Chapter Text
[THIRD PERSON VIEWPOINT ACTIVATED]
Kim Dokja wrenched his eyes open in shock, breathing erratic as he stumbled around in zero gravity, coming to a stark realisation he had been transported into the air above his corporeal body. The torment of the stinger was still fresh on his mind; how it tore through his flesh, slicing through muscles and sinew like butter, scraping deeply enough against his bone to leave grooves - and the subsequent explosion of blinding pain.
Its sudden disappearance was a jarring relief, a sudden calm in the synaptic storm of agony. He still patted down his soul body just in case.
Calming his hyperventilating breaths, he attempted to survey his surroundings, wincing as he looked at his dying body lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood and tears.
You think he'd be used to it by now, but sometimes, when it's occasions like this, Kim Dokja couldn't help but feel nauseous at the sight of his mangled body.
However, Kim Dokja slowly noticed something was wrong with his skill; it began with the fact that the sounds of his surroundings were muted, mushing together and barely distinguishable. Then minuscule tremors racked his vision, and he blinked in surprise. Am I switching back to First Person Viewpoint? Is there something wrong?
A notification popped into the exterior of his vision.
[Skill damage unfixable! Probability lacking, return to default state imminent. Approx. time until shutdown: 5 minutes]
What?!?
Worried, he flicked his sight back down to his body- and with horror, saw it being lifted into the air from his impaled leg. The spider-scorpion boss monster was screeching again, waving his poor unconscious body in the air, his torn white coat threatening to slip off his arms as he hung upside down. As he watched his corporeal body get whipped around, Kim Dokja felt a ghostly ache within his soul's limbs. Nondescript shivers shaking his incorporeal vision, he thought depressingly, Thank god I'm unconscious. That's one sad state.
But before the tail could move again, he suddenly witnessed a flash of silver - then his body was falling back down to the cavern floor, monster goo spraying out of the severed stinger still impaled through his calf. Bewildered, he heard distant roars - muted as if they were coming from underwater - and with a shock, noticed Yoo Joonghyuk's black form absolutely wreaking havoc.
A brute, as usual! Kim Dokja angrily thought, watching his body hit the ground with an ungainly thump.
[Scenario penalty is applied! All skills effectiveness decreased by 30%!]
[Instability increasing! Approx. time to shut down: 2 mins!]
The notification helpfully updated, and in increasing panic, Kim Dokja could feel the beginning tugs on his soul. Yoo Joonghyuk you bastard! Be careful with my body!
Vision trembling and distorting, he turned back to the sunfish, who was angrily cutting indiscriminately into the boss monster's neck. The spider-scorpion had already fallen over, and as Yoo Joonghyuk brutally sliced, again and again, Kim Dokja suspected it was already dead. Soon, the head was hacked off, the corpse of the monster leaking all kinds of foul monster goo, blending with Yoo Joonghyuk's dark outfit as he stabbed and sliced and sawed.
As Kim Dokja watched, he felt an indescribable uncomfortableness crawl at his non-existent skin. Why isn't he stopping? It's dead…
This was a kind of anger that Kim Dokja had never witnessed before. The more he peered at Yoo Joonghyuk's furious expression, the more he realised the regressor looked… feral. His mouth was twisted into a snarl, movements vicious and uncalculated, making Kim Dokja shiver. What is up with him? This is so OOC…
As if on cue, the sunfish stopped, and turned slowly to the heap of Kim Dokja's body. Kim Dokja watched for a few seconds, curious, before he witnessed a terrifying expression pass over Yoo Joonghyuk’s face; an unconscious fear suddenly gripping at his core. That expression… it was not a face he had ever seen Yoo Joonghyuk - or any other member for that matter - make towards another human.
It looked… hungry.
What the fuck! Stay away from my body, you stupid Alpha!
With aghast horror, he watched as Yoo Joonghyuk quickly paced over to his unconscious body, flexing his hands as if he was agitated. His irises shone like disks of pure gold, but his pupils were almost slits when Kim Dokja drifted closer. Yoo Joonghyuk! What are you thinking, don't you dare do anything unsightly to my body!
Kim Dokja sped to stand between his corporeal body and the feral protagonist, then remembered his current lack of presence within the physical plane. So, fretting, he attempted to possess Yoo Joonghyuk's body - however, the warning notification that Kim Dokja feared flashed in his increasingly shaking vision as he moved.
[Changing to the 1st person protagonist's viewpoint has failed.]
He despaired as Yoo Joonghyuk passed through his outstretched, but unfortunately incorporeal arm. Why?
[You have failed to meet the conditions to change the viewpoint.]
His mouth dropped open. That stupid bastard! Even though he's clearly coming towards me, he's not thinking about me! Has his mind blanked or something? With a horrified gasp, Kim Dokja looked down at his near-corpse again. Am I emitting pheromones right now? Is this stupid scenario making it worse?
He watched in panic as Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly bundled up his broken body into his arms, sitting down as he cradled it on his lap. Kim Dokja floated closer, feeling the extremities of his soul tugging towards his mortal body, which was now being hugged in the sunfish’s crushing grip. Darkness crept inwards at the sides of his vision, and he blinked in a terrified attempt to keep himself conscious, watching Yoo Joonghyuk starting to rock back and forth. This behaviour…
Something strange was settling inside Kim Dokja's heart, like curiosity competing with abject fear.
