Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Mreowwww~” Somewhere in the distant surroundings, a cat yowled piercingly.

Stop it. He thought. It’s so loud, it hurts. However, at the incessant racket, he grew increasingly irritated, deciding to, at this point, pointedly articulate his thoughts. He opened his heavy eyes. PLEASE STOP.

But what came out, “Mew…”

?!?! He was shocked. He had a pounding headache, but he definitely did not imagine that.

Did that embarrassing sound truly come out of him?

With great willpower and slight trepidation, he forced the body he seemed to be inhabiting to raise a… paw. A soft and white paw. A trembling paw - the trembling mirroring his internal unrest. What was happening?

He looked around his surroundings, and suddenly noticed the strange environment he was in. A tipped over trash can. Filthy wrappers littered all throughout the ground. Looming walls enclosing the sides. As he took it in, his mind whirred at a rapid pace, fruitlessly attempting to search his memory for a cause to the situation.

A minute passed, and he still drew a blank, unable to remember anything beyond the frustrating gap in its memory. What, or most importantly, who was he– who had he been before? He had definitely been searching for someone, he knew it in his very soul.

Though he panicked, he calmed down just as swiftly, if not more. He rationalized– it was the only way he could survive and find an answer to all the emptiness he felt, and the person he felt great yearning for. First, he decided to parse through the memories he did have. A vague memory of looking into a mirror floated into his mind, and though the face in the mirror was far from clear, it was obvious that he had been human at one point. (Thankfully he still retained a fraction of his memories, otherwise that would’ve been somewhat awkward).

He stood up, and slowly padded back and forth through the assumption of an alleyway. Familiarizing himself with this new body was important, and he did not want to take any chances if anything was messed up due to his lack of control over his body. Before long, though, he felt a sharp, urgent, pang of hunger, and an accompanying lack of energy. It seemed that the previous owner of the body had diminished the body’s energy to the last dregs before handing over the body to him. Such stinginess!

As he cursed the previous owner of the body, he prioritized his survival at the same time. How would he obtain sustenance for the failing body? It was a risk, but he decided a risk was better than nothing– and stepped outside of the alley. A rough gust of wind greeted him, tasting acrid and bitter, of smoke and filth. He recoiled in disgust, and almost got stepped on by a woman wearing extremely sharp high heels in the process.

He barely avoided the dagger-like, weaponized shoes, and darted through the street, though it came at a cost. He hadn’t even reached a hundred metres before he collapsed against his will, face-planting into the unforgiving sidewalk. No… must… live… his thoughts scattered. I… must not… collapse here…

Much to his chagrin, his flimsy body seemed to affect his thought process, and his rationality. However, at the cusp of fading into unconsciousness, he saw a dark shadow approaching, a familiar scent and silhouette. But from where? He barely had time to even ponder on this peculiarity– the world flipped upside-down.

“MEOWWW~~!!” Furious yowling and hissing noises emerged from the tiny ball of fur that had been scooped up with a newspaper. It was rather surprising to Yoo Joonghyuk - how such a miniscule being that seemed so low on energy could produce a noise so blaring. Intrigued, he decided to stare at the creature, and was met with a sudden and blissful silence that followed. The creature, who had abruptly quieted down, gazed back at him, the depths of its large eyes seeming to convey some sort of hidden, indescribable emotion.

It was strange. Quite strange. Yoo Joonghyuk hadn’t felt anything in so long that this in itself was a miracle. Though deciding to keep the odd creature, he still held it at a distance cautiously.

It was him. Yes, it had always been him.

How could he have forgotten? He, even without a morsel of undigested food in his stomach, felt shaken to his very roots. This was the person he felt like he had been searching for. This man would bring back his memories. So, he stared at the man. He was upside-down, but desperately tried to crane his head in to get a better look at the man’s face. He halted. Even in this state and body, he could tell the man was breathtakingly handsome in human standards; seemingly carved from the purest midnight itself.

As he was starstruck in wonder and discovery, the man broke the gaze first and began walking. With him still on top of the newspaper. Lying upside down.

People stared and whispered to each other as the pair walked by, though he had an inkling that it had nothing to do with his sorry self on the newspaper and everything to do with the glamorous man holding the newspaper.

[T-T]

That, he discovered, made him feel a little salty and competitive. His curiosity regarding how he had looked in his previous human form grew, and he secretly vowed to get his human form back so he could compete with the man. It seemed like an impossible task, but he relished the challenge.

He soon realized how terrible the man was at naming things. Who in the world would name an unidentified scrap of fur from the streets dirt??? Who even would pick up said scrap of fur from the streets in the first place? This man, apparently.

He– no, now Dirt (NO! HE REFUSED TO ACCEPT THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A NAME), felt something a bit off. Perhaps there was a reason why this man still lived alone, despite looking like that. He simply did not know just how accurate his suspicions were until a few days later.

As of the moment, however, the man took Dirt (ugh, he had to use this name since he didn’t have any other ideas on what name to use) to a strange, clinical setting that he quickly deduced to be a pet clinic. It smelled like the pain and suffering of cats, dogs, and others in physical form, and it was quite perturbing to him. While his mind was perfectly calm, his physical body cowered as it saw the approaching vet, which elicited a slight frown from the man that he felt without even needing to glance back.

The fur on his spine raised and he felt himself making a low, threatening sound from the hollows of his throat. His consciousness slapped himself on the face mentally. The body and soul needed a talk before things got out of hand, pronto. Before he could mentally slap himself again, though, a warm, firm touch jolted him out of his musings. The man was warning him to stop being so aggressive, and reinforced his point by patting Dirt’s fur down further elegantly with his gloved hand.

Somewhere unseen, an entity covered her face with a hand, practically swooning at the scene.

It felt like an eternity had passed before the vet left the drained Dirt on the clinical table.

He’d been washed against his will, scrubbed, prodded with medical instruments; his claws cut and fur trimmed greatly. Sure, it may have felt pleasant to be taken such care of, but he had other matters to worry about. Such as the identity of the man who’d (cat)napped(?) him and his missing memories. He would start by gathering secret intel on the man’s house and habits, until he realized the man had no such intention of even letting Dirt in his house. He realized this as he was thrown in the yard, and subsequently, forced to hide out in a hastily prepared pet house as a thunderstorm raged outside.

Something was wrong with this man!

Yes, there was definitely something wrong with this man.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days of nothing uneventful, unlike the tumultuousness of the first day, until today. The man seemed to have finally remembered about Dirt, and emerged from his hermit home willingly, unlike the past few times when Dirt had yowled so loud the man had to throw cat food he’d hurriedly gotten into a random bowl before continuing his matters in the hermit house.

What was the man even doing? Instead of paying attention to him? Dirt refused to acknowledge his obvious clinginess and decided to blame his ‘caretaker’, if you would, instead. He would find a way to win this man over, whatever it took– even if it meant he had to act cute.

“Meoooow~~~”, Dirt opened his mouth, but this time, instead of angrily screeching, he went softer. Gentler, as if coaxing the elusive man out of the house.

Dirt waited. And waited. For a response, any response! But none came, and his flimsy attempts at his so-called seduction failed miserably.

Grumbling, he collapsed on the ground roughly, suddenly drained of energy. Burying his face into his paws, he felt a twinge of… something . A twinge of familiarity and soulfulness, and a deep-set fatigue that rapidly swept in that distracted him from the feelings.

But wait… why was he so tired all at once? Before he could even ponder this question though, his eyelids drooped further and further until he fell into an unknowingly slumber.

Yoo Joonghyuk was hard at work… gaming when he felt it . A sharp, undeniable pang of emotion that shot through his heart for a slip second. It screamed of heartbreak and sorrow, of regretful words left unspoken. 

He was currently streaming, and the chat exploded as he abruptly got up and paused the stream, which had absolutely never happened before. The unprecedented action surprised even Yoo Joonghyuk himself– and why was he abandoning his stream and walking towards the backyard of all places?

He found a partial answer: in the form of a limp shape lying in the middle of his backyard. He didn’t know why, but his heart raced frantically as he noticed something was definitely wrong.

It shouldn’t have bothered him, but it did. It was just a stray cat that had stirred something within him, nothing more, but the connection seemed so much greater than that all of a sudden. What was going on? Yoo Joonghyuk forced himself to calm down as a foreign, yet familiar feeling of being abandoned flooded his mind and made it difficult to think straight.

However, Yoo Joonghyuk swiftly came to his senses and gathered the ball of fur into his arms, rushing to the nearest vet with a sense of urgency he didn’t understand.

His heart ached, and he felt terrible. As he finally reached the clinic, he growled at the receptionist to take the bundle in his arms, seeming more of a threat than anything else.

The receptionist, sensing Yoo Joonghyuk’s feral state, quietly accepted the ‘request’ and courteously pretended not to notice the disheveled state Yoo Joonghyuk was in. The latter had his dark, windswept hair blanketing the right side of his face in a wild manner, and his eyes gleamed with a sort of uninterpretable urgency.

Dirt was taken into a clinical room, while Yoo Joonghyuk unwillingly stayed outside.

He was dreaming. Yes, that must be it, since in the real world, there weren’t people battling ferociously with swords, or the underlying, alive sparks of magic whizzing around. He was very sure that the monsters emerging from the horizon were a figment of his imagination, too.

How could any of this be real? It didn’t make sense, really, and he had no intention for it to make any sense.

However, the scene seemed achingly familiar–

A voice rang in his head, lilting and musical. “It’s time to go back, Kim Dokja.”

Kim Dokja woke up in a strange room, with cold fluorescent lights glaring at him. He felt odd, as if he’d forgotten something tremendously important.

Not thinking too much upon it, he reclined comfortably on the… table?

Hold up. Something wasn’t right here. Kim Dokja looked down and saw an abysmally long drop awaiting him, as well as a pair of furry paws in his vision. 

With this, his memories of the past few days came rushing back albeit slightly fuzzily, and while he took most of the events in stride, he felt like hiding his face when remembering his eventual acceptance of the name ‘Dirt’. It was not his proudest moment, that was for sure. However, adaptation was important– more than pride so he brushed it off, especially with the majority of his memories still missing.

“He seems fine,” a voice suddenly floated from the doorway. “With a bit of proper nutrition and care, he’ll be as good as new!”

Kim Dokja’s ears instinctively perked, and he raised his head, gazing at the doorway. A tall man strode in, his hair so uncharacteristically unkempt that Kim Dokja almost didn’t recognize him. 

But he did. He would've recognized him anywhere (except when his memories had been wiped so cleanly before it seemed).

Joonghyuk-ah! Kim Dokja teased. It’s been some time.

But what came out? A pathetic series of weak mewling that only raised a few eyebrows.

That was embarrassing, Kim Dokja thought. He had begun to regret accepting his new existence as a cat so nonchalantly.

[T-T]

He covered his face with his soft paw almost abashedly, and looked away.

A voice seemed to laugh at him, but it was so faint he might as well have imagined it.

Chapter Text

After all of the commotion in the clinic, Kim Dokja simply felt dead tired. He’d tried countless attempts the past hour to get Yoo Joonghyuk to recognize him, but the man clearly did not get the message. 

Hoisting the entirety of Kim Dokja’s cat body with one arm, Yoo Joonghyuk carried him effortlessly throughout the whole trek back. Kim Dokja was tempted to complain vocally, but given the ‘lovely’ personality of the man beneath him, he decided otherwise. He did, however, constantly flick his tail, which struck Yoo Joonghyuk’s back in annoying, repetitive motions.

As soon as the pair had gotten back to Yoo Joonghyuk’s home, Kim Dokja was basically thrown into the house, an afterthought of the vet’s advice. The upside, though? Kim Dokja realized he had finally successfully ‘infiltrated’ the house, and at that thought, his tail began to flick again, though this time uncontrollably, and in pure excitement. He couldn’t wait to figure out all of the deepest, darkest secrets Yoo Joonghyuk ever had, and uncover everything that he could. 

He didn’t know it, but a smug expression had spread across his feline face, contorting it oddly.

His unusual behaviour attracted the attention of Yoo Joonghyuk, who shot him a strange look before swiftly leaving the room. 

