The Fifth Scenario (1)
“Dokja?”
“………….”
“Dokja-ssi?”
“………….”
I poured everything I had into catching up with the three who’d left me behind. In under a minute I was right on their heels, calling out to Kim Dokja—the same Kim Dokja who’d just kicked me.
But all I got in return was a look of pure contempt and absolute, ice-cold silence.
I waved my hand right in front of her face. I circled around her. I even poked her cheek with my fingertip. She either ignored me completely or glared at me with those freezing eyes.
I scratched my chin and muttered,
“Hmm… I see.”
[Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ asks if you’ve finally grasped the situation.]
“This reaction is contempt and total disregard.”
[Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ looks exasperated at your words and starts pounding his chest with his palm!]
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ chugs cold water with a look of pure rage!]
[Several Constellations who pride themselves on their knowledge of romance show severe allergic reactions to your denseness!]
I snickered inwardly at the Constellations’ various reactions to my “dense” comment.
Hey, it’s not like I’m completely clueless. I can roughly tell what Dokja’s reaction means right now…
I shot a sideways glance at Kim Dokja, who was still wearing that icy expression.
Ugh… There’s no way that proud Kim Dokja would fall for me just because I helped her get over a little trauma…
At best it should only be goodwill. But that face right now was pure jealousy.
Kim Dokja wasn’t Min Jiwon. There was no way she’d fall for me over something that small. Even at the absolute highest, goodwill was the ceiling.
Was it because I touched Han Sooyoung’s soft belly—no, her side—in front of little Shin Yooseung? Or was she just stopping me as the leader because I was sexually harassing a comrade?
Or… was it actually jealousy?
The male Kim Dokja I knew from the original webtoon had colorful expressions and emotions, but everyone around him called him ugly and he tried his hardest to suppress or restrain any romantic feelings.
All for the sake of clearing the scenarios.
So I figured female Kim Dokja would be the same… but maybe it’s because the gender’s different. Her reactions are way different from the male version.
Either way, apologizing to Kim Dokja seemed like the smart move right now.
The atmosphere was so cutting that even Han Sooyoung and Shin Yooseung kept glancing at Dokja’s face and shooting me looks that screamed “Do something already.”
“Hey, Dokja? Uh, about earlier… I’m sorry, okay?”
She stopped dead.
I offered the apology with the most remorseful face I could manage. The moment she heard it, Kim Dokja halted mid-step and stood still.
Then she slowly turned her head, fixed me with that freezing glare, and asked in a voice like ice,
“Sorry for what?”
“…………….”
My mouth snapped shut on pure instinct. Cold sweat started rolling down my back.
And the worst part? I already felt my life force being drained.
[Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ munches popcorn with a thrilled expression!]
[Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’ looks at you and sneers that it serves you right.]
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ says it’s a little disappointing that this isn’t pure comradeship.]
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ frantically searches for 3D glasses!]
[Constellation, ‘God of Wine and Ecstasy’ cackles at your expression and downs a drink.]
[A Constellation related to love’s eyes light up at your lovers’ quarrel!]
Fuck… damn Constellations. I’m over here dying and they’re just comfortably watching the fire from across the river?
Alarm bells were screaming in my head that my life was in danger.
I kept my mouth clamped shut and quietly averted my eyes for a long while. Kim Dokja tilted her head and asked again.
“I asked what you’re sorry for. Right now?”
“Uh… um…”
The brain and tongue that usually spun like motors refused to work.
I felt eyes on me from the side and carefully glanced over.
At some point Kim Dokja had let go of their hands, and now Han Sooyoung and Shin Yooseung were watching with fascinated expressions.
More precisely, Han Sooyoung wore a “serves you right” look, while Shin Yooseung watched with pure curiosity.
I let out a tiny internal sigh at the two of them and the Constellations, then slowly opened my mouth.
“…I’m sorry I touched Han Sooyoung’s soft, squishy belly—no, her side—right in front of our little Yooseung.”
