Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rain was Cale Henituse’s favorite weather.

In his former life, the rain meant the sticky, metallic blood of monsters washed away, leaving only the scent of petrichor and dread. Rain meant dead comrades and dead enemies, but the rain brought a sense of peace. 

As the Commander, however, he associated the weather in which rain pattered against the large windows of his estate, and the sounds of family echoing down the hallway. Dry in his room with the joyful buzz of nature swirling around him with a low hum. The smell of damp grass and watered forest. It also meant he didn’t have to do anything. He worked to retire and lived to survive.

Nature had mourned the day that he died, and with it, the absence of rain. There were no billowing thunderclouds ready to wash away tears or cover the hyperventilating sobs of an empire grieving. 

Rich, dark brown hair lays stagnant on the head of an emperor; the windless hill static, dread rising from the soon-to-be final resting place of the mahogany casket. The ruler overlooks the motley crew of people one man had collided together, as a figure with long, golden hair approaches soundlessly.

“He’s not going to come back this time, is he?”

“… he’s not,” the elder whispered as he looked up at the numbing, inky-blue sky.

Nothing could describe the day other than paralyzed. A dry, aching feeling loomed in the air. The flow of air was nonexistent, making it hard to breathe for everyone there. The elements ached, incomplete without wind and rain. Fire dares not to creep up the arid wood. It was as if the sun was shining just to burn. The world lies still, reeling from a sudden push from equilibrium. 

A gold key turns the lock to a heavy door, placed on a table constructed with the hands of the oblivious. Suddenly, vertigo tilts.

A furious wind sweeps and sails up the hills, arcing and twisting to intertwine with the forest ahead. Rolling storm clouds vortex and mutilates the once-hollow sky, and heavy raindrops seep into the ground. The rain creates an ambiance of tranquility after the absence of noise deafened the clearing. The shower taps on leaves and whisks across the small puddles already forming, mist murmuring in the air.

Rain, dancing with the wind, purrs across Alberu’s ears. Whispers of life rumble with the baritone thunder and the two men realize nature does not mourn any longer.

A piercing brown glare sweeps to the sky.

“Stupid rain, he deserves a longer grievance period than that,” Alberu muttered as he sluggishly stomped down the hill.

Eruhaben stares off in the direction of the storm. Sorrow and acceptance wash over him, and he realizes that Cale is truly gone.

The wind gnashes its teeth in delirium; the puddles rippling in excitement. 

“Or maybe not,” Eruhaben mutters.

Yoo Joonghyuk walks into his tech-ridden apartment after grabbing groceries when he stops dead in his tracks at the sight of a literal human on his dining room table along with the key he gave his ex.

The baby’s furious scarlet hair was the biggest red flag he’d ever seen in his entire life, and the note next to the baby was the second.

‘Wrap it before you tap it, asshole.’

“… what the actual fUCK-”

Chapter Text

A haggard-looking Yoo Joonghyuk shows up on the screen of his livestream. 

— Ah, the wonders of parenting. The man had finally gotten in touch with his ex, who gave him the ultimatum of orphanage or raising the child himself. While his ex would do her due diligence with child-support and such, Joonghyuk had literally found that kid unmonitored on his table, so succumbed to being a single parent. —

His chat goes wild over his wicked looking eye bags and disheveled hair.

“I’m not gonna do anything for the time being because I’m going on paternity leave.”

The screen goes black.

Joonghyuk leans back with his hands on his eyes, and a long withering sigh escapes him as a high pitched cry alerts him of lunch.

As the man walks into the sorry excuse of a nursery, notifications explode from his phone, and he frantically turns them off while turning around like the infant is wielding a knife to his back.

Big, watery eyes stare back at him and Joonghyuk is struck with the reality of his situation. He had helped create a living, breathing human and this thing is his kid. He has a kid and he’s a dad and lord knows if Joonghyuk knows what the fuck he’s doing.

He reaches his hands out toward the baby (his baby) and cradles him with the luxury of a man with no knowledge of time. Small hands reach up toward the father and a feeling of ‘lord help anyone who touches this wrinkly thing’ arises from the dead in Joonghyuk’s subconscious.

“… Yoo Cale”

Cale smiles up at his newly minted father then proceeds to smack the ever-living shit out of his own face after Joonghyuk accidentally dodged the chubby fist from colliding with his nose.

…Yoo Joonghyuk has a feeling he’s going to have a hard time saying no to this kid.

“No, Cale, what the hell are you even doing??”

Only the air of an exasperated father can be so amused yet so so disappointed at the same time. 

Cale has a bit of an obsession with pie, so Joonghyuk took it upon himself to learn how to bake. This led to his tiny son also wanting to learn how to bake.

A small, pale hand shakes in vengeance with a greasy chunk of butter locked in a vice grip by the red-headed child. Butter + hand leads to all open skin on the child to be absolutely entrenched in lard.

Joonghyuk shakes his head in disappointment while taking a video of his idiot son.

“…”

Butter flies through the air, and with pinpoint accuracy, nails the father right in the face.

“…”

“…”

Joonghyuk thinks it’s time to start his job again (and also maybe a self-defense class because his kid loves throwing things)

After the kid has been watered and wrapped (lmao you wish) in those blanket thingies that babies wear, Joonghyuk goes on his daily ‘touch some grass’ walk.

The open park flows with a cool, April breeze. Neighborhood kids playing and frisbees soaring through the air leaves laughter ringing in passerby’s ears. Wind seems to swirl around the father and son, wracking up petals and budding leaves from the cherry blossoms and oaks that are perched around the park. Lawnmowers and the buzzing of bees surround the diverse group of parkgoers.

Whiffs of flowers and spring glide through the lazy afternoon of a lazy Sunday. The rocking of the wind gently brushes the baby’s hair, and Joonghyuk swears to himself that he’s going to live and breathe for the tiny child in his arms. Joonghyuk’s grief-stricken eyes are still tired but soften at the sight of his son’s warm, mahogany eyes.

Wind and water grieve the loss of Henituse but are, nonetheless, in awe of the sleeping child in this guy’s arms. Nature no longer mourns.

Chapter Text

Joonghyuk had a checklist of the three (3) things he had to do:

1. Renovate the nursery
2. New office space
3. Figure out how to raise a fucking child

A very simple list with very simple items. The father didn’t feel overwhelmed. At. All.  Joonghyuk had calmly and methodically thought through his plan and got to work, starting with the renovation(s). 

— In reality, he decided to start fixing up the room first after destroying his toe on the box that he was too lazy to move the day prior.—

The guy was a minimalist— the nice way of saying he squirrels away his money and has no sense of interior decoration— so he saw no issues hiring and buying what he needed.

That being said, like any father, Joonghyuk decided that he was going to redo his child’s nursery himself. Clearing the room (it was already desolate), painting the walls (he ended up having to remove the carpeting), and building the furniture (capitalism really popped off today) was completed in a matter of days due to his lack of impulse control and the obsessive compulsion to finish anything he started.

Joonghyuk had already started with the upgrade of his office: soundproofing, babyproofing, and organizing. The man was set to start working once the acoustic paneling was installed to ensure his child wasn’t going to wake from his frantic gameplay and talking.

Well, almost finished. All that was left was the shelf that would hold the plants that Cale had an obsession with.

The shelf had five different layers that spiraled around a diagonal pole. The pole was situated against the wall with black reinforcements stemming from the floor and backboard. Quite complicated, but so was finding a child on your table, so Joonghyuk figured he could do it.

“... do you really want this shelf?” 

The man looks at his son's eyes and decides that, yes, this child needs a complex shelf that’s an indie kid’s wet dream. 

Sighing, and muttering a few curses to whatever engineer designed this nightmare fuel, the final screw was situated ‘firmly’ into the wall. 

After an entire morning of assembling a single shelf, Joonghyuk stepped back and admired the room he made for his child.

The south facing windows had long, billowing white curtains that rose from above the panes, spilling onto the hardwood floor. Plush chaises and a low table are situated ergonomically around the room, with a mini fridge containing the baby’s food. A speaker murmurs throughout the room, filler with the sound of city life outside the open window. The soft glow of afternoon basks the room in a motionless and picturesque scene; his beautiful boy slowly drifting off in the rays only fueled the image of tranquility and eternal bliss.

Joonghyuk doesn’t want to go back to work.

Paws tap on concrete, as a feline figure gracefully stretches over and around buildings. Inky-black fur is tussled by the wind greeting the animal like an old friend. The figure continues searching through city blocks until the smell of soft and spring beckons the cat upward.

Blue eyes navigate the terrain, slinking toward the open window that has soft music spilling and swirling into the content residential area. 

The creature pounces onto the window ledge and peeks inside to see a man gently cradling a swaddled baby. The arms circled around the child as if desperate to never let go. A dim light floods the room, leaving a lazy, peaceful ambiance. The father looks down at his baby with the concealed determination of a man scorned, and the figure shifts in his arms.

The cat crouches to get a better glance at the baby protected by such resolve and small hands reach skyward and- oh.

Red

Chapter Text

Yes, Joonghyuk saw the cat in his living room.

No, he wasn’t even surprised in the least.

It wasn’t the first time he saw something that didn’t live in his house on his furniture, so he kind of rolled with the punches. Kind of. Actually, not at all, but the cat looked at him with such an acute vengeance that he was too scared to try to make it leave again. At least it wasn’t something he’d have to raise for the next 18 years (lmao you thought).

If Joonghyuk was being honest with himself, he’d know that he doesn’t give a shit anymore because he’s tired and the shelf keeps collapsing and he’s scheduled to start working again in a few minutes. 

Cale is a happy child, but happy doesn’t mean he stays asleep all night, so the father’s sleep schedule is… actually pretty similar to what it was before, except now he’s tired because children are stressful and the onslaught of food that shoots his way at mealtime created a lot of mental exhaustion.

Joonghyuk huffs down onto his desk chair and positions his mic in front of him. Cale’s strategically planned naps take place when his followers are most active, and the baby sticks to a military-tight schedule when it comes to sleep (or oversleeping, not that Joonghyuk minds much). 

The door is left open, the baby monitor is in front of him, and he has baby pictures pulled up to show his fans once his stream starts. A tendril of anxiety seeps into his mind and he stares at the baby monitor in front of him like a dragon is about to steal the kid.

He doesn’t want to leave his peaceful days behind to the oh-so-grueling life of an Internet personality (i hope you can feel the sarcasm), but now he has to think about his kid’s future and such, so he sucks it up and starts the live.

Immediately, the chat is bombarded with confused fans. Joonghyuk doesn’t know where to look, so he doesn’t and instead, supervises his son’s breathing patterns.

Sighing and rolling his chair backward, the man begins talking with excuses on the tip of his tongue.

“… so yeah I have a kid now…uh… He’s really cute and I renovated his room mysel-”

Like clockwork, one of the platforms on the shelf crashes to the floor.

“Sigh, goddamnit”

Joonghyuk stands up and walks (runs) to the nursery, waiting for his child to start wailing at the loud noise.

He swings open the door, ready to soothe and calm the startled baby, when he spots the cat in the cradle. Somehow, Cale hadn’t even noticed that the panel had fallen and remained asleep, curled around the smug cat.

Joonghyuk gently lifted his baby up, cat hissing in frustration and breathed in the scent of Cale. Relief and love flood his senses, and he remains softly swaying when he remembers his stream.

Looking down in contemplation, the father asks

“Do you want to go see who’s going to be paying for your things?”

Cale immediately awakens from his deep sleep and smiles. Joonghyuk sighs a long withering sigh.

“… my child is a raging capitalist.”

Joonghyuk slowly walks over to his office and peeks his head in to look at his chat, which notices him and goes wild. He sighs and tries to calm his trembling heart, stepping into the room.

Anxiety and dread coils around him, making his movements stiff. The weight in his stomach generates a wash of nausea to sweep through him; the father staggers and the internal turmoil rocks his pace, sluggishly dragging his feet to the desk. The curious eyes cradled in his arms roam around the room, immediately landing on the avalanche of movement on the computer. 

“This is my son-”

  Watery, cinnamon eyes peek out from over the man’s arms.

“- and I found him on my table…”

  A cat hisses and smacks Joonghyuk’s ankle,

“… his favorite food is pie.”

   and the screen goes black.

A smug cat drops the router plug on the floor with a flourish.

Chapter Text

A human is incapable of imagining a new color. We have a set amount of cones in our eyes, but does that mean that if we put a child in a room with only one color, could they not imagine others?

It was a forever dark abyss, or so I thought. Spidery cracks ran up and down the stone walls of my cage, and a sickening display of power and narcissism positioned perpendicular to me shows me the non-existent mercy of man.

Chains held tight and slowly coiled up my neck like a claustrophobic boa, seeping my very core of inhuman humanity. 

Iron— ore forged by man— and a cave dug from the bleeding grasp of the abused, yet loneliness clogged my airways. There was nothing until there was everything; red was all I saw.

I don’t remember how I died, but I remember how he did.

I remember what happened afterward. The syncopated stages of grief created a never ending cycle of painful reminiscent.

I remember his smell, his voice, his words; I remember red.

There was an unmistakable air around him that drew people in. The feeling of calm: the feeling of ‘Wow someone who knows what they’re doing, I can relax.’ To succumb to the wave of vulnerability is unbearable and addicting.

I saw people crumble under the weight of reality after those arms could no longer hold them. 

I am no different. All I could hope for was my father.

… if you’re not given something, then you take it yourself, and so it shall be.

I voyaged and rippled through reality, gasping for a glimpse of scarlet. I’m now much older. Tearing in and out of time to have some semblance of that protection I felt so long ago.

I had matured enough to grasp that I wasn't getting that back. I’m too young to understand that this is reality. 

The smell of spring and home and red led me to this child.

And so it shall be, indeed.

-— -— -— -— -— -— -— —

Joonghyuk glances warily at the cat, who’s intently staring at his son. Like, yeah, his child is the best thing to grace this earth and no other child holds a candle to this baby— he might be biased (very much so)— but this cat’s looking at his kid like he’s an ancient relic. 

Joonghyuk is like 80% sure that Cale is real.

“Can you stop looking at him like that”

Unblinking eyes hesitantly part from the sleeping babe, to glare at the man. Joonghyuk startles at the amount of knowing and sorrow that is reflected in the blue eyes of the current bane of his existence. He is utterly frozen in place at the depth of them. 

“Uh, nevermind I guess”

And the cat. Fucking. NODDED. 

… Joonghyuk is gonna go take a long walk with Cale just to get some fresh air and gain new experiences (Joonghyuk will soon be horrified that the cat followed him and thwarted his escape plan).

-— -— -— -— -— -— -— —

“Raon’s gone too?”

A huff escapes the eldest in the meeting.

“Well, he’s certainly not dead-”

Fists slam against the hardwood table of the wide, cold meeting room

“And HOW exactly do you know so?”

The man of gold and dust closes his eyes, guilty resistance coursing through his veins.

“… he is looking for Cale”

Time stops. All who are in the room startle and falter in their thoughts. 

A chef with a stricken face breaks the silence in a broken whisper.

“Cale is dead what do you mean that child is looking for him”

Rain patters on the large windows of the desolate house; the only noise that echoes down the corridor. Ghosts lurk on the floors, eternally searching.

“Cale has left this world, yes, but he will never truly be gone.”

Wind carries petals and rain, plastering the flowers onto the foundations of the stone walls of the villa. Sorrow, guilt, fury, and acceptance swirl and combat midair within the dry space protected by boulder.

“… death owes them both too much to let them die.”

Chapter Text

Joonghyuk noticed the looks he got from other people, especially when Cale was with him. Not to mention their daily park walks were intruded on by a weird ass cat.

The father figured he needed a vacation. He supposed he could just do his job from anywhere.

… Joonghyuk is becoming more and more nihilistic about his job the more time he spends with his son.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Abble pie”

A paw taps the toddler's knee in recognition

Joonghyuk doesn’t notice; he’s too busy imagining his adorable baby in overalls and a farmer's hat.

“I guess we can do that” (Joonghyuk is screaming)

The man gets up and starts charging his camera along with looking up locations for apple picking. He buys tickets to Yesan and spontaneously decides to book a hotel.

This is Cale’s first vacation, so he might as well.