Kim Dokja barely noticed, as was the extent of how hopelessly lost in his fantasies of exposing Yoo Joonghyuk was. Naming me Dirt? As if! Just you wait...

A day passed, yet nothing much seemed to have happened. Kim Dokja was bored out of his mind, unable to do anything without the convenience of a human body. He’d made a fool of himself many times in the past day (in private, of course, though) in wasted, desperate endeavors to somehow transform himself back into a human. The list included, but was not limited to, jumping off of the living room table, meditating, meowing completely outlandish spells/gibberish, and even acting like a real cat (yes, he honestly did pretend to be the cat 'Dirt'). Even his attempts of spying on Yoo Joonghyuk had failed spectacularly, as the latter shut him out completely. 

Kim Dokja fumed inside at the numerous slights, but he still pasted on as much of a pleasant, non-threatening expression on his face that he could muster up during every interaction with Yoo Joonghyuk. 

I will find your secrets, Kim Dokja vowed, with a touch of saltiness. And you better be scared for when I do. With this, somewhere in the deep recesses of his subconsciousness, he heard the echoes of a whispered, you sunfish.

It was later that day, and Kim Dokja’s head was suddenly pounding. His head felt like it was going to split apart with the intense pangs of pain that pierced through him. He himself felt on the brink of fainting again within the span of a short few days, and he blamed it on the body he happened to possess. It was the body's fault, really! Rising unsteadily, he stumbled towards the couch– almost tripping over his own paws in the process. 

As he settled down on the couch, he heard a ping. It sounded so far away that he brushed it off as just another thing Yoo Joonghyuk did, whatever it was. But Kim Dokja soon realized it was no coincidence, just as his head continuously pounded with such intensity that it felt like it was being cleaved into two.

Ping. Ping. PING. PING! A series of pings, the sound growing louder with each passing second, sounded in Kim Dokja’s ears. It was peculiar how it resembled the noise that an abundance of unread notifications would make all at once. Kim Dokja, however, found he did not have the available mental energy to reflect on that, especially as he fought the urge to curl up into a ball at the unrelenting pain attacking his head. 

Curse this body!

On the cusp of unconsciousness, he seemed to see foreign, glowing, blue windows appearing in front of him at a rapid pace matching each ping. Words appeared on each and every of the windows, yet they didn’t disappear even when Kim Dokja weakly batted at them.

Huh? He definitely had just seen his paw tangibly press something on a word-filled window, instead of simply passing through it like a hologram as expected.

His vision blurred as he struggled to read, but he ferociously fought to stay awake as his curiosity vastly overtook the pain. The words on the first message– the message at the very top of the pile read:

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is anxious about you.]

Kim Dokja truly did not know what to make of the cryptic message, except that it had ties to his life pre-memory loss. However, his body was at its limit, and he reluctantly decided to finally sink into relieving, mindless unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Kim Dokja groaned. Everything hurt, especially his head. Wait, his head? He gingerly reached a paw to his head whilst lying motionless on the ground, and found it surprisingly still intact. Then, he remembered the floating, otherworldly windows he had encountered before fainting, and looked around in a frantic search for any evidence of their appearance. There was nothing. 

He panicked, but most of all, he felt tremendously frustrated– those windows were, without a doubt, related to his evasive past, and missing memories. It’d been the only opportunity that had been before him, and he’d lost it all in a split second. 

Kim Dokja wanted to curse– at the world, at himself, everything. But just as he did, a familiar ping sounded in his head.

Abruptly, he swerved his head, bringing his face right to one of those… windows.

!!!!! This time, without the pain distracting him, he read the message easily. 

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ tells you to open your status window.]

‘Status window’? No, more importantly, who was ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ and what did they want with him? Slightly disturbed for his privacy, Kim Dokja looked all around the room, and was met with mere emptiness and furniture. The message entailed that somebody had access to his surroundings, and was spying on him, but Kim Dokja did not have any other choice but to try to open this ‘status window’ before he could confront the mystery.

The problem was that he had no idea how to open it.

But after many awkward strained attempts that he hoped his stalker didn’t take notice of, he finally figured it out.

“Status window,” Kim Dokja said aloud. The words came out as a meow , but the intended effect materialized nevertheless. Seeing the ‘status window’ that appeared in front of him, he felt utterly elated.

A couple of hours had passed, and Kim Dokja had pretty much investigated every aspect of the blue windows (ones that he had come to know as ‘system windows’). With this, he had also discovered a curious function named the ‘Dokkaebi Shop’, where there existed plethoras of items of every kind imaginable. At first, Kim Dokja had found it difficult to imagine it was real - the entire system strongly resembled that of a video game.

But the idea that he was simply hallucinating shattered after he clicked ‘buy’ on a cheaper item in the shop (courtesy to his apparently scant balance in the system); his saved balance dropped, and the item he’d purchased materialized out of thin air in front of him. It was a scale of some sort of creature; one that was undeniably not something of this world. 

Kim Dokja still didn’t believe in it, but he didn’t have to, instinctively knowing that he’d always prefer living in fiction over reality.

However… 

He shot a glance at the shop and felt a twinge of mischief. Right now, it didn’t seem to matter that someone could be stalking him, or that he might never get his past back. All Kim Dokja wanted to do was to finally ‘pay back’ his gratitude for the past couple of days to his wonderful host, Yoo Joonghyuk.

A smile(?) spread across his face as he planned his revenge.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ cheers you on.]

It seemed that his ‘stalker’ turned out to be just an enigmatic, otherworldly being who was coincidentally also his biggest fan.

Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly shivered, despite the perfectly comfortable temperature of his house. He was filled with a sense of slight foreboding, inspiring him to follow his instinct– to go to his living room.

He was met with quite the surprise– his living room was an absolute mess, and it seemed to be the courtesy of Dirt. Dirt, who was currently completely out of sight. 

“What…” Yoo Joonghyuk muttered darkly as he took in the scene before him. The couch was brutally torn, with bits of stuffing lying on the floor.

A tuft of snowy fur peeked out of the corner of the foot of the couch, and Yoo Joonghyuk felt a spontaneous urge to catch the troublemaker. 

Walking towards the tuft, he turned the corner and saw… no Dirt. All there was were a few more clumps of fur, seemingly forming a trail of some kind. It was strange. While Yoo Joonghyuk was no expert in cats, nor their shedding habits, he could tell the amount on the ground was definitely abnormal.

Where was Dirt? Did something happen?

However, before he could ponder on the questions, the doorbell rang multiple times. Someone was rapidly pressing the button on the doorbell, and Yoo Joonghyuk felt increasingly irritated.

Yoo Joonghyuk strode to the door and abruptly yanked it open, and was met with an annoyingly familiar face. 

“What do you want?”

“What do you want?” Yoo Joonghyuk demanded.

Han Sooyoung smirked at the visibly irked expression on Yoo Joonghyuk’s face– she couldn’t help but feel smug whenever she succeeded in annoying him. 

“Just came by to give you this,” she tossed him a bag, which he effortlessly caught. “And you know what? I totally missed your patheticness.”

“Didn’t ask,” Yoo Joonghyuk replied, proceeding to immediately shut the door.

Han Sooyoung, used to his antics, blocked it with her foot and strolled inside the house undisturbed. She didn’t really care about what Yoo Joonghyuk did with his life, but the scene in the living room raised her eyebrows. 

“What were you doing here?” Han Sooyoung questioned teasingly, but upon a closer inspection on Yoo Joonghyuk’s handsome face (which was slightly pinched), she paused. “It wasn’t you?”

“...” Yoo Joonghyuk remained silent, but Han Sooyoung could easily tell he was irritated by something (which unsurprisingly, made her happy).

Her eyes travelled throughout the room, and landed on the suspicious bits of fur scattered on the floor. 

“Hey, when did you get a pet?”

“...” Silence. Then, again, that had been what she’d expected.

Rolling her eyes, she followed the trail to the bathroom with Yoo Joonghyuk, where the door was tightly shut. She shot a look at Yoo Joonghyuk and scathingly asked, “You sure you didn’t lock something inside your bathroom?”

She was met with an equally, if not more, scathing glare from him.

Kim Dokja was in the bathroom in question. Hearing the sounds outside, he decided hiding would not be the wisest option at the time being.

But why was he locking himself in the bathroom in the first place? It was because he had sighted an item in the Dokkaebi Shop that he had impulsively bought; an item that had led to the current situation. 

He had turned his feline body into a human.

Chapter Text

Kim Dokja was in trouble. He’d not only overlooked the possibility of Yoo Joonghyuk actually emerging from his room, but also that of the stranger who’d accompanied him. 

He found that he did not appreciate this feeling; he by far preferred predictability.

However, here he was, instinctively crouching on the bathroom floor as he tensely eavesdropped on the conversation outside (of which it was mostly one-sided anyway). Kim Dokja did not have many options to choose from, but he decided that he would have a larger chance of surviving if he…

Well, it wasn’t the best, but what choice did he have, really?

His mind made up, Kim Dokja closed the system window that detailed his current transformation into a human (he still had approximately 30 minutes before the ridiculously overpriced item wore off). He yanked the nearest article of clothing he saw on a rack, and initiated his plan.

“What if it’s a robber who stole your pet?” Han Sooyoung continued prattling on to the unresponsive Yoo Joonghyuk. “What would you do–”

She was abruptly cut off by something– no, a human being speeding off from the direction of the bathroom at an inhuman speed. They wore a slightly oversized bathrobe over their… head(?), and belatedly, Han Sooyoung noticed the bathroom door swinging ajar.

“...” Han Sooyoung was at a loss of words, and gaping, she turned to Yoo Joonghyuk, who was clearly shocked beyond belief, even though his face remained remarkably stoic.

And she burst out laughing, because it was priceless knowing how flabbergasted the ‘great’ Yoo Joonghyuk was. Popping a lemon candy into her mouth, she smugly relished the tart taste.

“Phew…” Kim Dokja breathed out a sigh of relief. 

He’d made a beeline for the exit, relying on the element of surprise, and had actually made it outside of the house by some miracle. 

Stretching his now-cramped muscles gingerly, he warily looked at the house and edged slightly farther away. Better be safe than sorry.

Now, Kim Dokja discovered that it was a wondrous time to lament on his life choices. The tips of his ears burned as he remembered the horrifying appearance that had shown up on the mirror– a face that seemed to want to be both a human and a cat, which had resulted in a disastrous hybrid of the two. (Granted, he, for some reason, could not see his face clearly no matter how close he looked, but he was intrinsically sure that it was quite unsightly.)

Kim Dokja checked the time remaining in his transformation and sighed miserably. 25 minutes left??? After he’d spent his (hopefully not) life savings to buy the transformation item, his original intent was to approach Yoo Joonghyuk and figure out more about his mysterious past. 

Currently, he seemed to lean on the side of running away until he could figure out why in the world the item didn’t work correctly. He strongly desired to not-so-politely converse with the manufacturer of the product, and possibly obtain a refund, but it sounded extremely unrealistic at the moment.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ roots for you!]

Oh, there was also this he had to deal with. 

“What good is just ‘rooting for me’ going to do? I’m broke and I just had a spectacular failure with this transformation.” Kim Dokja grumbled, his sour mood reflecting the recent events.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ ponders for a moment.]

? What were they doing?

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ sponsors you 300 coins.]

?!?! It seemed his stalker-turned-fan-turned-sponsor was quite determined to help him. Kim Dokja felt a smile unwittingly twitch at the corners of his lips.

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

Yoo Joonghyuk was frozen in place, as he had been for the past five minutes.

When the presumed robber had brushed past him during the split seconds they were on the run, Yoo Joonghyuk had felt a spark of recognition– as if he knew the other person.

His brow furrowed slightly as he concentrated; he knew the feeling from somewhere , he simply could not remember where. 

And it bothered him. 

As Yoo Joonghyuk was idly staring off into space, Han Sooyoung wasted no time– she whipped out her phone and snapped countless pictures of Yoo Joonghyuk’s statue-like pose and contemplating expression, backing them up immediately.

