Work Text:
“Yes…”
Dark eyes gleamed, gold reflected in them as stars shone before him. Chanting beneath his breath, the now-broke salaryman clutched the phone in his hands tight as the shine dimmed to reveal a figure.
“Yes, yes, finally, he’s here, it’s—”
Silence. Then, a muffled scream of despair echoed out from the men’s bathroom. The surrounding office workers took a moment to stare at the door before giving each other a look and returning to their work.
It was just another day at the office for them.
In the bathroom, squatting inside the stall whilst careful not to touch anything, Kim Dokja held his phone in one hand and his head in the other, staring at the handsome figure on the screen with dead eyes. A tap on the screen and a gold SSR card appeared, showing a closer view of the character. Though the man on the card was extremely good-looking, broad shouldered and wearing a friendly smile with a halo of angelic light surrounding him, Kim Dokja could not bring himself to feel any joy.
“Lee Hyunsung,” Kim Dokja mumbled, “best shield boy, why are you here? I don’t have enough probability to do more rolls…”
His phone buzzed in his hand, reminding him of the low battery left on it. Longing and pain in dark eyes, he clutched his heart and gave a deep sigh. Forget it, he really couldn’t bring himself to be angry at Lee Hyunsung. Besides, it was the special SSR early story version, ‘Person who has Regained Justice’ Lee Hyunsung, which he didn’t have any copies of. Having screenshotted the roll and getting him levelled up a bit before tucking his phone away, Kim Dokja left the toilet stall and quickly washed his hand. Even if he didn’t need to use the bathroom, he had just been squatting on the floor after all.
Ignoring the two officer workers staring at him, Kim Dokja walked out of the stall and returned to his work station. Though the lady beside him was still giving him strange looks, he didn’t let that stop him from scrambling through his drawer for his spare power bank. Honestly, he was lucky to have made it before his phone died. Seeing as how it managed to last five minutes after the first power bank had already given out, Kim Dokja really thought that luck would be on his side today.
After locating it and slipping the empty power bank into his suitcase, he quickly began charging his phone up with the spare. When he felt the neighbouring lady’s gaze leave him, Kim Dokja glanced down and, with quick motions, set up autoplay in Chungmuro Station and placed his phone out of sight. While he did have enough pages to level the new Lee Hyunsung up, he knew he didn’t have the right stories to ascend him further. Kim Dokja would also have to go through his relics and find what would be most suitable for him, make sure he had enough coins to actually level and ascend him, and then find what team comp he would fit in…
Kim Dokja sighed. Well, no use thinking about it now with how much work he still had to do. He could only hope that he had allowed enough energy to accumulate before he started autoplay, otherwise the chances of him getting any good drops in less than a hundred runs were too low.
Upon leaving the office, Kim Dokja would soon realise his mistake in not accumulating more energy to do more runs. After mourning the regeneration rate of energy (again) and the distressing lack of drops he received (again), the Ways of Survival customer service received a strongly worded email about the drop rates of the materials — again.
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YJH Simp @only_reader . 5h
gacha gods hate me ㅜㅜ got spooked by lhs while rolling at work OTL wish me luck for my next rolls pls
[ image attached of a WOS screenshot, showing ‘Person who has Regained Justice’ Lee Hyunsung ]
Yoo Sangah @ivorydreams_ . 4h
Replying to @only_reader
Dokja-ssi, we’re still at work ^^” I hope you get him!
YJH Simp @only_reader . 4h
Replying to @ivorydreams_
Thank you Sangah-ssi, I’ll work hard~
Lord Spirit of the Darkest Imagination @DemonGod666 . 3h
Replying to @only_reader
lmaooooo time to drop the game and simp for someone better! Hurry up and stan Emily-chan with me!!
YJH Simp @only_reader . 2h
Replying to @DemonGod666
=_= no way, youre just jealous that yjh gets more girls than you
Lord Spirit of the Darkest Imagination @DemonGod666 . 2h
Replying to @only_reader
EH?! TAKE THAT BACK, I COULD TOO ㅅ ’ ㅗ
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Kim Dokja began his descent into hell early.
