflict no physical pain on him, it would still be best to have

lsh check-up on him. Maybe the woman can think up of something to help him get out of this mess.

They quickly returned to the industrial complex with ljh helping him get around. Before he parted ways with the other, yjh didn’t forget to warn them:

“Don’t tell Kim Dokja about

any of this.”

The part “I don’t want him to get worried over nothing.” was left unsaid. Kdj was a worry wart and he wouldn’t stop pestering yjh if he knew that something happened to the man. The squid better spent that time fattening his stick-like body.

Everyone immediately

understood what yjh meant as they silently agreed with him. After all, they also didn’t want to burden their leader anymore. Well, except for a certain someone who couldn’t wait to mess up with the two oblivious fools.

—

“So Joonghyuk-ssi, you said you received a penalty?”

Yjh was now sitting in lsh’s office. Ljh helped him get here then quickly left, saying that she had some training to do. As a result, it was only him and lsh sitting alone in the room.

Yjh nodded in response to lsh’s earlier question.

“And the penalty was that you would…

fall in love with the first person who met your eyes?”

Yjh nodded again. He couldn’t see lsh’s face right now, but he was pretty sure that a look of disbelief was sitting on her face. Well, even he couldn’t believe it either.

“Is it temporarily or permanently?”

“24 hours.”

“Hmmm so it does have a duration. Have you looked at anyone’s eyes?”

“No.”

“Then that’s good.”

Lsh fell into silence for a while before continuing.

“Sorry, Joonghyuk-ssi, I can’t really think of anything at the moment. I would suggest you wait until the duration expired and

see what is going to happen next.”

That’s not possible. If he continued to wear a blindfold for the whole day, kdj would start to suspect that something was wrong. And he couldn’t avoid the squid forever too. They basically lived in the same place, after all. It was natural

that they would eventually bump into each other at some point.

“Do you really have no solution?”

Yjh asked the doctor again, this time with a hint of desperation mixed into his voice.

“Actually I do but…”

“But?”

“How about you try to look at Dokja-ssi?”

Why did people keep

bringing up kdj when things had absolutely nothing to do with that squid? Feeling annoyed, yjh was about to ask what lsh meant by that when the loud bang of the door being forcibly opened disrupted him.

“Yoo Joonghyuk! I heard you received a penalty!”

Yjh could hear the sound

of Kdj’s footsteps getting closer, and it didn’t take long for the squid to stand right in front of him. The man was breathing heavily as if he ran all the way here, but kdj didn’t stop for a second to catch his breath. Instead, he kept bombarding yjh with questions:

“Are you okay? Does it hurt? What did you do to receive the penalty? Why don’t you tell me-“

“Kim Dokja, I’m perfectly fine.”

“How could you be fine? You are wearing a blindfold!”

“No nothing happened-“

“Let me see what’s wrong with your eyes.”

Before yjh could react, kdj

had already untied the knot holding the makeshift blindfold together. The moment the piece of cloth fell off, kdj’s face entered his eyes and yjh forgot how to breathe. The man’s face was riddled with worries yet he found it very… lovely. His eyes were twinkling like

constellations in the sky with small sparkles hanging on the dark deep irises. A faint shade of red donned his cheeks, which only served to highlight the numerous small scars sitting there. For some reason, yjh just wanted to cup kdj’s small face into his hands and slowly kissed

each and every mark.

Yjh had expected the penalty to distort his mind so that he felt affectionate towards kdj, but strangely, there seemed to be nothing wrong. When he saw kdj, he felt the same just like whenever he randomly came across the man at a certain time of the day.

He had always found kdj’s eyes enchanting and there were moments when he just wanted those irises to be filled with nothing but the images of him. The scars on the man had never put him off, in fact, they even incited him to leave more of those private marks in places where no

one but him could see it. He couldn’t stop thinking about how lovely it would be for kdj to be covered in marks, marks that were made by yjh himself.

But what about the penalty? According to the notification, wasn’t he supposed to fall in love with kdj - the first person he’d

ever laid eyes on ever since then? Why did he feel nothing-

“Thank god your eyes seem fine. Then what is the penalty exactly?”

Kdj’s words disrupted his train of thought. He seemed to be confused as he didn’t understand what was going on. That might be a good thing though.

Whatever the case, the squid couldn’t know about the content of the penalty.

Yjh tried to look in lsh’s direction, hoping that the doctor understood his intentions and kept her mouth shut. But she promptly avoided his stare before opening her mouth to answer kdj’s question:

“Joonghyuk-ssi will develop romantic feelings for the person he first sets eyes on.”

Lsh smiled at kdj like usual but her smile seemed to be somewhat… off. It was as if the woman was scheming something that involved both him and kdj.

“Huh? What?”