Terror won, however, as his tunnelled vision noticed Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes snap open, eyes gleaming golden as his frothing mouth opened. No! Yoo Joonghyuk! Kim Dokja screamed, but of course, it was no use as Yoo Joonghyuk would not hear him. The Alpha's canines dripped with saliva as he suddenly moved to bite down- and then Kim Dokja’s vision shut off completely. In absolute despair, the last thing Kim Dokja heard was the sickening sound of flesh getting pierced, before he was dragged down into the peaceful realm of unconsciousness.
Light fingers unwrapped the rough bandages around his forearm carefully, the owner of these fingers stopping to push back her glasses before resuming with a calculated intent. Yoo Joonghyuk stared at the white haired doctor, before blinking at the patched-up wound that was slowly exposing itself from beneath the fabric.
"Joonghyuk-ssi, what do you remember?" Lee Seolhwa asked, carefully folding up the last of the bandages with her manicured nails.
"In the dungeon?" Yoo Joonghyuk frowned slightly.
"Yes." The doctor looked up, her steely grey eyes meeting his. "You can't keep avoiding the question, I need to know exactly what you remember from this incident."
"...Not much" he began, wincing as she peeled back the large, square, stained gauze pad that laid over his wound. "Most of it was a haze."
"Okay. Recount what you can remember then," she replied, swiftly procuring her notepad alongside a neat first aid kit.
Yoo Joonghyuk flicked his eyes to the window, unwilling to look at his wound.
"...We were in the main cavern, and Kim Dokja… he got slammed into the rock walls before… before getting impaled through by the boss monster's tail." Yoo Joonghyuk's words were roughly forced, the words distasteful on his tongue.
"And?" Lee Seolhwa softly prompted.
"And… All I remember is running to him, with my mind going all fuzzy and strange. He-" he paused, grimacing as he gave in and checked the wound on display, Lee Seolhwa now carefully applying antiseptic "-He was emitting a strange smell. It smelt... really sweet. He had already been covered in the aroma when we started to go into the tunnels. I'm not sure what it was, but my mind started to think of strange things when I got closer to it."
He loured again, looking away. "Maybe some kind of hallucinogen, mixed with perfume?"
Lee Seolhwa paused from her application of antiseptic. "Joonghyuk-ssi, that's pheromones."
Oh.
"Of course, I knew that," Yoo Joonghyuk lied.
"What happened after that?"
"After he passed out, the sme- the pheromones got really poignant, which strangely made it extremely hard to control some arising instinctual feelings. About here is where my mind went blank, and I can only remember hazy snippets."
"What kind of feelings?"
Yoo Joonghyuk flushed slightly, dark and barely seen under his tanned skin.
"Like-" and he almost wanted to bite his tongue off instead of admitting it- "like I wanted to bite him. Amongst other things."
"Ah, I see," Lee Seolhwa said meaningfully, finishing applying cream on the grooves that lined his arm. Yoo Joonghyuk glanced back towards the prominently deep bite mark that dug into his skin, before looking away again. He didn't like the reminder of the incident that felt so physically carved into his body, a heavy feeling weighing in his stomach whenever he looked at it for too long.
"So, I'm assuming this came from those urges?" The doctor gestured to the mark.
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned. "I… vaguely remember holding Kim Dokja… and not wanting to hurt him more, so I directed the urges to something else, which was myself."
Lee Seolhwa lightly laughed, a delicate and airy chuckle. "Trust me, I know the state we found you in. Good to know a vague thought process."
Yoo Joonghyuk scowled as he recalled snippets of members talking about how they found him. He found it slightly embarrassing to think about, especially from the hushed conversations he had accidentally overhead. Thankfully, no one had confronted him outright yet, otherwise, he would have strangled them.
Reapplying a fresh new bandage, Lee Seolhwa hummed softly. "Did you get the chance to talk to him? The trouble you two have caused the nebula in the recent days has put a lot of stress on me, you know."
The regressor sighed. "Maybe. I don't know."
"Okay, well, when he wakes up, make sure to talk to him."
Yoo Joonghyuk knitted his brows. Lee Seolhwa flicked her eyes up to his face, before continuing, "At least try? I know it's hard for you", finishing up the fabric wraps with a calculated flourish.
"... How long has it been now?"
"Since he's been unconscious? Around a day. His incarnation body received a lot of shock, you know. Thankfully for him, he's a constellation, and it could be fixed with story fragments. But that surgery was extensive and horribly tiring, and his convalescence will be challenging to begin with. Especially with the scenario penalties."
She picked at her notepad, leafing a thumb through the pages. "Probably until the scenario ends, it'll be a slow recovery at best. We can only hope he'll be fine."
Yoo Joonghyuk was silent, turning his bandaged forearm this way and that in the warm sun, letting the white fabric glow softly.
"I hope so too."
Voices, blurred and distorted, passed through Kim Dokja's mind like hazy snippets from a broken radio receiver.
"...incident-"
"No… in …"
Who…
In a state of his comfortable delirium, he was slowly and unwillingly resurfacing, as if he was being pulled from deep underwater. Gradually, Kim Dokja was regaining a sense of feeling throughout his body, consciously acknowledging the physical appendages that were attached to his mind. His arms, his fingertips, his legs…
His leg.