It wasn’t something he had meant to fall into. He didn’t go in thinking, ‘I can’t wait to throw in all my money into getting electronic images of characters,’ or ‘I am so excited to spend every waking hour of my life farming materials,’ and yet…
That was exactly what happened in the end.
But at the beginning, young Kim Dokja knew nothing of the suffering he would go through. All he had seen was a very strong, very cool-looking hero in anad on his mobile game, and he was done for. Nothing else registered in his brain besides how much he wanted to be the protagonist, and so as soon as school was over and he got home, he downloaded the game Ways of Survival.
It was the biggest mistake of his life. It was also the best thing that ever happened to him.
Without the game, maybe he would’ve died long ago.
The moment he had opened the game, he was sucked in. Despite the super long and tedious tutorial that detailed every little rule in the game — much of which wasn’t of any use until later in the story — Kim Dokja took his time to get into the world of Ways of Survival. By the time he finished the tutorial and got his first character card, it was a whole week later.
On the screen, the night sky appeared. Stars dotted the sky, illuminating one by one to depict a constellation Kim Dokja had never seen, and then the screen panned down to a blank page. A copy of the constellation appeared on it, each star slowly shining white until the light took up the whole screen. As it died, it revealed a figure placed against a dark backdrop. A strong hand unsheathing a sword, arrogant eyes framed by wavy black hair, and he looked so cool that Kim Dokja dropped his phone onto the ground. His heart was thundering against his chest, his gaze unable to leave the handsome man, and Kim Dokja thought that he would play this game forever as long as he could keep Yoo Joonghyuk.
Grabbing his phone and carefully taking a screenshot with trembling hands, Kim Dokja continued on playing and tried to figure out more of what he was meant to do.
Okay, so this Yoo Joonghyuk is the starter that everyone gets, no rarity? Oh, so I can get a standard card for these characters too… Wait, there are more Yoo Joonghyuk character cards? And they all do different things? I need to get them all! This banner can get me another special SSR Yoo Joonghyuk? Awesome! I just need probability to pull for him, so this should be enough! Pity…what’s that?
He soon found out that it was definitely not enough.
In Ways of Survival, there was a pity system. While that seemed to indicate that it would be easy to go for the characters you wanted, because you were guaranteed that character if you rolled x amount of times on their rate-up banner, it was actually a warning that reaching pity would take blood, sweat, and literal tears. The Kim Dokja who had enough probability for a single multi-roll, did not realise that it would take a lot more probability to have a chance of getting the SSR ‘41st Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk.
“Ah…why hasn’t he appeared yet?”
Scratching his head, the silly, foolish boy opened the banner page again. He admired the handsomely cool figure taking up most of the screen again before scrutinising the banner, catching the tiny info symbol left in the corner. Kim Dokja clicked on it and read the details slowly, his eyes widening with each horrible word until…
“A hundred rolls! And it might not even be Yoo Joonghyuk?! I have to roll three hundred times to get him?!”
That night, a young boy’s world shattered into pieces.
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@only_reader’s Profile
Name: Read It Again
Change Nickname?
[Yes/No]
@only_reader’s Profile
Name: YJH’s Number 1 Fan
YJH’s Number 1 Fan @only_reader . 13y
I found a fun game to play. It’s called Ways of Survival and I really like playing Yoo Joonghyuk. I wonder how long the story will go for?
[ image attached of a WOS screenshot, showing the starter Yoo Joonghyuk ]
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There was one reason Kim Dokja preferred doing his rolls at home, and it was because—
“Yes! Ah, damn, yes, she finally came! Ahhh, you came so early, thank you!!!”
Kim Dokja acted like a fool when he got what he wanted.
Dancing around in his bedroom in the comforts of his sweats, Kim Dokja couldn’t resist landing several kisses on the image of the winged constellation. ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ Uriel, the exclusive SSR character, had never had a rerun since her first banner and at that time, Kim Dokja didn’t have any probability to pull. Thankfully, Kim Dokja had been preparing for the rerun of another character, and while he was unlikely to get Abyssal Black Flame Dragon now…
“Worth it! I’m sorry, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, but I’ll roll for you next time!”
