Dokja found his 'home.

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Don't forget to FOLLOW, VOTE and COMMENT~♡

[Cale Henituse's POV]

He had never woken up feeling this fresh since coming to this new world.

Under Lee Hyunsung's watchful eye, the red-haired man woke up, yawning as his arms spread in the air above him.

Faintly, Hyunsung's laughter and a hand ruffling the red haired head could be heard.

"Sleep well, Cale-ya?" Nodding, Cale even smiled absentmindedly.

How could he not have slept well? Imagine, he had been fighting against the White Star, had stabbed himself and then unceremoniously ventured into this world, which was apparently in the middle of an apocalypse filled with monsters and even the cost of living depended on coins. That was not all! A bunch of strange people were present as well, all either wanting to beat him up or protect him.

Anyway... Cale had had no time to rest, neither in his world nor in this world.

Now, popping two slices of apple pie in his hand, Cale started off by eating his favorite pastry, earning himself a laugh from Hyunsung once again.

"Aigooo, our dongsaeng is so cute."

"I slept well, Hyunsung-hyungnim." Like a proud father whose son managed to take a nap, Hyunsung nodded.

"Ah yes, how many hours did I sleep?" The elder then glanced at his watch.

"It's been almost 3 hours. You rested well, Cale-ya." Nodding proudly to himself, Cale returned to eating his apple pie.

"Hyungnim, do you want some?" Smiling radiantly at Cale's offer, Hyunsung nodded and reached out to receive the gift.

"Thank you-" Before he could grab it, another hand was extended and both Hyunsung and Cale followed the direction of it to it's owner.

"... Jonghyuk-ssi, right?" Asked Cale while giving a new piece to his third or fourth savior? Since there were already Dokja, Heewon, and Hyunsung who saved him first.

"Hm. Where did this apple pie come from?" The fourth savior asked with a critical eye on the pie, making Cale pause for a moment.

He wanted to answer 'a gift from the dragons', but this answer was highly unlikely and suspicious. So instead he stoically answered, "My family." He said, not forgetting to give a sharp gaze that was misinterpreted as a hopeful gaze so as not to be asked back by the protagonist.

"Hm. How are you doing now?" Asked lightly while taking a small bite of the pastry. Jonghyuk squatted in front of the smaller man.

"I'm doing very well right now. It's just that..." His smiling face became a little sad as he looked at his surroundings. The audience, Hyunsung and Jonghyuk, couldn't help but follow the redhead's gaze.

"... lack of sunlight," Cale muttered, finishing his apple pie and sighing heavily. He missed the mornings when he was in the Roan Kingdom. Even in his villa!

"Why do you need sunlight, Cale-ya?" The person in question gave Hyunsung a 'what,-are-you-joking?' look. Not giving a direct answer, Cale's body straightened, zhen his right hand moved backwards, his back was patted three times.

"Like plants, we need to photosynthesize. I need sunlight to avoid osteoporosis," Cale explained with a logical mind. Which... was met with blank stares from the other two men.

"So... you want to go out to feel... the sunshine?" Hyunsung pointed up with a confused face. Cale blinked twice before nodding.

"Yes! But-"

"Let me take you upstairs," Jonghyuk cut in suddenly in the middle of the argument between Hyunsung and Cale.

"No. You. Can't. Jonghyuk-ssi." Hyunsung refused while shaking his head firmly.

"Cale just recovered from his injury, only to head back upstairs again to face monsters? No." Both of his arms crossed in disapproval.

Cale glared for a moment. When had he said that he wanted to face monsters? Hyunsung stared back, now also glaring. Cale couldn't help but relent. He always forgot that this apocalypse was full of rampant monsters.

"Anyway, we're waiting for Dokja-ssi. Remember?" The stern gaze softened and pleaded with Cale, who in turn straightened his body.

"All he asks is to feel the sunlight... not to die," Jonghyuk said with an uncomfortable face. He had been kind enough to offer to bring Cale to the surface, but why was the former Tanker overreacting like this?