Suddenly, memories of what happened engulfed his consciousness, and he wrenched his eyes open with a gasp, heaving in deep breaths as his vision was met with a pristine white ceiling.
Gradually, he realised his head was propped onto some elevated pillows, and he looked down, attempting to figure out where he was. He was met with Han Sooyoung and Shin Yoosung's agape figures, both looking at him in relieved shock. Mind still catching up, he smiled slightly, glad to see them.
Shin Yoosung promptly burst into tears. Rushing over, she hugged his bandaged torso, causing him to gasp in pain again. "AHJUSSI!"
"Hey! Be careful on his body!" Han Sooyoung snapped, but it was tired and had no bite to it. Back to Kim Dokja, she smiled, a small, exhausted one.
"Glad you're back in our world, squid." She said, patting his head affectionately.
Kim Dokja smiled, exhausted. He was okay. He opened his mouth, attempting to say something, but coughed instead, finding his throat raw and hoarse. Han Sooyoung looked at him in alarm, and chastised, "Don't try and speak too much right now." She unwrapped a lemon lollipop, continuing, "You had to have a lot of your incarnation body replaced or fixed because of the sorry state we found you in."
She popped it into her mouth, dark eyes gleaming. "I suppose I should call over that bastard now that you're awake."
Shin Yoosung left briefly, before returning with a whole horde of people, all in various degrees of crying, calling out his name as they bustled into the small hospital room. Kim Dokja was so happy to see his nebula alive and thriving that he laughed - something raspy that made him cough - but other members smiled and chided his reckless actions. He saw everyone, crowding around his bedside, except for one particular brooding man.
"How could you do that??" Lee Gilyoung cried out, rushing over to hug his arm, Shin Yoosung already occupying his other one.
"S…orry" he croaked out, and Lee Gilyoung looked up at him with firm, teary eyes.
"You should've told us you were an Omega! Nobody would've cared!" He said, defiantly thrusting a chin into the air.
Kim Dokja's mouth dropped open, the feeling of misery suddenly returning. What? How does he know?
"Yeah, the allocations of the sub-genders are not representative of your actual personality and strengths." Jung Heewon continued. "Apparently. That's what Lee Seolhwa said anyway."
Lee Seolhwa! He strained to see if he could spot her in the crowd.
"Yeah! So you don't need to worry about us finding you weak or something! You would never be weak to me, ahjussi!" Shin Yoosung cried, hugging his arm tightly.
He forced his mouth into a smile, panicked mind clouding with thoughts. Probably noticing the changes in his expression, Han Sooyoung lightly whacked the top of his head. "Stop thinking so much. It's not a bad thing to rely on others, you know? You've done so much; you only deserve a break."
"But… But the-" he coughed, "-the scenarios!"
"Oh, shut up. That's all you talk about," she huffed, taking out her lollipop. "Scenario this, scenario that. Why don't you look after yourself for once?"
"I…" he was admittedly at a loss for words. He hadn't been expecting this kind of reaction when people found out he was an Omega, not at all.
Han Sooyoung smiled triumphantly. "Don't worry about the whole Omega thing. I know you're probably still thinking about it, and I can figure out your reasons for hiding it."
Kim Dokja gulped.
"But, we wouldn't think anything of it. You don't need to hold yourself in such a position all day every day, because the further you distance yourself, the harder the fallback will be. As stated, we wouldn't have judged you to be an Omega."
The kids huffed, still clinging onto his arms. Kim Dokja was speechless, searching the faces of his company, countenances displaying either anger or pity or a mix of the two. "But… aren't you annoyed? That your leader is an Omega?"
"As Sooyoung-ssi said, it's unfair to classify someone's personality based on stereotypes." Yoo Sangah replied softly, the always eloquent. “And it’s just some silly scenario.”
Han Sooyoung gruffly added, "...Don't think so highly of yourself to be our leader".
Rolling up her sleeves, Jung Heewon smiled menacingly. "But angry? Of course we are, of you doing that sub-scenario without telling anyone and getting yourself hurt-". As she talked, her words were spat out with increasing ferocity, and Kim Dokja smelt a familiar, seething aura ooze from her direction. She stepped forward and Lee Hyunsung, wiping his tears, held her back in an attempt to calm her down. Begrudgingly, she complied, huffing as Kim Dokja closed his eyes in defeat. Of course, the stupid scenario is still going. I wish I got knocked out for more than 10 days.
Yoo Sangah laughed lightly. "And anyway, many of us are pleased we can finally care for you, Dokja-ssi. This time you can't escape it."
Kim Dokja's eyes shot open again. Why was that so menacing? A quick look at the passive expression on Yoo Sangah's face gave him shivers. Damn, I can see why she's an Alpha.
"That's… okay." He resigned, sighing. "I'll look forward to it then."
For the rest of the day, there was a steady stream of company members that came by individually, all greeting and wishing for his well-being. Most were annoyed that he had refused to tell anyone, putting himself in such a risky position and then inevitably getting hurt. But, overall, there seemed to be a happiness amongst the members, a shine to their expressions that Kim Dokja had not been expecting. He wasn't sure if it was because they didn't have to do any scenarios for the next 5 days, or because they enjoyed seeing him like this. Bedridden and completely at their mercy. Bunch of sadists.
