"Mhm...." Dokja mumbled as he felt a finger touching his cheek. He didn't bother opening his eyes, wanting to get as much sleep as he could. He frowned at the additional intruding pokes, angling his head to avoid them, but they were relentless in their pursuit.
Reluctantly opening his eyes at his attacker, he was welcomed by a somewhat familiar face. Taking in her bob-cut and her prominent canine teeth, he slowly recalled where he'd seen her from. The woman was the last person he'd seen before fainting, and now she was seated on a chair next to the bed, gazing at him with one hand supporting her chin and the other one incessantly poking him.
"What are you doing?" the sleepy man asked, She scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.
"Looking at your ugly face isn't obvious?" Somewhat irked at the jab, Dokja slowly lifted himself to a sitting position. Cocking his head at her, he silently tried recalling what character she was from the novel.
[- a woman with black hair styled into a bob-cut, her body petite, thin, and well-proportioned. Her face was small and easily identifiable by her sharp canines and constant smirk. She was a troublemaker, but fiercely loyal, and many people knew her for her sharp tongue. Even if she wasn't physically capable, she could destroy you with words alone.]
The woman in front of him was...
Han Sooyoung: The sole daughter and heir of the Han Marques family, who are well-known for having numerous gold mines.
She and 'Kim Dokja' the character had known each other for most of their lives, being childhood friends. She was one of his most trusted allies in the book, so devoted to him that she attempted to kill the Lee Seolhwa for him when he died. But of course, because the author had a massive vendetta against 'Kim Dokja', she was stopped by the Crown Prince, who imprisoned her and sentenced her to death.
Due to his reminiscing, Kim Dokja had unwittingly been staring at Sooyoung for the past few moments with a strange look on his face, and she was starting to get a bit irked about it.
"Hey, stop lookin' at me like that, it's creepy.". Dokja snapped back to reality.
He slowly got up to pour himself a glass of water from a pitcher resting on a round table near the foot of the bed, with Sooyoung's eyes following him the entire time. Letting out a sigh after taking a refreshing swig of water, he looked back at the girl in his room when she asked,
"Hey, are you sure you're fine?"
"What do you mean? I don't have any injuries and I spent half of yesterday sleeping and eating off the fatigue, of course I'm fine." She silently stared at him for a moment, doubt marring her eyes, but she quickly turned her head away, gazing aimlessly out the room's windows.
"Then what happened to you?"
"Nothing"
As soon as the words left his mouth, she whipped her heads towards him and sneered.
"Cut the crap." Pushing herself from the chair, she stomped in front of him, pinning him down with her eyes.
:If nothing happened then why exactly where you running half-lucid and soaked to the bone through the castle gardens yesterday? Did you forget that you fainted right in front of me?"
"Don't you dare lie to me.", her expression demanded
Dokja sighed softly, "Fine, I almost drowned." His friend's eyebrow lifted questioningly.
"Drowned? As far as I remember, you knew how to swim."
Pursing his lips, Dokja turned his head away to stop himself from saying something he shouldn't. How exactly what he supposed to explain his circumstances to her? It's not like he could just say ' Hey I transmigrated in this book I read, care to help me return to the real world?'. He'd probably end up in whatever was the TSFTC equivalent to a psyche ward.
"Look, I just had a little argument with the Crown Prince. I guess things got a little intense cause one thing led to another and I started drowning, but he saved me in the end, so all's well ends well."
Sooyoung blinked at him, then started laughing incredulously, "The Crown Prince? Saving you, his enemy?"
Dokja couldn't help but become ever so slightly worried as her laughter became more akin to a maniacal howl. Geez, she really had some powerful lungs on her, didn't she?
"And exactly why would he bestow you with such a kind blessing," she asked mockingly, before exclaiming, "Wait, wait, wait, don't tell me, the Crown Prince fell in love with you?!", a cynical grin stretching across her face.
The only response she got from Dokja was a disgusted side glance as he narrowed his eyes.
"You're insane." He remarked, before walking to look out the window; the sky was orange, with the sun just about to dip below the horizon. The castle garden looked ethereal in this light; the rose bushes were beautifully lit up as they casted long black shadows on the ground.
As she stopped laughing, Sooyoung went to join him at the window, though Kim Dokja didn't bother to glance at her.
"Hey what time is?" he asked
"About 5:10, why?"
Finally meeting her eyes, he said, "When everyone is asleep, we'll sneak out." Another conniving grin spread across her face, revealing her sharp canines, but unlike the previous moments Dokja could spot hints of genuine mirth reaching her eyes. He couldn't help but to be a bit touched at the prospect of another person looking forward to spending time with him.
"Sneaking out, huh? Hell yeah, I'm game!"