“You little shit…? Who the hell are you calling a pig…!?”
“Sooyoung unnie, Jinwoo oppa didn’t say it like that.”
“It’s the same thing!”
My answer briefly set the peanut gallery off, but I ignored them and carefully peeked at Kim Dokja’s face.
She was still glaring at me with those freezing eyes.
“…You know that well, huh? And yet a person who knows still goes and does something like that?”
“………….”
What was I supposed to do? I’d answered honestly, but Lady Kim Dokja in front of me still hadn’t cooled down.
Then there was only one method left.
Thud!
I was a man with light knees. A man who honestly apologized when he was wrong.
Slap!
Without a single hesitation I dropped to both knees in front of Kim Dokja and clung to her legs with the most pitiful expression I could muster.
“Dokja… it’s all my fault. Just once… please forgive me just once…!”
I begged her in the most trembling voice possible, trying to stir up her sympathy.
After those words a small silence, a deep stillness, settled between us.
Seconds that felt like minutes passed. When Kim Dokja still gave no reaction even after my apology, I rubbed my face against her legs and kept begging—Just once! Just once!—pouring everything into asking for forgiveness.
Then, finally, a small sigh came from above my head.
“Fine… just let go of this.”
“Really…? You’re forgiving me?”
“Yeah. But don’t do that kind of thing in front of the kid again. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Confirming that her voice had finally returned to normal, I hurriedly scrambled off Kim Dokja’s legs.
My sincere apology had melted her frozen heart.
Got to indulge a little selfishness and got forgiven… two birds with one stone.
I grinned goofily at the fact that I’d satisfied my tiny selfish desire and been forgiven by her.
I turned my gaze sideways to look at Kim Dokja, Han Sooyoung, and Shin Yooseung.
Kim Dokja was staring at my grinning face and sighing. Han Sooyoung and Shin Yooseung were side-eyeing me with “wow, cringe” written all over their faces.
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ looks at you, says you’re an Incarnation with really light knees when it comes to women, and sighs.]
[Many Constellations nod.]
[A few minority Constellations say they understand your heart well and offer small comfort.]
[Married Constellations who live under their wives’ thumbs look at you with pity.]
“…………….”
Fuck, don’t comfort me with coins, you bastards… it just makes me feel more pathetic.
But I couldn’t let that curse out loud.
I looked up with pitying eyes at the messages from the henpecked married Constellations who had sponsored me and said,
“…Wanna grab a drink sometime?”
[Married Constellations who live under their wives’ thumbs beam brightly at your words.]
“…Geez. I’ll buy the drinks, so you guys handle the snacks.”
And just like that I ended up building a weird friendship with a few henpecked Constellations.
“What’s that guy doing?”
“Leave him. He’s always like that.”
“Oppa is a little… no, a lot unique.”
The three women who couldn’t understand my and the henpecked Constellations’ circumstances just side-eyed us with “what weirdos” looks while we stared at the messages.
Annoyed by their gazes, I glared at the easy target, Han Sooyoung, and said,
“You laughing at me? You’re the one who just got marked by a Demon King.”
“Ah, right!”
“You already forgot that…?”
She was still only in her mid-twenties, yet Han Sooyoung already seemed to be showing early Alzheimer’s symptoms. I let out a sigh full of pity.
Apparently that scratched her. Han Sooyoung’s face twisted and she yelled,
“Ugh…! It’s because of you and Kim Dokja, isn’t it?! More importantly, Kim Dokja! Why didn’t you tell me that killing that bastard would get me marked by a Demon King?!”
Han Sooyoung switched targets and started yelling at Kim Dokja this time. Kim Dokja just shrugged.
“I told you you’d regret it.”
“You evil bitch!! So you should’ve told me that first?!”
We were only at the fifth main scenario and she’d already been marked by a powerhouse called a Demon King. Han Sooyoung muttered tearfully,
“How… how could this happen to me…”
“Don’t worry. I knew a guy who got cursed by a Demon King just like you. He didn’t die right away.”