Lee Seolhwa had come by to do a quick touchup and briefing, making adjustments and spouting words like a white storm of calculated profession. Kim Dokja sat sullenly as she puffed the pillows behind his head, his leg already feeling itchy.
She flicked her cool gaze down, and then said absently, “The barb wasn’t poisoned. You should be glad for that, as you’d probably be dead by now.”
He pouted. “I suppose.” His dry throat scraped at his voice, rendering it as hoarse and quiet.
“And… I had to tell them about the Omega problem when you went and almost killed yourself,” she continued, inspecting his head bandages.
He sighed. It’d been a shock, but he understood why she’d said it, and honestly, it saved him the embarrassment of having to tell them himself. “Thanks for that.” Coughing, he checked his immobile body, and added, “Fixing me up, as well.”
She smiled. “Glad to be of service. I’ve given you some strong suppressant injections that should calm down any side effects you may receive for the next few days. You owe me one after this, though.” Laughing, she continued, “You can join Yoo Joonghyuk on his supply errands for my medicinal experiments.”
Kim Dokja stared. “Supply errands…? Really? Yoo Joonghyuk is doing that?”
Slender fingers tapped the side of her cheek. “Interesting, isn’t it? He also owes me big time. He’s actually on one right now - which is probably why he’s running late. Sorry about that.”
Kim Dokja smiled softly, closing his eyes again. “Don’t worry about it.”
Thinking about Yoo Joonghyuk being reduced to a simple errand boy, he couldn't help but smile as he drifted into a light sleep.
The sun had started to slip below the horizon, purple hues painting the sky outside, when worried voices suddenly shouted outside his door. Kim Dokja, disturbed from his nap, cracked open his eyes as he heard muffled snippets push through the walls.
"No- Don't"
"-sleeping!"
Suddenly, the door burst open violently, and a black-clad man hurriedly stepped through, heaving in air like he had just run a marathon. His eyes flashed yellow as they landed on the bed, and Kim Dokja squinted at him before smiling faintly.
"You made it." he said simply, with a small cough.
Wordlessly, Yoo Joonghyuk strode over and sat down promptly in the bedside chair, his eyes never leaving Kim Dokja's face. Now closer, he fidgeted, tentatively hovering his hand in the air as if he didn't know what to do with it, opening and closing his mouth as he struggled to say something. Han Sooyoung walked in after him, leaning against the door frame in defeat, watching them with a tender annoyance.
"Good to see you still alive." Han Sooyoung said, with a small grin.
"I'm not going to die in the 3 hours you leave me alone." His throat was better after a couple of hours, although it still grated his vocal cords to speak.
"You'd be surprised. Previous evidence does not support your statement."
Kim Dokja moved to make a protest, but suddenly his hand was enveloped in a warm grip, and his words instantly fell away, forgotten. Mouth popping into a perfect O, he looked towards Yoo Joonghyuk, who was still staring at him and gripping his hand like he wasn't sure if he was actually there. Like as if he wanted to ground Kim Dokja to this bed lest he somehow floated away when he didn't look.
Speechless, Kim Dokja looked down to their intertwined hands, and then back up to his face. Now, upon closer inspection, there was an unnatural tiredness to the protagonist's countenance - eye bags lining his eyes, hair unusually unkempt, a weathered expression pulling down at his cheeks.
However, it was a hopeful expression, that, to Kim Dokja's slight horror, contained hints of that ravenous one he had exhibited at- oh.
Oh god . The incident . Kim Dokja had conveniently pretended to forget what he had seen after he 'blacked' out - but now that the man was actually in front of him, a sudden awkwardness clouded his mind, and he moved his hand to break away. Unfortunately, his plan was thwarted by the protagonist grip strength, and Kim Dokja gave up in defeat after a few lame attempts trying to tug his hand out of the man's iron grasp.
Undoubtedly, a forgotten fear had now resurfaced, as Kim Dokja was entirely unsure of what Yoo Joonghyuk had bitten. When he had woken up, to his immediate relief, he had noticed there didn't seem to be any obvious bite marks. But he wasn't sure where exactly Yoo Joonghyuk could've bitten, and there was still an uncertain fear that he might’ve bitten Dokja somewhere… hidden. So, nervous, he quickly looked over the Alpha's body, as the man finally said, "I'm glad".
Kim Dokja blinked, noticing the few injuries Yoo Joonghyuk sported, presumably from this recent incident. "Glad about what?"
"Many things", he replied simply, still holding Kim Dokja's hand.
An unknown feeling washed over Kim Dokja's heart, dousing the feelings of anxiety with a new, strange emotion. Too tired to interpret it, he pointed towards Yoo Joonghyuk's bandaged arm instead.
"What happened?" He implored, curious. He didn't remember there being a prominent injury there from when he looked via third person's viewpoint, which meant he got it after he switched back. Yoo Joonghyuk frowned softly. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself first.”
"But?" He protested, and Han Sooyoung gave a bark of a laugh. Kim Dokja stared at her in surprise, honestly forgetting she was still there.
"You wanna know? It's a self-inflicted injury. It's pretty gruesome, if I do say so myself, and he can show you when he's ready." She sighed, playing with a lemon lollipop in her hand. "This man has been worrying 24/7 about you, you know. Honestly, it's almost gross how much moping he had been doing."
