[many constellations are suspicious of the circumstances surrounding the death of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
It was incredibly suspicious. Almost too suspicious, even. The fact that everyone else was left unscathed meant that it was either targeted, or a completely random hit where the culprit only picked off the closest person to the door. Still, there were no signs of a struggle, and any kind of fight really should have woken them up.
Dokja presses two fingers to Sooyoung's wrist to check her pulse as he kneels before her. Nearby, Sangah wakes up and quickly runs over upon noticing something is amiss.
Am I in shock right now? At the fact that Han Sooyoung is dead?
Dokja looks at the body with a slightly haunted look as he tells Sangah that Sooyoung's not breathing. Sangah quickly assesses that there are no wounds, causing Dokja to wonder if she was poisoned, and why the rest of them would be fine if that were the case.
Sangah then apologizes for oversleeping, clueing Dokja into the fact that the rest of them all slept through the night.
This means that there was no one awake for watch duty yesterday.
"Fuck," Jung Heewon muttered, biting her lip. "You're actually dead."
The kids looked over at Han Sooyoung—who looked extremely nervous—with pity-filled gazes, and it looked like Shin Yoosung was on the verge of tears again. The poor girl had only just gotten off the topic of her own potential death, and now she was faced with this…
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is outraged.]
"Poison?" Lee Seolhwa wondered as her lips curved into a frown. "That's odd, but it would explain the lack of wounds and blood… still, the method of administration remains to be seen."
That was right—they had an expert on that subject right here, didn't they? If anyone would be able to figure out how Han Sooyoung had potentially been poisoned from whatever clues their future selves could gather, it would be her.
"What are you suspecting, Seolhwa-ssi?" Yoo Sangah wondered, wringing her hands anxiously.
Lee Seolhwa hummed thoughtfully. "Injection is unlikely; while a syringe wouldn't leave behind an obvious wound, it would require precision and being able to find both a syringe and injectable poison in the first place. The hospital was raided long ago, and I doubt that there would be many supplies left in there."
[several constellations agree with the assessment of the incarnation 'lee seolhwa'.]
"The next possibility would be a contact poison, but those not only are extremely difficult to handle, but also would likely leave behind some trace on her skin—such as a rash, or other discoloration."
That made sense, and from here at least, that didn't seem to be the case. Kim Dokja certainly wouldn't be stripping her body to check if there was anything wrong under her clothes; if that had to be done, he would leave it to Yoo Sangah.
Lee Seolhwa paused then, looking unsure, before proceeding. "The last kind would be ingested, but since no one else was affected, then the only likely answer is that the culprit forced Sooyoung-ssi to swallow the poison while she was asleep. If the food had been contaminated, then everyone likely would have died."
Had she gone to bed assuming that Kim Dokja would get up on time for his watch shift? Had his fatigue really led to her death? Fuck, he couldn't even look at her.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is saddened by the death of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Dokja wonders how he also fell asleep so easily before the remains of last night's dinner catch his eye. There's a trace of strange dust on the plates, and Dokja immediately identifies it as powdered Yanaspleta Stems. Urgently, he asks Sangah who was in charge of cooking the night before. She replies that it was Sooyoung, causing Dokja to laugh bitterly as he states she got them good, identifying the body as an avatar.
But why did she pull this kind of move?
Dokja assesses that she wouldn't be able to escape the 'temporary pledge' anyways, but then notices a strange light coming from the avatar's chest. He draws his sword and stabs the light as Sangah closes her eyes and looks away at the sight of the pseudo-murder.
Unless an avatar's head is destroyed, it will not die.
As the avatar turns to pixels, windows pop up explaining that the avatar bore the effects of violating the contract. Looking a little down, Dokja notes that he hadn't thought avatars could be used for such a loophole. As he thinks, Yoosung asks if she left, and he just replies that he guesses so.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is astounded by the audacity of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Kim Dokja's brow twitched in irritation. Had they really gotten everything backwards? Han Sooyoung wouldn't have really… wait, no, this was Han Sooyoung. She absolutely would have done something like that.
Lee Seolhwa gasped, her eyes widening in shock. "Ah… I never considered that Sooyoung-ssi was the culprit."
Of course she hadn't; what kind of sane person would?
"On one hand, I'm happy that you're unharmed, Sooyoung-ssi," Yoo Sangah said quietly, "but on the other, I'm certainly not happy that you drugged us in order to run away."
Han Sooyoung looked around awkwardly, but it was extremely obvious that she was relieved that she wasn't actually dead.
"Wow, ahjumma," Yoo Mia drawled, unimpressed, "and to think you were worried about ahjussi drugging you."
She had a point! Kim Dokja ended up being one of the people drugged instead—how was that fair?
Despite her grumbling, Han Sooyoung eventually looked over at the three who she had drugged. "Sorry, I guess."