It took kdj quite a while to

comprehend what was going on. It is understandable considering how absurd the penalty sounded. After staring at yjh for some moments, he finally continued.

“Had he looked at anyone yet?”

“…”

“…”

Both yjh and lsh didn’t know how to break down the fact to kdj. They exchanged

looks before yjh decided to deliver the news.

“You.”

“What do you mean?”

Kdj dared to look at yjh with those big starry eyes of his, making his heart skipped a beat. It took him quite a lot of effort to not avoid those gazes and appear suspicious.

“You are the first one I

see after the penalty started.”

“…”

Taken aback by the news, kdj kept alternating looks between yjh and lsh. His mouth opened and closed rapidly like a gaping fish, which yjh couldn’t help but find cute. It took him a very deep breath to be able to calm down and continue the

conversation:

“Your joke is not funny Joong-”

“Joonghyuk-ssi is telling the truth, Dokja-ssi.”

Lsh dealt the final bow to kdj. Now that even the doctor was saying so, kdj had no choice but to accept the truth. The realization started to dawn upon him, and it didn’t take the

man long to understand what kind of situation he was in. Yjh wanted to clarify that his feelings were only temporary so they wouldn’t trouble kdj for long, but before he could say anything, the squid had already run out of the room just as quickly as he came.

“I suddenly remembered that er- I had to do some muscle training sobyeguysseeyoulater”

The excuse was clearly bullshit considering how kdj never did muscle training. Every time yjh reminded the man to train, he would reply with: “I can just raise my stat”. It seemed like the

Reincarnation Island hadn’t taught him enough of a lesson back then.

Now that the blindfold was gone, yjh could see lsh’s face clearly once again. The woman appeared to be quite amused at the whole fiasco, the corner of her mouth kept twitching as if it was trying to fight back

a laugh.

“Cough… Joonghyuk-ssi, does your mind undergo any change?”



“…No”

“Hmm just as I expected.”

Yjh couldn’t comprehend what she meant by that. Why didn’t she find it weird that nothing happened to him despite kdj being seen by him? What did she even expect then?

“What I meant is that there’s absolutely nothing for you to worry about. I would perform some tests just in case but I think you can forget the penalty from this point onwards.”

Maybe he had frowned too deeply that lsh had to clarify herself. True to her words, after a series o

f examinations, the doctor concluded that his mind and body were totally normal. With that, Yjh was finally able to leave the clinic. But just before he closed the door of the room, lsh suddenly told him:

“Joonghyuk-ssi, you know, it’s impossible for something to start when it's

already on the way.”

She smiled at him with a knowing look. For some reason, yjh felt that the woman knew something that he didn’t.

—

The moment yjh stepped foot out of the clinic, he suddenly had an urge to go see kdj and pull the squid into an embrace. It felt like he was

missing something dearly, and that something could only be found within the other man. Before he knew it, yjh had already gone around the industrial complex a few times looking for kdj. As time passed by, the urge just grew larger and larger, to the point that his mind was filled

with nothing but the images of the latter. After having regressed three times, this was the first time that he had felt such a burning desire.

Even the thought of saving the world didn’t sound as tempting as having kdj inside his arms.

It took him a lot of effort to find the

squid, and when yjh finally managed to catch sight of the man, he was leisurely staring at his phone with lgy and sys sticking to his sides.

For unknown reasons, the regressor was annoyed at how close the kids were to kdj, and he immediately walked up to the place where the trio

was sitting. In a swift movement, he picked the squid up from the spot and pulled him into an embrace.

“Hey! What are you doing you sunfish bastard?”

Kdj tried to wiggle out of the hold but yjh, with his inhumane strength, could easily keep the man in place. The kids were also

protesting with the loudest ones coming from lgy.

“Keep your hands off hyung!”

“Sooyoung, help me. This bastard just doesn’t bulge.”

“I tried too, you know.”

Yjh paid them no mind as he was busy inhaling kdj’s scent. The man smelled like old books that had been forgotten by

the passage of time, bearing a reminiscing yet comforting scent. The scent calmed his raging mind and now content filled his heart as kdj was finally in his hands.

Having accepted his fate, kdj no longer tried to fight back. The man just stayed there, quietly observing yjh with

an unreadable expression on his face. After a while, he opened his mouth to ask yjh:

“Is it because of the penalty?”

Yjh wanted to say yes, but it didn’t feel right on his tongue. Instead, he whispered into kdj’s ears:

“I miss you.”

Kdj didn’t reply. He continued.

“I love you.”

Those twinkling eyes that yjh would trade the world for widened, waves of emotions crashed in like a meteor shower that brightened the night sky. His lips quivered for a moment, but kdj decided to say nothing for the time being. They stood there in silence as the

kids had long left the room, probably going to call for the others since yjh was acting weird. It was only when ljh dropped her sword upon entering the room that they pulled apart. Kdj quickly pulled himself off yjh, frantically explaining what was going on to the teenager who

had turned into stone out of surprise.

