Though he didn't want to admit it, Kim Dokja was extremely nervous. If he remembered correctly, Lee Hyunsung would be getting introduced as a 'character' soon, and he was not looking forward to that conversation. He just hoped that no one would hate him after.
Even if they did, it's not like he was unfamiliar with being alone and abandoned. It would be fine.
Amidst the anxious murmuring of the train passengers, Sangah tries to call the police only to realize they aren't picking up. She's clearly frightened, and Dokja does his best to keep her calm by comparing the situation to an apocalyptic survival game currently being developed by their company. It might be easier to handle if they think of their lives as having become part of the game, instead of truly facing that this is now their reality.
"It's simple," Dokja explains to her. "Every game has rules. We just need to follow them."
"Rules? What are you-?"
Dokja holds her shoulders, as if to ground her, and looks into her eyes. "We just have to figure out what those rules are."
He looks around, taking note of what he sees in the train around them.
A dokkaebi with antennae. A litter of dead bodies in the subway cabin. Trembling office workers covered in blood. An old lady praying fervently in her seat. I still couldn't believe this was really happening, but I couldn't deny it any longer. No… I have no choice but to admit it now.
Other passengers bang on the doors, pleading for someone to let them out, while others try to figure out some way of escaping. But Dokja just observes them with a frown.
I don't know why, but it was clear that TWSA, which I've been reading for over ten years, was coming to life right before my eyes.
Dokja closes his eyes and sighs. 'Think… what do I need to do to survive?'
"So, let me get this straight," Jung Heewon said with a frown on her face. "This book, TWSA, is about the apocalypse we're currently experiencing, as well as all the scenarios."
Kim Dokja nodded, trying to hide the way his breathing sped up at her words.
"And you're using the knowledge you have of the situation to get ahead and manipulate events in your favour."
"That's right," Kim Dokja confirmed. This line of questioning wasn't too dangerous yet; it was still similar to what Yoo Joonghyuk had asked previously. Still, it could easily head into territory that was deeply uncomfortable for him.
She shrugged. "Honestly, I'd probably do the same if I was in your shoes. I can't blame you for that, but I do wish that you would have told us that you had more knowledge than we thought you did."
She had a point, but at the same time, Kim Dokja knew it was dangerous if too many people knew. After what had happened with Han Sooyoung's cult (even though he was certain she would deny it being a cult if she was accused of starting one) during the fourth scenario, it would be harder to predict events if the plot deviated too much.
[The constellation 'Maritime War God' is appreciative of your honesty towards your companions.]
Well, sorry Admiral. Kim Dokja knew that the constellation would probably be eating his words shortly.
Suddenly, a male voice cuts through the panic.
"Okay, everyone! Calm down. Take a deep breath, and stop what you're doing."
A tall, strong-looking man is trying to take control of the situation, drawing the attention of everyone in the subway cabin. He reminds everyone that they need to stay calm, and that it's easy to end up with heavy casualties in a national emergency situation like this.
Not everyone is happy to hear that, and they question him about his claims. In response, he shows his ID that says his name is Lee Hyunsung from the Ministry of Defense.
"I'm an army lieutenant currently serving in unit 6502. I just received a message from my unit."
The message states that the situation is a level one national emergency, and that it's not a drill. He was given the orders to return to his unit immediately.
The passengers begin to panic again, pressing him for information. Despite his attempts, he can't contact his base, and he definitely doesn't have the authority to contact the Blue House or the president, despite what everyone is trying to get him to do.
I already knew this would turn into a national emergency, so I wasn't surprised. It was something else that caught me off guard.
'Lieutenant Lee Hyunsung… I know him,' Dokja realizes in shock.
Lee Hyunsung lit up, his eyes and smile as wide as they could go.
"Dokja-ssi, could it be that you heard of me during your military service?" he asked excitedly. "I was never stationed at the front lines like it said you were, but to think that there was a possibility we could have met sometime back then."
Kim Dokja really didn't want the axe to drop. It would have been amazing if Lee Hyunsung's ideas were the truth and they really existed in the same world before that fateful day. Honestly, having someone like him around would have done wonders for Kim Dokja's miserable time in the army. Maybe they could have even been friends.
Without missing a beat, Lee Hyunsung continued. "I was in charge of some basic training for a while, so maybe that's where we crossed paths? I really wish we had gotten to know each other that much earlier; it probably would have made the first scenario far less stressful if I already knew that you were someone reliable."
No… please stop. Don't do this. Anyone but Lee Hyunsung. Please.
He couldn't say anything, and just barely managed to smile weakly in response.
