Chapter Text
There was something so familiar about this particular sub-scenario, and from the way Kim Dokja was acting, it might (or more accurately, must) not have been good. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it though.
It felt strange and familiar, as if he went through it before.
“What’s wrong with you?” He was truly confused. What kind of scenario was Kim Dokja experiencing that had him like this? Was he in heat?
“Just… leave.” Kim Dokja grumbled, more like whined, his voice soft in a way he hadn’t noticed before.
Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed, at his wits end wondering what would he be so embarrassed about that he would need him to leave?
“What is it?” He didn’t have time for this song and dance.
“It’s nothing important.” But he was too stubborn.
“So if I leave, you won’t consider killing yourself?” Yoo Joonghyuk sighed.
Kim Dokja was silent. Damn bastard.
“Is it a scenario requiring more than one person?” Yoo Joonghyuk asked calmly.
“…No.” Kim Dokja hesitantly replied.
[The skill Lie Detection has been activated.]
[Lie Detection has confirmed Kim Dokja’s words as a lie.]
Yoo Joonghyuk hears a cough that sounds suspiciously like ‘bastard’.
“You wouldn’t be able to help me anyway.” Kim Dokja mumbled. “I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
”Don’t assume what I’d—“ As Yoo Joonghyuk went to grab Kim Dokja he felt their surrounds change and teleport to a mostly empty room with a singular bed in the centre. The scenario activated.
Oh.
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< Hidden-Scenario > Budding Romance?
Difficulty: C
Scenario Details: Two participants of the scenario must temporary relieve the one participant of their heat. Skills and stats will be disabled during this scenario.
Compensation: 100,000 coins, ???
Penalty: ???
Time limit: 2 hours
_____________________________
・❥・
Kim Dokja could recall the novel like the back of his hand, and it didn’t help that he had particularly read over this part again and again.
“Seolhwa-yah…” He gently brushed the sweaty bangs off her face while he softly held her as if she was the most precious thing in the world, and to him, she was. He dipped his head down to her neck and marked her lovingly.
He could only imagine what it was like to be loved like that.
Kim Dokja was lonely. He was an only child; destined to live the life of a reader alone. He had never had anything remotely close to a loving relationship, barely any love aside from his deadbeat mother rotting away in her cell. The only thing he could truly hold onto were the empty verses that didn’t belong to him.
“Kim Dokja.” Yoo Joonghyuk spoke softly.
“…No, don’t call me that, call me Dokja-yah.” He stared at Yoo Joonghyuk expectantly.
“What?” His eyebrows furrowed. Why would his eyebrows furrow, this way of addressing was a normal thing between lovers, wasn’t it?
“If you won’t call me that I’m just going to leave this scenario the other way.” He grasped his sword, not really intending to hurt himself. His Joonghyuk-ah wasn’t so cruel to deny him of this tiny favour, right?
“Kim Dok—“ Kim Dokja unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards his neck. He didn’t like the name ‘Kim’, hated the man it was associated with, it stabbed through his heart, worse than a sword could ever do…he wanted it to be ‘Yoo’.
“…Dokja-yah.” Yoo Joonghyuk spoke confused and he could sense a bit of disgust in his voice.
His sweet scent turned sour, it wasn’t gentle at all.
“Can’t you at least pretend to like me?” Kim Dokja’s voice cracked a little as he tried to hold onto what little composure he had.
“I do like you, you’re my companion.” Yoo Joonghyuk stated firmly.
“You know what I mean.” Kim Dokja’s voice wobbled further, feeling his chest ache and eyes water. “I don’t want to be mated like this… can’t you love me, Joonghyuk-ah?” He let out more of his sweet pheromones unconsciously.
Like you did her.
“That’s…” Yoo Joonghyuk paused, “this and that are different, you know that.” Yoo Joonghyuk was loyal to a fault.
“…Please? Just this once?” Kim Dokja was not begging.
Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t reply.
“I stayed by your side for so long, longer than you have even known her now.” He took a step towards Yoo Joonghyuk. “You wouldn’t understand, that’s fine. But I do love you more than she loves you. Doesn’t time mean anything to you?”
Yoo Joonghyuk took a step back.
“Kim Dokja.”
“No.”
“Kim Dokja.” He bared his teeth.
“Stop it.” He whined, feeling himself pull back despite his earlier resolve.
“Ki—“
“I said stop! This isn’t fair, why won’t you treat me the same way you treated her. This is the same scenario… why—? why is it so different?” Kim Dokja sobbed. “Why can’t you just…”
“I don’t like you like that.” Yoo Joonghyuk spoke carefully, gentle in all the wrong ways. “You know I have a mated wife—“
“Does she even acknowledge you as her husband? You regressed, don’t you remember? She doesn’t remember anything, she doesn’t love you anymore.” Kim Dokja didn’t mean to sneer.
