Future War (6)
Kim Dokja hurried down the stairs, her pale cheeks flushed a deep red from having shown such a humiliating sight to her comrade—and that damned man.
“Park Jinwoo… you fucking bastard….”
As if it weren’t already bad enough that Lee Jihye had overheard her conversation with Yoo Joonghyuk, completely twisted it, and started spreading the distorted version—enough to drive anyone insane—Park Jinwoo of all people had to hear it too.
“Haa….”
No matter how hard she tried to smother the shame that had climbed all the way to the top of her head, the scene from earlier kept replaying in her mind without mercy.
“Aaaah…… I’m going to lose my mind….”
Kim Dokja stopped mid-descent, slumped down onto the landing, and buried her face in her knees.
Damn it, rotten, fucking, truly dogshit… day….
She was sincerely tormented by the newly updated black history of the day. Right that second she wanted nothing more than to collapse onto a bed and kick the blankets until her frustration was spent.
Most people pick up at least one trauma or black history while living their lives. But having more than one never granted immunity to the next. Whether you were a minor or an adult made no difference.
Park Jinwoo, that son of a bitch… he wouldn’t go around spreading it to everyone else, right…?
The shock of tasting a fresh black history for the first time in ages—since her school days, college, or office-worker years—hit far harder than she expected.
“Hoo… hoo… c-calm down. Lee Jihye’s got some sense, so she’ll handle herself. If I can just deal with Park Jinwoo somehow….”
Kim Dokja took deep, deliberate breaths, forcing down the fresh surge of shame and the murderous intent aimed squarely at Park Jinwoo.
Then, without warning, messages from the Constellations bloomed before her eyes.
The Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’, looks at you with pity.
The Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’, stares at you, calls you pitiful, and clicks its tongue.
The Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, cheers you on.
The Constellation, ‘Lily Blooming in Aquarius’, gazes at you with eyes full of sympathy.
The Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’, holds up a support picket and cheers for your future.
A few Constellations look at you and click their tongues.
Huh…? What is this supposed to mean?
Kim Dokja reread the messages floating in front of her. At first she assumed they were either cheering her on or mocking her for suffering over the newly minted black history. Something about them still felt off.
“What exactly are you trying to say, Constellations?”
The Constellations in the channel fall silent.
A majority of Constellations refuse to answer.
A few Constellations look at you and smile mischievously.
“…………….”
Tsk. In Ways of Survival, whenever the Constellations reacted like that, something unpleasant usually happened to a particular Incarnation.
“Hoo… If you don’t want to talk, fine.”
Perhaps because she had been briefly distracted by answering the Constellations, her emotions settled a little.
…Looks like I’ve calmed down somewhat. First things first—get to Myeongdong Station fast and plant the flag on the flagpole.
While Yoo Joonghyuk was busy filming Sleeping Beauty on the theater rooftop, Kim Dokja needed to snatch the benefits that should have belonged to her.
Having steadied herself, Kim Dokja raced down the remaining stairs and sprinted toward the Line 4 platform where the others waited.
“I’m back.”
“Ah, Dokja-ssi.”
Yoo Sangah was the first to greet her, ahead of the rest of the group.
“Everyone checked the newly updated fourth main scenario, right?”
Lee Hyunsung, Jung Heewon, and Yoo Sangah all nodded.
“Myeongdong Station currently has no owner. We need to claim it before anyone from another station does. Hyunsung-ssi, Sangah-ssi, and I will go. Heewon-ssi, just in case, stay here and guard Chungmuro Station with Jinwoo-ssi and Gong Pildu.”
“Got it. But where’s Jinwoo-ssi? Didn’t he go up with you earlier, Dokja-ssi?”
At Jung Heewon’s question, Kim Dokja’s expression twisted slightly.
“Th-that human is still upstairs talking with Lee Jihye for a bit.”
“With Jihye?”
Jung Heewon gave Kim Dokja—who was suddenly grinding her teeth—a strange look, then decided not to care.
“Then we’ll head out right away.”
With that, Kim Dokja took Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah and made straight for Myeongdong Station.
“Hmm-hmm~♪ My beautiful coins are multiplying~♬”
I hummed a little tune as I walked down the stairs. Kim Dokja, thoroughly pissed off by my teasing, had grabbed me by the collar and shaken me around until I got a little motion-sick—but I was still smiling.