Well, that was better than they could have hoped for. Even if he wasn't happy about the three of them being drugged and abandoned with no one left awake to watch out for any threats (that was a fucking understatement), it was probably good that she was alive. Still, no one looked thrilled with that apology, but it wasn't like she had actually done this yet.
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' disapproves of such trickery.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is amused by the strategy of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
The fact that she could just sacrifice an avatar to get out of a pledge like that was a bit concerning, but at least it didn't look like she had swiped any of their things while they were asleep. That could be a point in her favour, maybe?
'Why' is a pointless question.
Sooyoung's previous words about sponsorships and trust replay in Dokja's mind as the disappearing avatar revals a note on the floor with some coins, 'for their troubles'.
After all, Han Sooyoung and I were never on good terms.
Dokja then questions why she even stuck around at all if sacrificing an avatar was always on the table. He decides not to linger on the question and crumples the note in his hand as he tells the others to prepare to leave.
Someone types in a notepad app on a phone, leaving behind the words, 'Just because you read a lot doesn't mean that you understand people any better.'
"That idiot."
The screen zooms out, revealing that the writer is Sooyoung. She stands on a nearby rooftop, looking down at the group as she states that Dokja should have at least put on a show of looking for her in an annoyed tone.
"Well… we might meet again," she says out loud before typing once more. 'Whether they would be enemies or allies when they met again, was something even she didn't know.'
"Oh wow, ahjumma actually left coins behind?" Lee Gilyoung exclaimed, and Kim Dokja noticed her wincing slightly at that.
He definitely hadn't expected any kind of compensation, but he also wouldn't say no to it either. Still, his future self was right—why had she stuck around as long as she did?
[constellations who value repaying debts are pleased by the actions of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Lee Hyunsung's eyes widened when they saw how close she actually was to the rest of the group, and he glanced over at Han Sooyoung. "I would have thought that you had gone much further, Sooyoung-ssi."
Honestly, Kim Dokja assumed the same thing, and considering the frown on the protagonist's face, apparently he had too.
"You wanted Kim Dokja to 'put on a show' of looking for you," Yoo Joonghyuk stated, staring down Han Sooyoung with a look that was somewhere between impassivity and disappointment, and she just looked away awkwardly in response.
Yeah, was his worry about finding a corpse not enough or something? Was Han Sooyoung secretly a sadist, but like… for emotions?
[some constellations hope that the incarnations will meet again soon.]
That afternoon, Shin Yoosung's Mana and Agility levels finally hit the scenario limit of lvl. 60.
Dokja kneels in front of the sitting girl and tells her that he doesn't have any Stigmas, so he can't help her like constellations can, but that he does have coins. In front of her is a
Yoosung asks if she really won't be able to sign with a constellation after signing with him, which he confirms, but Dokja also tells her that he won't meddle in her affairs like other constellations do. She nods and states that she's decided to trust him anyway. As she signs the contract, lights pop up around them, reflecting in her brown eyes. She stares up at Dokja, seeming almost in awe at the soft and fond smile he sends her way. A moment later, Dokja gets a window explaining that most privileges of a sponsor are locked since he's not a constellation.
He pats the girl's head as he looks over what he can do, and receives the comments and support from the constellations watching the channel.
I'm no constellation, yet I've now become an 'incarnation' with my own 'incarnation'. So any constellation who signs a contract with me will get Shin Yoosung under their control too. The more incarnations there are for the price of one, the more constellations that want such a deal will gather.
"A sponsorship contract?" Shin Yoosung asked as she looked up at Kim Dokja in awe. "You want to sponsor me, ahjussi?"
"I guess so," he replied, sending her a small smile.
While Kim Dokja had realized that this was his intention beforehand, it was still astounding to see it actually happening. If Shin Yoosung signed the contract, then she would officially be his responsibility, and that was unknown territory for him. Despite being the apparent leader of their little group of survivors, Kim Dokja didn't consider himself responsible for any of them. He had never been relied on like that by any other person before, and it was oddly terrifying.
[several constellations are scoffing at the intentions of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
As soon as her future self signed the contract, Shin Yoosung laughed excitedly and practically threw herself at Kim Dokja in a hug. The girl looked ecstatic, and Kim Dokja couldn't do much but hug her right back and ruffle her hair with a chuckle. Lee Gilyoung pouted, huffing and looking away in displeasure, so he reached over and patted the kid's head too.
"You're such a dad," Jung Heewon laughed, looking endeared by the sight. "It's too late to back out now."
Ah… was that really how it was? Kim Dokja still wasn't comfortable with that idea—hell, he was probably the least qualified person to raise a child—but… well, he was basically Shin Yoosung's guardian now. It was a weird feeling.
[many constellations are eagerly awaiting the chance to get two incarnations at once.]
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is smiling fondly at the children.]
"Wait, ahjussi, you're not roping her into one of your scams, are you?" Lee Jihye asked curiously, already sounding judgmental.
Well… Kim Dokja couldn't say that he hadn't done that, unfortunately.