The Abyssal Black Flame Dragon card, which had been abandoned last time for the SSR ‘Maritime Admiral’ Lee Jihye card, wept bitterly in the corner of the rerun banner.
Falling onto his bed, Kim Dokja stared at Uriel for a while longer, grinning as he took her through the trial. It was fun, testing out her skills and stigma against the trial enemies, seeing the winged figure wield her weapon with a fiery expression. The stigma animation was stunning — she looked like justice personified, her sword blazing with holy fire when he activated her stigma. As it came down on the enemies, Kim Dokja couldn’t help the strangled scream that came from his throat.
She was so cool.
So worth using his paycheck for her.
With shaking hands, he exited the trial stage and went to the Home Screen. Clicking on the character list and finding Uriel, he opened the attributes window and tried to auto level her…
“Ah?”
He had no more pages.
Eyes wide, Kim Dokja went back to the home page and clicked on the chibi Yoo Mia sitting in the corner to activate her skill. She perked up and smiled before opening her mouth wide, the screen changing to inside his inventory. He looked at his levelling materials and — no, there really weren’t any pages left for him to level up ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ Uriel with. Heart falling with sudden realisation, he also went to look at his upgrade materials and…
He didn’t have the right stories for her either.
It was doomed. He needed to go farm for mats now.
Dropping his phone onto the bed and carding his fingers through his hair, Kim Dokja let out a heavy sigh. At the very least, he knew he had enough coins, but thinking about how much energy — in real life and in game — he’d have to spend doing the training stages…
It would take a long time. Since the training stage for the ascension materials for constellations only opened and weekends, he’d have to wait before he can go farm those. While that meant getting the right stories would take some time, Kim Dokja could probably spend today and tomorrow farming pages to level her a bit.
Did he even want to check his current relic stash?
No, he didn’t. He really didn’t. But he did because it was a fool’s move to not equip anything for a character, and what he found was horrifying to say the least.
In Yoo Mia’s inventory, there were only a hundred relics that were not entirely useless. There were seven that were levelled and not already equipped to other characters. None of them were suitable for ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ Uriel.
He checked the clock. Eleven o’clock. Tomorrow he’d have to be at the office by eight…
That left him with at least five hours to farm before he had to set the game to autoplay. It would have to be enough. Diving into his bed, Kim Dokja brought the blankets up over him and tapped into training mode, going straight into relic farming. If he was lucky, he might be able to get two out of six suitable relics for her.
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YJH Is The Best Protag @only_reader . 4h
ahhh I finlly got Deomnlike Juge of Fire Urie!!! no mats to acend her tho… this suks ㅜㅜ even thouh got work in 4 hours at lest I got a few relics! worth no sleping lol
[ two images attached of WOS screenshots, one showing ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ Uriel, the other showing her attributes window ]
diagnosed with hyung @Level_SS_Parent . 4h
Replying to @only_reader
Hah, how long have you been farming for? This is why pet games are better, gacha is too unlucky. You should get some sleep!
YJH Is The Best Protag @only_reader . 4h
Replying to @Level_SS_Parent
you say tha but dont you spned money on raisnign your pets…
diagnosed with hyung @Level_SS_Parent . 3h
Replying to @only_reader
I spend more than you, but at least I’m not the one using my whole pay-check for jpegs????
Yoo Sangah @ivorydreams_ . 20m
Replying to @only_reader
Dokja-ssi, are you okay? >< Please call in for a day off if you need it…
YJH Is The Best Protag @only_reader . 5m
Replying to @ivorydreams_
all ok Sangah-ssi! pls dont worry bout me ^^” cold you cover for me? be there in just a few mineutes!
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Kim Dokja didn’t often roll for the Valentine’s Day banners.
Sure, he worked hard to get all the Valentine’s SR cards, and sometimes he’d roll for whoever came as the exclusive SSR card. But the game rarely made a Valentine’s Day card that focused on the protagonist. It either focused on bringing one of the side characters as an exclusive card — Lee Hyunsung and Lee Seolhwa were understandable favourites, if he was being honest — or putting out a rerun of Yoo Joonghyuk’s many SSR cards. He was rarely moved to bring out his wallet for these banners unless he wasn’t saving up for anyone, so he didn’t think to worry about what banner may come out.
