Chapter Text
"He's not my boyfriend - "
"You think that he's - "
Dokja glared at Joonghyuk, because the man wasn't that out of his league. Probably. There was nothing specifically horrendous about Dokja that repelled the chemistry of a typical meet-cute that this shoot brought to their relationship.
"You," Dokja hissed, tilting up Joonghyuk's chin. "You are the one who recommended me, so stop acting like I'm the scum of the earth or your pet puppy."
Sooyoung snorted, breaking the two out of a trance. "I told you that sexual tension is awkward."
"It's not sexual tension," Joonghyuk rebutted, and then glanced down at Dokja. Something in his eyes flickered (the first spark of life he'd shown even during the shoot), and then it was snuffed out.
"Well, if I was going to have sexual tension with anyone, it wouldn't be you," Dokja responded. He was already going to Hell for sitting on another man's lap for money, so why not add the sin of dishonesty on top of that? Of course he had tension with Joonghyuk. Even a cactus had tension with Joonghyuk.
"...Right," the producer continued, looking anywhere in the room but at the three adults who acted like they were still in high school. "We have the debriefing now, so if you three could wrap it up."
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The assistant producer is stunned by this lack of respect for the Supreme King of models, the Empress, and - well, whoever this guy is, but he has to be wildly charismatic for Yoo Joonghyuk to look at him like that.
Sangah, a well-respected and liked coworker, lit up at seeing the Empress. That made sense. Even the head of makeup and design would want to network with her.
"Babe!"
Babe? Was there any point of going into this business after years of a college education if it turns out that the higher-ups are all fucking each other? Should they just give up?
"Sangah!" Oh God. The two were literally glowing at seeing the other. Not only do you have to be photogenic, but beautiful and well-liked too? That doesn't seem fair.
"Sangah!" This time, it was the man in the white coat - Joonghyuk-ssi's partner for the shoot, they thought. Now that they were looking closely, he was attractive. Kind of. Not enough for a shoot, but passably hot.
He wraps his arms around Sangah, and Han Sooyoung joins in. Sooyoung-ssi and Sangah are clearly dating, but the man is oblivious to the longing glances that Yoo Joonghyuk keeps sending to him when he isn't looking.
"This isn't a threesome," the producer interrupts. "We have the debrief."
Sooyoung and Sangah walk towards the door along with the crew, still holding hands, and the two men seem to be orbiting each other. Each time Joonghyuk moves to the left, his partner shifts to follow. It's like watching opposing magnets, made of the same material and yet never touching.
The assistant producer doesn't mean to cause any harm. They're just starved for gossip, and the Yoo Joonghyuk having a crush on a mystery man is golden. They take a quick picture of the two - only the side profile of the two, and a couple more of Joonghyuk staring at the other.
Sooyoung was smart to put the Supreme King together with his crush, the assistant producer thinks, before sending their friends the photos. These two together are magnetic.
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Kim Dokja wakes up to a flood of notifications, and picks up his phone. He'd been half-listening through the debrief and only half-awake once he got home. Obviously, he read, though. Read three-hundred pages of a romance novel he'd found for five dollars, and he still couldn't stop thinking about Yoo Joonghyuk.
The book made his obsession (not obsession, it's not an obsession) with the man even worse. The novel was a love story disguised as a fantastical adventure novel. A reader (skinny, sad, corporate drone) was isekai'd into his favorite web-novel about a regressor, forced to reincarnate hundreds of times in attempts to end the sadistic challenges called "scenarios".
It was beautiful. Dokja cried all the way through, but unlike the fans, he cried for the regressor. The reader was happy. He'd completed his story, but the regressor was left behind to find him.
Dokja thinks that if he were in the novel, he would've been the reader. It would be nice to sacrifice himself for a good cause. If he were still in high school, he would've died for this fictional character without a second thought.
(He thinks he might still do so now.)
He's still thinking about the novel when he picks up his phone and it's buzzing in his hand. He's thinking about the novel as he opens up the first message, and then he isn't.
[Text thread between Jung Heewon (JNH) and Kim Dokja (KDJ)]
JNH: *attaches photo: Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk walking side by side, only a few feet apart. Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes are trained on Dokja's as he looks away. The photo is captioned: These two are MAGNETIC. Who knew that the Supreme King had a consort?! 🫦 👑 💕
JNH: Dokja you have to TELL ME WHEN UR DATING KOREAS TOP MODEL WTFFF
JNH: Dokja respond rn or i'm blocking you
JNH: respond or i'm never giving you free drinks
JNH: that was a joke (kind of)
JNH: no it wasnt hyunsung is watching and he doesnt want me to be mean to you so RESPOND
DKJ: What the fuck?!
JNH: UR AWAKE
JNH: stop acting like ur not dating him. why didnt you tell me?!
DKJ: I'm not, though.
JNH: ugh stop lying i just sent you a photo and i support you
JNH: also you have a boyfriend and you still let sooyoung ambush you into fake dates?
DKJ: He isn't my boyfriend, and I've tried asking Sooyoung to stop. You know she doesn't listen.
