Chapter Text
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Kim Dokja startled awake, blinking blearily at the unfamiliar view of a ceiling without any cracks or mysterious stains. The plush bed sank underneath him, cushioning his weary joints as he forced himself to sit up. His head hurt, and his mouth felt like cotton with how dry it was, but overall, he was better than he expected to be.
Well, considering that his expectations after his impulsive decision to “live life” was to end up face down in a dirty ditch somewhere or on the front page of the news as a poor victim of a crime–or both, honestly–anything would have surpassed the bar he created for himself.
A soft rustle startled him out from the depths of his thoughts. Kim Dokja turned his head to the side so slowly and mechanically that you could basically hear his rusty joints creaking. Oh. There was a man there. He could practically hear his bank account taking a nosedive into the negatives as stared in horror.
There he was, the hooker that Kim Dokja slept with, in all his naked glory. The sun was just rising above the horizon, its rays peeking through the gaps in the curtains to illuminate that chiseled abs just perfectly. It was almost like a scene straight out of a magazine cover. The man lay on his back, sheets draped artfully across his lower body in a way that covered the most scandalous bits while still leaving quite a bit of room for imagination. His symmetrical pecs rose and fell with his breath, his mouth was slightly agape, his jawline sharp enough to cut–
Kim Dokja flushed as he realized what he was doing. Fuck. He needed to stop looking at the hooker and get out of there.
The silky smooth sheets rustled imperceptibly as he slid out of bed. The feeling of it on his skin almost made him break out in hives. Is it possible to be allergic to sheets worth more than his yearly salary or was Kim Dokja just too poor to be breathing in this room? Probably the latter.
Out of all the people he had to pick, why did he have to pick someone like him????
He had heard of people jumping in front of cars in an attempt to scam people for money by pretending to be injured, but he had never heard of ridiculously attractive men trying to con poor office workers like him for their money! That simply can’t be economical, Kim Dokja thought. The effort put into the scam is simply not worth the money being wrung from people like him. He would be better off finding different clientele.
Kim Dokja cursed internally as he tried to put his clothes on as quietly as he could, his movements sluggish as his whole entire body suddenly ached. He couldn’t tell if the nausea was from the alcohol or from the implications of what might have transpired the night before. He thought of the bulge hiding beneath those sheets and scowled, his mood souring. That thing was simply a weapon of mass destruction.
He padded slowly to the front door and was just about to leave when he paused, looking back behind him one more time. He bit his lip. Everyone was just trying to make it through this world. The man was no exception. Kim Dokja sighed and walked back, pulling out his wallet. He definitely couldn’t afford to pay for the hotel room or the full price of the…services he had received last night but—miraculously—he still had enough morals to know that it wasn’t right to leave just like this.
Even at his lowest point in life, Kim Dokja had never dined and dashed. He wasn’t about to start now. He pulled out a few bills and coupons, placing them neatly on the nightstand. Satisfied, he turned around to leave. Looking forward to doing nothing else but rotting in bed for the rest of the weekend, he opened the door to see a child holding a sword.
An unsheathed one.
One that happened to be pointed straight at his neck.
Kim Dokja could practically see his reflection in the polished silver…or whatever modern swords were made of.
She screamed. Kim Dokja panicked and did the first thing that he thought of…which was to slam the door in her face. He locked it too. And slid the door chain into place. Just in case. .
So now there he was, standing there, with the only thing between him and death being a hotel room door. He could still hear her screaming, but now there was also the added acoustics of her using what sounded like the hilt of her sword to try and break the keypad lock. The door chain rattled with every movement, and Kim Dokja quickly lost any hope in staying safe.
Bang. Bang. Bang. “Master!!!”
Master?? Oh god. Kim Dokja paled. He looked back at the still sleeping figure on the bed. Not only does he target overworked salarymen, he also goes for children?? That was a whole can of worms that Kim Dokja was absolutely not willing to dig into.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Okay, time for plan B,” Kim Dokja muttered to himself. “Not that there was really a plan A to begin with.” He ran to the bathroom, where there was a large, and very intricately decorated, window that miraculously led into the fire escape stairs.
Well.
Kind of.
Kim Dokja stepped onto the window sill, a gust of wind blowing through his hair as he stuck his head out. Just a few short feet away lay his salvation. The fire escape stairs weren’t directly under the window he was haphazardly hanging out of, but rather a few feet away to the side. Kim Dokja eyed the gutter downspout just a wingspan’s length away, trying to decide if it would be enough to hold his weight, or if he could even reach it safely, for that matter.