After the hour and a half train ride from Seoul, the small family (and cat) arrived at the orchard. Cider, apples, and autumn tangle in the air. The bustling of locals and tourists leaves any one conversation indecipherable.

They left their luggage at a hotel to begin their trek into the orchard.

Small, chubby fingers point north, directing the father on where to go.

“Apple!”

“Yes, good job”

The father softly brushes his son’s hair from his forehead and kisses it.

A flushed worker comes up and offers a basket, which Joonghyuk takes monotonously.

Apples stem from between leaves and branches, and chilly breeze cards through red hair in greeting. The large fruit was an early russet color, similar to a Fiji apple. 

Basket and child in tow, Joonghyuk reaches for an apple when he feels a tap on his chest.

Big, round eyes look back at him, and Joonghyuk feels his heart melting. 

Suddenly remembering his camera, he asks a random passerby to take a photo of them.

Multicolored leaves are whisked into the air by the breeze and soft giggles erupt from the toddler when Joonghyuk decides to include the cat in the photo.

After receiving the camera from the impromptu photographer (bro got angles), he now used Cale and the cat’s advice on which apples to pick.

The festival had different places to utilize the produce-

(This is a real place, “Apple Festival and Autumn Temple” in Yesan)

-so they stopped by the pie making station first.

The father took dozens of photos of his son holding apples as large as he is (and the shocked passerby’s faces as pie dough soared through the air)

Their day ended with a dozing Cale overlooking the after dark activities of the festival. 

“thank you baba”

Joonghyuk responded with a warm hand running through Cale’s sunset locks, effectively soothing the child to sleep.

“I’d bypass time for you” Joonghyuk whispered to the air, the blue-eyed cat huffing in agreement. 

A starving saint is awakened by a thief at those words. Her heart swells at the presence of the commander she’d lost so long ago. Nevertheless, the foreboding instinct of loss is not lost on the powers present. The words that man just said cemented the fate of the small family’s future.

A crying figure lays back down; it’s not time, yet. 

Chapter Text

“Is he genuinely your kid- yes, Cale is my kid. Do you not see the resemblance?”

     ‘you said you found him on your table i don’t think that means you actually… aided in the whole procreation thing’

“I…. finder keepers, ok??”

     ‘lmao did you just admit to a kidnapping that’s a felony’

     ‘i knew that kid was too cute to be his’

“… I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you people, but I’m going to go check on MY KID, like, BIOLOGICAL CHILD. It’s not my fault his mother spawned him on my table-”

     ‘joonghyuk’s not the dad?? he 100% looks like his dad’

         ‘it’s not a dad bod, it’s a father figure’

“-and fuck you this is totally a dad bod”

Joonghyuk turns off the computer with a huff and stalks over to where his son is in the kitchen, who supposedly wants to be ‘just like bee-crow’ whatever the fuck that means. 

Their weirdly human cat is a responsible babysitter (he’s not crazy. iykyk type beat), so his kid can frolic with the kitchen island if he wants or whatever he does in there. 

Joonghyuk’s steps go quiet as he approaches the room to try and see what his son does while he’s not looking. 

Blips of soft music (Bruno Major plug listen and moan) and giggles glide and tumble through the air.

Sun seeps in from the window. The earthy smell of dirt and stone wafts through the open door. 

Tiny hands are tugging at the soil under one of the many houseplants that the toddler chose. 

A soft, childish voice starts humming and mumbling about how the plant “better grow fast,” and how he’s  “making a farm for hyung.”

… Considering the kid hasn't gone to daycare yet, Joonghyuk is having an aneurysm about how his son even has a hyung. 

“Hey, sweetie, whatcha doin’?”

“Playing with the plants.  They’re lonely”

Joonghyuk nods his head in understanding, quickly turning around to hide his stricken face. 

His son is feeling so lonely he’s playing with basil?

They go on their walks and adventures, and Cale certainly meets a lot of people, but did he have any friends?

With a heavy heart, Joonghyuk starts to look for the best daycare in their vicinity, and texts Cale’s mother about their child’s educational plans. 

She sends back a thumbs up. 

Piercing his lips in frustration, Joonghyuk turns around to the sight of their ‘cat’ glancing at his computer. 

“I’m enrolling Cale in daycare”

“…”

“Look, he’s lonely, and I’d be damned if I held my son back from anything whatsoever because I’m stingy”

“…”

“Stop looking at me like that. I don’t voluntarily want to send him away.”

“… meow”

The cat circles around as if in thought, then ultimately nods his head. 

Joonghyuk is too used to this to give any semblance of a fuck. 

After extensive research, numerous phone calls, and interrogation in the mommy blogs, Joonghyuk had decided on a school. 

Joonghyuk should probably get a license first, considering the daycare is an hour away via the subway. 

In all honesty, sending away his son while he’s at home in a silent apartment is unnerving. 

The father feels sadness and despair crash over him in waves, his heartbeat increasing in adrenaline and nausea. His head is swirling with doubt and the what-ifs: Cale gets hurt, he’s too far from him to help, and he’s helpless to-

“-aba?”

“… yes, sweetheart?”

“I made a plant for you”

A strong hand rests atop blazing hair. The father feels his heart aches at the thought of Cale missing out, or Cale regretting what Joonghyuk might decide. 

“Let’s tuck you in, you have a big day tomorrow”

“Ok, will you read me the story about the dragon?”

“Anything you want, pumpkin”

A paw taps the plant in horrified curiosity and vague recognition. 

Just how did Cale get his hands on this plant here?

Chapter Text

Joonghyuk was probably more nervous about this than Cale. 

… Joonghyuk was definitely more nervous about this than Cale. 

The young boy was clad in navy blue boating shorts and a cream-colored hoodie. Duck rain boots paired with a matching backpack gave the aura of a seasoned warrior when the young soldier was armed with his two stuffed cats. 

The father took (and later printed) photos of the fit check. 

The cat looks on in pride at the clothes he’s picked out meticulously for this very day.

The weather didn’t spell rain, but the cat was eerily accurate at telling the weather. 

The single parent felt like an empty nester. 

Cale’s just happy to gather more plants. 

After meeting his son’s instructors, Joonghyuk had to bid the dreaded farewell to his son until 12:45. 

“Be good for them, little man”

“I’m always good. I’m great and mighty”

“Yes you are~”

“You’re coming back, though, right?”

“What? Of course, big guy, I’d come find you no matter what”

“Mmm ok then, you be good too. Those people on the ‘puter (computer) pay for my pie”

“Ha! I’m always good, but I’ll be double good just for you”

“I love you” the boy whispered, making sure only his father heard

“I love you more” the father whispered back

Rainboot clad feet pitter-patter on the floor towards the classroom, and Joonghyuk lost sight of his son. 

Unprecedented spring showers bloom from the sky in white, fluffy pillows. A sprinkle drips from the sky, and the sound of water tapping on the metal roofs of cars and glass window panes mutes the noise of scattering city dwellers. 

Joonghyuk wondered where the time went. (where’d all the time go it’s starting to flyyyyyyy)

His squishy infantile son is going to school in the blink of an eye. 

Joonghyuk isn’t ready for the future, but he knows he going to spend as much time with his kid as possible. 

Seoul is a busy city. People live their lives oblivious to obligations mandatory of them; responsibilities they don’t have the mind to face until they’re forced to. 

The Guardian of the Boulder watches over how the people close to the redhead implode with his loss, and how a new father gains something to survive for. 

The Ancient Power isn’t ready to see the loss of this innocent child so soon, but time is an unstoppable force, no matter how skewed.

When Joonghyuk went to pick up Cale after his first day of ‘school,’ he certainly didn’t expect to find his son to be followed around by a gaggle of toddlers. 

The father makes brief eye contact with the caretaker, who sighed a familiar sigh to what the man does on the daily.

“… how did this happen… ?”

“… do you really want to know?”

Joonghyuk blinks in shock then thinks it over

“No”

The woman nods her head in understanding.

“What’s he holding in his hand?”

“He said he ‘made a plant’ for you, which is normally endearing, but the wicked thing practically came out of nowhere.”

“… I really need to speak to that damned cat about this.”

Joonghyuk receives a confused face from the caretaker but honestly doesn’t care. 

He hasn’t seen his son in what feels like a decade (four hours), and he’s not letting a weird look stop him from seeing him. 

Blue eyes look over the scene of the father and son reuniting but can’t get the startled feeling out of his mind that Cale might be developing a ‘skill.’

… the world works on equilibrium, so there’s no good without evil. 

His form shifts as he feels the weight of severance brewing on the horizon. 

Chapter Text

Cale’s favorite way to spend his days is to wake up to the softly chirping birds and an open window. 

Another spring has begun, and the Yoo family begins their lazy Sunday started with bedhead and waffles. 

“Papa?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“That really pretty guy appeared in my dreams again and called me a bass. What do I do, I’m not a fish, papa!!”

“… a man in your dreams called you… a bass…? Wait, he’s been in your dreams before?”

“Yeah! Raon was with him and he called me a bass-turd”

“Tha cat was there? Wait this guy called you a bastard???”

The toddler nodded in reply. Rosy cheeks and rosy hair created a lethal mix of heartache so early in the morning. 

“… do you know him in real life?” The frazzled father asked while clutching his palpitating chest.

“Hmm I don’t think so, but Raon likes him so it’s ok.”

The startled cat dropped the food in his mouth at the mention of his name before vaguely agreeing with the toddler. 

… Joonghyuk really needs to teach his kid stranger danger. 

Trees sway from the cool, spring breeze, leaves rustling and pollen floating along the draft. The air smells like grass and youth as the trio walks along the sidewalk. 

“You don’t have school tomorrow, buddy, but I have to work. Are you ok staying home with your… cat?”

“Mhm”

Joonghyuk glances down at his concentrated child. Pale hands dig into the dirt next to their picnic area, as if searching for something. 

The father didn’t want to disturb his son, so he switched his attention to the sprawled cat next to him. The fur on the animal seemed to clump together as if scales and the humanoid eyes flicker in and out of normalcy. 

Joonghyuk… is going to pretend he didn’t see that. Thankfully his kid distracted him from that miserable rabbit hole.

“I made you a bracelet!”

The man’s eyes soften to his baby. 

No words could describe the depth and overwhelming feeling of being so deeply in love with just one thing. A never ending whirlpool of affection and utter emotion being poured into one person astounds the father. 

How had he made such a charming child with his scared, rough fingertips?

The father wished time would be just a little slower for his boy to grow up to be the loved child he is. 

After a walk home, a bedtime story, and a kiss on the forehead, the family rests after their peaceful day. 

Joonghyuk should really plan another vacation. 

Bone-tired legs trudge to the subway in a tsunami of movement. Everyone is rushing to go home; everyone is rushing to get their peace. 

Unpleasant gazes look upon the crowd in indifference and disgust. Nobody cares enough to mention the instinctive feeling of being watched. 

A man glances at his phone. Another, his watch. 

The time is now 6:45, and Joonghyuk can’t wait to get home. 

Chapter Text

A blade swipes through the air, flinging blood onto the walls of the subway tunnels. A diverse group of people follows a desperate man through the darkness.

Nobody knew what to call this: invasion, apocalypse, inevitable, or something to dub this atrocity in its entirety. 

They’d followed the rules of this sick game; they’d killed for this. Why, why is it that there is no end— no prize—  at the end of this twisted reality? 

Light illuminated the dark cavern, and everyone present prepares to fight.

Instead, a cat lies limp on the ground. 

No one approaches.

No one knows what this creature is. 

Except one. 

A haggard man runs and drops to his knees in front of the slack creature. A million thoughts crash through his mind. 

“…Raon” the man softly says gently shaking the cat. 

“Raon, wake up” his hands grasp the pulse point in the cat; badum- badum-, he’s alive. 

“Raon, where’s-”

Blue eyes open, fighting to remain conscious, remain lucid enough to tell the father whose child sacrificed himself again and again to meet the same fate he faced all those years ago. 

“… ’m s’rry” a masculine voice whispers as the cat transforms into man

Oh. 

Oh god

The world froze, no longer spinning. Time had no meaning at that moment. 

He felt his heart stop and his stomach plummeted to the floor. 

“No” he whispered

He stumbled backward clutching his throat as bile rose; he couldn’t swallow. 

Nausea sways his entirety and his brain whirls in opposing directions, leaving him staggering for a breath. 

His hands tremble as he grips the blue-eyed man in front of him, begging for this to be fake. This isn’t reality. 

The trembling eyes and broken face dissipate those hopes. 

“No, no no no no” the father’s voice breaks as his body shutters in grief. 

His heart twists and blood roars past his ears. 

Hands stumble to grasp the bracelet his baby’s hands made just two days prior… it’s all he has left, now.  

His scream echoed through the tunnel, reverberating skyward. 

His son, his baby, is gone.

No old promises or memories can turn back time to save him and Joonghyuk is left impaled at the helplessness of that.

The rest of Joonghyuk’s days were spent roaming like a puppet. He had people he had to help, a group of people he cultivated in the hopes of protecting his son alongside him. 

He was alive simply because he wasn’t dead. 

Then when he did die, it was a relief to have the burden of survival lifted off his shoulders. 

Then he was back. 

The time was now 6:45, and Joonghyuk was going to find his son this time. 

Chapter Text

Most don’t realize how numbing the feeling of finality is. 

Dokja had quite literally grown up around this novel. He’d laughed and cried with these characters. He’d been angry for them and at them. 

Dokja knew the ins and outs of these characters. 

Dokja viewed them as anchors in his monotonous life, trying not to get swept away in the rush for peace. 

The reader knew the cheats and skills of the world, but one anomaly he’s never found out is what made the protagonist so helpless throughout the novel. 

This pillar of strength and sheer dedication to simply keep going hundreds and hundreds of times. 

… frankly, Dokja was angry that his creature of unbearable strength could be reduced to man. 

He was scared that… if such strength was like this: forever searching for something just out of reach… How was Dokja ever going to find whatever he was looking for? 

If Dokja was even looking for something in the first place. 

He’d left comments inquiring about just what was this man looking for so adamantly, but the author left him in the dust. 

Then the final page was being posted, and Dokja didn’t care. 

He felt as if he was  losing. 

And in a sense, he is. 

Dokja is losing the very thing that got him through the day, something to look forward to. 

It’s all going to be gone after this. 

The time was 6:50, and Dokja yearned for something to yearn for. 

Joonghyuk knew that they’re… cat? … Raon was a deviant. 

No matter how fast he moved, no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t make it back to Cale in time. 

But… There was no flash of light or polymorphic cat. 

Cale was alive

God knows where he is, but his baby is alive. 

Joonghyuk’s heart was racing as the minutes counted down to the time of death from his previous death. The father knew he was too far, too weak, to save him. 

… he’d be damned if he never tried to reach his child, cursing the gods for a miracle. 

The clock kept ticking, no matter how fast he ran. 

Why

Joonghyuk waited for another heart wrenching moment of being too weak

His group turned around from their sprint to see their leader just standing there. His devastated face and muted, sorrowful eyes shook in anticipation. 

They freeze, what could make him stop? He was an unstoppable force and an immovable object. Objects in motion will stay in motion. 

Forever moving faster and faster and faster… to get something. 

Whatever it was, they didn’t know. 

Only the fragile looking but unbreakable flower bracelet on his wrist showed the humanity in this monster. 

And so they waited with him. With muscles ready to fight and souls trembling in fearful anticipation. 

Joonghyuk watches as the time ticks down. 

“… he- he’s alive”

When Joonghyuk dies on his second regression, he prays for another. Turning his back on the open arms of death, towards the hope that if he went back, he’d find his baby. 

The time is 6:45. 

Dokja’s heart plummeted when he couldn’t find the novel he’d read for years on its website. 

That was… quite overshadowed by the subway train screeching to a stop, Yoo Sangah screaming and grabbing his arm. 

Confusion and darkness shroud the carriage. 

“W-What is going on?"

"Don't worry. It isn't a big deal." He lies

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is probably a disturbance from a suicide. The engineer will soon make an announcement."

The man sighs and spouts reassurances when he’s interrupted by the conductor

     -E-Everyone run away… Run…!

A flash of light erupts from the tunnel. Something is there, and they’re moving fast. 