Yoo Joonghyuk glared at her from the corner of his eye, as if telling her that she’d better be sorry, or make up some excuse.

Oh, her excuse? She didn’t have one. Wasn’t scared of any consequences either. 

She popped another candy into her mouth.

Chapter Text

While Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung were ruminating and goofing around, respectively, Kim Dokja was having the time of his life post-memory loss. (Which, accurately speaking, was not very exciting at all, though it was the best he could get.)

He’d obtained a disguise with the help of his benefactor (a rather simple disguise in his opinion, but it functioned quite well). Adorned with a white coat that fluttered delicately with the wind and a face-distortion mask, Kim Dokja strolled through the park a few lengths outside of Yoo Joonghyuk’s house as leisurely as he could, given the time limit he had. 

Kim Dokja decided that he deserved this simple breath of fresh air after all he went through in the past days. 

As he walked past the meandering of the neighbourhood path, he noticed a dark corner beneath a portion of the neighborhood wall. A sound emerged from its direction, and Kim Dokja, with his enhanced senses (the only benefit of having a hybrid transformation) heard a child’s voice cry out for help.

!! Alarmed, he swiftly rushed towards the source of the sound, and was met with… nobody. There wasn’t a child in sight, but the cries persisted, leading him to believe they were somewhat hidden. 

Looking around, Kim Dokja’s gaze landed on a cardboard box lying sideways on the ground, flimsy and practically half-destroyed. He approached it cautiously, and prodded it with a stick.

A pair of kittens came tumbling out, their fur matted and their condition clearly unwell. Kim Dokja didn’t think he would be able to do much for them at this point, but just as he prepared to leave, he heard another weak plea for help.

To his shock, it came from one of the kittens, who stared at him intently from half-lidded eyes. 

It seemed Kim Dokja had learned a surprising new skill: how to speak cat-language! He sighed, and picked up the frail creatures, carefully placing them within his arms as he headed back to Yoo Joonghyuk’s house. 

It had been roughly 15 minutes already, which came across as an ideal time to end his escapade.

Ping! A window message sent his eyes upwards.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ approves of your compassionate decision.]

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ sponsors you 100 coins.]

Kim Dokja did not think of himself as so kind-hearted, but he appreciated the coins nonetheless.

On the other hand, Yoo Joonghyuk was in a state of turmoil. Based on all the clues that were left in the crime scene of his house, he concluded that not only had there been a robber visiting his house, it seemed the robber had also taken Dirt. 

What happened to Dirt? Yoo Joonghyuk felt a twinge of panic at the thought, but briskly stamped it out. He found that he cared more about Dirt than he had originally thought.

A cold rage spread through his veins, hardening his expression. It didn’t matter if he’d felt like he knew the robber; Dirt was far more important.

Yoo Joonghyuk was prepared to chase the robber to the ends of the world for daring to abduct Dirt.

Han Sooyoung reclined on Yoo Joonghyuk’s partially shredded couch, as she leisurely rolled the lemon candy around in her mouth and enjoyed the show.

It was obvious how Yoo Joonghyuk was overthinking quite a bit– which he often unknowingly did while gaming (it was an annoying habit that Han Sooyoung had never bothered to point out in hopes of hindering his success). 

This time, however, the intensity of his gaze seemed unusually strong, over a… cat?

Han Sooyoung internally facepalmed as she realized the single-mindedness of Yoo Joonghyuk all over again. Looking around, she confirmed that there weren’t any easily reachable projectiles or weapon-like items before stretching her hand out and slapping Yoo Joonghyuk on the cheek. Hard.

“Wake up,” she drawled, briskly retreating her arm before he could retaliate. “What were you thinking about? Worrying about the pictures I have of you that will probably be pretty effective blackmail?”

Yoo Joonghyuk turned her way, glowering incredulously as he finally retorted, “When a robber was in my house?” 

Finally, they were getting somewhere. Han Sooyoung smirked and replied, “Well, it’s your house not mine. Your problem to deal with, not mine–”

She was cut off as a snowy cat treaded in, its facial expression awkward (that’s what it looked like to her) as it dragged two smaller bundles of fur along with it– one brown and one golden in color. 

Yoo Joonghyuk did not cease his glowering, but Han Sooyoung saw the evident relief in the loosening of his expression, and bluntly questioned,

“Your cat has kittens?!?” 

MEOWWW????

“WHAT.”

Her remark sparked an indignant protest on both sides, especially the cat, who seemed to somehow understand her– its eyes widening to create an absolutely horrified expression.

Chapter Text

Kim Dokja felt offended– and quite rightfully so– how dare she accuse him of increasing the feline population?!

Speaking of, he realized he still did not know the identity of the person. Bringing his gaze up to look curiously at her, she stared back brazenly and unapologetically. Kim Dokja looked away first, but only because he had a pair of bundles of fur he had to take care of.

He trotted past her whilst dragging the kittens with him, slapping her with his tail as he passed by. The resounding SMACK was quite satisfying to Kim Dokja, though it could not compare to the level of amusement the slightly vexed glare she gave him.

Yoo Joonghyuk simply stood at the center of the room like a stone statue, utterly befuddled by the scene in front of him. He opened and closed his mouth, and checked that Kim Dokja (Dirt) was alright before disappearing out the front door.

Kim Dokja left with a smug expression on his face– or he would’ve if he wasn’t coincidently tripped by something on the ground. A barely suppressed snicker reached his sensitive ears.

( `д´*)

She was evil!

Han Sooyoung watched the disheveled cat lug its kittens with it, and felt more pleased than she should have been when she tripped it (it fell so comically, and its kittens tumbled on top of it).

It shouldn’t have been so fun tormenting a poor cat. 

But, in the end, it was. (Han Sooyoung wasn’t a bad person she swore– she blamed it on the hilarity of Yoo Joonghyuk’s strange cohabitant.)

After he set down the kittens with care, Kim Dokja flopped on the still-shredded couch– which Yoo Joonghyuk apparently had not thought about replacing. However, as he observed his feline wards, he realized their breathing had become increasingly erratic. Panic rose as he remembered the severity of their conditions. He had to do something!

Yoo Joonghyuk had left, and the stranger too, which signified that Kim Dokja could only rely on himself to save the kittens. 

What if…

Kim Dokja glanced at his system window, which elaborated on his meager coin balance. There was enough for another one of that overpriced item, though.

Without further ado, he swiftly bought the item, looking at his dwindling balance with a tinge of sadness as he used the item once again.

His limbs contorted, and his body assumed an odd shape before settling into the familiar form. Kim Dokja had, once again, turned into a human, but it seemed this time, with less deformities.

[You have obtained 30 minutes of transformation time.]

Scooping up the kittens, he decided to rush towards the hospital, and ask along the way if needed. Kim Dokja scanned Yoo Joonghyuk’s house and slightly guiltily took a few bills of money, internally promising to pay the latter back.

As he snuck to the front door, a DING! resounded in just as someone held him in a headlock. A scent wafted into his nose, one of the tanginess of a citrus.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ tells you to watch out.]

It seemed someone had not left the house. 

While holding him in the headlock, she asked, “What are you?”

“Let go… of me,” Kim Dokja replied, his voice strained.

“Tell me– ordinary cats cannot transform into humans like that!”

“...alright,” Kim Dokja said. “I’m not an ordinary cat.”

“Obviously,” she snorted, rolling her eyes.

“What’s your name?” 

? The question clearly caught her off guard to some degree, but she retorted, “Why should I tell you?”

“...” Kim Dokja thought of the urgent situation regarding the kittens, and realized he could try getting help from her, however reliable she turned out to be. “My name is Kim Dokja, and I do not remember anything from who I was before.”

She paused, as if contemplating.

“I’m Han Sooyoung.” Her arms loosened around Kim Dokja’s neck, and he breathed a fitful gulp of air in relief.

“Can you take the kittens to a vet to check them?” Kim Dokja questioned, slightly desperate.

[Your remaining transformation time: 25 minutes.]

Han Sooyoung shrugged. Then asked, “Hey, what should I call you when Yoo Joonghyuk is here and you’re a cat?”

“Wha– I meant, you aren’t going to tell Yoo Joonghyuk about what I am?” Kim Dokja was incredulous.

“Of course not. Why would I tell him anything? This is perfect.” Han Sooyoung took out a candy from the depths of her pocket.

Kim Dokja could only wonder how in the world Yoo Joonghyuk of all people was associated with Han Sooyoung, and turn a blind eye to their clearly questionable relationship (which he did NOT want to be in the middle of).

The plan, ‘Don’t Tell Yoo Joonghyuk’, was initiated that day, but the one kept in the dark was unaware of its very existence until a long time after. 

Today, however, Han Sooyoung drove the kittens to the hospital while she forced Kim Dokja to stay at home. 

Spoiler, he wasted the transformation item, and was quite grumpy for a while, especially after he turned back into a cat. A quite broke one.

Chapter Text

Yoo Joonghyuk, when he returned from his outing, was met with quite a strange scene in his house. The kittens Dirt had brought home were frolicking about, Dirt was nowhere to be seen, and Han Sooyoung and a stranger were sitting together on the ripped couch chatting amicably.

He walked up to the pair and looked at them demandingly. 

The stranger’s eyes practically lit up upon Yoo Joonghyuk’s arrival, and was just about to say something before Han Sooyoung blocked his mouth with her hand.

“Are you jealous that I actually have a social life?” Han Sooyoung said in the stead of the stranger. “If you are, great!”

And Yoo Joonghyuk wondered, to this day, why he still was associated with her.

“Who is that?” 

“None of your business,” Han Sooyoung replied sweetly before shoving her acquaintance and whispering something into his ear.

Quite irked by the dismissal, Yoo Joonghyuk decided to stare down the stranger instead intensely, as if doing so would yield answers. The stranger, after a few and long seconds, averted his gaze and quietly responded.

“I’m Kim Dokja,” he said. 

Kim Dokja? Yoo Joonghyuk furrowed his brow. It felt as if he was missing something important. Why did-

“And before you start interrogating him without telling him who you are,” Han Sooyoung interjected his thoughts. “I already told him everything about you.”

Yoo Joonghyuk pressed a hand to his head. What was going on? His head suddenly began throbbing lightly.

But having partially acquired the stranger’s identity as of now, he focused on the main matter.

“Where is Dirt?” 

“Go outside, and you’ll find it,” Han Sooyoung returned. “It’s not that hard to find.”

“I was talking about the cat.”

“Oh, her ?” Han Sooyoung enunciated with unexpected relish, while the stranger– no, Kim Dokja’s eyes bugged slightly. “Your mother cat went upstairs and hid somewhere.”

The kittens suddenly stopped playing and pranced over to Kim Dokja, meowing loudly.

It seemed Dirt’s kittens(?) enjoyed the company of Kim Dokja, so Yoo Joonghyuk temporarily put aside his initial suspicions. (However, he could’ve sworn that when he had brought Dirt to the vet, they had classified Dirt as a male cat.)

Thus, Yoo Joonghyuk chose not to think about it.

Kim Dokja, as soon as Yoo Joonghyuk left, turned excitedly to Han Sooyoung and asked, “He isn’t suspicious?”

Han Sooyoung lifted a shoulder noncommittally. “His simple brain deemed you as not a threat for now. Also, speaking of, what in the world did you do for him to become so attached to your cat self??” 

“...” Kim Dokja did not know how to reply, as he had no idea whatsoever as well.

[Your remaining transformation time: ~1 minute.]

Kim Dokja prepared to leave the area dejectedly (at the thought of confronting his balance later) for the transformation back, but Han Sooyoung pulled him back.

“You shouldn’t do it there; Yoo Joonghyuk’s going to see!” Her eyes glittered with a motive which Kim Dokja could easily guess.

“Don’t you dare take pictures of videos of me,” he warned.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Han Sooyoung placidly said, as she teasingly held a lemon candy in front of the golden kitten’s snout.

[Your remaining transformation time: 0 minutes.]

Swiftly, Kim Dokja’s human form shrunk and twisted until all that was left behind was a familiar looking white cat.