—

For the rest of the day, Yjh didn’t leave kdj’s side. He accompanied the man everywhere, from the kitchen to the training ground. Hell, he would follow kdj into the bathroom were it not for the other’s protest.

“Look like a dog and its owner.”

Hsy grinned as she looked at yjh trailing behind a focused kdj. The three of them were holding a meeting to plan for the upcoming scenario, but kdj was the only one who seemed to do his work properly, his head deep in thought as he circled around

around the room.

Normally, with what hsy had just said yjh would shoot her a death glare but now he was too occupied with observing the way kdj’s eyebrows knitted together. No matter what the man did, yjh would always find it lovely and he just wanted to give the squid a kiss on

his lips. Speaking of lips, yjh was curious to know how they felt on kdj. Judging from their looks, they must be plumped and soft, just like a peach when it had just fallen from the tree. Surely, that peach must taste heavenly too.

“Be careful.”

From the corner of his eye, the

regressor saw kdj was about to bump into the chair. The man had a bad habit of zoning out whenever he was deep in thought, not paying any attention to the surroundings. Yjh then quickly pulled the man back - an action that made the other lean into his chest.

“T-thank you.”

Kdj, having been snapped out of his own world, hastily thanked yjh before pulling away. Yjh frowned at the loss of contact but he didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t mind if they stayed like that for a little longer.

“Joonghyuk, you didn’t feel anything different, right?”

Hsy suddenly whispered to him. Kdj was once again deep in his own world so he didn’t pay attention to the duo.

“How did you know?”

Yjh was so taken aback that he didn’t bother to conceal his surprise.

“I just know. How long have I been observing you and that fool huh?”

She gave him a side eye before continuing:

“I know I’m not in the place to say this but have you ever considered why you still felt the same despite the penalty being imposed on you?”

“Something that has already been in place wouldn’t be able to start, you know?”

Hsy’s last sentence held the same meaning as what lsh told him when he left the clinic.

“I know.”

Hsy widened her eyes at yjh’s answer. Before she could react, yjh continued:

“But I need to confirm something first.”

“Fine.”

The woman grumbled but she didn’t say anything else

Instead, she popped another lemon candy into her mouth and crushed it with the same force that she would use when she had the chance to beat the shit out of the two oblivious fools in front of her.

—

Night fell and it was finally the time for sleep. Yjh was lying on his bed

with both arms wrapped around kdj’s waist. Originally, kdj wanted to sleep on his own bed, saying something like sleeping together was simply too much for him, his heart wouldn’t be able to stand it. Even so, yjh paid no mind to the squid’s words as he dragged kdj to his bedroom,

locking the man between his arms. The other man knew that any resistance would prove to be futile, so he reluctantly accepted his fate and followed yjh to the bed.

“Yoo Joonghyuk, can you turn off the light? I’m sleepy.”

With a hand covering his mouth, Kdj yawned while nudging

yjh to go to sleep. It was so cute that the regressor did his best not to kiss the man on the cheeks.

Yjh reached his hand out to turn off the light and now the whole room was enveloped in darkness. Now that he was in bed, the exhaustion from the day started to collapse on him.

“Good night, Dokja-ya.”

“I love you.”

Before yjh could hear kdj’s reply, he had already fallen into sleep. He was so sound asleep that he missed the way kdj whispered into his ears:

“I’m sorry.”

“I love you too, Joonghyuk-ah.”

—

The next morning, when he woke up, kdj was

no longer there.

Now that the penalty had ended, he no longer felt that weird obsession over the man anymore. However, a feeling that he didn’t dare to name before still stayed, replacing the sun-like fixation with the moon-like tenderness.

Yjh now knew that his feelings for

kdj had always been there, it’s just that the penalty had intensified them, making it impossible for him to keep them under control. At first, he just thought that they were created by the penalty, but as the day went by, he started to have an inkling that a part of these

feelings was weirdly familiar. The regressor waited until the penalty ended to see whether those feelings of his were genuine or not. And they were.

Yjh quickly put on his clothes and went out to look for kdj. It didn’t take long for him to find the man basking under the sun,

his small back facing the industrial complex. He looked incredibly lonely just like that, which just made yjh want to pull him into an embrace. However, he still had things to be done.

Yjh slowly approached kdj and the other also seemed to have noticed his presence as he turned

around to face the regressor. Yjh once again forgot how to breathe as he looked at kdj's face. It was ethereal, breathtaking, and darling. Yet, a sad smile was sitting on his face, a smile that only appeared in the face of adversity.

Yjh didn't know why kdj was smiling like

that but he still decide to say the words that had been on the tip of his tongue this whole time out loud:

“Kim Dokja. I love you.”

