[Joongdok] Omniscient Reader's Path to Nowhere

Part 1 - Chapter 4: A Glimse

Sunlight gleamed through the sheer curtain, landed on Kim Dokja's face. The sounds of traffic and people passing by echoed vaguely, completely different from his sleep quarter. His eyelashes fluttered slightly, then flashed open, he promptly sat up:

"Crap, I'm late!..."

Wait, I'm taking a vacation, aren't I?

He looked around confused, locating his phone first thing. After confirming that it was lying on the bedside table not far away, he realized that the place he was in wasn't his sleep quarter at all. He scratched the back of his head, slowly recollecting what happened. His sleep was still haunted by nightmares as usual, yet this time they seemed more docile than before. Aside from some not-so-SFW stuff occasionally got mixed in, the feeling when he woke up wasn't as heavy as usual.

His memories were a bit jumbled, but not difficult to organize. What was strange was that he couldn't remember what happened after finishing lunch. Kim Dokja had just opened his mouth to yawn, when a sharp pain attacked, making his eyes reflectively squeezed. With one hand pressed on his painfully chapped lips, he tapped his phone open. One whole day had passed since that lunch, making him feel uneasy, had his situation become so bad that he even lost his memories now?

Still, there was nothing strange on his phone, and no missed call from Yoo Sang-Ah, so Kim Dokja could be confident that things were still within his control. He closed his eyes, focusing on tracking the other end of his Shackle, and quickly identifying the Sinners standing outside.

"Cinnabar and Garofano, huh? I knew she wouldn't follow my order just simply like that."

They probably were ordered to protect him from afar, so just let them be. The door suddenly opened from outside, a tall figure donned in black walked in, holding a wooden tray in his hand. A covered ceramic bowl with delicate poppy flower patterns was placed on it:

"You're awake."

To Kim Dokja - who met attractive people on a daily basis, getting stunned by someone's appearance wasn't something that happened easily. Yet he still felt like an electric current just flashed through his nape. The man's semi-wavy black hair fell across his forehead, seemed to defy gravity as it framed the sharp features that were both freezingly beautiful and impenetrable. From the scars on his hands and arms, this man was no doubt that strange chef yesterday.

As if reading Kim Dokja's confusion, he spoke in an indifferent tone:

"You passed out after finishing your meal, so we brought you up here."

"...Have I paid yet?"

"Yes."

Kim Dokja scratched his nape, feeling a bit embarrassed. Passed out was to be expected, considering his condition at the time. No wonder he didn't remember anything, for there was nothing to remember.

The chef pulled a half-rectangular table from somewhere and put it next to Kim Dokja's bed, forming a convenient table, and put the tray he had been holding on. He could easily smell the appetizing smell of food emanating from the air vent above the ceramic bowl lid.

"Eat up."

After saying those words like ordering, the man leaned his back against the wall next to the window, with absolutely no intention of leaving the room. With such a transparent attitude, Kim Dokja was certain that this man knew him, so he took this chance and asked directly:

"Have we met before?"

Stare.

"Can you tell me how we met? I've been quite forgetful lately..."

Blatant lie. You didn't remember shit.

Yoo Joonghyuk glanced at the other's smile, almost reflectively blurted out, but managed to hold it in. He started telling the wildest story Kim Dokja had ever heard.