Just in case, I already made safe copies of Kim Dokja’s black-history recordings and Yoo Joonghyuk’s black-history photos.
Once Kim Dokja becomes a Constellation in the future and both of them are swimming in coins, I’ll either list those black histories on the Dokkaebi Bag exchange or put them up for auction.
Then those two will have no choice but to hand their coins over to me.
It was a flawless plan. The risk, however, was enormous. The second I got caught, I was dead meat.
So the moment I upload them, I’m bolting somewhere else—somewhere even those two won’t find easily.
The Demon Realm… another dimension… or a different Dome. That should keep me safe.
The original Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint I read only went as far as the Revolutionary arc. Kim Dokja does end up in the 73rd Demon Realm, which is a little worrying, but if I skip out of Syswitz Industrial Complex to another complex—or another Demon Realm entirely—before she arrives, I’ll be fine.
After that I can decide where to settle. Truly perfect. Absolutely flawless.
“Huh? I’m already at the bottom.”
I had been so busy checking my perfect plan for holes that I reached the platform without noticing.
“Heewon-ssi!”
“Huh? Jinwoo-ssi?”
I called out to Jung Heewon, who was standing alone and staring blankly into space. She turned at the sound of my voice.
“Did you finish talking with Jihye?”
“Ji… hye?”
“Huh? Dokja-ssi said you’d come down after chatting with Jihye for a bit. Was that wrong?”
“…Aha! Right, right! Dokja-ssi told you, huh? Here I thought Heewon-ssi had been stalking me and saw it herself.”
Jung Heewon stared at me like I was an idiot. Feeling a little embarrassed under that look, I averted my eyes and changed the subject.
“So where are Dokja-ssi and the others?”
“Dokja-ssi went to plant the flag at Myeongdong Station with Hyunsung-ssi and Sangah-ssi.”
“I see.”
There wouldn’t be any survivors left at Myeongdong Station right now, so they should be able to plant the flag nice and easy.
Chungmuro Station Representative ‘Kim Dokja’ has occupied ‘Myeongdong Station’.
Kim Dokja’s current territories: Chungmuro (Main Base), Myeongdong
Speak of the devil. The message announcing the occupation of Myeongdong Station popped up the second the words left my mouth.
“They took it fast.”
“Right? Isn’t it a little too fast to snatch a station?”
“Who knows. Maybe the dead Myeongdong Station leader dragged every last defender from his main base over here, so the place was empty.”
“Come on, no way! Nobody’s that stupid.”
“Hahaha! Yeah, you’re right.”
I felt a twinge of guilt. The people of Myeongdong Station had actually been wiped out after getting backstabbed on top of a backstab on top of another backstab. Truly pitiful.
Or is this just the leader’s fault?
They received false information from the Prophets, the Dongyeoksa Station people they allied with were useless, and then they got ambushed from behind… yeah.
I killed some time chatting about this and that with Jung Heewon until Kim Dokja, Lee Hyunsung, and Yoo Sangah returned to Chungmuro Station.
The moment she arrived, Kim Dokja gathered us all in one spot and explained the Hidden Scenario she had received.
Jung Heewon looked intrigued. Lee Hyunsung wore a complicated expression. Yoo Sangah looked worried. And me…
“Shall I start calling you Your Majesty now, Queen Kim Dokja? Wow, you and the Sleeping Beauty Queen up on the rooftop make a perfect pair—mmph!”
“…Grit! Just call me by my name like always. And if one more word comes out of that mouth of yours, you know what happens, right? Nod if you understand.”
Kim Dokja clamped one hand hard around my cheek, glared at me murderously, then leaned in close to my ear and whispered a warning only I could hear.
I nodded vigorously several times.
Honestly, if I kept teasing her any further, pissed-off Kim Dokja would probably beat the living daylights out of me. And yet I couldn’t stop.
Her reactions are just too fucking funny. How am I supposed to hold back? Next chance I get, I’m teasing her again.
I took a small step back, already planning something that would make Kim Dokja turn green if she ever found out.
“Dokja-ssi, will you be all right?”
“Still, I’m glad you’re the one who’s a candidate for king.”
Lee Hyunsung spoke, then asked Kim Dokja with a completely serious face:
“Should we… start calling you Your Majesty from now on?”