"I can protect him," The man continued again in a non-arguing no nonesense voice.

"I'm strong." Jonghyuk's curr words now gave the final say to Cale.

Aigo.... my poor life... even sunlight must now be a choice option?

"It's okay, Hyunsung-hyungnim... just for a moment, jebal? I just want to see it, and if I can feel it for a while, I will be a very fortunate human..." Cale turned his body to face Hyunsung and began in a soft voice to persuade the man. He had repeatedly heard from Rosalyn that this trick was very effective in melting a man's heart...

... even though he himself was a man.

The trick was... cupping your hands in front of you with your eyes wide with tears ?

And Hyunsung... tried to resist that trick by turning his face away, but he knew it would never work on that pitifully beautiful face. Finally, sighing heavily, the man nodded resignedly.

"Aih, alright, alright. As long as you obey Jonghyuk-ssi! I'll wait here. And if you don't return in 30 minutes, I'll come and drag you down, Cale-ya." Being nagged like a child, Cale could only mumble a small 'yes' before immediately getting up from his seat, helped up by Jonghyuk.

"Thank you." The taller man nodded calmly.

"We just need to go up those stairs to the top." The man with the sword at his waist pointed to Cale's right side. The two reddish-brown eyes looked at the stairs with a critical gaze for a moment.

Uh oh, taking the stairs was...

"Want me to carry you up there?" Jonghyuk asked, offering himself without having to be asked by Cale. Blinking twice at the unexpected offer, the red-haired man immediately nodded.

Making a move to climb on his back, Cale blinked in confusion as strong arms went to support his body. Surprised by the sudden movement, his two hands immediately grasped at Jonghyuk's shoulders to maintain his balance. The two stared at each other for a moment, before their staring contest was cut off by Cale's heavy sigh.

... ah never mind... anyway, his pride as a manly man had already collapsed since he had been carried in bridal style by Kim Dokja.

"Then I'll go upstairs for a while, Hyunsung-hyungnim. If Dokja-hyungnim arrives first, you can wait a bit or just follow me upstairs." Smiling a little, Cale simply waved goodbye at the other kind-hearted man before focusing on Jonghyuk who was already moving upstairs.

"Slow down," muttered the red-haired man patting Jonghyuk's shoulder, which was only met with a complicated look from the other.

"Mwoya? Waeyo?" Asked Cale somewhat shivering at the intensity of the other man's gaze.

"... nothing." If you are someone else, he might have cut off the hand-

"Where are they going, Hyunsung-Oppa?" They faintly heard Lee Jihye's voice as she asked Lee Hyunsung, who was standing guard at the end of the stairs.

"They're going upstairs for a while. Cale said he wanted to enjoy the sunshine." Almost laughing at Cale's absurd excuse, Jihye turned to see the shadows of the two humans disappear behind the wall.

"... but, is there any sunlight in this world?" Jihye asked with her laughter beginning to fade. Hyunsung hummed for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face.

"Even if the sun no longer shines, we still can find it in someone's heart." At this poetic reply, Jihye grew silent, staring at Hyunsung who was gazing into the air with melancholic eyes.

If that person could be Cale...

A small, sincere smile gradually etched itself on Jihye's face.

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[Third Person's POV]

The day that greeted Cale was still as bleak as the one Dokja had saved him.

Vaguely, he could see the vapor of his breath escaping as he exhaled. The air outside was even colder in the morning. Cale sighed under his breath. He had kept his weak body awake all day.

"How is it?" Glancing at Yoo Jonghyuk, who had sat him down on a ruin gently, Cale just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well... there's nothing here." The reddish-brown-eyed man whispered to his surroundings.

Finally, he could see the true state of this world, which was not much different from the one Kim Rok Soo was from. There were only the sad remnants of a human civilization that had been destroyed by monster attacks. A strong feeling of melancholy suddenly arose in his heart as the wind blew past him. The man stood up from his seat and raised a hand to grab the ashes that were falling around him.

"How easy...," The red-haired man muttered in a small voice. Unconsciously, his hand moved to cover his wound.