“That’s enough.” Yoo Joonghyuk snatched the sword from Kim Dokja’s weak grip. The overwhelming scent of dominating pheromones filled his senses, fueling his urge to submit— but that wasn’t right! Yoo Joonghyuk would never use these kinds of pheromones on Lee Seolhwa.
“No—!” He cried harder, “Please please please please please please please please please—“
“No.” His pheromones hurt.
“Hic-!! Why— why won’t you just be nice to me??!” He let out ugly sobs, “I—I—hnggh— I just want— can you be gentle at least? You even don’t have to look at me you can imagine I’m her—hic!” Kim Dokja wailed while letting out more sour distressed pheromones. Alphas were not supposed induce these kinds of pheromones, they were—
Yoo Joonghyuk cringed.
“… I’ll be gentle.” He said while roughly holding Kim Dokja down. His scent became more restrained but still harsh nonetheless, as if daring the omega to act up again.
Kim Dokja was weak without his skills or stats or anything. He was just a regular, malnourished office working omega. He was so weak against Yoo Joonghyuk.
Yoo Joonghyuk barely even changed. He was still as strong as ever, probably going to the gym and training even before the scenarios started. The perfect alpha even then. He was so handsome and perfect and he wasn’t his.
He felt his clothes ripped off of him, not in the hungry way with Lee Seolhwa, but more in a way that expressed his want to get things over and done with. He felt a zipper get caught on his stomach, leaving a slight bleeding cut.
“You aren’t being gentle at all.” Kim Dokja mumbled, but Yoo Joonghyuk ignored the red that seeped into the bedsheets and leaving a small dirty stain.
Kim Dokja learned to bite his tongue.
It’s unfortunate timing, that’s what it is. If he were to meet Yoo Joonghyuk before he met Lee Seolhwa, then he’d at least have some chance at seducing him, right? Or is that he never had any chance at all, and that Yoo Joonghyuk just didn’t like men. The latter was probably true consider the man said so himself when fighting that blonde omega.
As Yoo Joonghyuk’s eyes draped over his bare body, he suddenly felt so aware of his gender. He was a man. Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t like men. He could see the poorly veiled disgust in his eyes as he averted his gaze from his flat chest and pathetic dick.
Female omegas were held in higher regards than male omegas. They were far prettier and attractive in comparison. And Kim Dokja was below standard even in male omega standards.
He averted his eyes too. If he didn’t look, he could at least pretend that there was a possibility that his companion found him at least a little bit pretty.
A bottle of lube was half-heartedly thrown to his side. “You can prepare yourself, right?” He felt his heart twist.
Kim Dokja grabbed the bottle hesitantly. It’s not like he had never done this before. He used to have a dildo, moulded in a way that resembled the description of Yoo Joonghyuk. He even slept with the few men who had standards low enough to fuck him. At least they thought he was pretty. He could be pretty for Yoo Joonghyuk too, he thinks.
He turns around on all fours, ass presented to his companion and his legs spread wide. He squirted the cold gel onto his fingers and inserted two fingers, mixing the cold lube into his slick. Usually he’d start with one but he had a feeling Yoo Joonghyuk wouldn’t appreciate the wasted time.
“Mnngh…” The other guys liked it when he showed himself off like this. Yoo Joonghyuk should too.
He looked back.
Yoo Joonghyuk wasn’t even looking at him, preoccupied with what seemed to be a very fascinating wall.
…
No it makes sense, Yoo Joonghyuk isn’t interested in men, so seeing his genitals so closely wouldn’t be arousing at all. He wasn’t pretty like Lee Seolhwa. He was stupid for even thinking he could ever amount to her. Being wanted by Yoo Joonghyuk? Loved? How could he even dream about it?
Whatever, two fingers was enough.
“I’m done.” He spoke quietly, a little ashamed of his failed attempt to seduce Yoo Joonghyuk.
Yoo Joonghyuk was still in his clothes. When Kim Dokja moved to help take off his clothes he pulled away with a quick mutter of “It’s fine.” He simply unbuttoned the fly of his pants and pulled his cock from his boxers.
It was even more perfect in person.
A nice thick girth, twice the size of his with angry red veins decorating the side. It was slightly curved and at the base was messy dark pubic hair. It emitted the most exquisite scent of hot pheromones. The length was long but…
…Is he not hard?
He grabbed his the limp cock.
It was soft in the wrong way.
Why wasn’t he already hard? He was able to get an erection quickly with Lee Seolhwa. Wasn’t he at least a little bit desirable?