Kim Dokja made a face of pure revulsion and waved both hands in frantic refusal.
“You’re joking, right? There’s no way I’d want something like that….”
“Oh my, Your Majesty, if the Hidden Scenario is correct, we should be out claiming new stations right this second, shouldn’t we? Especially if you care about the lives of your loyal subjects.”
“Pfft…!”
“……………….”
When Jung Heewon snarked at Kim Dokja, I couldn’t hold back a laugh. The second I did, Kim Dokja shot me a quiet, deadly look.
“Ahem, ahem…! So what should we do now, Dokja-ssi?”
I cleared my throat and tried to change the subject while sneaking glances at her. Thankfully, Kim Dokja accepted the effort.
“First we need to find out about the ones who attacked us. We’ll head straight to Dongmyo. Jung Heewon-ssi, Lee Hyunsung-ssi, and Park Jinwoo-ssi—I’d like you three to come with me.”
At her words, Yoo Sangah raised her hand a little.
“Then I….”
“Yoo Sangah-ssi, please stay here.”
“Ah….”
Yoo Sangah’s face fell as she answered.
“Yes… that would probably be… better….”
Aigoo… I just finished cheering her up, and she’s already making that face again. Her self-esteem still hasn’t fully recovered. Well, not that much time has passed. I never expected one pep talk to fix everything.
I walked over to the dejected Yoo Sangah and cupped both of her cheeks in my hands.
“E-eh?! J-Jinwoo-ssi?!”
Her face turned visibly red. She looked up at me with thoroughly flustered eyes.
“I just finished comforting you earlier. How can you make that face already, Sangah-ssi?”
“B-but….”
“So this is your punishment.”
“…What? What kind of punish—ughhh…!”
I pinched her cheeks between my thumbs and index fingers and pulled. They were incredibly soft and squishy.
“Ugh…! I-it hurts, Jinwoo-ssi…!”
Tears started welling at the corners of her eyes as I stretched her cheeks.
Cute.
I wanted to pull harder, but any more and she would get seriously angry, so I decided to let go.
Snap!
“―――!!”
At the last second I deliberately stretched them as far as they would go and then released. Yoo Sangah clapped both hands over her cheeks and let out a silent scream; it must have stung quite a bit.
“Dokja-ssi! Move out!”
“Huh…? Wait, why me all of a sudden…?”
“You’re the king, right? A king has to take care of her subjects. Now go!”
Kim Dokja stared at me like she couldn’t believe a creature like me existed, then sighed and walked over to Yoo Sangah. I promptly hid behind Lee Hyunsung’s broad back.
I really didn’t want to get scolded by Yoo Sangah again.
“Yoo Sangah-ssi.”
“Ugh… it hurts….”
“Sangah-ssi?”
“Ah! Y-yes? Did you call me, Dokja-ssi?”
Kim Dokja was thoroughly resentful of the Park Jinwoo who had caused the mess and then dumped the cleanup on her, but she swallowed it and spoke to Yoo Sangah with a serious expression.
“Sangah-ssi, not everyone can be good at the same things.”
“Yes, I know.”
Yoo Sangah gave a bitter little smile.
“Do you still remember what I said on the subway? Dokja has Dokja’s life, and Sangah has….”
“Sangah’s life.”
Yoo Sangah’s face brightened almost instantly at the familiar topic.
“Yes, I remember. I even wrote it down in my phone’s memo pad.”
Kim Dokja smiled faintly and continued.
“Yoo Sangah-ssi has things she needs to do here. Taking Gilyoung—who’s still deeply asleep in Jinwoo-ssi’s My Room—with us would be a bit much, so someone has to look after him. Someone also has to keep an eye on Gong Pildu in case he tries anything. And lastly, someone has to keep the anxious group members under control.”
Yoo Sangah’s eyes wavered.
“We also have to keep the Hoehyeon faction in check. They could make a move while we’re gone. Gong Pildu is here, but depending on the situation we might need Yoo Sangah-ssi’s ‘Thread Binding.’”
Kim Dokja turned and looked at me, Jung Heewon, and Lee Hyunsung in turn.
“In that sense… I’d like to give Yoo Sangah-ssi an official position. What does everyone think?”
“What?”