What was Death's intention in sending Cale to this world? From what he remembered, there was a small Fragment of Cale that made his presence acceptable in this world. Then, what did he have to heal from? He had already healed from his stab wound, shouldn't he be able to return to his home now? What was it that kept him stuck in this broken world?

Thousands of questions dragged Cale into his own mind. Making Yoo Jonghyuk, on the other hand saw nothing but a man who was crying over their destroyed nature. He watched the others reddish hair blowing in the breeze softly, brushing the soft flushed cheeks, a gaze full of sadness. His hand was placed over his heart, as if feeling the cry from nature itself, mourning from within his heart.

Perhaps... during his regressions, Cale Henituse had been the only one to stop and cry over the destruction of nature.

Putting two hands into the pockets of his black coat, Jonghyuk also took a moment to behold his surroundings. The ruined city, the houses that were flattened to the ground, the cracked streets, the faded signs that were slowly getting swallowed by plants, and the ash that spread in the surrounding air.

Human civilization was destroyed in just a single strike and Jonghyuk only now realized this in his third regression.

All because of Cale.

"It's okay." Cale suddenly stretched his hand forward. There was a small smile on his face as he looked at the cloudy sky. The faint glow of the constellations surrounding the red-head further added to the glow of the gem-eyed man's beauty.

"Everything will eventually heal. Nature will heal itself." Cale whispered to the air, his eyes closed, remembering every moment of the world recovering when he was still Kim Rok Soo, as well as after the war when he became Cale Henituse.

"And things will go back to how they were before."

Right after saying that, a small golden light shone down to light up Cale's reddish brown eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk on the other hand noticed how the sky split open, revealing a ray of sunlight that illuminated Cale's body with its mystique. Like a favored child.

"How warm..."

... and beautiful. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn't take his eyes off this glowing red-haired figure in front of him. Cale chuckled for a moment, the sound almost sounding like fairy bells from a tale.

Where did a human with a heart as pure as Cale's come from? Why was this man with eyes full of kindness trapped in this broken world?

"... Cale-ya?" Their conversation stopped, the two turning to see the figure of another man coming towards them, slowly. Cale who recognized the figure of the reader instantly, greeted him with a small smile.

"Welcome back, Dokja-hyungnim," he whispered sweetly.

*****

[Main Scenario #2 enabled]

[Scenario - Encounter]

[ Category: Cross the tunnel and meet the survivor at the first main base.

Time Limit : none

Compensation : 500 coins

Failure: ??? ]

"Slow down Dokja-ssi. Hyunsung-ssi and Cale aren't going anywhere, are they? Don't worry, Hyunsung-ssi isn't the type to steal lovers either-"

"Jung Heewon-ssi!"

"-oops." Not feeling guilty in the slightest, Heewon laughed amusedly at Dokja's rosy face. Even in these fairly dark conditions, you could see how flushed the dark-haired man's face was.

"Ah yes, by the way, the main base? Where is it?" Gilyoung, who was trying to catch his breath beside Dokja asked while staring at the blue screen in front of him.

"Ah, it's in Chungmuro." As if confirming Dokja's words, the screen showed that the nearest Main Base was Chungmuro.

"Aiyah, that's still a bit far, isn't it? About three more stops? If you're supposed to meet quickly, why not at Yaksu Station?" Heewon's complaints were silenced by the sight of corpses and monsters once they arrived at Yaksu Station.

"Two stations left, let's go." Such a strong sense of longing had never hit Dokja before, not this hard. He felt like he wanted to hurry up and get this over with, or even take quick steps full of magical energy to hurry and get to his Hanibaram.

The long 2km journey exhausted the team steadily. Especially with the constant monster attacks that didn't leave them with a moment of rest.

This sucked. One more station remained before they would reach Chungmuro. Letting his team rest for a moment, Kim Dokja's eyes looked toward the exit of Dongdae Station and he remembered something.

"Ah yes, that statue..."