…Dokja couldn't help the lingering feeling that he'd regret taking Sooyoung with him...
------------
While waiting for nightfall to finally come, Dokja had stayed in his bed, doing his best to feign sleeping. Multiple times he heard the door opening as his maids and servants came by to check whether he was resting or trying to sneak out. When Dokja felt that the night had progressed long enough for the check-ins to stop, he quickly stood up and went to the window next to the tree.
He knocked twice on the window before opening it. A rustling could be heard from the tree outside, before the figure of Han Sooyoung, clad in all-black clothing and a matching cloak, hurried inside to his room. If he hadn't known her, he would've assumed that she was an assassin or something.
She folded her arms, agitated, "Why are you not dressed yet? Hurry up!"
Deeming that a response wasn't needed, Dokja grabbed some clothing from the wardrobe and changed into a pair of high-waisted black leggings and a loose-fitting white shirt dress. Putting on his black coat, Dokja went to the window and realized how high up the castle his bedroom was. The only way they'd reach the ground would be to climb down the tree outside the window.
"Okay, we should get going now." Sooyoung simply nodded.
The two of them made quick work of climbing down and then hurried to the garden. From what he'd read in the novel, at the other end of the garden was a large stone surrounded by plants, with said stone used by Dokja and Sooyoung to disguise a small passage that led to the outside of the castle. The childhood friends took care to make sure no one find out about it, since it was the only way they could go experience the freedom of the world outside the castle on their own terms.
As they ran to the spot, they noticed a patrolling knight about to intercept their path and instantly ducked for cover. Dokja could hear his heart pounding uncomfortably in his ears as the knight unknowingly passed them by. As soon as the knight was a good distance away, they emerged from their hiding spot and were able to make it to the area where the stone should've been located. The two got down on their hands and knees trying to find the stone, not having any light to aid their search as it could possibly give away their position.
"Where's the stone?!" Han Sooyoung exclaimed in annoyance.
"Search is with your eyes, not with your mouth" Dokja said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. She glared at him and she yelled
"SHUT UP YOUR M-"
"WHO ARE YOU INTRUDERS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" a booming voice interrupted them. The sound of a blade being drawn could be heard right after. Dokja and Sooyoung froze on the spot, turning to stare at each other in shock as their faces paled.
"DON'T MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF". The source of the voice revealed themselves. Approaching the two with strong, quick strides was a female knight without her helmet. While one hand tightly grasp on a long sword, the other was holding out a lantern in front of her, illuminating the garden around them and giving the two a clear image of the person who'd caught them. She had a fair but chiseled face, her hair tied up into a bun. Her figure was strong and intimidating, and Dokja had a feeling that it wasn't just due to her armor. Most importantly, the Family crest of the Underworld Duchy was displayed prominently on her chest plate. There was only one character that this could've been:
Jung Heewon: Kim Dokja's devoted personal knight, who'd stood by him even after he betrayed the empire. At this point in the story, she had been serving on a mission in the capital.
Her eyes widened as soon as the light struck Dokja's face as she realized it was the youthful master of the underworld who was standing in front of her and trying to sneak out. She quickly lowered her head and knelt on one knee, placing her palm on her chest.
"Forgive me for my impulsive act, Young master, I should never draw my sword upon you or your comrade!"
Unused to such treatment, Kim Dokja couldn't help but sputter.
"A-Ah, there's no need for you to do such a thing, p-please get up!". Never before could Dokja ever imaging that someone would kneel to him. Han Sooyoung slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Keep your voices down, will ya'?" she whispered angrily while glaring at him. He yanked Sooyoung's hand from his mouth.
"You can get up now Jung Heewon.". Still adamant about bowing down to Dokja, the knight tilted her head a little to gaze at her prince, her face conflicted between continuing to bow or asking what the prince was doing. Before Heewon could question him, Han Sooyoung said, "Dokja we need to go before they see us.". In the time that Dokja was trying to get Heewon to get back up, Sooyoung had managed to find the specific stone and lifted it up to reveal a hole leading to a small tunnel.
Not waiting for him, she jumped down the hole. Panicking between whether to follow his friend or explain the situation to his knight, Dokja opted to just grab the knight's arm and pull her into the hole with him, with Han Sooyoung quickly sealing the opening with the rock again after the two entered.
"Excuse my impudence young master, but why exactly are you sneaking out at this time of night?" Heewon inquired.
"Ah, well, I just want to go the night market." Dokja smiled hesitantly, nervously scratching the back of his neck.
If he recalled correctly, as strict as Jung Heewon was about keeping her prince safe, she still had a bit of a soft side even when Kim Dokja was up to his usually shady antics. Being his personal retainer, Kim Dokja was never shy to complain to her how, as much as he loved his parents, their protective nature often made him feel isolated and restricted when going out the castle. Even on the few occasions they'd let him venture out to the local town, he'd always be surrounded by swarms of nights.
