War of Kings (4)

Kim Dokja and her companions hurried along the path toward Gwanseongmyo, the shrine Yoo Sangah had recommended.

"Hey, isn't that it?"

Lee Seongguk spotted something and called out to the group. They broke into a run toward the shrine he had found—only for their expressions to twist into something complicated the moment they arrived.

"Krrrngh… kheheheh!"

Sprawled across the shrine floor was a ragged-looking man in a suit—no, their own companion, Park Jinwoo—snoring away without a care in the world.

"J-Jinwoo-ssi?"

"Jinwoo hyung?"

"…………."

Yoo Sangah nearly jumped out of her skin. She had heard from Kim Dokja that he had gone to Nowon Station—so what was he doing here at Gwanseongmyo? Lee Gilyoung, on the other hand, simply looked delighted to see him again.

And Kim Dokja stared down at Park Jinwoo, who was sleeping so peacefully on the floor, with murder in her eyes.

"Haa……."

She slowly rolled up her sleeves. The others had no idea why and simply watched in silence.

Then Kim Dokja began walking toward him. She could not beat him up from a distance, after all.

When she was close enough, she lifted one leg and drove it straight down into his stomach.

"Wake up, you bastard!!"

Wham!

"Kheok?!"

Park Jinwoo had been sleeping just fine on the floor when a sudden, searing pain exploded through his abdomen and his eyes snapped wide open.

Yoo Sangah, watching the whole thing unfold right in front of her, began trembling as Kim Dokja casually assaulted him.

"D-Dokja-ssi?!"

"Don't stop me, Sangah-ssi. This guy deserves every bit of it."

"…What on earth are you talking about?"

Kim Dokja deliberately ignored Yoo Sangah's bewildered stare. She felt a little sorry for her, but there were more important matters at hand.

"Ow, that hurts… What the hell was that for out of nowhere…."

"Hey. Park Jinwoo."

Clutching his stomach, Park Jinwoo was still dazed from the pain when a familiar voice brushed his ear. He flinched and slowly lifted his head.

Their eyes met.

Kim Dokja glared down at him with veins standing out on her forehead. Park Jinwoo's face went deathly pale under that murderous aura.

"D-Dokja-ssi… long time no see?"

"Long time? Looooong time—?"

Kim Dokja looked utterly incredulous as she dragged the words out.

"Heh. Hehehe…."

Then she let out a quiet little laugh.

Park Jinwoo blinked in confusion—but a chill ran down his spine all the same, and he started trembling.

"Hey."

"Y-Yes…?"

"Was it fun?"

"Huh?"

He stared at her, completely lost by the non sequitur.

Kim Dokja sighed softly, leaned in close to his ear, and whispered.

"I asked if you enjoyed that little chat with the First Apostle, you son of a bitch."

"………?!"

Park Jinwoo's face turned blue as the situation finally clicked.

Did Han Sooyoung send an Avatar to tip Kim Dokja off? Or has she already seen everything through Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 3?!

He decided to play dumb and opened his mouth with the calmest expression he could manage.

"Th-Th-That… what are you talking about? I don't really…."

Of course, he was so tense that the act fell apart instantly.

"……So that's how it is, huh?"

Grab!

Kim Dokja seized his suit necktie and yanked him forward. Park Jinwoo let out a startled "Wh-What?" as he was dragged helplessly closer.

Their eyes locked again—this time so close that they could feel each other's breath, each other's heartbeat.

For a moment they simply stared at one another in silence.

Then Kim Dokja slowly closed her eyes and spoke in a calm, measured voice.

"I'll give you one last chance to come clean."

"Y-Yes?"

"Tell me the truth and I'll forgive ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you. But if you mix even a single lie into it, you're getting crucified today."

Park Jinwoo realized she was dead serious.

He gave a bitter smile, raised both hands slightly, and decided to confess everything. Otherwise he really might end up on a cross.

"The truth is…."

"The truth is?"