“No you don’t.”

Kdj looked straight into his eyes. Yjh noticed how the sparkles in his beloved's eyes were no longer there.

I will continue with kdj's pov tomorrow but I need to get some sleep first lol. Man this was longer than what I'd planned but I just couldn't stop writing 💀

*[Kdj's inner thought*]

Recommended playlist:
+ But it's Destiny - 10cm
+ I Love You, I Remember You - I.O.I
+ Can You Hear My Heart - Epik High, LeeHi
+ Monster - BIGBANG
+ Fiction - Beast
+ When I Saw You - BUMKEY
+ Lucid Dream - Monogram
+ Eyes, Noses, Lips - Taeyang

That day, kdj had gone on to solo a sub-scenario while the rest of KimCom took care of another. The sub-scenario was quite easy for a reader of TWoS like him, but those who had no inkling of what it was would have a hard time killing the monsters. Therefore, despite the risk of

completing a sub-scenario on one’s own kdj believed that his plan was the most sensible.

But yjh wouldn’t live up to his title of a sunfish bastard if he didn’t mess up with kdj. The man kept questioning his plan, claiming that it was bullshit for him to solo a sub-scenario.

Was he that unreliable for the regressor to doubt his ability?

Kdj promptly ignored the bastard at first, but when he could no longer stand the nagging, he decided to throw a sentence “It’s none of your business.” behind and disappeared. The regressor could pick on him however

he wanted once kdj returned, but for the time being, the squid just wanted to give him the middle finger.

It didn’t take long for him to clear the sub-scenario, given that he basically knew it inside out. Kdj had expected to return before the others, so he was quite surprised to

see lgy and sys greeting him at the industrial complex’s entrance.

“Hyung!”

“Ahjussi!”

The kids never failed to brighten his mood up. Kdj gave them a genuine smile while ruffling their hair:

“Hello Yoosung, Gilyoung. How was the sub-?”

“It’s easy, no one got hurt so

there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Sys answered his question before he could finish it. Lgy excitedly followed her:

“Yeah, it was super duper easy, Hyung. Ah but that Yoo Joonghyuk- UHMMMM.”

When lgy was about to say something, sys immediately covered his mouth his mouth

with her hands. After some time, the boy finally managed to get out of the hold, sending a glare in sys’s direction.

“HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

“Don’t you remember what he told us?”

“Ah yeah I forgot about that."

“Sigh I should have known that your scrawny brain is useless.”

“Huh what did you say Shin Yoosung? Dare to repeat that again?”

“I said that-"

A fight quickly broke out between the children. Normally, kdj would just leave them alone, knowing full well that the fight would just dissolve on its own. But since lgy mentioned something about

yjh, he couldn’t help but feel curious.

“What did Yoo Joonghyuk tell you guys?”

The moment he asked out loud, the two of them instantly stopped their bantering. Lgy avoided his eyes while sys laughed dryly:

“It’s nothing, ahjussi. Don’t pay attention to this idiot’s words.”

“Who are you calling-“

“Really, ahjussi. Everything is fine.”

The girl smiled at him and refused to say anything more. Besides her, lgy was also doing his best to keep his mouth shut.

While the kids usually listened to his words, they could be quite stubborn in certain times.

And this was one of those times. Knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to get an answer from them, kdj decided to give up. If needed, he could just go and ask the others.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. Anyway, I have something left to do now so see you later.”

Kdj bade goodbye to the children before turning his feet towards the building where his company was staying. As he walked away, kdj missed the way sys and lgy looked at him with anxiety filling their big round eyes.

—

It didn’t take him long to come across another member of

KimCom. As soon as kdj entered the building, hsy greeted him, a grave expression on her face.

“Have anyone told you that Yoo Joonghyuk received a penalty?

“Penalty? What penalty?”

“He failed the sub-scenario.”

The woman replied to him in a small voice. Failing? Kdj was quite

sure that the sub-scenario would just be a walk in the park for someone of yjh’s level, and it was exactly that reason that he decided to leave the rest of KimCom to the man. As a result, he was taken aback by the news.

“Do you know what kind of penalty was that?”

Kdj hoped

that the penalty wouldn’t be too severe. It was just a minor sub-scenario, after all.

“I don’t know. Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t tell us many details. But he looked…”

She trailed off at the last sentence, her voice riddled with worries. The normal hsy would never act like this unless

something really terrible had happened.

“Don’t tell me he-“

“Yes, he was injured.”

Hsy finished the sentence for him.

Judging from her tone, yjh must have attained a serious injury. Throughout their journey, the regressor had always been prone to getting hurt. Although kdj

was somewhat used to it by now, but every time he saw the man in pain, it felt like his heart was stabbed once again. He wished for the pain to be transferred to him, so that yjh no longer had to bear it all alone. One person was hurt, but two felt the same agony.