"Yeorobun, I'm going upstairs for a moment." Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him. One with surprise, one with understanding and one narrowed in suspicion.

"I thought you'd run as quickly as humanly possible to go meet Cale-"

"Heewon-ssi!" The woman laughed cheerfully.

"Oh my! It's so much fun to tease you, Dokja-ssi!"

"Hey, never mind, Heewon-ssi. Poor Dokja-ssi... his face is turning bright red." Sangah tried to break up the fight.

"Gilyoungie is still here, you know." The two adults immediately fell silent, staring at the child and exchanging small apologies, before Dokja went off to the surface and faced the Samyeongdang statue.

*****

It had been almost 20 minutes since Gilyoung had used his powers, allowing them to move through Chungmuro Station safely. As the tunnel doors brightened, Dokja couldn't help but remember the one annoying scenario the protagonist had experienced upon arriving.

[A New Sub Scenario has been activated!]

"Everyone, get ready!"

Even after 15 minutes had passed, the effects of the sub scenario were still felt. Gilyoung still had traces of his tears on his face, while Jung Heewon exhaled over and over to try and calm her breathing down. If it hadn't been for his exclusive skill, the Fourth Wall, Kim Dokja would've had the same after effects as the others.

A glimpse of red and black hair and a person's face had briefly flashed in his vision before his exclusive skill had kicked in and chases it away.

"Gilyoung, are you okay? Heewon-ssi?"

"Back off! Otherwise I'll kill you all!" Heewon's eyes looked red, the woman had entered the 'Demon Slaying' stage of her skill.

"Grrrrr..." Arggh! Another annoying misfortune?!

"Sangah-ssi, please take care of Heewon-ssi! I'm going to intercept this monster!"

"A-arasso, Dokja-ssi!"

Defeating the 8th grade Spectre was not as difficult as dealing with the effects of the sub scenario. Pocketing the monster's stones, Dokja turned to look at the state of his party. Just as he was about to say something, a sword was drawn in the darkness behind him.

"Dokja-ssi!" Dokja raised his hand, trying to calm Sangah who looked very pale.

"Who are you?" Came the voice of a young girl who looked to be around seventeen, wearing a white baseball hat on her head. Dokja immediately recognized this new but well known character. After all she was one of the reasons Jonghyuk had come to Chungmuro on short notice.

"How can you... only Master can lift these pesky ghost monsters!" said the girl, Lee Jihye, somewhat unhappily when she saw the Spectre Stones in Dokja's hands.

"Ah, this-"

"Jihye, why did you run here all of a sudden?" All pairs of eyes, including Dokja's own, widened as a familiar voice entered their ears.

"Hyunsung...ssi?" Beamed Sangah in disbelief as the woman slowly advanced towards where Kim Dokja and Lee Jihye were.

"Heol? Do you know Hyunsung-Oppa?" Along with this question, a well-built figure appeared beside Jihye with a small gasp.

"Who are you talking to, Jihye-? Huh? Sangah-ssi?" Lee Hyunsung, the Tamer whom Dokja had trusted to guard Cale, was in front of them.

"Dokja-ssi? Heewon-ssi? Gilyoungie?" Checking on the newcomers one by one, a watery smile gradually appeared on the former officer's face and he looked instantly happy.

"Hyunsung-hyung!" Gilyoung, forgetting his tiredness, immediately ran over and hugged the other burly man.

"Geez, having just parted ways, you have already turned this bloated, Hyunsung-ssi." With teary eyes, Heewon patted Hyunsung's shoulder. Sangah on the other hand smiled a watery smile with a relieved laugh.

"Then, Cale?"

"You guys know Cale-Oppa too?"

Cale.

Hanibaram.

Dokja's dark eyes fluttered lightly. He had almost forgotten the name that always haunted his mind when he walked into this station.

"Ah, Cale?" Staring fixedly at Hyunsung, the former military officer gave him a small chuckle.

"Cale is currently above ground. He said he wanted to enjoy the sunlight for a bit." Laughter could be heard from Sangah and Heewon. Even Gilyoung smiled in Hyunsung's arms. Jihye just stared at the crowd with a confused face.