The time was now 7:00

[The free service of planetary system 8612 has been terminated.]

[The main scenario has started.]

…What?

Déjà vu and familiarity float in the back of his mind. 

Until Yoo Sangah mutters "…Dokkaebi?"

Reality and novel overlap and intertwine. 

Nausea and vertigo flood his system 

He watches as his boss haggles with the creature with a numbed mind; the remnants of people coat the inside of the carriage.  

[#BI-7623 channel is open.]

[The constellations have entered.]

Gods?

[The main scenario has arrived!]

[Main Scenario #1 – Proof of Value]

Category: Main

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions: Kill one or more creatures.

Time Limit: 30 minutes

Compensation: 300 coins

Failure: Death

Grasshoppers and crazed teenagers leave time reeling. 

Now, there was only Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, the boy named Lee Gilyoung, Han Myungoh, and himself.

Dokja checks the novel on his phone after reassuring Yoo Sangah he’s ok. 

[Joonghyuk watches with emotionless eyes over the carnage he’d amassed when a flash of light erupts from stagnant air. 

The man watches as his group prepares to see a Dokkaebi when an injured cat comes tumbling out of the beacon.

Joonghyuk falls to one knee and cradles the transforming creature in his arms. 

The blue-eyed man opened his mouth to speak, but the protagonist minutely shakes his head, not ready to hear that he had failed, once again]

Dokja’s eyes widened. What if… he found what Joonghyuk was looking for?

The protagonist’s regressions have to be on the lower side, so he has time before the man’s 23rd regression, in which the scene takes place. 

"-kja-ssi? Dokja-ssi?! Are you okay?" Yoo Sangah’s face floated closely to his, worry clouding her eyes

“O-oh, yes, Sangah?”

A slim finger points towards the blue screen in front of them, a list of odd nicknames waiting to sponsor them. 

Dokja briefing explained what he ‘thought’ was happening, and the group left the subway carriage after the merciless banging from the carriage over. 

The Ichthyosaurus roared and thrashed the water within the Han River below where Dokja was hanging. 

Joonghyuk’s grasp on his neck is the only thing keeping him from falling. 

"If you really are a 'Prophet', you should know your future, isn’t that right?" The protagonist wore a sickening grin and let his grip slowly unfurl. 

Dokja looked down into the swirling river below him, and the jaws hung open, ready to devour him. 

The reader glanced up, and calmly looked Joonghyuk square in the eyes. 

“…I will tell you three things”

“W-what?”

"One, I'm not your subordinate. So, I hope you will treat me fairly from now on."

The look Dokja received spelled audacity

"Two, I will cooperate with you, but you also have to promise to cooperate with me."

Joonghyuk startled but ultimately nodded at the rules. 

“The third?”

Dokja smirked, believing to have the ultimate card within his grasp to cement his place as ‘prophet’

“You’ll never be fast enough, Raon will always find you”

The father faltered. What…? Sorrow and sheer despair blur his mind and fog his sight. He… will never…

And the helpless feeling of finality crawls up the man’s neck and coils around his brain. 

Dokja watches as his pillar of strength gets misty eyes and he feels irrationally angry; why must you be so weak? Dokja feels terrified; if… you can be this disgustingly human, what about me?

"Get your hand off me and get lost, you damn jerk."

Dokja watches as fury erupts from the man in front of him, and the grip loosens. 

“I believe you,” the man whispers, “you are definitely a prophet” his voice cracking, grief racking through his body. 

Dokja… didn’t realize he’d feel so hollow seeing those eyes in person. 

[You have failed to clear The Scenario]

“Where’s Dokja-ssi?”

“… he’ll be back,” the man mutters to the woman, “follow me”

Joonghyuk reminisces about strawberry-scented hair and youthful laughter. 

He’s never going to see his boy again?

That thought shattered his soul. 

“RAON you’re a DRAGON???”

“Yes, I am great and mighty”

[Constellation Brigade coos]

“What about Papa?”

The humanoid dragon sighs

“You’re dad is just fine, trust me”

“But what if he’s lonely”

“He still has the bracelet you gave him~”

Big eyes stare at the being in confusion

[Constellation Brigade is wondering where this unlucky bastard’s father is]

“Stop calling me a fish!!”

“… look, this is the only peaceful childhood he’s had, and now he’s in an apocalypse at 6. We’ll find his father once he’s obtained all his ancient powers”

[Constellation Tacit Brigade nods in solemn acceptance]

Cale’s just happy Raon let him bring the plant he made for his dad for their adventure.

Chapter Text

Soft hums come from the open window in a tranquil neighborhood. The sound of mourning doves floats through the air. 

A newly made father is softly rocking his child, swaying with the breeze. Billowing curtains brush the ground in gentle waves. 

The domesticated man slowly stands as he watches his baby boy’s wine-red eyes open. A gummy grin and dimples (!!!) paint a perfect picture of a healthy and happy baby. 

Large hands gently place the drowsy infant into his high chair and the man leaves to prepare food for the baby. 

The soft, untouched voices of long gone musicians drift through the love-sick air. 

Scared, rough hands blend and bake basil and goguma purée for the sleep-soft baby.

“Cale~” a loving voice slowly affectionately coos as cinnamon eyes meet melted charcoal

A beaming smile and a chubby fist rise to the sky in triumph at the smell of his favorite food. 

The father didn’t know why his son loved the sweet potato/basil mix, but he’s more than happy to please his baby, even if he’s never liked-

-sweet potato in the first place, but the mere sight of it leaves Joonghyuk desperate to see his baby… to at least know he’s okay. 

After his interaction with the prophet— and the gruesome prophecy he refuses to believe for even a second— the man leaves for the station to meet Jihye.

As he fries the meat of the disgusting creatures of the apocalypse, he can’t help but yearn.  

The sight of the seemingly innocent vegetable leaves burning tears in the man’s eyes, too afraid to fall because if they touch the ground, it solidifies that Joonghyuk left his baby alone. 

That is a sin the Father  promised to never commit. 

[Everyone, let's have fun from now on. Hehe...]

[A scenario penalty has been added.]

[The 'survival cost' clause has been added."

[From now on, 100 coins will be deducted every night for the 'survival cost.' If you can't pay the 'survival cost, you will die.]

[The 'survival cost' penalty will be maintained until the second main scenario is cleared.]

Now it’s really like Ways to Survival

Dokja had escaped the river noodle by the skin of his teeth, rescued an asset, and met back up with his team. All is good, all is well. 

If only Cheon Inho wasn’t such a bitch. Bro is roleplaying the cartel, and the only helpful skill doesn’t even work against reasonable arguments. 

Nevertheless, people started to buy food at nightfall. 

Jung Heewon has promised carnage against Cheon Inho, and who was Dokja to get in the way of that? The piece of shit had pimped out women and extorted the weak. Let alone murder people who were brave enough, or told, to venture out in the open. 

Dokja couldn’t let a crouching figure murder indiscriminately, so he simply waited for the way of the world to act. 

"Jung Heewon-ssi, the key to this problem is food. Isn't that right?"

"That's right."

"Then we need to remove the cause of the problem."

"Huh...?"

Dokja glanced at his watch. 

[H-How are you all doing? Haven't you been free for a while?]

… the Dokkaebi were nothing if not punctual.

[A scenario penalty has been added.]

[From now on, food stockpiling is limited.]

[All existing stockpiled food has disappeared.]

"Dokja-ssi, did you perhaps know something like this would hap-"

 -Shit

"I did expect it. I thought about what the dokkaebis would do first to harass humans."

 -Nice save

"Aren't you really good at making predictions?"

 -damn it, time to change the channel

Dokja watched as Cheon Inho risked everyone else’s lives except his, glittering excuses sealed the fate of many in the group.
The rat bastard took advantage of others' despair and quickly utilized this unprecedented cash cow. His group now has more power. Dokja wanted to deck him. 

"Dokja-ssi, what now?"

"Of course, we have to go and get food."

"Then we have to be scouts? There is still food remaining aboveground."

"Nope, we won't go aboveground. If we go there, we will unconditionally die.”

Lee Hyunsung muttered, "We need to obtain food aboveground..."

"Lee Hyunsung-ssi, the world has changed. Then the food needs to change.”

The group walks into the tunnel and Dokja watches as they acclimate to the situation. 

Neolithic weapons in untrained hands killed unnatural creatures with unveiled fear and anger. 

The tunnels stunk of blood and sewage until the group faced a large… object in front of them. 

“Is that… is that a tree root?”

“I… suppose?”

“Is there enough room to get by?”

“It’ll be a tight squeeze, but yeah”

Dokja frantically searched his phone for evidence of a root in this tunnel. 

His heart plummets when he finds no record of such an anomaly in the novel. 

Just what… caused this?

A black-haired man frantically flies through the corridors of the overgrown daycare. 

Vines and trees and nature grow at alarming rates. The roots splinter cement and leave the foundations of the building groaning at the impact. 

At the epicenter of the biblical retribution lies a sobbing child, clutching onto his floral bracelet. 

The jewelry had broken and mended numerous times since the start of the apocalypse, but the child never understood the meaning until the dragon mentions how the child’s father is connected to him via bracelet. 

Unblemished, youthful hands cradle the boy loved by nature as if he were fragile glass ready to shatter at the slightest of movements. 

“You’re ok, shhh, it’s ok, human” the late teenager whispers as he hugs the weeping child close

The sobs that wracked this young child’s entire being were reduced to hiccups and sniffles from the warm hands combing through his soft, mussed hair. 

“Raon,” a soft voice asks, “is baba…” The voice wavers at the absolute sense of loneliness that strangles his chest

“He’s ok, human, he’s looking for you as fast as he can.”

“Can we go to him?”

“… we have to make sure you won’t get hurt. You know that silly crybaby and grumpy rock that keep making you cough?”

Wavy red hair bounces as the toddler nods in recognition 

[Constellation Brigade looks up in alarm]

“We have to find their friends or else you might hurt”

“… I really don’t like hurting,” shaking eyes glance at the older being

[Constellation Brigade feels deep regret and mourns the gruesome death]

“I know, I’m so sorry you have to hurt” Raon’s eyes squeeze shut and he tightens his grip around the dozing child

Raon… will continue to weave through time to save the child in his arms. 

No matter the cost. 

Chapter Text

[Joonghyuk and his team traverse their way to Chungmuro station at a fast pace. 

Joonghyuk needed to get there in time. 

[Sub Scenario - Phantom Prison]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: D~F

Clear Conditions: Escape from Phantom Prison within the time limit.

Time Limit: 1 hour

Compensation: 300 coins

Failure:???

 “Joonghyuk…” a baritone voice mutters in alarm

“Everybody, step back” the man commanded

“W-what’s happening, I don’t-”

           {-aba?}

oh.

           {where are you?}

Joonghyuk stands and frantically tries to find the shaking voice. 

           {it hurts} 

The voice wavers and trembles before a sob erupts and Joonghyuk is too weak to help.   

Joonghyuk clutches his head and feels his hands tremble. 

“-HYUK”

The man lifts his head to the disembodied voice of someone who… shouldn’t be here?

“JOONGHY-”

           {Joonghyuk, you were too slow.  You’re too weak. He’s gone, and you didn’t even try to help me save him}

Joonghyuk weakly lifts his head as he feels disproportionately strong hands grab at his collar.

“I’m sorry, Raon” the man whispers to the air.

Despair. ]

Dokja supposes that Yoo Joonghyuk had suffered quite a bit in this sub-scenario. 

The reader had the [Fourth Wall] protecting him, so this was only a blip on his radar. 

Unfortunately, his teammates were having a rough time and breaking free of the mental prison. 

"S-Soldier Lee Hyunsung. Did you hear wrong?"

"I was wrong. I was wrong, Mother!"

"T-This dog bastard!"

Except for Sangah apparently?

“…Dokja-ssi?”

With the help of [Destroy Evil], the group had successfully broken free of the terrors. Dokja pocketed the [Specter’s Stone]… this he needed to pick up. 

The group ran into Jihye, who delivered them to the station: a rampant war between survivors. 

"Excuse me, Hyung," Lee Gilyoung said

"Yes?"

"I want to go to the toilet."

"Is it urgent?"

"Yes."

“… Excuse me, can I also go with you?” A blushing Sangah asked

The trio walked over to the bathrooms until Gilyoung had been pushed into the [Private Property]. 

Dokja tried to barter with Pildu in exchange for information on Joonghyuk 

"Why won't I receive any loss?"

“…?"

"There is no guarantee that you aren't a scammer. I can't ignore my years of experience.

In my experience, people like you run away to avoid paying the rent at the end of the month."

It was so true Dokja felt wronged. He wasn’t THAT much of a scammer… Right?? Luckily Lee Hyunsung saved the pair before the turrets hit them. 

Jihye came running over, dragging the man of the hour behind her. 

“Hi Joonghyuk” Dokja says with a wave

“Have you been well? Your face looks good?”

Dokja was… slightly perturbed that Joonghyuk looked pale when he caught sight of him. 

"These people don't believe I am your companion. Can you tell them?"

Dokja knew Yoo Jonghyuk was itching to kill him, but the reader knew the man wouldn’t dare. This bastard killed easily, but he kept his promises.

"It's nice to see you, you rascal."

"You're alive."

"Were you hoping I would be killed?"

"I thought it would be good.”

Dokja watched as Yoo Joonghyuk analyzed all his old teammates in disappointment. 

He also observed how the man was in awe over Jung Heewon… ending with the man wanting to kill her. 

"Yoo Jonghyuk."

"I was wondering about one thing.” Joonghyuk turned to look at Dokja.  “Why are you leaving Gong Pildu alone?"

"If you are a prophet, you should know."

"I don't know everything."

… And it was that one very phrase that made hope blossom in his chest. 

Maybe this prophet guy was wrong.

Maybe, even after hundreds upon hundreds of regressions, he’d see his baby again. 

The father tried to kill that little sprout of light, but it kept growing as if someone shed life back into his soul. 

A small injection of hope breeds the nature and life that kick-starts Joonghyuk’s fight back into him. 

The father can practically feel the moment he wraps his arms around his baby boy. 

Joonghyuk walks away from Dokja after their conversation, his footsteps light with love and Cale. 

Footsteps leave flowers blooming, flora erupting from the barren ground. 

Nature waits for only one. 

Earth rumbles in the wake of the flowing red hair. 

Hands caress and manipulate wind and water. 

Dangerous droplets are miniature bullets to the armor of the monsters creeping behind the being. 

Sharp eyes take note of the being’s movement, every breath. 

Wind carries spears of water and earth, fire erupting from hell. 

Vines whip around necks and snap.

Blazing eyes evaluate the terrain that was leveled at his hands. 

A sonic boom erupts from his body, an aura that defeats the speed of sound and causes the otherworldly beasts to freeze. 

Oh baby, he’s back

“We only need one more” proud, dangerous eyes tell the young boy; the one in which he fostered into an untouchable creation. 

Blood red hair defies gravity as the wind wraps its intangible hands around the locks. 

The pair approach the decaying tree and pale, weak hands dig into the dry, spoiled dirt. 

Energy that could only be described as life and power travel up the flaking trunk into the blackened tips of the highest branch. 

• Cale?

“Ray, there’s another one”

A hand ruffles his soft, fluffy hair and happiness floods the reptilian eyes

“You know what that means, buddy?”

The toddler rubs his chin in thought (he saw it in a movie) before shaking his head, not recalling what collecting all the old people meant

The man fondly sighs, “We can start looking for your dad”

Cale’s eyes lit up at the thought of finding his dad. After learning the reality behind his bracelet, the redhead had been eager to find his father. 

“Raon, Raon, Raon, you’re great and mighty?”

The dragon preens in delight from the compliment, puffing his chest and giving a stoic nod. 

“Then can we find him fast?”

A small smirk answered his question. 

“You might not like what you see. It’ll take a few days”

“It’s ok, papa promised to never leave without me”

Blue eyes flash in remorse and too much knowledge of the true reality. 

“Your dad never breaks his promises”

Raon knew Joonghyuk all the way until the end: ripping through time can really be convenient. 

Never, had Joonghyuk broken his promise. 

Chapter Text

“Raon?”

“Yes, human?”

