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"Are you seriously going through such lengths for that woman, Kim Dokja!?"
"Ofcourse I would!"
"Why!? If you fail you will die"
"She is more important than my death Yoo Joonghyuk. You ask me why? It's because she's Yoo Sangah, the person I love"
At that moment, Joonghyuk was stunned. He froze, gripping dokja's shoulders tighter. He regained himself when he felt Dokja brush his hands away before proceeding to sacrifice himself
There, Yoo Joonghyuk thought 'Why is it always not me?'. For him, he felt much pain in there regression. He was hurt more abt loosing Kim Dokja unlike in the past regression where he lost Seolhwa
[The demon-like judge of fire is crying]
[The abyssal black flame dragon is pitying you]
[The prisoner of Golden Headband is looking at you with sad eyes]
[Secretive plotter says he feels your pain]
"You sunfish bastard!! Are you just gonna stand there and watch me!?" Kim Dokja yelled as he dodged an attack from the monster
Yoo Joonghyuk remained silent. He rushed towards the monster and immediately attacked it without a thought in his mind. Even if he was hurt, he still can't let Kim Dokja die. Atleast not alone
"If you're going to die, then I will die with you" he whispered, looking at Kim Dokja who's focused on fighting the monster
------
The team members rushed towards them, cheering after they defeated the monster who captured the sick Yoo Sangah. Kim Dokja was carrying him and he gently lied her down in the floor, asking Lee Seolhwa to heal her
"Master?" Lee Jihye approached Yoo Joonghyuk who was standing far from them, observing the party members "Are you okay?"
"I am" he answered coldly, not batting an eye at his disciple "I shall leave first. You take care"
"Master? Where are you going?" Jihye asked but Joonghyuk didn't answer, he just turned his back and started walking away, not even bothering to look back
[The demon-like judge of fire is asking the incarnation Lee Jihye to comfort her master]
"Huh? Why? What happened?"
[The abyssal black flame dragon says that the incarnation Lee Jihye to observe her surroundings instead]
Jihye mentally rolled her eyes and started inspecting the people around her and there she saw his party members who gathered around Yoo Sangah's sleeping body. That's when she noticed
"Ah I see! Everyone ignored master that's why he's upset!" She proudly said, she even clasped her hands together
[The demon-like judge of fire face palmed]
[The prisoner of the golden headband is laughing]
[The abyssal black flame dragon is wondering how stupid a human can be]
[The Maritime War God is disappointed at her incarnation Lee Jihye]
"What!? You guys told me to observe" she rolled her eyes before approaching the team. She then saw Kim Dokja holding Yoo Sangah's hands tightly
'Ah is that it?' he looked at the stars, waiting for confirmation. Three stars shone the most 'I see' she thought again as she stared at Dokja and Sangah's hands together
"Lee Jihye, where is Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi?" Lee Seolhwa asked and everyone looked at her after noticing that Yoo Joonghyuk is indeed not with them
"He left first unni. Why?"
"Ah, I need to treat his wounds. He was badly injured after all" Lee Seolhwa sighed "I'll heal you first then Dokja-ssi"
-----
Days have passed and Yoo Sangah already woke up. Ever since then, the group noticed how close Sangah and Dokja become, but it was only Lee Jihye who noticed how distant Yoo Joonghyuk was. His master has always been distant but this time, it felt like he's avoiding them, but ofcourse, Lee Jihye remained silent
After the incident, he started observing Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah and his master more. Well mostly because the constellations refuse to tell her anything but to just observe
'These damned constellations' she thought, scratching her hair out of frustration
"Looks like something's troubling you for the past few days Jihye" Heewon suddenly said which startled the younger
"It's nothing Heewon-unni" she told her but Heewon gave her the I-don't-believe-you-look "Alright, I'm just worried about Master. He's so distant these past few days" she sighed
"Isn't he always like that?"
"He is but something just feels off"
"Do you think him and Dokja fought?" Heewon asked her. Jihye knows that something went wrong with the both of them but she just remained silent. She won't speak about anything until she confirms her theory
Heewon sighed then chuckled "I didn't think that you can be observant"
"I never thought so myself too" she laughed
"If they did fight, let them solve it on their own. They're old enough anyway" Jung Heewon
"Mhm. Thank you unni"
-----
"Dokja you idiot. I-"
"We" Sookyung cut Han Sooyoung's words
"Right. WE noticed that you and sangah are much closer than before. As the team's representative, I volunteered to ask, just what the fuck is going on with you two?" She emphasized the 'we'
Everyone in the room stopped what they're doing and looked at Dokja and Sangah with curious eyes. Yoo Joonghyuk as well.
Sangah's face turned red and she avoided everyone's eyes. Dokja turned red as well, slightly rubbing the back of his neck. It was obvious. They didn't say anything about what their relationship was but everyone understood what they wanted to say. Joonghyuk then realized that there really is zero chance for him
Everyone except Joonghyuk congratulated them. He's in pain. So much pain. He never felt this kind of affliction when he lost his comrades in the past or even when he lost Seolhwa. This kind of pain is new to him. He felt like crying. He wants to protest about their relationship. Hel loves the guy and he wants to have Dokja to himself. It's selfish but that's what he desires
Joonghyuk stood up and went to his room, everyone's gaze was on him. They were probably waiting for him to congratulate the two but it's not a surprise for them considering his personality so they just let him be.
He laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He knows he needs to think about the future scenarios instead of sulking but what can he do? His heart was broken by the person he loves the most throughout his entire life
Few minutes of have past and all he did was stare at the ceiling, demanding answers of why it can't be him. Joonghyuk flinched a little when he felt tears rolling down his face. He touched his eyes to confirm and it is indeed wet.
He chuckled "It's been a long time since the last time I cried" he muttered to himself before wiping his tears.
It's like his tears have a mind of it's own as it didn't stop from flowing. Faint sobs can be heard. He wants to cry harder but he's afraid he would make a sound. He wants to scream and let all his pain out.
He just wants Dokja to love him the way he does but he knows that it won't happen. After all, for Dokja, he's just a mere companion