Kim Dokja smiled awkwardly, a sharp tang stinging the back of his nose as he noticed the silent glare Yoo Joonghyuk sent her direction. "Sorry."
A tight squeeze from his hand caused Kim Dokja's eyes to flicker down to their hands in surprise. Yoo Joonghyuk looked back at him, dark eyes glaring at Kim Dokja's sheepish face.
"Don't say that." He bent over slightly, his shoulders slumping in fatigue. "It was my fault for not protecting you properly."
Kim Dokja floundered, taken back by the unexpected statement. Being ashamed of his scenario sub-gender, he hadn't even thought of how others might be thinking, and certainly hadn't been expecting Yoo Joonghyuk to put blame on himself. Hesitant, he patted Yoo Joonghyuk's hair with his free hand. It was a bit of an awkward position, but he made it work.
"It's not your fault. I'm still alive, aren't I?" He said, hoping that he was comforting.
Han Sooyoung coughed from the entrance. "Just barely. The state you were in was horrendous. You were like one ill-timed sneeze away from giving up the ghost."
Yoo Joonghyuk made an incoherent sound as he declined lower.
Kim Dokja leant back into the pillows, feeling a sudden tiredness crawl through his muscles.
“Well, you did your best. I have a lot of faith in your abilities," he smiled softly, "and I saw enough from third-person viewpoint.”
“Third person?” Yoo Joonghyuk turned his head towards him. “...I see.”
The regressor’s head dropped onto the bed sheets, and he turned his face towards Kim Dokja as he said the most uncharacteristic line Kim Dokja had ever heard come out of his mouth;
“Thank you for having faith in me.”
Kim Dokja blinked, feelings of something indescribable again bubbling up within his stomach, climbing his throat and bursting out as a raspy chuckle. His face felt suspiciously warm, and he ducked his head to the side.
“...Always.”
A sudden yawn pushed out of his mouth, and Kim Dokja relaxed, watching as Yoo Joonghyuk turned his head into the bedsheets, ear tips suspiciously pink. Cute, he thought subconsciously, as his eyelids fluttered in an attempt to stay awake - to which he heard Han Sooyoung whisper, "He's going to sleep again; that incarnation body is so weak."
Yoo Joonghyuk said something curtly back, but Kim Dokja was already slipping into unconsciousness again, gratefully closing his eyes to darkness.
When he awoke the next day, Yoo Joonghyuk was still by his bedside - one hand still clutching Kim Dokja's as his other protectively rested on his sword, eyes closed as he slouched forward on the chair. His face was unusually peaceful, and Kim Dokja realised in fascination that he barely ever saw Yoo Joonghyuk sleep. A relaxed face looks good on him. He should try it more often.
With Kim Dokja's shifting movements, the regressor slowly blinked the sleep away from his eyes, locking eyes with Kim Dokja who was still staring at him. The guilty man quickly looked away, moving to pull his hand out of Yoo Joonghyuk’s grip - but yet again found himself unable to.
"Have you been holding my hand this entire time?" He croaked in disbelief, looking back towards Yoo Joonghyuk.
Now it was Yoo Joonghyuk’s turn to look away, face unmoving but ear tips lightly shading pink.
"... I couldn't risk leaving you during the night. What if something happened? I needed to protect you, from external things and yourself."
Kim Dokja stared again. He was doing too much of that recently. How was he getting so surprised by things this protagonist was saying? He thought he knew Yoo Joonghyuk, but recent events have shown him just how much he didn't, and it was a strange concept to realise that the depth of his favourite character was clearly not able to be defined within words.
Kim Dokja welcomed it and the questionable feelings that came with it with mostly open arms. Okay, maybe they were half open. Sometimes they were crossed. But he was getting there.
And anyway, Kim Dokja kinda liked how his hand felt, held in another's. Specifically, he liked it in Yoo Joonghyuk's - his calloused, scarred hand, larger than his, enveloping it in a comforting warm embrace.
A crack of the door was the only warning of Lee Seolhwa's entrance, causing Kim Dokja to reflexively pull away forcefully, unfortunately bringing the hand holding to an end as Yoo Joonghyuk reluctantly let go. She swooped in with measured clacks of her high heels, holding her clipboard and a pen. Kim Dokja was sure she had noticed the clasped hands before Kim Dokja moved his primly to atop his stomach, but she didn't even bat an eye before launching right away into detailing his rehabilitation schedules, and movement training he needed to do to recover his original mobility.
If Kim Dokja wasn't mistaken, the ghost of a smile that played with her lips made her look actually pleased.
(He wondered why it felt like everyone knew something he didn't, like some unanimous joke he was left out of)
The rehab sessions started to happen over the next couple of days, with different members helping monitor and move him through the stages. However, Yoo Joonghyuk was almost present at all times - a silent shadow that observed his sessions from the back, watched him whilst he ate, and then accompanied him to sleep. If Kim Dokja wasn't so weak, and maybe if his trusty emotional wall was still up and working, he would've protested it a lot more. But, his body betrayed him, and grew accustomed to Yoo Joonghyuk's new constant presence in his life. He even came to expect the brooding figure of the man, sitting silently if there was another member present, or attached onto him when there wasn't.