“You call that comfort?!”
I grabbed the shoulders of Han Sooyoung, who was still snapping at Kim Dokja, and said,
“I know a Demon King. Want me to ask them for a favor?”
“What? You’re acquaintances with a Demon King?”
“Well, yeah? No idea if they’ll listen, though.”
“W-what… which Demon King do you know?”
“The Demon of Wrath and Lust.”
“What…?”
“The Demon of Wrath and Lust.”
The moment I spoke the modifier of one of our channel’s regular viewers—the Demon King ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’—Han Sooyoung’s pupils started darting around.
She suddenly yanked Kim Dokja’s arm and the two of them whispered a short distance away from us.
They were probably having a conversation like this:
‘Hey, what the hell is this? He’s saying he knows Asmodeus?’
‘Yeah, a Demon King who sponsors Jinwoo pretty often.’
‘You know what I want to say, right? You know that second-regression Yoo Joonghyuk got completely wrecked by Asmodeus?!’
‘I know, but… I’m not sure about now.’
‘What do you mean you’re not sure?’
‘The way Asmodeus treats Park Jinwoo right now is kind of weird.’
‘What?’
But here’s the thing.
Do you know why I can picture their conversation in such detail?
The reason is very simple.
I can hear every word.
I looked at the two who had gone from whispering to openly side-eyeing me and thought,
I can hear everything, damn it… are they even trying to hide it?
Their conversation was perfectly audible if I just tilted my ear a little. I let out a small sigh and rubbed my forehead.
Shin Yooseung looked confused beside me as Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung talked, but I patted her head and called out the modifier of the Demon King I knew.
“Hey, Demon of Wrath and Lust.”
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ looks at you in response to your call.]
“You heard everything, right? Feel like helping?”
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ makes an unimpressed face.]
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ says granting your wish would be easy, but asks what you’ll give in return.]
“What do you want?”
In that instant a creepy feeling hit me. A strong sense that I shouldn’t have said that.
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ smiles deeply.]
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ points at you with a finger and says, ‘I want you.’]
“Ha…?”
And that feeling turned out to be exactly right.
I blankly side-eyed Asmodeus’s message after hearing the price they named.
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is greatly shocked by the words of ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’!]
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ stands up with a “I knew it” expression!]
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ draws her sword and rains curses on ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’!!]
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ ignores every curse from ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ and looks only at you.]
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ smiles and asks what you’re going to do.]
[Many Constellations watch your choice.]
I lowered my head for a moment and thought it over.
When I finished thinking I raised my head and asked Asmodeus,
“If I really give myself as the price, you’ll stop the ‘Creator of Discord’?”
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ smiles and nods.]
[A few Constellations are disappointed by your choice.]
The Constellations sending disappointed messages, Shin Yooseung beside me who’d heard my words, and Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja who’d been watching from a short distance with shocked faces all urgently ran toward me and shouted,
“Hey, hey! This is my problem, why are you stepping in?!”
“Park Jinwoo!? Don’t do anything unnecessary!”
“Oppa…?”
Even under their worried expressions I looked at Asmodeus’s message in front of me and shouted loudly,
“However—I refuse!!”
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ is flustered by your words.]
“One of the things this Park Jinwoo loves is saying 「NO」 to a Demon King who claims they want me!”
I felt a thrill as I delivered one of the famous lines I knew—from Kishibe Rohan in Part 4 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure—and beamed brightly.
““Ha…?””
Hearing me, Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja twisted their faces and glared at me with “what the hell is this guy doing?” expressions.
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ shouts “I believed in you!” and then sighs in relief that you didn’t accept the Demon King’s offer.]
[Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ says “I knew it” and starts pulling out his hair.]
[Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’ lets out a small sigh at your words.]
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ sighs in relief at the sight of you rejecting the Demon King’s offer.]
[Many Constellations are mildly relieved that you rejected the Demon King’s proposal.]