JNH: fine. check the insta i know you have socials because i installed them and you're too lazy to delete them
(DKJ is typing)
(DKJ is typing)
DKJ: What's an ABO relationship?
JNH: ur actually so innocent
JNH: my sweet naive child
JNH: my baby
JNH: Hey Dokja! This is Lee Hyunsung.
DKJ: Oh, thank God. Do you know what's happening?
JNH: ...I assumed that you would. Someone sent photos of you and Yoo Joonghyuk, but no one seems to know it's you.
DKJ: It's not what you think.
JNH: I support you in this!
DKJ: ...That's good. Thanks?
JNH: No problem!
[Text thread between Lee Gilyoung (LGY), Shin Yoosung (SY), and Kim Dokja (KDJ)]
SY: ahjussi
SY: your famous
LGY: no dumbass it's "youre" not your
LGY: but yeah youre famous
KDJ: It's "you're", actually. Do you happen to know the details?
LGY: well thats why we're asking you
SY: yeah ahjussi what happened?
SY: are you dating someone?
LGY: as your kids we have the right to know
SY: its a law
SY: probably
LGY: almost definitely
KDJ: I'm not dating anyone.
SY: ...
SY: i heard its hard for old people to date nowadays
SY: but you're not dead yet!
LGY: yeah you got enough years to fuck the supreme king
KDJ: Stop cursing, kids. Also, I'm not your parent. And I'm not old.
SY: yeah whatever ahjussi
LGY: i've seen worse cursing in your comments section
LGY: do you know that you're a hashtag?
SY: hes right
SY: #joonghyuk
LGY: #marrymejoonghyuk
SY: #marryme_mysteriousman
SY: #hes_kindahotho
DKJ: They don't even know it's me.
LGY: you're not bad-looking for an ahjussi i guess
LGY: but jhy is way out of your league.
SY: shut up ahjussi is super nice
DKJ: I'm not bad looking.
SY: of course! ahjussi is super cool and definitely able to score with models
SY: see gilyoung THATS how you talk to your parents
LGY: shut the fuck up
DKJ: Gilyoung.
LGY: *shut up
DKJ: JHIUMXGYeqhuwnr8 shit i have work
LGY: you cursed ahjussi!
DKJ: shit
DKJ: I mean crap
DKJ: I mean gosh look at the time.
LGY: yeah whatever
LGY: dont get mobbed by the paparazzi
SY: yeah it would suck if you got trampled
SY: dont get trampled.
DKJ: Have a good day!
[Text thread between Lee Gilyoung (LGY) and Shin Yoosung (SY)]
LGY: if you see any paparazzi hit them with ur pan
SY: i told you it would come in handy
LGY: ok whatever
LGY: ...do you have another
SY: obviously i do. and i'll just throw biyoo at them if the pans arent enough.
LGY: biyoo is a pomeranian.
SY: exactly.
(LGY is typing)
LGY: you scare me.
SY: that's the point.
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Kim Dokja arrives fifteen minutes late for the shoot, and walks in on Han Sooyoung having a complete meltdown.
Sooyoung does not, as a general rule, do meltdowns. She's famous for her professionalism, the way in which she can alter the terms of a deal with a cool demeanor to give her agency the higher ground. She is calm and collected, except for today.
Sooyoung is frantic, red-rimmed eyes from sleeplessness and rubbing them too hard to confirm what she sees to be the truth.
Kim Dokja was photographed with Yoo Joonghyuk.
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Dokja sees Han Sooyoung panicking, and he starts panicking as well, but of course he goes up to her.
"Sooyoung-ssi, what happened?!"
"You."
Dokja pauses thoughtfully. There is nothing he'd done to offend Sooyoung. Excluding, of course -
"You're mad because I was photographed with Joonghyuk?"
"Yes."
"And now you're speaking in monosyllables."
"Yes - no, I'm just fucking fucked." She spins around in her chair and stands up, gripping Dokja's shoulders tight enough to bruise. "Do you realize what you've done?"
"I didn't do anything," Dokja protests. "There is no reason for me to draw attention to myself."
Sooyoung's grip slowly loosens to the point where Dokja can hold her hands in his. He can be a good friend today, has to be because of what he owes her.
"Sooyoung," he asks, and her hands are cold and shaking. "What happened?"
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It took over an hour to recount the elaborate web of connections that resulted in everyone in South Korea and a five hundred mile radius around it knowing about Yoo Joonghyuk's new "boy-toy".
"And then," Sooyoung adds, but there are so many "and then"s that Dokja can't keep track of it anymore. "Their cousin's friend sent it to their entire workplace, and it just spiraled from there."
"So you're saying I'm currently the hottest twink of South Korea."
"I suppose, yes."
"I have fanfiction written about me."
"That is correct."
"There are death threats being sent to my mail for "stealing" Joonghyuk-ssi and the paparazzi are coming soon."
"The first one, probably." Sooyoung walks over to the window, sneaking a peek past the curtains only to be assaulted by a flash of bright lights. "And the paparazzi are here now."
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