This was what had been even more shocking - the new penchant the Alpha suddenly displayed towards skinship and physical touching. Whenever Kim Dokja was near enough, he'd grab somewhere on him, usually along his arm or hand. Kim Dokja had been rather embarrassed at first as well, but it was becoming a rather repetitive feature after he awoke, that he had no choice but to accept it.
His recovery was not easy, but it was not slow. Kim Dokja walked on albeit unsteady legs, but he was increasing at a rate that befitting of a constellation, even with the majority of his skills stripped. Only the second day into his movement training, Lee Seolhwa encouraged him to walk without support for at least ten steps, with both her and Yoo Joonghyuk waiting at the 'finish' line. The regressor himself was standing with his hands by his side, a passive look of expectancy as they both watched Kim Dokja come towards them.
Shaky steps managed to uphold him, and when he made it, he was so happy that he flashed a giddy smile towards the regressor, about to make a snide remark at his fast progress. However, all words mushed together into an incoherent "Mmngah?", as a sudden warmth wrapped around his body.
"What are you doing?" He hissed towards Yoo Joonghyuk, who had his arms wrapped around Kim Dokja's body. The man's head was just beyond Kim Dokja's, his dark hair tickling Dokja's face.
Yoo Joonghyuk's low reply, "Embracing you", was feather soft on his ears, and traced shivers down Kim Dokja's spine, a ripple of goosebumps blooming in its wake. Kim Dokja stiffened immediately as all coherent thoughts left his brain, Yoo Joonghyuk's aroma relieved the exhaustion in his muscles, the scent all tingly and relaxing and homely. He hadn't received a proper hug from any adult in so long, that he forgot how warm it was.
Awkwardly, Kim Dokja slowly lifted his arms around Yoo Joonghyuk, unsure how to hug back. After some deliberation and hesitant arm waving, he opted to give some conciliatory pats on the Alpha's back. He noticed Lee Seolhwa watching them in polite mirth, and hissed towards Yoo Joonghyuk again.
"Bastard! There's someone right there!" Your future wife!!
A grunt from Yoo Joonghyuk. "I know."
"Why're you doing it then?"
"Why can't I?" There was a tinge of amusement to the Alpha's voice, and Kim Dokja silenced, unable to refute the simple remark. He instead sent pleading eyes towards Lee Seolhwa.
"Is this an effect of the scenario?" He whispered urgently in her direction. Lee Seolhwa only smiled.
"Congrats on making it, Dokja-ssi. Now, your body is going to recover relatively fast compared to a normal human being, but not as fast as it would with no penalties. So don't try to rush it. We have time."
Isn't she avoiding the prominent issue here? Kim Dokja was so bewildered he laughed a little.
(The feeling of missing something important was settling uncomfortably in his gut again)
After a bit of casual conversation, Lee Seolhwa moved closer to give a timetable to Kim Dokja - but as he moved to grab it, Yoo Joonghyuk snapped upwards and looped an arm around Kim Dokja's waist, accepting the paper in his stead.
"Thank you," he said gravelly, before curtly towing Kim Dokja along to his wheelchair, propping him up with his arm. Kim Dokja didn't even manage to say a word in the entire fast exchange, so he flashed an apologetic smile back to Lee Seolhwa as he walked away, suspiciously noting the reappearance of that pleased look upon her features.
Why does she look so happy?
He scrutinised Yoo Joonghyuk's face, who was presently helping him into the chair.
Like, isn't that your future wife? What are you doing, bastard? Hugging me like that? His thoughts spirally slowly, and he thought nervously, What if he's deliberately making her jealous? Am I being caught in some elaborate love trap? Wait- Joonghyuk isn't like that, who am I kidding.
A pause- Actually, maybe I don't know him anymore? Evidence being recent events? Oh my god- Joonghyuk-ya, what has happened to you?
Another pause, longer this time, as he shifted to make himself comfortable - Wait. What am I even thinking, Joonghyuk isn't even gay. Also, why am I having these thoughts? Is this the scenario affecting me? Dear heavens.
Observing the strangely touchy nature that Yoo Joonghyuk was currently displaying unwillingly gave Kim Dokja flashbacks to his Omegaverse knowledge, and he shuddered involuntarily, immediately shutting that thought train down before it could even take off. Nope. Ain't going there.
It would be the next day when Yoo Joonghyuk had an appointment with Lee Seolhwa, finally dragging him away from his post next to Kim Dokja. As soon as he exited through the door, it was barely a second before it opened again, and Han Sooyoung's short figure slid through. Kim Dokja was sitting in his wheelchair, contemplatively staring at the table in front of him, briefly glancing up in acknowledgement as she walked in.
"Hey," he smiled, and she huffed and returned it.
"Rare moment that you're not with Joonghyuk these days." She said snidely, slipping into her seat opposite him.
“True.” He chuckled. “Don’t ask me why.”
Han Sooyoung propped her elbows against the table, resting her chin on her hands as she gave him an imploring glance. “Do you not know why?”
Sighing, he looked out the window again. “Not really, he doesn’t talk much, but wow, is his attentiveness intense.”
“In what way?”
“As in, he is always touching and hovering near me. He even offers to help me to go to the bathroom, and cooks my meals, and tucks me into bed- it’s like, I’m being treated like a lover.”
There was a long silence, and Kim Dokja turned his head back to Han Sooyoung, whose expression could only be described as disappointed incredulity.
“What?” Kim Dokja asked, perplexed.