"I got greedy for the flag, so I scammed you and the others and charged into the Tyrant King's territory alone."

"And?"

"…Uh, I looted a few of the Tyrant King's hidden items and obtained the King's Attribute."

"There's more."

"The First Apostle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠told me to ditch you and the others and join her side?"

"…The last one. The most important part is still left."

Park Jinwoo's eyes wavered for a split second. He understood completely now.

Ah. She really does know everything.

His gaze flicked past Kim Dokja to Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung behind her.

Lee Gilyoung was watching the two of them with pure curiosity. Yoo Sangah, however, was staring at him with a chillingly cold look.

He had tried to be careful, but both of them had clearly overheard.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He leaned in and whispered into Kim Dokja's ear.

"D-Dokja-ssi. Could you maybe keep just this one part between us?"

"Why? Embarrassed?"

"Honestly… yeah. It's fucking mortifying."

"And yet a guy like you still fell for that absurd recruitment pitch from an Apostle?"

Under her sharp rebuke, Park Jinwoo lowered his eyes. He had nothing to say. Or rather, he could not bring himself to voice any excuse.

"Haaa… Dokja."

"!"

He let out a rare, quiet sigh, then suddenly buried his face against the nape of her neck and whispered in a low, earnest voice.

"I'm really sorry about this. It won't happen again. Just forgive me this once."

"…………."

Kim Dokja hesitated deeply at the rare seriousness in his tone.

This time, he actually seemed to mean it—which only made her pause longer.

"Haa… In exchange, I'm going to work you to the bone this time, Jinwoo-ssi. Just so you know."

She sighed as if she truly had no choice and decided to forgive him.

"Thank you so much, Dokja-ssi!"

Park Jinwoo lifted his face from her neck and beamed with pure gratitude.

"If only you could keep your mouth shut…."

Kim Dokja loosened his necktie and stood up. Then she walked over to Yoo Sangah, who was still glaring at him with that icy stare, and raised her hand.

Yoo Sangah understood the gesture at once and raised her own hand in return.

Slap!

They high-fived—a clean baton pass. Yoo Sangah, now officially taking over, approached Park Jinwoo, who was still sitting on the floor with a silly grin.

Completely oblivious, still basking in the glow of Kim Dokja's forgiveness, he looked up at her with pure confusion when she stopped right in front of his nose.

"Sangah-ssi?"

"Must be nice, Jinwoo-ssi."

"Uh……?"

The cold, rigid expression looking down at him made his face freeze all over again.

"I heard everything, you know? Charging into the Tyrant King's territory alone like an idiot, and getting a recruitment offer from the First Apostle?"

"Ah, no… I thought this was already over…."

"You finished talking with Dokja-ssi. With me, we haven't even started."

Yoo Sangah stared at him with lifeless eyes, then pointed at the floor with one finger.

"We're short on time, so let's have a quick chat, Jinwoo-ssi."

"P-Please be gentle…."

One of Park Jinwoo's personal bullies raised her cane of lectures and began swinging it without mercy.

"Uuugh……."

After nearly thirty minutes of kneeling, Park Jinwoo's legs had gone completely numb.

He collapsed onto the floor, clutching his tingling legs, and not a single person paid him any mind. Or rather, they were deliberately ignoring him.

A truly tragic reality. Or rather, pure self-inflicted karma.

"What should we do now…?"

"Hmm…."

Yoo Sangah and Kim Dokja stared at the shrine dedicated to Guan Yu, the Chinese God of War—Lord of the Clouds—and fell into deep thought.

"Let's start by paying our respects."

Kim Dokja walked over to Park Jinwoo, who was still face-down on the floor.

"Jinwoo-ssi, water bowl and some water, please."

"Yes, ma'am…."

She took the bowl and water from him, filled it, set it before the shrine doors, and quietly pressed her palms together.

A moment later, system messages rang out.

Lee Seongguk's face lit up as he checked the messages.