Dokja just walked to Hyunsung's side, a smile on his face as he imagined Cale's face while saying he wanted to enjoy the sunshine.

"And don't worry too much, Dokja-ssi!"

"Hmm, yes?" On Dokja's face a businesslike smile appeared suddenly. A bad feeling arose in his heart the moment he saw Hyunsung's face as he said this. Yes, but... wasn't Cale still injured...? Why was he left upstairs alone? Unless...

"Jonghyuk-ssi is upstairs with him."

Faintly, there was a cracking sound.

"... which way?" Hyunsung gave the other a puzzled smile but answered anyway, pointing out the stairs to their right.

"This way-"

-WUSH!

A strong wind blew through the rest of the party as Dokja used all his strength to run to the surface.

"... What a clever way to heat someone up, Hyunsung-ssi." Heewon said mock respectfully while patting Hyunsung's shoulders, while the other looked around in confusion. Jihye, who was in fact very sensitive, immediately made a surprised face.

"A rival?!" Glancing at Jihye, Heewon nodded gavely. The two women both wore excited and suggestive faces, making Sangah as the only sane one of the group sigh with an amused smile.

"Hey, never mind, let's not continue."

"Don't deny it, Sangah-ssi! This is a rare competition!"

"Dokja-ssi! Or..." Jihye giggled.

"Master!"

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[Kim Dokja's POV]

It felt as if he had never before in his life run as fast as he did the moment he had heard the dreaded words leave Lee Hyunsung's mouth.

How strange!

Why was Yoo Jonghyuk still in Chungmuro?

Didn't this damn protagonist sunfish bastard have better things to do? Why did that strong bastard come back to Chungmuro station? Was it just because of Lee Jihye? No, that was not the reason! There must be another reason why Jonghyuk came back-

... Hanibaram?

"What the heck?!" growled Dokja as he arrived at the top. He was momentarily surprised to see the clean air around him, which should have still been filled with a toxic waste.

Restraining himself from immediately calling out to Cale, Dokja gazed around warily for a moment, hands resting on the hilt of his sword at the side of his waist. Faintly, he heard a small interaction between two people from the opposite direction. Filled with unease, anxiety, hope, longing, and fear, Dokja walked toward the source of the sound.

His eyes caught sight of two human figures with different colored hair standing side by side immediately. One was taller, with short wavy black hair and a black knee-length coat covering his tall frame. The dark figure stared at the other long red haired figure intensely. There was a blanket wrapped around the frail figures shoulders, fluttering in place with every breeze.

Then, inexplicably, a lone ray of sunlight appeared, as if to greet the red-haired figure, touching upon his face and creating an angelic sight from behind, that took over Kim Dokja's every heartbeat in a single breath.

Oh how beautiful the man that nature loved so much was.

The mystical aura that emanated from the other made Dokja wonder, how could a person as surreal as Cale exist in his world? Presented like an unreachable dream?

... un..reachable?

"... Cale-ya?" Unconsciously, Kim Dokja called out that treasured name in a weak, trembling, and slightly desperate voice.

Please answer me...

Don't let your existence be just yet another dream for me...

Please...?

Dokja then watched as the shadows overlapped with reality. An instant feeling of deja vu filled his heart as he saw the two figures from his dream turn around. Black eyes widened as the dream he had once had became reality in front of him.

There was the protagonist, with his trademark scowl, but his gaze had an unfamiliar gentle intensity to it. His black hair fluttered in the wind, and a black coat was hugging his strong body. The protagonist, Yoo Jonghyuk, stood there facing Kim Dokja with a sombre gaze.

Realizing that Kim Dokja was alive, real and 'there'.

Then, there was Hanibaram, who was now smiling at him with a small but sincere smile. His long red hair, which framed his beautiful face, flowed gently across his soft rosy cheeks. There was a serene look in those reddish-brown eyes as he looked at Dokja. Welcoming. Accepting. And open.