“I really don’t understand Yoo Joonghyuk and his horrible naming skills,” Han Sooyoung made out as she snickered at Kim Dokja. 

“Meow,” was all he could respond with, though his large eyes promised retribution.

Seeing Kim Dokja, the kittens swarmed around him. The brown kitten tugged at his left paw while the golden one at his right. 

???

What were they doing? Kim Dokja stilled as they began bickering once more.

“Mreoww!” (I got him first!)

“Mewww!” (No, he’s mine!!)

“...” Kim Dokja could only awkwardly exist as the now-energetic kittens played a vicious game of tug-of-war with him. 

At this scene, Han Sooyoung couldn’t resist and took a rapid-fire amount of photos.

Really, she didn’t have a problem!

Chapter Text

After a while, Kim Dokja sat on the floor, exhausted by the tremendous tugging he was subjected to. It was frustrating how he could not reply coherently to anything that Han Sooyoung was one-sidedly rambling as well. 

As he was consoled by the currently complacent kittens, a DING attracted his attention. Kim Dokja found that it had been a while since he had heard anything from the constellation. 

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is proud of…]

Kim Dokja stared at the peculiar ellipsis points. 

Suddenly, though, a THUD was heard from somewhere upstairs.

“Mreowww??!” Kim Dokja practically jumped, eliciting equally shocked expressions on the kittens and a laugh from Han Sooyoung.

“Don’t worry,” Han Sooyoung said flippantly beside him. “That’s probably Yoo Joonghyuk, and he’ll be fine.”

Even before she said that, Yoo Joonghyuk was far from okay. Compared to the tumultuousness downstairs, the serenity of his room was laughable. He typically wouldn’t notice, but at the moment, something was off. Yoo Joonghyuk’s vision swirled and collapsed into itself perplexingly, and he felt his body swaying precariously against his will. 

Bracing a hand against the wall of his room, Yoo Joonghyuk, uncharacteristically, fainted.

Yoo Joonghyuk dreamt of a clock that kept on ticking… and ticking…

He frowned– or perhaps he didn’t, as he wasn’t fully corporeal. As Yoo Joonghyuk wandered the spacious hallways of his dream, a familiar figure approached him, their figure obscured by the dazzling lights.

With the latter’s approach, Yoo Joonghyuk felt his heart clench strangely, and it seemed, for good reason.

“Joonghyuk-ah!” The man exclaimed happily. 

“?” Yoo Joonghyuk in the dream was oddly content with the words.

“I found a way to…” The man began. “So please take good care of… when you see…”

Yoo Joonghyuk in the dream didn’t know anything, except that he was almost never told anything. But he somehow knew he had to honor this request from out of the blue, or he might never get the chance again.

And the last thing Yoo Joonghyuk saw was a glimpse of a winged figure, and a recognizably snowy pelt.

Yoo Joonghyuk came to… to a furry paw nudging his face. It was Dirt, who undoubtedly was the same cat from his dream. 

Realizing his condition had improved from earlier, Yoo Joonghyuk felt slightly relieved. However, still quite addled, he reached a hand to lightly pinch the cheek of the cat. 

The action definitely irked Dirt, who flicked his tail at him in annoyance and stalked off.

Despite himself, Yoo Joonghyuk curved his lips into a small smile. 

The jerk was perfectly fine! Kim Dokja grumbled. He should’ve just listened to Han Sooyoung’s advice! 

He could only mentally lament as he stomped up (the best that he could, given his build) the stairs and climbed past an open window. 

The kittens tailed him to the tiles of the lower roof, and the golden kitten suddenly piped up, “Where are we going, Father?”

Kim Dokja choked. “What?!?” And, as a careful afterthought, he said, “Be careful where you step.”

“Where are we going?” The golden kitten innocuously repeated.

Sighing, Kim Dokja said, “You shouldn’t call me ‘Father’. Anything else would work.” And at the visible brightening of both kittens’ expressions, he swiftly added, “Not anything similar either!”

“Awwww,” the brown kitten looked at the golden one dejectedly.

It seemed they only ever bonded over situations like these.

“And to your previous question, we are climbing to the top of the roof where I apparently have the best connection there.” Kim Dokja answered.

“?” It was a confusing answer, but still one the kittens were glad to have.

Kim Dokja angled his head to the midday sky, where not a star could be seen behind the radiance of the sun. But he knew these beings were somewhere ; simply out of sight.

“Dad–” The brown kitten cut off when Kim Dokja swiveled his head warningly. “I meant– Mister Dirt…”

Kim Dokja facepalmed, somehow, in his cat body.

But the kitten continued, “When will you name us?”

At this, Kim Dokja’s cat face broke into a small smile (or, technically a baring of teeth, but it’s close enough to a smile). “We’re here to find out.” 

!!!! Both kittens exchanged looks excitedly and started prancing around. 

“Really?!?! Name me something mighty!” 

“Then name me like you!”

The point wasn’t there, but they were ecstatic, so Kim Dokja refrained. Suddenly, he heard a distant, yet clear DING . It was time to prove if all the work and funds the ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ had put in showed fruitful results (his benefactor had informed him of the completion of the deal-like project with great joy, of that of its true purpose).

It was finally time. The message that had been in his initial pile of messages, yet the only one had sealed access until this moment.

[Channel #BI-90594 is open.]

Chapter Text

At the system message declaring the state of the channel, Kim Dokja breathed out a sigh of relief. His shoulders relaxed from a tension he hadn’t even noticed until now.

“What’s happening?” the golden kitten whispered to the brown one.

“You don’t know? I don’t either!” was the equally hushed reply.

As the kittens mulled the situation in silence, Kim Dokja could only gape at the system window presenting itself in front of him at the moment. It was ridiculous.

<Subscenario: Reclaim Memories>

Difficulty: B

Clear Condition: Remember your past.

Time Limit: 3 months

Reward: ???

Failure: Death.

+

Death?!? Kim Dokja was disoriented– it wasn’t as if he didn’t try to regain his memories in the first place, why the sudden rush? It seemed the project had backfired, but his benefactor’s lack of resulting anxiety proved his hope wrong.

But even as he was cursing the system and the world, he felt something deep within him practically light up in thrill. Something that undoubtedly enjoyed the situation.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ apologizes profusely.]

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ advises you to buy amnesiac items in the shop.]

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ sponsors you 500 coins.]

Kim Dokja remained silent, up until his sponsor suddenly gave more coins than all the previous interactions combined. ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ seemed to genuinely wish for Kim Dokja to regain his memories, and was willing to pay to achieve the goal, even if the process was questionable. Sighing, Kim Dokja looked up briefly and nodded his thanks.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is relieved.]

Opening the shop, Kim Dokja raised his eyebrow at the featured item– the amnesiac item the constellation had mentioned.

<Item: Memory Inducer For Amnesiacs>

Description: A potion that promotes a portion of the return of memories in amnesiacs. The effects will vary, but the memories that are returned depend on the situation.

Cost: 1000 500 coins

Other: A limited deal of 50% off for this item is currently on.

Kim Dokja really didn’t have a choice. It didn’t help that the item was ridiculously expensive for his broke self, as well as the fact that he could only afford it because of his benefactor and its half-price status. He clicked ‘buy’ on the item, and it materialized out of thin air (at the same time his coin balance was dissipating into thin air).

“M– Mister… Dirt???” The kittens stared at him in confusion, probably having seen him wave his paws in the air and looking into the blank space for the past few minutes. And definitely have seen the something clutched tightly in his muzzle, the something that had manifested from… nothing.

Kim Dokja was amused at their sudden hesitation. “I told you guys I would name you, didn’t I?” 

“That’s what you meant by how you would name us??” The hesitation was gone instantly, replaced just as quickly with boundless excitement once more. 

Awkwardly twisting the cap of the potion off with his front paws as he held them with his hind paws in a sitting position, Kim Dokja finally managed to open the bottle. It was quite a feat for his inconvenient cat body, especially as he tilted the bottle up and somehow managed to coax the solution into his mouth.

It was a free show for the kittens, though they didn’t voice it.

As soon as the solution hit his tongue, Kim Dokja felt his body turn leaden, felt his eyelids droop embarrassingly. He swayed, then half-slurred to the shocked kittens, “Don’t worry, this is normal.” Then barely audibly added, “At least, I think this is normal.”

The kittens were panicking. It wasn’t everyday that one would see their highly respected parent figure collapse concerningly whilst claiming everything was fine. 

The golden kitten fretting paced along the length of the roof, shooting worried glances at the limp figure they’d dragged to a flatter expanse every few seconds. 

“Is Mister going to be okay?” She looked around. “What if we try to get help?”

The brown kitten felt torn. “Mister said not to tell anyone about this…”

“It’s fine,” the golden kitten breathed out. “Mister will probably just haunt us in our sleep if he dies.” 

“That is more than a mildly concerning topic to wake up to, Shin Yoosung ,” a groggy voice interrupted.

“?!?!” Two identical gasps of shock melted into sighs of relief. “Mister Dirt!!! You’re okay!”

And from the golden kitten, a delightfully murmured, “Shin Yoosung… is that my name?”

“More than okay, actually,” he replied. “A step farther from death, sure.”

The remark was alarming in its own way, but the kittens were too happy at the moment to analyze it. 

“Also,” the older cat continued. “I know what to call you guys now. And for the record, my name is Kim Dokja, NOT whatever name the fool downstairs decided to call me.”

“Can we still call you Mister Dirt though?” The brown kitten plaintively asked.

Kim Dokja walked up to the kitten and bumped the kitten’s nose lightly with his paw. “Alright, but in moderation, Lee Gilyoung .”

“!!!” The brown kitten was elated, and could only nod.

“Let’s go downstairs now before someone fusses,” Kim Dokja lightly said. 

The feline trio climbed back down and went through the (thankfully) still-open window, padding into the house as if nothing eventful had ever happened.

And they really did seem like it, until Han Sooyoung appeared from a corner out of nowhere and “laughed until her stomach burst”. Apparently she’d thought the scene looked too much like a broke and single father cat taking care of his little duckling kittens.

Chapter Text

It was a fine day , Kim Dokja remarked internally as he strolled through the park outside of Yoo Joonghyuk’s house. Perfect for a lovely surprise.

Han Sooyoung walked leisurely beside him, her hands laced behind her neck as she rolled her signature lemon candy in her mouth. 

“Today is the perfect day for this.” she had a devilish and conspiring glint in her eyes.

“Agreed.” Kim Dokja felt a rising sense of anticipation of the moments that were to come.

He raised a hand at the status window narrating his transformation status and was satisfied. An hour was a splendid amount of time to execute the plan.

DING! The familiar sound drew his attention.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ supports you.]

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ sends you a gift.]

Kim Dokja read the message on the gift (Han Sooyoung saw it by looking above his shoulder) and smiled wickedly. The item Uriel had just sent him… it had arrived at the perfect timing. The plan relied heavily on said item.

The gift consisted of two parts– a smaller package and a larger one. The former was meant for Kim Dokja: a colorful costume for his cat form. The latter… well.

He could just say that it was meant explicitly for Yoo Joonghyuk, the target of the entire ‘surprise’.

Han Sooyoung whistled appreciatively. “Your friend up there really knows her stuff.”

Kim Dokja only quirked his lips into a smile. “She does.”

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ is pleased.]

Yoo Joonghyuk had just finished his stream when he saw Dirt tread into his room unhurriedly. The cat was dressed in an adorable costume that made his fur stick out in clumps oddly, and he held a package that had a hastily scrawled, For Yoo Joonghyuk .

Dirt continued his path until he made it right in front of Yoo Joonghyuk. Yoo Joonghyuk watched as the cat lightly dropped the package to the ground and then began to wash his face with his paw innocuously. The sight was unspeakably, and strangely adorable to Yoo Joonghyuk, who couldn’t resist taking a couple pictures.

It had only been a few months, yet Yoo Joonghyuk was already so enamored with Dirt. 