"Whoa, Representative! Isn't this an absolute jackpot?!"

The two nameless people who had followed Kim Dokja also looked pleased.

Kim Dokja, however, spoke with a completely flat expression.

"A decent start. But getting an item out of this seems unlikely."

"A shame. It would've been nice to get something like the Green Dragon Crescent Blade…."

Just then, the cockroach on Lee Gilyoung's hand began thrashing its antennae and wings violently.

"Noona…!"

"?!"

Kim Dokja whipped her head around in the direction Lee Gilyoung was looking. The rest of the group followed suit, staring urgently ahead.

Step. Step. Step. Step.

In the distance, a group was marching toward them in neat formation.

Roughly fifty people, give or take.

Lee Seongguk muttered under his breath as he studied them.

"Hmm? Those outfits… I've seen them somewhere…."

Men dressed in historical costumes that looked straight out of a Silla Hwarang drama.

Then Lee Seongguk seemed to recognize the man in the dark crimson Hwarang robes at the front of the group and whispered.

"Huh? That guy in the front row—isn't that Hwang Seungmin? They're all actors, aren't they?"

True to his word, every single man in Hwarang garb was strikingly handsome.

The man Lee Seongguk had called Hwang Seungmin stepped forward, leveled his spear at Kim Dokja's group, and demanded,

"Who dares block the path of a King?"

"And who are you lot supposed to be?"

Kim Dokja already knew exactly whose group they belonged to and which King they followed, so she asked back in a completely deadpan voice.

Then a woman's voice rose from the middle of the Hwarang ranks.

"That brown flag… Don't tell me you're a 'King' as well?"

"Huk! Th-That person…! Isn't that Min Jiwon?!"

Lee Seongguk's eyes went wide—he clearly recognized the woman who had just appeared.

Min Jiwon smiled softly, clearly pleased by his reaction.

"So there are people who still recognize me?"

"I was a f—!"

Smack!

"Keok?!"

The moment the so-called hypnotist started getting enchanted by the woman in front of him, Kim Dokja activated her skill and cracked him across the back of the head.

Lee Seongguk snapped back to his senses with a dazed look. And behind them, someone else suddenly shot to his feet.

"Aah, finally. My legs aren't numb anymore."

It was Park Jinwoo.

Now that the pins and needles had mostly faded, he stood up and turned his head in the direction Kim Dokja was looking.

Then he tilted his head.

"What the hell are these guys? Filming a historical drama? Why are you dressed like that? Aren't those clothes uncomfortable as hell?"

He clicked his tongue at their clearly impractical outfits. Of course, a man wearing a full suit had no room to talk.

Hwang Seungmin's eye twitched at the remark. He leveled his spear at Park Jinwoo.

"An insolent one. Who are you?"

Park Jinwoo dug casually at his ear with his pinky and answered without a care.

"I'm a 'King' just like that 'Queen' standing in the middle of you lot. Hoo~"

A spark of interest lit Min Jiwon's eyes. She looked at Park Jinwoo with open curiosity.

"Two 'Kings' in a single group?"

"Well, yeah?"

"Ahem. Ahem!"

Kim Dokja deliberately cleared her throat and cut the conversation short.

She could not leave her idiot colleague alone any longer—he kept blurting out information that was supposed to stay hidden.

"Min Jiwon-ssi. It's an honor to meet you."

"Is Your Majesty a fan of mine as well?"

"I am not a fan."

"I-Is that so…."

Min Jiwon's face fell at the blunt rejection. She turned her gaze on Park Jinwoo and fixed him with a direct stare.

Park Jinwoo grimaced slightly under the weight of that look.

"Why are you staring like that? Got something to say?"

"Does Your Majesty happen to know who I am?"

"Nope. Not a clue. Who are you?"

In truth, Park Jinwoo only thought of Min Jiwon as the pretty queen who appeared in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. He had no idea how famous an actress she actually was.

Of course he wouldn't. He had come from the real world outside the novel.

"……………."