“He- Where is he now?”

He tried to remain calm but he couldn’t stop his voice from trembling. Hundreds of scenarios rushed through his mind but they all had the same scene - yjh’s face was distorted by the pain.

“He’s with Lee Seolhwa right now.”

Without saying another word

to hsy, kdj immediately ran outside, towards the building where lsh’s clinic was in.

Once the man had gone out of her sight, a smirk appeared on hsy’s face as she thought about all the interesting things that were about to happen:

“Heh, serve those idiots right.”

The lemon

candy in her mouth no longer tasted as sour as usual.

—

When kdj reached lsh’s clinic, he felt like collapsing at the spot. Since it was basically at the other end, he had to run a whole lap around the industrial complex. From the back of his head, Kdj wished that he had paid

more attention to his muscle training.

“Yoo Joonghyuk! I heard you received a penalty!”

Despite being out of breath, kdj didn’t hesitate to barge into the room. He then quickly walked toward where yjh was sitting, bombarding the man with his questions:

“Are you okay? Does it

hurt? What did you do to receive the penalty? Why don’t you tell me-“

Kdj noticed a blindfold sitting on yjh’s face. Oh no, did the penalty have something to do with his eyes? Yjh of the 999th round also lost one of his eyes, and kdj didn’t want the yjh of this round to go

through the same pain.

“Let me see what’s wrong with your eyes.”

He quickly untied the knot to see the injuries for himself. Maybe this kind of injury had been mentioned in one of the later rounds and hopefully, tls123 had described the cure for it. If that’s the case, then he

would be able to use that information to treat yjh.

The moment the blindfold fell off, the regressor’s dark deep eyes entered his view. Whenever kdj looked into them, it felt like air was sucked out of his lungs. Those eyes were bewitching, capable of capturing the souls of

anyone that caught yjh's interest. In his craziest moments, kdj had wished for those irises to be filled with nothing but the image of him. He yearned to be engulfed by that darkness, letting it devour him slowly and sweetly. Maybe, he would even trade the world for it.

To his surprise, yjh’s eyes seemed totally fine. His whole body also appeared to be in normal condition too.

“Thank god your eyes seem fine. Then what is the penalty exactly?”

Now that he had confirmed there was nothing wrong with the sunfish’s appearance, kdj started to get

curious about the penalty’s content. What kind of penalty was it for hsy to look that troubled?

“Joonghyuk-ssi will develop romantic feelings for the person he first sets eyes on.”

Lsh helped him answer his question and it took him a while to process what she just said.

This was the first time he had heard of such a penalty, hell, he didn’t even know that it existed!

“Had he looked at anyone yet?”

It would be troublesome for yjh to fall in love with someone else when the regressor already had feelings for lsh. Lsh also seemed to like the man

back so their relationship should take the next step any time soon. When the time came, kdj would congratulate them with the biggest smile, ignoring the stabs of unrequited love inside his heart.

“You.”

Yjh answered him with a scowl on his face. Kdj didn’t understand what the

man meant by that so he opened his mouth again to ask for clarification.

“What do you mean?”

“You are the first one I see after the penalty started.”

“…”

At that exact moment, kdj felt his brain go short-circuited. Was it when he untied the blindfold? Then, does that mean,

yjh had… fallen in love with him? No, that couldn’t be true. There must have been some misunderstandings here.

“Your joke is not funny Joong-”

Kdj tried to wave it off as a joke. But before he could finish his sentence, lsh decided to hit the final nail in the coffin.

“Joonghyuk-ssi is telling the truth, Dokja-ssi.”

Anyone, please tell him that this was only a dream. A dream in which yjh finally fell in love with someone like him.

—

Kdj, being the coward he was, decided to run from the problem instead of confronting it. As a result, he

quickly snuck out of the clinic so that he no longer had to see yjh’s stupidly handsome face.

Kdj wandered around the industrial complex with a calm and collected look. If one were merely passing by, they would have thought that he was just doing the daily mandatory patrol.

But if they paid a little more attention, they would be able to notice the raging emotions inside his eyes. Kdj was not fine, at all.

Both his heart and mind were a mess at the moment. On one hand, the thought of yjh being in love with him excited kdj, making him want to blush

and giggle like a middle schooler. On the other hand, it pained him to know that he had stepped into the way of the regressor’s relationship with lsh. What if lsh thought that yjh was genuinely in love with him when the man was just being influenced by the penalty? That would

definitely do them no good.

But were kdj to be honest with himself, he would want yjh to fall in love with him for real. He knew that he was being foolish and that someone like him didn’t deserve such a noble love, but he couldn’t stop himself from yearning for the man.