From today on, Kim Dokja vowed to take his physical health seriously.
“What are you doing?” A deep voice sounded out from behind him. Km Dokja glanced back in horror.
The prostitute stood in the middle of the bathroom, with only a small towel holding on for dear life around his waist to protect his chastity. But even that wasn’t effective, considering the gusts of wind slipping in were enough to lift the edges of the expensive cotton threads. It would have been comical, had there not been a murderous expression on the other man’s face.
“I, uh, can explain?” Kim Dokja said.
“Can you really?” And damn, even that man’s eyebrow raise was doing things to Kim Dokja. What the fuck was wrong with him? He was literally hanging out of a window in front of a half naked Greek god while a shrieking menace was still pounding at the door. This was so unreal. Were all one night stands like this? His coworkers did not mention anything like this ever happening. He should have never even considered them as reliable sources of information to begin with.
Kim Dokja, for a split second, debated staying and actually explaining this to the man, but he also had attachment issues and had run away from less so staying to talk things through was not in his character settings at all.
The decision was quickly made for him when he heard a loud crack from behind, followed by a bang as the door swung and hit the opposite wall with force. The sword wielding demon child had somehow broken the door.
So that stupid door chain was useless. Some luxury hotel this was. Could he sue for money? Technically, it failed to do its job of keeping its owner safe. But then again, he wasn’t really the owner so he couldn’t be sure of how successful he would be if he went down this avenue. While he was preoccupied with his thoughts of legal action, the man stepped forward, reaching for Kim Dokja.
Kim Dokja panicked. He grabbed a handful of spare change that he knew was still in his pocket and threw it straight at the man’s face. His stun tactic worked because the man was shocked enough that it gave Kim Dokja the opportunity to escape.
With the same strength he used to run away from his bullies he jumped out, hands outstretched. For a split second he hung mid air. His heart raced in his chest. His hands closed around the steel pipe and immediately gripped on for dear life, using his momentum to swing over the railing of the stairs. He collapsed onto the platform, limbs flailing all over the place. Without looking back at the two figures shouting behind him, he proceeded to scurry down the stairs as fast as he could.
His heart felt like it was on the verge of cardiac arrest, but he safely managed to make it all the way down where there were more people to shield him from the terrorist threats he just faced.
He was simply never going to trust his coworkers again.
—
A month later, Kim Dokja was back in his same old job that overworked him with the same old coworkers that he no longer had any more trust in–both personal and professional–and the same old looming deadlines that never ceased because apparently now they were in the process of closing their collaboration with an unnamed business and becoming a mega conglomerate.
“Psst, Dokja-ssi,” a hushed whisper sounded from behind him. He didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. There was only one person who spoke to him in that gentle tone of voice.
“Hi, Sangha-ssi,” Kim Dokja greeted politely. “Is there anything that I can help you with?”
Yoo Sangah, the angel that she was, handed him a small plastic bag. In it was a sandwich, a canned coffee, and some small snacks. He could feel the glares of a dozen men on him as he thanked Yoo Sangah for her kindness. He genuinely was touched by her actions, but it also meant that he was now viewed as competition by people he’s never met in his life. He cried internal tears. People, please, he didn’t want this any more than you did.
He plastered a smile on his face. “Thank you, Sangha-ssi.”
She gave him a thumbs up before disappearing back into the cubicles. Kim Dokja could practically feel the murderous intent radiating towards him as he slumped back into his creaky office chair. Before anyone could take action and attack him for daring to breathe near the office Goddess, his boss walked into the room.
“Good afternoon everyone!” Han Myungoh said cheerily. “Did you all miss me?”
Kim Dokja eyed him warily. Nothing good ever came whenever Han Myungoh greeted the office like that. Or whenever he was present, if he were being honest.
“Now, I know you all have many questions, such as: ‘Where did our wonderful boss go?’ Or perhaps you were wondering what would become of you without my shining light to guide you to the right path. But, fear not! I had to take an unexpected…leave, but now I’m back!”