Park Jinwoo's equally blunt denial put a scratch on Min Jiwon's pride.

She was not a top actress known overseas, but she had always believed she was just a step below the absolute top tier in Korea.

Having two people flat-out say they did not know her made her expression darken considerably.

Kim Dokja ignored the gloomy look and said what she needed to say. They were short on time.

"I'm not a fan, but how could I not know? The King of Seongdong-gu."

Min Jiwon's face hardened. Park Jinwoo glanced at Kim Dokja and whispered under his breath.

"You give her the disease and then give her another disease right after. You're amazing, Dokja-ssi! What incredible character…"

Thud!

"Urgh…?! N-No violence…!"

Kim Dokja drove a fist into the side of the man who was quietly insulting her. Park Jinwoo made a show of acting hurt.

"Judging by the extremely high synchronization rate with your Sponsor… please pass this along. It is a great honor to meet the last queen of Silla in person."

"!"

Kim Dokja glanced once at Min Jiwon, who looked thoroughly flustered, and continued.

"No need to be so startled. You came to fulfill Silla's long-cherished wish, didn't you?"

Min Jiwon narrowed her eyes and glared at Kim Dokja.

"How on earth do you……."

Then a system message suddenly appeared.

"……………."

"…Dokja-ssi, I'm not seeing things right now, am I?"

"…Probably not."

"Good lord……."

Kim Dokja and Park Jinwoo stared blankly at the bounty scenario. Park Jinwoo clutched his head at the sheer absurdity of it.

Offering a measly 2,000 coins as a reward to the two of them. There was a limit to how much you could look down on someone.

Unaware of their thoughts, Min Jiwon continued with a seductive smile.

"I won't drag this out. Come under me."

She spoke with complete confidence as she looked over Kim Dokja's group.

"The war between Kings will begin soon. I don't know which Constellation you've taken as your Sponsor, but every mid-to-small group in the area will be wiped out. The only way for you to survive is to join a group led by someone with a powerful Sponsor like m—"

"No."

"Pass."

"…Excuse me?"

Min Jiwon's eyes wavered at their simultaneous answers.

She and the Hwarang stood with their mouths hanging open, staring at Kim Dokja and Park Jinwoo as if they could not believe what they had just heard.

"We're not becoming your subordinates."

"What are you planning to do with a measly 2,000 coins?"

Kim Dokja firmly rejected the offer. Park Jinwoo openly scoffed.

Min Jiwon's face went blank with shock. Even as a professional actress, she could not keep her expression under control—the situation simply made no sense to her.

Kim Dokja turned to the companions watching from right behind her.

"Let's go. We're short on time."

When they actually turned around without the slightest hesitation, Min Jiwon called out in a panicked voice.

"Wait! If the coins aren't enough, I can offer more!"

"Unnecessary."

"D-Don't tell me you don't even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠understand the value of 2,000 coins? Have you still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not grasped the situation?"

Kim Dokja looked at her with pure pity. Park Jinwoo looked at her with pure sympathy.

The heat of their gazes made Min Jiwon place a hand over her chest and shout.

"I-I am the King of Silla! The King who will soon unify the Three Kingdoms! Honestly, even if I accepted you for 2,000 coins it would be me doing you a favor—have you still not figured out where you stand?!"

"Oh, nice acting. As expected of a real actress."

"Thanks for the compliment… wait, no?!"

"What, you don't want compliments?"

"No, I'm grateful for them, but this is not the time for that!"

At some point Park Jinwoo had put on 3D glasses and was holding a bag of caramel popcorn, watching the show with genuine appreciation for Min Jiwon's method acting.

Min Jiwon herself smiled with pure delight at the praise—then quickly snapped back to reality and yelled at him.

Yoo Sangah raised a small hand and stepped between them.

"Um, Your Majesty?"

"What is it?!"

"As far as I know, among the Later Three Kingdoms, Silla was the weakest… Historically speaking, wouldn't unification be a bit difficult? How exactly do you plan to unify the Three Kingdoms…."