Suddenly, Dirt rose to his paws and padded out of Yoo Joonghyuk’s room, flicking his tail as if to signal Yoo Joonghyuk to open the gift the cat had personally delivered to him. Unknowingly, a half-smile fleetingly ghosted across Yoo Joonghyuk’s lips as his gaze followed Dirt’s exit.

As soon as Dirt’s tail disappeared from view, Yoo Joonghyuk glanced down at the package before him. 

The curt message revealed nothing about the contents, and Yoo Joonghyuk immediately frowned. But it was something Dirt had personally delivered, and he decided to open it. 

?! Strangely, though, as soon as he expressed his intent to open the package, a system window appeared.

[Would you like to claim ‘Dirt’s Delivery’?]

Y/N

Yoo Joonghyuk was sick of dealing with system windows, but he tolerated it, clicking ‘Y’.

WHOOSH! An unexpected draft ruffled his hair as a flurry of feathers obstructed his vision for a split second. But that brief moment was more than enough.

Yoo Joonghyuk furiously found that there was a film covering his face. He looked down, and saw… a horrifyingly snowy white expanse of material hugging his torso as it abundantly pooled on the ground. 

This was not happening.

Yoo Joonghyuk stormed to the nearest full-length mirror in his house and felt a muscle tick in his jaw. 

He was going to kill someone.

Yoo Joonghyuk was fitted into a color palette of pure white… and was in a monstrosity of a wedding dress with an equally monstrous veil covering his face. 

At his imminently and exponentially growing rage, big and bold letters bled into the dress, reading:

I LOVE U KIM DOKJA <3

The reveal was at the worst possible time.

“...” Yoo Joonghyuk was trembling against his will, though not from fear. Quite the opposite, actually. It was only a matter of time before all the fury that was bottled up inside of him because of the current situation demanded retribution.

Suddenly, poorly suppressed snickers reached his ears as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Yoo Joonghyuk whipped his head at the corridor and saw Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung not-so-silently laughing uncontrollably at the sight. At him. 

“He looks so strange in white,” Han Sooyoung was half-hissing, half-snickering at Kim Dokja. “I can’t even recognize him anymore!”

“He would look even better in pink,” Kim Dokja replied mischievously. Then blurted, “Han Sooyoung, we need to go, NOW. He saw us!”

Both of their expressions widened immeasurably, like deer caught in headlights. Then, they decidedly and immediately bolted from the scene.

Yoo Joonghyuk blushed furiously, the tips of his ears burning a light pink, glaring at the backs of the rapidly retreating Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung as he shouted, “KIM DOKJA, I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”

He was still dressed in the ridiculous wedding dress screaming its affections for Kim Dokja, and when he tried to forcefully rip the material, it remained intact.

“I love you, Kim Dokja?” Yoo Joonghyuk muttered darkly. “I’ll show you ‘love’.”

Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung fled from the house, and finally arrived at the park they were initially at. Kim Dokja was panting, but Han Sooyoung didn’t seem as affected.

“Did… you… get the… pictures..?” Kim Dokja weakly asked.

“Of course I did.” Han Sooyoung flashed a smug smile as she whipped out her phone, looking around and lowering her voice as she did so. “How could I miss the possibly best moment of my life? Yoo Joonghyuk in a wedding dress?!”

Kim Dokja chuckled. “That was so worth it.”

“Agreed.” Han Sooyoung nodded mock-sagely as she took out another candy.

As they lay down on the grass, their energy spent, Kim Dokja heard another DING!

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ watches dreamily.]

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ tells you to watch out for the next few months.]

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ sponsors you 2000 coins.]

Based on Uriel’s reaction, Kim Dokja could tell Yoo Joonghyuk wouldn’t be safely approachable for some time. The wedding dress seemed to really do a number on the positive rapport Kim Dokja had been building the past months.

However, Kim Dokja did not regret anything. He was more than satisfied, really.

<(￣︶￣)>

Yoo Joonghyuk in a wedding dress– Kim Dokja failed to suppress another laugh at the thought. He’s definitely going to kill me.

But thankfully, he had another form to go back to.

Chapter Text

As Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung followed Kim Dokja down the winding stairwell to the main floor of Yoo Joonghyuk’s house, they noticed a strange expression on the older cat’s face. It seemed wistful and filled with an unexplainable emotion, but the kittens did not dare to comment on it. 

Approaching the living room, the trio leaped onto and stretched out on the newly replaced couch. Shin Yoosung whispered to Lee Gilyoung. “This feels nice.”

Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly strode into the room, bearing blankets swung casually over an arm. He then set the blankets down mechanically in front of the cats.

??? Kim Dokja was utterly flabbergasted. The action was so unlike Yoo Joonghyuk that the entire scene felt almost like a dream. The only normal part of the entire scene was Yoo Joonghyuk’s expression that practically screamed Why am I here and what am I doing , as he sat down across from Kim Dokja and the kittens.

“Mister Dirt, I’m scared,” Shin Yoosung whined. “Why is the grumpy guy giving us blankets and looking at us like he wants to kill us?”

Lee Gilyoung vehemently agreed with frantic, yet muted nods whilst glancing occasionally at the dark aura emanating from the man across them. “It’s not like he’s planning our last supper, right?”

Kim Dokja did not know what was going on either, but he wisely decided to comfort the kittens. “I’m sure he has good intentions… somewhere deep inside his heart,” he said, his voice wavering a little on the last word.

On the other side of the room, Yoo Joonghyuk was NOT glowering at Dirt and the kittens. He was simply staring intently while reflecting on his thoughts, though it really didn’t seem that way to those in question. 

Who was the man in his dream? Yoo Joonghyuk felt trapped as he repeatedly asked himself, disassembling and reassembling the contents of his mind as he searched for a memory– any memory of the person. But he found nothing, which only further added to his growing irk.

Additionally, Yoo Joonghyuk found that he had begun to, concerningly, hear voices in his head: one seemingly of an adult male and two, distinctly of children as they, without a doubt, talked amongst themselves about Yoo Joonghyuk. It really didn’t help his headache to any extent either, and he couldn’t even block the voices out. 

Though, focusing on the issue at hand, Yoo Joonghyuk peered at the snowy cat, as if scrutinizing what was hidden beneath the surface. Unsurprisingly, Dirt just turned out to be Dirt, still. 

It really was strange, this persisting urge to find out who. And Yoo Joonghyuk found that one day, he might just…

Kim Dokja was lying in a hospital bed. Wasn’t he just on the couch? He frowned at the strange weight constantly pressing around his midsection, and feebly strained his head to take a look at the source of the weight– and caught a glimpse of a dark-haired head resting peacefully on his stomach. 

And after another peek, Kim Dokja held back a gasp as his thoughts were given a name. The man that was lying so calmly right here– wasn’t it Yoo Joonghyuk? Yoo Joonghyuk’s ebony hair softly fell across his closed eyes, a delicate curtain across his face, and his eyebrows twitched in annoyance even in his slumber.

Kim Dokja felt an urge to brush the hair from the latter’s eyes, but just as he reached to do so, something strange began to happen: Yoo Joonghyuk’s face seemed to almost shrink away from Kim Dokja’s reach. 

During the strange process, Yoo Joonghyuk opened his eyes in an uncharacteristically bleary manner until they widened uncontrollably at Kim Dokja. 

“Kim Dok-” Yoo Joonghyuk made out barely before his voice was swallowed up by a cloud of dark smoke that engulfed his entire figure. Kim Dokja sat up in alarm, suddenly strangely energized as the weight on his midsection shifted. 

The smoke cleared and Kim Dokja was left speechless. Where was Yoo Joonghyuk? And why was there a black cat sitting on his stomach in the place of the man?

He got the answer to his question a second later, as the black cat seemed to stutter as it meowed in confusion, its face scrunching up in irritation– a typical Yoo Joonghyuk expression. At this revelation, Kim Dokja doubled over in laughter, almost crushing the feline beneath him during the process. He somehow knew that something in the scene felt reversed, and almost ironic.

While disgruntled, cat Yoo Joonghyuk surprisingly didn’t lash out– instead, he studied Kim Dokja intently as if seeing him for the first time. It took much within Kim Dokja to refrain from laughing, pursing his lips resolutely as he saw Yoo Joonghyuk’s absolutely priceless cat version of the surprised Pikachu face. 

However, he was suddenly shaken from his mirthful reverie as a familiar blonde girl abruptly materialized into the space. 

“Let’s go,” the girl said gently and quietly. But as she turned, Kim Dokja could’ve sworn he saw a flash of green eyes and shadows of what could’ve been angelic, downy wings hanging majestically behind her back.

In a daze, Kim Dokja followed the girl, holding an unexpectedly pliant cat Yoo Joonghyuk in his arms as he walked. As they exited the hospital ward, Kim Dokja found the outside to be completely unexpected– they were now on a subway train. Cat Yoo Joonghyuk hissed, and the mysterious guides in front of Kim Dokja suddenly came to a halt at a certain door in the subway, before they opened it and nudged Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk through the bright lights that came with abrasive sparks of electricity that prickled at his skin. 

With a gasp, Kim Dokja tumbled out from the door (while Yoo Joonghyuk somehow landed gracefully) into a familiar room– the living room of Yoo Joonghyuk’s house, once more. 

Except this time, he looked up to see the shocked faces of a human Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung, who stared simultaneously at the dark, brooding bundle of fur in his human arms. 

Oh, this was going to be fun to deal with, Kim Dokja thought.

Chapter Text

Cat Yoo Joonghyuk was sulking because he was a cat, despite his refusal to admit it. (It was either that or the thought that his entire body had been carried by Kim Dokja, which was far more depressing.)

However, the remembered presence of Kim Dokja’s arms around him was a steady reassurance to his pitiful feline state, which was oddly pleasant. It would be an absolute lie to say that Yoo Joonghyuk enjoyed the lack of freedom that came with it, though. 

Yoo Joonghyuk instinctively followed Kim Dokja as he approached Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung– Yoo Joonghyuk remembered flashes– and Kim Dokja began talking with the children in a low tone, blissfully unaware, as Yoo Joonghyuk could only painstakingly remember . Flashes of a pale and gaunt figure lying in the hospital bed, helpless against any danger invaded into his mind, but Yoo Joonghyuk banished them mercilessly as he fought the urge to roughly nudge the man beside him as a test to see if this was even real.

He hated that only he remembered.

“Why is there a gloomy cat trailing after you, Mister,” Lee Gilyoung interrupted his musings as he eyed cat Yoo Joonghyuk judgingly. “It looks like a stray cat with its mussed up fur…”

“...” Kim Dokja stayed silent, but he nervously glanced back towards said feline as if gauging a reaction.

Yoo Joonghyuk, in response, haughtily gazed at him before turning his gaze away as if the boy wasn’t worth his attention. It was only an act, though: memories of the children’s heart-wrenching cries still rang as clearly in his mind as if it was the day before. 

Sighing in relief at the lack of a visible outburst, Kim Dokja continued. “That cat right there is quite an important visitor, so it would be a good idea to treat him like royalty.” 

Lee Gilyoung raised an eyebrow, his expression slightly defiant as he looked at cat Yoo Joonghyuk, while Shin Yoosung’s eyes practically gleamed with sparkles and excitement at the prospect of a new feline companion. Throughout all of this, Yoo Joonghyuk ignored everyone, opting to slowly pad his way upstairs instead– though the state of everything was different and twisted, it was still ultimately his house, and he knew his way around. 

Yoo Joonghyuk was acting strange. Kim Dokja had noticed the faint, yet steady tremors in the usually stoic Yoo Joonghyuk, though he had simply decided not to comment on it. Thinking about the intentions of the near impossible-to-read Yoo Joonghyuk was a pain, so Kim Dokja thought about the peculiarity of the current situation instead.

He’d tried to conjure the system window multiple times, but all ended in unexpected failure. Kim Dokja hadn’t predicted that even the all-powerful system itself couldn’t reach wherever he and cat (pfft-) Yoo Joonghyuk were sent off to. Another variable was the presence of the human Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung, who seemed more than real and not just a dream.