I looked at the Constellations and the two women, smiled brightly, and lifted Shin Yooseung back onto my shoulder.
“Man, that was fun.”
“Oppa.”
“Hm?”
“Is it really okay to reject a Demon King like that?”
“If it’s not okay, what else can I do?”
“…………Oppa, you’re way too carefree.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“That wasn’t a compliment!”
I smiled a little at Shin Yooseung puffing her cheeks and grumbling, then poked her cheek with a fingertip.
I knew she was reacting like this because she was worried about me.
“Oh, right. Demon of Wrath and Lust.”
Asmodeus didn’t send any message even when I called. Probably sulking because I’d rejected their offer so flatly.
“I didn’t reject you because you’re a Demon King. Just know that. I only refused because your price was way too high.”
You have to keep greed in moderation if you want anyone to accept or refuse.
I walked over to the two women who were side-eyeing me with “are you serious” faces.
“I asked our Demon King, but no dice. So Sooyoung, you’re gonna have to handle it yourself!”
Han Sooyoung stared at me blankly for a moment, then put a hand to her head and sighed.
“…I’ve never seen a crazy bastard like you in my entire life, seriously.”
“Thanks for the compliment!”
“How the hell is that a compliment, you lunatic?!”
I laughed at Han Sooyoung growling and fuming at me.
As expected, Han Sooyoung’s reactions were more fun than Kim Dokja’s. I’d have to poke her again next time.
Kim Dokja sighed softly at the sight of us and said to Han Sooyoung,
“Unfortunately the ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ won’t help, but look on the bright side. The ‘Creator of Discord’ isn’t even that high-ranking a Demon King. Becoming enemies with a Demon King will earn you goodwill from the absolute good camp. Sponsorship money will increase too.”
At Kim Dokja’s words Han Sooyoung pouted and grumbled,
“I don’t care about those Archangel bastards, okay? The Sponsor I’m going to pick doesn’t get along with angels!”
“Why, are you trying to pick a Demon King too…”
Kim Dokja started answering after hearing Han Sooyoung, then suddenly stopped mid-sentence, looked at her, and tilted her head.
“…Wait. The Sponsor ‘you’re going to pick’ doesn’t get along with angels?”
“Ah!”
At Kim Dokja’s point Han Sooyoung hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was already too late.
I grinned wickedly at that sight of Han Sooyoung and said,
“Our Sooyoung was a total airhead, huh?”
“Sh-shut up! Who’s an airhead?!”
“That just now wasn’t airheaded?”
“Th-this… I just let my guard down for a second!”
Even while I teased her, Han Sooyoung didn’t push back too hard. She herself seemed to realize how foolish she’d just looked.
“…You still didn’t have a Sponsor?”
“…Just so you know, it’s not that I couldn’t pick one—I chose not to. You only get one shot, so isn’t it weirder to pick right away in the first round?”
“Yeah, yeah. Maybe there just wasn’t a Sponsor worth picking in the first round. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, Sooyoung.”
If no Sponsor had chosen her at all, then not being able to pick and choosing not to pick were basically the same. I comforted Han Sooyoung with a sad expression.
But my comfort didn’t seem to reach her. Han Sooyoung’s face flushed red and she suddenly yelled at me,
“Hey! Didn’t you hear what I just said?! It’s not that I couldn’t pick—I chose not to!!”
“Same difference.”
“You wanna die for real? How is that the same?!”
Kim Dokja watched our comedy routine for a bit, then asked Han Sooyoung,
“Alright, alright, you two stop there. But who are you planning to pick? Do you have a Constellation in mind?”
At Kim Dokja’s question Han Sooyoung smiled a little, then put on a confident expression and said,
“You’ll be surprised if you know. They’ve already shown interest in me.”
“Who?”
“Ever heard of the ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’?”
“……….”
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ carefully watches Incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’s reaction.]
Han Sooyoung looked at Kim Dokja with shining eyes and spoke proudly, but Kim Dokja made a subtle face after hearing the Constellation’s modifier. Then she opened her mouth in an awkward tone.