[The constellation 'Master of Steel' is curious about past interactions between his incarnation and incarnation 'Kim Dokja'.]
Kim Dokja honestly wanted to throw up. If the Fourth Wall wasn't completely MIA for some reason, he had no doubt that it would be shaking furiously right now.
I've never seen him in person, but I knew him by name.
He was one of the supporting characters in TWSA
'It's hard to believe a character from TWSA has actually appeared,' Dokja thinks to himself, musing on how the man really does talk and act the same as he did in the novel, but…
Dokja pauses to think, glancing over at Hyunsung.
... was this how Lee Hyunsung was introduced in the original story?
Silence.
Kim Dokja opened his mouth to say something, but caught himself and slowly shut it. He was too anxious to even glance over at Lee Hyunsung. Still, he knew that everyone was shocked, just judging by how the two kids clinging to him suddenly had iron grips. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to run—not that there was anywhere to go in this weird place anyway.
This wasn't how he wanted this to go. Kim Dokja wasn't even sure he ever wanted to tell everyone at all. There were too many complications involved, too many emotions. And…
"Oh."
That was all Lee Hyunsung said in the weakest voice Kim Dokja had ever heard from the man, and somehow that hurt more than literally burning to death only a few days ago. The man he had always seen as an ideal older brother while growing up sounded like he had lost all faith in him.
[Many constellations are confused.]
[Several constellations are alarmed.]
[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is stunned.]
[The constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband' is pulling at his hair in shock.]
Shut up.
[The constellation…]
[The constellation…]
[The constellation…]
[The constellation…]
Shut up shut up shut up shut up—
"Dokja-ssi?"
He didn't even realize his eyes were squeezed shut or that he hadn't been breathing until a hand landed on his shoulder and he gasped for air as his eyes flew open.
"Dokja-ssi, are you okay?"
It was Yoo Sangah. She looked pale and concerned, and it was all he could do to focus on her face long enough to get his breathing back under control. He couldn't look over at anyone else right now. Not yet.
"I'm… I will be fine," he replied weakly. It was all he could do.
'No,' Dokja realizes quickly, 'I was absolutely certain that this was not how Lee Hyunsung first appeared in the story. He originally appeared after the first scenario. Then… What is going on? If I could just read it again, I would know exactly what's happening…'
His thoughts get cut off by another passenger yelling about the prime minister making a speech, which tells everyone that this is merely a series of unidentified terrorist attacks. As Dokja and Sangah watch the livestream, Dokja can't help but think back to TWSA again.
This was also in the story. Yes, it would be easier to believe that we're under a terrorist attack, but now that I'm actually hearing it, it sounds ridiculous.
More chatter erupts in the train cabin, discussing how the prime minister is making the speech because the president is already dead. Since the information only came from the comments section of the video, others believe it's just a groundless rumor. Looking over his shoulder at them, Dokja keeps the truth to himself.
It's not just a groundless rumor. And soon…
Right on schedule, the prime minister abruptly dies on the livestream. Passengers scream and chaos begins to erupt in the cabin again, breaking the facade of calm that Hyunsung had tried so hard to establish. At that moment, the dokkaebi reappears, and it looks furious.
[I already told you. This is not some joke like terrorism!] It roars, terrifying everyone watching the stream once more. [Do you think we're playing a game right now? Fine. According to my research, people from this country are good at games. Then let's raise the difficulty, shall we?]
Dokja's grip on his phone tightens, and suddenly the time remaining in the first main scenario drops from 24:22 to 10:00. With that, they only have ten minutes left to complete the scenario—and with an added condition that the first death must occur within the next five minutes, or else everyone in the train cabin will die.
"Did… did anyone else's timer get reduced like that?" Lee Gilyoung asked hesitantly, glancing around at the people who hadn't been in the subway with them. "Or was it just us?"
Admittedly, it was a weak attempt at changing the topic, but Kim Dokja appreciated it nonetheless.
Han Sooyoung let out a loud sigh. "Maybe, but to be fair, I was driving at the time. I just ran over the next person I saw, so I wasn't worried about the timer at all."
Well that was certainly something.
"Oh." It seemed that Lee Gilyoung didn't know what to say in response to that. To be fair, Kim Dokja wouldn't have a witty response ready for that even if he was feeling okay. The situation was really getting to him.
Instantly, everyone begins to panic, pleading with Hyunsung, demanding that the police do something. Hyunsung does his best to get everything back under control, but it's futile. The only person in the cabin who seems to be calm is Dokja, and even Sangah clings to him fearfully.