That was his downfall.
He stared at the special ‘3rd Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk card, unable to take his eyes off of him. The notification had appeared during his lunch break and ever since, he hasn’t been able to get his mind off of it. Even when he tried to focus on the work in front of him, Kim Dokja found himself typing up the story of WOS over the report he was meant to hand in.
It couldn’t be helped, not when this meant so much to him. At the beginning of the game, the tutorial had started with the 3rd regression Yoo Joonghyuk. It was the first regression the player would ever see Yoo Joonghyuk go on, and although it was the first card you’d get, that special starter card would change to a new regression as the player’s status went up and the story mode continued to the next turn.
In short, this version of Yoo Joonghyuk hadn’t been seen in a long time.
And Kim Dokja needed him.
First, he checked his current probability. While he already knew he had little to none left, it still made his heart sink to know he barely had enough for a single multi. Next, he checked his bank account. While there would be enough to just maybe hit pity once, it wasn’t guaranteed and…he’d definitely need to work overtime to afford rent.
To be honest, three meals a day was excessive, so he could save that way.
That would be a last resort though. Steeling his resolve and quickly opening the banner page, he didn’t even think twice before clicking on the 10x button. Kim Dokja couldn’t bear to watch as not-Yoo Joonghyuk after not-Yoo Joonghyuk appeared, closing his eyes as he tried to think positively.
Lately, I’ve been eating a lot. So really, a few missing meals won’t mean much, and I can get better food after I roll him. What’s the problem with just eating rice, anyway? Rice is really healthy!
Clenching his teeth, Kim Dokja opened his eyes and looked down to check what mediocre R and SR cards he got. Upon seeing gold, he felt his jaw drop open.
Hands shaking, the phone in his hands creaking from how hard he was gripping it, Kim Dokja gazed upon the shining new SSR Yoo Joonghyuk card with shock. He looked almost too handsome, ‘3rd Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk’s eyes still gentle compared to the hardened versions of him in later regressions. The sunset behind was too beautiful, highlighting his face with a gentle glow, and Kim Dokja…
He was on the verge of crying, a lifetime of luck spent just for this singular moment. With a silly grin on his lips, he let out a loud whoop and slipped off his chair, falling to his knees while holding his phone up in victory and—
“Oi! Kim Dokja! Keep the noise down!”
He was quick to slide back into his chair, smoothing out his expression until he looked like the picture of professionalism. The phone securely in his pocket, Kim Dokja had no trouble giving the manager a sheepish grin and muttering a quiet apology to appease the older man. Still, it was impossible for him to stop the trembling of his body, the redness of his cheeks as he thought about the treasure now in his hands. The moment everyone turned their gaze away from him, Kim Dokja pulled his phone out and took a peek at the gold-outlined image covering his phone screen.
Biting his lips to stop the wild grin from appearing on his face, Kim Dokja forced himself to put his phone back and work earnestly until the end of his shift. Tonight, he was going to max ascend ‘3rd Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk even if it killed him.
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3RD YJH CAME HOME @only_reader . 1d
fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck he came home!!!!!
[ image attached of a WOS screenshot, showing an edit of ‘3rd Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk with sparkle stickers surrounding him ]
When In Doubt, Kill @For_Us_to_Meet_Again . 4h
Replying to @only_reader
Congratulations, I remember you really wanted to get him. Show us his attribute window once he’s fully built.
[ gif attached of someone giving a thumbs up ]
3RD YJH CAME HOME @only_reader . 4h
Replying to @For_Us_to_Meet_Again
thank you, I will! Good luck on ur rolls too!
When In Doubt, Kill @For_Us_to_Meet_Again . 3h
Replying to @only_reader
Thank you.
TooManyAncients @Vacation_When . 20m
Replying to @only_reader
you lucky bastard, congrats
3RD YJH CAME HOME @only_reader . 5m
Replying to @Vacation_When
hah, thanks! Almost didnt get him, only had one multi left >.>
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[You spent xxx probability.]
“Come on…”
[You spent xxx probability.]
“Please, just hurry up!”
[You spent xxx probability.]