“Ah, yeah. Good thinking. That’s a good Sponsor.”
“Your face and tone are kinda weird.”
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ looks at Incarnation ‘Kim Dokja’ with disappointed eyes.]
Han Sooyoung then turned to me and asked,
“You, what do you think of the ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’?”
“Our Flame Dragon?”
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ carefully watches your reaction.]
At Han Sooyoung’s question I started thinking about the ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’.
A regular viewer who sponsored me well. A Flame Dragon who sponsored even though I wasn’t their Incarnation. Secretly a bit of a sucker with middle-school syndrome. Still, one of the four Constellations who looked favorably on Kim Dokja.
The evaluation was a little weird, but they were definitely a good Constellation. They’d tried hard to help Han Sooyoung when she was in danger during the ‘Unidentified Wall’ arc.
This time I evaluated Flame Dragon honestly, without any teasing in my voice.
“I think highly of our Flame Dragon. They’re a good Constellation. Nice personality, sponsors well, and looking at the scale of their sponsorships they’re at least Story-grade. Good choice.”
“R-right?! They’re a good Constellation, right?”
“Yeah, a good Constellation.”
Hearing my answer, Han Sooyoung beamed. And my evaluation seemed to land well with Flame Dragon too.
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ raises their nose high at your words!]
But I was calling them Flame Dragon as a nickname. Was that okay? Yeah, they really were a bit of a sucker Constellation.
[Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ asks how you think of them then.]
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ raises her hand and asks how you think of her!]
[Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’ stares intently at you.]
[Demon King, ‘Demon of Wrath and Lust’ side-eyes you.]
[Constellation, ‘God of Wine and Ecstasy’ shakes a drink and asks how they rate.]
[Constellation, ‘Bald General of Justice’ clears his throat lightly to catch your attention.]
…
…
…
Fuck, I shouldn’t have evaluated Flame Dragon.
Just because I’d given our Flame Dragon a good review, the Constellations were message-bombing me asking how I thought of them. I scrunched up my face.
I let out a small sigh and spoke to the Constellations like I was scolding them.
“You’re all good, so everyone quiet down now.”
[Many Constellations say they’d like you to evaluate them positively too.]
As expected, these guys never listened when you spoke nicely. Just like those Blood Trail types from Twitch back in the day.
“Park Jinwoo firmly tells the Constellations to get lost.”
[A few Constellations are hurt by your firm answer.]
“Get hurt or don’t. Whatever.”
And I lightly ignored the Constellations’ continuing messages. Ignoring them was the only answer for those types.
Han Sooyoung, who’d been staring blankly at me, seemed to come back to her senses late and asked me and Kim Dokja,
“Just who the hell are your Sponsors that you’re this arrogant?”
“No, I’m just jealous and envious.”
At Han Sooyoung’s question Kim Dokja answered while avoiding her eyes.
Incarnation ‘Han Sooyoung’ has confirmed that the statement is [FALSE].
“You wanna die for real?”
At Kim Dokja’s strange reaction, Han Sooyoung—who’d used Lie Detection on her—scrunched up her face, growled, and turned to glare at me.
“Who’s your Sponsor?”
“Me?”
“Who else is here besides you?”
“Here, our Yooseung.”
“Ah, shit! Just answer the question!”
When I pointed at Shin Yooseung in response to her question, she side-eyed Yooseung once then yelled at me.
I was the easy target.
Anyway, I shrugged at her question and said,
“Don’t have one.”
“What…?”
“I don’t have a Sponsor.”
“What?!”
“Hey, Park Jinwoo!? Why would you say that!!”
Han Sooyoung’s eyes went wide at my answer. Kim Dokja, who’d been listening beside her, also widened her eyes and scolded me.
“Is this something that needs to be hidden?”
At my confident attitude Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja stared at me blankly with “are you serious” faces, and I just shrugged and smirked at their reactions.