Chapter Text
Joonghyuk was no stranger to the aftermath of battle. The ground was strewn with the twisted remains of bug-like monsters, their segmented bodies still faintly steaming. Once a serene community park, the area now reeked of acid and crushed exoskeletons.
With the danger gone, the group usually settled into their post-battle routine—checking on each other, tending to injuries, and ensuring the kids were safe. This time was no different, and yet, as Joonghyuk scanned the scene, a flicker of movement caught his attention.
To his surprise, Dokja was striding toward him, his white trench coat pulled tightly around his frame, almost as though it were armor. His pace was urgent, his steps direct, cutting a sharp line through the scattered debris.
Joonghyuk ’s brows furrowed. There was something in Dokja’s hurried movements and the intense focus in his eyes that unsettled him. Whatever this was, it wasn’t good.
God, no, thought Joonghyuk .
“Joonghyuk,” Dokja said, his hands fidgeting with the trench coat still wrapped around him.
“What is it? You’re acting strange,” Joonghyuk replied, narrowing his eyes.
Dokja’s gaze flickered. “Can we talk somewhere? Privately?”
Joonghyuk raised an eyebrow. He yanked his sword from a nearby slain skeleton, wiped off the dripping purple goo, and sheathed it with a sigh of resignation.
“Fine. Come with me.”
Once they were away from the group, Joonghyuk lowered his gaze at Dokja, his voice sharp. “Spill.”
Dokja refused to meet his eyes, mumbling something under his breath. Joonghyuk noticed the sweat forming on his temples.
“So, you’d understand… I was trying to protect Gilyeong, and it was flying right at him. If he saw this, he’d blame himself, and we can’t have that. So, I need to ask you—”
Joonghyuk ’s patience wore thinner by the second. It was abnormal for Dokja to ask him for anything so directly. Usually, it was commands or snarky remarks. And why was he clutching the trench coat so tightly?
“What is it? Just tell me now.”
“Okay, just listen for a second—”
“No. What’s the problem?” Joonghyuk stepped forward, reaching for the trench coat Dokja was gripping.
Dokja panicked. “Stop! Let me explain first, you bastard!”
Joonghyuk shoved harder. “Show me.”
He forcefully grabbed the edges of the trench coat, ignoring Dokja’s attempts to turn away. With one sharp motion, he tore it open, revealing Dokja’s ordinary shirt. But near his lower abdomen, the shirt was ripped and soaked with a dark, dripping substance.
A large spike was lodged deep into Dokja’s body, piercing clean through. It was one of the flying spikes the monsters had launched earlier.
Joonghyuk ’s eyes widened. “Dokja…” he breathed.
How had he not seen it? When had Dokja even been hit?
Before he could speak, Dokja’s hands shot up, covering his mouth. “Please. Don’t alert the others! I can handle it!”
Joonghyuk ’s gaze hardened, but after a moment, he lowered his shoulders in compliance. Dokja slowly removed his hands.
“Fine. Let me heal you.”
Dokja winced as he shifted his weight. “I tried. I think I need you to… pull it out for me.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?”
“Look, you dick, I wanted to. It’s just—” Dokja let out a labored wheeze, the pain evidently catching up to him. “It’s really lodged in there.”
“Okay,” Joonghyuk said calmly. “I’ll do it.”
He reached out, gently holding Dokja’s waist as he rotated his body to inspect the injury. He felt Dokja suck in a sharp breath at the contact. Joonghyuk leaned in, studying the spike closely. It was long and cylindrical, with smaller thorns protruding from its surface. The spike had pierced all the way through, exiting out of Dokja’s back.
“How are you still standing right now?” Joonghyuk asked, meeting Dokja’s eyes.
“Decreased pain factor,” Dokja shrugged, then winced, clearly lying.
“Look, it’s simple,” Dokja said. “Just… give me a countdown, then yank it out. Your strength should do it.”
“Maybe you should lie down,” Joonghyuk suggested, his brow furrowing.
“I’m fine, okay? I asked you for a reason.” Dokja’s voice was laced with frustration.
“Will this kill you?”
“No way. I have the Forest Essence. I’ll consume it as soon as you do it.”
Joonghyuk placed a steadying hand on Dokja’s shoulder. “If this kills you, I’ll kill you myself.”
Their eyes locked, an intense gaze passing between them.
Dokja smirked. “You can’t kill me if you wanted to. I know you—FUCK!”
Dokja screamed as Joonghyuk gripped the spike and ripped it out without warning. Dokja collapsed forward, his hands clutching his stomach in pain, but Joonghyuk ’s arm shot out, keeping him upright.
Dokja was breathing hard, his eyes screwed shut as he whimpered. “Shit, you asshole! What happened to the countdown?!”
Joonghyuk , still holding the bloodied spike, replied in a monotone, “One. Two. Three.”
The spike was unnervingly slick with Dokja’s blood, dripping onto the ground. Joonghyuk threw it aside and shook off his hand before turning back to Dokja, watching him breathe through the pain.
“You’re reckless,” Joonghyuk muttered.
Dokja groaned. “And you’re an ass.”
But despite the agony, Dokja managed a shaky smile.