“No no no…”
[Remaining probability insufficient. Reload?]
Staring up at the ceiling in despair, Kim Dokja thought of his life leading up to today.
More than a decade had passed since he started playing. He has saved and paid to get every Yoo Joonghyuk that came out, forgoing meals and doing overtime to make sure they came home. Across the many, many banners that he had rolled on, one character still continued to elude Kim Dokja despite spending over a decade chasing after him.
Yoo Joonghyuk of the 999th round.
Kim Dokja wanted — no, needed to get the SSR card of him, needed to see his beloved protagonist battle-worn and standing strong even after all the suffering he went through. He didn’t know how many screenshots he took when the main story finally showed him, but Kim Dokja knew the moment he appeared that he needed that Yoo Joonghyuk. All versions of Yoo Joonghyuk were wonderful and good-looking, since he was the protagonist after all, but there was something special about the 999th regression.
In fan terms, he could probably be considered the one and only husbando. If the 3rd regression was the one he was most fond of, 999 th Yoo Joonghyuk would be everyone’s first choice to marry.
Whenever he remembered the tragedy of the 999th round, how hard he had sobbed when he reached the end of that turn, Kim Dokja still felt tears welling up in his eyes. Today, when he arrived home from work, he had immediately gone to charge his account with money and get all the rolls he could. At two hundred and eighty-five rolls, he ran out of probability.
Things were looking dire.
He ran his hand over his face. Really, he wasn’t far away from getting him on guaranteed, but he really couldn’t afford to spend more money, not with bills coming up. While ‘999th Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk always returned every two years, which was better than most other SSR Yoo Joonghyuk cards could claim, Kim Dokja was tired of going after him every single time and missing him. There was really only one thing he could do, and that was…
To farm as much probability as he could.
Rolling out of bed, he ran to go shower and change his clothes. He could eat while he played, but he needed to get as comfy as possible if he was going to spend the next few hours playing. Taking the quickest shower he could, Kim Dokja dressed in his best sweats and cooked spicy noodles, settling himself at the table and playing while his phone charged.
He did the last probability farming stage in training mode, having already run it several times this week. The sub-scenarios did give him some probability, enough to do a single pull that got him a new SR Shin Yoosung card. After locking it, he went back to the hidden scenarios page to finish up the current event. Now that the final stage had opened up on it, he ran it a few times to get enough to empty the hidden dokkaebi store. Another pull — trash. Now, all his hopes were pinned on getting as many achievements as he could to get bits of probability at a time. His noodles finished, he threw himself in bed and, after plugging his phone to the charger, he committed himself to grinding out probability until he got ‘999th Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk.
Seven hours later, with the sun rising up from the horizon and shining through his window, the screen glowed golden. Holding up his phone into the air, the eyepatch-wearing Yoo Joonghyuk stared at him with a gentle smile. Kim Dokja tried not to drop the phone onto his face.
Finally, his husband — no, his favourite regression had come home.
Kim Dokja dropped the phone onto his face just as he took a screenshot, and was knocked out with a single blow.
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999 YJH ㅜㅜ @only_reader . 1d
call me old fashioned but i was raised to serve my husband. i clean the dishes and cook him food. i do whatever he says because he is my husband and he makes the rules around the house. he owns me. if he ever cheats on me it's because i was lacking.
[ four images attached of WOS screenshots, showing ‘999th Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk in four different angles and shots ]
CHECK PINNED FOR GIVEAWAY @rich_bich_choi . 22h
Replying to @only_reader
LOL you sound like a wife like this hahaha
999 YJH ㅜㅜ @only_reader . 4h
Replying to @rich_bich_choi
I’m just being a pure fan! Also, ur on the wrong account ㅇ _ ㅇ ;;
CHECK PINNED FOR GIVEAWAY @rich_bich_choi . 3h
Replying to @only_reader
… ㅇㅁㅇ
Flame Emperor Go DIE @Death_is_Only_a_suggestion . 20m
Replying to @rich_bich_choi and @only_reader
stupid LOLOLOL
999 YJH ㅜㅜ @only_reader . 5m
Replying to @Death_is_Only_a_suggestion and @only_reader
ㅗ (^-^) ㅗ
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By the time Kim Dokja made it home, there was only an hour left on the banner.