Despite all of the issues, Kim Dokja could only shamelessly fixate his thoughts on the fact that his and Yoo Joonghyuk’s situation had reversed (without considering the likely possibility that Yoo Joonghyuk did not lose his memories during the initial transformation). It didn't matter even if Yoo Joonghyuk felt depressed- Kim Dokja would without-a-doubt annoy the depressing thoughts right out.

Kim Dokja thanked the children for their help as he went upstairs to find the 99.99% disinfecting now-brooding Yoo Joonghyuk. He was more than curious on how frustrated Yoo Joonghyuk would be if Kim Dokja pretended to be denser than a brick wall whenever the latter tried to communicate with him. 

It felt like karma, given the humiliation Kim Dokja had gone through when Yoo Joonghyuk had gone and named him Dirt , regardless of everything.

Han Sooyoung and the kittens paced around the living room as she glanced at the couch, where Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja both lay unconscious. It bothered her (not because she cared or anything)– the coincidence of a time period that both of them had fainted. 

She resisted the impulse to unwrap another candy and pop it in her mouth, as she frowned sullenly at the situation before her. The pair had been unconscious for more than 3 hours already, far too long to be considered a simple and quick nap. What was the fool thinking when he did whatever he did, taking a grumpy Yoo Joonghyuk with him? Much was frustratingly unclear about the entire thing. Han Sooyoung did, however, know that Kim Dokja was most definitely the culprit of the scene– he almost always was.

The kittens both incessantly mewled, as if calling for Kim Dokja over and over again.

Her head throbbed, and she cursed Kim Dokja under her breath as she rubbed her temples. 

Screw Kim Dokja and his antics!

Unsurprisingly, Han Sooyoung did not succeed in her avoidance of eating another lemon candy later.

Meanwhile, the headache-inducer in question was having the time of his life revelling in the suffering of Yoo Joonghyuk.

The latter’s rage-filled expression practically screamed volumes: I know that you’re pretending to not understand me and if you do it one more time I’m actually going to kill you.

There was an underlying vengeful promise, as the cat’s eyes glittered ominously.

To this, Kim Dokja, of course, did what he always did.

Putting on his supreme innocent facial expression, Kim Dokja said, with mock grandeur, “...what?? You want a bath?”

Of course, he was met with multiple vicious swipes of the provoked and now-aggressive cat’s unsheathed claws, but it was a negligible price to pay for such a reaction.

Chapter Text

Later, Yoo Joonghyuk leaped downstairs lithely, with a severely battered and scratched, but smug Kim Dokja following. As the pair reached the living room, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were unexpectedly waiting in the same spot as before, standing awkwardly and almost robotically until Kim Dokja came into view. 

“Mister…” Shin Yoosung began, almost nervously to Kim Dokja, as if sensing his intention to leave. “Can’t you just stay here, a little longer with us? We–” She was abruptly cut off by cat Yoo Joonghyuk swiping forcefully at her legs.

She glared into the cat’s eyes for a split second, her lip wobbling minutely, before turning away angrily. 

Lee Gilyoung hesitatingly continued, with quick glances to the downcast Shin Yoosung and the notably upset cat. “What she meant, Mister, is that you should go, we don’t want to delay you.”

Kim Dokja felt that something was off, but nodded anyway. Yoo Joonghyuk, however, remained stock-still until Kim Dokja moved towards the door. A gloomy aura hung around the cat as he elegantly? (somehow) trudged behind Kim Dokja.

As the door swung open, a wave of familiar light and sparks blinded the pair once more as they exited the house, the sparks dancing on Kim Dokja’s clothes (and Yoo Joonghyuk’s fur) as if they wanted to catch fire. Kim Dokja briefly looked back at the muted cat behind him after the sparks extinguished, the pair found that they were successfully outside of the house and now in the same subway train as before.

“System window,” Kim Dokja murmured, as if testing the system’s influence. His hopes instantly plummeted as the one window he’d been hoping not to see materialized.

<Subscenario: Reclaim Memories>

Difficulty: B

Clear Condition: Remember your past.

Time Limit: 3 months

Reward: ???

Failure: Death.

+

Oh, great… Kim Dokja groaned internally. He’d initially thought that he would be rid of the pesky notification, but it clearly wasn’t the case. The conditions were so vague as well; what would the system achieve by forcing Kim Dokja to regain his memories at the threat of death?

However, part of his brain analyzed the message, and concluded that he would have to make good use of his three months, as a week had already passed with little progress.

A DING drew his attention away, as a recognizable modifier appeared on the screen in front of him.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ haphazardly wipes away a tear.]

??? Kim Dokja felt concerned, and slightly apprehensive at the message. (WHY WAS THE CONSTELLATION CRYING???)

His gaze darted around until it landed on cat Yoo Joonghyuk, who seemed to be having his own mini existential crisis in a corner of the train. 

“...” The entire situation was quite awkward, especially with the depressed cat in the corner. Kim Dokja pursed his lips and tentatively opened his mouth to reach out to Yoo Joonghyuk, but he was interrupted by the arrival of their previous golden-haired escort, though alone this time. 

“Let’s go back,” the girl’s voice was feeble, the sternness from before replaced. This time, she was clothed fully in black and her eyes glowed a vibrant emerald, though they were slightly swollen as if she’d cried. 

The girl picked up the despondent Yoo Joonghyuk, mumbling something to him as she picked him up without resistance.

Kim Dokja arched a brow at the sight but wisely kept his mouth shut for once. But he didn’t shut it for long.

We can’t make him stay here, Yoo Joonghyuk had bluntly reminded Shin Yoosung previously when she had pleaded with Kim Dokja to stay.

Kim Dokja didn’t belong in the mirror world; he deserved to be with Yoo Joonghyuk’s other self, even if it hurt the current Yoo Joonghyuk. 

At the moment, the feeling of being physically carried by Uriel was certainly not pleasant, but Yoo Joonghyuk gritted his feline canines (somehow) and refrained from any impulsive actions that he knew he would come to regret later. He kept an eye on Kim Dokja cautiously, as if looking away for even a second would mean the enigmatic Kim Dokja would run away. 

“Does the adorable kitty want a hug~” Kim Dokja, as if noticing Yoo Joonghyuk’s constant staring at him, teased in a sing-song voice to Yoo Joonghyuk. 

In turn, the typically stoic Yoo Joonghyuk practically hissed and angled his entire face away from the man (though he still kept watch from the corner of his eye).

Kim Dokja was absolutely INSUFFERABLE and impossible to deal with!

At the same time, Han Sooyoung was similarly cursing Kim Dokja, who was just so… curse-able. 

He and Yoo Joonghyuk both had not yet woken, which only fueled Han Sooyoung’s frustration. At this point, she had even thought about calling an ambulance.

But, somehow sensing the situation was not as grave as it seemed, she felt tempted to smack their unconscious faces, but decided to doodle on them with permanent marker instead. (Yes, she knew, she was so generous.)

While aggressively coloring in a mustache on Kim Dokja’s face after having contemptuously drawn cute cat features (a cat nose and whiskers as well as messy marker eye shadow) on Yoo Joonghyuk, Han Sooyoung noticed the breathing of both people quickened– the quickening before waking up.

Her hand slipped at the revelation, and she ended up leaving an angry, bold streak across Kim Dokja’s face: starting from the corner of his mouth to his eyebrow. As she stood frozen in that brief moment of shock, much like a criminal, the main victim of her shenanigans began to mumble incoherently and shift in his sleep. 

Kim Dokja looked downright ridiculous, and Han Sooyoung lived for it. She swiftly took a few incriminating photos of the sleeping pair before promptly dying of laughter. 

This was definitely worth the pain.

Chapter Text

Kim Dokja had groggily woken up first, with Yoo Joonghyuk wearing a slightly pinched expression following a few minutes later.

Han Sooyoung, unfortunately did not get away scot-free for her crimes. Her attempts to run away and ditch were fruitless as the fuming, Yoo Joonghyuk dragged her back instantly and took the permanent marker she'd used to doodle on the sleeping pair.

Kim Dokja, strangely, somehow fared better– Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t address the former's uninvited presence immediately, and instead first dealt with the obviously problematic Han Sooyoung.

In his human form, Kim Dokja felt more exposed around Yoo Joonghyuk– especially since this was clearly not a dream anymore, but he pretended to be unfazed. The secret of his dual identity wasn’t completely out yet, and he planned to keep it that way.

But why was Yoo Joonghyuk averting his gaze whenever their eyes locked?

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ composes themself.]

And why was his facial expression so strained?

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ smiles knowingly.]

The second message was ambiguous and slightly concerning, but Kim Dokja brushed it off as just another one of the constellation’s inexplicable whims. Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung curled up in his lap as he sat down awkwardly, watching the oddly entertaining show of Han Sooyoung being absolutely roasted by the livid Yoo Joonghyuk. 

“This is fun,” Shin Yoosung remarked innocently as she tried and failed to snuggle closer to Kim Dokja. “Stop it!”

Lee Gilyoung butted her head away as he stole the spot she was aiming for. “No!”

As the kittens began fighting over who-even-knows-what-at-this-point, Kim Dokja replayed the contents of the dream fresh in his mind. Why was he in his human form right now? Was there a transformation time limit? (Somehow, there wasn’t.) And the kittens were in his dream– in human form…

Kim Dokja knew that in reality, he had never seen, nor known about the human form of the kittens- he needed to test the validity of the dream–

Han Sooyoung roughly threw herself behind Kim Dokja and stuck her tongue out at Yoo Joonghyuk childishly. 

“Why are you only targeting me???” Han Sooyoung’s voice was indignant as she shamelessly hid behind Kim Dokja, her hair tousled messily. “There’s a random dude in your house that you should be targeting instead!”

“...” Yoo Joonghyuk refused to look directly at Kim Dokja, still.

Han Sooyoung raised an eyebrow and curiously took a look at Kim Dokja’s face, which was no different than usual, save the crude markings.

“Did the permanent marker make his face even uglier or something?” Han Sooyoung sneakily took out a lemon candy from her pocket as she peeked from behind Kim Dokja. “Didn’t know that was possible.”

Kim Dokja glared at her and decided to stop being her shield as he stepped aside in annoyance. “You can’t just insult me and expect me to continue shielding you–”

And then it was Kim Dokja’s turn to be interrogated. 

Yoo Joonghyuk’s facial expression forcibly pinned Kim Dokja in place, even though the former still refused to look directly at the latter.

“Kim Dokja,” Yoo Joonghyuk murmured darkly. 

Kim Dokja couldn’t stop his audible gulp. Of course Yoo Joonghyuk remembered his name from that brief encounter ages ago. 

Han Sooyoung's smug stare drilled into his back, but Kim Dokja resolutely ignored it.

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ watches avidly.]

As Kim Dokja braced himself for the inevitable confrontation, Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly swayed precariously on his feet as he muttered something that sounded like Uriel before he passed out promptly on the floor.

The dull thud could be heard clearly as Yoo Joonghyuk collapsed, yet everyone in the area ironically stood frozen still for several long seconds.

??? The entire situation was confusing and questionable, and Kim Dokja felt more than a little alarmed.

Thinking back, before he’d fainted, Yoo Joonghyuk’s eyes had been feverishly bright, glittering with a strange sheen. And what had he been saying? Uriel? 

[Constellation ‘Demonic Judge of Fire’ … ]

Breaking out of the stupor first, Kim Dokja tried to lift the unconscious Yoo Joonghyuk. However, it was to no avail, and Han Sooyoung snickered insidiously from the sidelines.

This was clearly a serious situation, how could she be laughing?  Glaring at her, Kim Dokja thought. 

It clearly showed on his face– Han Sooyoung only rolled her eyes as she mellowly ate her candy. “You guys caused me so much pain already, this is nothing.”

A week had passed, and Kim Dokja had stayed far away from Yoo Joonghyuk the whole time. Oddly enough, though, the ever-one-track-minded Yoo Joonghyuk hadn’t asked about the whereabouts of ‘Dirt” even once…

Uncharacteristically, Yoo Joonghyuk took care of the kittens during Kim Dokja’s disappearance, even though it led to a couple of scratches and many more scowls.