Joonghyuk tightened his grip on Dokja’s shoulders as the other man swayed slightly, his breath still uneven. His sharp gaze softened just a fraction.
“Are you okay?” Joonghyuk asked, his tone steadier than he felt.
Dokja let out a weak chuckle, lifting his head to meet Joonghyuk ’s eyes with a smirk that didn’t quite hide his exhaustion. “Aw, sounds like you almost worried there for a second.”
Joonghyuk scoffed, his hands still holding Dokja upright. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
Before Dokja could quip back, hurried footsteps approached, and the rest of the group came rushing over.
“What happened?” Gilyeong’s voice was the first to cut through, his wide eyes darting between Joonghyuk and Dokja. “Are you okay, Hyung?”
“Looks like these two were having a moment, ” Sangah teased, her arms crossed but her lips quirking upward.
Joonghyuk scowled, his expression darkening. “Stop wasting time with nonsense. Dokja was hit—”
“I’m fine,” Dokja interrupted, waving them off as he straightened. He looked a bit pale, but his smirk remained defiant. “Just a little scratch. You should see the other guy.”
His lighthearted tone seemed to ease the tension in the group, and a few of them chuckled. Gilyeong, however, remained unconvinced, his brows knitting together in concern.
Dokja kept talking, his voice breezy despite the faint strain. “Seriously, no need to make a big deal out of—”
Mid-sentence, his knees buckled.
“Dokja!” Joonghyuk ’s arms shot out, catching him just before he crumpled to the ground. He was completely limp, unconscious.
Dokja’s head lolled against Joonghyuk ’s chest, his face unnaturally pale. Joonghyuk ’s heart slammed against his ribs, a cold wave of panic rising in his chest.
The others crowded closer, their joking forgotten.
“Is he—?” Gilyeong’s voice cracked with fear.
“Quiet,” Joonghyuk snapped, his focus razor-sharp as he tilted Dokja’s head back to check his pulse. His fingers brushed the edge of Dokja’s collar, and his blood ran cold.
Dark purple veins crept up from the wound in his abdomen, their spidery tendrils infecting Dokja’s neck.
“Poison.” Joonghyuk said, his voice grim.
The group fell silent, the weight of the revelation settling over them.
“What do we do?” Sangah asked, her voice tight.
Joonghyuk didn’t answer immediately, his jaw clenched as he adjusted Dokja’s weight in his arms.
“Get me the Forest Essence,” Joonghyuk ordered, his voice like steel. “Now.”
“I don’t have any!” Sangha cried.
Joonghyuk didn’t hesitate. He dove his hand into Dokja’s multidimensional coat, rummaging and hoping is hand landed on what he needed. Luckily, his fingers brushes a hard crystal. He pulled it out into reality, its vibrant light over Dokja’s pale face. The dark veins snaking up Dokja’s skin pulsed ominously, spreading further with each shallow breath.
“This will hurt,” Joonghyuk muttered, though the unconscious Dokja couldn’t hear him. Without a second thought, Joonghyuk gripped the crystal tightly, shattering it in his palm.
He pressed his glowing hand firmly against Dokja’s wound. The moment the crystal’s essence met flesh, a brilliant light erupted, forcing the dark veins to writhe and retreat as though burned by the purity of the energy. Dokja’s body jerked violently, his back arching as he let out a strangled gasp.
Joonghyuk tightened his grip, pinning him down with one hand while keeping the essence in place with the other. “Stay still,” he ordered.
Slowly, the veins receded, fading into nothingness. The wound beneath Joonghyuk’s hand sealed itself, leaving only unbroken skin where the jagged injury had been. The glow dimmed, and silence fell.
Joonghyuk’s shoulders sagged, a deep breath escaping him as the tension drained from his body. His hand lingered for a moment before he pulled it away, inspecting Dokja’s now-relaxed form.
“You idiot,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, laced with relief. His thumb gently swiped where the veins had been on his fragile neck, his other hand pushed unkempt bangs away from Dokja’s forehead.
Dokja’s eyelids fluttered open, his gaze hazy but slowly sharpening as he focused on Joonghyuk . His eye widened realizing how close the protagonist was to him. “Joonghyuk ! What happened?”
Joonghyuk’s expression hardened instantly, his fleeting vulnerability buried under a scowl. “Fuck you,” he snapped, standing and stepping back.
Dokja gave a weak wave, already trying to sit up as though nothing had happened. “I was fine, you know. You’re such a drama queen.”
Before Joonghyuk could retort, Heewon appeared at Dokja’s side, crouching to support him. “Come on, Dokja,” she said, slinging his arm over her shoulder. “Let’s get you somewhere you can actually rest.”
Dokja nodded faintly, leaning against her with no resistance.
Joonghyuk watched them for a moment, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. Then, without a word, he turned sharply and marched away, his coat billowing behind him.
“Wow,” Heewon remarked, glancing back at his retreating figure as she adjusted Dokja’s weight. “You must’ve really scared him if he’s acting like that.”
Dokja smirked faintly, his voice hoarse but teasing. “He’ll be fine. That’s just how he is.”
Heewon snorted. “And you’re any better?”