There was no time to do anything too fancy today. Muttering a curse beneath his breath, Kim Dokja plugged the charger into his phone and started up the game. While it took its time loading up, he pulled out the decorations packed from last year’s celebration out of a box and strung them up with practised ease.
Black paper streamers hung from the wall, falling stars attached to them and threatening to slip off at any moment. He prayed that they wouldn’t rip when he tore them down later. Soon he’d have to replace them, but Kim Dokja hoped to delay that for a while longer. He blew up the white and gold balloons, grabbing a marker to fix them up before setting them around the room. Grabbing the tacky silver banner left at the bottom, he took care to stick it to the wall hard enough that it would stay up for at least thirty minutes.
Kim Dokja took a step back, crossing his arms and giving the room a once-over. The streamers gave the room a haphazard appeal, the metallic stars hanging down almost stabbing Kim Dokja in the eye whenever he moved too close. The large banner with the word “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” printed on it took up about half the wall in width. Beside it, there were multiple balloons that said “Birthday Girl” on it…an honest mistake, really, it wasn’t his fault that the package label didn’t specify the difference. Anyway, it was easily fixed by crossing out “Girl” and writing “Protagonist” underneath it.
All in all, it was better than two years ago. Compared to that disaster, this was like a party made for royalty.
Kim Dokja checked the clock and almost had a heart attack seeing the time. Twenty minutes had passed without him even realising, and he still had so much to do.
From his room, he dragged out as much of his custom Yoo Joonghyuk merch as he could. This ranged from a number of things: a full-length body pillow of ‘999th Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk, five standees of different Yoo Joonghyuk turns, a small ‘3rd Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk plush, a medium-sized ‘41st Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk, a large ‘1863rd Regression’ Yoo Joonghyuk plush, a print of Yoo Joonghyuk with gold eyes and a white coat instead of his usual black, two scrolls depicting Yoo Joonghyuk and his companions, and a lucky charm of catboy Yoo Joonghyuk.
There were more, but this was enough to make his table creak. By the time he set everything up, there was only ten minutes left, and there was still one thing he had to get.
Kim Dokja went to the fridge and pulled out a sloppily made chocolate cake. It didn’t take an expert to tell the cake was homemade, the frosting unevenly spread over the surface and the “Happy Birthday Yoo Joonghyuk” written on the top messy a, to say the least. Still, Kim Dokja could guarantee that it tasted good, and it would have to do. Sticking the candles into the cake and lighting it up, Kim Dokja checked the time and heaved a sigh of relief.
Finally, he was ready.
Eyes narrowed and jaw set in determination, Kim Dokja grabbed the large Yoo Joonghyuk plush to place on his lap and sat at the table. In front of him, there was the homemade birthday cake; in his hands, his phone displaying the current birthday banner, the time ticking down at the corner of the screen. A youthful face stared at him, the familiar black coat replaced by a black and green esport jacket, a stubborn glint in his eye that was endearing in its innocence.
This was Yoo Joonghyuk of the First Round. The one whose story he knew nothing about, and the one who he wished he could learn more about. Maybe, if he unlocked this character, that story would finally be revealed to him.
He took a deep breath. It was time.
Kim Dokja closed his eyes as he tapped on the 10x button, not daring to look as he listened to the sound of each character in the roll being revealed. He thought about how ridiculous this must look to anyone else — him, sitting alone in the darkness with a cake not meant for himself, celebrating a fictional character’s birthday with more effort than all of his birthdays for the past decade.
It made sense though. To Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk’s birthday meant more to him than his own.
When he heard a SSR character being revealed, his body stiffened up. Eyes snapping open, he stared as ‘The First Round’ Yoo Joonghyuk appeared on the screen.
He let out a shuddering breath, lungs rattling as he swallowed down the lump in his throat. Tapping away to go past the results of the multi, Kim Dokja went to the character list and couldn’t help but look at this Yoo Joonghyuk for a bit longer. Finally, he slumped over the table, cradling the phone to his chest. Even though this was meant to be a celebration for Yoo Joonghyuk’s birthday, it felt more like a gift for Kim Dokja.