“What is Henituse? The hungry one keeps talking about it.”

Blue eyes look up in sorrow and acceptance. They cast a loving gaze onto the toddler. 

The young boy had made a little garden that was eerily familiar for some of the constellations. 

[Constellation Brigade shifts their eyes toward the northeast in bittersweet nostalgia]

“Well… Henituse, to me, means living for peace and happiness”

“Sounds like Baba!”

“Yes… your father sometimes reminds me of someone very special to me.”

“Raon, you have friends?”

[Constellation Brigade chokes on their tea and laughs at the young dragon]

The dragon takes offense and tickles the toddler. 

“Yes, my home holds my very big family”

“Why did you leave?” That innocent question reminds both constellation and dragon of the gravity of their situation. 

This is a completely innocent child who is looking for his father. 

This innocent toddler has gone through hell. 

“… you know how you really want to see your dad?”

Soft rosy curls bounce in recognition

“Would you stop loving him if he was a little different from what you remember?”

“Never!” Sincere eyes stare at the complex plant that small hands carry.

“I decided that I was the same. I asked to be sent to my baba, and when they didn’t let me, I got to him myself.”

“Raon!! You need to go get him! I bet he really misses you. I mean, I’d miss you, but if you’re really happy with him, you should go.”

A shaking hand hugs the small child close, chest rumbling from the wet chuckles of the dragon. 

[Constellation Brigade looks fondly on Incarnation Yoo Cale]

“Mm, I bet I’d miss you more~”

Rosy cheeks flush with happiness. 

Cale hates being alone. He’s glad Raon found him. 

Dokja was feeling groovy. 

He sashayed his way into getting Gong Pildu to sign a contract with him AND gets to be a part of one of his favorite hidden scenarios. 

[Hidden Scenario - Theatre Dungeon]

Category: Hidden

Difficulty: A-

Clear Conditions: Defeat the master of Theatre

Dungeon.

Time Limit: None

Compensation: 4,000 coins

Failure: -

He continued traveling through the theater… a little perplexed at how overgrown it was. 

It looked like one of those digital ruins that artists made of commonplace taken over by nature. 

… it wasn’t as unnerving as the reader anticipated. 

The man could hear the rustling of leaves and the forgotten smell of the wilderness circled around him. 

Dokja couldn’t help but feel anxious. 

This was not in the novel. 

There was no oasis like this. 

The man kept looking around in awe and horror when Gilyoung’s cockroach went nuts. 

"Shhh, there is somebody else besides us."

"Are you sure? Here... there are a bunch of things."

"Yes. I bought the information with 1,000 coins."

"The prophets?"

"Yes. They are disgusting, but the information is obvious.”

‘Prophets?’ Dokja thought. THIS was more monumental than the plant growth in a random scenario. 

Yoo Joonghyuk and Dokja should be the only ones who knew about this hidden dungeon. 

The group (sans Dokja) watched in confusion as a blue light made other incarnations disappear. 

"Heewon-ssi likes movies?" Dokja asked with thinly veiled laughter

"Of course. Do you usually like it?"

"You might hate it after this."

"What do you-"

[You have been hit by a projection light.]

[The screening will begin.]

Dinosaurs, scamming, boats, and some good ol’ marine warfare, Dokja and company have made it to the top. 

A lonely figure stands on a roof. 

Wind sweeps his hair into the atmosphere, but the man can feel nothing. 

A numbing sensation stems from his chest down to his toes and fingertips. 

The man can feel his muscles moving, he can feel the pain of getting hit. 

But the static feeling of nothing overwhelms his searing nerve endings. 

He can vaguely conceptualize that he isn’t alone. He knows there are people around him; people he’s hurting, but he doesn’t care. 

     ‘It is painful.’

     ‘Several more times in the future’

     ‘Do I need to repeat this?’

He feels himself stagger from a hit to his jaw. 

He… doesn’t really notice. 

     ‘Once the regression begins, everything will go back to the beginning.’

     ‘All my companions will lose their memories and my history is erased.’

     ‘Then everything will repeat again.’

     ‘Where is he?’

     ‘I am alone. I left him alone ’

“-lone?”

     ‘I…’

“-at did I com… for if you were alo-“

     ‘I…’

“-went crazy after your child died…!”

     ‘Oh…’

“Look around you an-… to live somehow!”

     ‘I want my ba-’

The lonely man feels his vision clear, and the reader feels his eyes gaze on him, then beyond. 

Red. 

Chapter Text

Is it better to feel everything or nothing?

Is it worth it to feel heartbreak, despair, or pain when you could simply live life finding simple pleasure in a job well done?

He… didn’t like pain; he hated pain. 

… but he couldn’t help but wish he’d felt the searing, burning feeling of his heart tearing in two when he thought of him. 

Dark eyes look in bone-deep sorrow and love at the scene. 

The being… didn’t have the courage to find him. 

He’d lived thousands of years; he’d loved and lost. 

Throughout those lonely, desperate centuries, he had never once gotten a glimpse of what he so stubbornly fought and sacrificed himself for.  

He had… tried to move on.

He thought if he got strong enough, he’d have a sliver of a chance of finding him. 

He’d found indescribable power and the loneliness turned to anger. 

… but as he watched this scene, all those feels just-

Dissipated 

He watched emotionless as a younger, naïve version of himself got caught in the web of despair that almost made him lose everything

He watched as this puppet of a man tore through time to find the thing he’d just about given up. 

He watched as the so-called ‘prophets’ gave his sorry little puppy a sliver of dangerous hope. 

He watched as this version of himself— still innocent: unbroken— received everything he’d worked so hard for. 

But a single strand of that boy’s hair made the jealous fury that coursed through his very blood turn into something else. 

It made him hope that somewhere, his version of his baby wasn’t hooked on the addictive, painless static that enveloped his brain. 

He watched his happy baby get stronger; strong enough to find him. 

  Just out of reach, yet basking in his warmth. 

(Joonghyuk POV)

I had already lived decades past reality. 

I… had already lived past being dead for years. 

You don’t have to die to be dead, you know?

I watched my nuclear family wither away to dust in my mind, their faces blurring from the years of untouched photographs. 

I’ve been so effortlessly tortured by these beasts who baited me into feeling like I was strong enough to be enough. 

I was never strong enough, fast enough, to catch those fleeing beams of sunset. 

I want to smell his strawberry hair and hear his joyful giggles throughout the house.

I want to see his blazing hair looking like soft scarlet under summer sunbeams.

I want to hear his voice, even if he mentions people I’ve never met. 

I want…

‘I want my ba-’

Then I see this fucking guy’s face

Disgust and fear coil around my stomach. 

Why is this psycho sadist in my face while I’m being angst? 

Why do I smell apple pie and spring?

Why are you torturing me?

I see the nasty shit’s eyes twinkle as I look at him and feel the need to look away. 

My heartbeat is stable, only slight nausea discomforts me. 

Why do I, someone who has lost everything many times over, feel the need to look away from those dead fish eyes? 

Even though that excited, triumphant light in his eyes is too similar to-

Red. 

“… cale?”

And his big, cinnamon eyes look at mine. 

“Baby” I feel my voice sweetly, so sweetly, say before it constricts. 

Relief and love flood my system, completely washing over my entire being. 

I feel my body tremble as I stumble forward. 

“Baba!”

I fall to my knees, there is no strength in these legs that carried the burden of survival for so long. 

Weak from this touch of salvation, my son

He’s real. 

He’s here . 

I feel his tiny, tiny body hit mine. 

I vaguely feel myself stumble at the impact, but I don’t care. 

My baby is right here. 

I feel a sob rip through my chest and my tears wet his shirt. 

I card my undeserving hands through his fluffy red hair. My mind feels dazed as affection and warmth swirl around like summer clouds. 

‘He’s here,’ I have to reassure myself leaning back to wipe his misty eyes

‘He’s here.’

(3rd POV)

The father’s large back shakes as he holds onto his son. 

Soft sniffles and sobs are muted by his weathered shirt, and tiny, perfect hands grip the fabric. 

Drippy, cinnamon eyes are scrunched shut from the solace he feels from his father cradling him, so unlike the glass he’s so used to being treated as: an anchor.

Scarred hands wipe the rivers of tears pouring down the blotchy pale skin. 

“Hey, buddy, how’ve you been?” The father’s wet voice whispered

All he gets in reply is a tighter hug from his baby boy, and how is he supposed to deny such a wish after not seeing his baby in decades? 

His powerful arms circle around the small body once more as the toddler sobs. 

“Shh, it’s ok, pumpkin,” the father says while gently rocking.

“I’m here, you’re ok” a hand card through vermillion.

“It’s ok, my baby, you’re not alone, I’m here.”

“You found me”

A gentle breeze surrounds the pair, and fragments of memories of billowing white curtains and lazy afternoons filter into their minds.

“You’re here”

Dokja watches in confusion as Yoo Joonghyuk pushes past him and prepares to fight the mind-controlled monster. 

Again. 

Then he turns around and sees the protagonist kneeling on the ground and….

…Vibrating?

Well, shaking, but…. What the fuck makes the man shake in fear??

A realization crosses his man and he whips toward the [Theater Master]. 

The monster had wicked vibes twisted around (and through) him while vicious ice spears (?) impaled the hidden scenario boss. 

Dokja feels his stomach drop to his ass, his heart bursting in terrified curiosity. 

Who… who was strong enough to do this. 

It’s only Joonghyuk’s third regression, so it’s not him. 

Dokja’s eyes drift around the roof and land on the tall man who is looking at the protagonist. 

Black hair that coagulated together as if scales and reptilian, cobalt eyes shine with melancholic happiness at Joonghyuk. 

This kind of looks like…. 

Raon?

But… Joonghyuk wasn’t supposed to see Raon until much later in the regression. 

Did Dokja alter something again? (No he didn’t)

The reader knew that Raon was exceptionally strong, even when Joonghyuk had regressed hundreds of times, rarely did he overpower the mysterious man. 

… then that means Joonghyuk wasn’t shaking from fear but-

“Baba!”

Dokja’s mind went blank from what he just heard. 

Do his ear holes betray him?

What the fuck is a ‘Baba’ ??

The reader glances toward the other witnesses and sees them just as confused. 

Then after a few minutes of the protagonist swaying (is he drunk?), the man turned around. 

“Oh, what the f-”

A fucking child??????

Chapter Text

I can’t help but feel like I’m in the end credits of my life. 

I watch the world around me revolve, bored.

The unending twisting and spinning of people and how they complete their goals and gain accomplishments while I just… sit there

My movie has already played, the actors have bowed off, and I’m stuck here with a rolling screen of names I vaguely recognize and bittersweet music.

… and so I watch other movies.

Movies that have just begun with no introduction or monologue, but I watch them anyway. 

People fighting, people trying, and I can’t help but feel like cotton is surrounding my nervous system; slowing my synapses until the only thing I’m processing is the movement of the determined people behind the screen.

Scenes that represent life and the whirlpool of emotion that each face portrays… I will never have.

I don’t know what I’ve become. 

I don’t know what a ‘constellation’ is.

A deity? Hero? Legend? God?

… It doesn’t matter anymore.

I don’t care for much anymore.

So… I sit here and wait and watch.

I will sit here and wait and watch until my last neuron dies out and the skin on my bones melts off.

I am in the end credits of my life.

But this child has never caught peace. 

My… child.

I didn’t know my son has never rested, never stopped.  My baby has lived dozens of years, and I couldn’t- never gave him a childhood.

I took that away from him.

What… what can I do to make this exhausted child of mine sleep and not dream of the horrors he can’t remember.

Why did I give up on him?

… It’s too late now, so I sit, wait, and watch on the edge of my seat.

If I had a body, it surely would’ve cried, but tears were a figment of my mind. 

Irrelevant names scroll behind me, a new, somber song playing.

What do I do to help my sweet baby from facing the regret of adulthood?

Of reality?

[Constellation Secretive Plotter stares at Incarnation Yoo Cale with grieving eyes]

[Constellation Secretive Plotter has donated 500 coins]

It’s been a frigid spring. New, bright green buds bloom from trees, and birds chirp with the rustling of branches and pollen. 

Monstrous trees form a barricade for the ancient structure that is protected by unfathomable power.

A loud noise scares the birds and scatters the butterflies in the garden; once cared for by one gentle pair of hands, now flourishes under the care of many.

Ears perk at the noise, and the figure sprints inside, winding through the corridors and dodging open windows.

Anxiety creeps into his chest.

‘What happened?’

Calloused hands swing open the heavy door of the family room, chest heaving from the impromptu sprint.

Tired but ferocious eyes swing around the room, taking in the behavior of the people present.

Tears run down blotchy faces, and trembling hands set teacups on the solid, cherry wood table.

The man suddenly feels nausea swing his equilibrium and he braces himself on the door.

“Oh gods, did something happen?”

One pair of eyes sharpen at the sight of the man, and the butler nudges his head toward the ‘screen.’

Sky blue eyes and golden hair soak in the scene of a father finding his son after decades of search.

‘… He found him,’ sun-kissed hands wrapped together as if in prayer.

‘He’s alive, oh lord, Cale.’

The emperor didn’t know what would happen to the poor child if he found his father dead.

… he didn’t know what the redhead would do if his father was dead.

The most powerful noble of the Roan continent cannot do anything but drop his head, hoping that the father would hear his pleas.

‘Protect him, he’s but the love of my life, keep him safe, for me and his people’

Hands tremble at the realization and sheer devotion he poured into this prayer. Alberu feels his heart crack as the depth of the situation settles in; relief lifting the weight off his shoulders.

Cale Henituse is never coming back.

… but this little boy that contains the soul of his Cale embodies everything he loves about the commander.

The man looks up to see the room staring at him, waiting for his opinion on what to do next.

Cats, dragons, sorcerers, warriors, whales, everyone is gathered here to make sure this child is okay. 

Alberu draws in a breath, “Let’s continue to watch until we can figure out how to eradicate the star stream, or until… until Cale and his father are ok.”

Indigo eyes glance up toward the screen, a smirk gracing the face of the young dragon.

“We’ve got eyes and ears on the field, if all else fails, we can bring him here. I don’t fucking care what that GoD says.”

[Constellation Brigade cries and sets down their teacup at the sight of the reuniting duo]

[Constellation Brigade has donated 1,000 coins]

Dokja doesn’t know what is happening anymore.

His brain is shorting out from all the bullshit that is happening in front of him.

The reader knew that Joonghyuk would later have a child, but not a boy and certainly not so old. 

Actually, Dokja doesn’t really know what a child is supposed to look like as a three-year-old, but this one is, like, at least at the age where he doesn’t need help MURDERING A SCENARIO BOSS IN FIVE SECONDS.

‘Did… Joonghyuk kidnap a child???‘ His eyes tremble as he looks at the sniffing and hiccupping child in the sunfish’s arms.

‘Is this Raon’s kid, maybe? Nah, he’s like a high schooler or something.’

A small petal catches the reader’s eye.

Wrapped around a pale wrist, is a familiar bracelet. 

Baby’s Breath, Begonia, Clover, and Jasmine orbit and entwine with each other, almost as if the flowers had grown from each other’s stems.

A powerful hand carefully holding the child’s back hides the matching ornament.

Yeah… Dokja is fucking confused.

“Um, what’s happening?” Dokja whispers to Heewon.

Heewon hums then mutters “I think Joonghyuk reuniting with his son?”

Now that threw the reader for a loop.

The novel had never mentioned Joonghyuk having a child so early in the novel, but yet again the novel never mentioned the ‘Prophets’ either.

Dokja observes the pair more meticulously.

They’re both crying, obviously, evident by tear stains and trembling shoulders. The kid’s clothes look clean and comfortable… which is not normal in an apocalypse. 

The kid doesn’t really look like his father other than in skin color and maybe eyebrows… also face shape and nose structure… but other than that, there are no similarities. (he’s in denial)

The child had deep, mahogany eyes, which are wide and almost European, and he even has blazing, red… hair?

Red…

The cogs in Dokja’s mind finally start churning.

‘Joonghyuk was constantly looking for RED, and RAON always finds him after his bracelet snaps, and he was super guilty after having his kid-’

Dokja feels his heart freeze over.