Kdj didn’t know when it started, he just knew that at one point, he stopped viewing yjh as a character from the novel he had been reading nonstop for ten years. The man, now alive and moving in front of him, was the epitome of everything he wished for. It was natural that kdj

would fall for the regressor, considering how they grew closer and closer to each other after each scenario they went through together. Admiration turned into friendship, and friendship turned into affection. Before he knew it, kdj had fallen into this rabbit hole called love.

The moment he realized that he harbored feelings for his life-and-death companion, he also knew that they would never be able to see the sunlight once again. Yjh had lsh. The protagonist was always meant to get together with the female lead, so it’s just a matter of time before

the two finally tied the knot. Therefore, kdj was just an extra in this beautiful love story and an extra like him shouldn’t do anything that could interfere with the predetermined storyline.

As he was deep in his thoughts, kdj didn’t realize that he was standing in front of the

living room. Sys and lgy, who had already been in there, noticed him from the window and dragged him inside. They then sat him on the sofa, each of them occupying one of his sides, happily doing their own things in his presence.

Like always, being around the children calmed

kdj’s mind. His heartbeat gradually evened out
and the cloud hovering over his mind slowly dissipated. He decided to no longer pay attention to whatever mess he was in, hoping that yjh would do nothing out of ordinary. After all, how much could love change a person?

Well, kdj was wrong. Deadly wrong.

—

Kdj was sitting comfortably on the sofa with the kids by his sides when yjh suddenly barged into the room. The man didn’t say anything, but instead, he went straight to where kdj was sitting. Before kdj could react, the regressor picked him

up from the spot and pulled him into an embrace.

He tried to resist at first, but it was futile. The sunfish was too strong, his arms didn’t budge an inch even though kdj was doing his best to escape. Then, the heat from yjh’s body started to envelop him, a sensation so foreign

that he didn’t know how to describe it. It had been a long time since kdj was hugged by someone. He had been by himself his whole time, totally unaware of how… comforting a person’s warmth could be. The regressor embraced him tightly, and for the first time in his life, kdj felt

like having a place to return to.

But that fuzzy feeling didn’t last long. Kdj was soon struck by the fact that yjh's under the influence of the penalty and the man’s heart had already belonged to someone else. The hug, like yjh’s “love” for him, wasn’t and would never be real.

Kdj wanted to laugh at his own foolishness. Just a hug from yjh and he had already disillusioned himself like that. Who knew what he would become when yjh started to shower him with his fake love? The man didn’t even dare to think of it.

“Is it because of the penalty?”

After inwardly taking a deep breath, he asked a question despite knowing full well its answer. He'd prepared for yjh’s reply to pain him, but turned out, it was way worse than he could imagine.

“I miss you.”
One stab in his heart.
[No you don’t.]

“I love you.”
[No you don’t.]
Two stabs in his heart.

Yjh’s voice was unbelievably bare as if the man was laying all of his heart out for kdj to see. He was nearly deceived, but thankfully a part of his mind still remained steady. It took him all he got to keep himself from

replying to the man’s words.

His lips were sealed shut so that those three traitorous words couldn’t escape. They stayed at the tip of his tongue, fighting furiously to break free from the confinement. Kdj wondered if poisons could taste as half agonizing as those words.

—

For the rest of the day, kdj did his best to stay focused.
He kept himself busy, looking for every single thing that might require his attention. Checking the inventory? Done. Sorting the documents? Done. Polishing the weapons? Done. He was even prepared to clean the toilets,

but the members of KimCom stopped him before he could do it.

Kdj could see them walking on eggshells around him and yjh. The fact that the regressor was basically sticking to him was shocking enough, but then their other leader was acting weird too. He wanted to reassure them

but even he couldn’t believe his own words. Kdj was sure that he looked like a ghost wandering around the industrial complex.

Speaking of the sunfish bastard, kdj couldn’t understand why the man kept trailing behind him. It was annoying, but a part of him couldn’t help but find

the action… cute. No matter what he did, the regressor would always stand by his side, attentively looking at him. He was flustered by the gaze at first, but kdj soon get used to it. Well, he even managed to hide his unrequited love for so long, so how could something as little

as that even bother him?

If all yjh did was staring at him then things would have been fine. But, being the menace he was, the man started to get more touchy with the squid. One moment, he was standing behind kdj. The next one, he had already intertwined their hands together.

The bastard even had the audacity to give him a small that could even rival the sun.

Yjh did everything that was in kdj’s deepest dream. Holding hands as they walked along the corridor. Kissing the frowns on his face whenever he was too deep into his thoughts. Picking a grain

of rice from the corner of his mouth. Carrying him on the back when he accidentally tripped over and hurt his legs. If someone told him that this was a dream, he would believe them right away.

It was sweet, so sweet that kdj couldn’t help but yearn for more. The way that yjh

looked at him. The way that yjh treasured him. The way that yjh acted around him. Everything felt so real that he was nearly deceived.