As for Han Sooyoung, she’d left as soon as she could and never came back even once the entire week– something about “not wanting to deal with anything”. For this, Kim Dokja, unsurprisingly, found himself more than happy with that result.

However…

The current situation Kim Dokja was in was quite awkward.

He was never going to hear the end of it after this, wasn’t he?

Kim Dokja stared at himself in the mirror– the youthful face of who he’d been a decade ago. 

Except, the difference was, he now looked like a young version of when he first used the transformation item: there was a hybrid of cat and human features present on his face.

It was as if his cat self had decided to aggressively express itself through the physical manifestation of feline features on Kim Dokja’s face.

Helplessly, he banged his head against the reflective surface.

Kim Dokja had been forcibly transported back to his high school self, with a few unremovable cat accessories in the process. (Did he get kidnapped?!?)

<Subscenario: Reclaim Memories>

Difficulty: B

Clear Condition: Remember your past.

Time Limit: 3 months

Reward: ???

Failure: Death.

+

Hidden: An altered past.

Chapter Text

This is me who decided to make a visual...

Kim Dokja finding himself to be strangely cat-ified in his younger self.

Chapter Text

Kim Dokja had no choice but to (sighhh) go to school as directed by the reappearance of the system window, stuck in the altered body of his high school self at the mental age of an adult. He’d donned a mask that boldly covered the bottom half of his face in hopes that no one would notice his feline features.

As he walked, Kim Dokja realized it had been so long since he’d seen the block of a building that was his school. However, he found that he really wouldn’t have minded even if he never saw the building again– a sense of dread crept up his spine as he approached, though it was arguably more of a physical reaction than mental.

Then he was in front of the school.

Kim Dokja frowned. His high school days were all but long forgotten, but one name stubbornly surfaced into his mind as he gazed at the building now in front of him. 

A name that he knew that he’d tried so hard before to forget.

But he was different now, surely…

Kim Dokja shook his head in self-annoyance– he didn’t have time to lament when his goal was to simply recover his memories. What was the point of sending him into his high school days anyways, though? Looking around, there was nothing notable that screamed “THIS IS THE PURPOSE OF SENDING YOU HERE”. 

However, at the very least, he had a “guide” in his window. It was suspicious and quite frankly, sketchy, but it was all he had.

<Guide to Impersonation The World>

• You attend: XXX School

• Your class schedule is [expand for more]:

• Your life at home is a nightmare.

• You have no one you typically hang out with.

• You are the target of bullying.

• You are by far the most unloved person in this world.

+

It was far too brutal though, wasn’t it? It seemed as if the world itself was against him. Life was already hard enough, it didn't need to spike even higher in difficulty.

Entering the already bustling halls of the school, Kim Dokja practically twisted his body in every way imaginable to avoid bumping into the hordes of students that rushed past as he struggled to reach his own homeroom.

The bell rang, just as everyone began to file into their respective classrooms. Kim Dokja simply stood at the back of the line for his classroom until everyone else had entered except him. 

The teacher standing by the door met Kim Dokja’s gaze briefly before shutting the door shut in front of Kim Dokja’s face as if he wasn’t there. Kim Dokja blinked. Had it always been that bad in the past…? 

No, perhaps it was simply that he had gotten used to it. The realization was unwelcome.

[Synchronization level: 5%]

Though, as the teacher began the roll call, Kim Dokja realized he had to do something quick. Bracing himself, Kim Dokja closed his hand around the doorknob, ignoring the unnatural sharpness of his nails, and let himself into the classroom.

Instantly, the classroom quieted down, as if doused in a bucket of ice water. The teacher, initially harboring a shocked expression on her face, swiftly schooled it into an impassive one as she resumed the roll call.

“Kim Dokja?”

“Here.” Kim Dokja ignored the openly hostile stares of his classmates as he walked to his seat. Permanent marker was audaciously scrawled everywhere in atrocious handwriting, mocking him and calling him various names. His entire area was littered with spitballs and thrown pencils and erasers, along with chewed gum that was carelessly stuck underneath and on his desk and chair. 

His life really had been terrible, hadn't it?

But he sat down anyway. 

“Why are you wearing a mask?” A group of boys approached Kim Dokja as soon as the lunch bell rang, sneering at his frail appearance. One of them yanked Kim Dokja up from the collar of his shirt and roughly held him up.

Of course, with the mindset of an adult, it wasn’t terrifying in the slightest, but for his now-trembling high-schooler body, it definitely was. 

[Warning! You may not break character.]

“...” Kim Dokja refused to say anything in response, though it took much within him to keep from making a snarky remark at the bullies. His timid younger self would've never even dared.

SLAP. His face was struck to the side abruptly by the boy in the center. It stung, and his heightened senses only added to that, but Kim Dokja still refused to react.

[Synchronization level: 8%]

“What a wimp,” he heard them mutter to each other. But just as the leading one reached to take off Kim Dokja’s mask, a horde of chubby white birds flew in from the suddenly open window and began pecking the boy viciously.

“Ow ow OUCH!” The boy stumbled back, falling on his backside as he swatted at the furious, round birds. 

The birds look like adorable little dumplings…

While it took much within him to resist bursting into laughter at the scene, Kim Dokja quietly took advantage of the commotion and slipped out of the chaotic classroom, heading toward the abandoned stairwell he suddenly remembered so well. However, his expectations of it being empty as always was shockingly shattered as he saw a teenage girl around his age leaning on the stairwell.

Sensing his presence, she looked up, then smirked. “What took you so long? I was waiting.”

Chapter Text

Han Sooyoung?! But it couldn’t be… Kim Dokja’s thoughts were tumultuous as he stared at the girl in front of him. He knew that the real Han Sooyoung was supposed to be someplace in the real world, and that the younger one before him was likely to be an illusion.

“What I was doing, you ask?” But Kim Dokja decided to play along for now. “I was watching a fight between humans and dumplings… but who are you?”

His testing probed the distance between them, and the young Han Sooyoung laughed liltingly. It didn’t escape his notice that the place where her mole was usually under her eye was covered with a patch.

“Of course,” Han Sooyoung began, before deadpanning. “Now take off your mask.”

Briefly taken aback by the unexpected question, Kim Dokja raised his guard. “Why should I?”

Han Sooyoung barely gave him a chance to react before roughly yanking Kim Dokja’s mask from his face. “...so it was true.”

She danced out of Kim Dokja’s reach just in time to avoid being aggressively swiped at.

Face flushing, Kim Dokja glared at the (still) shameless Han Sooyoung as he placed a hand over his face. “You’re crazy.”

“Been called that too many times to count~” The young Han Sooyoung twirled a strand of hair around as she continued. “So unoriginal.”

“What is it that you want?” Kim Dokja felt strangely defensive around this Han Sooyoung. He didn’t even know it was possible for her to become more unpredictable than usual.

“Me and… came here to find you. Hurry up and come back to…” Han Sooyoung said, though her voice wavered in and out. At Kim Dokja’s slightly perplexed expression, “Okay, good. The filter works.”

“...What are you trying to do.”

“You know what, maybe I just wanted to be your friend!” Han Sooyoung chirps, sidetracking the conversation as her short hair sways around.

Peeved at her behaviour, Kim Dokja ignored her and made to step out of the stairwell. However, he was promptly stopped by the familiar ring of bullies who approached, all slightly beat up, with miniature and angry peck marks and welts everywhere visible.

“...I’m telling you, he’s not normal!” Their conversation floats past to the eavesdropping pair in the stairwell as they walk past. “It’s almost as if those demon birds attacked us because of him!”

Kim Dokja winced almost invisibly as he heard the profanities the boys spewed. He had forgotten the unfathomable amount of hate the mere high schoolers had held for him.

Curiously, for all of her teasing and mysterious appearance, Han Sooyoung looked almost murderous as she glanced in the direction of the bullies. 

It was almost as if… she knew about Kim Dokja’s affiliation with them, with knowledge deeper than the current situation. And, true to his puzzle-solving nature, he figured it out instantaneously.

[Warning! You may not break character.]

So, that would entail Yoo Joonghyuk’s presence as well, wouldn’t it?

Kim Dokja smirked. Based on the rules of the world he discovered so far, he was in quite the anticipation for the appearance of Yoo Joonghyuk. He intrinsically knew that somehow, when he encountered the latter, he would still be able to recognize him. Now, he didn't have to worry about the mask, as it seemed only certain people could see his true appearance at the moment.

However, while he was speculating, he wasn’t expecting, but wasn’t surprised either when a battered, homeless-looking cat jumped in from the window and landed with an elegance that heavily contradicted its appearance.

Almost bursting into uncontrollable laughter, Kim Dokja restrained himself, with great effort, from openly breaking character as he could only stare at the cat, unable to rip his eyes away. 

…no way…

Because there was no way at all that the grungy cat grouchily perching on its haunches was the same being.

Han Sooyoung peered carefully at his expression, as if she was analyzing it, and Kim Dokja kept his face neutral. 

[Addendum: You do not have your memories from the other world.]

This was a quest he would be a fool not to complete, after all.

After lunch ended, he returned to the classroom–which previously in severe disarray–seemed presentable once more. 

The shabby looking cat followed him around, hissing at anyone who got close with a haughty air. Despite the many strange and disgusted looks people sent their way, Kim Dokja continued the journey with the cat as while people wanted to get rid of the cat, they didn’t want to even touch it.

And so, Kim Dokja could only pretend not to know the for-sure boiling rage a certain figure was stewing in.

But that was before someone decided it was a good idea to feed catnip to the cat.

Chapter Text

However, before the story continues for our dear protagonist, there’s a question hanging in the air:

What, exactly, is catnip? (Many people might know, as it does have a pretty well-known reputation.) Catnip (aka catmint) is a herb that is known for its production of a chemical compound that elicits a hyper, almost high-on-drugs effect on felines. 

This effect doesn’t last for long, approximately 10-15 minutes on the average cat, but for Kim Dokja, these few minutes were absolutely disastrous.

You may be thinking, how did we get to this situation in the first place? To find out, we’ll need to wind back a few minutes to the point where the school day had just ended, and Kim Dokja was walking out from his classroom. 

“You’re not allowed to bring pets with you,” the teacher warns at Kim Dokja’s retreating back, her gaze lowered to avoid looking at both him and the cat beside him.

“...okay.” Kim Dokja nods once furtively before resuming his way towards the school gates, more than eager to finish off the strange school day already. There were more pressing matters to deal with, such as the dark-pelted cat gloomily trailing after him and the underlying significance of Han Sooyoung’s presence in the strange world he was in.

Though, something had been needling at him since the very beginning.

[Synchronization level: 21%]

His “synchronization level” had gone up during class, and due to his sudden lack of motivation to investigate, Kim Dokja concluded that the world intended to hinder any progress he tried to make. There was surely a secret behind all the events leading up to his abrupt arrival into the world, but he had yet to connect all the dots.

Where was the young Han Sooyoung? She definitely knew someth-

“ Mreow -” the muted sound sneakily escaped from Kim Dokja’s lips before he consciously realized it, and as his ears flamed in embarrassment, he pinpointed the culprit– the strange scent in the air that made his head feel slightly dizzy and his mind numb.

It didn’t seem to affect anyone else in the vicinity, but a glance down at the suddenly hyper spiky ball of fur near his feet confirmed his suspicions.

Catnip.

And based on how it was affecting him, he could only imagine Yoo Joonghyuk’s unluckily full feline instincts handling the alluring scent; imagine the unmistakable and visible indicators of various sensory systems going into overdrive.

“See, I told you it would work!” Kim Dokja heard someone hissing at another person. “Didn’t I say that catnip works like a charm on cats? Now let’s try to make it leave!”

Typically, a stray cat or two would be welcome in the school community, but it wasn’t the case for this cat. It seemed that nobody wanted the poor-looking (the world had dealt him a bad hand this time around) cat in the school, and a pair of Kim Dokja’s peers had even planned a strategy to lure said cat away with catnip.

However, they didn’t know who they were dealing with, and with Yoo Joonghyuk, there were always consequences.

Sensing the impending disaster, Kim Dokja debated for a split second whether to take Yoo Joonghyuk and run, or not. He was the only one of them to be able to change the outcome of the situation at hand, after all.