"Not… completely?" he replied, laughing shakily. It really wasn't the intention—he genuinely did want to help her—but it was convenient that this would contribute to his other plan too.
"It's okay, unnie," Shin Yoosung exclaimed, sounding way too happy about this, "ahjussi promised to show us how to scam anyway!"
"He promised to teach me," Lee Gilyoung grumbled once more, already sounding far too jealous.
He had sort of promised that, hadn't he? Whoops.
Jung Heewon shook her head slowly with an amused smile, as though she couldn't believe this was really happening, but Yoo Sangah looked almost too tired to be disappointed in him. Sangah-ssi… sorry.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is laughing at the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
An absolutely ecstatic Bihyung appears on the screen, surrounded by stars, as he messages Dokja about how the channel is blowing up. Ignoring the dokkaebi, Dokja tells the others to prepare to cross the river. When Sangah worries about not finding an intact bridge, he simply says that they'll swim across, causing her to look at him with a dumbfounded stare.
At the river, the scene flips between the group and the ichthyosaurs multiple times as Sangah's bewildered voice repeats his admission.
Dokja and Sangah walk into the water, with Dokja holding a rope connected to what appears to be a large piece of floating styrofoam that Yoosung clings to. Over a message, Sangah asks if this is really ok. Dokja then explains that they'll leave in the face of danger, but that they will need to pretend it's more dangerous than it really is beforehand. When Sangah just looks more confused, Dokja explains that it's for Yoosung's sake, glancing back at the girl as he states this.
Of course the channel would be more popular after that. Not only did Kim Dokja have Shin Yoosung under his wing now, but he also still had that contract with Defense Master that gave him control over Gong Pildu. Well, that would only really become relevant again if they were able to find him.
When they were able to find him.
"Ahjussi, are you actually stupid?" Yoo Mia asked as soon as Kim Dokja suggested swimming across the monster-infested river.
[several constellations are wondering if the incarnation 'kim dokja' got brain damage from the previous fight.]
Hey now, that was rude.
Lee Jihye blinked in shock for a moment. "Wait, you're doing all that to try and make Yoosungie scared? What kind of terrible dad are you?"
Kim Dokja grimaced, realizing what he was trying to do. She wouldn't be able to grow if she stayed in her comfort zone forever, so he had to take the initiative and push her out of it. Of course, a river filled with massive sea serpents was a bit of a step up from the wolf-like creatures she had been trying to tame before, but after doing something much more difficult and scary, then everything else would seem easy in comparison.
Glancing over at Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja noticed that he was nodding somewhat. Well, considering his rather hands-off approach with everyone but his sister, that made sense. In several regressions, he had tossed Lee Jihye to the wolves after training her up somewhat, and observed to see if she could handle her opponents on her own. If she was struggling, then he would step in and correct her mistakes, but after enough regressions, he eventually knew exactly how to train her so that she would make as few mistakes as possible.
"Trust me, I wouldn't put her in actual danger," Kim Dokja said, casting a tired glance at the teenager.
An ordinary little girl would never have survived until the fifth scenario. She looks like a small child, but Shin Yoosung's inner self is not as naive as she seems. Ever since our paths first crossed, several judgments must have flitted in and out of that child's head.
As they wade further into the river, Dokja speaks. "Yoosung, don't run away. If you run away from this now, there's no going back, so just do all you can."
At his words, she steels her courage and activates [Advanced Interspecies Communication lvl. 3]. Sangah frantically calls Dokja's name, causing him to look back towards their destination. Instead of the other riverbank, all they can see in front of them is the gaping maw of an ichthyosaur that's aiming to eat them whole.
"I'll do my best, ahjussi! Don't worry," Shin Yoosung said with a smile, and Kim Dokja smiled right back at her. He had a good feeling about this, and he had faith that she'd end up surprising them all.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' agrees with the words of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
As they went deeper into the river, the anticipation began rising. No one knew what to expect—well, past a bunch of hungry ichthyosaurs, at least.
"Fuck!" Han Sooyoung yelled as Kim Dokja turned and noticed one poised to eat them all whole. "Why the hell would you look away, you idiot?"
"I had to give Yoosungie a pep talk," Kim Dokja replied flatly, as though she really should have known that. Han Sooyoung just stared at him in return, unimpressed by his sass.
"So? You could have been swallowed."
And? It's not like he couldn't cut his way back out with his sword.
Kim Dokja shrugged, looking at her teasingly. "Maybe we should get swallowed on purpose. Who knows—we might find Gong Pildu alive in there."
[the constellation 'defense master' is concerned for the safety of his incarnation.]
The landlord was probably fine. Or, at least, Kim Dokja hoped so.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is requesting that the incarnations pay better attention to their surroundings.]
Okay, that was fair, even if it felt like he was being scolded by a teacher.
Yoo Sangah looked nervous, but she shot them a small smile anyway. "We'll be alright. Between Dokja-ssi and I, we can take down an ichthyosaur without too much trouble."
See? They would be perfectly fine. Everything was going to be just fine.