She muttered a quick “oh god, he’s worse than I thought” before leaning back in defeat.
“Um, how do I put this...Don’t you feel you are on the cusp of figuring something out? Y’know, if you just thought about it a bit harder….” Han Sooyoung had an almost exasperated look on her face.
Kim Dokja stared. What wasn’t he getting?
“...What?” He cocked his head slightly.
“...Nevermind. I can’t help you, you’re even more of a lost cause than I thought. And here I thought you understood the entire time. Has anybody told you you’re actually kinda stupid?”
“You,” he deadpanned.
She gave him a sidelong glance, before erupting into laughter. “You’re right, you’re right. Anyway, just think about that damn bastard’s actions a bit harder, will you? He’s been so much better now that you’re alive again. Actually acting like a normal person.”
“Haha?”
Han Sooyoung picked at her purple hoodie. “Has anyone told you how we found you two?”
Kim Dokja shifted in surprise. “...Not yet.” This would be helpful in figuring out what Yoo Joonghyuk had bitten.
She snorted. “Of course, it’s not like there’s been any chance to gossip to you about it.”
Suddenly, the mood shifted as she switched to a serious tone, leaning back into the table. “You know, it took all of the Betas and a rather strong suppressant drug to drag Yoo Joonghyuk off you.”
He blinked, feeling the atmosphere weigh down a shade.
“We all heard your screams,” she continued, a strange look upon her face, “But we only managed to get to you two after a while, since we had to figure out where it was coming from, run through the tunnels and make it to the main cavern.”
Kim Dokja kept silent.
“When we found you two, he had his teeth gouged into his forearm, so deep it was drawing blood. You were hugged in his grasp, and… let’s just say his grip on you was extremely intense. Nails were leaving indents and everything.” She took a shaky breath, like she didn’t want to say the words.
“...We could only tell it was you because of your coat. You-” she choked a little, “-you were mangled, man. Nobody has ever seen you like that before.”
“I know,” Kim Dokja said quietly.
She spared him a glance, before her eyes spaced out again, remembering the incident. “I, like all the Alphas, immediately started to throw up and convulse at the sheer level of pheromones that were being emitted, by the both of you. It was like walking through a thick, muggy fog, and it was- it was a struggle , to get my thoughts under enough control to even get near Yoo Joonghyuk. It was only through emergency suppressant pills that Lee Seolhwa was carrying around that all of us managed to regain our sanity.
“When members started to get close to you, however, Yoo Joonghyuk started to go crazy. Like, snarling, his eyes blown out, covering you protectively as he snapped at any attempt. We could only let him hold you as we coaxed him out of the dungeon, because at least he still had some semblance of consciousness in there that he knew to get you to help.”
Kim Dokja felt that dark feeling return to his stomach, crawling uncomfortably as he sunk into his wheelchair.
“Lee Seolhwa managed to bundle a bit of his coat as a rag for him to bite into instead, but we could all see how ravenous and gone his eyes were. To be completely honest,” she let out a huff of half amused air, “We were all terrified. We thought he might snap if we tried to get you out of his grasp.
“But, you know what’s the funny thing?” she breathed, and Kim Dokja unconsciously leaned forward. “As we helped him stagger out of the cavern, I looked closer, and saw that he had this buried desperation in his eyes. All of a sudden, in that moment, I immediately understood how much he was struggling to cling to his sanity.”
She focused on Kim Dokja again. “Do you get it? He was trying so hard not to hurt you . Even when everybody else was going near insane from the pheromones and Alpha emotions.”
Kim Dokja was speechless. Hearing this recount of what had happened after he had blacked out felt so foreign, so strange, a sick feeling coursing through his gut. His voice was barely audible as he whispered, “Not to hurt… me?”
“Yes.” She stared at him now, hands on the table. “He was having a whole internal battle, and you could see it in his jerky movements, the way his hands flexed, and his eyes flashed golden in hunger.
"Earlier, he had bitten through his protection barrier. Can you believe it?” Her voice was coming out breathlessly now, an unreadable emotion filling her gaze. “He bit down with enough force to break his barrier, and then continued to dig into his arm. That’s… that’s some extremely incredible resolve. That's how hard he was trying ”
Through his protection barrier. Han Sooyoung’s words reverberated in his head, pounding at his ears, making his mouth dry and his palms sweaty. Ah.
“And then, he managed to hold on until outside, where he started to struggle. The Alphas were still mostly out of commission in terms of strength, so the people who were 'Betas' had to hold him down as we tried to take you out of his arms. Because Beta’s aren’t as affected by the pheromones, you know?” She gave a short, grim laugh. “Lee Hyunsung helped a lot. We had to remove you since you required urgent attention, and we feared Yoo Joonghyuk may end up hurting you. By the time Lee Seolhwa returned with a potent suppressant drug, every Beta was holding down every limb of Yoo Joonghyuk, as he snarled and struggled and released slews and slews of pheromones. He’s awfully strong, especially high on Alpha pheromones. Damn him and his protagonist body.”
Kim Dokja gave a weak chuckle.
Han Sooyoung dragged her hands across her face. “Anyway. We more or less discovered how it went down, through various means, like rewatching the stream and constellation recounting. Everybody in the nebula was shocked.”
Kim Dokja dipped his head down, staring at his legs in shame. Did they see how much of a sorry wreck he was in the dungeon? “I can imagine.”