'Yes, everything is going exactly as I remember it,' he realizes, but has an uncomfortable feeling that he can't quite place.
The events are unfolding exactly the same as the beginning of TWSA, but I can't help but feel that something isn't right. Lee Hyunsung, one of the major supporting characters has already appeared… but why hasn't he appeared yet?
On the screen, the silhouette of a man in a long black coat appears, overlayed with ashes. He looks imposing and menacing, yet mysterious. Somehow, even without seeing his face, everyone can easily get the sense that this man is incredibly attractive.
'If I remember correctly, he should be making an appearance any minute now,' Dokja muses, but his thoughts are cut off by a sudden scream from someone else in their cabin.
Kim Dokja couldn't help but flinch when he heard Yoo Joonghyuk inhale sharply at the sight of his own silhouette. It was clear that he recognized himself, and had put the pieces together already that he, too, was a 'character' of TWSA.
"So you knew what I would do." It was a statement, not a question, and it took all of Kim Dokja's willpower to avoid shrinking into himself at the calm fury in Yoo Joonghyuk's voice.
It was more terrifying than if he was explosively angry, if Kim Dokja were to be honest.
"... Yes. I had a hunch, at least."
He finally dared glancing over, only to see Yoo Joonghyuk's narrowed eyes looking back at him. Yoo Mia looked anxiously between the two of them, tugging on her brother's sleeve.
"Oppa?"
"Not right now, Mia." Yoo Joonghyuk's brow furrowed as he continued staring at Kim Dokja. "Why were you expecting me to show up? We weren't even in the same cabin."
That was… "Because you're…"
No, he couldn't say it. He didn't want to say it yet.
Yoo Joonghyuk's voice left no room for arguments, and his hands flexed like he was barely restraining himself from reaching out and choking Kim Dokja until he got the answer he wanted. "Tell me the truth, Kim Dokja."
But why? Why should he have to force the words out of his throat when this invasion of privacy would say everything for him and more?
His hands curled into fists and he reminded himself to breathe.
"Later. Please."
Yoo Joonghyuk crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "You'd better. If you do not tell the truth then, I will kill you, Kim Dokja."
Yeah. Yeah, that was expected. Maybe he even deserved it.
He probably did, after everything he had done. His gaze fell back to the floor and he stayed silent for a while until a ping made his eyes flick upwards for a moment.
[The constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is wondering if incarnation 'Kim Dokja' is okay.]
"It's okay Uriel," Kim Dokja muttered. "I should have expected this."
It wouldn't be getting better anytime soon. Maybe it never would.
Blood splatters across the window of the cabin behind them, and someone yells that there's been a murder. When they try to block the door, everyone realizes that they've been locked inside their cabin by some kind of invisible wall.
An announcement cuts through the air, drawing their attention. [No one may enter or leave the cabin until the scenario is complete.]
The dokkaebi laughs, commenting on the state of several train cabins before deciding to show everyone what will happen to them if they don't achieve the first kill in their cabin in the next five minutes.
A screen depicting Taepung Girls' High School appears, and everyone can only watch as the girls look around them in fear, motionless. A beeping sound is the cue for the chaos to begin as girls cower and run and knock over their desks as they try to escape in vain. They've exceeded the time limit, and they will pay the price.
[Proceeding with checkout.]
"No… please, no," Lee Jihye muttered as she stared, wide-eyed at the screen. "Not again. Bori…"
Shit, Jihye. Kim Dokja had forgotten that her channel had been broadcasted into the cabin. This wasn't good.
[The constellation 'Maritime War God' is worried about his incarnation.]
Jung Heewon rushed over and grabbed Lee Jihye's hands before she could do anything like attempt to choke herself. "Hey, Jihye-yah, breathe with me, okay?"
She trembled and tears slipped down her cheeks as she clung to the older woman like a lifeline. Even Yoo Joonghyuk looked uncomfortable enough for his concern to overwrite the anger he had been feeling only a few moments before.
"It's over," Jung Heewon reassured her. "You're alive. I've got you."
Lee Jihye sobbed loudly and buried her face in Jung Heewon's shoulder. "I don't deserve it, unnie."
She may have gotten over some of her hesitance during the theatre dungeon, but Kim Dokja knew that trauma was never that easy to handle—it clings to you with claws that dig in deeper any chance it gets; a dark shadow that looms over every aspect of your life. It never goes away completely, no matter how hard you try.
Dokja shuts his eyes as the screaming begins, and one by one, the girls' heads explode with a splat. Blood paints the walls and each other's clothes with each body that falls lifelessly to the ground.