Well, this could be considered Kim Dokja’s birthday gift for next year.
“Happy birthday, Yoo Joonghyuk. Thank you for coming home.”
He lifted his head up, the whispered words loud in the silence. The house fell into darkness as soon as the candles were blown out. His face illuminated by the dim light from the phone, Kim Dokja didn’t think too hard about why he was tearing up, instead focusing on the new Yoo Joonghyuk now in his party.
This was enough for him. Even if he had no one to celebrate his birthday with, Kim Dokja would always be there for his protagonist.
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Wishing you a happy ending @only_reader . 13h
Happy birthday, Yoo Joonghyuk. I hope one day you reach the end that you and your companions deserve. My protagonist, until then, I’ll accompany you for as long as it takes.
[four images attached, the first showing a homemade birthday cake with uneven writing on it, the second showing a WOS screenshot with ‘The First Round’ Yoo Joonghyuk, the third showing his Yoo Joonghyuk merch surrounding the cake, and the fourth showing Kim Dokja holding up the cake in his hands with an awkward smile on his face]
anon48 @Anon48 . 29m
Replying to @only_reader
I wanted to laugh at how much YJH merch you got but… well, it’s a bit sad, somehow. You going to celebrate your bday next year? You should invite us and we’ll go do things.
Wishing you a happy ending @only_reader . 5m
Replying to @Anon48
Im fine, dont be concerned lol. Maybe if theres time, ill take you up on that ^^
[Redacted] @SoloPlay . 12h
Replying to @only_reader
We’ll treat you next time.
Wishing you a happy ending @only_reader . 12h
Replying to @SoloPlay
Haha, theres no need to lol
Wishing you a happy ending @only_reader . 30m
Replying to @only_reader and @SoloPlay
…hello? Why did I see you like my birthday post from three years ago—
. ✫ * ﾟ･ﾟ｡ . ★ .* ｡･ﾟ ✫ *.
He saw the update announcement as soon as he woke up.
Yawning as he turned the ancient phone on, Kim Dokja stretched his arms out and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, squinting at the screen. As soon as he saw the new notifications, his heart seemed to seize up.
There was a new update. This in itself wasn’t so strange, and Kim Dokja had been anticipating a new one since he reached the most recent chapter of the story.
No, it was the title of the update that paralysed him.
The Final Chapter.
Everything has an ending. From stories to life to games, there was no such thing as something that would last forever. Even knowing that, he didn’t know why but he never thought about the ending of the game. Somehow, he just expected it to go on for an eternity, seeing Yoo Joonghyuk go on regression after regression as he grew older by the year. Seeing the epilogue so close now…
It finally hit him.
This was it. The end. He’d reached it—
The end of the story.
Bathed in the light of the slow rising sun, Kim Dokja thought about falling back asleep. If he didn’t update it, then he’d never have to see the game he loved come to an end. After the sky grew brighter and his alarm screamed at him for what seemed like the hundredth time, Kim Dokja unlocked his phone and downloaded the new update.
Even if it meant completing the story, even if it meant the end of his thirteen year long journey, Kim Dokja needed to know.
The rest of the day was spent in a daze. Since it was near the end of the contract period, a lot of the other employees were working hard to catch the eye of someone higher-up and maybe get full-time employment. Kim Dokja couldn’t bring himself to care about all that though and if he wasn’t so focused on the new update, he’d probably wonder how bad his performance report would be.
He didn’t touch his phone until he got on the train back home. The update had taken most of the day, his phone connected to the battery pack the whole time to prevent having to start the download all over again. When the phone buzzed in his bag, it was all he could do to not jump and scream before the crowd of people in the train. He pulled his phone out while being careful not to take out the charger cord keeping it alive.
Eyes wide as he stared at his updated status level, the platinum 1863 shining bright beneath his name, Kim Dokja forced himself to take a breath. He couldn’t hear anything else over his heartbeat, his lungs constricting in his chest and making it harder to focus.