“Nobody has ever seen you so… discomposed. Which is why,” Han Sooyoung abruptly shifted her tone, “you shouldn’t have worried about disclosing that information with us.”
“Sorry,” he whispered, but this time with a lot more weight.
“Hey!” She reached over, to grab up his hand. “No. None of that self-deprecating stuff. Nobody was annoyed at you for that- well, not now anyway. We were just deeply unsettled by the event and want to make sure it never happens again. Okay?”
He slowly raised his vision to meet her firm gaze.
“Is that so…?” he said hoarsely, and she gave a tight squeeze.
“Yes. You deserve a rest. Everybody is just annoyed at you for putting the entire responsibility on your shoulders again.” Her face thawed a little, warm tiredness exuding through. “So learn to accept it, and don’t blame yourself, okay?”
“...Okay” he breathed, but with a conclusive resolve that he didn't know he had.
But he really, really did mean it.
After that, Kim Dokja found Yoo Joonghyuk’s advances a lot easier, now knowing what had gone down. Indescribable guilt still squirmed in his gut, but as the days ticked by, everything was getting easier to digest.
He could walk around with crutches now, his recovery steadily improving, and Lee Seolhwa slowly reduced the number of checkups. Furthermore, Yoo Joonghyuk had now become a permanent fixture, all the overseeing shifts overtaken by him - and suspiciously, no other member complained.
Kim Dokja still caught the envious or interested glances that they sent their way with Yoo Joonghyuk now routinely holding his hand or waist, but he opted to pretend he didn’t see them.
It was one calm night that Kim Dokja lay in his hospital bed, sheets bundled around his waist as the moonlight started to shine through the window. Yoo Joonghyuk was, of course, sitting beside him, the natural luminescence from outside making the tips of his hair glow softly as he rubbed his thumb in small circles into the back of Kim Dokja’s hand.
Kim Dokja himself was starting to feel the drowsiness settle in, the soothing movements of Yoo Joonghyuk's fingertips effusing a greater sense of ease that settled over his body comfortably.
Now that he was actively attempting to accept and relax, he realised he hadn't felt this good in ages. He hadn't registered how much tension and stress he had held captive within his body - and such a build-up is hard to let go off instantly, but Yoo Joonghyuk's small gestures, such as this, were helping him calm down and persevere. He appreciated it, he really did.
"Are you going to sleep now?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked, his voice a low rumble.
"Maybe," Kim Dokja yawned, settling into his cosy sheets. The air was a temperate warmth that was neither too cold nor hot, a relaxing medium that Kim Dokja was enjoying.
The circular rubbing stopped for a second. "It's the last day, by the way."
"Last day of what?" Kim Dokja replied, but as soon as those words were out of his mouth, he realised. The bounty scenario- today was its last day. Everyone had cleared the required conditions, and after tonight, didn't have to deal with the scenario's side effects anymore.
He met Yoo Joonghyuk’s gaze, whose face was draped in the shadows cast by the backlighting. The darkness made it hard to discern his features, but they locked that gaze for a while, the weight meaningfully heavy.
Their relationship had shifted subtly over the course of the scenario, and as much as Kim Dokja liked to deny things personal to him, he couldn't ignore it any longer. Ever since that conversation with Han Sooyoung, Kim Dokja finally thought that he understood what was going on.
He didn't think he would miss it, but surprisingly, Kim Dokja was grateful for the scenario. Maybe, if it hadn't happened, he wouldn't be like this with Yoo Joonghyuk right now, with him grasping his hand in a deceptively gentle manner, easing the knots of anxiety that welled in his heart.
Maybe, none of these feelings would've ever been realised.
Kim Dokja may be willfully ignorant, but.
"I'm glad it's over." Kim Dokja says, with an exhale of relief. He would have all his skills and the Fourth Wall back.
Yoo Joonghyuk tilted his head slightly, and murmured, "I'm glad it happened."
"Why? I'm happy to never be an Omega again."
"Because," and his hand squeezed Kim Dokja’s, "I got to see this side of you."
Kim Dokja felt the blood rush to his face, the absence of his Fourth Wall immediately apparent. You can't just say things like that.
And then, Yoo Joonghyuk brought Kim Dokja's hand to his face. A feather-soft brush of the protagonist's lips was felt against the back of his hand, making Kim Dokja's breath hitch, leaving an echoing tingle as he lowered it again. Their gazes met again, a hot sensation now charging through Kim Dokja's veins.
Their room was silent as they held their imploring stares, save for the background lull of night insects chirping and wind softly rustling through the trees.
What was he feeling? Well, there were lots of complex and messy emotions tumbling and weaving inside of his mind, creating blankets of uncertainty and spools of unspoken thoughts, their voices especially loud without the Fourth Wall. However, he wasn't sure if he wanted to label them properly as of current, instead allowing himself to tune out of his thoughts for once.
And, Kim Dokja could grasp what was being communicated right now, with their hands intertwined and their breathing hesitant.
Slowly realising he's on the same page.
And so, Kim Dokja smiled.
Then, Yoo Joonghyuk's face did something he'd never seen before - he smiled back.
Suddenly weightless, Kim Dokja softened instantly, feeling his cheeks burn again, but this time, he didn't mind it.
Yeah. I could get used to this.