After hearing his response, Heewon blinked twice before letting out an exasperated sigh and giving a reassuring smile to him.
"Well, you two really shouldn't be out right now, but I'll make an exception just for tonight. Make sure to stick close to me, I'll keep the both of you safe."
Han Sooyoung arched an eyebrow and folded her arms, "Aren't you going to ask me if I agree with you?"
Heewon merely rolled her eyes, " It's either this or I take you both straight back to your parents, do you really think you have an option?"
Sooyoung could only shake her head before relenting.
"Fine, let's go already; the clock is ticking.," she said.
-------
"Mother let's go there!"
"Let's buy some jewelry"
"The food is good here, hey, try some!"
The night market was crowded and boisterous as the three walked and took in our surroundings. People and stalls lined the street end to end, the area lit up by tall lamps that gave off soft orange light upon the stone street. There was just enough space for them to walk down through the stalls. Although Dokja usually avoided such crowded places, hearing the laughter and gazing upon the delighted faces around him bright a small smile to his face.
Dokja had no idea where to start, whether to check out the food stalls or to look at the exotic goods that others had presented. It felt as if he could spend an eternity here without ever getting bored. He spent the better part of the night meandering around from stall to stall, floundering around like a fish out of water from being overloaded with different options. The other two women stayed close to him at all times like glue, making sure he was always protected. Finally fed up with his indecision after passing by what was probably the tenth book stall that he refused to indulge himself in, Han Sooyoung dragged him in the direction of the food stand.
"Hey, let's just start with some chicken skewers!"
The vendor greeted us with a smile."Hello, Dear Customer!"
After returning her greeting, the three put in their orders and were waiting for the food to be prepared when-
"LET ME GO ALREADY!", someone screamed out.
Startled, Dokja turned to see a woman wearing a black cloak trying to escape the man's hold. No matter how much she tried to tug her arm back the man's hold on her wrist remained firm.
"I SAID LET GO!"
"Don't be shy, I know you want it too"
Dokja wondered why nobody helping her; are they serious? Shouldn't there have been royal guards or some sort of security stationed at an area as busy as this one? The crowd looked on as the woman continued trying to escape the man's hold, but they did nothing to help, either looking away or simply whispered to each other. Dokja's blood simmered, getting flashbacks of his own high school days.
When he spotted the man's other hand raised up to slap the woman, Dokja swiftly moved in their way to intervene. Pushing his body between the woman and the harasser, Dokja grabbed his wrist strongly. The man sneered at him, taken aback.
"Ah, excuse me sir, don't you think it's in poor taste to hit a woman?", he said, putting on his best customer service smile.
"Who the hell are you, get outta my way?" the man shouted.
He tried to wriggle free of his hold, but to no avail. Dokja only tightened his hold on the man.
"Oh, just a concerned citizen passing by."
"Dammit, let go!"
Luckily for Dokja this interaction was going remarkably better than his admittedly sad attempts of stopping the Crown prince before.
"I'd love nothing more than to let you go and get on with my night good sir, but please let her go first," the man looked infuriated, Dokja could practically hear his teeth grinding together.
Tossing the woman aside, the man tried lunging at him. Whether he was going to try to tackle or punch Dokja, the reader had no idea. But before either of them could comprehend it, Dokja quickly hunched down into a fighting stance and kicked him in the chest. As the harasser reeled back from the blow, Dokja then punched him in the face, making him crumple to the ground, holding his bleeding nose.
Dokja had no idea how his body was able to do that, it was as if it moved on instinct. Perhaps it was because he was inhabiting the body of "Kim Dokja" the trained prince.
It seemed as though the man wasn't done just yet, as he tried to get up again. He screamed out
"YOU SON OF A-" but quickly shut up as he found the tip of a blade at his throat.
Heewon stepped closer, towering over the man, and leered down at him. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under by now. After freezing in fear realizing that there was nothing he could do about this situation, the man scrambled away from the knight and started running away down the street, pushing crowds of people out of his way with one hand still nursing his nose.
With the main aggressor gone there was no value in chasing after him. Remembering the woman, Dokja tried to approach her as gently as possible and lowered himself to his knee before offering a hand. She gave him a brief period of consideration before accepting, standing up with his assistance.
The woman had long brown hair flowing loosely behind her, her face displaying a smooth complexion, and doll-like eyes. While Dokja had no interest in people in general, even he could admit how beautiful she was.
"Thank you for your help sir, I'm in your debt" she said in a quiet and lovely voice.
He merely replied, "Err, yes, it was no problem at all" before coughing and turning away.
Well this is awkward ...