He really was about to finish it. Taking a deep breath, Kim Dokja went to start the new story right away when an in-game notification popped up. Surprised to see one coming from the usually quiet game (not including the usual “Full Energy” and “Hot Deals!” alerts), Kim Dokja clicked on it and—
He sucked in a breath, feeling like his heart had been punched straight out of his body.
There was a new banner, featuring an SSR character that had definitely never appeared before. There wasn’t even a preview of the character, only a silhouette that screamed protagonist.
His fingers trembled. Gaze solemn as he stared down at the screen, Kim Dokja wondered if this would be the last one. Gritting his teeth, he calculated how much he had in his account and whether it’d be enough to definitely get the character.
The person standing in front of him stumbled and Kim Dokja lifted his arm up to steady them, almost dropping his phone as he did so. They murmured out a barely audible thank you which he gave a vague response to, eyes returning to the screen right away.
He didn’t have much probability left. It was only enough for a single roll, then he’d have to charge more into his account. Fingers trembling, he went to the summoning screen and, whispering a prayer beneath his breath, pressed to roll.
He waited, air stuck in his lungs as he watched the screen show a blanket of darkness, the night dotted with shining stars forming a constellation. Panning down from the sky, a blank page was shown and on it, a copy of those stars began to appear glowing faintly. As they shone brighter, the stars turning gold one by one, he watched and waited for the flash to die down and—
His screen went black.
Kim Dokja didn’t know how to breathe. It was only once he tried to turn it back on, the low battery signal blinking back at him, that he realised that the charging cord had fallen out at some point. Even when he reconnected it, he knew that once his phone died, it would take a while before it could come alive again.
He fished out the power bank from his bag, not at all surprised to find that it only had a bit of energy left. It might just be enough to charge it but it likely wouldn’t turn on again for the remainder of his trip. Like this, he could only hope that he had gotten the character and resigned himself to waiting till he got home to check.
An eternity existed in that hour. Time stretched on and on, from the endless ride to his station and the short walk to his apartment. Kim Dokja could only recharge his phone and try to distract himself by making dinner.
It happened while he was frying some eggs. His phone buzzed, signalling its return from the dead. He dropped the spatula, leaving it on the counter as he scrambled to turn the phone back on. Fingers flying across the screen as he tried to urge it to life, Kim Dokja’s heart seemed to be running a marathon as it pounded hard in his chest.
The screen turned on. He opened the app. The moment he saw the familiar loading screen pop up, a bright light seemed to shine behind him. When Kim Dokja turned around and looked out the window, he saw something coming down from the sky.
A few thoughts ran through his mind as he watched it fall.
The first was — wow, that looks just like the summoning screen. It even looks like a SSR.
The second was — is that a falling star? That’s kind of cool.
And the third was — wait, it’s getting a bit too close.
By the time he realised it was coming straight for him, it was too late. Kim Dokja was thrown back by the force of the blast, landing against the wall with a grunt. He barely had time to curl up, protecting his phone and his face from the debris that would definitely come crashing down on him.
Except there was nothing. Only a deathly silence, and when Kim Dokja dared to peek out from behind his arms…
There was a man. A very familiar looking man walked over to where he sat dazed on the ground, strong eyebrows furrowed together while piercing eyes scrutinised him. The black coat fluttered with the wind coming through the hole where his window once was, his imposing figure appearing even larger as his shadow fell over him. A sword sat at his hips, not yet unsheathed but still a threat.
Kim Dokja’s heartbeat pounded loud in his ear. There was only one thought running through his brain as he stared at the fantasy brought to life before his eyes.
It’s Yoo Joonghyuk. It has to be him.
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned, eyes shining a faint gold. Too caught up in how beautiful he looked with Sage’s Eye activated, he didn’t notice the peculiar expression on Yoo Joonghyuk’s face until his voice rang out, clearer than it ever sounded from his decade old phone.
“Is there… something burning?”
Kim Dokja stared. The man standing before him, the spitting image of his favourite character, the strongest protagonist, Yoo Joonghyuk, stared back.
In the middle of the night, as faint smoke filled the small apartment up with the scent of burnt eggs, Kim Dokja wondered if the protagonist would still have his SSS+ cooking skill in reality.
Ahh, Kim Dokja really wanted to try his food.