But in what other situation could he possibly witness Yoo Joonghyuk out of control?

The thought was relishing and fresh, and with that, it was an alarmingly easy decision to make. 

Screw the consequences! (Yoo Joonghyuk was definitely going to kill him, but at the moment, it did not seem to matter much)

After smoothly intercepting the catmint from the now-bewildered duo, Kim Dokja dragged Yoo Joonghyuk’s limp cat form with him as he dashed towards the school gates.

A flash of short black hair flitted past them, taunting Kim Dokja for his inaction, but somehow, it was the last thing on his mind right now.

Kim Dokja realized he was more than a bit rash many times when it came to Yoo Joonghyuk, though he didn’t really mind. It was simply the effect of the catnip, nothing else.

Something Kim Dokja found he had slightly overlooked (or unconsciously yet purposefully not) was that the catnip he held in his hand also affected him– his head felt sluggish with a pleasant buzz similar to the feeling of being drunk.

Stumbling into the house, Kim Dokja barely prevented himself from accelerating into the floor as he braced a hand against the wall. 

As for Yoo Joonghyuk…

Well, anyone could tell at first glance that the unnaturally still cat staring blankly into space was on something , whether catnip, drugs, or anything else.

Kim Dokja could only watch and stifle his laughter as the typically stoic and elegant Yoo Joonghyuk promptly faceplanted into the ground with as much elegance as a giant panda, the same empty yet resigned expression on his feline face.

Observing the comical and almost unreal scene before him, Kim Dokja could finally say it. “Yoo Joonghyuk, you are high .”

Of course, this was the moment where Kim Dokja’s clouded mind registered that he was absolutely screwed– he couldn’t have chosen a worse time to laugh at Yoo Joonghyuk. 

…because, why was it that he could he hear Yoo Joonghyuk’s low voice coldly threaten him? 

He wasn't dreaming, right?

The cat on the ground picked itself up, seeming to have cleared the haze in its mind. Kim Dokja could only nervously beam as the cat stood on two legs and leveled a withering glare at him.

What did you say now?

Chapter Text

(◞ w ◟") . . .

As the voice of Yoo Joonghyuk threateningly surfaced in Kim Dokja’s mind, he dropped to his knees without a second thought, immediately humbled. He didn’t dare look at Yoo Joonghyuk’s comically short cat self looming over his bowed head for a few moments, before guiltily sneaking a glance up.

?!?!

How in the world could an innocent cat’s face be twisted into such a murderous expression?!

Kim Dokja swiftly lowered his head once more. 

I asked you, what did you say?

“I’m sowwy…” Kim Dokja lisped pathetically in his last-ditch effort to save himself. But wait, did his high school self even have a lisp? He, unfortunately, could not remember for the life of him.

However, the lisp he’d haphazardly adapted only seemed to infuriate Yoo Joonghyuk further. 

It’s as if I’m talking to a child. Kim Dokja, where exactly are you?

Stealthily diverting his gaze back up again, Kim Dokja witnessed a strange yet ephemeral expression flash in Yoo Joonghyuk’s glassy and large cat eyes. He was tempted to call Yoo Joonghyuk again, but the emphatic system warnings that popped up deterred him.

[Synchronization level: 45%]

And Kim Dokja still hadn’t figured out what the ‘synchronization level’ meant and the conditions required to raise it. It was getting a bit high, wasn’t it?

A pointed glare from Yoo Joonghyuk brought Kim Dokja’s attention back to the brooding cat as he began to interrogate Kim Dokja. 

What is your name.

“Kim Dokja… you said it moments ago, too.”

…fine. How old are you?

“Why are you asking me for my age? You’re not secretly plotting an evil plan, are you?”

Another blistering scowl and a barely suppressed sigh.

What is my name.

“Random stray cat who knows how to talk?” Kim Dokja cheekily replied. Praying that Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t remember when Kim Dokja had been clearly laughing at him and calling his name–

Stop bluffing. The color in Yoo Joonghyuk’s right eye seemed to burn golden for a split second before returning to a dull amber while the left eye remained a steady and clear blue. I will ask you again. What is my name?

Kim Dokja gulped nervously. Yoo Joonghyuk seemed really ticked off this time… 

As he mentally calculated many predictions of the next moments, Yoo Joonghyuk visibly snapped.

Before he knew it, all Kim Dokja could see was a terrifyingly sharp claw in front of his face. This is your last chance. Yoo Joonghyuk’s voice was perfectly stable, yet somehow, to Kim Dokja, ever-so-slightly desperate. You know me. Who am I?

“You’re…”

[Warning: You may not break character.]

[Warning: …]

[Warning! …]

[Synchronization level: 60%]

Kim Dokja could only stare as the system notifications piled up furiously, each pinging seemingly louder than the last. 

“...” 

Yoo Joonhyuk lightly scoffed at himself, retracting his claws from Kim Dokja’s impassive face. Why do I even bother?

However, before the atmosphere could grow more awkward, Kim Dokja sensed it before he saw. A sense of being watched, and stray strands of dark hair peeking out behind the wall.

The brat that was the younger version of Han Sooyoung seemed to have been not-so-discreetly eavesdropping on their interaction the entire time.

As both gazes ever so slowly shifted to her, she beamed innocently. “Sorry! Wrong place, wrong time,” before bolting away, her far-from-sorry peals of laughter heard from far away.

The look Yoo Joonghyuk shot Han Sooyoung’s rapidly retreating back was something that made Kim Dokja feel more than glad he wasn’t on the receiving end for once. But, seeing Yoo Joonghyuk’s attention briefly diverted, Kim Dokja took the opportunity that had been picking at him since moments ago.

He snatched a nearby cloth grocery bag and smoothly scooped Yoo Joonghyuk’s entire feline body into the bag without a pause.

The cloth bag contorted violently for a few seconds before it abruptly went still, making Kim Dokja wince slightly– Yoo Joonghyuk was likely planning 51 ways to murder him at the moment.

However, it didn’t matter- all of these actions unbecoming of him- because…

[Yoo Joonghyuk is scheduled to die within the hour.]

Chapter Text

Moments ago:

…What???

Kim Dokja had instinctively rubbed at his eyes, blinking incredulously in astonishment and disbelief at the absurd message. He tightened his grip on the grocery bag containing/trapping the cat Yoo Joonghyuk as he thought rapidly.

But despite it all, Kim Dokja decided to temporarily put it to the back of his mind. An hour, while short, was ample time for him to figure out more of what was going on.

Was it a prank? A lie? A cruel joke of some kind played by the enigmatic system? But the mechanics of the system window ultimately proved that the threat was indeed real.

As he gazed down on the disturbingly still grocery bag dangling in his grip, a pinprick of guilt tinged through him. Even though he’d barely spent any time with Yoo Joonghyuk, he felt somehow indebted to him.

It went beyond the mere fact that Yoo Joonghyuk was a crucial clue to his missing past (though that was quite important as well), and Kim Dokja found that seeing Yoo Joonghyuk definitely changed things.

Yoo Joonghyuk must live. It didn’t matter if Kim Dokja had to be stuck as a cat forever, and even if he never obtained the chance to regain his memories again.

Of course, there was always the chance that the Yoo Joonghyuk in this strange world was a mere imitation of the Yoo Joonghyuk he had in mind, but Kim Dokja would not take any chances.

With those thoughts running singularly in his mind, Kim Dokja pointedly ignored the Han Sooyoung not-so-discreetly sneaking and skirting around him and (cat) Yoo Joonghyuk and formulated a rough plan as his mind whirred rapidly from all the possibilities, and gambles that he might have to take.

“Mhm..”

Settling on a decision after a few long moments, Kim Dokja finally decided to call out Han Sooyoung, looking at her (or a tuft of her unruly black hair sticking out). “You do realize I can see you right?”

“...” Silence. But one that fooled nobody.

“Your hair is sticking out.”

“...darn it,” came the muttered reply as the young Han Sooyoung slunk out of hiding, her facial expression rebellious as she faced Kim Dokja unwillingly. “So if you noticed me way before, why didn’t you just say so?”

Ignoring the question (he found it pointless to answer anyways), Kim Dokja gestured lightly at the bag he held in his other hand. “Take him and leave.”

Teenage Han Sooyoung scowled at the command, narrowing her eyes. “Why should I?”

“Because I’m about to do something potentially dangerous that you absolutely do NOT want to get in between of?”

Brows steadily rising in skepticism, Han Sooyoung surprisingly did not retaliate further as she gingerly took the bag from Kim Dokja. Though he did not doubt in the slightest that she definitely had ulterior motives-

RIIIIIIIP!!

The harsh sound of a bag ripping was heard, shattering the previous tranquility of the scene as the bag suddenly came to life: writhing violently as soon as it was passed from Kim Dokja to Han Sooyoung. Unfortunately, Han Sooyoung was caught in the flurry of limbs and was now sporting a shallow cut on Shooting a venomous glare at Kim Dokja, Han Sooyoung displayed a shocking amount of power from her twig-like, wiry self as she wrestled the bag down with sheer force.

“...”

Seeing a tinge of an unhinged light in the teenager’s eyes, Kim Dokja decided to refrain from commenting. 

“Sooooooo… what are you doing?” Han Sooyoung couldn’t hide the slyness practically oozing from her voice as she all but declared her intention to snoop. Twirling a strand of her dark hair as she sat down (with the bag under her arm), Han Sooyoung didn’t even bother to pretend to follow Kim Dokja’s suggestion to leave. Though, to be frank, Kim Dokja hadn’t expected much cooperation from her in the first place anyways.

Unsurprised, and much to the teenage Han Sooyoung’s chagrin, he simply replied, “I expected that you’d say that.”

The calm statement clearly irked Han Sooyoung, who humphed angrily, settling even further in the ground.

As he finally decided to take the gamble he’d been debating on for the past twenty minutes, Kim Doka idly wondered if Han Sooyoung realized she was unconsciously hugging the increasingly concerningly still bag to herself. No, that wasn’t important right now. 

Kim Dokja, during this interaction realized that Han Sooyoung had been acting odd- all the arrogance and confidence from their encounter before had been replaced with almost naive innocence and childish petulance. Which led him to debate on the idea that the Yoo Joonghyuk in the bag might not even be the Yoo Joonghyuk he wanted to save.

But he still had to go through with his plan.

He’d initially wanted to save his funds for the new items that he’d unlocked a while ago– the bulk version of the Memory Inducer For Amnesiacs item that he needed (yes, the system was quite capitalist and employed the use of bulk items…). However, with the way the situation was unfolding before him, Kim Dokja scrolled, and kept scrolling down until he reached the very bottom of the “Memory” section of the system shop. 

The very bottom, where the most expensive items were on display.

To be honest, he could’ve gotten more of his memories back by now if he had wanted, but at the time, he hadn’t needed them and was simply saving up– though he certainly didn’t have a choice now!

“Scammer…” He muttered under his breath, scowling in annoyance at the absolutely absurd price the system demanded for this one item.

[Item <High Grade, Specific Memory Inducer For Amnesiacs> has been bought.]

…this better be worth it, Kim Dokja bitterly thought as he reminiscenced on his meagre balance.

[Would you like to use the item <High Grade, Specific Memory Inducer For Amnesiacs>?]

Without any hesitation, Kim Dokja responded. “Yes.”

[What do you intend to recover?]

Kim Dokja glanced at Han Sooyoung(?), who had taken out her phone and began distractedly playing with it. Thankfully, she didn't seem too interested in what was going on at his end.

“How do I save Yoo Joonghyuk?”

[Error.]

“How to save Yoo Joonghyuk.”

[Error.]

Vexed, Kim Dokja gave it a final try. “Saving Yoo Joonghyuk no matter the cost I must pay.”

[Success! Recovering…]

“Oh?” At the familiar ding that had begun to feel somewhat comforting, Kim Dokja was slightly taken aback at the swift affirmative response that he’d unexpectedly received. 

Not that he had time to reflect on that, however, as darkness descended in his vision and he promptly fell unconscious.