He tried jerking off the shaft of his cock, trying to stimulate it enough to at least have it hard enough to insert. He lapped the dry bulbous tip of his cock like a dog, trying to taste what his cum would be like if he gave him a blowjob. How would it feel in his mouth? How would it taste? Would he just cum all over his face, getting it stuck in his hair despite trying to aim it in his mouth? What if they went all the way?
Yoo Joonghyuk’s cock was barely hard but it was enough. He just needed to insert it anyway.
He tried to straddle his lap sexily but it fell lack-luster. He ended up just climbing on top of him, trying to adjust the position just right so he could sink down on the perfect under him. But it kept slipping. He was messing up too much. He could smell rather than see Yoo Joonghyuk growing more and more agitated.
“…I’m sorry.” He tried to speak calmly through tears. He used to be a little calm. He didn’t know what happened but he knew that Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t enjoy this softer version of him. He could at least tolerate him before. Somehow, this version of himself seemed more true than his other persona. “P-Please don’t hate me.”
Yoo Joonghyuk scowled.
Snot dripped from his nose and his face was puffy and red. He had never been a pretty crier, he wasn’t pretty at all. He hated the way Yoo Joonghyuk looked at him. With each tear he shed, the more shaky his balance had become, despite his best efforts to will away the sobs shaking his core. His scent had never been more sour.
Then suddenly, he was flipped over onto his back, with Yoo Joonghyuk hovering over him. He stared up at Yoo Joonghyuk, who was now releasing soothing pheromones.
Yoo Joonghyuk grabbed the lube loosely, squirting a few too many pumps onto his fingers and directly onto Kim Dokja’s asshole. He flinched away from the coldness. Couldn’t he at least warm it up beforehand? He huffed. Tears still dripped out of his eyes like a broken faucet albeit more slowly.
At least he gently prepared Kim Dokja. He loved the way Yoo Joonghyuk was on top of him, his thick calloused fingers rubbing against all his sweet spots like he was actually trying to pleasure him. And with the abundance of calming pheromones around him like this, he almost felt loved. He couldn’t stop the whines for more that escaped from his mouth. He held onto Yoo Joonghyuk’s neck like a lifeline, inhaling his thick scent like a drug. He tried to ignore the slight cool scent trying to chase him away.
He felt unbearably empty when he pulled out his fingers.
Kim Dokja didn’t have time to process his own emotions before he felt a scream rip out his throat as Yoo Joonghyuk unceremoniously inserted himself. It went so far in he could see the distended bump on his stomach; the outline of his companion’s cock. His grip on Yoo Joonghyuk abruptly loosened as he fell on the pillows behind him. He came instantly. Yoo Joonghyuk was inside of him, stretching him so lovingly wide.
He looked up at Yoo Joonghyuk, slightly embarrassed, half expecting to see another disgusted expression but his face was blank. It was facing him sure and his eyes were pointed in his direction but it felt like they were looked through him not at him. If he focused a little more on his scent, he’d realise that they weren’t the soothing pheromones he had previously thought, but just lacked the angry spice it had previously. It lacked everything actually, because Yoo Joonghyuk wasn’t releasing pheromones, he was disassociating.
He really was picturing his wife and not his companion.
Or maybe his wife was his closer companion. You could have more than one companion but not more than one wife. He’s just another one of his companions. Life and death or not, companions are nothing in comparison to marriage. Were they still companions, even now?
Alphas could have more than one omega but did he want Yoo Joonghyuk to have another omega? He wanted Yoo Joonghyuk all to himself without the cooling scent of Lee Seolhwa overwhelming his own sweet scent.
Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t like sweet scents; hated the way they overwhelmed his senses instead of clearing them like the coolness of Lee Seolhwa.
Lee Seolhwa was beautiful.
She was completely perfect for Yoo Joonghyuk, her calm and elegant demeanour complimented the grumpy personality of the second round Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja thinks.
He thinks that it is at least a lot better than whatever weird companionship he and Yoo Joonghyuk has going on currently.
He wishes that Yoo Joonghyuk would cherish him like her.
And if he began to really look at Lee Seolhwa he could start to see the imperfections on his own face.
Lee Seolhwa was truly beautiful.
She had beautiful silver hair that glowed in the moonlight, and sharp dark eyes with beautiful red lips.
It was terrifying, really, the apocalypse had bought out the ugly in people with the severe lack of hygiene or any kind of beauty products, so how could she still look so pretty without? Even he was using the dokkaebi bag so it didn’t make sense how smooth her skin was.
Of course everyone was beautiful in their own way, but were they really? Could ‘The Ugliest King’ ever be even half as pretty as her? How could he ever compare to perfection?
Despite his recent orgasm, Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t wait for Kim Dokja to adjust.