Everyone in the cabin watches the brutality in horror, but everyone falls silent when they see a teenage girl with a long ponytail choking another to death, her hands wrapped around her friend's throat and squeezing until she suffocates. Her body is the only one without a head wound.
The other girl struggles for breath, her eyes looking lifeless and dull after having to kill a friend to live. There's the sound of static as an announcement begins.
[The survivor of channel #BAY-23515 is Lee Jihye, a second year student from class B at Taepung Girls' High School.]
Jihye looks hopeless as she stands alone in a classroom full of the dead, knowing that there's more blood on her hands than on her clothes, even if it's invisible.
The dokkaebi grins. [What do you think? Fun, right?]
Dokja grimaces as everyone else stares at each other in horror, knowing what they have to do to survive. No, fun is the last word he'd use to describe this situation.
Thankfully, Lee Jihye had kept her face firmly buried in Jung Heewon's shoulder, but she had trembled and flinched with every new scream and gasp coming from the broadcast. She probably wouldn't calm down fully for a while.
Compared to the usual Lee Jihye that everyone knew—a girl who still somehow managed to stay cheerful and upbeat even in the middle of the literal end of the world—this was an uncomfortable and unfamiliar sight.
Yoo Joonghyuk exhaled and turned back to Kim Dokja, who quickly realized that Lee Hyunsung was also looking at him intently now that the segment seemed to be over.
"Well?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked, his eyes narrowed and a frown etched onto his attractive features.
"I… I don't really know what I can say," Kim Dokja admitted, being as honest as he could. "It's true that I saw you as characters in a novel before. How could I not?"
Lee Hyunsung seemed to wilt and he frowned. "Even now?"
Kim Dokja hesitated for just a moment too long, and Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed. "It's obvious you still do."
That wasn't entirely wrong, but it wasn't entirely correct either.
"It's hard to explain," Kim Dokja said quietly, not wanting to look them in the eyes. "I want to see you as people. I really do. You're alive and you have your own opinions and wants, but it's still hard for me to process that. For thirteen years, I knew you from words on a page and nothing else."
He took a breath and dared to continue since no one was interrupting.
"I knew your thoughts and your feelings and your stories. I knew your skills and achievements. I know that I still need to get to know you as people, but even now I still feel like we exist in different worlds at times."
Finally, Kim Dokja looked up and said the only thing he could. "I'm sorry."
"Alright, cut it out with that sappy shit," Han Sooyoung interrupted suddenly, utterly destroying the tense atmosphere, and maybe that was her goal. "I'm not apologizing for something like that, even though I read 99 chapters of the same shitty novel and saw some of the same things he did."
She even dared to glare at Yoo Joonghyuk as she spoke. "I get it. You're upset that someone you trusted—debatably, in Mr. Protagonist's case—didn't tell you about something like this. But put yourself in his shoes for a moment, would you? He didn't pick up that novel thirteen years ago and think 'Wow, I can't wait until this becomes real life and I can meet all my favourite characters in person!' Nobody knew this would happen."
She had a point. He didn't have any clue that this was happening until it had already started, and he didn't know if fiction had suddenly become reality, or if it was already real and the novel itself was just a record of possible future events.
Had Kim Namwoon and Lee Hyunsung already been on that subway when he and Sangah got on?
"I may not like the bastard much either, but neither of us should have to apologize for merely reading a book. Besides, how is that really all that different from what you do?"
She fixed Yoo Joonghyuk with a stern glare. "You interact with people using knowledge that you have of them when they've never met you before. He just happens to have information on you; you're not used to that, and that makes you uncomfortable."
For a moment, Kim Dokja thought that the expression on Yoo Joonghyuk's face faltered. Still, he looked at Kim Dokja and spoke.
"Then tell me, Kim Dokja. How much do you know about me?"
Considering that this was only the third regression…
Kim Dokja hung his head. "I think… I think I know more about you than you know about yourself."
And oh, he knew it all. He knew all of Yoo Joonghyuk's worries, all his fears, all the times he was depressed and couldn't go on. He knew the brief moments of joy and the many moments of tragedy. He knew that Yoo Joonghyuk was a tortured soul, but also someone who cared so much that it would eventually break him.
How could he put this into words? There was too much there, too many tangled emotions and nuances that he just wouldn't understand yet. How could Kim Dokja fully convey that Yoo Joonghyuk himself was his favourite story?
He couldn't.
Yoo Joonghyuk turned away from him, and deep down, Kim Dokja felt some part of him break.