He was also greeted by the strong smell of nature that reminded Dokja of the summer laughter of his childhood.

"Welcome back, Dokja-hyungnim," Hanibaram whispered sweetly, sending a million tingles of warmth into Dokja's heart.

This was... a dream, wasn't it?

It was too good to be true... the two figures Dokja had dreamed of for so long... were right in front of him...

Don't ever wake Dokja from this dream... please... ?

"Hyungnim? Are you crying?" Footsteps could be heard echoing in tune to his heartbeat. Dokja stared attentively as Cale walked over to him and reached out a pale hand to the reader's cheek.

Dokja accepted the touch equally shakily and closed his eyes to lean into the warmth and scent of nature that he had longed for so much.

"Cale." Hanibaram.

The younger man's thumb wiped away his tears.

"Good job." Surprised by Cale's gentle words, Kim Dokja opened his eyes and looked at the other man who was smiling at him softly. There was a proud gleam in the red gemmed eyes as they looked at Kim Dokja.

More precisely, looking past the current him and at the small figure-the teenage-the worker Kim Dokja, who was hiding inside his shaking heart.

"Thank you for enduring well, Dokja-hyungnim." The gentle hand moved to pat his head.

"You did great."

And in that single moment, Kim Dokja's defenses were completely shattered.

He couldn't hold back a wet chuckle as he received the gentle pat from Cale.

... how warm.

Even through his blurry vision, Dokja could still see Cale smiling at him. Warm. Welcoming. His dream... His 'home' was smiling at him. For him.

... was this a gift for Dokja?

A true reward for all the hardships Kim Dokja had endured all this time? A reward for having hld out-?

"-hush, don't mock Dokja-hyungnim with your gaze, Jonghyuk-ssi."

"... you call him 'hyungnim'?"

"Is that what you care about? If so then shut up, Jonghyuk-ssi and turn your glare away. Let this old man calm down this big baby, okay?"

"Pfftt, big baby."

"Jonghyuk-ssi!"

"Cale-!" Startled at Dokja's sudden outburst, the two saw the other man wiping away his tears roughly. The head caresses stopped, making the reader glance angrily at the protagonist who had interrupted their moment.

"-is not an old man..." Blinking at Dokja's protest, Cale simply chuckled and nodded

"Sure, sure. I'm still young. Younger than you guys. So, I should be protected." The red-haired man then scanned Dokja and frowned at the other man's appearance.

"Why don't you rest first, Dokja-hyungnim? You look like a mess...," Cale muttered, grabbing the blanket around his shoulders, intending to wrap it around Dokja, who was quick restrained by the hand in question in stopping Cale.

He smiled and shook his head, instead further wrapping Cale into the folds of the blanket, taking a chance to touch the red hair around his neck, then his forehead an lastly just around the others reddish brown eyes. He couldn't help but chuckle at the cute sight of Hanibaram blinking owlishly at Dokja's movements.

The snickering then turned to humming. With a gentle gaze, Dokja carefully engraved the memory of Cale Henituse, of 'Hanibaram', into his mind, to keep forever.

"I'm fine, Cale-ya. Thank you for worrying about me."

Thank you for being there to make my dream become a beautiful reality.

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER~

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Tbh, I was crying when I wrote this chapter 〒▽〒)
The scene of Dokja asking over and over again, is it a dream to meet his Hanibaram, combined with typing the last scene while hearing sad music, omg really got it 😭👌✨

You know how it is, Dokja's mentality, HE NEEDS a hug 😭
A pat, with the words 'Thanks for sticking around. You're doing great'.
Bye, I'm crying again ಥ_ಥ)

Dokja-yaaaaaa 😭😭😭😭😭
This is the reason why I wrote this Fanfic, for Dokja himself who needed a hug and it came from CALE 😭😭😭.
You know, for me, Cale is innately calm, but have to much love in his heart, which makes Cale a home for a homeless person? (ಥ_ಥ)🤍

Huhuhuhu
I'm looking forward to your comments, guys! o(TヘTo)