Hit with pure historical fact by Yoo Sangah, Min Jiwon exploded.

"Wh-What do you know that makes you so full of yourself?! Are you a historian?!"

"I… have a Level 1 Korean History certification."

"?! A L-Level 1 Korean History cert…."

Min Jiwon's face crumpled at the words.

She flushed bright red and forced out,

"…………Th-That's not even that impressive!"

Even she seemed to realize how pathetic that sounded.

Yoo Sangah scratched her head with a slightly dejected look.

"Heh… I guess you're right."

"No, that is actually insanely impressive?"

Park Jinwoo cut in. He thought back to his own days of civil service exam prep.

"Sangah-ssi, how many tries did it take you to get Level 1 Korean History?"

"Uh… just once?"

"………It took me three tries, so yeah. Sangah-ssi is an incredible person."

"Hehe… Thank you for saying that, Jinwoo-ssi."

Yoo Sangah answered his praise with a small smile.

Kim Dokja looked at both Park Jinwoo and Min Jiwon with pure exasperation and continued.

"Let's go, Yoo Sangah-ssi. She doesn't even seem to know her history."

Min Jiwon's face turned scarlet at Kim Dokja's words.

"Wait! What about 3,000 coins?!"

"Unnecessary."

Park Jinwoo looked up at the empty air after receiving sponsorship from a no-name Constellation and a Demon King.

"Fable-grade Constellations will never understand the hearts of Historical-grade ones."

In the end, Kim Dokja and her group simply walked away, leaving Min Jiwon behind as she desperately tried to haggle coins in order to recruit them as subordinates.

"W-Wait! 3,500! I'll go up to 3,500!"

Min Jiwon's pleas continued.

"3,600… no, 700…!"

Faced with her almost pathetic courtship, Park Jinwoo and Kim Dokja stopped walking at the same time.

They locked eyes, and Park Jinwoo spoke first.

"Should I handle this?"

"Do you have enough coins?"

"Of course. I just made an absolute fortune."

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Park Jinwoo turned and walked toward Min Jiwon. She looked at him with an excited expression, certain he was finally accepting her offer.

He stopped right in front of her and spoke in a completely flat voice.

"Actually, we'll make the offer. How about 10,000?"

"T-Ten thousand?!"

"Ah, but you're a Queen. Is 10,000 too low? How about 30,000?"

"A-Are you joking with me right now? 30,000 coins? Don't tell me you actually think you're worth that much…."

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA——!!!

Thud.

Park Jinwoo thrust his palm toward the empty sky. A wave of dark crimson flame erupted from his hand and shot upward like a tidal wave.

Min Jiwon collapsed onto the ground without even realizing it.

"Well? Do you understand my value now?"

"………Wh-What is this?!"

She looked up at him with trembling pupils. Park Jinwoo let out a short laugh, then pinched both of her cheeks with one hand.

"And I think you've got the wrong idea. When I said 30,000 coins just now, I meant I was offering to buy all of you."

"Th-Thad can't be…!"

Min Jiwon managed to speak through mangled pronunciation, her cheeks still squeezed in his grip.

Park Jinwoo looked at Kim Dokja and the others—who were staring at him with trembling eyes—then at Min Jiwon and the Hwarang, and flashed a grin as he snapped his thumb and index finger hard.

Snap!

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

From the tip of his finger, his current coin balance materialized in midair.

At the sight of Park Jinwoo's overwhelming coin holdings, the expressions of Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung, Lee Seongguk, the two nameless extras, Min Jiwon, and every single Hwarang all crumbled at once.

And the Constellations were no different.

"Th-Thad can't be!!"

Min Jiwon screamed at the impossible reality.

"Can't be? It's happening right in front of your eyes."

The veteran who had just thoroughly taught a cocky newbie what the real world tasted like smiled brightly.

Nothing beats trolling for pure entertainment, after all.