But the moment lsh entered his sight, he understood that it was nothing but an illusion. Yjh was holding him by the waist when she walked by

them, and kdj instantly distanced himself from the man. He could see a frown forming on the other’s face, but he paid it no mind. The bastard would be grateful to him for doing this once he regained his mind. He tried to sneak a peak at lsh, but she didn’t appear to be upset at

their proximity. In fact, she even looked quite… delighted. Maybe she didn’t notice them.

—

Amidst kdj’s inner turmoil, the day slowly went by and it was finally time to sleep. Just like the rest of the day, yjh insisted on dragging him to his bedroom. It was too much for his

heart so he tried to resist at first, but as usual, his efforts were futile. Before he knew it, kdj was already lying on yjh’s bed, the other’s arms wrapping around his waist.

“Yoo Joonghyuk, can you turn off the light? I’m sleepy.”

Thinking that it would be best for them to

fall asleep as soon as possible, kdj faked a yawn to nudge the sunfish to turn off the light. He wasn’t feeling a bit sleepy, but he prayed that yjh was sleepier than him. And he did.

With a half-asleep voice, the man whispered into his ears:

“Good night, Dokja-ya.”

“I love you.”

Kdj didn’t move until he was sure that yjh had fallen deep into sleep. It was dark and he couldn’t see anything, but he still lifted one of his hands up to trace the regressor’s face.

“I’m sorry.”

[I know I’m not worthy of your love. It is my own fault for

falling in love with you. Forgive me for loving you.]

“I love you too, Joonghyuk-ah.”

[Just for this once, can you let me say it out loud? For the rest of my life, I wouldn’t bother you again.]

[Joonghyuk-ah, please never love someone like me.]

Kdj spent the rest of the night

going through TWoS to look for some mentions of yjh’s penalty. During the course, he came across the very few passages that describe yjh and lsh’s relationship. Normally, he would take time to read those ones, imagining that in another universe someone could love him like that.

But this time, he skipped them as fast as he could, not daring to read them again. After all, he didn’t need someone to remind him that his ugly love was nothing compared to theirs.

—

By the time kdj gave up on searching for yjh’s penalty in TWoS, the sun was about to rise.

His eyes hurt from looking at the phone’s screen for too long, so he decided to go on a walk for some fresh air. Gingerly peeling yjh’s arm off him, kdj put on his coat and headed out of the room.

He wandered around the industrial complex aimlessly, having no definite

destination in mind. As it was still early in the morning, the place was quiet, devoid of human activities. The stillness made kdj feel like he was the only person in this world.

Before he knew it, he had already reached the rooftop of the main building where KimCom was staying.

From there, he watched the sun slowly rose up, not paying attention to the blinding sunlight.

Kdj stood there all alone until the sound of footsteps disturbed his train of thought. It was a sound that he could never forget, the sound of combat boots stepping on the concrete

floor. Yjh was coming in his direction.

He turned his body to look at the man. He seemed to be refreshed after a good night of sleep, his face more relaxed than usual. But his eyes were all the same as yesterday’s. The affection in those dark deep irises hadn't gone away.

Ah, so the penalty hadn’t gone away. Since all penalties had a duration, Kdj had hoped that this one would expire after 24 hours. But it seemed like the duration was longer than that.

“Kim Dokja.”

Yjh called his name so affectionately that it pained his heart.

“I love you.”

Not that again. Kdj was so fed up with this whole fiasco that he accidentally said his thoughts out loud.

“No you don’t.”

[You could never love me, Joonghyuk-ah.]

One final part and we are done! This time, there isn't much dialogues since I want to focus on kdj's inner thought. Pls excuse me if you find it boring 😭

Anw pls pls pls read this part while listening to the recommended playlist 😊

"Huh?"

At first, yjh couldn't understand what kdj meant by that. Why did the man sound so certain, as if he knew a part of him that even he didn't know?

"Yoo Joonghyuk, you are under the effects of the penalty, don't you remember?"

Kdj smiled at him, a smile that carried no

warmth.

"The penalty has expired, Kim Dokja."

Upon hearing his words, those constellation-filled eyes shook. But they quickly regained their usual calmness, as kdj once again slipped into his mask of a smiling face.

"Hmm is that so. Then are you perhaps trying to earn more

coins? Joonghyuk-ah, our company's budget is by no means small."

It was only then that he realized the stream of coins being poured into his pocket. He had a habit of ignoring the Star Stream, unless he needed to look into information about an upcoming scenario. Coins would

always be welcome, but they were the things that he least cared about at this very moment.

"No. Kim Dokja, listen to me."

He gritted, trying his best to stay calm. He didn't want the man to mistake his confession for a murder attempt.

"What's there to listen, Joonghyuk-ah?"