Yoo Sangah’s eyes went wide as she softly echoed the question.
After a brief moment of thought, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung both nodded.
“Sounds good. I trust Yoo Sangah-ssi.”
“Your Majesty… if that is your will, then so be it….”
“………….”
Kim Dokja shot Jung Heewon—who was still teasing her—a short glare, then turned toward me hiding behind Lee Hyunsung.
“What about you, Jinwoo-ssi?”
“I’m all for it if it’s Sangah-ssi, but….”
“But?”
“Isn’t this just dumping work on Sangah-ssi—”
“Shut it.”
I had been about to ask whether this was just offloading chores onto Yoo Sangah, but Kim Dokja cut me off mid-sentence and ignored me completely.
She turned back to Yoo Sangah, seized her hand, and held it firmly.
“Then no one has any objections to Yoo Sangah-ssi receiving a position.”
“About my question…?”
“Be quiet.”
Chungmuro Station Representative ‘Kim Dokja’ is using a Representative’s exclusive authority.
Chungmuro Station Representative ‘Kim Dokja’ is transferring a portion of her authority to group member ‘Yoo Sangah’.
Group member ‘Yoo Sangah’ has become the Vice-Representative of Chungmuro Station.
From now on, group member ‘Yoo Sangah’ may issue ‘Punishment’ to group members in place of the Representative.
In an instant Yoo Sangah had become Vice-Representative of Chungmuro Station. She looked at Kim Dokja and the rest of us with dazed eyes and stammered:
“I… is it really okay for me to accept a position like this…?”
“I’m entrusting it to you because you’re Yoo Sangah-ssi.”
At Kim Dokja’s words, Lee Hyunsung, Jung Heewon, and I all smiled softly at her.
Yoo Sangah stared at us blankly for a moment, then lowered her head.
Not long after, the head she had bowed slowly rose again.
A faint blush colored her fair, soft cheeks, and tiny teardrops clung to the corners of her eyes. With a voice full of confidence and eyes burning with the will to succeed, she looked at us and declared:
“I… I’ll do my absolute best.”
Once we had all finished saying what needed to be said and were about to set off to our respective roles, Yoo Sangah called my name.
“Just a moment, Jinwoo-ssi.”
“Yes?”
She smiled sweetly and gestured for me to come closer.
“What is it, Sangah-ssi?”
I walked over as requested.
“Jinwoo-ssi.”
Her soft hands cupped both of my cheeks.
Huh? Is this a green light?
Thump-thump.
Having a beauty of Yoo Sangah’s caliber hold my face made my heart race.
“Jinwoo-ssi. Thank you for comforting me earlier.”
“Aw, it was nothing.”
“So this is my gift.”
“A gift?”
Stretch—
“Huh?”
Sudden pain bloomed in both cheeks. When I looked down at the source, Yoo Sangah’s hands were slowly pinching and stretching my face.
“Sa-Sangah-ssi?”
My words came out all mushy thanks to the way she was pulling my cheeks. I no longer had the luxury of caring about that.
I stared at her with an expression that clearly said, You’re not seriously…?
“………….”
Yoo Sangah simply smiled in silence. And then—
Squeeze—!
“Ugh, oww! Sa-Sangah-ssi! It hurts!”
“I was in quite a bit of pain earlier too, you know?”
“I-I’m sowwy!”
“Hehe, I can’t quite understand what you’re saying, Jinwoo-ssi. Could you say that again?”
“I-I’m sow… mmphh…!!”
Yoo Sangah toyed with my cheeks for a long time, working them like lumps of clay.
Snap—!
“……………!?!?”
After thoroughly abusing my face, she stretched my cheeks as far as they would go—exactly the way I had done to her—and then released them with a sharp snap.
My cheeks burned, throbbed, and ached fiercely.
“Hehe. This is my punishment. The punishment for casually touching a lady’s cheeks.”
“I-I’m sorry….”
I mumbled a small apology while carefully reading her mood. Apparently my pitiful state was amusing, because Yoo Sangah let out a soft string of giggles.
“Leave Chungmuro Station to me, and please be careful out there, Jinwoo-ssi.”
“…Understood! Then I’ll be back, Sangah-ssi!”
I briefly lost myself in her gentle smile, but I quickly snapped out of it, said my goodbyes, and ran back to the others.