“The kid… died?” he whispered to the air

Two pairs of eyes snap up towards his. As deadly steps storm up to him, Dokja feels his body start to tremble as his memory replays and he skims through the novel on his phone.

‘How have I never noticed?’

Hands roughly grab his newly acquired vest.

“What did you just fucking mutter?” the venomous voice of Raon spits out. 

“I- he… who is that kid?”

The dragon looks back at Joonghyuk for permission to say, who calmly nodded. 

“That’s Joonghyuk’s son”

Dokja’s mind reels that his fear was confirmed. He didn’t… know everything? 

He wasn’t safe from the future?

His heart stutters and speeds up and his palms start to sweat.

“I didn’t know you… had a kid? When… was he born?”

Joonghyuk looked peeved at the invasive questions, but the reader couldn’t have cared less.

“Six years ago.”

Then that means… on the bridge, Dokja basically told the main protagonist his son was going to die no matter what.

Dokja… feels like a piece of shit, eyes burning and chest tightening.  

This is someone’s dad. Joonghyuk is this kid's father.

“Is… is Raon your-”

Joonghyuk glances at Raon, who looks back at the man in disgust.

“No, no, no, no-”

“How would you even-”

“Aren’t you a prophet? Why th-”

“I’m revolted. REVOLTED.”

A tiny little fist throws a gust of wind are the two men. (Dokja feels light-headed. What the fuck??)

A dainty finger points to Joonghyuk, “My baba,” red hair sways as the toddler shifts to point at his other guardian

 “My Cat, Raon.”

Chapter Text

I will always love my father. 

It doesn’t matter what form he takes, or if he even remembers me. 

I don’t care if he’s given up or constantly reeled into the secure hands of despair, nothing will cease my adoration. 

Little snippets of lazy afternoons and stupid gods flash lightly like innocent fireflies during warm, July nights. 

So, I will always love my dad and he will always love me. No matter what form I take, or if I even remember him. If I’ve given up or fallen into despair. 

He will always love me and he will always find me, no matter where in the universe I am. 

… and if he doesn’t, I’ll find him first. 

I have lived for decades. I have lived different lives in which I was a leader and subordinate. I’ve had the help of people that are unfathomably stronger than my father but will forever be weaker. 

I was raised by humans, loved by them, so I am human but also not. 

I have lost many people. I’ve lost so much: my pride; my innocence; my childhood. Everything was taken away by my abusers after shitty luck falling into the wrong shitty hands. 

My father gave me that desperate sense of childhood joy that I yearned for during my so many years— lives— of being forever somber. 

I know I was definitely a surprise, and you certainly weren’t ready to have a child following you around, but you still welcomed me with open arms. I will do the same in turn for you. Don’t worry about what you were or what you’ve become— in any timelines or realities— we’ll be baking apple pies and reading books on rocking chairs. 

Yes, I will always love my father, and he will always love me. 

So, to you, who is reading this, weak human, baba, or what have you,

Just… know that your son loves you. 

I’m glad that you’re alive, and you can move on. I swore to myself that you will always be you, even if you can’t recognize me and you think I’m crazy, you are you. 

… and if this letter reaches deaf ears, I hope my love and acceptance of you will bypass time and space so you can feel my warmth unknowingly wherever we go when we die. 

Love you Whenever Forever,

Your son

(SP POV)

Trembling fingers drop the letter as hands press tightly against burning eyes. 

Grief, sorrow, regret, and love, wrap tightly around his very soul as crystalline tears carve rivers across his cheeks. 

His body shutters as love-shot sobs wrack through his chest. The heartbreaking sound of his soundless cries rings throughout the space his being resides in. 

No noise escapes him other than his hiccupped breathing, and the sound of his tears colliding with the ground. 

His hands grasp for his heart in desperation that the pain he feels will subside if he squeezed hard enough. 

… if the feeling would go if he wrenched his heart out as it beats and pulses true and utter sadness throughout his veins. 

If he had known the emotion, he so wished for would be this painful he would have liked to remain blissfully unaware. 

But it’s too late (it seems he is always too late), so he spitefully stares at the last remaining piece of his son that he has. 

His version of his son. 

The constellation glances at the red-headed preteen single-handedly decimating scenarios and wonders if his baby was this strong. 

He supposed it doesn’t matter. 

His son is willing to be with him no matter what form he takes. 

‘… I should start looking for him, again’

A flare of warmth relights the fire in his soul, and a flood of complex, swirling emotion dances and coils through his limbs. 

‘I’ll find you this time, my son’

I swear it. 

(Past Yoo Cale)

No one likes the passing of time. 

Forever out of reach, too fast, or too slow, it doesn’t… really matter. 

Time passes even when reversed, time flows. 

I’m scared… of the future. 

I’m scared I’m fucking up everything I’m doing, and I can’t do anything to just give myself a break. 

I’ve heard a saying that change needs to happen today, or tomorrow's precedent will be a wall steeper than now. 

But I like not doing things now. 

I like that I don’t need to face the risk of failure. 

There are some people that can simply put their emotions into everything they do, but that means the slightest of faults leads to devastation. 

I am a coward, I know; I inadvertently make a change and say it’s for my benefit, but I’m scared. 

Why is time going so slowly?

Why can I feel my body deteriorating from stress and unmotivation? Why do I feel my palms crumble under the weight of work and expectancy? 

Why am I losing time with the people I love in order to face a future in which I might not ever see them again?

I’m afraid of finality. 

My brain can’t conceptualize that things end… that some things just never come back. 

So, I don’t like doing things now. I want to do them later. I want to spend time with these people I probably won’t talk to in ten years. 

I know I will fall in love again. I will be content. But these people that are with me right now are my family. 

How could I imagine another family than this amazing one right here?

Why is time so fast? 

But if my past or future family asks me to be with them… I’d at least have to think about it. 

I have grown immeasurably strong. I know you have too. 

I know you gave up on me… and that's ok if I think about it. 

I understand the flow of time and that the gods are liars and that you love me. 

So, as I let my soul rest for the first time in three lifetimes, I will let time carry me.

I hope this time you will find me. 

… I never had the courage to look for you first. 

(Cale Henituse [before/during he dies])

Cale Henituse always got a sense of love when he looked at his children. 

Lord knows (fuck you GoD) how tough of a childhood Kim Rok Soo had, so he felt a part of his soul repairing when he saw his children laughing and smiling. 

Raon… reminds Cale so much of himself that sometimes he aches when he looks at sad eyes and lingering scars. 

Looking at that tiny dragon, he feels a lovely, bubbly feeling in his soul. 

That’s the reason why Cale had… done what he did. 

He loathed pain; agony was his greatest parasite. 

But he’d sacrifice body and soul to preserve those eyes. 

He understood the pain of people leaving and not saying goodbye. 

He knows. 

He doesn’t regret for a single second the flaring, burning feeling racing through his veins nor the blurring, black and white vision that creeps into his eyes. 

He hopes to find everyone again. In the afterlife or other, Cale will wait an eternity for his soul to rest and prepare to peacefully meet his family elsewhere. 

Cale Henituse is not scared of time. 

Blood-red hair cascades around a pale head as similar colored blood seeps from wounds. Cinnamon eyes fog and a stubborn heart slows its marching beat. Only love and determination linger in the mind of the dying man. 

Nature gasped at the sight of dispersing ancient beings and the evacuating soul of the one they loved so fiercely. 

There was neither wind nor rain on that fateful day when natured mourned. 

Chapter Text

“Raon?”

“Yeah?”

“... do you… um- remember all of his…”

“...yeah”

“How did he- What happened?”

“I was with him… during his past life.”

The father’s eyes look up in alarm at the blue-eyed boy (?) in front of him and hesitantly whispered his confusion.
“... what?”

Shaking hands grasp at the out-of-place luxurious shirt the being was wearing. Flashbacks and memories of happier times raced around Raon’s mind, trying to formulate to this father how his baby had saved planets.

“He was… my savior. My dad, actually. He saved a lot of people, and he has a lot of people who cared about him. He actually had remembered a past life of his… similar to this one, but he didn’t have-”
Reptilian eyes glance up at the anxious father.
“He didn’t have someone like you for a long time in that lifetime. In both, come to think of it.”

Joonghyuk’s heartbroken eyes look up towards the cosmos, cursing whatever gods or constellations unjustly terrorized his innocent son.

“He was simply plucked from one world to the next and ended up rearranging that timeline at the behest of the God of Death.”

Doom rocks the father’s stomach hearing how his son had to endure trials given by the very god who had taken him in so many previous regressions.
As he holds his aching chest, the father raises his eyes to meet the agonizing view of the teenager in front of him trembling in guilt and sorrow.

The boy wetly cries as he laments about the death of his father. “He died and he didn’t get to see neither me nor my siblings grow up.

And he- the way he died was just awful. It was horrible and no one could help him. Not Eruhaben, not Alberu nor Beacroux, Choi Han was devastated he wasn’t fast enough-” sobs racking through Raon’s frame as he processes his father’s death in front of someone who loves so similarly.

“And I tried so hard to get him back to you, I really, truly did! He just- I couldn’t get the resources he needed in order to survive in the hellscape.”

Tears leak out of Joonhyuk’s eyes as he watches Raon break down in front of him “but, then how…”

“He has these… powers… that stem from beings from his past life: another world. A human body can only withstand one or two, but Cale got all of them. He needs a balanced plate for his body to not break down, but I didn’t know where they scattered when he reincarnated here.”

A breeze brushes through the mourning pair. “They weren’t in the same spots every time, so he didn’t have enough time to find them when they activated… and the few times we did gather all of them in time you would already have-,” the boy falters as a weathered hand grabs his trembling shoulder.

“It’s okay,” the father whispers, pulling the boy to his shoulder. He looks up towards the starry sky as tears trailed down his cheeks.

Large hands pat the boy’s back, and a thick voice reassures the cool, April air, “It’s okay,”

“I missed him too”

Joonghyuk wakes up with a start.
He’s never… experienced that memory before, so who…

[Constellation Secretive Plotter peers down at the Incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk emotionlessly]

The father tries to stand but realizes he’s being ensnared by his toddler and his ‘cat.’
The man gently maneuvers his son into a carrying position before gently waking the feline.

“Hey, Raon?”

Blue eyes owlishly stare into Joonghyuk’s soul.

“During my first… um… regression? how why did Cale not-” The father feels bile creeping up his throat and his eyes stinging.

Raon nods his head before transforming into his humanoid form.

“We couldn’t find his Ancient Powers in time… so I got roughed up scouring this godforsaken rock, but I couldn’t… there wasn’t enough time.”

A gale rolls around the dragon as if to apologize, making the man grin, “Nah, it’s ok.”

Joonghyuk feels like he should be used to shit like this, but it never ceases to sour his stomach.

“So, how did you find them after all this time?”

[Constellation Secretive Plotter leans in to listen]

Raon glances up towards otherworldly eyes, “I remember.”

“Remember what exactly?” Joonghyuk asks.

“They know what I mean. Anyways, the ‘plant’ that Cale ‘made for you’ ended up knowing where a few of the power were, considering they were anchored into nature. Like, the last one was using a tree as its vessel, so Cale just… asked the uh plant? If that makes sense?”

It made zero sense. Absolutely destroys brain cells, actually.
“Yup.”

Dokja didn’t know what to do with his life. The thing that this monster was trying tirelessly to find was an adorable kid. But, in the novel, Joonghyuk had a child, so is this kid that kid or… what???

Did Joonghyuk have a time-traveling kid?

“Um, hey buddy… how are you doing?”

“Baba told me to not talk to strangers.”

“Ah, haha, right. Your uh dad who is Joonghyuk taught you stranger danger. (internal screaming) Well, I know your dad, and we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on so.”

A small eyebrow raised. Dokja felt disciplined for some reason.

“Yes! Ahem, my name is Dokja which means reader. Cool fun fact, right?”

Wary eyes calculatingly scan the man up and down.

“Mhm… my name is Yoo Cale, and I like pie”

Dokja feels his heart ache a little as the toddler’s blotchy red cheeks puff out at the thought of his favorite food.

Suddenly, an apple pie slice lands square on the toddler’s outstretched hands.

“What the actual fu-”
“Don’t fucking curse in front of my kid, you squid.”
“But you just-”
Two piercing glares slice Dokja’s soul in half.

He should really learn to keep his big mouth shut.

Dokja watches as Joonghyuk circles around and picks up his son with practice and ease.
“So, pumpkin, got anything to show the class?”

Was Joonghyuk, The Joonghyuk, actually making a joke? Dokja feels faint.

The dreadful thought was completely overshadowed as edible fruits and vegetables stem from the ground in neat rows.
Wide eyes exchange glances within the group as the red-headed toddler's arms cross triumphantly across his utility shirt.

Was Joonghyuk’s son more OP than him?

Chapter Text

I have been alive for millennia.

I don’t recall where I came from nor recognize faces that have been ingrained into my soul. 

I have been alive for decades upon centuries…

and I am… tired.

So, to the one who is cursed with my blessing, I apologize. 

I recognize the burden that I place on your shoulders, but until the power is dispersed completely, and equilibrium can be maintained by itself, I hope you don’t suffer too much.

I am so deeply sorry, but I do not regret this. 

I am tired.

Yes. The world tree is tired too. The lazy ass roach that ‘bestowed’ this ‘blessing’ should’ve just done the heavy lifting while the universe was fresh or whatever.

Now she has to do all this shit herself in worlds that have already realized corruption, and the rot has engrained itself into every atom of space. 

Now… she has to bear the grief of cursing other people in her place in order for the ecosystem not to die or overtake whatever sentient being is on whatever planet in bumfuck nowhere space. 

Gods, she’s tired of being some wisdom plant that spouts spooky words.

She is tired of killing innocent people for her predecessor's mistakes to not rip reality.

This child… was a predetermined aspect of her ‘champions’ so she can just fuck off and die and not have to be so exhausted with this neverending life. 

She is sorry, and she means it.

She’s not leaving until her work here is done, and her debt is paid…

It’s almost complete, anyways, why not go out with a bang?

“Psst, hey, kid”

Wine-red eyes frantically scan the living room, bouncing towards the boy’s father who is preparing lunch in the kitchen.

“Child, your name is Cale, correct?”

The toddler hesitantly nods before whispering in a shaking voice, “god?”

“HA, no child, I am not god… or at least, not the god you are referring to… regardless, come here, Cale.”

“Where…”

Suddenly a majestic ray of sunlight beams from the window onto the pot that Cale was preparing to plant ivy in.

“Come here and convey your will to see me grow.”

The toddler giggled as a breeze swirled in through the open window and pushed him forward. The unknowing toddler stuck his tiny hands into the soil and wished with all his might for the plant to grow, just as he did with the oak sapling the other week.

A pearlescent glow illuminated the child’s red hair while tumbling energy circulated from boy to being.

“Good job, child. I see you already know how to do so.”

“Mhm, plant guy”

Heavy, gentle steps pad into the living room while Cale continued to converse with his plant. 

The father had to stop in his tracks to watch the enduring scene of his baby talking to brush. Taking his camera, he recorded the scene in front of him.

A soft, floral breeze wafts in from the window, rustling the scarlet hair of the boy. A plush pillow encases the boy’s body, who’s gleefully giggling and conversing with the swaying plant in his small grasp. The sound of soft city life emulates white noise, and the slow timbre of a faceless neighbor’s voice offers a baritone to the melodic song of the native birds.

“Hey, pumpkin, wanna go somewhere this weekend?” The father questions in a sweet murmur.

Joonghyuk feels his heart swell as his baby’s face brightens at spending time with him and receives an enthusiastic seal of approval.

“Where do you want to go, sweetheart?”

“Hm. I wanna go somewhere quiet with lots of plants so plant guy can be happy.”

‘Plant guy?’ the father wonders before glancing at the potted shrub his son was currently fixated on.

“Okay, how about renting a cottage in Gyeonggi Province where we can hike down to the creek?”

The father watches as his baby boy swings around to the newly dubbed ‘plant guy’ to get reassurance before nodding his head.

Joonghyuk brushed the boy’s soft bangs off his forehead to give him a quick kiss on the forehead before going to his office and booking a stay. 

“Okay, baby, go get Raon and have him help you pack your things.”