It was okay he understood, they had a time limit after all. If anything it made him feel better, that meant he could enjoy more time on this ride of pretending he was wanted back.
…It was a little scary though, being penetrated so harshly like this.
Like he didn’t matter. Like he wasn’t even there, being fucked.
It kind of felt like he wasn’t being fucked by Yoo Joonghyuk, but a husk, just being used as a means to an end. He didn’t like it.
He didn’t want to be mated like this.
“J—Joonghyuk-ah…” He mewled, snapping him from his daze. “Hold me, please?” He lifted his tired arms, trying to reach towards Yoo Joonghyuk’s neck again.
And his hands were free now, so Yoo Joonghyuk could hug him back, right? Usually when he asked to be held, his former flings all obliged, allowing him to wrap his arms around their shoulders and moan Yoo Joonghyuk’s name.
But Yoo Joonghyuk simply flipped him over, fucking him from behind so he could hold onto the bedsheets and pillows instead, muffling his screams and breathing.
Kim Dokja sobbed into the pillow suffocating him, as Yoo Joonghyuk pinned him down by the neck and the air left his lungs with every sob he wept. He wanted to be something, anything to Yoo Joonghyuk.
He couldn’t deny it; he really did love Yoo Joonghyuk. It was the intense kind of love that demanded every thought to revolve around his one and only Life and Death Companion. So maybe it did extend beyond platonic love, how could it not? When he had dedicated most of his life to his story, how could not become smitten by the handsome, intelligent, and strong Yoo Joonghyuk? He was everything he wasn’t and everything he wanted to be and everything he wanted to have.
He was everything.
So for the most part, it really was fine that his feelings weren’t reciprocated. With feelings so intense, how could anyone ever feel the same way?
But why couldn’t he just be loved?
He felt so incredibly cold and alone in this moment. This moment had cemented his destined fate to be alone, his feelings forever unrequited. It was his fault for expecting anything else. His moans, if they could even be called that anymore, got louder, crying for Yoo Joonghyuk to just hold him. It hurts. He’s so scared. He’s hurting him.
Then he abruptly felt warm, big hands holding onto the small of his waist, grounding him. It was probably so Yoo Joonghyuk could thrust in and out more steadily, but that was it wasn’t it? He was holding him.
He understood. He always understood.
The gentleness was harder to find, but it was surely there.
“Haaah—! Thhhnnn… Thank you… ah!” He felt so loved, laughing through his sobs and moans, choking on the lack of oxygen in his lungs from the loving chokehold. Kim Dokja had never been happier, never more loved. “M-Mark me pleashhh~!”
The grip on his waist tightened a little painfully when Yoo Joonghyuk leaned down to rub his wrist on Kim Dokja neck.
He felt warmth spill inside him. It was the kind and benevolent warmth of Yoo Joonghyuk and he wanted to keep it in there forever.
[Scenario Complete! Rewards will be issued shortly. Please wait as your skills and stats will load shortly.]
“Keep going please..?” Kim Dokja whined trying to push his lower body more into the addicting length. It was still hard. He could help fix that.
“Stop that.” When Yoo Joonghyuk pulled out, he felt the warmth drip out of him. “This mistake won’t happen again.”
”B—But you marked me, didn’t you?” He whined, trying to clench to keep more of his warmth in. He clung onto Yoo Joonghyuk begging him not to leave. “You need to keep going or it won’t last— agh!“
Yoo Joonghyuk pinched his neck making Kim Dokja forcibly go limp.
Kim Dokja let out a long wail, broken by pathetic hiccups that fell apart into wordless babbles of pure despair. His pheromones spiked uncomfortably. It hurt.
“Hhhnnn..! B—But you—!” Kim Dokja wailed, “You can’t leave me— hic— you really can’t! P—Please—hic!”
“You’re not in your right mind because of the scenario,” He felt more of Yoo Joonghyuk dripping out of him. “…and your heat.”
If he lied and pretended he wasn’t, could they go back to the way things were? Kim Dokja wept harder, inconsolable when he thought about the possibility of Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Seolhwa’s relationship progressing.
Yoo Joonghyuk’s hand, the same one that pinched his neck, cradled his face softly, wiping a stray tear with his thumb and he felt himself lean into the gentleness.
“Look at me.” Kim Dokja cried as he all but threw himself onto Yoo Joonghyuk, hugging him tightly. He nuzzled into his warm chest as he willed his sobs to quiet.
Yoo Joonghyuk awkwardly rubbed his back.
[Your skills and stats have returned.]
[The fourth-wall is activated, shaking strongly.]
So much time and effort staying with “his” progtagonist, just for it all for him to see his ex-soulmate.
What a pain.