Kdj was at it again with that fake smile. Yjh had come to love every single expression of the other man, except for that particular one. It kept reminding him of the times when kdj tried to embrace everything by himself, hiding all of his secrets, and refusing to open his heart

for others.

He knew he wasn't one to talk, but there are moments when he wished the other would open up to him, telling him of his upcoming plans. It pained him to see the man struggling in the dark while letting others bask in the sun. If only kdj knew that yjh was more than

willing to step under that darkness too.

"I really-"

"Don't you think it's time for breakfast? I'm quite hungry."

"No, you-"

"Oh, you aren't hungry? All right then, I'll grab some on my own."

Every time he tried to open his mouth, kdj would be one step ahead of him and

blocked his words. It was as if the man could read his own mind.

"Kim-"

"I'm leaving now. Enjoy the sun."

And with that, kdj walked brush him, his expression as calm as a lake. If one didn't know him better, they would even think that the squid was in a good mood. But yjh,

having spent so much time by his side, could immediately pick up on the light quiver of his hands, an action that he would make every time they were facing utmost danger. After all that time, he had come to learn that kdj had mastered the art of hiding his emotions.

"Wait."

He grabbed the other by his wrist, not wanting the other to leave. He might have applied a little too much force as he could see the other slightly wincing in pain. Yet the very next moment, kdj swatted his hand away, a glare directed in his direction.

"Don't touch me."

Sensing an upcoming threat, his flight-and-fight response was immediately activated. If it were anyone else, yjh would have already pointed his sword toward their neck, more than ready to make a clean cut were they dare to move. But knowing the other side was kdj, he did his best

to control himself. After all, he no longer wanted to hurt his star.

"Kim Dokja, listen to me. Please."

His voice sounded vulnerable even to him. Upon hearing those words, kdj's starry irises shook once again, this time not regaining their composure as quickly as before.

"I don't have time for your nonsense."

For some reason, he looked angry. It was the first time he saw kdj that furious, as the man would always have a smile on his face no matter what happened. Yet that face was now distorted with anger and some unknown emotions that yjh was yet

to be aware of.

"I love you. Not as a companion. But as a romantic partner."

He knew he was not the best when it came to words, but he tried his best to convey his emotions. He wished for his feelings to get across to the other man, yet it seemed like he had failed to do so.

Because in the blink of an eye, kdj had unsheathed his Unbreakable Faith, the blade dangerously close to his neck.

"Take back what you said. You don't know what you are talking about."

His voice was calm, but yjh could sense the murder intent inside it. Every single cell in

his body was screaming for him to pick up his sword, but the protagonist knew that was not the solution here. Who knew what he would do once he let the monster inside him take over?

"I'm telling you the truth. I have feelings for you."

[Lie Detection Lv.10 has been used.]

[Your statement has been confirmed to be true.]

Kdj's grip on the sword weakened as he read the notifications. Yjh thought he had managed to take a step forward, yet in a single moment, the other tightened his grip once again.

"You will regret this one day."

"I won't."

"You don't know what you are getting yourself into."

"I do."

"You are not in your right mind."

"I am."

Every time he said something, kdj would use Lie Detection on him. And the result never failed to be true.

The facade on his star's face slowly faltered, revealing an

incredibly vulnerable-looking expression. The man, seemingly unable to comprehend yjh's words, started to mumble on his own.

"No... It can't be... You... Couldn't be in love with me."

Yjh took that opportunity to pull the other into an embrace, setting his sword aside.

As gently as he could, he stroke the other's back with his scar-covered hand.

"It's the truth. I love you. More than anything else in the world."

"Tell me, what should I do for you to believe me?"

It took the man a long time to answer his question. But the moment he opened

his mouth, yjh knew that his love was not futile at all.

"I- I don't understand. Why did it have to be me of all people?"

"I also don't know."

He really didn't. At first, he found this very man more annoying than anyone in the world. His eyes followed him everywhere with

the pretense of checking whether he was up to something funny. Slowly, those constellation-filled eyes invaded his mind, making him unable to think of anything coherent every time he stared into them. And before he knew it, love blossomed inside his barren heart.

After taking a deep breath, kdj continued. Yjh couldn't see his expression at the moment, so he didn't know what kind of face the other was making.

"I couldn’t give you a reply now, but I promised I would in the future. Would you mind waiting for me?"

"I would."

He answered

in a heartbeat. He was not a patient person by any means, but if it were for kdj, he could even wait for eternity.

The him at that time had no idea that he only got to hear the answer after traversing through countless universes with a nearly-dimmed hope.

-End

Finally I got this done!!!

The main reason why it took me so long to finish this is that I suck at confession scenes, so I really have no idea what to write. Please excuse me if you find it weird 😭

Anw thank you for waiting and enjoy reading 💕