Kim Dokja tuned the rest of his words out. Han Myungoh looked as healthy as ever–no, in fact, he looked better than before he disappeared. People said that he had gotten kidnapped by some CEO of a rival company, but if that were the case then would he be practically glowing right now? Gone were the dark bags under his eyes and the pale, sickly pallor of his skin. His demeanor seemed to have changed as well; he never used to be this energetic and excitable before. He even looked plumper! Not that it was a bad thing. Han Myungoh had always been a skinny guy with limbs that looked like they would break like twigs under pressure, but now he actually had some meat on his bones. There was also something a little different with the suit he was wearing. Kim Dokja was no expert, but the outfits Han Myungoh claimed to be “extremely expensive” always had an element of cheapness to it, almost like he was playing dress up. Now his suit fit perfectly, and the fabric actually looked expensive without him having to say it out loud.
Kim Dokja sighed. You really can’t trust rumors.
“Kim Dokja-ssi.”
Kim Dokja snapped to attention. At some point in his speech, Han Myungoh had stepped closer to him. He was now standing face to face with his unreliable boss. Kim Dokja felt a bead of sweat trail down his back. “Y-yes?”
Han Myungoh raised his hand, and Kim Dokja braced himself for impact. So much for change, he grumbled internally. But instead of being hit over the head, warm hands wrapped around his.
“Kim Dokja-ssi,” Han Myungoh said, gripping his hands between them. Kim Dokja-ssi??? When has Han Myungoh ever referred to him by his name? And with respect nonetheless! Kim Dokja was surprised he actually even knew who he was considering how he’s always been referred to as ‘you there’.
Han Myungoh’s eyes practically glittered. “Thank you for holding the fort down,” he said, solemnly. “I’m here to take my position back. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
As if this whole thing wasn’t shocking enough, Han Myungoh patted his back as well before turning back to the crowd. Kim Dokja was glad to see that everyone else was as stunned as he was. Yoo Sangah even had a hand over her mouth as she stared blankly at the stranger in front of them.
“Now! For the next order of business!”
Kim Dokja’s jaw dropped closer to the floor with every word that left Han Myungoh’s mouth.
First of all, he wasn’t kidding about taking his position back. He started detailing all the things that would happen now that he was here and what steps they were taking to move forward with the collaboration project that he had so rudely dropped on Kim Dokja before.
“And as thanks for all his hard work, I will personally appoint Kim Dokja-ssi to be the one to welcome the other company’s representatives. There are still a few meetings to finalize some details before they come to the company and tour our building, but rest assured that I will do anything to make this collaboration as successful as it can be.”
Please don’t. Kim Dokja begged internally.
“And secondly! I will be leaving the office every day by five’o’clock in the afternoon sharp. And I will not be coming in on the weekends anymore as well.” Han Myungoh continued, seemingly oblivious to the effect his words had on the rest of the office. “You are welcome to stay for as long as you like, and will be paid accordingly of course, but I will not be here after that time and encourage you all to go home and spend time with your families—”
A phone rang, interrupting his words. Han Myungoh looked at the caller ID and grinned widely. It sent shivers down Kim Dokja’s spine. “Speaking of which, it is now time for me to go! See you all later!”
And with that, he practically skipped away, bringing the phone to his ear. From a distance, Kim Dokja could vaguely make some words out.
“I’m on my way…Don’t worry, princess…Yes, yes, we can go get ice cream later…”
Silence reigned in the room, before the first person broke it by starting to pack their things. One by one, weary office workers cleared out of the room, leaving only Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah.
“Dokja-ssi,” Yoo Sangah said. “Am I dreaming?”
“I don’t think so.” Kim Dokja said, but he pinched himself anyway. Ouch. Not a dream, then. Just a really odd form of reality that he seemed to be living in right now. Yoo Sangah still looked a bit shaken. “Look on the bright side, Sangha-ssi. This probably means that he won’t have time to bother you anymore!”
Yoo Sangah laughed at that, and her shoulders relaxed a little. “You’re right, that is true.”
They walked out of the office together. For the first time in what felt like years, Kim Dokja actually got off work on time and was able to see the light of day as he headed home. He watched the sun’s fading rays through the subway windows. He went to the supermarket and actually had warm food options to buy; it was early enough that the shelves hadn’t been emptied yet. He went home and was able to read his novels and still be in bed at a reasonable time after he got his fill.
For the first time in years, Kim Dokja was about to get a full night’s sleep. As he was about to doze off, Kim Dokja was grateful Han Myungoh got kidnapped.
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