“Yay!”

… Joonghyuk deletes the thought that he just asked a cat to pick his son’s clothing and left to pack his own.

Butterflies and bumblebees drift and tumble over and around the garden as honeybees pollinate the fragrant cherry trees surrounding the secluded A-frame bungalow Joonghyuk booked. The perpetual breeze carried pollen and the cool relief from the toasty late-spring sun. The enamored father gazed at his beautiful boy with soft eyes. Innocent laughter absorbed by wind and grass followed the pair as a small hand grabbed one of the father’s fingers, dragging the man further into the lush forest. 

Soon, the sound of a swelling creek filtered through the tranquil buzzing of excited life within the forest. Flora and fauna gravitated toward the boy and it was as though the soil itself was alight with happiness.

Pristine water flows into a small reservoir and the unsteady forest floor turned into soft pads of moss.

Joonghyuk puts the floaties on Cale before shedding his shirt and testing the water temperature.

Raon unceremoniously jumps into the lily pond causing Cale to clap his hands in glee.

Tiny feet patter up to the edge of the basin, and tiny eyes peer at the small guppies basking in the sun.

Joonghyuk to photos of his lovely child before picking him up and holding him in his arms, tickling him. 

Delighted giggles erupt from the boy, and the sun’s reflection off the pond leaves the father breathless with love at the sight of his boy.

The man walks over and slowly walks into the pond, dipping the child in.

“It’s cold, baba!”

Joonghyuk chuckles at his overdramatic kid and allows him to float over to Raon and splash him.

Later, Joonghyuk sits up on the bank and watches as the two try to capture a frog. He leans back to take in the peace. Cale’s thrilled shrieks were muffled by the sound of water flowing in and trickling out of the pond. Rays of sun flicker from the stirring trees and hikers meander their way through the serene forest. Soaring insects and curious birds weave in and out of branches, going about their day. Reflections of water cast onto a small nose and light blazing hair on fire dimmed onto by the blue hue of the element.

Nature watches and bursts with contentment at the charming scene.

After Cale was tuckered out, the family heads back to wash up and eat. 

“Baba?”

“Mhm?”

“I love you” the boy sleepily mumbles as if only his father can know.

The father feels warmth flood his chest before trying to convey all the affection and emotion he has for this small child in his reply,

“I love you too,” he whispers back, lulled asleep by the soft exhales of his child.

The world tree hums pleased that this child knows peace in this lifetime. Ancient powers crowd around screaming and thrashing, not knowing what to do with the feeling this is causing them.

"Perhaps I should show this to Eruhaben. It might aid in stopping the masses from committing sacrilege" she thinks out loud.

"You can contact them?" Raon asks.

"Of course, what do you think of me, lizard?"

"Tree guy!"

"It's World Tree, child."

"Why is your branch missing?" The toddler's legs swing in the air as they wait for Joonghyuk to finish up his breakfast.

"..."

"..."

"... ask the toad."

whack!

"Raon!"

"NO, tree guy!"

"-ey, what fell?"

"LIZARD!"

"..."

"..."

"Did that tree just fucking talk-"

Chapter Text

I watched my bracelet break and mend numerous times.

Why?

Raon knows everything, so I asked him, but he didn’t answer.

Why did my bracelet break when I do nothing, but not break when I try to cut it, or something tries to take it off?

Why?

Raon and I went on an adventure to find all the silly old people.

Raon told me that I can get Baba when I get all of ‘em.

So, I’m gonna wait and be patient because I’m big now.

But… when is Raon gonna be done? It’s been hours.

Why does Raon look so sa-

“... Cale” Raon breathes.

“Raon?”

“Raon, why are you crying?”

“Cale, we’re going to go on a little trip, okay?”

“Where are we going? What about Baba?”

Trembling hands pick up the child and tuck him under the dragon’s chin. Raon stays there, softly swaying, trying to tell this kid that his father didn’t… make it this round. Tears well up in his eyes, and the teenager buries his face in the child’s red curls.

What is Raon going to do? What is he supposed to say?

[Constellation Brigade gasps in realization and runs to tell Roan]

“Raon, Cale” the earth seems to whisper.

“Bring him back, I will deal with the God of Death in your steed.”

The dragon nods his head and gently lowers Cale to the ground, kneeling in front of him.

“Cale… do you remember how I told you that everything is different, and big monsters are going to come?”

“Mhm! But Raon, you can just get rid of them, right? You are strong and mighty?”

Raon feels his heartbreak as the child says those words with such confidence and trust, just like he used to. The man wipes the tears that slid down his cheeks.

Why did he have to break this child?

Why him?

“Well, a lot of people aren’t lucky or don’t know the world the way I do.”

Raon takes a deep breath before continuing.

“Do you remember when that little rabbit that you befriended had to go away for a long time?”

Cale’s eyes shine with recognition before excitedly saying “Yeah! She went somewhere with a lot of grass to eat and is with her family.”

“Well… your Baba had to go there too.”

“Raon, you’re so silly, Baba doesn’t eat grass, and I’m his family, so why would he go without me?”

Raon feels a sob wrack his body and clutches the boy to his chest

Cale felt the shutters that rolled through Raon’s body and knew.

“Raon… Baba isn’t coming back, is he?”

Raon withdrew from the hug and shook his head, tears rolling down his face.

Cale nodded his head and shoved his face into Raon’s shoulder, letting out muffled wails. Raon gently, so gently, held Cale as reality sunk in. The pair rocked back and forth, and Raon whispered sweet nothings into the boy’s ear while mourning the man.

“We’re going to go somewhere safe, okay?” even though Raon didn’t receive a response, he felt in his very bones that Cale needed to get away.

“Come, child,” nature lured, “you will be safe here.”

An alert alarmed all of those in the immediate circle. Flashes of light and the ripping of teleportation scrolls were instantaneous. Soon, the barren room was filled with the most influential and powerful beings on the planet. 

Wary eyes scan the room and glances get thrown across the table. The air remains motionless, almost suffocating.

They hadn’t been together in this room in a while. 

A scabbard clicks in and out of place by impatient monsters, and the tapping of mana-charged fingers leaves dents in unbreakable substance. 

Everyone in the room was anxious; they didn’t know what being called together again would mean.

The eldest among them peers out the window to stare at the otherworldly mana accumulating in the distance.

“Eruhaben, what is that? Is there another White Star being incarnated or something?” Choi Han inquired with a dangerous tone.

Suddenly the room erupted with noise as people argue or settle into silent fury.

“-be quiet.”

And so, the room stilled.

There was no noise. No clouds. Nothing. This has... happened before, hasn't it?

“Oh, oh fuc-”

“-uhaben wha-”

“-hy is there n-”

“-le okay? The-”

“Silence.”

It seemed as though the blistering sun wavered under the baritone of the dragon. The numbing, inky-blue sky waved smugly at the group, knowing they can’t do anything about the situation. Trees stayed stagnant, depleted of life. 

The only motion in the room was the water within a glass that shook from the quakes stemming from the mass of energy half a mile away from the villa.

“... Joonghyuk is dead.” Eruhaben's voice sliced through the air like lightning crackling down a tree searching for ground.

“oh,” On breathed

...it was the only thing anyone could have said

“Let us meet them when they arrive.”

The violent, churning accumulation of energy left most nauseous, but they endured; they didn’t know what they were going to see when they pair arrived.

It was as calm as water dropping when the mana tempest had stopped, ending with Raon holding a sleeping child.

Raon simply held a finger to his lips and calmly walked toward Cale’s room. 

After settling the toddler into his bed, Raon collapsed into his chair in the meeting room.

“Does he… remember us?” someone spoke

The dragon simply glared at the room. “Human is only but a child, do you truly wish such misery upon him?”

Raon took a deep breath and continued, “Cale was the happiest I had ever seen when he was with his father. Joonghyuk truly… truly loved him with all his heart.”

Raon understood everything that Joonghyuk had endured to try to find Cale in time, and Raon knew that Joonghyuk wouldn’t stop in his next regression, either.

“Human is the same, he is still kind, and he is still the same person that I love, so don’t you dare try to take away even more of his childhood with your selfish greed to be loved the same as you were before he died. You have no right.”

Everyone in the room agreed, some guilty of their previous thoughts, and some furious by the dragon’s decree.

“... so do you have any images of Cale as a baby?” Hong hesitantly asked 

Raon smirked, “Who do you think I am, younger big brother?”

Cale frequently has deja vu. When Raon says certain things, or when Cale sees certain objects, he gets this uncanny feeling that he's seen this before.

That he's done this before.

The child, the baby, has only experienced so much in his short life. He's experienced the warmth of his father and the love he receives and gives to his little family. 

Cale doesn't know what any of this is.

Suddenly he's away from his father for months, and now he's dead.

Why does Cale get the feeling this has happened before?

why why why can't he remember?

... why does he not want to?

Cale wants his dad.

Cale opened his eyes expecting to be in his garden or Raon’s arms but realized that he was in an unknown room. He was about to call out to Raon when he suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Is this real?” the boy questioned, desperately wishing for everything to have been a terrible nightmare

Raon came to a solemn smile and encased the now crying boy in his arms.

It broke Raon’s heart that a Cale in another of one of Joonghyuk’s regressions might have the chance to see him again.

“I’ll introduce you to everyone, okay?”

“...okay”

[Constellation Secretive Plotter nods his head at the explanation]

“Yeah, I brought him to his last planet and he grew up safe for the rest of his life, albeit a little sad and spacy”

[Constellation Secretive Plotter looks down in shame at giving up on his son]

“It’s… I understand you had lived thousands of years trying to find him, and I know you never truly ‘gave up’ on him.”

Raon glanced around the empty plain he teleported to

“Cale grew up, and I took him to see the cosmos. He didn't feel... right staying in Roan. He missed you a lot, Joonghyuk.”

[Constellation Secretive Plotter gives a watery smile and wipes his burning eyes]

Raon turned to teleport back before briefly looking towards the sky, it was one of the only lifetimes where he actually get to see Cale grow old.

Dokja doesn’t know what he did wrong, but Joonghyuk’s kid keeps giving him the stink eye. It was past a stink eye at this point. The child was giving him a death glare, and he felt his soul try to wither away every time. 

“Isn’t Cale just adorable” Heewan squealed

“I never knew master could create something so… cute” Jihye responded with a dazed look in her eye

Dokja shuttered as he felt another piercing stare drill a hole in his back and glanced over to Cale giving him a side eye while petting Raon… who was a cat. 

Don’t get him wrong, Dokja knew Raon was a cat… person… whatever but his brain was malfunctioning at the reality of it.

“Ahem, so Cale how did you… acquire Raon?”

“I don’t remember”

Raon morphed back into a human and possessively stated, “I found him. Finder's keeper's. Fuck off, squid”

Dokja knew Joonghyuk would be laughing his ass off if he was here. 

Who knew that monster could actually laugh?

Dokja sure didn’t.

Gilyoung walked over toward Cale and they both nodded in agreement.

Cale conjured the largest goddamn bug Dokja had ever seen in his entire life which had Gilyoung being as giggly as a school girl passing the football field.

Dokja can’t stand these children.

The ground shook as giant bumblebees erupted from the ground with the kids screeching and laughing. Oh tHeY sMeLl GoOd, Dokja doesn't fucking care what is this? Armageddon??

... Dokja needs a drink.

"Baby," Joonghyuk says in the sweetest tone he's ever spoken. His quiet timber shook with the pouring emotion of the father.

His warm, scarred hands cradle his child to his chest.

Trembling hands push those rosy curls off that small forehead for the millionth time. The father leans in to ingrain the smell of his son into his brain until it's the only thing his synapses are allowed to know.

He hums his forgotten lullaby, trying to soothe his wounded soul.

"Pumpkin, you have to wake up, buddy," the cracking voice led the way to simmering tears

Arms strong enough to fracture the very mantle of this world oh so delicately enveloped the child.

"Come on, my beautiful boy,"

"wake up"

Chapter Text

(SP’s Cale POV)

I wish I had super speed.

The world moves too fast for a being that lives such a short life.

I wish I had super speed to roam the world and help people.

I’ve never been fast enough… so, yeah, super speed seems like a logical deduction for my predicament.

They say dog years go by quickly, and time is proportional to our death.

Do bugs see the world in hyper speed?

They live such short lives, but at least they have a specific purpose.

At least they didn’t have the time to realize that maybe they wished the world spun slower so they could just live one more day .

I’ve watched the seasons turn and growth go into hiding as frost encases the air.

If only you could see what I could see.

There is no such thing as time; it’s all a figment of the mind.

… but even so, I wish I had super speed.

I have lived a long, heart-wrenchingly beautiful life.

Perhaps I am delusional by all the years, experiences, and lives I’ve endured, but if time has no purpose and all of this is simply neurons firing with no life whatsoever…

No, never mind.

I wish I had super speed so I could live through my minutes, seconds, slower. I could break the speed of life and sink the space-time continuum with how fast I move just so I can live… 

more

I never realized how… quickly everything moves in the grand scheme of things. Entire constellations warped and danced with each other’s gravitational pulls, and supermassive black holes scatter galaxies to the furthest reaches of the universe happen in the blink of an eye. 

I just don’t know how long I had my eyes closed as everything entwined around me. 

So, as I embed myself amongst the nebula and newly born galaxies, I hope you know I wanted to see you. 

I hope you know I’m… still here aiding the defense of unknowing planets to protect against the evils you have become.

So that a family down there won’t end up like us.

Maybe I will see you again.

It’s lonely here without you, Dad.

The world tree hums in thought and looks up to the sky. The infinite timelines and multiverses also have beings powerful enough to communicate inter-dimensionally, it seems.

(Yall I just found out abt this line thing slayyy)

Dokja and co, along with the Yoo family travel through the subways in order to get more sustenance. 

As incredibly useful as Cale’s power is at growing food, in the active lifestyle of a survivor, the body requires a minimum amount of protein and amino acids to maintain peak form.

The rats were absolutely decimated by the group. They traveled at a quick pace towards the Myeongdong Station to get the flag for the main scenario.

Once the main floods of monsters had passed, the eeriness of reality sunk in. 

Everyone’s ears were kicked into hyperdrive for even the slightest of abnormalities. After Joonghyuk’s predicament, everyone realized that getting stronger doesn’t mean you’re strong enough.

The cavernous tunnels that were once constructed by the fragile hands of man lay overtaken in an instant by these otherworldly beings. Water drips from cracks and scratches lining the unused walls; the impact echoes down miles of concrete and steel. Rumbling from overhead creatures creates fissures in the exposed soil above the group, covering their hair will earth.

Footsteps were almost inaudible; the group had learned it was best to make as little noise as possible. 

Joonghyuk tenderly cuddled his son in his arms as the boy chattered about the seemingly miscellaneous adventures he and Raon got up to.

Dokja felt like having a heart attack by all the hidden scenarios the pair cleared out in such a short period.

Hmmm… now that Dokja thought about it, he’s forgetting somethi-

[Sub Scenario - Phantom Prison]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: D~F

Clear Conditions: Escape from Phantom Prison within the time limit.

Time Limit: 1 hour

Compensation: 300 coins

Failure:???

“You’ve got to be shitting m-”

           {-oddamnit, Joonghyuk, you're never going to make it in time.}

Please, no, don’t do this to me again.

           {why do you even bother at this point? You've found your son, but how long do you think you can protect him? You?}

…

           {-o you think you’re the main character? The protagonist ? Bitch, please, you can’t save one kid. What makes you think my pr-}

“-HYUK”

           {-ophecy is wrong? It’s not a random guess; it's the future. Your future}

My baby , no, please

           {Whose fault do you think this is? Nobody here. But. yo-}

SLAP!

“Snap out of it, human, come here immediately.”

Joonghyuk snapped up but immediately regretted it as his vision swam and sparks flew past his eyes. As he scanned the space, he saw Dokja, the bastard, trying to wake Jihye and Heewan.

Maybe he should go he-

“JOONGHYUK, please I don’t know what to do.”

The man whipped his head around to find Raon cradling his unconscious son.

“Fuck, what happened”

“He passed out as the sub scenario popped up, but he doesn’t look… terribly distressed”

Joonghyuk carefully touched his son’s small face and briefly marveled at how much he’d grown in just a few years. Charcoal eyes leveled with deep space blue in desperation.

“Have you tried waking him?” the father asked, dreading the answer he already knew.

The subtle tick of the dragon’s head almost made Joonghyuk collapse. 

If Raon was unable to take his son out of this trance… nothing else would.

"Baby," Joonghyuk says in the sweetest tone he's ever spoken. 

His warm, scarred hands cradle his child to his chest.

Trembling hands push those rosy curls off that small forehead for the millionth time.

He hums his forgotten lullaby, trying to soothe his wounded soul.

"Pumpkin, you have to wake up, buddy," the cracking voice led the way to simmering tears

Arms strong enough to fracture the very mantle of this world oh so delicately enveloped the child.

"Come on, my beautiful boy,"

"wake up"

Billowing red hair ignites the bloody field. Crimson seeps from the sneer marring the picturesque face of the being that overlooks the battle. 

Amongst the death and victory of the men and women, past the empire’s flag whipping in violent determination in the wind, resides a bubble of tranquility.

A sense of peace one could only feel around a dead man walking.

Nothing is more final than death.

Good thing Cale had commitment issues.

But… the commander knew his death was imminent. 

The kicker was… for the first time the man would kind of regret dying.

He finally found a family that would outlive him and a family that would happily die for.

Thus created his little suicidal streak and stabbed people with a stick he found. Himself included.

It’s still a shame, though. 

‘Just this once,’ he thought, ‘just this once I could just rest and not have to fight these never-ending uphill battles with these unholy gods. Just this once they could finally let me be content.’

Oh lord, he hated pain. He didn’t know if he was ready for this

• Cale. Are you… sure about this?

“Do I have a choice?” he muttered

• …
• *sob*
• … ok. We will be with you no matter where you go. You will never be alone, I promise you.

Burning tears form and fall onto scarlet lashes; a rough wipe of Cale’s sleeve washes away any evidence.

Regret, guilt, and sadness morph into pure determination and love as footsteps carried by wind glides through the fighting.

Swords and spears slice through his flesh, and he feels his cells mend themselves back together in a quick rotation. His heart thumps at a painfully quick beat as the ancient powers work in tandem to aid his way to the heart of the army.

The roaring of enemies and allies became muted in Cale’s ears as all his senses locked in on the White Star.

A devastatingly quick stab was all it took for the man to surge forward and plunge the drenched bark into immortal flesh.

Two pairs of dying eyes connect. One in defeat and the other in sorrow.

The muffled screams of the strongest people in the continents left the dying man worried in peace.

As his body became one with the end, he felt as if he was slowing falling, weightless. It was as if he was taking his final moments in a deep, empty sea. He felt cold, but the sensation of not hearing anything above yet everything under was so echoey and sedative that it wrapped his mind in cotton. Soft pressure relieved him of his searing wounds, and all he could sense was the quiet void his mind was residing in.

     ‘Ah, drowning is quite peaceful.’

The man allows his body to dissolve into the viscous feeling that slowed his brain to a stop.

“Hello?” a small voice muttered.

     ‘Hm, what was that?’

The commander mustered all his strength to open his eyes, only to realize that his corporeal body had melted, leaving his mind to become the very space.

He glanced around to find a small boy looking directly at him.

“Was that you in that fight?” the boy asked

“Yes. How did you get here?” 

“A sub-scenario happened but then all of a sudden I’m watching that battle. You’re really cool, mister.”

     ‘Subscenerio?’

Taking a closer look, Rok Soo realized that this child looked like… him. An almost perfect blend between Henituse and Kim and quite adorable at that.

     ‘This must be me’

“A sub scenario you say… are you alone?”

A quick shake of bouncy curls followed by an excited and petulant “Nope! Raon and Baba are there, along with all those weak humans that came with.”

     ‘Oh, Raon, what did you do’

“Mister… how did we get here?”

The man hummed in thought. Yeah, he should be dead, not in some subspace. Truthfully, he didn’t really know where you go when you die, as he simply reincarnated into someone else's body…

A quick glance at the toddler further confused him.

“Perhaps we-”

“Ah, you’re here” a powerful voice bellowed into the deep.

The God of Death

Chapter Text

Hundreds upon hundreds of failed attempts.

Hundreds of regressions.

Thousands of years.

I just- I just don’t feel much anymore when I die or when… he does.

It’s sort of like a game now. I only feel disappointed or calculative about what to change when I die next.

I’m too numb to all this shit to feel sorry about it, either.

To be honest… I’ve moved on.

I can’t forever mourn the death of my child for tens of centuries.

I don’t even remember his face or his smell or his tiny, baby hands-

Fuck, I want to feel everything I felt at the beginning of all this. I want to feel something so that when I see him again my emotion and love for him is palpable in the air when I hug him.

I want the time and effort I put into this to be tangible so he knows how much I cared because I don’t think I can… do that anymore.

I’m not Batman and his unhealthy drive to avenge his parents that died 30 years ago.

Well, maybe I am. I didn’t stop looking- the fire didn’t start to wane until a couple of hundred years in.

He’s not dead on this round, so at least I won't regret that.

I know the gods have cursed me in this endless loop of hell, and if I could just get up there and kill all of them I would. I know they teased me with the knowledge of my son, which lost its luster after 800 rounds of that, thank you very much. This damn bracelet doesn’t come off, either. I know because looking at these flowers that used to be my lifeline now taunts me. Trust me, I've tried to take it off.

I know you’re laughing up there, you whores. This is just petty at this point.

… maybe Jihye’s right when she said I’m cold-hearted.

Sigh, I don’t want to be here. It feels like my lungs are heavy and can’t fill up with air the way they used to a millennium ago. As if my throat has a block and my lungs don't expand as effortlessly as before.

I’m tired. I’m bored.

Just let me die at this point. It can't be funny anymore.

Maybe then I can burn the world and take it from these sickening, vile hands-

“Joonghyuk!”

And there’s Raon.

An involuntary sigh leaves my lungs as I stand; it feels like the weight of the universe is wrapped around my shoulders. Damn, I got old in this round.

Reptilian eyes sear into me. I know he sees heavy eye bags and borderline jaundiced skin.

Hmm… is that blood?

“Joonghyuk” Raon shouts in panic

My heart beats a little faster, but after all this time, it doesn’t stutter like it used to at his voic-

The wind gently sways the clearing, stemming from the inferno of slicing the very atoms of the atmosphere. The ground rumbles in urgency and I feel the movement roll up my spine in an eerie foreshadowing. 

I look around to see the group staring at Raon in shock… Gilyoung’s face never gets old.

Nah, never mind it did.

I steel my nerves and walk up to the dragon. My steps still hesitate at the verdict, I don't think that will ever change, at least not completely.

“So, why are you here? The bracelet didn’t break, yet…” The realization washes over me and I whip around to try to see Cale. The world glazes over and figures blur into an abstract painting of lines and light. My sympathetic nervous system alights with adrenaline; my heart racing at a pace I forgot was possible.

“Where is he?” My hands unknowingly grasp at Raon’s tattered shirt.

“Goddamn it Raon, WHERE IS HE?” my vocal cords scratch and burn at the decibel of my cry.

The breeze gently grasps my chin in its effortless touch and my eyes gravitate to the ball of wind that spin so quickly it was an opaque wall of knives.

The cocoon unravels and I barely register what’s there before my arms wrap around the warmth that is my child.

I’m sorry, please, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to give up on you my beautiful boy.

If I could hold you for eternity, I would give up my blood and air to feel your arms wrap around me just once more.

Finally, finally , you’re here-

“...human,” a hand grabs my shoulder, and the soft voice smothers the silence of my mind.

Crystalline tears roll down our cheeks; unspeakable heartbreak reflects in his marine eyes.

“He’s not… I don’t know what's wrong,” a sob rips through his throat and his shoulders shudder.

…what?

My arms unravel and I watch as my Cale’s soft, pale skin becomes more stained with the crimson that I now crave in this perdition.

Oh, my baby.

Shaking hands caress the colorless cheeks that used to always bloom with a blotchy blush.

“Baba?” a broken, young voice whispers.

I gently squeeze him to me and rest my head on his, smelling strawberry and copper on his curly hair.

“I know, sweetheart, I’m here.”

“Baba,” stuttering breathes even out as hands comb through vermillion locks, “it hurts. ”

My eyes burn and I nod my head, shocking the tear off my eyelashes.

“I know, baby, go to sleep, it’s okay.” 

“... L’v you ‘ba”

My voice wavers as I whisper the only truth I’ve ever believed,

“I love you too. I love you so much. I love you, I love you, I love you- ”

I don’t know how long I repeated that, as if gospel truth, to the wind, to the world.

Swaying in the breeze, I feel the stems snap off my wrist, flowers tumbling to the earth in coordinance as my knees, fracturing at the weight of the universe, dead.

Chapter Text

It’s warm. 

A stark contrast to the sharp, cool air that melts into the glass windowpanes and seeps into the room. 

Warm toes and cozy bodies wrapped in quilted duvets with the indescribable smell of home, safe from the hypnotizing hush of the storm outside. 

The smell of walking into the house called home that is a bubble of tranquility after days of constant noise and motion. The smell that lingers on the back of your mind, but one you can’t just put your finger on. The smell that you can only detect after hours away, and days gone. The undertone of nostalgia curled around cinnamon and baked cookies, crumbs lining lips and chocolate melted on sleeping fingers. 

As if a switch had been flipped, all the commotion and static voided as soon as one foot was through the door. 

The fireplace crackled as rain that was just as soft and encasing as the blankets that wrap around the two pattered against the window in nature’s unknown rhythm. The water droplets hitting leaves and grass beyond the wall hovered in a mellow ambiance which slowly lulled droopy eyes to gently shut. 

A warm hand brushed through soft curls as the uncanny timbre of the being on the chaise closest to the illuminating fire softly glided through the air. 

It was as if there was no echo in the room; all noise was consumed by the warmth and plush of the floor and furniture. 

A light tide of heavy raindrops pushed by wind hit the walls and glass like a reminder from nature that it was still there, beyond the scene. 

Heavy hands gently closed the book they were holding with unnatural steadiness, and sharp eyes gaze through the reading glasses perched on the Roman nose. The being’s deep voice rumbled throughout the room as if distant thunder. 

“You shouldn’t have died.”

“Hm… well, it appears I did, so perhaps that’s a little wrong,” the man said with a killer deadpan. 

Worn hands thread through white hair in exacerbation. “Yes, I’m quite aware of the whole undead situation you have going on, but when you killed White Star… it wasn’t supposed to kill you too.” Solemn eyes finally meet the calm expression of the legend in front of him. 

Cale Henituse felt a heart constrict at the words of the god, but his teary eyes met the curly hair that rested on his chest. The chubby, rosy face and little button nose created the epitome of a sleep-soft child squished down onto his favorite cotton shirt from his first life. 

The man took a deep breath as his head raced through the possibilities of being alive and watching his family grow old with him there to see. Thoughts swirled around his mind: what-ifs and fantasies so tantalizingly close… but they came to a halt, floating in mid-air as a soft hum came from the child he was holding close.

He may be this child, but the child was not him . 

“Would he have been born if I had survived?”

The God of Death paused as he looked through timelines and futures before sighing and shaking his head. “No other soul would have had the chance to make its way over at that moment in time.”

“When you showed me his life… I couldn’t help but be relieved at how happy he- I- am. I don’t think I could take that away from myself.”

“So, you don’t wish to go back?”

“No, I don’t think I’m willing to take him away from Raon and Joonghyuk for good.”

“Raon would probably find you again.”

“… I suppose, but I can’t take this precious child away from his father.”

“The fold in space and time would likely make Joonghyuk forget about Cale in the first place after his next regression.”

“Then what about Secretive Plotter?” The rain continued to tap against the window as silence enveloped the three once again.

The god’s lips formed a grim line. He felt as though he needs to correct this debt that he owes. 

“How do you think he would feel after thousands of years wasted ? HOW am I supposed to do that to him? To all of them? Especially when I KNOW the feeling of having to abandon my kids.” Nonexistent tears roll down the commander’s face as heartbreak and grief reflect on his face.

The God of Death shook his head in defeat and held his head as he groaned. “Fine, then. What do you want?”

Cale mulled over what he could do, going through the very what-ifs that chipped away at his mind just minutes before.

“Would I be able to talk to everybody on Roan if I became a constellation?”

“… I suppose I could make something happen…”

“Then I’ll do that. Oh, and I want an unlimited number of coins, of course~~~ Oh! Also, I lowkey want to troll everyone, so if you could-”

The God of Death rolled his eyes and drowned out the scheming that was taking place in front of him. Those wannabe deities couldn’t hold a candle to a true god. “That’s not too difficult.”

Cale’s grin made him regret what he said a little, but he wasn’t too worried. 

He was a god after all.

[Constellation Brigade says that your Cale is fine and to stop being so noisy]

[Constellation Brigade has donated 5,000 coins to Incarnation Yoo Cale]

[Constellation Brigade smirks and crows, waxing poetry about the beauty of Incarnation Yoo Cale and Incarnation Raon Miru]

(((( ok yall let’s explain: Brigade is Cale Henituse, but has access to people on Roan and can transmit what he’s seeing but nobody knows that this mysterious screen is their Cale bc i want him to be a little fuck and surprise them. It’s sort of yoo cale shipped to the past and henituse is like dead so time is nonexistent.

also also also i changed some prev chaps bc i have no idea where this story is going

OMFG im just realizing cale and joonghyuk are both constellations yall its genetic))))

A soft “What the fuck” can be heard from Dokja as he reads the messages in complete horror. 

The man looked over at Raon to make sure he isn’t going to fucking blow up everyone in the peninsula. The teenager (?) had immediately calmed down after seeing the Constellation’s message, while Joonghyuk was still despondent over his sleeping child.
“Aren’t, like, kids supposed to sleep a lot anyways? What’s the big deal,” Jihye said before immediately snapping her mouth shut at the withering glare she received from the regressor. 

“Bro, it’s ok. Brigade said it’s fine, so it’s fine,” Raon said flippantly while rolling his eyes.

       ‘Did Raon just call Joonghyuk BRO????’

[Constellation Brigade nods his head and glares at the god who’s staring over his shoulder]

Raon looks towards the ceiling in thought and asks, “Where is he, though?”

[Constellation Brigade shrugs and says the past while twirling his hair]

“...”

“... I can’t dO THIS SHIT-”

“Dokja calm down-!!”

“NO! WHAT THE FUC-”

The reader pulls at his hair and spins in circles trying to remember why he should be breathing.

Jihye reaches over and takes the popcorn from Raon’s hand. “Hey, where did you get this?”

Raon glances toward her and wiggles his shoulders.

“magic”

Chapter Text

Hi! I applied to all my colleges!! I broke up w my ex (he was a molester), healed from him, and am now dating my (not so I will rant about my woes I don't even know what to do I do not have the balls to break up) pookie bear! He’s great and remembers my fav flowers.

I’m gonna wrap this up, but I’m thinking about doing side stories now that I’m not as busy.

I’m really happy nowadays so I don’t need to have my writing be a crutch for me anymore.

Here’s some song recs for my sexy supporters and thank you to the people who have been here from the start (I read everybody’s comments I love them) it makes me hot and bothered when people say they like my music

PEACH- Adam Melchor

My Funny Valentine- Bruno Major

Camille- WILLIS (guys I went to their concerts and im in LOVE)

And without further ado… The final chapter of my first (and probably last) work!!!!!!

Black tendrils of hair— so dark it glows blue under the afternoon sun— intertwine with red hair cast ablaze in the rays of light.

The hazy state of the room filled only with the sound of animals scavenging outside for food to last through winter. The smell of trees and the crisp, fresh mountain air leak into the room from the door slightly cast open; unbeknownst to the slumbering pair, a cat had found his way to their little hideout up in elevation.

Time stood still; the father knew he wasn’t in over his head, now.

The plush, knitted blanket slowly falling over the couch, and tiny paws stretched out into the shadow of the windowsill. Pink paw pads squishing down onto the relaxed face of the man after the small creature makes the mountainous leap up the furniture. 

Bleary eyes blink open and immediately find the sleeping boy nestled in his arms.

Time had passed quickly for the father. 

The baby that was left to him had grown into such a lovely child that he didn’t know what to do with himself.

The child he poured his tender love and care into was so old, now.

He wished he could go back and love his boy more fiercely than he did, capturing every laugh and tear. But as much as the escaping memories of the giggling toddler appealing to him, the father loved his son more and more every day. 

A gentle stroke through ember hair roused the sleeping boy awake, blearily rubbing his eyes.

“Mornin’ bab”

A tender smile graced the man’s aging face and whispered, “good morning, kid.”

The salt and pepper hair of the father becomes clearer as fluffy clouds float past the sun.

The son, not a boy anymore, excitedly jumps out of his father’s arms, making the man groan from finally being able to breathe properly. Pale hands stretch towards his retired father, wedding band glinting in the sun.

“Let’s go exploring! I found this amazing little pond in the woods with Raon yesterday.”

Knowing eyes glint as fond memories unearth.

“I think I know what you’re talking about, kid.”

Cale looks disbelieving at his father and the pair argue on the description on where the pond is before a voice from outside interrupts them, “hey! I thought the Yoo family never argued. Let’s go!”

Legs sprint out the door as a voice carried across the clearing, “I’m not a Yoo anymore! You took that from me, you ass”

The father grumbles about castrating here and murdering there as he slowly follows the couple on the well-loved pathway of the past.

A black cat watches the trio laugh and tease, content that life was just as tranquil as a cat’s should be.

Wind rustles leaves as a whisper of truth blows through the air

”I am happy now; we will be happy forever.”

My Cat, Raon.

Finished!!

Chapter Text

In which Joonghyuk and Cale go to Hell’s Kitchen

I was watching Hell’s Kitchen and was like I can work w/this frfr. British Dilfy daddy has s soft spot for kids and Cale is… a kid… so… yeah

Joonghyuk felt bad. 

He’d learned how to cook Korean cuisine for his son, but rarely branched out, if ever. 
Cale’s mother is obviously not Korean— look at the kid— but she didn’t lift a finger for him, so the father took it upon himself to expand Cale’s pallet. 

Especially because Cale was extremely picky about the quality of the food. 

The toddler would try anything once, but wouldn’t touch it again if the ingredients or preparations weren’t up to par. 

… Joonghyuk rues the day he started going so “Whole Foods mom” on his young child (no he doesn’t, Joonghyuk is a nut about what his child eats)

When the father was scheduled to go to a gaming conference in Las Vegas, he supposed he might as well bring his son with him to experience the plastic city. 

… also because Cale loved watching Gordon Ramsay, saying it reminded him of “Bud” and “the stressed out walking wallet” mixed together

Joonghyuk… didn’t know which poor soul his son had pillaged, but he should really keep a closer eye on his son during their bimonthly adventures. 

The father is dressed in a dark green turtleneck paired with a warm, beige overcoat and black slacks. 
The son wears cuffed Bermuda shorts and a Cardiff green sweater. 
(I'm so sorry I wear sweats and crop tops everyday Idfk how to describe clothing)
Both father and son were snatched and ready to hear cursing and yelling.

Joonghyuk had his manager set the reservation up (it was implied that he was, like, super popular in his world or wtv, so he’s going to be A/B list celebrity), so he didn’t know that he was going to be a part of the VIP list until he got there.
The father carried his son into the restaurant along with other people he vaguely recognized, and a few scattered paparazzi snapping photos.

“Baba?”

Joonghyuk hummed in reply, trying to find a way out of view from the piranhas. 

“Are we goin’ to see Gogo Ramsay?”

“We might, pumpkin… but you know how busy he can get uhhh… talking… to all the other chefs”

“Mm… mhm! As long as they don’t give me any stinky lemon I won’t give him a talking too” Cale crosses his arms in indignation at the thought of his favorite Brit giving him his least favorite food.

Joonghyuk laughs and shakes his head “Pfft, ok kid, I’ll tell the manager to make sure to substitute the lemon for lime alright?”

“Monferrato!”

“Oh, so you can remember his name but not my coworkers’?”

The father’s hand reached up to ruffle his son’s soft, cherry waves when he got ever-so-rudely interrupted by someone clearing their throat.
Joonghyuk turned around, pissed off at not getting to comb through his son’s perfect hair when he saw a waiter in penguin wear and a blushing face.

“Are you the Yoo reservation?”

Joonghyuk raises a brow as to how she knew until he remembers he posts everything he does online. “Yes.”

“If you could follow me to your seat, that would be great”

Joonghyuk feels a tug on his coat and looks down. This means Cale wanted one of two things:
Forehead kisses
He wants to walk

The father decides to do both a puckers up for a fat one on his son’s soft, pale forehead, then plops him on the ground.
As the family and waiter walk to the seat, Joonghyuk can’t help but grin at the sound of little pattering shoes on the floor. He glances down to where his hand connects to his son’s and coos at the determination on his little guy’s face. 

The waiter shows them to their table (which oh-so coincidentally is right where the camera crew would be pointing for customer reactions), and the father lifts his son onto the booster seat attached to the chair.

“You all good, buddy?”

Rosy curls flopped around at the excited head nod he got in response. Taking the chance, he cards his fingers through the soft hair. His son was quite vain about his hair, and Joonghyuk wasn’t about to complain when his son wanted to grow his hair a little longer than his friends. 
Strawberry-scented strawberry hair is the man’s lifeblood at this point.

Joonghyuk catches the passing manager to tell him about his son’s adverse reaction to lemons when the boy beat him to it.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh! Yes, how may I assist you, sir?”

“Are there any lemons on the red and blue one?”

“There are dishes containing lemon on both menus, but different courses of the meal. I could ask the head chefs if they could make an exception if you want, Mr. Yoo?”

“If not, can you replace it with limes?”

“Of course”

The man got a beaming smile and shining eyes in response and felt his heart palpitate a little. He glances over to the father, who gives him a sympathizing smile in return. He understood the intensity of the heartaches his son sometimes gave. A small hand extends and Monferrato stares blankly at it before realizing the toddler is asking for a handshake. The soul-healed manager leaves to tell the head chefs after Joonghyuk decided on the Red menu, and Cale’s mix-and-match meal was designed.

The father’s hand touched his son’s cheek with a proud gaze.

“You’re getting so big, aren’t you”

“Yes, baba, Raon says I am great and mighty.”

The Yoo family's neighbor, Raon, had moved in after getting accepted into the prestigious Seoul University (chat it has a 20% acceptance rate why was I expecting like 7%). The boy apparently came from a large family, so he’s great with kids. He’s especially attached to Cale, though, stating he reminded Raon of his father. 
Raon always managed to find the best birthday presents (which the father was lowkey salty about), and even gave Cale his family recipe for apple pie for his 8th birthday. 
[the apocalypse didn’t happen woop woop so raon didnt have a need to be a cat]

The father smirked and listened to his son ramble about all his plants and how annoying his friends are, but how he’d never leave them because they’d be “useful” in the future.

(Kitchen POV)

“Chefs! We have quite a few VIPs here tonight, so extra camera crews will be arriving shortly. One customer will be having a mix between Blue and Red, so make sure you count your orders appropriately. They also request all lemon to be switched out for lime.”

[interview]
“I don’t know which pretentious motherfucker wanted a mix of both menus AND no lemon. I mean, how do you even taste the difference?”

The two teams split up and prepare their stations.

“Do you know who’s going to be here?”

“No, but I want to know who ordered in such a complicated way”

“Which table is it?”

“Table 7”

“One of the VIPs?”

“Probably”

The two Blue team chefs peek out over the kitchen divider to see the bane of their existence. 

“That table?”

“Yeah who is-”

“Holy shit it’s that guy um”

“Who?”

“Uh, some like video game guy… the really hot one”

“Markiplier?”

“Girl, no, the guy with the kid”

“PEWDIEPIE???”

“NO! The one with the, the toddler”

“OH! Yeah yeah yeah, didn’t he say that his kid, like, is practically allergic to lemons at this point?”

[interview]
"did I mention how HOT he is? what an absolute DILF oh my GOD"

The two chefs turn pale as they feel the icy gaze of Ramsay shooting daggers at their backs.

“What are you two doing?”

“Nothing, Chef!”

“Get back to work you lazy fucks!”

“Yes, Chef!”

“Oh my GO- this plate has so much oil the US wants to fucking invade it WHO DI-”

The appetizers start pouring out at relatively similar paces, and the Yoo family waits until both of their food had arrived.

“Does it look good, pumpkin?” Chubby cheeks and wide eyes answer his question. The father chuckles at his son before glancing at the camera that was pointing towards the kitchen. He vaguely heard accented swearing, but brushed it off.

“Would you even want it again? We could try to make it together”

Cale rubs his chin and looks off into the distance “Maybe… I’ll have to get back to you on that, baba”

… Joonghyuk stifles his chuckles; he doesn’t know what to do with him.

The cursing gets louder and more creative in the next few seconds, and matching facial expressions lit up at the drama. They both turn towards the kitchens and try to listen in. Nosiness is genetic.

“-ou imbecile. It’s RAW, fucking RAW. The Wellington cannot be RAW you damn idiot.”

Cale giggles and looks at his father, eyes alight at hearing the foul language in person; it’s just as he expected.

“I really want to meet him, baba,” Cale said as he wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, I’m sure you do,” the boy gets in reply.

Waiters disperse as the Blue team’s entrees channel out of their side of the kitchen. Cale had always wanted to try the famed dish but just hoped that his enemy wasn’t included in such a perfectly good meal.
The boy dissects the side dishes, searching for the yellow fruit, and took a big whiff of the meal just to be sure. He dabs his fork into the sauce, and checks for any hint of a zesty aftertaste. He nods after his food surgery was complete.
(Joonghyuk recorded the whole thing)

Cale didn’t want to eat until his father got his food too. The father noticed that his son was always very careful with his actions, especially when it comes to food. He was proud and worried, as his son cared for others, but to the extent of forgetting himself.

“Sweetie, you can eat, you don’t have to wait for me”

“No baba, I’m gonna wait for yours”

A quick glance to the kitchen shows his dish isn’t coming out anytime soon.
Another glance at his son watching his meal like a hawk and slowly welling eyes shows that he needs to get his son to eat.

The father scoots his chair closer to his son and grabs the butter knife out of his hands. Placing it on the table, he takes his own steak knife and starts cutting it into the dish, before picking it up with his fork and popping it in his son’s mouth.

“Is it good?”

“Mhm! You try some”

Tiny hands grab for his fork before giving his father a bite of his food.

“-cking useless! Don’t just stand there like a big fucking muffin. Get out you useless dickheads. Blue team!”

“Yes, Chef!”

“Get over he-”

Cale giggles and covers his mouth with his hands. He didn’t want to be rude. Joonghyuk smirks at his son’s behavior and watches as the team cranks out food. His dish appeared in front of him and disappeared, as he ate it quickly to catch up to his son.

The desserts arrived promptly, which led to a sugar-rushed Cale, eager to meet the British chef.
Joonghyuk asked the manager if they could meet him, to be told that he was talking to the chefs about their performance, to which the father smirked and said not to worry about it.

Just behind the door stood both teams, one happy and the other not.
Ramsay was already informed that he’d be meeting one of the VIP guests, so he decided that it’d be prime TV to do in front of his chefs.
A knock at the door and a French accent notified him that they had arrived. 
The man didn’t know which of the guests would be here to meet him, but it didn’t matter. This would serve to be a learning lesson to all the chefs: never expect routine.

“Hello?” a youthful voice questioned

“Are you our guests, today?”

“Baba!! It’s Chef Ramsay!! He’s just like Beacroux”

“Sure is, pumpkin” a masculine voice replied

Red is the first thing the chefs see 

A swift introduction was spatted out before Ramsey carved a new one into the red team. 

“For goodness fU-fudging sake! What a nasty embarrassment you failures are. Absolutely despicable shi-sheep heads.”

Interview:
“Ok I know we fucked up but the sensoring is really decreasing the scare factor here”

The british chef’s forehead wrinkled even more as he looked at stifled giggles and asked a cementing blow, “what the heck even happened?”

The lead chef for the red team spoke up, “The customer who ordered the complex order had completely melted the work station because our prepper kept forgetting to replace the lemon with lime.”

‘Oh no’ is the first thought that ran through Joonghyuk’s mind as he glances down at his son. A furrowing brow and quivering lip causing primal instinct to protect and the father sweeped Cale into his arms within seconds. Multiple withering glares is cast towards the team as the more online red teammates slapped their heads in tandem in interviews.

[interview]
"and that when I knew it. It's over for us."

[interview]
“Ok what the fuck did she just saw there is no way in hell he not only upset Ramsey with his bullshit excuse… he blamed it on our guests?? VIP guests??? AND a toddler?? Holy fuck we’re doomed.”

A long winded rant from Gordon proceeds due to the “audacity” to “disrespect a guest” let alone a child.

“You people are absolutely unaware of the faults that those words can have in this industry not to even mention your horrid skills as a chef-” Gordon’s mid sentence as he feels a tug on his pants and sees the sweet, cherub baby gleaming sadly into his eyes. He feels his heart shatter to see the innocent child subjected to absolute insanity of one of his adult chefs.

“It’s alright Gogo I got this,” startled the adults in the room as all eyes (and cameras) peered at the waddling kid.  

The camera pans to Cale as an absolute avalanche of bleeps and cut words spill out of the toddler’s small mouth.

You could practically feel the tremors from how hard Joonghyuk slapped his face.

… and hear the joy of Raon laughter as he watches the unedited clip of his ward.

“-annot believe that such a squid looking low-life who looks like a biker gangs road kill had the gall to insult a customer. Your food wasn’t even good! Absolutely NOT invited to my taste buds.”

“You little bit-”

Multiple bodies were about to lunge before an, “ah ah stop singing! You’re not a good singer,” was stated while ears were plugged by the toddler

“You can’t even speak about bitches considering the only one you can get is your neighbor's chihuahua. Why were you even confused with my order? Are you old?”

“No, you and your whiny ass just messed up the flow of the kitche-”

“And you’re so old. Baba, are you gonna be that fat when you get to his age?”

A shaking Joonghyuk shakes his head and crouches next to his son and scoops him up with a “nah, kid, I think I’m not gonna be as bald either.”

“That’s good. I think it’d be sad if your face caught fire and got put out with a hammer too. Think about how many followers you’d lose!”

Ramsey finally bursts a stitch and leans onto the counter, wiping his eyes.
“Ah, Mr. Yoo… You’ve got your work cut out for you don’t you”

A long suffering sigh escapes the father, “Don’t even remind me”

Joonghyuk’s gaming room is glowing with inviting neons as the man’s head is in his hands.
    lolololol did u even try to stop your tab;e kid

“Just shut the fuck up”

    i guess we found out where cale got his potty mouth~~~
         nah i think its just the unrestricted internet access

“... He does not have unrestri- ok look MAYBE adult swim was a bad idea but like-”

    chat he was prob js bored and needed a funny kid

The streamer groans and drops his head onto his desk. “I’m unplugging you people”

Popping knees and hands on thighs greets Joonghyuk’s subconscious as the man stands up with a groan. He trudges over to Cale’s room hoping to get recharged before hearing noises from the kitchen.
Joonghyuk leans on the door frame as he watches his baby pretend to direct a kitchen and records the ordeal. 

The cuteness is killed after the seventh “fucking donkey” in a high pitched british accent and large hands wrap around the toddler’s armpits and the father swings his kid onto his hip.

“... you’re such a great chef. Baby”

“I know baba look at my cooking minions. All in order.”

“Yeah… come on sweetheart let’s go get a snack and play with the puppies at the dog park”

“PUPPY?? Baba, we NEED to get a puppy!”

The man chuckles as he imagines Raon’s reaction to a dog, knowing the teenager’s adverse reaction to canines, “I’ll think about it, buddy”

“You better” the toddler huffed as he crossed his arms with a yawn

“Aweee come on baby let’s go it’s nice outside”

Sleepy eyes glint with happiness as the warm sun wraps around a small nose.

“I love you, baba”

“I bet I love you more”

A sappy smile is all onlookers see as the pair tread well-loved paths of the present.